What oh what will I wear?!

For those lucky people who've already bought their precious Vintage Velo 2012 tickets, you may already have grand plans for your outfits, or you may be wondering "what if I don't want to wear tweed/grow a moustache/whittle a bike out of wood/take up pipe smoking?"

Well, the good news is that, although making an effort on the day is strongly encouraged, the way you interpret 'vintage' is up to you. So get inspired!

I'm currently enjoying researching looks from my favourite era, the 1960s....

But you could always look much further back, if that's what gets you going...

After a vintage bike?

Perhaps this year's Vintage Velo is just the incentive you need to get yourself a proper, workmanlike steed. Solid, reliable, devoid of gimmickry, or garish logos such as one might find adorning a noisy sportscar or a young person's trousers. We would heartily condone such an investment, and as luck would have it we have been contacted about an event where just such a purchase could be made.

Jolerider are an established charity who, since 2006, have been refurbishing bicycles and sending them to Africa in order to provide free, utilitarian transport for teachers and pupils. They also hold regular bicycle sales, the profits of which are put back into their bike recycling programmes. These always feature a number of desirable vintage machines at pocket-pampering prices.

Their next sale is on Saturday 14 April 2012, a mere 20 miles from Bristol, so please do head over and have a look.

Tickets now on sale!

Registration for the 2012 Vintage Velo is now open! Make sure your pocketbook is to hand, then head here:

http://vintage-velo.blogspot.com/p/register.html

Let's get this show on the road!

The 2012 edition of our merry jaunt is starting to come together. We have a destination, we have a route, and most importantly we have a date. Ask your butler to add it to your diary now - this year's Vintage Velo will be taking place on Sunday 29 April.

Tickets will be on sale very shortly, so in the parlance of our times, keep perusing this space!

Find love on your bike

Vintage Velo is all about supporting the Bristol Cycle Festival, and more importantly, having a jolly good time on bikes! So for those of you who wish to find a cycling paramour, we wholeheartedly recommend attending Madame Melski's Cycle Speed dating

Back for St Valentine's Day, Madame Melski's Cycle Speed dating is a jolly way to meet people and perhaps even find love on two wheels. Bristol is brimming with comely, witty, brilliant, single people riding bicycles - let Madame Melski bring you together on 14th February for an evening of relaxed pedalling and friendly chat.

Advance booking is essential as places are limited, with an £8 entry fee. The exact start point will be emailed to you when you book along with more information about what to expect.

Email Madame Melski to secure your place now!














Lovely picture courtesy of http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com

Vintage Velo is back for 2012

Ladies and Gents its time to hold onto your monocles and party like its 1899 - The Bristol Vintage Velo ride will be back in April 2012!

We'll be posting the official date, how to buy tickets and much more in the coming weeks.

The Vintage Velo team x

p.s. missed out last year? Have a look at the photos and video of last years event

Tweed up for Bristol Cycle Festival and Carnivelo

Attention, Tweed Army - Bristol Cycle Festival is almost upon us!

Running from 17 to 25 September 2011, it'll feature a huge variety of events, aimed at everyone from velocipede ingenues to seasoned wheelmen.

Carnivelo is back again after a successful first outing (as the Freewheelin' Carnival) in 2010. A rolling party on two wheels, there's talk of a "tweed troupe" being formed for 2011 - keep one's ear to the ground.

Organised by the same team as the Vintage Velo, WeLoveBikes promises to be a spectacular knees-up at the accommodating venue of the Mother's Ruin. The theme is "Vintage Velo vs Lycra Lovers" (although we understand that "lycra louts" will not necessarily be turned away either). Park up your steed, quaff some fine Arbor Ale, and shingaling to the grooviest in vintage sounds.

The Two Wheeled Drive In cinema also makes a welcome return for 2011. Vintage Velo-ites of a more dandyish stripe have the chance to show those pesky new romantics what's what at a screening of 80s cheese-fest Lost Boys. Or wearers of the classic tweed can take advantage of their resemblance to Lord Summerisle at a singalong screening (yes, you did read that correctly) of folk horror classic The Wicker Man. Summer is ycumen in, indeed!

Bike Olympics promises to be as thrilling as its Greenwich based namesake, only with a much wider participation and none of that tedious ticket lottery nonsense. Who will triumph at the long jump, the high jump, the mounted shot-put and and egg and spoon? There will also be some contests of speed and bike handling for our knobbly tyred brethren.

For the lonely of heart, Madame Melski's Cycle Speed Dating affords the chance to meet like-minded companions.

The Dundry Drubber is a challenge that will make even the hardiest of velocipedists blanch - an assault on local bete noire Dundry Hill from all four faces. Extra kudos to anyone attempting it on a vintage machine!

The event programme is currently having the finishing touches put to it so please do keep an eye on their website, their Face-tome and their Twitter for further missives.

Photo by Bristolbikes on Flickr