Drawing of my cycling team from the year 2010. BoBruC OilsteemCreated with Sketch.

in #drawing7 years ago

The story of the BoBruC Oil drawing

pencils are my first medium, although I am jack of fifty mediums, master of few.

to paraphrase the well known and common expression.

I will make this post about the drawing, but would love to write directly about my experiences as a racing cyclist someday soon.

BoBruC Oil team drawing 2010.

sheet1.jpg
sheet2.jpg
sheet3.jpg

images by @spaingaroo, artwork by @spaingaroo

the drawing is in three parts, pencil, many grades, on three A3 sheets of medium weight Canson Drawing paper from a block. (A3 is 29,7 X 42 cms, or about 12 X 19")

I will put up some details at end of post.


some back story, just the bare necessities

I came into cycling as an adult.
Far too late to try to be someone in that world, but in the end that didn't stop me from doing that very thing in my own minor way.

I was 26 years old when I first discovered there are bicycles and there are bicycles!
(this was in Australia, courtesy of my good friend Seton)
(I will tell the story in a different post)

Starting from absolute ignorance, but that first day I went out with Seton on the bike he lent me, and we did 75 kms out to Wellington point and back.
I vomited on a traffic island at one point.
(I was a heavy drinker and smoker too)
I couldn't believe we had done that.
needless to say, I found myself hooked, and ended up getting sober, at least partially because of the bike.

I stopped smoking cigarettes too, quick smart, although I never stopped smoking dope, until the year after I started racing.
But at first it took a long time to get any good at it.
It wasn't until 2007, now living in Spain, I was invited to join a 'Masters' racing team.
Finally, I had my go!
I was invited to join a team by a guy with power-cranks.
I recognised what they were and he was impressed, because nobody knows these sort of things.
(if you don't know what power cranks are, and want to, let me know. or google is your friend, but know that are nothing to do with power meters or anything like that.)

I said yes, as it sounded like the excitement was over that way.
I had already developed a very keen competitive aspect on group rides I was always attacking so it seemed fun to try and do it when it counted.
(And for delusions of grandeur you can always count on me.)

after all people were always claiming that they weren't trying if I beat them to some line or another, and then if they ever got the chance they would attack me mercilessly.

All good clean fun.

PB122690.JPG

images by @spaingaroo

The drawing is from the last year I seriously raced. Or from the winter period before that season
(I, like many others rode right through the winter and every other season, and always raced the christmas season races. I raced every race I could from go to woe. But as noted, I will leave that for other post)

The team I was invited onto at first, (that shall remain nameless here) ditched me at the end of that very first season. :(
Very unceremoniously too.
After making me miss my friends birthday party to drive to team reunion in la sierra.
just to send me packing.
Very low class.

but I certainly didn't have the results.

and it was their decision.
there was nothing to do, but head on back to Madrid, and go look for my friends.
(I caught up with them at a restaurant)

I wasn't the only one booted.
My friend Borja Bergareche was also unceremoniously dumped.
Unfortunately, he had asked me to look after his interests at the meeting.

After I called him with the bad news, I started getting used to the fact that I might not race again.
After all, I wasn't really such a star.

However, as I rarely take things lying down, and since I had been booted for lack of results, I decided to train more and harder and do something in the Christmas races.
PC240125.JPG

image by my wife with my camera, I claim fair use :)

I attacked continuously in a couple of those, closed the gap on one of my own team, in my excitement and generally caused mayhem in the results for the first time ever.
IMG_9466.jpg
image by director with my camera, I claim fair use :)

I have my photos and my memories.
:)
the hams are long gone

Anyhow, to cut this story short, Borja decided to form his own team and it still races to this day.
He asked me to come on board and I didn't hesitate.

DSC_0099.JPG
DSC_0095.JPG

team photos by Juan Andres Godoy, used by permission

My saviour.
And Borja went on to be champion of Spain in his category several times and still wins many races today.

I am not cut out to be a winner, I am a worker. (cycling has these, they are called domestiques true story)
I have my photos and my memories. and my three trophies. lol
P1010549.JPG

images by @spaingaroo

(I have a friend who has a spare room in his house just for all the tophies he has won over the years, It truly bizzarre seeing them all piled in there)
P1010351.JPG
images by @spaingaroo

Anyhow I raced seriously in Borja's team BoBruC Oil for the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons

but in 2010 I visited my home for the first time in seven years.
P1010054.JPG

images by @spaingaroo

Although I took my bike with me, and rode and trained, it was during this visit that I decided that on coming back to Spain, I was going to take cycling less seriously in order to put more energy into Art again.

Cycling takes it out of one.
P1010281.JPG

image by my wife with my camera, I claim fair use :)

I felt bad for Borja, as I felt like an integral part of the team, in from the beginning, and I never missed a race. (except while I was in Aus)
And I was the unofficial team photographer - example album and blogger.

But I knew I wouldn't be able to continue to take racing as seriously the next year as I wanted to start to work towards where I am now.

No longer going out to 'work' for my money.

(And with no money too of course, that's where you guys come in.)

Wanting to do something for my friend, after all he was the main team sponsor too, through his company BoBruC Oil I decided to make him a drawing of all of us.

Complete madness.

I worked on it all across the off-season, meaning I came into the season in poor form, and had poor results, (the last year I did the quebrantahuesos as well.
I did six straight from 2006 to 2011)
P1010217.JPG
P1010228.JPG
P1010231.JPG
P1010235.JPG
P1010240.JPG

images by @spaingaroo from 2010 quebrantahuesos

But at least I was able to present the drawing to Borja at the start of the 2011 season as a token of my appreciation for all he did for me, and for making and paying for the team.
P1010140.JPG
P1010144.JPG
Plenty of kind acts during our racing years including taking me to races and paying hotel rooms.
Super star.
Everyone in cycling was always kind to me as they knew I couldn't quite pay my way to do all the things I wanted to do in life.
Cycling is an expensive sport!

well, if you have gotten this far, thank you so much, and hope you'll tune in in the future.

If you would like to chime in with a comment, let me know if you would like to see working drawings and photo references too. I have found them all, I think.

I have a lot of digital images, and I am possibly the most disorganised person on the planet. Maybe a few people with full blown dementia are worse, but ...

Love to get some feedback

Love you to death.

details of drawing

sheet1_det1.jpg
sheet1_det2.jpg
sheet1_det3.jpg
sheet1_det4.jpg
sheet1_det5.jpg
sheet1_det6.jpg
sheet2_det1.jpg
sheet2_det2.jpg
sheet2_det3.jpg
sheet2_det4.jpg
sheet2_det5.jpg
sheet2_det6.jpg
sheet3_det1.jpg
sheet3_det2.jpg
sheet3_det3.jpg
sheet3_det4.jpg
sheet3_det5.jpg
sheet3_det6.jpg

images by @spaingaroo, artwork by @spaingaroo


Thanks for coming by my blog, I hope you have come because I left you a kind and interesting comment and you have come on over to check me out.

Please do the same and lets talk.

big hugs.

If you would like to see other art posts try these

Plasticine is cool
one work
five works
My successful post :)
truth shady
blue dog calls himself indigo

what does an artist do, part one

Or my life story posts

Only part one so far

Or my poems, laddie thinks himself a poet all of a sudden.

first poem ever
second poem
third poem

They are all about my steemit experience and I have a post for that too, with my experience after a fortnight.

and my contest posts too, M.O.L.A.A. Make Out Like An Artist come make something, anything

day five
day four
day three
day two
day one

Sort:  

Congratulations. This post features in my latest Curation Article. This post received a 100% upvote from Mr Squiggle the #TeamAustralia Curation Martian.

wow thanks mrsquiggle, I was a big fan of your work. Well Miss Jane's and Miss Pat's and your own fine, but not quite that fine self.
;)
And grumpy old blackboard, and Bill the steamshovel.

I am going to check that out, of course.

The effort you put into this blows my mind, standing ovation.

The no nonsense drawings with the detail and complexity really drew me in, faces so expressive, you can tell that you had a real connection with those fellows. I am actually at a loss for words.

Thank you for sharing your ride with us, I'm happy to have sat on the bike for this one, and cheered from the bleachers. Much love.

thanks so much for your comment Sammy, it means a lot to me.

I had to struggle to get some of them to come out as the person that they were. it's pretty easy to draw a convincing person, but when they have to actually be the individual...

The guy on the magnetic trainer took about a week of rubbing him out and drawing him in. Whereas there's another one in the first sheet that took about twenty minutes, just appeared under my pencil.

you can never tell, but since all these guys were going to see it, they had to be good

thanks again

I think you did an amazing job with it, and I am super excited to see any further efforts.

I've always struggled personally with art of the drawn/painted kind, stickfigures were my thing, but I do love fractals and patterns, so perhaps I could draw with my computer somehow.

Once again, you did an amazing job and really captured those team mates and fellow competitors of yours, hat tip, hugs, and handshakes on a job well done

<3

I meant to reply to this too, but somehow, haven't.

You can undoubtedly draw on the computer.
I do it all the time lately. (well, not since I started on steemit obviously)

but three options that you may, or may not have considered.

blender 3D animation but really easy to learn how to make simple things into complex still images.
ninasamumagaina_A4_resize.jpg
inkscape Vector drawing, another incredibly easy to start making shit right out of the gate program.
conectedsquares_greenfusciaonred_resize.png
and of course the gimp GIMP open source, GNU Image Manipulation Program.
clouds_rose_face_squared_resize.jpg

great for everything related to image manipulation. Fixing up all those other things you do, and for photos too.
But also easy to use to make images from scratch, or from fragments of other images.
if you wanna know anything about it or them, hit me up

big hugs

I can't remember the program I used to use but it let you fly through a 3d fractal generated scene, but oh my.. it would smoke my poor computer.

yes, in real time that shit costs

blender looks nuts, really my gpu is not up to scratch for that kind of stuff. :<

yes, in real time that shit costs

you really hit on something there Sammy, the only ones that didn't work were the faces of the two podium girls, 'cause they didn't let me connect with them.

It shows

:)

Well you did great work regardless. <3

thanks Darkside, I like your profile avatar.

will check you out there.

big hugs

its a vector art spaingaroo....
bighugs to you too....

gracias @sarita
Como ves tal vez, es un equipo español.

Gracias por tu comentario
un abrazo

Where is the link to your Strava?! ;) (great post!)

I never started one, although I could see the attraction. Even just to have record for myself, and the competitive aspect...
Do you ride too Robin?

I never had a smart phone during any of those cycling years, so that put paid to the idea of Strava.

I had a Polar 600 HRM that had recording and altimeter and could give a profile of the whole outing, but no map.

Missed that whole strava phenomenon though

thanks for coming by, and thanks for the compliment

Cyclist/triathlete. Bought my first road bike less than 2 years ago not long after signing up for an ironman with no previous background in swimming or cycling. Best purchase I ever made. Its never too late to jump on the strava band wagon, just download the app on your phone :D You'll probably be able to hunt down some of your old peloton comrades on there !

I have zero kms over the last couple of years I am afraid.

Long story.

I was a runner long before I was a cyclist, but unfortunately, I was good at cycling compared to running. Wish I had discovered them the other way 'round.

Thanks for your comments and good luck with all.

I hope to make some more posts about cycling soon, as it has given me so much, and so many memories.

This post received a 5% vote by @msp-shanehug courtesy of @nlizotte from the Minnow Support Project ( @minnowsupport ). Join us in Discord.

Upvoting this comment will help support @minnowsupport.

thanks you so much @nlizotte for your support.

Really a nice artwork, well done! Thanks for share :)

thanks mate, I try and sometimes I even go close. This is one of those times

thanks for coming by

This post received a 5% vote by @msp-nomad courtesy of @nlizotte from the Minnow Support Project ( @minnowsupport ). Join us in Discord.

Upvoting this comment will help support @minnowsupport.

This post received a 5% vote by @nettybot courtesy of @nlizotte from the Minnow Support Project ( @minnowsupport ). Join us in Discord.

Upvoting this comment will help support @minnowsupport.

Wow beautiful pictures and the drawings are quite good.
Looks like much fun.
Sending Love Waves.