There are two brands of clothing items that make for better riding for this particular guy.  Segoi shorts and Dankine long fingered mountain bike gloves.  The shorts for reasons all guys can understand.  Stuff stays where is belongs and comfortably.  For me, that has always been a challenge.  Apparently the tops of my legs aren't as big as they should be.   With most shorts I have to buy a size smaller just to keep things from sliding down.  Not the most either comfortable or modest but far better than the alternative.

Segoi shorts aren't that cheap and don't last like some of the easier to find brands.  But the choice is (for me) straight up simple.  Two seasons of "ahhh!" riding or 5+ of tugging the shorts, reaching in when (hopefully) no one's looking and hundreds of miles of discomfort.

They also aren't easy to find.  I stumbled on them at Bike Gallery, Portland's biggest local chain, but they have apparently discontinued them.  Kept striking out.  Bought a pair of expensive Pearl Izumes and something else, maybe even more expensive PIs.  (Got to have 5 pairs of good shorts for Cycle Oregon.  The ability to wash isn't always a given.  Yes, CO does an amazing job of providing water, wash buckets and detergent (and a wash sink) but weather and simply tiredness sometimes interferes with wash schedules.

Went on line just now.  REI!  I've been in there twice since I started this search, never thinking "shorts".  And while I was on the website, I noticed Dankine gloves!  (Their MTB long fingered gloves are the ultimates for going-on-forever fix gear climbs, those climbs where you spend 40 minutes out of the saddle pulling up the hoods and levers hard; where with short fingered gloves, you realize after about 20 minutes, all the skin on the side of your middle finger is gone.  (And you really don't want warm gloves! so those winter ones stay at home.)

I'll probably have to order both, but REI is pretty darn easy to work with.  And at the end of the year, I get a small benefit in the mail.  (REI is also one of the very few places I can get Vitalyte sport drink, the old Gookinaid/ERG - been my preferred drink for over 40 years.  $18 for 40 WBs.  REI's marketers keep trying to drop it, but their employees keep asking thenm to bring it back.  They want it for themselves!)

So it's funny - REI is not my preferred bike shop but they get a real part of my bike business simply because those other stores refuse to carry what I wear when I ride.  (REI has always carried Patagonia clothing and that stuff is good!  The early super piles and fleeces 30 years ago.  Now those dri-fit tee-shorts.  In this super-hot weather, wow!  And Capeline (sp), that thermal stuff that is super.)

So I am off to REI (and Home Depot).

Ben