I never really liked bicycling jerseys. They are expensive and they always look dorky. I understand the purpose of them, a tight fit for aerodynamic reasons and a material that breathes well. However, the only people I see wearing cycling jerseys are people commuting in the city on $3000 Trek road bikes decked out with a U.S. Postal team jersey, shorts and matching helmet. I want something that I can wear all day, whether I decide to hop on a bicycle or not.
When I was doing my bicycle tour across Canada in 2005, a person I was staying with in Kamloops gave me an old bicycing jersey. Since I only brought t-shirts with me, I decided to take it. The best part about the jersey was the pockets in the rear. I always carried my digital camera in one of the rear pockets, ready to take pictures while I was riding. I also carried bananas and other food back there. Through some areas of the trip, I also carried Bear Spray in one of these rear pockets.
So after the trip, the first thing I missed was having pockets on my back. So I figured I'd make a t-shirt that had pockets on the back. Something that doesn't look as dorky as a jersey, and ideally as cheap as possible. So I went to Value Village and found two matching t-shirts for $1 each, they were sports t-shirts numbered 12 and 13. I measured the pockets on my cycling jersey and cut a piece of material from the donor t-shirt (#12) and sewed it onto the proper location onto the back of number 13.
The sewing was really simple, and having some pins to hold the material in place would have made it even easier. I sewed the bottom and sides to the rear of the shirt with their edges tucked underneath, then I sewed 2 lines down the pocket to divide it up into 3 pockets just like the jersey.
Since I ride a bike almost every day, I plan to make more of these shirts for myself. The pockets come in really handy, even just to hold a wallet or keys while riding. The total cost was around $5 since I also spent $3 on thread.
