Boot Hill revisited

LAst April, my faithful pair of bike boots (Sidi Black Rain Evo) died of old age and overwork, and I bought a new pair of Frank Thomas Aqua Rides. Posts here and here, for those without a home life.

I didn't know it, but at the time Frank Thomas were in administration and about to go out of business. That wouldn't have affected my decision to buy them, as I had always had good results with FT gear before. However, the Aqua Rides are perhaps an example of the reason why the firm didn't survive.

For one, they were advertised as waterproof, and they weren't. They kept the worst out, and no doubt were better in the wet than a normal race boot, but after 20 minutes or so of heavy rain you could feel a cold trickle round your toes and you knew that you would be spending the next day-and-a-half drying the boots out. However, they were very comfy to walk around in, felt good on the bike, and were toasty warm, so although I was disappointed I decided to keep them.

And then, on Tuesday night, I was getting ready to go out to the TOMCC pub meet and put them on. Rrrrrip. The lining of the left boot had become detached from the rest and had slipped down into the foot part. It wasn't possible to put them on without crushing the lining underfoot, and this would have been very uncomfortable and possibly dangerous, so I went out in Doc Marten's instead. And got thoroughly wet feet. Lace holes.

I took them back to the dealership yesterday, and they are returning them to whoever looks after Frank Thomas's business affairs these days. It's unlikely I will get a replacement pair, as they don't make them any more, but I may get an equivalent pair, or a credit note. Or I may get nothing. I suppose after 11 months of daily use, it's unreasonable to expect a brand new pair out of it. The old boots are being 'sent away' and it will be a week or so before I get any answer.

I like my feet exactly as they are, and I won't go out with anything less than proper protection on them, so I had to find another pair pronto. Hence a trip today to Lamo's Motorcycles in Llandissilio. I have spent a bit more this time and got a pair of Forma Arrow Dry boots. This is another 'clearance' range, but that meant I spent £120 rather then £150. Ker-ching. They are allegedly waterproof and - good sign - they are Italian. Also, they are snazzy. Until now, for the whole of my motorcycling career, I have worn plain black boots. These have a bit of red about them.

As has the Sprint.



I am a fashion victim.

Trouble is, I am now forced to buy red bikes until the boots wear out, or buy new boots every time I change the bike, or go around unco-ordinated. Which is par for the course according to my friends, and not a problem.

Rescue Cat thinks they are ace.



P.S. Those toe sliders are magnesium. It says so on them. Only, it's 'non-sparking' magnesium, apparently. Damn.

Looking Like A Wasp

On my last working day, I rode to work in a downpour. I don't mind rain while I am riding; in fact, secretly, I quite like it. If you've got decent gear, then you aren't going to get wet, and all you have to do is to take things a bit more steadily than normal, put your lights on, watch out for blind car drivers peering out through misted windscreens, and enjoy the pitter-patter of tiny raindrops on your visor. I said "if you've got decent gear", and that's a big 'if'.

Riders of a similar vintage to my own will remember when 'waterproof' as applied to motorcycle clothing was an in-joke. It wasn't, they knew it, we knew it, and we did the best we could with what we had. But nowadays, with modern materials and manufacturing techniques, it is possible to make bike gear that is completely waterproof. Not only that, but the kit is breathable, too. I suppose it has always been possible to make stuff waterproof; you just had to have enough thickness of PVC and heavy welds. But this was awful to wear - heavy, clammy, stiff, and if you walked about in it you got wetter from your own sweat than you ever would have done from a bit of rain. So GoreTex and its derivatives have been a blessing to bikers, allowing the manufacture of kit that is both 100% waterproof and a pleasure to wear at the same time.

When I returned to biking four years ago after a lay-off of ten years, I was lucky. My local dealer carried a range of Richa bike gear and they had what I needed: a waterproof textile suit with a thermal lining and CE-approved armour. It was January when I bought it, and warmth was a priority. The Richa Albatross suit (no longer made) delivered the goods. It was a bit bulky and heavy, but it was as warm as toast and never let a drop of water in, despite being ridden through some Biblical storms. I wore it almost every working day and came to rely on it. But all good things must come to an end, and recently the suit has been showing its age.

It started with a damp feeling to the rear end when sitting on a wet bike seat. I never actually got wet trousers, but the clammy feeling wasn't nice. The Cordura outer had also started 'wetting out', where the nylon absorbs water rather than shedding it, which doesn't affect the waterproofing but makes the suit weight a ton after a ride in the rain, and take a week to dry. I had done the standard thing and washed the suit first in Nikwax Techwash and then in TX Direct, but it only lasted a day or two. And then, a few nights ago, I rode to work in the rain. And after five miles my left leg was soaking. Time to shoot the dog.

I could have just replaced the trousers, although Richa's strange zipping arrangements meant I would have to stick with salopettes, which I wanted to get away from. So I decided to go for a new jacket and trousers combo, this time with a small amount of high-visibility material. Not a neon banana suit, but something subtle. The dealer didn't have a lot of stock. I ended up sticking with Richa (why not?) and bought a Vision Fluoro jacket and Monsoon trousers. They are slightly lighter-weight material than the Albatross kit, and may end up being less warm as a result, but they fit well and are comfy, and that means I am more likely to wear them for normal day-rides as well as the daily commute. The tickets added up to £230, we settled on a round £200, and off I went.

I have worn them once so far, and can report that they kept a light shower out, and were fairly warm - although the weather is hardly Arctic at the moment - so it's so far so good. The commute begins again tomorrow.

Here is the jacket (the trousers are black and unremarkable) - front:



And back:

Triumph Jacket

Yesterday was the usual end-of-season sale at my local bike shop. One of the Triumph RAT forum guys that I had done a ride with contacted me and asked me if I was going. I hadn't planned to, as I'm pretty skint at the moment and, as Oscar said, "I can resist anything except temptation". But we agreed to meet there for a coffee, and so it was.

In the sale, there was a lof of stuff seriously marked down, including some Triumph-branded jackets. I'm always a bit suspicious about bike-branded gear. I mean, look at all the H-D tat that you see on all those bad-ass accountants. The Triumph stuff has always looked fairly stylish to me, but way over-priced. So here were some rather nice Balfour jackets, all sizes available, at £50 a pop, or about £100 off the usual retail price. I tried one on (stupid skoolboy error, that) and it looked good. That is to say, when I saw it on me in the mirror, I wasn't too repulsed. I think the vertical theme helps to, er, refine the figure somewhat.



Now I've got it home, I'm delighted with it. It's a summer jacket, which means it's water-resistant rather than waterproof, and it's light and quite thin. But it fills a gap in my biking wardrobe. Previously, it was either the full winter-weight textile jacket (which is brilliant, but weighs a ton and is stifling on hot days) or my ancient leather jacket, which is too hot on a hot day and too cold on a cold one, and has no armour, but is as comfy as an old armchair. I probably won't get much use out of the new one this season, but I'm glad I've got it. It oozes quality: it's made of Cordura nylon, but the sleeve-ends and Triumph lettering on the back are in a lovely soft black leather, the zips are all heavy-duty and it comes with a zip-out thermal waistcoat which is rather thin, but should make it less of a one-trick pony. And it's got armour at the shoulders and elbows, which the leather jacket doesn't have. It feels comfortable and protective.

I wore it out for the first time today (see next post) and it was very comfy, although on a cool and windy day it certainly wasn't stiflingly hot to wear. A waterproof jacket over the top made it bearable for the morning chill, though.