Anatomy of a Photo: And He Parted The Waters

De Vlaeminck parts the waters in the Trouée d'Arenberg.

No double wraps of bar tape. No arm warmers or bandages for an injured left arm; just some wrappings borrowed from an Egyptian mummy he sent back to the underworld earlier in the morning. Nothing special for Roger on a typical race day in Hell. Just unmeasurably enormous helpings of Rule #5.

The most remarkable thing about this photo? He did that to the water before he rode through it.

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80 Replies to “Anatomy of a Photo: And He Parted The Waters”

  1. Fuckin love these old black and white cycling pictures. I don’t know the history behind this but it has extra impact that he riding solo.

  2. Okay, this doesn’t really pertain to this awesome photo, but can anyone direct me to some good tutorials on how to wrap bars in some manner other than the crappy one I use? I’ve only done it a half dozen times or so and have yet to be successful. Fully rule compliant except for this (is A+ bar tape even a rule?). Frank, maybe you could film a tutorial? You certainly seem to be a master at it.

  3. Awesome photo! Makes me want some crappy weather conditions to ride in.

  4. @RedRanger

    Yeah, old pictures in general are great. Up here in the PNW there are lots of museums with pictures of guys cutting massive trees in the forests, or fishing, or carving roads, or doing all the other hard-scrabble crap folks did around here in the late 1800s/early 1900s. Definitely a sort of weird “romanticism” about those times when you look at cool old photos.

  5. It certainly doesn’t look like he hit the first part of the puddle, looks more like the footage of water being thrown up by military jets.

    Love his expression “mountain bikes, cross bikes? who fucking needs them? And I’m going to catch that bastard on the motorbike!” Amazing position on the bike as well.

  6. Note also that he is not actually sitting on the seat. And that it doesn’t seem to matter to him in th slightest.

  7. @Noel
    Search the archives for “microtex” (as in Fizik Microtex, a preferred brand of tape) and you will find ample discussion of wrapping technique.

    @Mikel Pearce
    Don’t think it would work too well for bike or undercarriage to sit heavy on the saddle on stones like those!

  8. Great shot. He jumped the puddle because the front edge is untouched. Maybe the rear wheel caught the puddle as he landed. Even the wheels look a little out of tracking alignment like he just landed his bike, all at 40km/hr, head up, looking up the road. No gloves either? Oh they were tough buggahs back then. We so need a nasty wet Spring Classic season in 2012.

  9. @Noel

    Okay, this doesn’t really pertain to this awesome photo, but can anyone direct me to some good tutorials on how to wrap bars in some manner other than the crappy one I use? I’ve only done it a half dozen times or so and have yet to be successful. Fully rule compliant except for this (is A+ bar tape even a rule?). Frank, maybe you could film a tutorial? You certainly seem to be a master at it.

    Click Here

    It takes a few seconds for the video to load so be patient.

  10. hmmm…why one arm warmer??

    love the pic, he is definitely in the zone and couldn’t care less what the Norde throws his way, he’s above it.

    but why one arm warmer?? any hints?

  11. @Gianni

    Great shot. He jumped the puddle because the front edge is untouched. Maybe the rear wheel caught the puddle as he landed. Even the wheels look a little out of tracking alignment like he just landed his bike, all at 40km/hr, head up, looking up the road.

    And in the drops…

  12. @Souleur
    I assumed the “mummy” commentary was actually about his right arm – that it was injured and started out wrapped in bandages but by this point the bandages were long gone.

  13. @itburns: thanks!

    I assumed it was wool, one down, one up, and he didn’t care. but that just takes this one more V deeper in that he is riding w/bandages!

    man…

  14. @Noel
    This is almost a Rule #58 kind of moment, learned best at the feet of your LBS mechanic. Had a great time chatting with the guys at my LBS about a slightly tricky wrapping technique on bullhorns. By the end of the conversation we had three different approaches (four of us involved), and fifteen minutes spent in serious debate. Great stuff!

  15. back then the earth was warmer and oxygen content 2X today. cyclists had to flee predators and chased down small prey. today, our goal is to look good in spandex.

  16. I’m pretty sure it’s actually one of a pair of woolen arm-warmers, the other of which has probably sagged down his wrist and is hidden by the photo crop. Either that or he is halfway through removing them but decided to hold onto his ‘bars at this moment for understandable reasons!

  17. Belay that, I’m wrong and Frank is onto it – he had thirty stitches in his arm from an earlier fall, so that is a covering of sorts! Hard man…

  18. From a Sunday in Hell

    @Souleur

    hmmm…why one arm warmer??
    love the pic, he is definitely in the zone and couldn’t care less what the Norde throws his way, he’s above it.
    but why one arm warmer?? any hints?

    I read somewhere he had an injury, but I’ll be buggered if I can think of where I saw it or even if I imagined it. From the looks of the shot, though, I’d say he’s only got one on – seems the right arm would show some sign of a crumpled warmer.

  19. @Gianni

    Great shot. He jumped the puddle because the front edge is untouched. Maybe the rear wheel caught the puddle as he landed. Even the wheels look a little out of tracking alignment like he just landed his bike, all at 40km/hr, head up, looking up the road. No gloves either? Oh they were tough buggahs back then. We so need a nasty wet Spring Classic season in 2012.

    That’s it! He jumped it! What a stud. I thought he’d done something supernatural. Which I suppose he did if you consider the circumstances.

    @Mikel Pearce

    Note also that he is not actually sitting on the seat. And that it doesn’t seem to matter to him in th slightest.

    This is because of the jump, but they pretty much hover over the saddle on the cobbles anyway. Always ride the stones á bloc and in a big gear. This allows you to pretty much unweight the saddle as you’re pushing on the pedals and turns your leggs and not your ass into the shock absorbers. We used this technique mountain biking as well before suspension bikes. Let your bike bounce around under you and use your body as the shock absorber.

  20. @Oli

    Belay that, I’m wrong and Frank is onto it – he had thirty stitches in his arm from an earlier fall, so that is a covering of sorts! Hard man…

    Cool! I didn’t make it up! I *thought* I’d read that somewhere. What year is it? I want to say it’s 1977 on his way to his last win as well, but its hard to verify.

  21. @Sam
    They might use the picture, but I’d take the scrupulous research of A Journey Through Hell over Rouleur anyday. For a start he isn’t wearing the rainbow stripes he would wear after his 1975 Cyclo-Cross World Champs win, secondly he wasn’t injured in his ’77 win, but more importantly the 1977 race was dry and dusty not wet and foul.

  22. @Oli
    holy shit i bow down and pay penance, i’ve watched these pastings from the outside but being on the receiving end is a whole new experience. Btw has anyone seen ‘The Bicycle Academy’ courses i really like the idea or molding my own ride

  23. This is from the 1973 Paris Roubaix. Note Roger’s left arm…same as main photo. The prophet’s last win of the race as well BTW.
    Both looking very weary…..

  24. @il ciclista medio


    This is from the 1973 Paris Roubaix. Note Roger’s left arm…same as main photo. The Prophet’s last win of the race as well BTW.
    Both looking very weary…..

    Indeed! Nicely done. As it turns out, our main shot from The Rules features from the same race.

    The bandage is different, though; the mummy wrappings must have come off.

    Both have enviable ‘burns, I’d say!

    @Oli

    @Sam
    They might use the picture, but I’d take the scrupulous research of A Journey Through Hell over Rouleur anyday. For a start he isn’t wearing the rainbow stripes he would wear after his 1975 Cyclo-Cross World Champs win, secondly he wasn’t injured in his ’77 win, but more importantly the 1977 race was dry and dusty not wet and foul.

    Easy there, fella! Right you might be, but lets not disparage Rouleur. Top notch work and an inspiration.

  25. @frank
    Don’t get me wrong, I love Rouleur! But every issue I’ve read has some important detail wrong, so I’m just being honest. I think sometimes they fit random photos to fit their facts, or vice-versa…hmmm, reminds me of someone.

  26. @Oli
    don’t worry about it, La Vie Velominatus is full of opportunities for enlightenment, for example today i discovered some fantastically 80’s yellow tinted sunglasses my dad had stashed away, while they are of questionable style their function is undeniable

  27. regardless of the specifics involved, everyone needs to stop what they are doing, bow down in front of their computers, and repeat after me: “we’re not worthy, we’re not worthy!”

  28. @Sam
    I hear ya. I have an old pair of Bolle Edges with interchangeable lenses. Grey, brown clear, red and . . . yellow. On a dull day you can’t beat the yellow! They are also super stylish!

  29. @Sam
    Sam, we have all learned the hard way; Oli is the Source. Resistance is futile.

    @Oli

    @frank
    New avatars? Damn, maybe I should man-up and move on, but change is hard…

  30. here is the clips of video, hey frank, can you paste a pic or tell me how to, i am computer stupid
    it indeeed was the 1973 Paris Roubaix, and the video shows it all, it shows them taking out w/goods and evidently he just threw them to the side, i suppose he may have taken the stitches out too and just tossed them bastards out but the antifreeze in his veins would have leaked for sure

    http://youtu.be/ftZkzaarq4E

  31. Damn, you know you’re a proper hardman when you’re bunnyhopping puddles on the cobbles. FNG here, thought I’d finally make a post after reading for a long time. Despite being nowhere near as badass as Roger this photo kind of shows how I was feeling on the commute home last night in the rain (it’s not something we see a lot of this time of year).
    Thanks for the inspiration for another evening ride (probably) in the wet. Rule #9 here I come.

  32. @Noel

    Okay, this doesn’t really pertain to this awesome photo, but can anyone direct me to some good tutorials on how to wrap bars in some manner other than the crappy one I use? I’ve only done it a half dozen times or so and have yet to be successful. Fully rule compliant except for this (is A+ bar tape even a rule?). Frank, maybe you could film a tutorial? You certainly seem to be a master at it.

    I can do a video some time, for sure – good idea. But truth be told, while I find my tape job to be absolutely impeccable when I’m done, it is a slowish process; some of the videos of the Pro Wrenches rocking a tape job are much more impressive.

    In the end, it’s all about constant pressure, and smooth, continuous motions. Make sure all the loops are equidistant from each other and awesome. Not too much pressure, by the way – depending on the tape you’ll have a massively lumpy job of it. With Fizik, you want to pull pretty hard and get a very even wrap, while with Cinelli and it’s imitators in the varying types of cork and pseudocork, you’ll want a firm but not too tight pressure to make sure you avoid the big lump in the middle of each wrap. Be careful on that one, even the Pros will wrap too tight.

    This is an art, not a science, and you can watch videos for tips, but really you just need to practice.

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