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Tooling Around
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This week, I bought a watering can. Actually, my mum bought me a watering can as an early birthday present. It might be the perfect watering can - balanced, with a nice fine (but interchangeable) rose. Sturdy, but not so heavy it’s hard to use when full. It’s not the absolute Rolls Royce of watering cans (there is one at well over £100 that I am slightly covetous of, and it comes in purple…) but it’s not far off. I mean, £45 for a watering can is quite a lot, right?
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But it is the right tool for the job, and using it is a pleasure (and right now, I’m having to use it rather a lot).
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And, I’m a sucker for a good tool. If you don’t appreciate a well designed handle, a stay sharp point, or a properly hardened edge, have you even lived?
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However, ‘just the right tool for the job’, the perfect match of form and function, does bring me to a state of some internal conflict. Having just the right thing can also lead to having a lot of things. Where is the line between having the right thing (Scissors for fabric, scissors for the kitchen, scissors for paper, scissors for hair, and nails, scissors for loose threads), and deciding ‘that’s a ridiculous number of scissors’? (Confession: I also have van scissors, slug scissors, and garage scissors. And there is not just one pair of fabric scissors…).
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Bicycles are a whirlwind of conflict. On the one hand, you can go full Dutch ‘Yay! Bikes are great! You don’t need anything special to cycle, look at me in my chinos and flowing scarf!’. Or, you can go full ‘sport’ mode. Lycra and clippy pedals. Snug fitting softshells, gilets and jerseys with pockets. You can have mountain biker in the wild, or mountain biker on a local lap. A waterproof jacket cut just for the job, or one that doubles up for when walking the dog. (You’ll note that I haven’t got onto the bikes themselves…)
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Being lucky enough to test lots of products, I get to see the little details that make the difference between a dog walking jacket, a bike park jacket, a bike packing jacket, and an all day out in the rain pedalling jacket. I could tell you in some detail what I’d like out of a pair of bib shorts, or a helmet. But does this mean that, if cast out in the wild, I’d actually buy a different helmet for gravel/trail riding/night riding/bike parks? Would I buy three (or maybe four?) different rain jackets? Quite probably not. I’d buy the item that covered most bases. And it would be fine. (I don’t think I could manage just one bike, though…)
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As a child I was strictly forbidden from asking for stuff - you had to wait and be happy with whatever surprise you got for birthdays or Christmas. Sometimes surprises are great. But for all that I don’t like ‘stuff’, that ‘oh this is just right’ sensation of exactly the right thing is pretty hard to beat. Yes, your family may already think that all that playing around in the woods that you do is quite enough childish behaviour. But I urge you to invoke the birthday clause, claim an extra day of childishness, and use the opportunity to get ‘just what you wanted’, rather than just what you needed.
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While we’re here, Happy Birthday to Mark, who kept his birthday too quiet last week, so none of us actually knew it was happening. Uncharacteristically adult of him, tbh.
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Last Chance To Subscribe For June!
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Have yourself a big injection of good vibes this June. Put down your phone, pick up our print magazine, and take yourself a way to a world of mountain bike happiness. Check out what's inside the June issue... Join us by midnight on 24th May to have your name on the list to receive a printed copy. Already a subscriber? …
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It's a Bank Holiday in the UK next Monday. So don't go to work if you don't have to.
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Organic Quality Lined Bucket Hat
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Organic cotton, high quality lined bucket hat with small logo.
It's got vents holes and is perfect for all sun shade duties.
Protect your head from the sun and that.
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80% Recycled Cotton, 20% Recycled Polyester. Lining 100% Organic Cotton
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£25.98
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STW TriDri® recycled technical t-shirt
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Order now to get June's magazine fresh from the printers. Delivery will be mid June 2025.
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£10.00 Original price was: £10.00.£7.99Current price is: £7.99.
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The Moustache Clutch with Pinion MGU gearbox motor is seemingly the answer to all our prayers. Benji ponders.
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Having spent all your pocket money on some nice outdoor gear, it can be pretty annoying to put a hole in it. Whether it's a barbed wire fence, a brush with a rough rock, a crash, or just good ol' wear and tear, a hole can put a big... er... hole in the functionality of your gear. These days, more …
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