Photo Via www.uitgeverijkannibaal.be

If you ever doubted for a minute that the hardmen of yore drafted the blueprint for The Rules, you need only look at these fine examples to be reminded that no matter how limited the resources they had to work with, they still managed to do a better job of Looking Fantastic than we ever could.

It matters not to them that having pockets in the front of the jersey gave the impression of gynecomastia, their aching backs ably supported by crude inner-tube mansierres. They didn’t care that their cycling caps were actually just handkerchiefs tied at the corners, or that the bulging gusset in their shorts needed to be covered up at all times when off the bike by a strategically placed hand. It meant they got to fraternise with the likes of Wevelgem Mayor Wally de Schmoi, infamous for his love of wine, women and tucking his tie into his pants.

That’s just the way they rolled back then. And if you think they gave a fuck, well, think again. They were too busy laying waste to fools like us to even consider rolling their socks back up.

Brett

Don't blame me

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  • @brett

    @Dinan

    @PeakInTwoYears

    I wear what best suits me for current conditions not how I wish to appear to others.

    There's where you're going wrong. It's not about pleasing others, but yourself. If you want to look like a slob, on or off the bike, so be it. Would you get up on a cold winter's morning and dress in track suit, ugh boots and a wooly hat with beagle ears and a pom pom on top because it 'suits the conditions', and then go to work or shopping or a cafe like that? Or would you wear pants, shirt, jacket and shoes and still be warm but not look like you've come straight from the audience of the Jeremy Kyle show?

    Hah! Thanks for the visual there. No, I wouldn't dress that way unless I lost a bet....

    I don't think I'm "going wrong" however. That's the great thing about cycling to me, it is what you make it. I enjoy the the bike and the ride itself and really don't care about the clothing other than it's function. For others that might be the exact opposite. Or maybe they're equally important? Who am I to say?

    I'm pleased with how I appear on the bike even if I do look like a slob. Being happy on the bike is why I ride! :)

    -Dinan

  • @PeakInTwoYears

    @Dinan

    "I certainly didn't detect any nose-thumbing, just wanted to respond to what I agree is an interesting question-the whole business of depths and surfaces."

    "Hardness and, if not vanity, a decent appearance of unconcern..."

    Depths and surfaces? A decent appearance of unconcern?

    That is some seriously good stuff there, Peak. I wish I could put that kind of eloquence to my words in discussions like this. Thanks for taking the time to contribute. Well said....

    -Dinan

  • "...a decent appearance of unconcern" I stole from Patrick O'Brian. I love that phrase. It does so much work.

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