If you have more photos of the ride and would like me to feature them on the site, please email me at tweedride @ gmail . com. I’m looking forward to seeing more and more beautiful images from the tweediest night of the year!

Tweed Riders - Fall 2011

The Third Annual Tweed Ride was a success! Many new friends were made, many litres of spirits were imbibed, and there were markedly less spills taken by tweed riders than in the past. What a night – wonderful weather, plenty of patio seating, briefly joining protest parades, passing the bottle whilst overlooking the falls, and sweating it out on the dancefloor. Thank you to everyone who came out and to everyone who toiled even a small amount to make this the best Tweed Ride yet. As you can see, our ranks are swelling, and that warms my heart!

Photos of the event are being gathered. If you have some good snaps you’d like to share, please do. Contact me and I’ll feature them on this new and improved site. In the meantime, check out Ciclofish’s flickr set and blog post. Fish has been the reliable tweed photog since the beginning, although he can’t hold a camera level to save his life, I strongly suggest perusing his archives for the best shots of past Tweed Rides.

Thank you (yes, you!) once again. All good things are meant to be shared. Tweed is no exception.

Many thanks to the Hennepin History Museum for kindly sponsoring this ride, our hats are off to you!

Museum interior.

Here it is, Ladies and Gentlemen. A shorter route this year leaves more time for out-of-the-saddle quality time with your new friends. With only a few hills and following tried and true avenues, this route will charm seasoned riders and infrequent pedalers alike.

Meet at Powderhorn Park at 6 0′clock on Saturday the 22nd. Look for other tweed-clad cyclists gathered in the south-eastern corner of the park. Bring a thermos of tea or other libation to share with your new friends! After some mingling, we will depart at half past 6 o’clock SHARP.

And we’re off! The Tweed Ride Organiser is happy to announce an unusual, but very charming stop next. We will make our way to the Gothic mansion of the Hennepin History Museum at 2303 Third Avenue South. In the historical setting, we will pose for the requisite group photo(s). Once we’re tired of smiling, we’ll cast our votes for the Dapperest Gent and Most Fetching Lady contests. Nominate your chums, or a beautiful stranger, and give them three cheers as they vamp and dash about for your entertainment. As before, there will also be a contest for Best Bicycle.  All winners are awarded a bottle of whiskey each!

It’s off for a jaunt to Uptown towards the newly reborn Muddy Waters Bar and Eatery at 2933 Lyndale for some fine gastronomic enjoyment on their beautiful patio.

Having satiated our hunger and slaked our great thirst, we shall take the long way around to Brit’s Pub, between 11th and 12th Streets on Nicollet Mall across from Orchestra Hall. A Tweed Ride stop for the first time, this classic pub will not disappoint.

Rolling down Nicollet Mall, we’ll tour through the old mill district of Minneapolis and stop for a spot of tea (or something stronger) on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi.

Heading back to civilisation, the Town Hall Brewery at 1430 Washington Ave is next on the agenda.

Then onward toward the final stop at Nomad World Pub on 501 Cedar Avenue where DJs Rambo Salinas et al will spin 45′s of rare funk and soul music. Yes, darling, it’s HOTPANTS! 

Please note, this route is subject to change at a moment’s notice (especially the last stops) If you will be joining us later, please follow @MPLSTweedRide on twitter for real time location tweets.

With only a few more days till the Fall Tweed Ride, I’ve been getting questions about where to find the smashing duds, classic bicycles, et al that one needs for a proper Tweed Ride. Let me be clear, the Tweed Ride is open to ALL 21+ cyclists, no matter what they’re wearing or riding. Above all, the Tweed Ride is meant to be a social event with an emphasis on meeting new folks and becoming BFF’s by the end of the raucous night. Wearing tweed and riding an English 3-speed are most certainly not requirements, although they are very much encouraged. Because dressing up in goofy costumes and riding slowly facilitates a greater sense of recreation, and allows for an increase of shenanigans – not to mention the spirit of charity and strong camaraderiefelt by all when that old Raleigh gets a flat or has drivechain problems. We are all in this tweedy world together. So, please don’t feel like you MUST arrive clad in tweed or ashamed of your post-war bicycle. The spirit of tweed is not all about that, anyway.

If you decide you want to slog onward and spiff up, the following is a list of helpful resources.

The Tweedy References page on this site has links to good sites on proper dressing techniques for both gentlemen and ladies.

You + Me. This newly opened boutique in Uptown is run by fashion brothers extraordinaires Tim+Thom Navarro. Specializing in menswear tweed, you can either purchase or rent your duds there.

Local thrift & vintage shops have their crazier-than-normal-saved-for-Halloween-costume goods on the racks now. These are great places to find your entire tweed outfit for a minimal sum.

Your vintage-obsessed friend’s closet. We all know at least one. Ask them politely to lend you that velvet riding helmet. Then invite them along!

Your grandparent’s attics. If you’re lucky enough to still have grandparents or older relatives residing on this earth, spend some precious time with them going through their crawlspaces. Tweed and quality clothing were much more common in their day. You might find the perfect sportcoat or pair of oxfords squirreled away, just waiting to go for a ride.

As for the simple machines…

Chum up with a bicycle shop employee or owner. They’ve seen it all, and they know where the good stuff is kept.

Ask your bicycle-obsessed friends. We all know at least one. Ask them politely to lend you that rusted out old cruiser. Then invite them along!

Scour Craigslist and local Ebay listings. There’s still time to purchase your own!

If all the above fails, and you need a bicycle; or are a lady (size 0-6) in search of clothing. Contact me at tweedride @ gmail . com. I have a few bicycles and lots of clothes I would be happy to lend to you!

Good luck, beautiful people. I’ll see you on Saturday!

RSVP!

Not that I could sway the popular vote, but my hunch is that if it were to happen that a cyclist presents the Host of the Fall Tweed Ride with this shiny sipper, said cyclist would be something of a shoe-in for the Dapperest Gent or Most Fetching Lady contests. Who could resist?

For those of you who sensibly avoid criminal leanings, chin up! You have the moral highground and hopefully some exceedingly handsomest togs. Remember, bribery does not always work! See you on the road!