Re: [CR]1950's British Cycling Touring Documentary

(Example: Production Builders:Tonard)

Date: Fri, 11 May 2007 21:54:09 -0400
To: classic rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
From: "John Betmanis" <johnb@oxford.net>
Subject: Re: [CR]1950's British Cycling Touring Documentary
In-Reply-To: <00af01c7942f$b33a88c0$0200a8c0@BIGTOP>
References: <BAY103-W17638722F8B50758A7B2D690390@phx.gbl>


At 08:51 PM 11/05/2007 -0400, Dr. Paul Williams wrote:
>I notice a lack of motor cars throughout!

I also found that strange, as if it had been staged. When I was cycling in the UK around that time, there was a little bit more traffic.
>I love the lines about lawyers and
>carpenters cycling side by side and enjoying friendly banter. Was it really
>this egalitarian? A while ago we raised the issue of economics and politics
>when talking about cycling in the UK. Did touring tend to be a middle-class
>pursuit?

I was a high school student at the time. I never knew what others in the club did for a living and never asked. A couple of months ago I read "One More Kilometre and We're in the Showers" by Tim Hilton, a book about the English cycling scene from the mid-fifties on, and several times he talks about the type of people that became riders and racing cyclists. He seemed to think it was the blue collar class, mill workers, miners and postmen. Apparently, the upper classes indulged heavily in cycling around the turn of the previous century, but then moved on to cars.

John Betmanis
Woodstock, Ontario
Canada