I don’t know why but the words Lycra, Xpandx, Spandex seem to bring out worst in our subconscious. Obviously the thought of the elasticised form hugging properties combined with the smooth silky feel must send subliminal messages to the brain. Even when trying to subdue the image you hear in your head the male cyclist jokingly refer to his Spandex cycling shorts or Lycra cycling tights as “budgie smugglers”. It is true to say that Lycra, Xpandx and Spandex can be very revealing and generally don’t look good on men or women with, let’s say, a fuller figure. But the benefit of the material always far outweighs the fashion statement you’re not making, especially when it comes to cycling.

While many sportsmen wear Lycra or Spandex, cycling is a road sport which puts the cyclist and his bright coloured skin tight attire right in the eye of the unsuspecting public, thus making cyclists the butt of many spandex innuendos. Seasoned cyclists won’t think twice about putting on their bright form hugging cycling shorts and tights but newbie’s to the sport, especially those with a fuller figure will often think twice before they venture out.

At a recent exhibition in Harrogate I stumbled upon an interesting floral rug design concept. While the design was by no means unique it did have hints of North American trends and the botanical essence of tropical Hawaii. The floral rugs designed with bold flowers much like the Hawaiian shirts and the colouring are subtly and tastefully contrasted to bring the tropics to your home. I can tell when good quality wool has been used to make a rug by the clarity of the yarn colour, cheaper yarn produces duller colours. The carving has been painstakingly etched by hand into the rug to bring floral rudiments of the design to life. As the rug is hand tufted the backing is jute.

Rossella Ratto was born on October 20, 1993 in Moncalieri near Turin, Italy. Like her brothers who are professional cyclists, she decided to become a cyclist when she was a child. At the age of five Rossella was used to spending a lot of her time in cycling wear on her bike and during important cycling competitions such as “Tour de France” and “Giro d’Italia” she loved to watch them on TV.

She won her first competition, which was in mountain bike, and then she started her adventure on road. Enjoying herself a lot both during competitions and trainings, she made progresses and she managed to win also male competitions. In 2006 she took part in her first national championship at which she won the bronze medal and at the end of the season she collected twelve victories.

The following year she won fourteen times and she obtained the silver medal in the national road championship. In 2008 although Rossella changed category she got very good results: thirteen victories of which the most important is the “Coppa Rosa”, a traditional and prestigious national race for young cyclists of 15 and 16 years old, the silver in the time trial national championship and the bronze in the road national championship. After a lot of medals in the national championships, in 2009 at last she won her first tricolour jersey with the time trial competition in the city of Imola and she wrote for the second times her name on the roll of honor of the “Coppa Rosa”. In 2010 she changed category and became a juniors.

Ah, the good old British weather, it’s always a topic for conversation, especially if you spend your weekends on a mountain bike. Whatever the time of year, one thing you can depend upon is the changeability of the British climate. So, what cycling clothing should you be packing for that cross country ride?

The whole point of a mountain bike is to ascend then descend steep and difficult terrain, a typical 300 metre climb, according to weather experts, will see a typical reduction in the air temperature of 3 degrees centigrade. This in theory is fine because as you climb your body temperature will also rise a few degrees so in one should cancel out the other. If only!

In reality there are a multitude of things to consider before you pack your clothing. Even in the height of summer when there’s not a cloud in the sky an early morning start in the valley as the sun is low could start off fairly chilly but as it reaches the afternoon it can become really hot. In winter the wind chill can really cutting, especially as you leave the shelter of forests or reach the open summit. Autumn and spring can bring a concoction of weather conditions with huge and sudden variations of temperature. And let’s not forget the good old dependable British rain.

While the cycling jersey takes on many guises both in aesthetics and design, the basic function of controlling your body temperature during your ride remains constant. On a ride that can last several hours the outside temperature will often change dramatically, so choosing a jersey that will handle the conditions of the ride is essential. This could involve denser fabric with long sleeves for greater insulation on colder rides or thinner cooler fabrics with short sleeves for warm summer rides. It goes without saying that the fabric should have technical attributes that allow body sweat to wick away to keep you dry.

Apart from fibre properties and sleeve lengths you will find a vast array of zip configurations to allow you even greater flexibility in ventilation, thus helping to maintain your preferred temperature during your ride. You will find jerseys with full zips, half zips, quarter zips and no zips, it’s really up to the end user as to which they prefer. Zips can also add to the aesthetics of the biking shirt but furthermore they control the way the jersey’s collar stands up to protect your neck in from the sun in summer or seal in body heat in cooler weather.

Because of the body position maintained when cycling the jersey is designed with a longer cut at the back for better coverage while riding. Cycle Jerseys are usually form fitting to be more aerodynamic meaning if you’re a little overweight you might be wise to move up a size, fat guys and lycra really don’t look cool. The pockets of a cycling jersey should be on the lower back of the garment to allow easy access on the move. Reflective trims are also recommended for night riding.

The best reason for wearing proper cycling shorts is comfort. After riding a bike for a couple of hours wearing anything other than Lycra or XpandX combined with a quality Coolmax or G.Tex pad will rip you to threads. Because they are tight and unhampered the XpandX short from Deko is engineered to keep the G.Tex padding correctly positioned as it works with your body to expel excess moisture.

There is no reason in the world that you should end your ride with the comment; “I feel like I’ve been rogered by a hippo”. Cycling short are designed to make your ride more enduring and there is a cut and style to suit all riders. Basically the tight stretchable Lycra or XpandX material hugs the body keeping the shorts from rucking during the ride while also offering aerodynamic, moisture wicking and fast drying properties. To ensure that the cycling shorts perform to their maximum efficiently they should be worn direct to the skin, this means you wear no underwear as it is often the sweaty underwear that causes the most painful chafing.

Cycling shorts come in a standard short shape or a longer ¾ length or a bib short. The bib short is preferred by many riders because they don’t fall down or dig into your hips. If you are taller than average they will also give better coverage to your back. Whatever style of short is right for you the best choice and value is available from encove.co.uk

So, you've bought your new bike! With your suspension forks and a gazillion gears you are ready to put on your shorts and tee-shirt to cycle the bridleways, disused train lines and forests of the United Kingdom, maybe stopping off for quick refresher at the local pub or cafe on route. Just imagine those hot sunny days and Idyllic long warm evenings cycling into the sunset with your bike and a few friends. Ah perfect!

Unfortunately your dream of the perfect cycle ride can be easily quashed by some very simple factors. The changeable British weather or simple case saddle soreness for example can ruin a potentially great ride out. Fortunately wearing the correct cycling clothing is the simplest way of preventing major discomfort.
No matter where you ride the British weather at sometime is going to catch you out, whether it's a typical summer shower or a chill settling in on a warm evening the correct cycling attire will always keep fairly comfortable. Good quality cycling clothes are produced using fibres that are designed to retain body heat while allowing perspiration to wick out and disperse quickly on the surface, keeping you dryer and therefore cooler. Whilst there is no way to avoid getting wet the odd summer shower wearing this style of clothing means you will dry many times quicker than the equivalent produced in say a cotton fibre.
When the sun starts to set and the chill sets in you will again find that the fibres used in quality cycling wear will retain your body heat, particularly when you are on the move. Because the clothes are light and compact it is fairly easy to pack and extra base layer, jersey or gilet (type of sleeveless jersey).

The vast majority of Internet rug dealers build their business on the back of stocks held by wholesalers and importers. That is to say, they do not invest in stock; instead they simply lift photos from the rugs supplier catalogue and offer them on their web site. When the customer orders rugs from the website the retailer must then order the rugs from the wholesaler or importer, wait for the rugs to be delivered to their premises, then make arrangements to deliver to the end user, the customer. Not only is this method of selling costly to the end user it can take at best ten days to two weeks to process and deliver an order.
Any importer of rugs will tell you that transportation of goods is a major expense which inevitably has to be paid for by the end user. Because there is no mass production of rugs in the United Kingdom most machine made Wilton rugs are imported from Belgium, the Middle East or Turkey while handmade rugs are imported from India, Pakistan and China where labour is considerably cheaper. As rugs are generally bulky the burden of delivery charges can be a relatively high proportion of the end product price. A typical internet rug retailer who is operating using wholesale or importers stocks must additionally carry the weight of the operating costs and profit margins of his suppler plus the delivery costs to his door and also to the end user.