Leo, I'm not ashamed of my cyclist tan. This photo shows my "Neapolitan Ice Cream" tan at Ram Creek hot spring in British Columbia. Apparently my shorts blocked the sun more than my shirt.

Ah, the joys of skinny-dipping!

Other cyclists chortle at me because I never cycle in shorts, and I almost always wear long sleeves as well. I’m already very sun damaged so covering my appendages while cycling is an attempt to reduce further damage. The only thing that screams cyclist about me is that rarely take my bright orange helmet off. Even when wandering around the supermarket, or sitting in bakeries at morning tea time, I leave the helmet on. Invariably other shoppers notice that I am a cyclist.

Ah Graham, it must be an Australian thing. I too am covered head to toe when out on the bike, including a bandanna over face and daily, nay sometimes hourly, tracking of UV levels.

Like you I'm already somewhat sun damaged around the edges, with one skin cancer to date and regular removal of solar keratoses. Alas, we are the generation that ran around in the sun before 'slip, slop, slap' and 'no hat no play'!

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I am with Catherine and Graham. In the southern states we are under the depleted ozone layer formerly known as the hole in the ozone layer. The ozone layer filters out a lot of those nasty  cancer causing uv rays. I dress in long sleeves and trousers when cycling.

Mike 

it must be an Australian thing

Thanks, Catherine, Graham, and Mike.  It certainly is A 'Strayan Thing, but not only that, for sure.

Some of us northern wallahs have the same preoccupation, esp those of us of the Celtic diaspora, a.k.a. The Spotted Tribe.

An example of The Problem:

And the solution:

On me bike, it's long sleeves, cycling knickers, knee socks, head-muff beneath my helmet & over my neck, and lashings of sunblock.

There was a time, too, when inner tubes were of latex rather than butyl and had to be topped up each morning. The result was a long-lasting dark mark on the palm of one hand from the end of the pump. It was funny to see it on someone's hand and accuse him, out of bike gear, of being a cyclist.

Now inner tubes are butyl and there's no longer a reinforced hole in pump handles for the old flexible valves and those marks have long gone.

I guess we haven't mentioned the chain ring grease tattoo on the right calf.

A specialty subcategory: my wife and I once went to a party at the house of one of her coworkers, and I noticed some damage on the header board above their garage door. I asked and sure enough - they were in the "used to transport bikes on a car top carrier" cyclist subgroup...

That's a good look. 

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