I doubt if anybody on this forum will read anything they didn't already know -- but the BBC newspaper published a nice little article on cycling and its health benefits...

Except for a couple jabs like
"...cycling has middle-aged men in lycra..."
or
"But he warned: "You might look a bit silly in lycra."
it's not bad

The web address for the article is:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18954012

I would look very silly in lycra. Thank you for the link.

I *do* look very silly in lycra. But I don't let that stop me.

Personally I look divine in Lycra. It shows off all my best features.

I look rather spiffy in my Medium Pro-fit jersey(Louis Garneau) and cycling shorts(stretchy pants as my Sister-in-law calls them), but I didn't get those until I had a BMI of <25.

I remember when lycra shorts first came out, back in the early 80's? when everybody wore wool shorts. Anyway it was a long time ago. I had a sample pair that I showed to some older "veteran" riders. Their first impression was that they'd never be caught dead in those things!

Luis

Really? WOOL shorts? No, seriously, you mean WOOL as in the stuff that used to be on a sheep? In 90 degree weather?

Didn't that give you a really hot, itchy butt?

No. This is the 50+ forum, isnt it? I'd have thought we all remembered the pre-Lycra days.

The worst part was the shami--what an improvement! --never mind wool or lycra!

Back in the 70's, I rode my bike to grad school classes from time to time wearing my short wool shorts. I remember seeing a coed who was looking at me walk into a door post at the entrance to the student center. Those were the days...

I also remember guys whistling at my wife when she wore the same kit at that time. Those REALLY were the days...

I am 50+...

But, back in the days I was originally riding I used it pretty much for mobility and gave it up as soon as I turned 16 and got a driver's license. (After all: Why would one pedal a bike when all you have to do is press down on a gas pedal? And besides, a car was WAY more cool...) But, when I did ride it was with whatever I had on at the time -- sometimes it was a baseball uniform as I pedalled my way to a Little League game.
... And helmets were for motorcycles!

I guess those days are gone too... Kids get driven by their parents to wherever they want to go... We had two choices: Walk or Pedal?

I recently started riding again -- so I guess I missed all the fun of the wool shorts.
... But they still sound hot and itchy to me!

No. Wool is comfortable over a wide range of temperatures, and even while wet. And good wool cycling clothing was made from Merino wool, which isn't itchy.

Still is made from merino. I use merino base layers all the time, they are massively superior to synthetics.

Perhaps, if one isn't allergic to it. For my part, I was greatly relieved when synthetics became easily available.

At my age, not only would I look silly in Lycra but I would feel silly. Also my neighbors would never stop laughing. No, I will keep riding in my Wrangler jeans (if they are good enough for Brett Favre, they are good enough for me) with my Alabama Roll Tide tee shirts. To me riding is all about comfort and enjoying the outdoors. I could care less about looks and speed. Most all my rides have no real destination. Since I am going nowhere, I don’t care how long it takes me to get nowhere.

The "genuine" chamois is why there is chamois cream. Nothing quite like dry chamois next to heavy wool for comfort . . .

Uugh! What a visual picture. I still have a pair of shorts with a chamois. Look at it the other day and couldn't believe how stiff the thing is. And I wore that? Somewhere around I also have an old leather helmet. Those ones that are foam covered leather tubes. I'll wear it sometime when I want to impress someone and safety isn't an issue.

Did Favre Play Football in Wranglers? All 6'2" And 222 Pounds of him? I wonder if his neighbors made fun of him sitting on their couch with their remote controls so they don't have to get up and walk.

Or a "leather hairnet" as they were called -- about the only thing they did was keep your hair in place.

Your user name looks, familiar.