A Brick and Sugoi Review

**Note: this is a long post.  Sorry! 

The Brick:

We finally had a beautiful day Saturday morning, so I took advantage of the break from rain and did my brick.  My plan called for a 2 1/2 hr. ride followed by a 1hr. run, but once again, we were expecting rain, so I cut it to a 2hr ride/30min. run.  I am going to get my bike fit adjusted on Friday, so I was really glad I was able to get at least one more ride in outside before hand.  

Normally when I go on long bike rides I like to take fig newtons and cut up clif bars with me.  But, I wanted to test out a new GU I got, Espresso Love, and my homemade cherry energy bars.  I also attached my aero bottle to my bike to try it out as well.  I loaded up all of my stuff and headed out.  It was amazing to be back outside riding again.  It was a little chilly, but what really got me was the wind.  It wasn't too bad going out, but on my way back I was riding right into the wind and it sucked!  I powered through it though the best I could.  

Around 45min. into my ride I ate my GU (Yum!) and then came across a girl with a flat tire and what looked like a guy trying the help her.  As I came up to them I asked them if they were o-kay and the girl asked if I had a pump.  I stopped and told her I just had a CO2 pump, but I would be happy to let her use it.  She looked at me kind of strange, but then said thanks.  It turns out this girl was a new cyclist and was pretty much clueless about bikes and changing a tire.  She had a small hand pump attached to her bike (that was broken), but she didn't have a spare tube or tire levers to change a flat.  Huh?  The guy that was supposedly "helping" her didn't have a spare tube on him either.  Now, I don't know about all of you, but I always take 2 tubes and 2 CO2 cartridges with me when I'm going out for a long ride.  The last thing I want to do is have to call my husband to come and get me b/c I don't have the means to fix a flat.  Anyways, I could tell that she had never changed a tire before, but it was weird because I didn't know if she just wanted me to do it, or if she wanted to do it herself.  I ended up spending about 20 minutes assisting her through the process.  In the end, we went our separate ways, and I was glad I was able to help her out.  I know someday I may be in her shoes and need help, and I would hope that someone would stop to help me too.    

I hit my turn around point and headed back towards home.  I felt great in the aero position and am gaining more confidence with going fast (er) down hills.  One thing that freaks me out about the aero bars is the fact that the brakes aren't on them.  Thus, when I'm going down a hill and I feel the need to brake, transferring my hands from the aero bars to the brakes is tricky for me and scares me a little.  I always feel like if I don't do it just right I'll lose control and crash.  I know it will get easier the more I ride, but I also think it's a mental thing I need to just get over.  

A little over an hour into my ride I was starving!  My ride did happen to be around the time I normally eat lunch, but I also think maybe the GU just didn't cut it for me.  I scarfed down my cherry bar (yum again!) and felt much better!  I was almost home when my husband called to say that he had taken the boys in the burley to get lunch and wanted to know if I wanted to meet them at the park (which is right by our house).  Even though I was supposed to do a brick, I figured a short 30min. break to play at the park with my boys was 1) Not really going to be a huge brick deal breaker, and 2) a great way to balance working out with family time.  When I got to the park guess what my husband had for me?  A sandwich from Jimmy Johns!  Although I am a vegetarian, one thing I still eat is the Turkey Tom sub from there.  I can't seem to give it up, it is soooo good!  I eat it so infrequently, that I don't really feel bad about eating a little turkey. :)  I gobbled it up so fast and it was delicious!  Dark storm clouds once again started to appear in the sky, so we finished playing at the park and all rode home together.  

I was going to run outside, but due to the ominous clouds I opted for the treadmill.  Even though I had a short break between riding and running, I could still feel the effects of my long ride when I started running.  But, after a couple of minutes my legs felt great and I was able to knock out my 30min. run.  

Second brick - DONE!  

Sugoi Velocity Tri Short/Top Review:

The awesome people at Outside PR sent me a Sugoi Velocity Tri top and a pair of Velocity shorts to try out.  I have not had a chance to test them in the water yet, but I wore them on my brick.  

   Front View

Side View

  When I first got them, the material was so different than the other tri clothes I own.  It almost reminded me of a wind jacket material.  I wasn't sure how it would feel on, but when I put them on I have to say they were really comfortable.  The fabric stretches and is not in the least bit binding.  The shorts have a thin chamois that I couldn't even really feel, and I wasn't sure how my girly parts would do on a long ride.  But, after riding 2hrs. in the shorts without my girly parts hurting, I can honestly say that the chamois did its job.  Oh, and the legs do not have grippers (which I hate), so they didn't "cut into" my skin and create that flab bulge like some other tri shorts cause.  They rode up just a little bit on my ride, but not enough for it to be annoying or uncomfortable.  The only thing that kind of bothers me about the shorts is how the sides are white.  They are almost see-through.  Although there is nothing to "see" on the side of my legs, I still feel a little self-conscience in them.  My husband thinks I'm crazy and it's just part of my body image problems, but it is what it is.  

The top is also really comfortable.  It has a built is bra and a half zip in the front for extra ventilation.  It is stretchy and moves with my body, and I didn't get any chafing from it anywhere.  When I did my run, I was in my basement which makes for a muggy, hot run.  Plus, I sweat a lot when I run, so I was interested to see how this would do in the wicking department.  After my run, I felt like it did pretty well.  However, it did get a bit clingy from all of my sweat.  But, all of my tri tops do that, so it's nothing new.  It has two back pockets for GUs, an ID, etc.  But, they are kind of small and a little hard to get at.  I wanted to take this picture so you could see just where they are.  I think two side pockets would have been much better.  But, again, I don't really use the pockets in my tris (I keep my  nutrition on the bike in my bento box, and I use a handheld for the run b/c I hate relying on aid stations for hydration), so it's not a huge deal for me.  

All in all, I really like the shorts and top.  They are comfortable and I feel they would perform really well in a tri.  I am still debating what to wear for my sprint in a couple of weeks and this may be the outfit of choice.  Or, I may end up wearing the shorts and a different top.  I haven't figured it out yet.  

*Note:  I was not paid by OutsidePR or Sugoi to write this review.  These are my own thoughts and opinions.