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craft fuseknit s/s baselayer
though i can think of several velo club peloton members who would vehemently disagree, i am firmly of the opinion that cycling in the hebrides has made me as tough as (slightly soft) nails. and i base this realisation on the number of long-sleeve baselayers that hang unused in the cycling wardrobe.
now, i am willing to admit that acquisition of those particular baselayers may have been as the result of misplaced apprehensions. islay is pretty far west as the crow flies, even though it sits on pretty much the same latitude as glasgow. therefore we're hardly made to exist in the frozen north, but it is the positioning of islay and jura, along with kintyre and arran, that saves glasgow's blushes when there's incoming from the north atlantic.
with the exception of the outer hebrides, most of the larger islands north of here rely on the smaller, less populated outer-isles to take the brunt of the winds and rain. however, were it not for the earth's curvature, stood atop a pair of very tall stepladders, it would be faintly possible to view the eastern seaboard of canada from islay's west coast. there is, to be blunt, no shelter for us.
however, either i can place the current mildness of climate on global warming, or in reality, it's always been like this, but i've been too much of a wimp to notice.
that said, during last year's 'festive 500', there was more than a single day when my extremities had numbed completely in the face of persistent rain and galeforce, chill winds. i daresay i'd have need of a daily weather diary to be suitably precise. but where once i would have approached november by retrieving my long-sleeve, merino baselayers ready to do battle, i am now content to demonstrate my physical and mental toughness by riding all winter through, clad in the same number of thermal and waterproof layers, but content with a short-sleeve baselayer.
and though an office colleague (actually, at present, my sole office colleague) was cheered to point out that the ambient temperature was likely to halve by this weekend, i have no more notion to revert to long-sleeved baselayers than i had over the past warm and sunny weekend. if entries were still open, i'd be dead cert for this year's probably wet paris-roubaix. the oddity, which likely undermines my professed faux toughness, is that i seem always reluctant to ride in a short-sleeve jersey without armwarmer accessorising.
go figure.
however, remaining true to my short sleeveness of baselayer, i perambulated the road encircling loch gorm twice on saturday wearing a craft fuseknit short-sleeve melange baselayer, smug in the knowledge that its seamless construction was unlikely to interrupt my seamless muscularity (i may have made that bit up). truthfully, there is little more irritating on warm, sunny days (few and far between out here), than a baselayer rubbing on parts you'd really rather it didn't.
knitted from recycled polyester, craft's fuseknit baselayers are bodymapped to take care of the different temperature demands of the honed physique. i am in the habit of ordering medium-sized jerseys, and saw no reason to diverge from this practice when ordering craft's maroon baselayer. the fit is spot on, demonstrated by scarcely realising i was wearing it, even in the heat of battle, ascending the hill at aoradh farm. the full function of a quality baselayer is surely to cosy the rider when it's cold, yet keep him/her warm when the ambient temperature is considerably less so.
i have every confidence that craft know their business better than do i, so i have little fear that i'm about to freeze this coming weekend, or any other in the foreseeable future. and if i were you, i'd get in there quick while prendas have the price at a very economic £16.99 (reduced from £25). i do sometimes wonder if andy storey has a proper grasp on economic reality, but i do know that he knows cycle clothing far better than most.
prendas offer the craft s/s baselayer in rio melange and navy blue, in sizes from small to xxl. current price is £16.99
tuesday 22 september 2020
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