1 June 2009

Canberra Tweed Ride

| Brandi
Join the conversation
7

Canberra Tweed Ride is a short bicycle cruise of about 15km through the Civic and Inner North areas, with stops at numerous cafes and pubs along the way. Expect a leisurely pace.

Tweed Ride has no agenda except the rejection of modern cycling “style”, to wit: carbon fibre, lycra, goretex and the like. Cyclists are encouraged to dress in their finest vintage garb, if only to prevent the onset of chill from inclement weather. Prizes will be awarded for best outfit, bike and facial hair.

The tour meets at the Gorman House Markets near the coffee van at 11.30am for departure at 12 noon. A map of the route is available on Bikely: http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Canberra-Tweed-Ride-2009

Join the conversation

7
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Cyclists of the male persuasion may find some guidance here:

The Chap.

Re tweed: “True gentlemen would never wear brown to town.”

Rain is highly likely and indeed desirable.

– Trackies ok as long as they’re brown (and not just the gusset).
– Kilt ok provided you ride a tallbike.
– Ugg boots … sure 😀
– Worn out business shirts, trench coat, beanie, topper, fingerless gloves (by design or wear-and-tear), three-day growth … all entirely legit.

Zoot suit – got a violin case to go with?

It would bring a smile to my face to see a high-wheeler or two on the day.

Lastly, with a moniker like ‘neanderthalsis’ you don’t already have some whiskers…?

neanderthalsis5:11 pm 01 Jun 09

6 June doesn’t give much time to grow out the mustache into a decent handlebar or Dali and grow the mutton chops.

I do have a tweed deerstalker and a tweed coat with leather elbow patches, only thing lacking is the bike…

Riders are encouraged to continue to intimidate pedestrians and try to start fights with drivers as often as possible; the oldest of cycling traditions has never gone out of fashion.

But seriously, I bet the best bike prize would be in the bag if you cracked out a penny-farthing. Anyone got one?

OP states:

Cyclists are encouraged to dress in their finest vintage garb

Can someone who is familiar with this event please shed some light on this?
The ‘vintage garb’ that I can think of are the likes of:
– Baggy tracksuit pants. Ones that should never be worn outside of one’s home.
– Scottish kilt. Strictly no undies, to uphold tradition.
– Ugg boots. ‘Nuff said. Ugh!
– Worn-out business shirts with disintegrated collar. Vinny stuff.
– Trenchcoat, similar to the one Dick Tracey wore.
– Beany, or headware worn by characters in Oliver Twist movie. Dare to wear a tophat?
– Worn-out gloves. Bare finger tips a must.
– Facial hair. But this might be a challenge for the ladies, other than Julia Gillard.

…Candidate for being thrown out of an up-market pub/cafe in record time?

There’s too much POM in some of you Canberrans! I hope it rains and hails (just like mother england) on the riders in their tweed and “vintage garb”, then they will never again speak ill of goretex 😉

BTW – what’s not to like about carbon fibre (except for the price)? It’s light, strong and sexy!

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.