Time for a change of kit
[ posted by iain Sunday, April 03, 2005 ]
A good 60 miler today out and around the Surrey and Hampshire Hills. Great weather and not too windy. I was beginning to slow in the last quarter but the Tour of Flanders coverage on Eurosport was good enough motivation to get me home.
Although the weather is great it brings with it the worst part of summer cycling. Bugs! Over the past five years I have had more than my fair share of bee and wasp stings. I have had them in just about the worst places you can imagine, on my forehead, in my mouth, on my butt, and multiple stings on my chest after a wasp got stuck in my jersey. Now this never used to happen to me so I have been thinking what is was that is making me such a magnet. Over the last few years both of my bikes have been predominantly blue so naturally I buy mostly blue kit. I reckon this is the problem because apparently blue is the
most attractive color to bugs because they see the blue wavelengths better than the longer (red) wavelengths. Luckily my new bike is red so I'll be looking to slowly replace my blue kit in effort to avoid any more athropod altercations. The results of the experiment will be published in Nature.
If it proves the case then in the true spirit of the early Tours maybe Jan could employ some alternative tactics to get one over on Lance. A carefully placed selection of bugs could take out the blue clad Discovery Channel team while the Telecom boys zip through unscathed.
Err, I think the sun maybe getting to me.
29k to go in Flanders and Lance is putting in a really strong pull for Hincapie
