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this is cambridge a bloc long-sleeve jersey and socks
though both my kids have grown up and moved away, one decidedly further than the other, due to mrs washingmachinepost looking after kids for a living, the croft is still festoned with all manner of plastic toys, crayons, books and a small, green table all set for afternoon tea. for just under a week, on leaning towards the sideboard to switch off the table lamp, a verisimilitude of an american truck flashes its lights and makes noises akin to starting its engine.
and that's to say nothing of the lego bricks that inevitably find their way into my slippers. there's nothing worse than having to limp up the stairs to bed.
in fact, it's rather good fun; the children in mrs washingmachinepost's charge are spread over all ages, from one year olds to an eight year-old who's been here from the age of six-weeks. this way i can regularly experience the full spectrum of childlike behaviour, all the way from being splattered by the sort of gloop that very young children have for lunch to assisting with english and reading homework.
it's a situation that is replicated in these very columns. having been here for so long, there are more than just a few startups that are now entering their teenage years, while others are still in their early stages. one such example would be that of this is cambridge, a duo of cycling entrepreneurs who began commercial cycling life by offering hand-made merino casquettes for the more sartorially astute amongst our number. according to a quick scan of the archived posts, my first this is cambridge review was posted on 18 march 2013; over four years ago.
not satisfied with providing cycling cap heaven for a year or two, daphne and andrew subsequently spread their wings into socks, short-sleeve jerseys, baselayers before taking the major (and commendably successful) step into retailing their first pair of bibshorts. perhaps preceding the latter, but only recently arriving at washingmachinepost croft is a more seasonably appropriate long-sleeve a bloc jersey, matching its sleevely eccentricity with a pair of similarly odd socks (odd as in not the same as opposed to just plain odd).
this particular example is coloured blue; dark for the torso, but offering light blue with white hoops on the left arm, contrasted by much narrower, but dark blue and white hoops to the right. the rightmost breast is writ large with tic.cc. i've never quite seen the attraction of skinsuits, particularly in the cyclocross field (see what i did there?), but the race fit of this jersey and the clinginess of the long sleeves, matched with a pair of those excellent tic bibshorts, probably means i ought better to have scrabbled in the undergrowth as opposed to escaping the peloton. a skinsuit that's not joined in the middle.
whichever of the two above options better suits your cycling predilection is really of no never mind; the jersey will assume and fulfil both with aplomb. however, bearing in mind that a couple of rides were fulfilled in lowered, autumnal temperatures, with a collar that bore the specific hallmarks of race-fit, i opted to accessorise with a richard sachs monogrammed collar. it would probably have mattered less if yours truly had also been race fit.
aside from the close-fit (reminiscent of italiana), the construction is quite impressive, from the full-length front zip, to the now standard three rear pockets. and though it's less than likely that the average pro has need of a fourth zipped security pocket for keys or coffee money, this amateur would quite like to have seen one midst the regular three. however, their cargo capacity was never in doubt.
the matching socks are a neat idea, though if wearing odd socks offends your obsessive compulsive disorder, you need only acquire a second pair to create two matching sets. with a pair of thermal bibshorts under development, ready and willing to be matched with yet to be released tic knee-warmers, this is cambridge are only a rainjacket short of an ensemble to have completed the ultimate transition to adulthood.
doesn't it make you proud?
this is cambridge a bloc unisex l/s jersey is available in sizes from xxs to xxl (check sizing before ordering) and can be ordered in black with pink, light-blue with orange, or dark-blue with light-blue. retail price via the tic website is £105. the matching socks are available in three sizes and a variety of colours at a cost of £13.95. i'm pretty sure there's a cap to go with whichever option you choose.
tuesday 5 september 2017
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