It’s always nice to have a little advice and guidance, particularly if you are starting something new – taking up cycling, for example. When you’re getting more involved, or as you progress, questions will invariably crop up.
Some are easy to answer, such as ‘should I wear knickers under my padded shorts?’ – A resounding no! Others are more a question of personal taste – like how much pro-team kit to wear, what bike to buy or whether or not to opt for that pink jersey.
In fact, open most magazines aimed at pretty much anyone, and guaranteed somewhere among the pages there’ll be an article or checklist on what to wear, how to achieve a certain look, and dos and don’ts on various topics and activities.
This phenomenon certainly isn’t new. Digging through the archives of the sport we love can bring up gems such as this list; ‘Don’t for women riders’. Published in the New York World in 1895, and syndicated to several other publications like the wonderfully named Oswego Palladium Times, it puts forward advice – sometimes useful, sometimes hilarious, and sometimes shocking – for female cyclists of the time.