Apologies for the delay - LEL preps, etc, and numb fingers, but finally got round to joining the forum...
Physical damage - if I am very wet and cold - I do not change hand position very much - leads to nerve damage and I now have tingly fingers on both hands
I resorted to the full Carradice Touring Cape after the climb out of Aberystwyth. Great, in so far as it helped dry out the lycra beneath, giving me dry clothing for keeping warm through the night.
Snag was, to keep the front flap clear of the headlamp (on my bars), I had to hold the top of the bars (rather than ride on the hoods). Several hours of this has resulted in the tingly-finger effect, even now in mid July.
Also still got numb toes, after 36 hours of wet-feet. Amazingly, once I'd ridden home (
yep, 650 km total) I was expecting the skin to peel off with the socks - it didn't. I did deploy the tatic of wearing my old, leaky Diadoras rather than my newer, water-retaining Exustars. Better out than in!
Other cape notes (
as opposed to "foot-notes"):
Bit of a struggle into the head-wind on the descent off Plynlimon (to Llangurig) but quite manageable once back onto lower valleys and through Montgomery to Shrewsbury. De-caped through Ironbridge to The Hollies, but had to resort to it from there, most of the way up until Middlewich. Those sections were ok, with mainly cross-winds.
Have never seen any other idiots in capes though? Is there an Audax ban on them? Normally, I wouldn't have carried it, but given the weather forecast and knowing its benefits from my touring days, it seemed a good idea...