With the beginning of the Tour de France July 3rd, the summer brings around the competitor in many everyday cyclists.   We are somewhat exasperated with the scandals and accusations swirling around professional sports in general, and professional cycling in particular.

I suppose that we are longing for cyclists who race to meet their competitive instincts.  It might be the Sand Creek Series, a weekly ride to Cave of the Winds,  Nic’s Saturday morning training ride, or beating the train on the uphill side of the Greenland Open Space Trail.  The race is in the rider, not the venue, or the promotional photos.   If you just hate for someone to pass you, you’re already a bike racer.

Come by the store, and write down your favorite ‘Tour de Jour’ route, ride, or impromptu competition.  Just for telling us something, you will be entered in a drawing for the Thrilling Comfort of Body Geometry Comp shorts.  If we can get more details from you, we will write up your race for this website, or add a link to your own rendition of it on line.  Tune up your sprint, and get out there!

We’re encouraging a little risk-taking this summer with a sale price on Body Geometry Comp cycling shorts.   For $65, even the novice rider can enjoy the fit and comfort preferred by folks who ride hundreds of miles a week.    Look for the ‘Thrilling Comfort’ tag, and find a new source of riding pleasure.

Why does a person need bike shorts?   It’s not just the snug fit of lycra, although sports science says that compression of muscles provides better muscle function.  It’s also getting rid of seams between the rider and the saddle.   Before the 80’s, most shorts featured a piece of chamois sewn into the crotch area.  This covered the seams, and helped prevent chafing.  However, when washed, real leather develops the texture of cardboard.  So many riders aired out their shorts instead of washing them, and special leather salves were applied to the chamois. Now it’s OK to wash yer britches! Today’s ‘chamois butter’ is appled to the butt, and not to the pad, which is most often made from heat=molded layers of machine washable anti-bacterial fabrics.

Bike shorts are designed for riding, not for standing around.  The waistline is low in the front for bending forward, and high in the back to prevent the dreaded plumber tan line.  The legs are long enough to cover most of the quadriceps muscle.  They are worn without additional underwear.  The jersey goes over the shorts, and is never tucked into the waistband.  Riders who spend long hours in the saddle love the bib style shorts, which eliminate the waistband entirely.

You can pull on other garments over the traditional black bike shorts:  warm-up tights or legwarmers, waterproof trousers, a mini-skirt, or bike dress.    Baggies are a style of double short with an outer short for mountain biking.  Tri-shorts have a very small pad for triathletes who may choose to wear bike clothes under a wetsuit.  The staff at Criterium have chosen shorts that provide the best options for our region and our riders from $40 to $145.   Try them on, and share the secret of a comfortable bike ride.