Tweed Run
The Tweed Run is a group bicycle ride through the centre of London, in which the cyclists are expected to dress in traditional British cycling attire, particularly tweed plus four suits. Any bicycle is acceptable on the Tweed Run, but classic vintage bicycles are encouraged. Some effort to recreate the spirit of a bygone era is always appreciated.[1] The ride dubs itself "A Metropolitan Cycle Ride With a Bit of Style."
Inspirations
Among the inspirations for the Tweed Run was Jack Thurston's now disbanded Tweed Cycling Club, and several vintage attire-themed rides which were held in the north of England in the 1990s.
First Tweed Run
Although previous cycling clubs have hosted vintage-themed rides before, the very first Tweed Run was held on the 24th of January 2009,[2] and organised via London Fixed Gear and Single Speed, an online cycling forum. The second run was held on 10 April 2010, for 500 registered riders.[3]
Since then the Tweed Run has become an annual event with major sponsors. Participants are limited to 500 (due to health and safety rules) and due to high and popular demand a ticket ballot system has been in place.
Later tweed rides
Since the Tweed Run, various cities have copied the format, including Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester,[4] United Kingdom;[5] Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Alpena, Michigan; Athens, Georgia; Bloomington, Indiana; Boston; Chicago; Chico, California; Columbus, Ohio; Curitiba; Dallas, Texas; Des Moines, Iowa; Durango, Colorado; Flagstaff, Arizona; Sanford and St Petersburg, Florida, Fremantle, Western Australia; Helsinki; Lexington, Kentucky; Louisville, Kentucky; Minneapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Moscow; Paris; Pescara, Italy; Philadelphia; Riga, Latvia; Rochester, New York; Sacramento, California; San Francisco; São Paulo; St. Petersburg, Russia; Sydney; Tokyo; Toronto; Traverse City, Michigan; Washington, D.C.; Oakland, CA;[6] Oldenburg,Osnabrück 2015 Berlin and Stuttgart, Germany; Chihuahua, Mexico; Calgary, Alberta; Victoria, British Columbia; Windsor, Ontario; Vienna, Austria; Budapest, Hungary; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Stockholm and Malmö, Sweden; Spetses, Greece. Many of these rides take place annually. Some are charity events, like the Malmö Tweed Ride.[7]
Rugby Ralph Lauren sponsored a fall version of The Tweed Run in London on 26 November, 2011 and the first New York Tweed Run on 15 October of the same year.
See also
References
- ↑ Cyclelicious (27 January 2009), A critical mass of well dressed cyclists, www.cyclelicio.us
- ↑ "On your bike for Rugby Ralph Lauren's first London Tweed Run", The Daily Telegraph, 23 November 2011
- ↑ Sparkes, Matthew (13 April 2010). "Doctor Who does nothing for tweed that cyclists haven't planned for months". The Guardian (London).
- ↑ "www.tweedride.co.uk". Retrieved 2015-06-18.
- ↑ “Are you all Dutch?” – Brum’s Big Vintage Cycle ride pedals confusion. The Birmingham Press.com, 11 June 2013.
- ↑ "East Bay Tweed Ride" https://www.ebbc.org, 8 August 2013.
- ↑ http://www.tweedride.se/
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tweed run. |
- Tweed Run official website
- Tweed Run 2010 video
- London Fixed Gear and Single Speed
- The thread on which the first tweed run was organised
- Philadelphia's Official Tweed Ride website
- Fremantle Tweed Run winners
- Tweed Run images
- International Tweed Run and Ride Event Calendar listing past and upcoming events
- Tweed Run, St. Petersburg, Russia - website
- Tweed Ride Italia - website
- Tweed Ride Rotterdam, the Netherlands - website
- Tweed Ride Vienna, Austria - website
- Malmö Tweed Ride, Sweden - website