December 30, 2008
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I just got a new training helmet: The Louis Garneau Avant Helmet. I love it. Here’s the scoop:

I have been unhappy with my training helmet for a long time. At some point it dawned on me that it does not fit me well. It comes down too far on my forehead…extending beyond my eyebrows, bumping into my sunglasses. It also jams into the back of my neck when I am in aero position. I spend most of my riding time down in my bars, so this has been a constant annoyance to me for at least a year.

I happen to be in the local Performance Bike store looking for something else, and I walked past the helmets. Hmmm….lots of helmets on sale. I’ll just take a peek at them.

The sales clerk walked over and asked me if I’ve purchased a helmet before. I explained my problem. He suggested I try on the Giro Women’s Skyla Helmet which cost $37. They are available in pink, blue, white and black. I told him I did not want a girly color helmet – my bike is black and red and not at all girly looking! So he gave me the black one to try on. I liked how it felt, but I was concerned that the black color would absorb heat from the sun during my long summer rides. So, I tried out the white one. It looked dorky for some reason. I cannot look like a dork on my bike – no apologies!

I love the way my LG Rocket Air helmet feels, so I looked at the LG models. The Avant was on sale for $69. It looked spiffy and came in red/white and silver/white. I tried the red one on. It felt perfect….very light and did not cover my forehead or bump my neck. I even bent over to simulate aero position and everything felt great. I walked over to the mirror…didn’t like the way the red one looked on me. So, I tried the white one…looked great, felt great…SOLD to the woman on the black Valdora bike (that she won off BT … I’m still in disbelief over my luck on that one!).

I’ve been on two rides with my new helmet. I can’t believe I waited so long to replace the irritating ill-fitting old one. Very comfy and airy.

Wardrobe Report:

Here’s my wardrobe report for those two rides. As mentioned before, I am tracking this for B2B iron race, so I will be sure to know exactly what to wear on that day.

Dec 30, 2008 – I rode 39 miles. I head out the door at about 2:30 pm. Temp was 64deg F, 17%H, Calm Wind, Sunny skies. I wore my Pearl Izumi (PI) cycling shorts, short sleeve jersey, PI arm warmers (love those things). I stuffed two sections of newspaper into my shirt. I quickly warmed up about 10 minutes into the ride, and ditched the newspaper. hahaha…I had brought an extra rubber band with me, and banded the newspaper up and tossed it on the end of a driveway. Someone will be wondering why they received two sections of last weeks newspaper today!! Another ten minutes into the ride I was warm again, so peeled down my arm warmers to below the elbow. At 4 pm, the temps had dropped to 60 and the sun was dropping behind the treeline. So, I got a bit cold. Put the arm warmers back up. At 4:30, the sun had begun to set. And, I was COLD! The sun makes such a huge difference in how warm I feel on the bike. BTW, I was actually a bit scared riding in the twilight hour – yikes, didn’t plan that too well!

Dec 27, 2008 – I rode 49 miles, starting at 12:30pm. It was 54 deg F, 50% humidity, calm wind, and overcast (no sun whatsoever at all!). The first 10 was with my husband who is a new biker, so we were going fairly slow pace. I was wearing my PI shorts, short sleeve cycling jersey, arm warmers, light windbreaker jacket with rip off sleeves, and fingerless cycling gloves. I was a little bit cold, but not overly uncomfortable. After that, I continued the rest of my ride solo at a moderate pace. I got a bit warm, so I ripped off the sleeves of my windbreaker. The weather eventually warmed up to 59 deg, 78% humidity. I got a little bit warm, but didn’t peel anything else off. When I hit the lake, it started drizzling. That made cold water splash up all over my legs and I got cold again. Did not feel like stopping to put my jacket sleeves back on…not that cold.