Who can afford this

[eclectic]

To feed my cycling habit I do odd jobs or sell unneeded items and dedicate the money to whatever I need.

I teach full time to pay the bills but being a single parent w/ 2 college age kids there isn't a lot of discresionary income

My Spare income raisers:
-I teach 8 week session night classes for 3 hours per week a few times a year
-I do supervised visitation monitoring randomly for 2 hours at a shot (usually 1 or 2 per month)
-Take inventory for a variety of retail outlets (I just let the inventory company know when I am available and see if there is any thing open) hours on this one varies alot

I then spend this money as I please.

I can understand it is harder with kids at home because then babysitting fees come into play. However, I can think of different things I would do as a stay home mom to raise a little change for things.

A couple of ideas:

-tutor for regular students or english as a second language
-shopper for the elderly (do this when you do your own)
-Emergency babysitter (when the sitter backs out at the last minute) I guess laws do vary on this from state to state - here you don't have to be licensed
-Data input for online programs (college)

Just some suggestions, hope you can get the gear you need (and not feel guilty about it) AND Christmas will be here! and birthday and mothers day, get your list out there

[Rai Sue]

i always check the sale racks. I got, for example, a pearl izumi rain jacket at my pricey LBS for $20 marked down from 100. (maybe b/c it's the summer and it's not that rainy right now in California)

i don't usually like to get stuff like this online, b/c i like to try stuff on. I did, however, just get some nice Boure pants off of their own discount site. Stuff changes, so it's good to check (they have a total return policy, too): http://boure.com/wadesworld/stuff.html

[RoadRaven]

The only pair of shorts we have bought at full price have been the local club shorts we needed for a competition.

ALL other shorts we have not bought from local shops, but rather from the internet when the sales are on.
Of course, being in Middle Earth we have an advantage.
Three of the major internet-shops we use are based in America or England... so when their summer sales are on... its summer here, right when we need new shorts and short sleeved jerseys... and in winter sales we buy just as we begin our winter.

With four (almost five) racing people in this house, its a matter of necessity as much as anything - if we bought the clothes at full price we would never be able to afford the bikes!

Mak suggested E-bay... worth a look, we use "TadeMe" which is the NZ premium auction site, and we have picked up excellent equipment and clothing at bargain prices.
For example... from TradeMe... I have two pairs of shoes, they cost NZ$12 and NZ$8...
We bought a bundle of shorts and jerseys of assorted sizes and either never worn or barely worn for about NZ$50...

Be a bargain hunter... it means you have more money for upgrading your purty bike and components...

[Nanci]

DDH, I think you'd have to lose a LOT of weight for the shorts to get to the chafing point. Mine fit me (seemingly the same as always) after I lost 35 pounds.

I only have one pair of the $$$ ones- I sure can't afford more. Watch for sales, watch eBay, watch Sierra Trading Post, watch the TE sale page and the Terry clearance pages, shop using Froogle. You can catch the item you want for 50% off sometimes.

Nanci

[crazycanuck]

DDH

Don't think you HAVE to have all the goodies when just starting out. For about a year we only had one pair of mtb shorts, shirt, helmet & shoes.

We still have one pair of shoes & one helmet each.

The main thing is enjoying biking before spending gazillions of dollars on items you won't use. Purchase items you need & at a reasonable price-every couple of months.

C

[DDH]

Well, luckily my shorts still fit me. I have gained but I guess not enough to keep me from being able to get into the bad boy. Thank God for strechy material. LOL The padding is not that great in them anymore. They were getting old before I quit riding before. They will do for now though.
I still have all my old gear for the bike. I have the lights, helmet, gloves and I even have a bag that fits on the back for those days I might want to take longer rides. Of course that is down the road a ways.
I will watch for the sales like you girls suggested. I have looked at a lot of these sites and most of them that I have seen do not have the shorts in a size I need. I use to wear an XL, but according to the size charts I now need an XXL and most of them don't even have that size. ARRRGGGG
Do they think fat people don't ride or what? LOL
Oh, well, I will watch for the XL's to be on sale and by a pair or two and wear them when I lose weight. Hows that for enthusiasm? LOL

[Bikingmomof3]

DDH,
I too am a SAHM. I have 3 teen boys who suck all the extra money out of the house. Their needs come before mine. I am new to biking, which means I have close to nothing by way of equipment. Just the bare essentials. Everything else goes on a wish list. I will be building up quite slowly. I figure this will give me time to learn more about my likes and dislikes, read other reviews on items and practice, practice, practice. Oh, I am also a huge sale shopper.

[Bad JuJu]

Thank God for strechy material. LOL

Because of that stretchy fabric, you may find you can already wear some XL size shorts. I routinely find that I wear a size smaller in bike shorts than in my other shorts, so if you go ahead and get a pair of XLs now if you find them on sale, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Also, more good news--there's some cycling wisdom that suggests that we should wear the smallest size shorts we can squeeze our patoots into, since that prevents there being any little bit of loose material to snag on the saddle nose or anywhere else. So squeeze away.

[tulip]

Just remember, your body touches your bike in only three places--butt, feet, and hands. I find it a good investment to protect those, in that order. Poorly made, poorly fitting shorts are no fun and not worth the $25 spent on them. I buy one pair of Pearl Izumi shorts per year, and they last 4 years. After 4 years, they get a bit transparent, but I still wear them with regular shorts over them. PI's label indicates the year. When mine get too "showy" I mark them with a laundry pen so I don't mistakenly wear them without regular shorts. The chammy's still good! I buy one pair of good cycling shoes every 10 years--my Shimano shoes lasted 10 years, and I replaced them last year. Gloves are not that big a deal (important, but not expensive)

The other thing I spend money on is a HELMET and I replace it every three years (I ride 30 miles per day commuting, so I sweat alot). I don't look at the price, I just buy the one that fits the best. It happens to be a Bell Ghisallo, which is $100, but if I was happy with the $40 helmet, I would buy it. If I crash, I replace it immediately after the crash. This has only happened once, and the helmet broke in three places--better the helmet than my head. They do make helmets with ponytail holes, but I can't remember the name if it (Bell model, I think).

I don't know how far you are riding, but the essentials for me are a helmet and good shorts. If you don't have clipless pedals, sneakers will work for shorter rides. Gloves can be found for cheap. Invest in the important things and don't fritter away on the non-essentials. Eventually, you will build up a collection by finding out where the deals are to be had.

[Aggie_Ama]

Since your profile says Central Texas.... Try Academy. They usually have the Insport shorts for fairly cheap. I have a mens pair and they aren't anything special, but definitely better than not wearing bike shorts.

You don't have to have a jersey. You could get a moisture wicking shirt at Academy or Target for pretty cheap. It would minimize your costs and maximize your comfort.

[roshelleuop]

Hi DDH!!!

Here is my quick 2 cents, it's a GREAT idea to look for clearence and sale items as I am doing it constantly, just do it carefully! Make sure you are really getting a good deal and not a crappy pair of shorts.

My lesson learned was when I found a $25 pair of Nike biking shorts. I figured Nike was a pretty good brand, the padding was pretty nice, and they were cheap, so I went with it thinking it was a good deal. After getting them home and wearing them for only a month, I realized the padding was already starting to rip out of the shorts and the waist band had already starting ripping on one side.

I then had to go back and buy another pair of shorts. So in the end, I wish I would have just spent the little bit extra money to get the nicer pair. Just last week I found a pair of touring pearl izumi women's shorts on sale for $45. I absolutely LOVE them!!!! and I know they will last me hundreds of miles! Just be patient when looking, it will pay off in the end!!! Happy riding!!!!

Roshelle from Wisconsin!!!

[ChainsOflove]

I have some terry xxl's that I don't need anymore, they are too big for me. They are somewhat worn but still plenty usable.

Let me know if you want them. They are made of dryline and not hot at all, they come down just past the knee.

[spokewench]

Sometimes you can get good discounts on www.sportsbasement.com