Cycling raingear...

...doesn't work when you're a messenger.

The rain in Dublin has been fucking atrocious this year (and last come to think of it), and without fail my supposedly waterproof gear has given up the ghost pretty early on in the day.

I just bought a new Endura jacket (to replace my Cyclone issue 'rain-sieve') and it got its first real test today. The thing looks beautiful, really comfortable... but waterproof??? Not a fucking chance. Check that link out and look at the reviews from the leading cycling magazines. High praise indeed. What kind of testing do these muppets do? What exactly do they call rain??? It rained solidly for about two and a half hours this afternoon and the arms had begun to soak through after one. By the time I got home I was sopping.

Are manufacturers ever going to make products that can withstand a courier? They use claims like 'durable' and 'waterproof' when in fact this is only apparently the case if you commute for 20 minutes a day, or go out riding at the weekends. How long has your last pair of gloves lasted? Fuck me, I've spent more money on gloves than I dare think about... always the same, the top of them fine, but that shitty synthetic crap they use on the palms lasts about 3 months if you're lucky. If you use long-fingered gloves and have brakes the sides of the fingers wear through in a matter of weeks. Pants.

I'm so sick of throwing good money after bad. Instead of making yet another messenger bag, can one of these talented individuals invest some of their creative energies into designing jackets and gloves that can withstand 9 hours a day, 5 days a week of working on a bike.

Please.