Earlier this month, Montreal played host to the Bicycle Film Festival. Always willing to take the most creative route, the festival was also marked by the Fashion Ride. Both the city’s most eco- and fashion-conscious showed up (including WORN’s pals from Citizen Vintage).
If you happened to be in downtown Toronto last Saturday, you might have noticed a group of particularly dapper cyclists parading around the city. No, it wasn’t a posh courier service running the streets — rather, Toronto was participating in its very first charity Tweed Ride.
Though heavy tweed might seem less practical for active wear than sweats or spandex, Toronto’s Tweed Ride was about more than just biking pretty. The event was a fundraiser for the charity Bikes Without Borders. This do-good attitude applies at home, too — “Cycling in Toronto tends to be quite controversial” says Kristen Corbet, who helped organize the event. “It’s important to us to celebrate bikes and promote their positive impact upon a community.”
photograph by Henry Sansom
When I first moved to Toronto, I was pretty nervous about riding a bike. Between the traffic and the parked cars and those nasty, sneaky streetcar tracks, it can be sort of scary if you’re not used to it. What can I say – people change. Only five years later I overheard a friend talking about my cycling habits: “If she can’t go on her bike, she doesn’t go,” he laughed.
No parking, no transfers, no walking, no waiting: Bikes are fast, cheap, convenient, and fun as hell. The best part of all is you can get where you’re going in style. Ask any girl who rides in heels and she’ll tell you: It’s as easy as riding in flats and your feet never get sore.
From suit-and-tie office workers on the College St bike lane to the Queen West evening hipster brigade, every year that goes by I notice more and more people embracing bikes as the stylish way to travel. Hell, even Club Monaco is on the bikewagon, using Gazelles in their adverts and even selling them in their stores. Here are some bikespirational links to get you in the mood for the summer cycle.
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