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rapha core range long-sleeve jersey

rapha core range long-sleeve jersey

for the past few evenings, as i have sat watching something totally inane on the tellybox, i can see a bright and surprisingly large half-moon through the sitting room window, overhanging bowmore distillery's bonded warehouses. however, it's not been the yellowish lunar surface that has attracted my attention, but a small point of light that originally sat to the left of the moon, but latterly has appeared to its right. i am insufficiently versed in the constitution of the heavens to know which planet/satellite/space station that might be, but i was reliably informed by a member of the velo club peloton, who knows about such cosmological matters, that i am looking at jupiter.

rapha core range long-sleeve jersey

the latter planet orbits well over 700 million kilometres from the earth, yet even with my age diminished eyesight, i can still view the sun's reflected light over such a colossal distance. were i more inclined towards the numerical side of life, i'd have attempted to figure out how long it would take me to cycle to jupiter, given my rather derisory, age diminished velocity. but aside from viewing the planets in our solar system from a cosmological point of view, their various orbits and gravitational influences purportedly influence matters on planet earth. like the seasons, for instance.

rapha core range long-sleeve jersey

my naivety extends to considering earth's seasonal changes to have more relevance to climatic conditions, but it seems that in this, i am well wide of the mark. no matter the ambient temperature or the meteorological conditions seen through the same sitting room window, apparently autumn commenced on 22 september and will summarily end on 21 december, at which point, winter sets in. i confess i had been more inclined to set the beginning of september as my autumnal marker, with mid-november as the start of winter.

but, seemingly, weather has little or nothing to to with either. those are simply the earth's visible coinicidences in the northern hemisphere; the reverse will be true south of the equator.

rapha core range long-sleeve jersey

yet, here we are, but six days into autumn and already velocipedinal conversation has turned to whether we should hang up our bibshorts till spring and inhabit either bib-threequarters, or, heaven forfend, full-length bibtights? i have tentatively invoked the 'hebrideans are the flandrians of the west' mantra, more to convince myself that bibshorts are still ok, rather than any defensive show of machismo. at least, that's what i'm telling you.

my gravel-based explorations referred to yesterday, experienced the full autumnal effect. it will suprise no-one that riding through ballygrant woods in late september, offered a thickening carpet of copper-coloured leaves; if i was unaware of autumn, it wasn't unaware of me. sartorial considerations led me to inhabit a pair of bib-threequarters, but if i'm totally honest, that may have been a bit of a mistake, since their mild fleece lining was a tad cosier than i'd hoped for. still, had i actually met any living person during my perambulations through the woods, they would surely have been mightily impressed by my stature and fortitude. and simply to round off my tailored presence, i donned rapha's new long-sleeve, bright orange, core range jersey.

rapha core range long-sleeve jersey

by way of a spoiler alert, it's my new favourite jersey.

in the true meaning of 'the future's bright, the future's orange', it should probably have been fitted with a volume control. i veritably feared for the sight of anyone i may have met along the way. yet, at one and the same time, it fits right in with what we might consider autumnal hues; a far better hi-vis alternative to chartreuse. outfitted with a light, fleecy inner, despite an ambient temperature of around nine degrees, assisted by a chill north wind that brought that closer to three or four degrees, i had scarce need of any auxiliary garmentage, such as a wind-jacket or gilet.

it is said that art lies in the details, the most obvious of which is a separately crafted white fabric armband on the left sleeve. the three rear pockets, comfortably carrying an essentials case, digital camera, spare track mitts, mini-pump, kool-stop tyre-jack and the aforementioned windjacket, they were perhaps a tad tight, but then, the jersey is brand new and at least there were no concerns over anything falling out. there's also a fourth, zipped security pocket. the full-length zip ends at the collar with a zip-garage, while the collar itself is of a height neither too tall, nor too low.

rapha core range long-sleeve jersey

i am both long of torso and long of arms, yet the (medium-size) core jersey offered sufficent length to the waist and even more length in the arms than i'd hoped for. as i said, my new favourite jersey. but the real surprise regarding this orange superbness (it's also available in dark green and dark purple), is the price. the core range is effectively rapha's 'budget' offering, yet there's nothing in the way of budget about its person. i guarantee that, were imperial works to have priced this at £120, rather than its almost derisory £70, we would all have gratefully accepted the price of admission without so much as a murmur.

when winter commences on 21 december, it will be a simple matter of augmenting the core long-sleeve jersey with something to fend off the expected inclement conditions. if you've bought from rapha before, you'll be acquainted with both quality and price, but if you don't own anything from the land of the black and pink, now's your chance, before somebody in the accounts department at imperial works realises the company calculator needs new batteries.

rapha's core range, long-sleeve jersey is available in sizes from xs to xxl. colours are orange (as reviewed), dark purple and dark green, all priced at £70.

rapha core range long-sleeve jersey

monday 28 september 2020

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................