Velominati Community Profile Archive

Velominatus: PeakInTwoYears

Order: Black Order Velominatus

Back on the bike after 25 years of gradschoolkidsworkmarriagedivorcelotsofboozerunningrockclimbingflyfishing and, now, a partner who loves to ride. Even in my youth I was never more than a Cat 4 who was Too Fat To Climb, but now at 50 I've rediscovered the transcendence of time spent in the saddle.

@PeakInTwoYears's activity:

This photo is perhaps the greatest of all time; it shows The Prophet riding in the 1969 Ronde van Vlaanderen, kit and machine perfect. Rule #9 conditions in abundance. He’s gone off the front with some 80km left to race, which predictably sent his directeur into a rage. Ordered to return to the bunch, Merckx calmly suggested he go screw hi...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. @TheVid Nice. (That was me last year, after two decades off the bike. Riding makes everything better, doesn’t it?) »

The Ride. It is the cathedral of our sport, where we worship at the altar of the Man with the Hammer. It is the end to our means. Indeed, The Bike may be the central tool to our sport, but to turn the pedals is to experience the sensation of freedom, of flight. It is all for The Ride.The world is overflowing with small, twisty roads that capture ou...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. Oh, wait, there’s like one road on Salt Spring Is. Ha, ha…nevermind. »

  2. Any of you British Columbian Canadanians got any suggestions for rides or a place to stay on Salt Spring Island? We’re thinking of stringing some rides from the house to Port Angeles up the Sammich Peninsula and over to Salt Spring where we’d get a B&… »

  3. @unversio How much for the tractor? @cantona Beautiful. I did a couple of rides in the Santa Cruz area in April. The climbing from Hwy 1 up to Empire Grade was kickass—gorgeous and sustained. »

La Vie Velominatus isn’t a part-time gig. La Vie means the life, and The V is my life. Otherwise, I’d be Some V Velominatus, some of the time.Even when I’m not riding my bike, like the last two weeks (for reasons which don’t really matter, and offering them only renders them excuses), I live La Vie through other avenues. Eve...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. Stokoe sounds way more disgusting than Pynchon. Disgusting English Candy Drill, anyone? »

The Bike. It is the central tool in pursuit of our craft. A Velominatus meticulously maintains their bicycles and adorns them with the essential, yet minimal, accoutrement. The Rules specify the principles of good taste in configuration and setup of our machines, but within those principles lies almost infinite room for personal taste.It seems in s...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. @itburns Where else can you get infinitely deep knowledge of cycling, informed references to Greek mythology, and first-rate swearing? »

Update: You can watch the live stream (assuming it works from the velodrome) on the Velominati channel at USTREAM. When you log in, you’ll first see my little test video of my puppy eating grass. Please disregard me yelling at it. That never happened.I have always considered myself to have a good imagination, something I attribute half to my...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. @frank A. Do you guys plan to have the video available on that channel after the event for our asynchronous sadistic pleasure? I ask because I’ve got a longish ride planned tomorrow and need to sort out my start and finish time requirements. B. I’m stil… »

This week’s Guest Article comes from our friend, @blacktoolpower (l) and our editor Drummond Moir (r). In anticipation of our book’s imminent release, these two donned their lab coats and headed out to the streets of London to assess the state of Rule Compliance in the city’s commuter crowd. Always remember: leave this kind of ins...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. @pistard I am truly, physically laughing out loud. »

  2. @scaler911 In Portland, people would just take their clothes off in protest, and you’d damned well better have a big tub of brain bleach handy. »

Update: You can watch the live stream (assuming it works from the velodrome) on the Velominati channel at USTREAM. When you log in, you’ll first see my little test video of my puppy eating grass. Please disregard me yelling at it. That never happened.I have always considered myself to have a good imagination, something I attribute half to my...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. @Buck Rogers PeakInTwoYears 39.6 »

  2. @frank Oh, cripes. Sorry to hear about that. I have often reflected that a dog is like a large, fast two year old. With a powerful bite and a skull that’s stronger than the brain inside it (unless the brain is determining how to find that tasty-smellin… »

  3. @frank Yes! This would kick ass! (New revenue stream for the site? Instead of “Jackass,” “Frank Kicks His Own Ass,” a monthly event.) »

La Vie Velominatus isn’t a part-time gig. La Vie means the life, and The V is my life. Otherwise, I’d be Some V Velominatus, some of the time.Even when I’m not riding my bike, like the last two weeks (for reasons which don’t really matter, and offering them only renders them excuses), I live La Vie through other avenues. Eve...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. @Harminator One way to experience “balance” is to cook and eat the meat of an animal that you shot and watched die, and that you cut into pieces with blood up to your elbows and carried out of the hills on your back and spent two nights butchering and p… »

  2. I’ve been influenced by one of my (grown) daughters, who is a passionate student and practitioner of traditional Asian healing arts and Tibetan Buddhism. I’ve watched her go from a somewhat rigid (and temporary) set of food rules to a more flexible and ye… »

Cycling is a mighty sport with a rich and complex history. Every company, racer, piece of kit, and component has a legend, a story behind it; in many cases it also has a personal and nostalgic connection to our lives.  While this particular sport is steeped in tradition, it is also fiercely modern, a fact that serves only to deepen its complexity...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. @kixsand No squash? That’s almost as bad as @brett’s vegetarian business. Welcome, from another recently-arrived. »

La Vie Velominatus isn’t a part-time gig. La Vie means the life, and The V is my life. Otherwise, I’d be Some V Velominatus, some of the time.Even when I’m not riding my bike, like the last two weeks (for reasons which don’t really matter, and offering them only renders them excuses), I live La Vie through other avenues. Eve...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. I’d be totally down with insect protein shakes in the morning, if the food scientists got on that. Which they won’t, until their corporate masters can patent the GMO bugs… »

  2. If someone makes a conscious ethical decision to be veg, I’ll never say a bad word. If someone dresses the decision up in pseudoscience and then moralizes about it, I get cranky. Personally, I’m a meatasaur but a different kind than I was a few years ago… »

I find it interesting to observe the chasm between parties engaged in a conversation, particularly in response to questions being asked. I’m thinking, at present, of the question, “How many bikes do you have?” My feelings in response are nothing short of complex and maybe a bit confused; reservation that I feel I should have a mo...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. @G’rilla Winthrop area is so pretty, IMO. I keep driving through it on my way to the Pasayten Wilderness, and I keep wanting to plan a long summer weekend of riding there. Gotta add 2 more hours of driving from the Oly Pen, though. Looks like a killer ri… »

The Bike. It is the central tool in pursuit of our craft. A Velominatus meticulously maintains their bicycles and adorns them with the essential, yet minimal, accoutrement. The Rules specify the principles of good taste in configuration and setup of our machines, but within those principles lies almost infinite room for personal taste.It seems in s...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. if (char == V || char ==V) { return theFive; } »

  2. SMP V Romin V fi'zi:k Whatever V Whatever…  We all know everybody’s taint is shaped differently.  But it’s still good to hear what people’s taints are telling them. And caveat emptor taintus, obviously. »

  3. @Gianni Sweet. The story of the acquisition reminds me of how I got a gently-used Erickson in the late 80s. Stole it, rode it, loved it, and (fuck!) eventually sold it. Please keep us up to date on the narrative of your relationship with this ride. Not … »

Date/Time: 8th June 2013Meeting at the Car Park near where I live which is free at VV to nine. We’ll then roll into town for a coffee stop at Empire State Coffee which serves the best coffee in Dundee according to the VMH. Then we ride all the way up to Cairn ‘O’ Mount at which point there are several options. For those with the l...

@PeakInTwoYears's posts:

  1. Date/Time: 8th June 2013

    Location:  Magdalen Yard Road Car Park, Dundee, DD1 4NB
    Route Details:  170km starting in Dundee, reaching Cairn ‘O’ Mount, over the top riding a wee loop then back over and home to Dundee.

    Meeting at the Car Park near where I live which is free at VV to nine. We’ll then roll into town for a coffee stop at Empire State Coffee which serves the best coffee in Dundee according to the VMH. Then we ride all the way up to Cairn ‘O’ Mount at which point there are several options. For those with the legs it’s over the top and round a small loop before coming back over the Mount to then stop at The Clattering Brig for refreshments. Option Two is to ride up to the top, turn around and wait for those going over at TCB. The third Option is to just stop at The Clattering Brig and not take on the climb but I hope no-one chooses this option. Then the party of Velominati will travel back to the Car Park where showering facilities will be available at my place as well as some food before we walk a short distance for the recovery beverages. The long route climbing the Cairn ‘O’ Mount from both sides is about 170km. All welcome.

    VLVV

    snoov

     

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - June 08, 2013
    8:40 AM - 8:30 PM

    Location
    Magdalen Yard Road Car Park

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  2. Date/Time: 8th June 2013

    Location:  Magdalen Yard Road Car Park, Dundee, DD1 4NB
    Route Details:  170km starting in Dundee, reaching Cairn ‘O’ Mount, over the top riding a wee loop then back over and home to Dundee.

    Meeting at the Car Park near where I live which is free at VV to nine. We’ll then roll into town for a coffee stop at Empire State Coffee which serves the best coffee in Dundee according to the VMH. Then we ride all the way up to Cairn ‘O’ Mount at which point there are several options. For those with the legs it’s over the top and round a small loop before coming back over the Mount to then stop at The Clattering Brig for refreshments. Option Two is to ride up to the top, turn around and wait for those going over at TCB. The third Option is to just stop at The Clattering Brig and not take on the climb but I hope no-one chooses this option. Then the party of Velominati will travel back to the Car Park where showering facilities will be available at my place as well as some food before we walk a short distance for the recovery beverages. The long route climbing the Cairn ‘O’ Mount from both sides is about 170km. All welcome.

    VLVV

    snoov

     

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - June 08, 2013
    8:40 AM - 8:30 PM

    Location
    Magdalen Yard Road Car Park

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  3. Date/Time: 8th June 2013

    Location:  Magdalen Yard Road Car Park, Dundee, DD1 4NB
    Route Details:  170km starting in Dundee, reaching Cairn ‘O’ Mount, over the top riding a wee loop then back over and home to Dundee.

    Meeting at the Car Park near where I live which is free at VV to nine. We’ll then roll into town for a coffee stop at Empire State Coffee which serves the best coffee in Dundee according to the VMH. Then we ride all the way up to Cairn ‘O’ Mount at which point there are several options. For those with the legs it’s over the top and round a small loop before coming back over the Mount to then stop at The Clattering Brig for refreshments. Option Two is to ride up to the top, turn around and wait for those going over at TCB. The third Option is to just stop at The Clattering Brig and not take on the climb but I hope no-one chooses this option. Then the party of Velominati will travel back to the Car Park where showering facilities will be available at my place as well as some food before we walk a short distance for the recovery beverages. The long route climbing the Cairn ‘O’ Mount from both sides is about 170km. All welcome.

    VLVV

    snoov

     

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - June 08, 2013
    8:40 AM - 8:30 PM

    Location
    Magdalen Yard Road Car Park

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  4. Date/Time: 8th June 2013

    Location:  Magdalen Yard Road Car Park, Dundee, DD1 4NB
    Route Details:  170km starting in Dundee, reaching Cairn ‘O’ Mount, over the top riding a wee loop then back over and home to Dundee.

    Meeting at the Car Park near where I live which is free at VV to nine. We’ll then roll into town for a coffee stop at Empire State Coffee which serves the best coffee in Dundee according to the VMH. Then we ride all the way up to Cairn ‘O’ Mount at which point there are several options. For those with the legs it’s over the top and round a small loop before coming back over the Mount to then stop at The Clattering Brig for refreshments. Option Two is to ride up to the top, turn around and wait for those going over at TCB. The third Option is to just stop at The Clattering Brig and not take on the climb but I hope no-one chooses this option. Then the party of Velominati will travel back to the Car Park where showering facilities will be available at my place as well as some food before we walk a short distance for the recovery beverages. The long route climbing the Cairn ‘O’ Mount from both sides is about 170km. All welcome.

    VLVV

    snoov

     

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - June 08, 2013
    8:40 AM - 8:30 PM

    Location
    Magdalen Yard Road Car Park

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification