At 7:06 PM +0000 1/25/09, Wyndham Pulman-Jones wrote:
>After a long ride in the rain on a 1950's French bike without
>mudguards today
>(http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/simonpj/Follis_1955_Forestier/)
>- which resulted in a very wet rear end (mine) - and following the
>discussion about the 1930's - 1950's British club racer habit of
>riding the bike to the race / tt with mudguards fitted and removing
>them for competition, compared to Jan's account of French riders
>influencing the race authorities to make mudguards required
>equipment for cyclosportif and cyclotouring competitions - I started
>wondering...
>
>Surely there were French club racers - not cyclotourists, but road
>racers - in the 1930's through to the 1950's who had the same need
>to 'ride to the race' as their British counterparts. Wouldn't they
>have had the same need to fit and remove mudguards? My 1955 Follis
>has eyelets for mudguards, which show evidence of having been used.
I am sure that this happened in France as well.
Unlike many countries, France had a distinct split among competitive amateur cyclists:
- Amateur racers were lower-class riders, who hoped to turn professional and escape the drudgery in factories and coal mines. The bikes of these riders were workmanlike machines. They could not afford Alex Singers, but instead got a frame from the local builder. They raced racing bikes, and probably outfitted them with fenders when it rained and they did not race, then took them off for the race.
- Cyclotourists were middle-class riders, often had enough money to buy a nice bike every couple of years. They enjoyed cycling, loved competition, but had no aspirations of turning professional. (They made more money at their jobs than a lowly bike racer ever would.) These guys bought the best bikes, and their rules required fenders, racks and lights in their events.
Both groups had competitions, but there was little mingling between the two. Granted, a few cyclotourists turned professional racers, but by and large, they were worlds apart. They each had their own events, their own rules, and their own bikes.
Today, most U.S. racers in spirit would fall into the second category. They have few aspirations of turning professional, and they do spend a lot of money on their bikes. (Of course, they ride racing bikes, without fenders, racks and lights.) When I rode with racers in Germany, I was surprised by the motley equipment they rode. Very little high-end stuff, and many mis-matched parts that looked like they came from various swap meets. The guys knew how to ride, though.
The competitions of the French cyclotourists were not quite the same as the racers. There were all kinds of "interesting" formats, such as time trials with a tandem and two single riders, age handicaps, etc., that added a bit of fun beyond the simple rush to the finish line. There was no national cyclotouring champion, and more often than not, the emphasis was on the team effort. I sometimes feel it would be nice to get something similar going in the U.S. these days.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com