More cycling gear
People tend to think I'm joking when I refer to cycling as a good excuse to accessorise.
Some recent purchases:
Ground Effect Flash Gordon: Cycling rain jacket. I'd heard nothing but good things about Ground Effect online, so I thought I'd give them a try. It's really light (weight). Much lighter than my older jackets, and packs fairly small (medium paperback book size? A compression bag would get it smaller, but I don't know how good it would be for the jacket). I've finally gotten to try it in the rain - perfectly dry underneath.
Anything under 20C and the jacket is fine unless I'm really pushing it. Low 20s with the pit zips (which are large) open it's warm, but fine when I'm still moving. Once I stop I start to sweat quite a bit. The thumb loops are just a loop of elastic (rather than a hole in the sleeve), I can't decide whether this is a good move or not.
I'm very glad I didn't listen to GE's advice - the size I am depends on which of their measurements I look at, I'm either a S, M or XL. They suggested L, I'm glad I went with the M instead.
The only thing I wish it had was a loop on the back for a light. The reflective piping is good, but slightly more of it would also be nice.
Kathmandu are having a sale at the moment (I think for another week). I picked up:
Reflective vest ($6) - It's not particularly fancy, but it does pack fairly small (and comes with a pouch). It's a cycling cut (longer at the back), and it's just large enough to go over my smaller bags. It would be nice to have a vertical reflective strip as well. Stupidly cheap (I've seen low end construction worker style ones for $20 before).
Reflective ankle/wrist strips ($4) - 2 for $4, can't go wrong. They're yellow and fairly reflective. The slap-band style which was cool in the 80s. Slightly too tight for use on wrists - I'm thinking of getting another set and replacing the metal strip with some velcro or elastic.
I really liked the look or their cycling jersey ($25!), but they only had one (XXL) left.
Some recent purchases:
Ground Effect Flash Gordon: Cycling rain jacket. I'd heard nothing but good things about Ground Effect online, so I thought I'd give them a try. It's really light (weight). Much lighter than my older jackets, and packs fairly small (medium paperback book size? A compression bag would get it smaller, but I don't know how good it would be for the jacket). I've finally gotten to try it in the rain - perfectly dry underneath.
Anything under 20C and the jacket is fine unless I'm really pushing it. Low 20s with the pit zips (which are large) open it's warm, but fine when I'm still moving. Once I stop I start to sweat quite a bit. The thumb loops are just a loop of elastic (rather than a hole in the sleeve), I can't decide whether this is a good move or not.
I'm very glad I didn't listen to GE's advice - the size I am depends on which of their measurements I look at, I'm either a S, M or XL. They suggested L, I'm glad I went with the M instead.
The only thing I wish it had was a loop on the back for a light. The reflective piping is good, but slightly more of it would also be nice.
Kathmandu are having a sale at the moment (I think for another week). I picked up:
Reflective vest ($6) - It's not particularly fancy, but it does pack fairly small (and comes with a pouch). It's a cycling cut (longer at the back), and it's just large enough to go over my smaller bags. It would be nice to have a vertical reflective strip as well. Stupidly cheap (I've seen low end construction worker style ones for $20 before).
Reflective ankle/wrist strips ($4) - 2 for $4, can't go wrong. They're yellow and fairly reflective. The slap-band style which was cool in the 80s. Slightly too tight for use on wrists - I'm thinking of getting another set and replacing the metal strip with some velcro or elastic.
I really liked the look or their cycling jersey ($25!), but they only had one (XXL) left.