some b. spoken evening

Oh, a while back (but not too far back), B. Spoke Tailor threw a fab knicker fitting/holiday party at Mojo Bicycle Cafe on Divisadero to try on some of Nan's sweet designs. I quite like this red plaid women's suit...


... and these tartan gloves!


I persuaded Carlos to try on some of Nan's cool threads. So he went all out for the reflective suit.


Now don't we make a cute couple?


And how do those knickers fit anyway? Well, you can ask David.


Navy blue with red pinstripes. So stylin'. And his gray armwarmers are made from repurposed second hand cashmere sweaters.


What a fun night - getting together with cycle chic-istas for some holiday cheer.

Nan, Gwen, KT & Meli.

Whatever fashion fits your fancy--plaid, tweed, psychedelic or mod--always choose style over speed.

[Christy Bockheim Meuzelaar]: Wedding on 2 Wheels

Un mariage en vélo! Congrats to Christy and hubby and good luck on the many paths you will explore together! Thanks for sharing these images and commentary with us!

I've been a fan of your blog for a while, and wanted to share some photos with your readers of our bicycle-themed wedding over the weekend.

Photo by Melissa Howard

Photo by Melissa Howard

Photo by Melissa Howard

Our invitations and programs featured a tandem bike drawn by my sister, our cupcake stand was shaped like a bicycle, and after the ceremony we rode off on a tandem bike!

Photo by Sharri Steen

Photo by Adrienne Bockheim

Photo by Sharri Steen

It was a big hit - even my nieces wanted to try it out!

The Tweed Will Go On (pt. 2)

By far my favorite pic of the evening, not just because my friends Adrienne and Joe are seen here looking fine, but more importantly for the snide smirks on both their faces.


Here's a nice angle on argyle.


Um... would someone roll out the red carpet for this chap on his Penny Farthing? In my opinion, the star of the show.


I think I should have been born a few decades ago, because I wouldn't mind seeing pipe-smoking, tweed-suited men on every corner of SF.


Another great outfit, and another great bike. The ride will go on...

Tally-ho Tweed! (pt. 1)

I finally made it to my first Tweed Ride! Thanks to our stylish and sexy pal Colin for organizing once again!


I arrived a tad late, so I missed the show by the Derailleurs, but I found a great slideshow online from the SF Weekly.


After the show, all the beautiful people got a chance to meet and greet and strike a pose.


This was kind of a Vélo Vogue paradise!


Tweed, plaid and argyle never looked so good.


Fine looking people have fine conversations.


And then, the ride began... more to come!

VV Profile: Adam Rocks the Bike

Name: Adam Pastana
Occupation: Biker Rocker
Hometown: Penryn, CA
SF neighborhood: Inner Sunset
Helmet or no helmet: Bare Melon
Type of bike: Yuba Mundo!
Describe what you like best about your bike: People carrying abilities
Describe your cycling experience in SF: Rough, rugged and raw
Favorite time or place to ride: Panhandle B-Ball Courts
Favorite color: O-range
Artist most commonly played on iPod at the moment: M.I.A.
Describe your personal style: Like a cold drink on a hot day

...:::ROCK the BIKE:::...
Rock the Bike is a innovative, clean energy company with a diverse product line of human powered products and stylish accessories. Our most important Products include;

-- Yuba Mundo Cargo Bike -- Great for carrying extra people and cargo like ice chests for picnics, groceries and anything else you can imagine.

-- Down Low Glow -- Bright neon lighting that gives you and your bike more than adequate visibility from all sides (especially from the side which is where most automobile-bike collisions occur).

-- Fender Blender -- Simply the Worlds finest bicycle blenders made for you right here in the bay area.

Our services at Rock the Bike are mainly doing Pedal Power for events/concerts and also bicycle customization including live sound so you can roll down the street sharing your favorite music with the neighborhood.

Happy Bike-to-Work Day!

I asked a random guy to shoot this photo of me at the Caltrain station on my way home from work last year. I'm sporting a blue blouse and brown suit pants (the matching jacket is in my pannier). I've changed my shoes to cleats, and my trouser socks work perfectly to keep my pant legs out of my chain and wheels. The fact that my helmet matches my blouse is a luck accident.

My commute is quite long. When I ride less than 10 miles, I'm perfectly comfortable wearing near-regular clothes. When I ride 30+ miles to work, I admit to wearing spandex.

I've been hearing a lot of new plays on "Bike-to-Work Day" this year. I've heard "Work to Bike" and "Bike instead of Work", and I can relate to that. Since I've never heard the event so paired with an anti-work message, I'm wondering how much the sad state of the economy increases interest in biking both because biking is a more efficient way of travel than just about anything else (thus saving people money they don't have) and because it brings joy to our lives when we might have trouble remembering other reasons to feel happy.

Whether you bike to work, work to bike, or bike instead of work, I wish you a beautiful day on your bike.

Velib mechanics by boat

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Profile: Thomas Valeau

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Suits on Bikes... oh yeah, in Paris

In Paris, cycling is so mainstream that everyone does it. I only occasionally see San Francisco business men riding in their work clothes, and usually they're advocates who I know through their work. Here, I've documented a few.

Stops 2 and 3 (tdc part 4)

I have a couple more cupcake posts in me; so, brace yourself!

When we last saw our heroes, they had decided to head up the hill in hopes of finding a station with MORE cupcakes since the last cupcake station had run out. We got a little lost, but after carrying our bikes up a flight of stairs, we found the cupcake station with the highest altitude. While this photo contains many from our team, I was also taken with the orange skirt on your left sported by a lady I do not know.


Here's KT looking oh-so-fashionable with Becca who is just simply adorable even without full vogue. We decided to go OVER the hill instead of around it like we would normally do.


Danielle crests the hill en vogue with Becca just behind....


Our next stop was on the Panhandle where we had some of the best event-sponsored cupcakes of the day. I think KT already posted photos of these two, but here's my record.

Suited man navigates


Girl in black wearing shoes that match her Bianchi


At the stations, they required proof of the number of cupcakes you had eaten either in the form of the wrapper or your solemn oath (when there was no wrapper).

cute as a cupcake

Lilia and I participated in the Bike Kitchen's Tour de Cupcake alley cat race/fundraising event, along with about 2,000 others. She and I both snapped some photos, so stay tuned for Lilia's spin on the TDC!

All types of racers on all types of bikes turned out, from pretty girls with great hair to guys in cut-off knickers.
Here's VV editor Lilia with Danielle, both decked out in cycling's finest ready to blast off.

Because of the overwhelming turnout, I had time to check out the other racers styles, like this very classy, mod looking girl and guy in typical SF hoodie.

Once we were finally off, I was more focused on eating cupcakes than what people were wearing, but by the time we were up and over States Street and in the Panhandle, I was able to gather my wits again.

This woman has some hot sleeves.

And this kid wins the prize for the best-dressed man in the race.

And finally, as we've pointed out before, it's always a great idea to match your clothing to your ride, like this woman with aqua tennis shoes and Bianchi.

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.