Moving On

The original purpose behind The Fourteen Percent Ride has long since been fulfilled. So, I've decided that Mighty Proud will be the last posting. It just seems right.

But, don't worry. Or maybe you should. In any event, I plan to continue. I'll keep riding. And writing. Click here to come along in my new blog ~ The Long White Line. <-- check it out!

Thanks

As I've ridden for the last two years, I've picked up on the fact that Shirley, my darling wife, has been more worried about my safety than impressed with my "accomplishments." How do I know this? Well, when I'd come back and tell her, for example, that I'd hit 53.6 mph going down FO, she'd reply, "I don't want to hear it." Being the sensitive sort I figured out, after many such comments, that just maybe we were not on the same page here. But last week, she told me that she would "greatly reduce her focus on the 'fear for my safety' issue." We talked about the tour, looked at some maps, researched nutrition suggestions on the internet, and so on, just enjoying the idea of the ride. How nice is that? Thank you, Shirley!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Fashion Sense

Recently I noted that Fashion for Engineers was in the top ten list of shortest books ever written. I'm guessing that Fashion for Year 'Round Riding in Wisconsin is one of the longest. How do you dress for success in the upper midwest? Glad you asked. The slide show running below illustrates some of the principles.



Warm Weather Wear
Here we see the basics - shorts, lightweight jersey, short socks, and cool fingerless gloves. Shoes of course. And the helmet. There is always a helmet. Rain or shine, hot or cold. I repeat. There is ALWAYS a helmet.

Cool Weather Wear
It starts to get complicated now. Shorts, jersey, shoes and helmet are the base. Some cool weather additions to the well dressed rider's wardrobe are a lightweight, windproof jacket, heavier gloves with thin glove liners for even cooler days. The socks are a little heavier and go over the ankle. Leg warmers that are held up by the shorts are easy to remove and stash in a jersey pocket. The cap is more important to those of us who lack the natural insulation. Also shown are toe covers for the regular biking shoes and ear covers (the triangles) that velcro on to the helmet straps. It is not unusual to wear most of what you see in the picture at the start of the ride, with outer layers shed as you and the weather warm up.

Cold Weather Wear
Getting enough clothing between you and the wind is the issue when Wisconsin winter kicks in. We now have a base layer under the jersey. The one shown in the picture has a hood and sleeves that extend down to the knuckles with a hole for the thumb to keep the sleeve from walking up your arm. The jersey goes on next then a much heavier jacket. Tights, regular or fleece, go over the shorts and smart wool socks (not shown). Shoes are replaced with high-top riding boots and chemical foot warmers are a must. Full finger gloves over the liners for cold days or the "lobster" glove-mitten for COLD days. I usually wear the black cap under my helmet which now is also fitted with a cover ( the black and yellow piece at the right shoulder in the picture). Ear muffs round out the outfit.

As the weather gets cooler, you really don't need to ride as much - I'm sure that getting dressed and undressed through all of the layers burns the equivalent of a few miles worth of calories. And I think you see from this display why the spare no expense directive is not hard to follow.

Four rides last week netted me 103.6 miles. Total for the year is 4,452.3 miles.

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