Because I'm Always Learning Something New
Rode today in our new club jersey. Compared to the old ones, this looks much better and stands out on the road.
As far as a picture of me modeling it, well, I didn’t shoot one on the ride, and now the jersey is in the wash — but maybe someday soon, I’ll appear here in it.
Attended a meeting of my bike club tonight. The main item of business on the agenda was to figure out what to do about our club kit.
Last year, the design of the club jersey was modified radically — a complete departure from earlier designs. The idea was to create something that was highly visible — so a diagonal “sash” of our club letters (CCRCC, for Circle C Ranch Cycling Club) dominated the front. They’re in bright yellow against a black background. There’s also a picture of a biker figure in blue against black. Meh. The blue and yellow stripes on the sleeves work, though, in my opinion, and the red stripes are a holdover from earlier versions. We’ve got matching arm warmers, which carry through the stripes, and look pretty good. But it’s been apparent that the jersey needs a makeover.
They’re just not as visible as had been hoped. The back — which one would like to be seen by motorists at enough of a distance that they have time to react and avoid hitting the cyclist — features rays of blue emanating from the Circle C logo. The logo is the only thing that’s yellow, and it’s kinda thin. It just doesn’t stand out. If you completed the kit by buying the shorts, they have a wide yellow band across the butt. However, way more people bought just the jersey instead of a jersey-shorts combination.
I never even got in on the jersey purchase, and other club members joined too late this year to get in on it, either. So, we had the option to place another jersey order, using the template on file at the custom jersey company. Or, we could redo the jersey for the fourth time in four years, and see what we could do to make it stand out more.
We decided to go for a redesign. Instead of a bunch of us all contributing different ideas, and resembling the committee that was commissioned to design a horse but came up with a camel, we turned the job over to the member who had honchoed the last jersey order. He knows the folks at the jersey company, and he’ll work with them to come up with a new look, while preserving the feel of our current kit.
We should get the new ones in mid-January.
If you’re in a bike club, have your jersey stories been like ours? Are you happy with the look of your team kit? And while we’re at it, how has customer service been from the custom jersey company you do business with?
It’s not Indian Summer in Texas yet — we haven’t had our first frost, although we’ve come close. But it’s in the low 60s now when I start my morning weekend rides, and it will warm up to the 80s for the rest of the week.
This is the beginning of the time of year when dressing for my rides becomes a guessing game. It starts cool, then warms up. This morning, I wore a long sleeved jersey and a base layer, along with my bibs. A stiff breeze from the southeast made going south difficult. The part of the route that heads east is mostly downhill, so it’s not too bad.
Usually, on a cool morning that promises to warm up, I’ll wear arm warmers, which I like a lot. They give you a lot more adjustability as conditions change than a long-sleeved jersey.
I have a rule of thumb for dressing, which I violate with frequency. If it’s above 65 degrees, I just wear a short sleeved jersey and shorts. If 55-65, I wear arm warmers, or maybe a long-sleeved jersey. Below 55, I’ll wear the long-sleeved jersey, and add tights. Below 50, I add a windbreaker with zip-off arms. I don’t bike when temperatures are below 45 degrees (Hey, this is the South!).
My clothing today erred on the warm side. I really worked up a sweat, but still remained comfortable throughout the ride. The wind countered the warming temperatures. Still, if I had thought about it more, I probably would have gone with just the arm warmers.
Do you have a formula for dressing for the weather?