Her adapting to a road bike has been a learning experience for me, realizing that what I take for granted while I ride she needs help with. As we ride together more, I’ll share more of what I have learned trying to help her become a better rider.

One thing that we have learned is that she loves her Gore Power III Lady cycling shorts.

Fall has settled in it doesn’t mean that your cycling has to be cut back. Dressing for the cold is easy to do, it is all about layering. With a few of the right pieces riding in the cooler weather can be very refreshing.

 The best way to dress for the cold is layering. What is layering? Layering simply means wearing a combination of clothes (in layers) to help regulate your temperature and keep you warm and dry.  Clothing creates air space that absorbs/traps heat.  The layers of clothing act as insulation to help keep your body warm. The numbers of layers you wear for a given activity are matched to the weather, your activity level and your personal preference. There are three types of layers, the base layer, mid layer and the outer layer.  

The Base Layer is in contact with your skin and wicks moisture and perspiration to keep you warm. A tight fitting and wicking material is best to keep you warm and dry. Avoid cotton because it traps moisture so it stays wet and draws heat from you. Retained moisture has a cooling affect on you. Base layers come in various weights. Whether it is a 100 degrees out or 30 degrees out always start with a base layer.  

The Mid Layer provides insulation. It should be a bit looser than the base layer but for it to function properly it needs to maintain contact with the base layer. Mid layers also carry moisture away from the base layer to the outer layer. This is the layer that is trapping body heat. Depending on the temperature you can use multiple mid layers to achieve the desired warmth.  

The Outer Layer blocks wind and allows moisture to escape. Extras such as pit zips, ankle zippers and a variety of ventilation options are standard. This layers job is to protect the layers under it from rain and wind.  

Head, Hands and Feet. After your core is covered, you need to properly dress your extremities. Wear a hat, mittens, gloves, socks and shoes that match your activity and weather.

WHAT TO WEAR

COOL WEATHER LAYER GUIDE

GUIDE: Everyone reacts to the cold differently so don’t be afraid to experiment with different combinations to find out what works best. Remember if you are warm when you start out you are over dressed! You should be cool still about fifteen minutes into the ride as well. 

60-70 degrees: Mesh base layer, long-sleeve jersey, bib knickers or knee warmers, arm warmers.

50-60 degrees: Base layer, long-sleeve jersey, wind shell or vest, insulated bib tights, light head cover, light full-finger gloves, light shoe covers.

40-50 degrees: Insulated base layer, long-sleeve jersey, jacket, insulated bib tights, head cover, full-finger gloves, insulated shoe covers.

30-40 degrees: Insulated base layer, insulated long-sleeve jersey, jacket, insulated bib tights, balaclava, full-finger gloves, winter cycling boots or heavy insulated shoe covers.

Less than 30: degrees: Heavy/Wind front base layer, heavy insulated long-sleeve jersey, jacket, insulated bib tights, balaclava, split-finger gloves, winter cycling boots.

For the last year or so I have been riding with Pearl Izumi Gel-Vent Pro Gloves. These gloves are available in both a short finger version and a long finger version. I own both, the short finger version that I use for most of my road riding while I mountain bike with the long finger version in addition to using them for moderately cool road rides.

Two things really attracted me to theses gloves. The main thing was that the gloves have a vented gel palm padding which Pearli Izumi calls its “direct vent construction.” The gel has holes through it and is held in place by webbing over it. When your hand is clamped around the bar the vents are completely sealed from outside air. If your hands are a little hot just open your hands and let air up into the vents to cool them off. I really like the feature of this venting and above all it works as it is designed to do. I first saw this concept on a pair of Louis Garneau winter gloves that we carry which is called Ergo Air. While they both achieve the same thing in different ways the concept just makes a lot of sense. I really like the Garneau Ergo Air in a winter glove where sometimes it is easy to have your hands over heat as the ride progresses.

When looking at the gloves you can see the quality of the gel padding that Pearl Izumi uses. Many companies that call their gloves “gel gloves” don’t truly use gel padding. They use a form of silicone or some other version of “gel.” Descente uses true gel padding in their gloves which help explains the expense of their gloves compared to the competition. This fact came to light when I saw a few pairs of gloves that had been cut apart. Not only is the gel located in all the right places Pearli Izumi has used just the right amount. I haven’t had any discomfort in the area between the thumb and forefinger like I have in other gloves.

I tend to like less padding for my mountain biking and in the past have used gloves with no padding in the palm. With the Gel Vents I find them to have just about the right amount of padding. The long finger version has a little bit of padding across the top of the fingers to offer a little extra protection. The tips of the fingers are reinforced to further increase the durability.

The second feature that attracted me is that there is no closure device around the wrist. These gloves are just slide on and slide off. To ease the removal of the glove the short finger version has a pull-tab on one of the fingers to make it easier to grab for removal. These gloves are very comfortable since there is no binding around the wrist. What is very unique to the gloves is the anatomical shape of the opening around the wrist. The designers have place curves in all the right places so the glove doesn’t move or have fabric bunched up around your wrist.

These gloves have the other standard feature off terry cloth along the thumb. Pearli Izumi calls it a micro fleece backing which is soft compared to other gloves. The micro fleece as held up over time feeling just as soft as the day it was purchased. It hasn’t shown any wear like some of the other gloves I have owned tend to do in this area.

It is hard for me to find much to dislike about these gloves. The logo has worn off the palm of the gloves, which I would expect since it was silk screened on. The gel padding is red and has discolored or appears to be black in some areas over the padding. This color hasn’t managed to wash off but doesn’t seem to affect performance in anyway. The gloves have held up well over multiple washings. I have two pairs of the short finger version. One is always “in service” while the other is being washed.

They are made in both a mens and women’s each in a long finger and short finger version.

Pricing: Full finger: $44.99 Short Finger: $39.99

Color Availability: Black/Red – Mainly a black glove with a red Pearli Izumi logo stitched on the back with a silk screen one on the palm.

Sizing: Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large. – I have found that these gloves run true to sizing of other Pearli Izumi gloves as well as other manufacturers.

 It seems that I am not the only one who loves these gloves. I think almost every employee of the Crofton Bike Doctor owns one of the versions of these.

The exciting part of the ride today was I got to wear my new Louis Garneau shorts. The Air Gel Bib. I’ve been thinking about carrying more Garneau products in the store. I like to test and try out some of the products before I bring in the product. This bib short has a wealth of features; Lycra Power, Power Mesh, Crabyon air gel chamois and Alveo. It also has a music or communications pocket on the upper part of the bid. I was most intrigued to try out the air gel chamois. About a year ago the sales rep brought around his sales manager who was very instrumental in the design of the chamois using the Crabyon material. His passion for the product was hard to miss and immediately I wanted to try this out. It just took me a little longer then I thought it would. The Crabyon material that it is constructed from is out of the medical field, where it is commonly used in the treatment of burn victims.

The Craybyon is said to have moisture keeping properties which I believe as well as to inhibit bacterial growth, accelerates wound healing, permits slow and steady release of chamois lotion along with lifetime anti-bacterial properties. All of this information was taken from one of the tags.

While I was riding I found the shorts to be very comfortable and not overly hot either. Although it wasn’t a super hot day, so we will have to see how they feel as the summer heats up. Interestingly I didn’t have that clammy feeling when I took them off, which leads me to believe that the Power Mesh was doing it’s job. The Power Mesh is designed to be super breathable and add to your comfort. As the season progresses we will see how these shorts hold up to the abrasions and the washings.

A new trend in cycling shorts is to cut the lycra so it grips your muscles tighter or compresses them. It is said to increase the performance of the muscles by assisting blood flow to them. On long rides it is said to add ten to twenty percent better resistance to fatigue. Maybe this led to an easier day two on the bike then I thought I was in for but I can’t say for sure. I plan on testing out some other shorts that have the same properties of compression and I’ll let you know.

As I get more miles into these I’ll update my thoughts on these.

Have a great day and get out and ride!

I did get out for a ride today with my friend Dan. It was a nice easy spin. It’s in the upper fifties so I took the opportunity to try out my new Louis Garneau Cross-X Knickers that I just got. I am not a huge fan of knee or leg warmers but I love knickers. My friend Jon a PT always says to keep your knees covered at 55 or below it keeps them happy. I have found much truth to that statement.

These are a little different then my other knickers that I typically wear. They have a windfront section over the knee for added warmth. It works really well. By the end of the ride I was actually sweeting a little around the knees. I found the shoulder straps to be really comfortable staying right where they need to be. I also liked the wat the front of the bib was cut, it didn’t come up to hight to cause me to over heat, always a plus. Not sold on the chamois yet. I think it was more just needing to get use to the saddle again. So I’ll hold off on a final judgement for the time being. I do think I will save these for the colder days and use my Descente knickers for the warmer knicker days. I have a feeling that the Garneau knickers would be good well into the lower 40’s. I think they may be nearly perfect for cyclo cross riding and races although I haven’t tried to run in them.

I had on my new Pearl izumi Optilink Jacket as well. It is this nice lightweight fabric that works great stopping the wind. The bummer with the jacket is that the zipper is only a single zipper and can not be vented from the bottom. For layering and cooling purposes I like to be able to vent from the bottom keeping the top zipped to reduce windage and the bellowing affect.

Have a great day and get out and ride!