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We’ve said it more than once, and we’ll say it again: Merino we love you. A breed of sheep with an incredibly soft, fine fleece, the wool they produce is a beautiful thing. But whilst it's easy to say it will keep you cool, warm, dry and fresh all at the same time, perhaps we need to explain why - whether training, racing or drinking beer - we just can't get enough.
This week I got that sinking feeling. It was Thursday morning. I woke up with a sore throat and as I gargled mouthwash in an attempt to burn out the infection - maybe I should have used a single malt - I stared out the window to see only rain-slicked rooftops and remembered how sweet the weather seemed yesterday.
I pride myself on riding in any conditions to and from work (unless it’s iced-over, compacted snow). Any commute is better than enduring the horrors of public transport during rush hour. Riding in sideways sleet or battling freezing winds are far superior uses of energy than being pressed against the sliding door of a train carriage full of commuters.
“There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.”
- Sir Ranulph Fiennes
Judging what to garb oneself in for a ride takes practice. Nowhere is this more true than in the UK, where the weather forecast changes every minute. On this neurotic island you’ll see the man in his vest and shorts strolling down the road on a sunny afternoon, to find himself only seconds later scampering to escape a howling hailstorm. Considering that the road cyclist finds him or herself travelling distances through time and space, scaling altitudes of increasing menace and getting a good old sweat on in the process, knowing what kind of clothing is required bears significance. Overheating is bad, freezing on a descent even worse and excessive ‘flapping’ completely unacceptable.
WORDS: Max Leonard | IMAGES: @cyclecotedazur
“Ping!” says the car thermometer. This is not good news. We're still 30 kilometres and several hundred vertical metres from the start of our ride, and the temperature's dipped below 4°C. Maybe climbing the Cime de la Bonette, the highest paved road in Europe, in October, isn't such a good idea.
But let's look on the bright side: The bright side is that golden sun is clipping the tops of the trees high on either side of the sheer rock walls of the Tinée valley, a cleft that meanders from deep in the southern Alps to the Med. The bright side is that it's only 8:30am, the sliver of sky above us is clear, and the sun will already be warming the upper slopes. The thermometer continues to fall. Into minus figures. Oh…
The new Rapha Autumn/Winter 2011 range is now online. Not only can you view the latest new products and colourways at the usual place, there is also an exclusive online showcase at www.lookbook.rapha.cc featuring photography and films shot by Ben Ingham in the French-Italian Alps.
There are a number of products available right now » NEW.
This season, Rapha’s cold weather protection sees some fine new colourways and exclusive technical fabrics. The details, tailoring and comfort of these products will make you want to ride, whatever the conditions.
With the temperatures already dropping off, leaves falling and the nights drawing in, here at Rapha we’re embracing the autumn in all its rustic glory: You have form carried over from the summer, the racing finishes (unless cyclocross is your thing) and one has the pleasure of riding simply for the sake of riding. Perhaps most tantalising of all, you can also lay your hands on the latest Rapha outerwear.
During the development stages of the recently released Rapha Jeans, lead product designer, Graeme Raeburn, and messenger Seb Cherchi-Bersch tested a pair of what we termed 50/50 test jeans. One leg was constructed from a benchmark cotton twill denim, the other used the denim Rapha developed exclusively with a mill in Italy. This fabric, from which the final Rapha Jeans are cut, was designed specifically for use on a bicycle.
