The London Tweed Run 2015...

The 7th annual Tweed Run rolled into London on the 18th of April and after weeks of planning, the day had come for me to bring that poster to life (in more detail than I anticipated), and ride alongside 700 stylish cyclists through the city...

Glorious sunshine was the order of the day as that elusive yellow orb made an appearance in a clear blue sky- result! Before riding off on the Pashley and Colourbolt, me and the dashingly dressed Boy checked off the VCG list of essential Tweed Run requirements...

Outfits: pressed and presentable ü
Bicycles: roadworthy and clean ü
Phones & cameras: charged ü
Picnic: wrapped & packed ü
Appetite: large and roaring ü

We don't usually set off for the event on empty stomachs, but this year was rather different as we cycled to Clerkenwell for the Tweed Run Brunch. Held at the beautiful Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings and hosted by fizzy rascals Pol Roger, the day was kicked off in splendid style with a couple of glasses of chilled champagne and an incredibly hearty menu to follow. Consisting of hot scones, tea and Potato Hash/Poached Eggs with Salted ox cheek, it was a good job we did arrive hungry... this seriously set us up for the day!

Champers quaffed and stomachs full, we took a leisurely ride to Trafalgar Square, the starting point for the ride and traditional official photo call to open the day. I'll never tire of arriving to a sea of beautiful outfits and bicycles in all shapes and sizes, all gathered in one place for the Tweed Run... and how it unfailingly gets an inquisitive and friendly response from onlookers.

A very special person I saw before the tide of tweed swept into London, was the amazing woman who created the Tweed Run poster and essentially designed my outfit for the day... Eliza Southwood! I've a lot to thank Eliza for - it's still a huge honour to have a cycling illustrator as talented & well respected as her base the poster on me. The reaction from fellow riders on the day over the outfit was something I'll never forget and will always treasure - and of course it was an absolute blast getting it made and putting it all together!

The final clicks of shutters on many cameras marked the opening ceremony of the Tweed Run done, as 700 of us set off from the Square for our 12 mile route around London. Taking in the sights and landmarks of the city, it was a wonderful spectacle for residents and tourists of the city to see...

Earlier on I mentioned that the poster came to life a bit beyond the outfit... as The Boy and I pulled up to Red Lion Square for the Tea Stop, we were greeted by Mr Tweed Run himself, Ted, with what I can now call a mischievous sparkle in his eye. We were instructed to park up our bikes and stay right where we were... and off he vanished. A few moments later Seb (one of the lovely Marshals on the ride) appeared... with his Tandem! Of course it had to be done, and with neither of us ever having been on a Tandem before (if you got one of the pictures of us almost coming a cropper on it, please let me know!) you can imagine there was a bit off a "same foot - balance!" issue...

It was a wobbly and rather hilarious experience! We managed a few rotations on it, and then Seb hopped back on, to take me for a spin around the square... 

I'm going to make it my mission to get me and The Boy back on a Tandem again! But for the rest of the day, we stuck with our usual steeds. Riding to St Pancras Gardens for the picnic stop & finally onto Bloomsbury Ballrooms for the closing ceremony, we had a chance for a much longer and leisurely break (the picnic was aided by some chilled wine and amazing home baking by the other half) and to admire all of the ladies, gentlemen and bicycles on show....

The day ended with some rather titillating entertainment with a beautiful Burlesque performance on stage at the Ballrooms, followed by the Tweed Run awards and music from the live band... and a genius photo booth which provided a lot of laughs...

It was a fantastic day & certainly one I will not forget. As always, a huge thank you to Ted Young-Ing for organising another amazing Tweed Run, Eliza Southwood for THAT poster,  all the Marshals for their sterling efforts in getting us around London... and to Ian James (The Boy) for always being my tweed partner in crime (you can see his full set of photos here).

Goodness knows what brilliance next year will bring to top this Tweed Run, but I look forward to the next one already... tally-ho!

Back In The Frame - Bespoked Bristol 2020

VCG is back in the swing of all things cycling for 2020: last weekend saw the return of Bespoked Bristol, and I was there not only as an excited visitor, but also to judge “The Lady Velo Choice” for Women’s Bicycles… and the “Outstanding Design Award” - which was pretty ace to say the least!



The UK Handmade Bicycle Show was back in Brunel’s Old Station for its sixth instalment, and I was honoured to be invited by founders & organisers Phil and Tessa Taylor to be a part of it this year. Taking on feedback from previous shows, the formula for judging and categories underwent a change, and it was pretty special to be a part of it. Also, caps off to Phil and Tessa for taking feedback onboard and running with it.

Judging at Bespoked between two categories was an eye opening experience - with 108 exhibitors (if my maths brain is working), there was A LOT to see, take in and talk about. I’m certainly not complaining: the chance to get to chat with the framebuilders / designers and get the stories behind their builds was brilliant. There was also no 1st / 2nd / 3rd placing for those I selected - each were on equal footing, which again, was brilliant and seemed like a much fairer process.

So, first up, my selection for The Lady Velo Choice award in Women’s Bicycles:

Hartley Cycles

Sven Cycles

Swallow Bespoke

The inclusion of Women’s Bicycles at Bespoked was brilliant - but also opened up an interesting line of dialogue as to “what exactly is a woman’s bike?” with most of the people I spoke to. In my opinion, the fact people were talking about this was fantastic, and feels like a whole new topic to discuss on VCG. So watch this space for more on that.

Next up, my selection for the Outstanding Design Award:

Quirk Cycles

Saffron Frameworks

Beaumont Cycles

It was definitely quite the task to whittle it down to three. There were so many choices, and having another very wide brief to work with on this made it hard to decide!

Catching up with friends and frame builders I’d not seen for a while, and finally meeting some who have been on my radar for ages was another thing that made a big day of walking around, making notes and talking loads even more enjoyable. And of course, getting my camera out and rekindling my love of taking pictures of bike frames at different angles was a lot of fun too. I've missed doing stuff like this....

A huge thank you to Phil and Tessa for inviting braforme / Lady Velo to be part of Bespoked 2020, and to all the framebuilders / designers who exhibited and took the time out to chat with me during their very busy day. 

A Tailored Affair: Tweed Run Outfit (Pt2)...

With the dress made and ready for the ride, the remaining thing to sort for my Tweed Run outfit was the hat. When Nisa presented me with my finished garment, she also kindly gave me a small roll of dogtooth tweed that was left over... "this might come in handy later" she said with a knowing smile, and then pointed me in the direction of a milliner she regularly saw in Old Spitalfields Market. Nisa had remembered the there was a matching Pill Box hat in the poster. The last past of the puzzle was falling into place.

I won't lie - I'd never really been a 'proper' hat woman. I always loved the look of beautiful and ornate hats and fascinators, but never really thought they would suit me at all. Before this year, the only types you'd find in my wardrobe were beanies & bobbles that would only be deployed in the winter (or when in between hairstyles), so getting a fancy hat professionally made was something I never thought I would do. As soon as I'd arrived at Bellapacella, I realised that was about to change..

When I met Jeanne Pacella and had a look through her creations I was taken by her and her work in an instant. Hailing from Chicago, and with an incredibly eclectic style, Jeanne was a total breath of fresh air. My ideas of hat design being an old skool and deeply traditional / intimidating scene were smashed! She's been trading in Old Spitalfields for 10 years, and has a background in fashion, working in jewellery and corsetry designs before making hats. 

Her stall was filled with a multitude of vintage inspired hats ranging from 1920's style cloches, to cocktail and 1940's pillbox hats. On top of that there were hair clips, combs, jewellery and handbags too - all designed and made by Jeanne, and all incredibly beautiful. Her designs recreate the romantic beauty of those decades past, and most of Bellapacella's pieces are styled around recycled costume jewellery, and all made in England. This all made me realise I had to get Jeanne to make my Tweed Run hat for me. Add to all that, seeing Helena Bonham Carter was a fan of her designs & wore them, I was even more excited at the prospect of owning a one off Bellapacella piece!

Jeanne was more than happy to create a bespoke hat for me... huzzah! I had fun trying on the different styles of hat, eventually finding one that suited my face. After agreeing what 'flare' should go on the hat, I gave her my roll of tweed and returned in a couple of weeks to collect my piece of millinery magic...

I absolutely love this hat! Fashioned out of the same dogtooth tweed as the dress, and finished off with a Pheasant feather, netting and a diamante Cameo brooch... it's the perfect finishing piece to recreating the outfit. Jeanne is fantastic, and should I ever need a hat again for a rather special occasion, I know exactly where to go.

All will finally be revealed together on Saturday 18th April on the Tweed Run... better not get any food on my dress at the Pol Roger brunch before the ride! Huge thanks to Jeanne Pacella for making this wonderful hat. Bellapacella is at Old Spitalfields every Sunday, and can be contacted via her website.

And of course, thanks as always to Ian James for his photography for these two blog posts... the full "Tweed Run Outfit" set of photos can be viewed here.