They said I was crazy, like I haven’t heard that before.

It was 95°F and fairly humid. I’m not a fan of hot weather, so I pulled on my Patagonia Puckerware shirt and pulled up to the starting line. Casual and cool, I didn’t overheat and actually I won the singlespeed category.

My only issue was where to put the gel flask. I put it inside my bike short waistband, which worked great until I jammed that hip against a tree. The flask squirted sticky chocolate gel on my shirt and side — both washed up fine, I might add.

Anyway, I started wearing these short-sleeved shirts when biking to work. They’re great as long as you let the back stay open. In other words, you want to avoid messenger bags, back packs, and hydration packs. The trick is to get the air flowing into the sleeves, under you arms, across your back, and out the tail. Once you get above 10 MPH, the air flow lifts the shirt right off your back. Sweet!