20 signs you are 'proper old school cyclist'.....
1. You think a Gran Fondo is an ice-cream.
2. You don't think toe clips are something that need doing when your nails are too long.
3. Your gears don't peg out because of a dead battery!!
4. It's a wet day in July and you don't take to the turbo or give that day's bike ride a miss.
5. Your old hand built steel frame doesn't scare the crap out of you on a windy day.
6. You remember the Milk Race.
7. Your brakes aren't leaking oil.
8. When someone speaks of tubulars and bells, you don't immediately think of Mike Oldfield.
9. You know who Merckx, Fignon, Roche, Millar, Kelly, Hinault and Raas etc are.
10. You think Garmin GPS is a security company.
11. You think riding 4 abreast is two ladies cycling along side by side, not a group blocking half the road.
12. You know that LBS stands for 'local bike shop' and not 'legs bl**dy sore'.
13. The steep hill you encounter on the road is there to be climbed if you feel like it and walked whilst admiring the view if you don't......not to be climbed in a lung busting, heart damaging 'look at me' fashion just to prove some sort of pointless point.
14. You've heard of, and remember, the famous Gavia Pass stage in the '88 Giro.
15. You're familiar with Reynolds 531 and know it isn't the start of someone's phone number.
16. You have heard of the Coors Classic.
17. You remember Winning Magazine.
18. A rest day is....what's a rest day!?
19. You can walk around off-bike without your feet sounding like Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire.
20. You greet fellow cyclists on the road with a cheery hello smile or wave, in stark contrast to the modern day grunt or silence.
S McKeown (Old School Cyclist)
February 2015
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