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Do you wear cycling gloves when you ride?  I do….part of the time.

Aside from the obvious warmth value this time of year, there are several benefits to wearing gloves…

When I first started riding, it didn’t take too long to figure out that the flat-bar bike I had was bad about putting my hands to sleep.  I always felt that the fit was pretty good, but for some reason, I couldn’t ride long without that familiar tingling beginning to creep into one hand or another.  Gloves helped a little.  I never figured out whether it was pressure or road vibration causing the tingling, but a good pair of gloves was necessary for every ride.

As I gained more cycling experience, I figured out that the real value of cycling gloves were as protection in a crash.  Now granted, you don’t really want to experience the thrill of a bike wreck, but we can all attest that accidents do happen, and if you’re wearing gloves, your hands stand a much better chance of surviving unscathed.  It sure beats the alternative, which is road rash all over your palms.

Lately, however, I’ve been not wearing gloves as much as I used to.  I got tired of them being continually sweaty and stinking all the time.  When you ride as much as I do, you either need several pairs, launder them frequently, or put up with the stink if you’re going to wear them every ride.  For me, it was just easier to go without.

Unfortunately, a lifetime of sun exposure is beginning to catch up with me as I approach my 5oth birthday (Boy, that sounds old!).  It’s not all related to cycling, but I do spend  a lot of time in the sun.  Because of that,  I’ve got this little spot on my shoulder that’s gotta come off and the good Doctor found several “pre-basal cell carcinoma” spots on my hands and forearms that could be frozen away.  I had two on one hand, three on the other, and one on each forearm.  Not a big deal, but reason enough for a wise man to make wearing gloves while cycling a priority!

God bless….

TW

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This entry was posted on October 12, 2009 at 6:11 pm and is filed under bicycle, Bike Commute, Cycling, Fitness. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: basal cell carcinoma, bicycle, Bike Commute, Cycling, cycling gloves, Fitness

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