Cyclists young and old ditched the lycra on Saturday morning in favour of a warmer uniform as the Federation University Tweed Ride made its way through the streets of Ballarat.
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The cool temperature didn’t deter more than 60 riders from taking to the streets of the city’s CBD, with the vintage aesthetic looking right at home among the heritage buildings along Webster and Drummond Street.
Now in its sixth year, the Tweed Ride has become a staple fixture of the Ballarat Heritage Weekend.
Among those who donned the tweed was Ross West, who traveled more than three hours from Foster, near Wilsons Promontory, to take part in the ride on his penny farthing.
Mr West said the art to riding the unusual machines was maintaining your pace.
“Once you get going you’re right, but you can’t go too slow and you’ve got to watch out for any holes,” Mr West said.
Organiser Liana Skewes said the event, which was inspired by some of the great tweed rides in locations such as London and Moscow, felt right at home among the Ballarat streetscape.
“We’ve got the perfect festival for it.”
