GamJams Review: winter gloves.

I'm a little late again.. Next time I'll be quicker.

As far as gloves, well to say the least, I don't ride too much during the winter time so they have never been a real factor. When I do winter riding, I used my ski stuff. So, the ability to use ski stuff for cycling went well. Unfortunately, that meant using a ski jacket (puffy and blocked lots of wind) and cross country ski gloves or spring gloves, and a stretchy fleece tights.

Over the years, I've finally been given or have won winter/fall stuff. A few years back I was given some Novara winter gloves.. They actually work pretty well when the temperature above freezing. For those times when it is 20 and below your fingers are going to be really cold. They are not wind proof, however the good thing is that you don't sweat much in them. The first 15 minutes in them may be cold till your body warms up, after that they are fine. I remember using them for Jeff Cup last year... remember the cold, snow and ice and rain which fell? Yep, starting the race, I was warm, 10 minutes into the race, they were getting wet and cold. After I warmed up they were okay, however because I was wet... it was definitely not helping keep my hands too warm.
So if you want a nice warm pair of winter gloves, these are not them. They work well for fall riding and spring riding or if you warm up quickly. They are now pretty worn (pretty good for 3 years of riding). They have holds at some of the seams, at the thumbs, however the do decently for a short ride when I get my effort up and start sweating. I need a new pair of winter gloves... Not sure what to get though. I'll be checking out the other reviews and check the LBS for their choices.

By the way, my x-country/spring ski gloves were leather and did a nice job, again for warmer weather. If they got wet, they were horrible as they soaked up the water and had little ability to keep the warmth.

The fleece tights, well they worked nicely, I got a few chuckles on the rides, but they kept me warm (though wind would go through the fleece). I broke down 3 years ago and got a pair of Pearl Izumi thermafleece tights and they work well, as my legs don't tend to get cold. I don't sweat much in them and they do a decent job of cutting the wind. My knees do get cold, the other major problem is blocking the wind in your crotch... Ouch.. Ever get frostbite on your weiner?? So, I've learned, Ride with another pair of shorts over the tights, it will block more wind and provide an extra layer. Maybe, stuffing newspaper might work as well, though I've never tried that.

For the top, I wear my skiing Thermax turtleneck (that is some really good stuff) Keeps you warm and dry. Over that I wear a Cannondale stretchy wind jacket which works very well in cutting the wind. It also has lycra under the arms to allow you to vent the perspiration. This stretchy wind blocking fabric is wonderful. I've seen the light weight North Face stuff and want to get one of those jacket for casual wear. So as you can see, I still use some of my ski stuff and knowledge on how to try to stay warm.. Bottom line, if you're not working hard enough, you'll be cold. So the long 70+ mile rides at a low heartrate, you'd better bundle up more.

Gamjam reviews: Bontrager Gel Cork Tape.

I've used many different tapes for my handlebars. I really don't think it matters much which ones you choose, however over the past couple of years I've stuck with Bontrager tape as it was what my local bike shop carried. I've used Deda tape, Cinelli cork tape, and others.. one in paticular, which I can't remember the name was pretty stretchy and had a good grip. I don't think they are even in business anymore, however it was one of the first non cork tape and had some nice print designs on it.

Well... now about Bontrager tape. http://bontrager.com/model/00075/en. Once you have it wrapped on your bars it feels like a baby's bottom. Nice and soft. It has gel in it to suck up alot of the road vibrations. Because of the gel it tends to be a bit thicker and soft. One drawback on the tape I find is that it tends to slip as the adhesive on the back doesn't work very well. This deficiency, however allows you to remove it easily (especially if you screw up on wrapping it).

The best thing about the Bontrager bar tape is not actually the tape, it's the bar ends plugs. These things just stay in and don't fall out like all of the other handle bar plugs.

As far as wear, I've had my tape on for about a year, even through a crash, it survived with a few holes and of course electrical tape works well on it. I use a bit of the tubular glue on the end of the tape so that I don't have to worry about it slipping and unwinding as the bontrager plastic tape it comes with tends to unravel after a while.

As far as colors, it comes in many which should be able to match your bike colors well. I know how many of you love to make your bikes match :).

The tape is typically less than $16 bucks at your local bike shop.

BTW.. For those who don't know how to wrap the tape: You start at the bar ends and work your way towards the stem.

Happy New Year 2009.

Happy New Year!

Plenty of people have asked me for my goals this year.
As many of you know, I don't typically have preset goals, as I don't have a regimented training schedule as I would like.

So here are my goals:

Enter at least 10 races this year.
Place top 10 in at least 5 of the races.
Help my teammates win or place top 3 in every race.
Train at least 3 times a week (minimum 1 hour rides)
Have fun racing and training. Make new friends or continue to build up friendships with other riders.

Caveats:

Training/Racing should not negatively affect my work performance or family life.

Sounds pretty easy??
I would hope so.. though this year is going to be much more challenging as I will be away on vacation in the spring for 2 weeks, my children are going to be in swimming competitions all summer and training in the spring. I will be dedicating alot of my time in officiating in the mmeets. So, this doesn't leave too much extra time. Of course...I will have to spend quality alone time with my wife. Work will be much more challenging in this New Year with the economy in the doldrums, so more time at work to be as productive as last year.

You get the gist. It will be a challenging year, however, I will have more teammates to work with this year and it should be fun as we all are in the same situation with family and work.

Oh, by the way. I've been off the bike for 3 weeks now. Time to get back on this Tuesday.

Have a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2009!