New shoe covers

My old performance shoe covers bit the dust. It was my fault really. The zipper latch snapped off in a moment of carelessness while putting them on. Being without a pair of decent shoe covers as a winter rider in Portland is impossible. So I stopped into Bike Central as it is the nearest shop to our new office. I was also interested in checking out the shop as they run Fast Twitch Fridays at Alpenrose Velodrome. So my friend Paula and I walked down to Bike Central on our lunch hour. Nearing the store, I was fearing the worst. I was imagining a 'too cool for you' hipster oriented joint, or a 'you don't look like a serious enough rider for me to waste my time with you' bike snop shop where I would have to endure a lot of condescending attitude in exchange for the privilege of being allowed to spend my money. I was pleasantly surprised. The shop was manned by one guy with a pony tail. I think I recognized him as the guy who flips the laps at Alpenrose on fast twitch fridays and starts the races. The pony tailed man was working away on a bike as we entered. He was friendly, down to earth, and treated me with respect. He was very helpful and we chatted a bit about racing at Alpenrose, and I admired a track frameset that was in the process of being built up while I was there.

I ended up buying a pair of Sugoi Resisters for way too much money (50 bucks). I knew I could find the same product on line, at one of the bigger bike shops, or through my bike club for less money. So why did I buy them there? Well, I needed them, didn't want to have to drive somewhere else or wait for mail order for one thing. But in the end, it was because I simply don't want to live in a world where places like Bike Central don't exist. It was a fair tax to pay.

I've got one ride in on the Sugois and I enjoy them much more than my clunky Performance shoe covers. They are more elegantly designed, simpler, and the zipper is much higher quality. I'm sure they will help provide for many enjoyable commutes and winter training rides in the years to come.

Working downtown again

The office moved downtown from Lake Oswego. This means the bike commute got a whole lot tougher. I also had a surgery on December 3rd that kept me off the bike for nearly 6 weeks. Did my second ride in yesterday and wow....the rain was really coming down on a cool 39 degree morning. Living in Oregon, one gets a bit cavalier about rain. So I left my backpacks rainfly in the pack, and my gore tex rain paints in the pack...and one of my rain booties had a broken zipper (new pair at the bottom of my backpack) so it was flapping open in the back. By the time I finished my commute, my shoes, sealskinz, booties, and tights were soaked through. After getting to the office and opening the backpack, I found that water had forced it's way in, making my jeans soggy in spots. The ride home was much less eventful. Hitting the lights through downtown Portland at all the wrong times, I got off to a slow start. But after crossing Burnside on Broadway, the gentle climb up towards the west hills could begin. I spun easily, warming up my legs and drying out those still soaked tights and shorts. I hit Terwilliger and immediately spun up the tempo and pegged my cardiovascular system and didn't dial it back until I hit Multnomah Village. By that time, my legs were fried and I limped home on impulse power. But what a great day of riding. Can't wait for next week and the fitness gains I'll feel as I come back from surgery.