Another cold start to the day. I’ve been using my leg warmers for a couple of days now. They are a bit of a pain. However high you pull them up, they always start to slide down after about ten minutes of cycling. Within a few minutes you begin to notice cold spots around the ankles and just below the nether regions. Not good.
I prefer the bib longs but they are little too warm. Maybe I will look into purchasing a pair of winter tights. It will be good to get some that are the correct size because my bib longs are a tad too big. The straps don’t do a good enough job of holding the tights up and when walking the pad begins to slip… Good job I wear the Ronhill Bikesters over the top. It would not be a classy look.
Well Amy’s birthday weekend has come and gone. Is was very hectic on Saturday after Amy had left for chocolate making. We had a full house complete with two toddlers and a baby. The birthday book that I had painstakingly put together arrived at last from photobox. My initial excitement turned to dismay when I looked at the cover and saw a glaring typo. Instead of birthday it said brithday. I was gutted and spent the rest of the afternooon trying to disguise the mistake. In the end I scanned in the cover and printed out the correct text. I then cut out the little rectangle of text and glued it onto the cover. Not a brilliant solution but it worked nonetheless.
Debbie arrived while I was buying some provisions from Sainsburg’s. She was initially a little worried when she realised that she was to be babysitting not one but two toddlers. Jake went to bed without a hitch and gaily waved me goodbye while he sat on his bed with his new story “The story-telling fish”. Matt and Esther put Tess to bed themselves before setting off and she went to bed without a peep.
Adam and I left rather later than we wanted to but made it to the Clerkenwell Kitchen bang on 7.30pm when the meal was due to start. The seating arrangements were very well thought out by Amy. Luca was in heaven between Mona and (lovely)Jo. Deon and Paul chatted happily and Andy was on fine form :-). A couple of others who will remain nameless imbibed rather a lot of alcohol and one started making inappropriate comments to the other guests while the other drunkenly capered outside the restaurant while letting of vast amounts of wind ;-). We managed to make the necessary minimum spend though which was a relief.
My Foska jacket arrived this morning and very nice it looks too. I ordered the medium size which I wanted for a slightly more casual look. It certainly won’t look out of place in the train or on the bike. It only comes in black/graphite and has the red and black Foska logo stitched onto the left-side hem and right arm. It looks really nice.
The jacket has a lowered tail and the arms have a slightly longer reach for comfort when on the bike. Two lines of reflective Scotchlite piping have been added along the front of each arm with a single line behind each elbow. The quality is self evident as I would have expected of a jacket costing £70. Each sleeve has an inner wrist baffle and adjustable straps to keep out draughts when on the bike.
There are three external pockets. One napoleon pocket for when on the bike and two normal side pockets. There are also two inside pockets to stash away bits and bobs. When opened the two side pockets also act as vents by channelling air through narrow slits behind each inner pocket. All the zips are waterproof and the napoleon pocket is seam sealed I guess because the front of the jacket takes the brunt of the rain. Externally this is a softshell jacket, internally it is nice ands fleecy.
I dug out some stats for the Foska and the Endura range, which I was also looking at. In terms of breathability and waterproofness I think is compares well with these jackets bearing in mine that these cost double the price.
How the jacket performs is a topic for another blog. Maybe I’ll take a spin down to Tesco later…
UPDATE 08/12/2008 I cycled in to work this morning wearing the Tangent. It was around 3 degrees and there was frost on the ground. The jacket performed well, in fact a little too well. I arrived fairly hot so I think this will cope with whatever weather London wants to throw at it. I love having pockets at last. No more scrabbling around in my pannier for my wallet or keys. It’s great! I might try wearing just a t-shirt underneath tomorrow if the weather is similar to this morning. Another plus is that because the Tangent is waterproof I can ditch my cheapo rain jacket which leaves a little more room in my pannier. Yay.
Pretty cold this morning. When I left the house there was a fine layer of frost on the cars and trees. Amy and Jake were both sleeping like babes as I closed the door with a gentle ‘snnk’. Later I was to find out that it was not that gentle as the noise woke Amy from her slumber.
I guess it must have been 2 or 3 degrees. My face and head were fine under the buff. My hands were very chilly to start with but had warmed up by the time I reached my destination. I didn’t bother changing my jacket. I just locked up the bike and was outta there. I managed to get the 7.58am train which was a first.
I have bitten the bullet and bought my new cycling jacket. It’s a (drum roll please) Foska Tangent. I chose this because it would not look out of place off the bike and is also waterproof and has a hood. I just hope that it is more breathable than my Altura Nevis rain jacket which is like wearing a plastic bag.
I’ll give it a go and return it if it’s not for me. Foska do make good kit thought. I tried on Paul’s A-Z training jacket the other day and found it very nice. I also have a pair of foska shorts which have been great.
I had another late night yesterday. I started tinkering with Amy’s Eeepc and before I knew it it was 12.30am. I spoke to Amy earlier in the evening. I could hear that Jake was still stirring in his bed so I went in and asked he he wanted to speak to mummy. Of course he did! He had a nice chat and enjoyed watching mummy on the TV although he kept saying “make it big!!” i.e. fullscreen please daddy :-).
I have installed BBC iPlayer download manager because I kept getting buffering issues while trying to watch the apocalyptic drama “Survivors”. I hope this isn’t because I have put the Firefox cache on the SD card. Charbel assured me that this is not the case and it was most certainly due to a slow broadband connection. From Virgin Media? Never!!! :-).
Another chilly start this morning. The wind was blowing on the way in so it was pretty tiring. No frost so no bib longs which was just the right thing to do. Not too hot and not too cold. I have to remember to bring my hat to don while walking to the office.
I looked out of the window this morning. No frost but looking a little grey and drizzly. I put on my bib longs, new buff and merino top. Out on the road it wasn’t cold at all. I didn’t need to put the buff into balaclava mode, but actiing as a scarf it did a good job of keeping my neck warm.
The bib longs were probably overkill for the ride to Waterloo but they kept my legs nice and toasty while walking the fifteen minutes to my office.
The merino top was excellent and performed brilliantly. I didn’t have that clammy cold feeling that I usually have with my polyester wicking tops after a ride. Also it doesn’t smell at all. I’m going to see if I can get away without washing it for three days.
It was very cold today. In the morning there was a layer of snow covering the pokey paso. Jake and I decided to take a trip to Bluewater. Jake wasn’t sure at first but soon came round when I mentioned bath bombs.
Jake was also excited about taking the Stokke which has been saved from a mildewed existence in our shed.
Anyway back to the blog title, I bought myself a buff from Blacks. I stood there while Jake chewed on a packet of yoghurt coated cranberries deciding on what buff to buy. In the end I took the boring option and bought a plain black one. Tomorrow promises to be another chilly day so I will be using the buff in balaclava mode.
When we got back home I texted Amy for the meatballs recipe and after making up a load of balls started Jake’s bedtime routine. He was in bed and asleep by 7pm. What a tired poppet.
I was more than a little nervous to be charged with the task of cooking for the mother-in-law. In the end the meatballs and spaghetti were delicious. In the evening Sally and I watched ‘I’m a celebrity…’. I know this is lowest common denominator stuff but it was very enjoyable seeing Timmy Mallet getting covered by 50,000 bugs.
I had a nice chat with Amy earlier on the Skype. I am missing her and am gutted that she is away for our wedding anniversary on Tuesday :-(.
I must say I’m starting to get excited about the prospect of having another little Wollny(or would that be two) running about the house. The due date is July 16th. That means another crab for Amy to contend with :-). Amy is just starting to ‘show’. Last time with Jake we had an early scan. This time it feels odd to have to wait until week 12 before we get one. We were thinking about getting one done privately. At £70 I think the money could be spent better elsewhere.
I sent back my lightweight Sealskinz socks because they were too small. They were replaced by a mid thermal pair more suitable to winter commuting. The new pair are still made by Sealskinz but are thermal, mid length and have a merino wool lining. I put them on and spent the day walking around the house in them. I must say that my feet were quite hot and were sweating after a few hours. They also make a slight rustling sound when you walk which is quite amusing. I think they will be the business on the bike especially in cold inclement weather. No more cold wet feet! Bring on the rain my friend!
My other purchase was a merino wool base layer from Endura. I bought a small one which fits perfectly and will keep me nice and warm when and if the cold weather arrives. It does itch a little though contrary to the claims on the packaging.
I worked from home today as usual. Jake woke around 7.30am and went ‘downdares’. I had the luxury of a little lie-in as I had stayed up until gone 12 the previous night watching rubbish on the tv.
This week Jake has started to ask “why?” to everything which is very endearing. While watching “Ice Age” he was constantly asking “what’s that?” or “what is that one doing?” or “why is that?”.
The other day Jake did something naughty and Jake said to Amy “Don’t worry it’s not your fault”. Cheeky poppet!
Jake now says “milk” instead of “mok”. The end of an era :-(. Well, in fact he says “molk” which is nearly there :-).
Sitting on the sofa watching “Watchdog” there was an item about mopeds. Jake looked and said “mmm, that’s strange”. He’s been saying strange a lot these days. It must be the in word.
He is loving his trains that Granny brought him, especially the green battery operated Percy.
Jake has recently discovered bath bombs. Yesterday we had a bath and he was so excited about putting the bath bomb in the water. He climbed in and held it in his hands while it fizzed away. When that one had finished he asked for his special “baby face” bath bomb which of course I let him have :-).
Paul and the girls went to see “We Will Rock You” tonight thanks to Lises parent. Thank you!!! I met them at Waterloo Station along with Amy and Jake. We then went our separate ways. Amy, Jake and I headed home to meet Grandad and Mamaw while Paul and the girls excitedly made their way to the Dominion Theatre.
