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

Velominatus: theChaz

Order: Level 4 Velominatus

Location: Denver, CO

I began life as a middle class white child and have spent the years since on a never-ending quest for Abject Poverty

@theChaz's activity:

Cultural Immersion

I’ve been lucky enough to do quite a bit of travelling in my life. As a family, we travelled all over Europe when I was just a lad, and recently I’ve had the opportunity to visit more exotic places like India and Hawaii. What I’ve learned from my travels is that the key to a great experience is to leave your predispositions on t...

@theChaz's posts:

  1. @frank….. Well done and well said! »

2012 Anti-V Moment of the Year: Bullies are really just pussies

As referenced in the 2012 V-Moment of the year article and ensuing discussion, it was a most Vawesome year for cycling. It’s been hypothesized here and on cycling sites with more integrity that the fantastic racing of 2012 may be, at least in part, attributed to a cleaner peloton. Unless you watched the Tour de France you’d think the da...

@theChaz's posts:

  1. I am now convinced – when I go to hell, it’s going to be full of people arguing and pontificating over Lance Armstrong.. I can hardly wait. ;-) Maybe I’ll luck out and my karma will change so that I’ll be reincarnated as an intestinal parasite. That wou… »

Le Graveur: Pain-o-nomics 101

I’ve taken exactly one economics course in my life. If the fog of time isn’t too thick, I recall two theories that account for value. These theories posit value as being either (A) intrinsic or (B) subjective. That is to say that commodities are valuable in and of themselves and that value can be established objectively by the market. O...

@theChaz's posts:

  1. @Marko There are many good reasons to do HOTN.  The training and challenge are just a couple.  The REAL challenge right now would be a bike and peeling off another 30 pounds in the next year.  If I could find a “decent” ‘cross bike, cheap, by spring, sp… »

  2. @marko Thanks for the clarification. Well said. And some nice guns, too, BTW ;-) Yes, I’m from MN.  In fact I was born and raised in Proctor (just outside Duluth).  If you drove up from the cities, you went within 1 mile of the house I grew up in. My … »

  3. It’s a shame something like HOTN must be reduced to an economics metaphor and a celebration of pain.  Lets forget about the fact that this is one of the most beautiful parts of the country and the event is held at a time of the year when that beauty is at… »

Old Blewett Pass

Last week, I rode through a bit of history and came out thinking of the future. I rode over Old Blewett Pass, which used to connect the Washington towns of Leavenworth and Cle Elum.  Old Blewett Pass was decommissioned in the 1950s and a new road (US 97) was built through Swauk Pass — now referred to as Blewett Pass. The old road is still th...

@theChaz's posts:

  1. @frank I DO I DO !!!!!! @Frank:  Has anyone ever attempted a gravel, high altitude cogal??   »

  2. Outstanding post, Jim!  Sometimes a lonely road is the best road. »

The Great Debate: Pump or Chuck

I’ve said it once before, but it bears repeating now: adherence to Rule #29 carries with it the ultimate mission of the aspiring Velominatus, which is to geek out endlessly over the minimum amount of gear which yields maximum security in the event of a mechanical incident while riding.The goal here is twofold. First, with no European Poste...

@theChaz's posts:

  1. This debate has been raging, and do mean RAGING with for months.  I currently carry a pump (a cheap Blackburn) and a CO2 system.  I’m beginning to think this is lame and ecessive in the weight dept.  A hand pump will inflate a tire.  It may not do this as… »

Keepers Tour Update: Contact Point Supplier: fi’zi:k

It’s crazy to me how fast two months from peaking goes by. At Christmas time I remember thinking how distant the Keepers Tour 2012 felt and that I’d have plenty of time to train. Now that time is measured in weeks instead of months and my feelings tend more toward doubt about my form. Cycling in Northeastern Minnesota in January, Februa...

@theChaz's posts:

  1. @Marko …. I’m from the Duluth area – Proctor – originally. Been in Denver for 25 years. I have been to Ely a time or two – quite a bit when I worked a dig near there in the mid-’80s. Used to have a nice public sauna there. Dated a gal from Ely brie… »

  2. @Marko – great stuff! You mentioned training in NE MN. Wher r u? »

Look Pro(phetic): Muck Around with Your Seatpost

I have a friend who is borderline OCD. He’ll sometimes wash his hands dozens of times a day, doesn’t like sticky stuff, cats drive him to antihistamine hell and there is a place for everything, with everything in its place. This can be annoying, not only for those around him, but especially for himself. It’s not a great place to b...

@theChaz's posts:

  1. I brought a new bike home over the weekend. Spent a bit of time obsessing over the seat. Was the height right? Was the fu@#er level? Are you sure it’s level? Maybe the ground underneath isn’t level. Check it again. Idiot, you just posted a photo of … »

Announcing New V-Features: Rule V-Compliant Servers

Anyone who has happened by Velominati this past week will know our site has been in a serious breach of Rule #5; we had a big uptick in traffic, and the site made like Van Summeren’s back tire. During this time, I’ve done everything I could think of from indiscriminately screaming at the computer screen, wall, or tech support to flin...

@theChaz's posts:

  1. Frikkin HUGE improvement!!! Nice work! »

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...

@theChaz's posts:

  1. Frank, you old REPROBATE! Great piece on the toolkit. Being recently returned to cycling and taking it WAY too seriously, I have spent many hours contemplating this very subject – especially what sort of multi-tool to use (I mean, do I REALLY need a cha… »

Awesome Dutch Dudes: Hennie Kuiper

We’re an under-appreciated people, the Dutch. As a society, we have led the European standard of civilization. Always ahead of our time in terms of accepting new ways of doing things, we have long paved the way in areas such as social and economic reasoning, or in how long you can reasonably expect to resist an invading army before surrenderi...

@theChaz's posts:

  1. I thought the “boss” came from the French “Bosh” meaning cow? »