Cycle chic according to the NY Times

[ny biker]

"And most are turning their backs on the once-customary aerodynamic helmets and latex shorts in favor of a look as fetching as it is genteel."

LATEX SHORTS. Yeow.

As expected, bikesnob has his own take (scroll down past the discussion of Contador's miniaturization ray):

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2010...-clenency.html

“I get sweaty a little, but it doesn’t bother me,” she said. Her bike, after all, is a stylish appendage, “a kind of rustic enhancement,” she said.

I always thought that "rustic enhancement" meant holing yourself up in a log cabin with an artisanal axe and a whole bunch of Enzyte, but evidently it's just another term for "bicycle."

[bikerHen]

I feel a little insulted by the tone of those women and Mr. Bliss. But then being raised on the west coast, I guess my style ideas, or lack there of, are a bit different than the east coast. Why does riding a bike have to be a fashion statement. I just don't get it!

I should send them a photo of my helmet, with it's four big crack, after a recent fall. A sobering reminder of why I always wear a helmet. bikerHen

[zoom-zoom]

I feel a little insulted by the tone of those women and Mr. Bliss. But then being raised on the west coast, I guess my style ideas, or lack there of, are a bit different than the east coast. Why does riding a bike have to be a fashion statement. I just don't get it!

I should send them a photo of my helmet, with it's four big crack, after a recent fall. A sobering reminder of why I always wear a helmet. bikerHen

Yeah, I don't get why anyone would ever think that I wear spandex and a helmet as a fashion statement. Why does clothing always have to make a statement--most of what I wear is for comfort and/or safety.

It's like the running skirt thing. I rarely wear skirts. Generally they aren't flattering on me. But I like running in them, because skin-on-skin with a bit of Sport Shield chafes my inner thighs less than skin on fabric on skin. Ever since that piece of running attire emerged there has been someone trying to qualify it as "fashion." Fashion be damned, I just want to comfortably enjoy my running and biking, not obsess over or be distracted by my clothes.

[shootingstar]

I guess for some folks, cycling is a fashion statement.

This type of slight division in the article between cycling streetwear chic vs. cycling clothing clad folks ..is a waste of energy to contemplate.

I do have a more longer response..in a blog article that I will release about my cycling experience in Copenhagen when I was there for a few days. (I'm just debating when to release it.. )

Yes, there are pics..including the chic and not so chic. (I fall in the latter...)

Hey, bikerHelen, the guy who runs the Copenhaganize blog/website often rants about stupid helmet laws, blah, blah, blah, etc. So tiring.

Meanwhile my dearie was knocked unconscious off his bike when another cyclist ran into him this past winter. Yes, his helmet was cracked.

[warneral]

BTW Pam, I'm glad you shared this. It is definitely interesting to look into a slightly-warped, not very accurate representative depiction of NY biking life

[Eden]

That's all terrific if you want to run around and do some errands within a mile or two, somewhere relatively flat flat place with good weather and little traffic.... It might work fine in Copenhagen, NYC - flat places of exceptional density, but isn't necessarily particularly feasible if you need to travel further, live somewhere hilly, have to deal with serious traffic (and I don't mean traffic jams, but rather fast moving heavy traffic that you need to share lanes with) or want to use a bicycle full time - no matter the weather.....

In any case some of us don't wear Prada anything or 3 inch heels even when we're not on the bike...

[Zen]

It would seem the NYT is a little slow when it comes to trends.

[sempronialou]

I feel a little insulted by the tone of those women and Mr. Bliss. But then being raised on the west coast, I guess my style ideas, or lack there of, are a bit different than the east coast. Why does riding a bike have to be a fashion statement. I just don't get it!

I should send them a photo of my helmet, with it's four big crack, after a recent fall. A sobering reminder of why I always wear a helmet. bikerHen

I live in the Midwest where apparently we have no fashion sense according to the media. I like the idea of sending the helmet photo.

When I cycle, I mean business. I sweat, and I like to keep my head intact. Even if I take a quick jaunt to the post office, I'm not there to make a fashion statement, but again I'm not in New York so maybe it's different there.

[zoom-zoom]

I live in the Midwest where apparently we have no fashion sense according to the media. I like the idea of sending the helmet photo.

When I cycle, I mean business. I sweat, and I like to keep my head intact. Even if I take a quick jaunt to the post office, I'm not there to make a fashion statement, but again I'm not in New York so maybe it's different there.

Hello, from a fellow Michigander with no fashion sense and no urge to find any.

[sempronialou]

Hello, from a fellow Michigander with no fashion sense and no urge to find any.

Hello to you too from the east side of the state. I grew up on the west side of the state and still visit there often.

[withm]

Hello to you too from the east side of the state. I grew up on the west side of the state and still visit there often.

Where on the east side? north? south? knuckle?

[channlluv]

Oh my stars. How obnoxious. I wonder what they'll do with all those accessory bikes when the trend moves on to something else. Like, remember when Paris had that little yap-yap in a shoulder bag and everyone (present company excluded) had to have one? I wonder how many of those little dogs have been abandoned. Is there a Human Society equivalent for bikes that just aren't stylish enough anymore?

What the heck are kitten heels?

Roxy

[Selkie]

What the heck are kitten heels?

Roxy

They are shoes for catty chicks!

Each to her own. I'm not into being stylish on or off the bike, but if it makes someone happy to buy this stuff, more power to them. As for the no-helmet thing, that's just poor judgement but I see a lot of non-fashionistas riding around w/out helmets. I'm with Pam--these pieces are hilarious. I love the NYT.

There seems to be a "triathlon" trend here in DC.....can't wait until it dies because these people (mostly posers) make it more crowded at the pool and on the MUTs (most don't take the time to learn proper etiquette for either cycling or swimming---so they are a safety hazard and annoying--which is my beef w/them).

[Crankin]

Kitten heels are low (maybe .5-1 inch) heels that are shaped so they are little on the bottom, like regular high heels, but get wider as they approach the bottom of the shoe. Not a good description, but they are basically low heeled dress shoes, with a somewhat different shape. They first were popular in the forties. I love them, because as a short person, I don't look very good in flats with dress clothes, but these heels are low enough to be comfortable.
I am really surprised at the level of animosity toward "fashion." While I wouldn't ride in the clothes described in the article, so what if someone does? I love fashion, clothes, etc. It doesn't mean I don't also like working hard on my bike and getting sweaty and dirty.

[PamNY]

Even if I take a quick jaunt to the post office, I'm not there to make a fashion statement, but again I'm not in New York so maybe it's different there.

No, no, it's the opposite, I think. I see bikers in regular clothes most of the time. I was really surprised at some of the stuff TE sells -- not that it's bad, just not part of the world as I know it.

The joke about "trend" stories is that they aren't trends at all. The Times, as it often does, has just gotten all breathless about a very few people in a very few neighborhoods.