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rapha colombia kom s/s sportwool jersey

i don't really remember the 1950s. this isn't a variation on the "if you can remember the sixties, you weren't there." scenario, because apart from the rise and rise of bebop, there wasn't any mind-altering concerted situation which it was cool not to recall. when sting sang 'born in the fifties', the sentiment resonated, as long as no-one asked me to reminisce about the decade's more salient features. granted, the we were already heading towards the 1960s by the time yours truly came along, but nonetheless...

i do, however, have one or two recollections from 1963, perhaps the most notable being my purchase, for ten shillings (50 pence in new money) of the beatles' twist and shout ep on the parlophone record label. for those oblivious of the merits of vinyl, the ep, or extended play featured two songs per side of a 7" single, as opposed to the more usual one. audiophiles, who are/were no doubt more educated in the mores of sound reproduction would no doubt be keen to point out that the smaller grooves of the extended play recording hardly led to an improved audio experience and would probably have advised against such a purchase.

i'm pretty sure that very recording lies silently somewhere in the attic, but would probably require serious investigations to recover.

if memory serves correctly, aside from the title track, that little black circle also featured 'there's a place', 'do you want to know a secret' and 'taste of honey'. though i rather obviously contributed to the record's success, at such a minor age i was somewhat oblivious to such extended machinations. suffice it to say, the record reached number one in july 1963 and remained there for a total of 21 weeks. these were the seminal years of what has subsequently become known as the mersey beat.

the band's name, obviously circuitously derived from that of the insect, was a clever play on definitions, offering the more regular pronunciation, but managing to incorporate the word beat to tie it in with what were still the early years of the new-fangled rock'n'roll.

however, to briefly return to the previous decade, those years were responsible for another group of beetles, more correctly written this time. if we can fast forward to the very year (1987) that mrs washingmachinepost and i moved ourselves to our island haven, colombian rider lucho herrera became the first rider from that country to win one of cycling's grand tours, taking not only the leader's red jersey, but also the king of the mountains. it was the beginning of the rise of colombia in world cycling and due to the riding style of their great predecessor from the 1950s, ramon hoyos, they were collectively referred to as 'escarabajos'; beetles to you and me.

this is important to know, because, if like me you either own or are about to own rapha's latest outing in red sportwool and have need of explaining why the fabric is peppered with a myriad of 'escarabajos'. conjecture at the weekend surrounded the possibility that they were the very beetles that are rather unceremoniously crushed to provide a red dye. logical, if you note the strong colour of this superb jersey, but ultimately wrong.

rapha's colombian inflected king of the mountains sportwool jersey is what we might refer to as a collectors' piece; the cycling apparel equivalent of the coffee table book, you might say. and that, i might add, is a very good thing. contrasting completely with the ubiquitous and archetypal dye-sublimated polyester, the graphics applied to the rpm150 merino fabric are, in effect, 3d.

won in magnificent style by the aforementioned luis herrera, the queen stage of that 1987 vuelta summitted at lagos de covadonga, reflected by a sewn-on patch on the left breast. this is offset by the appearance of a colombian flag and rapha patch on the right, a centimetre or two above the applied flock legend rey de las montanas, or king of the mountains. on the leftmost rear pocket is the embroidered number 87 topped by luis' surname.

none of that, of course, would amount to more than a bucket of frogs if the jersey failed to live up to its reputation. it would be more than just embarrassing to be decorated with a herd of scarabs while wearing a less than sartorially and functional jersey. before digressing once more, let me assure you that you need have no fears on that score. after a summer of fending off almost unbearable heat (a little hebridean humour there) clad in polyester, donning sportwool of this calibre is a most welcome experience. those delightful little beetles are also present along the silicon gloop that holds the drop-tail in place, aided and abetted by two draw cords offering the required level of personal adjustment.

i'd quite forgotten just how luxurious a high(ish) collar could be; combined with a possibly longer-than-usual quarter-length zip, the fit (medium-size) is nothing less than impeccable. and those sleeves are of a disposition that almost welcomes the humble arm-warmer and obviates the worry of any inadvertent rule#82 infraction.

though i may have alluded to the collectibility of this jersey, it should never, under any circumstances, be encased in a glass table-top or wall-mounted frame. this jersey should be collected upon your person every week on the sunday ride. rpm does not solely refer to the constitution of the fabric.

rapha's colombian inspired red kom jersey is available in sizes ranging from xs to xxl at a retail price of £150.

rapha colombian kom s/s jersey

wednesday 30 august 2017