Product Review: Women's Xena Mountain Bike Glove

I've tried an awful lot of good bike gloves over the years. They do their job, but I've never had glove-stoke. Then I tried the Xena.

The main reason that these gloves rock my world is the fit. Women's specific design often times seems to be an overused industry buzz word. The Xena is the exception to this rule, fitting my hand like, well it fits like a glove! The cut of the glove addresses the smaller, thinner female hand.  No fat fingers or wide palms with these guys. That means no palm chaffing on all-day rides.

I'm also generally not a fan of gel padding on gloves because they make gloves bulky and squishy. Giro's Xena has the right amount of padding in just the right spot, utilizing two small pads under the meat of the pinky side of your palm.  Because I like wider bars but have narrow feminine shoulders, this pad placement puts my wrists in a neutral bend when gripping the bars.

The one issue that I have run into with these gloves lies with the velcro cuffs. They don't rub my wrists raw, but the velcro leaves something to be desired.  Don't get me wrong, it still fastens the glove closed and makes a cool ripping sound like your elementary school shoes during story time, but it has a tendency to work itself open, requiring readjustment.

The Xena is double-stitched for durability. It's padded on the third knuckle to protect my hands during crashes. Rubber bumpers on the outter side absorb the impact of tree clipping and protect the fabric from briars. The articulated second knuckle keeps the glove form-fitting both on and off the handlebars.

Giro Xena gloves are on sale now at SBC. I like them so much that I bought 2 pairs.

Weekends are for Bike Riding

West Virginia side of Shenandoah Mountain

Spring weekends are for big rides! Tim and Thomas made it out on Shenandoah Mountain Tourings Stokesville-Douthat-Stokesville tour while Kyle rode Massanutten and a big Shenandoah Mountain loop. Our neighbors to the north are building a lift access bike park at Bryce Resort and boy do the trails look great thus far. If you are looking for upcoming events then you are in for a treat with an all-new 2013 event Virginia's Rough Roubaix this Sunday also put on by Shenandoah Mountain Touring.

Looking West from Warm Springs Mountain on the Stokesville-Douthat-Stokesville Tour

Where are you riding this spring? Send us your pictures and we will get them up on our website and Facebook page. Stay tuned for more fun information about the Bryce lift access mountain bike park!

Exciting things happening at Bryce resort! Lift access mountain bike trails 

Spring is SDS time of year!

It is amazing that we will live in area that provides the such beautiful back country mountain biking. One of he best ways to experience this riding is doing the SDS (Stokesville-Douthat-Stokesville) Tour by Shenandoah Mountain Touring. This 3 day ride highlights the finest single tack between Stokesville and Douthat State Park. The terrain makes for some long days on the bike but there is still plenty of time to hang out with new and old friends. This past weekend Tim and Thomas were able to do the SDS ride with a few JMU grads, and early H-Burg mountain bike pioneers, Chris Johnson (CJ) and Adam Krop. Happy 40th to CJ, thanks for bringing some of the crew together for a great adventure...Next Year? Thanks to the SMT crew of  Chris, Ian, Kurt & Tony for a well supported tour!

Tim staying dry until the down pour on Beards Mountain.

SVBC Thursday road ride

The Thursday road rides have been rolling for a few weeks now,  with ten or more riders on average.  It's a fun group and an opportunity for folks to ride in a pack at a fun pace.  Plus the weather was awesome this week.   A rolling shot of Brian Dickel from the Steel Wheels keeping the party pace,  ride on!

This past weekend Kyle and Ritchie made the annual Trek from Harrisonburg to New Castle Virginia. New Castle is located about thirty minutes west of Roanoke and is decisively in Virginia's ridge and valley region. It is also home to Shenandoah Mountain Touring's annual race, Dragon's Tale. The tale of the Dragon is long and storied. The ridge hosted an annual "Virginia Series" race, Dargon's Back, for years. The latest incarnation of the race is longer and meaner than the original but still a ton of fun. The ridge is super scenic and part of the the Virginia Mountain Bike Trail. 

Kyle and Ritchie with one of Ritchie's three dogs 

Local Harrisonburg hero, Sue Haywood wins yet again!

SBC customer Chris Green did a phenomenal job at his FIRST mountain bike race

The JV squad even got back together for this one.

2013 SVBC Harris-Roubaix

This past weekend, the Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition hosted the 24th annual Harris-Roubaix, a celebration of gravel riding in the Shenandoah Valley.  Over 100 riders of all walks enjoyed a beautiful day on the classic gravel traversing through Northern Rockingham County.  Wootten shot this short video documenting the day.  Enjoy!  

2013Roubaix from Adventure Seen on Vimeo.

JMU Triathalon Team gets ready for Nationals!

The JMU Triathalon Team boxed their bikes today here at the shop in preparation for Collegiate Nationals.  Next Wednesday, fifteen student athletes from JMU will travel to Tempe, Arizona for the big dance on Saturday. 

JMU will be competing in an "olympic distance" triathlon.  This will consist of a .9 mile swim, a 40k bike and a 10k run.  The fastest racer should expect to finish in the 1:50 area and the fastest JMU student hopes to finish in the 2:10 range.

If you are interested in getting into triathlons, check out this resource page on our new website.

For more information about Collegiate Nationals Triathlon, click here.  For more information about the JMU Triathlon team, click here.

TUX!

On Satuday, Kiki Batten, Chad Sims and Scott finished their week long adventure on an annual pilgrimage above the treeline in the Northeast at Mount Washington of the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampsire. 

Chad & Scott skinned up splitboarding on Tuckerman Ravine Trail as Kiki hiked in her ski boots a few thousand vertical feet over a few miles.  Chad topped out on Right Gully while Scott climbed about halfway up Lobster Claw.  The tracked out snow in the chutes was soft windblown plowder.  

As the sun began to set on the vast snowfield, the group shredded down the John Sherburne Ski Trail, a one way trail sweeping down the mountain back to the Appalachian Mountain Club's Pinkham Notch Visitor Center.

Tuckerman Ravine & thousands of miles of trails in the WMNF are frequented by countless skiers, mountaineers and hikers every year.  Thankfully tons of trails, campsites, backcountry cabins and visitors centers are operated and maintained all across the mountains of the North East by the AMC.  The relationship between AMC & the WMNF is not unlike the relationship between SVBC & GWNF, just on a much larger scale.