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t-labs road riding t-shirt

t-lab roadriding t-shirt

last year, i was fortunate enough to have organised an appropriate cycle route for prince albert of monaco to ride between ardbeg, lagavulin and laphroaig distilleries. this task had been the subject of several e-mails between myself and the whisky society of monaco, each of which stressed the need for secrecy and non-disclosure, strictures which were observed until after the ride had taken place.

not unnaturally, as a head of state and notwithstanding the fact that he wore a bright orange jacket with albert printed on the back, the prince was accompanied by armed security, all of whom wore small, round pin badges on their jacket lapels. when asked the reason behind this by jackie at ardbeg, we were told that it enabled them to quickly assess from those in a crowd, who were the good guys and who might possibly not be.

t-lab roadriding t-shirt

it's hard to equate the act of assembling at a pre-ordained point each and every sunday morning, dressed to the nines in often less than subtle lycra or sportwool with membership of a secret society. but, as we all know, the secret society part kicks in when we revert to our civilian garb, quietly going about our ordinary business without drawing undue attention to ourselves. but there's no real point in being a fully-paid up member of an altogether secret society, yet having no means of identifying others.

thankfully, there are amongst our number, a variety of subtle indicators pointing out the true followers of the velocipedinal way, none of which are specifically taught at the point of lycra purchase, but can be absorbed by osmosis provided you hang out with right crowd. like the mighty dave t, for instance. those little oval tanned patches on the back of each hand, the extremely odd tan lines as seen when in swimwear at poolside, a tendency to wear logo'd casquettes in public or though perhaps a tad extreme, having the word campagnolo tattoed on the back of your neck.

t-lab roadriding t-shirt

(and just to acknowledge that there is more than just one secret society in the world, i always carry a dw drum key in my pocket.)

however, not all depends on secret handshakes or sleight of hand; every now and again, one has to come out of the closet and demonstrate our undying affiliation to the cause. i'm not suggesting that we emulate the mores of the average soccer fan and spend each day dressed in the home strip of a favourite team with an unpronunceable surname on the back, but perhaps something as simple as a cotton t-shirt would suffice?

the recently reviewed rapha pro team winter baselayer features the subtly applied message trouvée d'arenberg in a semi-circle across the front, but you will not hear it from me that you ought to sit in the monday morning office wearing a winter baselayer. that would just be odd.

a t-shirt would seem the ideal solution then, one which the creative folks at t-lab are more than happy to satisfy, particularly with their brand spanking new road riding t-shirt. should you find it a trifle difficult to decipher the applied legend from the illustrations, let me enlighten you...

"gearchaginhillclimbintruckdodginwindcheatinlegshavincabelsnappinwheelchasinlegburnin roadriding"

t-lab roadriding t-shirt

i daresay it's a bit rich coming from a chap who refuses to employ capital letters, but aside from a total lack of apostrophes or spaces between words, the t-shirt easily accomplishes the desired signification, yet maintains the statutory level of secrecy amongst the cognoscenti. the shirt is cnstructed from heavyweight, quality cotton and satisfyingly printed with a thickness of ink that ought to defy more than just a few machine wash cycles. and the t-lab people have contrived to print the word 'roadriding' in red, against a dark blue background (or an optional lighter greenish-blue). with the preceding text printed in white, this all but conceals the punchline, lest it be unintentionally read by the uninitiated.

the shirt, available in the above mentioned colours, can be acquired in small to xl for the princely sum of £27 each. considering the time of year, it brings new meaning to the phrase secret santa.

t-labs road riding t-shirt

friday 24 november 2017

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