Ollfardh wrote:
Disclaimer: No family members were actually killed, is was just a threath to motivate him.
And the "killing machine" is just a figure of speech to show his efficiency and winning ambition. He's really a gentle spirit
Well, he can be in with a few small changes.
Allow me to explain. I'd have no problem with it but since this is a role-playing game, we need to keep this fantasy world as close to the real one. So if you can bring this character to life in a realistic kind of way, and not like a comic-character, it's okay for me.
Hope you understand why. Won't allow a farce to participate
Tamijo wrote:
I am in just might need some time to reflect.
Take your time. We won't be starting for at least a week.
Made a few changes making it less ... North Korean. I hope this will be acceptable
Biography:
Kim Po-ding was born and raised in the labour camps of North Korea, destined to be the ultimate cyclist. By combining the strong genes of his mother and father, and 20h per day training from the age of 3 (or so they claim), the North Korean Cycling Academy made an incredible machine-like cyclist, ready to be unleashed on the new Ultimate Cycling League.
His training course was an D-shaped lap around the labor camp. It started with a 5km straight line, turn right to start a climb for 3 km, take the downhill for another 3km and turn right again to end back on the straight part. Fifteen minutes max per lap or a family member would be punished, eighty laps a day or he himself would be punished. The downside of this training was that he can only make right turns and struggles if the road goes left.
But make no mistake, despite this minor flaw, Kim is a killer on his bicycle. He'll ride and he'll keep riding. He destroys riders who are not paying attention the moment he turns his engine on. If you're not in his wheel, you're done for. If you're in his wheel, you'll still have a hard time.
Furthermore, he was prepared for the new Ultimate Cycling League by surviving on grass for a week and by learning how to make his own bike. Not that this was intentional though, the camp just ran out of food and they accidently shot their last mechanic.
Name: Valur Jarvi Jóhannson Sex: M Nationality (region): Iceland (Sauðárkrókur, north of Iceland) Date of Birth: 27/11/1997 Height: 2.01m Weight: 94kg
Weather Abilities:
+ snowy, cold, rainy, windy
- hot, dry, warm & humid but not raining
Stats:
Flat Riding: high
Climbing: very low
Bike Handling: medium
Stamina: medium
Acceleration: low
Sprint Speed: medium
Recuperation: low
Attacking Spirit: low
Repairs: low
Off-Road: very high
Food Management: medium
Biography/ The story before the story: Valur grew up in the small "town" of Sauðárkrókur, in the region of Skagafjörður at the northern coast of Iceland. In the biggest town of North-western Iceland (2.635 inhabitants) he had everything he needed: Friends, great education, ice-baths, handball, hakarll - you know, everything an Icelandic guy loves. But then, at the age of 14, something changed his mind:
A student exchange to Norway opened a new page in the book of his life. The cycling page. He stayed at a certain guy, called Andreas Leknessund, for 3 weeks. Better said, he staid at his parents, cause Leknessund, 13 years old at that point, was away several hours a day training on the bike. At first it seemed strange to him, using up so much time.
It didn't really touch Valur until the fourth time in a row his exchange student came home early from training, tuning on the TV. Watching cycling, of course. But on that day he was hyped. Almost screaming a certain guy called Boasson Hagen to the line, who finished second to a Slovakian youngster. Later, as Valur gained interest, he learned from Andreas how the world of cycling works. And that that amazing young superstar was called Peter Sagan.
A day later, after school, training and Stage 4 of course, Andreas offered Valur a small ride with one of his bikes that Valur also rode those spare kilometers to school with. It didn't completely fit, but both having a height of around 1.75 worked well. Being in the mid-west of Noway in summer temperatures were nice for a ride such as this, going on the fjordic norwegian coastline. Valur enjoyed it, more because of the countryside possibly, as he isn't too often on a bike in Iceland and suffered under the wind and the up- and down going roads on the rough coastside.
However, they went on two further rides in the time, and Andreas told Valur a lot about the sport. But then time was over; and on his way back home Valur kind of missed cycling already.
A few weeks later thigs were forgotten however. Back with his friends they had other things in mind like going to school, fishing for the biggest fish, fishing for the most beautiful girls and playing handball like nordic guys do. He even made it into the U18 national team of Iceland, eventhough also playing football aside and having the downsides a young guy maturing and tasting all the sweet flavours of growing up does.
On a trip with the national team for the european U18 championships 2014, taking place in Poland, things took another turn. Valur and his team failed to pass the pre-eliminary round and finished 9th. Interestingly, at the same time another event took place in Gdansk. The Memorial Henryka Lasaka, a small UCI 1.2 bike race. At first Valur didn't even recognize it, but when visiting numbers were significantly lower at that day Valur found out why in his free time after the morning game. And eventhough he wasn't really able to see much of the race standing in a corner near to the finishing line, he did catch the spirit of the race. Impressed by the enthusiastic visitors, which was kind of the opposite to the U18 EC, Valur that day got a little nostalgic and reconsulted his old skype account to contact Andreas again.
And guess what: The norwegian, riding successfully as a Junior in these days, was riding quite successful as a Junior in Norway. Holding contact for 2 or 3 days back in Iceland worked out, but then the 2 were too busy with their own lifes. But then things drastically changed. Already suffering on the icelandic economical crisis Valur's parents had to finally give up on their small business, with his father taking a job in Blönduós and moving there, by car 75 kilometers away from Sauðárkrókur. That left two options open for Valur. Moving with his parents, or going into the handball school to ReykjavÃk.
Heavy hearted Valur decided to go with the family option, most likely leaving the dream of becoming a professional handball player aside. He did that not only for his family, but also for staying close to his friends and to his girl Freyja, a gorgeous Icelandic beauty. His parents were able to drive him there once a weekend, but other than that Valur kind of was alone. When his crew was on the run he often just was too far away, and Blönduós was a village for workers and older people with less in his age. Skype was his only way of escaping that tristesse at that point, but communicating with his friends was not the same via internet.
Being a guy that knows how to distribute his ressources very well he always had something saved in the bank. And after two weeks of school and family (=boredom) he decided to give it a shot, buying a used roadbike from a frenetic old Belgian Bobby Fisher fan living in Selfoss. Andreas, who he had more contact to since using Skype more often now, gave him the advice to search for a used one. In Iceland exactly 3 were on offer, so he took the best looking one.
With that he used to ride more and more as the days went flying. His big motivation once again was his friends, and after 3 months of going further and further he decided to do the big one. Going all the way from Blönduós to Sauðárkrókur on a friday after school to visit his friends. He failed.
As he was fear of the 75 kilometers road he went on to take the shortcut over the gravel and mud roads which were just 50 kilometers. He lost. As it got darker and darker he suffered under a flat tire. In the dark he wasn't able to repair it properly, so he had to walk the last 15 kilometers through the cold & dark night (don't even ask for mobile connection in the middle of nothing), ringing at his best friend door at 2 o'clock in the morning. From that point on he was that crazy bike freak for his friends.
Valur got used to it however. Sunday, after a warm goodbye from Freyja, he went back home the long route and made it in 3 hours. But making it enlightened a flame in his heart. Every day after school he now went to go on a ride with his old Ridley. He grew fast riding on the coastlines and the streets. Soon he made the 75 kilometers in 2h30, going to Sauðárkrókur every weekend.
None of his friends or anyone who knew from Iceland besides that old Bobby Fisher guy shared the passion he had for cycling, but they accepted it. Andreas, now 17 and growing into an oustanding Junior cyclist, gave him training advices and basically on everything else related to cycling. They skyped almost every day sitting on their computers going through cycling streams. Valur only faced one new problem soon: His body.
Valur used to be a rough muscular guy that wasn't shy of some hard defense in handball, but that kind of changed with his cycling life. He still was spot on in terms of body shape, but a lot lighter. Well, he could have been. But growing another 17 centimeters in 1 year Valur hit two meters soon, which made riding his old bike impossible. And of course, there was absolutely no chance of finding a used bike in his range, so a new bike was needed. But, and there was the big problem: How should he afford that?
He started asking for help in the social media, tried to find a job besides cycling, but nothing worked. Andreas, who grew into one of his best friends, tried to help consulting the contacts he had through the Norwegian cycling federation, but nothing worked out well enough. Even that Belgian Bobby Fisher guy tried to help, not only by sharing Valurs story, but also by giving him an old mountain bike he restaurated in his free time. For free, with only one obligation: To visit him by bike one time down there in Selfoss.
3 months of mountain-biking had their upsides for Valur however: He was able to go the gravel and mud roads to visit his guys and girls, which saved him 30 kilometers. He could even join his proper handball training in the evening sometimes in Sauðárkrókur, but the train for the national team had already departed at that point. Two of his friends made it into the national U20 squad, now they were proud members of the Reykjavik Sport School having their accommodations for the Sport Department at the Reykjavik University in the bank. Instead, he trained handball for fun, but switched his focus for longer rides. Sometimes on the endless full-gravel roads in the Icelandic highlands, but for obvious reasons climbing always was a tough thing for him.
Handball and mountain-biking balanced each other perfectly well, but that one phone call in September 2016 changed everything. Sources told the mysterious caller, that Valur was in need of a road bike fitting the special needs of both his body type and the Icelandic roads. He told that there was a way to solve the issues, and that Valur would get a brand-new 2017 road bike. For free. Well, Valur had to solve three tasks for that.
1. Meet up at Keflavik Airport to receive the bikes and meet up with the mysterious donator.
2. Come by bike, in 1 week, and go back by bike, in 1 week.
3. Film the whole story.
It was an easy choice for Valur, packing his backpack and getting ready, which included to tell his parents about his plan. Interestingly they have not been shocked by that (opposed to Freyja), but instead they even told him they received a package of a new go-pro adressed to his name, but now they knew what that was for. Kind of confused Valur took it on, to start his move.
7 days later, after over 300 kilometers on mostly graveled roads and sleeping in tents, bathing in rivers (and one time in as shower) and eating disgusting food or fresh berries, Valur finished his trip, fully recorded on the go-pro. On the cold route doubts arised in him, what would happen if the caller didn't appear or if he just wouldn't make it. But neither cold weather nor cold thoughts could stop rough Valur.
In Keflavik he then was rewarded for his efforts. And what a reward! Valur met two guys there; one of whom he already knew in beforehand. One of those was a proud man, smiling all the way. Valur knew him. The other guy expressed his respect for Valurs trip. He ordered some hot chocolate for all 3, to then reveal the deal.
The man was from Ridley, the Belgian manifacturer. They heard from the story of mine out of the other person sitting on the table. The former Belgian directeur sportiv Jelle Fleminckx, that has been part of the management of the old Davitamon - Lotto team. Valur didn't knew. However, Mr. Fleminckx created the connection as he shared the story with the Ridley guy. So Valur got a new Ridley bike.
But not only that, Valur also got offered what was kind of a job in the following minutes. They wanted to make a story out of Valur's stpry for their website. The journey through the hell of winter Iceland for the passion of cycling. That's what the go-pro was for. But not only that. There was a job on offer. Some might think a crazy one, and clearly Valur did after having him explained what that was about, but surely something that has never been there before.
Ridley claimed, that there is a new series on the block. A road series that is experimental, new, and completely crazy. They want Valur in cycling. They offered him to be the one-man experiment. They wanted him to ride the Ultimate Cycling league as a Ridley rider, having his equipment sponsored by the brand. In exchange for sponsoring Valur, there should be footage of Valur's journey in Iceland and the Ultimate Cycling League available for Ridley to use on their campaign.
The cherry on top was the surprise that awaited Valur next. Beneath the new Ridley 2017 bike (what a beauty!), there was a fully prepared vintage bike after 1970's standards awaiting. They offered Valur a ride home, taking all 3 bikes with them by car, to sign the deal, which was sommething undeclineable after that week.
On the way home he thought about that, clearly understanding that that would mean being away from home for a long time. Thinking of Freyja and his friends made the decision harder. But then, the 1970 bike with integrated tools to repair the bike would allow him to go the shorter route, which clearly was a major factor opposed. Well, more likely to finally grab the chance to become a semi-professional sportsman - if it wasn't his first passion handball, then his second and rising passion cycling - and even more the chance to have a f***ing amazing exciting unique adventure he can even be proud of if he sucks.
This might be the one chance for Valur to write history. Trying it out is the only option. So Valur signed the one-year contract with Ridley, not having real earnings from that besides a spare budget for himself, but more weighting is the equipment and the opportunities he takes from that deal. The Ultimate Cycling League 2017 will have what the whole UCI hasn't got: An Icelandic member.
Some call him the Glacier, some call him the new "Iceman", his friend Andreas Leknessund in his blog gave him the nickname "Frozen Blood". For his friends from Sauðárkrókur he is just Valur, the only guy in Iceland that rides a road bike. And certainly the only one that feels the best when it's terribly cold. When wind, rain and snow disturb others, Valur reaches his best performances. He feels home when the road is flat and rough, being used to the gravel and mud of northern Iceland. No wonder he claims Stijn Vandenbergh and Thomas de Gendt as his favourite cyclists. It is Ultimate Cycling League's newest surprise:
Valur Jarvi JóhannsonEdited by Croatia14 on 13-07-2017 12:04
Ian are the 1% of stages mostly under 10km or 400km+ epics
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
Ian Butler wrote:
@Trek: accepted, but a few remarks:
Aged 20, his stamina will be high relative to other 20 year olds, but against more experienced riders ages 26 and up, he'll have a disadvantage in stages above 300 km
Also 55kg doesn't help in surviving +300 km stages
you can still make changes if you want, if not it's like you say but keep in mind that 20 years is young for this kind of thing, with no team mates and sometimes longer stages than road racing.
Yeah, I might change his age to 22 but still, I understand that being young is a disadvantage, I meant very high stamina as in, very high for a 20 year old.
I will raise his weight a bit though, it's unrealistically low for how I described him, sorry.
@Ollfardh - Okay, he's accepted. But I'll keep an eye on the role-playing posts. I appreciate some good humor now and then but in world-building with characters I really can't allow absurd or over-the-top situations, you understand
@Croatia: wow. Just wow. He's a perfect candidate for this new thing. Amazing bio, nice! And I was actually looking in Iceland for a race, too, before on Maps
Ian Butler wrote:
@Croatia: wow. Just wow. He's a perfect candidate for this new thing. Amazing bio, nice! And I was actually looking in Iceland for a race, too, before on Maps
thanks a lot Ian, your dedication to games and narrative posts in this style help a lot to work out a little more on stuff like this
well, starting from the middle/north of Iceland (Sauðárkrókur? ) and go southwards heading into the Vatnajökull (finishing at the hostel in Kvertfjell, MTF) over the gravel roads might be a sweet idea...
24/02/21 - kandesbunzler said “I don't drink famous people."
15/08/22 - SotD said "Your [jandal's] humour is overrated"
11/06/24 - knockout said "Winning is fine I guess. Truth be told this felt completely unimportant." [ICL] Santos-Euskadi | [PT] Xero Racing
@Tamijo: No, sorry. This is meant to be a serious role-playing game, like CX:AND was. The North Korean is already at the limit. This is over the limit.
Ian Butler wrote:
@Tamijo: No, sorry. This is meant to be a serious role-playing game, like CX:AND was. The North Korean is already at the limit. This is over the limit.
Ian Butler wrote:
@Tamijo: No, sorry. This is meant to be a serious role-playing game, like CX:AND was. The North Korean is already at the limit. This is over the limit.
Name: Kim Kastrup
Sex: M
Nationality (region): Denmark (Zealand)
Date of Birth: 10/10/1977
Biography: Kim was born in a sleepy provincial town in 1977, as the son of a blacksmith and his home-going wife.
Never much of an athlete or a scholary type, Kim never really excelled in anything or did anything particulary interesting until he turned 16. It was at that time that his parents, mostly to get him out of the house, gave him a bike and a job at the bicycle repairman next town over.
For the next several years, Kim had to bike back and forth between home and work whilst studying and mending bikes. To many's surprise, he was rather good at understanding bikes, and after having completed his studies, opened his own shop in his hometown.
The last decade, Kim has been modifying and repair all sorts of bikes, and has prepared the bike that will put his name on the map: The Kastrup 001.
Having built the bike, he just needs to prove how good it is. So cue the racing...
Weather Abilities: Will basically die if it becomes really hot. Loves rain.
Stats: [choose between: very low - low - medium - high - very high]
Flat Riding: medium
Climbing: low
Bike Handling: medium
Stamina: medium
Accelaration: very low
Sprint Speed: very low
Recuperation: low
Attacking Spirit: high
Repairs: very high
Off-Road: low
Food Management: medium
############
I actually have no clue what makes the Kastrup 001 so damn special. I just feel that it's a nice plot device.
@ Waghlon, nice to see you here Kastrup 001 sounds cool. Or unreliable
Anyways, the Game Thread is up! Hopefully it gives you some more insight on what the premise of this game is. First season we'll take it easy with 3 official events, spread over June, August, September.
It's okay to use the Game Thread to introduce your character or start (role-)playing once I've okayed your character.
So far I've got:
Jan (Anatol) Chicu
Valur Jarvi Jóhannson
Kim Kastrup
Ian Butler wrote:
@ Waghlon, nice to see you here Kastrup 001 sounds cool. Or unreliable
Anyways, the Game Thread is up! Hopefully it gives you some more insight on what the premise of this game is. First season we'll take it easy with 3 official events, spread over June, August, September.
It's okay to use the Game Thread to introduce your character or start (role-)playing once I've okayed your character.
So far I've got:
Jan (Anatol) Chicu
Valur Jarvi Jóhannson
Kim Kastrup
Also, finished the layout for graphical work. The "site" of the new league:
To be adored in the Game Thread hope you like it.
The prize money and stuff is also to increase potential material for role-playing. As it stands now, it doesn't look like anyone can actually live off the sport, unless combined with other sports or if you win everything
Prize money may increase over time, if the sport gets more media attention, of course. Or good sponsors.
