Life In The Saddle

Back in September, I reviewed the Eleven Vélo Ride Pouch on the blog. The leather wallet proved to be a neat and very well made jersey pocket kit carrier, which safely and smartly houses all your smaller ride essentials. It impressed me so much, that it fast became part of my Every Ride Carry . The Ride Pouch was a collaborative project, between Australian brand Eleven Vélo and San Francisco based Waterfield Designs. Although the pouch is really the only cycling specific product that Waterfield Designs have created to date, the quality of the product was so good, that I began thinking how many of the other great looking pieces in their range might be utilised in the two wheeled world. The Gear Pouch range looked ideal... I know a lot of enthusiast cyclists, and the majority of them are also almost OCD organisers. I'm not sure why, but perhaps the desire to have a finely tuned and efficient bicycle, also carries over into their everyday lives; so they end up organising everyt...

Winter. It's about the only time of year that you'll catch me wanting to be inside for some of the daylight hours; particularly when it has been as wet as this winter has to date. The plus side of this, is that it means I have the chance to get some jobs done around the house; one of which, is decorating. So far, I've managed to give one room a complete overhaul (it is only the start of winter, right?!). On reaching this minor victory, I went on the hunt for some new artwork to further spruce things up... I came across Small Pictures and Projects, a small start-up based in Kent, UK. Their fun and quirky artwork is available on prints, mugs and gift cards, and they are bound to put a smile on your face. The brand seemed worth sharing on the blog, as their range of products is well worth checking out. They could make great gifts for any cyclist, this Christmas. View the Cycling range from Small Pictures and Projects (Link)

Proteins are an essential element for repairing, rebuilding and creating new muscle; they are the 'building blocks' of muscle formation. Each protein is made up of BCAA's (Branched-Chain Amino Acids), and research suggests that delivering essential BCAA's to your muscles, before and after strenuous exercise, will help to boost muscle repair post-activity. Conventionally, amino acid supplementation comes in the form of pills and capsules. Muc-Off have opted for a new tack with their Athlete Performance Range; delivering BCAA's directly to the muscles through the skin, in the form of rub-on balms. Their range comes in a three part series, with the amino profile of each product varying to provide a targeted approach. You can either use one or all of the products during one training/recovery session. First up, there is the Explosive Power Balm. This contains Arginine Aminos, which are used to make nitric oxide (NO) in the body. Science suggests that a higher lev...

Last week, I posted my Fifteen Festive Stocking Fillers for Cyclists - 2015 ; it contains some great little products that I thought any rider would be delighted to receive. In this blog post, I've picked out ten more products from the past year of testing; they all retail for less than £50, some less than £10, but they are all great gifts. Hopefully they will provide some further gift ideas for the keen bike rider in your life. Pocpac Any-Road iPac 3X Phone Case I use a waterproof phone wallet almost every day of the week, and the ones from pOcpac are some of the best that I've trialled. This new 'Any-Road' case is an artistic extension to their great range of cases, which I reviewed on the blog a while back. It features a lovely design on the reverse of the case, as well as the standard pOcpac strong zip, well placed camera window and internal divider for cash/cards. The 3X version fits an iPhone 6 or a Samsung Galaxy. View the pOcpac range (Link) Se...

The Garmin Edge 810 has been classified by many to be the ultimate GPS computer. It is a compact unit, which has mapping capabilities, as well as full training software, and the ability to connect it to any ANT+ measurement unit. However, for many touring cyclists, the need for training software is limited, and the importance of mapping capabilities is the highest priority... enter the Garmin Edge Touring. The Edge Touring comes in at a significantly lower price than the Edge 810. It is a stripped back, mapping specific cycle computer, which focusses its devoted attention on guiding its user, rather than providing in-depth training data. The Edge Touring is the same size as the 810. It also similarly has a colour touch screen display, two easy-to-press buttons for start/stop/pause and lap, and a waterproofed port on the back to insert a mapping micro-SD card and a USB connection cable. Unlike the Edge 810 though, the Touring is able to meet a price point, by stripping back the u...