Velominati Community Profile Archive

Velominatus: Kyle

Order: Level 2 Velominatus

Location: the thumb part of Wisconsin

Road bike rider since the fall of 2011 after doing a century ride on a hybrid.

@Kyle's activity:

Velominati Super Prestige: Giro d’Italia 2013, Stage 10

Day 5 of the Six Days of the Giro continues with an impromptu VSP event.Lets have a look at where we are in the 2013 Giro. Wiggins must have spent time training in Luxembourg because he’s been descending like a Schleck when things get dodgy before disappearing into the team van to have a cry about it. Hesjedal has put in some good moves and...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Nibali 2. Ryder H 3. Gesink 4. Evans 5. Wiggins »

Velominati Super Prestige: Giro D’Italia 2013

Twiggo is dreaming of a Giro-Tour double. He has sent out mixed messages about his Tour ambitions. Will he use the Giro as the ultimate Tour preparation or will be burn all his matches in May and hope he can find another pack for July? He has abandoned his successful 2012 Tour run-up strategy of winning every stage race he entered the previous spri...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Wiggins 2. Nibali 3. Hesjedal 4. M Santambrogio 5. R Gesink »

Velominati Super Prestige: Luik-Bastenaken-Luik 2013

There is something to love about a race that makes a deviation to its route for the simple joy of sending a fleet of professional riders up a fiendishly steep and narrow ramp. The Cote du Stockeu offers zero benefit to the route from a logistical standpoint – in fact, all it does is complicate things. On the way down from the Cote de Wanne &#...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. But who really knows? VSP PICKS: 1. Gilbert 2. D Martin 3. Gerrans 4. Iglinskiy 5. J Rodriguez »

Velominati Super Prestige: Paris-Roubaix 2013

It looks so easy on the television. Well, no, actually it looks pretty bloody hard. We think we have some understanding of how they suffer, how their bodies can take the continual beating. But we don’t really know. Not even by riding these abominations they call roads twice in the space of a few days can we understand the scale of the thing...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Cancellara 2. Chavanel 3. Phinney 4. Haussler 5. Boassen Hagen »

Velominati Super Prestige: Ronde van Vlaanderen 2013

Imagine a world without the little things we take for granted; a house without a roof, a pub with no beer, a Keepers Tour without any clothes. The last one is a reality for me at the moment, five days in and still no trace of where the hell between Wellington and Paris my bag (filled with V-Kit, shoes, helmet, everything) is. The other thing that h...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. @Mirko Got a pair (in black) last season. Worried a bit about the dial closures but have had no trouble. I’d buy them again.   »

Velominati Super Prestige: Gent-Wevelgem 2013

Gent (Deinze)-Wevelgem, it starts with 130 km of cruising around Belgium and Northern France followed by a flurry of bergs and then a final 38 km of  flatter riding to the inevitable sprint finish. How hard can the climbing be if Super Mario got over them? Ask the riders from KT 2012, (the ones not in the following car) and they will tell you...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Boonen 2. gilbert 3. eisel 4. sagan 5. boom »

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...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Sagan 2. Cav 3. Gilbert 4. Boonen 5. NIbali »

Velominati Super Prestige: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad 2013

Outside my window, its pouring rain. My bike is leaning agains the wall in my office, covered in grim and grit from the ride in, which was characterized by equal parts cold, wind, and rain. The spot in the locker room where I changed before my shower was marked by sand and mud, and when I walked to the shower, I left a trail of dirty footprints.It...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. Terpstra 2. Thomas 3. Thor 4. Stannard 5. Chavanel »

Reverence: Malteni

Cyclists can (and usually do) go on for hours as to why they ride their bikes, and most of their reasons can sound, well, a bit flakey to anyone not enamored with shaved legs and being done up in lycra. “I do it to keep fit”, “It keeps me slim”, “I’m a competitor, I love to race”, “It’s the free...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. Sorry for the duplicate post. I got a blank screen on the first submission and thought that there was a problem on my end so I sent it again. Need more patience. »

  2. Timely article.  Registration for a Door County, Wisconsin  ride that ends at a beer festival opens today. Door County was settled by Belgian immigrants (including my ancestors) in the 1850s. »

  3. Timely article. Registration for the Ride for Nature, a Door County,  Wisconsin ride that ends at a beer festival opens today. Belgian immigrants (including my ancestors) came to Door County in the mid 1850s. Current local conditions: snow covered roads w… »

2012 Anti-V Moment of the Year: Bullies are really just pussies

As referenced in the 2012 V-Moment of the year article and ensuing discussion, it was a most Vawesome year for cycling. It’s been hypothesized here and on cycling sites with more integrity that the fantastic racing of 2012 may be, at least in part, attributed to a cleaner peloton. Unless you watched the Tour de France you’d think the da...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. Hey Pat, So it’s all about saving your fat arse? »

  2. @Sauterelle Well, I apologize for posting that.  Maybe someone can remove it. » Having lost my mother to cancer (Pancreatic) in 2012 and now nearly 5 years cancer free, I did not find the fun in the Takei post but was gratified by the community’s reacti… »

Guest Anatomy of a Photo: Here We Rest

@steampunk dropped this beauty of a photo on us. Volumes being spoken here, none of which makes being a pro look so great. Thanks Steamy.VLVV, Gianni Continue reading...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. @Steampunk Definite upgrade from all of those Aussies. »

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...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. From Competitive Cyclist 2012 awards: – Website of the year: Velominati.com. Or, more specifically, The Rules. This page should get handed out with every road bike sale. My favorite? At the moment, it’s this one: “Rule #11: Family does not come first. … »

Reverence: Lezyne Tyre Levers

Two summers ago my wife and I had the pleasure of visiting friends in Switzerland. The country is so expensive that I took home only two souvenirs: white Assos socks and a pair of Lezyne tyre levers. I assumed Lezyne was a European company. It was in this Swiss bike shop and I’d never seen the brand in an American store, ever. “Ewwww,...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. @Kyle too often. »

  2. @the Engine Been there all to often. »

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...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. @Nate  I’ve been careful to keep the chain clean and lubed so the shifting is OK. and there doesn’t seem to be excessive wear on the teeth. @ the Engine No untidy sound.  While I may violate a lot of the rules the Principle of Silence is not one of them. »

  2. @Marko What are the signs that the cassette has been damaged? »

  3. I need a recommendation on a chain tool. Shimano 105 ten speed cassette and chain.  My bike specific stuff is mostly Park. Do I stick with them or look at other options? The chain is original to the bike and has been ridden about 5,000 km. No problems ye… »

Confessions of a Keeper: Descension

The only thing worse than being two months from peaking and Too Fat To Climb is being two months past peaking and in the middle of the season of rapid weight gain. At least with the former there is something to look forward to as you measure the incremental gains of your training as the almost daily rides of the season accumulate on your Strava pro...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. I did a Rule #9 commute last week that seemed to be the final ride of the season. Last nights 10 cm snowfall confirmed it. This was my second year on a road bike and the first that included off season training which helped both physically and mentally. I’… »

Anatomy of a Photo: V-Bank Line of Credit

Economics, in its most simple form, follows the Conservation of Mass as defined in physics. Basically, everything goes according to plan so long as outflow is less than or equal to inflow. Failing that, the balance is upset and things start getting complicated. Before long, the calculus starts revolving around “imaginary numbers” (like...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. @Gianni Frank giggles? »

Guest Article: Putting the V in Rivat

I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop in the Lance affair. That is a long wait. And I’m burned out on the whole doping subject so it’s great @wiscot writes up a profile of Charlie Mottet. Here is a man whose sock height I can believe in. VLVV, Gianni Continue reading...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. Hadn’t known of him before. Thanks for the introduction! »

The New V-estament

During the birth of The Rules, just like the Big Bang, there was a flurry of new activity, too much expanding and not enough contracting; certainly not enough thinking. It’s hard to keep the throttle back when divining the Word of Merckx in real time. The interweb tubes whistled with new Rules shuttling back and forth, beers consumed, genius...

@Kyle's posts:

  1. @farzani Fantastic rider to emulate!  I’ll do my best. »

  2. @farzani Is it possible for someone of Walloon descent to become Flanderien? »

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