London » Let's Go Ride a Bike - life on two wheels: simple. stylish. fun.

Tweed Ride and More British Fun

Posted by Dottie at 08:36 events, travel 6 Responses »

Sep 062009

Mark your calendars for Chicago’s Winston Tweed Ride this Saturday, September 12. Everyone should come! I didn’t know anyone on the first Tweed Ride, but I still had a blast. The kind of people who dress up in tweed and ride to bars on bicycles are bound to be friendly.

Leaving from The Globe Pub @1pm, we’ll make our way at a genteel, civilizing pace to the 89th Annual German-American Festival in Lincoln Square. And of course we’ll be stopping in some damn fine bars representing British allies during that unpleasantness in the 30s & 40s!

In celebration of the British, here are some images from Trisha’s and my trip to London in April. Previously, we posted on London cycle chic, cycling infrastructure and tea time.

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Bringing the Batavus Home

Posted by Trisha at 09:19 our bikes, the Bat, travel 20 Responses »

May 232009

There is a beautiful bike in my living room today and it’s all due to my fabulous parents.

You may recall my riding the Batavus in England and then heading off to Russia. Since I wasn’t going back via the UK, there was no way I could bring the bike home myself. Luckily, my brother and I had bought tickets for my parents to visit Prague and London last fall, for their upcoming 30th anniversary — and they generously offered to take the bike back for me. I arranged to have it delivered to their hotel, and they would simply take it to the airport on a shuttle, check it, and take it to Alabama. Easy peasy? Not so much, when you’re talking about a fully assembled Dutch Bike. Anyone who thinks they might be traveling with a bike in future, read on!

Mom and Dad decided to take the bike from the box and transport it in the cardboard sleeve, since the box was so unwieldy.

A Batavus packed in a cardboard sleeve for transport.

When they came rolling up to the check-in counter, the United Airlines people at Heathrow looked at them like they were aliens. The woman at the counter asked my dad what she was supposed to do with it…he said, “Well, I was hoping you’d put it on the plane.” They made them deflate the tires because they were worried they’d explode. Luckily, they were too taken aback to realize they could have charged $200 for transporting the bike. Score one for my budget!

Ladies Who Tea

Posted by Dottie at 09:56 travel 4 Responses »

May 022009

5-2-teas2

Forgive the non bike-related post, but I can tie it to cycling by mentioning that later today I will be riding in Chicago’s inaugural Tweed Ride, so I feel like reminiscing about how Trisha and I recently were proper ladies in London having tea at Claridge’s. Well, okay, as proper as two sailor-mouthed Americans taking digital photos of themselves at fancy restaurants can be.

Going International

Posted by Trisha at 09:30 news, travel 14 Responses »

Apr 142009

You may have noticed my Batavus Day countdown ticker inching toward the finish line over there in the sidebar. Yes, folks, Let’s Go Ride a Bike will be going international in just a few days as Dottie and I head for London and then St. Petersburg, Russia. Of course, we’re planning some biking outings during our trip, and hope to be able to share them all with you.

In London, we’ll be checking out the new Cycodelic product line at Topshop.

And of course, on Saturday, we’ll be visiting Littlehampton Dutch Bike shop to have tea with Paul and test ride my long-awaited Batavus…as well as every other bike they have in the shop.