New Gloves

Whoa!!! What's going on?!?!?!?! Two posts within a week...crazy talk!!! Ok, silliness aside, today's forecast was essentially crap. Snow in the morning, changing to rain, followed by rain and more rain. I was determined though, to get out for a ride, and despite the cold piss coming down, riding I did go (do I sound like Yoda??????). Within 5 minutes of heading out, I was questioning how smart/safe it was to be out riding. The roads were slushy, with packed snow/ice in places, sometimes hidden by massive puddles. Not what I was hoping for. Add on top of that poor visibility, limited space to ride, and drivers most likely not expecting a cyclist on the roads, I just didn't feel safe riding my bike. After 30 minutes of apprehensive riding, I decided to turn around, head back home and relegate myself to the trainer. However, as I approached my house, I decided to check out some of the major roads south west of my place, as they have wide, paved shoulders. Well, I was in luck, so I "kept on truckin", battling the rain and cold temps. Once I got home, I had put in close to 2 hours of riding...not bad for a crap day.

So, the title of this post alludes to some new gloves I picked up. (You're probably saying to yourself "No sh*t sherlock".) For awhile, I've been trying to find a pair of warm, waterproof gloves for riding in cold, rainy temps like today. I've had my eyes on a pair of Gore Bike Wear Cross gloves or Count Down gloves, but they never seemed to be available when I wanted to get a pair, so instead I settled for the Bontrager RXL Thermal. This glove fit the bill...warm primaloft insulation, and seam sealed to keep water out. I was eager to try out these gloves, which is partly why I was stubborn enough to go for a ride today.

So what can I say about these gloves? The main thing is that they kept my hands dry. Plain and simple. 2 hours of rainy riding, and not a drip of water made it to my hands. The only downside was that the gloves don't have a DWR coating, so they became wet and water logged, which meant that my hands eventually got cold. Every so often I would clench my fist and squeeze the water out of the gloves. I'm gonna spray these suckers down with some Nikwax to make them water repellant and prevent the exterior from absorbing water. It's also nice to have the dexterity of a glove, as opposed to a split finger mitt or "lobster" mitt. All in all, I'm happy with these gloves. They retail for $69, which makes them cheaper than the Gore Bike Wear gloves.