I'm a cheapskate about clothing, and usually pick up cheap cycling jerseys for about $20/pop whenever they go on sale. People rave about Wool Jerseys, but I never found them practical: you can't toss them in the dryer, they take forever to dry when you're touring and have no access to a laundry machine, and obviously, in California they're not useful for about 3 seasons out of the year.
Someone on an internet mailing list put up his Utrecht Wool Jerseys that were in my size for $50 and threw in a Walz cycling cap as well. For that price I couldn't resist. I figured I'd wear them in winter, and save my $20 summer jerseys for summer touring. When they arrived I was impressed by how nice they were. Online research show that they're not 100% wool, but a 39/61 merino/poly blend. The jerseys fit well and aren't scratchy, though the pockets show a disturbing tendency to unfurl when you take something out of them.
For washing, I throw them into the washing machine on "delicate" and put in some Eucalan. Then I air dry them. It's unlikely this will work when touring but I have no intention of using these jerseys while touring, when days might hit 100F. I discovered that these jerseys work well around 40-70F. I've had days on top of black mountain when people who're all bundled up with gear ask me how the heck I'm possibly warm wearing a short sleeve. About 70F they start to feel a bit too warm, and no way am I wearing these in 80F.
They do make me look fat, but that's only because as my kids will tell you, that I am fat!
So far, they've shown no signs of shrinking, and are nice enough that when I wear them in the office nobody immediately points out that they're cycling jerseys, not office wear. No way am I paying their original full price (which must have been $100 or more), but at $25 they were well worth it for California winters. I can definitely see how the company went out of business but if you see them in good condition they're worth a look.
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