The Old Guys Who Get Fat In Winter jerseys,
available through June 18 at Voler.
My old man was 54 when he retired, if memory serves. It’s taking me a little longer, because I didn’t have just the one job. But I’m getting there.
Today the folks at Voler dropped a note to say they’ll be revamping their print-on-demand deal, which means cutting loose a few underperforming lines, one of which is mine. So I’ll be retired from the Old Guys Who Get Fat in Winter garment bidness as of mid-June.
It was fun while it lasted, and it lasted a lot longer than anyone expected it to, especially me. Thanks to Voler for letting me wheelsuck ’em for all these years.
In the meantime, if any of yis crave fresh kit, or know someone who does, act before June 18. After that, the Fat Guy will have sung.
Mad Blog Media 
May 18, 2021 at 1:25 pm |
Bought the yellow and black one when it first came out and still wear it with pride (and fat).
May 18, 2021 at 1:49 pm |
Thank you, sir. I have a couple of each myself. Oddly, I’ve been riding blank monochromatic kit lately. Not much of a salesman, hey?
May 18, 2021 at 2:19 pm |
I immediately thought of the lyrics by Pete Seeger/The Birds of “Turn, Turn, Turn”.
“To everything there is a season …..”
Hold on to ’em, amigos, and wear them proudly … they will return in style!!
May 18, 2021 at 4:18 pm |
Speaking of returning in style, you getting any snow up there today, JD? Hal really is digging a moat — around his garage, which has sprung a leak — and I hear La Veta Pass is closed.
And who keeps setting the Navajo Hogan on fire?
May 19, 2021 at 6:32 am |
No snow here (steady rain!!!!) and no clue on Johnny’s Navajo Hogan.
May 19, 2021 at 8:09 am |
We got a nice steady rain down here yesterday, too. I didn’t see any body count in the news this morning; apparently the local pistoleros decided they didn’t want to get their Berettas wet.
Meanwhile, at least one of your local TV stations is blaming a homeless warming fire for the latest Navajo Hogan blaze. Man, that place has a checkered history. They used to snatch up unwary hippies in there, chop off their ponytails, and stomp ’em into a thin paste. Last time I visited it was a haven for yupsters and whatnot.
May 18, 2021 at 4:20 pm |
I’ve been sporting both for the better part of some time as well as your Mad Dog Media blue & White team kit and the Bog Trotters one. That being said I’m gonna buy a new Red & White one. “I miss those Bibleburg group rides back in the day with the Bills, John O and more where we would yell at one another “I have the yellow jersey . . . no wait, I have the yellow jersey, etc. etc.” Will continue to wear with pride
May 18, 2021 at 7:42 pm |
Whoo, that old blue-and-white garb goes back a long ways. I have some of that, and the yellow kit too. I even have some old Sangre de Cristo Cycling Club kit from 1990 or thereabouts. My Fanta Se daze.
The flow of Liggettisms and Sherwenisms on those rides was mind-boggling at times. The lighting of blue touchpaper, the dancing on the pedals, The Man with the Hammer, etc.
May 18, 2021 at 6:35 pm |
I kept my last one in the family. I gave it to Khal! I have worn them a long time and sent you a picture a few years ago of me sporting the yellow version on a yellow bike.
May 18, 2021 at 8:35 pm |
Well, it took a long time, but I’m finally old enough and fat enough to earn the right to wear it, so I ordered up the Ol’ Yeller model today. (I ordered one size too small, for the added effect)
May 19, 2021 at 7:54 am |
Well done indeed, sir. As all persons of quality know, the “lean and hungry look” is to be avoided at all costs if one’s toga is to remain unpunctured.
May 18, 2021 at 9:08 pm |
Oh, crapola. End of an era.
I have four or five of the Yellow Jerseys, including one long sleeve three season one and the one Pat sent me (mahalo nui loa, Pat!). And the red and white one too. I think I was goading you into turning that original t-shirt into an actual jersey.
My original yellow OGWGFIW jersey, with a few oilstains and some patches on it now, graced me on a final Castle Hospital to Hanauma Bay time trial in the late 1990’s, before we moved to New Mexico. I flatted three times on ultralight Vittoria tires (on glass infested Oahu roads) and took well over an hour to come in as I ran out of spare tubes and had to wait for someone to throw me a spare.
I was actually just about to search to see if there was a long sleeved summer-weight one.
Sigh. Thank you, O’G. I hope someone picks up where Voler leaves off.
May 19, 2021 at 8:04 am |
This is probably it for the kit, K. The End of the Line. This Way to the Egress. Voler handled everything from order right through delivery and sent me regular checks, and I’m not really equipped for or interested in picking up the slack.
I’d attribute the slow sales in part to my refusal to engage in social media. If you ain’t out there pitchin’, ain’t nobody buyin’. Plus the Fat Guy appears infrequently these days, in Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, which has limited distribution. He’s not popping up in consumer mags and live updates and what have you.
The kit had a good run, lots longer than anyone imagined. Maybe I should get cracking on a new design. The Mannerless Douches Who Stare at Their Smartphones, Pass Without Warning, and Couldn’t Ride a Straight Line on a Stationary Trainer? No, too long. …
May 19, 2021 at 9:23 am |
I saw a Yellow Jersey last week on a guy who was riding up towards Los Alamos as part of a big bunch. Might have been one of the Santa Fe SOB’s. I beeped and waived but they probably thought I was yelling at them.
Yep. End of the line. And a good run, too.
May 19, 2021 at 10:58 am |
I might even buy a Mad Dog jersey, to gift to a friend, that had printed on the back, in a large font, Caution – Rider spits left! Bet you would a lot more “on your left” warnings.
May 19, 2021 at 10:39 am |
Patrick,
Have you considered another group Picking in up? Online Cycling Gear has a lot of fun novelty jerseys at a good price and decent quality. If you’re interested it might be worth the ask. Certainly can’t hurt
Michael P
May 19, 2021 at 2:23 pm |
What ever happened to the Bog Trotters jerseys?
May 19, 2021 at 4:42 pm |
That one was never a big seller and went away fairly quickly. I still have one, and even I don’t wear it much. Other than on St. Patrick’s Day, of course.
May 19, 2021 at 6:20 pm |
I used to love my “Mr. Headshok” jerseys.
June 8, 2021 at 11:14 am |
Er, so, first time caller, long time listener….
Do I buy two, one for the fat times, one for the not so fat, or go one-size-too-small-fer-sure for the full effect?
June 8, 2021 at 2:01 pm |
I think you want three: One for the size you are; one for the size you’d like to be; and one for the size you’re gonna be.