My first ever Tweed Run

Brooks, they of super-comfy saddles that saved my bum on last year’s 120-mile Dunwich Dynamo, invited me a few weeks ago to join the Tweed Run. If you’ve never been, it’s a lot of people in tweed riding around London. I’ve never been on it but I’ve seen the great outfits, so I knew that the bar was set high. The warm sun dictated a simple wool skirt, white shirt and Grenson brogues, tweed-lite if you will.

The general uniform seems to be plus fours and brightly coloured socks, but there was a huge array of other brilliant outfits, from full 50s dresses to the best take on vintage sported by the lovely Kelly, pictured smiling on the back of a bike as she took pics for BikePretty. I also ran into Lady Velo, aka Jools who was another serious cycle chic contender.

As a cyclist there is something exciting about joining fellow two wheelers and pedalling through London’s streets. The day also coincided with the Big Ride, as we passed them on Westminster Bridge it swelled my heart to stop along with the rest of the tweeders to give them a round of applause.

The best bit of the ride was sailing through London, waving at pedestrians. For some reason cycle reception is coolest in the UK, but wearing our tweed cloaks of respectability we earnt nothing more ominous than a friendly wave and the occasional shout out. The Big Ride was definitely hugely important but fun events like the Tweed Run are an important reminder that most people cycle because it’s a really fun and pleasurable thing to do.