Have you been riding a while and are you are getting old? Let us see – cycling version.
1 – Your cycling buddy has never ridden or seen a tubular tire, but you still have a tube of tubular glue in your workshop.
2 – That winter cycling jersey that you only wore when it was very cold (20’s?) is the one that you now grab when it is 60 degrees.
3 – When a college racer acts surprised to hear you raced in the past … and when they ask, you realize that you stopped racing long before they were born.
4 – When the young person on the bike ride looks at your bike and says – “what is Campagnolo?”
5 – When a fellow cyclist sees a cycling cap and asks, “what kind of hat is that?”
6 – Chrome, when the guys you are riding with never owned a bike that had a chrome fork and/or a chrome rear triangle.
7 – USCF? NORBA? What is that?
8 – John who?Johnny T what? I do not understand? John Tomac to those that do not catch it (or it could be Sean Kelly, Eddy Merckx or Bernard Hinault … or others).
9 – Your riding buddy thinks that Lemond, Merckx, Bontrager, etc – are just bike brands.
10 – You are asked “Why are these pedals called clipless when you obviously clip into them?”
11 – “Friction shifting means what? … and what is SIS?”
12 – They do not know that a chamois is a real animal and cringe when they hear that the skin of this animal was the ‘padding’ in your cycling shorts.
13- They are surprised to hear that wool (and silk) cycling clothing was used in the past, they think it is a new addition to the cycling world.
14 – When you are asked if a u-brake is like the u-boat they learned about in history class?
15 – Cottered cranks? What? … and what do you mean when you say – square taper cranks?
16 – Bullhorn handlebars look like what?
17 – Cello-tape handlebar tape? Cloth handlebar tape?
18 – What is a toestrap? … and why would you need to strap your toe?
19 – She thinks a freewheel is either no cost or only occurs when you are coasting.
20 – He is stunned to hear you say that in the past you never used/owned a torque wrench – even as a professional mechanic.
Does that show your age? Think about the future. Technology is moving fast. More questions will be added to the list over the next decade or two? Those might include …
What is a quick release … What is a tube … What is a derailleur?
As we tumble down the technology world … some takes us to great places of better function and ease of maintenance and some … do not. At least we can enjoy it now even if we chuckle at it later.
