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

Velominatus: MartinD

Order: Level 4 Velominatus

@MartinD's activity:

Look Pro: The Hunchbacks of Notre V

The flat back position is perhaps the greatest lie ever told in sport, provided you ignore any of the racing we’ve seen in the last decade or two.It is possible, I suppose, that when we talk about a flat back, what we really mean is that on an elementary level, all curves are really just a series of straight segments connected at an angle; wh...

@MartinD's posts:

  1. @The Grande Fondue There’s his autobiography “Memories of the Peleton”. I can’t find my copy at the moment and I can’t really remember what it was like. On another matter – who’s the World Champion in picture 5? »

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...

@MartinD's posts:

  1. @the Engine By a remarkable coincidence, exactly the same circumference as the 11 in / 28 cm diameter guns that the German navy were limited to by the Treaty of Versailles. True battleship guns! »

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...

@MartinD's posts:

  1. @marko I think they’re just arm warmers pushed down. Fantastic photograph. Somehow he still looks in control – though the next few seconds wouldn’t have been pretty. »

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…...

@MartinD's posts:

  1. @torvid @torvid The saddle is a Turbomatic. Despite the cheesy name I loved mine (still got it). Unlike the regular Turbos I think they only came in black which cut down the color matching options. You can see the “box of kleenex” aero tail describe… »

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...

@MartinD's posts:

  1. @Marcus Like Marcus I don’t really understand the objections to people sitting on. The only ones that really annoy me are those who sit on and then sprint off from the lights like a maniac but slow down almost immediately so I have to pass them again in… »

Changer de Braquet

Some people are supremely good at it, reducing complex situations into matters of simple black and white. This isn’t my particular area of expertise; I enjoy wading through the pools of ambiguity a bit too much to go about bludgeoning this beautiful world into absolutes. In fact, I would venture that delighting in nuance is part of what dist...

@MartinD's posts:

  1. @mouse There wasn’t anything very steep in South West Victoria. I think the biggest climb I ever did in a race was only 100 m vertical rise or so. Besides we all had 13-17s so it didn’t really matter. The feeling I remember before getting dropped was … »

  2. @frank Without wanting to seem more of a grumpy old bastard than absolutely necessary … 10 and 11 speed cassettes and compact cranks certainly mean that the idea of putting it in the big ring isn’t what it used to be. My 1977 Peugeot PX-10 came with … »