Originally Posted by
memebag
When I started riding, I wore cotton T shirts and regular shorts. I rode around the block and got winded.
As I got stronger, I rode farther. I found my cotton clothing filled up with sweat in the hot, humid Houston air, and became a barrier that trapped my body heat. So I bought some Under Armour shirts that wicked moisture better.
I still thought cyclists in jerseys and bike shorts looked weird. I felt smugly superior to them.
I kept riding farther, and found that I needed padding to keep from getting saddle sores, so I bought some bike shorts. I tried a baggy jersey, then a tighter jersey, and found they were far superior to the Under Armour T shirts. And I found that clipless pedals made it easier to go farther still.
Gradually, step by step, I became the thing I mocked earlier.
If I'm just riding 5 or 10 miles, at a leisurely pace, and the temperatures aren't too high, I will wear regular clothes. But most of my rides now are 40 to 70 miles, with long stretches above 20 mph, and I do that all summer. For those rides I put on my ridiculous shoes, pants, and brightly colored Saint Arnold Brewery jerseys. When I see people dressed like me I understand why. When I see people wearing Saint Arnold jerseys I wave and shout because they are probably fellow team members.
I went down that same path. As a teenager, rode in jeans and t shirts. As an adult, I switched out cotton underwear for tight compression underwear or cycling liners. Eventually bought a pair of bike shorts but wore them under cotton gym shorts. Eventually got rid of the gym shorts. Bought some cycling gloves somewhere along the way. And clipless pedals and shoes. Later, I ditched the cotton t shirts in favor of technical dri fit t shirts. Eventually I went to plain white, red black, or blue jerseys. And finally, bought a few more colorful jerseys with designs on them. (Still stick with black shorts though).