The tweed ride last weekend was a smashing good time. The only thing I could complain about was the spectacular fall weather was actually too hot for tweed, but that’s a stupid thing to complain about, so I won’t. (And, for all the ladies who haven’t got enough style riding in for the fall, there’s a Critical Lass ride this Saturday!)
Here’s some snapshots from the 3rd Edmonton Tweed Ride, Ink on a Block.
Darren and Nathaniel looking dapper.
Tweed riders take Whyte Ave.
Bernadette and the shiny red cruiser.
I rode Poplar and wore plaid. It was too hot for the jacket.
Sorry about the weird photo, Selene, I didn't get any better ones of your lovely outfit.
Micah rocks the blazer.
More super stylin' riders.
B. looks on from his favorite perch.
After the sun went down we rolled into the river valley. Unfortunately for my 60 year old coaster brake, we went one of the steepest ways down possible. By the time we got to the LRT bridge, you could fry tofu on my coaster hub.
Checking out the action below the LRT bridge.
Keely and a wineskin, caught on film.
Riding into the tweed hours of the night.
I would like to add that on our way out of the valley, even though it was really difficult, I made it up Connors hill on the old cruiser, without stopping or walking. I think there were folks on multi-speed bikes who couldn’t say that.
Kevin demonstrates the required panache to pull off tweed in style.
And then there was a soapstone bear...
We finished off at a small “Irish Pub” that wasn’t prepared for 30 thirsty woolen clad cyclists looking to take over the bar for the night. One of the regulars, who was standing outside when we arrived and asked what we were doing commented “Well, I guess you can’t ride around looking like that alone.” Thanks for the reminder that we’re still in Alberta, dude.
Breaking Chains and Taking Lanes 
Great pictures ans fab tweed outfits.
I am so sad to have missed this fall’s Tweed Ride! How did I not hear this was happening, when I was watching the EBC calendar and newsletter and FB page like a hawk? =( I had my outfit ready and everything…
It looks like you all had a wonderful time!
Darn! I think the only publicity was a FB event page, and it’s not an EBC officially sanctioned event (though I thought I saw it mentioned somewhere ebc related…) That sucks that you didn’t hear about it. I’ll make an effort to post notices of future rides on here.
Thanks C! I really appreciate the thought. (And I appreciate that EBC’s concerns about liability mean that unofficial rides are more likely to be the norm.)
This is also making me wonder whether using only Twitter & the LFL blog is giving interested people sufficient notice about the Critical Lass ride, which is a similarly unsanctioned, informal event. Maybe we should we be creating a Facebook event page for CL3 too? (Thanks also for the shoutout above!)
Current details for Critical Lass on Sat Oct 2 for anyone who is interested: we’re meeting at South Campus LRT station at 1pm, and riding mostly via North Saskatchewan Drive along the top of the river valley through Belgravia, Windsor Park, and the U of A, with the cluster of shops & cafes around 109th / High Level Bridge as our destination. We’re suggesting pretty outfits, great boots & fall layers, as vintage or modern as you wanna be, and the forecast high is 23C. This one is kinda last-minute, since the usual suspects have had weddings / election campaigns / sick pets and kids keeping them busy, so our outreach hasn’t been as great as would be optimal – please feel free to spread the word!
Seems like Poplar is getting some good miles. If you have it, the blue boat trailer wheel bearing grease is absolutely the best for rebuilding coaster brakes, and won’t boil out on long descents. Ride on!
Thanks for the tip! It was originally an oil hub but I repacked it with ye olde green park grease and hadn’t given it a second thought until I was about halfway down that hill. I haven’t broken out the blue stuff since last winter, but I’ll try it the next time I overhaul.
It’s also a good idea to rough up the braking surfaces with some 60 grit sandpaper (or a sanding drum on a Dremel) – you’re probably already doing this, but I thought it would be worth mentioning.
Hi there, do you know if you are planning on doing a Tweed ride in 2015 or know if anyone else in the Edmonton Cycling Community may be planning on doing one? I’m interested in being a part of one!