Biking Naked

I had that dream again. I don't have it often but it's ingrained. The details can change but the emotions are the same.

I'm going through normal life. Normal behavior. I'm getting ready to go for a bike ride. I grab a 20 ouncer and fill it with sport drink. I check the tires and inflate to 100 psi, the recommendation for my trainers. I put on my road shoes, saving the tri-shoes for races. I grab my helmet, where inside I find gloves and sunglasses at the ready from my last ride. I shove off and glide the incline down my drive out into the street. I clip in and spin a bit to ensure a good connection. After a few houses, I turn the corner onto the longer road. I bring my cadence up to a comfortable 92 rpms. That's the sweet spot and I get settled in to the ride. That's when I look down and notice something is wrong. I'm biking naked.

And I mean in the figurative sense, not the literal sense. It's much the same as people who leave the house and forget their watch. They are so used to wearing a watch that not having one feels wrong. They say, "I feel naked without without my watch."

However, in this dream, it's not about the watch. This problem is worse: There are no aerobars on this bike. See, I only feel like I'm biking naked, again, in the figurative sense. I'm riding my road bike and the clip-on areos are also not there. I've got the bullhorn type handlebars. I have hoods and drops. Neither are cutting it. Then I blink, only to realize that this is not a dream. I would scream out but I understand that yelling would do me no good.

I've been riding my triathlon bike for so long, it just seems right. I reserve my road bike for only a few occasions.

• Crappy weather
• Salt on the roads (post crappy weather)
• Group riding (which has actually not happened yet)
• Commuting to work
• Casual riding with friends
• Tri-bike in the shop

Cornering not a problem

Right now, I've got the good bike in the shop, matching the criteria of pulling the roadie off the rafters and getting it out into traffic. There are rumors that say the road bike has a few advantages over a tri-bike. Some think that it accelerates, climbs, and corners more efficiently. Others think that it is more comfortable.

I'm not buying it. I prefer to lie down while exercising. I do not enjoy holding myself up by my wrists. I am quite comfortable, even after a century ride. I never get hand tingling anymore. I'm working on the hills (which suck on both bikes). How many corners do I really encounter anyway?


When my tri-bike got back from the shop, apparently my rear hub needed an overhaul. When coasting at higher speeds, the cogs would spin at a different rate than my wheel causing a nasty vibration. It was an easy fix and they had it done in a jiffy.

The road bike is nice but I prefer biking with all the right parts in all the right places. Public nudity, like it or not, is not currently allowed on the roads and neither should be my road bike if I can help it. I only had to do one short ride on the roadie. And I missed my aerobars.