Auditions for Italy are underway

 Let those who know cower.....

After KLM lost my luggage on my trip to the Alps in 2012 I had a fine time wearing borrowed clothing and a few items bought in haste from the one real bike shop I encountered on the trip.  My take away was that I could do just fine without my favorites.

Still, I want to be as comfortable and as fast as I can be.  Therefore one of the tasks I have is to determine what clothing and equipment serves me the best and bring the winners.

Which blow dryer is best for thawing out my cassette ?

I must confess I run my stuff in a rotation and often when I decide some piece is the best- I often end up using it less, saving it for special occasions.  Thus I use the inferior stuff more.  I am my mother’s son.  Scary.

This toteming can be dangerous.  When something emerges as the worst I have it may result in action. I once inherited an employee who asked for an interim performance review.  I realized what a bad job the person was doing and the performance review started with me saying “Today is your final day with the company.”  The contrast between best and worst, if dramatic enough, may cause something to be “set free.”

Shoes and bibshorts are life and death.  Those favorites are known. Arm, knee and leg warmers are less so but they still matter.  The wrong knee warmer worn over an embrocated joint can rub.  Irritating the skin and creating a real problem. It may not matter - but it might.  Gloves are somewhere in between. 

A critical performance criteria for these trips is the ability to dry overnight.  Washed in the sink and hung to dry before dinner everything still needs to be ready for action at nine the next morning.  Even if it doesn’t see action the second day; damp clothing stuffed inside luggage is an invitation for future problems.

With winter in the rearview mirror I now have the opportunity to compare the clothing options that I expect to wear to determine who gets to make the traveling squad.

Knee warmers are in a heated competition right now. (Use a pun, go to jail)  The Castelli team ones aren’t going to make the trip.  Just like the team leg warmers they wrinkle at the back of my knee. Will it be the highly tailored Pactimo ones or the simple tubes of the Castelli Nanos?  I won’t bring my Hincapie ones simply because George was a dick.

I am bringing my Hank OR Gloves as they dry quickly and are as good as anything in the wet.  My Rosa gloves are going. 

I will share my findings and drop names in upcoming product reviews.  Brace yourself.