Celebrating quirky Englishness in style: London’s 2024 Tweed Run

For many years my good wife kept on voicing her grievance that we never made it to the annual Tweed Runs.

FINALLY ABLE TO JOIN THE TWEED RUN

We always seemed to be out of town on the respective weekend. Yesterday, for the first time, we got our shot at this jaunty cycle ride through central London. Ellie had bought our two tickets (£50 each) six weeks ago, as soon as they became available. The tickets always sell out quickly. I’ll freely admit, my expectations had been low. I’m not huge on cycling in Londontown. It just feels a tad dangerous.

 

NOT ANOTHER FRANKFURT COUNTRYSIDE BIKE RIDE

I also had less than fond memories of the Frankfurt Countryside Bike Ride Ellie & I had joined a few years ago. Ellie has done next to no cycling since childhood. Kudos to her, I thought, when she had come up with the idea of joining the event. However, a few kilometres in, my wife got spooked by a passing sixteen-wheeler, so we pushed our bikes for the remaining 25 kilometres. It took us forever to reach the finish line.

 

12 MILES

The London event is a mere 12 miles (19 km), but still a longer distance than Ellie has ever cycled. The weather forecast was miserable with plenty of rain predicted. In my mind it had been a matter of certainty that I’d get soaked to the bone and freeze my butt off, wearing just a tweed jacket and trousers. No hat, as I didn’t have a jaunty flat cap or bowler hat at hand, and my top hat felt too bulky. No Gore-Tex jacket.

 

A FUN EVENT WITH NO INCIDENTS & ALMOST PERFECT WEATHER

Who would’ve thought that it turned out to be the most outrageously fun event we’ve taken part in for a long time. Ellie never struggled to keep up with the other cyclists, many of whom clearly also hadn’t practiced much cycling lately. Apart from a light 15-minute drizzle, the weather was almost perfect for physical exercise. Cloudy and cold. No rain.

 

1,000 CYCLE ENTHUSIASTS

The event takes place over a whole day. This year, 1,000 cycle enthusiasts showed up for the “metropolitan bicycle ride with a bit of style”, all in their well-pressed best.

 

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ‘OVERDRESSED’

In the running-up, participants had been advised on multiple occasions that proper attire is expected, and that the term ‘overdressed’ does not exist, when it comes to the big day. Male competitors were encouraged to wear Harris Tweed jackets, plus fours, well-ironed shirts, bowties, and brogues.

 

HARRIS TWEED

Considered to be the finest tweed, Harris Tweed was named after the Outer Hebridean Scottish island of Harris, where it originated. In 1993, the Harris Tweed Act laid out the minimum standards for the woven fabric.

  

PLUS FOURS

Plus fours are a version of knickerbockers, breeches, or short, baggy trousers, fastened comparatively closely below the knee. They got their name because of the fact that they are four inches longer than the standard style. It had been the Duke of Windsor who had popularized plus fours in the 1920s.

 

FAIR ISLE JUMPERS

Moreover, for a cold day like last Saturday, organisers recommended Fair Isle jumpers. For those not in the know: Fair Isle is a knitting technique used to create colourful patterns in woollen garments. It is named after one of the Shetland Islands (yes, Fair Isle), and gained considerable popularity when the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) started wearing Fair Isle jumpers in public in the 1920s.

 

ALPACA COATS AND MACINTOSHS

Furthermore, the instructions for the day clarified, that alpaca coats and macintoshs would be considered acceptable. Macintoshs, also spelled Mackintoshs, and abbreviated to Macs, are old-style three-quarter or full-length raincoats. They are named after their Scottish inventor, Charles Macintosh, who sold the first one in 1824.

 

LADIES’ FASHION

Many of the ladies were much more lightly dressed, in some cases dressed only in cycling skirts, blouses and light jackets, or colourful, summer dresses and capes. Very impressive. The majority dressed similarly to men, in tweed.

 

MEETING TIME 9:30AM ON A SATURDAY

As requested by the organisers, Bourne & Hollingsworth, the participants arrived at 9:30am at the start line. The meeting location was Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings in Northampton Road in Clerkenwell. We were told that the start time would be around 10:30am. Cyclists were expected back in Clerkenwell around 4pm.

 

THE ORGANISERS

Bourne & Hollingsworth label themselves “a creative lifestyle company with an offering centred on socialising, entertainment and drinks.” They operate the ‘Bourne & Hollingsworth Bar’ in Fitzrovia in addition to their club house in the B&H Buildings in Clerkenwell. Apart from that, they run events like the Tweed Run. Ellie and I have had a great time at their Prohibition Party and at their Blitz Party in the past. Other events are Beautiful Allotment, Winter House, Dark Circus Party, SS Atlantica, and Cocktails in the City, which are still on our to-do list.

 

CHAP OLYMPIAD

One of the highlights of our social calendar used to be the Chap Olympiad, organised by The Chap Magazine in collaboration with B&H. We rarely missed an Olympiad. These events involved several hundred paying guests dressing up in Edwardian outfits for a big boozy picnic with live music & barbecue in Bedford Square Garden in London’s Bloomsbury neighbourhood.

 

Those brave enough would compete against each other in hilarious contests such as ‘The Briefcase Phalanx’ or ‘Not Playing Tennis.’ My Devon boating jacket, summer trousers, boater, half-length hosiery, shirt, silk cravat, Oxfords, fake upward-curved moustache, fake tobacco pipe, and, of course, myself once made it into a Japanese TV news report and into an article in The Sydney Morning Herald. Glorious days they were… Unfortunately, the last event of this kind took place in 2019, with no plans by anyone to bring it back.

 

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE TWEED RUN

The first Tweed Run took place in 2009 and was inspired by Jack Thurston’s now disbanded Tweed Cycling Club and by a number of vintage attire-themed bicycle events from the early 2000s. 15 years ago, the event was organised by Jacqueline Shannon and Ted Young-Ing via the online cycling forum ‘London Fixed Gear and Single Speed.’ 400 competitors turned up with their two-wheeled vehicles. Soon Tweed Runs started to be organised worldwide in places as far apart as Bishu (China), Spetses (Greece), Tokyo (Japan), New York City (U.S.), and Florence (Italy).

 

MEMORABLE MORNING MUSTER

The ‘morning muster’ was fun. We had already signed the required waiver online. As expected, the queue for registration was long. But after about half an hour we were able to pick up our start number labels for the sleeves of our outfits, the large commemorative badges with ribbons for the fronts of our jackets, and the plastic number plates for our bicycles.

 

BICYCLES, VELOCIPEDES, TRICYCLES, PENNY-FARTHINGS

The rules of the Run permit any type of human-powered vehicle with one or more wheels, including Santander bikes and other modern bikes. However, the use of vintage vehicles is strongly encouraged. We saw two penny-farthings, several top-end racing bikes from the 1920s, dozens of other vintage bikes, Pashleys (one of this year’s sponsors), Hetchins, Bromptons, velocipedes (bicycles where the pedals are attached to the axis of the, usually oversized, front wheel), recumbent bicycles & tricycles.

SAUNTERING, SAUSAGE SANDWICH

Unsurprisingly, for a big event like this, with many last-minute changes to the plans, the start was delayed by about half an hour or so. This was of no concern, as it allowed us to spend more time sauntering around, taking pictures. We also purchased a sausage bun to share and two hot teas to keep us warm.

 

SLIGHTLY DELAYED START

Sure enough, at around 11am, a bugler gave the signal and the cyclists set off on their journey. Ellie & I were both relieved that everyone was very considerate. No one was being pushy or riding fast. Everyone went at a very slow pace, stopping for a few moments here and there at bottlenecks or redlights.

GREAT JOB BY THE MARSHALS

Throughout the day, the marshals did a spiffing job, making sure everyone stayed safe. No mean feat considering that there was no police or anyone else to assist them. Bruce Richardson, who is the main organiser of the event, was always in pole position, calmly & competently instructing his marshals. The marshals would then dash ahead to their various assigned positions to block off the traffic or to warn cyclists of bollards or whatever.

 

EVERYONE’S VERY RELAXED

There was never a tense situation or shouting or rushing. The tone was always civil and pleasant. I still can’t quite understand how an event of this scale in the centre of one of the busiest cities could go so smoothly AND have such relaxed organisers and marshals. Splendid.

A DIFFERENT ROUTE EACH YEAR

Each year the route is different. The route yesterday was a circular route beginning and ending in Clerkenwell. On other occasions, the cyclists set off in Trafalgar Square or at South Kensington’s Prince’s Gardens and finished in entirely different parts of London.

 

HIGHLIGHTS ALONG THE ROUTE

The highlights of our route were Soho, Pall Mall, St James’s Palace, The Mall, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Palace, Lambeth Bridge, Lambeth Palace, Waterloo Bridge, Royal Courts of Justice, Chancery Lane, St Paul’s Cathedral, Bow Lane, and Guildhall. As with any serious cycle trip, we stopped for tea and for a picnic.

 

STOP FOR A SPOT OF TEA

After about one third of the route we stopped for a spot of tea in a garden square along the way. There was free ice tea for everyone, served in disposable cups. Most of the Runners had brough their own provisions, for the morning muster, the tea, the picnic, and the final knees-up.

BOTTLE HOLDERS WITH CHAMPAGNE, WICKER BASKETS

Ellie & I were very impressed by the beautifully made and filled picnic wicker boxes and baskets. Instead of electrolyte solution, some cyclists had put bottles of Moët & Chandon into the bottle holders attached to their bicycle frames. We also saw plenty of ornamental hip flasks being passed around during the day. No doubt, filled with some Scottish single malt.

 

PICNIC AT LINCOLN’S INN FIELDS

After two thirds of the way, we stopped at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, one of our favourite picnic locations in town. I quickly dashed off to a local supermarket in High Holborn to purchase some seafood snacks and a half-bottle of champagne.

LIVE SWING BAND AND DANCING

There was a three-men swing band playing and a dozen people or so from our group were dancing. Some of them clearly knew what they were doing. Some clearly didn’t. Both types of folk were very fun to watch. I tried to get Ellie to dance with me, considering that we’re currently enrolled in a ballroom dance course. But not this time. Hopefully next time around.

 

KNEES-UP & AWARD CEREMONY

Because of another commitment, we were only able to stay for half an hour at the finish line party. That meant we missed out on the award ceremony with prizes for dapperest chap, best dressed lady, best vintage bicycle, and best moustache. Perhaps unexpectedly, both men and women were eligible for the last-mentioned prize. We had had a great time and will definitely try to make it back next year.

Looking for more fun things to do in London? Check out my posts about the Kew Gardens Orchid Festival, the London Cabaret Club, Buckingham Palace Gardens, Hampton Court Palace Ice Rink, and London’s best running events. I’ve also blogged about caving, deep sea fishing, ocean rowing, packrafting, and stand-up paddleboarding.