"If you don't know about pain and trouble, you're in sad shape. They make you appreciate life. "
-Evel Knievel
"It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience."- Julius Caesar
The intent of this post is hardly homoerotic. Nor is it to cause a lowering of your self esteem as you peer at your shapeless, puny legs in the mirror and wonder what went wrong at the Creation labs.
Its to motivate you to get your girly ass off that couch and ride your bike in anger. Surely no athlete makes any gain without pushing the limits to challenges. To be a cyclist is to be a student of pain. Face it or remain mediocre.
How to enjoy this post :
Step 1 : Play this video. Replay it again when its done.
Step 2 : Suck your thumbs and indulge.
Any wonder they call him 'Gorilla'?
Before you express pity, think : When most of us still drank out of feeding bottles, this guy was busting ass in the Paris Roubaix at age 20. 
You don't even know what 'going hard' means unless you check out this rider. The legendary ancestor of Fabian Cancellara.
Indisputably one of the finest, all round, classics riders of all time.
The Ukrainian gods gave VIP service in carving this cyclist's calves.
These are called blood pipes. What can you do with blood pipes? You become World Champion. 
More blood pipes.
I have to be honest. When I first saw the right man's legs....
....it scared the living *shit* out of me. Thanks to Team Armada for the pic. Lends a new meaning to badass. (Dave Viney, Canadian settled in Florida, usually kicks everyone's butt at the local racing scene]
You will rather not get into an argument with this guy 
Next time your buddies make fun of you wearing Lycra shorts, show them what you'll look like in a few years.. (extreme left son..)
A small guy in Australia has some formidable legs for sure
Mike Friedman should be outlawed for legs this size.
What do you get with the size of these legs?
They say the imposing figure of this cyclist seemed to have been carved from Bronze.
Lean? Check. Muscle Definition? Check. Overall? Priceless.
You know you're seeing a track cyclist when.....
When this cyclist was just four and cycling, he was knocked over by a rally car driver. Even though he needed 4 separate operations on his right knee, his mother said he didn't cry until the doctors cut his cycling shorts.
One of these guys preferred ridiculously huge gears, and was known for his grind cadence.
Hardly needs a mention, does he?
Essentially, what we're looking here at is a pair of calves as big as the monstrous thighs above. Look below.
These gains did not come by escape from pain. It is now well known that he smashed almost everything on the right side of his face, eyeball, skull, and cheekbones.
Same guy. Same monster.
From Cuba. With love.
And won races in style.
Team Presentation.
Race money? 13 grand. Legs? Priceless...If any of you have further images of completely badass cyclists (male or female) with hulk monstrosities, throw a comment with the url link or email them to me and I'll certainly add them. Lets make this the one place for Serious Legs and Serious Power.
Photo Courtesy : Cycling News
Additional Resources :
What Muscles Are You Using To Pedal
Power To Weight Ratio
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Posts
ew!ew! EWWWWWWW!!! I dont think I can ever date those legs!!! UGH! SCARIIIEYYYYY!!!!
ReplyDeleteyou might be fat with skinny legs :P
DeleteMuch of your pain is self-chosen.
ReplyDeleteIt is the bitter potion by which the physician within you heals your sick self.
Therefore trust the physician, and drink his remedy in silence and tranquillity.
-- Khalil Gibran
From your pictures it is obvious difference between road cyclists and track cyclists..
ReplyDeletemajority of these are germans, if you noticed. they have some scary genetics.
ReplyDeleteits like they're a superior race..
Delete=0
Nice work, Ron! This one ranks right up there with lore of the victory salute! -J
ReplyDeleteI agree with John. Your blog has some of the most interesting posts on cycling anywhere I've come across. Definitely a winner. How come not a single ad on your site though?
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Now everytime I do strength training in the gym, I just have to remember these pics.
ReplyDeleteHm. I can't understand how a cyclist can get leg popping veins like that. I suspect all this points to use of steroids.
ReplyDeletePhil : If you get your body fat % under a certain point, you could veins sticking out like that. Look at the top of your hands. Same deal. Although I certainly can't sit here and confirm that these guys DID NOT attempt ergogenic drugs.
ReplyDeleteCan anyone else help me here. I'm an ignoramus in biology, and sports science.
(Shiver..)
ReplyDeleteThis just gave me some new perspectives on competitive cycling.
Ron, considering veins: some people are born like that, it has nothing to do with strength training..Also, note that muscles appear much greater during riding. Compare riders during riding and during podium standing..
ReplyDeleteOne of the pictures here was of VDB. He definitely juiced himself. The guy was on Stilnoct, Amps, and Valium and went without sleep for days. He was a liar and completely dishonest an athlete. It was his knee that eventually brought him down.
ReplyDeleteSweet post Ron! Hardcore!
ReplyDeleteSome people are born with this:
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varicose_veins
Their veins appear much larger then normal..
Only Hincapie has varicose veins in this post right? The others looks like they have some hypertrophy going on, but I can't say if this is an early stage of deep vein thrombosis. Ah, my head is hurting.
ReplyDeleteFrom my personal experience (some people may be different)...I had a lot of veins as a kid up until the age of 22 but that was primarily because I was very lean. I know this because after I gained some weight my veins are no longer very visible except on the back of my hands. In support of this idea, from what I have seen regular visible veins from cycling occurs less in females, so this is evidence that since females have more fat in their skin that fat covers veins (no offense about the fat, a little amount of fat can make a body look beautiful)(However veins of the varicose kind occur more in females). From observation varicose veins are usually in older people as an older local veteran cyclist often jokes that he has varicose veins now. Compared to what I have seen in medical photos some of the pictures that are on this blog post are not varicose veins but are from being lean with large muscles (I know from looking at runners that these large non-varicose veins can occur in lean people, lean runners, but from what I know is rare). Varicose veins result from a failure of the miniature valves that help the blood pump in veins. You can tell that they are varicose if there are bumps and twists in the veins at the points where the valves are failing. I know of an older strong local cyclist that had "bad veins" and had to have surgery, I think he is back racing since then. I don't know all the causes but some of the varicose issue may just be due to a biological disposition. I had a common sense hunch that massages might not be good for varicose veins...some types aren't (maybe this is only once you have varicose veins, I don't know). I know cyclists like massages but I don't think an easy massage just to get blood back out of the legs would cause anything serious.
ReplyDeleteImpressive.
ReplyDeleteI measure my legs to record my gains in size. I think mine are average for a cyclist...25 inches thighs, 22.5 inches measure 5 inches about knee cap, 16.5 inch calves.
OK... you have just burned into our brains the need for more pain. I gotta go climb some mountains!
ReplyDeleteNot sure if the idea's scary, but you could do a whole site on this topic alone.
ReplyDeleteIs it weird that I recognized George Hincapie's leg by that vein before I even say what the image was named.
ReplyDeleteI was standing next to him at the Tour of Missouri in 2007 after he won and I was like holy shit that vein is insane. It looks like a brain.
I feel so inadequate.
ReplyDeleteWhen a Man chooses pursuit above all else, only then should you call him a Racer.
ReplyDeleteWhen a Man chooses to endure the worst, only then should you call him a winner.
Only with Reason should a Man endure the worst, as no man wants to endure unless he has a reason to do it.
Shoni
Thanks for this great work is very useful for all readers, I thank you for allowing me to read this great blog
ReplyDeletehttp://farm4.static.flickr.com/3356/3650222616_b18e7c766d_o.jpg
ReplyDeletehttp://www.lancearmstrong.com/book/_photos/136-7_Calf.jpg
a couple pictures of lance's legs
http://www.lancearmstrong.com/book/_photos/136-7_Calf.jpg
ReplyDeletehttp://farm4.static.flickr.com/3356/3650222616_b18e7c766d_o.jpg
lance armstrong's legs
Great blog and nice post I am trying to maintain a list of cute blogs. Thanks and nice collection of blogs. I’m going to have to browse through those. it’s nice I can come and read your blog.
ReplyDeleteWow,
ReplyDeleteIncredible photos. I'm a keen mountain biker and feeling pumped for the next training session!
Pete
WOW! Can't wait till mine look like that.
ReplyDeleteThat was a huge collection of examples here. Thanks for sharing those images. That clearly shows, how varicose veins can look. Nice sharing and keep posting.
ReplyDeletei want my legs to get like all of them combined in one....i got to train harder
ReplyDeleteAs most people are posting, getting those monstrous blood pipes to show does have a genetic component.
ReplyDeleteBut it's important to remind people that training makes your body open more capillaries around your muscles. More capillaries means more blood can be delivered. More blood means more oxygen for your muscles. And more oxygen means more capacity for you to power through.
To prevent and maintain varicose veins, you need to strengthen vein walls. Read about several natural treatments available today that will cure and prevent varicose veins without the use of drugs or chemicals.
ReplyDeleteUltraClear PLUS UltraClear PLUS
My gosh. As much as possible I would never like to develop the same but through my activities everyday I eventually has some on my feet which is really embarrassing. I would have to go to an spider vein removal center and have it relaxed or removed. Thanks for sharing your wonderful blog.
ReplyDelete