The Small things in life

Car seat covered (Marcus Farley)

Being an incessant lateral thinker, the sub £100 challenge continues with a return to an idea I first mentioned in a blog entitled ‘the Small things in life’ where I stated that it’s not just bikes and bike bits that maximise our mountain biking experience, other things maximise it too, like outside taps for instance.  Since that last blog, I’ve found some other inventions that meet the sub £100 criteria as well as being ‘small, non bike specific, life enhancing products’.

Take my first choice, the official ‘Small things in life part 2:’

Waterproof car seat covers -  first noticed in my friend Jonathan’s car when we set off on a long road trip to and from the Marin Trail.  Ok, so they look a bit ‘over prepared rambler’ to some of you, but trust us (Jonathan and I), they are an absolute godsend. 

So, the positives:

On short or long trips where changing facilities are sparse or non existent you can drive home in your muddy shorts/longs without upsetting your partners, or yourself come Monday morning, by leaving a muddy, damp patch on the driver’s or passenger’s seat.

You don’t have to hop from foot to foot out in the cold and rain trying to change out of shorts whilst keeping a towel up and a sense of cool intact in front of the assembled other mountain bikers.

You don’t have to clean that muddy, damp patch out of your car seat(s) do you, because said muddy / damp patch doesn’t exist anymore.

You may be allowed to use the car again for mountain bike trips because you’ve proved that you’re ‘maturer’ than you look.

If you spill a drink or food (especially the sticky type) whilst driving home, it doesn’t matter.

They’re relatively cheap at £15 - £30 each from car maintenance shops or off t’internet.

The only negative:

Waterproof car seat covers lull you into a false sense of security.  They lull you into the belief that the family car is now completely immune from all spillages that take time to clean or be noticed.  Like those stupid old ‘smoking’ sections in pub lounges and trains, things you want to contain always find a way of escaping.  So, without taking the additional equivalent step of femidomming the whole inside of your car, please remember that with car seat covers, the name says it all, they cover car seats, and nothing else!  

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