Happy Hanukkah!

Some sweet Bicycle Menorahs for your Hanukkah!

Bicycle Sports to Consider

[Don’t Try This At Home]

Think of all the things that you could do next spring on your bike; you have long rides like races or tours, or short fun rides like our Tweed Rides, or you could start a sweet bicycle sport.  

For example there is Bicycle Polo; think of rich dudes riding around on expensive ponies trying to hit a little ball… except switch out the pony for a bike, and you don’t need the cash flow to feed the steel steed so anyone can take part.

Started in Ireland in 1891 and even exhibited in the 1908 Olympics, this is hardly a new sport. While in its most popular incarnation today is played on hard courts instead of the traditional grass, it is still basically people riding around trying to hit a little ball.

 

Often played on low geared  single or fixed geared bikes by people who don’t mind taking a tumble off their ride; All you really need are some great bike handling skills, a mallet and a street hockey ball. It is reportedly pretty addictive, so you might want to think twice about starting the habit.

 

Another bike sport that you might not want to let your mom know you want to try is bicycle jousting!

Whether you participate in something like The Chap Olympiad and use umbrellas to try to pull each other off the bike or ride a Tall Bike and hit each other with lances, the general idea is to duplicate the shenanigans of Medieval Knights and put your opponent on the ground while you ride away.

Here is a starter set for your kids!

Then I ran across this photo and came up with my own idea!

Sadly after doing a quick internet search I found I was not the first to think of it, but still imagine the possibilities of BICYCLE CHARIOT RACING!

You could have straight up Ben Hur races (think of one to four “horses”) or maybe archery where the charioteer shoots at a target as they ride by, or even a modified type of jousting.  The possibilities are endless!

Bike Chariot

Chariot Race

While we don’t recommend the average rider take up any of these sports, we do suggest thinking about other things your bike can do besides riding in a straight line.

Men's Patterns

Again, this is not an endorsement for these companies, but to be fair we thought we would pass along some patterns that we have found for men's fashion (and really, we know that the ladies could probably pull them off as well).

Reconstructing History  makes a cool pattern for a Norfolk Jacket which was a common article for men's sporting wear for many decades.

Patterns of History from the Wisconsin Historical Society makes a pattern for a men's Sack Suit. I love the idea that a Sate Historical Society sells patterns for clothing in their collections.

These sites have many other patterns that may interest you.

Harper House Patterns

Some of our readers have bemoaned the lack of riding cloths for the gentler sex. Well if you happen to be among the sewing inclined here may be a tip to help you out. Though the Alpena Tweed and Bike Club has never done business (that's our little disclaimer) with them, Harper House Patterns does carry some great looking outfits.

Harper House Women's Sports Patterns

We would love to hear from anyone who has had any, be it good or bad experience with them. For that matter, do you know of anyone else who is selling patterns that would work for a Tweed Ride outfit?

Wish List...

Just a thought... if you have been a good little boy or girl you may want to ask for a new bike this holiday season!



Tweed 2012

This is your SAVE THE DATE notice for The Tweed Ride 2012!

September 15^th, 2012 is our day… so tell your friends and family (at least the family that you like) that they need to change the dates of any weddings or parties that they have lined up… for that matter, they should hold off on planning for babies within a few days of our ride (note: this is more than 9 months warning, so they could take our ride into consideration).  I mean there aren’t many things that are more exciting than our Tweed Ride, so save the date!

Wheels of Change – Sue Macy

Wheels of Change; How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way) by Sue Macy is published by a little known publishing company, National Geographic  (wait, maybe I’ve heard of it a time or two). While most of the readers of this blog probably haven’t  had the opportunity to take a 400 level class on Women in America Since 1870 taught by a PhD specializing in women’s sports history, if they have really followed this blog over the last year they will have already come across most of the revelations in this book. Now saying that, this would be a great book for anyone who is interested in bicycle history! Written mainly for the pre-teen and high school audience, the pictures and style should appeal to everyone even if it's just a refresher.  

 Denver, Colorado, circa 1905

We see old friends like Bloomer, Kopchovsky and Pope (that’s Albert Pope not “The Pope”) Macy covers both the early evolution of the bike, and the Woman’s Rights Movement. This bike also introduces us to many other great members of cycling past. There are great photos of rare bikes like a sidesaddle Penny-Farthing and African American cyclists of the time. This book also gathers together many great quotes. Including my favorite from Charlotte Smith (Brooklyn Eagle, August 20, 1896) “Many a girl has come to her ruin through a spin on a country road”; everyone in rural Northern Michigan knows all about the evil of a country road! And who can blame her or those of a similar mind for worrying about women once they started dressing like men! Oh my! Though I bet those souls are once again rolling over in their graves with the current bicycle chic movement.

 Lady on the right has a sidesaddle bike

Anyway! This is a great book that links the importance of the bicycle to what we consider the modern role of women in our society. It may soft peddle (pun intended) the role of the bicycle in general society, but that is not a detractor for what it offers. We strongly recommend this book.