The Hardmen: Legends of the Cycling Gods

The Hardmen: Cover Art.

Today’s a big deal over here at VHQ; V-Pints are being clinked and backs are being slapped in celebration of our second book, The Hardmen, being released in the UK and Commonwealth countries today, June 1. (It is due out in the United States in the Fall as well as The Netherlands and Belgium in Spring 2018.)

I have a new appreciation for what a band might go through when faced with putting out their sophomore effort (which in our case was something of a sophomoronic effort). While I would never put forward the idea that writing our first book, The Rules, was in any way “easy”, its writing was one unencumbered by the notion that anyone might actually read it. The pressure of expectation for our second book might well have been something we placed on ourselves, but the pressure felt very real nonetheless. The irony did not go unnoticed that we had to harden the fuck up and focus on the business of writing the best book we could manage, given the book was centered around the general notion of Rule #5.

The Hardmen is just that: the tales of the most epic rides and riders in history, or at least in our collective recollection. We wrote it in the style you’ve become familiar with, (ir)reverently with a focus more on legend than on fact, and avoiding research wherever possible for the simple fact that research feels a lot like cheating. Our inclination to make words up also proved an interesting challenge for our copyeditor.

Of the variety of obstacles we encountered along the way, that of selecting the riders to include in the book figured prominently; there are so many worth including that we could hardly set about including them all. So we picked at our whim and whimsy, and we welcome you to challenge us on both our inclusions and omissions.

With that, I will retire to the patio and indulge in more celebratory pints but not before leaving you with this very flattering and possibly unjustified review on the Washing Machine Post.

Thanks to everyone here for your support as our writing slacked off over the past year while we labored to get this book done. We owe you each a debt of gratitude and look forward to enjoying your company online and back out on the roads. Vive la Vie Velominatus.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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dimo lucarelli says:

Jun 11 2017 at 1:02 pm

Have to include johan museeuw. He was a crusher on the Cobbled classics, winning Paris-roubaix three times and the tour ofFlanders three times.
tmgrasso says:

Jun 13 2017 at 6:26 pm

I've got mine through Amazon UK--couldn't wait for the US version. I also like the TdF jaune UK cover. My review of the book so far (having read Sean Yates)--fucking awesome.
litvi says:

Jun 13 2017 at 6:34 pm

@tmgrasso

I’ve got mine through Amazon UK–couldn’t wait for the US version. I also like the TdF jaune UK cover. My review of the book so far (having read Sean Yates)–fucking awesome.

0

Can't wait to read that Yates chapter. The guy just oozes hard core vibe. I was in the press lounge after the '97 Paris-Roubaix and I saw him across the room. He glanced over in my direction and the look on his face was pure "dude, don't even come over here." You could tell it was killing him inside to be behind the scenes and not out on the velodrome that day. And what a day. Guesdon came out of nowhere. Everyone in the parc was like "what the fuck just happened?"
RobSandy says:

Jun 14 2017 at 2:50 am

@litvi

@tmgrasso

I’ve got mine through Amazon UK–couldn’t wait for the US version. I also like the TdF jaune UK cover. My review of the book so far (having read Sean Yates)–fucking awesome.

0

Can’t wait to read that Yates chapter. The guy just oozes hard core vibe. I was in the press lounge after the ’97 Paris-Roubaix and I saw him across the room. He glanced over in my direction and the look on his face was pure “dude, don’t even come over here.” You could tell it was killing him inside to be behind the scenes and not out on the velodrome that day. And what a day. Guesdon came out of nowhere. Everyone in the parc was like “what the fuck just happened?”

0

Yates is a legend. I think part of being a Velominatus is not wanting to be the skinny guy in yellow with his arms in the air, you want to be the guy who has put the whole bunch in the hurt all day chasing down the break or stopping everyone else attacking.

We all want to be Yates.
Cary says:

Jul 8 2017 at 12:13 am

it would be cool if a book would turn up one day detailing the exploits of the six day riders, most of which are also roadmen. not just Sercu, but Etienne DeWilde, Urs Freuler, Silvio Martinello, Danny Clark, etc. Iljo Keisse is bringing some modern attention to six day riding, but really, who else? Wiggo and Cav did for a minute, but i'm more referring to the REAL track stars.
sthilzy says:

Jul 10 2017 at 1:52 am

Grouse plug here!
wiscot says:

Jul 10 2017 at 5:41 am

@Cary

it would be cool if a book would turn up one day detailing the exploits of the six day riders, most of which are also roadmen. not just Sercu, but Etienne DeWilde, Urs Freuler, Silvio Martinello, Danny Clark, etc. Iljo Keisse is bringing some modern attention to six day riding, but really, who else? Wiggo and Cav did for a minute, but i’m more referring to the REAL track stars.

0

Yup, that would be a great book! Those were real hardmen, most of who rode a regular road season too. Add Tony Doyle to the list.

As for Clark? This from Wiki:

Clark began cycling on a bike borrowed from a local enthusiast, which he used for three months before acquiring his eldest brother's semi-racer.^[4] He became one of the most successful riders in six-day racing in the 1970s and 1980s, winning 74 races, second to Patrick Sercu's 88. Most of these wins came after a crash in the 1983 Frankfurt six-day which broke his hip. Clark still carries a plate inserted to help the fracture heal and said that when sprinting or climbing, only his right leg delivered full power.^[4]

Clark won the Australian one-mile penny-farthing championship in Evandale, Tasmania, in 1989, beating the Briton Doug Pinkerton and Matthew Driver.^[5]

Legend!
Cary says:

Jul 10 2017 at 6:18 am

@wiscot

@Cary

it would be cool if a book would turn up one day detailing the exploits of the six day riders, most of which are also roadmen. not just Sercu, but Etienne DeWilde, Urs Freuler, Silvio Martinello, Danny Clark, etc. Iljo Keisse is bringing some modern attention to six day riding, but really, who else? Wiggo and Cav did for a minute, but i’m more referring to the REAL track stars.

0

Yup, that would be a great book! Those were real hardmen, most of who rode a regular road season too. Add Tony Doyle to the list.

As for Clark? This from Wiki:

Clark began cycling on a bike borrowed from a local enthusiast, which he used for three months before acquiring his eldest brother’s semi-racer.[4] He became one of the most successful riders in six-day racing in the 1970s and 1980s, winning 74 races, second to Patrick Sercu’s 88. Most of these wins came after a crash in the 1983 Frankfurt six-day which broke his hip. Clark still carries a plate inserted to help the fracture heal and said that when sprinting or climbing, only his right leg delivered full power.[4]

Clark won the Australian one-mile penny-farthing championship in Evandale, Tasmania, in 1989, beating the Briton Doug Pinkerton and Matthew Driver.[5]

Legend!

i did quite a bit of track riding in my 20s. kilo, miss and out, and points races were my bread and butter. i rode 50 miles to a velodrome, did a full omnium, and rode home more than once.. the anaerobic fitness necessary to compete is a different level than road racing. a poorly ridden kilo will redefine what it means to truly suffer. after a bad kilo, i could feel my heartbeat in my TEETH. i've always loved track racing since i had the opportunity to try it.
Cary says:

Jul 10 2017 at 6:29 am

..and by no means do i intend to belittle road racing by these observations. 60 miles in the hills at or above threshhold will empty you every bit as throughly, especially if you're built like me.. lol but the real shock of track racing, especially the sprint events, is that it will really show you what a 100% effort is. a sprint workout with seated and standing acceleration intervals will wipe you out for a couple days, as though you had spent and adtetnoon following wheels at 50kph.
Cary says:

Jul 10 2017 at 6:42 am

check this out, if you haven't already. Azizul Hasni Awang is 150lbs soaking wet. Gregory Bauge is a fuckin Cerberus.. this is the best single ride i have ever seen in my life. Azizul has got it ALL. patience, explosive acceleration, guile, and above all, he ain't scared a bit:

https://youtu.be/5Ac9H02rYEk