With the Spring Classics now turning to debates over motorized doping and the hardman’s GT over, perhaps it’s time to start turning our gaze toward the Tour de France. Sure, there’s some sure-to-be good racing between now and then, but who cares? The TdF is next up on the VSP and we here at Velominati…
The Archives
I for one, would love to have a clean sport, but simply don’t think it’s possible to get there. That said, it can certainly be cleaner than it is, and I welcome any progress we make in that direction. All the same, I also can’t bear the thought of the racing being any less exciting…
What motivates a Velominatus? It seems a simple question, but the answer is complicated and gets into various issues that are neither interesting nor compelling. For me, cycling has been a life-long obsession. I enjoy any kind of riding. I enjoy technical, single-track mountain biking, I enjoy riding on dirt roads or wide trails. I…
While the talk of the week has been on the Fraud Landis Chronicles, whether he cheated (of course he did), whether or not he's telling the truth (he is, this time) and whether or not Pharmstrong is a doping, fraudulent COTHO (he always has been), my head has exploded trying to make sense of the…
I thought I was the only one. It was a truth I admitted to myself only in the darkest hours of the night, when you lie awake and are faced by those haunting thoughts that are otherwise whisked away before they float to the surface. But now, I can say it: I am afraid of crashing. Especially…
As enthusiasm for The Rules has been growing, we’ve been having a lot of fun watching the conversation take shape and go in directions we didn’t necessarily expect it to. You have the Geof’s and the Jarvis’s who defend them honorably and even compare cycling to a religion. Fittingly, you then also have the Opus…
While walking about town, one of my favorite things to do is to puruse the commuter bikes locked up outside stores and study some of the gems being ridden around. Sometimes, I come across a really special bike, and marvel at the notion that the bike’s owner might not have any idea what piece of…
gear
TechnologySpoiler alert– this post has nothing to do with professional cycling or racing. This post is about trying in vain to get existing bike trays to fit on a new car. Given that we put a man on the moon and all, this seems only modestly ambitious. WRONG, says Thule. It can’t be done! At…
The inaugural Velominati Super Prestige continues the with Giro d’Italia, on Saturday May 8 in Amsterdam. This will be the first Grand Tour of the series, and while we have a set of rules established for the competition, we’ll be modifying them as we go if we notice any problems with them. Personally, I feel the Giro…
I almost look forward to riding in bad weather because it means I have a perfect excuse to climb aboard my old Bianchi XL EV2, which currently serves as my rain bike (see Rule 12 for more information on bike requirements). Some bikes just seem to fit, and you feel it with every turn of…
Winning salutes are brought up from time to time here on Velominati. Of all the images and memories we have of cycling’s greatest athletes, many are of champions crossing over the finishing line in their winning pose. A rider’s salute as he or she crosses the finishing line first is not of insignificance. This is how…
I know it’s a bit misleading to call this article a “Book Review”, but “Book Review” soundsbetter than “Jump To Conclusions After Reading One Chapter and Publish Those Conclusions”. Like most cyclists, I suffer from the belief that I’m overweight (I am). In a world of rising obesity, I am thrown strange glances and receive accusations of…
deda
TechniqueNothing says “amateur” more than an imperfect handlebar tape job. A review of Specialized S-Works Handle bar tape
The inaugural Velominati Super Prestige continues with its last installment of the Spring Classics, Liége-Bastogne-Liége, on Sunday, April 25. This will be the fourth race in the season-long series and with the unpredictability of the Ardennes classics continuing as it has, the competition is doing nothing to open up but is instead closer now than ever. Thankfully,…
The inaugural Velominati Super Prestige continues with La Fleche Wallone on Wednesday, April 21. This will be the third race in the season-long series and presents another opportunity to jump up the rankings and unseat current series leader and rainbow cog wearer, Rob, who consolidated his lead Sunday at Amstel Gold. The competition remains very close…
The inaugural Velominati Super Prestige kicks into full swing this week with the Amstel Gold Race to be held Sunday, April 18. Sunday will be the second race in the season-long series and is an opportunity to unseat current series leader and rainbow cog wearer, Rob, who took the lead last week by predicting two podium…
Anyone who watched Flanders and Paris-Roubaix can agree that the strongest and most deserving rider won both events; Fabian Cancellara dominated both races and did nothing to lessen his reputation as Spartacus. One thing that that struck me, however, is how significantly race radios factored into how the races played out. In Flanders, Fabian…
We are quickly arriving at what is, for any Velominatus, the end of the most awesomest week of the year. There have been emails and comments flying around within the community so we thought it would be fun to publicize our plan for honoring the Hardmen of the Cobbles this coming Sunday. So, with that, we launch…
This 1968 photo of the the sector at Wallers-Arenberg shows what it must really be like to ride Paris-Roubaix. The cobbles are uneven and the holes are deep; the safety of the gutter is dramatically reduced by the deep mud. At 95km from the finish, the race can’t be won here, but it can certainly…
If you've been paying close attention to my posts on other Keeper articles lately perhaps you've noticed my stable has been in a state of flux. It all started when Frank texted me a pic of a pair of used demo 404's at his LBS for sale. Well no, that's not true. It really started 10…