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vulpine merino alpine l/s jersey

vulpine merino alpine l/s jersey

i have frequently had good reason to question the denotion of the period following the changing of the clocks in late march, as british summer time. for those who have lived in the british isles for even a brief period of time, it's a commonly known fact that summer, such as it is, is scarcely likely to appear until at least late april/early may. if you live north of the border, there's a reasonable chance that summer, as we've come to define it, might never appear at all. not for nothing is our annual 100 mile bike ride, taking place in early august, known as ride of the falling rain.

vulpine merino alpine l/s jersey

so when the world of cycling apparel advises that such and such a jersey, or jacket, appears as part of their spring/summer range, it's likely that the word spring appears first in line, predominantly because that's the season likely to last the longest. not for the first time have i heard it said that the hebrides experience only three seasons, with summer being the one most likely to be found absent without leave.

several years ago, in late may, i had taken the small ferry across the sound of islay, to the neighbouring isle of jura, expressly to cover the distillery's open day during the whisky festival. i was advised that i would need to be back at the ferry before noon, as the tides and a galeforce wind were likely to prevent the ferry sailing through the afternoon. having made it back before 11am, i'd to sit in the waiting room until well past 3pm, before the boat managed to berth at the jura slipway. yet that was during british summer time.

vulpine merino alpine l/s jersey

so the notion of wearing a long-sleeve jersey as we prepare to leave april and take a look at the month of may, seems a perfectly sane choice as far as i'm concerned. and, to be honest, a jersey fashioned from merino wool makes even more sense. how often have we been told that a cup of tea possesses the ability to heat the soul in winter, yet cool it in summer? those appear also to be (sort of) the qualities encapsulated within a merino cycling jersey. or at least, a burnt orange vulpine merino cycle jersey.

despite its chequered past, vulpine has survived to become one of cycling's best kept secrets, hidden in plain sight. their current range for both male and female cyclists is remarkably impressive, none more so than their selection of pure merino alpine cycle jerseys. as if to underline my contention regarding british summer time, the first outing demanded that the jersey be encased 'neath an outer jacket, partly due to rain and partly due to a considerably lower than summer time temperatures. concerned that i may have over-egged the pudding (so to speak) and effectively constructed my very own mobile sauna, i was mightily impressed to find that the merino proved highly adept at moderating the projected heat.

vulpine merino alpine l/s jersey

move on a matter of days, and despite wall to wall sunshine, and the fact that my garmin insisted the temperature to be in the mid-teens, a strong northerly wind pretty much put paid to thoughts of beach towels and fruity drinks with ice and an umbrella. in fact, if you promise not to tell, i layered the jersey above a long-sleeve baselayer in anticipation of hebridean cooling, strategy that worked just ginger peachy, thank you very much.

built from a darned near impossibly fine merino wool blend, that would have you think it couldn't possibly keep a velocipedinist cosy, there are the expected three rear pockets, plus a fourth, mandatory, zipped instance for coffee money, or a card for the cashless society. and those pockets are not timid when it comes to stowage: i carried a compact digital camera, a mini-pump, a tyre jack, a spare pair of gloves and a squidgable gilet. yet, despite emulating the capacity of a forty-foot articulated truck, the jersey's constitution scarcely batted an eyelid.

vulpine merino alpine l/s jersey

as i have mentioned to the point of boredom, every jersey i wear from any purveyor of cycling apparel you care to mention, is of medium-size. and from time to time, some medium size, long-sleeve jerseys are found to be a tad miserly on the sleeve length. this is not one of those; the sleeves are of a length that would bring a smile to the face of even johan museeuw. the full-length zip culminates in a medium-height collar, currently hidden 'neath a richard sachs logo'd collar to comply with covid restrictions at debbie's. however, even when life becomes 'normal' once again, that collar will be found to be of finely judged composure, but in my opinion, the lowered hem at the rear might be a smidgeon too low.

vulpine merino alpine l/s jersey

vulpine quite rightly, in my opinion, cite their alpine merino jersey as 'a classic'. the fit is near perfect, the material beyond comparison, and even the burnt orange as reviewed, is a paragon of subtlety at any coffee stop in the country, and an ideal choice for those who have no wish to appear as a refugee from the peloton.

vulpine's alpine merino blend long-sleeve jersey is available in burnt orange, charcoal, denim, mustard, navy and vulpine green and in sizes small, medium and large. price is a most amenable £130.

vulpine alpine merino jersey

saturday 24 april 2021

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