Three Pockets, Good To Go

My first experience with road biking was on an organized tour on the back roads of Vermont to see the fall foliage. It was a fully supported tour. With two guides, and a large SAG van and lovely accommodations at local inns or bed and breakfast places, it was a lovely biking vacation. We were provided with hybrid bikes designed for comfortable vacation touring. The bikes came with standard pedals with or without baskets, wide comfortable padded seats, a rear rack with a generous bike bag able to hold two spare tubes and still have room for camera, rain jacket, sunscreen, food etc., in handlebar shifters with 3 front and 8 rear gears,allnumbered on the grips, a bike computer for mileage and time, two bottle racks, a hand pump and SAG support for mechanical problems and flat tires. All the riders were expected to do was wear appropriate clothing, follow the maps, ride if they felt like it, or sag if they didn’t.

Thanks to the advice of one my biking sisters, and in the enthusiasm of trying something new and different, I managed to find a couple of pairs of “skins” or padded underwear , a pair of padded knicker type bike pants , two bike jerseys of sweat evaporating material, each with a ¾ length zipper in the front and one pocket in the back, some “biking” gloves, a bell helmet from K Mart and a pair of “bike shoes” which were actually cheap tennis shoes with thin glued on soles from China.

I was overweight and out of shape and resembled nothing so much as a badly stuffed sausage in the biking clothes, but I was ready to ride. I rode down the hills, across the flats and trudged up the hills. As it turned out, that week of road biking in Vermont was only the first step on a slippery slope.

After the ride I returned to Texas determined to continue riding. I had the basics in clothing but I needed a bike. In short order, I acquired a Trek hybrid bike with an extra wide comfort seat, and all the accoutrements including baskets on the pedals, two bottle cages and a rear rack complete with insulated bike bag. I began to acquire jersey’s and shorts in a variety of price ranges and qualities with a variety of features. I rationalized that I was deliberately trying out a variety of styles and types of jersey’s and shorts to find the best combination of pockets, padding, zipper length and price. At first I went for jerseys in bright colors, there was a safety factor involved as well as a wild a crazy streak inside me trying to break free from the middle class suburban housewife, mother of three.

I started riding, at first just once a week, which quickly escalated into several times a week. The more I rode the more bike jerseys and shorts I could justify. As I gradually increased my distances, and my time in the saddle, I began to define what I needed in a workable jersey, irrespective of color and pattern. I found a style of padding and brand of bike shorts that suited all of my needs. I also got a good set of bike specialized dark glasses.

A year later, frustrated at not being able to increase my speed sufficiently to do even the slowest group rides sponsored by the local bike shops, I adopted the slogan, “Not fast but seldom last.” During the next year, even though I was riding regularly and working out at the gym, my speed had still not increased enough to meet the slow speed requirements for group rides. It wasn’t all negative though. During the year I had lost weight, gotten into the routine of spending several hours, several times a week at the gym, and started working out regularly with a trainer. I had also become accustomed to solo road biking on an almost daily basis.

At the end of that year I did a 600 mile long ride for charity on the hybrid bike. After the ride and observing the other riders and their bikes, and listening to endless comments about how strong I must be to “horse that thing 100 miles in one 9 ½ hour day”, I decided to make the jump from a comfort hybrid to a real road touring bicycle.

I spent three months comparison shopping and test riding and in the process, established a strong and friendly relationship with the manager of a local bike shop. After several weeks of once a week tryouts of two or three bikes in various combinations of brand, weight, size and style, I settled on a Trek Pilot 5.0. As I was mentally checking out my budget and wrestling with whether or not I really was going to ride enough to justify the cost, Pete, the manager, mentioned that he had an 05 model , fully pimped and at a deep discount that, coincidentally, made it fall just within the highest price I had set for myself.

One week later I rolled out of the store with a custom fitted, gorgeous new lean, mean road machine. Gone were the comfort seat, the rear rack, the wide tires, and the bike bag. The comfort seat has been replaced with a high quality road bike seat. The rear rack and insulated bike bag have been replaced by an under the seat tool bag holding an air inflation system, a tool kit and a spare tube. The regular pedals with baskets have been exchanged for clipless pedals and my cheap made in China tennis/bike shoes have been replaced with shimano SPD shoes with adjustable Velcro closures and a steel shank in the sole that keeps the sole from flexing and gives me leverage on the down stroke. I have added a GPS wireless computer to my bike, paired my wallet down to a Jimi wallet just thick enough to hold a credit card, identification, a small amount of cash and a discount card for my favorite en route coffee shop. I still ride with two bottle cages.

Nowadays I enjoy riding solo long distances. I ride almost daily and try to average 150 to 200 miles a week. Miles and time in the saddle have given me a comfort level on the bike that was lacking on the hybrid bike. I no longer steer around road problems, but lean through them. My speed has increased but I still have no desire to compete with the speed demons in the group rides although I think I probably could.

I have found a brand of shorts with a chamois and padding that can take me 100 miles or more in one ride and I have enough of them to get me through the week. My many, various jerseys have been pared down to seven in bright, visible for long distances colors, each with a long zipper, and three rear pockets.

From an overweight aging hausfrau on a hybrid comfort bike to an aging, slightly overweight long distance solo bike rider. I can gear out to ride in 15 minutes. My four point gesture of the cross pre-ride check is "helmet, cell phone, wallet and glasses."

These days my motto is “three pockets, good to go.”