Damn You Jan

Witness the detached arm - is that the correct term? - on my beloved pair of Rudy Project glasses. It snapped off quite easily while removing the glasses from my helmet this morning.

From my helmet? Yes, placed there upside down in the vents to look oh so pro, while walking from the office bike room to my cluttered desk. I was hacked. This is the second pair of Rudy Project glasses to snap an arm off for me.

The last time was a few years ago while talking to a neighbor straddling my bike. Glasses caught on my STI shifter cable while I was "talking with my hands" - hey, they're Italian glasses - and snap, the arm falls to the ground. Not much force at all. I was bummed. Bummed enough to buy another pair, since I owned multiple lenses and dug the way they looked.

I know it's a complete, absolute rip off to pay $100+ bucks for sunglasses, no matter how "technical" they are. So, now I've paid $200+ for Rudy glasses - both now broken.

I'm blaming Jan Ullrich for this debacle. Every since I spotted him wearing Rudy shades, I thought they looked super cool. So Euro, so PRO - I wanted 'em.....

Here Lance congratulates Jan for having such cool shades.

First, Jan leaves the sport under the suspicion of doping. Now, my Rudy glasses fail. I'm crushed and have lost the will to live. What will I do?

Wait, maybe there's a warranty on my stylish, yet protective eye wear. I check the Rudy website and indeed, covered for three years. Maybe there's hope after all. I read the details: Need to fill out some form and send in $19.95 for "shipping and processing" and let them decide if a warranty replacement is in order.

Hmmm, how much you wanna bet the glasses cost around $20 to manufacture. Anyone?

I may give this a shot and be out $20. I'm not spending another $100 for Rudy Project glasses, even if Jan did wear 'em. Plus, looked what happened to him. I can't take that chance. Anyway, $300 total for Rudy shades? That would be nuts.

I need to be sensible about this. Let's check out the Oakley site - yeah, some nice, cheap glasses there.

I guess I'm sucker for some things. I justify it by wearing these shades almost everyday - riding and just for general wear. I pop clear lenses in for rainy days, night commutes, and mountain bike woods use. Dark lenses for sunny days. Amazingly, we do get a few in Seattle. Don't tell anyone.

I rode for years without eye protection, now can't imagine riding without it. It's less fatiguing, keeps some pollen out of my allergy sensitive eyes, and face it - it's a style thing. They look cool.

Damn you Jan.