Sunday January 4th 2004 dawned bleak and dreary. Although it was not raining at 7:00 AM when the alarm sounded, after a short tease of pink sunrise and a brief patch of blue sky, the showers began. Our ride to Babylon to test some products from Cannondale Clothing and The Selle Italia Saddles, began to look iffy! As we drank our start up fluids, me coffee (sweet and light) and Dan OJ, Dan peered out at the pool. "It's not looking good," he grumbled!



For those of you who do not know, the pool in Gary's Backyard is the official device for determining the Go-No Go decisions on Pedal Pushers Rides, at least in terms of the rain. The rules are:

• Wet pavement-but no droplet activity on the water surface
  Means: The Ride is on!
• Droplets occasionally making ripples
  Means: Check the weather radar, ride is in jeopardy.
• Consistent droplets with concentric circles or ripples
  Means: Kama Kazi Riders Ride only
• Droplets creating a rough water surface no patterns
  Means: Everybody stays home!

I went out to walk the dog and to "test the weather." When I returned I said to Dan, "We are victims of wrong thinking here. The gear we have from Cannondale is basically foul weather gear, and this is foul weather! What kind of a test could we give this stuff riding on a nice sunny day?"

Now in fairness, I did say that I would ride to Eisenhower Park and Dan could follow with the car to take some shots if the rain got to be too much, but by then Orville had shown up and our fate was sealed. We would RIDE, ALL of us! The gear was divided up as follows, all three riders had Cannondale Bright Red and Black "Lobster gloves." The equipment hog, Gary, was fully decked out in Cannondale umbrella style wind breaker pants, a Cannondale Jacket, the aforementioned

Cannondale gloves, and a brand new never before ridden Selle Italia Fokus Trans Am saddle with carbon fiber seat rails. We equipped Orville with the Selle Italia XO Gel Flow, and Dan drew the Selle Italia Flite Gel Flow saddle.

Now Orville has been known to have Saddle issues and we all wondered how this ride would come out. Especially since this was a performance saddle. His reaction was interesting indeed, check the Reviews Section of this site, to read it in full. Once the final adjustments and a few short position checking spins

were made, our foolhardy band set out for the Wilds of Cedar Creek and the best/worst that Mother Nature could throw at them. It must have been a long winter so far though, because the pent up testosterone definitely made its presence felt. Gary set out from the house at a decent warm up pace, but before they were through Freeport, the lead had changed several times and the pace was most definitely not slowing, but then neither was the rain!

Out of control and throwing safety to the winds our tiny peloton closed ranks and the drafting began. Now if you have never enjoyed this wonderful activity, drafting is a way to conserve pedaling energy. Basically it means that you are placing your front tire about two inches behind the back tire of the rider in front of you. What this does (besides placing your life in jeopardy) is that it gives you a pocket of quiet air in which to pedal. Because the wind has already been broken by the rider in front of you, your pedaling resistance is diminished. Now this is a risky thing to do and you must pay strict attention or collisions will result. Never draft anyone without letting them know you are there!

Now the other thing that drafting offers to you is all the best of the gritty treats that the road surface has to offer. The front rider's rear tire flings water and road debris right into your face (and everywhere else). So, now in the rain especially, instead of a nice wet line up your butt and back from your own tire, you also get drenched and muddy from the guy in front of you. Doesn't this sound like fun? Well the ride went more or less quietly from Freeport to the Creek path although Orville and Dan were getting a lot wetter than I was. Remember the divvy on the clothes?

Now this next part is a little surprising, we fully expected to be the only whackos out there on the trail in the wind and rain, but we were wrong! There were plenty of whackos out there, runners, bikers, and even a solo inlineskater! Which all goes to prove to you that athleticism is one sign of a deeply troubled mind!

Once we made it down to the Tower at Jones Beach, we did our civic duty by aiding a damsel in distress who needed directions to a comfort station, but other than the occasional photo op, the ride went quickly and fairly well. We did of course have a few laughs at Dan's expense when he piled up on the slippery wet boardwalk , right next to the "Caution Slippery Conditions May Exist" sign, and there were loads of comments about sandy this and gritty that. As is always the case, Cedar Creek saved the best for last so as we struggled back toward The Island the wind blew straight down our necks. Orville remarked that at least it was not raining, so of course it immediately poured and the rain joined the wind in its route down our necks! On the way home through Freeport Gary asked Orville if he even understood what "leisurely ride" meant so the pace must have been quick!

We eventually did make it back to Baldwin really wet and gritty, but we agreed the trip had been more than worth it. Orville and I are both sneezing our heads off at work today, but hey, life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all right?

One interesting note here, both Dan and Orville experienced slight irregularities with their Cateye Bike Computers in the rain. It seems that when the contacts on the handlebar mount get wet that problems can arise with inconsistent readings. But basic features such as speed and distance seemed to function ok in terms of averages at least! Dan suggested that Basic Plastic Baggy waterproofing be inplemented. As an aside he also made a mental note to do the same with his cell phone next time as that apparently took a terminal bath as well!

The winter roads and the wet combined to render our bikes a complete mess, with sand and grit everywhere, so we hosed them down after the ride and later in the day, I drenched everything on my bike with WD-40 to displace the water. This will require a re-lube before I use it again but it will help to abate the formation of rust from the water getting everywhere.

Anyway, check out the full product reviews from this ride:
Cannondale Lobster Claw Gloves
Cannondale Morphis Shell
Cannondale Wind Proof Pants
Selle Italia XO Genuine Gel
Selle Italia Flite Trans Am
Selle Italia Fokus Gel Flow

I can tell you now that most of them will be favorable. It was a fun ride and we enjoyed being silly. We hope all of you consider taking one of these review rides (although I would suggest you wait for a dry one), and that you will write some reviews of your own stuff that you have used. Here's a great chance to rant on that piece of s—t that you bought on the recommendation of the salesman, or to compliment a manufacturer on one of their fine products. Just write up the text in any text editor or e-mail program and send it to webmaster@pedalpushersonline.com. We'll do all the rest including the photography and web stuff. All we need is your input!