I Made a Mistake

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Ernest

assos selfieI made a mistake. Possibly a huge mistake. I had been putting off riding in my new Assos kit, but then I couldn’t. I had personally been worried that my new kit wouldn’t fit. You see I have been a little lax in my diet and the riding is not at the amount it should be.

So today I went for a ride and I did it in my Assos kit. Assos shorts (T.cento_s7 size XL), base layer (NS.skinFoil_summer_evo7 size III) and jersey (SS.mangussta_S7 size TIR). It fit!  It actually did better than fit, it felt like a second skin. The first thing I noticed was in the shorts. Usually when you place on cycling shorts you need to get things adjusted and there is usually some pressure in that area. Not so with these. For the full duration of my ride today it was still super comfortable. The jersey was super comfy too, especially the sleeves. No movement, no chaffing no nothing. The base layer was well like a second skin. I am sure it is going to exceed my expectations but today wasn’t a super rigorous ride in heat to properly test a base layer so I need to put it through its paces a little more.

Continue reading →

Posted in Clothing Reviews | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Cycling Jersey

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Ernest

The cycling jersey seems to be one of the “forgotten” pieces of clothing.  Okay not really but many cyclist invest in cycling shorts, gloves and shoes before the jersey. It surprises me when I see cyclists riding bikes with shorts, gloves, cycling shoes and a t-shirt flapping in the wind. The jersey is so much more than a shirt with pockets in the back.

primal-wear-u.s.-army-midnight-jersey-copy-192108-1A jersey is cut with the position of a cyclist in mind. A longer cut in the back keeps the jersey from sliding up your back keeping it covered. With a shorter cut in the front the jersey won’t bunch up around the waist. Of course the design takes into account movement around the arms and shoulders. All of this makes movement easier and reduces the likely hood that the wearer will have any areas of chaffing caused by the garment.

Continue reading →

Posted in Clothing Reviews | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Assos Clothing – Sponsor Yourself

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Ernest

I love cycling clothing, I have drawers full of it. Comfortable clothing can make all the difference in your cycling enjoyment. I have a saying:

“There are no poor cycling days just poor clothing choices.”

Assos Clothing - Sponsor Yourself

Assos Clothing – Sponsor Yourself

Clothing technology, especially fabric technology has come a long long way. Less can be more nowadays. Selecting the right clothing can make riding a real pleasure no matter the conditions. There are many great clothing brands that have been around for years. Certainly Assos is regarded as one of the premier brands of clothing. My first experience with the brand was back in 2007. I purchased shorts, socks and a jersey. It was a lot of money for cycling clothing and I wondered if a $300 pair of shorts was really that much different. By that time I was certainly a clothing snob as it relates to cycling apparel. At that time I  wasn’t riding in shorts that were less than $150.

I was literally blown away by the difference the shorts and jersey made. In many ways it felt like I wasn’t wearing clothing, it was more like a second skin. It managed the moisture extremely well and you almost forgot you had a jersey or cycling shorts on. I love the Assos kit and I don’t wear it nearly as much as I should. Probably because I want it to last as long as it can. So it is a special rides kit. According to Assos they design and build all of their bibs and shorts to last for five season. Other brands in the market have a lifespan of a season and a half typically. So I guess it is silly of me to not be wearing it more frequently. For the last few years it wasn’t an option because I had gained a few pounds.

Recently I got a new Assos kit that includes shorts, baselayer and jersey. They are the T.cento_S7 Shorts, SS.mangussta_S7 Jersey and the NN.skinFoil_Summer_s7 – Body Insulator ie baselayer.

I’m super excited to test the new Assos kit. Before I ride in it (I have a tendency to like to prolong the anticipation of something I am super excited about) I thought I would pull out the “old kit” and ride with it again. I wanted to compare the old kit to the new kit. On this ride I just wore the Assos bib shorts. I don’t remember the model I bought back then. On initial comparison they are much different then the T.cento_S7 Shorts.

The chamois is very different, same with the bib straps and the cuff around the legs, the quality of the Lycra as improved too. In an eight year time span you would expect changes and knowing what I know about Assos I am super excited to get some rides in with the new pieces. All go into deeper detail in future posts once I start riding in the new items.

One of the unique things about the Assos clothing is the packaging. It isn’t like most, okay almost all cycling apparel that is on a hanger. The shorts come in boxes and opening them is a pure joy with each step to remove the shorts revealing something new until you finally get to the bibs.

The first view as you open the box.

The first view as you open the box.

May 22 2015 Import 131

Finally the Shorts – T.cento_S7 Shorts

 

The same with the skinfoil, it takes multiple steps to get to the neat folded and super soft garment.

May 22 2015 Import 136

The back of the skinFoil Summer S7 Body Insulator

 

May 22 2015 Import 137

skinFoil Summer S7 Body Insulator

May 22 2015 Import 138

Each step reveals something new. It’s like Christmas morning!

Getting Closer

Getting Closer

May 22 2015 Import 140

Made It! skinFoil summer body insulator

The jersey is a little less exciting to open, in a zippered pouch with the wording Sponsor Yourself.

May 22 2015 Import 142

SS.mangussta_S7 – Jersey

May 22 2015 Import 141

I wonder if there is a poster of this image.

May 22 2015 Import 144

SS.mangussta_S7 – Jersey in Black Volkanga

I’ve been scoping out a pair of their gloves and I imagine they’ll be added to my collection sooner than later to test out.

In my next post I’ll delve deeper into the packaging and my first impressions of the shorts, jersey and baselayer. In additional posts I’ll cover the differences between the two Assos kits I now own.

 

Posted in Clothing Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The View is Always better from the Saddle

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Ernest

HandlebarviewA ride,  good or bad is a great way to free the mind and the view is always better from the saddle.  On my latest ride I continued my exploration of the Broadneck Peninsula riding a few new roads and of course including many old favorites. I’m finding great freedom in my bike riding of late. The most surprising finds from the rides have been the number of farms I have come across and the amount of open space. Yes the Broadneck Peninsula is developed but it isn’t as developed as one may believe. Although it does sometime feel that people are constructing homes in every lot available. Then I came across the fork in the road sign and had to make a Saris Thelma Handlebarview fork closedecision. The decision of which way to go was easy, down the road I hadn’t traveled. That sign snapped me back to reality a little. Maybe that is what I should be doing, traveling down the roads I haven’t traveled, exploring new things, pushing myself. A good idea for bike rides an even better idea for life.

Posted in My Thoughts | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Restlessness – Friendship – Revealed – Blend

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Ernest

I’ve been restless lately. I used the term “mid-life crisis”  for awhile but then the term “restless” came to mind and I think it is a better description. This has been going on for awhile now but my new term is more recent. In the last week the theme of “friendship”   has been drifting in and out of my life. It has been a prevalent theme. Then a friend spoke about “revelation” and how things have been “revealed” to her via friends.

Today I got a blog post from Seth Godin in my Inbox. with two key questions:

“How big do you want this to be?”

“How good do you want this to be?”

Initially I was thinking of these questions in relation to my business but I think in many ways they are really questions I am trying to answer during the restlessness I am currently experiencing. The “How good do you want this to be?” is an easy question to answer on the business side of life. On the personal side it is much more challenging. There is a lot I want to be good at. I want to be an excellent husband. With all of my other interests I guess the struggle is to figure out what I want to be good at or excel at for that matter. Then do you ignore the other interests or settle for being below average at them?

It is being revealed to me that the struggle is really finding, as some may say, “balance in life” but I am thinking that the word “blend” may be a better choice between the business side of life and the personal side of life.

I’ve been riding my bike some, certainly not enough trying to free my mind to process all of this, but alas it isn’t working. I guess I need to ride more or be more patient as I await for something to be revealed to me. Usually it works which is why I kind of think of this blog as “revelations from the pedals“. Certainly there is new stuff to play with on my bikes. I’ve been delving deep into the world of Garmin’s especially the Edge 1000. I have a new Assos clothing kit to test out (stay tune to a review coming to these pages soon). I’ve also been playing with the new Bontrager Transmitter light system. Lots of things to draw me to my bike, not the least to mention the freedom I feel riding and the weight I want to loose. This year I have been taking rides more for the fun of it, exploring and not watching the heart rate monitor like I used to. Simply just riding my bike. I went to a mountain bike demo a week ago and realized that I miss mountain biking and it is a lot of fun when I am not struggling to keep up with others. It was cool to check out the new Stache along with a Fuel Ex and Remedy 27.5. That Monday was a solid reminder of why I do what I do, because I LOVE IT and am one lucky person to be living the life I am even if I am restless.

I guess my question for you is: How has cycling help you reveal things you were pondering?

From Seth Godin’s blog posted 5/19/2015

Unlimited scale

Nothing grows to infinity. Certainly no project or business or idea.

And saying, “as many as possible,” implies a series of trade-offs that you’re probably not actually interested in making.

One of the most important decisions we make is almost always made without thought, without discussion:

“How big do you want this to be?”

It’s a question that always gets in the way of,

“How good do you want this to be?”

******

Posted in My Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment