A real cyclist?
- Thread starter Rain drops
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youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
There were 'proper' cyclists in the 50's and 60's too. We didn't have Lycra, but we had wool. We had REAL chamois pads. We had club kit. We had plus-fours and long argyle socks in the winter. We had fine leather Italian Cycling shoes with nailed on cleats. We wrapped our spare tub under the saddle with a purloined Wall's Ice Cream banner. We spent hours with our noses pressed against the bike shop window drooling over the latest Campagnolo release. We begged and borrowed to buy it! We had to have the Brooks saddle WITHOUT the saddle-loops. Holdsworthy's Bike Riders Aids was our bible. 
roubaixtuesday
self serving virtue signaller
Alex321
Veteran
- Location
- South Wales
Is there?
Can't say I've ever come across any.
This thread is mostly very much tongue-in-cheek, in case you hadn't realised
alex_cycles
Veteran
- Location
- Oxfordshire
I'm told the "correct" pronoun should now be "they" to avoid offending
What about those who are offended by pluralising something that there is only one of?
youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
What about those who are offended by pluralising something that there is only one of?
Surely "they" can be used correctly to refer to an individual of an unspecified or unknown gender - as in "ask your friend if they could help" instead of "ask your friend if he or she could help"?
Alex321
Veteran
- Location
- South Wales
"They" has always been both plural and singular.What about those who are offended by pluralising something that there is only one of?
Normally used in the singular when gender of the person being spoken about is unknown, but not exclusively. As in "Somebody has left a shoe here. How could they have not noticed they were only wearing one?"
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/they
Only the final definition under 3(d) is new. All the other definitions under 3 have been around for as long as I have been speaking English, probably much longer.
Or https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/they
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
Anyone getting offended by this is an wannabe pedant looking for a fight. (A fight that they would inevitably lose)What about those who are offended by pluralising something that there is only one of?
"They" as a singular pronoun is an accepted part of English grammar. If Fowler is OK with it, then so am I.
Edit: Cross post with @Alex321
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cougie uk
Guru
Real chamois was rubbish. Dried as hard as cardboard and then you had to grease it before you put them on.
Pulling on cold greasy shorts was never lovely.
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
I dont know what a real cyclist is.
Its a good job I dont care.
A young man did suggest we had a race a couple of years ago. One of these wannabe TDF whipper snappers. I suggested that the Finish line from Denmark should be Gibralter.
He thought I was joking. I wasn't. 😁
Its a good job I dont care.
A young man did suggest we had a race a couple of years ago. One of these wannabe TDF whipper snappers. I suggested that the Finish line from Denmark should be Gibralter.
He thought I was joking. I wasn't. 😁
roubaixtuesday
self serving virtue signaller
Rain drops
Active Member
As a 'non proper' rider I note that there is concerted pressure, especially in the cycling press, for all cyclists to 'take it to the next level', 'goi harder and faster', 'MTFU', (the daftest advice of all) etc.
It seems to me that the reason for actually wanting to ride about on two wheels is often lost in all this coercion. (Propaganda?) Obviously not all do as they are told, but I'm surprised at just how many do see it that way. (Mountain biking even worse. 'Go big or go home', even if in some cases it results in life changing injury in the quest for notoriety!)
I was thinking this just recently while sitting in the car at the top of a local hill climb (Carlton Bank N.Yorks.) with a giant flask of tea and a box of egg sandwiches. (Always looked forward to, after any type of riding.) I watched a road cyclist slog his way to the top with a grin on his face, only to immediately turn about and belt back down. I bet to myself that he was on one of these utterly daft and boring Everest outings. Sure enough, by the time I'd exhausted the giant flask, and polished of the news and daily crossword, up he puffed again though this time with no grin on his face (it was hurting) only to belt back down again.
Now this, it seems to me, is the opposite to the sheer joy of riding a bike, and it is more of a self imposed repetitive and boring form of punishment. What on earth are they proving that couldn't be done in a more productive form? Whatever, suffering is a must for them!
It seems to me that the reason for actually wanting to ride about on two wheels is often lost in all this coercion. (Propaganda?) Obviously not all do as they are told, but I'm surprised at just how many do see it that way. (Mountain biking even worse. 'Go big or go home', even if in some cases it results in life changing injury in the quest for notoriety!)
I was thinking this just recently while sitting in the car at the top of a local hill climb (Carlton Bank N.Yorks.) with a giant flask of tea and a box of egg sandwiches. (Always looked forward to, after any type of riding.) I watched a road cyclist slog his way to the top with a grin on his face, only to immediately turn about and belt back down. I bet to myself that he was on one of these utterly daft and boring Everest outings. Sure enough, by the time I'd exhausted the giant flask, and polished of the news and daily crossword, up he puffed again though this time with no grin on his face (it was hurting) only to belt back down again.
Now this, it seems to me, is the opposite to the sheer joy of riding a bike, and it is more of a self imposed repetitive and boring form of punishment. What on earth are they proving that couldn't be done in a more productive form? Whatever, suffering is a must for them!
winjim
Smash the cistern
With insight like that, you should get yourself a column.
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
That's very judgmental of you. My way is best and they are doing it all wrong.
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