Goggles & Dust
Images from Cycling’s Glory Days
Velopress has combined forces with Shelly and Brett Horton of the Horton Collection to produce this
beautiful compact coffee table book with 100 historic images selected from the collections 350,000
images.
I simply love this look back in history to envisage what it was like to race in the days when riders
had to have more of a gladitorial persona and know how to truly suffer. I wonder with their mental
strength how they would compete today give the advances in training and technology. Can you
imagine covering 3570 miles over just 17 stages largely wihout the backup of a team mates, spare
bike or radio? The image on p14 encapsulates this perectly to me. Gaston Rebry in the 1929 Tour
de France riding on what in Italy would be called a White Road with a packed car behind with no
capacity to load a bike. Tired - just carry on until you crash or drop at the roadside from exhaustion.
Punctures were prevelent and demonstrated by riders carrying 2 spare tyres around their necks not surprsing given the un-made roads. What strikes me most is the image on p50 of Lucien Buysse
descending the Tourmalet in 1926. The weather is atrocious and the roads muddy. Riding on the flat
in conditons such as these is hard enough on modern day racing tyres so one can only imagine the
bravery and fearless skills required to descend a mountain and one as remote as the Tourmalet. One
can only ponder if a rider would be found if he skidded off the side and if so how long it would take
to be transported to hospital with the aid of helicopter evacuation.
p105 provides an insight into the team meals after a stage in the Tours 1930 edition. Rider are
cramped around the table with a plethora of wine and what looks like coke. The fans are clearly shit
outside looking in as if the riders and are exhibit within a zoo. How things have changed with riders
oft retreating to their rooms and missing the pleasure of socialising with other teams discussing the
days race .
Goggles and Dust is published by Velopress and is available on Cordee.co.uk for £11.99
Olly Stevens from the Velo House looking through the book.