Well, as the title states... I just got my first ever pair of bike shorts. They were out of budget but I was tired and said "what the hell". Hopefully these will do me perfectly!
They are the Pearl Izumi "Elite Series" (Spring 2010) and were $100 from sporting life... ouch!
You'll be so happy you did it. The first pair of REAL bike shorts I wore was about a week ago. I felt like an idiot, but they were really a miracle. I can ride distance without getting home and being careful sitting for the next 24 hours or so. Pearl Izumi are great. I have bib shorts. The people behind me may not like it, but I can't see them. Enjoy your shorts!
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Never Give Up; Never Surrender! Strength in Numbers. Livestrong!
Ya.. they sure are awkard feeling... something to get used to.
I just tried them out sitting on my bike and they sorta "bunch up" in the front as I lean forward... normal/what do u do about that?/does it even matter?
You adjust. A lot. You have the Chamois cream? Get to a bike shop and find whatever you can for that. They'll know. For chafing. With good shorts and the anti-chaffing cream, you'll be very happy. First time I wore the shorts, I had these old ones donated ages ago. They were gel but I'd be DYING by 45 km. Turns out I didn't have Happy Chamois Cream, Butt Butter, whatever you want to call it. Get some. Get extra. There are places friction is least tolerable. Think about it. As for bunching, pull up the waist, adjust from back to front, dance around at home, and you'll still do some hopefully discreet adjusting on the ride.
I haven't ridden in days and days. Looking forward to a ride Thursday, off Friday, and see you all next Saturday!
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Never Give Up; Never Surrender! Strength in Numbers. Livestrong!
Haven't got the cream... will look into that tomorrow after work. Dare I ask - how much do you put on and where?
Side note: I just washed my pair and they are hanging to dry - not exactly rapid drying...
I worry that washing them Sat afternoon/night - they won't be ready for Sunday morning. I would RATHER not buy a 2nd pair of $100 bike shorts. Will they be dry - any ideas/advice?
It supposed to rain (looking at the forecast for Sunday) so unless you really don't ride often, I would recommend a second pair of shorts. They don't need to be a $100 pair! They do have cheaper...
Taylor is right. I have the pricey ones, and the battered ones I'll use for day two. The weather looks stormy, wet, and I do everything in Fahrenheit..supposed to feel like 102 degrees on Sunday around Hamilton and beyond.
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Never Give Up; Never Surrender! Strength in Numbers. Livestrong!
Let's be honest, the Weather Network doesn't know until the night before what REALLY is going to happen the next day. Let us all pray.
A friend did the Ride for Heart in Toronto in the awful weather today. "It was awesome, horrible, windy, rainy, cold...but I did it..." was his summation of 70 km. I figure the weather has to improve by the weekend.
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Never Give Up; Never Surrender! Strength in Numbers. Livestrong!
Well if it makes you feel any better - I have a MEC bike rain jacket which I wore for the Ride for Heart yesterday and I was soaked through 4 layers!! And my phone in the pocket got filled with water...even though the jacket is supposed to be waterproof.
This is what I take away from yesterdays drenching ride - you are going to get wet, no matter what, if it is raining that hard...people in full rain suits were just a wet as people without - phones, cameras, etc should be in zip locks if you are expecting rain - having dry clothes at the end makes all the difference in the world....saw tonnes of people having to drive home in wet bike gear yesterday. Make sure you put your clothes, etc in plastic before you put them in your gear bag to make sure they stay dry. Bags do sit outside in the elements sometimes during this event and you want to avoid a totally soggy gear bag - more then the wet, keeping warm is key...not stopping for too long and getting out of the wet ASAP
Fingers crossed that we do not have a wet weekend!!!
You could wrap the outside of the gear bag but it really does not give the crew members anything to grab onto when they are loading/unloading the bags. They are slinging LOTS of bags all day so I would bet that having handles and straps available makes a huge difference. Also, how will you carry the bag yourself if it is all wrapped. It is safer for them and more protected for you if you wrap everything on the inside in bags. Yea, the outside of your bag will get wet but everything inside will be dry. I try to separate my stuff into what I need for overnight and then what I need for day two, makes it a bit easier.
Chase - you might want to use the newer ones on day 2 since, your butt will thank you! Haha...i can clearly remember the first time I sat back onto the seat on Sunday morning. Kmclachlan - if you buy some butt/chamois cream remember to put some into a ziplock bag and pack it into your seat bag so that you can reapply during the ride needed, if you start to feel any "hotspots" then reapply asap so that you don't get any sores which could make day 2 very uncomfortable. Funny story - the first year on day 1 we were at the rest stop before the "mountain" in Hamilton and this poor young guy was wrapping a towel around the seat to give him some more padding, he probably had another 20kms on Saturday and then all day sunday - OUCH!
You can apply it to the chamois itself or to yourself, it's all going to goto the same place anyway. I apply it to myself that way I can get into the correct spots. As for where to apply for women I' ll leave that to my wife SSM since she would have more experience in that area. LOL If you are wearing bike shorts since they are a compression type short they are made to be worn without underwear, it takes people a long time to get over that but trust the ones that have been wearing for a while, it is they way to go. The problem is that the seams in the underwear will start to rub on those certain spots and cause sores, might not be bad for day one but remember we get to do it again the next day.
