Hard Men of Cycling - Glasses Version

Lets face it, cycling has become a "cool" sport and the kids getting into it want the look of the tanned legs, the 10k bike and the five hundred dollar shoes. And eyeware is part of the look - who doesn't want a set of new Oakley's in their Christmas stocking?

There was a time however - long before prescription inserts and contact lenses, when eyeware was a necessity rather than a fashion statement for some of the visually challenged members of the peleton.

Thats right cycling has a pretty rich tradition of coke bottle bottom wearers. The fact that a small set left you looking over the top of the rim when you were down in the drops meant that if you were a glasses wearing cyclist you inevitably needed to go "large".

But who was the "hardest" of the glasses wearers? While this seems like an oxymoron, the reality is that two of the hardest nuts to ever push the big ring in anger were of the four eyes club.

But lets get a wimpy, pussy one out of the way first so that we can have the good laugh that this breed usually deserve. Martin Earley was a pasty Irishman who could climb a bit and was your stereotypical glasses wearer in almost every way. He was hyper uncool. If Francesco Moser was at one end of the spectrum in terms of what young cyclists aspired to look like, then Martin was the other. He was just a sad little boy in a mans world and is now largely forgotten.

The next two however pulled off a feat that is truly remarkable. They wore glasses that were so big and dorky looking compared to their gold plated genuine toughness that they were actually endearingly cool in a way that a pair of Rudy Projects will never be.

Jan Raas and Gerrie Knettemen are cycling GODS. They ruled the roost when cycling was for hard men and make no mistake. They were big strong classics riders who turned the big gears and were not afraid to go toe to toe off the bike if this was required. Like Sean Kelly, they both had that otherworldly air of the true essence of cycling. An essence that seems to have been lost in the modern version with its namby pamby white shoes and color coordinated nicks and jerseys.

When I was a kid my uncle gave me a wool Ti Raleigh top. It itched like hell and all the cool kids had new lycra La Vie Claire stuff, so I hid it away in shame and ultimately I think it got tossed. What a fool was I.

What I would do now to be able to wear that top, and you know what, I would wear a pair of coke bottle glasses as a sign of respect for Jan and Gerrie. Those guys didn't care about trying to look cool - they just were.