How Civilized of Me

Even since Marcy got me a pair of Mavic Stratos shorts for daddy's day I've been like a new man.  Ok, maybe the same man that isn't quite so serious all of the time.  Don't get me wrong, I love my bikeman.com kit but it's all business all the time.  The Stratos are more like a mullet (you know, business in front, party in the back) with their all business chamois yet comfortable and casual outer shell.  It's hard to ride up to a social mountain bike ride all kitted up and not be considered a snobbish asshole by those who don't know you (or simply an asshole by those who do).  That and I don't get as many Lance Armstrong wanna-be comments in these bad boys.  I'll never ditch the lycra for most rides but it sure is nice to have a go to short for when things aren't as serious.

I've been a baggy short hold-out for quite some time for one main reason.  The first pair of baggies I ever owned totally sucked ballz and I hated wearing them so I refused to buy a new pair.  Sure, fit and finish have improved leaps and bounds over the years but baggy short purveyors are in short supply in these parts so finding a pair to try on has never really been an option.  Finally, Marcy had had enough and ordered me a pair of smart wool shorts.  Sadly the size she got didn't fit my gargantuan proportions and the next size up was out of stock so we gave these a try instead and I'm glad we did.

The outer shell is soft, yet tough, and stretchy in all the right places keeping them in place and totally unnoticeable during a ride.  I think I mentioned before but the best thing that I can say about these shorts is that when you have them on and are riding, you totally forget you're wearing baggies.  They don't weigh heavy on the legs, they don't ride up and they keep you from looking like Jane Fonda on her way to an aerobics class.

The only bad thing that I can say about the shell is that the pockets put your camera in a very smashable location on the outer part of your thigh.  Trust me, I know.  Oh, and did I mention that Marcy thinks my ass looks great in the shorts?  

The inner shorts and chamois are also quite nice.  It's taking me a bit to get used to not having bib shorts keeping things perfectly in place but once on, they feel great, seem to stay in place and don't feel all diapery.  They also made most of the short out of a fishnet type material to help keep things cool and to scare woodland creatures when you take a nature break.

sexy. (potato to stuff chamois not included)

 party on