On my recent ride from Brisbane, I made used of a tried and true sleeping bag: a cheapie from Big W. I once thought it was warm, but when it came to wearing five layers of wool, a winter hat and woollen gloves – inside the sleeping bag – I realised it had lost its thermal mojo. Especially when I was talking with Harold (whom I met on the way), who looked puzzled at my comments about cold nights. ‘But I have a down sleeping bag’, he said.
That did it. After some searching I discovered a pile of goose down sleeping bags and snapped one up (at a big sale). It weighs a mere 80o grams, keeps you toasty, naked, to sub-zero temperatures and packs into a rediculously small bag. I even tried it out last night, just to check. ‘Kn’oath it’s warm.
But it does make one wonder, in light of the endless number of down bags available: the world must be full of very many naked and cold geese and ducks.
18 July, 2011 at 11:20 am
Ah gorgeous – I want one too. Yes poor duckses and gooses – but there is a plague here in Nottingham and they’re as fat as flying rats (you know, pigeons) so they could handle a little less down I suspect. The bloody gooses – Californian they are – messy up the cycle paths and make me swerve and skid. When I first arrived I was puzzled: cycling in the ‘countryside’ (the ‘side’ is so poncy but that’s what they say here) I thought there must be loads of cattle on the loose. But no, the poo was goose.
“Rediculously small bag” – does that mean it’s a specifically Marxist bag?
Talking of how the Unglush speak: Radio 4 12pm news announced that the New Zealand All Blacks performed a Marryhacker, Eh?
19 July, 2011 at 9:15 am
Vancouver is covered in goose shit too.