Velocouture Part 1 (2010), or Whatever Is There To Wear??

What to wear when cycling is the perennial question. For women, at least.  You see, there is always lycra, or indeed in my case merino, for those days when you want to ride efficiently and well, with very little time off the bike. "Fit for purpose" is my motto.

But then there are those rides when the point isn't so much riding the bike, but getting from point A to point B, often by way of interim points A2 and A3, meeting with friends for coffee at point A27. Being streamlined is not important - looking somewhat "normal" (as in, as if you didn't get there by bike!) is.

I started cycling for transport and for fun -- indeed, cycling as an adult, full stop -- in July 2009. As a beginner I fell in with a certain school of thought that said, if you're on a bike, then wear the right clothes for that activity. But by spring 2010, I began questioning that.

I intend to start posting more photos of myself wearing not-necessarily-cycling-clothes-that-nonetheless-work.  But in the meantime, I'd like to capture and collate here my thoughts and attempts at this back in 2010.

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From the diary:

I started out cycling with blinkers on, thinking that only clothes cut specifically for cycling would be comfortable when on the bike for any length of time. Yet I hate lycra. Yet lycra's pretty darn comfortable and fit for purpose. Then I discovered, hey, for a social outing like cycling over to Wimbledon (half hour each way) to meet up with friends for a coffee, a dress & leggings & boots weren't too bad! So I went a bit mad the other way, wearing everyday clothes. Until I ruined a few good things with snags and scrapes. Not to mention mud.


So I've been exploring my wardrobe with an open mind these days. What's lurking in there that's stylish (for me!) yet tough and comfortable enough in the right ways for cycling? What cycling-specific stuff can be semi-disguised with accessories to pass as normal streetwear? Hmmm. A few mistakes. A few discoveries. Still learning.

So here are a few of my experiments. A kind of photo blog.

Health warning: all these photos are of me. If that's too egocentric for you, change channels or turn your monitor off now. 

2010.03.06
off to spend the day with Heidi shopping and lunching. Travel: mixed cycling + tram + trains. Weather: started cloudy & mild-ish, got progressively clearer/brighter and colder. All the clothes here are ordinary 'smart casual'. Base layer a thin long-sleeved poloneck (American: turtleneck). Then a pink/rose faux silk blouse. Add fashion (i.e. not warm!) scarf and my beloved brown moleskin coat. Bootcut cord trousers. Skechers sneakers. Plus reflective trouser clip.
Verdict: layers a bit too bulky & constrictive for anything more ambitious than a pootle down the street. Too warm in the morning. Too cold in the afternoon!

2010.03.07
totally different objectives today: out with cycling club, expecting to do 25-30 miles, mostly paved roads but likelihood of unpaved cycle paths/tow paths. Weather quite cold but clear.

Today was my first conscious effort to take CYCLING gear and try to look a bit smarter. I like long lycra tights with something less "techy" over the top, though these 3/4 trousers are cut for cycling and sold as such. Usual Skechers. Long sleeve crew-neck merino baselayer (♥). Lands End Marinac jacket over the top: I'd just bought it because it's a fleece but tailored/styled more like a jacket and has a "windproof" membrane. Well, it is smart looking, I'll give you that, and it washes well. It's not exactly wind proof (my raincoat is more so) but it's not very breathable either! I usually sweat like the blazes in it. Today, I had my hi-vis yellow jacket over the top. Once I was warmed up, I couldn't wear both at once, and it was hard to decide which to ditch.

Oh yes, and missing in these photos so far is my black wool "captain" cap ♥ ♥ ♥

2010.03.14
Off to music festival in Trafalgar Square.
Mixed cycling and trains. Weather mostly clear, a bit of warmth in the sunshine, quite breezy. Knew I'd be standing around most of the day and also that I'd be riding home about a mile at dusk. Mostly cycling-specific gear here but added a scarf and earrings - and the cap. Top layer is soft shell with lots of reflective.

2010.04.10
All change please, all change!
First day of real honest-to-goodness Springness! I mean t-shirt weather.

Today I needed to run errands, potentially get-your-hands-and-knees-filthy errands.

Long lycra trousers/tights OUT - too warm and too...er, lycra-y!! My 3/4-length cycling trousers are being saved to wear tomorrow. So what to wear today?

I have fallen in love with the 3/4 look - think plus fours, riding breeches or breeks, that sort of thing. AND I've discovered wild, crazy, funky colourful knee-high socks perfect to wear with them! Check out http://www.sockdreams.com/ for ultimate sock porn. ;) I've just taken delivery this week of FIVE pair from them. First pair out of the box was the ribbed grey merino pair - bliss in the cold weather under lycra tights. But with the weather warming up, I'm ditching the lycra and here come the more fun pairs. First up, today we have b&w rugby stripes. This pair, after the grey merino, is the most conservative knee-highs I ever intend to buy. (Wait til you see the ones I'm wearing tomorrow!!)

Anyway, socks are only part of the story today 'cause I am fixated on the 3/4 trousers + tall socks look but only have the 1 pair of trousers. BUT.... a few weeks ago I went to a bicycle maintenance workshop, for which I was advised to wear old clothes that I wouldn't mind getting greasy. For that, I dug out a pair of faded black jeans I bought at Sainsburys for £6 about 4 years ago. I've never liked them and hardly wore them - something about the leg shape and they're just the teeniest bit too short. So they've been in the donate-to-charity box. But I didn't have any other trousers I was willing to sacrifice. Upshot was, I cycled in them to/from the workshop and thought, hey these aren't too bad. (For short distances. Anything over half an hour and that bulky inseam is gonna hurt.)

So, today, I took the scissors to them and hacked off those weird too-flared too-short legs!! Hey presto, 3/4 length summerweight (stretch!) denim jeans.

Plus white tank top and an ancient threadbare chambray shirt (from M&S 14 years ago).

PLUS - obviously - stripey socks. :)

(Note to self: must rescue Maddie's ball from under fridge.)

2010.04.11
Chat Noir :)

2010.04.24
Great plan but it turned out to be too hot today.)

2010.04.26
going to work

2010.04.27
going to work

2010.04.20
going to work

2010.05.03
going to work (I seem to do this a lot...)

2010.05.03

2010.05.08
with raincoat

2010.08.08
off to Heidi's 50th Birthday picnic - on the mixte

2010.10.03
and then of course there were the Brompton World Championships at Blenheim Palace.
A certain dress code was required.