Sir, – Alan Eustace (May 23rd) criticises what he perceives as classist undertones in David McWilliams's suggestion that one of the possible reasons why cycling is becoming a middle-class sport is because "cycling is difficult, and only a person with a certain inner drive gets up on a saddle" ("Lurid gear and swanky bikes mark cycling as the new golf", Opinion, May 19th).
Is the implication that a strong work ethic is lacking in those without socioeconomic privilege really “inescapable”, when your columnist asserts that the working class came to the sport of cycling and excelled at it first?
Is such a conclusion really inescapable when a paragraph or two later it is acknowledged that cycling’s new middle-class popularity “may also be because it is expensive to get kitted out”? – Yours, etc,
CHRISTOPHER
McMAHON,
Castleknock,
Dublin 15.
Sir, – David McWilliams’s well-written column on the new status of the bike and his comparison with its early association with the working man stirred many memories for me.
In rural Ireland the bike, aside from being a mode of transport, was so much more. The county council labourer cycled to his work location for the day, shovel securely tied to the crossbar with strong baler twine, shovel head pointed backwards. The housewife or spinster cycled to the local village shop for her daily groceries. When her goods were neatly packed in a used cardboard biscuit box, it was securely tied to the bike carrier with plenty of strong white twine. Her ability to cycle home with goods on the carrier, sitting proudly balanced, was a common sight on country roads. Some ladies small in stature carried out similar daily journeys by walking alongside the bike to and from the local shop.
Youth had its freedom of expression in bike antics, such as cycling forward but facing backwards in a “standing on pedals” display of skill. The “show-off” could demonstrate his skill at cycling with his hands behind his back. All part of life in the days of the Raleigh and Humber.
The postman and local guard resplendent in their respective uniform were unique among country cyclists.
The cyclists of yesteryear are long gone, but they will last longer in historical memory than the Lycra-clad cyclists of today with their “multi-hued plumes of bright pinks, greens and blues”. – Yours, etc,
DECLAN GORMAN,
Mullingar,
Co Westmeath.
Sir, – I enjoyed David McWilliams’s analysis of the current surge in the popularity of cycling. I would add to his analysis that it is extraordinarily time efficient – unlike golf or sailing, you are literally engaged in the activity from the time you leave home until you return. For the cash-rich, time-poor people of the stereotype, this is a major attribute.
Regarding the “middle-aged men in Lycra”, a better collective noun than a “congress of mamils” ought to be found. Peloton sounds too serious, and a chain too obvious. In view of their professional status, the words “conference” or “presentation” might be apt. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN O’BRIEN,
Kinsale,
Co Cork.