Showing posts with label socks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label socks. Show all posts

Friday, October 5, 2007

Sock Guy socks du jour: Ride Clean

I wore these eye-popping yellow Sock Guy "RIDE CLEAN" socks this morning on my commute.

Socks du jour: Ride Clean


RIDE CLEAN is a campaign promote clean cycling.

The RIDE CLEAN blog makes notes of the news that track star Marion Jones admits to doping. This confession comes on the heels of the recent news that Canadian cyclist Genevieve Jeanson admitted to regular use of EPO since she was 15 years old. This summary of Genevieve Jeanson's confession hints at the possibility of an abusive relationship with her coach.

Like the RIDE CLEAN people like to say, Ride Clean and the rest will follow. I really really like the positive example that Team Slipstream is setting in this regard and I hope that the rest will indeed follow.

The water bottle in this photo is from Bike N Hike in Longmont, Colorado. They carry Trek, Fisher, LeMond, Haro, Redline, Sun, and Diamonback.

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Socks: SmartWool vs Bridgedale

Comparison of three hiking socks

Smartwool socks

Smartwool socks seem to be universally endorsed among experienced winter cyclists. The New Zealand merino wool used in Smartwool socks is extremely comfy, the socks are reasonably priced and the company is based here in Colorado.

I own several pairs of Smartwool socks and I also recommended Smartwool socks enthusiastically. In the summer, I hike and climb mountains wearing these socks. In the winter, I hike, snowshoe, and ride my bike in these Smartwool hiking socks.

The two bottom photos to the left shows two pairs of my Smartwool hiking socks after two years of this use.

Bridgedale socks

Eventually, I asked the local hiking shop for socks that won't fall apart on me. They recommended Bridgedale Socks. I bought the Trekker from them, a midweight sock similar to my Smartwool socks made of merino wool designed for trail running, hiking and backpacking. After two years of use, my Bridgedale socks have held up significantly better than my Smartwool socks. There is no hint of sagging in the cuffs. The socks fit my feet better, meaning there don't blister like I do with the Smartwool socks on my peak bagging runs (the discolored areas on the Smartwool socks are blood stains).

Because they're made of the same Merino wool as Smartwools, the fabric is just as comfortable. The Bridgedale's are a little bit pricier but the construction and quality are significantly better.

The top photo shows a Bridgedale Trekker sock after two years of use similar to what I've done with the Smartwool socks. There's absolutely no thinning and the sock fits just as perfectly as when I first bought them.

I currently own two pair of Bridgedale Trekker socks and I'll buy more in the near future. I now enthusiastically recommend Bridgedales to anyone who asks.