New Jaiket

To go with the new bike, I bought myself a new bike jacket. I decided on waxed cotton this time around rather than leather or textile as I liked the traditional style and it had a degree of protection built-in with CE-approved armour and a back-protector, unlike the one I had years ago.

One of the reasons that I stopped wearing my old Belstaff was the realisation that all that stood between me and the very hard ground should I have an off was a thin cotton jacket no heavier than a regular denim one for any sort of ride. In the end I stopped wearing it altogether.

This one also came with a nice thermal liner, which I removed. I once read a decent article on long-distance touring which said you should just wear an extra jersey or sweatshirt instead. The reasoning being that it was one less item to carry around with you if you were actually wearing it, and it could be worn off the bike, unlike the liner it was replacing.

It’s also “Guaranteed 100% Waterproof”. We’ll see. I’ll reserve judgement on that until I’ve put it through a five-hour ride in the pouring rain. Or, summer, as we call it here in Scotland.