What lifestyle trend of the late noughties (and now) has so easily integrated the eco, nostalgia, slow, health, hipster, personal style and thrifty movements together but the bicycle (lifecycle)?
Once solely regarded the preferred transportation of choice for residents of Amsterdam, lycra-clad racers in the Tour de France, little tikes in training, dudes with facial piercings, Kevin and Winnie from The Wonder Years and BMX bandits like Nicole Kidman, city slickers and urban dwellers around the world have incorporated the humble bike – and its snazzy and pricey designer offspring – into their lives, replete with wardrobe accessories, tool kits, "saddle snacks" and bespoke magazines, too.
Now into its third issue and published by Green Press, Treadlie ($8.95, quarterly) documents the world of recreational biking, custom design and the lives of 'style riders' across the globe. The book opens with anecdotes of first bike love by contributors and a letter from editor Faith Hunter who recommends, "Layering up in woolly coats, hats, scarves and gloves...to enjoy the crisp, fresh air on a bicycle" this winter.
Director of RMIT's new Design Hub and creative director of Victoria's State of Design Festival Kate Rhodes, and her "Grand 1888, big glossy black Dutch coaster", is on the cover, while other preeminent bike riders profiled and pictured this issue include Sydney expat and exuberant "style icon" Catherine Baba (who rides in dreamy vintage YSL through the streets of Paris to the fashion shows); and Melbourne milliner Richard Nylon and his working partner fashion designer Gwendolynne Burkin.
For those who eschew "flowing skirts, coattails flapping, a scarf tossed carelessly over one shoulder, trailing in the breeze" kind of free-style cycling, there's a story on Cyclocross (CX) racing, while aesthetic enthusiasts might enjoy the feature on pinstriping (fine hand paintwork), Hamish Fitzsimmons' piece on restoring a Peugeot bike for his wife, or Dutch designer Herman van Hulsteijn's Cyclones.
Will Jones' socially conscious piece gives us the brief on two bicycle-based initiatives empowering Africans with self-sustaining businesses (Cycling Out of Poverty or COOP and Craig Calfee's Bamboosero bike making scheme). A travel piece sends us packing to Bali and 'Treadlie Street' introduces us to stylish cyclists from around the world who each reveal riding quirks.
The perfect track to hunt around town on your bike with Treadlie in your satchel? Sarah Bareilles' "Uncharted".
Girl With a Satchel
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