He said the usual stuff about women riding bikes, including the very standard: "women in leathers, don't get me started".

Why not, Scott?

What about women in leathers?  Is there something embedded deeply in your psyche that makes you come over all a-quiver when you hear the unmistakable squeak of leather on womanly limbs?  Or is it just something you've heard everyone else say in hushed tones.

I think it's time we cleared this up.

Despite the lusty images of Barbarella (the movie, not the shops) and the best efforts of various racing gear manufacturers, leather is an extremely practical material.

It holds up remarkably well across bitumen under speed, it's easy to waterproof, and it has a surprising amount of give.

It also breathes, but not very much, and here we get to the gritty truth about women in leathers. 

We wear leathers for a very practical reason - they make the bitumen a lot softer.

They're really not a fashion item, and if they've been used as designed, they do nothing for one's desirability.

They SMELL!

If you wear them day in and out, and sweat in them, eventually there gets to be a build-up. 

And it's not like you can wash leather.

All you can do is air it and hope.

So get over this wide-eyed, giggly, juvenile hang-up.

Women in leathers are sexy, but it's got nothing to do with the leathers.