It was one Friday night last year and I was checking internet to find what to do in London over the weekend, when I came across thing called ‘Tweed Run’. People dressed in vintage clothes, strolling across London on their push-bikes… that sounds interesting. I’ve been an admirer of all things retro and a over-the-top fan of Bioshock (hello, fifties), so that sounded like the thing to do and the place to be.

And I wasn’t disappointed! It was too late for me to register for a ride, but on that day I went to Hide park and waited for the procession to arrive – ladies and gentlemen were making a stop for a tea break there. I had my camera with me, and thus I unofficially became the official photographer of the event that year. I had few quite a good shots and I have received a massive and positive response to my set on flickr. The photos were then used on many websites and in a couple of print magazines, one of them – ‘Popeye’, a Japanese fashion magazine (that was quite unexpected ).

So, naturally, this year I wanted to be a participant, rather than a mere spectator. I made sure I went on to register online the moment registration was open – you had to react fast, for it was selling like hotcakes. I got number 222. Quite cool, isn’t it?

I already had a push-bike. Unfortunately it wasn’t very appropriate for the event: neither retro nor single gear nor beautiful, but at least it wasn’t flashy, but pure black (I still felt a bit ashamed of it, to be honest).

Next, exciting bit – the outfit. I did not leave myself much time for that, but I am still amazed, how much you can accomplish when you plan things ahead and start doing them just a little bit earlier (as opposed to my very last minute habit). So I had a couple of weekends and went for vintage and charity shop hunt. I’ll be honest, not everything I ended up wearing was pure vintage and second-hand, but I believe it all looked quite close.

Portobello Road market, Soho, Covent Garden… the usual suspects. A tweed jacket was no brainer. That’s probably the most common item of gentleman’s wardrobe you will find. Got it from the Portobello Rd, where I also bought a cap and a pocket watch (they both were new… cheeky me). The biggest challenge was to find the men 3/4 bridge trousers, but after few days we did find them on some countryman’s rack – I am sure he was very happy to make a good deal of old clothes :) Socks and shirt – I got them already (later on socks proved to be embarrassingly not long enough, bummer!), and the last bit was suspenders (‘Beyond Retro’) and a bow-tie (the best I could find was from ‘American Apparel’). I also got myself a cool backpack from ‘Beyond Retro’, with an anchor on a big button :)) And shoes… these were brand new and actually modern, got them from TKMax, it was the only pair there and as soon as I saw them I liked them a lot, so was happy it was the right size.

Yes, few items were quite last minute, but I was very excited I got everything sorted just in time. I believe I have achieved quite a genuine look, not strictly retro one, but rather ‘with a twist’ :)

And of course, the gentleman’s pride – a facial hair. It took me more than a month to ‘get prepared’. It was also the first time I had that curly mustache, and you know what, I am going to keep it (even though Movember is still so far far away)

I thought I was going to take it easy on Friday night before the run, but my friend tempted me to go to Brixton to see the very last gig of Faithless, so I gave in (of course, no regrets afterward ;). The next morning I was ready to roll. The run was starting at St.Paul’s Cathedral, which was good 7 miles away from my place. And I did not manage to get up particularly early, so I was actually a bit late, at least for a leisure ride. Soon after I met another tweed runner on the road , we got acquainted and so I continued in a company of suchlike. In town we also met another two cyclist, who needed help to get to St. Paul’s – the company was getting bigger :)

At St.Paul’s it was very busy. About 600 participants plus spectators and tourists (must be the best day in London for them ;). Bright sun, smiling faces, gorgeous atmosphere… Everyone was friendly and enjoying themselves. Also, wearing retro outfits really makes people even more polite:) For many participants it wasn’t the first run and I saw some familiar faces from last year’s tea break. But, a lot of newcomers as well.

It was almost the time for a photograph and then at noon we set off. Great sunny weather, but not too hot even for tweed jackets, motorists beeping their horns, cheering crowds – everyone seemed to enjoy it. It was a leisure ride in style.

The route was 10 mile long and was bypassing capital’s landmarks: Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Oxford Circus, The British Museum. At about 2pm we stopped at Holborn for a tea break and socializing (well, beverage wise, some were more prepared than others :), and then after an hour the procession proceeded to Shortditch and Bethnal Green for the End Party (and after party for those particularly energized :)

So yes, it was a good fun. One of a kind. A great way to spend Saturday in London. Naturally, I was taking pictures along the way, but oh boy, it wasn’t easy to ride and juggle with an dSLR monster, but I hope the result is not too bad. Head to my flickr feed to see many more of them.

Tweed Run now is quite an international event, and you can catch a glimpse of it (or actually be a part of it) in New York and Tokio. But if you are in London, watch out for another special Tweed Run this very Autumn.

Posted on Friday, April 15th, 2011 at 2:45 pm under Creative, General, London, Photos.
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