Welcome to Oklahoma! We cut a corner of Texas today, then sailed into Oklahoma with a sweet tailwind. We covered the 72 miles to lunch in 3 1/2 hours! After that the road surface was really rough and the tailwind turned into a crosswind, so the rest of the ride was a bit slower. In the crosswinds Nancy tucked into my draft, but once we got a little too close and I actually bumped her handlebars with my knee! We managed to stay upright, but just barely.
Let me tell you about chamois cream. The chamois is the padding part of bicycle shorts. On most rides, that padding is enough to keep your bum happy. On longer rides, you need a little help, and that's when chamois cream becomes your best friend. It's a goop that you spread either on the chamois of your shorts, or directly on your bum, under the sit-bones, or anywhere that may chafe. Nancy and I have tried a number of different brands of chamois cream, including Assos, Butt Butt'r, and Beljum Budder. Assos is a little creepy because it kind of tingles, but it does work well. My favorite is Beljum Budder, because I'm convinced that when I use it I become Tom Boonen, Belgian world champion bike racer. Nancy and I brought lots of all three on the trip. After five or six hours in the saddle, we really appreciate our chamois cream.
