Imagine having one pair of trousers to last you until the end of time. That's more or less the position I found myself in recently. Moving
up north wasn't an option.
Lowe Alpine used to make a garment they called powerstretch tights, sold in outdoorsy-type shops. The big advantages they had over their cycling equivalent were they were stretchy but not shiny, they didn't conform to every bulge and hollow, and they had pockets. They were my work clothes for the bike. My last pair has lasted over a decade of often daily use. They're still going, but have a constellation of holes in the knees, and more alarmingly, the saddle area is gossamer thin.
Anyway, they're discontinued except for a bastardised model that comes up when you google. For a while now I've been wondering what to do when mine finally give out, aside from hide behind the nearest hedge. To prepare for this I started wearing regular trousers on my rides. Hardly ideal, but
I've been here before. Cycling shorts* just don't do it for me. I don't need or want padding, and don't care to be hugged by my clothes.
This story has a reasonably happy ending. It turns out my wife had a pair she never wore much and which were therefore in excellent condition. I accidentally put them on one day as they were drapped next to mine over a chair we use as a closet. Not a great fit, she's got lovely long legs it won't do to go on about here; however, after securing transfer of title, close enough to prompt me to call a tailor in London.
acupuncture costs extra
I felt a bit ridiculous carrying my powerstretch past the wedding taffetta in the window, but Arias – after my fitting I feel close enough to be on a first name basis – didn't bat an eyelid. A few days later I had my bespoke tights (the American in me has to be forcibly restrained from calling them 'pants'), and hopefully at least another ten years before I have to worry about this again.
* later...
