#11 - Complete!

I first learned about Portland's tweed bike ride last summer; after the 2012 ride had taken place.  I told myself I had to remember to do this event in 2013 because it looked like a ton of fun.  Naturally, when I was trying to think of items for my bucket list, the tweed ride came to mind and clocked in at #11.

Yes, I was a little tired after running the 10k this morning, but I was so excited to get decked out and ride around town with some dapper-looking folks.  I scoured Goodwill & Buffalo Exchange for tweed clothing items last month and didn't have much success.  I was able to procure a little blue jumper, a cute pair of heels, and a beautiful parasol and figured those would suffice.

Posing before the ride

We had an amazing group!  The ladies and gents did a fine job getting dressed up in Victorian-era clothing.  Some people had amazing accessories from old-timey bikes (one guy rode a penny-farthing) to tobacco pipes.

The weather wasn't quite cooperating for us, but we didn't mind the gray & drizzles.  We left Mt. Tabor park and rode through some of Portland's east-side neighborhoods.  It was so much fun to see the reactions of people we rode past.  My favorite comment came from an older woman with her young granddaughter who were admiring us.  After we explained the gist of what we were doing, the woman asked, "Yes, but why are you all dressed like Sherlock Holmes?" - Because it's fun!  :-)

We took a short picnic break midway through our ride.  I came prepared with cheese & crackers and a bottle of wine.  Riders were sharing their flasks of hard liquor with each other while we mingled.

Wine break with Kendra

The ride concluded at Velo Cult where we each received a free pint of Ninkasi.  I love how all of the organized athletic events in Portland always include beer.  Since I skipped the beer after my morning run, I made a point to enjoy a pint with my coworker who also happened to be on the ride.

Post-ride pint with Simran

What a fabulous day!  I'm already looking forward to next year's ride.  I'm going to start shopping for tweed months in advance so that I'm better prepared.  :-)