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:

V to the Vth Degree

La Vie Velominatus isn’t a part-time gig. La Vie means the life, and The V is my life. Otherwise, I’d be Some V Velominatus, some of the time.Even when I’m not riding my bike, like the last two weeks (for reasons which don’t really matter, and offering them only renders them excuses), I live La Vie through other avenues. Eve...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. I think the underlying theme isn’t so much vegan as much as it is discipline and sacrifice in pursuit of living The V. Just got back from training camp in Wisconsin where we climbed 8000 meters over six days. It was pretty freaking inspiring to be with 10… »

On Rule #12: Graveur Robber

I find it interesting to observe the chasm between parties engaged in a conversation, particularly in response to questions being asked. I’m thinking, at present, of the question, “How many bikes do you have?” My feelings in response are nothing short of complex and maybe a bit confused; reservation that I feel I should have a mo...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. @Jouni F-in A, B and C. Wowza. »

The Way of the Cycling Disciple: Publication & e-Book Sampler

Every once in a while, you stumble across a quote that changes your outlook on how you approach life. Of course, this requires that one does a good deal of “reading”, which is a problem for me, as reading anything that isn’t Cycling-related feels the same as doing “work”. I do the odd bit of it nevertheless, and in a r...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. In light of the upcoming book release, and the rules, I had a unique experience yesterday. Rode a 100 Km populaire yesterday in driving 48 degree rain. Just as I was beginning to feel like a badass, the route took me past a golf course where a few hardy s… »

  2. Can’t wait to get a look at it!I think I’ll have a malted recovery beverage to celebrate…  »

Saved By The Bike

Addiction is typically defined as a bad thing. Addiction to drugs, to alcohol, sex or even work is usually portrayed as a condition to be battled, to overcome. The same sources may recommend a strict regime of regular exercise and healthy living as the perfect antidote to the bad addictions that befall an overwhelming majority of the general popul...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. There’s actually a bit of hard science woven into this thread. Bilateral stimulation – the rhythmic left/right motion – is the cornerstone for a particularly effective approach for the treatment of trauma called EMDR. The effect of the rhythmic motion is … »

  2. @Days Thanks, bro! All the best with the new adventure. »

  3. Three years ago I got my ass handed to me in the workplace – real daytime soap opera stuff reflecting the sickest organization I’ve ever seen. Before I was shown the door I found work in N Minnesota…but we had to walk away from our dream home, and my VM… »

La Fleur de V

We have the kind of poor judgement that allows us to have a puppy. She’s half pit, half something, and half something else and boasts a lilliputian-sized head. As her Life Coach, I’ve instructed her to focus on growing her head because, as her Uncle Gianni says, no one gets anywhere in this world with a tiny head. But she’s a g...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. @Ron I know that conversation well…the moments of doubt. The remedy is always to keep pedaling. “King of your own Classics” – well said! »

La Vie Velominatus: The Sound of Silence

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...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. @Ron Recently tried Vittoria Open Pave CG III clinchers. They have a 320 TPI casing, and they run @ 120-30 psi. I’ll be damned if they aren’t the quietest and smoothest clincher I’ve ridden. »

La Fleur de V

We have the kind of poor judgement that allows us to have a puppy. She’s half pit, half something, and half something else and boasts a lilliputian-sized head. As her Life Coach, I’ve instructed her to focus on growing her head because, as her Uncle Gianni says, no one gets anywhere in this world with a tiny head. But she’s a g...

@gregorio's posts:

  1. @Ron Well…I do have a Garmin 510, but to my dying day I will refuse to load pre-mapped rides into it! [maybe that should be a rule?!]  It’s too easy to squeeze-out the true essence of the ride with artificial boundaries of where I’m supposed to be an… »

  2. Cheers, indeed! Last week I had it in mind to do a 120 KM ride, but got lost and finished  at 160 KM. Perhaps the rules give us a mindset for accepting expected and unexpected challenges? What the road gives unexpectedly sounds [to me] a fair bit closer t… »

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. »

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