Max who published Rough Stuff Cycling in the Alps is now publishing a book around the RSF archive.
The photos are full of the joy of riding your bike, and evocative of a bygone style – of a time when you might set off on a club ride wearing a shirt and tie, a deerstalker or a bobble hat, and no ride was complete without a stop to brew up some tea and smoke a pipe.
Thanks for keeping the profile of this raised Chew - marvellous. No gizmos at all, how on earth could they have managed to enjoy themselves so much . Still got my yellow plastic cape (AND matching sou'wester!).
Last edited by RIP on Thu Jan 10, 2019 2:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP
The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....
Really looking forward to this. As 'bikepackers' this is our heritage and before you can know where you're going, you should first know from where you came.
Only recently at work did I suggest in all seriousness that we produce a cyclist's poncho. Now I see the real style value in it and where that subliminal seed probably came from. The lycra backlash alliance has another ally : )
jameso wrote:Only recently at work did I suggest in all seriousness that we produce a cyclist's poncho. Now I see the real style value in it and where that subliminal seed probably came from. The lycra backlash alliance has another ally : )
(and, backed - looking forward to this)
They're readily available you know...
And by christ they're as terrible in a wind now as they've always been. I used one for a while some years ago.....never again. At least, not till I'm as grey haired and bandy-legged as some in the RSF archive.
Yes, I just like the idea of faffing with the design of one. Sorry .. OT diversion. Back to long socks, egg butties, wool hats and all that good stuff.
Thanks for posting Stu… it all came about because I talked to Mark Hudson, the archivist, in the course of republishing Fred's book, and really all the credit is down to him – it was Mark who recognised there was something worth saving, and he's been tireless in searching things out and ringing everyone up and getting them to donate their slides and their documents to the club.
It really is a treasure trove of experiences and adventures, it's been a privilege to stick my nose in it this far and help it come to life…
i used to ride with the yorkshire section of the rsf in the late 80's and early 90's.
pld boy i worked with talked me into going on a club run with them up wharfedale, taking in hebden gill and other tracks above grassington.
bloody loved the whole thing.
but mountainbiking got trendy so i stopped riding with the rsf.
pledge for book and new membership. looking forward.
'ride...wayfarer' - just turn up at the RSF meeting at end March at Ceiriog, there'll probably be a mass start . Very tempted by that weekend but keeping options open at moment.
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP
The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....
It was a time when the British countryside was opening up to working-class people. Britain’s first national park, the Peak District, opened in 1951. Finally, the moors and dales were not just the preserve of wealthy landowners but ordinary people, who could pedal out from their homes in the counties of Lancashire or Yorkshire for a two-wheeled adventure. Off they went, fortified by flasks of tea, sandwiches and perhaps a puff of a pipe, wearing sturdy leather shoes oiled with margarine, woollen knee socks, button-down shirts and tank tops https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... -road-club
Blimey, genuinely brings a tear to me eye - me and many others Chew mate, bless ya for letting us all know in the first place. Not sure about the marg bit though . Wonder if it would work for reproofing our modern goretex boots .
Last edited by RIP on Thu Jun 13, 2019 12:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP
The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....
. Still got my yellow plastic cape (AND matching sou'wester!).
about 128% backed now 
