Paul de Vivie was a leader in bike culture and technology. Known as “Velocio,” he promoted bike touring, published the first bike touring magazine and first conceived of deraillers (even though Desgrange, the boss of racing, said they were unneeded). What a guy!
He was also the first importer and bike designer in France. The deraillers he used early on were sometimes pretty convoluted—such as the Retro-direct which gave you a low gear when you pedaled backward—but he benefited from them even as he kept pushing for better designs.
He fell in love with the potential of the bike and wrote endlessly of the glories that could be reached through a holistic “big day” approach to touring. He liked to ride far, but without strain.
Here’s a link to a wonderful story about him, which compares his appreciation of nature to John Muir. It’s a report fittingly written by the godfather of US cyclotouring, and which, I note, is published on a Canadian website, giving extra international flare: www.randonneurs.bc.ca/history/cyclo-tourism_velocio_clifford-graves.html
People made pilgrimages to visit with him in Saint-Etienne for many years. He led big tours well into his 70’s. After he was killed by a streetcar they erected a statue in his honor.
For printed reading about Velocio, check out the sample issue of “Bicycle Quarterly” that I offer. It has a dandy article about him: outyourbackdoor.com/article.php?id=740.
A fascinating thing to me is that as cyclotouring developed, two styles emerged in France, the “sportif cyclotourists” and the “contemplative cyclotourists.”
The “sporty” riders tried to perform great feats in the quickest time. Their events weren’t real races and finishing times often weren’t noted, but people did keep track. The concept emerged of an “honorable” time to finish a certain route, which tended to be fast and extreme. The “diagonales” of France were the big thing: several routes straight across France on all the diagonals made a star pattern, with some routes 500+ miles long through the mountains. Cyclotourists tried to finish them firstly nonstop and then ever-faster. Things reached a point where some riders wouldn’t attempt a route if they didn’t think they could set a fastest time.
In contrast to this another style emerged where riders attempted the same diagonal routes but with more enjoyment and even a sense of humor, the “contemplatives” sometimes even tried setting the SLOWEST record for a route. They poked fun of the speedsters who spent their riding days in a strained zombie-state, blind to the scenery and culture around them. (The Spring ’09 issue of “Bicycle Quarterly” has a lot of material more fully explaining all this. More info at: outyourbackdoor.com/article.php?id=1163.)
It seems to me that today’s US day-touring scene could learn a thing or two from Velocio and the contemplatives.
Something I really remember from my readings about Velocio are his Seven Rules:
1. Make your stops short and infrequent so as not to lose your drive.
2. Eat lightly and often. Eat before getting hungry, drink before you are thirsty.
3. Never ride until you are so tired that you cannot eat or sleep.
4. Put on extra clothing before you’re cold, and take it off before you’re hot. Don’t be afraid of exposing your skin to the sun, air, and rain.
5. Don’t drink wine, eat meat, or smoke—at least during the ride.
6. Never rush things. Ride within yourself, particularly during the first few hours of a ride when you feel strong and are tempted to force the pace.
7. Never pedal out of vanity, don’t be a show-off.
