Christmas morning 2020. Very quiet. No frost but extremely cold north wind when I took the dog for her morning walk at about 8.00am.
No visitors either that day to cater for, so no traditional lunch for us to worry about. Mrs Avus was cosily ensconced in an armchair engrossed in a crossword (what's new) so I decided on a Christmas morning bike ride.
The temperature meant that I did not intend to go far and since no cafes are open I decided on a route that would bring me home in about two hours with an elevenses break halfway. That would mean somewhere to sit off the bike and that would mean looking for a churchyard on the route. They are usually equipped with a seat somewhere for weary pilgrims.
An ebike means that I am still able to continue cycling, thank God, at 82, post stroke. However I don't manage to work up any body heat since the electric genie does most of the work. However the fact that my arthritic legs revolve on the pedals helps to keep them from seizing them up! But with the temperature at 5C and the chill north wind it was going to seem like below freezing.
So layers of clothing were needed. A Damart thermolactyl long sleeve vest (top grade 5), heavy shirt, fleece sweat shirt and then a Corrine Dennis waterproof/windproof cycling jacket (in fluorescent yellow - I like to be seen). Legs were taken care of with knee length merino wool socks and full length woollen legwarmers, topped with a pair of Hebden Cord traditional cycling trousers, a make long gone. (the fact that these I have worn for 20 years and are only the third pair in my 65 years cycling shows why the firm went under. They are too well made and Lycra, which I abhor, has taken over).
I put on a silk balaclava under my cycling helmet, donned a pair of golfing mitts and was ready to go.
By golly it was cold, but the northerly was behind me and I reached Bilsington church for elevenses, a mince pie and whiskey laced coffee.
Here is the view in the opposite direction the close up blur is because with cold fingers I couldn't be bothered to go for a larger "f stop"! I think it was colder sitting there than actually riding along.
So it was a case of finishing off the flask of coffee then back on the bike to dive down the escarpment and circulate a bit of Romney Marsh before heading for home. Into that north wind,
Only about 13 miles home but even with all those layers I felt close to hypothermia when I got there! My feet were like solid blocks.
10 comments:
Any mention of Damart thermal underwear brings back memories of childhood, when the catalogues were the nearest thing to pornography I could lay my hands on.
Tom:
I presume it was the female section that got you going? Although we have to be "all inclusive" these days!
Oh yes, but there was something for everyone in them.
A nice ride, if chilly! We are sticking to walking at the moment, no wish to come a cropper on ice!
Its good to get out the cold, you can dress for it, but if there is any ice about then it's a no for me. Since you can't rely on cafes being open, even for take aways, I've started taking a flask of coffee and its very pleasant stopping somewhere admiring the view with a warm drink, which is not always practical in a group ride. I do miss riding with a group though, the shared experiences and banter.
I've got some kit from Corrine Dennis its well made.
gz:
I don't blame you regarding icy roads! My first ebike I made myself by adapting a (modern) Claud Butler hybrid. It had a motor in the front wheel. I hit an ice patch and, with no resistance, that front wheel motor whizzed away and deposited me, very forcibly, on the road. A lorry driver, coming towards me, stopped and helped me up. I had a bruised hip to show for a week afterwards!
Dave:
The only group riding I do these days is with the Veteran-Cycle Club, about 3 times a year. After my stroke I sold my three "veterans" : 1948 Raleigh Record Ace, which I bought for £10 in 1957, 1959 Rudge tourer and 1955 "real" Claud Butler - bought new. Increasingly V-CC group rides are beginning to include ebikes as some members ape the machines in becoming veterans themselves!
Yes Corrine Dennis' kit is good quality and this is my third jacket from her. A small company but they take great care with their products. I found her from an advert in what I still call the "CTC Gazette" although I think they call themselves something like "Cycling UK" these days and are fashionable "woke".
The fifth para reads like an extract from an early James Bond novel: brand conscious and detail specific. Armament by Beretta, hair washing by I've-forgotten-the-name but it was characterised as "that Queen of shampoos", cigarettes by somewhere special in St James, shoes by Lobb. In a later novel Bond is sitting down to breakfast at his Mayfair flat (suggesting to me he was in the pay of governments other than his own) about to crack open a brown egg - always brown and transported in "from the country".
Not that I'm sneering, you understand. In his younger days, when he walked from sea to sea and LETJOG, Sir Hugh (my brother) spent almost as much time pursuing the latest and - most important - the lightest clothing as he did getting from A to B and thence to Z. His revelations were almost always fascinating though not quite as fascinating as the thermolactyl vest which sounds as if it's derived from milk.
And I'm certainly sympathetic about the need to stay warm while pursuing the sport of one's choice. I have ski-ed (reluctantly) when the ambient was minus 17 deg C, causing the moisture in my ear lobes to freeze and give off a crunching noise when I squeezed them. In the early years I got through three anoraks until I laid out an unimaginable sum (£100 to be precise but it was in the Dark Ages) on a Gortex-based magnificence which still does duty when I attend German Christmas markets (Ah, the days of innocence).
Hands remain the problem. Mittens give better insulation but induce clumsiness. My old après-ski socks have now been recycled as bedsocks.
RR:
Well, I wonder what vast financial success awaits me if my fifth paragraph reminds you of an early work by Peter Fleming? Alas, at 82 I don't think I have time to develop and be able to sell for filming rights!
Oddly enough, you and skiing went through my mind (yes, really) when I kitted up and wondered how you managed to keep warm in a sport where it would be below zero and you could be zooming downhill without the effort needed to generate heat. I agree about mittens being superior to fingered gloves when it's really cold. The clumsiness does not really become apparent whilst cycling. I did once look into getting ski mittens but as soon as you add "ski" to any clothing the price can increase exponentially! So I opted for the golfing variety, which are a more reasonable price, certainly from my local golf course's shop and made by Nike. They serve the purpose.
"Thermolactyl" it does sound rather like heated milk. My Corrine Dennis cycling jacket cost about the same as your ancient Gortex item and is comparatively cheap amongst good cycling wear. Joys of inflation.
Sounds like a very satisfying excursion — one that made the whiskey-laced coffee feel well-earned? Perhaps surprisingly, I can empathise with feeling cold (although admittedly not to the same extent): here on the other side of the world we're only just beginning to get some warm weather after a southerly blew up from Antarctica and hung around for a while.
Happy New Year, Avus. Good to know you're doing OK.
Pete:
An Antarctic southerly? I bet that was a sharp 'un NZ being pretty close to the bottom of the globe.
Thanks for your good wishes. I hope 2021 serves you well
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