‘Dapper’ social cycling event making annual trip through downtown Huntsville

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. ( WHNT ) — If you’re driving near downtown Huntsville on Saturday, see people on bicycles looking like they came straight out of the bygone era and wonder why – it’s the Tweed Ride Huntsville.

Tweed Ride Huntsville , described as a charming fusion of vintage fashion, local history, and community engagement, an annual non-competitive cycling event.

“We were struggling to find ways to connect with the community around us,” says Brandy Baird, Founder of Tweed Ride Huntsville.

In 2011, when Baird and her husband were living in D.C., they attended the Dandies and Quaintrellas Tweed Ride .

“We had the most beautiful day,” she says. “Imagine being in a crowd of 800 happily chatting, fantastically dressed cyclists, riding up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the U.S. Capitol on a crisp autumn day at the peak of leaf season.”

Since then, as a transplant to Huntsville, they have wanted to bring that experience here in search of community.

“I met Frances Akridge in March at a Seed Swap,” Baird says. “In June, I told her I wanted to have a Tweed Ride. Frances then introduced me to the Downtown Huntsville Inc. team and Ben Payment, the leader of Bikes and Brews.”

The idea drew interest, and on November 12, 2017, the first Tweed Ride of Huntsville was born.

They started with 45 riders and have grown since. Still, Brandy focuses on reaching people through affiliated interests rather than growth.

“Tweed Ride travelers, vintage bike enthusiasts, history nerds, vintage fashion lovers, quirky vehicle fanatics, anglophiles, style photographers, cosplayers, those who can be motivated with pastry, and anyone seeking eclectic community,” Baird explains.

Roughly 30% of their riders drive five or more hours one way to participate in the Tweed Ride, “That return, year after year, of both our local and commuting friends is one of my greatest joys in helping to put on this event,” she says.

They have had everything from unicycles to an Elf cab-enclosed bicycle.

The ride covers approximately 7.5 miles and takes about 3.5 hours, starting at Turbo Coffee, then taking one through the edges of downtown over Five Points, stopping at the Times building, continuing to Constitution Village, tooting through the downtown historic neighborhoods to stop for lunch in Big Spring Park West, then stopping at Huntsville Depot, and finishing at L’Etoile Patisserie with pastry and prizes.

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There will be stops for history chats with SueAnne Griffiths of Lily Flagg’s Signal and the Lily Flagg Podcast and Walker Skaggs, owner of Rocket City HEMA and former historical interpreter for the Early Works Museum family of historical sites.

As for the future of Huntsville Tweed Ride, Baird tells News 19 that having pedicabs, trolleys, or any other non-car passenger vehicle available would change the face of the event.

“In an ideal world, I would love to see options open up for the inclusion of people with disabilities or simply inability. A dozen people every year say, ‘I wish I could come, but I can’t ride a bike,’ or ‘I have a condition that keeps me from riding, but I would LOVE to attend.’ On a more frivolous note, I would love one day to see the event culminate in a community picnic party with live music and local vendors. We’ve also discussed having a vintage market in the lead-up to the event for socializing and outfit preparation.”

Brandy Baird

If you plan to participate in the Tweed Ride Huntsville, organizers ask that you sign up and read the Tweed Ride bicycle etiquette here . Check-in is at 9:45 a.m. and the ride begins at 10:30 a.m. and goes until 2 p.m.

The pastry and prizes, including Best Bike, and Best Ladies’ and Men’s Outfits, will be given out after the ride.

According to Tweed Run London, they were the first Tweed Ride that originated in 2009. Tweed Run London had 300 tweed-clad cyclists gathered at the top of London’s Saville Row on a chilly February morning. Since then, Tweed rides have been popping up in Portland to Tokyo .

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