My friend called me and told me that we should do a fancy bike ride with a newly formed social and fashion group. Well my first thoughts about a bike ride in fancy classical attire were: first, I didn't have anything to wear and second, that I didn't have a bike. We briefly discussed wardrobe ideas, and we figured out something that I could do my eclectic clothing. Of course I figured I could run it on stilts... I checked the route and would probably be able to keep up with the bikes or at least take shortcuts if needed. I reluctantly agreed to attend the 11AM meetup.
Wow there were hundreds of riders in dapper and elegant attire at the start line. Many photographers and reporters had shown up, amazed at the crowd, and it completely stymied the organizers.
Of course the stilts were a big hit. Of the 300+ dandies and quaintrelles participating, I was the only dandy on stilts. The pace was exceedingly leisurely so I initially kept pace with the very front of the group and although many came whizzing past me on the downhill, I never ended up behind.
As Noted by NPR (Slide #7):
"This fellow had no trouble keeping up in his special jumping gizmo"
The Examiner even remarked that:
"One particularly exuberant dandy even jogged the route wearing power stilts crafted out of what appeared to be bicycle components."
(Not a sophisticated reporting piece... at least they got the type of stilts right)
Some video was taken by ReadSetDC, It shows vintage style with power stilts at about 1:42.
Yes, it was fun. People also really liked the hat.
