Velominati Super Prestige:
Giro D'Italia 2013
Velominati Community Profile Archive

Velominatus: Marko

Order: Keeper of the Cog

Social: Website

Marko lives and rides in the upper midwest of the States, Minnesota specifically. "Cycling territory" and "the midwest" don't usually end up in the same sentence unless the conversation turns to the roots of LeMond, Hampsten, Heiden and Ochowitz. While the pavé and bergs of Flanders are his preferred places to ride, you can usually find him harvesting gravel along forest and farm roads. He owes a lot to Cycling and his greatest contribution to cycling may forever be coining the term "Rainbow Turd".

@Marko's activity:

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. @DerHoggz Yes. »

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. Great finish. »

  2. Hem is harder than they lead you to believe. »

  3. Bummer for Stybar. »

  4. @sthilzy Nice, I missed it. I’m not into those Blanco helmets. They look like Giros from the late 80′s. »

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. Rule #5 award. ( (that’s 20 below F, btw) »

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. He’s teasing me by posting pics of my hubs on friendface. It’s like online dating without a full-body shot. »

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. This is more like it. »

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. @Nate always a little graveling but that’s mostly for le Graveur. Clearance really isn’t an issue, at last on the type of gravel we have around here. It doesn’t get too sticky when it’s muddy. »

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. @Bianchi Denti I’m pretty sure Pontius Pilate rode a triple. »

  2. wheelie-gate schmeelie gate. the guy is having fun. »

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. @Nate Number one – everyday riding. I’m drawn to the Challenge Stradas right now. »

  2. I’ve got a pair of these on order from our very own DanR at Cafe Roubaix. Now I just need to select tires. Any suggestions? »

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. @scaler911 That van is not intended for ‘alone time’. It’s intended for rolling goth with your Magic playing friends on your way to the Trekie Convention. Either way, nobody gettin’ none. VSP PICKS: 1. Cavendishoutthepain 2. Secondagan 3. Faboonen 4. To… »

Cold Fact

Wellington isn’t renown for its great summers; a mate is always quick to remind me that if the weather was perfect all the time, everyone would want to live here and we’d be overrun by Aucklanders (just like Aussies but not quite dumb enough to live in Canberra). As our summer goes into its last death throes of amazingly calm, sunny, cl...

@Marko's posts:

  1. Here are a couple of pics from my neck of the woods today. What a strange winter, although we old timers recall this being normal. Last year by this time I was riding in summer kit and had 1500k on my saddle outside prepping for KT. KT is going to be awes… »

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. I completely understand the disappointment over Boonen’s DNF by fans but lets be realistic here. MSR isn’t a goal for Boonen so why take unnecessary risks , yes, he’s paid millions which is precisely why risking his major goals to ride in the snow for a w… »

  2. So excited for this. »

  3. VSP PICKS: 1. Sagan wagon 2. Degenkolb 3. Gilbert 4. Nibali 5. Moser »

Velominati Super Prestige: L’Eroica/Strade Bianche 2013

Until the 70′s it was common to race on gravel roads, but the Paving of the Planet has led to nearly every road being graced by smooth, black tarmac. As is the case with most things, once we are shown the easy path, it is difficult to return to more arduous ways. So it is with gravel roads; we take measures to avoid unpaved roads and in doi...

@Marko's posts:

  1. I certainly am coming around to those Cannondale Supersix Evo. Thems purdy. »

  2. Who know’s? Faboo pulls a bunch a dudes along for a while ala MSR but nobody is strong enough to beat Sagan anyway. This will be Sagan’s campaign this year, so much so people will be calling it the Prague Spring (thin I know but it would have worked befor… »

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. EBH 2. MiniPhinney 3. VanMarko 4. Chavanel 5. Thor »

  2. VSP PICKS: 1. EBH 2. MiniPhinney 3. VanMarko 4. Chavenel 5. Thor »

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. It is a marvel of the brewing world what they’ve manage to do with Matleni. Great Belgian taste, could be a session beer or drunk with dinner it’s so well balanced. It doesn’t over fill so we vane cyclists don’t feel self-conscious after drinking two, or … »

The Rides

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...

@Marko's posts:

  1. The slower but tougher idea is brilliant, btw. »

  2. @gaswepass Mine’s not quite two yet and still a little timid around hers. Sometimes she’ll let me push her around the house but usually she politely declines. Man, I wish we would have learned to ride on balance bikes instead of trikes. To be fair though … »

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