Handbags and glad rags for sexy cycling
This delicious little handbag comes with a designer label . . . not Mulberry, nor Louis Vuitton, but Boardman. Yes, that’s right, Chris Boardman. Believe it or not, this miniature marzipan number carries the tag of the Olympic cyclist, world record holder and, lately, designer and developer of the eponymous bicycle brand. Well, sort of. Here is what happened. Today we enjoyed tea at the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge, hosted by Boardman and his associates. There the assembled hacks were served the most delicate of sandwiches, with all the crusts removed, followed by the most colourful sweets that you could imagine, including the little number above. Pink champagne made this press do more Carrie and the girls from Sex and the City than the launch of a new line of bicycles available from Halfords and its Bike Hut chain.
But that is just what it was. It turns out that the Boardman backroom boys have noticed that women are built differently from men. I don’t mean the fact that they come perfectly formed, and have curves in all the right places (okay, go on then, slap me), but that they have different requirements when it comes to bicycles. So now we have boardman/fi (female informed), a range of bikes with geometry designed specifically for women. The range includes a road bike, carbon road bike, hybrid and hardtail (doesn’t sound that feminine, but live with it), which will be on sale in a couple of months.
Chris did explain what the differences are between men and women, but we were all so absorbed by the confectionary that we missed the detail, so you can check it all out shortly on the Boardman website. But what is most important is the fact the range should appeal to women, the discreet pink detail notwithstanding. And as long as it is another way of getting more people on bikes, I like it. Come on girls, get on yer bikes and keep the revolution going. And congrats to Chris for making cycling sexy.