Winter cycling gear

On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 20:43:03 +0000, John Hearns <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I got some gloves from decathlon at the weekend, then ones which cost £13
and have a -5C logo on them. First impressions very good. They have a
tight cuff, but this is comfortable once they are on and will seal well
when it rains.

I normally use one of the £7 lightweight fleeces in the summer/autumn.
For winter I use a heavier Decathlon windproof fleecy top, which is really
good. Don't have the model number to hand. This isn't a cycling-specific
top, so it lacks rear pockets, which is the only niggle I have with it.
Both black I'm afraid, but as I've said in another thread I pay attention
to reflectives.
Decathlon have a winter cycling jacket in grey, with rear pockets which
I quite fancy too.

I use ski gloves or waterproof overmits over cycle gloves and wear my
winter mountaineering Paramo top and trousers when it gets really
chilly. They are certainly not a cheap option.

John, I expect you know Lewisham and Greenwich quite well. Do you
know anywhere on or off road in Lewisham or Greenwich which has no
street lighting. I want to take two groups of trainees to such a
place in three or four weeks time to experience cycling in complete
dark. I think the whole Thames Path between Greenwich and the Thames
Barrier is lit, am I right? Is Oxleas Wood open after dark? It's a
little far, but not too far if there is no other alternative.

John Hearns said:

I got some gloves from decathlon at the weekend, then ones which cost £13
and have a -5C logo on them. First impressions very good. They have a
tight cuff, but this is comfortable once they are on and will seal well
when it rains.

I normally use one of the £7 lightweight fleeces in the summer/autumn.
For winter I use a heavier Decathlon windproof fleecy top, which is really
good. Don't have the model number to hand. This isn't a cycling-specific
top, so it lacks rear pockets, which is the only niggle I have with it.
Both black I'm afraid, but as I've said in another thread I pay attention
to reflectives.
Decathlon have a winter cycling jacket in grey, with rear pockets which
I quite fancy too.

ive got a pair of those gloves - got them for 7EUR in the paris store
last year :-D - excellent very warm and hard wearing

Bertie Wiggins <[email hidden]> wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

I use ski gloves or waterproof overmits over cycle gloves ...

For just a second I had the lovely thought of BW riding his bike wearing
"oven mitts" :-)

Tom

Tom said:

Bertie Wiggins <[email hidden]> wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

I use ski gloves or waterproof overmits over cycle gloves ...

For just a second I had the lovely thought of BW riding his bike wearing
"oven mitts" :-)

There are times when I wish I had been. :-)

Bertie Wiggins said:

John, I expect you know Lewisham and Greenwich quite well. Do you know
anywhere on or off road in Lewisham or Greenwich which has no street
lighting.

I'm sure you know the area better than me.
I'm giving this some though, but can't think of anywhere.
How about Woolwich Common?

On Wed, 16 Nov 2005 07:23:39 +0000, John Hearns <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

How about Woolwich Common?

That would certainly be easier than Oxleas Wood as it isn't on the top
of a hill!

Bertie Wiggins said:

On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 20:43:03 +0000, John Hearns <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I got some gloves from decathlon at the weekend,

Funny you should post that, cuz I was just thing to myself that of all
the gear I've bought over the years, the Decathalon stuff is by far and
away the best. It works well, doesn't fall apart and is incredibly
cheap. Vive la France!

"sothach" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bertie Wiggins said:

On Tue, 15 Nov 2005 20:43:03 +0000, John Hearns <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I got some gloves from decathlon at the weekend,

Funny you should post that, cuz I was just thing to myself that of all
the gear I've bought over the years, the Decathalon stuff is by far and
away the best. It works well, doesn't fall apart and is incredibly
cheap. Vive la France!

Decathlon basic cycling shorts are the cycling shorts Vernon finds most
comfortable around his delicate regions.

Cheers, helen s

wafflycat said:

Decathlon basic cycling shorts are the cycling shorts Vernon finds most
comfortable around his delicate regions.

How is it that we just KNOW the poor lad is terrified he will never get an
SO if he leaves the house looking like a refugee from a Mr Muscle advert?

"John Hearns" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

wafflycat said:

Decathlon basic cycling shorts are the cycling shorts Vernon finds most
comfortable around his delicate regions.

How is it that we just KNOW the poor lad is terrified he will never get an
SO if he leaves the house looking like a refugee from a Mr Muscle advert?

Vernon has a SO. Nathan, on the other hand, has been warned of the dangers
of women by his mother. I've told him he really should have nothing to do
with the predators until he's at least 30 ;-)

Cheers, helen s

My knowledge is a bit out of date, so you'd need to go and check any of
these suggestions:

1. There are parts of Blackheath that aren't lit, and /may/ be far
enough from lighting for your purpose. The bits that spring to mind are
the hollows near Croom's Hill and another bit over near the TAA
centre/St Austell Rd.
2. In the past Nunhead cemetery wan't locked at night - this may sound
a bit spooky, but it has decent paths to cycle on.
3. St Alfege Gardens (behind the church) also didn't used to be locked
or lit, but may have changed now on one of those counts.
4. Oxleas woods does not have any gates.

Bertie Wiggins said:

John, I expect you know Lewisham and Greenwich quite well. Do you
know anywhere on or off road in Lewisham or Greenwich which has no
street lighting. I want to take two groups of trainees to such a
place in three or four weeks time to experience cycling in complete
dark. I think the whole Thames Path between Greenwich and the Thames
Barrier is lit, am I right? Is Oxleas Wood open after dark? It's a
little far, but not too far if there is no other alternative.

How about greenwich park? There is a short interval between nightfall
and the gates closing and it is pretty dark as London goes

best wishes
james

John Hearns said:

I got some gloves from decathlon at the weekend, then ones which cost £13
and have a -5C logo on them. First impressions very good. They have a
tight cuff, but this is comfortable once they are on and will seal well
when it rains.

I normally use one of the £7 lightweight fleeces in the summer/autumn.
For winter I use a heavier Decathlon windproof fleecy top, which is really
good. Don't have the model number to hand. This isn't a cycling-specific
top, so it lacks rear pockets, which is the only niggle I have with it.
Both black I'm afraid, but as I've said in another thread I pay attention
to reflectives.
Decathlon have a winter cycling jacket in grey, with rear pockets which
I quite fancy too.

Must admit I havea pair of teh same gloves, the only problem I find is that they are too warm :-) I've also got a wind proof/fleece cycling jacket, which is excellent. Best investment i made though for winter cycling is some overshoes, I tend to get very cold toes, but now I can at least feel them when I get to work.

I saw in Tchibo the other day a windproof/showerproof ;running' jacket, looked quite good, anyone got any experience of them??

Bryan

John Hearns <[email hidden]> wrote:
| I got some gloves from decathlon at the weekend, ...

That reminds me that http://www.decathloncycle.com/ has one of the
oddest mistranlations on it that I have yet to see (and remember).

There's a menu which goes something like:

Clothing
* Cycling bib shorts
* Cycling without bib shorts
* ...

It's not as interesting as it might seem.

wafflycat said:

Vernon has a SO. Nathan, on the other hand, has been warned of the dangers
of women by his mother. I've told him he really should have nothing to do
with the predators until he's at least 30 ;-)

"How To Manufacture A Serial Killer by Wafflycat" :-)

"Of course I won't, mum." (to himself) -"Of course, they'll perish along
with all the others when Helter Skelter comes!"

--
***My real address is m/ike at u/nmusic d/ot co dot u/k (removing /s)
http://www.unmusic.co.uk - about me, music, geek sitcom etc.
http://www.unmusic.co.uk/amh-s-faq.html - alt.music.home-studio

"killermike" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

wafflycat said:

Vernon has a SO. Nathan, on the other hand, has been warned of the
dangers
of women by his mother. I've told him he really should have nothing to do
with the predators until he's at least 30 ;-)

"How To Manufacture A Serial Killer by Wafflycat" :-)

"Of course I won't, mum." (to himself) -"Of course, they'll perish along
with all the others when Helter Skelter comes!"

This post from a person going by the name of "killermike" Should I be
worried? ;-)

Cheers, helen s

wafflycat said:

This post from a person going by the name of "killermike" Should I be
worried? ;-)

Hey! I may have chosen the handle 'killermike' and I may believe strongly
that all of the piggies are in need a damn good whacking but... I can't
think of way to end that sentence.

--
***My real address is m/ike at u/nmusic d/ot co dot u/k (removing /s)
http://www.unmusic.co.uk - about me, music, geek sitcom etc.
http://www.unmusic.co.uk/amh-s-faq.html - alt.music.home-studio

On 16 Nov 2005 01:39:00 -0800, "iakobski" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

My knowledge is a bit out of date, so you'd need to go and check any of
these suggestions:

1. There are parts of Blackheath that aren't lit, and /may/ be far
enough from lighting for your purpose. The bits that spring to mind are
the hollows near Croom's Hill and another bit over near the TAA
centre/St Austell Rd.

I know it well. I think that there is too much ambient light on
Blackheath.

Quoted message said:

2. In the past Nunhead cemetery wan't locked at night - this may sound
a bit spooky, but it has decent paths to cycle on.
3. St Alfege Gardens (behind the church) also didn't used to be locked
or lit, but may have changed now on one of those counts.

I don't know Nunhead Cemetery at all. I may check it out. Behind St
Alfege would be a good location.

Quoted message said:

4. Oxleas woods does not have any gates.

I'm seriously thinking about Oxleas Wood. It would be wonderfully
dark there, a good 10 mins cycling without ambient light. It's just a
matter of linking it in with other activities/junctions. The planned
session is 3.30 pm to 5.30pm, I can extend this to 3pm - 5.30pm.

email hidden said:

Bertie Wiggins said:

John, I expect you know Lewisham and Greenwich quite well. Do you
know anywhere on or off road in Lewisham or Greenwich which has no
street lighting. I want to take two groups of trainees to such a
place in three or four weeks time to experience cycling in complete
dark. I think the whole Thames Path between Greenwich and the Thames
Barrier is lit, am I right? Is Oxleas Wood open after dark? It's a
little far, but not too far if there is no other alternative.

How about greenwich park? There is a short interval between nightfall
and the gates closing and it is pretty dark as London goes

Great idea. Greenwich Park always used to close at dusk and open at
dawn, but I learnt today that it closes at 6pm in the Winter months. I
am seriously thinking of extending the lesson by 30 mins and cycling
round Castle Wood/Oxleas Woods. The children would love it!

Thanks to all, I now have several options - this does show how
difficult it is to find unlit areas in London.