Archive for the ‘Il Progetto’ Category

La Vie Velominatus: One Piece at a Time

by frank / Nov 25 2013 / 90 posts

Patience has never come naturally to me – I’m more Calvin than I am Hobbes in that regard. Yet I am meticulous and demanding of myself and those with whom I journey through life. It is a conflict that has caused its fair share of grief; my childhood is piled high with memories of incidents where I made choices and mistakes that robbed...

The Entanglements of Rule #12

by frank / Sep 2 2013 / 138 posts

It is so deeply entangled at this point, I can no longer tell the threads from one another. The strands once ran cleanly from one bicycle to the next, linking a discrete sequence of events, considerations, wants, and desires. But then, 15 years ago, a strong force entered my life and I was forced to find alternate means of justifying the acquisitio...

Il Progetto: The Bozzie Is Single

by brett / Jan 16 2013 / 68 posts

Let’s talk about bikes. Yeah, bikes are good. After all, they are “the central tool to our craft.” They are the reason we became Velominati, the portal through which we travelled to this life. When we were kids, we saw a bike for the first time; we liked the look of it, and when we rode it our lives were changed forever. We didn&#...

One-Eyed Wonder: CX-V

by frank / Sep 12 2012 / 208 posts

What I have always loved about Mountain Biking is the immersion into the woods; the sense of solitude that comes in the wilderness that is lost entirely in the convenience and hustle of the cities I’ve always lived in. What I always hated about Mountain Biking is that my mountain bike never feels enough like my road bike.I was but a budding...

La Bicyclette, Part II: Scars

by frank / Jul 4 2012 / 48 posts

We meticulously care for our bicycle, stopping only just short of pampering it. Through ages spend coveting, building, and riding it, we become attached to it and its beautiful finishing details – the luster of the frame’s finish, the angle and sweep of the bars, the gleaming white tape, the tires, the wheels – all perfectly curat...

Il Progetto: Nederaap CX-V

by frank / Feb 1 2012 / 146 posts

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...

Il Gruppo Progetto: Resurrection of a Pirate

by frank / Oct 28 2011 / 163 posts

The corollary of Rule #12 is that one focusses the bulk of their energies on upgrading Bike #1 with the result that upgraded gear typically cascades down to Bike #2 and on down through Bike #n. This is The Way of Things; Bike #1 gains the most, but in the end, they all benefit as upgrades trickle through the stable, with the oldest and most wo...

Il Profeta Progetto

by brett / Jul 28 2011 / 91 posts

Mates are supposed to be just that; mates. They are meant to be supportive, to help you out when you need them, to make your existence a good experience.My mates want to see me suffer. Continue reading...

Ill Pro-ghetto: IT lives…

by brett / Jun 7 2011 / 37 posts

There’s not too much you can buy with $8 these days. A coffee and cake. A tube. Maybe a trashy tabloid magazine (certainly not the likes of Rouleur, Bike or Spoke…) How about a complete bike? For eight bucks? Are you kidding me?It can be done, and yes, I’ve done it. It helps no end that I have access to a bike shop, with a worksho...

Il Progetto e Finito

by brett / Nov 12 2010 / 33 posts

While I’ve been riding Il Progetto Originale for a month or so now, the finishing touches were still being waited on, either being sought out from bargains online, or finding just the right new old stock to give the old girl just the right blend of old and new.After a long couple of weeks, the Bozzie is 99.9% completo. Continue reading...
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