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

Velominatus: gregorio

Order: Level 3 Velominatus

Location: Northern Minnesota - US

Social: Website

We call the hills of the Iron Range in N Minnesota home. Within a half-day drive there's world class riding on the N shore of Lake Superior, and the hills of Wisconsin that play host to the Horribly Hilly. Returning to cycling after age 50 is the best damn thing that ever happened.

@gregorio's activity:

Pink or Yellow?

We’re into day four of the Six Days of the Giro series, let’s talk trash. Yes the Tour de France started a few years before the Giro and has always been credited as The Tour to win. You win the Giro, you are a stud. Win the Tour and you are a stud for life. Why is that? Is the Tour longer, tougher, more murderous, more beautiful? In the 20...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. When the Giro began a host on beIN sports referred to the Maglia Rosa as the ‘pink shirt’ – not even the pink jersey, or leader’s jersey. I’ve been wondering ever since whether anyone from The V – community caught this? Even my VMH was scandalized. [almos… »

Sur La Plaque: Rule #33

We’re heaping coals on the Giro frenzy that’s burning in all corners of the Cycling world by issuing the second installment of the monthly BigRingRiding Sur la Plaque series while at the same time kicking off the Six Days of the Giro series where we’ll post six articles on the subject of this, the best Grand Tour of the year. Y...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. Another ambassador of hairy-ness. Have you ever seen how road grit accumulates on a leg pelt? Another reason why Rule #33 looks great. »

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...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. I found proof positive [in the above picture] that Rule #31 violations result in an inability to achieve or maintain a Climbone. The V ain’t for viagra. »

Velominati Kit Redesign: Half Turbine, Half Hazard

Change creeps in slowly, it has a way of taking the seemingly immutable and eroding it over time. It’s inevitable; if the great canyons were carved from the solid rock of Mount Velomis by such a soft thing as water, then it should come as no surprise that the Velominati V-Kit would also change with time. As David St. Hubbins says, “Th...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. Black below and white above have a slimming effect, no? New kit looks bad-ass! »

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...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. @Spun Up I also rode an aluminium 2.1 and upgraded to a carbon Trek 5.2 – quite the difference – but mine is an old school madone before the design change. There’s still afew DA 9700 cranksets out there at fire sale prices if you want to change it out. My… »

  2. @Spun Up Congrats! Thoughts on the 2013 Trek aero design? How do you like the brakes? »

Reverence: Lezyne Rule 31 Sack

Rule #31 was conceived out of necessity, aesthetics and plain good taste.  Seeing an oversized saddle bag hanging limply by velcro under a Flite, Arione or Regal just isn’t right.  Frame pumps, while they undoubtedly do the finest job of inflating a tube, add nothing but bulk and clutter to the lines of a frame (and aren’t compatibl...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. Thanks for the tip – it’s rather brilliant in its simplicity, and fit’s in the right pocket counterbalancing gels and other misc crap in the right. There’s even room for a road rash kit. »

Sur la Plaque: Rule #9

As many of you know, there’s been a lot of synergy between BIGRINGRIDING and Velominati for several years now. Though BRR and Velominati have very different flavors, we work on a similar principle: foster passion for the sport through a mix of knowledge, history, and humor tempered with a healthy dose of irreverence, all while obviously makin...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. Good case study for Rule #50. With the helmet glaze, imagine if there were snot-sicles? »

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...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. Does anyone know if  Bein Sports is broadcasting this? They did the last 3 stages of  T-A under the ubiquitous title ‘Italian Cycling’ THANKS. »

Look Pro: Éclatant de Panache

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...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. @frank Speaking partly tongue-in-cheek…During winter I do the same on the trainer, and switch to 52-36 by early summer. »

  2. @graham d.m. I confess to my new DA Group-san being compact. What was I thinking? I have repented by ordering new rings from praxis works. BTW occasionally blowing up on a climb builds character. Nice article. »

Passista

My first article on Velominati was to introduce one of my favorite cyclists, Eros Poli. I refered to him as a domestique on the Mercatone-Uno team. This faux pas was properly pointed out much later by @KaffeineKeiser, a commenter who suddenly surfaced and unfortunately submerged just as quickly, like Das Boot in the Straits of Gibraltar.*I do tak...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. Part of the depth and beautiful complexity of our sport. Domestique is no more a ‘third-class’  rider than passista. I was looking at super-domestique Ted King’s training numbers on Strava: 243K of climbing thus far in 2013. Badass…period. »

La Vie Velominatus: A Rule #25 Reasoned Decision

There was no clear indication that Rick’s car had actually come to a complete stop. It wasn’t that the car hadn’t stopped its forward trajectory – it had – it was just that the car hadn’t actually stopped moving. Long after the vehicle had come to rest in what could only be considered a legitimate parking spot by...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. @unversio I neglected to mention the emergency bottle of Febreze to take the edge of the mildew when we can’t ride with the windows down. Ancient layers of dog hair provide a softer bed my steed. »

  2. 1999 Ford Explorer with copious scabs of body rot on the passenger side doors. My wheels are worth more than the car. The bike rides inside. »

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...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. @sthilzy Ye gads! How can the word DOGMA coexist with a frame pump? A slippery slope that can only lead to wheel reflectors. »

To Carbone or Not To Carbone?

That is the question. Are carbon wheels a viable option for everyday riding? Should carbon wheels be your go-to wheels rather than your just-for-racing wheels? I don’t really race and I don’t own any carbon wheels and I wonder. Granted, every professional is and has been on carbon wheels for many years so it’s easy to think we sho...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. Dura Ace C24 CL shod with 25′s for Gran Fondo and other long rides – sub 1400 gr carbon/aluminum composites. I have a set of Bontrager RXL’s that I just can’t kill that I use for rough training rides and bad weather. »

200 on 100 Cogal 2013

I’m not sure what ketamine based drugs Buck is stealing and abusing right now but he sure is excited about another Too Much on 100 Cogal. Everyone who wants to live the Rule #5 life, line up here. -gianniThe 2013 200-on-100 Cogal, or for the crazy bastards repeating it from last year, The 400-on-100 Cogal (aka The Buck Rogers Knee Memorial r...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. Defender3I’m not sure what ketamine based drugs Buck is stealing and abusing right now but he sure is excited about another Too Much on 100 Cogal. Everyone who wants to live the Rule #5 life, line up here. -gianni

    The 2013 200-on-100 Cogal, or for the crazy bastards repeating it from last year, The 400-on-100 Cogal (aka The Buck Rogers Knee Memorial ride, The Steampuck Gastro Memorial Ride, The What the Fuck Was I thinking Memorial Ride).

    On Thursday, June 21st starting at V after V (actual time of sunrise-How Velominati is that?!?) in North Troy, VT the second annual 200-on-100 Cogal will kick off for another crazy, painful, endorphin-induced-hallucinogenic filled, long ass day in the saddle. Last year was amazingly awesome. I will not wax all nostalgic about it. Watch the Ryan Kelly video, read the Cogal page from last year, check out the strava links: It speaks for itself.

    I will be driving support in my new-to-me 1984 12 passenger Land Rover Defender 110 with the big ass roof rack which is a right hand drive so I should be able to hand out bidons and drive all at the same time! It will also have plenty of room in case anyone gets injured and needs to bail. Rob has thrown his hat in for possibly driving a support wagon as well so support should be covered.

    Logistics will be ironed out as the time approaches and hopefully Roger, aka The 200-on-100 MAN, will help with the planning as he did last year but this time around he is NOT allowed to pay for anything!!!

    So be there and be pedaling square by day’s end or regret it for the next 12 months! It’s going to be Fooockin’ Awwwesome (insert Djibouti Dub Video here).”

    I still need to find the Djibouti Dub video but I attached the picture of my Velo Support Wagon, BABY!

    I think that this is the link for Djubouti but I cannot open it at work as it is banned! www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOmvdeNa67E

    If you do not know Djubouti Dubs, you missing out. Just google them, but not at work!

    Thanks!

    Buck

    Event Details

    Loading Map....

    Date/Time
    Date - June 20, 2013
    5:05 AM - 10:05 PM

    Location
    Troy School

    Cogal Details
    Route Details


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...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. @Kyle same conditions in Minnesota…indoor trainer followed by a recovery beer »

Guest Article: The Day of Atonement

Is this still the off season for the people of the North? I hope so. I know it’s -34 fahrenheit where Marko lives so he is only riding three times a week to prepare for the Keepers Tour. It seems @souleur has a little holiday guilt and now that those damn holidays are behind us it’s time to think about the cycling season ahead.Yours in...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. yea, verily…just put on your bib tights and ask your wife to tell you the truth. »