Be afraid... Be very afraid.

Well I never thought this day would come, but it happened: I've been buying spandex. Believe me, I'm just as unhappy about it as you are. But the reality is that's the best stuff to wear. Just takes some getting used to. And there is safety in numbers, since we're all wearing the same stuff basically.

I do feel a little uncomfortable shopping for shorts though, because it's tricky understanding how it's supposed to fit. You need something tight enough to wear under a wetsuit, loose enough to run in, and padded enough to bike with. And of course you don't want to look TOO ridiculous. I was looking at one pair of lightweight shorts, which I assumed would be good. But I held them up to the window and saw that the material was a very fine mesh; I could see light shining through the entire thing. It's a very humbling experience to have to ask underwear advice from a 20-year-old punk kid, but I embarrassingly asked the salesguy "um, am I supposed wear something under this?" "No". "But I can see right through it." "Nah, you really can't see anything when you're wearing it." Yeah. Right. I don't think so.

Spandex is like life insurance: the older you get, the more coverage you want.