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One
of the biggest mistakes that people make is overdressing.
Exercise generates heat (and sweat). If you are slightly cool
when you step outside for your ride, you'll likely be comfortable
when riding.
For an all day ride, dress in layers to regulate
temperature throughout the ride. As it warms up, remove layers.
When it starts to cool down as the sun goes down, put them back
on. Zippers are very important for temperature regulation. Tops
with long front zippers and jackets with pit zips allow a rider
to be comfortable through a varied range of temperatures, simply
by opening or closing the zippers.
Base layers that wick moisture away from the body
help you stay dryer and therefore warmer. Many years ago wool
was a staple of any cyclist's wardrobe. Wool wicks well and stays
resilient when it gets wet. It's warm in cool weather, and is
surprisingly comfortable in warmer conditions. It's also one of
the best fabrics to wear in rainy conditions, since it will keep
you warm even when wet. Unfortunately, in the old days, most wool
cycling apparel was quite itchy and many cyclists, myself included,
moved to synthetics like polypro, thermax and fleece.
Over the years I have used many synthetics with good luck, but
with one important exception: The down side of most synthetics
is their tendency to retain odor, even after washing. Fortunately
merino wool has come to my rescue. Merino wool fibers are much
finer and therefore less itchy. I wear this stuff right next to
my skin with no problems. And I can practically wear the same
top for a week on a bike tour without washing it and without it
smelling like a toxic waste dump. Wool simply doesn't retain odor
like synthetics. Wool is now the staple of my cycling wardrobe.
I have a rack full of Swobo
jerseys, which I'd highly recommend. Swobo disappeared for a few
years, but they have reappeared. Boure
make a classy long sleeve wool jersey, and well as a few base
layer items. I did have trouble with shrinkage (yes women do know
about shrinkage) with my first Boure jersey, but hopefully they
have solved that problem with their newer jerseys. Kucharik
produce several wool jerseys (long and short sleeve) as well as
wool arm and leg warmers. Salsa
has added a few wool items to their line, including a short sleeve
jersey, arm and knee warmers. Rivendell
have created a wool line under the name Wooly
Warm. A new company on the scene is Earth,
Wind and Rider. They have some lovely colorful jerseys and
a great customer service attitude. Last year, John discovered
Rapha,
a UK company that makes very classy, fine wool bike clothing.
They are very expensive, but the quality is very impressive. One
of our local shops now carries their stuff, which helps tremendously
with shipping and makes being able to try things on easier. Our
only complaint is that some of the sizing on the shorts has been
inconsistent. John found he took a small or extra small in the
3/4 pants, but a large in the shorts. And finally one of my favorite
sources for merino wool cycling gear is Ibex.
Wool has become popular again, and this list could get very long...
Base layers (and others for that matter) need not be cycling
specific. It's amazing how much rear pockets (or advertisements)
add to the price of a garment! Smartwool
make some nice zipped wool t-necks, which work quite well as a
base layer. They also make nice wool socks. New Zealand, home
of 44 million sheep and 4 million people, is also home to several
makers of high quality merino wool clothing. Icebreaker
is one of my favourites. I've recently seen Icebreaker gear at
EMS in New Hampshire and other outdoor shops, so they seem to
be making inroads in the USA. If you can't find a local dealer,
I can recommend this
shop in Queenstown in New Zealand from which friends stateside
have placed orders. And despite the amazing amount of merino wool
clothing there (heaps of long and short and no sleeve tops, tights,
undies, caps), finding cycle-specific items like arm or knee warmers
there is an exercise in fuitilty. While living there, I ordered
a pair of NZ made knee warmers from a US company to be shipped
back to NZ! I did find that I could easily get things made if
I provided samples. I literally walked down to our local Saturday
market and went to one of the booths that had wool tops. I took
an old pair of leg warmers and they made me two new pair based
on the old ones! One of the great things about NZ was how easy
it is to get things made to order.
BTW, For years we used Woolite, but I'm now seeing recomendations
against it for wool clothes. We now use Ivory Snow. We
also have a front loading washing machine with a delicates cycle
that makes machine washing all that wool clothing possible. We
dry it all on racks though.
Silk is another natural fiber with great insulating properties.
It makes a good base layer for those who cannot tolerate any type
of wool next to the skin.
Polar fleece is a synthetic that is quite popular for winter
sports. It has similar insulating properties to wool, and dries
quickly. In my experience it doesn't retain odor as much as many
other synthetics, but fleece garmets still should be laundered
frequently.
A few years ago fleece was combined with technology from the
folks at Gore to produce windstopper
fleece, and I must say this seems to be another recurrent theme
in my wardrobe. I have windstopper gloves, socks, overshoes, pants,
hats, headbands, vests, and jackets. The windstopper technology
is available without fleece as well. Lightweight windstopper vests
and jackets are great for layering.
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