Recently in Clothing Category

So far I think I've got six (6) expressions of interest in the Team Bee jersey. Just need four more to make the minimum and then I'll start the process of ordering. So if you are interested and haven't already said so, please leave a comment with your name to let me add you to the list.

Have spoken to the folk at Plan Bee:

"We cannot accept donations to the Plan Bee campaign as we aren't set up as a charity but if you would like to donate to help bees please see the Bumblebee Conservation Trust's website"

So the £5 I'd originally proposed would go to them to aid their work.

Like everyone who rides a bike, I love riding through the countryside in bloom in spring and summer as it bustles with colour and life. The smells of the flora and fauna that make it home are something we should all cherish, not just as memories

Bumblebees are just one of the creatures which make an invaluable contribution to keeping it that way. We should do something to help them go about their business without worrying where their next buttercup is coming from.

Do you want to find yourself riding through a drab landscape, devoid of such wonders as nature creates? I don't, so that's why I think we should support the humble bumble (other bees are available).

In this age of austerity it's also important to remember the vital work bees do in supporting the economy: Loss of bees could be 'a blow to UK economy'

I've been knocking this idea about in my head for a while now: Team Bee

So as I had some time on my hands this morning while waiting for the repair man to come and look at our washing machine, I thought I'd run up a first effort at designing the jersey to see if there is any interest.

If there is, then maybe Team Bee will become a reality and not just a strange fantasy in my mind.

So show of hands if you are interested in being on Team Bee.

I'm looking at getting the jerseys done by Champion Systems on the recommendation of a few people. To make a go of this, or at least for it to work with their minimums, we'd need ten (10) firm commitments to buy a jersey.

I'd aim for them to be fairly priced at £35, which is cost+£5.

That £5 would in turn be returned to the Co-Operative's Plan Bee initiative which aims:

"To address the decline in bees, we're taking action on pesticides, have created a research fund and are inspiring people to help bees in their gardens."

"We're petitioning the UK Government to carry out a systematic review of the impact pesticides are having on honeybees."

Find out more about what Plan Bee is and what it aims to achieve

There might be a few design tweaks before the final version, based on feedback. Not 100% sure on the typeface for the web site address across the front and on the trim but can't find something that is both legible and says "Bees" among the ones I've got here.

Are the bees on the shoulders too much, perhaps plain yellow stripes there instead? I quite like them but there's five bees on the jersey. Maybe they're a bit big.

All feedback and design improvement suggestions welcome.

I've not put a big deadline on it, but I guess if we wanted to be a "club" we'd need to get affiliated before the beginning of 2011. I wasn't planning it as a first claim club, more a gentlemanly second claim whimsy.

(via yay! cycling)

Vino wearing Rayban Aviators, John Galliano T-shirt, unidentified 3/4 length jeans and sandals which look like they might be Prada.

Could his look be any more clearly that of a "wealthy man from former soviet bloc country"? He'll be buying property in central London next, mark my words. Actually it seems to be three different looks going on at the same time.

The end of season exotic criteriums always throw up some ill-advised photo opportunities for the pros and they seem to take every single one of them.

Still, I love Vino for at least making an effort compared to that scruffy pair of Herberts, the Schleck brothers.

Spotted this while checking out Le Coq Sportif's Eroica competition. It's a very nice take on their original cycling kit but done in a modern fashion style.

It's available to buy online at Shop Le Coq for 120 Euro

There's also a pretty sweet World Champion Polo for 70 Euro

I saw Simon Lamb of La Gazzetta Della Bici mention Assos this afternoon and that they're doing a "heritage" range next year.

I remembered that I'd seen Fignon wearing Assos in his Renault days, so it was no surprise one of their heritage options is the classic Renault-Elf jersey when I found some pics on Life Time Gear

It's not really "heritage" is it? It's more a re-issue like the ones Prendas do.

And a flat lit model isn't really selling it to me. That braced position, that ridiculous "simpleton looking into the sky" pose. It hardly says "this will make your riding a fun, exciting, enjoyable experience that you value."

This is where Assos always lose me. Their promotional material is so achingly awful that the notion of buying their kit is about as appealing as wearing one of those blinding primary colour bumbags by NafNaf beloved of continental schoolkids visiting London.

The same can be said for large swathes of the actual product. I once saw the Assos look witheringly described as "gay Buck Rogers".

Regardless of superfluous slurs about sexuality in relation to Buck Rogers, it's a pretty unappealing thought.

Armwarmers, legwarmers, plain black FI Uno S5 shorts: Yes. Almost everything else: a screaming No.

Maybe I don't get Swiss humour, but the Assos Mumu cow-print jersey is one of the most misguided cycling jerseys outside of anything by Primal Wear

Surely there must be some more wearable options in their archives than the Mercier Coop jersey?

And to think, just last week I was contemplating buying some Assos shorts.