Albion, nice and a reasonable amount of pocket locations

Huge fan of the English Desert theme. I did a 200km back in Nov from Whitstable > Hythe > Broad Oak > Romney > Lydd > Hythe and home and felt the exact same as I rode through this area. A write up is gonna be in the next issue of Arriveé (I think) but here's the Romney Marsh / Lydd section - and my photo of that Coast Road junction!

'With no real climbing behind me I descended towards and then skirted around Hythe and onto the wide Romney salt marsh. I’ve always loved it here. The saturated plains are like a photographic negative of the high desert steppe on the edge of Idaho’s Lost River Range where I grew up. I don’t feel nostalgia – that’s a kind of falling backwards – but more like I enter a time loop where past geography circles around and overlays itself onto the present. The canals become straight highways, the sheep turn into rabbitbrush, and about 50 miles away Calais becomes one of the volcanic Menan Buttes offer up their roiling turmoil. Exposed to the big sky, I feel at home here.
[…]
But then at the Coast Drive T-junction on outskirts of Lydd-On-Sea the tailwind disappeared. I turned North and it was as if time stopped, or folded back on itself. Coast Drive at Lydd is set way back from the sea and the depth of the mojave coloured beach pushes the sea even farther from view and into a thin strip. Startled by the stillness – it seemed no-one was anywhere and the sea had turned grey - I started past bungalows that paved in the beach for the next 5 miles. Every home seemed about 1 ft tall and hiding from the sea or the beach or even the road. As I went past the tiny houses I looked through the front windows expecting to see dollhouse furniture but they revealed its inhabitants asleep, crinkly and sucked into their armchairs spaced way apart in cavernous, ballroom like sitting areas. It reminded of the book House of Leaves where a family moves into a large and creaky home only to discover that the house is impossibly larger the inside than the outside, full of dark chambers and unconnected but unending corridors. The book is dark and pretty unsettling but it’s is also a love story, although not the kind where the characters love for each other is allowed to occupy the same space or time.

I felt as old as the occupants, like I suddenly had a sparrow skeleton, and pedalled easy northwards up the Coast Road. The homes started getting taller, each roof rising a bit and I saw some younger people, or at least more elastic, finally moving about their houses and occasionally padding around gravel drives. The inside walls contracted and the outside walls expanded and the space of the homes back in sync - I breathed a little easier. The sea finally playing the hypotenuse by clawing away at the beach until the water nearly met me in town at the Grand Parade and the temporal interlude fiasco righted itself.'

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wow, thank you for posting @youramericanlover, great writing. Congratulations on (hopefully) being Arriveé published. That is quite the making!

some photos from Romney Marsh trip - including your remote T-junction too.

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did the cuts of the jerseys get a little altered (i.e. longer)?
asking for a friend :x

I've been interested in getting some Alby kit, but I find the mannequins on site utterly terrifying.
Do I need to go attack some shoulder reps and get lipo on the spare tyre?

Totally forgot to add my name weeks ago, kicking myself. If any chance of adding another I’d really appreciate it, but if I’ve missed the boat - no worries of course

1) Mat-CR Large
2) fussballclub Medium
3) atz - large
4) youramericanlover -XS
5) 6pt – S
6) snoops m
7) Po - small
8) amey - M (will collect from studio)
9) cozey - L
10) samrensho - XS
11) exteroceptive - XL
12) SwaTee - XL
13) KingSaxlingam - L
14) Merak-M
15) nobrows-XS?
16) Big Ted - XXL
17) aftertheglory - L (postage to the Netherlands if poss)
18) jakemcree - S
19) ElGonzo - M
20) ltc - M
21) honk - L
22) CalAmor - M
23) TTM - XS
24) Brain-Stew - M
25) samdaniel - M
26) mustardbeak -XL
27) Jameo - S
28) slothy - L (int. postage)
29) cagimaha - M
30) swmlon - XXL for collection
31) tb55 - M
32) lemesjeu - M + L (post to belgium, maybe combine post to EU if works out better?)
33) tramp - M (happy to collect)
34) efb - S
35) jaeyukdapbap - L
36) LeBlaireau-L
37) BCarley - XL (happy to collect)
38) djc – S
39) carlosbrown - XL (post to Italy if possible)
40) Jerome - XL
41) Cloak/Dagger - M
42) stelfox - L
43) ghostface - M
44) groakden - XXL
45) themidge - M
46) crow - L
47) jzk - M
48) Gustav - M
49) DayTripper_Mk2 - XL
50) duncs - S
51) Scunny - L
52) damitamit - XS
53) RhysC - L
54) Keepitmencap - L
55) fids - L

What is it about the new bibs that protect them from going transparent? Something new in the construction? As mentioned in the Rapha thread a few days ago.

@titof afraid the jersey fits haven't altered, have you found them short in the body? Appreciate any feedback on this - the fabric is v stretchy and I've found covers a wide range of fit.

@monkdagola yes, don't! The 'ghost mannequin' service can be quite frustrating :/

@exteroceptive That back panel takes a hammering over the lifespan of the bibs. Under high stretch, direct sunshine, sweat, roadspray, grit, plus factor over the repeated washing, it's inevitably one of the points which show fatigue.

We've developed very simple solution, and included a panel from pad-to-upper-seam (making it double layer), and then doubled-up the upper fabric panel across the back. This more evenly distributes stress throughout the area, from pad to bib, and (naturally) the double-layering also means the panel will remain solid.

Without getting too right-on(!), but taking the long-term view to 'design-out' a problem, aligns with a bigger sustainability strategy; If we're using a resource and making something, will it last as long and be utilised to the maximum possible? I'm a fan of these super simple interventions to age-old problems!

edit; you can just about see a ridge of the extra pad fabric panel above the zig-zag, to the left and right of the central flatlock seam + panel above is doubled. Hopefully you can see how this distributes/minimises stress through this section of the short; https://www.albioncycling.com/product/abr1-bib-shorts-navy-men/

likewise, probably too late but just in case

1) Mat-CR Large
2) fussballclub Medium
3) atz - large
4) youramericanlover -XS
5) 6pt – S
6) snoops m
7) Po - small
8) amey - M (will collect from studio)
9) cozey - L
10) samrensho - XS
11) exteroceptive - XL
12) SwaTee - XL
13) KingSaxlingam - L
14) Merak-M
15) nobrows-XS?
16) Big Ted - XXL
17) aftertheglory - L (postage to the Netherlands if poss)
18) jakemcree - S
19) ElGonzo - M
20) ltc - M
21) honk - L
22) CalAmor - M
23) TTM - XS
24) Brain-Stew - M
25) samdaniel - M
26) mustardbeak -XL
27) Jameo - S
28) slothy - L (int. postage)
29) cagimaha - M
30) swmlon - XXL for collection
31) tb55 - M
32) lemesjeu - M + L (post to belgium, maybe combine post to EU if works out better?)
33) tramp - M (happy to collect)
34) efb - S
35) jaeyukdapbap - L
36) LeBlaireau-L
37) BCarley - XL (happy to collect)
38) djc – S
39) carlosbrown - XL (post to Italy if possible)
40) Jerome - XL
41) Cloak/Dagger - M
42) stelfox - L
43) ghostface - M
44) groakden - XXL
45) themidge - M
46) crow - L
47) jzk - M
48) Gustav - M
49) DayTripper_Mk2 - XL
50) duncs - S
51) Scunny - L
52) damitamit - XS
53) RhysC - L
54) Keepitmencap - L
55) fids - L
56) gillies - XL

.....A bit of fun from the weekend; customised a Zoa jacket to make it reversible, by adding olive pockets and branding to the interior.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdLAETzMOjx/
photographs by Josh Greet

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Ace! Would totally buy. Dibs, please.

Ditto the dog coat

photographs by Josh Greet

These are great, as is his other work.

I find the SS22 photos very difficult to look at. I'm not sure what all the grain and faux film light leaks are about but it seems a bit at odds with the rest of the Albion branding which is modern and clean with a little playfulness. The gifs are especially grating

Will there be any off bike in the near future? Other than tees

Maybe showing my age, but the style is a homage to the stoner rock scene, which grew out of generator parties in the Californian desert in early/mid Nineties. Accessible, mobile tech gave the scene a low-fi look, whilst the endless landscapes also gave it a timelessness. ....Would love to have been at one of those parties*....

Yes, lots in work and weartest, but alas, there's only so much we can actually grow by season-on-season. Watch this space!

Edit * just realised a nice bit of synchronicity; this was mirrored with the mid 90's raves at Lydd airport in Dungeness.

love to see the Sound Mirrors. and seeing the area in general reminds me been too long since getting down there. nice work guys

And similarly, this piece by Timmy Mallett captures the remote atmosphere on Dungeness when he passed through this spring on his cycling circumnavigation of Britain;

‘Big Skies on Romney Marsh

I am surprised when pedalling through the Marsh just how massive it is. There's an immensity about this landscape that haunts us. I can feel how authors are inspired by its melting horizons.

As the afternoon progressed, the chill March wind picked up and the sun was partly obscured by a gathering cloud front. The sparse trees along the lanes are blown by the prevailing Westerlies into rugged shapes. I didn't expect to see this on the Kent and Sussex border.

I painted this water colour using my great Daler Downey travel kits of colours dropped into wet paper. As it started to dry dabbed at it with a dry cloth.

No lanes

No directions

Just big skies‘

https://www.mallettspallette.co.uk/storiesblog/big-skies

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this piece by Timmy Mallett

Those 5 words alone make me feel VERY old :)

Also, yes, thumbs up on the reversible jacket

I recently started following his ride around the UK, and it’s really inspiring. He has no schedule or bookings, just places of interest he wants to visit - and historic landscape paintings he wants to experience and locate the position of the artist. He just dives in, no ego or agenda, genuine love for the landscape, people, places and history. Quite jealous of the laid back approach to touring plus the time he has ….and also how youthful he is at 66 years young!

He cycled past my office a while ago on the south coast and popped in for a look around, gutted that I didn't know about it until after it happened :-(

Can't believe you wrote that many words without letting us know you were riding fixed

Huge oversight

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I just went for a ride in the new shorts (with the double butt panel) and they were super comfy. Also, the jersey is lovely and green and delivery was really fast and free!

@King_Saxlingham same feeling here! He stayed in Cardigan a few miles from the event I was at last weekend, and he encourages people to say hi and have a chat. Some sightings by riders, and someone gave him a hand fixing his bike (and got a sticker from him!), but alas, I missed him. Got sent a link to The Cycling Podcast (episode 200) interview with him - again, quite envious of his free spirit approach to epic rides
https://thecyclingpodcast.com/episodes/explore

Cheers @Angus thanks for the message!

As a one time resident on the edge of Romney Marsh FYI technically it is not “salt marsh” as it is not flooded by seawater, it does get flooded in winter with ‘splashes’ in the fields from rain but they drop the level of the canal and drains to take the excess and let it out at low tide via the river Rother.
It is mostly below sea level though.

yes lads

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He did his first big ride (I think) after his brother Martin, who had Down's Syndrome, died. This quote is pretty good regarding it:

The 64-year-old said: “When I set out to cycle this route, from my home in Berkshire to Spain, people automatically assumed I was doing it for a variety of reasons like charity.

“It wasn’t. It was all about reaching your potential just like Martin did each and every day. So it was a personal challenge, to see if I could do it.

A talk he did here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqmWBpj-oDM