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Riding in Street Clothes

12.08.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

One afternoon last week I got home early enough that I thought I could squeeze in a bike ride before it got dark. But it was unusually cold for Central Texas — around 42 degrees. I decided to take my mountain bike out for a spin around the neighborhood, rather than hit the roads on my road bike.

But I didn’t want to wear my biking tights. For starters, they’re not cold weather tights — they work great when the temperature is in the 50s, but on an afternoon like this, I knew they wouldn’t be enough.

Likewise my bike jerseys. I like my long sleeve jersey with the brushed inside, and mostly, it works well when teamed up with a base layer and my windbreaker. But I thought I’d need something more substantial.

So I pulled a wool sweater out of the drawer, put it on over my long sleeved twill shirt, and put my windbreaker on over that. To cover my legs, I had my jeans. Instead of bike shoes, I wore my flat-soled sneakers (the mountain bike has platform pedals).

It all worked fine. I did 12 miles in about an hour. The wool sweater kept me warm, and the windbreaker broke the wind. A pair of light wool gloves substituted for my half-finger biking gloves, keeping my fingers from freezing, but without adding so much bulk that shifting and braking would have been a problem. Okay, the blue jeans weren’t the wisest choice for legwear — my thighs were pretty chilled when I finished the ride — but I’ve got alternatives to those for future similar rides.

Since I started my “serious” biking about two-and-a-half years ago, I’ve taken to biking clothes. I like my padded shorts and my lightweight lycra jerseys. It’s become second nature to me to rummage through my bike clothes drawer (yes, I have a whole drawer dedicated to them — don’t you?) to pick the best combination to wear when heading out.

But for the half-century before I started “serious” biking, I didn’t bother about that. I just rode, wearing whatever I happened to have on at the time. In fact, my wife and I both thought the cycling getups were over the top — and we’d chuckle at some of the kits people wore when we were out riding rails-to-trails bike paths.

Street clothes can do very well for a biker under most circumstances. I’ll be doing neighborhood rides in them again. How about you? Cycling kits are fun, but are they really necessary?

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Categories // Accessories Tags // clothing

Cool weather gear, or, the wuss factor

10.18.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 8 Comments

LSIt’s that time of the year again — fall. When days are warm, almost, and nights are cool — or downright chilly. For cyclists, it’s time to dig into the jersey drawer to see what new stuff we need, and reacquaint ourselves with our old standbys from last year.

Friday evening, after I got home from work, I decided to head out for a ride. Mrs. Noob said she wanted to come, too, so we figured we’d do a trip to the Veloway, and I’d do my usual three laps, while she did her two.

She was astride her bike, waiting for me, when I came into the garage to put on my shoes and helmet. “What?” she asked, in amazement. “Long sleeves?”

“Hey,” I replied, a little miffed. “It’s getting cool, and the shadows are long.”

I think  I heard her say, “Wuss,” under her breath. We headed out.

I’ve got two long sleeved jerseys that I use a lot come this time of year. One I’ve had for nearly two years. It’s the basic long sleeve model by Performance, and the inside is slightly brushed to trap heat. I love to wear it by itself when the temps are down around 50-60, or 10-16C. The one I was wearing this time is a summer weight jersey with no brushed fabric. It’s light, but it covers my arms.

I don’t react well to wind when riding, and my arms are the main protesters. I learned two years ago when I started riding that if my arms are warm, I’m good for the ride. If a cool wind blows on them, I’ll be uncomfortable. So I’ll go with the summer weight long sleeved jersey any time the temperature gets below 70 (21C). Besides, it has black panels on the sides, which I’m certain have  a slimming effect.

My arm warmers are another option, that are an even better choice because they’re more flexible. I can wear them when the weather is cool at the start of a ride, and pull them off when it warms up. Lots of the riders in my club showed up on a recent cool morning ride with arm warmers, a base layer, and wind vests, which looks like a nifty way to layer for the chill. Wind vests are small and thin, and easily stashed in a jersey pocket when they’re no longer needed. The arm warmers can join them there when it warms up even more.

When we got home from our ride, I mentioned to my wife that I was right to wear the long sleeves. The long shadows mixed with the cool breeze did chill the arms, and the sleeves mitigated the discomfort.

“I don’t think so,” she said, as she walked by in her sleeveless jersey. “I was very comfortable out there tonight.”

I unzipped to reveal my base layer and my bibs.

“Wuss,” she said, as she headed to the shower.

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Categories // Equipment Tags // clothing

Storing my “kit”

07.07.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

That Halo headband I mentioned in the last post is just the latest in my collection of biking accoutrements (I’m trying to stay with the spirit of the Tour, you know). But as such, it’s contributing to a problem that’s been building for some time: I’m running out of space for it all.

When I started biking, I dedicated one drawer of my dresser to bike clothes. I already had some running stuff in there, like shorts, t-shirts, and socks. The thin jerseys didn’t take up too much more space — at first. But then I got a couple more jerseys, and the bibs take up more space than the shorts, and now it’s getting out of control.

DresserI have an embarrassment of cycling riches — but no place left to put them.

I’ve culled out a lot of the running stuff, since I don’t run anymore. I still find that I need an Alternate Plan B. I just have no idea what it will be. I know some folks who hang their jerseys and shorts — from hangars, in closets. That would be nice, if I had any available closet space. I would have loved to take all those things that we’re waiting to shrink back into and store them in the basement until that time comes. But we live in Texas, and they don’t build houses with basements down here.

So I’m looking for some advice from my astute readers. How do you store your cycling kit? Where? As John Stewart would say — help a brother (cyclist) out.

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Categories // Odds 'n ends Tags // clothing

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