encomium of wool

[Thomas Lynn Skean]

Yesterday evening's 10-mile ride home was warmer than normal, and more humid as well. It was 98 degrees with a heat index of 107.

I guess I could have gone shirtless. But trust me, no one wants that.

There may not be any way to be "comfortable" in such conditions. I can say now from experience, however, that a lightweight wool t-shirt is far better than any shirt of cotton or polyester or nylon or combination thereof that I have used before in those circumstances. You get airflow and evaporative cooling. You avoid that clingy-clamminess. There are no truly nasty unnatural odors.

I also wore wool boxers under RBW's Boosuckers and a pair of oh-I-wish-RBW-still-sold-these-I'd-buy-a-dozen-pair 80/20 wool/nylon striped sporty shortie socks under my canvas Keen Coronado's.

Wool is great stuff. Counter-intuitive, perhaps. But yesterday I know was definitely a day for wearing wool.

Yours,
Thomas Lynn Skean

[Thomas Lynn Skean]

Oh, and yes... I was riding my Hillborne. 2TT 60cm with canti-studs. A sweet sweet ride!

!! mock-flamethrower alert !!

You're either Undertube'd or under-tubed!

:)

(there's a bumper-sticker in there somewhere, Mr. MontclairBobbyB.)

And seriously... If anyone happens to be in possession of a dozen pair of XL (whatever the largest size was) 80/20 striped sporty shortie socks and you are for some reason unable to wear them (e.g. a nylon allergy unmanageable with medication), please contact me off-list.

Yours,
Thomas Lynn Skean

[jimD]

I'll second the suggestion for light wool t's in warm conditions.
I've been wearing my ibex wool t-shirt in 80 - 90+ conditions and it has been very comfortable.
Haven't tried this in very high humidity heat though.
-Jim

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[cyclotourist]

I wear wool year round, and while not as humid, it gets into the 100s pretty regularly in the summer. Spending the week at the beach and while riding a couple days ago wore a cotton t-shirt and about froze coming down off the mountain down into the coastal marine layer  I thought I could get away with it yesterday, what a mistake!  .  Don't have that problem with wool as it always regulates perfectly!

--
Cheers,
David
Redlands, CA

...in terms of recreational cycling there are many riders who would probably benefit more from
improving their taste than from improving their performance. - RTMS

[Michael_S]

every body is different. My body temp runs hot.  I'd love it if it never got above 75d F for the rest of my life.  Thats why I'm moving to the beach.

I love wool in temps below 80. Over that I prefer a synthetic material.   

 

~mike

 

 

[PATRICK MOORE]

I tried light wool hoping it would work in our very dry heat, but no,
it feels itchy and hot much above 70, so I've gone back to plastics
for summer: they stink quickly but then they are easy to wash and they
dry quickly. I'd love to find some all cotton cycling specific
jerseys, so if anyone can point me to some I'd be grateful to hear
about it.

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--
Patrick Moore
Albuquerque, NM
For professional resumes, contact
Patrick Moore, ACRW
patric...@resumespecialties.com

A billion stars go spinning through the night
Blazing high above your head;
But in you is the Presence that will be
When all the stars are dead.
(Rilke, Buddha in Glory)

[EricP]

Will usually wear wool except in super-hot conditions (like Thomas'
reference). Then it's either super light wool (the dark blue
WoolyWarm top) or some synthetics.

Like Thomas no-shirt is a no-go for me. Again, trust me. Was going
to try it a year ago but could not.

Will wear padded shorts under MUSA though. Just for sweat
regulation. Have just about ruined a less than two year old honey B17
through excessive sweating. It's starting to look pretty grungy.
Hopefully it lasts until the winter.

Eric Platt
St. Paul, MN

> patrickmo...@resumespecialties.com

>
> A billion stars go spinning through the night
> Blazing high above your head;
> But in you is the Presence that will be
> When all the stars are dead.

> (Rilke, Buddha in Glory)- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[dougP]

I'm currently packing for a tour in MN & WI. Judging by the weather,
I guess I can leave my long sleeve wool jersey home for once. Of
course, that'll probably bring on localized snow flurries, no? Better
pack a couple of wool T-shirts, just in case.

dougP

> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

[EricP]

Yeah, probably. It's even been hot "up north". Did wear a light wool
top today, but it was thoroughly soaked after about 20 miles.

BTW, the top today is one of the new shirts/jerseys available from
Rivendell. Very comfortable, but definitely cut on the small size,
Purchased a jumbo/3x and it is still a touch tighter than would be
ideal. But my ideal is pretty close to being a huge bag over my body.

Eric Platt
St. Paul, MN

[Garth]

When it's hot and humid ... like Thomas described .... I find it's
pick your poison ... kind of. I've tried wool, cotton and
plastics .... they're all okay .... but none are really any better
than the other. I mean ... you're gonna be soaked in sweat .... and
when humid .... the "wicking" mantra goes out the window. Cotton is
nice because you can wring it out like a rag easier than the others.

I think back to my earlier days in Minnesota in the summer. I wore
cotton T's and tanks, or shirtless pretty much. It didn't really
matter . . . having a good time while riding .... trumps it all.
It's still that way today.