in the first decade of this century, when i still possessed a modicum of wanderlust, i would think nothing of taking a ferry and a bus to glasgow, before boarding a train for london village. on the outer edge, there is only so much that can be done to encourage, maintain or create personal relationships within sections of the cycle industry, and if i had to choose one place in which to do so, london seemed a reasonable starting point.
at the time, the annual cycle show was held at earls court, rapha were still out at the original imperial works in kentish town, cycling tv's studios were in the vicinity, there were a number of cycle stores of interest, and not just a few other indviduals with whom i had been in contact prior to the train journey. several of them still speak to me.
on one of those trips, i was accompanied by my daughter, who would have been a teenager at the time. as that particular visit consisted of two days and two nights, the arrangement was that on day one, we'd visit all the cycle-related folks and locations, and on day two, she could shop 'til she (or i) dropped. that seemed to meet with her approval. day one started early and finished late, with me talking endlessly about bicycles and related subjects, along with brief bouts of rudimentary photography. as we wended our way back to the hotel via several underground train journeys, my daughter said, "dad, cycling people are really nice."
though she may have been looking at the situation from the wrong perspective - it's probably more a case of nice people working in the cycle industry, than the industry being responsible for their niceness - essentially, she wasn't wrong. throughout the long day in london, even though i was perpetually occupied, my daughter was never ignored by those i visited. she was offered coffee or tea, sandwiches, the opportunity to look at bicycles she might like, and all manner of other courtesies. at no point was she ever ignored, or the subject of disapproval that i'd brought my teenage daughter along for the ride.
andrew and daphne monk are this is cambridge, a company that entered the velocipedinal world as purveyors of hand-made casquettes that avoided the one-size-fits-all mentality, naturally progressing to jerseys, bibshorts, socks and waterproofs and gilets. in fact, pretty much every item of garmentage desired by the intrepid rider. the design of these garments was not only impeccable, but pleasantly eccentric (socks with rarely matching patterns and the waterproof jacket can be bright pink with large, reflective white dots). andrew and daphne are completely independent and completely autonomous, with no shareholders to please, leaving them free to decide what they do and what they don't do.
you would be forgiven for querying how that's any different from any number of cycling apparel providers, other than the fact that they seem able to survive in what has become an all but saturated market, where the big boys often seem intent on leaving few crumbs for the more compact and bijou, such as this is cambridge. and as if to throw obstacles in their own path, tic do not sell through high street or online retailers. the only way you can acquire tic.cc apparel is via their own website.
and they are very nice people.
if proof of the pudding were required, earlier this week i received an unexpected package containing a pair of bright yellow socks emblazoned with the tic logo, accompanied by a brief letter. that missive enquired how i was doing in these difficult times, comparing them to the never ending last kilometre of a brutal climb, "depleted of energy and every metre feeling like a kilometre." though i have been spared many of the iniquities attached to the covid-19 lockdown restrictions, at least as far as cycling is concerned, i knew just what they meant.
so why the yellow socks with mismatched patterns?
perhaps it's best if i quote from the label wrapped around the 'vive your tour' socks. "At a time when we would normally be watching the world's finest, we encourage you to go ride more. Go fill the void with extra kilometres, happiness and positivity. Vive your tour - honour the socks." and even if you don't have a pair of these socks, perhaps you could take a more existential view, and find your own parcours, until racing commences next month.
and honour the socks.
sunday 12 july 2020
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