she makes it look so easy

When I tell out of towners that I bike all over town, this is the image that usually comes to mind. I'm sure you've all heard it before ("You bike SF? What about all the HILLS?")

Piece of cake! ;-)

more rouge et noir

That's my kind of girl! Stunning smile paired with stunning red coat, black tights and red flats. Even the Chrome logo matches. Rouge et noir from head to toe!

DFF: Sizzling pals

These gorgeous women posed for us together. One wore a cute black mini. The other had coordinated her top and scarf with her socks. One of the bazillion exciting things about cycling is that when you role up your pant leg, you can showcase cute socks as part of your ensemble.


Members of these adorable couples have also shown up in earlier posts on the DFF, but I liked the way they were together too.

Valencia Vogue

We could probably fill this entire blog with Valencia Vogue if we stood on a corner and waited with our cameras. Sadly, we have other obligations that, say, support our habits of sleeping indoors and eating food that hasn't already been enjoyed by other people. So, we are only lucky enough to be on Valencia with our cameras every now and then.

I loved this woman's look, all bundled up on one of our non-rainy days (of which there have been a few lately... but I don't remember when). She wore a classy plaid coat with dress shoes, socks and "pedal pushers". I also liked the new cruiser with wicker basket. My goal is to look that good at least until the air warms up and it becomes easier (think sundresses, etc., when goals are no longer necessary).

brown shimmer

A very glamorous woman is bringing back the two vintage eras with this look: the 80s with those brown sparkly legwarmers over jeans and the 60s with that brown tapestry three-quarter length coat. I hope her cycle-style will inspire a thing or two in her pal!

[busbozo] Glamorous

[busbozo] Copenhagen Eat Your Heart Out!

Just a little proof that not all who ride in the US are

1) encased in lycra
2) terrified of traffic
3) unwilling to let their children ridein the city.

This lovely woman had just picked her son up from school and off they went down Valencia street.

busbozo

more pandhandle vogue

Like this woman, but unlike many of the cyclists we blog, I stop riding to talk on my phone. I loved her boots, coat, hat and skirt. It was an overcast Friday afternoon, and the panhandle is my favorite park in San Francisco because of all the old trees.

double the fashion, double the fun

It's so cute to see two friends riding double on a bicycle. These girls both sported the hipster look, with their hats, colorful leggings, skinny jeans and boots. The fluffy collar on the white coat of the girl in back makes her attire gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. And there's that purple again!

More on Elle

Here, Elle rides with her son on her handle bars. In most photos, he's on the back in the kids seat. But she's a competent rider; so, they can have a little fun. These photos remind me of what Tolstoy said "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

Cheryl Brinkman says: "I remember Gil Penalosa showing photos from Ciclovia and pointing out a well off family; Dad on a bike, son in a bike seat, and a not so
well off family; Dad on bike, child pretzeled into a plastic milk crate on the rack, sharing the street. Happy as clams."

photo by someone else

les parisennes

Since I have already made my homage to Parisian men, it's only fair to give equal time to the beauty of les parisiennes.

An illustration by Kiraz of une parisienne à vélo in the garden at Musée Carnavalet:

Another sign that purple is the "it" color this season:

Her pink raincoat blends well with the grey vélib' (plus, I adore her high-heeled mules):

Pulling curbside to window shop in St. Germain:

Notice how this woman, wearing a yellow top paired with printed black and white mini-skirt and sandals, is bursting ahead of the Smart car on her vélo :

I was waiting for my friend near les Arènes de Lutèce when this striking cyclist in a grey ensemble casually strolled by:

les parisiens de Tièche

There's an exhibit called Les Parisiennes de Kiraz at the Musée Carnavalet about French illustrator Edmond Kiraz. It's dedicated to his images of chic Parisian women in a variety of situations--dating, shopping, vacationing, cycling--and captures that je ne sais quoi which is so enchanting about those often imitated females from one of the great fashion capitals of the world.

An appreciation for the cute boys on bikes we've captured here at Vélo Vogue has been called to our attention. We like seeing them, too. Indeed, what about the boys? So in response to Kiraz's show at the Carnavalet, I'm giving you my take on the coolness, the class, the beauty of les hommes de Paris.

Donning a cap and coat in the Marais:
On his cellie outside Place des Vosges:
Waiting for the stoplight, or the leaves, to change color on a bike lane along the Seine:
Ciggie break while picking up his Vélib'.
Who needs to break for a ciggie?

The vest with jeans look in St. Paul:
I was in a cabine de téléphone when this man in yellow shirt and pinstriped pants pulled up. Gentlemen take note: Parisian men know how to combine and take risks with color!
And all I could say was Hallelujah when this man rode by me in front of the Eglise Saint Sulpice. God bless les Parisiens.

Mido a Velib'

When I was 14, my family sent me to live with a French family in Paris who none of us had met. As it turned out, they didn't know I was coming and were expecting another little girl instead. So, both American little girls spent the summer with this French family. Today, the bonus child (me) visits them annually.

On my last day in Paris this year, we went to dinner near Nation. I had spent my day receiving a wonderful inside tour of the Vélib' program which included my very own Vélib' card even though I don't have the right kind of credit card to use the system (with that European chip). No one in my French family is enrolled in the Vélib' program. I used my complementary card to let my French mother, Mido, try out the bicycles. Look how stylish and perfectly Parisienne she is.

One of the reasons they don't use Vélib' is because they worry about riding on the streets with traffic. (We know that's just something you get used to.)

She loved it.

I think it was a little stressful for Mido's husband, adult daughter and son-in-law to watch her tootle around the wide Parisien streets.

Homemade Boots

People often ask why I am taking their pictures. Sometimes, they don't like it, but usually they're flattered while still wanting an explanation. I told this woman in explanation, "I love your boots."

She replied, "Oh, I made them."

Which got me to thinking... Wouldn't it be amazing if we could all make our own clothes? It was all I could do to keep from yelling "I love you" as she rode away.

I tried to learn to sew years ago. I've tried to learn to knit... and paint. I have no talent for manual dexterity, and I regret it. Worse than no talent, my fingers have a poison for details. But I can fix my own bike, edit my own photos and type up words that are sometimes even spelled correctly. Having this incredibly talented woman bike past me made me hope all over again for a new set of talents in my next lifetime.

Or whatever.

You know what I mean.

red bike

I get the feeling this girl saw this bike in a shop and fell in love so hard she had to start commuting by bike in order to be near it all the time.

My love for bikes is more selfish. I love what they can do for me: travel quickly, easily and efficiently. I love the way they make me feel. I'm still waiting to fall in love with one bike more than all the others. I envy her for that.

(GDH) Submissions

Correspondent GDH submitted these photos a while ago unprocessed and without narrative. They speak for themselves.

Safety First.

Years ago, I participated in the Bike Coalition's Valentine's Day game show: Love on Wheels. One question asked if contestants 1) always wear a helmet, 2) go free and loose, or 3) "I'll wear whatever you want me to wear." The other 2 ladies answered first with #3. My answer? "Ladies, eeeeeew. Safety first! Always wear a helmet."

Euphemism aside, I found this lady inspiring. She's got boots, skirt, sports coat, and long hair with a reflective vest and helmet. Safety and style go together!

Going somewhere...

Not to get all philosophical on you, but we are all going somewhere. I just thought this woman in stylish jacket, heels, and jeans, must be going someplace more particular than I usually am.... She certainly raced along.

Mission Black

Little Brown Riding Hood Takes a Cigarette Break.

Little Brown Riding Hood, sporting her usual capri pants (perfect for biking), ballet flats, green pea coat and scarf, walked her baby blue basketed steed home. She'd been out to collect chips and salsa for her impromptu Mission apartment party but was now enjoying a moment to herself before zipping back. Meanwhile, the mural woman danced gracefully around her like a chubby 2-dimensional tinkerbell.