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Midnite Bicycle League Challenge 2020

It is winter up here in the cold north and the general experience at this time each year is the felling of almost sitting inside an freezer with the lid closed. It is chilly and dark everywhere.

It will be at least 3 more months before things starts to get better with warm weather, earlier sunrises, later sunsets with more light. Springtime will be welcomed after a long, dark and cold winter.

During the winter there are not so many tweed events as during the summer. But some snow is no obstacle for a true bicycle rider. There are no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. Tweed are a warm and reliable garment. it is only a matter of getting up on your bicycle, heading out on icy roads, snowy bicycle lanes and trying to keep away from the largest snow banks. Does the winter season mean that all tweed events are set on pause? No, not at all. For example, there is the lovely Helsinki Winter Tweed Run in Finland for example.

If here are no tweed events close to you? Why not join the Portland based Urban Adventure Leagues latest challenge, the Midnite Bicycle League Challenge 2020? I found out about the challenge after following Urban Adventure Leagues blog as well Instagram for a while. A few years agot I was about to join one of his other challenges, the Three speed October challenge. But sadly the three speed bicycle I own does not qualifies for the event. The rules are that the gear must be internal, built in the rear hub. The only three speed gear system I have, is my dangerous and old Versol derailleur system from 1940’s.

But with the Midnite league I can join up and participate with our any worries all bicycles are welcome. I paid the entry fee and received an journal along with a postcard in the mail. In the journal all the rules and specifications for the event were listed, along with some background history of the event. The rules are few and simple:

1, the ride must be at night, between sunset and sunrise
2, the distance ridden must be at least 5 kilometres
3, five rides at five separate occasions with two rides in a week as maximum
4, you got about two months to complete the challenge
5, write a journal for each one of the 5 rides
6, also, include two photos in the journal and return it back for examination

My journal that came in the mail

Living in Sweden during winter months, riding at night (between sunset and sunrise) is no problem at all. After all, the sun sets about 14:30 in the afternoon and rises at 08:00 in the morning during December and January, it is always dark here. That offers plenty of time for riding in the darkness. The 5 kilometres rule is just as simple. A ride into Stockholm city for a hot coco and back makes it at least 8 kilometres. It was really going to be fun to take part in this challenge.

I had asked myself what bicycle should I use on my rides? By coincidence, I had my latest project the Rex Duplex made in 1943, standing in the basement. Complete with a fully working dynamo, that powered power to the front and rear lights. It also have a working bicycle bell, mudguards and more amazing. A working brake!

If the weather had been about -10 degrees below and the bicycle lanes filled with packed snow, the old 1927 Crescent racer with studded tires, had been fun to use. But as it was, rain and about -1 degrees. Mudguards are rather nice to have to avoid splash-ups and other inconveniences.

The bicycle I used for all rides, Rex Duplex from 1943. Rusty, rugged but reliable

I must admit that I fixed the break earlier on the Rex, because sometimes being able to stop might be nice thing to do. Stop at a red light or avoid crashing into an hedge is a few example why a brake might come in handy. Perhaps I will write a short topic in the future on how I slightly improve the braking ability on worn old Torpedo hubs by a simple and old hack. Advancing from having no breaks at all, to having about 23% better possibillety to be able to slow down and sometimes even stop the bicycle while riding.

The first ride of the challenge was a quick ride just to pick up some food from a take away shop. It was raining and not very nice at all. But still, it was the first ride of the challenge and it was fun to start the GPS tracking on my phone to accurately check distance and route when arriving back home.

The second ride was on 13th of December, Lucia day.
Here in Sweden it is a traditional day where we celebrate the saint Lucia and bringing light into the winter darkness up here in the Nordic countries. The tradition is to drink mulled wine and eat saffron buns and gingerbread cookies. A fellow tweedian asked me if we should take a ride together and have some mulled wine along the ride. I brought my old military mess kit to heat up the wine. He had brought along a bottle of Glühwine, now we were off on a midnight ride. It was cold and some places even a bit icy on the roads, but with hot wine and saffron buns waiting it become a nice ride.

A fellow tweedian joined up for the ride

Heating up some mulled wine on an vintage military issue mess kit in the middle of night

A ride in the middle of night on dark roads

The third ride was made in a hurry.
The first snow of 2020, I had to get out on a ride before the workers came along and removed all the pristine snow. I packed a small picnic and headed out. After 10 minutes in the snow the headlight started to flicker, the snow was firmly packed around the dynamo and caused it to slid. It was only a matter of stopping now and then and remove the snow and the light came on again, for a moment at least.

Picnic in the snow and night

For the fourth ride, the fellow tweedian suggested an ride in to the city.
That was a fun idea, I brought along the military mess kit once again. This time we made pea soup, a classic hot dish when being outside in the winter. We ended up on Riddarholmen with Stockholm city call as a backdrop, firing up the old mess kit while wondering when the police should turn up, questioning us what we were doing there, boiling soup in an old military mess kit in the middle of the night? In the ned the police never turned up.

It was a bit windy at the water front, but the pea soup and a further ride in to the old city made us soon warm again.

An odd place to have an odd picnic, it was nice even when I spilled pea soup on my jacket.
I guess that is a part of the experience of midnight challenges in the winter

On my fifth and final ride I decided to take a slow ride and really enjoy the calm midnight ride.

This time, I packed some sandwiches, hot water to make tea and gingerbread cookies that were leftovers from the Lucia ride. While sitting on the bench and having my picnic, I listened to my “Smoke rings” playlist on Spotify, it is a 31 hour long playlist with European jazz and dance band music from the 1930s and 1940’s. It was peaceful and nice to sit there and listen to music in the middle of night. A good ending to a fun and nice challenge.

At these times with the pandemic going on, a challenge like this is a perfect event that allows everyone to ride on their own, filling out their journals, adding photos and perhaps write one or two posts a blogs or post photos on Instagram. Just like the #solotweedride event, it becomes an interactive, an digital social event it its own way.

I read somewhere that we were about 100 riders around the world that had joined the Midnite Bicycle League Challenge 2020. It is very impressive, riders all over doing tasks in a joined event, while being on their own. The opportunity for international participants to join are amazing. It really becomes an international community where the bicycle is a mutual interest.

Riding in middle of the night creates photo opportunities

My five rides went without any problems. The old Rex turned out to be a really good bicycle, never letting me down even when riding in snow. It was also a good thing, an excuse to get out and having some fresh air in the evenings. In fact I found it so soothing and relaxing that I even took longer rides than needed. Some of the rides without any destination, only out and about on a bicycle, packing a picnic set up and having a quiet rest somewhere.

The week after I completed the challenge and sent my journal to Portland in a letter. The real winter came to Sweden. Heavy snow and really cold nights, with classical postcard views all over. Snow covered trees, icicles all over. Typical. It would have been fun with real winter photos for the challenge. Posing for a photo in snow covered tweed, that would have been a great addition to the journal.

But lastly, if there will be a Midnite Bicycle League Challenge 2021, sign me up. This was really fun, thank you for creating this great event!

Happy tweed!

2 Comments

by schneebremse on January 18, 2021 • Permalink

Posted in A bit of this and that, Articles, bicycle, bicycleblogg, bicycles, causerie, chronicle, Humour, travel, travelblog, tweed, Uncategorized, vintage, weusetweed

Tagged 1943, bicycle, bicycles, bike in tweed, Midnite Bicycle League Challenge 2020, old bicycles, photo session, Rex duplex, Schneebremse, stockholm, travelblog, Urban Adventure League, veteran, vintage bicycle, vintagebicycles, we use tweed, winter

Posted by schneebremse on January 18, 2021

https://schneebremse.wordpress.com/2021/01/18/midnite-bicycle-league-challenge-2020/

Spring cleaning

It was a long winter!

That is not a problem for us with bicycles. You can ride a bicycle and enjoy the cold, but fresh air while avoiding ice patches and cars that are stuck in the snow and skidding along. A lonely winter road with packed snow as road surface is just lovely.

But sadly that kind winter wonderland roads are scarce when living in a large city that are filled to the limits with cars, lorry’s and people rushing around all the time. Perhaps the first week after a heavy snow storm it might be lovely snowy roads in the city. But as soon as the road crews are out with their sanding machines, the before snowy white winter wonderland roads turns into large swamps of grey melted slush.

Seen in the city, a brave motorcycle rider defies the elements

They spread the sand on streets, pavements, cars, people and forest paths. The sand is everywhere! On the main roads they also use salt. Road salt that melts the ice so the cars got good grip. It works!

But when it is cold the snow do not melt, instead it turns in to boring, grey, salty slush. Riding a bicycle in that kind of slush is not fun at all. First of all, the bicycle tires are not made for that kind of artificial road surface. When the snow is packed it is all just fine! But when having to cruise in 10 centimetres thick greyish swamp-ish slush that are covering roads it is a different matter. The tires just keeps digging down into the slush, snow and ice.

A ride in the first days of spring

The slush get stuck on everything, wheels, mudguards, luggage rack, clothes, its is everywhere. The really sad part is that the salty grey slush also corrodes metal quick! That is really quick! After riding in that kind of poisons slush the important thing is to wash the bicycle with water and keep it stored inside rather quickly.

After the Helsinki Tweed Run my two bicycles was covered with a thick layer of that corroding grey salt slush. I do not have any place to wash the bicycles so all I did was wiped them fairly clean with a cloth right away after arriving home again (the cloth turned black after the wiping). My intention was to ride the bicycles one at the time to a car wash at an petrol station nearby. They have separate stalls for car washes where you wash your car by hand. You pay a fee and get to use the wash equipment for a limited time.

Just finished washing the 1956 Hermes at the petrol station.

As soon the snow melted a bit and it was relative dry outside. I took the bicycles for a ride to the car wash. I guess many of the car owners raised their eyebrows a bit when they saw me standing there washing a old bicycle instead of a car.

I covered the sensitive parts on the bicycles like saddle, handlebar grips, headlights and cranks with old plastic bags. After that I covered the entire bicycle with a cleaning agent and then washed and rinsed it all with water. Final treatment in the wash was to use a new cloth to dry the bicycle and polish the chrome/nickel parts.

1938 Wiklunds, Nordstjärnan (Northen star) got a well deserved wash. Not the Helsinki tram rails rust on the front tire. That will never go away. A visible memory an an fun event.

After cycling home and enjoying the first warm rays of spring, I dismounted the wheels and greased the axles and bearings with new grease and a drop of oil where needed. Even the spring to the stand was creaking after all corrosive salt slush from the winter. It got cleaned and lubricated with a drop of oil.

Polishing and cleaning. That is a spring event. A sure way to say good bye to the winter and greet the spring welcome.

Badly parked after the wash, the Hermes is placed inside until warmer weather

Nordstjärnan in the sunlight

Springtime for Tweed

It has been a while since I last wrote here. Well, as usual I have no good excuse for not writing. More that laziness and that the weather has been bad (says the fellow who wrote an article about riding a bicycle in Helsinki in the middle of February).

That is true, but can I say to my defence that I actually had nothing interesting to write about? After all, reading about bicycles and more bicycles can be a bit boring for you. Considering that I once stated that the motto of this blogg was “my view of things around me”. Then the question is, how difficult can it be to write things that are around me? Strangely, not difficult at all.
But, what can I write to still keep the level of my writing style? I can of course write political articles, reviews of things that I tried. I could write endless posts about movies, music, life and so on. But would I like to do that? Strangely, yes and no.

the sticker from Helsinki tweed run is still there

If I started a long time ago and kept it all under one roof, all writings, thoughts and articles collected here under this blogg. Then it would have be a great collection of my views. An time line over what I, as a person, was developing. Different interests and ideas over the years. But after starting this blogg rather recently. I realized that I wanted to keep it clean, no statements other that “tweed is nice” and “vintage bicycling is the bees knees”, you get the point. An sort of silly, harmless writing about things that offends no one. That is what we really need at this day and age. More harmless silliness about nothing.

So here I am, writing about old bicycles and Tweed hoping that I offend no one.

In fact, now when writing about it. I realize that I never have written anything about tweed it self, the cloth. All my experiences of the cloth with stories from my early teens up to the present. The change in fashion and other ideas all over but how tweed always was important and why a grey herringbone tweed was important for me. Could that be something for you to read?

Or I could write about my ideas for a new bicycle project that I have been thinking of for many years. Once I had an old Swedish military bicycle from the 40’s. Sadly it was in a pretty bad shape and was later even stolen. But today, I would really like to get one again and this time really try to get it in good working order. It would be fun, they are heavy, but reliable!

I can also now officially let you know that I have an vision to participate of 5 different Bicycle Tweed Rides/races/runs this year. That vision brings me to the issue of bicycles in general. After all, I really would love to only have one good vintage bicycle that I could use and participate in different Tweed Rides. But as now, I had different bicycles in every event. There is more articles to write about. In fact, when thinking about it. I have no time to do something else than writing. The questing is how to earn money on writing?

To something completely different. The weather today was an lovely day in the spring with lots of sunshine and chirping birds. In short, it was a perfect day to take the 1956 Hermes bicycle for a ride. I have not moved or looked at it since my return from the Helsinki event, I have not even cleaned it yet. But still the tires had full pressure, nothing on the frame was loose.
I brought my tweed jacket and took a ride. It went smooth as silk. They knew how to make great bicycles back then.

the weather was perfect for an ride with an vintage bicycle, springtime

Happy Tweed!

Bike in tweed, 2016

The day we had waited for had come, it was time for Bike in Tweed 2016. We were three fellows in tweed that had decided to meet at 9’a clock in the morning outside an local bakery shop for our traditional breakfast before the start of the event. The staff at the bakery must have been surprised when three gentlemen in tweed suits looking as they came from the 1940’s was entering the their shop and starts to order sandwiches and drinks. Fashionable as can be! But we got many possitive comments on how great we looked.

We had a quiet talk about the events during the day while eating an fresh breakfast sandwich. We talked about meeting familiar faces once again and all the happy smiles from the bystanders that will stop and look along the way. The spirit of the event, with music and lots of great bicycles and well dressed people, it was going to be a great day! After the breakfast we all mounted our bicycles and started the ride into the central parts of Stockholm, the old town and Stortorget to be precise. The sun greeted us welcome to the city when we were riding over the bridges and enjoying the view.

The view when we were close to the starting point at Stortorget

There we were, three gentlemen in tweed on vintage bicycles along new bicycles and everyday commuters, we got lots of curious looks and smiles. When we got closer to the old town, more and more vintage bicycles with riders also dressed in tweed were visible, we were on the right way to the meeting. When we all were walking the narrow alleys pushing our bicycles, many tourists looked puzzled and took photos of us. It must have been a strange sight for them.

The registration for the participants opened at 10 a clock, we were there on time and recived our starting numbers and a bag of things, that included a package of biscuits and an map of the route around Stockholm that we were going to ride. After some talking with the other riders it was time for the traditional photography. Every rider had their photo taken for the start gallery and to document the clothes and the bicycle. There was 166 riders so it took a while to take all photos and register all of us. Then there was the adventure of trying to make room for all vintage bicycles, curious tourists and ourselves on the old square. It was a challenge, but it was fun! Many curious people came forward to take photos and ask what we were doing while we were having a cup of tea and a biscuit.

Tourists and curious bystanders are looking on our clothes and bicycles

Between all photos, the tea and biscuits we were having in the sun, we talked with other tweed riders and had a really great time. Suddenly the church bells announced that the clock was 12’a clock and it was time for start. Bike in Tweed 2016 was on its way! Laughs, cheers and good luck wishes from tourists and bystanders followed us all along the way to the starting point next to the royal castle where we formed a slightly chaotic starting grid. Then the signal came from the leader, we were off for a 20 kilometres ride around the city of Stockholm.

Along the way, the group with all 166 riders was very scattered and formed many small groups. Due to the sheer amount of riders it was impossible to keep a tight formation during the ride. Red lights on the streets, cars and buses scattered us all, so we were in groups of 10-20 riders instead of an united group. Fortunate there were some planned round up places for us to all get back together as a unit during the course, that was necessary and was a good move by the designer of the route.

After rounding all up, we continued our ride and headed to the open air theatre at the “Rålambshovs” park and the picnic we always have there. The break was really needed, after all. It is very hot to ride up and down the hills and bridges of Stockholm with a heavy three piece tweed suit from Harris Tweed. While wearing a hat.

The cucumber sandwiches and lemonade that the events sponsor Hendricks Gin offered tasted really great, it was just the bees knees for us tweed riders. Many riders had also their own food and drinks in typical baskets, some had wine and real china with them to eat on. Others, like me had some sandwiches wrapped in paper. Just as they use to do it in the olden days when having a picnic. My sandwiches were made by slices of Skogaholms loaf, that is an classic. Of course topped with the equally classic “cognacsmedwurst” sausage. Every child have had those sandwiches on field days since 1945. Instead of the bottle of milk we has as kids, I brought along a bottle of beer. It was just perfect for the Bike in Tweed picnic.

At that time we also were having our group photography taken. Every rider was standing by their bicycle and an photo was taken of us all as an memory. We were also taking photos on each other, our clothes and bicycles, all the lovely hair creations and all great tweed suits. So many photos!

Time for the group photo

Then we were off again! Out and around the streets, out into the traffic, up steep hills, trying not to crash into each others when taking narrow corners in construction zones. All 166 of us together on bicycles had to get along with with cars, pedestrians and everyday cyclists. There was some talk about the unfortunate choice of route for the event. Many walkways we took was very narrow and steep. This year I was riding a single bicycle, not a tandem. For me it was very easy to get around the course. But I felt sorry for those brave tandem captains and stokers. The captains trying to manoeuvre those heavy battle cruisers true the narrow nooks and crannies of walkways between roadworks and hedges. It puts the captain to test with navigate and planning the ride.

Narrow and tricky rout challenged the riders

Then we all arrived at the end destination, the goal of Bike in Tweed 2016 event. The finish line was located this year at Armémuseet (Military museum). They let us use their courtyard as a collection point, but also so we could have a price ceremony. There were speeches about the day and prices were given to best dressed gentleman and lady, the best looking bicycle. A special price went to the gentleman who joined the race in a bicycle car that was built after drawings from the -40´s. Hendricks Gin, the sponsor, treated us with Gin and tonic after we all had made it to the finish line. Later on during the price ceremony Hendricks Gin had an special award for the most unusual rider.

Just before the price ceremony there was live music, we all sang along and had fun.

Hendricks Gin and sandwiches.

After mingle and talking with everyone many of us had signed up to join the after party with dinner at Hasselbacken restaurant out on the island of Djurgården. It is a famous old restaurant where we had a stop last year. We arrived there 30 minutes later on our bicycles and parked them on the grass and sat down at our tables, looking at all vintage bicycles standing under the trees. The evening followed with drinks, food and laughs.

Later that evening we had to ride our bicycles home. 14 hours after I mounted my bicycle and left for the breakfast, I was back home again and parked the bicycle in the storage.

It was a great day, all I can say is:
See you all next year!

Malmö Tweed Ride 2016

Welcome back dear reader! How has your summer been? Way to hot when using tweed I guess. Perhaps even to hot for riding an old bicycle with no gears and wobbly wheels? But now when the weather are cooler and the autumn is around the corner it is time to take the old tweed suit out in the fresh air.

Different unplanned things happened this summer, but other things did not happen as planned. For example my bicycle projects I mentioned earlier did not happen. The Monark racer is still standing in a corner collection dust, the black Hermes frame and all the belonging parts is still in parts. The Pelago Path racer I built a few years back are about to be sold. The reasons for all those things are equally simple and silly.

First is the reason that I feel stressed out due to the lack of space for building and renovating old bicycles. Then there is that racer style bicycles is killing my back when riding them. I can simply not sit leaned forward on a bicycle for a long time. So why have bicycles around that I do not use? Better to sell them and save money to a bicycle that I can use without problem.

But to one thing that happened that was a fun event! Saturday the 3rd of September 2016 the 4th annual “Malmö Tweed Ride” was held. It is like the “Bike in Tweed” event in Stockholm, or like the “Tweed Run” in London. It is a gathering of people that loves old bicycles, tweed clothes and likes to dress up. I was there with my old Hermes from 1956.

We all gathered at Gustav Adolfs torg (square) in central parts of Malmö around noon. I was there and noticed many tweed riders joined from all streets leading up to the square. The weather was perfect for us, cloudy with a bit of sun from time to time. When the time was 13:00 the announcer greeted us welcome, it was time to register and each rider would receive a pin. It was a pin that shows that you were a participant of the race this year. Well, race is perhaps the wrong word, a run or parade, perhaps even an show and gathering while riding mostly vintage bicycles in a calm speed across the town is more accurate. So we all could enjoy the surroundings and all the lovely bicycles in the parade.

2016 Malmö Tweed Ride pin on a tweed suit lapel

After receiving our pins, we all formed a starting line and we left Gustav Adolfs torg for a ride along the old city of Malmö. People cheered and waved to us along the streets. Many was happy and asked us what it was all about, old persons talked about how they used to have an bicycle, just like the ones we were riding, when they where young. With a smile and a nostalgic look on their faces they watched us making noises with our bells and horns along the way.

The ride went around Malmö for a while before we had a stop at Västra hamnen (West harbour) where the old mechanical warehouses was located and was nod demolished for new buildings and developments. It was a large place at the water front where the sponsor Hendricks gin served us lemonade and cucumber sandwiches. Tasteful and refreshing in the last of the summer sun rays! There was music during the rest, an gentleman played jazz records on a old gramophone, complete with funnel and crank. It was really nice to sit and listen to old crackling 75 rpm records and drinking lemonade.

A good selection of music played on a real gramophone

Time to start again

After the break there was time for the group photo, we all were directed to sit in a group on the board walk. After the photographers was happy we all went for our bicycles again and started the final leg of the run. The path we tool led us down to the sea side and the new land mark in Malmö, the “turning torso” tower, it is an apartment house with 54 floors. Impressive and we where riding just at its base and entrance. Then we took the roads back to the central parts of Malmö where we all ended up in Folkets park “the peoples park”, it is the oldest peoples park in Sweden. It was founded over 120 years ago.

When arriving there we all received a drink ticket from Hendricks gin, non-alcoholic alternative were available to! Then it was mingle and chatting with all the participants. We all sat on the dance floor in old furnitures and listened to Svempas Swinging Trio, an jazz trio that played old standards in a really refreshing way. Lots of energy and joy! There was a small vegetarian buffet that was really nice after the long ride we just finished.

After the food and mingle it was time for the prize ceremony. Best dressed lady, best dressed gentleman and the best looking bicycle. Hendricks gin had also the special prize “the most unusual award”. It was a great evening and an perfect ending to a fun and nice day in Malmö. Friendly people and an great atmosphere an flawless organisation and arrangement! Good briefing of the guidelines and that there was an bicycle repairman in the parade, but most important an medic that was scanning the parade all the time. In short it was a great event!

I lift my cap for you and we will see you all next year!

1 Comment

by schneebremse on September 5, 2016 • Permalink

Posted in A bit of this and that, Articles, bicycle, bicycles, Culture, drink, food, hermes, Humour, Journalism, photography, retro, social media, Transportation, tweed, Uncategorised, Uncategorized, vintage, weusetweed

Posted by schneebremse on September 5, 2016

https://schneebremse.wordpress.com/2016/09/05/malmo-tweed-run-2016/

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