Wind-front tights! and trainer results

It's a nice winter day in RI today: about 25°F with a 10-15 mph wind out of the northwest, with
gusts to about 25. After my ride last weekend when it was a little warmer and less windy, I decided
I needed to get something which would block the wind from my knees and crotch without making my legs
hot and sweaty. Enter a pair of Bellwether windfront tights, which my LBS recommended as the best
ones for the money. Even then they aren't cheap, about $80, but they sure were nice when I tried
them for the first time today. I did about 11 miles in abou 50 minutes, including the toughest hill
I know of around here, and they were great. They kept my knees and thighs warm, which kept my knees
from aching as the ride went along, and they kept my crotch from developing frost bite, too. I've
ridden in the past with a pair of lined nylon warmup pants, and they worked well for blocking the
wind, but didn't breathe enough, so my legs got sweaty, and they were baggy, necessitating an ankle
band to keep them out of the chainwheels.

The other think I discovered on this ride was that my trainer work is starting to pay off. I've been
working on increasing my cadence for the last three works or so, doing my trainer workouts at 95 to
100 rpm (I had been running at about 90 before that). When I got on the road today, I found that my
comfortable cadence has gone up by about five to eight rpm. Last year I was most comfortable between
about 80 and 85 rpm, and could burst to 95 or so without much effort. Today I was able to maintain
around 88 to 93 relatively easily, and 100+ for short periods, allowing me to run about one gear
lower to reduce the pressure on my knees. I can't wait for it to warm up and the roads to dry off so
I can take off the extra clothes and the fenders, to see what kind of speeds I can maintain in good
conditions; I hope to get my average up to around 18.5 to 19 on my normal training route (that means
I'm doing around 20 most of the time while moving, because of the stop lights and signs).

--
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On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 14:44:11 -0500, David Kerber <[email protected]_ids.net>
wrote:

>The other think I discovered on this ride was that my trainer work is starting to pay off. I've
>been working on increasing my cadence for the last three works or so, doing my trainer workouts at
>95 to 100 rpm (I had been running at about 90 before that). When I got on the road today, I found
>that my comfortable cadence has gone up by about five to eight rpm. Last year I was most
>comfortable between about 80 and 85 rpm, and could burst to 95 or so without much effort. Today I
>was able to maintain around 88 to 93 relatively easily, and 100+ for short periods, allowing me to
>run about one gear lower to reduce the pressure on my knees. I can't wait for it to warm up and the
>roads to dry off so I can take off the extra clothes and the fenders, to see what kind of speeds I
>can maintain in good conditions; I hope to get my average up to around 18.5 to 19 on my normal
>training route (that means I'm doing around 20 most of the time while moving, because of the stop
>lights and signs).

Interesting that you should mention using a trainer (here a stationary bike) to increase cadence
hoping it would pay off on a ride. I've been doing the same thing, but not long enough to see the
difference. I'm hoping to get improvement in that area too. Thanks for the post!

-B

 

Badger South <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:
> Interesting that you should mention using a trainer (here a stationary bike) to increase cadence
> hoping it would pay off on a ride. I've been doing the same thing, but not long enough to see the
> difference. I'm hoping to get improvement in that area too.

If you want to change your cadence, you need to concentrate on that. A cadence monitor will really
help. Rollers will really help, too. If you use a resistance trainer, lower the resistance so you
can pedal smoothly and quickly without burning out.

 

=v= What's a wind-front tight? I ask with some interest, 'cause of all the cold wind hitting me in
my, um, front. Numbnuttedly, <_Jym_

 

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> =v= What's a wind-front tight? I ask with some interest, 'cause of all the cold wind hitting me in
> my, um, front. Numbnuttedly, <_Jym_>

They are tights with a tight, wind-blocking material on the front, and a more breathable material on
the back. They do a great job of preventing numbnuts, as I found out this weekend! Also very nice on
the knees in cold weather, but the breathable material on the back lets your legs breathe so they
don't get soaked with sweat.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

 

Mon, 9 Feb 2004 11:30:49 -0500,
<[email protected]>, David Kerber
<[email protected]_ids.net> wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>> =v= What's a wind-front tight? I ask with some interest, 'cause of all the cold wind hitting me
>> in my, um, front. Numbnuttedly, <_Jym_>
>
>They are tights with a tight, wind-blocking material on the front, and a more breathable material
>on the back. They do a great job of preventing numbnuts, as I found out this weekend! Also very
>nice on the knees in cold weather, but the breathable material on the back lets your legs breathe
>so they don't get soaked with sweat.

The wind breaker front can also made water repellent so they work well in the damp kinds of weather
when rain pants would be overkill.

M.E.C. > http://tinyurl.com/32f2u ($85 CND) Sugoi > http://tinyurl.com/24u2e ($110 USD)

But, for the coldest weather, a patch of sheepskin stuffed in your shorts still works the best.
--
zk

 

> But, for the coldest weather, a patch of sheepskin stuffed in your shorts still works the best.

=v= Funny, you don't *look* Scottish ... <_Jym_