Velominati Community Profile Archive

Velominatus: brian

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@brian'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...

@brian's posts:

  1. @the Engine  rolls saddle ,classic m8. »

  2. good point about the big ring,Russ. i’ll have to remember that, cheers. »

  3. haha,i think that goes back to when I use to race (the 8o’s),I use to carry a fold up tire,2 or 3 tubes and tools,it always made my bike feel light when took it off to race,lol. I’ve been trying the way of The V,i bought a lezene bag that I carry a small … »

Date/Time: 8th June 2013Meeting at the Car Park near where I live which is free at VV to nine. We’ll then roll into town for a coffee stop at Empire State Coffee which serves the best coffee in Dundee according to the VMH. Then we ride all the way up to Cairn ‘O’ Mount at which point there are several options. For those with the l...

@brian's posts:

  1. Date/Time: 8th June 2013

    Location:  Magdalen Yard Road Car Park, Dundee, DD1 4NB
    Route Details:  170km starting in Dundee, reaching Cairn ‘O’ Mount, over the top riding a wee loop then back over and home to Dundee.

    Meeting at the Car Park near where I live which is free at VV to nine. We’ll then roll into town for a coffee stop at Empire State Coffee which serves the best coffee in Dundee according to the VMH. Then we ride all the way up to Cairn ‘O’ Mount at which point there are several options. For those with the legs it’s over the top and round a small loop before coming back over the Mount to then stop at The Clattering Brig for refreshments. Option Two is to ride up to the top, turn around and wait for those going over at TCB. The third Option is to just stop at The Clattering Brig and not take on the climb but I hope no-one chooses this option. Then the party of Velominati will travel back to the Car Park where showering facilities will be available at my place as well as some food before we walk a short distance for the recovery beverages. The long route climbing the Cairn ‘O’ Mount from both sides is about 170km. All welcome.

    VLVV

    snoov

     

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - June 08, 2013
    8:40 AM - 8:30 PM

    Location
    Magdalen Yard Road Car Park

    Cogal Details
    Route Details

    Ride Classification

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...

@brian's posts:

  1. finaly took a picture of my ride,lol. »

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...

@brian's posts:

  1. cheering for ryder,but sky has to strong of team… VSP PICKS: 1. wiggins 2. hesjedal 3. nibali 4. scarponi 5. phinney »

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 &#...

@brian's posts:

  1. i see i was one who just martin,thanks for the heads up frank,will be more specfic. forgot about tony,lol. »

  2. that was a great race,well the final 20k. was hoping ryder could hold them off,but great teamwork by garmin,nice win by dan. cheers. »

  3. VSP PICKS: 1. gilbert 2. martin 3. valverde 4. nibali 5. henao »

We came tantalizingly close to adding a foray up the Mur de Huy during our excursion to Liege-Bastogne-Liege during this year’s Keepers Tour. But good sense and The Anti-V prevailed, as they are wont to do, and only two of us were left wanting a dig at the most notorious finishing climb in the Classics season.I write this, then, woefully igno...

@brian's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. gilbert 2. quintana 3. martin 4. valverde 5. moser »

Yes it is a race named after a barely drinkable Dutch beer. I have enjoyed Amstel beer, brought to our table by a nice waitress, sitting outside in the Dutch spring. Atmosphere is everything. Do the Dutch brew awesome beer? I drank some good stuff in Amsterdam last spring but I’m pretty sure it was Belgian.Now we begin the Ardennes three race...

@brian's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. gilbert 2. sagan 3. edvald 4. dan martin 5. will routley »

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...

@brian's posts:

  1. rollin isn’t riding apparently so i’ll take hugo houle. going to be an early morning tomorrow,good luck to everyone,cheers. VSP PICKS: 1. chavanel 2. edvald boassen hagen 3. flecha 4. fab 5. houle »

  2. It’s a bollocks this race! You’re working like an animal, you don’t have time to piss, you wet your pants. You’re riding in mud like this, you’re slipping, it’s a piece of shit … —Theo De Rooy, in 1985 after abandoning Paris-Roubaix that being said,here’… »

March 29, 2013 – April 8, 2013 // Lille, France // Event Details // Book Now Continue reading...

@brian's posts:

  1. March 29, 2013 – April 8, 2013 // Lille, France // Event Details // Book Now

    The Hardmen. They inspire us; we aspire to be one among them. They are the solitary voice among the thousands in our heads that tell us to keep pushing when all the others tell us to stop. Their long shadows look on in approval as we pull on our cold and wet weather gear and head out into the elements to ride.

    Every serious Cyclist is a hard man or woman; it comes with the territory. But to be given the title of Hardman, one must be more than just tough. The Hardmen stand out among the rest as the ones who ride over the savage, jagged cobblestones of Northern Europe with a souplesse that is possessed only by those riders who thrive in the most torturous of road cycling’s domains: The Cobbled Classics of Northern Europe.

    Velominati has partnered up with Pavé Cycling Classics, based in Northern France, to offer the chance to walk where Giants tread and pedal through the trench of Arenberg and up the devastating cobbled steeps of the Koppenberg and Kapelmuur. To pedal with the Pros during their reconnaissance of the Paris-Roubaix route.

    As if that isn’t good enough, we offer the opportunity to do all this with Johan Museeuw, the last Lion of Flanders.

    Velominati’s Keepers Tour: Cobbled Classics 2013 will be hosted and guided by the Velominati Keepers in partnership with Pavé Cycling Classics over nine days in April during the most sacred time of the season, the week when de Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris Roubaix are held. The trip is all-inclusive and covers lodging, meals, energy drink, energy bars, and sag support. Bikes are available and included in the price should you wish not to bring your own.

    The friendships forged over the 2012 edition of Keepers Tour with 9 days of riding the cobbles of Flanders and Northern France, drinking the best of Belgian beer, and eating the finest French cuisine leave an indelible mark on not only the Keepers, but all those who attend. Cycling has that ability to bring people together, and we count ourselves very blessed to have met such a great bunch of souls who we are proud to call our mates.

    For 2013, we have trimmed the fat and added a bunch of amazing treats for you. Not only will we be riding the Pavé du Nord, the steeps of Liége and the Kasseien of Flanders, we will be doing it with a very special guest; The Lion of Flanders himself, Johan Museeuw. Last year we had the pleasure of an afternoon with Johan, riding some of the Gent-Wevelgem route and enjoying a few beers after. This time, you can witness firsthand how to float across the stones of Arenberg and charge up the Kapelmuur from the master… how many cyclists are able to say that?

    Take this unique opportunity to be part of an experience that everyone attending will never forget, or regret.

    Provisional Itinerary

    • Friday : Pick up midday, travel to gite and get bikes setup
    • Saturday : Paris-Roubaix with Johan Museeuw (last 150km)
    • Sunday : Watch de Ronde van Vlaanderen at the Oude Kwaremont
    • Monday: Visit the Roeselare National Bicycle Museum & go for an easy ride around Kemmel
    • Tuesday:  Liège-Bastogne- Liège with Johan Museeuw
    • Wednesday: Track riding at the Eddy Merckx Velodrome in Gent then watch the GP Escault (Scheldeprijs) pro race
    • Thursday: Paris Roubaix reconaissance ride with the Pros
    • Friday: Brunehaut brewery visit and meet with Pro Team (Omega-Pharma Quickstep or AG2R)
    • Saturday: Ronde Van Vlaanderen with Johan Museeuw (150km)
    • Sunday: Watch Paris Roubaix at three secteurs (Valenciennes, Arenberg, l’Arbre); optional stay at gite on Sunday night

    Price: 3990€, All inclusive price includes rides with Johan Museeuw, accommodation for 9 nights, breakfast, lunch, dinner, beer, wine, insurance coverage, sag support, Pavé’s custom Cyfac rental bikes (upon request), exclusive V-Lion V-Shirts, exclusive Keepers Tour V-Pint, exclusive V-Mussette, and Pavé Cycling Classics jersey. Plus swag from our sponsors.

    At this time we are accepting reservations for the full Keepers Tour, and now we also include weekend and daily packages. Once the reservation is confirmed, we will collect a 20% deposit with the balance due upon arrival in Lille.

    Attendees should be comfortable riding in groups and be able to ride 150km several times in a week at a 28-30kph pace; some groups may elect to go faster but these are non-competitive rides. There will be lots of cobbles, and lots of short, steep climbs – sometimes both at the same time, so prepare yourself accordingly. We will usually have sag support, and riders who are unable to keep up may be asked to climb in the car. Or to Survive on V.

    Booking

    There is a problem with our booking form; please email tours@velominati.com to register.

    Bookings

    Bookings are closed for this event.

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - March 29, 2013 - April 07, 2013
    12:00 AM - 12:00 AM

    Location
    Gare de Lille Flandres

    Cogal Details
    Route Details


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...

@brian's posts:

  1. VSP PICKS: 1. boonen 2. sagen 3. fab 4. chavanel 5. pozzato »

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...

@brian's posts:

  1. great ride by sagan !! »

  2. VSP PICKS: 1. sagan 2. thomas 3. boonen 4. boasson hagen 5. fab »

  3. more impressive,they must have know what fab was going to try,and he still did it..see the smile on his face at the end,priceless. »

  4. yeah,he seemed to lose his legs on the paterberg,i thought boasson hagen was going to get the bunch sprint.great race can’t wait for sunday now,cheers. »

  5. @el gato  looked like it was going to be close,then fab put the hammer down again.nice win. »

  6. impressive ride by fab !! »

The Prophet was very clear on how best to ride an individual Time Trial; start as fast as possible and finish as fast as possible. As for the middle, his advice was to ride that as fast as possible.The same can be said of climbing; as we covered in Part I and Part II of the Sur La Plaque series, the key to climbing well is to hit the bottom as ha...

@brian's posts:

  1. @Steampunk   shouldn’t feel like a tool,that 84 road race is what gave me the confidence to try racing. even though it was still pretty intimidating going out to the first race,now i think about it. do you remember the first time you shaved the guns,or … »

We interrupt our usual programming to announce a new and exciting program between Velominati and our Partners: Velominati Partner Coupons & Discounts.DeFeet has been quietly supporting Velominati almost since our inception, using Rule #5 and Rule #9 to promote their line of products which fall squarely into the Flandrian Best range of cycling...

@brian's posts:

  1. LOL or a brush with greatness?  the other day,i made a comment on velo news,the day cav was whining about his teamamtes not giving him an armchair ride to the finish,anyway i said Cavendouche strikes again ! thinking in part of the smiths song big mouth … »

I don’t have to tell anyone around here that @Cyclops is weird guy; most of you have already figured that out, and if you haven’t figured it out, you will soon enough. But weird doesn’t have any negative meaning, if you ask me. In fact, I’d say we’re all weird which makes normal more suspect. Several years ago, long be...

@brian's posts:

  1. wow Cy,that is your first one,you sir are an artist.thanks for those pic’s frank,that is one sweet bike. »

  2. beautiful bike,m8. that bb looks sweet.good luck with the “dream”. »