Or: You are NOT Lance Armstrong.
It’s summer, so I see a lot of people on their bikes getting around. Generally you can tell the students from the professionals, but I’ve noticed a disturbing trend of not so young professionals on bikes wearing ‘bicycle’ gear. I keep telling people, you don’t need special bicycle gear to commute to work. And unless you’re actually racing or doing those long distance treks without stopping, dressing up like Lance Armstrong makes you look hilarious to the rest of us.
I own three items of clothing that are bicycle only: my helmet, my gloves and my pants strap. I only use the helmet regularly. The gloves I use when I’m doing things like Bike the Drive, or other such long-distance bike runs. The pants strap… I don’t like. I get grease on my pant leg anyway, so I just roll my pants up and wear thick ski socks when it’s cold. And boots. It’s a great look.
But today I saw the following:
- A guy (Chris, who also has a Dahon) dressed like me, pants rolled up.
- A guy in tight jeans, rolled up (i.e. hipster)
- A woman in shorts and Teva sandles
- A woman in a skirt-suit (I cheered and she smiled)
- A woman in a regular summerish clothes (I think she works at my library)
- An overweight, out of shape, beer-belly man in tight lycra shorts and a technical jersey
That last guy gave me whiplash, turning my head around so fast to go ‘What the hell?’
People. Don’t bother with the lycra/Lance Armstrong stuff. It doesn’t make you cool and it makes you look like an idiot. Nuff said.