Sure, my crotch had been hating me for wearing running shorts while riding my new bike, but black spandex with a pink pad? Are you kidding me?

Pink padding on the inside of the shorts.

After listening to my complaints of agonizing rides, the bike shop tech handed me two sizes of the strangest-looking black spandex shorts I’ve ever seen. Neither looked big enough to house half of my butt, but I eased into the bathroom anyway, ready to be compressed into comfort.

As I flipped the shorts inside out to see what would protect my precious parts, the first thing that stood out was the bright pink maxi-pad-like insert in the crotch. I’d imagined black, gel-like material, but the pink stuff seemed to be cotton or other cloth and felt-lined. I flipped them right-side-out and wriggled into them.

The second surprise was the waistband, although its irregularity quickly made sense. The back of the shorts came up way higher than the front—by way higher, I mean up to my middle ribs, compared to waistline in the front. Common sense quickly decoded the strangeness, and I bent over in front of the mirror as though I were riding my bike. No skin exposure. So, no funny tan lines, no unexpected sunburns, and maybe a little less chance of drivers honking at me. (Why in the world do people honk and yell at exercisers, anyway? Has anyone ever met a significant other or good friend by blowing the horn at someone who’s in the midst of a workout?)

Higher in back than in front... no one will get mooned!

Fashion-wise, the shorts were atrocious. The larger size was worse, although it felt slightly more comfortable at the waist. The padded butt pooched out like a diaper. The smaller size didn’t pooch as much and fit me better in the thighs, and although I didn’t feel like I’d found a true winner, I chose the smaller shorts because I figured most of the apprehension I felt was due to complete inexperience with padded shorts.

Thank the bike gods for getting me over my fashion faux paus moment and pushing me to buy the $39.99 Trek shorts. The next ride (largely also due to my new bicycle seat) was not only tolerable, but actually fun. I spent 40 minutes on what were probably slightly underinflated tires for the sheer joy of riding. A little spandex (and padding) goes a long way, and when I headed for home but would have preferred riding longer, I knew the real reason people love to bike: it’s a fast, fun, and comfortable workout. Three cheers for weird shorts!

Tech Specs for Trek Women’s Club Short, as claimed on tag: flat seams; polyester spandex; quick dry; silicon at leg openings; non-stretch chamois (crotch area).

Tags: bicycle, bike, shorts, Trek

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 10:25 am and is filed under Cycling, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.