Tweed Run

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The poster from the first ever tweed run.
In 2013, the ride went through Fitzrovia to Marylebone.

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]

Contents

Inspirations[edit]

Among the inspirations for the Tweed Run was the Tweed Cycling Club, co-founded by Jack Thurston, presenter of The Bike Show on Resonance FM, London's community arts radio station. The Tweed Cycling Club was first featured in The Chap magazine in the summer of 2007[2] and subsequently in the Sunday Times's Style supplement [3] in the autumn of 2008. The club is currently closed to new members.

First Tweed Run[edit]

The very first tweed runs were held by VC Nottingham in the early 1990s. These were Christmas rides in full tweed regalia, some 20 years before the Southern hipsters caught up. The first Tweed Run branded ride was held on the 24th of January 2009, [4] and organised by London Fixed Gear and Single Speed, an online cycling forum. The third run was held on 10 April 2010, for 400 registered riders.[5]

Since then the Tweed Run has become an annual event with major sponsors. Participants are now 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[edit]

Since the Tweed Run, various tweed rides, using a similar format, have since been held in places including Birmingham, United Kingdom[6]; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Alpena, Michigan; Athens, GA; Bloomington, IN; Boston; Chicago; Curitiba; Dallas, Texas; Des Moines, Iowa; Durango, Colorado; Flagstaff, Arizona;St Petersburg, Florida, Fremantle, Western Australia; Helsinki; Lexington, KY; Minneapolis; Kansas City, Missouri; Moscow; Paris; Pescara, Italy; Philadelphia; Riga, Latvia; Rochester, New York; San Francisco; São Paulo; St. Petersburg, Russia; Sydney; Tokyo; Toronto; Traverse City, Michigan; Washington, D.C.; Berlin and Stuttgart, Germany; Chihuahua, Mexico; Victoria, Canada; Windsor, Ontario, Canada; Vienna, Austria[citation needed]. Many of these rides take place annually.

Rugby Ralph Lauren sponsored a fall version of The Tweed Run, London in 2011 and the first New York Tweed Run in October of the same year.[citation needed]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Cyclelicious (27 January 2009), A critical mass of well dressed cyclists, www.cyclelicio.us 
  2. ^ Thurston, Jack. "Tweed Cycling Club featured in The Chap magazine". 
  3. ^ Braddock, Kevin. "Pedalling the Look". 
  4. ^ "On your bike for Rubgy Ralph Lauren's first London Tweed Run", The Daily Telegraph, 23 November 2011 
  5. ^ Sparkes, Matthew (13 April 2010). "Doctor Who does nothing for tweed that cyclists haven't planned for months". The Guardian (London). 
  6. ^ “Are you all Dutch?” – Brum’s Big Vintage Cycle ride pedals confusion. The Birmingham Press.com, 11 June 2013.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tweed run
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tweed_Run&oldid=559371895"