Goofy clothes and Goofing off
It's a lovely spring day here in Minnesota and I really want to be outside reading a book or riding my bike or something fun like that. Instead, I have work to prepare for my Memoir: Writing of Family class so I'm in my office with the windows open getting ready to get to work. First, though, I'm allowing myself a chance to do some fun work. I've decided to write a quick blog entry which will help get my head in the right place for the writing I need to do for class. At least that's my rationale. I reality I suppose I'm goofing off and avoiding my class writing. Oh well.
Last night we took our bikes to Valley Bike and Ski for a few adjustments. Owen's seat was too low and I've been feeling like I'm putting too much weight on my arms when I ride. Dan, one of the guys at Valley, took care of our adjustments while Jerrod, another guy who works there, answered Ryan's questions about shifting gears. Rose announced that she wants a road bike so she can ride with Owen and me. Then Ryan said he wants to get a road bike, too, though he wants a bike that goes fast over jumps first. We're planning to get both kids new, used, bikes at Valley's upcoming bike swap but an actual road bike is probably something a few years down the line for Rose and Ryan. Still, makes me feel good that the kids are interested in riding with us.
While Dan adjusted our bikes, Owen talked to Jeff, the owner, for awhile. Jeff is super nice, super knowledgeable about bikes and his belief in good customer service is the main reason we decided to buy our bikes from Valley. Ryan hasn't been comfortable with his bike helmet so Jerrod helped Ryan find a youth helmet that fits better than his old one. Ryan proceeded to wear it around the store the rest of the time we were there. Then Owen found a pair of cycling tights to wear when the weather is cool. I don't believe I've ever seen Owen in tights before last night. That's probably a good thing, though he has nice legs and can pull of tight-wearing well enough, especially at something like the Renaissance Festival. Still, seeing Owen in tights was a little shocking. They are, how shall I say this?, they are rather snug. So though Owen insisted he looked like Robin Hood and mentioned that he could wear his tights around the house, or something like that, I think he'll just stick to wearing them when he's cycling on cool days. We're figuring the upcoming Iron Man might involve cold weather so we want to be prepared. Owen also got some cycling gloves and we both got little skull cap sort of things to wear under our helmets when the weather is cold. Both kids thought they were great and wore them around the store, insisting they looked like pirates. Now I have pirates and Robin Hood to deal with and a kid who won't take his new bike helmet off. Little did I know that road biking would bring so much humor to our lives.
The kids are on spring break so we decided to take the dogs for a walk this morning. It's warm enough that we didn't need to wear jackets so I was struck with a challenge - what to wear? I needed something with pockets to stash my iPhone so I could keep track of the time (we could only take a short walk because we planned to meet Owen for lunch). My yoga pants don't have pockets. I didn't want to wear a jacket so I decided to wear a biking jersey. I used to think people looked kind of goofy wearing their cycling clothes but practicality won out this morning and I decided that looking goofy was okay. So, we set out for our walk. Ryan had his new biking helmet on (he likes it so much he decided to wear it to walk the dogs) and I wore my Zoic jersey with my cell phone stashed in one of the front pockets. We probably looked goofy - but who cares?
Let me take a moment to comment on my bike jersey. There are jerseys made specifically for women but I have found that many don't fit me well and when I try them on I look like a sausage stuffed into a spandex casing. I suppose looking great isn't one of the goals for choosing bike clothing but I figure I might as well find things to wear that I feel comfortable in. Last fall I went to REI to find bike jerseys on clearance and found a fabulous Zoic jersey, their Rapture Cap jersey (Zoic makes mountain bike clothing). It has an empire waist, "chest darts for improved fit and shape," a front kangaroo pocket (which is where I put my iPhone), and two pockets in the back. The jersey fabric is a blend of polyester and bamboo. Sounds like it would be scratchy or something but the fabric is very nice and comfy. Plus I think I look nice in it and got two compliments on how nice I looked when I wore it on a ride last fall. That works for me. I like compliments. I ordered another jersey through REI and now I have a green one and a blue one. I just visited the Zoic website and the Rapture Cap is on clearance for just $23.00 - a steal for bike clothing! I may just order another.
Owen and I plan to get out for a ride when he gets home from work. Let's see, he'll be home in about an hour and I still have a lot of writing to do for my class. I'd better stop goofing off and wrap up this blog entry and get back to my memoir writing work.
Last night we took our bikes to Valley Bike and Ski for a few adjustments. Owen's seat was too low and I've been feeling like I'm putting too much weight on my arms when I ride. Dan, one of the guys at Valley, took care of our adjustments while Jerrod, another guy who works there, answered Ryan's questions about shifting gears. Rose announced that she wants a road bike so she can ride with Owen and me. Then Ryan said he wants to get a road bike, too, though he wants a bike that goes fast over jumps first. We're planning to get both kids new, used, bikes at Valley's upcoming bike swap but an actual road bike is probably something a few years down the line for Rose and Ryan. Still, makes me feel good that the kids are interested in riding with us.
While Dan adjusted our bikes, Owen talked to Jeff, the owner, for awhile. Jeff is super nice, super knowledgeable about bikes and his belief in good customer service is the main reason we decided to buy our bikes from Valley. Ryan hasn't been comfortable with his bike helmet so Jerrod helped Ryan find a youth helmet that fits better than his old one. Ryan proceeded to wear it around the store the rest of the time we were there. Then Owen found a pair of cycling tights to wear when the weather is cool. I don't believe I've ever seen Owen in tights before last night. That's probably a good thing, though he has nice legs and can pull of tight-wearing well enough, especially at something like the Renaissance Festival. Still, seeing Owen in tights was a little shocking. They are, how shall I say this?, they are rather snug. So though Owen insisted he looked like Robin Hood and mentioned that he could wear his tights around the house, or something like that, I think he'll just stick to wearing them when he's cycling on cool days. We're figuring the upcoming Iron Man might involve cold weather so we want to be prepared. Owen also got some cycling gloves and we both got little skull cap sort of things to wear under our helmets when the weather is cold. Both kids thought they were great and wore them around the store, insisting they looked like pirates. Now I have pirates and Robin Hood to deal with and a kid who won't take his new bike helmet off. Little did I know that road biking would bring so much humor to our lives.
The kids are on spring break so we decided to take the dogs for a walk this morning. It's warm enough that we didn't need to wear jackets so I was struck with a challenge - what to wear? I needed something with pockets to stash my iPhone so I could keep track of the time (we could only take a short walk because we planned to meet Owen for lunch). My yoga pants don't have pockets. I didn't want to wear a jacket so I decided to wear a biking jersey. I used to think people looked kind of goofy wearing their cycling clothes but practicality won out this morning and I decided that looking goofy was okay. So, we set out for our walk. Ryan had his new biking helmet on (he likes it so much he decided to wear it to walk the dogs) and I wore my Zoic jersey with my cell phone stashed in one of the front pockets. We probably looked goofy - but who cares?
Let me take a moment to comment on my bike jersey. There are jerseys made specifically for women but I have found that many don't fit me well and when I try them on I look like a sausage stuffed into a spandex casing. I suppose looking great isn't one of the goals for choosing bike clothing but I figure I might as well find things to wear that I feel comfortable in. Last fall I went to REI to find bike jerseys on clearance and found a fabulous Zoic jersey, their Rapture Cap jersey (Zoic makes mountain bike clothing). It has an empire waist, "chest darts for improved fit and shape," a front kangaroo pocket (which is where I put my iPhone), and two pockets in the back. The jersey fabric is a blend of polyester and bamboo. Sounds like it would be scratchy or something but the fabric is very nice and comfy. Plus I think I look nice in it and got two compliments on how nice I looked when I wore it on a ride last fall. That works for me. I like compliments. I ordered another jersey through REI and now I have a green one and a blue one. I just visited the Zoic website and the Rapture Cap is on clearance for just $23.00 - a steal for bike clothing! I may just order another.
Owen and I plan to get out for a ride when he gets home from work. Let's see, he'll be home in about an hour and I still have a lot of writing to do for my class. I'd better stop goofing off and wrap up this blog entry and get back to my memoir writing work.
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