What To Wear?

I decided to purchase a cycling jersey, for the first time in my life. Up 'til now, the customary T-shirt or polo jersey was the standard riding wear, however, when I began to make plans to participate in a 50-mile ride, I sought to prepare myself to be as physically comfortable as possible. This suddenly made Tees and polos unsuitable.

Following this year's Tour de France made me aware of a Colorado-based company called Pearl Izumi, which manufactures cycling apparel. I looked them up on the Internet and noted the type of material used — 100% Polyester. Great! Everybody on the planet makes and sells these so I figured once I got a sports jersey that was 100% polyester, I'd be a happy cyclist. Not so. I quickly learned that not all 100% polyesters are created equal.

All of the jerseys in the sports stores I visited were marked 100% on the little white label, but they were all remarkably different in texture. One of them made me drip with perspiration by just looking at it on the rack! They were also very inexpensive, suspiciously too inexpensive. So I went back to the Internet and looked at the variety from Pearl Izumi on Amazon. I chose this one:

This is the Women's Symphony Cycling Jersey. I loved this colour and ordered one. In fact, I got another type of blue, not as gorgeous as this one, but still very nice-looking. This one's also marked "100% Polyester" on the little white label, but unlike the others in the stores, has a soft breathable texture. It's very well made and fits perfectly. It really does wick perspiration away from you, keeping you cool as you concentrate on battling the hills.

The Symphony cost me US$25.00 — this was pleasantly surprising because I made a trip to a couple bike shops and the jerseys there cost US$63.00 and up. Of course, they were all printed up like mad, with logos and team names.

Speaking of teams, Izumi also has this one:

I love it! This design belongs to my favourite team. Ironically, I particularly like that their name and sponsors' logos do not appear on the jersey. I'd be somehow very reluctant to wear a replica of a team's exact outfit. Compared to the Symphony I bought, this design costs US$89.95!

These days I've been wondering how come it costs more than three times as much to buy a garment with a team's design on it. Unless this comes down by 70% in price, I'm not sure I could afford it coming anytime soon to a mailbox near me.

(Note: The manufacturer's sizes and Amazon's "Merchant's Sizing Chart" are different. For the correct fit, order using the manufacturer's sizes.)