Avoiding the Fred Situation: Does The Jersey You Wear Matter?
As many of my post ideas begin, I was recently clicking around an online cycling forum and stumbled across a discussion that struck me as interesting. A simple question of “will I get made fun of for wearing a pro jersey on my ride” sparked a huge debate about the legitimacy of purchasing and wearing pro team gear. There's a lot of worry about becoming a cycling fred, showing up with gear that your legs can't back up, apparently…
Of course, there were as many opinions as there were posters, ranging from “whatever makes you happy” to “some deity will kill kittens if you wear that Sky jersey on a ride.” With such a wide range of opinions, it's not easy to sort it all out, but I'll do my best for you.
Click through after the jump to figure out how to avoid becoming “that guy.”