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.

Pearl Izumi Cycling Bib

I remember my first sports shoe purchase. I bought a pair of grey Power Joggers from the Lake Market Bata. Before this we used to wear very basic canvas keds with a thin layer of rubber sole for running and other sporting activities. After the purchase I decided to wear the new pair of shoes from the shop to home and oh my God - what a feeling !!! It was like walking on soft cloud. I felt like floating home. It was a totally out of this world feeling. I had no idea sports shoes felt this good. I learnt to respect and spend money on good sports shoes ever since. 

The next such feeling came when I first bought a set of four Michelin tyres for my Esteem. These were my first upgrade from the usual Indian tyres that I was used to. The road felt like covered with silk and again I was like floating. I have never bought any other set of Indian tyres.

This morning the third such life changing experience happened when I first went out cycling wearing my Pearl Izumi bib shorts. Oh boy what an experience !!! I had no idea a cycle ride could be this comfortable. I just did not feel the saddle under my bums. I ended up cycling some 36 kms in two and a half hours, going up to and coming back from Bobby's house in Salt Lake's AE block. 

No I do not go out like this :-)

My nephew brought this for me from the US the other day for $80 off Amazon. It's a pair of Pearl Izumi Attack bib shorts. It has what are known as chamois padding that makes the saddle very comfortable. The normal burning sensation that I have always felt since childhood while sitting on the saddle was totally taken care of from the moment I sat on the bike. I think it even smothered the shocks a little too and helped with my average speed marginally. I am more than certain this will make the road bike more comfortable. This morning I had gone out with my Hero MTB.

These are cycling bibs as opposed to just simple cycling shorts. In the sense there are shoulder straps or suspenders to keep the shorts in place and not let them slide down. The upper part is perforated to make summer rides more comfortable. The fabric feels good on the body but the chamois takes the cake. It is the ultimate in cycling comfort, I can say without any hesitation. I chose size small for a good snug fit. And it has fitted my small frame perfectly. But with the next pair I might want to experiment with size medium.

As I see it, my life can now be divided into two parts. Cycling till date without padded shorts and from now on with padded shorts. There is a heaven and hell difference. 

Of course these have to be worn like underwear. You wear it straight on the naked skin. If you wear a brief underneath then the entire purpose of wearing it is apparently defeated, Therefore after every ride this will need a good wash. So it would have been better to have a few more. Today I literally wore it like an underwear. I wore my blue Nike full sleeve dri fit T on top over the suspenders. And below I wore the blue Kappa track pants because it was cold. 

The edge of the two legs have thin silicone lining for better grip on the thighs. Mine were sitting a little too tightly perhaps and when I took them off there was a  depression mark on the two thighs. It was itching a little too. I guess one has to get used to them.



Obviously one 36 km ride in Calcutta's winter is not enough to pass a judgement on this. It is comfortable no doubt. But I have to see how durable it is too. So I will take a relook at the review after a few months.