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the story so far

up until now, the hebridean commute has been an irregularly frequent comment on the possibilities of getting to and from work by bicycle in an environment that doesn't match the urban archetype. laphroaig distillery once ran an advertisement that claimed 'four seasons in one day' and believe me, they weren't kidding.

however, despite having fulfilled the possibilities of cycling in horizontal rain along single track roads into a beast of a headwind or crosswind in the dark, all i could reasonably promise you is more of the same. and that would (or maybe already has) become boring.

so before this section becomes more predictable than the cover of cycling weekly, allow me to summarise.

having dispensed with the motor car around the end of 2006, daily transport became the responsibility of the company colnago. not, perhaps, the most obvious bicycle on which to commence a daily commute, but not only a machine that was particularly handy, but the fact that it is carbon fibre, means that the dreaded ferrous oxide would not have a chance to gain a foothold.

but, to be honest, the bicycle is almost of secondary consideration when it comes to the daily commute. the editor of our local newspaper commutes over twenty miles per day during the two weekly publication schedule on a marin hybrid costing just over a tenth the price of the colnago. and despite one or two (or four) mishaps with the left crank, it has served him well. what he doesn't have is decent or even practicable cycle clothing.

i, on the other hand, have had the great good fortune to receive a degree of sponsorship from london cycle clothing supremos, rapha. such an arrangement came about after a conversation with owner, simon mottram, where i suggested that a real test of their 'fixed' range of clothing would be how well it survived a hebridean commute. so my daily attire consists of a pair of fixed shorts, winter jersey, winter hat, merino base layer, merino socks and a bright pink stowaway jacket.

if you will allow, i shall give a brief review of each item that has kept me warm and dry on a sometimes very wet colnago. the shorts are made from some of the finest and cleverest technical fabric i have seen (schoeller nanosphere). if you log on to schoeller's website, there's a great demo movie shwing the dropping of sticky honey onto the fabric - and it just runs off. these shorts can be absolutely drenched, and the rain just sits on the surface and dries remarkably quickly. more than practical for wearing on the commute and still sitting about in the office afterwards. i know, because i did it.

on the top half, the stowaway jacket has to be the most waterproof piece of kit i have ever had the good fortune to wear. i wore this out for its first trial in a force eight gale and the proverbial horizontal rain. the winter jersey that was keeping me warm remained completely dry throughout. there are minor quibbles with the degree of breathability of the stowaway, but its something that rapha are aware of and are working to improve.

and just to cap it all (if you will forgive the pun) the winter hat, aside from giving me the freddy maertens look, keeps the ears snug and warm through everything and has the considerable added bonus of a peak, similar to rapha's other caps. this was a very necessary and welcome topping at the mince pie ride on christmas eve.

so it has become apparent, even over such a relatively short period of commuting, that investment in the best of clothing can go a long way to making the daily commute a pleasurable affair, whatever the weather throws at you.

since i do not have to be sitting behind my imac much before nine o'clock, and traffic is only considered heavy if i meet more than a handful of vehicles on my way, lights have become a consideration only to announce my presence, since i have no need of road illumination. it has never been dark enough, and now that the winter solstice has passed, things can only get better and lighter. the colnago has therefore been decorated with smart lights front and rear and always used in flash mode.

for the days when it has been necessary to carry stuff, and in the absence of rapha's much vaunted fixed rucksack, i have been using an ortlieb sling-it, similar in intent to a courier bag. but probably a bit more waterproof. despite having endless problems trying to fit it in a way that prevents it sliding all over my back, i think i have managed to find an appropriate compromise, though i'm still convinced that there's a better way. perhaps if ortlieb had the foresight to provide a diagram for those of little brain, i would be able to report 100% confidence.

so there you have it. is it possible to commute every day on an hebridean island? or anywhere on the west coast of the scottish highlands on islands, come to that? in a word, no, it isn't. and this has nothing to do with the fortitude of the cyclist . at the start of december, islay was battered with seriously high winds and almost endless rain. so much so that at high tide, at one point, the ferry was unable to dock at port askaig in the north because the top of the pier was several feet under water. cycling even eight miles in these weather conditions would be to display a serious lack of concern for one's safety. so the colnago stayed in thewashingmachinepost bike shed.

unfortunately, so did the on-one il pompino fixed wheel bike that brant richards sent up to include in the hebridean commute experiment. many urban commuters ride fixed, as do many couriers, and jez and i wanted to find out how practical one gear would be in a very rural environment. when it came out of seclusion, the bike was wonderful, if only the same could be said about the pilot (see review for more laughs).

so the experiment will continue, but i have no intention of subjecting you all to the blog style reporting that has been the case up til now. updates will be posted when there's something of interest to share, such as a new item of clothing or equipment that eases the pain, or a change of bicycle. thanks for reading so far and i hope you'll pop back from time to time to see if any of this equates to your own commuting experience. i am not pretending that commuting on islay is so vastly different from the centre of london - the principle is the same, only the routes and the weather have been changed to protect the innocent.

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