On Becoming a Hard-A$$
For years, I wouldn’t think of riding my bike without a pair of padded bike shorts. Yeah, I know that to the non-cycling crowd, they are pretty dorky looking (not to mention revealing), but I’ve lived in them so long that I really don’t give a second thought to what people might think about them or the way I look in them. After all, they do provide an extra level of comfort on the saddle, as well as their sweat wicking and compression qualities.
I’ve got six or seven pairs of cycling shorts in varying quality. Unfortunately, three or four have been worn and washed so much that they are NSFW (or any public setting)! You know what happens when you wear and wash cycling shorts that much? Well, they get thin…to the point of being see-through. I discovered this one morning when I sat down in the locker room to take my shoes and socks off and holy cow! I can see that mole on my leg through these shorts! As well as everything else! How embarrasing!
Luckily cool weather got here in the nick of time, so I could continue wearing them under my winter tights. Cool weather also ushered in a change to my morning routine, so that I’m usually either running or lifting weights before or after my commute to downtown. Those two activities don’t particularly lend themselves to wearing cycling shorts under your tights. The wicking and compression properties are still appreciated, but that chamois just isn’t the best thing to be wearing on your morning run.
For a while I was wearing my Under Armour athletic underwear underneath tights to run in, then changing to cycling shorts under my tights for the ride to work, but all that changing got a little old. And besides, I generate mountains of laundry with my athletic wear anyway, so I decided to just tough it out and start riding to work without the cycling shorts. You know what? It took about 5 miles to get over the fact riding in Under Armour and tights wasn’t as comfortable as my cycling shorts and tights. After that first day, my backside has never complained once!
I suppose I’ll go back to cycling shorts when the weather warms up again so I don’t need the tights, and I will probably never take off for a 20+ mile ride without them, but for the 9 mile commute, my butt is fine in Under Armour!
God bless….
TW
Tags: bicycle, Bike Commute, Cycling, cycling shorts, Fitness, Under Armour
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December 7, 2009 at 4:48 pm
It’s what you get used to. I rarely wear cycling shorts for anything under 40 miles. I value pockets more than chamois or wicking. I’ve looked at MB shorts but have never bought any.
December 7, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Hey, same here! When I’ve got shorts handy I’ll wear ‘em under my winter cycling pants, but if they’re not, undies it is. In the summer, on the other hand, its chamois shorts every day.
December 8, 2009 at 10:02 am
I have like the plain lycra shorts (like your under-armour) better for commuting. They are more comfortable on my Brooks saddle. The padding gets hot in uncomfortable places and in the summer holds way too much sweat. Regular undergarments usually have seams in places that are not great so I like the lycra shorts better. I only wear the padded shorts for long rides and I still get tired of the pad sometimes.