It's Always Sunny

I thoroughly enjoy blogs such as Bike Fancy, Lovely Bicycle!, and Copenhagen Cycle Chic. I know they're as much style-themed as they are about bikes, but that is a lot of what I enjoy about them. The emphasis on the person and the bike together. Aesthetics, functionality.

But one thing that always amazes me is how late into the year they manage to wear jackets. Around here, the weather starts to warm up in March and by May, it's full-time shorts weather. God help you if you're still trying to wear long sleeves or pants by June. So occasionally pulling off the "Aesthete and Cyclist" look around here can be a bit of a challenge, if only because we have a summer that lasts 5 months. It's easy to get sweaty and flushed just standing around, and I say that as someone with a lifetime of adaptation to the climate. I do not overheat easily and am generally comfortable with outdoor activities as long as the temperature is sub-100 F. For all those keeping score in MetricLand, that's 37.7 C, and we have a solid 4 to 6 weeks of weather continuously hotter than that every year. It's like living on the surface of the sun.

That being said, I use my bike for transportation and am also fairly vain - I don't always want to LOOK like I came by bike. That is, I sort of enjoy the surprise factor when people see me lookin' good and smellin' good when they find out I didn't drive. Feelin' good is pretty much a constant.

The phrase that really resonated with my I got from the above mentioned Copenhagen Cycle Chic. "Don't dress for the journey, dress for the destination." So that's what I try to accomplish. It has resulted in purchasing my clothes with the thought always in the back of my mind that I'm going to have to ride in this, whatever it is. Because let's face it. It's freaking hot out.

But that being said, there are several things that define Austin and one of them is the local sense of style (as unusual as it can be). One of these days I'll get a camera and ride downtown to take some pictures. Call it ogling, call it inspiration. But I love it when people look good on bikes.