Pearls of Wisdom - Upper and Lower

Last year I requested my nephew Gublai in the US to get me a pair of cycling bibs from Pearl Izumi when he came home for a short visit. The riding experience changed dramatically ever since I tried them on. In fact I have never got onto my roadie without them since that day. But bibs come with an accompanying and practical problem. Peeing becomes a headache. You have to remove your gloves, helmet, jersey, belt pouch (if you have one on) and then take the suspenders off of your shoulders and pull the damn thing down to relieve yourself. Doing it on the way side on the highway is not a problem but time consuming. Villagers do tend to look at you with surprise written large on their face, but then who cares when you are desperate to go.

I bought the bib for the simple reason that I read in reviews that normal cycling shorts tend to slip down. 

This year when his sister, my niece, was coming I requested her to get for myself a complete set of cycling jersey and shorts. Just so that I have a. a spare pair of padded shorts to wear (cycling clothes have to be worn without any underwear and therefore cannot be worn twice without washing and b. these shorts would be more for my city rides, as opposed to the bib for long rides.

Got the items in my hands last night when Guria and Mezda and Boudi came to our house. A pair of Pearl Izumi cycling shorts in size Small and a cycling jersey in size Medium. While the shorts are black and grey, the shirt is an electric lemon colour.

My personal taste in everything that I wear is very sedate and understated. The colour electric lemon, or fluorescent lemon is not really my favourite colour. But riding a cycle on the streets of Calcutta, particularly early in the morning in winter, you need to stand out. These colours make you more visible to motorists and friends. A reckless motorist is dangerous for you in any case, no matter what you wear or what light you put on. But if you wear something that makes you more visible on the road it is always safer. Rest is in the hands of God.

I remember in Chadar I was climbing down a huge heap of boulders on the river side alone, with my left hand broken and out of action (at that time I didn't know for sure that it was broken though but it was certainly out of action). My other trek mates were resting near the river, having reached ahead of me. I was a good half an hour away from them if I went alone without help. I was in the maze of largish grey boulders, making my way down slowly. Navigating your way through such a terrain is difficult when you have one arm totally limp. Body balance goes for a toss.

I desperately wanted my friends to see me and help. And they did see me simply because of my fluorescent green down jacket. Someone came quickly to my aid and guided me down to the river bed. If I was wearing something like grey or black I wouldn't be as visible. Fluorescent colours stand out clearly.

Also, while riding with some friends last month very early in the morning, I realised the guy who was in a fluorescent orange jersey was really visible from a very long distance. It actually helped me keep track of him from a long distance. Hence, I decided that I must have at least a couple of highly visible jerseys. For brevets wearing gilet with reflectors is mandatory. But wearing a gilet for daily rides is not feasible, particularly in summer.

The Shorts - Select Escape

I chose size Small because that's my correct size for cycling shorts. Cycling clothes have to be form fitting. That is, they should hug closely to the body. I checked the shorts for fit. They fit me perfectly. Snug and a perfect Mamil. The product has two other brands tagged with it. Lycra and 3M.

The Jersey - Select Pursuit

For the jersey I chose size Medium. While it is form fitting on the body, the arms are just a bit loose. The Adidas jersey that I bought from Brand Factory the other day has a stretchable band. This one is plain.

My First Cycling Jersey

Pic courtesy: Adidas

Today I bought for myself my first cycling jersey. A Strava-orange Adidas. Never knew Adidas also made cycling jerseys. I have a black Pearl Izumi cycling bib which had a tremendous positive impact on my riding comfort. I was so far using this with ordinary running T's. I never had a cycling jersey. 

Today while browsing alone through the sports section of Brand Factory I saw this beautiful Strava-orange jersey among a bunch normal running and fashion T-shirts. At first I didn't realise it was a cycling jersey because that's the last thing you would expect in a store like Brand Factory. I was initially attracted by its colour. But then I saw it had full zip in the front. On closer inspection I found 3 pockets on the back. It's Adidas branded and the icing on the cake was that though MRP was 4k it was available at a 70 per cent discount making the effective price Rs 1200. I thought this was a bargain.

A quick trip to the trial room convinced me that M was quite the right size for me. It fitted me pretty well, including around my biceps where it has silicone bands. Cycling shorts and jerseys and bibs have to be form fitting. This one did. I didn't spend too long to decide. Pulled the trigger. 

I needed this shopping therapy to come out of the office blues as well as the injury blues (read about my plantar fasciitis injury here). I hope this jersey will serve me for a long time. 

Once I do a trip with it (hopefully tomorrow), I will add more details to this review. But before that I can give a few basic facts about the jersey.

No. I don't take myself so seriously. Just a joke here :-)

The front zip feels easy and smooth to operate. The sleeves and the bottom have silicone bands on the edge for good fit and body hugging abilities. They have fluorescent reflector bands on them which are of top quality. The very first evening I wore it at home there was a short power cut. I checked out the quality of the reflectors on the mirror in the dark. They were pretty bright. The Adidas logo is also made of the same reflector material.

I learnt something new about cycling jerseys from this. The back of the jersey is a little longer than the front. Probably to compensate for the upward pull that portion gets when you bend over to hold the handle on the drops. So no chance to expose your butt cleavage with this.

The rear of the jersey has three vertical open pockets, typically for keeping energy bars and other such sundry items as an air pump or some medicines etc. One of the pockets has a very small fourth pocket with a zip on top. presumably for a key or anything that is small but too valuable to lose. I doubt if I will have any use of that unless I take the bike in my car to the highway to ride (as some serious cyclists do).

Review After A Few Short Rides In Summer

The winter of 17-18 was a rather idle time for me, what with injury and a general dislike to go out in the cold of Calcutta. By western standards our winters are ridiculously warm but by my standard I hate going out in the dark cold early mornings.

I started cycling back in right earnest from April 2018 and obviously chose this jersey. Short hour-long 20 km rides. Summer has set in and I sweat profusely. This jersey is definitely not warm but the word "chill" in the brand name is an over statement. But it cools much better than any cotton T-shirt. Its only problem is it stinks after a ride. It is not enough if you let it dry out in the sun. The stink does not go. My other T-shirts or socks, with which I have sweated a lot more, don't stink like this. It is not a very strong smell that you can get from far. But if you sink your nose into it, it smells bad. In any case I do wash my T-shirts after every single use. So it's not a problem for me so far.

I love the colour, I must say. One certainly stands out on the grey streets of Calcutta. The other day, as I was coming back home from the Red Road area, I saw a group of amateur photographers near Victoria out on their Sunday shooting practice. Very soon I realised some of them were clicking me !!! I don't think they would have, if I were wearing something duller or more mute.

Is it worth the price? I guess so. Yes.