Light up the night: Serious night riders– and we're not talking about the Hoff here – are seeing the light thanks to the high-powered LED sets from Aussie company Ay Up.
The twin beams of the helmet- or handlebar- mounted lights are powered by a rechargeable battery pack that mounts on the bike frame, and cyclists say they outshine anything else on the market. The wattage doesn’t come cheap: about €170 for a waterproof plastic case holding a twin light set, headband, mounts, a charger, car adaptor, 1.2m extension lead and neoprone battery pouch (ayup-lights.com).
Stay warm on the outside– and enjoy an environmentally sound inner glow – with a women's Sprayway Energy Half Zip, made with recycled Polartec Thermal Pro material. It's a lightweight, breathable fleece that feels soft to the touch despite its construction from recycled fabrics. Making the material for the fleece saves about 1.5l of oil and 7kg of carbon dioxide compared with clothing made from "virgin" fabrics such as cotton and wool, the manufacturer boasts. Purchasers had better walk, not drive, to the store (£65/€73, campcraft.co.uk).
The Belkin USBcar charger is something useful to stick in the cigarette lighter port: it charges iPods, iPhones and USB-compatible devices such as BlackBerrys twice as fast as standard chargers. A low-profile design sees it sit flush against the dashboard (€12, belkin.com).