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Send Your Club Kit!

03.22.2012 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

Just a quick reminder here — Bike Noob wants to showcase your cycling club’s jerseys. What is your look when a group of you does your weekend ride, or turns out en masse for a charity ride? Send pictures to me at rainycamp AT yahoo DOT com.

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Club Kit

03.20.2012 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

When I posted about my new Penn State jersey last week, I mentioned that I had run into our club ride that was departing in the afternoon after a postponement because of morning rains. I noted that most of the riders were wearing their club kit.

“People who regularly go on club rides usually wear club kit?” one commenter wrote. “Huh. Would never have occurred to me to do something like that.”

Well, I don’t know about your club, but we like the look of our club jerseys. Up until last year, a new version came out every year. The picture below shows our current look.

The name of my club is the Circle C Ranch Cycling Club (CCRCC), after the name of the neighborhood in which most of us live. The white version of our club kit came out in 2011, and we haven’t created a new one for the current year. The blue one in the middle is the 2010 version. I’m also in the 2010 version in the banner at the top of this page. The CR emblem is the logo used by the Circle C Ranch subdivision — a “circle” with the letters C and R (for Ranch). We’ve had the circle changed into a sprocket ring. We’re cyclists, after all! This picture was taken on a warm summer day, but club members can also get a load of accessories, all color-coordinated, such as shorts, tights, arm warmers, wind vests, thermal jackets, and cycling caps. Lots of our members have all these and more.

In addition, on many rides you’ll find people in older versions of our kit. After all, the jerseys don’t wear out that quickly, so they’re still wearable.

Other clubs in the Austin area have their own kit as well, such as Lake Travis Cycling, the Austin Cycling Association, Tough Cookies, Austin Flyers, and more. They’re all well represented at area group rides.

So I was wondering, in light of the comment above, do you cycle with a club that has its own kit? Do you wear it on club rides? And if so, what does it look like? I’d love it if you sent me some pictures of your own club’s designs — preferably being worn at a local event. In future weeks, I’ll revisit this topic with some more samples of what folks are wearing out on their rides. Send pictures to rainycamp AT Yahoo DOT com.

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Categories // Accessories, Equipment Tags // clothing

Tweaking Saddles

03.18.2012 by Ray Niekamp // 6 Comments

“Yesterday, I stopped at the new bike shop for some lube,” I said as I passed my wife while out on a morning ride. “They’ve got some saddles in there you should check out.”

“That’s OK, I feel pretty good now,” she replied.

Wow, that’s a turnaround. Just last week she was complaining that her saddle was so uncomfortable that she wanted to get a new one. Why the sudden change of heart?

Well, after she complained last week, I took a look at the saddle. It’s the original Trek gel that came with the bike when we bought it in 1992. But it hadn’t been on the bike for some years — not until I put it back on after the saddle she’d been riding failed on a New Year’s Day ride. As I suspected, there was a problem with the saddle’s set up. The nose was sticking up. I must not have tightened the set screw tight enough when I installed the saddle, and her riding had pushed down the back, and pushed the nose up.

I got out the carpenter’s level and set about correcting the problem. Just before I finished, Pat came out of the house to take a look.

“It’s perfectly level now,” I told her.

“You know, I’d like it if you lowered the nose a little bit from where it is.” she said.

I complied. “It’s half a bubble down from level,” I said.

Which brings us to the ride that started off this missive. I questioned her closely about the saddle and its feel.

“Lowering the nose made all the difference,” she said. “This feels just fine. You don’t have to change a thing.”

Once again, the big difference made by a small adjustment hit home. But I had my own version of the story. Just before that morning ride, I had once again tweaked my saddle position — edging it back ever so slightly. I’d been doing that over the last two weeks, a little bit at a time. Each time, it felt better, but each time, I thought things could improve even more. This time, it felt pretty good.

I’ve had a chance to confirm that in subsequent days. My rides on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were all good ones, with no discomfort on the seat. This morning, I led a B ride out into the country for a 36-mile round trip. I think I’ve finally found the magic spot. The saddle stays right where it is.

It’s a game of millimeters, but if you have the patience to keep at it, eventually you’ll get it right.

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Categories // Bike fit Tags // saddles

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