Maggie says...
Quoted message said:I have yet to figure out how to dress to ride. I start out with too
much clothing when it is cold and end up hot as hell. I can't seem to
find something to wear that will be comfortable when I start and
comfortable after a few miles. I find myself layering clothes so I
can take something off halfway through the ride. It is a pain in the
neck. Saturday I had a fleece sweatsuit on and I was freezing when I
started.......then I thought I was going to die from the heat. I
can't win. I tried a windbreaker but it was not comfortable. Maybe I
need to invest in something from the LBS. I can't figure it out when I
shop on my own. I have work out clothes in every type of
fabric...nothing seems to be JUST RIGHT for the entire ride. I am not
ready to ride around town in a bicycle Jersey..and spandex....I'd feel
like an idiot.
I have never found a good compromise that is comfortable both at the
beginning and the end for my 2hr high intensity rides. For rides less
than 30º, my hands are always cold for the first half hour and my toes
are numb by the end of the ride. Yesterday I added Mycoal toe warmers to
my wool socks and neoprene booties and that did the trick to keep the
circulation going. Temps yesterday were about 27º with about a 10mph
wind. If it is warmer than 30º, I find it easy to overdress. My choice
is to just suffer through the first half hour of cold so that most of
the ride can be about right. After yesterday's ride, my base layers were
drenched in sweat, but I think that's just par for the course.
Maggie, you don't need to spend big bucks to get gaudy clothing at a
bike shop. Cheaper equivalents are easy to find at sporting goods
stores. What I do like that is bike specific are padded riding shorts
and to a lesser extent, biking jerseys. Biking jerseys aren't a
necessity, but they are nice. I like the close fit and the rear pockets,
but if you wear a jacket over them, those things don't matter very much.
My Cannondale windbreaker does have some nifty bike features like a
double zipper (you can zip it up, then partially unzip it from the
bottom), ventilation, reflective stripes and zippered pockets, but
cheaper ordinary ones work too. For tights and base layers, save your
money and go to [censored], REI or whatever is your local big box sporting
goods store. One of the best bottoms I have found so far are these close
fitting running pants from [censored] with the name brand 'Fitness Gear'.
They are thick enough to provide some good insulation, and close fitting
enough not to flap around or get in the chain. But they aren't tights,
so you don't look like a superhero. If you have the bux, the Under
Armour stuff would make awesome base layers, but there are cheaper
knock-offs like the Reebok ones I bought. Yet another alternative is to
mail-order bike clothes from discounters like Performance. Their house
brand of bike clothing is pretty good and much more affordable than the
name brands like Pearl Izumi. But if you can afford it, some of the name
brand stuff is really nice.