It has been described as a metropolitan bike ride with a bit of style. And today in London, despite the persistent showers, The Tweed Run celebrated its fifth birthday of its route through the capital.
Traffic in London was diverted for a very different reason today – to let the tweed through!
Riders are expected to keep things traditional in terms of their ‘cycling attire’ as well as boarding a vintage bicycle.
Since its first official race back in January 2009, popularity of the event has continued to grow, so much so that it is now limited to 500 competitors for health and safety reasons.
Enthusiasts declare their interests by entering a ballot, and then the thousands who enter are whittled down to 500.
There was fun to be had on the streets of London today
You can of course cheer on the riders while dressing up in your finest tweed, as shown in these pictures here.
Today’s Tweed Run began at Marylebone High Street at midday, ending at Trafalgar Square two hours late.
The route crossed Regent Street,/Savile Row, Picadilly Circus and the Houses of Parliament.
It was a time for the weekend’s best clothes to be dusted down for today’s Tweed Run
There are prizes awarded at the end of the day which include ‘Most Dapper Chap’ and ‘Most Dashing Dame.’
The success of the UK’s Tweed Run has seen similar events copied worldwide.
Tokyo, St Petersburg and New York are just three cities that have embraced the race that champions everything traditional British.
This year’s chosen charity was the national cycling Charity the CTC who have been protecting and promoting the rights of cyclists since 1878.
