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pedal ed kaido l/s merino jersey

pedal ed kaido merino jersey

islay has always been an agricultural community, a traditional means of survival that stretches back over the centuries. as recently as the late 1800s, there was reckoned to be around 15,000 people living on the island, something of a far cry from its present population of marginally over 3,000. without the benefit of our contemporary transport infrastructure that sees an average of two flights per day from glasgow airport and up to five ferry sailings per day from kennacraig, those thousands of people relied on farming to keep them fed and to farming sales to purchase foods that do not grow in the hebrides.

pedal ed kaido merino jersey

take a look at a map of islay and it is notable that all the original distilleries were sited on the coast, allowing import of barley and yeast by means of scotland's famous west coast clyde puffers as well as distribution of the finished product back to mainland scotland. that this is no longer the case can be seen by the existence of kilchoman distillery near the atlantic coast (but nowhere near close enough to allow practical sea transport) and the ninth currently under construction at ardnahoe, several hundred metres above sea level on the sound of islay.

it's islay farming heritage that created a network of so-called drove roads, allowing farmers to herd their sheep and cattle to and from market, where nowadays they're transported by tractor and trailer or, in several cases, dedicated cattle transporter. many of these drove roads still exist, some in theory and others still visible behind one or two of the more recently built homes on the road between bruichladdich and portnahaven. again, there are others, paid tribute to by the ordnance survey maps through a veil of thinly dotted lines. but in practice, mostly you'd be hard pressed to find even an overgrown footpath.

pedal ed kaido merino jersey

the current dire state of the country's roads has not escaped islay, though caused more by ever larger tractors and more frequent and heavier trucks servicing the distilleries and local averagemarkets. many of these roads were built over peat bogs in the 19th century and a tad more prone to subsidence, having never been designed for the weight and frequency of current traffic in the first place. no doubt something will have to be done at some time in the near future to prevent the island's road network from gravitating ever closer to that of the historic drove roads, but in their present state, they offer little succour to either the island's residents or those intent on visiting later this year.

britain's corporate and governmental attitude towards our domestic road network compares disfavourably to that of edo period japan. between the 17th and 19th century this far eastern country featured five centrally administered roads that connected edo (modern-day tokyo) with the outlying provinces. these were referred to as kaido, the most important of which was tokaido, linking edo with kyoto. similar to those old drove roads on islay, they were used to enhance japan's commercial aspirations and often deliberately flanked by tall trees to shade travellers from the hot summer sun.

pedal ed kaido merino jersey

islay has neither tall trees nor scorching summer sun, the lack of which seems not to deter many a japanese vistor from visiting islay in the winter, despite the wind, rain and currently, sub-zero temperatures. however, to the best of my knowledge, no-one has ever thought to celebrate the existence of our drove roads by way of an appropriately designated and designed cycle jersey. pedal ed, on the other hand, have done exactly that to maintain a tenable link with those five edo routes or kaido, having similarly named this rather luxurious merino jersey.

after pointing out that these five japanese kaido can still be traversed after 400 years, pedal ed were apparently inspired to create a jersey "with only one objective in mind, to design a product that could stand the test of time over all these years." i'm assuming that they are well enough informed and perspicacious enough in their outlook to realise that few, if any cycle jerseys are likely to be still around and serviceable after four centuries of use, but that hardly prevents us from appreciating the fruit of their labours.

pedal ed kaido merino jersey

the merino/polypropylene/elastane mix that forms the body of the kaido jersey is at once, both luxurious and impressively practical at the same time. once again, at this time of year, its incredible lightness of being hardly commended it to tens of kilometres in freezing, yet dry conditions, so the review period was carried out under cover of both thermal and waterproof jacketry. in both sets of circumstances, its breathability was greatly appreciated, as indeed was its form-hugging constitution. the one-way stretch black stripe inserted down the centre of the rear is reputedly to maintain its form over time; time will tell.

the collar is a smidgeon higher than most and all the more welcome for that at this time of year. i am not at all blessed in the time-trialling department and therefore do not employ any bicycles with tri-bars fitted up front. i mention this because resting elbows in the padded supports of a set of tr-bars was the only reason i could imagine for featuring elbow patches on the sleeves. but as an adjunct to being told that the kaido did not immediately look like a cycle jersey at all, i found myself leaning on those patches while devouring a double-egg roll and a particularly fine soya cappuccino.

for all i know, an ancient japanese tradition.

pedal ed kaido merino jersey

the three rear pockets are not of uniform size, the centre pocket mimicking the width of the aforementioned black stripe and suitable only for carrying a mini-pump. if this is not something you carry as a matter of course, you may find yourself slightly irritated by the existence of only two normal size versions. realistically, however, this is probably more of a perceived problem than a real-life one. though there is no rear zipped security pocket, there is one on the left breast, possibly more practical in any case, depending on what you intend to carry within its vertical zip.

the kaido is a most comfortable jersey, whether worn alone or under a weatherproof outer. in britain at least, the latter feature is likely to be most welcome. you could easily match it up with pedal ed's nachi waterproof gilet when the weather heats up a bit, and it's light enough in weight and substance to find favour even in the allegedly hotter summer months. its palmares is perhaps not quite that of the roads after which it was named, but if i might paraphrase the vapors 1980 hit single, turning japanese in such a manner is well worth exploring.

the pedal ed kaido jersey is available in sizes ranging from xs to xxl and is available in black, light grey (as reviewed), dark grey and red. retail price is approximately £93 (pedal ed price at 105 euros on their website.

pedal ed kaido jersey

tuesday 27 february 2018

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