Ride to Freedom – Yesterday and Today

We have already written a few posts about how bicycles help increase mobility for western women in the late 19^th and early 20^th century, but the bicycles impact on mobility is much more substantial. Not to minimize the importance of the steel steed on the fairer-sex, but the fact is that it increased the mobility of many people in that time. Originally personal transportation choice was horse or horse and cart, and then as times changed options increased with the car, truck, and motorcycle.  The author, as someone who has owned all four of these options, can vouch for the fact that none of these are cheap to keep in running shape and all take an experienced hand and specialized tools to maintain.

Here lies the beauty of the bicycle in its many forms.  After its initial purchase, little money is required in its maintenance. Note I said required, not desired; upgrades for performance are completely different from feeding a horse, or filling up a car. We all know people (or are ‘them’ ourselves) who have had bicycles for years and do little more than ‘push the pedals’ and still ride them for years. Still for those who do desire to work on, or repair their bikes, the tools for most jobs are very basic. Lastly bicycles take up relatively little space to store. A great feature if you live in large cities, and small living spaces.

Roy Rogers on a Bike talking to Trigger

This has made the bicycle the primary mode of transportation for the poor, frugal, young and many others since its inception.  Advertisers and society have often linked it to young love in song, think Daisy Bell (aka Bicycle Built for Two), and photos. With the exception of bikes sold to athletes, the people in ads either are children or a couple in some stage of courtship. Even though the majority of the West seems to be happy to leave the bike in this realm, I am sure we have all viewed pictures of people in Asia and Africa carrying large loads of goods and people on their bike.  The simplicity of the bicycle still fits the role of primary transportation around the world.

Rover Ad, c. 1896 (later day makers of the Land Rover)

Man trying to pick up the ladies.

Schwinn Ad from the 1970's

Still a man picking up a lady... but who rides a road bike into the pool?

So much so that many worthwhile groups are working hard on placing bicycles in the hands of the poor and disadvantaged in both the United States and around the world. Groups like Bikes for the World, The Bamboo Bike Project, and Bikes for Africa use different methods of collecting, building and distributing bikes to people, but all are trying to increase the mobility of people everywhere.  Without getting into specifics about any individual program (Note: we are not affiliated with any of these groups) each shares the story about how the difference between getting food to the market, children to school, water into a home or doing without one of these basic necessities is often the availability of reliable transportation. This is not an attempt to beg money for any of these groups. Just an illustration of how it is important to view the bicycle as the life changing tool, not a toy or some sort of sporting good. Viva la  bicycle!

We Hope to See You Tomorrow!

Just a reminder, we are having our first club ride tomorrow (9/25/11). No dress code. Just show up at the corner of 9^th and Chisholm a little before 5:00 pm, and we will find someplace to ride. We hope to see you there… and if you can’t make it this week, try to catch up with us next week.

First Weekly Ride: Fall 2011

The first weekly ride of The Alpena Tweed and Bike Club will start at 5:00 pm on Sunday, September 25th, 2011. We will meet in the parking lot of the Alpena County Annex Building (aka the “New Court House”) on the corner of 9th and Chisholm. Look for the people standing around on bicycles in the big parking lot.

Unless there is really bad weather, we will go for a ride. We really are not planning any particular route; we will go wherever the group decides.  If you can’t make it this week, we would love to see you the next. Come when you can, miss when you can’t. There are no fees or commitments, just friends (old, new, or future) getting together to enjoy ourselves.

New Look!

You many have noticed a new look and blog title; with the success of The First Annual Alpena Tweed Ride we decided to expand our goals a little. First (and most of you probably got this from the “annual” part) is that we are planning to have a Tweed Ride next year, second we want to start having a weekly ride around town. Now unlike the Tweed Ride, there is no theme to these rides, unless having fun is a theme… so anyway, the plan for this “fun” themed ride is just get together for an hour or so with some old, new, and future friends and have a slow cruse around the town. 

For the fall we will probably have the rides at 5:00 on Sunday afternoons. Next summer we may move them to a weekday night and push the time back, but with the days becoming shorter we figured we should try to get people home before dark.  We will post more details later in the week. Send us a message or leave a comment if you have some input!

Ride Review!

The First Annual Alpena Tweed Ride was a success! We had approximately 35 participants, and about three times as much fun!   We would like to thank everyone who rode with us, and everyone who supported us through the whole event. These would include;


Alpena Downtown Development Authority--Donation and Event Assistance
City of Alpena-- Event Assistance
Alpena Area Chamber of Chamber-- Donation and Event Assistance
Alpena Convention and Visitors Bureau-- Event Assistance
Alpena 52-- Donation and Event Assistance
Cobblestone Bike and Vac-- Donation
Blue Phoenix Books-- Donation and Event Assistance
North Country Candy and Gift-- Event Assistance
Black Sheep-- Event Assistance
Carmike Cinemas—Donation

Alpena News--Promotional Support
Good Life—Promotional Support

WBKB- Promotional Support
WATZ—Promotional Support
WHSB—Promotional Support
Alpena 52—Promotional Support

Today's the Day!

Hey Kids! Today's the day!

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

Grab a friend, grab a bike...

Curious George by H.A. Rey

It's all about having fun on a bike, just like when you were a kid!

Dick and Jane by by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp

It's the First Annual Alpena Tweed Ride!

Button Preview

All of the pieces of the Tweed Ride puzzle are coming together!  Here is a snapshot of our buttons for the ride. (and yes, pin back buttons are period)

Thank you NEMROC, Inc. for making these for us!

The Map is Here!

Click for a  better Map of our Route

Let’s Play 20 Questions!

Lamberto Maggiorani and Enzo Staiola in Bicycle Thieves

1. Should I ride in this Saturday's Alpena Tweed Ride?

Yes!

2. Does it start at 4:00 in front of the Blue Phoenix?

Yes!

3. Will the ride be fun?

Yes!

4. Will I REALLY look good in Tweed (or something similar)?

Heck Yes!

5. Will the other riders be friendly?

Yes!

6. Will people who didn’t go feel jealous that they didn’t ride and I did?

Yes!

7.  Wait, are you just going to answer “yes” to every silly question!

Yes!

8. Do you think we can stop this post 12 questions early?

.....Yes ….

T-Minus Five Days

Ok... We have less than a week for the Tweed Ride!

Brigitte Bardot in And God Created Woman

Remember, It's a ride in Style!

Bing Crosby

Alpena News

Alpena pair organizing inaugural tweed ride

Grab a Poster!

Apparently there are may be some problem with printing the Flyers. We dropped off a bunch at Blue Phoenix Books. So please feel free to stop by and pick one up to post around town! We would like to get as much publicity as possible.

Old Ads

We at the Alpena Tweed Ride love old advertisements. Not only are they great primary documents of sweet rides, but like those still produced today, they often contain examples of trendy clothing!

Here are some cool ads to wet your whistle!

 

Riding Safely

It is our hope that The Alpena Tweed Ride will be a SAFE and FUN ride for all involved. Since we are just a group of cyclists riding together, and not an organized ride, we do not have the power or desire to require participants to follow any sort of minimum safety standard.

Yet we do have a few suggestions. First, have a bicycle that is in good riding condition, and that you are used to riding. If you have not been in the saddle (fancy bike name for the seat) for a while, you might want to take it for a spin beforehand to make sure everything still works.  Second, make sure you are comfortable in whatever you are wearing. We hope everyone dresses up in some spiffy duds, but it is probably a bad idea to show up with a new pair of shoes, or try to wear a dress for the first time while riding. Even if you don’t want to ride around in your full getup, you might want to make sure you are comfortable with all the parts.

Lastly, there is the question about helmets and other safety equipment. The City of Alpena does not require the use of safety equipment. In fact to quote the City of Alpena News Release dated June 20, 2011 “Common sense and common courtesy go a long way. Use of safety equipment like bike helmets is encouraged.” You know your skill level, and comfort with risk better than we do. Keeping those in mind, and please use any safety feature in accordance to these personal comfort levels.

Three Speeds of Fun

Another style of bike that is both historic and has been gaining renewed popularity over the last decade or so is the internal geared hub bicycle. These dependable and long lived hubs have no exposed parts and are pretty much maintenance free. Their short coming is that they don't offer as many gearing options as the more common derailleur gear bikes such as a 10 speed. Many modern utility and “city” bikes offer 7 and 8 gear hubs, but the classic version is the English-three Speed exemplified by the Sturmey-Archer hub that has been around since the early 1900’s.

One place to see great classic three-speeds is the Old Three-Speed Gallery. Amongst the beautiful bicycles featured there is the 1959 Robin Hood Sport pictured above. While it might not be the highest priced or rarest bike they show, it does bear a striking resemblance to my own 1959 Centaur Sport pictured below. So I love it!

I guess with only about 50 miles between Nottingham and Coventry, the makers of their Robin Hood and my Centaur (the respective homes of each manufactures) must have had the same inspiration that year. (These cities were the heart of the bicycle
industry of England, and the world, for generations.)
 

Another place to find a plethora of information about the venerable old three-speed is on the page of the late Sheldon Brown. Sheldon (and those who now maintain the page) have a treasure trove of information about makers, models, age, and maintenance of these great machines.

The Big Finish

The final stop on the First Annual Alpena Tweed Ride will be at The Black Sheep Pub, which is “The English Pub” of Alpena, MI. As you can see from the pictures, they pride themselves on the swanky brews they have on tap, but I know for certain that they serve other beverages as well.  

The owners, Paul and Kris, have agreed to serve our riders a fine fare (keeping in the spirit of the Tweed Ride) of English delicacies such as Fish and Chips, Bangers and Mash, and Shepard’s Pie among other things. Besides relaxing in the fine atmosphere, we will also have giveaways of fine prized donated by local businesses at the pub.

Kris, Paul and all your staff; we look forward to a relaxing end of our ride on September 17, 2011, and thanks for the support.

113 S. Second Ave, Alpena, MI 49707

Post our Poster!

This is the official “First Annual Alpena Tweed Ride Poster” Feel free to print them off and post them around town. (or use this pdf) Just let us know where you put them so we don’t double post them! Thanks!

Cool Publicity

We just got some cool publicity from Alpena Fifty-Two! They dedicated all of Issue 2.35 to the Alpena Tweed Ride! If you have a few minutes, click the link to their page and check it out!

Bamboo Bicycles!

We have said in the past that the style or type of bike you bring to the ride doesn't matter. So we wanted to show you a cool bike trend that is both old and new! The bamboo bicycle!

A bamboo bicycle from 1896

For those of you who follow bicycle and green trends the idea of a bamboo bicycle will not be new, but this blog has been written for those of you who really don’t care about either, but just like riding bikes. So here is an interesting idea: using bamboo, that giant member of the glass family, to build the frame of the bicycle. It is fast growing, renewable, strong and one of the first attempts to find something lighter than steel to serve the same function.

A modern Example form Jungle Supply Bamboo

Aluminum alloys, titanium, and carbon fiber have all been used in attempt to do the same thing, but there is now a trend to go back to the first attempt and use something that is fast growing, and in some areas even an invasive species

Example from Calfee Design

There are a growing number of shops who will build, or help you to build a bamboo bike including; Organic Bikes,  Bamboosero, Jungle Supply Bamboo, and Bamboo Bike Studio. They may or may not be something you would want to own, but they are pretty cool.

 

Also, check out the The Bamboo Bike Project

A Sweet Stop

As a midway stop, the Alpena Tweed Ride will take an 'Ice Cream and Coffee' break at North Country Candy and Gifts. The owners, Susanne and John, have agreed to pass on a discount to ride participants, and to feature a special Tweed Ride Sundae!

Last time we stopped in, North Country had 32 flavors of ice cream, and close to a million flavors of coffee that are roasted right at the store.

And we can’t forget the hand dipped chocolates and their famous caramel corn.

  

Here's a big thanks to John, Susanne and all their staff, and we can’t wait to see you one September 17^th, 2011!

1045 N. Bagley St, Alpena, MI 49707

Bring a Friend

William Powell & Myrna Loy of The Thin Man fame.

Now I think we all agree that the Alpena Tweed Ride sounds like fun, the only thing that could make it better is if everyone brings a friend! 'The More the Merrier' we always say! Biking with friends and loved ones is always a good idea!

W.C. Fields and Baby LeRoy

Remember we do have a One Seat per Seat Rule so bring a second bike too!