Hotdang- it happened!

[missliz]

Somewhere in this forum, earlier in the summer, I posted that I would be back at Xmas day cyclocross style mudding this year. I think It's been since 1999. I had written this off due to shoulder injury, frustration, stuff. Now condidering how badly hungover, bloated on oyster dressing, and generally out of condition I am it's really surprising that I loaded up missbike AND didn't forget the one hundred and eighty five different bits of stuff one needs. I haven't roadtripped the bike in YEARS! Only thing I forgot was the mud studs.
So a two and a half hour drive later, I hit the dirt at Bella Vista Plantation and rode plenty of gooey clay and slop for a couple hours.
The girls still got it!
It was amazing! There were deer and coyote tracks, and deer, and rabbits, and hawks, and an eagle. It's been so long I didn't beleive a bike would go through some of the stuff; the body remembers and we went anyway. The new knees are sweet, my leg speed is so quick, and even when the tires slid out on clay I just let the bike come back to me, didn't fall once! I didn't think I'd ever see that happen again, just riding by reflexes. Had to dab a few times but all things considered not bad. My fork is a mess. Kept it serviced but I'm not liking the action. What's the rot rate on elastomers? I think they're giving out.
This is the first time I've ever dirtied up a shiny new SRAM drivetrain and I'm impressed- I had to bail in deep mud and push, I was in that silly huge old lady climbing cog (32?) I put on 'cos I didn't actually beleive in 9 speeds. If you just twist the shifter and push the beast, the chain will move down the cogset to something you can actually clip in against and ride out on. This may be old news to everybody else- but I'm impressed. Whith Shimano that's instant dis-chain-ment; glad I switched.
So Sandy Claws brought me a good present! What'd everybody else get?

Lizzy

God I feel so normal!

[Dogmama]

You make me want to dust off my MTB. Santa was good to me too. He follows instructions very well. In the cycling arena, I got a new bike repair stand and an awesome bright yellow windbreaker.

Your ride sounds awesome. How did you feel the next day? I love the first day on the bike after a few days off of it. I can concentrate on the nuances, like pedaling circles, etc. I like the description of 'letting the bike come back to you' and have used it on my MTB in the sand.

I am not a Shimano fan either. My road bike is Campy Chorus. The high end Shimano drivetrains shift like tin men next to the Campy. Assuming both are tuned properly, of course.

[missliz]

I felt... Hungover! I was giddy from endorphins and stiff as a board, and at dinner I got half a glass of wine and didn't realize 'till later that my dad lept pouring and pouring and I was just drunk! I never drink, so it was kind of fun. I still took a really nice recovery ride, spun along the River Road and visited some places. I have these mixed use tires, wide and knobby on the sides with a slick web down the center to roll on when you ride pavement. Very handy for tooling about the countryside. I was so saddle sore, but it blew over quick. I don't understand, I've been trying to ride and it just wouldn't work; Suddenly it came together.
One problem I've had is a lot of hand pain and numbness and I had hoop de do gel gloves specially designed for that, which didn't work. I went to almost totally unpadded gloves with sticky bumps on them for traction for this trip- no hand trouble! Too weird. Like caffeine is bad for you, unless it isn't.
World's a mysterious place.

Lizzy

[Kpicha]

LOL! Great story! Makes me want to get out and ride right now

Yeah, I've heard that more gel on the gloves is not so good. Probably the same theory as the saddle thing, too. Too much padding ends up making everything more uncomfortable for longer rides. Funny how that works out, huh?

Hopefully, you're feeling better today

I got some woolly boolie socks for Christmas but that's the only bike related thing I got. Everything else was house decoration stuff, a sweater and jacket and a pendant. My b-day is coming up at the end of Jan. so, I've got my fingers crossed for a digital camera (hoping my mom & husband will go in on it together )

Cheers,
Kristina

[Dogmama]

Originally posted by missliz
One problem I've had is a lot of hand pain and numbness and I had hoop de do gel gloves specially designed for that, which didn't work. I went to almost totally unpadded gloves with sticky bumps on them for traction for this trip- no hand trouble! Too weird. Like caffeine is bad for you, unless it isn't.

You know about the nerve that runs directly under the wrist- I'm thinking that the gel gloves hit that nerve directly and you're experiencing numbness. On a road bike, you can change position. On an MTB you're limited - plus if you're banging away, probably finding a comfortable hand position is not an option!

My full fingered gloves have very minimal padding and those rubber bumpy things (we're so technical on this board!) and they feel great. As an older woman, I get hand numbness easily - too many hours on the computer. So, go figure.

[RdDezert]

Whoo hoo! someone (lots, from what I'm reading) have experienced the hand numb thing (another hi tech word . I even got the women specific gel gloves, I gave them away. I use full fingered summer & winter, mt. & road only now. They have limited-zero padding, feels much better & also protects my nails and rings (girly-I know!). I've had better luck with consistent stock for boys full fingered, the LBS doesn't stock yr 'round full fingered for women.
For some reason, it seems the swing for women at least is for *everything* to be overly padded - shorts, gloves, saddles. Has anyone else experienced this????

[Irulan]

i went from gel to no padding, and it's much better for me - no momre numbness. This was recommeded by a number of moutnain bikers that I consider "gods" when it comes to having the answers. Other things that can affect hand numbness are the angle and rise of your handle bars, and whether you ride with a light or a "death" grip.

Irulan

[jobob]

That's interesting that padded gloves may contribute to hand numbness. I went on a longer-than-usual ride the other day and noticed a bit of numbness in one hand near the end, along the outside/pinky. I have drop bars and I varied my hand positions a lot (and tried to avoid using a death grip, heh) but I'll see if using un-padded gloves helps. Thanks for the tip.

I have the least-padded saddle imaginable on my touring bike - a Brooks leather saddle - and it's great, no problems at all. It was already broken in when I got it, though, so I'm cheating a bit there. Still, nothing better than a leather saddle that conforms to your butt. I had started out with a women's version of the Brooks and decided that I preferred the longer, narrower men's version.

I still have a padded saddle on my old hybrid and I can't stand it now!

I haven't been using biking shorts, but I have been using those Andiamo padded briefs, and they work fine under a pair of mid-weight tights in the chilly weather. I've noticed I don't get as uh, sweaty down there when I use them. I found with the Andiamos I can wear my regular tights and shorts rather than go in for the biking wardrobe. Could anyone tell me how they compare, padding-wise, to real biking shorts?

I suppose all this padding is a marketing tool to convince us Delicate Flowers that we won't get hurt on our bikes. Heh.

Poor Lizzy, I'm getting away from her original topic. Congratulations on your re-found joy!

I've already blabbed incessantly about my Xmas present in other threads, but one other nice present I received is an emerging sense of self-confidence, coming from the realization that a goal I had set for myself (which I originally thought was a real stretch for me!) is actually well within my reach.

Have fun bombing thru the mud, Lizzy!

- Jo.

[Irulan]

I"m convinced that padded shorts are a must, and not a marketing ploy. Read the innumerable saddle sore threads on this forum.

Irulan

[Kpicha]

Ooo, yeah, padded shorts- a definite must; not just marketing. Owweee, when I've ridden without! I won't be doing that again!

[jobob]

Yes, Irulan, I have read the posts on padded shorts, but thank you for the suggestion. Admittedly I was being a tad offhand in my comment.

One thing I noticed from all those threads on padded shorts is that finding the 'right' shorts is quite the trial-and-error process.

So, before I go out and try to find the 'right' shorts for me, I thought I would ask if anyone had any basis of comparision regarding the Andiamo padded undergarments, i.e., how the padding in them compares to the 'real' biker shorts. Maybe I'm missing out, maybe I'm not. So far, for me, the Andiamos have been quite effective in preventing any chafing or sores - although I've only put in about 175 miles on my bike in the last 2 weeks, including a 50 mile ride a couple of days ago, which in the scheme of things isn't much, but if I were to be having problems I might have gotten a glimmer by now, perhaps. Or not.

And thank you again about the comments regarding the unpadded gloves.

- Jo.

[Dogmama]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by jobob
So, before I go out and try to find the 'right' shorts for me, I thought I would ask if anyone had any basis of comparision regarding the Andiamo padded undergarments, i.e., how the padding in them compares to the 'real' biker shorts. Maybe I'm missing out, maybe I'm not. So far, for me, the Andiamos have been quite effective in preventing any chafing or sores - although I've only put in about 175 miles on my bike in the last 2 weeks, including a 50 mile ride a couple of days ago, which in the scheme of things isn't much, but if I were to be having problems I might have gotten a glimmer by now, perhaps. Or not.

QUOTE]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I've ridden with padded undergarments and shorts. I prefer shorts. Your mileage may (and apparently does!) vary. Hahahaha - bad pun

[missliz]

Back to the overpadded hands- I thought the "death grip" observation was spot on, at least for me. Big fat twister shifters, plus fat gel gloves, of course I needed a death grip! My hands barely fit around the stuff and were always numb. I was planning a carve down on the shifters, but the new gloves were actually what I've been wearing around all the time 'cos the sticky bumps took strain off the shoulder problems. I went out in them because they were on my hands from the drive, and le voila, the gear fit my hands fine. Glad I didn't take tools to the shifters after all!
The issue with shorts is tied to the eternal search for a saddle, at least in my veiw. I find a thin but high quality chamois stops any chafing, and the rest is on the saddle. Works for me. Hate the diaper waddle! For all equipment I have a strict policy of "if I'm not totally awestruck in love with it, I'm not buying it". Never regretted this, including for shorts and saddles.
Final two cents worth; somebody here was singing the praises of Bag Balm (stuff in the green box) for but butter. I finally tried it and boy was she right! I was feeling a particular sense of enlightenment about where the phrase "That really chaps my a**" came from, and since Bag Balm is made for chapped cows... Anyway, I've been really pleased and releived.

Lizzy

Did I mention there were a lot of owls hooting and calling all through the woods? It was great!

[ChainsOflove]

Regarding the gel gloves and numbness, I really love gel gloves. What I found was the prob was the stock HUGE grips that my bike came with and I got a Juliana Wylder woman's bar which is tapered on the ends. Only prob is now standard rubber grips are too big!

Am working on this with LBS.

The narrower diamater of the women's bar is really nice. It is also only 58MM accross, which is good. I am riding a road bike with an upright set up, like a commuter bike.

[missliz]

Yeah, I thought the grips were the problem too, but it was a combination of grip and fat gel glove that was the problem. Since traction trumps excess padding I'm happy- a hand that slides around fatigues more quickly, so they tell us we need gel when it goes numb. Those fat gloves then slide more...
Go to the jobbers who sell out of Ebay and look for some Bobke's Prayer Stix, slender grips from the mid 90's when there was more stuff around. I've seen them floating around. I think they were a Pedros product with Bob Roll promoting them. You should like them. I had them on a previous bike, they're really narrow.
All the women I know need to chop down flat or riser bars with a pipe cutter, I like an inch off each end. (it's a plumbers tool, but any decent LBS has one) I thought Wylder had gone under- so the old tricks are still good to know, and cheaper. You can cut down most stock bars, just measure to make sure the stuff will all fit in the right part first. If these bars have tapered ends don't they come with grips that will fit them? Makes no sense, unless they're intended to be taped. A couple of layers of neoprene handlebar tape should do it, especially if you have all that fat gel in your hands.
Any good LBS should be checking to see if you need narrower bars when you buy, ladies, and a lot of stock bars can be chopped in about five minutes. You don't need to buy extra fancy stuff. Unless it's anodized periwinkle and you HAVE to have it LOL. Yes,I had those bars and loved them! Bike Jewelry.

Lizzy

everybody needs toys...