Roubaix: Anatomy Of A Shithole
One of the best, most memorable (and repeated) lines from the movie In Bruges is “it’s a shithole”. Of course this isn’t true; Bruges (or…
Velominati Super Prestige
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Browse the VSP archives →
Something from Nothing
If the only kind of wind they have in Belgium is a headwind, then the only kind of flats they have in Northern France are false. In…
The Real Diel
Europe is full of history, ancient buildings filled with original masterpieces of art that you can spend days discovering. Looking at these artworks lasts but…
On Rule #3: The Apocalypse
With The Rules being officially published in three languages (English English, American English, and soon Dutch) and now also being offered in a large full-color format…
Brush Strokes On The Soul
I dream of painting and then I paint my dream. -Vincent Van Gogh Poor old Vinnie may have been Dutch, mad as a cut snake,…
Guest Article: Clean Livin’
Cyclists need the carrot and the stick. It’s all we understand. Do you want to perform well or not be embarrassed? It’s all the same.…
The Curse of Hell
Northern Europe is supposed to have crap weather in the Spring. By crap, of course, I mean wet. I call bullshit on that, because the…
The Torch Song
Live music is better than recorded music. It’s a given. Having that connection, where you’re sharing the same space as the artist is a unique experience that can’t…
Dry Rot
It’s not difficult to understand that climate change, global warming, call it what you will, is real. If you’re still in denial about this fact…
The Past and the Future
I’m struggling with how to open this conversation without sounding like what I’m assuming my grandparents did when I was growing up. Maybe it’s because…
Riding Beautifully Ugly
The cobbles are not for everyone. Peter van Petegem said it best, that you have to really love the stones to be good at them. Much…
On the Road Again: Keepers Tour 2015
We want to look like Pros, sure, but what we’re really after is feeling Pro. All the aesthetics are just a tool we use to fuel the…
(Re)Discovery
I’ve lost a lot of things that were, at some point or another, dear to me. At times, I’ve even cast them away deliberately, either…
The Goalden Fleece
Happy living in our stressful lives is all about organization. For instance, I like to sort the tasks first by priority and then group tasks of…
Made By Hand
It wasn’t so long ago that the majority of bicycles were made by hand, from raw materials, in places that aren’t China or Taiwan. While…
Theatres Of Dreams
The home ground of Manchester United Football Club, Old Trafford, is colloquially known around the world as the Theatre of Dreams. It holds a revered…
Reverent: Ravito
There are many revered places in Cycling, places that are instantly recognisable, places that command their own special page in history and in our memories…
Cobbles, Carbon, Silk, and Dust
I hadn’t planned to ride them every day. In fact, I had planned to only ride them once and let other people ride them. But,…
Keepers Tour: Eat Properly
During last year’s Keepers Tour, the motor was fine for about two or three days until it suddenly sputtered and shut down completely on Wednesday.…
Cultural Immersion
I’ve been lucky enough to do quite a bit of travelling in my life. As a family, we travelled all over Europe when I was…