Skirting around

Recently, Bikehugger asked me for a bit of advice dealing with a blog post here titled "I love cycling in a Summer Dress:how do you ride in a skirt and keep your poise". As the co-author of a blog called Bike Skirt, this was right up my alley!

I thought about it all day today as I pedaled around town in a skirt, running errands and meeting friends. Here is what I came up with...

How to ride in a Skirt : a tutorial


Riding in a skirt has its challenges, but is truly the way I prefer to ride year round. Summer you get a nice breeze, fall you can add tights if need be, but never get too hot. Winter is all about tights, over the knee socks and tall boots. Spring was made for riding in skirts. Going for a hard, epic ride in lycra…keep it classy and wear a little cotton skirt on top of the lycra. The skirt offers endless possibilities for riding fashion and function.

However, many women are scared to ride in a skirt. What if the wind blows wrong? What do you do when going fast downhill? What if your bike isn’t a step through (which, by the way, neither mine nor Anna’s are)? Here are the tips and tricks for maintaining your dignity whilst wearing the skirt and enjoying your ride.

1. Pick your skirt- pencil skirts are never a good idea on a bike with no step through. You are looking at it riding up and constantly pulling and tugging. A-lines, looser cotton skirts and mini skirts are best. Long skirts work if you have a skirt guard and chain guard (which I don’t). Dresses are also a great idea b/c you are not worrying about the back riding up too much and showing rear end cleavage (the worst kind of cleavage)

2. How to get on the bike-this is assuming you are riding a regular bike with no fancy step through. Step one: stand to the side of the bike. Step two: squeeze your knees together. Step three: lift your leg, keeping your knees as close together as you can. Standing on your tip toes is also a big help. You can give yourself extra protection by holding the center of the skirt down. Step four: at this point, you should be straddling the bike. In order to keep the skirt down it is best to put one foot up on a pedal. Tilt the bike a bit and you are good to go. Do this all in reverse to get off gracefully.

3. Riding in a skirt-ride as normal, keeping your legs close to the bike (something you should be doing anyway) and keeping one leg down while the other is up during coasting moments. For going downhill, I find that standing up keeps the wind from making you less than modest.

4. Leggings or shorts really help-I will wear a pair of leggings or cycling shorts if I am going a very long distance or am at all uncomfortable. This keeps you covered AND allows the fabric to slide up nicely as opposed to bunching up and riding up uncontrollably. Also-no thongs. This is just asking for trouble. Not to mention, unsanitary. Ick…

5. Have fun-sometimes you will flash. It is inevitable. When that happens, throw your head back and laugh. It really is quite funny! Also remember that with all the biking you are doing, your legs probably look amazing so flaunt them.

I hope this has helped. I am a firm believer in riding in skirts, both for the statement and the comfort. Ride on and feel the breeze in ways that the boys will never fully get to appreciate!!