It’s a chilly but bright January afternoon in London. Perfect weather to don my plus-fours, tweed jacket and jaunty woollen flatcap and go for a ride around London. You see, I believe modern cycling is in the throws of a style crisis. All that clingy clothing and bright colours – leave that to superheroes. Much better the merino wool jerseys and cycling capes of yesteryear. 

So it’s in that very spirit of reviving proper gentlemanly attire that I’m on Saville Row for annual London Tweed Run – a social bicycle ride with a bit of style. I’m joined by nearly 200 ladies and gentlemen, all dashingly attired in vintage 1930s and 40s bicycling gear. 

A wave of a tweed flag from the head tailor at H Huntsman & Sons, and we’re off. We’re an awesome sight to behold. Several hundred riders in our tweed finery, rolling down Regents Street on a Saturday afternoon. I’ve rarely had this much fun filtering through traffic as our attire brings smiles to motorists and pedestrians alike. The smiles are returned with polite doffs of the cap. 

The Tweed Run route takes us through Central London across Piccadilly Circus, through Hyde Park, past Buckingham Palace, across Tower Bridge, through The City and ending at The Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club for a well-deserved gin and tonic. Along the way, there are prizes, of course. Best moustache, best classic bicycle (a beautiful 1908 Lea-Francis, since you asked), and awards for most dapper chap and most elegant lady. But the best part of the day is socialising with friends old and new. All-in-all, a most enjoyable (and certainly memorable) day. 

Our little jaunt has spawned a host of imitators worldwide, from San Francisco to Sydney, Chicago to Paris, and an official stateside Tweed Run in New York in October 2009. The next London Tweed Run will happen again in London in March 2010, which leaves you just enough time to contact your tailor.