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Proper Bicycling Attire

Here’s a test to determine if your short-trip utility bicycling attire is appropriate: Your attire should be equally comfortable and useful for the trip and the destination.

Pictured below is what I believe to be the proper utility bicycling attire for a 1.5-mile ride to a friend’s house for dinner.

Note the leather jackets that look good and keep you warm on a cool evening. Also note the casual tops and pants that are comfortable for riding and lounging after dinner while  engaging is witty banter and enjoying a fine bottle of wine. Shoes: Low heels for her and casual leather for me. Oh, and can’t forget the Carbon Trace hat — good for publicity mostly. My wife opted for a helmet.

We found this equipment in our closets.

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Comments 6

  1. Kelly Dowman wrote:

    Agree with this! Except that I wear flip-flops a lot in the warm weather, and love my new clip shoes, so I’d pack the flip-flops and change at my destination.

    And I cannot possibly ride after drinking wine! Too loopy.

    Posted 02 Apr 2010 at 11:41 am
  2. Brian Lilley wrote:

    Another consideration is the ride back home… in the dark. I’ve found lots of solutions to the hazards of night riding at… http://www.night-gear.com/

    Posted 02 Apr 2010 at 1:10 pm
  3. Steve A wrote:

    As usual, it seems my lot to play the role of devil’s advocate. It seems to me that the clothes pictured are entirely inappropriate for any cyclist riding in 100+ heat, or freezing cold, regardless of the distance. I DO like the CT hat, however. Where would one go to get one of those?

    Your wife keeps her helmet and bike in the closet? I admit I keep my winter helmet in the closet during summer and the summer helmet during winter, but THAT helmet looks better color coordinated with my bikes than any of my own helmets. I have thought about keeping the bikes themselves in the closet, but my wife has limits to her patience and has clearly let me know that it “ain’t gonna happen.” Also, fortunately, she doesn’t read your blog or the comments on same…

    Posted 02 Apr 2010 at 1:37 pm
  4. Andy Cline wrote:

    Steve… Well, I figured that seasonal context went without saying :-) The “closets” line recalls something I read on Copenhagen Cycle Chic to the effect that people should look in their own closets for proper bicycle attire.

    An official Carbon trace hat is a DIY project. I had mine made at Bass Pro Shops.

    Brian… We are both brightly lit. Plus I’ve put reflective tape all over. Note my wife’s helmet and my bicycle. I went crazy with that stuff :-) Thanks for the link!

    Posted 02 Apr 2010 at 4:05 pm
  5. Steve A wrote:

    Perhaps the contex got lost in the record heat a bit south of y’all. Cargo shorts and t shirt at this end, along with wondering if it is time to take off the rack and fenders as so much dead weight. Still; point well made, though spandex mafia are probably not the majority of your readers to start with.

    SO, looking at that photo closer, are you going to tell us about that seat, or must we imagine its story? As you know, some of us have active imaginations.

    PS: Give your spam filter my compliments. It seems very docile lately!

    Posted 02 Apr 2010 at 5:03 pm
  6. Andy Cline wrote:

    Steve… The saddle is a Hobson. Mine is the cheapest model they make. I bought it before the Redline, so I think I’ve been using it for about two years now. I really like it. It does, however, take a bit of getting used to — the independent cheek movement and all :-)

    http://www.hobsonseats.com/

    Posted 02 Apr 2010 at 6:47 pm