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6,444 Miles Of Cycling In 2012

In 2011 my goal was to cycle 5,000 miles during the year, but I ended up with 6,836 miles. Twelve months ago I decided my cycling goal for 2012 was “to have fun” and ended up riding 6,444 miles. Back in 2011 I was trying to rack up as many miles as possible and that meant I got most of my miles while cycling on the road. This past year I spent more time on off-road trails and, thanks to the 4″ wide tires of my Surly Necromancer, I also spent a lot of time riding in snow, mud and on the sandy beaches around Lake Michigan (OK, sometimes I was actually riding in Lake Michigan).

Fun In The Snow With My Surly Necromancer Pugsley

On September 7 of this year I hit the 5,000 mark and thought I would probably pass 7,000 miles before the end of the year. However, that evening I came down with a virus that knocked me off my feet for twelve days! On the thirteenth day I still had a fever, but my legs were hurting so bad I just had to get back on the bike—so I rode 72 miles. While it felt good to get back on the bike, my average speed dropped by over 15% (it might have been because I still had a mild fever). It took me another two weeks to fully recover.

Once I knew I wasn’t going to set a new record I decided to spend more time weightlifting. Though I’ve used resistance training in one form or another for ten years, I’ve never taken it as seriously as I should have—I lift weights to develop core strength, not because I enjoy it. However, a few months ago I bought a set of Bowflex SelectTech 552 dumbbells and they work far better than I expected and I would highly recommend them to anyone.

I am 53 years old and work full-time. However, I have somewhat flexible hours so if I ride 50 or 60 miles in the morning it means I will be at the office rather late that night. All three of our sons are grown, so Cub Scout meetings and high school football games do not interfere with my cycling—and my wife is a very patient woman.

I often think about some of my friends who are in their 40′s but already taking medication for diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. All I can say is, “There but for the grace of God, go I.” All of those diseases could either be cured or minimized by spending a few hours a week on a bike. How many chronic health problems in America could be cured by just diet and exercise? I’ve had friends die in their 50′s and I know the death certificate listed their cause of death as heart disease, but I have to wonder if it shouldn’t have read “suicide by inactivity.”

We all cycle for different reasons. Some ride for their physical health, others for mental health. Some people ride because they enjoy group rides, while others enjoy a quiet ride on the back-roads so they can work out their problems in solitude. Whatever your motivation for cycling is, I hope you can enjoy this new year on a good bike.

As the new year begins I want to thank God for my good health, Trek for making awesome bikes, and my wife for not looking at the American Express statements. On a related note, I have promised the love of my life that the next time my cycling results in me entering an ambulance I will tell her the same day instead of waiting a week (apparently wives like to know about stuff like that).

78 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on January 2, 2013 in Life On Two Wheels

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, endurance, exercise, goals, performance, sports

Vi Fuel Product Giveaway Winner

01 Dec

Two weeks ago we launched our first-ever product giveaway. The kind folks at Vi Endurance sent me several boxes of Vi Fuel carbohydrate gel to review and offered another three boxes of their product to the winner of contest I was to run on this site. The rules for the contest were simple: just pick a number between 1 and 200 and leave the number in the comment section for the review. The contest ended at midnight on November 30, 2012.

Ashley, The Vi Fuel Contest Winner

The winning number was 103 and the person closest to this number was Ashley (photo above) who guessed 100. Ashley is an avid cyclist who lives in Michigan and she is also a blogger (women.cyclists). I have suggested to Ashley that after she tries out the Vi Fuel she ought to write a product review for it herself—that way folks can get a “second opinion” of this great product. For the record, this is one of the few products I have listed as “highly recommended” and have already placed an order for a few more boxes of Vi Fuel (at retail prices).

In order to insure the integrity of the contest I had nothing to do with picking the winning number. On Wednesday, November 28 Thomas Booth from Booth, Schwager and Associates used a random number generator (from random.org) to select a number between 1 and 200 and that is how 103 was selected as the winning number (see the screenshot on the left hand side of this page).

Special thanks to Michael Hodges of Vi Endurance for making this contest possible.

12 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on December 1, 2012 in Life On Two Wheels

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, random number generator, sports

Vi Fuel (Product Review And Giveaway)

16 Nov

When companies ask me to review one of their products I always tell them that it takes about 30 days for me to evaluate the product and publish the article. Last week I was sent a few boxes of Vi Fuel Endurance Gel to review and it only took one bike ride for me form an opinion about the gel—it’s great! In fact, I started writing the review in my mind halfway through the ride. Let’s cut to the chase: Vi Fuel is a great tasting energy gel that is easy on the stomach and delivers a steady stream of carbohydrates to your body. At the end of this article I’ll tell you how to get a great discount on Vi Fuel so you can try it for yourself—and some lucky reader will end up with a three free boxes of Vi Fuel (see details below).

Vi Fuel Endurance Gel

Vi Fuel is a carbohydrate gel designed for endurance athletes like cyclists, triathletes and runners. Vi Endurance, the company that makes the gel, is fairly new so don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard of them before. They spent a lot of time researching what it takes for athletes to achieve optimal performance and I believe they have developed a product every endurance athlete needs to try.

One package (32g) of Vi Fuel delivers 100 calories with 23g of carbohydrates. The main source of carbohydrate is maltodextrin, and dextrose is the secondary carb source. This blend of carbs makes for very easy digestion. A lot of energy gels just fill you up with simple sugars that gives you a quick burst of energy, followed by a crash, and ending up with stomach distress. The Vi Endurance Website claims that Vi Fuel “has allowed people with Crohn’s Disease to resume training, as their systems can handle the digestion process of Vi Fuel with no trouble.” Each package of Vi Fuel also has a small amount of taurine, citrulline malate, magnesium aspartate, and potassium aspartate to reduce muscle fatigue and aid in muscle recovery.

Vi Fuel has the consistency (or viscosity) of honey and is available in three flavors: Chocolate, Vanilla, and Peach Cobbler. Since I am a cyclist and not a food critic I always dread attempting to describe the flavor of food products, but let me try. The chocolate gel is made with pure, organic cocoa powder and has a smooth chocolate flavor—it tastes like dark chocolate. The vanilla gel is made with real vanilla—not the cheap imitation vanilla a lot of companies use. The peach cobbler gel is my favorite and it is made with organic peach extract (and a hint of cinnamon).

When the folks at Vi Endurance first approached me about writing a review they asked if I would be willing to include a special discount code in the review for my readers. They also inquired about me offering a product giveaway (something I’ve never done before). However, I did not want to commit to either of their offers until I tried their product. Now that I’ve had a chance to use Vi Fuel on several rides I am willing to highly recommend to other athletes (if you’ve read many of my reviews you know I seldom “highly recommend” anything). So here’s the deal: Vi Fuel is not available at many bike shops yet, so the best way to order it is from their Website. A box of 24 packages of gel sells for $32 (a very competitive price). When you place your order just enter the code listed in the graphic above and you will receive a 25% discount on your first two orders (sales tax is added only for orders shipped to a Colorado address). The discount code is placed inside the graphic to keep Google from reading it and giving it to the whole world. It is obvious that the code can be traced back to this blog, but I assure you that I have absolutely no financial interest in the company. For those not familiar with this blog, I have no sponsors, paid links or advertising.

Special Discount Code Listed Above

Now for the product giveaway! Vi Endurance is going to give one box of each flavor (three boxes total) of Vi Fuel to the winner of this contest. To enter all you have to do is pick a number between 1 and 200 and enter it in the comment section below (you don’t actually have to make a comment). On November 30, 2012 I am going to have a friend of mine, a local business owner, use of random number generator to pick the winning number. If no one has the exact number the person with the number closest to, but not over, the winning number will get the box of Vi Fuel. In case two or more people chose the same number the first person to pick the number will be the winner. This contest is for U.S. residents only and only one entry per household allowed. When the contest is over I will publish the results in the comments section of this article.

55 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on November 16, 2012 in Product Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, carbohydrates, cycling, endurance, fitness, health, sports

Weight Training For Cyclists: A Total Body Program For Power And Endurance

29 Oct

Weight Training For Cyclists

The majority of cyclists I meet took up the sport to improve their health. There is no question that cycling will improve your aerobic fitness and endurance, but it will very little for upper body fitness. Even if you have no intention of ever participating in a race you still need to engage in some sort of resistance training to improve your sprinting and climbing, as well as increasing your bone density (cyclists have a tendency to develop low bone density). While there are many good books available on developing a weight training program, there are very few that focus on the special needs of cyclists. The best book I’ve read on this topic is Weight Training For Cyclists: A Total Body Program For Power & Endurance, by Ken Doyle and Eric Schmitz.

Some people mistakenly believe that cycling and weight training do not make good partners—they think that building bulk is counterproductive to the goal most cyclists have of being as light as possible. However, without a strong core you are going to have trouble every time you ride! Strong lower back and abdominal muscles are crucial if you want to ride very long in the drops.

Weight Training For Cyclists starts by explaining the pros and cons of the different types of resistance exercise equipment that are available (free weights, resistance machines, and resistance bands). There are also sections on nutrition, safety, efficiency and how to develop a program based on the type of cycling you engage in. As the book observes, most cyclists are their own trainers and set their own training program.

If one paragraph from the book could summarize the premise of the book it would be this: “The main focus of a weight training program should be the lower-body muscle groups that create the force applied to the pedals. This area of the body, often labeled the ‘power zone,’ consists of the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteals, lower-back muscles, and abdominals and is the fundamental source of strength and power in cycling.”

There are more than 60 exercises described and illustrated in this book. My only criticism of the book is that it focuses too much on pieces of equipment that most cyclists are not going to have at home (back extension bench, high pulley machine, cable row machine, multihip machine, etc.). However, you can still get a great workout with a weight bench, a pair of dumbbells and a few resistance bands.

Weight Training For Cyclists is a 212 page paperback book and retails for $19. It is available on Amazon.com for $12 (and remember you can get free shipping on orders over $25). This book is published by Velo Press.

23 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on October 29, 2012 in Book Reviews

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, endurance, exercise, fitness, health, sports

Jelly Belly Sport Beans

17 Oct

I am a distance cyclist and usually consume 250 to 300 calories per hour while cycling (and burn around 1,100 calories an hour). The food products I take with me on rides have to be compact and taste good. I also like to have a bit of variety in my food and therefore I use products from several different companies. A few years ago Jelly Belly, the world-famous manufacturer of jelly beans, came out with Jelly Belly Sport Beans, a nutritional product for athletes. When the product was introduced it contained high fructose corn syrup so I didn’t even try it. However, once Jelly Belly switched to all natural ingredients I tried them out and am glad I did! While Jelly Belly Sport Beans will never be the only carbohydrate product I consume, I now take a package with me on just about every ride.

Jelly Belly Sport Beans

If you have never tried Jelly Belly Sport Beans then you are missing a real treat! I rotate through a dozen or so carbohydrate products while cycling (not all at the same time), and I can tell you that Jelly Belly Sport Beans have the most robust flavor of any of the products I use.

Jelly Belly Sport Beans come in six flavors (Orange, Berry, Lemon Lime, Fruit Punch, Watermelon, Cherry). Two of the flavors (Watermelon and Cherry) contain caffeine. Anytime I review nutritional products I like to list the ingredients, and since the Cherry flavor is my favorite I’ll give you the ingredients list for it: Evaporated cane juice, tapioca syrup, and cherry juice from concentrate. It also contains 2% or less of the following ingredients: natural flavor, thiamine hydrochloride (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), niacinamide (vitamin B3), ascorbic acid (vitamin C), citric acid, citrus pectin, potassium citrate, sodium citrate, sodium lactate, black carrot (color), black currant (color), grape skin extract (color), apple (color), purple carrot (color), hibiscus (color), beeswax, carnauba wax, confectioner’s glaze, salt, and caffeine.

Each one-ounce package of Jelly Belly Sport Beans has 100 calories. Every serving also provides 25 grams of carbohydrates, 80mg of sodium, 40mg of potassium, along with a small dose of vitamins B1, B2, B3 and C. This product is also Certified Kosher (Orthodox Union).

At one time Jelly Belly Sport Beans were made with corn syrup, but that has been replaced with evaporated cane juice. For me this is a big deal—I refuse to buy any product that contains high fructose corn syrup. Jelly Belly has also switched to all natural ingredients for the coloring used in these beans. These beans are coated with beeswax and carnauba wax. You might think these waxes are just for making with beans shine (which they do), but the advantage is that your fingers will not get sticky while eating these beans even on a hot day (due to the high melting point of carnauba wax).

The only thing I do not like about Jelly Belly Sport Beans is the packaging—they are very difficult to open while on the bike. These packages come with a resealable top and to me this is totally unnecessary since they only contain 100 calories per package.

Jelly Belly Sport Beans retail for around $1.25 per package, but you can usually save a lot of money by buying them in bulk (24 packages). If your local bike shop does not give you a discount for buying in quantity then you should shop for them on Amazon.com.

39 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on October 17, 2012 in Product Reviews, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, endurance, exercise, nutrition, sports, triathlon

ShowerPill: The Athletic Body Wipe

16 Jul

ShowerPill Body Wipe

One of the biggest hindrances to folks cycling to work is that most of us do not have access to a shower at our place of employment. You could use a Wet-Nap to clean up a bit—the fresh lemon scent is great, but it does a terrible job of removing grime, dirt and body odors. A few weeks ago the folks at ShowerPill sent me a box of their moistened body wipes and in my opinion this is the best body wipe on the market!

ShowerPill is not really a pill, but a 9×8″ moistened body wipe—it’s alcohol free and infused with Aloe Vera, Witch Hazel and Vitamin E. Most hand or body wipes contain alcohol and this quickly causes your skin to dry out. Instead of using alcohol ShowerPill wipes contain Benzalkonium Chloride, an antibacterial agent that kills 99.99% of common germs, including the germs that cause odor. Since the Upper Midwest has been unusually hot this summer I’ve had plenty of opportunities to use ShowerPill and am extremely happy with how they work. I’ve also given a couple of these wipes to other cyclists to see how they liked them.

Since most of my road rides start and end in my driveway, I decided to try the ShowerPill on days when I put a mountain bike on my Jeep and headed out to the off-road bike trails. Due the drought conditions in my area the off-road trails are incredibly dusty—when I got home from one ride I was so completely covered with dust that my wife asked my if I had rolled around on the ground! I used the ShowerPill to clean the dust of my legs and arms and they worked better than any other product I’ve tried for this purpose.

I gave a couple of these wipes to a female cyclist who had the misfortune of having the air conditioner at her house break during a heatwave. She had nothing but praise for these wipes, but she did have one suggestion for using the ShowerPill. She said that while they work fine straight out of the package, they work even better if you can moisten your skin with a little water first.

I also gave a few of these wipes to a new cyclist—my youngest son who just got out of the Marine Corps after seven years of honorable service. He did a two-hour bike ride to work on one of the hottest days of the year and said that once he got to his office he used ShowerPill to clean up. He reported that the antibacterial properties in the ShowerPill worked perfectly for the rest of the work day! He also commented that in Iraq these wipes would have been worth their weight in gold to military personnel out on patrol.

ShowerPill wipes are not just for cyclists—any athlete who doesn’t have access to a shower would love this product. They are also great for campers and travelers. Two years ago I got stuck overnight at JFK International Airport and had to sleep on the floor—I would have loved to have had a ShowerPill wipe so I could have cleaned up better before my next flight.

ShowerPill comes in a box of ten individually wrapped wipes and retails for $12.50 a box. The easiest way to buy them is from Amazon.com.

12 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on July 16, 2012 in Health And Hygiene, Product Reviews

Tags: bicycle, bike, commuter, cycling, exercise, sports, triathlon

Cool Off Citrus Ice Towelettes

09 Jul

Cool Off Quick Chill Citrus Ice Towelettes

Cool Off Citrus Ice Towelettes

For the past few weeks the weather in the Upper Midwest has been absolutely brutal for cyclists—even if you leave very early in the morning the temperature has hovered around 100 degrees (F) by the time you get home. While there are several ways to keep cool on a ride, I’ve recently started using the Cool Off Citrus Ice Towelettes and they have been a real lifesaver! The single-use Cool Off packets are individually wrapped and are about the same size as a Wet-Nap (2.5″ width x 3.5″ height folded; 6×6″ unfolded).

The instructions for using the Cool Off towelettes are given on the back of each package: “For maximum cooling: Remove towelette and shake lightly. Then press on the back of your neck, inner arms, or back of knees for several seconds to allow the herbal infusion to fully penetrate and build the chill. To reactivate the cool, splash a little water on the skin where you used the towelette.”

The manufacturer claims that “Cool Off can lower the user’s surface skin temperature up to 12 degrees F., maintaining the coolness for over 60 minutes.” After using the product for several weeks I have to agree with their assessment.

Last week we had three straight days with temperatures of over 100 degrees (F) and a friend of mine had the air conditioner in her house break, but decided to stay there anyway. I gave her a couple Cool Off towelettes and the next day she told me the towelettes worked great—and then asked me for a few more of them!

The ingredients list for these towelettes includes Witch Hazel Extract, Alcohol, and Glycerin along with the following extracts: Aloe Vera, Arnica, Sea Weed, Chamomile Flower, Lemon Peel, Red Clover, St John’s Wort, Oat Kernel, Flaxseed, Fennel, Evening Primrose, Wild Yam, Tea Tree, Black Cohosh Root, White Tea Leaf, and natural or organic fixatives (Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butyparaben), Menthol, and Fragrance.

Cool Off Citrus Ice Towelettes are available in several sizes, including packages of 24, 40 or 100. I purchased a bin of 100 towelettes from Amazon.com for $47 and the order was fulfilled by First Aid Global Wholesale. The towelettes are made in USA.

One more note: I’ve read many reviews from women who claim that these towelettes work great for hot flashes caused by menopause. However, I have no way of verifying this claim on my own and am not dumb enough to ask any woman I know to try them out for that purpose.

14 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on July 9, 2012 in Health And Hygiene, Sports Nutrition

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, endurance, sports, triathlete

The First 3,000 Miles For 2012

20 Jun

A few days ago I passed 3,000 miles of cycling for the year and that puts me about two weeks ahead of where I was last year at this time. Last year my goal was to cycle 5,000 miles in 2011, but ended up with 6,836 miles. This past January several people asked me what my goal for 2012 was going to be and my usual answer was, “To have fun.” Last year I was trying to rack up as many miles as possible and that meant I got most of my miles while cycling on the road.

The first 3,000 miles on the bike for this year

The first 3,000 miles is the easy part!

When I bought my Surly Pugsley Necromancer Fat Bike last December I intended to use it mainly for rides on the snow, mud and beach (and in my area of the country sometimes all those conditions are present on the same ride). Even though riding on off-road trails is slower, it does have several advantages, i.e, no cars to avoid, no broken glass to dodge, and no teenagers throwing garbage out the window. Off-road trails also allow me more time to think, enjoy nature and meet new people.

I’ve found the people who use the off-road trails are generally more friendly than Roadies. Too often on the road you find some dude with a new set of aerobars who is just certain that if Fabian Cancellara crashes again he is going to get a call from Johan Bruyneel begging him to come save Radioshack Nissan Trek at the Tour de France (that’s probably why they are concentrating so hard they can’t even acknowledge the existence of other cyclists). The funny thing is that I cycled all winter on those same roads and didn’t see any of these dedicated cyclists on the road—I think most of them spent the winter in their basement riding on their training wheels, excuse me, I mean riding on their bicycle trainer stand.

One other change from last year is my training routes. Last year I got into a rut and rode the same handful of routes over and over. My loving wife has spent many hours in the car with me as I drove through the back roads of Illinois and Wisconsin looking for new training routes. I could have searched for these routes while on my bike, but I hate getting caught out in the middle of nowhere without water (yeah, it’s happened).

37 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on June 20, 2012 in Life On Two Wheels

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, endurance, exercise, goals, health, performance, sports

Eat, Sleep, Ride by Paul Howard

13 Jun

Eat, Sleep, Ride by Paul Howard

For the past few years I’ve followed the Tour Divide, a self-supported bike race that follows the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route—over 2,700 miles of mountains, snow, gravel roads, logging trails and muddy paths. Sometimes the trails are so bad that instead of riding it becomes a “hike-a-bike” session. The race starts each June in Banff, Alberta, Canada and ends at the border of Mexico in Antelope Wells, New Mexico (USA). I recently read Paul Howard’s account of his experiences during the 2009 Tour Divide. His book, Eat, Sleep, Ride: How I Braved Bears, Badlands and Big Breakfasts in My Quest to Cycle the Tour Divide, is definitely worth your time!

Howard, a British citizen from southern England, never owned a mountain bike until he decided to race in the Tour Divide. His brief training for this ride was rather unorthodox—it appears as though he was willing to “wing it” and “learn by doing” (fortunately, he was a quick learner). In the Tour Divide riders are not allowed any planned support, nor are riders allowed to assist each other. Some riders sleep outside every night, while others are sometimes willing to pay for a hotel room for a few hours of rest and an opportunity to wash their clothes. Unlike many riders, Howard decided to travel the route without a camp stove or water filter, but did take a tent (instead of a bivvy bag).

Except for a few tire punctures, Howard’s bike apparently held up well during the ride. As is common in races like this, other cyclists were not so fortunate. Rugged mountain roads and bikes loaded down with gear are not a good combination—cyclists often have trouble keeping their wheels trued. Even if you are out in the woods truing a wheel is not that difficult if you have a spoke tool (they are found on most bicycle mini-tools). However, it seems that some tour riders never took the time to learn how to make simple repairs to their own bikes!

Howard has a rather dry sense of humor and his perspective on American customs and society is fun to read. Until this race he had never been in a Walmart before (what a lucky guy). On more than one occasion he made snide comments about how fat many Americans are—I’m just glad he didn’t visit a Walmart in Wisconsin!

Eat, Sleep, Ride is very well written and a joy to read. Instead of providing professional maps, this book has maps that look like they were drawn by a bored high school student—this is actually a compliment! Though the maps are hand-drawn and not to scale, I actually liked them better than in any other adventure cycling book I’ve ever read.

I do have two criticisms of the book. First, there is not a single photograph in the book! Second, though it is not absolutely necessary, I prefer adventure cycling books to include a detailed gear checklist (I like to know exactly what distance cyclists take with them on their journeys).

Eat, Sleep, Ride is available as a paperback book (272 pages) and retails for $17, but you can find it on Amazon.com for under $12. It is also available in the Kindle edition for $10.

18 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on June 13, 2012 in Book Reviews

Tags: bicycle, bike, cycling, endurance, exercise, sports, touring

Road Holland Hilversum Cycling Jersey

21 May

One of the owners of the local bike shop has told me on several occasions that a bike jersey is usually the last purchase most people make when they take up cycling. After riding thousands of miles every year on both the road and off-road trails I have come to the same conclusion. I find it amazing that some people will spend $5,000 on a new bike and then go out for a ride wearing a T-shirt! Wearing a cycling jersey won’t make you go faster, but a quality jersey will increase your comfort and enjoyment as you ride. A few weeks ago the folks at Road Holland sent me one of their Hilversum cycling jerseys to review and here is the bottom line: The Road Holland Hilversum jersey is the most comfortable, well-designed and stylish jersey I have ever had the privilege to wear!

Road Holland Hilversum Cycling Jersey

When I started cycling I bought a lot of cheap Performance Bicycle and Bike Nashbar branded jerseys, and then last year I moved up to the Pearl Izumi Attack jersey. As much as I like the Pearl Izumi Attack jersey I have to tell you it doesn’t even fit in the same class as the Road Holland Hilversum. The Hilversum jersey is made of 79% superlight polyester and 21% fine gauge merino wool. This jersey is incredibly lightweight and offers every feature a serious cyclist could want in a jersey.

Zipper Garage On The Road Holland Hilversum Jersey

The front of the jersey has a full-length zipper and, believe it or not, it has a zipper garage (a small pocket where the zipper parks when the jersey is closed). A zipper garage might not mean much to you if you keep your jersey halfway unzipped all the time, but I’ve had my face scratched on many occasions by the sharp edges of the zipper on cheap jerseys.

Rear Pockets On The Road Holland Hilversum Jersey

The back of the Road Holland Hilversum jersey is a work of art! Like most cycling jerseys the Hilversum has three storage pockets, but that is where the similarity ends. The middle pocket has a small opening so you can run a headphone cord through it—the cord stays under your jersey and won’t flap around in the wind as you ride. The pocket on the right-hand side also has an exterior stash pocket (a fourth pocket) with an angled zipper (with another zipper garage) so you can keep you keys, credit card and ID secure even if you suffer an unplanned dismount (otherwise known as a crash). The bottom hem of this jersey has a silicone grip strip that helps keep the jersey in place and prevents it from moving up during your ride. For your safety in low-light situations Road Holland added a reflective strip along the top of the pockets—I wish every cycling jersey sold was required to have a reflective strip like this!

One thing that really separates this jersey from all others is the way it looks. I normally hate going into a restaurant while wearing a standard cycling jersey. However, the embroidered accents on the Hilversum make it look quite stylish. If you are seated at a table most people would never know you were wearing a cycling jersey (until you stand up and they see your Lycra shorts).

The Road Holland Hilversum jersey is available in three colors (Royal Orange, Carolina Blue, and Milky White) and comes in five sizes (S, M, L, XL, and XXL). The folks at Road Holland sent me a Milky White jersey to review and I liked it so well I ordered a Royal Orange jersey to go along with it. Of special interest to me is the fact that this jersey is made in the USA (it is possible that this is the only jersey I own that was made in America).

The Hilversum jersey retails for $120 and is worth every penny! While I was visiting the Road Holland Website on Sunday night I noticed that you can save 20% on your next order. All you have to do is take a pledge to “banish hideous cycling gear” and then enter the code “STYLISH” when placing an order through their online store before May 28, 2012.

In taking the pledge you are affirming that…

I will not wear cycling jerseys with cereal box characters, beer, or cartoon characters on them.
My cycling jersey will always look at least as good as my bike.
If I’m a guy, I’m burning all of my sleeveless jerseys tonight.
I will not wear jerseys with flowers plastered over them.
Unless I’m being paid to ride as part of a team, I will not wear a team kit.

I don’t think the folks at Road Holland are going to send the police to your house if you violate your pledge, but if you are an adult you should probably stop wearing jerseys with cereal box characters on them anyway.

22 Comments

Posted by All Seasons Cyclist on May 21, 2012 in Bicycle Clothing, Product Reviews

Tags: bicycle, bike, clothing, cycling, jersey, sports, triathlete, triathlon

All Seasons Cyclist

Tag Archives: sports

6,444 Miles Of Cycling In 2012

Vi Fuel Product Giveaway Winner

Vi Fuel (Product Review And Giveaway)

Weight Training For Cyclists: A Total Body Program For Power And Endurance

Jelly Belly Sport Beans

ShowerPill: The Athletic Body Wipe

Cool Off Citrus Ice Towelettes

The First 3,000 Miles For 2012

Eat, Sleep, Ride by Paul Howard

Road Holland Hilversum Cycling Jersey

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