Velominati Community Profile Archive

Velominatus: ErikdR

Order: Level 2 Velominatus

Location: Kolding, Denmark

Dutch-born in 1958, have lived in Denmark for almost 20 years now (married to Danish woman). Avid cyclist (touring) in the late 70's and 80's, and now in the process of 'picking up' cycling again - and trying to restore '80s road bikes to former glory.

@ErikdR's activity:

The Way of the Cycling Disciple: Publication & e-Book Sampler

Every once in a while, you stumble across a quote that changes your outlook on how you approach life. Of course, this requires that one does a good deal of “reading”, which is a problem for me, as reading anything that isn’t Cycling-related feels the same as doing “work”. I do the odd bit of it nevertheless, and in a r...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. @wiscot For what it’s worth: the first serious cycling holiday of my life (three weeks), took place in Northern England and Scotland. (We’re talking the late seventies here, so it’s quite possible that the sun was in a different quadrant of the Milky W… »

  2. @UptheTrossachs Hmm, yes; I see what you’re getting at, I think. Someone apparently gave the house-elf behind you a sock (whether voluntarily or not, is still to be debated) and now the creature is FREE. Oh my…. »

  3. @the Engine Maybe you are both descendants of a rare breed of short-legged Scottish hobbits, so that standard-issue bib shorts look disproportionally long on the BFG’s? (But you wouldn’t think so, judging from the length of that head tube on your bike…… »

  4. @strathlubnaig Great, thanks. Nice name. (while reading that it refers to a body of water, I couldn’t help being reminded of that town in Wales with the crazy long name – Llanfairpwwll… etcetera. Part of that name means something along the lines of ‘fi… »

Merry Festum Prophetae

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...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. @G’rilla And the lethal sea life. Twelve rows of teeth and something that fuckin’ stings you terribly (in the Words of the great Billy Connolly) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V4JYIOja10 »

  2. Proficiat, Monsieur Merckx »

The Way of the Cycling Disciple: Publication & e-Book Sampler

Every once in a while, you stumble across a quote that changes your outlook on how you approach life. Of course, this requires that one does a good deal of “reading”, which is a problem for me, as reading anything that isn’t Cycling-related feels the same as doing “work”. I do the odd bit of it nevertheless, and in a r...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. @strathlubnaig OK, cheers @strathlubnaig. Rock ‘n Road, hm? Good name. Speaking of names: does the Gaelic-sounding moniker that you use in this community mean or symbolize anything? (Don’t want to come across as prying, and I’m fully aware that it’s n… »

  2. @the Engine Impressive how you pretty much managed to match the colour scheme of your jersey to that of the Sacred Tome. It’s all about details like that, I reckon…  What does it say on that jersey, anyway – apart from ‘fi’zi:k’)? It reminds me in a wa… »

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...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. @mouse And again; Spot on. The best we can do is strive to become better than we thought we could be. Good one, @mouse »

  2. @ChrisO Spot on. Very nice work. »

On Rule #12: Graveur Robber

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...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. Very, very nice bike, Frank – Hat. Graveur robber, eh? I assume you have baptized this lovely machine ‘Lara’, then? »

Festum Prophetae: The Impossible Hour

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...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. Gotta admire the dedication and gumption of the merry Frankster. Well done! By the way: good job on the VSP, @Buck. Cheers. »

  2. @Rob Woipin’ me corffee off the frickin’ quay-bird here, mate – well played »

V to the Vth Degree

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...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. @Nate Very interesting write-up, Brett. I’m kinda in the same camp as @DerHoggz and @Nate, I think – I eat meat very rarely (about once every second week, at a guess), but when I do, I’ll pay good money for the best quality I can get – and it actually m… »

Festum Prophetae: The Impossible Hour

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...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. @Buck Rogers Glass raised in silent salute, @Buck And +1 with regard to respect for the VSP keepers. I’ve often marvelled at this: even with people coming up with all kinds of weird nicknames for riders, they seem to be able to work it out. Baffles me c… »

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...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. @Mikael Liddy Seconded… Suffereing from a severe case of carbon-envy here. Bastards. She’s a beaut, snoov »

Festum Prophetae: The Impossible Hour

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...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. @Ron Looking good there, sir – nice touch with the motion blur in the background – good Photo! »

  2. Way to go, Frank. That truly is a gutsy undertaking. Petje af. 40.4 km. »

Pink or Yellow?

We’re into day four of the Six Days of the Giro series, let’s talk trash. Yes the Tour de France started a few years before the Giro and has always been credited as The Tour to win. You win the Giro, you are a stud. Win the Tour and you are a stud for life. Why is that? Is the Tour longer, tougher, more murderous, more beautiful? In the 20...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. @sthilzy You guys are just kidding here, right? These two noble bastards did well in the Giro d’Italia at some point, admittedly – but can anyone argue that they are anything other than legends of the Tour de France? And that they are among those who ha… »

Velominati Super Prestige: Milan-Sanremo 2013

Finally, we have Milan-Sanremo. I hope pedale.forcetta is ready to shoot some pictures, especially black and white because it will be cold and possibly wet. Throw in a little wind and a race of this distance will weed out the less hardy. Recently, but not too recently, this race would be won out of a decent size field sprint. And yet, besides Fabs...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. @Skip Second that. One huge benefit of being a stupid old codger is that life often becomes a cornucopia of opportunities to learn. I didn’t even enter the VSP this time, but I couldn’t help noticing that the participants were using all kinds of creativ… »

Product Review: Bont Vaypor and Vaypor XC

I have weird feet, apparently. It’s not really something you normally come to realize without asking questions that one rarely has reason to ask. I might have asked them, though, had I ever had any notion that feet don’t always have to hurt in a cycling shoe. Hurt might be a strong word – more like “squished” or “numb”. I’ve also h...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. @http://couponmoz.org/ All your base are belong to us. Just sayin’… »

To Carbone or Not To Carbone?

That is the question. Are carbon wheels a viable option for everyday riding? Should carbon wheels be your go-to wheels rather than your just-for-racing wheels? I don’t really race and I don’t own any carbon wheels and I wonder. Granted, every professional is and has been on carbon wheels for many years so it’s easy to think we sho...

@ErikdR's posts:

  1. @snoov I’m sure you’re right about that – and I hadn’t thought about the lower rolling resistance of a larger wheel (as @pistard points out) either. Sigh… I’m not going to get my head around this, I’m afraid. One thing I do know, though: I remember re… »

  2. @snoov I’m not a scientist by any standard, so this may very well be total bunk - but I keep thinking of that bike with the huge rear disc wheel that Moser used in his attempt to break the hour record. I’m wondering if the eggheads who came up with tha… »

  3. @G’rilla Yes, this. On top of such factors as flex, area catching crosswinds, and whatnot, it is also generally tricky, to say the least, to assume that a 1400 gr wheelset is by definition better than a 1600 gr wheelset. I once came across a good illust… »

  4. @CanuckChuck Same here. Giant S-R2 with Schwalbe Durano Plus for training; Dura Ace 24′s for fondo’s and TT’s. The D-A wheels are totally “les genoux de l’abeille’ if you ask me. Unflexy in corners, no wind-up; strong, comfy – and fast. »

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