Patches!
Bicycling South Africa|May 2017

Steeped in tradition, cycling’s latest must-have keepsake makes everything it touches cooler.

Chris Klibowitz
Patches!

Three years ago, Todd Siegle was out for a spin near his home when a rider he didn’t know jumped into his slipstream; then hung on behind him, wordless, for kays and kays.

As a race organiser and keen observer of cycling culture, Siegle – taken aback by his experience – decided he wanted to commemorate the odd feeling of being wheel sucked. He envisioned a ‘Death to Suckers’ icon, featuring a cyclist with X’edout eyes, sucking on a lollipop that resembled a bike wheel.

Siegle is a thoroughly modern, 37-yearold financial analyst who rides a carbon fibre steed and was an early adopter of Strava (though he admits his upload rate is “somewhat shameful”). But when it came time to turn his wheelsucker idea into something he could pass around to his friends, he chose to do so with a technology that was last popular before he even learned to ride a bike – a cloth patch.

Iron-on cloth badges have been revived, with modern fashion showcasing new and unique ways of using them. And it appears that cycling has jumped onto the bandwagon.

Esta historia es de la edición May 2017 de Bicycling South Africa.

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Esta historia es de la edición May 2017 de Bicycling South Africa.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

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