Portland, Oregon 1st Annual Tweed Ride!

(photo credit: William200549)

Yes, photos are starting to appear from the Portland Oregon 1st Annual Tweed Ride!
This photo by William200549 (on Flickr) was my immediate first choice because I just love pedicabs! Really there were quite a number of excellent photos but you'll just have to go see for yourself. You can see the rest of his photos here.

From what I can gather at this early stage (the ride just happened earlier today) is while the streets were wet with the weather on the damp side, the Tweed Ride was a great success!

Get a Bike Job - Work with Kids

Green Ways to School in Santa Cruz, CA is hiring a bike educator/advocate to help kids understand the connections between transportation, environment, health, and the community. We are looking for a cyclist with an education background to run this innovative and inspiring program and build the youth bike movement. Check out the job posting here, and email asap to get application materials. Due feb 5th!

(photo credit: peoplepowered and green ways to school)

Carolyn is leaving her position. She thought someone in Santa Cruz perhaps would see this posting and be the perfect fit so she asked me the do this post for her. Carolyn also says:

"... people need to apply by Feb 5th, and part of the process is some pretty lengthy questions that they can get from me if they email. They wouldn't fit in the posting!"

So I'm hyperlinking to Carolyn's email if you're that special person and want to contact her.

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Thanks to all for birthday wishes. Photo by Adam Crapp.

Hi Heels Bicycle Chic - Farmers Market

(photos by RidingPretty)

Yesterday I was all enamored of Paris...that fabulous photo depicting a very glamorous lady wearing incredible green hi heels - on her bicycle winding her way through the streets.

Ha, look at these pretty 'cinderella glass slipper' shoes worn here on a bicycle shopping trip to the local Farmers Market! It just proves bicycling and what you wear is in the mind of the beholder. When I met both these charming ladies they were just getting ready to park their bicycles and then go off and shop the market. Each one expressing individual styles of dressing to be sure.

Quite often I am apt to 'overdress' compared to the style choices my friends make especially as to what to wear when to comes to riding a bicycle. I always follow my own beat. My mother who was a Fashion Professional having worked her entire life career in Fashion was no shy flower herself. Her motto "always better to be stylishly overdressed than to be utterly forgettable". I also had a very eccentric English great grandmother known for her scandalous bohemian ensembles...so I guess it runs in the blood.

Do you dress as you choose? Co-Consult with girlfriends first? Does it even matter why or what you wear when you bicycle?

Busyman Bicyle Chic

Paris Hi Heels and Bicycle Chic !

....beautiful chic green hi heels, fantastic bicycle with such practical panniers, sigh...

This photo was taken on the Avenue Montaigne -Paris. It is shot by the Paris street photographer Fred.

Art Bike Alert- Artist on the Road - Wants Your Story

If you see this bike with a strange object like this on the road...

Headed up the coast towards San Francisco...

(all images by Maria Micaelson /wesharethesamestomach)

You've encountered Maria Michaelson and a chance to tell your story.

"I am biking across California, and onward, with a recorder embedded into a sculptural bicycle cart."

Maria Michaelson is blogging about her journey here. She hasn't been on this journey long, but does have several days worth of stories to share.

Odd coincidence. I discovered her randomly on the interwebs via local nomade while looking for local wild food foragers (I've blogged about foraging by bicycle) ... Then my BF comes bursting through the door telling me about this crazy artist and her bike he'd encountered earlier in his day and sigh.. naturally he'd had no camera with him to prove it. Ha, you mean this woman's blog I happen to be looking at this moment?!! Strange- so I knew I was meant to share her story!

She reminds me a bit of the two heroines in the story of the "Lure of the Open Road", which I shared last summer with you if you remember that post.

Let me know if you see Maria on the road!

Bicycle Dress - Lycra Cycing Jersey ...Say WHAT!

(dress by Hotvelociti)

I am definitely not a fan of lycra cycling jerseys- however this is a cycle jersey dress!
You take your basic fit cycle jersey, extend the length to mid thigh - a hot, but respectable mini dress length. Wear it with your cycling shorts underneath (or not) and you have a look that takes you off the bike to the chic cafe in one fell swoop. No one at the cafe will ever guess you are wearing a cycling jersey of all things...

Here is another bicycle dress with bold graphics that got me thinking about bicycle dresses this week. Made me want to look for newer versions of bicycle dresses. So voila!

And yes, I do like the Pucci inspired prints...(mmmmh still pining after my 60's mint original Pucci silk jacket I sold off a few years back). Verdict is that I like Pucci 'esque cycle chic. Dress is by Hotvelociti and runs $150.00 to $200.00.

Saint Cloud

Two Turbo(esque) saddles recovered for Saint Cloud, a new fashion and fixie store  on Gertrude Street, Fitzroy. White, Black and Chocolate.

Bicycle Crema

(via smartmouthkillerhand)

Hey there is a bicycle floating in my coffee. This can only bring to mind that other coffee loving bicycle riding blogger!

Have a great Friday everyone!

Our Shopping Bike

Finally finished the Busyman Shopping Bike. Assembled onto an old Repco frame set recovered from the Phillip Island tip the bike features single speed wheels built by Shifter Bikes, a $5 pair of mis-matched cranks, old Peugeot mudgards, rusty old rack with basket attached, kick stand, Brooks saddle from the heavy old Avon, a new brake system with cross levers, front cane basket and hand stitched leather grips with wooden bar plugs. All these additional components nearly did my head in, very different to a minimal fixie or single speed. Particularly difficult was fitting the mudguards and rack, I ended up having to crudely engineer my own brackets to get it to work. Tried it out last night on a trial shopping run. Bought cheese, corriander and beer. Forgot the bread stick which would really have looked the part.

Feride's bike take 2

After an unfortunate accident a year ago that ended up with a bent and buckled frame and fork and the front rim beyond repair all components were transfered onto this feshly powdercoated frame recovered from an old Silverton bike. The final touch on this version is the two tone stitched bar wrap, part of Feride's Christmas present. Also differnt on this version is the pure single speed replacing the three speed hub that never really worked well anyway. Feride's comments, "My bike is perfect".

Aly, Khiem and Thuy

Here's an oldy but a goody. Again hailed by Feride as the nicest riding bike. The baby seat was removed and in its place a powder coated aluminium rack with square basket attached. The bike (the green one) was completed a good 15 months ago but never made it to the blog. The strange thing about this bike is that it's a 700c frame running with 27" wheels and it handles beautifully. Also pictured is Khiem's new mixte built up on an old Raleigh. This one is currently the bearer of the baby (Khiem's) seat. Almost all of the bikes featured on the Busyman blog have come through Thuy - Aly's husband and Khiem's Dad. He has a real talent for finding beautiful 2nd hand bargains.

1968 Bicycle Dress

(photographer-unknown)

Bicycle Dress circa 1968 - Mexico City, the Summer Olympics?
Old style is new style again. I'd wear this dress in a heartbeat! The graphics are so now- if you look on etsy there are loads and loads of bicycle themed T-shirts for sale....

PedX Girl

(photo by Mike M.)

PedX Girl doing her delivery thing via bicycle! And looking so cute in her practical but quite cute outfit. Her skirt had a little dog motif on it...

Stars on her Bicycle Spokes

(photo by ridingpretty)

If you look closely you will see stars on her bicycle spokes. She is about to taste something scrumptious being offered her at the local Farmers market. . .

Loving the soft gray 'over the knee socks', same coziness as her sweater. Her shoes too - black suede pumps with a short little heel to them. Oh, and her bicycle is a vintage Schwinn mixte. For a photo of a mixte see here and here.

Nationals 2010, dusted and done.

Whew, what a weekend!
The day started off with the action packed short track cross country, Rowena Fry and Sid Taberlay taking out the two titles. The mens race was wild, Lachlan Norris of the Porsche Drapac team attacked like mad but probably worked on the front a little too long and Sid managed to get around him and the others to win.

Next was the DH, with a bit of rain keeping the dust down for the final practice runs the track was blisteringly fast.
The most exciting part of the day was the elite mens final, Chris Kovarik landed himself in the hot seat with only Sam Hill to come, Sam dropped in only meters from the finish line, throwing away what could have been. Chris' wife Clair Buchar was the fastest in elite women.

The weekend's just about done, and it sure was a cracker of an event. Eagle Hill MTB Park is great, the crowd was pumped, and the pits were positively buzzing with people and cool new bike kit. It's looking like the Nationals are returning to form and becoming the nations biggest event again. Bring it on.

I was lucky to have sit down and interview Mike Sinyard, the founder of Specialized Bicycles, a great guy with loads of great stuff to say. The full story will make its way into the mag soon.

Laundry Night and the Bicycle

(photo by ridingpretty)

Caught this on laundry night. She and her trusty bicycle waiting for the laundry to finish.

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more detail of her bicycle....

(photo by ridingpretty)

I really like the polka dot seat cover (for the rain) and that front rack on this bicycle is outstanding. Very practical for carrying the big laundry basket on!

Stella McCarthney - Bicycles and Kites

This was released last year. It's Stella McCartney for summer 2009...
While this may not be a fashion forward forecast, no instead it's more like a wonderful re-visit.
Yes, so lyrically poetic and magical that I thought it might just help lift the winter doldrums a bit.

Enjoy!

Butterfly Bicycle - Winged Prayers for Haiti

(via chevalfineart)

Thoughts and prayers for the People of Haiti
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****Update: An answer to prayers coming so heartfelt from several of my favorite bicycle companies to help the People of Haiti...

Rivendale
VO Orange

Clever Cycles

Bazaar Magazine - Bicycle Chic!

( photocredit:Alexi Lubomirski for bazaar magazine via design scene)

This in the new upcoming issue of February 2010 Harper's Bazaar Magazine!
Spring is around the corner (sooner or later anyway)....
At any rate I do like all of it. This is so because of the interesting choice to put the lovely model Arlenis Sosa with a diamond frame/"man" bike frame instead of the more lady like step through frame. Step through frame examples as seen in the fashion pages here and shown as a street shot here.

What I think I love most about the top photo are the cream colored, big tires on her bike. I'm not sure what bikes she is riding - so anyone out there with a clue - would love to hear from you! I can sincerely say in advance a certain number of my readers will be highly appreciative of that information.