Style The Cyclist with Bikeminded...

Last Friday saw the launch of 'Style The Cyclist' - a fabulous competition Bikeminded are running in collaboration with Harrods. When I received an invitation to attend the Bloggers launch party a couple of weeks ago (the invitation being box of Ladurée Macarons, which were hand delivered to my house!), I knew it was going to be something rather special...

The aim of 'Style The Cyclist' immediately struck a chord with Vélo-City-Girl. As Kathryn King of Bikeminded explains:

"The competition aims to show that fashion and cycling can go hand-in-hand, with the latest trends from the catwalk looking just as good on two wheels"

'Style The Cyclist' is a brilliant chance for any fashionistas out there to style two very inspirational & successful Londoners. The two personalities who are to be styled in this competition are Sam Galsworth of the boutique Gin Distillery Sipsmith, and world renowned jewellery designer Carolina Bucci. All you need to do is create a Pinterest board for either one of the 'Style The Cyclist' personalities, selecting clothes and accessories from Harrods online boutique & create an outfit which you feel reflects their lifestyle and personality.

As the invitation suggests, the launch party was held in Ladurée and involved a very early start... 08:30am! The sheer excitement of the event was more than enough to keep me awake for my journey there. I admit to leaving the Pashley at home, opting for the Tube... but I did give a nod to cycle-chic with my Alex Monroe necklace...

Arriving at Harrods, I was greeted by the lovely staff of Ladurée and guided upstairs to the plush seating area, which was all ours for the morning.

Not only was it decked out with Pastries, Teas, and their exquisite Macarons, some of the items from the exclusive Paul Smith cycling collection & pop-up concept shop where on display...

 I can't tell you how much I wanted that Condor behind me!

Soon after, other guests arrived for the morning, including Fashion Blogger (and one of the judges of the competition) 'The Clothes Whisperer' Kristin Knox, 'For The Young Dude' and 'London Cycling Campaign'. Over a breakfast of Macarons, & Champagne, we got down to the serious business of  styling the cyclist All provided with iPads, we started to create our own looks on Pinterest...

Using the specially selected clothing available from the Harrods website, it was fantastic amounts of fun creating my idea for cool cycle-style.

I love using Pinterest for VCG, so the look of concentration on my face should give you an idea of how into this I was!

I was quite pleased with the look I created - you can see further details of it here... and let me know what you thought of it too! Of course, I'd love to have everything on that board!

'Style The Cyclist' runs until the 27th May, and full details of the competition can be found on here on BikeMinded. Further pictures from the day can be viewed in my Flickr Set. Thank you Kathryn & Bikeminded for inviting me to the launch and good luck to all those entering 'Style The Cyclist!'

Manicure Monday: Hang-Ten Toes

Happy Monday Everyone! This weeks polish is summer's favorite pink. This vibrantly hot pink polish is by China Glaze. The name of the polish is called "Hang-Ten Toes." It's the perfect pink color for summer and I'm probably going to wear it a lot. I'm overjoyed I have this polish in my collection!

Mani Monday: Bachelorette Bash

Wedding season is in full bloom! This past weekend, I saw multiple weddings occurring during my mini-trips around town. I might have even photo-bombed a few... Eeek! Also, did I mention that I'm going to be a bridesmaid at my bestie's wedding? I... Can't... Wait!!! Without further adieu, this week's Mani Monday just has to be wedding-based. A pop of hot pink is a must for any bachelorette party; this polish is the perfect fit for just such an occasion. It's called "Bachelorette Bash" by Essie. I personally think this would be a terrific item to include in any bridesmaid goody bags. What's on your Mani this week? I hope y'all are having a wonderful day, even though it's Monday!

 

Four to the floor: VCG's new Colourbolt Bike...

Can a girl have too many bikes?! When I started cycling I thought one would be enough... fast-forward 3 years and I'm now the proud owner of my FORTH set of wheels, a Colourbolt Ratty Black.

As detailed in this post (originally published on the Vulpine Blog) this is how VCG has become a four-bike blog... yikes.

When you’re a bit of a bike fiend, nothing beats the pure excitement of getting a new set of wheels. Two weeks ago I pretty much combusted with utter joy after picking up a new addition to my family… a Colourbolt ‘Ratty Black’.

I’d first laid eyes on the bike in April at Bespoked Bristol. British bike builder and founder of Colourbolt Jay Pond-Jones and his colleague Kendal had Ratty on display alongside his other bicycles. I couldn’t stop walking over to their stand to check it out and ended up admiring it all weekend. I wanted to ride around on this bike so badly… but I didn’t see that going down too well in the crowded hall. The draw I felt to the bike was unusual as it was nothing like the bikes I own; a Pashley Princess – a big classic traditional Dutch style bike with its solid and weighty frame and the Clubman, a fixed gear retro-racer, also steeped in traditional design. The Ratty Black with its Columbus Spirit Frame and Carbon Fork was sleek, gritty and sexy. She looked urban and tough - not overdone with logos, just subtle details like the single red coloured chain ring bolt, the LightSKIN LED seat post and these amazing square pedals that stood out. It was the beauty of the understated modern design that really got me.

Three weeks later and I was back in the company of Colourbolt at SPINLDN. Ratty was back on show again for the weekend, and again I was admiring her.  Two days into the event and with a lot more space in the Truman Brewery, Jay kindly let me take Ratty for a quick ride. I couldn’t believe how much lighter, faster and how much smoother it was compared to bikes I’d ridden before. Ratty felt so good and my mind was made up… this bike had to come home with me.

On the last day of SPINLDN, Jay and Kendal fitted me for the bike, with final tweaks to the tyres, chain and handlebars done by John of Tokyo Fixed… It was like being an F1 driver at a pit stop! All set up and ready to go, I cycled out of the Truman Brewery with my new baby and a ridiculously massive grin on my face.

I’ve been riding around on her (yes, she’s a girl) for the past two weeks and already know I’m addicted to this bike. A world away from what I’ve known, I’m discovering a whole new riding style, which is blowing my mind. Pretty amazing that what started off as me staring at something unusual has turned into an exciting adventure. 

Thanks Jay for letting me have that test ride… you’ve started off a new cycling revolution in me.  

The London Tweed Run 2014...

My favourite cycling event of the year swung around again last Saturday: the sixth annual London Tweed Run! Although VCG was there in spirit last year, I was counting down the days to taking part in the ride this time. With the temperature hitting 23 degrees, organiser Ted Young-Ing couldn’t have chosen a better day for the event… which also led to a last moment change of my planned outfit for the day. I doff my cap to those who preserved in full tweed, but I suspect I would have baked in Central London with the suit I had in mind!

To be perfectly honest, my cyclestyle for the day faded into the background compared to the most striking accessory I’ve ever had on a Tweed Run - the beautiful Series 1 Milk Bike I rode for the day. I seem to have developed a habit of riding bicycles I fall in love with at Bespoked, as I first saw the bike at this years event. Milk Bikes founder and friend of VCG, Mark Meadows launched the Series 1 range with the "Barra" model in April… and it really was bike lust at first sight. A small production run of just twelve, all of the bikes are designed and handmade in the UK. With the brilliant cycling artist Rebecca J Kaye designing the colours and graphics, each one is named after the Scottish Island which also inspired their colour scheme. Being so limited and extremely unique, it was an honour to take Barra on her maiden voyage on London’s most sartorial ride - a bicycle very much in keeping with the Britishness of the Tweed Run.

Of course I wasn't going to be cycling solo - my ultimate riding partner and VCG photographer Ian James (The Boy) was by my side, with my lovely Colourbolt Ratty as his steed of choice

I must give an honourable mention to his get-up for the day, as he was certainly cutting a handsome dash! A massive thank you also goes to our friend James Greig for lending Ian the plus-fours, braces and shooting stockings for the day.

Full of frivolity as we cycled & laughed in the early morning sunshine, we headed toward the starting point Sommerset House, via Tower Gateway to meet up with good friends Jim and John Loughton, who came to London with Pippa & Neil. It's become a wonderful tradition to ride with them every year and it's always a pleasure to see them.

Arriving at Sommerset House, we were greeted with tweed and bicycles for what seemed like as far as the eye could see. The atmosphere at the starting point was that of excitement and happiness, combined with onlookers enjoying the stylish spectacle of 500 riders taking over the streets of London. While assembling for the group photo, I had a chance to catch up with friends and admire all the different outfits and bikes on show...

Official group photo courtesy of Tweed Run

All done,  it was time to hop back on the Series 1 (which I was itching to get back on again) and take our tweed army into town! Our 11 mile jaunt through the city took in iconic sights around London, and drew many spectators who came to cheer us on...

It's not a Tweed Run without a very British tea stop, and this year the purveyors of the fine brew were Good and Proper Tea... and if you recall my blog post on them recently, you'll know this made VCG very happy indeed!

Suitably tea'd up, it was once again time to saddle up, take in some more of the glorious sunshine and see more of the beautiful city... and head to Russell Square for a much needed picnic stop! It was also wonderful that en-route we crossed over with the #BigRide organised by the London Cycling Campaign, the chosen charity of the Tweed Run this year

A short ride after, we arrived at the end of the Tweed Run in Clerkenwell for a champagne reception. Courtesy of Pol Roger, we celebrated the end of a perfect day in style - and on such a hot summers day, those fizzy bubbles never tasted so good...

Every Tweed Run I have been on has been huge amounts of fun, but this one has to rank as the best one I've ever been on. A huge thank you to the Marshals who got us all safely across London and special thanks to Ian for all the VCG photography, Mark Meadows of Milk Bikes for the beautiful Barra Bike for the day (a dedicated review coming soon) and thanks to Ted Young-Ing for inviting me and The Boy to take part and for laying on a truly amazing day.

Hopefully we'll see you in 2015 for the next Tweed Run... can't wait! 

View Ian's photos from the Tweed Run on his Flickr Stream
View VCG's iphone photos on Instagram / Flickr
View VCG's videos of the day on YouTube