An old episode of The Andy Griffith Show unearthed on YouTube (below) shows us how bicycle touring hasn't changed that much over the years.
We still use essentially the same gear and learn about different cultures through our travels.
The proper English bicycle tourist of 1963, as portrayed by Hollywood, traveled with much the same gear as you'd find on a touring bike today — bike fenders, bike racks, a luggage system, head gear and cycling clothes.
In this case, however, the front rack supports a wire basket, the rear rack a small suitcase and a pannier that looks like a canvas briefcase. The head gear is a flat cap and the bicycle togs are apparently tweed, not lycra (although tweed rides are again fashionable). He also carries a small pack.
Unfortunately, the Englishman runs afoul of local law enforcement — Barney Fife — when he's involved in a crash with a pickup truck in downtown Mayberry.
Blame game
I'm no forensic expert, but it looks like he had the right-of-way and was left-hooked by the pickup. Of course, Barney jumps to the conclusion the bicyclist was at fault. (Not much has changed in that scene.)
The touring bicyclist agrees to pay off the damage by working at Andy's home while Aunt Bea is away. He befriends Opie and tells him what a great opportunity it is to stay in his home.
“I might have traveled the length and breadth of America without ever finding out what Americans are really like. I used to think you were quite different, you know. I came into your home, saw how you lived, and you're not different at all, really.”
I don't remember watching this episode when it originally aired, but it did appear on TV when I was at an impressionable age. A couple of years later, in 1965 or 1966, I took off on bicycles with my friend on a three-day overnighter to a state park about 35 miles away.
Maybe “Andy's English Valet” originally spurred my interest in bicycle touring.
By the way, the Englishman is played by Bernard Fox. He might be familiar in a number of roles over the years, including the officer aboard the Titanic who announces, “Iceberg dead ahead, sir!”
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