tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676999.post113327654527296788..comments2024-02-27T01:52:06.519-08:00Comments on Kent's Bike Blog: Wool: It's What's For WinterKent Petersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12906603746565831689noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676999.post-37296607635557347622020-07-08T19:36:03.766-07:002020-07-08T19:36:03.766-07:00To the Anonymous that was talking about the mulesi...To the Anonymous that was talking about the mulesing. I would recommend that you do some more research. Mulesing has not been in general practise for some years now, also it was put into practice for the health of the animal at the time. It was done to prevent something called fly strike. What this is is when fly lay eggs in the feces that collects in the wool around the anus of the sheep. As those eggs hatch the larva crawls up the bum of the sheep and eats the sheep from the inside out (real humane like). However as I said mulesing has all but been eliminated and a practice called crutching is more generally used. Crutching is where you come in with shears before fly season and cut the wool from around the groin and anus area. <br />Also as a small farmer of fine Cormo wool sheep (micron of about 18-23) I would recommend people look into supporting US raised wool brands. And US farmers. DACAThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04918337348916982255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676999.post-51811061644526604312007-12-18T10:13:00.000-08:002007-12-18T10:13:00.000-08:00All the Smartwool and Superwash wool stuff I have ...All the Smartwool and Superwash wool stuff I have goes right in the regular washing machine and dryer. I also have some thrift store sweaters that were effectively "pre-shrunk" by a previous owner and those go right in the washer and dryer as well.<BR/><BR/>If you do have a delicate wool garment, you can still run it through the delicate cycle on the washer and then roll it between two cotton towels to wick most of the moisture out of it. It then dries over night.<BR/><BR/>As for the sheering practices, yeah, you can find lots about it on the web. Here's the wool industry's spin on it:<BR/><BR/>http://www.woolisbest.com/animal_welfare/mulesing/<BR/><BR/>Now I know there are better people than me out there and damn near everybody makes some choices that somebody else questions. I already shock a lot of people by actually eating animals and by golly I also wear parts of them as well. I also routinely snuff out the lives of fruits and vegetables. But I sure don't have all the answers and I really don't know if it's more cruel to the planet to wear an old wool sweater or a new fleece jacket. But for me it seems, the old wool sweater works better.Kent Petersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01607372827627527450noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676999.post-45518445882658937002007-12-18T09:19:00.000-08:002007-12-18T09:19:00.000-08:00Kent,I started bike commuting in August, a 22 mi r...Kent,<BR/><BR/>I started bike commuting in August, a 22 mi r/t in Portland, OR.<BR/><BR/>I like the idea of wool, but most of the wool garments I've seen out there must be air dried.<BR/><BR/>Given that I'm riding five days a week, and prefer to ride in clean clothes, I'm doing quite a bit of laundry. And haven't figured that I've got time for wool.<BR/><BR/>Are there any wool lines that can be dried on a light setting in the dryer?<BR/><BR/>Or am I just making too much of this in general?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676999.post-85464082004011605162007-12-09T13:53:00.000-08:002007-12-09T13:53:00.000-08:00i've read that to produce merino wool, which you m...i've read that to produce merino wool, which you mention wearing, the lambs' flesh is hacked off above the tail without any anesthesia to prevent infection (!!!) by parasite. and, as you can imagine, the wounds do inevitably get infected. An incredibly brutal practice if you ask me (or the lambs). it's called mulesing. look it up, if you're interested in animal welfare and not supporting cruelty with your chosen wardrobe. i'm just assuming that since you're a cyclist, you have a conscience, so just wanted to alert you to this. thanks for listening.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18676999.post-1133900681195490542005-12-06T12:24:00.000-08:002005-12-06T12:24:00.000-08:00Thanks Kent for adding a link toour website! We ar...Thanks Kent for adding a link to<BR/>our website! We are getting lots<BR/>of action! So glad to hear you<BR/>are still wearing the Glo Glovs.<BR/>Have a wonderful holiday season!<BR/>LynetteAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com