Homage to a Yellow Jersey.

I remember when this jersey first came into my life, it was back in 2009, pre John O’ Groats to Lands End. We found it looking unloved in a discount clothes store and adopted it. It fitted the bill perfectly, it was light, breathable and above all it was cheap. I personally wouldn’t wear a yellow jersey, perhaps to avoid Tour de France comparisons or possibly because it’s such an ugly colour but that didn’t deter Jamie from snatching it up. The jersey wasn’t even designed for cycling, more like tennis, but that didn’t avert its new owner.

I wouldn’t like to speculate how much time I’ve spent staring at that yellow jersey as it was carried on the back of the cyclist riding in front of me. All I know is that it’s been through a lot, It’s been worn everyday on three long bike tours, standing up to the rigors of being hand washed in sinks and showers every night before being hung out to dry in campsites all over Europe.

I’ve watched as my favorite red jersey has faded in the sun, shrunk, and become tattered all within the lifespan of that yellow jersey, a jersey that looks exactly the same as when it was purchased four years ago. Its resilience astounds me and I’ve no doubt that it will still be going strong many tours from now, in fact it will probably outlive the both of us.

Rediscovery in Pink.

I just found the camera I took with me on our end to end tour of 2009. The camera is nothing special, in fact by todays standards it is a bit of a joke, to be honest it was a joke back then as well. It is a Konica Minolta 2MP compact and for some reason all of the photos come out with a pink tint, that said I found a couple of forgotten gems, here they are.

Not a bad view to wake up to - John o' Groats.

Loch Ness

Loch Ness from afar.

Ben Nevis (I think)

Loch Lomond

I just noticed that all of these pictures are from Scotland, I suppose England just isn't as photogenic. For a sub par malfunctioning camera I think these actually look alright.

Join The Dots: Our Route.

Just recently the weather has been pretty bad, in fact its been snowing all day today and doesn't look like relenting anytime soon. Considering it's hardly the weather for cycling i've been wracking my brain trying to recall every campsite we stayed at, all i've had to go on was my memory and Google maps (It would have been easier if I had just written them down!). Anyway, here it is, our route represented by the campsites we inhabited, I have no idea of the roads in between them though.

Brooks Saddle Review: B17 vs. Swift.

I suppose this blog is starting to read like a Brooks adoration site. Well to be honest they manufacture pretty good products, and I have been using their saddles for around five years now and I have found them to be outstanding in terms of comfort and durability.

B17 - And the U.K's pitiful snow.

My first Brooks saddle was a standard B17 model, which was purchased in advance of our John o’ Groats to Lands End trip in 2009. It served me well but is starting to look pretty beat up after a few crashes and my general disinclination to maintain anything properly. It’s seen a lot of abuse, and has been used for many miles in the rain, which is apparently isn’t recommended for Brooks saddles due to their leather construction (it came supplied with a rain cover but it looks stoopid). Anyway the B17 was starting to resemble something dredged up from the seabed so I decided to purchase a Swift before embarking on our tour last summer.

Everybody knows that you have to break in a Brooks saddle and that it can take some time before it contours to your backside like an armchair you haven’t left for three days. With my B17 this was a doddle however the Swift (15cm) proved to be a bit of an arse wrecker, this is because it’s a lot more slender in terms of width than the B17 (17.5cm) and the leather is therefore more taught, it also feels thicker. In comparison it took around three months to get the Swift broken in and it still wasn’t that comfortable at the beginning of the trip, which wasn’t ideal, however since then my backside has triumphed (with the help of proofide) and the Swift is as comfortable as it will ever be.

As I mentioned before the Swift is considerably thinner than the B17 which suits me as I generally prefer thinner race saddles, however riding a century on a Sunday is somewhat different to doing them everyday for a month and a few days into the trip I began to realize that I had made a mistake leaving my trusty old B17 at home, I’m not saying that the Swift isn’t comfortable, its better than 75% of the saddles I have ever tried, I would have just preferred the extra support offered by the B17 which is more suitable for touring, however I knew that before we left but decided to take a risk.

Swift.

In terms of fit and finish the Swift is far superior with its hand hammered copper rivets and chamfered sides. The rails on the B17 are looking rusty these days but I doubt that the same will happen to the swift, as the rails seem to be of better quality. Having said that the swift did cost twice as much so that’s to be expected.  The colours have aged nicely and the once honey coloured B17 is now a darker brown while the swift hasn’t changed much apart from a joker at work spilling some kind of chemical on it which has resulted in a strange effect on the leather.

I would recommend a Brooks to anybody looking for a comfortable saddle and not just for travelling long distances on. They are extremely durable and if you treat it better than I treat mine they could easily outlast you. For touring purposes the B17 is a must buy, It’s an absolute classic and is the standard choice for touring for a good reason, they are also one of Brook’s least expensive saddles which is always a bonus. While the Swift served me well on tour it would probably be more suitable for a vintage road bike or for riding shorter distances.