Lemonhead

I actually found a bicycle helmet that fits!

I went to two stores while in Albuquerque: Performance Bicycles and REI. P.B. was just like the store here in Las Cruces: no XL helmets on the shelves, and none in the back, either. REI had one on the shelf, and it fit, and it doesn't make me look like a dork, and it was reasonably priced, so I snatched it up.

My friend Gimpy suggested I title this post "Melonhead", but I thought "Lemonhead" would be better. I refer not to the candy but to the Ponderosa Lemon, which is far larger than the average lemon you can find in the grocery store.

The helmet I got was the Triton helmet by Bell (in black). The web page says it's, "a good looking helmet for the extra large of head". The web page also lists the price at $40 but I got it for $38.

While in REI, Gimpy suggested I pick up a cycling jersey sporting the colors of New Mexico's state flag. That way, he said, I wouldn't need a reflective vest to be more visible to traffic. Actually, the one in the store had a different design and was far more obnoxiously yellow and cost only $30. I tried on an extra large, and it fit okay in the shoulders, maybe a little loose, but had snug elastic around the waist. I figure it's supposed to be so, but I didn't want to try a large and disillusion myself. I'd like to see if I can lose any fat by bicycling first. Plus, I don't want to shell out money for specialized clothes if I'm not going to keep it up. (Forty dollars for a helmet is bad enough.)

A pleasant surprise I discovered is that cycling shorts are no longer restricted to the skin-tight variety. (My rear end in tight pants is something the world does not want to see.) I could buy these if I wanted to. However, most bike web pages do recommend cycling shorts for fitness or competitive trips because of the discomfort that can be caused by normal underwear. Cycling shorts have specialized underwear built in. I'm not too comfortable with the idea of not wearing underwear, but I suppose I'd have to see the shorts and try them on first. Or, I guess I could buy this cycling underwear and put it on under my normal shorts. (If you didn't click on the link because you were afraid of what you'd see, trust me. It's more decent than you'd expect.)

Actually, I do have a big dream about cycling now. I would like to see if I can do any long distance bicycle trips. I read about one in Reader's Digest, in which participants take a week to cycle across Iowa. I wondered if I could do the same but from here to Albuquerque -- or maybe cycle up to Truth or Consequences and spend the day at one of the lakes and get a ride home -- or maybe cycle out to the City of Rocks, soak in the hot springs, then get a ride home. G suggested that I participate in the M.S. Society's bike ride to Los Alamos. Of course, I'll need to train first. Anyone want to help? I'll be Sylvester Stallone; you can be Burgess Meredith. I won't even make you look at me in tight shorts.