Anatomy of a Photo: Rule #47

Leducq and Frantz writing a Rule photo: via Il Dolore

André Leducq was a complete French Badass, with a capital B. He was third, below Merckx and Hinault for Tour de France stage wins. Nicolas Frantz was an equally Badass Luxembourger. He rode to more victories than Frandy Schleck shall ever attain in a few lifetimes. He did win the Tour de France.

The crowd is obviously pleased to have these thin, healthy supermen in their village. Bicycles are properly leaned against a wall. Their caps look a little dusty. Studying the glasses a person might guess they are enjoying some of Belgium’s finest beverage. Maybe, in the late 1920s the French brewed excellent beer. Are they drinking before a race or after a race? Can one look this good after a race back in the 1920s? Let’s assume this is post-race. Someone won, someone didn’t. Two rivals can still have a laugh and a glass of quality malted recovery beverage to make the day complete. These brothers of the road are enjoying some beautiful ale and having a nice time doing it.

As we have pointed out many times, we didn’t invent these Rules, we just wrote some of them down.

Gianni

Gianni has left the building.

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Nate says:

Apr 25 2013 at 10:54 am

@Malfadactus The goggles will probably fog up really quickly, which will keep the eyes moist but make it a bit hard to make out the road in front of you...
wiscot says:

Apr 25 2013 at 11:08 am

@Gianni

@Buck Rogers

But then again, I claim to be a Christian and if you read deeply into that it really is not too much more credible than Mormanism except that it all happened 2000 years ago instead of 200 years ago.

Yeah, I'm going to hell.

It's refreshing to hear a Christian say that. If there is a hell, all the Velominati will be meeting up there. It will be fun.

Well you know, the V symbol could be read as a V surrounded by a circle of wee, orange-colored flames . . . Just sayin'.

Also, sitting at the feet of the great Satan and having his head patted and stroked will, of course, be the COTHO from Texas.
Buck Rogers says:

Apr 25 2013 at 11:51 am

@wiscot

@Gianni

@Buck Rogers

But then again, I claim to be a Christian and if you read deeply into that it really is not too much more credible than Mormanism except that it all happened 2000 years ago instead of 200 years ago.

Yeah, I'm going to hell.

It's refreshing to hear a Christian say that. If there is a hell, all the Velominati will be meeting up there. It will be fun.

Well you know, The V symbol could be read as a V surrounded by a circle of wee, orange-colored flames . . . Just sayin'.

Also, sitting at the feet of the great Satan and having his head patted and stroked will, of course, be the COTHO from Texas.

Damn, hadn't thought about the whole COTHO thing. Might have to try to mend my ways afterall.
Chris says:

Apr 25 2013 at 12:52 pm

@wiscot

@Chris Unfortunately, I'm off for a weekend in Rome.

Seriously? you use the word "unfortunately." I'll swap you, a weekend in West Bend, WI for your weekend in Rome. Mind you, the traffic around here will be better than in the Eternal City and hopefully they'll have caught the pedophile who's on the loose! Encountered all kinds of sheriffs and an overhead helicopter last night while I was out. I felt so pro, what with the helicopter overhead, but alas, it was busy doing more important stuff than covering my 90 km ride.

It's not called the Eternal City without reason. It's been there for a few thousand years so the odd week here or there isn't going to make much difference. Don't get me wrong, I'm really looking forward to the weekend, it'll be three days of very good food and fine booze with old friends, but it is unfortunate that it clashes with the Nocturne.

The weekend after is Festum Prophetae. I'm not going to celebrate with a long ride but I'll be a marshal at the Circuit of the Fens, a National A race that my local club is helping to organise. The top UK teams are likely to be there so it's likely to generate some good crowds and a great atmosphere. I've got a marshalling spot at the sprint prime outside a pub on the furthest point of the course. After the race has passed through, there'll be plenty of time to get to the finish to see them go through a couple of times before the finale. My kids are pretty excited about it already.

@Joe

@chris - the nocturne is a great night out. A friend of mine has done the folding bike race A couple of times. Alex Dowsett in the main event last year was spectacular - dieselled off the front and ended up lapping the field. The cheer he got when he got back on the group was enormous!

Next time. Wonder if we can get a V-team entered.

Are you London based?
pistard says:

Apr 25 2013 at 12:58 pm

Cheap welding goggles would look the part, but I'm not sure how functional they'd be...lenses are pretty dark. Fancier options available from purveyors of steampunk goods.
strathlubnaig says:

Apr 25 2013 at 2:16 pm

@Nate

@Malfadactus The goggles will probably fog up really quickly, which will keep the eyes moist but make it a bit hard to make out the road in front of you...

bit like riding in scotland then
strathlubnaig says:

Apr 25 2013 at 2:19 pm

@Gianni

@Ron

Nice one, Gianni! How about the buttons up the shoulder? Looking at the photo made me think, "Damn, those guys are skinny."

TBone - Nice photo! You look a bit Merckxian there. And, what gilet is that? Love the zebra stripes at the collar.

yea, the wool jersey that buttons up the shoulder, very nice indeed. I like that look. Dentist/cyclist. Too weird to do in modern materials, or not. Maybe a Velominati retro jersey with those buttons or snaps. Chicks would dig us then.

nae chance o' that at a'
Beers says:

Apr 25 2013 at 2:29 pm

Cool photo.

I like to think Leducq is saying to his vanquished opponent, "Friend, I fucking slayed you on the col." to which they are chuckling in agreement..
Docbrian says:

Apr 25 2013 at 3:58 pm

@Buck Rogers

@Malfadactus Yeah, as Frank says, forgetting to blink can really exacerbate dry eye and this happends to me when I ride sometimes or even during surgery. We are trained during residency to remember to blink when operating under the microscope b/c when you are inherently focusing on a near task with total concentration you suppress your blink reflex and your eyes dry out and blur. It is much worse for people with dry eyes. Frank nailed everything, though. Use wrap around sunglasses. If you wear contact lenses it can be worse as well as your eyes will dry out faster. Besides blinking more, getting better/tighter fitting sunglasses, and not wearing contacts, there's not a lot you can do. You can use artificial tears but I would not want to try to put those in while actually riding!

Suffered dry eye once. Very sore. Painful. Doing the Around the Bay in Melbourne last year, coming into Melbourne I could hardly see. Almost abandoned with only 3km to go. Nearly blind, not sun, but salt air blowing off the bay as I road along the famous Beach Road. This year I'll take cheap goggles for that 18km stretch. I'll use them if I need too.
mcsqueak says:

Apr 25 2013 at 4:13 pm

Yeah if you suffer from dry eyes during a ride you need sunglasses that don't let in nearly so much air.

I used to ride with a pair of ray bans, just normal looking ones you'd wear off the bike. Was fine on shorter rides, but on longer rides, especially on warm summer days, I'd suffer from blurry/stinging eyes from being exposed to wind that would go around the lenses for 5 or 6 hours straight.

I have Jawbones now and they completely eliminated that issue, as they hug the face tightly and don't let nearly as much wind in. I can't imaging riding without them now.