Eyes right

I recently acquired a new follower to my blog, the polite and well written Doug, and with him came several new readers, so it seems more than fair to mention this before leading into my post proper. In a recent post he extolled the virtues of his cycling sunglasses, cheap cheerful and practical, and asked if more paraphernalia is really necessary for a sport that's meant to set us free. So I'm going to argue the exact opposite - kit is an added bonus to an already awesome sport.

I have a Giro helmet, that fits and covers my vital bits just in case. I spent well over what I could have, but Giro lids are cool, and fit best, and reduce the weird alien head syndrome. My bike shoes? Nike, with carbon soles and the best performance I could ask for (Yes, cycle shoes perform. Stiffness, pliability, comfort, transfer of power etc). I ride with some cool super technical socks, because I like my feet not to hurt or smell. Glasses? Now there's the story of a sad little addiction.

I have too many pairs of cycling sunglasses. I know this because I often spend more than ten seconds before a run or a ride choosing which frames and lenses will suit conditions best. There is a science to this, sort of. Part of it is fashion, part of it is pro-cycling emulation, and part of it is practical. The fact is, they really do make a difference. All of the kit does.

At the end of my first really big ride I was exhausted. I'd spent 12 hours and almost 300km all told in the 30-35 degree heat and dust. My legs, back, stomach, neck, skin even had given up. But my feet were dry and sweat free, my head had been protected from the 6 million possible crashes en route and three escaped water bottles and my eyes? After the bight light, dust, bugs, water from drinking or hoses, sweat, and everything else thrown at them they were more comfortable with the glasses on than off. That is the sign of a product doing its job. OK, they're trendy in bikie circles, but I honestly feel more comfortable with that bit of control over how the light hits my eyes (and stopping everything else from doing it) and in the end all this kit makes me feel like my ride is more under my control.