My Old Winter Friend

Every summer my friend goes into hibernation mode. I long to ride with my friend but he insists on sleeping the summer away; doesn’t make any sense to me but there he sleeps, all summer long. Once I thought I caught him on Party Bingo late at night, but it was just the cat… As you know, lately the weather has been inclement here in SoCal, rain, wind, snow and cold – ya were not use to it here. I heard someone say that from summer to winter we SoCal people switch from a tank top to a t-shirt; well its been long sleeves with a base layer for my rides lately and….I’ve been riding with my old winter friend.

So who am I talking about?….my trusty wool Swobo beanie. Every winter I wake him up, give him a bath then we head out for a brisk ride in the mountains. He stuffs perfectly in one of the rear pockets of my jersey and when the weather turns cold, I wake him up. He fits perfectly under my helmet, has a little visor if the day gets long and the sun is low and has a flap in the back that can be unrolled to cover my big ears. He is 3 ounces of solid wool that wicks well and traps heat to keep my skull warm.

Do I recommend an under helmet cap, oh ya, its a life saver! Several companies make them and my recommendation is that yours be made out of wool. Quality wool just seems to have the properties we Mtbr’s need; its warm, it wicks well and its anti-bacterial. If your rides are cool or could end cool, get an under helmet cap!