Toe Tear sock review

This is the long anticipated bikevoice sock review. Bikevoice purchases only socks that are under $10 and values a tight grab to the foot, elastic staying power on the ankle, and delayed toe tear. The toe tear here on this Defeet sock took 5 seasons to develop.





Defeet easily ranks #1. Toes don’t tear for at least 4 seasons of regular wear. I have used all of these for over 5 seasons. By the time the toe wears, the rest of the sock is worn, so the toe-to-overall-wear ratio is even. Very important ratio in socks.






Sock Guy takes a distant second. Toes last a maximum of 2 seasons. I stopped purchasing Sock Guy long ago, so the ones I have are from event freebees. The 2-season tear is not too awful, but Defeet has set the bar so high that there is no reason to purchase socks that last half the years. Sock Guy is fine as long as they are free, and their niche seems to selling to event promoters who purchase socks for participants.




A pitiful third is Pearl Izumi. These have awesome grab, but the toe tore after only 1 season. The rest of the sock is like brand new, but the toe-to-overall-wear ratio is way low. It surprises me given Pearl’s usual quality.







Specialized also surprised me by stumbling in last. These winter weight socks didn’t even last 1 winter--½ a season and the toe's torn. I think these cost more than $10 also. Specialized oughta get the technicians who figured out their saddles to work on their sock technology.

From Malibu Go Anywhere

Thanks to facebook, I have been recently reunited with the friends of my youth, the "Malibu Girls" pictured here with Stephen. They had a huge influence on my lifelong love of cycling. We did all of our travel by bike back in the day. Most notable were our treks to the beach on beach cruisers. It was 7 miles one way from Malibu to the Boardwalk. We'd carry boogie boards in one arm, sweet tea in the other, and strap the beach towels to the oversized cruiser saddles. Wendy (green) Lisa (tan), Janet and Lee (white shirts) and I rode there extensively, and as you can imagine, we had lots of other motivations besides fitness. Lisa, Lee and I even had paper routes that we worked on first generation cruisers (called "paper bikes") with big baskets. PAPER routes, I tell you, were we industrious or what? Also pictured are Lora (gray), Janie and Kathy (back row).



So I left the Malibu gathering Friday to join Dinsmore, Art and others for Kevin's birthday. Redbones must be the grittiest bar in Chesapeake, and wow, what a voice on the lead singer of the duo Ever After.












Malcolm, Lawson and I may seem like an odd combination, but we were in total sync during our 55-mile Williamsburg ride Saturday. I sucked wheel for nearly the whole ride, coughing out Redbones smoke. No wrong turns, no arrests on the closed road, and Lawson's equipment held together.












I hung out for a bit at the Sleepy Hole Smackdown on Sunday. Pictured here are Ali, Lynn, Sally and Carol. Brenna, Dawn, Sharon and Julie are in there too, Laura off the front. It occurred to me that I have gone from one girl gang to yet another.










That's Brenna, Dawn, Chad, Mike Park and Kevin.

Deconstructing the Roof Rack

Devil's Backbone preview

I did my first mountain bike race in Virginia in 1994 and have seen races come and go. Hurricane Isabel alone brought the former "Dan's series" races to a halt in 2003. Kyle's series had been around for many years and looks like a go for this year also. The VA Derailer series is no longer happening according to their website.

Looks as if the current Virginia Off Road series combines races from several promoters of mountain bike and off road duathlons. It was very well organized last year, and it combines longstanding races (O'Hill, Tidewater, Walnut Creek) with some new courses like Devil's Backbone, scheduled Saturday, March 28. This is a photo of one of many climbs on the Devil's Backbone course that I pre-rode on Saturday.


The race starts on the road--YEAH for those who hate those rushes for the singletrack. The road section lasts at least 15 minutes (my speed). It's a switchback climb up what I have always called the 151 mountain pass, but the local name is Brent's Gap. You turn off the road to double track and climb some steep sections. It will be at this point that I will be asking myself why I am racing. It transitions to newly built singletrack that takes you to the top--well, not to the real top, but the double track climbing in the next section is more tame.

It goes back and forth from single to double from there. All rideable climbs with some fast descents. The switchbacks are a bit too tight, but the newly cut trail means no ruts and the babyheads are still buried for now. No rock gardens, no extended hike a bikes.


There are distinguishing characteristics on the course like this arch. I also saw a cool hunting stand. A few washing machines were left for dead out there. There are a few natural overlooks that no one will have time for during the race.

The race ends back on the pavement. The climb up the other side of Brent's Gap is much shorter than the beginning side, and the descent into the finish is fast. Best bet is to run a tire that sheds mud easily. If it's wet, the tacky new singletrack will be a calf burner. I can't see finishing the 2 expert laps under 2 hours so I am bringing lunch. It is a great course.



I also took the opportunity to photograph the course site as signified by the handcrafted regional map located at Afton Visitor's Center. The Afton complex (Rockfish) has deteriorated even more than last time I was there. It looks as if bulldozers came, hit a few buildings, then left bored. Even that gas station with the nasty snacks and doorless bathrooms has pulled out of the Afton complex.

The only remaining open building is the Visitor's center where this map is located, and there is a huge gaping hole in the roof. The bathrooms inside are closed since they have no water. I suspect the building will be condemned soon, and I hope this map finds its way into a local museum. (The course is in the section to the lower left of 664 and just above 151. The red line above the course is the Appalachian Trail, and yellow line is Blue Ridge Parkway.)