Leah kicked off this fashion thread with: "This might be a thread most of the guys scroll right on past. But where are my RivSisters? "
Here's a fashion-adjacent cycling-topic that is somewhat gender-charged. I started shaving my legs today. Growing up cycling in the 1980s, it was always on the radar that the good riders shave their legs, but there was a poseur-warning in there that you better be fast if you're going to shave your legs, so I never did on purely cycling grounds, because I've never been truly fast. So why now? I've lost a pretty-good for me amount of weight, and I'm ramping up my running, so my legs look pretty good. I also got a nasty case of poison oak on my legs, which was made worse by the fur on my gams. I also have Normatech legboots as part of my training equipment and I think they'll be more comfortable with smooth legs. I'm told I may get a better leg-tan with smooth legs, too (although my cycling sock-line will probably be even worse). At the end of the day, I also did it for fashion. So, there we are! Bill Lindsay El Cerrito, CA On Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 7:13:39 AM UTC-7 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > This might be a thread most of the guys scroll right on past. But where > are my RivSisters? Are you here for this? Can we talk about fashion on the > bike? > > The 90s styles have come back this fall, and since the late 90s was my > era, I am in raptures over here. Cargo pants and wide leg jeans are back, > and better. High-waisted (instead of low-slung) and in every fabric you > could dream up. I have thrown myself whole-heartedly onto this band wagon. > I have a super wide leg denim trouser, a relaxed cargo pant in green, a > charcoal cargo pant in straight leg, and a black corduroy wide leg trouser. > > But. Don’t we all know that the absolute zenith for bike style was the era > of the skinny jean with tall boots? Skinny jeans tucked into tall riding > boots never got caught in any drivetrains. You never, ever worried about > getting grease on your pants legs in the skinny jean era. > > Yesterday I decided to cycle to downtown and meet my husband for lunch. I > really wanted to wear my new pants but did some hand-wringing over getting > them dirty. I remembered the reflective ankle strap buried in my Saddlesack > for such a time as this, slapped it on and rode off. But those straps work > better in theory than in real life because by the time I got home, > well…here’s a photo. > > I thought about this. I don’t want to only dress for the bike. I want to > have some cultural relevance and not be stuck in outdated clothes (ironic, > since I’m trying to wear 90s, here) just because they are good for biking. > My bike gives me freedom, not limits. My husband says, “You’re just going > to have a grease spot on your pants. Accept it. It’s cute.” > > My other concern is my boots. The spikes on my Spank Oozy pedals will mark > up the toe of my Red Wing and Frye boots when I use the toe to move the > pedal to 2:00. I buy shoes that are meant to last, and it does pain me that > these are getting chewed up. But, I think I’ve decided to accept the damage > to expensive boots, too. If I don’t, I’ll be stuck in Keens and sneakers > year-round. > > And then I wondered about all of you. Do you only dress for your bike? Do > you wear what you want? Do you even care? > > Meanwhile, I did order more ankle straps, figuring more is more. While I’m > not too distressed about my army green pants getting greasy, I might feel > differently if the pants were a lighter color. > > Leah > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/79c08ae1-ee00-4a71-a55f-42b4d7983464n%40googlegroups.com.
