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Giro D'Italia 2013
Velominati Community Profile Archive

Velominatus: Unica

Order: Level 4 Velominatus

Location: Bristol, UK

Social:

@Unica's activity:

Bristol Cogal and Bespoke Bristol Weekender

 @Unica has thrown down the sodden sock; a cogal and a bike show all in the greater Bristol, Bath environs. Rest assured the malted beverage recovery beverage will be excellent. The Bristol area has the “Gianni, pissed as a rat” seal of approval. A day of riding followed by a bike show in Bristol, a weekender, a brilliant plan here...

@Unica's posts:

  1.  

    @Unica has thrown down the sodden sock; a cogal and a bike show all in the greater Bristol, Bath environs. Rest assured the malted beverage recovery beverage will be excellent. The Bristol area has the “Gianni, pissed as a rat” seal of approval. A day of riding followed by a bike show in Bristol, a weekender, a brilliant plan here, ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars. 

    VLVV, Gianni

    The ride itself will be on Saturday 13th April and will take in Bath, the Mendips and Somerset Levels before heading back to Bristol. After suitable malted beverage recovery consumption on Saturday evening, it will be off to the Bespoke Bristol bike show (www.bespokedbristol.co.uk) on Sunday 14th April – I’ll try and line somewhere up for breakfast on the Sunday if there’s enough interest.

    I’m still working on the exact route, but it’ll be around the 160Km mark and Casually Deliberate.

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - April 13, 2013 - April 14, 2013
    9:35 AM - 3:30 PM

    Location
    Strada Cycles

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  2.  

    @Unica has thrown down the sodden sock; a cogal and a bike show all in the greater Bristol, Bath environs. Rest assured the malted beverage recovery beverage will be excellent. The Bristol area has the “Gianni, pissed as a rat” seal of approval. A day of riding followed by a bike show in Bristol, a weekender, a brilliant plan here, ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars. 

    VLVV, Gianni

    The ride itself will be on Saturday 13th April and will take in Bath, the Mendips and Somerset Levels before heading back to Bristol. After suitable malted beverage recovery consumption on Saturday evening, it will be off to the Bespoke Bristol bike show (www.bespokedbristol.co.uk) on Sunday 14th April – I’ll try and line somewhere up for breakfast on the Sunday if there’s enough interest.

    I’m still working on the exact route, but it’ll be around the 160Km mark and Casually Deliberate.

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - April 13, 2013 - April 14, 2013
    9:35 AM - 3:30 PM

    Location
    Strada Cycles

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  3.  

    @Unica has thrown down the sodden sock; a cogal and a bike show all in the greater Bristol, Bath environs. Rest assured the malted beverage recovery beverage will be excellent. The Bristol area has the “Gianni, pissed as a rat” seal of approval. A day of riding followed by a bike show in Bristol, a weekender, a brilliant plan here, ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars. 

    VLVV, Gianni

    The ride itself will be on Saturday 13th April and will take in Bath, the Mendips and Somerset Levels before heading back to Bristol. After suitable malted beverage recovery consumption on Saturday evening, it will be off to the Bespoke Bristol bike show (www.bespokedbristol.co.uk) on Sunday 14th April – I’ll try and line somewhere up for breakfast on the Sunday if there’s enough interest.

    I’m still working on the exact route, but it’ll be around the 160Km mark and Casually Deliberate.

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - April 13, 2013 - April 14, 2013
    9:35 AM - 3:30 PM

    Location
    Strada Cycles

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  4.  

    @Unica has thrown down the sodden sock; a cogal and a bike show all in the greater Bristol, Bath environs. Rest assured the malted beverage recovery beverage will be excellent. The Bristol area has the “Gianni, pissed as a rat” seal of approval. A day of riding followed by a bike show in Bristol, a weekender, a brilliant plan here, ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars. 

    VLVV, Gianni

    The ride itself will be on Saturday 13th April and will take in Bath, the Mendips and Somerset Levels before heading back to Bristol. After suitable malted beverage recovery consumption on Saturday evening, it will be off to the Bespoke Bristol bike show (www.bespokedbristol.co.uk) on Sunday 14th April – I’ll try and line somewhere up for breakfast on the Sunday if there’s enough interest.

    I’m still working on the exact route, but it’ll be around the 160Km mark and Casually Deliberate.

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - April 13, 2013 - April 14, 2013
    9:35 AM - 3:30 PM

    Location
    Strada Cycles

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  5.  

    @Unica has thrown down the sodden sock; a cogal and a bike show all in the greater Bristol, Bath environs. Rest assured the malted beverage recovery beverage will be excellent. The Bristol area has the “Gianni, pissed as a rat” seal of approval. A day of riding followed by a bike show in Bristol, a weekender, a brilliant plan here, ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars. 

    VLVV, Gianni

    The ride itself will be on Saturday 13th April and will take in Bath, the Mendips and Somerset Levels before heading back to Bristol. After suitable malted beverage recovery consumption on Saturday evening, it will be off to the Bespoke Bristol bike show (www.bespokedbristol.co.uk) on Sunday 14th April – I’ll try and line somewhere up for breakfast on the Sunday if there’s enough interest.

    I’m still working on the exact route, but it’ll be around the 160Km mark and Casually Deliberate.

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - April 13, 2013 - April 14, 2013
    9:35 AM - 3:30 PM

    Location
    Strada Cycles

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

Riding Ugly: Fernando Escartin

Sometimes, getting the job done means doing it by any means necessary. Football coaches, who have just seen their team scrape out a win by a dour defensive effort and a lucky goal, refer to it as “winning ugly”. But any true Velominatus would rather lose photogenically than win ugly. In fact, our credo could well be “it’s no...

@Unica's posts:

  1. “Coincidentally, the stage finish town of Piau Engaly is French for Pure Ugly” Fuck, yes!  I rode up it last year more as a Col bagging exercise.  Even though it was misty at the summit when I got there, the only picture I took was of the notice board in… »

Bristol Cogal and Bespoke Bristol Weekender

 @Unica has thrown down the sodden sock; a cogal and a bike show all in the greater Bristol, Bath environs. Rest assured the malted beverage recovery beverage will be excellent. The Bristol area has the “Gianni, pissed as a rat” seal of approval. A day of riding followed by a bike show in Bristol, a weekender, a brilliant plan here...

@Unica's posts:

  1.  

    @Unica has thrown down the sodden sock; a cogal and a bike show all in the greater Bristol, Bath environs. Rest assured the malted beverage recovery beverage will be excellent. The Bristol area has the “Gianni, pissed as a rat” seal of approval. A day of riding followed by a bike show in Bristol, a weekender, a brilliant plan here, ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars. 

    VLVV, Gianni

    The ride itself will be on Saturday 13th April and will take in Bath, the Mendips and Somerset Levels before heading back to Bristol. After suitable malted beverage recovery consumption on Saturday evening, it will be off to the Bespoke Bristol bike show (www.bespokedbristol.co.uk) on Sunday 14th April – I’ll try and line somewhere up for breakfast on the Sunday if there’s enough interest.

    I’m still working on the exact route, but it’ll be around the 160Km mark and Casually Deliberate.

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - April 13, 2013 - April 14, 2013
    9:35 AM - 3:30 PM

    Location
    Strada Cycles

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  2.  

    @Unica has thrown down the sodden sock; a cogal and a bike show all in the greater Bristol, Bath environs. Rest assured the malted beverage recovery beverage will be excellent. The Bristol area has the “Gianni, pissed as a rat” seal of approval. A day of riding followed by a bike show in Bristol, a weekender, a brilliant plan here, ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars. 

    VLVV, Gianni

    The ride itself will be on Saturday 13th April and will take in Bath, the Mendips and Somerset Levels before heading back to Bristol. After suitable malted beverage recovery consumption on Saturday evening, it will be off to the Bespoke Bristol bike show (www.bespokedbristol.co.uk) on Sunday 14th April – I’ll try and line somewhere up for breakfast on the Sunday if there’s enough interest.

    I’m still working on the exact route, but it’ll be around the 160Km mark and Casually Deliberate.

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - April 13, 2013 - April 14, 2013
    9:35 AM - 3:30 PM

    Location
    Strada Cycles

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

  3.  

    @Unica has thrown down the sodden sock; a cogal and a bike show all in the greater Bristol, Bath environs. Rest assured the malted beverage recovery beverage will be excellent. The Bristol area has the “Gianni, pissed as a rat” seal of approval. A day of riding followed by a bike show in Bristol, a weekender, a brilliant plan here, ladies and gentlemen, mark your calendars. 

    VLVV, Gianni

    The ride itself will be on Saturday 13th April and will take in Bath, the Mendips and Somerset Levels before heading back to Bristol. After suitable malted beverage recovery consumption on Saturday evening, it will be off to the Bespoke Bristol bike show (www.bespokedbristol.co.uk) on Sunday 14th April – I’ll try and line somewhere up for breakfast on the Sunday if there’s enough interest.

    I’m still working on the exact route, but it’ll be around the 160Km mark and Casually Deliberate.

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - April 13, 2013 - April 14, 2013
    9:35 AM - 3:30 PM

    Location
    Strada Cycles

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

Portrait of a Hardwoman: Nicole Cooke

Cycling is hard; I’m not leaking any trade secrets with that statement, but it feels good to say it anyway. No Cyclist avoids suffering, but of those who venture into our world, there are some who seek to limit it while others choose to embrace it. Then we have a handful of characters who consider playing Whack-a-Mole with the Man with the Ha...

@Unica's posts:

  1. I’ve said before that (amongst other things) the UCI has completely failed women’s cycling. The fact that McQuid won’t even talk about the in-equalities speaks volumes.  This has been raised by others in the women’s peloton, notably Emma Pooley after the… »

La Vie Velominatus: Flemish Tan Lines

Clouds hang heavy in the sky, plump with a rain which contemplates the opportunity to hurl itself towards the Earth below. I get the sense that we wait for each other, the Rain and I; the rain relishes the opportunity to soak my clothes and skin, seeking to corrode my resolve while I cherish the opportunity to prove to myself that it will not be s...

@Unica's posts:

  1. I think I prefer ‘proper’ tan lines, but Flemish Tans scream Rule #9… »

In Memoriam: Leather and Brass

Composites, microfibers, synthetics. They amaze in their qualities; light, strong, durable - unyieldingly stiff or unimaginably suple, depending on our whim. When modern components arrive on my doorstep, upon lifting the unremarkable cardboard box I often wonder whether there is anything at all inside or if perhaps the person on the other end of...

@Unica's posts:

  1. @frank Can’t argue with that, so I won’t! »

  2. Regals and Rolls – can’t beat them!  I did have a Cinelli Volare SLX on my Benotto that was pretty damn fine as well. Here’s one of my Regal’s on Pla d’Aet »

Guest Article: I’ve Fallen for You

What does this have to do with the Worlds? Nothing, but it makes me laugh and includes a wicked photograph so this is the guest article today. @roadslave joined the 2012 Keepers Tour for the full week of riding and ranting and he was excellent at both. He rode at the front with a Chris Horner smile and now he admits to only riding for four years. F...

@Unica's posts:

  1. It’s a year ago today since my last off.  The weird thing about it is that I remember for a couple of weeks beforehand thinking that I was due for a big one. @doubleR – you have my sympathies, chest drains are a bitch.  When I had mine put in it was fine … »

Awesome Belgian Guys: Edwig Van Hooydonk

It was Frank’s recent post that started all this. Mentioning Breukink always makes me think of my friend’s saying, “I have a Breukink in my Van Hooydonk” as his excuse for coming up short on a long training ride. Maybe that’s only funny during a long training ride. That phrase put me back onto Van Hooydonk, a rider I a...

@Unica's posts:

  1. What year did Super Confex move over to Suntour? And what was the name that Colnago gave to the large frames with the extended head and seat tube?  I’m having a senior moment and can’t remember for the life of me… »

La Vie Velominatus: The Goldilocks Principle

The Rules are about cultivating a passion for riding our bikes to gain the maximum enjoyment possible. This requires humility, for one thing, and devotion, for another. It requires a balance between focusing on progress and enjoying the journey. It demands a reverence for our history paired with a hunger for evolution. The Rules teach us balance, t...

@Unica's posts:

  1. @ChrisO Jezza Hunt had a Union Jack nation jersey in ’98 when he rode for Banesto: Looked like crap, but this was back in the days when the national jersey wasn’t encouraged by the teams. Knowing Wiggos sense of tradition, and how much the history… »

The Shropshire Hills English Cogal

April 2012 promises top be a special month for any Velominatus. While the current icons of our great sport do battle in spring classics, many of the Velominati will be enjoying The Keepers Tour.Meanwhile, in the quiet county of Shropshire, another event promises great things. Epic scenery, some pretty serious climbing, an imperial century, and fine...

@Unica's posts:

  1. @muck muck I’m working on it now mate! Thinking of early September, but I’ll get the details up when all sorted. Good to meet everyone today, and a big thanks to @936adl for organising everything. Mike »

  2. @936adl 3 of us coming up from Bristol. Can you confirm the start time? Says V past 9 above, but the other pager says 10… Can’t wait! »

  3. I’m up for it! Might to to find a B&B, but will cross that bridge if I need to… »

Guest Article: Me, My Bike, and Irene

This week Velominati is publishing a selection of guest contributions. It shouldn’t be fun but it is, until it’s not. I’m talking Rule #9 here and @King Clydesdale brings us a perfect example of why a Rule should be a Rule and why the proof is in the riding. Continue reading...

@Unica's posts:

  1. @Gianni it’s amazing fun and utter shit all at the same time. As long as you don’t think about the Belgian Toothpaste, you’re half way there! I won races that I shouldnt have done just because it was raining. I beat people that if it were dry I would b… »

Anatomy of a Photo: Allez le Douze

A mechanical of any kind thrusts a professional cyclist into a kind of paradoxical isolation; swarmed by cars and motorcycles, yet they are often left alone to find their way back to the peloton by their own strength.But this isn’t their first rodeo, and these aren’t cowboys. Put it in the Big Ring, set the lazy-lever to 12, put your h...

@Unica's posts:

  1. I remember that same photo from Winning. I really wish I hadn’t got rid of those… »

Guest Article: Milano-Sanremo 2011

In my imagination, I don’t think there is anything cooler than a civilian – one of us – being allowed to take the red pill and go behind the lines with a Pro team. Oh, wait. There are two things cooler than that: the first would be to have that individual be asked to be the staff photographer for a team, and the second would be to...

@Unica's posts:

  1. Fantastic – it must have been a great day! And photo no. 8 – Ouch. »

Velominati Cogal: Welli-Roubaix 2011

It’s a call to arms.  No, it’s a call to legs, hearts and minds.Just as the Illuminati would stage their fabled, and somewhat feared Cabals, we the Velominati will this year stage our own modern-day versions, the Cogals.  A meeting of like-minded misfits brought together by the promise of beer, preceded by a bike ride. Sound like a fo...

@Unica's posts:

  1. Have a great ride – I will raise a beer to you all as I stand at the side of the pave in Northern France on what I’m hoping will be a very wet Sunday… And my heart goes out to all of those affected on the South Island. My thoughts are with you. »

In Memoriam: Il Pirata, Broken-Hearted Saviour

There’s an air of Shakespearean tragedy to the death of Marco Pantani on Saint Valentine’s Day in 2004. Once the most famous cyclist in the world, he died alone in a hotel room on a day devoted to love.But his love – Cycling – had betrayed him. Once a fixture of the Nineties European road racing scene, he was part and parcel...

@Unica's posts:

  1. RIP Marco »

Guest Article: Ron’s Tommasini

In our first installment of reader-submitted The Bikes articles, we bring you this drool-worthy Tommasini, fully equipped with Delta brakes, classic-bend bars, a Regal saddle, and three-cross wheels.Ron takes us through a story of how being the Cycling Sensei sometimes works out to the benefit of not just the student, but also the teacher. Enjoy...

@Unica's posts:

  1. Beautiful machine, Ron. Tommasini’s are special – I think I ride mine more than all of my other bikes »