I bought my Endura Windchill II back in December 2016. It’s now nearly June 2017 and I haven’t worn any other jacket since. The Endura has done me all winter and is still suitable for these late May days, due to the long pit zips, which cool you down nicely when you start to overheat. In winter I wore it over… Read more »
Since it’s the close of 2016, I thought I’d do a review of the winners and losers among the things I’ve bought this year and last. Being new to cycling, I made a lot of mistakes at first, but I quickly discovered that while price is generally (though not always) a guarantee of quality, good kit can be had at… Read more »
In my experience, the first thing to freeze up on a cold day’s ride is your hands. And for anyone who has arthritis, as I do, keeping your hands warm is critical. I wear gloves a lot. The Optimum Nitebrite waterproof cycling gloves are part of a range of gear with an emphasis on high visibility. Indeed, one of the… Read more »
As someone who generally doesn’t go in for buying cycling or sports clothing, this was an aberration. But a worthwhile one. I fell for the Endura Velo PTFE Protection jacket while the More Significant Other and I were in the midst of a full-blown shopping spree. You know the sort of thing – where you’re hopped up on the excitement of… Read more »
The DH bought me the Georgia of Dublin Rainwrap as a present last year. It’s a beautiful thing, made from soft-touch waterproof fabric (I wish more jackets were made of this stuff) and packs up small enough to bung in a rackbag. You can also use it as a picnic blanket. It proved a godsend last winter and early spring in… Read more »
I bought a few bits in SportPursuit’s merino sale, including this Trekmates zip-neck and crewneck tee. The Contrast Stitch Zip Top is 100% merino and 200gsm, while the Fusion Crew is 50% merino, 50% polyester and is also 200gsm. Both feature the same plentiful flatlock stitching in a contrast colour, and thumbholes in the sleeves. Both of these items seem… Read more »
Over the past year I’ve become a big fan of many Scandiwegian sports brands, which provide merino base layers with great design and features. These include Ulvang, Janus, Woolpower and Devold. I’m also a fan of hoodies, which are a useful extra layer on the bike. So, when I saw this merino hoodie, I jumped at it. The Devold Expedition… Read more »
I was on the hunt for a stretch, windproof, high-vis gilet when I spotted the DHB Women’s Flashlight vest – DHB is Wiggle’s own brand. The vest and the matching long-sleeved jersey are available in fluo yellow as well as this fluo pink, which is rather darker than the usual fluo pink, so although very bright in daylight, in lower light conditions it’s… Read more »
Since I mentioned togging up in my last post, I thought I’d do a quick blog about my winter cycling kit. This winter has been very mild but it’s still bloody cold bowling along on a bike. My average speed is about 21-21kmph and descents can easily get up to 45kmph, so wind protection is paramount. So is rain protection… Read more »
The Adrenaline jacket from Mountain Warehouse is my basic cycling rainproof and one of the first things I bought when I started cycling. Here in Normandy, about the only thing you can really rely on is that it will rain. In winter, pretty much, it will rain every day. Even in the height of summer it’s rare to get three dry… Read more »
This high-vis running jacket and gilet was part of my high-vis splurge from Karrimor. In fact, I didn’t know the gilet was available, but I liked the running jacket so much that when I found it was, I decided to buy it separately. I bought a size 14 in all my Karrimor items, but the running jacket was a little… Read more »
In my search for the perfect cycling jerseys, I’m exploring a number of options, but most of them involve merino, one way or another. Devold is a another Norwegian outdoor clothing company, so one suspects they know a thing or two about staying warm. They’re also a merino specialist. The items I chose were by way of experiment, but also… Read more »
When we first began cycling, I’d envisaged that my base layer for my top half would be my Eddy tees from Finisterre. I love these things, and have over a dozen. In ultra-fine merino mixed with polyamide, they’re flattering, and perfect for my life of desk work, dog walking, cooking and general outdoor but not too messy stuff (for yard… Read more »
This Ulvang merino training top is one of those test buys I got from SportPursuit, though curiously, because of their very weird delivery system, it’s been one of the first to arrive. A Norwegian brand, it is produced in collaboration with champion skier Vegard Ulvang. The training top is 300gsm, which was the main reason I decided on it. I… Read more »
My Marinac jacket from Lands’ End is something I’ve had for several years but hardly ever worn. When it arrived, I instantly regretted my choice of colour, which is the pale lilac at right (or, as Lands‘ End calls it, ‘Orchid Petal’), not the attractive green in the picture below. I bought it in this colour only because it was on… Read more »
