What has happened to cycling in the past 50 years? Especially in the case of the Mamil - or middle-aged man in Lycra. I'm not averse to a bit of dressing up myself - give me a robe or a uniform and I will do my best to carry off the role to perfection - but the prospect of wearing all that figure-hugging rubber-woven stuff fills me with horror. Lycra, it seems to me, while rightly thought of as being supremely supportive, takes everything prisoner. Every bulge is enhanced; every anatomical deficiency is highlighted. I'd sooner join the Chippendales, though in my case I have more in common with the antique furniture than the youthful eye-candy.