Cycling
SARTORIA VELOCIPEDA Alf Alderson decries the Lycra outfits of the modern cyclist in favour of the more seemly cycling attire of yore
P
icture the scene: a pleasant Sunday afternoon in the English countryside and a family sitting down for Sunday lunch at a rustic hostelry. All is well with the world, as fine ales and meat and two veg (plus Yorkshire puddings, of course) are served up, and then suddenly – whoa! Alarm and disarray despoil the bucolic scene. For a group of cyclists have entered the establishment, clad in garish, eye-poppingly tight Lycra; rotund bellies cast shadows across the floor, and the meat and two veg on display is no longer restricted to the dinner plates. I dare say many of us have been exposed to this scenario (which would be illegal in a less liberal nation) and wince at the memory. There is nothing
“Yes, there were amateur racers who wore slimfitting jerseys and shorts made from woollen fabrics, maybe discreetly featuring the name of a sponsor or team, but they were in the minority; the average Cyclists’ Touring Club member looked as much like a rambler as a cyclist while rolling elegantly along the tarmac” 100
