Pedal Nation Fashion

I attended the Pedal Nation PDX Bicycle Show in Portland, Oregon last weekend and it was a blast! The event took place at the Portland Expo Centre and I traveled the I-5 south with Mia & Molly from Momentum Magazine. We had a booth, handed out a huge stack of mags and even partnered with Opus Bicycles to give away a bike at the end of the show. Good times were had by all!

I went down a day early to get riding in this very bicycle-friendly city, met a lot of great people – some of whom I’ve been emailing with for years – and toured the bike industry zone while sampling some of Oregon’s finest ales on that lovely spring day. I’ll put up a short post with some of those shots soon.

Back to the show. Momentum stylist Molly Millar put together 28 looks for the One Fine Day Fashion Show which ran both days. I was there to capture these bicycle-riding folk as they rolled up the ramps and made significant inroads to the cause: you don’t have to look like a cyclist to ride a bike in North America.

Fact is, some of these items are pretty bike specific and cater to a sportier cyclist putting on the miles. Some are made by independent designers who incorporate the bicycle into their daily lives and find inspiration in that. But many of the looks simply hid thoughtful secrets – a jacket cut just the right way for riding, reflective strips you’d only see on a rolled pant leg, wool knickers and vests at home on the pathway or the cafe. Maybe the helmets give it all away – Nutcase was a sponsor after all – but the great thing about shows like this is furthering the ‘normalization’ of riding a bike. It is an everyday activity. All you need is a bike. But with a few pieces of bike-specific clothing you might just be more comfortable – plus inherently more stylish – and, really, no one would know the difference on the city streets.

Here’s a selection of shots from the One Fine Day Fashion Show at Pedal Nation 2012. For a complete look book, I’ll point you to this post on Momentum’s Style Blog featuring my full collection of images and info on what everyone is wearing and riding.

Portland, Oregon, 2012.