The Suit
March 18, 2020
All right. 3-4 weeks ago, which now feels like an eternity, I was riding my new bicycle through a heavy rain. COVID-19 was still in China only. I got funny looks in the beginning of February for wearing a mask and using alcohol-based handwipes (because I was afraid sanitizer would be confiscated) while on trip to US. I never used public transportation since return, to minimize contact with the public. I was aware how dangerous in many ways the China virus can be and I am also aware how connected our world is, so I intuitively accounted for black swan-type event and chose people-free paths and N95 mask at all times.
Just kidding, I was thorougly enjoying my new bicycle and using every opportunity to ride it (I used the mask. The air is dirty). I gathered many ideas I want to write about. For now, let’s stick to the original topic I had in mind that provoked me to sit writing. This blog deserves to become a story.
So I was riding that evening, returning to home from the office. I deliberately chose a long route. I was going to be bone-wet, anyway, so better enjoy my ride home by choosing mostly woods (yes, we have some in Sofia), parks, passages free of cars, and generally decrease the likelihood to interact with anybody. Weather was too shitty for pedestrians, so any walk zone counts.
The weather was rather cold. My thin windstopper and everything else soaked. Merinowool baselayer below was allright, though. My leather gloves were no good in the wet, although they are very comfortable in large range of temperatures and particularly in cold weather. I tried to balance the cadence to optimize for both not expending too much energy but also keeping me warm. I was chilling. Long exposure to cold and wet is no good.
I was still enjoying the experience, though. Little stress is good (what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger, they say), I was going to get home safe (where later I got a long, hot shower, which was such an amazing experience), so I used the opportunity to enjoy the contrasts of dark woods , long traffic jams and various lifeless cityscapes and wander in my thoughts. I firmly decided on the second accessory, that makes the bycycle a byebyecycle. What’s the first you may ask? Well, that’s a topic for the future, which is hinted from the “Hello, world” post 🤪
So this accessory is The Suit. I was thinking, in order to ride this in any weather and be prepared for anything, I need a solution for nasty weather. It can double as a sleeping shelter, combining functions is the best way to save on weight, not obsessing over whatever company tries to sell you for many $ for saving some grams, often jeopardizing robustness in the process. I checked various working suits, coveralls, suits for exploring caves. I wanted waterproofness, yet breathability, which can be improved by moving slower. Warmth can be compensated with layers below. I want just a protective shell, the more robust - the better, I can be less careful. I even ordered several one use hazmatsuits from aliexpress (they were cheap enough and I can find many uses to them).
Fast forward, today I read the news the people in the military hospital here were equipped with Bulgarian-made hazmatsuits:
They are supposed to protect from COVID-19, so I assume waterproof, they cite them as breathable, many times more robust than the single-use ones, 50 cycles of washing (which, I assume, is not just water rinsing). I am sold. I will get one when this is over and I can get one without compromising somebody else’s safety.