Cycling jacket nostalgia

What did cyclists wear in the days before lightweight and breathable rain capes (or waterproof jackets as non-cyclists call them)? A common sight was the venerable Bertram Dudley Greenspot jacket, made in Yorkshire from Gaberdine or Poplin.

Happily, as modern cyclists discover the joys of tweed and cotton fabrics (when they're not blasting around the roads on lightweight racers wearing Lycra) there has been a revival of the vintage cycling jacket. Hilltrek has been selling a Ventile version for a while (called the Greenspot to honour the original) and Brooks sold an upmarket, Timothy Everest Ventile design, called the Criterion cycling jacket. Here they are.

Hilltrek Greenspot Ventile cycling jacket

Brooks Criterion jacket

An original Greenspot (photo eBay)