Infinite Monkeys

Cycling Caps - Ain't what they used to be

I'm (still kinda) too young to be titling a post thusly. But having seen the recent offerings in the category of cycling caps at the expo before El Tour de Tucson, I can't suppress my inner old coot.

See, I've got this old yellow Campagnolo cap just like the one Dennis Christopher wore in Breaking Away. I say "just like" because I bought it as a kid back when the movie first came out. I rediscovered it recently when I was going through a collection of things that my mom had saved from my childhood.

I'd love to replace my old, ailing cap, as its life is clearly limited. It deserves a retirement befitting its memento status. I wore it last year when the school where I work had a "hat day" for its monthly "spriit day." Since my wife liked the look on me ("cute - in a good way," she says), I've taken to wearing it again occassionally. But it just won't last forever.

But the current caps offered are of noticeably lesser quality. The fabric is too heavy, The elastic is awkwardly bunched across about one inch rather than finely spread all the way across two "sections" of the cap. There is no separate liner around the inner edge. And worst of all, I can't find a Campy hat with a real ribbon of Italy's green, white and red as its stripe. The new hats all have an ugly, flat (not shiny ribbon) "world champion" rainbow stripe. Ugh.

Unfortunately, nothing I've tried on lately or seen on eBay seems to be of a quality that I'd actually want to wear. (It's not helped by my disinclination to wear the "world champion" colors, as I race locally. No one would ever mistake me even for someone trying to pass himself off as a champ, but it could clearly be seen as a statement worthy of ridicule and being put in my place. We've got some members on our team who wear National Champion's colors because they've earned them in their categories.)

There've got to be some well made caps. Out. There. Some. Where.

Posted by Brad at November 22, 2005 05:07 PM