Velominati Super Prestige:
Giro D'Italia 2013
Author Archive for frank
Frank Strack, Founder and Editor

A lifelong Velominatus, the history and culture within cycling fascinates Frank (pronounced in Dutch and Flemish as “Fränk”) and, if given even the vaguest of excuses, will discuss it ad nausium. A devoted cycling aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Question? Email me.

Anatomy of a Photo: Campagnolo Candy Van

by frank / Feb 15 2013 / 113 posts

Every night I pray to Merckx that in the morning when I wake up I’ll have a Campagnolo Free Candy Van with a Super Dome.And every morning, its a fresh disappointment that it didn’t come true. Continue reading...

Training: The Fourth Bridge

by frank / Feb 11 2013 / 158 posts

Before the New Year, it was my ride up Haleakala. At present, it’s Keepers Tour: Cobbled Classics 2013. Before Haleakala, it was one of the various Cyclocross races and before that the Zoo Hill Time Trial. The targets change, but throughout my life as a Velominatus, there always seems to be a goal looming over the horizon which spurs me on. T...

The Phoenix

by frank / Feb 4 2013 / 67 posts

As a dyed-in-the-wool Northerner, my time living in the South was a mixed bag. Southerners think differently, speak differently, eat differently, and prioritize life differently than do Yankees. In many ways, I became a better person during my time in the South, learning to relax a little bit and stop chasing my tail over everything all the time...

On Rule #64: The Sudden Drop

by frank / Jan 29 2013 / 116 posts

The severity of a crash exists on two planes, the physical and psychological. The physical is the most obvious and one we busy ourselves with in the immediate vicinity of coming down. Our bodies need time to heal, our kits may need replacing or mending, and our bicycles may need repair work. For weeks and sometimes months, we may carry with us t...

Portrait of a Hardwoman: Nicole Cooke

by frank / Jan 21 2013 / 186 posts

Cycling is hard; I’m not leaking any trade secrets with that statement, but it feels good to say it anyway. No Cyclist avoids suffering, but of those who venture into our world, there are some who seek to limit it while others choose to embrace it. Then we have a handful of characters who consider playing Whack-a-Mole with the Man with the Ha...

Voices and Echoes

by frank / Jan 14 2013 / 63 posts

Doubt. It speaks in whispered tones but echoes in our actions and lingers heavy on the mind. It is a thing that weaves itself into the seeds of our dreams and erodes vision into whim. Doubt leads to uncertainty; uncertainty to fear; fear prevents us from reaching as high as we might.Doubt is a clingy thing. Like a snowball dropped down a mountainsi...

La Vie Velominatus: Perched Eyewear

by frank / Jan 9 2013 / 107 posts

There is something supremely Fantastic about a precisely manicured set of sunglasses, particularly when they’re not being used for their intended purpose. Certainly, there are times when circumstance offer no alternative but to actually look through them, but for the most part, it’s a bit pedestrian to use sunglasses for seeing through...

Frank vs. The Volcano, Part Trois

by frank / Jan 7 2013 / 91 posts

At some point, I reckon the idea may dawn on me that I’m not a climber. Eighty kilos and standing something just shy of two meters, I’m not clear on why climbing is what speaks to me most about Cycling; I’m certainly not built like a grimpeur. But there is no question about it; I love riding in the mountains. I only have to catch...

V And V Makes VV: Haleakala Round IIV

by frank / Dec 31 2012 / 145 posts

I can’t really call it an obsession. If it was an obsession, I would have commissioned a bloke I’ve never met to build me a set of ultra-light wheels and I would have spent an outrageous amount of money to upgrade my handlebars in an identical shape from aluminum to carbon in an effort to shave a few grams off the top end of my machine...

2012 V-Moment of the Year: Boonen Goes Long

by frank / Dec 26 2012 / 110 posts

Yes, I know, I have a major thing for Boonen. But come on, wouldn’t you? Look at those guns. Look at that position on the bike. He even makes that ugly Specialized helmet look good. He even makes that ugly Specialized Roubaix look good, come to think of it. And those White Ladies? Kill me now.Picking The V-Moment of the year is always a tough...
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