Category: In Memoriam

In Memoriam: The Headband

Like the Spinaci bars, the headband was cool, effective and disappeared quickly. While the Spinaci was outlawed by the UCI for being too radical, the headband couldn’t co-exist* with the newly arriving hard-shell helmet and it said arrivederci, I’ve heard something about this ‘step aerobics’, I’ll go there. Headband crossed national boundaries: Jean-François Bernard, Roberto…

A Shift In Time

Returning to your roots can be both a rewarding and sobering experience. The nostalgia one feels for the halcyon days of youth, the memories of carefree times in the sun with the only concern to make it home in time for dinner, the hidden alleyways and secret spots where the bike would take you and…

In Memoriam: The LBS

There was a time when I held down ‘real jobs’. Jobs with (a little) stress, with (some) responsibility, but without soul. And while dealing with the great unwashed never held much appeal, I always envied the guys who worked at my preferred LBS. They seemingly had it all–an endless supply of cheap bikes and parts, hanging out…

In Memoriam: Leather and Brass

Composites, microfibers, synthetics. They amaze in their qualities; light, strong, durable – unyieldingly stiff or unimaginably suple, depending on our whim. When modern components arrive on my doorstep, upon lifting the unremarkable cardboard box I often wonder whether there is anything at all inside or if perhaps the person on the other end of the postal system…

In Memoriam: The Funny Bike

We gather here today to pay our respects to one of the most exciting developments the Cycling world has ever witnessed: the funny bike. For seventy years, the evolution of the bicycle was marked by incremental change; improvements to brakes, more gears, and better shifting followed one another as the sport grudgingly continued its slow journey towards…

In Memoriam: The Tricolore

It was a simple time. Team kit was understated, with black shorts and a few colored panels on the jersey. Race Leader and National Championship jerseys were plain, and often even lacking in the name of the sponsor. National Championship jerseys in particular were a matter of national pride more than sponsorship; it was an honor…