It is with great regularity that I have recently found myself quoting the head of family Stark (before he lost his) from George R. R. Martins rather long (yet unmissable) Game of Thrones. Whether I am complaining to Mrs Rouleur about my dire need to turn the radiators on (it is October after all), or standing in the shower shivering more than the kingdom of Arendelle when Elsa went ‘nucking futs’ in Disney’s Frozen, I continue to repeat the mantra ‘Winter is coming’, and so it felt this weekend.
Cycling
I want, I want, I want
As the future rainbow jersey’s (my son) vocabulary currently runs to ‘Car’ or ‘Auto’ (yep already bilingual) I have yet to experience the fear all parents must go through of I want, I want, I want.
No time to type!
So it’s been awhile (well eight days) since my last post and some of you might be wondering why……. though I am sure others are thinking thank god for a bit of peace. But just like the Austrian Oak ‘I’m Back.
But why the scribing silence?
Well I would love to say I have been off cycling the route that Hannibal took with his long trunked friends in 218 BC as described by Felix Lowe in his cracking read ‘Climbs and Punishment’ (review pending but FYI a perfect 10). Or alternatively that I have been liasing with Purito Rodriguez to design a more challenging stage than this years ‘Easy Peasy’ Queen stage at La Vuelta.
The problem of size
A head as round as a Christmas pudding, a body shaped like a butternut squash (pear is being too kind), legs as short as a Corgi, feet as wide as a Hobbit yet hands as small as an Elf (if Elves had sausages for fingers)….
No not a weird creature from the latest straight to DVD horror movie in the bargain basement bin of your local supermarket but a very accurate description of my body shape.
Joyriding
With Mrs Rouleur deep in to the write up stages of her PhD thesis it means that for the last couple of weekends it has been quite tough to find any real time to get out on the bike for more than my daily commute 1 mile to the train station and back.
However this past weekend was proof that every cloud has a silver lining. The 5am wake up from my son (the future rainbow jersey) constituted ‘The Cloud’. ‘The silver lining’, I could squeeze in a ride before a depressingly small and healthy bowl of muesli (aka dust with raisins).
VeloToze tall shoe covers / overshoes review
- The Good – Very cheap price, lots of colour choice
- The Bad – Very tight fitting, lack of breathability
- The Ugly – The look has proved very divisive
With the long hot English summer (clears throat) coming to an end and the damp, nay soggy, autumn fast approaching, one of the essential pieces of kit you need in your cycle bag are a good pair of overshoes. Having neatly destroyed my old pair in a fit of panic as a particularly nasty storm approached I was in the market.
Released earlier this year to much fanfare the ‘Toze certainly seemed an interesting proposition. Coming in 7 different colours, 4 different sizes and 2 cuts (Tall and Short), it’s safe to say that there’s something for everyone and matching kit and/or bike shouldn’t be a problem. Further, given the really competitive price of £14.99 for the tall covers (£12.99 for the short) I took the plunge and found myself with a pair in red (to match my faithful steed) making their way to me.
Ch, Ch, Changes, and Ch, Ch, Challenges
Another weekend is upon us and like hundred and thousands (can you still buy those?) of others I am busy trying to squeeze at least one ride in to a busy schedule of family and work (plus of course the essential activity of sport watching).
Since my cycle Europe challenge and RideLondon I have only been on the bike once and that was a tiny cycle to my local train station and back. This is despite the fact that I still had one final ride to complete for my three part charity challenge.
The Roly Rouleur 