Well, after many, many red, stinging eyes, I've finally found a system that works to keep sweat out of my eyes. I was using a lycra-like stretchy headband with a rubber ridge that goes just above my brow when I put it on. The rubber ridge acts like a rain gutter and sweeps the sweat away from my eyes. That is until I sweat enough to overwhelm the material, then the sweat drips over the rubber gutter-like device and into my eyes. It takes about fifteen minutes for me to sweat enough to overwhelm the headband.
A few weeks ago, I purchased a cotton cycling cap to wear under my helmet. I wear the visor up in the mornings when it is cool and when I'm not sweating too much.
When it is hot, I flip the visor down. The sweat tracks down the visor and either evaporates if it's not too humid, or drips off of the center of the bill when I'm really sweating and when it's really humid. This is the best system I've found yet.
Trek 500 Tri Series
I found out that my bike is a 1986 Trek 500 Tri Series. I thought I bought the bike in the fall of 1985, which I think I did.
But some on line research shows that it is a 1986 model, apparently the only 500 model that Trek called the Tri Series. I think Trek made a model 600 Tri Series also - that bike was red, as I remember. I couldn't afford one of those.
Anyway, I disassembled my old rear wheel and sent the hub to Peter White Cycles. Peter built me a new wheel using a Mavic Open Sport rim and double-butted spokes. Since Monday, I've been riding the Trek. Man, I forgot how fast this bike is compared to my beloved Tricross! I've got a 100 mile ride Saturday down in Decatur, and I'm taking the Trek for some sweet long-distance action.
Post-ride Recovery
Last Saturday, I did a club ride, and felt pretty punky the whole way. The club members where originally going to ride 75 miles, but with the temps forcast in the high 80's (yes, we are wimps up here), we all decided to ride 55 miles. I never made it that far - I turned off at the cut-off for 40 miles with Kmart Dave and we rode a moderate pace back to the start. The previous week I did several interval workouts, and my legs weren't fully recovered for the ride on Saturday.
Saturday afternoon, Alex and I went to a nearby nature preserve to walk and enjoy the woods. The things we saw there helped put my mind in a better place, and the walking helped work some of the soreness out of my legs.
When Alex and I walked across a small foot bridge over a creek, there was this fawn standing, staring right at us. I was able to take a few photos before he bolted.
There is no pie on the planet better than Gooseberry pie. This gooseberry isn't ripe yet, but I'm coming back here in a couple weeks to check on these. We found a big patch of them. Sorry, can't tell you where they are, it's a secret!
The black raspberries are just starting to ripen. I gorged myself on all the berries I could find. These fit perfectly into my post-ride recovery.
Graduation
The best part of the last couple of weeks was my daughter's high school graduation. It's difficult to see Georgia in this picture, but she's on the left side, walking into the photo.
Georgia shared her graduation party with her best friend, Savannah.
No more cross-country meets, no more parent-teacher conferences. I'm going to miss her high school years.
Georgia graduated with high honors, and is headed to Purdue University this fall. She's planning a dual major in dietetics and fitness and nutrition. I'm so proud of her!
I hope all of you folks out there are having a good week.
Happy riding!
14 comments:
I always ride with a headsweats dew rag with the sweatband built in. I have like 7 of then. I do wear hats but only on the spring and fall when its not so hot.
Congrats to your grad!
Keep riding those cool old bikes. They might (might) be cooler than mine!
Hmmm. I've just been letting my eyes sting... perhaps I should like, think a little.
[jibboxy]
Cycling caps are great for sweat control. I almost always wear one under my helmet, when I wear a helmet. I've seen those sweat gutter things. I thought they would be prone to digging into your skin. You could always go retro and wear one of those fuzzy tennis headbands.
Spooky post. I've been having a lot of sweat pondering lately, though it more involves where the little beads fly under various circumstances. I have discovered that I can actually soak my left shoe with sweat drips. AND, I just got new wheels myself, though not from Peter White. AND, while I don't know of any Northrop High, I DID work for Northrop Aircraft for over 25 years. And yes, both Northrops are spelled the same, with no "U."
Dano - one of the guys I ride with in the club has a dew rag made out of the same material as a jersey. I don't think it's a Headsweats, but it looks like it would work.
Rantwick - yea, the stinging doesn't have to continue.
RTP - I didn't mention the digging into my skin part - that rubber ridge leaves an indentation across my forehead for about 2 days after I wear it. Back when Arthur Ashe was playing in Wimbledon and Dr. J (Julius Irving) was playing at Philadelphia, I had a red, white, and blue striped, fuzzy headband. That thing used to really stink!
Steve - that is spooky! Those sweat drips fall all over my bike and knees chain. I might have to put extra lube on the chain because of that. You might need to wear waterproof foot covers on hot days!
First, great pics! And congrats to your grad! Second, I wear a Halo headband that really works, is that what you were using? And most importantly, gooseberry pie was available on Biking Across Kansas, but I had never had it, and it looked weird, so I went blueberry. I may have to be a little bolder next time.
The cap is a good idea, but I think it would heat up the top of my head. I may try it to be sure. I just got one of the Halo headbands that Jeff mentions, so far it seems to work pretty well. I have only used it on a few rides so far though.
Congrats to your daughter, not only for finishing high school, but for having a plan for what to do next. Way to go!
Jeff - yes, it's a Halo headband. For some reason, my sweat overwhelms it. Once you go gooseberry, you'll see what I mean!
Apertome - Yes, that's the downside, my head does get hotter. But with my thinning hair, I don't have to worry about sunburn.
I've been using a Sweat Gutr for over a year now and it works exactly as intended with no complaints. FYI.
The photo of the fawn is priceless.
Congrats on your daughter graduating from HS. I am happy you had a great time.
I used a sweatband last time I rode and it was soaking wet in no time. I had to then take it off and hang it on my handlebar to dry before using it again. I didn't care for the sweat-gutter thing.
Peace :)
Doohickie - that looks like it might work. No fabric to get soaked through.
Chandra - Thanks!
My Trek Vapor helmet has a band of the cushioning material that goes all the way across on the forehead part. I've added some of those stick-on cushions to the plastic forehead band of my Bell Radar. I never have a problem with sweat stinging my eyes, but I'm thinking that most of that has to do with the fact that the lack of humidity in Arizona doesn't let the sweat last long enough to get in my eyes.
My Batavus Course is also a 1986 model, and I'm thinking of getting a new rear wheel, or a whole new wheel set if it isn't too expensive. What size rear cassette is that on your 500? 6-speed?
Oh, and congrats to your grad.
Blues Cat - It's actually a 5-speed freewheel. I bought it last year for a song - I don't remember what I paid, but maybe $12 - $15. I had a 6-speed on their but after many years of non-use it rusted pretty badly.
My objective on the Trek is to keep every thing as low cost as possible, that's why I used the old hub with the screw-on freewheel. I didn't want to upgrade the hub to a cassette because I was afraid I'd have to get a new derailleur and new shifters.
The humidity here for the last several weeks has been very high. Even on a cool day I sweat like crazy.
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