Tweeding.

The newest cycling trend has nothing to do with technology, nor anything new. To the contrary, tweed rides invite wheelmen and wheelwomen to dust off their beloved steel lugged frames, ditch all semblance of lycra and sally forth in rational dress. In the words of the official Tweed Cycling Club:

Style not speed. Elegance not exertion.

Tweed cycle rides originated on London's Saville Row a couple of years ago and are now popping up in all major cities in the US. Even Memphis and Buffalo have rides scheduled in 2010, for heaven's sake. A recent East Bay Tweed Ride included a riding band, prizes for graceful mounts/dismounts and a visit to Berkeley's oldest pub. Rides are first and foremost, social, heavily attended, well-behaved and definitely theatrical.



Not unlike a 2-wheeled costume party, tweeding presents a delightful opportunity for riders to get creative in their attire and accoutrements. Or gay, as the naysayers contend. The movement reminds me of vintage auto events/clubs like the Le Mans Classic and the Goodwood Revival. The latter recreates the golden era (50's - 60's) of motorsport in a 3-day festival complete with period clothing, historic Grand Prix cars and drivers. These gatherings have been in existence for decades but definitely have their roots in a single racing/driving event. It would be wonderful to imagine actual cycling festivals of this magnitude in the years to come.



Implications for Terry.



Not sure this trend is worth developing product for, but it certainly speaks to the cycling lifestyle. Our urban catalog presentations have tipped their hat to this movement for the past couple of years. Whether Dutch biking the streets of Chicago in woolen tunics or dressing to ride on fixed gear beauties, our photographer's presentation of the fashionable urban commuter draws inspiration from the British tweed-iness, but with more contemporary art direction than a Merchant Ivory film. Looking ahead, it presents all kinds of possibilities for classic romanticism, natural fibers, lovely tailoring, fussy accessories.






And then there are the bikes.



This weekend while stuck at O'Hare, I had a lovely cycling conversation with a stylish young gent from Munich, now living in Cincinnati. While not necessarily a tweeding candidate, he did make me think about the need for classic, european-styled city bikes that allow for easy shopping by bike (and that would nicely do on a tweed run). He was lamenting the lack of choices in this category: either ridiculously heavy dutch-style bikes or cheap and crappy hybrids. He had settled on shipping his city bike in from Germany. I'm not certain that tweed runs are a harbinger of bikes yet to come, but the high-minded words of the Tweed Club definitely underscore a different philosophy of need: the roadster.

Discerning cyclists recognise that bicycle technology reached its pinnacle in the early 1970s and everything since is just marketing. Millions are spent every year on hoodwinking the public with obscure materials which are all very well if you are constructing a craft to convey astronauts to the Moon, but quite out of place on an English country lane. Lugged steel, by contrast, is durable, comfortable and offers an opportunity for the skilled framebuilder to practice his craft. Why spend a king's ransom on the latest titanium confection when any weight advantage will be rendered irrelevant by a cheese-and-pickle sandwich and a thermos of soup?

Obviously the purist would resurrect something vintage, but for those of us new to the sport or incapable of a restoration effort, a new steel beauty – mixte included – could definitely be on the shopping list. The classic British light roadster was a 3-speed bicycle built with swept-back handlebars, durability and minimal maintenance in mind for the urban working class. Many of the builders at the Handmade Bicycle Show offer things in this direction, though there aren't many mixtes for women. The Boston Lady Roadster from A.N.T. is a true custom beauty with a curved top tube, 8 speed, coaster brakes, fenders, etc., and about 10 lbs lighter than a Pashley. Lovely review here: lovelybike.blogspot



Since it always comes back to the clothing for me, here are some great resources. Riding Pretty captures it best and certainly was on the forefront of this trend. Dashing Tweeds is a tweed-based textile company that's actually adding technology into the mix, and B. Spoke Tailor is a great resource as well.

Photo credits:

1) sftweed.com
2) montage, courtesy of the Sunday Times of London
3) tweedled gary fisher, courtesy of Momentum
4) big apple tweed ride promo poster
5-7) Goodwood Revival
8) Steven Meisel for Vogue
9) glam gloves, tauntontweedcyclechic.com
10-11) lumatwill cape & cycle suit, Dashing Tweeds
12) triumph badge, tauntontweedcyclechic.com
13) Boston lady roadster, A.N.T.

Vintage Montana

The style of legends.

My grandparents were all immigrants. They came from the Basque country (on my mother's side) and Germany/Bohemia (father's side). Their lives were unbelievably challenging during the 20's and 30's in Montana yet they had great personal style and very distinctive character that were shaped by their heritage and pioneering nature.

The coyote chaser.
Grandpa Dyba (above, circa 1928) managed to look pretty dapper even as he armed himself with a shotgun, jumped on his Harley and roared off shooting cayutes along the high plains of Montana. In the snow with handmade chains for the tires. He was an expert marksman and made his living at it when times were very hard. My grandmother would drive the Chevy and off they would go chasing antelope, coyotes and rabbits with him hanging out the passenger window. They'd load the hides on a train to Chicago where they'd be sold to Sears Roebuck.

He bought a new car at the age of 96 which he drove with a loaded pistol on the front seat.

Grandma Caricaburu goes to town.


Mary Jane Ader was a French Basque who left her family in the Pyrenees and came to America with the Etchepare family on a sheep ranch in northeastern Montana. She married the very handsome Pierre (Pete) Caricaburu who died just after my mother, the 7th child, was born. Nobody was tougher, or more of a lady, than my grandmother. Faced with foreclosure, floods, fields of farmland and all those mouths to feed, she kept them afloat through sheer determination and hard work. She could make anything -- out of nothing. She even made mud boots look good. Although much admired and very beautiful, she never remarried. In true Basque character: love to the death; fight to the death.



Grandma Caricaburu versus the Milk River.

Spring view from Venice.

Trendspotting at my favorite SoCal haunts...



Love, love, love Morgane le Fay's spring line. This is an Argentinian designer with stores in NYC, Malibu & Santa Monica only. It's a very artistic high-end collection of dresses/skirts/tops that have a sport nature about them thanks to choice of fabric, fit and structure. Prices are celebrity/socialite level but every piece is a graceful work of art that even a sporty girl can pull off.



On their website, they show a fine cape that was featured on a bicycle in Vogue:



I must say that I found many great new silhouettes this season that got me excited enough to try on. Actually bought a few things at Fred Segal Santa Monica and am still agonizing over a pair of handmade French boots I left behind. The look for spring that caught my eye was all about light layers of different lengths on top; leggings, layered skirts or baggy boyfriend cropped bottoms below. In particular, Alexander Wang (check out spring 10 runway) had really wonderful thinly threaded tops that feel great and have something special about them in terms of proportion. Scored a loose fit, stylized black "football" tank and a cropped heather gray long sleeved pullover that I'll probably wear out this year. I also bought my first pair of boyfriend khakis by Babakul, a casual wear line started by one of the founders of True Religion. I resisted the baggy boyfriend trend a year ago but it looks like it will stick around for a bit and is much more wearable in a cotton khaki than a denim.




Another interesting line combining sport and fashion is Prayer Haute Couture. Super chic, form fitting sweats that are designed for the elite; $400 cropped, short sleeve hoodies and heavily detailed, hand embroidered bottoms from short shorts to cargos. Everything's brilliantly unique and comfortable.

On hip-happening Abbott Kinney Blvd in Venice, I was thrilled to see that cycling has become a primary resident.



First, everybody's riding bikes there to shop/dine/hang out day and night. This is partially due to the ease of commuting to beach and around the canal neighborhoods but it has even more to do with bike as fashion accessory. There's even a cool new bike manufacturer right on the street: Linus Bikes. They make affordable ($350-$550), utilitarian, city bikes inspired by 50's French bicycle design. Models range from fixed gear roadsters to 3-speed Dutch bikes and fendered/racked Mixte.



The latest cycling-related trend to watch is a new fitness concept called Yas.



The only one of its kind in the US (3 centers in CA with more on the horizon), it's a simple combination of classwork -- yoga & cycling. Classes can be purchased individually ($17) or by the month ($225). Founder Kimberly Fowler is an ex pro triathlete and creator of Yoga for Athletes.

Abbott Kinney is a leading avenue for boutiques and the newest of the new. That said, vintage is still a big influence although we're talking new vintage, not the real thing. Lots of distressed tees, washed leather boots and lightweight printed/plaid scarves to wear with casual stuff.

Another notable apparel item I nearly picked up at Heist was from the Netherlands: Humanoid. Very ethereal, lightweight and longer/layered.



Saw a few pieces of G-Star Raw that were intriguing and a review of their most recent runway shows on Style.com cemented them as one of the leading innovators in denim/sportswear. Plus, they're not afraid of color and I find the Fall 10 RTW to be extraordinary. Great skirt silhouettes.




Photos:

1-4) Morgane le Fay
5) Morgane le Fay cape, Vogue
6-9) Alexander Wang SP10 RTW
10-11) Linus Bikes, Venice
12-13) Yas Fitness, Venice
14) Humanoid home page
15-20) G-Star Raw, F10 RTW

Road to the sky.

It's hard for me to go anywhere that doesn't involve a bike. I've traveled a ton with Terry, dragging bags and bags of gear, boxes and boxes of bikes, and gotten fairly good at pulling off photo shoots in some really great places but usually with not enough personal riding time. So it was with great joy that I shed my company shackles, ditched the dreariness of NY and went on a dedicated spring training vacation. In style.


Five perfect days of riding and dining in Montecito, CA, is enough to recharge even the most morbidly dead battery. March weather in Santa Barbara County is ideal for road or mountain as is the terrain: extremely challenging, spectacularly rewarding cycling on or off road. Mid 70's, abundant wildflowers, clear, blue skies, nobody around. Although it was a genuine toss-up, I opted for mountain biking and dusted off my Intense Spider–a superstar cross country bike with tubeless tires, XTR and favorite Terry retro-printed Fly saddle. I thought we should both start with fresh legs so I spoiled myself by taking her to a local bike shop for a new chain, cassette, tune up, pack and ship directly to the hotel. Cost nearly as much as my plane ticket.


Wardrobe by EtxeOndo and Terry with a little Gore Bike Wear sprinkled in, just in case. Terry Bella shorts for super technical mountain biking but I also like to mix it up with the occasional cargo skort. Although there are big elevation changes, the weather was so mild and arid that the only adjustment necessary was the occasional addition of arm warmers.


My favorite bike, the Intense Spider and my favorite bottoms, from Spyder. By the way, this is not my favorite vehicle. The Ford Flex is as long as a hearse with way too much (dead) body roll on those Gibralter Road switchbacks.

Although it's one of the toniest zip codes in southern CA, booking a trip during the week makes Montecito an affordable luxury in price and privacy. Most flight options and deals are through LAX but you can also fly into Santa Barbara and avoid the LA area altogether.


Riding involves elevation. Nothing flat here, which is why it's a pro rider training site during the winter. You start sea level and climb straight up Gibralter Road through Rattlesnake Canyon. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't know about Gibralter Road until this trip and I've actually been to this area before. You have to put it on your list if you're a serious rider. First, because it's an epic climb (the Alp d'Huez of the US) and second, because once up top,


it joins East Camino Cielo (road to the sky) which stretches for miles along a knife's edge that takes what's left of your breath away. Up here, the elevation peaks at 4,000 feet. On your right, the ocean with the Channel Islands in the distance; on your left a sheer drop to the canyon below, with mountain ranges as far as you can see. It's close to heaven and will bring tears to your eyes the first time you ride it. Or you really are dead and no amount of voltage will help.


Other super rides here:

Romero Trail


Gotta love a mountain bike ride that originates from your hotel. From there it's all uphill. The best part is that you're treated to sweeping views of the coastline that just get better and better as you get slower and slower. A couple of miles on pavement, then turn off on the trailhead and prepare for the steepest grade on the first half-mile. We rode the fire road up and tried the singletrack down, although way too technical for my skill level.

Upper Oso

Creeks, sycamores, hot springs and scrub oaks. Ride prepared as the main road can be closed and there aren't any services anywhere.

Knapp Castle


From Camino Cielo, it's a thrilling 2500' drop to the Santa Ynez Valley below. Plenty to see along the way including what's left of Knapp Castle. Nice stretches of singletrack with just a couple of sketchy parts. Ride back through the Santa Ynez Valley and stop at the Paradise General Store for an encounter with those who live off the grid.





Where to stay:
Montecito Inn
Built in 1928 by Charlie Chaplin as an LA weekend escape for his chums, it's historic, right off 101 and very charming. Restored to its vintage Hollywood glamourous self, it has a great bar, easy parking and cruiser bike rentals for buzzing down to Butterfly Beach. Best of all is its proximity to great restaurants, all within walking distance. Rooms are small so bikes have to sleep in the car or locked storage room. Room rates can be had for as little as $129 (keep in mind, this is Oprah's neighborhood).

Breakfast
Jeanine's, al fresco for breakfast quesadillas or scones.

Post ride
Ride directly to the patio at Lucky's for cold beer, slivered onion rings and celebrity spotting.



Dinner (at any of these walkable restaurants, literally within a block or two of the hotel):
• Tre Lune (ate there 3 of the 5 nights; molto bene and molto convenient)
• Lucky's (eat in the bar with the locals)
• Los Arroyos (for massive Mexican on the patio)

Photos: Panoramics and epics by Ron Wu