Veloce means Fast.

I'm told veloce means fast. Which puts us at mildly interesting position given that today we are highlighting MD's 1999 Bianchi Veloce. We love MD here and he's a lot of things. Is fast really the best adjective to use in describing him? Well, he's one hell of a sales manager and is fast at a bunch of things like: the quick punch line, the smart ass comment and I'm fairly certain he can run faster than I can.

But... is MD fast on a bike? Well, let's call him pretty fast.

Enjoy his write up on his steed:

OK, so I get this job building bicycle wheels and I didn’t even have a bike.This was obviously just a short term job until I find something in my field. I mean who can make a living building bicycle wheels? Ummm….yeah, that was four years ago, and now I have a career, and a couple bikes.

I didn’t get the appreciation for bicycling until I recognized what a skilled art wheel building is. It’s precise, detail oriented, patience testing, hands on, work, and I got hooked. I’d spend so much time on each wheel, making sure it was a perfect as I could get it. I started to take a lot of pride in my work, and you just cant build these beautiful wheels all day and not get the urge to ride them.

After a little over a year, I left the truing stand for a desk. Before Betsy Hilgendorf left Velocity to pursue her career at QBP, she had purchased a Bianchi Veloce frame on Ebay. Betsy quickly determined that the bike was the wrong size for her. “It doesn’t fit me but do you know who it would fit perfectly?” So I bought it. My first bike as an adult, and I love it. It feels like driving a vintage Ferrari or something. She’s faster than I am. And…of course, I’m rolling the Helios wheelset, that helps!

P.S. I don’t want to hear any sh!t about the saddle! It’s comfy. It’s my bike and my urethra, so lay off Bolt Man!


A few of the 1999 Bianchi Veloce features:

- Chromoly Frame with Carbon fiber composite fork
- Campagnolo Veloce 9 Speed Groupo
- Crank 53/39
- 9 speed 12-23
- Helios Wheelset

*heart*

Leave it to MD to find a way of using a heart icon in his 'because we ride' post. But I must say he gives Jacobi a run on creativity of post. Enjoy:

I ♥ my IRO

I love this bike. I got my IRO Mark V straight from Mr. IRO himself…Tony is great people. I am strictly a recreational rider. A mere poser in comparison to most of my colleagues and customers, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying a ride on my fixed gear cruiser. Every time I plant my cheeks on the cushy leather saddle I feel years younger. It’s as if I have breathed new life and peace into my soul. I am whisked back to a simpler time in my life where my bike was my freedom. My faithful pedaled steed that would carry its young voyager from adventure to adventure, anywhere I wanted to go. The path was mine to choose and the opportunities were endless. As long as I told my mother exactly where I was going first, and I was home before the street lights came on. The only adventure I get on my IRO is a trip to the playground with my girlfriends little girl, a quick run to the closest party store to grab another 40, or the occasional drunken midnight stroll under the waxing crescent moon and star studded sky…just because I can.

I ran it as a single speed for less than a week. When I was sick of being called a pussy by my co-worker I flipped it and It’s been a fixed gear ever since. The frame and most components are still from IRO, but it’s a constant work in progress. Dimension hand-stitched leather grips, Shimano caliper front brake, Cane Creek brake lever, and a sweet leather saddle that I got at the Hand Made Bike Show in Portland…I can’t remember the make but I got a great deal on it because it didn’t have the brand label on it. 28mm white Vittoria Randonneur tires. And, of course, it sports bright gold Velocity Deep V rims, gold Velocity track hubs, DT Swiss double butted silver spokes, brass nipples, laced one cross MSW in the front, and three cross NONmsw in the rear…Built by yours truly. BOOSH!