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Velominatus: doubleR

Order: Level 2 Velominatus

Location: Long Beach, CA

@doubleR's activity:

The Rules

We are the Keepers of the Cog.  In so being, we also maintain the sacred text wherein lie the simple truths of cycling etiquette known as The Rules. It is in our trust to maintain and endorse this list.See also The Prophet’s Prayer. Continue reading...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. @KDAY Racing Exactly! One thing I noticed very quickly when I first got into road cycling is there is an unspoken bond when one sees a fellow roadie in full kit. One example is last Saturday, on a group ride with my club, I had a flat. Three of the grou… »

Self-Chosen: Il Pirata & Il Giro

We continue our Six Days of the Giro series with a look at the troubled bond between Marco Pantani and the Giro.Some were meant to be tormented, as though it were preordained that their brilliance should be balanced with fatal flaws. These are tortured souls, whose dramatic highs are equalled only by the devastating depths of their lows. Continu...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. @frank Staley sure could belt it out, couldn’t he! My other great love, besides cycling, is music. I play guitar in cover bands with other geezers my age (I’m 56), and I’ve been writing for various music magazines since 1988. Back in the day, I had the … »

On Rule #64: The Sudden Drop

The severity of a crash exists on two planes, the physical and psychological. The physical is the most obvious and one we busy ourselves with in the immediate vicinity of coming down. Our bodies need time to heal, our kits may need replacing or mending, and our bicycles may need repair work. For weeks and sometimes months, we may carry with us t...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. @Mikael Liddy On Sept 15, I crashed and fractured my clavicle, broke a rib, had a concussion and partially collapsed right lung. Five days later I had surgery to repair the clavicle. I never saw the bump that took me down until later, when I walked back… »

Gelukkig Sinterklaas

December 6th is possibly the biggest holiday of the year for the Dutch. We put out our shoe, we write gedichten, we play pranks on each other, and we exchange gifts. As luck would have it, the good old Sint made a stop by the Velominati Headquarters in Seattle and left me an absurdly large bottle of dry lube; the the point where I felt like I need...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. Feliz Navidid (that’s how we say it here in Southern California). »

Guest Article: I’ve Fallen for You

What does this have to do with the Worlds? Nothing, but it makes me laugh and includes a wicked photograph so this is the guest article today. @roadslave joined the 2012 Keepers Tour for the full week of riding and ranting and he was excellent at both. He rode at the front with a Chris Horner smile and now he admits to only riding for four years. F...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. Here’s my contribution to the photo gallery: I also found out today that, in addition to my other laundry list of injuries, I have a fractured rib. (I thought the pain in my upper right back was due to the muscles being knotted up from having my arm in… »

  2. Hey Mikael, I think my fracture is very similar. I don’t have the X-rays with me, but before the surgery you could see the bumo where the bone was sticking up, with the skin all black and blue (luckily, the bone didn’t pierce the skin). When I get back fr… »

  3. @Mikael Liddy »

  4. It was not my intent to tell anyone what they should–or shouldn’t do. However, when your head smacks the asphalt hard enough to split your helmet, it definitely changes your perspective on whether or not to wear one. For me, I would never again consider … »

  5. @ChrisO I don’t want to start yet another helmet/no helmet debate. However, take another look at my helmet: I survived my crash with a nasty bruise on my forehead and a two-day headache (in addition to the other injuries I described earlier). If I hadn… »

  6. Well, this certainly is a timely thread! I had surgery yesterday for my fractured clavicle. Last Saturday, I had a great ride with my bike club. I decided to get a few extra miles in, and branched off on my own after the ride was through. I don’t remember… »

Cogal Report: Sydney Convict Cogal-2012

@Harminator dreamed up the Sydney Cogal months ago and the report has just floated in. Bad weather, good attitudes, plenty of riding and malted recovery beverage, that’s how it is done. Chapeau.VLVV, Gianni…...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. “We met up at a cafe for pre-ride macchiatos, soy lattes and flat whites.” Soy lattes?!? A clear and undisputed violation of Rule #56. I suggest you repent by immediately ordering a double espresso.   »

Anatomy of a Photo: The Shoulders of Giants

The question tackled here is of carrying the bicycle, should it require carrying. The non-cyclist is perhaps more inclined to consider carrying their bicycle than is the Cyclist. Examples that come to mind include the navigation of a giant mud pit or a steep twisty narrow snowy descent, where the uninitiated may erroneously contemplate the like...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. @sgt Camera? Looks to me like the guy’s uncorking a bottle of wine. »

Defining Moments: My First Kit

As children, none of us were given an allowance. Instead, we were taught from a young age that if we wanted to buy something, we had to earn the money in order to do so. To facilitate the model, and possibly to avoid child-labor law infringement, we were paid to do chores around the house in exchange for a cash payment directly proportional but not...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. @Cyclops Go ahead….indulge. We won’t tell. »

In Memoriam: Olympic Tandem Match Sprint

The Olympic track racing fires off tomorrow and it’s time to remember an event discarded to the bin of noble sports.The Olympic roster of events is constantly evolving and devolving which is why we are now watching synchronized diving as an Olympic sport. What a world, what a world. Maybe it’s a sign of me getting too old but it makes m...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. @frank Hell, if I had a babe like that on the back, I’d ride the goddamn thing, too. »

The Rules

We are the Keepers of the Cog.  In so being, we also maintain the sacred text wherein lie the simple truths of cycling etiquette known as The Rules. It is in our trust to maintain and endorse this list.See also The Prophet’s Prayer. Continue reading...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. Two cocks (almost) touching. »

The Bikes

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...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. The poor guy who was killed, Roger Lippman, was a roadie who had a very distinct blue metalflake paint scheme on his bike. In the media coverage, you could see his mangled bike, and his body covered with a sheet. In talking to the guys I rode with on Mond… »

  2. This is the kind of bike no one wants to see. Sorry for hijacking the thread, but I’m goddamn pissed off. Roger Lippman was killed last Friday by a hit-and-run drunk driver, who was caught shortly after when he crashed into a fence. The scumbag who killed… »

Having Good Legs

One great mystery remains in this cycling world. I’ve been a cyclist for over thirty years and I still can’t buy a clue. Remember those rides where very early on, as you roll out of a parking lot, or just away from your house, you notice you have good legs. You need verification and after a proper warm up the feeling is still there, to...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. “Colours.” Ah…so that explains why everyone is riding on the wrong side of the road….. »

The Gear

Our products represent the spirit of Velominati; every product we offer is made with the utmost attention to detail – no compromises were made in their selection or design. Whenever possible, our products are made my small, locally-owned businesses who share our passion for quality and we make every effort to ensure they are made in an enviro...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. I’m a SOB (Skinny Old Bastard). »

  2. @DerHoggz Judging by you avatar, Hoggz, I assume you’re a bass player? »

  3. I’ll share my experience with the sizing: I’m 6’02″, 165 lbs. I originally ordered a large V-Jersey. To say it was “race fit” would be an understatement–it was like a second skin on me. Not really the way I like my jerseys to fit…uncomfortably tight in… »

La Vie Velominatus: The Rain Bike

In our privileged stables of bikes, it ranks towards the bottom of the heap as Bike #2 or lower, but the Rain Bike is no slouch. This is, after all, the bike we rely on in bad weather, trusting it to carry us safely through what typically amounts to the most dangerous conditions we ride in. Provided you ride year-round, you likely ride this machin...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. Those photos make me glad I live in Southern California, where rain is something that happens infrequently from October to March. »

Into The Tunnel

It requires a combination of factors to intersect. You need to have already spent loads of time on a bicycle. Enough so that you have an inherent sense of this odd thing with two wheels; you can make it go quickly or slowly, you can steer it around a corner with ease, you know how the introduction of a layer of moisture between the tires and the t...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. Brilliant, inspired piece of writing, Frank. They was it describes cycling reminds of a famous poem about flying, “High Flight:” “Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I’ve climbed and joine… »

Reverence: Vittoria Open Pavé CG

Normally The Keepers reserve our Reverence articles for products we’ve used for years, or with new stuff that has had at least six months of duty. Riding the cobbles of Belgium and Northern France can put most gear (and bodies) through six months of abuse in just a few weeks, so in this case the work these tyres have been put through there an...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. Nipple lube is cool heh heh heh »

The Rules

We are the Keepers of the Cog.  In so being, we also maintain the sacred text wherein lie the simple truths of cycling etiquette known as The Rules. It is in our trust to maintain and endorse this list.See also The Prophet’s Prayer. Continue reading...

@doubleR's posts:

  1. OK, I’ve been having a debate with my friends about Rule #60, specifically the valve stem caps. My theory is that anything that can collect dirt eventually will collect dirt. Presta valves seem like a delicate bit of engineering–if you can protect them a… »

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