Elan Valley in my new Jacket

On Saturday I went out looking for a new Textile jacket. My trusty old Hein Gericke 'Journeyman' is starting to show it's age, the Velcro is failing, the arms near elbows leak in the rain, (I guess the waterproof shelltex membrane has cracked), not bad though - 8 years of riding, including trips on the continent. I would go with another hein Gericke, but last year they went into Administration in the UK, shame .. I really liked their Tuareg Jacket.

I've been researching textiles for a while now. Been out trying a few on over the months - tried the RST Explorer, RST Paragon and the Richa Toureg at both Kidderminster Motorcycle Mart and Streetbike in Halesowen. The top-end Klim gear is out of my price range, so the RST, Richa etc were both reasonably priced jackets. However, I can't get over the quality of the BMW Rallye Jacket Andy was wearing in Scotland. The Cordura and finish of his suit were superb, so Helen suggested we head off to Clarkes BMW in Rednal - the ticket price was £150.00 more than the others, but recent reviews in ABR suggested it was worth the price (if you ride a BMW that is, it has BMW roundels on the sleeves). Anyway, they had my size and immediately the fit, quality, comfort seemed far superior. I really like the piped collar as I find the tough textile around the neck always chafed my neck doing all of those life-savers on a long trip - none of the others have a piping on the collar, and I like the idea of the removable liner too, the panels that clip down for ventilation, and the real  winner for me - the vent zips that run the length of each sleeve, this has to be great for touring Europe in a hot summer - even the sleeves detach if you are feeling brave ! Finally I do like the colour - kind of matches my GS, and got to be a bit cooler in the sun too. Anyway, thanks to Helen, she managed way over 10% knocked off the ticket price (now for the matching trousers .. hmmm have to save my pennies).

So,  Sunday (3rd August) decided to make an early start and head off to Knighton on the Welsh border to try out the new Jacket. really comfortable on the bike, I kept the waterproof liner in but used the sleeve zips later in the day as it got warmer. Definitely a good purchase. I was enjoying the ride so much, I headed down to Crossgates Cafe nr Rhayder, then onto the Elan Valley via the mountain road. Back home thru' Herefordhsire (Hay on Wye, Leominster) and Tenbury Wells. 200 miles in total. Here's some pics:

Look at that Vista !

My new Rallye Jacket !!

Claerwen Reservoir Dam