WORDS VICKY CHAPMAN PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITED
You know when you were a kid and there was that one item of clothing you refused to stop wearing? The one that would put your mums sewing skills to the test to try to keep you from looking like a feral child. You know, the one where you would wait by the washing machine for it to come out in case it ‘accidentally’ found its way to the bin. That’s how I feel about my shorts. My lucky shorts.
The shorts in question are a pair of blue Race Face Khyber shorts that were given to me for Christmas by my mum in 2015. Back then I was very much new to mountain biking, heading over to a trail centre every other month on my much too small for me hardtail. The life of my shorts was undemanding, relaxing almost. They were treated to luxurious visits to the washing machine after every ride, then put away until the next outing.