Castelli Pioggia Winter Glove part 2

I told you that I would provide you a review of the gloves I recently purchased. Well they came in time for me to test them out on a couple of short 1 hour rides. My first impression when I received them were that they were decent looking, though much more bulky than my older gloves. Yep, these were like ski gloves The glove's liner is fleece and feels nice and soft when you put your fingers inside. I got a large and they fit like med-large, which was perfect for me as I didn't want alot of bulk at the finger tips. Like any decent glove, it's warm if there is extra space for trapping air. The Pioggia has a bit of bulk with the internal fleece glove lining and the outer windproof shell. It was about 25 degrees out and my hands didn't feel overly warm nor did they feel cold. I did sweat in them, however because it's fleece, the glove didn't feel wet, except when I took them off. At that time it pretty much was like pulling your gloves inside out. There is no stitching to keep the fingers in place with the outer shell. I guess the good thing is that you could pull it out to dry quicker and you can wash just the lining part.
My over all opinion is that this glove provides good warmth but at a cost of bulkiness. I actually prefer my cheap Novara gloves as they are much thinner and are decently warm when riding in 30+ degree weather. So my Pioggia gloves will be used when I'm a spectator for cold events and when it's below 25 degrees otherwise my holey Novara gloves are just fine.

Recap at the Point: Hard ride, for the most part extremely fast. My ass is in pain. Decent sprints and thanks to my teammate Pete, he led me out at the right time to take the sprint. I'm in no sprinting shape yet, however it was a good feeling to know it's still there. I kind of died after the second time we sprinted and the other guys continued to go hard at 12:58. I was on my warm down lap getting ready to ride back to work. However, I have to say, I'm impressed by all of the power out there so early in the season. I'm wondering if I should sandbag and focus on peaking in the later summer instead, when everyone's burned out. I think all of this social networking through these blogs and listservs are really creating a stir out there. Everyone is strong so early!

Blown!

How many of the blogs over the last couple of days have blow in the title?

Hurray! I've got in 5 straight days of riding! This is a record. Of course, how many hours each was it? Many of the days it was about 40 minutes a couple of days it was a bit over an hour. So all in all, my riding has been fairly productive in getting my heart and lungs in shape.

The last few days I went down to Hains Point. Yesterday Jesse Leifert, pretty much summed it up on his blog Le Amateur Domestique. Yes, it was windy and the Harley and DCVelo boys just made it look too easy. I went around a couple of laps with them and decided to drop after the final turn, where they were supposed to recover. No.. they decided to teach some of us a lesson and hammered away.

Today, I arrived at around 12:35 after a meeting downtown and while getting dressed, watched 2-Speed Chuck and Bryan Butts hammer away together. After I was ready a minute or so, I joined a small group going at an easy pace. I stayed at the end of the pack not trying to cause any commotion. I finally moved up front to see James "Giacomo" Belora leading the pack, he said he had already been going around several times already getting blown. The pace was a bit slow for me so I picked up the pace and then around the curve, bam! I got hit by this incredible wind gust! It almost stopped me in my tracks. It felt like I was starting to climb a steep hill with all that resistance. I just kept rotating my feet around and around, trying to keep a good cadence going. Around to the front side where the wind was assisting instead of hindering me, I picked the pace up again. Nice and steady with good speed. Then again on to the back side, this time I upped my cadence to around 85-90 rpm. It felt easier and I was moving around 16 MPH. Then I hear this cranking sound and whoosh...here comes Chuck and Bryan going around me like I was standing still. They were probably going at an 18 to 20 MPH clip. There wasn't anything I could do. I couldn't suck wheel because they gapped me quickly for me to react. All I'm saying is that I don't know how they can keep up that pace and power...I was just too damned amazed at their continued effort. I can tell that these guys are going to cause some real pain out there this year.

Castelli Pioggia Winter Glove

I broke down today as I couldn't pass up a good deal. I ordered a pair of Castelli Piogga gloves in a large today. I'm hoping that they work well. I've seen these in the past in shops, however they are damn expensive. Typically over $60 for them. I needed a new pair of winter gloves as my other winter gloves are full of holes and they don't really keep me that warm.
The Castelli Piogga gloves are supposed to be water proof as well, so those cold rainy races early in the season should be a good test for them.

I'll let you know in a future blog post how these rate.

This was my first week where I rode more than twice. I rode Sunday for about 30 minutes. I rode at noon yesterday for about 40 minutes. And today, I rode for an hour during the hill ride in Arlington. The Coppi guys invited this kid (26 yrs old) mountain biker to come out and ride with us. He shredded us on the sprints and up the hills pretty badly. My heart rate was pinging over 180 for a good portion of the ride. I basically blew up one time up a hill. I was pretty satisfied though with my riding considering I haven't ridden more than once a week for the 4 weeks or so. So much for putting the miles in off season. We are in season once again. Let the races begin! Most of the riders with me were definitely in better shape than I. The suffering was good and I need to do more of it.
I'm planning to ride in to work more often now, unless it becomes damn cold again.

Big Kahunas and racing as a Master.

Here's an email I received recently as we were emailing about a long ride on the weekend. It would have been something I would have loved to do.... however a 4 to 5 hour ride is something I very rarely ever get to do. I think I rode once last year to Sugarloaf Mountain from Beach Drive (about 80 miles), of course I didn't ride with a bunch of hard core racers, just some fit weekend warriors. I did much of the pulling though. I got home and ate a whole lot of pasta and food, took a nice long shower and passed out on the couch trying to watch some bad rerun of TV shows.

My response to the ride was that I didn't think I could go.. however, during my creation of the email I thought of it more and realized I couldn't make it because of my children's sporting events and that I would be attending a evening function with my wife and had to be energetic for the whole event, which I probably wouldn't be if I rode for 5 hours. And of course, as out of shape I'm in, no riding for the past couple of weeks, with all of the poor weather and other stuff I have to do... this was one of the responses:


"You guys are pathetic. You need to let the family know who is The
Boss. Last Sunday I did the cyclocross race in the morning (placed
xxth), got home, had some lunch, then went back out and rode for
another hour since it was 65 degrees. Wife and children completely
indifferent to my absence. Returned home, kicked back on couch,
watched soccer then Super Bowl. King for A Day, as it is every day at
my house."

Well he's is the man...the "king" in my book. If you can do that every day... well he/she must have it good. Most of us in the real world don't have this luxury. I know some of the Seniors can do that cause they still have no responsibilities... or they just don't have a life. Would I trade my life to be able to have the ability to ride 5 hours? then go home watch a movie, then sit and watch a football game in the emvening? Probably not... though I do dream of that every once in a while.
Have fun this weekend everyone. I'll be having my own fun, hopefully not thinking about you.

GamJams Review: Handlebar and Stem.

I few years back I changed out my stock Bontrager aluminum handlebars for some carbon ones. Which one did I choose? Well it was the FSA K-Wing Bars. I got them used from a local racer who went pro and got a good deal on them. I saw a few guys who had the bars and they really liked them. So I decided to try them out. I went on a search for a carbon stem as well and picked up one off of E-bay for a good price. I picked up a Bontrager Race XXX lite carbon stem in a 130 mm length. After a year, I decided to try a shorter stem and bought one in 120mm. It felt a bit better as I think I was reaching too far. BJ Basham professionally measured me and told me that I should probably get a shorter stem 110mm and move the seat backwards another couple of centimeters. I haven't picked up my stem yet, which an old teammate will be selling me. I really like the stem as it is beefy, stiff, and light. The carbon bars, and stem both absorb and dampen vibrations. I don't think I notice too much difference from my aluminum bars and stems. The major difference is the flat top of the bars which is pretty comfortable and the sloping area before the brake hoods. It was designed to make it a bit more comfortable and provide more room. I think the best thing I received by switching is all of the riders looking at the "bling" Yes, they are cool to look at. The stiffness is probably a bit stiffer than the aluminum bars which I like. The weight is probably similar to aluminum bars. So all in all I have enjoyed the bars.

My recommendation? Well bars are bars. As long as they are light and stiff. Then they should work. The FSA K-Wings are recommended for their flat tops, cutout above the brake hoods for comfort, ong as they are light and stiff. Then they should work. The FSA K-Wings are recommended for their flat tops, cutout above the brake hoods for comfort and their cool look. The bontrager Race XXX lite stems are definitely a winner for me. They are light, durable, stiff and work well and I don't have any slippage holding onto the FSA K-wing bars. Oh yes.. the FSA have a rougher area around the stem area so that they don't have any issues slipping.

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.