Make or break from dawn to dusk

When the alarm goes off it’s always too early. The temptation is to reach for the snoooooze button, just to squeeze out those extra five minutes under a warm cosy duvet, snuggled up to an obedient pillow, convinced that those glorious five minutes will make or break the day ahead.

The irony is more often than not it just makes you late.

Playing catch up with precious minutes you really could not spare, you mutter self-directed outrage as you come to terms with fooling yourself again.

But, when it comes to an early morning ride, those minutes disappear, they are irrelevant, they have no grip.

The morning ride alarm rings earlier and louder, but unlike its work heralding sibling its broadcast serves only to catapult you from the clutches of the memory foam, accompanied by the eagerness of many riding hours ahead.

The bike will have been prepped the night before; tyre pressure checked, chain lubed, bottles filled, bolts tightened and Garmin charged.

All of the essential pre ride routines. All controllable. Unlike the weather.

The apprehensive, obligatory glance out the window, to see if the forecast is living up to its wide eyed expectations is usually followed directly by a host of kit uncertainties caused by an unchanged wind direction, a bigger temperature fluctuation or the dreaded ‘rain is expected’.

No rider wants to spend time thinking about what they are wearing when they are on the bike. It’s at that moment the kit you choose should work perfectly and blend into the background, supporting the ride not hindering it, so you can just take in the wonder of cycling free of distraction and not worry about whether you are overheating or have the waterproof jacket for the rain band ahead.

In essence, it can be summed up in one word; protection.

A helmet will offer protection in the case of an accident. Likewise, the right eyewear will give a rider the best opportunity to react to dangers on the road, avoiding road surface irregularities or stopping debris getting into their eye during a technical descent.

But equally important is the knowledge that although cyclists play with the elements they also need to be protected from them. Protection from the rain, from a chill wind, UV protection, from overheating, protection from the darkness and other road users.

With the right technology and innovation the kit you choose will play a role in enhancing safety, how you feel on a bike, enhance performance and bring out all the good things that come with cycling. Giving you the chance to be in your element in the elements, from dawn to dusk.

That’s worth getting out of bed for!