You've probably seen cyclists on the road wearing skin tight lycra in the middle of winter, riding a thin framed bike that looks barely able to hold the riders' weight as they struggle to make their way down a country lane.
Well that image may well be me.
I originally looked into cycling shorts as early as Saturday evening, sitting uncomfortably as possible on a couch, on top of a pillow, with London Broncos v Hull KR on telly in the back ground. The consensus seemed to be, I needed shorts with a padding under the crotch so when I sit down on the saddle I don't feel the pain as much.
But while I was online I looked into cycling jerseys, and what they do to help the cyclist. Overall the very best jerseys are technologically advanced enough to remove seat from the body. This cools the rider down as they generate heat and sweat from the exercise, which is very important in warm weather.
With that in mind, I searched for reasonably priced clothing and equipment. After all, I still don't own a helmet.
After a quick search, I found this Team Sky jersey. It cost £140 from the manufacturers, Rapha.
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| Source: Rapha.cc |
Meanwhile the shorts were designed with an upper body undergarment, like so. This cost £170, also from Rapha.
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| Source: Rapha.cc |
You put the shorts on first, then wear the jersey on top of the white undergarment. So for a combined total of £310 I could wear the apparel of Team Sky in 2013.
Luckily I had sense, and opted not to purchase the Team Sky clothing. Instead I looked a little closer to home.
I originally looked on Sports Direct.com. I have always found their sports clothing and equipment to be reasonably priced, to borderline cheap. But as you might expect, the quality isn't always there. After all, they are marketing to amateur sports people of all abilities who are on a budget. But luckily I was able to pick out some suitable clothing online.
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| Source: SportsDirect.com |
Costing only £19.99 online, Muddyfox the biggest supplier of cycling clothing to Sports Direct.
I also found this jersey, also unsurprisingly from Muddyfox, which comes in a variety of colours at only £7 online.
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| Source: SportsDirect.com |
A nice red and black jersey, the colours of Joining Jack, was perfect. Now all I needed was a helmet.
I decided to leave looking at helmets until I got in store. I could have easily bought all of the gear online, but my personal preference is to go in-store so you can try the clothing on for yourself.
It took me five minutes to find the cycling gear in Sports Direct, Warrington. Tucked away next to the golf equipment.
My Mum came with me, because I'm cheap and didn't want to use my own petrol. I convinced her she could go around the new New Look afterwards, which had opened in the Golden Square Shopping Centre.
Jackpot!
Unfortunately this Sports Direct store didn't have the shorts I wanted in stock. So I looked through their range of Muddyfox shorts they had available. They ranged from all black shorts, to black shorts with a green reflective trim down the side. They were £9.99 in-store, and I was about to buy them until I saw they had a pair of full-length padded leggings in my size.
They would be very handy.
One of the reasons my hamstring injury, as mentioned in an earlier post, hasn't recovered as quickly as it could have is because of my own stupidity. Five weeks after the under 17s match, I was back training when it popped again. This was put down to me wearing very short shorts on a bitterly cold November evening, which meant unless I was running constantly the muscle would get cold and stiffen up very quickly.
I bought the leggings at £12.99. Hardly breaking the bank. I can always buy the shorts in the summer when I'm sure my muscle is fully healed.
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| Source: SportsDirect.com |
The in-store price of the jersey I had looked at online, had mysteriously shot up to to £9.99. However there was an offer on, two for £14. It made sense to get a second jersey, as I intend to train a couple of times a week.
The red jersey was joined by a blue and black one, in support of Help For Heroes, the other charity which I represent wearing a wristband for.
Finally it came down to picking a helmet. There wasn't much choice for adults in-store, but luckily the choice they did have came in the colours of red and black.
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| Source: SportsDirect.com |
Priced at £9.99, its hardly the most streamlined helmet you'll ever see. In fact its made from polystyrene, so high speed crashes won't save me wearing this thing.
Just when I'm about to go to the checkout, my Mum chirps up: "Don't you need some gloves?"
I have absolutely no idea what cycling gloves will help with. All I can think is that its to do with warmth and grip in cold weather.
After two minutes spent questioning her, I give in and buy the Dunlop gloves, priced at £7.99.
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| Source: SportsDirect.com |
So that's, that!
Five items later, and £44.97 less, I think I'm prepared to face the elements on the bike.
Needless to say, despite having a wedding to go to in March, Mum couldn't find anything she liked in New Look.
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