In article <ops6ww7i0txtdc4g@ivarsnotebook>,
Ivar Hesselager said:With greatly changing temperatures and winds your dressing will be of
great importance. This is imho the field where some of the most
costly mistakes are made. Passing a mountain you can freeze and boil
if your clothes are not right.So if you lack experience it would be
wise to investigate and test the clothes that you want to use on The
Day - as early as possible.
Ivar makes a good point. In my experience, the things that make long
distance rides good or bad are comfort issues. Hands, butt and feet are
three obvious ones.
Less obvious is one's neck and upper back which can become very sore
from craning your neck to see where you are going and can lead to
Shermer neck, numb or weak hands, etc. Higher bars reduce this problem.
I usually wear cycling gloves, although with the bars high enough those
are less necessary. Most events require a helmet, so buy a light one.
Saddles are very personal choices. I prefer Brooks Pros, but many
people find Brooks saddles less than satisfactory while many find them
wonderful. One r.b.t personality referred to them as "ass hatchets," a
phrase sure to stick with one. They are expensive, take some
maintenance and don't care to be ridden in the rain without protection.
Of course, there are many plastic saddles for sale that are as expensive
or more expensive than most Brooks saddles. I always liked the original
Selle San Marco Rolls saddle.
We haven't talked much about feet in this discussion. Shoes that fit
well are an obvious issue. The sole should be stiff enough that you
don't feel like you are standing on walnuts on the pedals. Your feet
may swell during the ride and your shoes should be conveniently
adjustable to accommodate this (I've never hads a problem with this, but
know many people who have at events like Paris-Brest-Paris which is 750
miles in under 90 hours). I find that wool cycling socks, like
SmartWool's, eliminate "hot spots" and contribute greatly to comfort.
The tops of the socks should not be tight as this can contribute to
Achilles tendinitis.
Ivar's point about temperature regulation is a key one. Experiment with
clothing at different temperatures and different conditions, and write
down your findings. You should be able to generate a table of what
clothing works well for you in what conditions pretty easily; you can
then look at the weather you'll be dealing with on the ride and make
good choices. I find that very breathable materials are best. I prefer
wool jerseys or knit synthetic jerseys as these breathe better than
woven synthetic ones. I don't like wool shorts, though, and use regular
cycling shorts. I prefer older Pearl Izumis with pretty thin
chamois(es) as thicker ones kind of bunch up. The current PI pads are
adequate but a little too thick for my tastes.
For long distance rides I use a moderately large saddlebag. In my case,
a Rivendell Banana Bag. It's big enough for tools, tubes, a few snacks
and some clothing (rain jacket lashed onto the outside with a couple of
toe straps). That increases my ability to cope with changing weather
conditions quickly. I usually carry arm and knee warmers on rides that
may go into the evening hours, and a cycling cap for rain or intense
sun. Chapstick with sun screen in it, a small bottle of sun screen, a
small bottle of chamois lube (labeled to tell them apart). I wear
glasses, so I have some clip-on sunglasses and bring along the case for
the clip-ons.
If the ride may go into the evening hours, I bring a set of lights. Two
of my bikes have generator headlights and I would be using one of those
for long distance rides anyway, so my lights are already along for the
ride. For my other bikes I have some clip on headlights and taillights.
These have improved quite a bit in the last few years.
