Motorcycle Explorer November 2016 Issue 14 | Page 28

In Focus: paul pitchfork
CLOTHING
When choosing clothing for a long trip, I employ two key principles: items should be multi-
use and work both off and on the bike - which means I favour non-motorcycle specific
clothing for mid and base layers; and you should be able to wear it a long time, or easily
wash it on the road - which for me means maximum use of Merino wool. Merino also has the
big advantage of working well in both hot and cold conditions, adding to its versatility and
reducing the number of items in your panniers.
Heavyweight Base Layer - Halvarsson Polo .
I would normally take a light fleece as a day-to-day midlayer, but this time we both chose a Halvarsson
Polo. It doesn’t list the wool weight, but I would guess it is about 250g. With a zipped neck collar and
thumb loops, it is a superb piece of clothing. I wore it, literally, 24 hours a day, when riding and when
sleeping. It’s casual enough to wear as a lightweight pullover off the bike. Great quality, keeps it shape
after days, but only available in grey.