Actually, I’m not going to review the panties here, that’s for another web site, but I will review the boots.
They’re Shimano MW 60 boots by the way.
Ever had a Helly Hansen base layer?
They’re not too bad at first, fairly warm and comfortable.
Unfortunately after a few washes they become a little unpleasant. They start to smell. and then they begin to stink. You wash the thing and you only have to wear it for half an hour and it reeks. It’s a breeding ground for noxious bacteria and there’s no way of killing it off, no magic disinfectant you can add to the wash to kill the smell.
I don’t normally do kit reviews, but considering my recent rides have been unremarkable apart from being grim, wet, dark and cold affairs on the road bike, I might as well tell you about my jacket. My bright orange Gore Xenon Windstopper jacket is pretty bloody expensive for a garment that’s not got any pockets or a hood, but it has got an extremely dropped tail and a very high waist at the front. A bit like a coat worn by an Edwardian MP. It’s got huge reflective panels on the arms. It’s got really long arms, so this and the long tail make it ideal for riding with my hands in the drops – arse in the air, head down, you know what I mean.
It’s windproof, but not so windproof that it gets hot. In fact, it has to be worn with a good base layer if the temperature is really cold. It’s reasonably water-resistant.
For long rides on the road, especially at night, it’s ideal. Almost perfect in fact.
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Warren’s been doing some work recently on the Industrial Fell Biking site. It’s had a facelift plus there’s an RSS feed from this site – so you can read this from there if you want and catch all the other goings-on such as Simon’s great photos and Martin’s obscure (and sometimes cheeky) routes. There are ride announcements on there too, if you’re a bit of a Billy No Mates.
It’s a work in progress at the moment, but see what you think.