Wednesday, May 27, 2009

East Bay Tweed Ride

The Tweed Ride hits the streets of Oakland on Thursday, June 4th. The Tweed Ride is international in scope, and the Bay Area has its own spin on it. (Have a look at Laura Brennan's Momentum Magazine blog and Flickr to see hundreds of photos of the SF Tweed rides.)

My question is, "What is tweed, anyway?" I say wooly woolens! The fabric of yesteryear, the garb of the golden era of bicycling. Let's ride together to honor the cyclists that have gone before us, that went in wool before petrochemicals provided racing cyclists the aerodynamicism of spandex, that impossibly minute but entirely needed winning edge to the race. Big oil had just about displaced wool (as well as other great natural fibers) and the bike is bringing it back! Let's ride, not race. Lets demonstrate wool is not just sporty, rich, haughty, insulating and wicking. It's perfect. It's poetry. It's at your local thrift store. There are also tweed B. Spoke Tailor knickers at Tip Top Bike Shop.

B. Spoke Tailor will offer some new creations inspired by the Tweed Rides as prizes for style, cleverness and charm. The ride itself rolls them all together. Hope to see you there.