BIKES

FITNESS
The need for Tweed
The London Tweed Run
This May, London turned back the clock as 500 cyclists mounted vintage frames, donned
flat caps, floral skirts and dusted down their wicker baskets for the annual Tweed Run
Words Maria David Photos Aodan Higgins
W
ith a ringing of bells, a shout of
“tally-ho”, and the doffing of
hats, the ladies and gentleman
set out on their bikes from
Somerset House in glorious sunshine. It was
that time of year again for the annual London
Tweed Run.
Now in its sixth year, this event has firmly
established itself in the cycling calendar. In
fact, the Tweed Run has grown in such
popularity that this year’s five hundred online
tickets were snapped up in barely 90 seconds.
Men in tweed jackets, cravats, plus fours
and flat caps in various shades of grey, green
and brown, ladies in floral dresses and
decorated baskets all on vintage bicycles
paraded through the streets of London in the
name of goodwill and politeness.
110 CYCLING ACTIVE SEPTEMBER 2014
The merry parade started from Aldwych,
and snaked a 10-mile route through The City
including tea at Guildhall, onwards through
the South Bank, Westminster — not forgetting
a mark of deference to the tailors at Savile
Row — before a picnic stop at Russell Square,
and finishing in Clerkenwell.
Friendliness was the order of the day, with
passers-by cheering on the riders on an array
of Penny Farthings, tandems and other classic
bikes, and fellow riders striking up
conversations among themselves in the bunch.
A key moment of the ride was on
Westminster Bridge when the Tweed Run
crossed paths with the concurrently running
London Cycling Campaign Big Ride. The
coming together of tweed and lycra, Pashley
and Pinarello, showed what it was all about on
the day — fellow bicycle riders enjoying a day
out on two wheels.
“It’s been wonderful that we can both cheer
each other as fellow cyclists and can come
together and have a day like this where cycling
takes over Central London. It’s brilliant,” said
Tweed Run founder, Ted Young-Ing. “Having a
really fun day out on your bike with some
mates is what it’s all about and I think
everyone has done that. We will definitely be
doing it again next year.”
The Tweed Run now has an international
dimension, too, with events all over the world.
For those who cannot wait until spring for the
next London or New York Tweed Run’s, there
will be events this autumn in Vancouver,
Seoul, and Tokyo.
www.tweedrun.com