I wasn't planning on doing it for at least another couple of months.
Like after summer. To allow myself to get a bit thinner.
But, I was planning on eventually doing it.
Because, now that I have found the riding club and gone riding with
them I have discovered that wearing spandex automagically changes the
way the cars, trucks, busses, motorcycles, and police treat a person on
a bike.
It doesn't matter how fast you are going.
If you are wearing spandex you obviously know what you are doing and
are going fast enough that you can ride in the traffic lanes.
If you are not wearing spandex you are obviously just another person on
a bike who should be in the "local traffic lanes" which are ostensibly
for bicycles, but also contain pedestrians, bus stops, pot holes, and
the occasional deliberate speed bump. And are populated by people who
don't believe in such concepts as "pick a side of the road and stick to
it" or "look where you are going."
I haven't been ticketed yet but I've been furiously waved at by two
police officers in the month since I bought my bike.
There are other advantages like pockets which are conveniently placed
for retrieving objects while riding. And things like padding and
ventilation.
So, I figured on eventually getting The Clothes.
But, not just yet.
Today this changed.
Cause on Saturday the Local Bike Shop (capital letters to distinguish
it from shops that carry things like Flying Pigeon or Xidesheng or
cargo bikes) is sponsoring a it-isn't-really-a-race bicycle race. And
I wanna go.
It'll be _really_ cool. I'll get a free t-shirt. And it'll be
_really_ cool. I go back to the US for holiday next Wednesday so doing
something like this will be really cool. And did I mention I'll get a
free t-shirt? Or that it would be really cool?
Entrance requirements are bicycle (check), gloves (check), reflectors
(check), swimsuit (no idea why but check), helmet, bike jersey, and
bike shorts.
So, tomorrow, or maybe Friday, I'll go to the shop and I'll look at the
price tags on the spandex. Then I'll try to find someplace to get a
helmet. I refuse to buy the helmets the bike shop stocks on the
grounds that I will not wear a helmet that cost more than my bike did.
(And because I generally am Not A Helmet Wearer.)
-M