ESSENTIALS
Keep yourself happy outside and in this winter with this little collection...
From foul weather cream to chamois cream, we’ve got the bases covered to keep you happy in the saddle this winter. Once you’re done, indulge in a proper cup of coffee to warm up too
1 MUC-OFF AMINO RECOVERY BALM
£24 The amino acid glutamine in the balm will ‘calm, relax and rejuvenate your body to help regeneration’. We’re not entirely sold on the science, but it smells nice and doesn’t contain any materials prohibited by WADA.
2 CHAPEAU! LONG LASTING CHAMOIS CREAM
£11.99 Give your buttocks and perineum – and your shorts’ chamois – a treat before Lycra-ing up and riding. The chamois cream forms an anti-friction barrier between your sensitive bits and the pad, keeping you comfortable and reducing the buildup of bacteria and thus the likelihood of suffering from saddle sores.
3 CASTELLI FOUL WEATHER
CREAM £15 Protect your legs with Castelli’s water-resistant barrier cream to fend off water, wind and cold. We’re not sure of its claimed-for cramp-preventing properties, but it has very little scent and the plant oil-based ingredients won’t damage your longs.
4 PANIAGUA
EPO COFFEE
£7.50 Used in an espresso you’ll get a ‘big mouth feel, maple syrup and walnuts’ apparently… It comes from a single mountainous Guatemalan farm – ‘El Hato’ – where it’s watered solely by the rain before being depulped, fermented and roasted in a 1955 roaster by awardwinning artisans.
5 MUC-OFF
BODY WASH
£8/£14 Muc-Off does the £8 Dirty Work Kit and the £14 Fully Equipped Kit. Both contain this gentle and pleasantsmelling body wash – and each would make a handy lastminute present for the grease monkey cyclist in your life.