Bicycle art belongs here. Prepare to be mesmerized.
Sorry for the silence lately, bikey peeps. I have been celebrating the holidays with friends and family. Been an intense year, I'm sure some of you know what I mean.
I've also been really obsessed with crafts, for example - these Jedi snowflakes.
Sometimes there's more to life than riding a bike!
The Bike makes the Man. It's the evolution of our species, and many would argue, the key to our survival. Homo sapiens come in all shapes and sizes. And thus should our tools of mobility.
The sign of a healthy movement is the strength of its diversity from within. This one word - vogue - does not represent one particular style. It does not dictate how you look and how you ride. The way you decide to carry yourself is purely up to you, no matter where you live on this earth, what kind of bike you ride, how fast or slow you ride it, what you put on your body, or your head. This blog is here to honor the rich beauty of our differences.
Part 1 of this edition of Vogue Around The Globe brings you Bike Biodiversity from different corners of our planet, focusing on women (tomorrow we'll bring on the hot dudes - promise).
Here we are at SFBC Winterfest, Adrienne, Melyssa and I re-enacting how we've managed to maintain these bike blogs over the years. We bike. We take pics. We have fun.
If you do the gift-giving holiday thing, then start your holiday shopping tonight with some locally and USA made bike goodies for your special bikey friends! And share a glass of holiday cheer with some great bikey peeps!
I just had breakfast with Nona Varnado (bike fashion designer and founder of the blog The Bird Wheel). Nona is visiting SF this week and will be showing her Made in the USA collection of lifestyle cycling apparel & some multisport (spin, run, yoga) pieces. Rickshaw will be opening the store space to show off the apparel collection along side their current Made in SF line of bags and accessories while hosting the first holiday party of the season!
The Giants experienced a season that many of us would like to forget. It's raining and cold outside. I won't be riding over the bridge in my fall colors today.
And yet, I am still thankful for the same things:
that I am still here
that my body still functions quite well
that I can make a living in San Francisco
that the water I drink and the air I breathe is clean
that I have a lot of love in my life
that each new day is filled with infinite possibilities
Webster defines it this way: a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.
Now I ask, how can you assign a manifesto to a cyclist? When a bicycle represents freedom? A bicycle is a mode of transport that gives you choices. It gives you independence. It lets you turn right or left at a moment's notice. It exhilarates you. It makes you feel timeless.
The bicycle also connects you. Your senses are elevated. You notice the little details. You hear conversations on the corner. You feel the crisp wind on your face. You sense the vibrations of the earth in your bones. You smell the air - or sometimes must hold your breath. You share this unique experience with the person saddled next to you in the bike lane.
So why, when one is manifesting his or her own ability to move freely, would she want to adopt a manifesto, when she alone decides when to switch gears or turn in a new direction, wherever the wind carries her?
Perhaps the manifesto is a concept of the past. How can 7 billion people adopt one manifesto? And is that what we truly need - another set of rules to adopt? Someone else to tell us what we want?
Or is what we need the absence of a manifesto?
For much of our lives, we were told that we need to get a job. Make money. Buy a house. Settle down. Invest in things. And then we grow up, and we may not have any of them. We may have little or nothing of "value."
I've realized that once you subscribe to a philosophy of life, you should be open to the idea that your philosophy could fall short of not just your reality, but more importantly, your dreams. You need to be willing to accept the negation of any train of thought. (The earth, for example, revolves around the sun.)
Perhaps it's time to say goodbye to manifestos. It's time to not define the way things must be.
Stan Engelbrecht and Nic Grobler have spent the last 2 years cycling over 6000 kilometers to collect over 500 portraits of everyday commuters throughout South Africa, and now the Bicycle Portraits project is finally near completion.
They're publishing the best 165 portraits and stories over 3 books. Each of the 3 books will contain 55 different stories, and also two essays each by local South African and major international cycling figures. The books are designed by Gabrielle Guy and they have also collaborated with celebrated South African artist Gabrielle Raaff to create an individual hand-painted watercolor map, based on Google Maps, to indicate the location of each of the portraits.
Help Stan and Nic make this project a reality by pre-ordering your book(s) via their Kickstarter campaign.
Thanks to Fossil Fool, I came upon this video of the recent Occupy SF Music Festival in San Francisco, with the stage and sound system powered by bicycles provided by Fossil Fool and Shake Your Peace - two bicycle powered local musicians.
Way to rock our world.
Also just read this incredible analysis of the Occupy Movement in the Rolling Stone, written by Matt Taibbi. There are many well-put thoughts in his article, including: "If there is such a thing as going on strike from one's own culture, this is it."
But my favorite quote from the article is here: "The relentless sameness of the two-party political system is beginning to feel like a Jacob's Ladder nightmare with no end; we're entering another turn on the four-year merry-go-round, and the thought of having to try to get excited about yet another minor quadrennial shift in the direction of one or the other pole of alienating corporate full-of-shitness is enough to make anyone want to smash his own hand flat with a hammer."
Why write about the Occupy movement here on Vélo Vogue? Because together we can unplug from the system and pedal power our way into a more liveable future.
Greg describes this film like this: "My first video time-lapse using the GoPro HD, biking from San Francisco to Sausalito. 3,000+ photos, shot every 2 seconds, cut with a few video transitions."
Fancy footwork in those fancy yellow shoes, Greg. I like it! Thanks for sharing!
One of the fabulous upsides of cycle chic is the abundant options that have consequently sprung up in the world of bicycle fashion.
photo of yours truly modeling at last year's bike fashion show by Pedal Savvy
Not only do we have bike fashion and lifestyle blogs like this one, but we have bike fashion shows that parade the latest and greatest from bike fashion designers from around the world. And we're not just talking messenger bags and caps anymore. From dresses in bike-friendly non-wicking fabric, to capes and commuter jeans - the world of bike fashion has diversified, as is pointed out in today's article in the NEW YORK TIMES, featuring SF's very own Gwen Lutz of Pedal Savvy, who will be putting on the bike fashion show this Saturday at the SF Bike Expo.
photo of all the models, Gwen Lutz on far left, at last year's bike fashion show by Pedal Savvy
Yes, bike fashion has got its validation. We made the Times. Rejoice!
Some of you may have caught wind of the debate in the world of cycle chic lately, as some cyclist-bloggers feel that being fashionable on your bike - and showing off how you look - demeans and objectifies women.
I disagree.
As a bike fashion blogger, who is also female, when I see photos of women wearing "normal" and "stylish" clothing when riding their bikes, I am inspired by them. You are making not just a fashion statement, but a political statement for the normalization of cycling in our cities.
Sure, you will turn some heads. But I say, own it. You are beautiful. You are bold. We see and hear the statement you are making.
Biking to work is normal. Biking to socialize is normal. Biking to run errands is normal. Biking to sight-see is normal. You don't need any special equipment or clothing to do it.
And that doesn't just go for women cyclists. You men out there are quite inspirational too.
Here at Vélo Vogue, we appreciate not just your beauty, but your intelligence for choosing the healthiest, most sustainable, most enjoyable mode of transportation, and your decision to inspire others with your choices by sharing your photos with us.
