Saturday Eve -- Girls Ride

Sitting Upright

She is sitting upright and enjoying the view. Riding like this down a sloping hill until she reaches the next stop sign and resumes the proper, hands on position. Fun.

Miley Cyrus Rides a Cruiser

photocredit/source: mileycyrusfever.com

Why care? The way I see it, when pop culture icons ride bicycles they are helping the planet, proving there is some thing you can do (besides saving money on gas) and Yes, looking oh so pretty riding on a bicycle… The influence can be so positive on kids who will be asking their parents if they can get a cruiser like Miley has.

Sunset Ride

Chopper bicycle made from found materials

So we've seen a lot of variations on the chopper bicycle out there. I have watched many roll by with awe and jealousy. I finally couldn't take it anymore and set out to make one of my own. In order to avoid being derivative, I decided that my bike would be made from as few actual bike parts as possible. While a noble notion, this proved quite difficult, especially having no experience building bikes in the first place. I am a sculptor above all else, so I figured if the thing failed, it would still be art. Fortunately the project was a success, and is briefly documented here.

Sunday Beach Ride

Bicycle to the Beach with My Best Friend

3 Ride Home

3 ride home, the sun is almost setting now. Now this is a nice Friday night commute.

Deliciously Pink Series – Pink Banana Bicycles & Heather

photo source/credit:celebritypro.com

Heather looking decidedly sweet on this little pink bicycle ride.

Another dreamy pink bicycle sent in by Bruce.

Deliciously Pink Series – The Pink Bicycle Tea Room

photo source/credit: teamap/user submitted

photo source/credit: teamap/user submitted

photo source/credit:pinkbicycletearoom.com

Continuing with the deliciously pink series...The Pink Bicycle Tea Room. Located in historic Virginia, in the charming town of Ocoquan. It looks lovely!

Deliciously Pink Series – Paris Hilton & her Pink Cruiser

photo source/credit: cycleliocious/celebrity-gossip

I was checking out cycleliocious and found out Paris has a pink cruiser now. She should go visit pinkbikesite! I just blogged about pinkbikesite here.

Anyway …She looks so much better with her pink cruiser than she did before on her old other bicycle….don’t you agree!

***photo source/credit:andrikaanna

******the above photo link of Paris on her MTB looking all grungy has been lost.

Deliciously Pink Series – pinkbikesite

I loved the pink cruisers, this newer one and this vintage one I saw recently at the beach. I started noticing pretty shades of pink popping up and voila…

a delicious pink bicycle theme has inspired me to share this with you.

First starting with this question: Do you have a pink bicycle?

Then you've got to I love this site.... pinkbikesite. So many pretty pink bicycles!

Here are a couple photos I think you’ll enjoy.

photo source: pinkbikesite.com

Eve in Hungary at a Critical Mass ride.

photo source: pinkbikesite.com

Cynthia in the desert…last year 2007 at www.burningman.com

Surf City ...Bikinis, Bicycles & Beach Girls

She rode right onto the beach...

Girlfriends meeting together at the beach.

Kinda Silly...Vintage Raleigh..What You Get with Bad Credit

Can't afford a car? What about a new brand bicycle? Bad Credit? Then of course you're going to be reduced to buying a vintage (used) bicycle with everyone else looking down at you? NOT REALLY!!!

Anyway on to some of the lyrics:

"Now I'm rollin eco-friendly,
But I still look bad,
When the bike store saw my credit,
They said, 'This is all we have'"

But wait he's riding a pretty forest green, in excellent condition looking, vintage Raleigh. This is a beautiful ride!!!

Like I said this is a silly, silly commercial.
But I laughed.

Vintage Bicycles, Oh My!

I’m starting to get very alerted to the growing love of vintage bicycles as a first choice in a bicycle for those who want to ride a bicycle (again.) The obvious reason… beat the high price of gas AND for the other myriad reasons…reduce carbon, go green, get exercise ect.

Yes, and all the while looking incredibly chic and cool doing so!

But here’s what I’ve gleaned so far from my fellow bicycle bloggers. It’s a kind of round up of loosely related tidbits from here and there…

EcoVelo says that the google search term ‘bicycle commuting’ is growing;

‘The term "Bicycle Commuting" took a major spike at the beginning of the second quarter of this year, almost directly coinciding with gas hitting $4 per gallon in the U.S’.

Read the entire post.

Okay, so bicycle sales are up as people want to bicycle commute. Here's where the next tidbit comes in....

Next Sweet Georgia Brown notes she was OUTBID! The vintage Raleigh Sprite she was promised was sold out from under her, and instead it was acquired by a vintage bicycle restorer with plans to turn around and resell it, and of course for much more money.

Now this is in keeping with my own observations. I troll Craigslist for vintage bicycles...I posted a while back and urged everyone to use Craigslist in 'Bicycle for Cheap'.

Times change. Just from my own little tracking I see the prices are going up and up, the resellers are trolling Craigslist with a lot of diligence. The cheap and reasonable bicycles are disappearing in a heart beat! Especially true, say for instance a Raleigh Superb, or just about any Schwinns from the 70’s, 60’s, 50’s. All kinds of vintage cruisers go fast too. This is especially and particularity true with the ladies bicycles category…hardly much interest in vintage ladies bicycles in days past…Fixie/Mixte Diamond frames ruled, step through frames got passed on. Well what this means… girls are riding(pretty) and they like cool vintage bicycles. Duh!

Another tidbit, this time from UrbanCycleChic who blogged/noted the NY Times article;

‘Jalopy Bikes with Techie Tyres’. The full NY Times article here. Basically it’s a heads up on buying brand new hi-tech tyres for your cruiser/jalopy vintage bicycle…

Over at Bikes in the City you can find just the cutest (vintage, if not vintage looking) blue bicycle ever… getting to be the huge, megawatt star in a TV spot. Read and see the whole video here.

All adding up to convince me that vintage bicycles are hot, so hot!

Oh, and this just in as I was writing this post. Please review or enroll in bicycle riding education/ etiquette class...I blogged about just such here. Anyway according to the NY Times bicyclists are ‘Moving Targets’. Read full NY Times article here.

Due to the big upsurge in bicyclist sharing the streets in Manhattan and elsewhere across the country there is an adjustment going on. Cars (drivers), pedestrians can get hostile.

By the Santa Cruz Wharf

Her cruiser had the prettiest patina... just goes to show how nice it can be to leave your older bicycle as is. Don't worry about stripping it down and repainting.

And this lady has her beach suit on too, underneath... She just came from the beach. Tossed on her little beach dress and a cool, comfy shirt and off she went.

Two girlfriends at the pier, which is right next to excellent beach access. They too came right from the beach after a day of swim and sun. At first they protested when I asked to take their photo. They assured me they usually look so much better....being at the beach all day creates nasty havoc on your hair, and you don't exactly take time to put on lip gloss or anything like that.

Urban Costume Karaoke Bicycle Brigade - SF Event

photocredit/source: Fritz & Cyclelicious

Late Breaking News....Urban Costume Karaoke Bicycle Brigade: Tomorrow (Saturday) in Dolores Park, San Francisco. Thanks to cyclelicious for the heads up on this one.

Pink Tiger Beach Dress over Bikini

According to my unofficial Poll Results and some ensuing comments...
This photo is in essence the reason so many of the guys like to stop by and check out RidingPretty!

Yes, she is cute!

From a fashion point of view, her little beach dress is so perfect to wear over the bikini like so many Santa Cruz girls do.... as I have observed in a prior post.

Guest Photo--Kasha from Denver

Lovely Kasha from Denver...
Speaking of Denver, Drunk and in Charge has a post 'No Bicycles Allowed at the Convention.'

Otherwise if you look in the background of this photo there is a BIG billboard...

By the Skateboard & Bmx Ramps

I was eating at my favorite taco/burrito stand (Las Palmas) in Santa Cruz. It's got the best $2.50 burrito...anyway it's right across the street from a skate/bmx park. This girl... so all american classic was watching the bmx guys for the longest time. You can just make out a bmx rider in the background. SO when I finished lunch she was still there. She was so sure I'd come over to take photos of the bmx guys doing their trick rides because there were really hot bmx riders really showing off.

Poll Results

The question was…

What do you wear most often when you ride your bicycle?

The results…

Skirt ..................11 ............ 22%

Dress..................6 ...............12%

Knickers ............3 ..............6%

Shorts .................8 ............ 16%

Dressy Pants ......2............ 4%

Jeans.................. 1 3.......... 26%

Huh?

I’m a Guy......... 19.............38%

50 respondents in all and the poll ran for a month or so.

Here goes an interpretation, plus ‘off the top of my head’ analysis. Guys like this blog too. (A good portion of the poll numbers came from the guys.) My guess is that the guys like fashion and want to keep up with what styles the girls are wearing, shopping hints, looking good hints and all the other ‘specifically for girls’ stuff I blog about. Now, that is not to say guys aren’t ‘riding pretty’ too! I do blog about lots of other non-gender specific topics as well!

Ah…now to refocus and shift back more to my heart’s love which is a more fun filled, fashion focus.

It’s hard hunting down the fashionable female vixen and/or sweet heart on a bicycle. Not unlike going bird watching. The rare and thrilling of the species are that much more endearing. Especially, when after a long challenging pursuit… to then finally get her within your camera lens, and yours with the click of the camera.

Yoga Girl with the Best Panniers EVER!

Her whole style is amazing. Love her bicycle. But wait check out in detail her panniers....

Dirty Girl Produce Stand --Santa Cruz

She casually rode her bicycle through the market picking up this and that as she sauntered along. Most lock it up first and then stroll through the market. Santa Cruz is so laid back that no one seems to care if you park and lock your bicycle or stroll it through the market....

Notice her green beans in hand. She is prepared to pack it all away in her great floral print tote.

This is at the Santa Cruz Farmer's Market on Wednesdays downtown Santa Cruz.

Notice the sign in the background? It's for the stall right next door. I love the name Dirty Girl, they have delicious offerings as just about all the farmers do. It's the Height of Summer...

Cute Couple Lock It Up --Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz --Girls on Bicycles

Santa Cruz --Girls on Bicycles

Off to Burning Man? Pink Fur your Bike-- DIY

Headed to Burning Man and want to fur you bike?

Two more photos for your inspiration…the tiger bike and this one.

Or you can attend a workshop in San Francisco ...It's Monday August 16, 6-9:30pm.

Still need more inspiration? Here’s one from Japan.

I like pink.

Oh and 'How to Fur Your Bike'...

Purple Dress over Bikini-- Beach Time

Just throw on a summery dress over your bikini and bicycle off to the beach.

Most every girl has her bikini on, wearing it beneath whatever she happens to be wearing for the day. You never know when you just might want to go for an ocean dip. Be prepared, always wear your bikini!

Santa Cruz - - Surfer Monument

Taking pause for a surfer moment at the Surfer Monument...

A Girl and her Dog ...Santa Cruz

Amsterdam’s first cycled fashion show!

Thanks and tip of the bicycle helmet to Velo Mondial for announcing this event first.
The event occurred July 19th in Amsterdam...

YDU - Young Designers United will participate at the Downtown programme of the Amsterdam International Fashion Week with a special project: Amsterdam’s first cycled fashion show!

"We notice very often that our Dutch customers are looking for pieces which are not only beautiful, wearable from day to night, occasionally sexy and unique, but they should also be handy for cycling”, says Angelika Groenendijk, founder of YDU. “With Amsterdam’s first cycled fashion show we want to make a statement: Biking doesn’t necessarily mean plastic rain ponchos and rubber boots – it can be stylish and practical at the same time. YDU will present an ‘amsterdamized’ collection for women who are biking to different destinations: For the ‘ lady on her way to a first date’ or the ‘party night’, the ‘opera visit’, the ‘shopping with the girls’ experience and many more.”

Here are the photos of the event. Thanks Pascal for these photo memories!

Goings & Comings... Beach Ride -Santa Cruz

Ireland’s BICYCLE FASHION SHOW-- Saturday 1st of November 2008

RidingPretty was invited to show off her Bicycle Helmet Covers down the catwalk at this event!

“The BICYCLE FASHION SHOW will exhibit the latest innovations of clothes, bikes, accessories and gears from local, national and European designers and artists. Our objective is to present as a stylish and fashionable way to get about.”

So if you’re going to be in Ireland, this would be a fabulous event to attend …just letting you know if you’re headed that way.

****If you're interested in finding out more about the upcoming event, then email me. I will try to find more information to email out to you!

BIKEOSPHERE--- Fashion Show Video

Just in case you missed this, like I almost did.
Vancouver on July 18th 2008. It looked like a real fun time!
Here it is...

Santa Cruz -- West Cliff Drive ...Gorgeous Views!

Santa Cruz -- West Cliff Drive ...Breeze off the Ocean

Santa Cruz -- West Cliff Drive...Summer Whites