Written by: Imogen
9/18/2011 5:10 AM 

In my last post I promised an itemised, though by no means exhaustive, list of all the convincing and practical reasons cyclists wear lycra. Apart from the sheer joy of it of course. Here we go!

• Aerodynamics – over about 30km/h. Not unusual, even for reccies, wind resistance begins to be a factor. Tight lycra is going to cut that down considerably, and flapping t-shirts or shorts can be really annoying. And dangerous, which brings me to …
• Safety – normal clothes, long sleeves, belts, trouser hems, can all get caught in the drivetrain, wheels, brakes, you name it, of a bike and cause a crash. Not worth it. Even on a good day, your clothes will definitely get grease or grit on them, and they might catch and tear.
• Practicality – those jerseys we wear have pockets in the back where we can put stuff like food and spares. The little tubes we wear on our arms and legs, as well as those tight little vests, can be taken off and put into these pockets when we get too hot, as one usually does as the temperature changes over a long ride, or up and down a mountain. Makes sense, non? We also keep essentials like food and spares in there and we can reach around easily and get at these without having to stop. The position of normal pockets in a pair of shorts mean that stuff just falls out, and you can't put nearly enough stuff in them, either.
• Look – when you lean forward on a bike, it’s really, really difficult to keep your lower back and the top of your ass covered. Please, the world has too many muffin tops. Cycling jerseys have elastic at the bottom or are longer at the back, and most cyclists wear bib and brace knicks, which cover the back and go up over their shoulders… very comfortable and no-one sees any more than they should!
• Evolution – It’s important to note that cycling, even the Tour de France, wasn’t always purely about competition, but endurance. To facilitate this, cyclists in the days of old wore woollen shorts with leather chamois – usually from a young deer, sewn into the seat. Basically, like shoes stop your feet wearing out, the chamois stops your ass wearing out. Although we still call it a chamois, these days no baby deer have to die for the production of cycling clothes. Another reason Lycra ain’t so bad.
• Affiliation – a lot of us, even the reccies, have affiliations with brands and organisations (a lot of them either coffee shops or charities) that we want to advertise. Like the pros have their sponsors emblazoned on their kit, we like to show off which club or group we belong to, and which causes and organisations we support, and, most importantly, who support us.
• For your sake – innocent bystander: the sweat, rain, sleet, tears, blood, it dries out quicker from Lycra, for the same reason, much sporting clothing is made of this stuff. It means we have a chance of drying out, which is pretty good basic hygiene, we smell better, and our general demeanour is better, so that at the café, when you’re jeering at us, we’re more likely to feign confidence, sit down and smile, order a coffee, and have a joke, than cry, or punch you, or strip naked and howl and howl with the agony of our passion.
   

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