out to rodeo beach today, the steady drizzle and wind kept me from heading farther out. I should’ve worn my waterproof shoe covers, that’s for sure. my feet were cold and damp near the end of the ride, which wasn’t ideal. on the bright side, there wasn’t anyone out, and cars were kept at a distance. rode through some thinned out mud along the marina greens which completely covered my bike and legs in a fine mist of grim. not the best feeling in the world, especially in the cold. I made it back home, safe and sound, threw my clothes in the wash, and gave the bike a cleaning.
I took the bmx to the shop to pick up my helmet and some cycling food. joseph was chilling at the shop, along with marc, a stellar track bike (street) rider. travis brought out the lazer box and set it in front of me. a bit of gloss white sheen peaked through, my eyes lit up. yes, this is what I’ve been waiting for: a race-legal helmet that fit my head like a suction cup. I also got a chance to check out mike giant’s raleigh macaframa collaboration rush hour pro. he also did the paint scheme for the bike, which made it even better to see in person. mike giant’s mike giant X macaframa bike. we talked shop for a bit, and I got a bit of input about tire wear, cable tension, and cyclocomputers. I’ll probably be buying a cateye wireless computer soon, in preparation for next racing season. something basic…I’m mostly concerned with distance traveled – probably one of the more important pieces of data during a race.
I left the shop, and headed to work. it started raining a bit, which was a bit of a pain, it was hard enough riding with weight on my back, and on a bike that weighed just as much. putting in time didn’t seem like much of a choir, considering I had already taken care of the helmet situation. I was also waiting on my online order to arrive. here’s the haul:
from freewheel: lazer helium, heed, 2 hammergels, and a continental gatorskin. from competitive cyclist: hincapie short finger gloves (they were on sale, I couldn’t pass them up!), skins sport compression tights, 2 assos chamois creams, rapha embrocation, and…yes, the hincapie eVent shell. what makes the eVent fabric different than goretex? the fabric membrane allows sweat to evaporate through, while keeping rain out. seems impossible, right? goretex, on the other hand, is a laminated sheet, bonded to an outer shell. from my own experience, goretex does one thing really well: keeps what’s outside, outside, and what’s inside, inside. it doesn’t breathe well, so condensation builds up on the inside of the jacket. on the plus side, it keeps the water out. but what’s the benefit of that, when you’re soaking on the inside from all that sweat. yea, lame.
rei has done an excellent job compiling all the information about rain fabrics onto a single page, check it out! I have yet to wear the shell on the road bike, so I can’t say how it is quite yet. but soon!
