Learn How to Dress Properly When Bicycle Touring

Bicycle Touring

Cycling gear maniacs who delight in tech talk debate cog sizes and stem lengths, as if metal defines comfort when you're-rolling out the miles. But for most of us fabric defines the pleasure of our ride.

Let's start from the bottom up.

This is where you meet the bike saddle, a vital pressure point for the five-six hours you are actually putting the bike down the road. The most comfortable cycling shorts are made of six, or better vet eight, separate panels, shaped with a stretchy fabric to create a skin-tight, nonbinding garment. The back should be relatively high to keep the shorts from pulling down when you're bent over the handlebars. A once leather but now usually a synthetic pad treated with an antibacterial, forms a cushioning and sweat-absorbent crotch.

Traditionally, shorts are black, which doesn't show greasy hand marks from when you grabbed your chain or the smudges and guck you pick up along the road. Some more modest folks prefer "baggies" classic cycling shorts attached within loose, long-legged shorts. You can find many sports shops in dubai using our directory. Look for them in the mountain-bike clothing section.

Many women choose a "skort," classic cycling shorts wrapped inside a short skirt. While several companies sew them, the only women that wear them have used Terry Bicycle garments.

Team Estrogen is a Web-based retailer offering a wide range of female-specific clothing, including skorts. Most shorts come to just above the knee to prevent your thighs from chafing against the saddle or top tube. Knickers have a slightly longer leg, covering your knees. If mornings are cool, this keeps your knee joints warm. If mornings are nippy, tights will cover you from ankle to waist.

Think Lycra or Spandex pantyhose. Leg warmers are a practical alternative to tights. They are ankle up to and under the leg hem of your shorts. The elastic band of the hem holds the tights in place. Well-thought-out warmers have a zipper at the ankle, allowing you to remove them without taking off your shoe. They offer almost the warmth of tights in a package you can stuff into a jersey pocket for quick changes.

Top off your outfit with a bicycle jersey.

Today's materials wick sweat away from your skin, stretch to allow a full range of unconstrained motion, and don't flap annoyingly in the wind. Most will have two or three pockets in the back. Some people have a couple of jerseys with zippered pockets, but most utilize an elastic top.

They can stick a Gore-Tex jacket or vest in one pocket and a plastic bag of Fig New-tons in another and still have room for a plastic bag holding a few bucks, their ID, and a couple of individually packaged baby wipes. The zipper at the neck should close snugly but be easy to open for venting off heat in a climb.

Some people have a short zipper on their long-sleeved winter or cool-weather jersey, but others like a zipper that opens down to somewhere between their sternum and navel when riding in the heat. Bright-colored jerseys are more than a fashion statement. Any edge you can give yourself in the visibility game is worth it. A club jersey marks you as a serious cyclist.

Jerseys seem long when you stand up, down to mid-buttock on so in the back. They'll ride up a bit when you're on your bike but will still be long enough to cover your back. Long sleeves versus short sleeves are things to keep at a comfortable temperature, so you should usually wear a short-sleeved jersey and carry arm warmers a cool morning.

Long sleeves don't give that option. But in the winter or early spring, the long sleeves are nice. A lightweight vest of Gore-Tex or similar breathable material is great for layering and will shed wind and light drizzle. It 'll also fit in a jersey pocket for quick changes. A jacket of similar material is super for a cool morning or when caught in a drizzle. If it's pouring, and thus cool, some riders prefer a big, loose, long waterproof jacket with a snug neck, a long tail to keep spray off their back, and zippers under the arms for ventilation, such as the Burley bicycle rain jacket. Rain pants will keep you dry, but most cyclists prefer tights