sandulea

Last year I made the transition from cycling clothes to "normal" clothes. This has reduced the total number of clothes, because I no longer have an off-bike set, and I feel less like an alien when stopping for a drink or something to eat in a small, secluded village.

I use long-sleeve button-up shirts, linen and polyester. The polyester one is a cheap supermarket one I had lying around, it wicks sweat but it isn't suited for really hot sunny days. The linen shirts, however, are a miracle. They dry in minutes from soaking wet then worn in the sun, and keep me cool like nothing else. I did a test once and rode with the sleeves rolled up, and an hour later I rolled them down. It was like turning on the air conditioner, the difference was massive and immediate. It never felt like that with any cycling jersey or cotton shirt I ever wore. They do pick up a bit of a smell after a few days, but rotating them, airing them up in the sun or a simple rinse in the river solves the issue.

I'm having problems with the lower half however. I got some very light, black nylon track pants, long not short. Underneath I wear cycling shorts without the pad, to prevent chafing on the inner thighs and to keep everything in place (I'm a guy riding a crank forward). They do tend to stink up quite fast, so when rotating the 3 pairs I carry I always keep a clean pair on hand that I wear in museums or other places when looking and smelling like a farm hand from the olden days isn't appropriate. What's irritating though is how they rub on my knees when pedaling, and I don't see how I can solve this. I roll them up occasionally, and they stay put around the knee, but I lose the lower leg sun protection. This year I'll try elastic bands to hold the pants in place, just above the knee. When in town I'll just slide these down to my ankle so it won't look funny.

On my head I wear a straw hat that keeps the sun off most of my face and neck, and I keep a Buff-type thing on hand for very dusty roads and some neck sun protection when the sun is really beating down. I also tried going with just sandals last year instead of running shoes + socks + slippers, combined with neoprene diving socks for that 1% chance that I would get really cold, rainy weather in the mountains. Fortunately, the neoprene socks weren't needed. I did break the sandals, which shows that in some areas you really can't find a cheaper equivalent, and I have to save some money for a pair of nice hiking sandals that will endure some mountain trails in off-bike days.