Free Fitness Program: Summer Cycling - Good Clothing

Cycling through the summer months offers us a chance to ditch those heavy jerseys and expose a little more skin to the elements. Longer daylight hours and an end to icy roads means that more and more fair weather cyclists will dust off the bike perhaps in an effort to drop a few pounds built up over winter. Anyone who's regularly ridden though all four seasons will know that while summer, in Britain at least, offer some rest bite from the extreme cold and rain, it's still a far cry from total shorts and t-shirts. Even min-summer can still surprise us with flash floods and chilly wet conditions. This is not to say the sun doesn't shine. In the space of a day the weathers can flip several times from stiflingly hot and dry, to overcast and grey.

This means that selecting effective cycle clothing can be a bit of a challenge. Staying dry from those showers of rain without over heating can be a real headache. With lots of clothing options on the market, it should now be possible to find some good solutions without busting your budget. Lightweight waterproof jackets with mesh ventilation are a good choice, coupled with under garments that offer rapid moisture transfer. For warm but shower days there are even rather attractive short-sleeved garments that'll give you both waterproof and breathable features along with additional ventilation. Assuming we are not always battling flash downpours and the sun looks set for the day, really lightweight rain jackets that easily fit in a back pocket or bag are still a good idea to have to hand.

Cyclists are constantly fighting against their own body heat and moisture build-up whilst also keeping wind-chill at bay. Climbing a few hills will soon increase body temperature but freewheeling down the other side can soon bring on a chill. While there is no perfect solution to these kinds of extremes, high wicking jerseys made from fabrics such as AirBase™ will certainly help on the way up the climb, with windproof garments giving good protection for long descents. Shorts too can offer similar fast wicking, often made from lightweight Polyamide and Lycra. Forget the kind of, so-called, 'cycle shorts' often available in sports shops; instead look for good quality cycling shorts with a padded insert for you bottom. Options specifying 3Mi™, Coolmax®, Meryl®, Mono-Lith are a few of the names to look out for. These will generally offer you much more comfort than cheaper options; something you'll appreciate after several hours on the road. For those who want something a little more relaxed there are plenty of shorts that look like regular shorts you'd wear to the beach, but still with a discrete padded insert.

As with many sports today, garment options have exploded in both variety and choice. Being particularly fashion conscious, cyclists have never been short of attractive clothing options to part them from their cash. With the sport of cycling currently enjoying something of a growth spurt, aided in part by the interest in triathlons, mountain biking and general leisure cycling; as you might expect, there are now some great products specifically aimed at ladies and children. While many garments are reasonably unisex in any case, it's nevertheless good to see the increasing choices that may appeal to the different sexes. Unisex is no use if you're a 7 year old, but again there are some good choices now, ranging form jerseys, waterproofs, shorts, leggings and gloves etc.

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