Velominati Community Profile Archive

Velominatus: Steampunk

Order: Guest Contributor

Location: Dundas, ON

Social: Website /

In never-ending search for la volupté, Steampunk is an unreconstructed Canadian west coaster transplanted to Ontario, where he rides on every opportunity and sometimes shows up to work as a professor of history. He is a careful student of the Rules and la vie Velominatus, but is not beyond (occasionally) distilling them down to a single path: la vie Cognoscentus. The BFGs are always locked and loaded (that sound you just heard was your soul being crushed by their power). On a more serious note, he is a staunch advocate of commuting by bike and he also fundraises for Bikes to Rwanda.

@Steampunk's activity:

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...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. @Tartan1749 Nice! I passed up a similar-vintage Kestrel not so long ago. It sat in my office, then in my garage. Too much work to make it road-worthy and just a bit too big. More vintage time piece than functional alternative to what was already in the g… »

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...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. @frank I’ve been quietly pleased with my outside bets: Santambrogio and Intxausti, both of whom have now fallen out of the top five, but have taken stage victories. I’m rather hoping for an epic collapse from Scarponi and Evans to put them back in the mo… »

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...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. @strathlubnaig They are pricier—I pay $6 for a butyl tube and $16 for a latex tube. But I have no complaints about their endurance. I inflate to 100psi before each ride, which is probably higher than most riding latex might, but you can certainly go much… »

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...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. @mcsqueak Most academics with three kids do live on the edge. It’s just how we roll. I simply keep my feet planted on the pedals and they don’t fall off. »

  2. @Dan_R Nice! But top of stairs or no, I recommend turning the frame 90 degrees clockwise. It might look better… »

  3. @james probert & @mcsqueak If you’re in danger of losing a toe, I don’t think you’re doing it right. I ride to work in Birks through the summer on a repurposed steel-frame road bike. I don’t see a problem with it. »

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...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. @strathlubnaig They do lose pressure, but not so much that you’re losing pressure over the course of a ride. I assume we’re all inflating our tires before each ride, so no harm there. I don’t know what prone to blowouts and/or great care means: I ride th… »

  2. @DerHoggz Vredestein Fortezzas and/or Conti GP4000s have made bike and me very happy. I’ve ridden both at 25mm, though. The Fortezzas are probably slicker, but less good in wet conditions (especially after several thousand kilometres in them). I got abou… »

Repeats last year’s Café Domestique to the Shed Coffee Bar in Erin Date/Time Date - May 26, 2013 8:35 AM - 4:00 PM Continue reading...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. Repeats last year’s Café Domestique to the Shed Coffee Bar in Erin

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - May 26, 2013
    8:35 AM - 4:00 PM

    Location
    Café Domestique

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

We close out the 6 Days of the Giro with our sixth and final installment.A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion. Things get a bit more ambiguous when it comes to a body on a bicycle tearing down a twisty mountain descent at speed, particularly in the rain. But it is here, on the boundary between clarity and ambiguity, wher...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. @frank No. Why? But I did get an ear infection coming down Haleakala many moons ago… »

In most situations, silence is an ominous thing that signals impending doom. Having never been in any danger myself, I base this largely on my experience watching box-office movies. As a general rule, I use Hollywood as the principal source of information on all subjects as they relate to doom and politics, principally because I’m loath t...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. @frank I have never ever had this problem with a Shimano cassette. That is all. »

We close out the 6 Days of the Giro with our sixth and final installment.A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion. Things get a bit more ambiguous when it comes to a body on a bicycle tearing down a twisty mountain descent at speed, particularly in the rain. But it is here, on the boundary between clarity and ambiguity, wher...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. @frank …or we could rename the Frank vs. the Mountain “A series of unfortunate ascents.” That might take parents or younger members of the community to work out. We get a lot of teams around here that head down to Tucson for some winter training, thoug… »

  2. @RedRanger I dunno: I suspect Jack Lemmon coulda kicked Frank’s ass… »

Cogals are meetings of like-minded misfits brought together by the promise of beer, preceded by a bike ride. Cogals are free, open to all, organized by our fellow Velominati and are always followed by consumption of post-ride recovery ales and merriment. These are gatherings of unbridled observance of Rule #4.Cogals differ themselves from other...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. Repeats last year’s Café Domestique to the Shed Coffee Bar in Erin

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - May 26, 2013
    8:35 AM - 4:00 PM

    Location
    Café Domestique

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

Repeats last year’s Café Domestique to the Shed Coffee Bar in Erin Date/Time Date - May 26, 2013 8:35 AM - 4:00 PM Continue reading...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. Repeats last year’s Café Domestique to the Shed Coffee Bar in Erin

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - May 26, 2013
    8:35 AM - 4:00 PM

    Location
    Café Domestique

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  2. Repeats last year’s Café Domestique to the Shed Coffee Bar in Erin

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - May 26, 2013
    8:35 AM - 4:00 PM

    Location
    Café Domestique

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  3. Repeats last year’s Café Domestique to the Shed Coffee Bar in Erin

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - May 26, 2013
    8:35 AM - 4:00 PM

    Location
    Café Domestique

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  4. Repeats last year’s Café Domestique to the Shed Coffee Bar in Erin

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - May 26, 2013
    8:35 AM - 4:00 PM

    Location
    Café Domestique

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

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...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. @mcsqueak Have you ever seen a malnourished Brit? »

We close out the 6 Days of the Giro with our sixth and final installment.A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion. Things get a bit more ambiguous when it comes to a body on a bicycle tearing down a twisty mountain descent at speed, particularly in the rain. But it is here, on the boundary between clarity and ambiguity, wher...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. @frank Yep: I was going to post that, but feared it might be “predictable” coming from me… »

  2. @wiscot It’s not so much the speed that gets me, but the way in which he uses every millimetre of the road. Total comfort and confidence in that descent. »

  3. @frank Or this: http://vimeo.com/48158576 »

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...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. @snoov For giggles: ask an Irish person to pronounce “garage.” »

  2. VSP PICKS: 1. M. Santambrogio 2. C. Betancur 3. B. Intxausti 4. B. Wiggins 5. M. Scarponi »

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...

@Steampunk's posts:

  1. @frank What?? You stepped out in front of his bike while he was descending Haleakala? »