Categories: La Vie VelominatusMusings from the V-Bunker

Merckxy Christmas and Coppi New Year!

We wish you a Merckxy Christmas and a Coppi New Year!

Another year come and gone, another pile of New Year’s resolutions out the door, done and dusted. It’s a good thing I don’t recall what they were; I have a feeling this period of reflection might loom a bit darker if I was in a position to appreciate just how short I’ve come up on them.

I’m spending more time with young kids these days, and the Holiday Season is an entirely different experience when viewed within their context. To begin with, at my age I hardly notice the passing of the years. This itself is a paradox; as a Cyclist we are perhaps more aware of the passing seasons than anyone else, yet the years themselves manage to slip by without notice; for a kid, one year is a significant portion of their life and each one is remembered in astonishing (if inaccurate) detail.

Personally, it’s been a mixed year for me; the highest highs offset with some low lows, but if we are to experience life’s greatest moments, we have to be willing to walk the valleys between the peaks an for certain its been the singularly greatest year in terms of personal growth. I haven’t spent as much time on Velominati and with you, the community, as I would have liked in 2016; still for 2017 we have many exciting things lurking, all thanks to you who have kept the passion flowing through the community. We laugh, we quarrel, we reconnect. This is the beauty of Cycling and the charm of you, the Velominati community.

So here’s to you, your family’s and loved ones, and to 2017. On behalf of the Keepers, we wish you a Merckxy Christmas and a Coppi New Year!

And yes, it’s time for me to make a fresh batch of Cyclist Gingerbread cookies.

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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SamV says:

Dec 28 2016 at 1:04 pm

@wiscot

RE: Riding out of the saddle on rollers. Big gear is the way to go. I've found a slow cadence is easiest, but with practice have moved upwards and can maintain 75ish relatively safely. Also, don't put too much weight on your arms/front wheel. I've had the back start to float up on me. The benefit of this is that it also builds the supporting muscles in your glutes and core. In a 65-minute threshold session, I do 90-120 seconds standing every 10-12 minutes. This helps with the inevitable numbness in places that shouldn't be numb...
chuckp says:

Dec 28 2016 at 1:21 pm

@SamV

@wiscot

RE: Riding out of the saddle on rollers. Big gear is the way to go. I’ve found a slow cadence is easiest, but with practice have moved upwards and can maintain 75ish relatively safely. Also, don’t put too much weight on your arms/front wheel. I’ve had the back start to float up on me. The benefit of this is that it also builds the supporting muscles in your glutes and core. In a 65-minute threshold session, I do 90-120 seconds standing every 10-12 minutes. This helps with the inevitable numbness in places that shouldn’t be numb…

You need to learn to ride rollers in your smallest gear spinning at 120rpm ... no hands. :-)
wiscot says:

Dec 28 2016 at 1:36 pm

@chuckp

@SamV

@wiscot

RE: Riding out of the saddle on rollers. Big gear is the way to go. I’ve found a slow cadence is easiest, but with practice have moved upwards and can maintain 75ish relatively safely. Also, don’t put too much weight on your arms/front wheel. I’ve had the back start to float up on me. The benefit of this is that it also builds the supporting muscles in your glutes and core. In a 65-minute threshold session, I do 90-120 seconds standing every 10-12 minutes. This helps with the inevitable numbness in places that shouldn’t be numb…

You need to learn to ride rollers in your smallest gear spinning at 120rpm … no hands. :-)

Well, tonight's a roller night so we'll see how we go with both strategies!
wiscot says:

Dec 28 2016 at 1:41 pm

@chuckp

@wiscot

Boys in the Boat is fantastic! The PBS documentary is good, but the book offers so much more depth about the characters (and character of the characters) and their highly improbable story and success. I hear a movie is being made. Hard to believe such an incredible tale was ignored for so long. The whole thing has a “yeah, sure that’s what happened” quality to it. I mean, you have the Depression, kids from the wrong side of the tracks going against Ivy League boys, Olympics, Hitler, the Nazis, cheating by the officials, a photogenic sport. t’s incredible!I have the book of Riefenstahl’s Olympia and there are a couple of shots of “The Boys” in there.

Sometimes truth is better than fiction!

I loved reading the book. Definitely had a “can’t put it down” quality. I saw The Boys of ’36 on PBS back to back with The Nazi Games-Berlin 1936. It’s amazing that the pomp and spectacle of the modern Olympic Games has its roots in Hitler and Nazi Germany. And the corruption too.

Oh you got that right. Juan Antonio Samaranch was a pal of the Fascist dictator Franco too. He certainly turned the IOC and Olympics into the corrupt cash cow it is today.
SamV says:

Dec 28 2016 at 2:16 pm

@wiscot

@chuckp

@SamV

@wiscot

RE: Riding out of the saddle on rollers. Big gear is the way to go. I’ve found a slow cadence is easiest, but with practice have moved upwards and can maintain 75ish relatively safely. Also, don’t put too much weight on your arms/front wheel. I’ve had the back start to float up on me. The benefit of this is that it also builds the supporting muscles in your glutes and core. In a 65-minute threshold session, I do 90-120 seconds standing every 10-12 minutes. This helps with the inevitable numbness in places that shouldn’t be numb…

You need to learn to ride rollers in your smallest gear spinning at 120rpm … no hands. :-)

Well, tonight’s a roller night so we’ll see how we go with both strategies!

I will occasionally do 10-20 seconds at 90-100 with no hands. 120 is begging for a trip to the ER, though...
chuckp says:

Dec 29 2016 at 4:22 am

@wiscot

Oh you got that right. Juan Antonio Samaranch was a pal of the Fascist dictator Franco too. He certainly turned the IOC and Olympics into the corrupt cash cow it is today.

Two words ... Avery Brundage.
RobSandy says:

Dec 29 2016 at 6:06 am

@wiscot

@RobSandy

You know you’re a cyclist when the presents which give you the most joy are Fignon’s autobiography and a new coffee maker.

Indeed. I picked up the 7-11 book, one called Wheelmen (about COTHO’s scam) and one on the hstory of the Tour (clearly written before COTHO’s fall from grace) and a charity store in Madison for $6 for all three. Merry Christmas to me! Coffee makers I have: stovetop espresson, french press and big ass coffeemaker.

What gifts, pray tell, gave you the least joy?

a freestanding fan. Essential, but boring, and a reminder of the hard work and pain on the turbo to be ready for race season.
Cary says:

Dec 30 2016 at 3:13 am

@chuckp

@wiscot

Oh you got that right. Juan Antonio Samaranch was a pal of the Fascist dictator Franco too. He certainly turned the IOC and Olympics into the corrupt cash cow it is today.

Two words … Avery Brundage.

yeah. there is a good book about the 20th century history of US Cycling by Peter Nye called Hearts of Lions. it covers Major Taylor through Art Longsjo right up to the Borysewicz/ 7Eleven/ Lemond era. Brundage is covered throughly, although they call him Slavery Brundage. lol i can't recommend this book highly enough for those individuals too young to remember when the USA was a laughing stock of world cycling, and how inspirational it was to see our riders start to claw back some respectability in the '80s. Nye's tales of the VERY lean mid 20th century years, and how it was held together reveals that Lions on bikes aren't exclusively a Belgian deal.
Teocalli says:

Dec 31 2016 at 2:31 pm

Happy New Year to each and every one and Best Wishes for 2017.
chuckp says:

Dec 31 2016 at 2:48 pm

@Cary

Very familiar with Hearts of Lions (I have it) as I actually know Peter. And yes, great book.