The gloves are off

Full fingered gloves that is. I put them on first obviously and went for a lovely ride, but at the end of the ride I took them off. It was splendid.

It was another nippy morning this morning so I thought it would be a good opportunity to try out my full fingered gloves. Over the years there have been many times when I wished I had full fingered gloves but did not. So when we moved back to Perth they were one of the first things I purchased, in anticipation of mornings such as this.


These are the gloves I have

Polaris Attack gloves

I picked them up nice and cheap from your friend and mine Chain Reaction (actually I am more of a Wiggle person, but they don't always have what you are after). In hindsight I wish I had read the above review before buying them, since it more or less sums it up. The fingers are a bit short, or the thumb is long. Thinking about it, I am more inclined to think the thumb is long, since the fingers feel about right. Plus I feel like I have the tactile sensation of a garden gnome, that might be normal for full fingered gloves though, my experience base is not huge. I guess going into a shop where you can try things on sometimes really is better. They certainly had the desired effect of keeping my hands toasty warm though. So big tick there. I can overlook the other niggles for the toasty warm. I thought all the other cool cyclists might laugh at me for wussing out and putting on full gloves, but there was no laughter. In fact as I rode past other cyclists with their summer gloves (or no gloves in some cases) it was I who had the knowing, slightly pitying, look on my face. I have known their pain. But not today.

With the aid of the gloves, the ride this morning was very nice. No sleep in for me this morning, not on a load week. In load weeks, rest days become rest afternoons, or simply fond memories. Still it was just a nice cruisy spin.  A fine example of why cycling this time of year can be so good. Light winds, a pretty ride around the river. Very enjoyable.

I should take this moment to point out that while I do endorse online shopping, I don't advocate in day in and day out. I realise that local bike stores are a very important resource (well the good ones are anyway). I usually try and split my spending between the two. Sometimes the price advantage of being online is just to good to ignore. But other times, being able to deal with somebody face to face, see the product, pick it up etc are essential.

A bit of a soapbox moment now. Something I have noticed since moving back to Perth is a lot more people now ride without helmets. That is legal in some situations in Darwin, but not in Perth. In Perth it is a legal requirement to wear a helmet whenever you are on a bike, however I am not sure how strictly it is enforced. Now I know this is one of those topics that divides people, I happen to fall on the pro helmet side of the fence. I think you only have to have one crash where a helmet saves you from a serious head injury to see the benefit in them. But in the couple of years I have been away from Perth there seems to have been a definite movement away from wearing them. This strikes me as a dumb idea. Now if you don't wear a helmet and have a serious accident, I am not saying I am going to just ride on by, spitting on you as I pass. But I might give you a bit of a 'I told you so' speech while we wait for the ambulance. You are warned.