Tweed vs. Mud: A Conundrum

It’s not often I am invited to two parties on the same day. Heck, it’s not often I am invited to parties at all after the “tequila incident”. But the roof was promptly repaired and the cat made a full recovery so let’s move on.

This Sunday is Cyclovia, a downtown street festival celebrating healthy living and active lifestyles. I’m guessing there won’t be any tequila. But there will be all sorts of bike and health-related goodness, like a farmers’ market, spin classes, bike polo, BMX demos and buskers. Hopefully they found some clean and healthy-type buskers, and not the usual ones you see that smell like cigarettes and Lysol.

Of particular interest to me is the Tweed Ride, a leisurely romp on vintage cruisers from the Assiniboine Park Pavilion to Broadway dressed up in your finest knickers and petticoats. Tweed rides happen around the world and are a great opportunity to shine up your vintage cruiser and go for a wee spin. The forecast for Sunday is 30 degrees celcius – perfect tweed weather, yes? Jolly good fun!

BUT…

Sunday also happens to be the first cyclocross race of the season. It will be held in the town of Saint Adolphe, one of several small French towns south of our fair city named after one Saint or another who likely met a grisly demise hundreds of years ago in France. The race is part of Mudfest, a festival celebrating the town’s culture, heritage and feisty nature in the face of several years worth of nasty flooding. Which means there will be no shortage of mud – mud slides, mud pit and even a mudcake breakfast. So you know it’s going to be good. Ian, Hal and the Olympia crew are organizing the race, so you know it’s going to be really good.

You see my dilemma. Dapper or dirty? Moustache wax or chamois cream? Questions for the ages. I think either option is going to be a pretty good bet.