The Art of Embro
I shot the photo above at the 1990 Tour de Trump. This was the year of my introduction to the practice of embrocation. Readers of BKW may recall this image from another post I wrote called “Belgian Knee Warmers.” This was literally the first time I had ever seen a pro rider embrocated for cold, wet conditions. I had seen some footage of PROs massaged post-race, but this was the first time I had seen a rider massaged pre-race as well as the first time I had a chance to see that the soigneur was using something with more backbone ...
Friday Group Ride #12
I'm not sure why, but every time I hear someone mention Paris-Nice, I envision Omar Sharif standing on the deck of a ski chalet wearing a Russian ushanka and imploring some cream-skinned Euro princess to follow him to the Orient. There is, literally, no good reason for this association, so let's talk about bike racing instead. Paris-Nice, "the race to the sun," rolls off the start line on Sunday, (American viewers can catch some of the race on Versus) the 7th. Eight stages will wind their way south from Montfort-l'Amaury (Prologue), south of Paris to the Promenade des Anglais in Nice ...
The Elephant II
Last September I wrote The Elephant, an analysis cum-indictment of Alejandro Valverde, his role in Operación Puerto and the doping shadow hanging over the pro peloton. Since that time, Valverde has won the Vuelta a España. Then, and perhaps still, Valverde represented the modern face of doping controversy, arguably the top rider in the world, at least by UCI ranking, with the strongest circumstantial link to serious foul play. His persistence, both in protesting his innocence and winning big races, seemed to me like the single biggest threat to cycling's future. Six months on, my perspective has shifted. And what caused that ...
FGR #11 Wrap
If the Group Ride were an actual race, and Padraig was the RKP DS, then I'd be climbing up the stairs of our lavishly appointed bus right now and apologizing for letting the team down on the opening day of the race season (in Belgium). Clearly, I mistimed my attack, launching the Het Nieuwsblad prediction thread only a few short hours before the race rolled out of Ghent, leaving almost no time for you, the peloton, to chase it down. Don't worry. I'll round into form as the season goes on. Having said that, what a great weekend of racing. Juan ...
Friday Group Ride #11
Het Volk, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Ghent-Ghent, pick your name, just don't call it a semi-classic. Because, while it lacks the reverence of the monuments, the Ronde, the Paris-Roubaix, et. al., it does take on a special significance merely for opening the Belgian "road" season. By tradition it's a semi, but in my heart it's a real classic. I place road in quotes above, because these cobbled races really sort of mark a transitional state somewhere between 'cross and the road proper. Yes, there are roads involved. Road bikes are used, but success in these races goes beyond being able to ride ...
New Kit
A new season means new kit. Depending on a few factors such as when you finalize sponsors, when your race season starts and how proficient your team’s leadership is at herding cats to get the order in, and of course, how long your clothing company really takes to get the clothing made, you may be receiving your new uniform anywhere from January to April. Often times, I can barely remember what I ordered, how many bibs, jerseys—did I order a new vest this year—clothing orders vary when, unlike the PROs, you pay your own way. The arrival of a new kit is ...
Body
The Art of Embro
I shot the photo above at the 1990 Tour de Trump. This was the year of my introduction...
Friday Group Ride #12
I’m not sure why, but every time I hear someone mention Paris-Nice, I envision...
The Elephant II
Last September I wrote The Elephant, an analysis cum-indictment of Alejandro Valverde,...
FGR #11 Wrap
If the Group Ride were an actual race, and Padraig was the RKP DS, then I’d...
Friday Group Ride #11
Het Volk, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Ghent-Ghent, pick your name, just don’t call...
Read More Posts From This CategoryMind
FGR #12 Wrap
There’s a reason races have finish lines. It’s so the riders know when...
Assos ClimaJet Breaker
There’s been a creeping trend in the PRO peloton over the last couple of seasons...
Counting the Cost
Cycling provides all the big lessons in life: humility, pride, greed, discipline,...
RKP Stickers
The RKP store opens today with our first stickers. If you’re anything like...
FGR #10 Wrap
No bad guy? No bad guy? Are you guys kidding me? With no bad guy, there’s...
Read More Posts From This CategoryMachine
Sampson Sports s5 Pedals
My first experience with Sampson products came back in 1987 when a coworker at the bike shop I worked at bought a Centurion Ironman spec’d with Sampson pedals. For those of you who don’t recall these pedals, they featured an unusual L-shaped cleat that wrapped around the back of the pedal. They featured a unique clutch that held the pedal in place... [Read more of this review]
NAHBS Highlights
By now you’ve seen plenty of images from this past weekend’s North American Handmade Bicycle Show. There were some very deserving award winners. In the interest of not contributing to overkill we wanted to include a few shots from bikes that really caught our eye and maybe didn’t get much airtime. This lugged carbon and steel (correction:... [Read more of this review]
Fun With Adhesives
Thanks to reader Nathan for sending along this shot of an RKP sticker on his rain bike. Not a bad spot in our opinion. Get your stickers here. Read More →
Builder Interview: Dave Kirk, Part II
There are lots of designs out there that claim to offer compliance. You’ve done some research on the subject, haven’t you? Do any of those swept seatstay designs really off any sort of suspension effect? I may be one of the only people on the planet that feels this way but I think road bike suspension is the Holy Grail of road bike design.... [Read more of this review]
Builder Interview: Dave Kirk, Part I
RKP: Where are you based? DK: I work from my home shop in Bozeman Montana. Bozeman is a small university and ski town of about 30,000 people located in southwest Montana about 90 miles north of Yellowstone Park. Bozeman is in a valley surrounded by mountains on every side and it’s the ‘big city’ in the area. When you leave town you have really... [Read more of this review]
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