Velo Angels - Ride, Girls. Ride.

How to Look Good While Cycling

We talk about how silly we look in our cycling clothes.  I mean.  Really.  They are all stretchy and hug every curve I don't have to show off and hug them a little too tight.  They usually come in either black, red and occasionally white for men, and women's stuff is all pink, baby blue and purple in the floral patterns that make me vomit quite honestly.  And, what's up with the helmet, right?  I gave up looking for a helmet that makes me look good.  That just doesn't exist.  It's like a unicorn.  It's just a fantastic idea. 

I've written about the very expensive Assos Bib Shorts, that are amazingly comfortable, if not heavenly, and frankly they don't look half bad either.  (My post about the bibs HERE)  And, their other items like jerseys and jackets are rather pretty as well.  So, yes.  I do love Assos cycling apparel.  I don't buy other stuff any more actually.  I save up, don't buy anything forever and wait for the sale and raid the Assos rack.  That's how I've been doing.  But really...  I can only wear so much Assos.  I want more variety.  So I keep looking. 

As you look for pretty cycling clothes, you are destined to hit Rapha.  (Check out Rapha.) And, yes, Rapha's stuff is pretty.  Very European.  Merino wool classic jerseys and cycling hats with stripes...  ALL THE PRETTY STUFF IS FOR MEN!  They even have the designer Paul Smith designing some of the limited items like leather gloves for them!  It's Haute Cycling Apparel!!  Well, this season they finally came up with the women's line, and I was super excited about that.  But alas, their women's "LINE" consists of 5 items.  One basic jersey in 2 colors - Red and black.  (Oooooh, it comes with a set of matching arm warmers!  Whatever.)  One design for the shorts.  One color only - black.  Wind/Rain light jacket in 2 colors.  White and Red.  And, that was it.  Granted they are all very classy and well designed.  But that's it.  I ride a blue bike, and I don't mind being a little matchy-matchy with my bike.  Although I like the color red, black and white, sometimes I don't mind a green.  What about orange?  Navy?  Chartreuse?  No.  Rapha only gives you 3 colors to choose from.  And, I'm being generous here since black and white are not even a "color." 

Ben recently purchased a very cool merino wool jersey from Rapha.  It's light blue with Belgian tri-color stripes.  And, it looks well made and SUPER cute.  Why can't we have that? 

As I was so excited about Rapha's women's line, I emailed the company about a year ago to see if I could get any scoop on the new line.   The North American head honcho guy and I had a few emails back and forth.  He promised me that he'd let me "review" the new products when they become available.  Did he send me anything?  NO!  Am I bitter because of his lack of commitment?  YES!  :) 

Nah.  Actually.  I really don't mind spending a little extra cash on high quality, cute cycling clothes.  (Note my Assos collection.)  I'm just personally sick of big companies treating women like we are second class citizens!  We want more variety like men have.  That's all I'm saying.  

So will Rapha expand on their women's line next year?  I sure hope so!  In the mean while, I hope someone from Rapha will read this and give me free stuff to review. 

I had to put a legal disclaimer in my "about me" page because my attorney (Ben) told me to...  so now if someone gives me a freebie to review I have that clearly stated in my blog.  OK.  I'm ready.  Bring it.  The only thing missing here is a company who wants me to review their stuff...  Hmm. 

Dear Rapha.  Please bribe me and give me some freebies so I can write up something nice about you. 

Thank you. 

In Search of a Perfect Saddle 3 : I Might Have Just Found THE ONE

This might be it.  I might have just found THE perfect saddle.  I've only ridden a couple of hours, so let's not rush to any conclusion here, but I might have.  Just.  Found.  It. 

This is Specialized's Romin saddle in 155mm.  It is a men's saddle, but comes in 155mm, which is the width a lot of my girl friends ride.  The cutout in the middle is wide enough to help with the pressure.  The cutaway is big enough that it doesn't dig into the back of my thighs.  And the curve up at the end holds my butt in place for a little extra push.  It doesn't have a lot of cushion like the gel pad saddle, but since it's shaped correctly, I'm not numb or sore after the ride.  I usually don't like cushy saddle to start with.  I have yet to find anything bad to say about this saddle.  I mean, it's not even ugly!  Good job, Specialized.  Finally you got your saddle right.   I heard a rumor that Specialized might be making Romin for girls in the years to come.  I'm so excited.  This is an awesome saddle now for us girls...  I can't wait for them to improve on it even more. 

Repost from Velodramatic

Velodramatic is one of my favorite cycling blogs.  Mr. Michael Robertson is the man behind beautiful cycling photography and interesting blog.  I adore his photographs.  Last Christmas, I bought a piece from him as a gift.   I've been eyeing one for myself.  No, not one with Andy.  

Mr. Robertson recently posted a thing about iPad as a bike computer in his blog, so here it is.  Repost from Velodramatic

(Photo credit : Michael Robertson) 

Beginner's Check List

Our cycling community welcomed another new member last weekend! 

Ben's high school friend Brad just bought his first road bike.  I think he's excited, happy and maybe a little worried.  As Ben walked through what gear to get other than the bike, I think we made his brain to explode with too much information...  Cycling could be a bit scary and intimidating at first.  I know.  I've been there. 

After he picked up his bike, Brad, Ben, Oli and I went to celebrate.  There, Brad asked us, "Do you guys have a check list so you don't forget what you need or what you need to bring on your ride?" 

Great question. 
So here we are. 

What to buy to get started.

Bike

Bottles and Bottle Cages

Lamps - white for front and red for rear (if you plan on riding at night)

Floor Pump

Saddle Bag (A little pouch that goes under the saddle to hold inner tube etc.) 

Extra Tubes

Flat Repair Kit (Patch, CO2 Cartridge etc.)

Jersey (and Baselayer, if you are into that.) 

Bike Shorts  (THIS IS WHERE YOU WANT TO SPEND YOUR $$$!  High quality shorts will literally save your ass.) 

Shoes/Socks

Arm/Leg warmers

Gloves

Helmet

Sunglasses

Bike Computer (Very helpful later on) 

Chain Lube/Maintenance Stuff

What to bring to your typical group ride.

Bike/Helmet/Shoes/Jersey/Shorts/Sunglasses/Arm and or Leg Warmers/glove

Cell Phone

Money

Credit/Debit Card

Proof of Health Insurance

Riding Food (Energy Bar etc.)

Sports Drink in the Bottles (I like Heed, Nuun and flat Coke!) 

Flat Repair Kit and Simple Bike Repair Tools in the Saddle Bag 

Baby Wipes (to wipe your hands clean after having to fix a flat or something.) 

Any Meds etc. You Need (I have a little thing of Aleve and spare contact lenses.  I always lose my contacts going down hill.) 

Lip Balm/Sunscreen (You don't want to be wrinkly just because you are active, you know?) 

What's not on me while riding...  I have in my car.  I have all my cycling gear in a HUGE gear bag and bring the whole thing in my car at all times.  In there, I have spare gloves, clean socks, comfy shoes to change into after the ride, a brush to fix my horrible helmet hair, more food, more electrolytes tablets, recovery drink (to help your body recover faster and better)...  basically I'm a one-person SAG vehicle. 

Ah, I feel like I'm forgetting something.  You know that feeling when you leave the house in the morning...  You know you forgot something but don't know what. 

Please leave a comment if you see something missing. 

I also appreciate your comment here since, I dunno, you bring something really cool to the ride that I've never thought of!  So, please share!

BTW, this one is for you, Brad.  Congrats!  And, welcome!  

MY FAVORITE THINGS 1 - Assos T FI.Lady S5 Bib Shorts Review

I got over the sticker shock really fast after I finished a long ride in my Assos bibs. 

Who in the right mind would pay over 350 dollars for a bike shorts?! 
My friends, Olivia and Ben both vouched for these bibs.  Even though I like my friends, and I trust them (most of the time) I wasn't sure about these shorts...  I mean, bike shorts are bike shorts.  They won't make me go faster or anything.

I wanted to try them... but for a bit cheaper than 350 dollars!  Ben had told me about this UK site http://wiggle.co.uk , so I went there.  Luckily, they were having a pre-holiday sale!  I got 30 dollars off from their already cheaper price.  I ended up paying about 270 for the pair.  (No TAX.  No shipping!!  Love Wiggle.  Highly recommend them.)

I'm not saying 270 for a pair of shorts is cheap...  but much better than 350.  And, it is THE CHEAPEST you can find online.  I've looked.  Trust me on this one. 

My first impressions...

1) They are very snug.  Not too tight, but just snug feeling.  I like. 

2) The chamois is thin...  so thin that I'm worried it wouldn't be enough! (Turns out it's the right amount in the right place.  It's just enough so you don't look like you are wearing a diaper.) 

3) The band around the legs doesn't make my thighs look like over-sized sausages. 

I went for a ride for a few hours. 

When I need that extra oomph, I can scoot forward on the saddle to give a real go without my chamois moving around under my butt.  So I like that. 
When I climbed, my bibs just stayed put and snug so I could focus on the task at hand (i.e. hill) and forget about how much pain my butt was in.  

Overall, I give these bibs A+.  Getting in and out of the bibs is a pain, yes.  But if you want to own one really good pair of bibs for that special century you are riding...  this pair is it.  

Besides, they come in a nifty package with a trial size of chamois cream and a special laundry detergent.  I love the chamois cream...  I can say I'm addicted to it.  When I first opened the jar, I wondered why it was this light blue color.  I figured it was a branding thing.  The detergent is blue as well.  But, oh no.  I was wrong about that!  Seconds after I put on the chamois cream on, I was, well...  MINTY FRESH! 

I had to text Olivia saying, "Nobody told me Assos Chamois Cream was...  minty fresh!" 

Aaaaah, it feels gooooood.  

 

In Search of the Perfect Saddle 2 : The Saga Continues

See?  It's good to have a blog. 

I bitched about my saddle here before, and my friend Tamar suggested a new saddle.  (Thank you, Tamar!)

Selle Italia SLR Lady Gel Flow

Actually, Tamar is the second person to suggest this saddle, just a few weeks back, another friend of mine Starla suggested this one, too.  I figured, if 2 of my warrior rider friends are suggesting this saddle, it can't be bad.  So, I went looking for it online.  I found it.  CHEAP! 

http://www.probikekit.com/advsearch.php?AQUERY=selle+italia+slr+gel+flow+lady

If you are interested in trying this saddle, this is a pretty VERY good price. 

And, I was able to use this coupon code I found online and got extra 10% off! 
The very secret coupon code is "xmas". The code is supposed to be expired already, but it somehow worked!  So, use it quick before they realize! 

See?  It's good to read my blog.  You just saved about 10 dollars. 

In Search of a Perfect Saddle

Supposedly your ass is not supposed to hurt riding.  Not only is your ass not supposed to hurt, other body parts are not supposed to hurt either.  This is only if you had the perfect saddle.

 

I don’t. 

 

 
The saddle that came with my Ruby was a Specialized Jet 143 mm.  While I never had any serious discomfort, I was told by a bike fitter that it was the wrong size for me.  So, I bought the same saddle in 155 mm, and that started the whole thing.  With the wider saddle, my sit bones were happier, but the cut-away angle was not sharp enough and when I pedaled, the back of my thighs (where the glutes meet hamstrings) hurt.  Next one (and my current one) is
Selle San Marco’s Aspide Glamour  (One size 155 mm).  This one had a perfect shape for me except I had soft tissue discomfort.  It’s that numbness…  My friend put it nicely… “Where did it go?!”  It’s an unnerving sensation that your body part is so numb that you don’t know where it went…   

 

I demoed a Ruby Gel saddle in 143mm.  And, this might be the winner so far even with the wrong width…  I have to accept that I might not find the perfect saddle ever.  But I have to settle for overall comfort, and this Ruby might be it. 

 

Is anybody having the same problem?  Holler.

My tire is going soft!!!

So, just as I told you I wouldn't pretend like I knew anything...

I know one thing and one thing only!  And, that's how to fix a flat. 
I'm pretty crafty at this.  So read on.

Whenever I got a slow-leaking kind of flat, I used to say, “My tire is going soft!” and my fellow male riders hated the term.  To me, going soft was different from flatting.  Going soft meant that the air is slowly leaking out, while flat is a flat. Right?  Wrong!  If the tube is losing air, whether quickly or slowly, it’s a flat.  I learn something new everyday.  You knew all this?  Well, you are smarter than I. 

 

I would like to upload a clip of “how to fix a flat” one day, but until then, I only have one thing to say about fixing a flat. 

 

PRACTICE.

 

There are a gazillion youtube clips showing you how to do this.  Watch it.  Also, go to your local bike shop’s “How to Fix a Flat” clinic.  It’s usually free.  It’ll definitely empower you. Practice when you are at home.  Don’t wait till you actually get a flat on the road!  And, when someone shows you how to fix a flat, DO NOT let him/her actually do it for you.  Let him/her help you so YOU are the one actually fixing the flat, otherwise you will never be able to do this on your own.  If your pushy friend tries to fix it for you, be firm and kindly say, “Don’t touch my tire, biatch.”  It’s important to be assertive.  Oh and don’t worry about those greasy fingers.  They make you look so hard-core.  There is a way to fix a flat without touching the chain whatsoever.  That’s for the actual how to blog some other time. 

 

Why do I speak about fixing a flat with such confidence? 

Because I’m the queen of flats!  I’ve flatted a million times unfortunately.  I shouldn’t be so proud of being able to fix a flat.  I just don’t know how to avoid a flat in the first place…  that’s all. 

 

For some reason I always ride into the ocean of shattered glass.  My friend once said to me that I should keep an eye out for any sharp objects on the road and try to avoid them.  Duh.  What a concept!  I am far more careful now, and it seems to be working.  I get fewer flats by far.  And also, if you think you rode over something, pull over after making sure it’s safe to do so, and check your tire for any foreign objects.  You can spin the wheel while you run your gloved-hand over the tire to check to see if anything is in the tire. And ultimately, if your tire looks worn out with slashes everywhere, change your tire.  It’ll save you a lot of time on the side of the road trying to fix a flat and also the embarrassment of, “You flatted AGAIN?!”  I know.  It’s me again…