Velominati Community Profile Archive

Velominatus: scottgarrett

Order: Level 4 Velominatus

Location: Standlake, West Oxfordshire

Social:

CVMN is a small but brave band of veloistes from between the Cotswolds and the Lambourn Downs. Good cycling country, with plenty of great little places for cake.

@scottgarrett's activity:

Merry Festum Prophetae

This photo is perhaps the greatest of all time; it shows The Prophet riding in the 1969 Ronde van Vlaanderen, kit and machine perfect. Rule #9 conditions in abundance. He’s gone off the front with some 80km left to race, which predictably sent his directeur into a rage. Ordered to return to the bunch, Merckx calmly suggested he go screw hi...

@scottgarrett's posts:

  1. A big fan of The Prophet and all for which he stood, I am, but I can’t help but notice the little gap between arm warmer and sleeve in this pic. Tut tut Eddie. Rule #82 »

The Hour Record 2010

The hour record is the most distinguished, and most difficult record in bicycling. It is different from all other records in that it is measured in meters, and not in minutes and seconds. How long a distance can you ride in exactly an hour? That is a question many famous riders, over the years, have tried to answer precisely. [The Impossible Hour]T...

@scottgarrett's posts:

  1. @frank There is a documentary aired occasionally on British TV that charts Chris Boardman’s successful record attempt. There are some interesting personal insights about how CB realised that holding the non-athlete’s record on non-UCI compliant machinery … »

La Vie Velominatus: The Toolkit

Even as a Pre-Cambrian Velominatus, the rusty wires in my brain must have made the connection between my machine’s aesthetics and the lack of a saddle bag; I can’t remember a time when I rode with a European Posterior Man Satchel. But riding without a saddle bag means the tools go in the pocket, and that means great care must be take...

@scottgarrett's posts:

  1. If you have carbon rims, do not use metal tyre levers. Especially if your rims are Tune Schwarzebrenners which, while hard to spell, are even harder to repair. »

Fatigue

Those things in life that are worth having are those things which are difficult to come by; perseverance is made more rewarding by the volume of messages ignored by the mind as we work towards a goal.Fatigue comes in many forms and is normally framed in negative connotations; weariness, exhaustion – both things to avoid. For a Cyclist, it can...

@scottgarrett's posts:

  1. @tessar Did the Etape a couple of years back – Le Tourmalet – and met a more experienced rider than me (actually there were about 10,000 of them) whose formula is as follows: start a long ride two water bottles, each filled with high density carbohydrate … »

Il Progetto: Nederaap CX-V

Building a frame has been, since childhood, a dream which always seemed a little bit out of reach. Aside from not being sure how not to do it wrong, I’ve always assumed that, in addition to nunchuck and computer-hacking skills, my lacking of welding skills would render any would-be frame unridable at best and lethal at worst. Not to mention...

@scottgarrett's posts:

  1. Can’t recommend the Gates belt highly enough, especially for ‘cross ‘cos it doesn’t need much maintenance beyond a quick hose down after each ride. Bit like me. Thanks to Spot for making me a one-off Mod SS with Avid discs. Works a treat and has me laughi… »

Guest Article: Anti-Reverence? The Spin Bike.

Our balaclava wearing friend, @Oracle, submitted this winter reflection on The V. The article is a little ripe, but for many, spring is still a long way off and the gym or a balaclava are the only solutions to some tough questions. Yours in Cycling, Gianni Continue reading...

@scottgarrett's posts:

  1. @Calmante er… no it doesn’t. I’ve got one of these and it’s brilliant! It goes 90% of the way towards perfecting la souplesse but it’s waaay more interesting than regular rollers, which get boring after an hour or so. These have 4 levels of resistance … »