New Year...

Happy New Year everyone! 2011 was a brilliant year for Vélo-City-Girl. A lot of great stuff that I never expected happened and I met some fabulous people along the way. Thank you all for being such a major part of it and coming along for the ride... and I hope you'll join me this year too!

Suitably holidayed out, I'm getting ready for new adventures on Frankie in 2012. I'm rather pleased that some of the festive treats I got at Christmas will be powering me and the Pashley (and the blogging) along...

... first up, this wonderful book I got from The Boy's Mother

'Britain by Bike' accompanies the BBC Four series of the same name, and includes cycle routes around Britain (which I'm planning on trying if possible), excellent cycling nostalgia and some wonderful photographs and illustrations.

Of course, this section of the book caught my eye, especially learning the origins of the term "loose woman" came from women's cycling fashion!

The next festive-fashion treat which will feature on VCG without doubt is this gorgeous Tatty Devine Owl Necklace, which came from The Boy...

I've got a bit of a thing for Owls on jewellery & clothing AND I've had my eye on this for ages, so top marks to him for remembering. It's been pointed out to me that the Owl's eyes look like bicycle wheels... how on earth did I not pick up on that first?!

My blogging fuel usually consists of Cakes, Coffee or Tea... and this has already been put to use (while I'm writing this actually)

I adore the tea-sets by V&A (another thing The Boy's Mother picked-up on!) and this lovely Bone China Mug now sits long side my mini teapot set I bought early last year

So, expect a lot more cycling, fashion, blogging and everything else that comes in between... 2012 - Lady Vélo is ready for you! 

Brighton Bikes...

Got back home today from a lovely long weekend in Brighton. The trip wasn't cycling based, but that didn't stop me from noticing Bikes around town. I spotted another example of Bikes & Advertising together in the shop window of Hunted:

With it being Menswear there wasn't much shopping I could do, but their display made me smile all the same.

I'd like to go back to Brighton and see some of it by bike. There were plenty of people on two wheels and taking advantage of the cycle route along the seafront... I imagine that must be lovely in the sunshine (the weather was not kind over the weekend), so doing that is on my list of places to ride...

... also, massive "Well Done!" to the cyclists who did the London to Brighton ride on Sunday - in that weather, I really do take my hat off to you all :) 

Lady in Paris...

Saint-Michel (Paris Métro) - 2004.

If I remember the outfit correctly...

Top: Urban Outfitters

Skirt: Once a pair of Levi's 501 made into a skirt!

Sandals: Birkenstock

I found this picture during the massive clear-out of my bedroom. It was taken in August 2004... Memories that come back: I'd just finished Uni & was out in Paris with 2 of my best friends for a short break / friends birthday celebration. 

This was long before the days of Lady Vélo happening, but take a look... even back then I sure had an eye for a pretty bike. Next time I'm there, I have to see Paris on two wheels :)

Berlin on a Bike: The Update

A bit later than expected - but this was how Berlin on a Bike went...

Berlin itself is a wonderful city - but the one thing that really blew me away about the place was the cycle culture. In all honestly that was the 1st thing I noticed when we were heading to our hotel in the car. Bleary-eyed and tired (we'd been up since 3am that morning), I was staring out the passenger window and every other person I spotted was either on a Bike, or parking one up somewhere... already I was impressed.

The initial plan was to rent Bikes from our hotel when we got there, but even in my excitement I realised that going for a cycle the 1st morning & feeling so knackered probably wasn't a great idea. After a much needed breakfast and freshen-up at The Circus, we headed out for a walk to check out "home" for the next 5 days. It didn't take long to encounter more cycle enthusiasts on our walk - other than being surrounded by seriously chic people on 2 wheels, we bumped into a cycle tour that was just about to set-off from Rosenthaler Straße:

They looked like they were going to have fun touring the City... my mind wondered about doing that instead of renting bikes ourselves and heading out.. but then I saw these 2 beauties parked up together:

As I was busy taking pictures, I didn't realise the couple that owned them were stood behind me watching! Had a brief chat with them (thanks to my limited German) and gathered that they were having a day off work together & just heading out for a ride across the city... which swayed me back to doing exactly that with The Boy :)

The "rent from the hotel" plan didn't happen: they had run-out of bikes the morning we wanted them - but I have to say I wasn't that taken by selection they had. Instead, we hired from the excellent Fat Tyre Bike Tours!

We set off from under the TV Tower with nothing more than a Map, and an idea of places we wanted to visit... and that was really all we needed!

The freedom of just jumping on a bike and seeing Berlin from the velo-view was excellent. It was also surprising how easy it was to navigate and follow the routes The Boy had mapped out. Our stops included the Deutsche Guggenheim, the Dali Museum... and of course, a stop-off for the ultimate German food experience...

Yummy!

I was nervous about cycling out there: I still consider myself a newbie to cycling, so the idea of riding around the roads of a new city spooked me a bit. But in comparison to London? - I felt much safer in Berlin than I ever have cycling in London. The cycle-culture out there is a world apart from that over here - cycling accounts for 12% of total street-traffic & the City's riders are catered for with the awesome wide and smooth cycle lanes on both the roads and sidewalks. London really could learn a lot from Berlin & I hope one day that it will happen over here.

 In a nutshell: it was fabulous...and I'll certainly be going back for more :)

More pictures from the break can be viewed here.

Berlin on a Bike...

Quick update - I'm off to Berlin tomorrow for a 5 day break... and some cycling should be involved along the way...

The hotel that me and The Boy are staying in have a Cycle-Rental scheme, so we should be getting our bike-on in Berlin - this pleases me. Of course there will be photos & now that I finally have a decent mini-camera (well, Boy has loaned me his Ricoh) I can easily take pics while cycling - as lugging the D80 wasn't an option.

Hopefully see you soon with some European Cycling Adventures :)