Well dear readers, one things for sure...Katie Melua had clearly got it wrong when she sang about nine million bicycles in Beijing. They are nowhere near Beijing love, its not a fact. The fact is that they are all here in sunny Cambridge-most of them parked at the railway station to be honest and a fair few in my friend Simons shed (its like a game of two wheeled tetris in there!) but there are also a trillion heading through the city streets shortly as part of the Cambridge leg of this years Tour De France. It's an understatement to say that Cambridge has gone bicycle batty-we've seen crocheted bike frames, tinselled tandems, quadricycles, dicycles and even a childs bike with cheese box wheels! All this passion for the pedal is leading us up to Monday July 7th where we will witness if we are lucky the whizz of some wheels complete with a cohort of smooth legged lycra sporting cyclists of the male variety.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, this year sees our beloved Ophelia join proceedings by decreeing herself as the First Lady Mannequin of the Cycling World. Lets establish quickly that there are no drugs involved and she won't be peeing out the side of her shorts for nobody but you can rest assured that where there is a will there is a way and where there's a mannequin there's a magical day or two of mayhem!
What a glorious cycling tour of Cambridge our Ophelia has had. Enthused by watching fellow celebrity mannequin Dickie MacKay complete stage 3 of the race (video link here), Ophelia, as you would expect, took a rather more varied approach and combined her new hobby of cycling with her long-standing obsession for fashion and gave a little bit back to the world by modelling modern and vintage velo-wear outside some of the great landmarks of Cambridge City Centre. With a cracking photographer on hand (Oliver of Oliver Cross Photography and Music) and a good supply of bicycles from The Bikefinder General himself (Simon), and lets not forget the presence of the general dogsbody and runner (Sam) and muggins here (Vix) who had to do the mannequin manoeuvring (no mean feat from level 11 at the Queen Anne Carpark I can tell you!) a good but rather hot day was had and only one small child was psychologically damaged in the process (upon the opening of the lift doors!!!). We succeeded in fooling and freaking out many members of the public with our ridiculous Tour De France (which may I state is not in France(alone)-nonsensical name!!) shenanigans and hopefully brought a sense of the unreal to the streets of this University City-Reality Checkpoint indeed!
A second day, slightly saddle sore, brought more sunshine and smiles from the general public as they witnessed Ophelia transform into a more vintage version of herself or infact of Sue Perkins and Princess Diana (noted by the Cross family!). She is a marvel that girl-a shapeshifter extraordinaire, she can turn herself in to anyone you like at the drop of a rather garish hat! She rocked the tricolour tweed ensemble and graduated to the gown and mortar board-a must for any mannequin in a city such as Cambridge. And there we have it folks! Ophelia is left feeling uplifted yet unable to sit down (which is just as well since she can't) and our barefooted bicycler is already looking to the horizon for another challenge! Next stop London Marathon? Do feast your eyes below on the fantastic images of Ophelia and her bicycles.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, this year sees our beloved Ophelia join proceedings by decreeing herself as the First Lady Mannequin of the Cycling World. Lets establish quickly that there are no drugs involved and she won't be peeing out the side of her shorts for nobody but you can rest assured that where there is a will there is a way and where there's a mannequin there's a magical day or two of mayhem!
What a glorious cycling tour of Cambridge our Ophelia has had. Enthused by watching fellow celebrity mannequin Dickie MacKay complete stage 3 of the race (video link here), Ophelia, as you would expect, took a rather more varied approach and combined her new hobby of cycling with her long-standing obsession for fashion and gave a little bit back to the world by modelling modern and vintage velo-wear outside some of the great landmarks of Cambridge City Centre. With a cracking photographer on hand (Oliver of Oliver Cross Photography and Music) and a good supply of bicycles from The Bikefinder General himself (Simon), and lets not forget the presence of the general dogsbody and runner (Sam) and muggins here (Vix) who had to do the mannequin manoeuvring (no mean feat from level 11 at the Queen Anne Carpark I can tell you!) a good but rather hot day was had and only one small child was psychologically damaged in the process (upon the opening of the lift doors!!!). We succeeded in fooling and freaking out many members of the public with our ridiculous Tour De France (which may I state is not in France(alone)-nonsensical name!!) shenanigans and hopefully brought a sense of the unreal to the streets of this University City-Reality Checkpoint indeed!
A second day, slightly saddle sore, brought more sunshine and smiles from the general public as they witnessed Ophelia transform into a more vintage version of herself or infact of Sue Perkins and Princess Diana (noted by the Cross family!). She is a marvel that girl-a shapeshifter extraordinaire, she can turn herself in to anyone you like at the drop of a rather garish hat! She rocked the tricolour tweed ensemble and graduated to the gown and mortar board-a must for any mannequin in a city such as Cambridge. And there we have it folks! Ophelia is left feeling uplifted yet unable to sit down (which is just as well since she can't) and our barefooted bicycler is already looking to the horizon for another challenge! Next stop London Marathon? Do feast your eyes below on the fantastic images of Ophelia and her bicycles.
This episode of mannequin madness comes to you courtesy of the efforts of the following people-please do check out the links and give them your support!
Simon Cross (The Bikefinder General, bike sales on Ebay here)
Oliver Cross Photography and Music (@PhotoOliC and on facebook here)
Romsey Retro (for the provision of vintage fashion and props!) (@RomseyRetro of Hope Street Yard, CB1)
Alexis, Alexa and Lynette for coming up with the goods! Sam Cross for being the best wig hand a mannequin could have. Many thanks to all involved!
Before we cycle off in to the sunset dear readers, let us leave you with the most fitting video for the occasion. Known already for their love of mannequins, German electronic geniuses Kraftwerk released this brilliant track in 1983 entitled Tour De France.
Enjoy! (and do let us know all about your TDF adventures!)
Simon Cross (The Bikefinder General, bike sales on Ebay here)
Oliver Cross Photography and Music (@PhotoOliC and on facebook here)
Romsey Retro (for the provision of vintage fashion and props!) (@RomseyRetro of Hope Street Yard, CB1)
Alexis, Alexa and Lynette for coming up with the goods! Sam Cross for being the best wig hand a mannequin could have. Many thanks to all involved!
Before we cycle off in to the sunset dear readers, let us leave you with the most fitting video for the occasion. Known already for their love of mannequins, German electronic geniuses Kraftwerk released this brilliant track in 1983 entitled Tour De France.
Enjoy! (and do let us know all about your TDF adventures!)