Spread a little sock joy and help The Breast Cancer Research Foundation® at the same time.  ZOIC’s BCRF Socks come in two colors, white and black.  For every sock purchased ZOIC will donate 50% of the net profit (about $1 a sock) to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.  msrp: $10.00. www.zoic.com

Learn more about BCRF.

Summer is evaporating around here!  We’ve had an early dose of cool fall rain and I’m starting to think about cycling jackets, long pants, and big bowls of chili.

Here’s another winner from Pearl.  This jacket is completely waterproof with taped seams and a waterproof zipper.  It’s made with Pearl’s Optik-WxB fabric which will breathe somewhat as well as keep a downpour out, but the most amazing thing about the fabric is that it stretches in four directions.  The Octane is very form-fitting and the stretch keeps it comfortable as you move around on the bike.  There isn’t any of that “stiff plastic bag” feeling that some rainwear has.  

We all know there isn’t really any rainwear that can breathe well enough to keep you from getting steamy when the air is full of rain, but the Octane does an admirable job, particularly in lower temps, if you’ve got wicking layers underneath it.

My favorite feature is the snap-on hood that comes with the jacket.  The hood was big enough to pull up over the top of my helmet when I was riding home on a drippy, dark night.  If you’ve done any riding in the rain (and you Northwest girls almost certainly have!) you know that water eventually finds its way in, but this hood really does help keep the rain off the back of your neck. It’s nice not to have a separate helmet cover to struggle with. 

The Octane comes in four colors for fall 2008, bright blue, hi-viz yellow, black and black/limestone, although it’s hard to see the difference between the to varieties of black.  I’d probably go for the yellow just because it makes you a bit more visible when its gloomy.  The Octane has reflective stripes curving around each arm as well as reflective material that curves up the back.  That curving is important because it helps give you a human shape rather than being a nondescript circle or triangle shape when the light is low.   Motorists will instinctively recognize you as something other than a signpost. 

The Octane is an investment, but a very, very worthwhile one for those of us who ride in any weather.  I’ve managed to roll mine up small enough to stuff into a jersey pocket or large seat bag, and I’ve been mighty glad I had it in this cool wet weather.

Pearl Izumi Octane Jacket, MSRP: $179 www.pearlizumi.com

This isn’t exactly a gear review.  It’s more a “gearless” review.

It’s been a fabulous summer here in the Midwest, almost Colorado-like with cool nights and warm sunny days.  Perfect riding weather.  I’ve spent almost every weekend riding my road bike.  The other day, my mountain bike caught my eye, all forlorn and cobweb-covered in the corner of the basement.  Guilt!

So, I took a day this weekend to ride the trails down in Palos, and coming around a corner fast, I hit a pile of round rolly rocks, sliding sideways and went down right on my rear derailleur into a patch of poison ivy.  I jumped back up and took off again, only to fall again about 10 yards further up the hill.  This time, my derailleur was turned inside out and wrapped through my spokes.  Hmm…..

Luckily, there was a very nice rider just coming up the trail who also happened to be a mechanic.  After a quick triage, he said “Looks like a walk-out for you.”  Augghhh!  I was about two miles from where I parked, mostly uphill.  And I had to get the bike in good enough shape to actually walk it.  So, we unbolted the derailleur, picked it out of the spokes, and looked around for some way to strap it up away from the wheel.  Mr. Nice Rider came up with a bandaid, which sort of worked to keep it out of the spokes most of the way back.  I ended up lowering my seat so my feet would touch the ground, coasting downhill, and walking uphill.

Now all you mountain-savvy people are nodding knowingly.  What do I wish I had in my seatbag?  Poison ivy wipes (remember, I’m in a Midwest forest and the poison ivy is lush), duct tape or zip ties, and a plastic baggie.  Hand wipes would have been nice, too, but not essential.  I already had all the tools I needed but I really didn’t have a good way to keep that derailleur out of the spokes.  Since I had to break the chain to get the derailleur off, I wanted somewhere to stow that and a plastic baggie woud have done the trick.  And since I was at least 90 minutes away from a shower, poison ivy wipes would have come in handy.

Sadder (and itchier) but wiser.