Cycling to a formal event

[lph]

Every now and then somebody posts here wondering if it's appropriate to cycle to or wear cycle-friendly clothing at a formal event. I had to think of TE when I saw this photo. Oslo isn't really a particularly bike-friendly town, but here is Oslo's mayor, in a snappy suit, attending the funeral of the king's sister, princess Ragnhild, at the Royal Chapel... doesn't get much more formal than that!
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[Melalvai]

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Check out their matching sneakers

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We were the only ones with helmets (and as you can see for the photo op, she didn't even buckle hers--she did for the actual ride).

My write up of my brother's bicycle wedding procession:

This weekend I rode in a bicycle procession led by my brother and his bride on a tandem from the wedding to the reception.

Katie and Jon enjoy road biking and mountain biking. They’ve ridden more than one century. So the theme of their wedding was bicycles. The wedding invitation had a sketch of a tandem bicycle. Katie’s mom used paper printed with bicycles to make the paper flowers. The cake decorations were bicycles. Katie wore black & white plaid sneakers with her wedding dress. Jon had matching sneakers and a matching tie. Their sneakers were embroidered with “Katie and
Jon”. The best man and maid of honor also wore sneakers. (Everyone else biked in high heels and dress shoes.)

My sister decked out the tandem with cards in the spokes, streamers, and “JUST MARRIED” balloons. She passed out plastic whistles to all the cyclists. Katie hiked up her dress to get on the tandem—her boxer shorts matched her sneakers!

My striped helmet hat went perfectly with my polka dot dress. We followed the tandem with its fluttering streamers, balloons, and wedding dress, blowing whistles, ringing bicycle bells, and honking air horns. Passersby loved it. Drivers honked and pedestrians clapped and shouted.

It was a lovely wedding and a beautiful bicycle wedding procession.

[Atlas]

That's pretty neat lph. Is the couple in front of the mayor wearing bunads? If so, that's really cool that people still wear them to important events.

Melalvai, I want to be a part of a bike wedding someday.

[lph]

Yep, both the couples in front of him are wearing bunads. You can wear them to any formal occasion and I get the impression that especially female politicians wear them a lot, maybe to spare themselves the invariably snotty comments from the fashion police... Can't argue with some hundred years of tradition, no matter how unflattering it might be.

Melalvai, I loved your write-up of the wedding! Put a big smile on my face :-)

[malkin]

I love both the bike wedding and the bike funeral!

[Melalvai]

Is it morbid since you posted this that I've been thinking, "I hope my (decades from now) funeral involves a bike procession"?
Have the mourners bike from the service to the cemetery.
I better choose cremation; they can stuff the urn in a pannier. It would be tricky to tow a casket by bike.
Can't come up with a socially acceptable way to ensure nice weather for it though!

[nuliajuk]

When I was shopping for road shoes a few years ago, the Sidi model that fit me best came in three garish choices: white with purple and blue metallic flowers, candy apple red patent leather look, and shiny black patent leather look. I chose the black as the least gaudy and feel that now I can ride my road bike to any formal occasion. Provided it's between Labour Day and March 30th, of course.

[Rebecca19804]

[QUOTE=Melalvai;658279]It would be tricky to tow a casket by bike.[QUOTE]
We did it for my friend Barry last summer:
http://lcc.org.uk/articles/family-colleagues-and-friends-say-farewell-to-legendary-campaigner-barry-mason
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericgauster/sets/72157627024383807/with/5916360187
His son Sam and 2 good friends took turns riding the cortège bicycle.
The most beautiful and moving funeral I've ever attended.

[Melalvai]

I absolutely love the funeral procession. And all the bikes with funereal flowers. How beautiful!

[lovelygamer]

I rode my bike to a funeral this past summer. I didn't dress in my nice clothes though because it was 100 degree weather. I changed in the chapel.

[shootingstar]

I haven't done cycled to any funeral yet. I'm not so sure I look forward in whatever transportation mode, to the funeral of whomever I will know.

Here is my partner chugging up a 12% hill with his mother's ashes in his panniers. Cycling to the airport (a 12 km. ride) where later they buried her ashes in another province. He did have to present the certificate about the urn of ashes. The airport official was not fazed. I guess it was not totally unusual to them.

A large chunk of this ride is through some pleasant residential streets. It was a beautiful fall day.

She was a lovely, gentle lady and it was a good mother-son relationship.

[Jaclyn]

A few years ago one of our long-time bicycling club members died, and his son - a former club president - asked that we a) wear our club jerseys to the funeral, and b) bicycle to the funeral. It rained, so almost everyone drove, but many were wearing their club jerseys. His bicycle was in the church lobby. We bicycled there on our tandem so were not only in cycling gear, but in wet cycling gear. We felt a bit awkward taking our seats in the church, wet, but it turned out to be the right decision.

We rode directly behind the hearse on the short ride to the cemetery, leading the rest of the procession of mourners. It was a sad but meaningful day.

I can't remember how many of his relatives and friends (including his wife, who had ridden many miles as stoker with her deceased husband) told us that we'd brought a lot of comfort to them that day by riding our tandem to accompany him on his last journey.

PS Yes, at our wedding our guests rode with us on our first ride as husband and wife after the ceremony. I'm sure they will do the same for our funeral.

[shootingstar]

One would hope that any long time cyclist would be pleased that they would be remembered by a bike ride to their funeral or some time during that day. For my partner, it was an unscripted memorial ride (since it wasn't part of any formal funeral) yet the best way he could probably deal with his grief.... a bike ride, cathartic and contemplative.