The condom poncho

I got myself a poncho for cycling in the rain to keep my knees dry. Otto London make some really nice ones and I got the clear Festival Poncho which is only £24. I was thinking I looked pretty cool until Ben asked me why I was wearing a condom.

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I gave my iPhone to the kids when we cycled into town today so they could take some photos of the cars and buses and what’s it’s like from their perspective. Only they took more selfies than photos of traffic.

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They next one is a bus we had to overtake because there’s no cycle path and the bus was just sitting there, not going anywhere.

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And here’s a bus overtaking us.

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Aberdeen City Council: those photos are for you! It’s appalling that small children, the elderly, and other vulnerable people in the population don’t have a safe way to cycle into town. I’ve heard that Union St is one of the widest central city street in all of Europe – is that true? Even if it isn’t, there are four lanes on Union St dedicated to cars and buses and not an inch for bicycles.

Cargo bikes are very useful things. Watering cans in Marks & Spencer were on sale; galvanised and reduced from £20 to £2. I bought four to donate to the school because they told me they don’t have any. There was just enough room in the bike for children.

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15 responses to “The condom poncho”

  1. Norman Avatar

    The like was for the watering can shot – made me laugh! 😉

    1. Rachel M Avatar

      The kids didn’t complain at all. They’re used to being crammed in with lots of shopping now 🙂

  2. velovoiceblogspot Avatar
    velovoiceblogspot

    Interesting about the Festival Poncho! I have the original Otto Poncho in red and love the size, shape and fit of it but it is so NOT waterproof after more than 10 minutes. The polyurethane version sounds like a much better proposition, if not as ‘pretty’ as the red. 🙂

    1. Rachel M Avatar

      I’m very glad I got the clear one then! I nearly got the red one. I’ll let you know how it goes. It didn’t rain very much today but it certainly seems waterproof and looks to be well-made.

      1. velovoiceblogspot Avatar
        velovoiceblogspot

        I have the red one – very impressed with the design for cycling, but… it is not waterproof beyond about 15 minutes’ heavy rain. The clear one does not look like it has the waist tie – does it have the hand straps?

      2. Rachel M Avatar

        No, the clear one doesn’t have a waist tie or hand straps. The hand straps would be very useful. I cycled in the rain yesterday and I had to cling onto the poncho with my fingers which wasn’t easy. However it was waterproof. What a shame the coloured ones aren’t!

      3. velovoiceblogspot Avatar
        velovoiceblogspot

        Just realised I had already commented on the lack of waterproofness of the standard poncho when you first posted! I’m still undecided about the clear Festival poncho but it looks like you can’t even order it correctly from the Otto London website and nobody else seems to stock it. Too bad!

    2. velovoiceblogspot Avatar
      velovoiceblogspot

      Thanks for confirming that. I am going to try (re-)proofing my red one, one of these days!

  3. verytallguy Avatar
    verytallguy

    I own an actual “condom” branded cycling jacket.

    Really!

    http://road.cc/content/review/33950-agu-secco-condom-jacket

    1. Rachel M Avatar

      What a strange marketing decision to name it a condom jacket. I support they think they’re extolling its impermeable-ness in the name.

      1. verytallguy Avatar
        verytallguy

        I think they’re Dutch, presumably it has another meaning in that language.

        However, I lack the fortitude to do a Google search for “Dutch Condom etymology”…

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