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Step 5Sweat and other dilemas
No one wants to be that sweaty person making a presentation with enormous armpit stains, or dripping into the punch bowl at party. Remember, the motto is: TRANSPORT, NOT SPORT. So here are few easy ways to avoid it:
-Pace yourself
You are not Lance Armstrong. (Or maybe you are? Sorry Lance, I'll buy you a drink.) If you give yourself an extra few minutes you won't have to race to wherever it is you're going and therefore, won't wind up sweating so much.
-Use an alternate route
Hills are real sweat-makers. Check out your terrain to find the most pancake-like route. Try Google Maps or the maps provided by the ever-so-helpful crew at sfbike.org.
-Don't wear that extra layer
Maybe your office is over-air-conditioned. The outside world definitely isn't. So pack that blazer/sweater/vest/monkey-suit in your bag or bike basket and put it on once you get inside.
And a few last pointers to help you maintain your sweet style while rocking your carbon neutral mode of transport:
-Sunglasses are stylish and good for keeping wind and street crap out of your eyes.
-Say no to crack. I don't care how good your butt looks in those jeans, no one wants to see it creeping out the top of them as your bent over biking.
-If you like to accessorize your own self so much, look into accessorizing your bike. Rainbow streamers anyone? You can also think of your bike basket as a window display of sorts: what hot bag can you put in there that says "you"?
For more stuff by me, Casey, cruise my website: telephoneandsoup.com. I also have a book coming out called To Timbuktu which you can check out here: allthewaytotimbuktu.com
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My issues with bike clothes are what to wear in the rain. I need cute shoes that are weather proof! As far as the long full skirts go, I grab the bottom on left and right, double knot it behind me, looks like a bustle, lol.
I swear I'm not a goody two shoes, but when it comes to proper behavior on a bicycle, I get pretty upset when i see people doing stuff that puts everybody in danger. or is just plain rude. Like riding on the sidewalk, or on the wrong side of the road. Or both. It doesn't kill anyone to follow the basic rules. In fact it makes it easier!
And remember folks, if there is any chance you're going to be riding in the dark, for god's sake, Reflectors and lights! I live in the land of potheads(not a judgement, just a fact), and I just don't get these fools who think no drunk or stoned person is going to run them over while they pedal about in all black with no lights! REALLY?!?!?! and on top of that they run stop signs at high speeds? Silly.
Whew! I better stop myself before this rant takes up the whole day! Sorry all, I just had to chime in!
(all comments I made about the Lycra squad are subject to my area, I have no idea how they behave in other cities, but here 80% are jerks)
Brooks saddles can be awesome, but those rivets can rip up your cute gear pretty quickly... get a cover )or tie a square of spandex over the top of it.
As a fellow women I say check out a brooks saddles. Sadly their not vegan (or vegetarian) friendly, but are the most comfortable saddles out there for peeps who bike everywhere.
Some preliminary stuff... go to a local bike shop and ask to get your sit bones measured. Avoid any conversation from dudes who try to tell you to buy a over-expensive/junk specialized women's saddle (they only want your number anyway). Just get the measurements and say adios. Alternatively, if your lucky enough to find a knowledgeable women working at the shop who knows the frustrations of saddle section, give her your full attention. She knows what she's talking about.
Take your sit bone measurements, add 20mm and get a saddle a little wider. Like, if your site bones are 180mm wide (like mine) + 20mm, you got 200mm... so something like the B.68 (210x260mm) should work well for you.
I don't usually go around posting my blog, but on there I talked about my method of selecting a saddle pintsizeddame.blogspot.com/search. I list where I got the saddle (they got a six month full satisfaction return policy - hell yes) and I listed all the different saddles I tried out, mistakes and all.
I believe there are so homemade methods of figuring out your sit bone width if no bike shop has that where you are. I saw them online, so you'd probably just have to do a little googling to find that.
And surprisingly, the leather saddles are really comfortable, that is if you find the right one. I've learned to stay away from gel, what you need when you ride is support on your sit bones, the leather, after you brake it in, really does work great. I used http://www.wallbike.com/ six month return policy to my advantage and tried three different saddles - putting around 100 miles on each before figuring out if they'd work or not. Surprisingly one of their widest saddles worked for me. I'm mega petite, so if I learned anything, its that your sit bone width that's most important. I've known other women who are twice my size and use a smaller saddle than me. Use whatever what works best!
i hate the look of spandex/lycra (at least on dudes...), but that's what they're made for- they're padded in all the right places, but like seats, every company's pads are a little different.
my current favorite shorts are made by Pace & have a gel pad in them- most have regular padding which is also comfy. but Pace is owned/operated by a woman, so you can probably bet that the female shorts are really good too.
saddle wise, i have to agree- Brooks makes some of the best saddles ever, and have been doing so forever. totally comfy (i was just reading an article about saddles, and it was saying the more you ride in a week, the harder saddle you want), and lifetime wise, it'll last longer than you. but i know every person's body is a little different...
i'm curious about these new seats i've been seeing that are pretty much look like nothing more than separate butt cheek rests, and really padded. anyone have any experience with those?
brandon at 1lesscar dot com
also, don't wear things with big seams in the middle. jeans = crush^2
Note: this is NOT recommended for the mini-skirt wearers (or kilt aficionados) unless they also are willing to court those indecent exposure citations - since your feet can be up as high as your hips on some 'bent bikes. Go for the leggings.
it would be sickijulistic if it was on a hillside though