There will be more on the way too, so let us know if there are any you'd like.

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When we needed pictures of the new bike and run range in action, Hazel, Ade
and Alex booked into the Pwll Deri YHA in the untouched corner of Cardigan
Bay on Strumble Head.

We arrived in the dark, so it wasn't until sunrise that the full beauty of
our location unfolded.

To model the kit we recruited some active local friends. Sam and Phil who
are runners, riders and Lifeguards on our beaches, Josh who we ride mountain
bikes with and Laura who cooked all the food for our Rest Less ride.

5am starts, creaky bunk beds, breakfast overlooking the sea, beautiful
light, dusty coast paths, rocky headlands, a lighthouse, burning gorse, the
Presili mountains, winding back roads, 150 year old woods, wheelies, good
food eaten together and photo's showing the beauty of where we work.
Our photo shoots are work, but they really don't feel like work.

This slideshow is a selection of shots from the photo shoot.

Photgraphed and compiled by Ricky Adam
Music by The Redneck Manifesto

Complicated isn’t clever.
Complicated is just trickery... Smoke and mirrors to fool your eyes.
Bells and whistles to distract you.
Good design isn't about adding more.
Good design is about simplicity.
Every feature has a reason for being.
If it doesn’t need to be there, take it off.

This is our new Dyfi Jacket. It's a lightweight, windproof active shell for cycling or running.
With recycled polyester ripstop body and breathable, four-way stretch arm panels.
Reflective accents on the cuffs and tail keep you visible when it gets dark and a fleece
lined collar keeps out draughts. It's adjustable at the waist and has a zipped chest pocket
that the jacket packs away into.

And it's £39.

Like we always say, simple works.

Hazel and Josh chasing each other at 6am on our photoshoot at Strumble Head.

Local marathon runners (and lifeguards on our local beaches) Sam and Phil raced up this headland opposite our Youth Hostel at 5.30am over and over again.

Our Porridge tees have been making a bit of a stir (sorry) amongst breakfast enthusiasts. In fact it's our best-selling tee of the year.

Our friends at Dorset Cereals love it too and have given us a few boxes of their porridge to give away for you oat lovers.

So, for a lucky few who order a Porridge tee this weekend, we'll be putting a box of their tasty porridge in with your t-shirt.

As always, first come, first served.

Update: We're all out of Porridge now.

Men's Porridge T-Shirt >
Women's Porridge T-Shirt >

On Sunday, we made our annual pilgrimage to Machynlleth for the 12th annual Dyfi Enduro. A mountain bike event like no other. The course is tough, but rewards hard work with some of the best (if occasionally terrifying) descents and singletrack sections around.

For Ade and I it's become a bit of a yearly battle for the title of "fastest howies rider." In 2011 I beat him for the first time but the result was questionable as he'd dragged himself round suffering from some kind of manflu. I was left hungry for a more honest win. In 2012 we battled it out within sight of each other the whole way around but I wasn't able to close the gap and finished 10 minutes slower.

This year, with us both feeling equally unprepared, we rolled out from the start line through town and into the hills. With 800 riders jostling for position, I soon lost track of where Ade was in the pack, but knew he was ahead. I kept my head down and pushed on at a steady pace.

The miles passed. The uphill ones slowly, the downhill ones fast. I was losing hope of catching up until 2/3rds in, I rounded a bend and reached the feed station. Ade was there. My spirits lifted out of my tired feet. Maybe it's possible after all! I hurried to fill my bottle and grab a banana before heading off. Just ahead.

Now the mood of ride changed. For one thing, I had Somewhere Over The Rainbow stuck in my head after Ade had let me know it had been on his iPod. I pushed a little harder up the hill, trying to get a feel for how his legs were holding up. The gap opened a little but now cramp began to rise it's ugly head, snapping at our legs each time we slipped a wheel or dabbed a foot down. .

On the climb before last, I looked back and couldn't see Ade. I thought this was it. Turning into the last descent I was faced with a mire of rutted muddy tracks, I lost my wheels more than once and had to fight building cramps to keep things going in the right direction.

Dropping out of the descent onto the last bit of fire track, my chain came off. As I was trying to get it back on, I was passed by Ade. Laughing. I jumped back on the bike as quick as I could but with only 800 meters to go I knew there was little chance of closing the gap again. I finished 30 seconds after Ade. The closest honest gap yet.

Elsewhere in team howies, Chris had a great first time at Dyfi - finishing 7th of the short course riders and 4th in his category while Hazel rode an anonymous ride after forgetting to attach her race number before setting off.

At the end of the day, we all got what we really came for. The event mug to add to the collection. Post race brews never taste better than in those Dyfi mugs.

And what do I have to say about Ade's mirth while passing me with my chain woes?
Not much. I'll just let this video do the talking.

And here's a lovely little edit of the weekend from Will Sanders.

2013 Howies Dyfi Enduro on Pinkbike

A big thanks to Jon Brooke from rightplacerighttime for the photos of the weekend.
If you rode the Enduro, he's probably got some snaps of you too on his website.

Next weekend hundreds of mountainbikers from all across the UK will descend on the town of Machynlleth, nestled in the beautiful Dyfi valley, to participate in one of the highlights of the Welsh MTB calendar - The howies Dyfi Enduro, which after more than a decade has become the fastest selling and arguably most loved MTB event in the country.

Come rain or shine the course promises 60km of the best trails around and a fantastic atmosphere the whole weekend. Some long, long climbs are more than made up for by the stunning views and fast, whooping, white knuckle descents, mixed up with miles of fantastic singletrack and entertaining trailside shenanigans to take your mind off your tired legs.

In previous years the course has featured a brass band, a group of cheerleaders, a Welsh rock band, Darth Vader and a Star Wars ensemble reenacting battles from the movies, a wizard, a man playing a banjo and a wind and hailswept mountaintop rugby match. And every year there's a bar serving pints of beer just before the finish.

All in all, this adds up to our very favourite mountain bike event of the year and the excitement is starting to build in the office.

Ade, Hazel and I are starting to fine-tune our bikes. Bleeding brakes, oiling chains, choosing tyres. This year we're joined by our resident trail runner Chris, who manages the shop in Cardigan. He has borrowed a bike from a friend to see what all the fuss is about, although with a couple of 100 mile trail running races on his calendar we're half expecting him to shoulder the bike at the start and run the course.

This year the howies Dyfi Enduro is proud to be raising money for Aberdyfi Search & Rescue Team who will also be fundraising at the event on the day.

Follow the news on the Dyfi MTB events Facebook page.

We hope to see you there.

One thing you can be sure of when you buy one of our printed organic cotton t-shirts, is that it was screenprinted by hand in our own little printshop, right here in Cardigan.

There’s no modern, automated print process here. And we don’t just push a button on a machine to print our t-shirts. Mass-production, it ain’t.

In fact, it’s safe to say, that just about the only thing that is automated in our printshop is the kettle.

Instead, we use an old-fashioned carousel, silk mesh screens and a bit of elbow grease. Tidy Mike prints each and everyone of them by hand, with the same level of skill, craftmanship and respect for the end product that they deserve.

It might be a slow, messy affair... but all that hard work is worth it in the end. It’s what gives a howies tee its soul.

Now, someone make Mike a cuppa.

New men's organic cotton T-shirts >
New women's organic cotton T-shirts >

Most of the weather we get in the UK is neither onething or the other. Some days it's bright and sunny, but freezing cold. Others, lovely and warm but chucking it down with rain. You can’t win.

The Outback jacket is our answer to thesedays. We've set out to design somethingthat feels and performs like a Merino wool base layer, but at the same time is wind and water-resistant.

So we've taken the same soft, itch free, anti-microbial Merino wool we use in our base layers and bonded it with a Schoeller 3XDRY softshell outer fabric. The Merino fleece wicks moisture away from your body, transporting it to the outer shell, which in turn lets it evaporate without letting any moisture in.

The result is a performance weatherproof jacket that keeps you dry from the outside, dry from the inside and dries in a flash.

Perfect for sport, the outdoors and those days when the weather just can't make up it's mind.

We've been putting the Outback through it's paces too. It's fast wicking Merino wool inner sends moisture to the 3XDRY outer really fast and in early spring downpours has kept the rain at bay on rides home.

The jacket is super-stretchy too with contoured panels making movement easier and with two zipped map-sized hand pockets a zip chest pocket with a headphone port, this jacket is perfect for sport, the outdoors and those days when the weather can't make up it's mind. Which around here is most days.

Shop Men's Outback Softshell >
Shop Women's Outback Softshell >

You were born to run. Maybe not that fast. Maybe not that far. Maybe not as efficiently as the 60 year old woman who just overtook you. But you were born to get up off your backside and move. To fire up that those legs, for that simple, energy-giving, blood-pumping, sodium-bleeding, sofa-beating thing we call running.

New running range for Men and Women.

We bike to work and home again, evening rides and weekend jollies.
Getting covered in crap, cuts and grazes and aches and pains.
We love it. That's why we do it everyday.

Funny thing is, we've never really got around to making any serious kit for it...
Until now.

Our new Slipstream cycle jerseys (available in long sleeve and short sleeve) and our Leadout Bibshorts are made using seamless circular knit technology, meaning that they are precision built to fit your body, just like your own skin. They provide a snug fit that will go virtually unnoticed as you wear it.

The specialist machines are capable of knitting yarn into a single continuous tube shape. This means we make body panels in one piece, minimizing the need for seams - seams that could potentially cause irritating friction or chaffing on longer rides.

The circular knitting machines are also capable of varying patterns in the fabric as they knit too. This means that we can have different weaves on the same panel and precisely tailor them to match specific parts of the body. For instance, we have integrated lighter breathable panels in sweatier areas like the underarms and back, and woven more compression in around hems and places where you need a tighter fit. All this without the need for separate panels, seams and stitching.

This makes a truly comfortable, form-fitting garment with a minimalist design. Just like us humans.

We're taking the next few days off and heading out on some Easter Breakouts.

Chris is running the mountain ridges and forests of the Nantlle valley from Waunfawr to Beddgelert in north Wales.

Hazel is heading down Whitesands with a her parent and surfboards to brave the cold and score some waves.

Naomi is hoping for surf too - dipping in at Freshwater West for a deserted early morning surf in the West corner. Out for a hot brew and lunch. Back in early evening after a blood warming, coastal walk. And then a night around the woodstove, recounting the day’s adventures and laughs.

Emma is off with family to follow in the footsteps of pilgrims and walking some of the North Downs Way.

Ade will be running his favourite local trail; a 10 mile loop up and down small valleys with river crossings, pine forest and twisting single track.

Alex is conquering the Preseili's on the road bike (and hoping not to need a rain jacket).

Jules will be strolling along the beach at Llangrannog with her dog "Juno" and chatting to people from different walks of life.

While Tom will be fixing freezing and burst pipes on his Caddy in hopes to get out further afield.

Let us know what you're getting up to on your Easter Breakouts.

Chris and Rich from our Cardigan High Street shop have been busy all week
ferrying boxes up from HQ for their Easter Sale.

They've got some great pieces in just for the Easter weekend;
lots of last in the box items, 1 offs, tees, jeans, jackets, Merino
and more. All Gold at Silver prices.

They also know some great trails to run and rides along the coast
that start from the shop, so if you're in town, pop in and say "hello".

They'll be open on:

Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm
Monday 10am - 4pm

Whatever the weather this weekend, dress for it and get out in it.

When you're home and changed with a cuppa, your pulsing thawing hands,
deeply aching thighs, burning cheeks and clear bloodshot eyes will be the reward.

The words of this old nursery rhyme says it all.

Whether the weather be fine,
Or whether the weather be not,
Whether the weather be cold,
Or whether the weather be hot,
We'll weather the weather
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!

To minimise our environmental impact, we try to use as little packaging as possible – we only bag stuff when we really need to.

So if you've been a customer of ours for a while, you may have noticed we’ve changed the material our bags are made of. They used to be paper, but now they're plastic.

We’ve switched to recyclable plastic as it is the most widely recycled material available in the UK at this time. They have less environmental impact than paper bags because they weigh less, take up less storage space and use less energy.

Likewise, we've found that recyclable plastic has less environmental impact than degradable plastic. This is because degradable plastic bags cannot be recycled or composted properly in the UK, so they end up as landfill. They leave small traces of plastic in the soil that never break down. They are also known to create more greenhouse gasses than conventional plastics and paper.

The change has had a big effect and more than halved the annual CO2 footprint of our packaging.

We don't pretend that recyclable plastic is perfect. But right now, it is the lowest impact way of packaging our stuff.

Click here to download the geeky analysis report from carbon footprint experts Tickety Boo.

There’s a lot of nonsense talked about carbon footprinting. I have a friend who believed that owning and feeding a dog was more carbon intensive than owning and fueling a 4x4.

The truth is that depending on where you draw the boundaries you can prove anything with carbon footprinting. So if your 4x4 is super efficient and only drives 6,000 miles a year and if your dog eats loads of meat that has been reared just for it (i.e. not a by-product of other part of the meat industry and not mixed with vegetable/rice feed) then yes you can show that the 4x4 has a bigger footprint.

So I wasn’t that surprised to see that US Republican Ed Orcutt declare that the CO2 emissions from riding a bike are greater than that of driving a car. Clearly Mr Orcutt is deluded. Particularly as he cites the greater expiration of the cyclists as being the cause. We can ignore Mr Orcutt on the grounds of stupidity but the carbon impact of cycling is dead interesting. Here’s some food for thought.

Mike Berners-Lee in “How bad are bananas?” looks at the impact of cycling a mile. Now the interesting thing is that it depends on what you’ve eaten. This is the fuel for the bike. So if you are fueled by cheeseburgers the impact of cycling a mile is 260g of CO2e but if you are fueled by bananas this falls to 60g. These figures take into account the embodied impact of the bike per mile.

The embodied impact of a family car kept for 200,000 miles is 100g per mile plus the impact of burning a mile’s worth of fuel (between 150g and 200g per mile). But this doesn’t take into account the fact that the car driver will also have eaten food but that the calories from this food are not burnt off but accumulated. This in turn has a knock-on potential impact of running a health service to deal with those non-cyclists who become obese (note: not all non-cyclists become obese).

So the impact of driving a mile in a car is the impact of the fuel use, the embodied impact of the car and the impact of the food eaten by the driver. So if the driver eats cheeseburgers this gives a figure twice as large as that of a cheese burger eating cyclist.

Phew, that’s complex. The key thing is to understand is where the boundaries of your study are. My advice to Mr Orcutt is to get his facts straight, trust the science and ride a bike more.

Words and facts by Mark Shayler at tickety boo

There are lots of words to describe British weather, but ‘predictable’ isn’t one of them.

So it’s a good thing we’ve got Ventile. It’s perfect for our climate. Made with 100% cotton, so tightly woven it doesn’t need any extra chemical finishes to protect you from rain, sleet, wind and snow. During a downpour, the fibres swell and the holes in the weave close up and water just beads off.

Also, when the sun does finally come out, because it’s just cotton, Ventile also breathes really well – unlike other water-resistant fabrics, which can leave you all clammy as soon as the weather cheers up.

Ventile cotton has been around a while too – it was invented in the 1940s, for pilots’ flying suits. It’s really long-lasting stuff, meaning no matter what you throw at it, this jacket should last you 10 or 15 years. Maybe 20. Even if you snag it on something, a needle and thread can easily repair it.

So whatever you or the weather get up to, Ventile can take it. Today, tomorrow and for a long time to come.

Mens Airman Ventile jackets | Womens Earhart Ventile jacket

When we think of all the yesterdays howies has had (6,452 of them, to be exact) there’s a lot to be proud of. We’ve helped build a great brand, made some amazing product, produced all those incredible catalogues and we’ve made people think… all in a low impact way and all from this little corner of Cardigan Bay.

But we can’t just live in the past. So today, as I write this, Spring has come around again and it feels like those seventeen years have passed pretty quickly. We’ve bought our brand back off Timberland and we are at a point where we are in control again. We decide which direction we go and what defines us. Today is the day that the first of the products designed by Hazel and myself are starting to arrive. They look as good as they did in my head and that’s pretty exciting.

That leads us to think about our tomorrows and what we want to do with them. Tomorrow feels like it will be a day where we continue to design and make the best product we can in the most considerate way, for the sports we do.

Tomorrow is a day when we don’t let our little company get too big. A day where we continue to operate in Wales and we give shares to the people who work here. Tomorrow is a day to carry on making people think, to inspire them to get off the sofa and go outside, to run, to ride and to always make tea in a pot.

And, of course, to make the most of all their tomorrows.

Pete Davies
Head of Creative

They're not at home watching today's heroes on the TV.

They're not dreaming of luck in the queue for lottery tickets.

They're not waiting for anyone to give them a break.

They're out there right now doing what they love.

We don't know their names, we don't know their stories.

Yet.

And we're very excited - not just because our new Ventile jackets are the first
pieces from our Spring '13 range to arrive but because they look truly amazing.

Pete, Hazel and Lou have sweated over every detail; the colour of the drawcords,
the stitching around the vents, the peak on the hood and made subtle tweaks to
the cuff to make it fit snugger and wear better. All the way down to the weight of
Ventile cotton fabric and the density of the weave we have used to make these
weatherproof jackets Spring-(and probably Summer)-proof.

Here's a preview of the little details that are making a big stir in the office.

It’s annoying isn’t it? You pop out for a loaf of bread and it’s suddenly gone up to £1.50. Wasn’t it a £1 or something not so long ago? Oh well, toast and tea beckon. You stump up the cash and head home.

Not so easy in Kenya where poor families are being affected by the same huge price rises and the choice isn’t between granary or farmhouse white, but between breakfast or sending the kids to school.

So what’s going on? We keep hearing about bad weather and the impact it has on poor harvests, which translates into food shortages. What we don’t hear about so much are the dodgy deals that are pushing up food prices.

Since 2010 more than 44 million people have been driven into extreme poverty by the rising cost of food. At the same time, banks and financial investors are, quite literally making a killing by betting on food prices. The World Development Movement (WDM) estimates that Barclays makes up to £340 million each year through unregulated speculation in food markets, as people starve.

That’s the bad news. The good news is it’s easy to do something.

If you want to make change, legislation is going through the EU right now that can effectively control this greed. Go to http://www.wdm.org.uk/food-speculation for more information on food speculation and to lend them your voice.

Just before the 2012 was over, we looked back at what we had been doing but wanted to know what you were up to too.

So we challenged you to put down the minced pies and head for the hills in search of adventure over the festive break.

Thanks to everyone who shared their adventure. We’ve looked through all of the photos and video you sent in and Mike’s made a 30 second edit combining some of our favourites.

If you spot we've used your clip, drop us a line at info@howies.co.uk to claim your howies Classic T-shirt for your winning submission.

Today's the day the snow becomes cold driving rain,
the day snot freezes to your gloves,
the wind slaps spit back in your face
and stops you almost dead in every pedal stroke.

Today's a great day for a ride.

Two revolutions down and two to go.

Olympic champions have battled world champions.

Pro road riders are chancing their arm on the track.

And Vos and Armitstead came together for a rematch in the Elimination race.

But all the teams are built from the bottom up with the young up and coming talent. Mike, our tee printer, went up and with the help of a pit pass put together 90 seconds of the stuff you don't see.

The worker bees hard at it.

When I started writing this the list wasn't very big. Then I asked for everyone's list and the year filled up. Turns out 2012 was full.

In January we bought howies back from Timberland and all the staff got shares.

Then the games began. Hazel won the Brecfa enduro, and we ran the Endurancelife CTS Anglesey Ultra.

February we headed to Devon for the CTS Ultra Marathon. It was quite the worst weather.

In March we rode from Cardigan to Abergavenny through the night with Rob Penn whilst the clocks changed. Then did the Bath 1/2 marathon.

April a bunch of us were back down south on Exmoor for more CTs trail running. That was a hilly course.

May the office rode the howies Dyfi Enduro on a short sleeve sunny day. And then the Tour of Pembrokeshire on the hottest day of the year. Then is was back up north to run the Anglsey ultra.

June we all went to Italy to race the Castelli Feltre 24. The rain stopped 2 hours before racing and we were into 24 hours of racing road bikes round an Italian town with top professionals. When we got back Chris our store manager ran the Endurancelife UTSW 100 mile coastal run in under 30 hours and finished smiling.

In July, the girls came second in the Gower Kinetica triathlon. We also fielded a team in the Bontrager 24 that was mainly underwater. Ruben ran up and back down Wales highest mountain  in the Snowdon race and we wizzed round the St Clears 10km. And the Tenby 10km was a watershed moment for two of our guys who gave up smoking after a hard battle, pulled on the running shoes and have never looked back.

Despite August being holiday time Hazel became the Welsh Ladies DH champion. Da iawn Hazel. Then Chris went home to see his parents and run 100km in the Northumberland Ultra.

September was running Bristol 1/2. Easy month that.

October we all piled down the Coast to Little Haven to run 10km, 1/2's Marathons and Ultra's in the autumn sunshine and warmed down with the Cardiff 1/2. Whilst we did that, Alex went solo for a 100 mile sportif in mid Wales. And Hazel rode Oktoberfest in Bristol.

November we ran various distances in the Gower CTS and raced DH at Newquay.

And in December only Peter made the solo trip to run 10km in Devon.

A few more days and we can get on with 2013.

The chatter in the office suggests most of us are planning adventures over the holidays.

There's talk of trail running up Cader Idris, mountain biking in the Dales, road rides over the Preseli Hills, surfing (if we're given the gift of waves) and New Year swims for the hardy.

Next year we'd like to build a short movie of these adventures and it would be great if you could get involved.

If you send us a 30 second(ish) video, a great picture or a map of your adventure by 14th January*, we'll select the best ones and they'll be put in the movie and featured on the blog.

Everyone who gets their adventure featured in the video will win a t-shirt specially designed for the event.

How To Enter

Competition closes 14th January 2013, judges decisions are final, your photos and videos may be used on the howies site but you will be notified and credited. (We think it's important to be open and up front about that stuff.)

It's a hive of activity in the Printshop today as we're reprinting our sell-out Tee, Sideburns of Glory.

We launched this design in the summer and sold a record-breaking number of tees in only 7 days. We donated £5 from every tee we sold to the Dave Rayner Fund and raised a little over £5500.

Now it's back ('til Thursday anyway) and we're donating £5 from every tee to the fund again.

So, if you missed out, here's your chance to get your hands on one and help us raise some money to help up-and-coming cyclists racing in Europe.

But don't wait too long, they're already selling fast.

Mens T-shirt >
Womens T-shirt >
Kids T-shirt >

We started doing t-shirts back in 1995 and have been printing them ever since.

We have done hundreds of designs and worked with some of the best artists and thinkers in the world to come up with them. They are such a big part of howies history.

Everyone has a favourite and we receive so many requests to reprint designs from years gone by that we decided it would be good to reissue a few of those old school tees.

And today, Mike started printing.

The old ones are always the best. So if you missed out the first time, here’s another chance to own a piece of howies history.

Old school mens t-shirts and womens t-shirts are online now.

Mike and I headed up to Manchester Velodrome at the weekend to watch our track team race in the Revolution Series.

Standing trackside we listened in on the team briefing for the evening -
"1. Don't crash. 2. Be in the front third" Team manager Kyleigh tells everyone. You can't win from the back and that's where the crashes happen. It sounds simple enough, but with steep bankings and wheels nipping at the rider's tyres in front, anything can happen. It's what makes track cycling so exciting.

A gentle hum from rollers set a tone for the evening. Riders spend longer warming up and cooling down than they do racing, occasionally turning the roller-hum to thunder as legs went into a sprints to stay warm and race-ready.

The team love racing in front of such a big crowd - especially the juniors. Normally, track events aren't as well attended, but at Revolution, the deafening cheers from the stands will on aching legs and make for a great atmosphere.

Between races everyone fettles their bikes; swapping sprockets to change gearing and fixing punctures. Everyone has their own spare wheels, cogs and tools - some borrowed, some hand-me-down - all tidily stowed in the tiny team pit.

A crash in the boys final race called for Dust Busters and gaffa tape to take up splinters and plug gaps in the track. Pringled wheels are swapped for true and grazed knees stay on for the last few laps. Even a crash wouldn't stop the guys from getting back on their bikes and everyone finishing the night on a high.

Mike captured a bit of video and we'll be doing little film about the team and the event which we will release at the end of the series.

In the meantime, you can watch highlights of howies in action on ITV4 Player and the team will be back on the track 1st December for Revolution meet 2.

For a peek into the track centre and what’s happening in the team pit, follow @howies on Twitter and @howiesclothing on Instagram. We’re using the hashtag #teamhowies

Our track team will be returning to race in the 10th series of Revolution this weekend.

We've got 4 talented junior riders from the Welsh National squad riding in the Future Stars event who will race alongside professional riders in four track meets over the winter.

Previous Future Stars have gone on to win Olympic gold medals this year and with Wales producing current Olympic and World cycling champions, Revolution will be a great place for our Welsh team to battle it out against cycling's giants.

Pete has even tweaked this years team kit to include elements of the Welsh flag for our riders to fly in.

Star riders Mark Cavendish, Michael Morkov (who briefly held the KOM jersey this year in his 1st Tour De France) and Leif Lampater headed up the team last year, helping inspire numerous race wins throughout the series and an overall 3rd place finish.

6 Olympic gold medalists, the World road champion and Tour De France riders rode last winter and with more big names set to join the team this season, we roll onto the boards in front of a sell-out crowd at Manchester on October 27th with race highlights on ITV4 after every event.

Pine. Rubber. Lycra and speed.

For behind the scenes Revolution action, follow @howies on Twitter and @howiesclothing on Instagram.

My first attempt at a century ride was crunching out of the Rest Less ride in the wilderness back in March and it's been on my Bucket List since.

With regular trips over the rolling hills at lunch time, racing in Italy and week night rides, it felt like it was time to take on 100 miles again.

So I set off - a 5am departure from Cardigan - for the Autumn Epic last weekend. A ride just short of 100 miles through mid Wales with some 8000ft of climbing, notorious for usually being in an apocolyptic downpour but as luck would have it, it was cool but a dry.

We set out in a group of 6, soon merging with a quick bunch and relishing the chance to be swept along and settled into a rhythm. Scott soon powered on and then we were 5.

The first real climb split the bunch and I was soon spat out of the back, gladly resuming my own pace and reminding myself that there were some 80 hard miles to go - I was already starting to feel the pace. As I rejoined the guys as the hill levelled out, we were soon up to cruising speed again and could start to take in some of the beautiful vistas from on top.

Just before the first feed station at Rhayader we started to climb again, before dropping into town. Out of the saddle, leaning hard, Laurence snapped his handle bars at the stem. Despite our best efforts with a handful of zip ties and a stick, his ride was over. He seemed pretty un-phased by the winding downhill on one drop bar and brake!

We pushed on as a 4 as we wound through forests and rolled over hills into the stunning Elan Valley. The road rose before descending round sun-lit hairpins into the open valley floor accompanied by buzzards and kites cruising over the plains.

Before we knew it, we were half way round, passing the cascading dams and heading back towards Knighton. The feeling of achievement was soon broken as we turned into Glascwm hill which felt like trying to ride up a travelator continually tapping my levers, trying to find more gears. I slowly made my way up passing riders who had opted to get off and push, while others zig-zagged up the road shaving attempting off a % or two. It was gruelling. Let alone this far in.

Just before the second feed station, the roads began to roll again and became muddy and potholed. A ping from behind revealed Doug had broken a spoke but managed to limp on to the final stop where a mechanic was able to swap his cassette onto a borrowed wheel and we pressed on.

With less than 10 miles to go, we were stalled again by a puncture. Riders who we had passed and re-passed throughout the day's escapades rolled by as tyre pressure was re-established.

We turned past the final way marker, ushered by an outrider who called after us "6 miles to go. 3 to the top of the big hill". Everyone cursed. Surely not nother big hill?

As it turned out, it wasn't big, it was just long and the sapping came from previous miles more than the incline.

Elated at the summit, I've never been so glad to see a sign for the Finish. Especially one accompanied with the handwritten note "Downhill. All The Way." As I freewheeled, the speedo began to pick up and I knew I could make it home. All the pain from climbing masked by the feeling of accomplishment.

Nick and I rolled through the finish, some 6 hours 24 minutes in the saddle I was over an hour behind Scott, 2 minutes behind Doug and James.

It was certainly epic and a great way to mark the end of this summer's riding.

Image ©rightplacerighttime.co.uk

Final day preparation for the tomorrows Endurance life's Coastal Trail Series running events is evident all over the office.

The total feet to climb on the course profile casually dismissed.
Sports tape shared and location of application perfected.
Weather websites being cross referenced.
Team kit logo's getting hand printed.
Energy food and real food prepared.
Injuries getting a last treatment.
Running bags pack and repacked.
Layering scenarios played out.
Extra lunch being eaten.
Spikes or studs debated.
Less tea, more water.
Batteries charged.
Play lists edited.
Nails trimmed.

Nerves on show.

When you build something and begin to use it, you soon see where you can make improvements.

The site we launched last October had a few digital bugs, some stuff that bugged you and us, and things that should have just worked. Not every plan goes to plan first time.

So this new site addresses your feedback and our bugbears.

• We have made a new #threads section, which brings together the latest from our Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest all in one place.

• You can put things in your basket, go and make a cup of tea, and when you come back the site will still be there. The old site had a tendency to just disappear and not allow you to shop if you ignored it.

• The product pages have been redesigned, and all the product information is now in one place. 

• You can now filter products by colour and your size.

• You can now ask questions and give feedback on products.

• The checkout is quicker and easier to use. 

• The site will be faster now it's running on new servers, and it won't crawl when it's busy.

• The blog has been redesigned and is back on the home page again. 

And with this big stuff out of the way, we can get on with the tweaks to come over the next few months, including some great new stuff for, the iPad and iPhone.

We hope you like it.

We'll keep on building.

On Saturday, a few of the howies office team are making a short trip down to the south of Pembrokeshire to run in the first Endurancelife Costal Trail Series of the season.

4 of us are running the 10k (It'll be Pete's first off road run.)
1 of us is running the half-marathon-and-a-bit less than a week after she ran Bristol.
Another 3 are running the 35 mile "ultra" option.

That's three different distances and eight different people but all of us will be sharing the same apprehensions and excitement before the race, and on the day each of us will try to do exactly the same thing - run the best race we can and have fun doing our thing.

Whatever your distance, the Endurancelife CTS has something for you. Why not join us at one of them?

We made our first soft shell in 2006 and we still see them at races and hacking round cities.

To be a true soft shell it should shed water but not be waterproof. This makes it very breathable and quick drying. It should also block out the wind and have insulation to keep you warm. And by having some stretch in the fabric it is easy to wear both in and out of activity and is very hard wearing.

The thing about a soft shell is that it replaces a few layers giving you a single technical layer that can be worn almost all of the time over a base layer.

In 2010 we introduced the barrier hoody, which was a sell out for winter.

This year we have introduced the Barrier Light for men and women with a few tweaks.

- A reduction in the weight of the jacket by using a loop back liner that also increased the warmth.
- Ribbed cuffs and waistband to stop the wind blowing in.
- Inner pocket and headphone loop.
- A second colour. Not everyone suits khaki.

It’s great for on and off the bike. To put on over your dirty kit post sport when cooling down. From house to bus to train to office, in and out of doors. Pre and post yoga and gym.

This means we should see them at races and hacking round cities in the next 6 years.

It rained but it was still a great summer.

Every shop is showing their latest Autumn ranges, howies included. We are all talking about the Autumnal weather (there are even chocolate Santas for sale in the supermarket). It's like we're willing summer to be over already.

But until Saturday, it's still here, so you have five whole days and nights left to make the most of it.

You could:

1. Swim in the sea. It's probably the warmest it's going get this year, so get in.

2. Wear shorts or a skirt all week.

3. Sit in the sun on the grass and eat your lunch.

4. Cook outside on a fire. Even just a tin of beans heated over a blaze in the garden will feel like an adventure.

5. Go camping. Why have 5 star accommodation when you can have billions.

6. Run somewhere at sunrise or sunset (Late summer always has THE best light).

7. Leave work early to ride the long way home with no lights on (pretty soon you won't be able to ride home without them).

8. Get to a forest before the leaves fall. The trails will be great.

We hope that gives you a few ideas. Do something everyday to push back autumn and let us know what adventures you have.

#lastdaysofsummer

Our new Autumn season preview is now online (mens here, womens here).

We've added some great new pieces including the Barrier Light, a windproof and warm
jacket made from recycled polyester which is great for after sport and on cooler days.

Our Chada and Betws chinos  are now available in an more colours, made with
added-stretch for the urban pedaler. As well as the new Gully jumper,
Wiseman cardigan and a selection of new mens printed tees made
from 100% organic cotton.

We've also brought back some old favourites including;
Primaloft insulated Whistler jackets, Merino midlayers,
Yurt fleeces and Natural Base Layers in Autumnal colours.

This is just the first drop. The rest of the range, including new
Merino, knitwear, jumpers, denim and tops will be added over the next few weeks.

By Dan Germain

Peer pressure and gentle persuasion is a powerful thing. I’m a sucker for it and just can’t say no. I hate missing out on things so my outside-of-work life becomes quite choccer-block.

This was the case come Friday last week. I was beginning to feel pretty beat, it had been a long week and tiredness was starting to set up camp in my muscles. So the thought of going off to race in a downhill mountain bike race at the weekend was not looking that appealing… but you know I’m not one to miss out…

With race day on the Sunday and practice on Saturday, we set about learning every inch of the course, well I say we – mostly Jon, Sam, Si and Josh! I have trouble learning courses. I think it’s from the many years of riding XC - I'd rather just ride it and deal with obstacles as and when I reach/ hit them.So with a van full of bikes, snack and the Season’s soundtrack turned up, myself, Jon from decent world and Cardigan’s own Jesus set off at the crack of dawn towards Moelfre for the Welsh Downhill MTB Champs. We met up with the other Ceredigion riders and set up camp. With Si Williams aka fretter, Sam aka fretter junior, Tomos and Aled aka Axe and Shotgun!

The track was so fast; real flowy and dusty to the point your tyres would slide out of the bermed corners, making it super fun. With the sun out and a relaxed atmosphere around the site, everyone seemed to having a cracking day.

Roll on Sunday…

Oh wait it’s absolutely peeing it down – what a surprise. And what’s that, yeah I’m sat in my tent wearing a woolly hat, merino softshell and thick socks! This is summer! Ah well, nothing that proper cup of tea can’t sort out.

Heading up in the uplift trailer along with 30 other riders for the start of our first timed run, there was only two subjects of conversation – the weather and what tyres to run. I participated in neither of them mainly because I thought there’s no point getting down about the weather and secondly I can’t take my front wheel out so there was no chance of me changing my tyres. I’d just have to like it and lump it.

My first run went well - I wanted to keep it smooth and consistent as the course was becoming quite slippery. The bottom section of the track was my favorite with a couple of jumps that you could launch off, nothing like the feeling of fresh air between the tyres and the ground. I managed to take the lead with a good amount of time between 2nd and myself.For my final timed run, I thought I’d open it up a bit and try pedaling more - "Giving it the beans". It paid off and I was able to knock 5 seconds of my first run. Awesome. Plus it meant that I had a comfortable lead to take the win.  Woohoo, I just won the Welsh Champs, what a result!! As always, I’m glad I went!With banter on tap and some great riding the weekend ended up being so much fun. Jon and myself are now the proud owners of a Welsh Champs jersey. Also in the Ceredigion camp, Si took 2^nd in the vets, Sam took 10^th juniors and Josh was 24^thin the senior cat. Not bad at all!Thanks to MIJ racing for a brilliant race, Jon for playing taxi, tea maker and bike mechanic. Tomos, Aled and Josh for the hillbilly entertainment, Si for his constant fretting and Steve and Vicky for being loud marshals!

You guys made the weekend, the result was just a bonus!!

We don't just love Merino because it's 100% natural. When it comes to running and riding, nothing beats Merino wool.

The secret behind our love affair isn't complicated at all, it's simply down to the amazing fabric.

Merino breathes and wicks away moisture because they are hydrophilic at one end and hydrophobic at the other; soaking up moisture like a sponge and releasing it away from the body.

Merino wool is naturally antibacterial and bacteria has a hard time sticking to it - so you can go a ride or two (or three) before you smell like it and your new favourite top needs to see a washing machine.

And unlike man-made fabrics, Merino will still regulate body temperature when it's wet - keeping you warm when it's cool and cool when it's warm. A bonus in the months when it can go from skin-tingling in the shade to beach weather over the crest of a hill.

Take a look at our Merino clothing for men and Merino clothing for women.