William Waller writes:
> I am in the market for some rain gear. The capes look interesting
> from a ventilation point of view. Anyone have a recommendation?
I don't know what sort of riding you have in mind but I can tell you
why I use what I do.
I've found that bicycle capes don't do what I need, something I
learned many years ago climbing Mt. Evans in Colorado. As we got
higher, the wind got stronger and colder, where the cold wind on my
neck was so painful that I had to ride with my head against my right
shoulder, even though I had a "wind proof" bicycling jacket that was
well vented.
There was no way we could descend in that weather and it gradually
turned into light snow, even though it was early summer. We were
fortunate to find someone with car with an empty trunk and a good
heater to dive us down. Since then I have ridden in the alps often,
where it can snow any day of the year. I have descended the Stelvio,
Gavia, Gross Glockner, and Iseran in snow and am glad to have had a
non ventilated parka.
A parka has a hood and it must be able to be cinched down around the
face exposing only the nose and eyes with good closure to the body of
the jacket. A separate hood will not do. The sleeves must have a
Velcro or elastic band that can close on the wrists and the Zipper
must have an overlapping cover to make it water and wind proof. This
has served me well for the many tours of the Alps in the last fifty
years and I don't plan on making changes.
When looking at parkas pick a fairly stiff one because if it begins
flapping (as practically all bicycle jackets do) you generate forced
convection that cancels any warmth retention. If need for a parka is
evident, putting on long sleeves is advisable because direct contact
with the shell is a heat sink. It takes little separation to add a
lot of insulation.
The classic of my experience was Andy Hampsten's victory on the Gavia
that probably was the day he won the giro d'Italia. When he got to
the summit Mike Neal had him strip down, put on all dry clothing,
neoprene gloves, and a hooded parka. Riders who passed him at the
summit were standing at the roadside later unable to continue for
freezing hands and shimmy caused by chattering.
On my 2004 tour, my friend brought along a bicycle jacket and after
descending several passes in France decided to stop in Brianon and
buy a hikers parka. This came in handy because it snowed the next day
on the Galibier and was close to it on the Iseran.
Of course there are nicer days but even they can be cold:
http://tinyurl.com/dm4pp
http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/alps_photos/f83.ht
I put on a dry jersey, gloves and parka after John took that picture.
Jobst Brandt