Anatomy of a Photo: Injustice

The hair, the shoes, the slicks. That's enough for me.

One of my favorite pass times is to chuck a cycling term into Google’s Image Search, set the filter to Large, and see what turns up. It is incredible how much porn you have to sift through, by the way. I would really think words like “shaved” and “hardman” would be innocent enough, but take it from me – that is not the case.

I have found, however, that through perseverance, determination, and a dash of grit comes reward, and this photo is evidence of that. I don’t know who this strapping young stud is, but he wrote at least one of the chapters in the Book of Awesome. The hair, the cap, the brazen expression, the jersey, the guns, the Chuck Taylors, and riding cross on slicks. And that’s not a fucking compact, either. Well done, my son. It is an injustice beyond comprehension that you did not become a Giant of the Road.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Dan_R says:

Apr 5 2012 at 10:23 am

Frank, thank you for this article!

I love the random article feature on Velominati. Every once in a while (ok, everyday) something really catches my eye from previous years past. This AOAP has brought back memories of when I felt cheated that my family could not afford to get me a BMX. Thus, I would ride my father's road bike (ten-speed was the term in those days) on the monkey trails (local pump track) to everybody's amusement, including my own. Rocking the table-top or the S-turns on 700c wheels when I could barely touch the ground when straddling the tube top, I developed a bit of handling skills that paid off in the later mountain bike craze.

Injustice indeed.
Walt Hansen says:

Jul 28 2020 at 6:02 pm

Love the pic of Clark Natwick.... I know exactly on the course that pic was taken, but I am not the photographer. The tires may look like slicks, but they weren't. Definitely knobbed 'cross sew-ups.