Archives January 2017

First Impressions

When I opened the packaging of the new ProViz reflective jacket it immediately looked like a top quality product. The material felt soft and malleable, yet looked great as well. The zips looked, and are, waterproof and have good quality toggles for ease of grip as do the draw strings at either side. I was keen to give this jacket a try.

Main Feature

The first things to say and the main feature of the jacket is that by day it just looks like a grey jacket but, shine a light on it, or look in a mirror and it is amazingly Luminous. Its 360 high visibility means that you are not likely to be missed out riding at night time.

Pros

• Things I like about this jacket are:
• Toggles and zips are easy to use
• It has good sized pockets and a few of them
• Cuffs can easily be adjusted with Velcro

Cons

• The cut of the garment is not great and it doesn’t fit very well
• Suitable for around town but not road cycling.
• Durability remains to be seen and may tear easily.

Final Word

I do like this jacket enormously for getting around town in and I like the fact it has good pockets and it is highly Visible. However, this jacket is not suitable for serious road cycling due to the generous cut and lack of breath-ability, but it is still a fantastic product.

Inspiration

If you are looking for inspiration to go walking in the Scottish Borders, a visit to the healthy spring of St Ronan’s is well worth a visit. The healing waters of St Ronan are thought to have to have evolved over 400 million years ago! Nestled in the Borders town of Innerleithen a small museum incorporating the spring, perches on the hill with fantastic views down the valley.

Healing Qualities

The water that has trickled down through the rocks in the hillside is thought to be full of minerals. The water is there to be sampled, which I did. Although, I may say it was a bit warm for my liking and not as tasty as the water that comes from my tap. I hope it did me some good. To the back of the Museum in a nice garden that is maintained by the community.

Who Was St Ronan?

St Ronan is associated with many area of Celtic Christendom including France and the Outer Hebrides. He is said to have caught the devil with a crook and sent him to hell at the spot where the sulphurous water springs to the surface hence St Ronan’s Well.

Worth a visit?

Absolutely worth a visit, it’s a lovely spot and a great story. Disabled people beware though, it is on quite a steep hill as there are a few steps. However, I did see an accessible toilet and plenty of grab rails.

Overview

For disabled people, or anybody doing a lot of outdoors walking, having the right footwear is absolutely crucial. As a child I remember being dragged round shoe shops to get ‘proper’ shoes and oh how I used to resent it. Now, of course I fully understand for myself the benefits of having the right boots for hillwalking and outdoor activities. My first kit review of the year is about the SL Active boot by Scarpa.

The Boot

The SL Active boot has been designed for use on the most rugged terrain and for all year round. I could see myself using this boot on anything from a coastal path in summer to a Munro in winter with crampons. These boots are designed to be extremely comfortable from the very first time you take them out of the box. I have worn them several times now. I have covered a good few miles in them and here are some of my thoughts :

Analysis

The Verdict 

A very good all weather and all terrain mountain boot well worth the money. Extremely comfortable. They could be especially good for disabled people because they offer excellent ankle support and traction. A real thumbs up for Scarpa.

It’s the New Year, and I’m already looking forward to cycling, camping and the adventures that 2017 will bring. I love living a healthy lifestyle and I also enjoy writing it in a blog. Right now however, I would like your help! I need to know what you enjoy about my blog and what you would appreciate seeing more of in the months to come. Some of the best blogs in the world have been created by asking the readership what they like. So that’s precisely what I want to do and for that, I need your help!

The Beginnings
I have been cycling, participating in disability sports and living a healthy lifestyle for many years. I have always felt motivated to do sports fitness and loved the great outdoors. I have also been writing for many years and I have had numerous articles published in the National Press. As well as this, I have written a novel and many short stories. I started by putting my journalism work into a blog but, after a while I started to loose interest. Then I had an idea! If I love Outdoor Sport so much, why don’t I put that into a blog? That’s exactly what I did and I am having such fun at the same time.

The Act Of Writing
Doing the activities is great, but I also enjoy the process of writing and documenting my travels and adventures.
By writing my adventures in a blog:

• It is a great way of keeping a record of all my activities
• It helps me remember things I otherwise would forget
• It lets other people see what I’ve been up to
• It hopefully inspires other people to do explore the outdoors
• It makes me happy because I enjoy doing it

Over To You
Now its your turn to write something about my blog. I would be so grateful if you would write a few words in the comments box below. You can be as honest as you like as you don’t even have to put your name to it! I want to write the best blog I possibly can so do me a massive favour and help point me in the right direction!

Thank You!