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London Tweed Run 2011

The date for this years Tweed Run, the metropolitan bike ride with style, has been announced as the 9th April. As mentioned back at Christmas, I’m planning to do next years Tweed Run as I need three things:

Tweeds, obviously!
A bit more fitness (yes, even for a 10 mile bike ride!). My stamina has been getting so much better since October, and I’m losing weight steadily. It’s a great feeling, but I want to be a more confident cyclist before I take part in anything social.
A little project that I’m planning, to build my own Pashley Guvnor inspired bike.

My moustache is coming along very nicely though and should be in top form for next years event!

As well as the sartorial, there’s a lot of bike geekiness with vintage ‘safety bicycle’ models appearing alongside penny farthings and modern setups. Brooks (the British saddle maker) made a short video of last years event, which is well worth watching:

2011 21 Feb
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Tags chap, cycling, tweed

The Globe Daily

So with this renewed enthusiasm for cycling, I’ve been looking for a new bike. I currently ride a cheap mountain bike (very cheap – it was free with a dishwasher) which gets me to work and back just fine, but isn’t ideal. I don’t think I’ll ever be a mountain biker, or need a fast road-only bike, so a hybrid was what I needed. I also wanted something that looked more retro than sporty, something a Chap might ride.

After some research, I soon found a dream bike that epitomised everything I wanted aesthetically in a bicycle, the Pashley Guvnor:

Handmade in Stratford Upon Avon, these classic bikes have so much character and it was the Guvnor I particularly lusted after. At £865 though, it’s something I’ll have to work towards. Looking at the more affordable end, I fortunately found the Globe Daily One Hybrid Bike:

Exactly the kind of retro styling that I was looking for, but combined with modern technology like internal hub gears. There were more practical bikes out there, but I fell in love with the Globe! It’s been ordered, and will hopefully arrive in a couple of weeks.