Never really thought about it really, though as someone has always done my own thing with cycling, I'm not really worrying what the club cyclists really think.
Me and my mates always used to wear a rucksack from get to work and fishing trips.
Frowned on when we turned up to enter a TT
"From the obscure ‘rules’ that we only know exist when we’re mocked for having broken them, to the ‘secret squirrel’ developments in technology, to the multitude of acronyms and arcane language combining French, Italian and English words referencing a history that it takes years to learn. Hardly surprisingly, then, that cycling can be rather intimidating – and none of us is immune from occasionally feeling like an outsider."
You get the picture!
P.S. This is not the whole article of course.
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
I first read the comic in 1958 - it was Cycling and Mopeds then - and that was the first time I read this sort of waffle. It comes round whenever they're looking for something to fill half a page. They do say that the comic is the longest-running UK sports mag and this must be one of its longest-running themes.
I often dress down on the bike, so that I'm not seen to be trying hard.
Think hi-viz Jersey touring shoes, endurance bike....
Until someone on a BMC comes by and over takes the tourist, when I cannot help but give it the beans and leave them for dust! Apologies to the BMC rider and the TT rider on the Ikley rd last Wednesday!
Cheers James
Ps I did get overtaken by the otley chain gang and I sensibly sat up and let them motor on!
The article seems to be having a bit of an identity crisis. It calls cycling a sport, is written by a sports psychologist yet talks about people who cycle for adventure, commuting and saving money on motoring expenses being shut out and it talks about (presumably those same people "shut out") as seeking the support of the sports psychologist, underperforming and taking safe options of avoiding events and scenarios (in fear of appearing as an imposter in front of the aficionados).
The very tone of the article encapsulates the attitude and perspective which alienates many cyclists because it defines cycling as a sport (alienating those that don't). For those aspiring sports cyclists, the very nature of "sport" is of elitism and of less able people not belonging in the higher echelons: all sports have their elites, different leagues/levels and the higher up you go, the more money is spent on equipment and the more seriously training regimes are taken - and those higher up tend to be more interested and take more seriously those at the same level or above (and their equipment, performance and training regime) than they do those lower down.
Disclaimer: Treat what I say with caution and if possible, wait for someone with more knowledge and experience to contribute.
I gave up on the comic about a year ago after realising I was buying it out of habit and the content had changed drastically. The TT scene had gone, replaced with endless training concepts and products for the filthy rich. What really stapled the covers together for me was the inclusion of the veritable stairway to heaven for all London cyclists; the thoroughly mediocre Box hill, somewhere in the content in every issue for about six months.
Yawn.
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
Same old same old. I’ve been cycling for 40 odd years. It never ceases to amaze / amuse me when the Johnny come lately brigade try to tell me what I’m doing ‘wrong’. My experience trumps their Google searches.
thirdcrank wrote: ↑1 May 2021, 11:04am
I first read the comic in 1958 - it was Cycling and Mopeds then - and that was the first time I read this sort of waffle. It comes round whenever they're looking for something to fill half a page. They do say that the comic is the longest-running UK sports mag and this must be one of its longest-running themes.
I started buying it in 1955. Most cyclists weren't too pleased with the mopeds addition ( we did have one club member who turned up for a club run on an NSU "Quickly" ) - he only did it once.
The magazine used to be far more comprehensive - there were interesting touring features.
I've rarely bought it in recent years - I don't think it offers much to anyone new to cycling.
The format of cycling mags has grown tired. No longer news magazines, really just advertising sheets. The Comic is a dreary, repetitive waste of £3.50, in the 70s it was a useful voice for the TT scene. The glossy ones at almost £7 with their constant features on gels, bars and pricey kit reviews don't offer much in the way of substance. In contrast I occasionally buy Railway Magazine, this is a good example of a technical, specialist news mag. You'd have thought there would be a market for a hardcore cyclists journal. The feeble CUK mag certainly isn't it.
Sounds like "Dead Donkey" stories in newspapers (Anyone mthe rather funny "Drop The Dead Donkey" TV series of a few years ago?)
Brompton, Condor Heritage, creaky joints and thinning white (formerly grey) hair ""You know you're getting old when it's easier to ride a bike than to get on and off it" - quote from observant jogger !
Does anyone remember Tony Bell’s column on the back pages of Cycling Weekly?
We’re talking 15+ years ago & the first bit of the mag I would read. It was hilarious to read about his pie/chips/beer & Bobby Clamp approach to training. Alas his tenure didn’t last long as readers who took themselves a bit too seriously found his approach too sarcastic & offensive. He was swiftly replaced by Dr Hutch, at which point I stopped reading it.
I gave up reading the Comic about 15 years ago, but recently found out that I can download a free digital copy from my local library using the “Libby” app, so I’ve occasionally started reading it again. That usually means a quick scan through to see if there’s anything worth reading in full. I miss the in depth TT reports from the likes of Bernard Thompson and the touring articles by the likes of Nickell.
I don’t really care whether people think I’m a real cyclist or not. I use toe clips and straps which is probably a no-no in the style stakes, but I can still hold my own in the sprint to the cafe and can show a clean pair of heels/wheels to many Rapha-clad poseurs.
Last edited by TrevA on 2 May 2021, 7:44am, edited 1 time in total.
I'm old enough to remember when, in 1945, my, just demobbed dad, went into the local newsagents and tried to arrange for a copy of Cycling to be collected every week. He was told that the few copies allocated to them were already spoken for but, what he regarded as the far more inferior, "The Bicycle" was available.
audaxjk wrote: ↑1 May 2021, 6:26pm
Does anyone remember Tony Bell’s column on the back pages of Cycling Weekly?
We’re talking 15+ years ago & the first bit of the mag I would read. It was hilarious to read about his pie/chips/beer & Bobby Clamp approach to training. Alas his tenure didn’t last long as readers who took themselves a bit too seriously found his approach too sarcastic & offensive. He was swiftly replaced by Dr Hutch, at which point I stopped reading it.
I find Dr hutch the highlight of the mag! Which dosen't say much for the rest of it. Just shows me what I cannot afford!
