It is January and I can think of nothing but trying to get back on the road. The Northeast has been blessed with some mild enough weather to melt the snow and make people believe that spring is around the corner.
With this in mind, I give you five tips to help you get some Euro-style into your daily riding. This is a general buying guide and by no means do you have to purchase everything recommended below. The key behind Euro-style is simplicity, quality and style. It is not enough to be cool now, it also has to have staying power. Do you still have the “wet look” lycras from the early 90s? Don’t you wish you went for something a little more understated now? Follow these tips and you will be Euro-stylin like Velochimp.
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AleJet Petacchi and Gibo Simoni are now free to model their new team kits for 2006.
The Team Milram look of Petacchi has a retro feel that almost brings to mind the? Motoroloa jerseys of the early to mid 90s. They keep the ratio of blue jerseys in the Pro Peloton very high. The Saunier-Duval kit used to be very classy and not blue. The yellow with black lines and white was understated and looked good while being very noticable. Unfortunately someone somewhere thought they needed to apply some “jazz hands” feeling to the kit.
Gibo doesn’t seem too excited about the artistic license that was taken with the SD team kit, while Emanuele Mori looks a little too happy for the new team kit. Teammate Leonardo Piepoli looks a little surprised at Mori’s over enthused reaction. Hopefully there will be plenty of tweeks to the SD team kit throughout the season.
bettiniphoto.net / the Eye of Cycling
Here is a good set of tips on how to properly blow snots while riding your bike. The cold weather will make snottage much more prevalent than the summer months (if you are riding in 0 degree weather).
These tips will be filed under Euro-Style. Velochimp will give ocassional tips on riding style, apparel, bike choices, etc. Not just any type of bike stuff mind you.
Here is the tip which comes to Velochimp via local club listserv at: Onondaga Cycling Club
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Blowing your nose while riding is an underrated, yet essential, skill. Within
30 minutes of a good spin, almost all cyclists experience a gooey trickle
because exercise increases blood flow to the nose. Nasal tissues swell and the
cells lining the nose produce extra mucus (which is about 96% water with the
rest made of sugars, protein and bacteria-fighting enzymes). On chilly rides,
everyone drips. “It’s the nose’s way of protecting itself from cold, dry air,”
says James Geraghty, M.D., an otolaryngologist in Peoria, IL.
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Another good lesson on Euro Style and how to look good while riding. Chain Reaction has a photo essay on how riders wear their shades in the Tour. Amoung the many influences in technology and style, Lance Armstrong also popularized the wearing of sunglasses upside-down on your helmet. (I tried this, but never got it to work with my Giro Pneumo helmet. Maybe I can convince the wife I need to upgrade to the ATMOS so I can be like Lance…)
George Hincapie, probably the most-readily identifiable rider in the Peloton (nobody else wears big white sunglasses!), makes not wearing them stylish. Heck, George makes just about anything stylish.
Chain Reaction Bicycles
To preview the upcoming Euro style guide by Velochimp, here are some must have tips on what you should purchase or look for when making your next cycling related purchase so you can be Euro styling:
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