The unsolvable conundrum around warm cycling gloves that give you flexibility has had me searching through countless cycling stores and across eons of time.

Then last year I meandered into that store on the corner of Baker Street and York Street that is an amalgam of cycling, skiing and running bits and bobs.

I squinted at a cheeky pair of cheap ski gloves. Having never been skiing before I tentatively approached them and just for the thrill of it I slipped them on.

Then everything changed in my life.

I smiled at them and in a smooth Leslie Phillips voice said, “Hello”.

I thought that these pair of Campri Ski Gloves for £5 were being discounted.

But evidently this is the typical price.

The lining is so good, that even when we just had the coldest winter in a 1,000 years, I was perfectly snug in them.

And flexibility! Not a problem moving my Schwinn through its 3-gear paces up to Marylebone and back. Maybe because they are cheap they haven’t fussed around with being too generous with the padding. Perfect for cycling!

The outer layer has great insulation and repels water with ease. And it even has an elasticated wrist closure for slipping your winter coat into to keep your wrists warm.

Another little benefit they have are anti-slip coverings on the palms which makes it easy to grab hold of things. Honk-honk!

I’ve bought so many gloves over the many years. Just trying to find the elusive gloves you are talking about.

Oh, the amount of times I’ve gone into Evans or On Your Bike handing over wads of cash for what I hope will be the solution to my identical conundrum.

I sneer now at being duped with those fancy gloves with salesmen breathlessly whispering the names of their futuristic materials. That’s right. Cut to me standing there in the early 1980s buying my first pair of Thinsulate gloves.

Then the first dip in temperature and my hands are turning colder than a very cold thing on the ice planet Hoth. So cold sometimes, that I wonder if the futuristic material has been weaved the wrong way around as to actually increase the cold.

These are all now piled up in our garage preventing little else from getting in there.

But now, I’ve got my cheapo pair of Campri Ski Gloves for £5 and I’m so very, very happy.

I was probably that cyclist you saw last winter riding along with a slightly demented and delirious grin. With steam gently coming out of his gloves.