WoolWeenies Club

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oooooh....we're going to New Hampshire for the weekend, and will be taking our bikes. Forecast says high 50's daytime, in the 30's at night.


IT'S WOOL TIME.

[Crankin]

Details, Lisa?
Where?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

A place called Hebron/Newfound Lake....I've never been there before. Some friends have a family lodge there on the lake and there'll be a dozen of us music friends there for the weekend. 3 or 4 others are bringing their bikes besides us- experienced riders all, so it should be fun riding around the lake and playing music and relaxing. I hope nobody suggests any monster hill climbs.
Sat and Sun forecasts look good....

[Biciclista]

One thing about hill climbs, Lisa, they keep you warm!

[Crankin]

It sounds like fun. If you are near a lake, you can probably avoid the monster climbs, but that isn't easy in NH. The last time we were up near Mt. Washington, I got a book out of the library to look for rides before we left. I chose the one that was called a "ramble," i.e. did not entail climbing the Kangamangus Hwy. Well, it was short (28 miles), but there was about 3200 feet of climbing.
The weather should be great.

[mariposa]

Hey - Though October 16, you can get anything 50% off retail (note this is not 50% off any "sale" price - you have to look for "retail" price) at

www.backcountryoutlet.com

with coupon code:
38M-1-GGDSP

Note this is only good at the "outlet." It does not work at backcountry.com.

What does this have to do with wool? Well I found Smartwool, Ibex, Icebreaker, Kavu, Swobo, Patagonia, and others on there!

Have fun!

[redrhodie]

I found a Smartwool midweight turtleneck base layer at Marshalls today, for less than half retail price. I never find good stuff there. Now I realize, I must be waiting until too late in the season (like I try to buy bathing suits in Summer, stupid me). I bet by next week, they'll all be gone, and the swimsuits will be back.

They also had lots of cashmere sweaters, which are my favorite things to ride in in winter, but they were soooo expensive, and they were too poofy/dressy for road-bike riding.

[Grog]

For the last two days I've been wearing the light-pink merino wool turtleneck I bought for two dollars at a church thrift sale last month. The turtleneck shows under my cycling jacket. Never looked so elegant on the bike! (And I'm toasty, too.)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

One of my favorite wool items cost me nothing and is also very sentimental to me...

My mother had a pair of 100% cashmere black gloves. She actually never got a chance to wear them, and they were brand new. She died two years ago and since then I use her cashmere gloves as liners inside my other various gloves in the winter- for both biking and snowshoeing, walking, whatever I do out in the cold for hours. They are not thick, but they are incredibly fuzzy and soft and cozy.
She would be so pleased to know she was still keeping me warm.

[Zen]

I just got this
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSW_15204_1.html
Very nice, the fit is great. One thing worries me though. I like the way it fits now but the washing instructions say it might shrink slightly on first washing.

Anybody?

[madscot13]

You know that is one thing I don't understand. Can you refit it back to size? You know when you dry a pair of jeans in the dryer and the come out a size smaller but a day after you have worn them they are back to usual, does that happen with wool?

[Cataboo]

I just got this
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSW_15204_1.html
Very nice, the fit is great. One thing worries me though. I like the way it fits now but the washing instructions say it might shrink slightly on first washing.

Anybody?

I've never had any of my smartwool shrink on me.

However, for the most part I don't put my smartwool or any of my wool in the dryer. I just hang them to dry. My bf puts his smartwool & icebreaker in a dryer on high without any problems (and much to my dismay he's put mine in as well)

I did just stay in a last week hotel and saw a bed bug (EWWWW), and after changing rooms - I washed all the clothes I had with me on high heat & dried them on high heat (supposedly kills any bugs or eggs) and left them on high heat for 5 mins after dry... I was about to cry because I did that to a ibex climawool softshell, an ibex shirt, and a smartwool shirt. Then I repeated that treatment when I got back home.

However, all of the wool handled it without a problem - no shrinkage.

The smartwool shirt did end up with a small hole. I've had that happen with about 6 pieces of my smartwool and lots of my smartwool socks that have developed random holes after a few washings, so I've stopped buying smartwool.

I like my ibex so much more.

[Grog]

I had a wool sweater shrink once. But nothing like Smartwool or Ibex.

I've seen a new Smartwool piece that says DRY CLEAN ONLY on TE though. ?????

All of my other wool stuff has never shrunk. I wash it on cold, and hang to dry.

[Cataboo]

I just got a merino wool arc'teryx emissary zip necka few weeks back, that after I washed I noticed it said dry clean only on it.

I wash all my wool with cold water and then hang/lay it flat to dry.

the fugitive zipneck was fine after that treatment.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I just got this
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodSW_15204_1.html
Very nice, the fit is great. One thing worries me though. I like the way it fits now but the washing instructions say it might shrink slightly on first washing.

Anybody?

I have several of those and I do wash them on warm/gentle in the machine- very very slight shrinking but nothing bad at all.
I usually dry them in the dryer on LOW and I don't set it for too long.

I do not think they can be 'unshrunk' after they shrink.