Does anyone have any tips for how to cycle in a skirt/dress?

[kellyshenanigans@yeg.bike]

@helenclayton @justip i also have made a sewn solution, invented in the 1800s, involving a series of hidden cords and weights, and detailed in the book Bikes and Bloomers, but I'm guessing you won't want to sew modifications to your skirt(s)

[commonsparrow@mindly.social]

@helenclayton
In the early 1980's I used to ride a bike to work. I worked in a bookstore and frequently wore skirts. They were mostly A-line style or slightly flared, not really full, so less prone to flapping around. Also helped that I rode upright on what we jokingly called the Miss Gulch model bike. On particularly windy days, I used safety pins to take up the slack in the skirt. Lots of safety pins.

[enobacon@urbanists.social]

@helenclayton @Fizzfizzpopop @Greenseer definitely don't want anything tangling your steering, that's a way to cause a crash

[helenclayton@mas.to]

@Kellyshenanigans @justip I’ve been looking at these designs. Definitely not wanting to modify existing frocks but I’d love to have one. That’s fabulous.

[cthw@mstdn.ca]

@helenclayton
Side saddle on an electric …

[nilajones@zeroes.ca]

@Hellybootwader @helenclayton

Is there also kind of a built in jockstrap function?

[huntingdon@mstdn.social]

@Hellybootwader @helenclayton

Imagine Donald Trump trying to gird up his loins in the traditional fashion. Guffaw.

[helenclayton@mas.to]

@NilaJones @Hellybootwader

[nilajones@zeroes.ca]

@Hellybootwader @helenclayton

Certainly that straight sided to make shown in the picture doesn't have that much fabric! But I'm sure people modified it in other ways

[bobjonkman@mastodon.sdf.org]

@helenclayton

This would be another great question for # BikeNite! You can send Bike Nite Potential Questions #BikeNitePQ to Phil @ascentale who relays them on Friday nights (depending on your timezone), and then Fedizen across the globe answer with the # BikeNite hashtag. The answers trickle in all week long, so Bike "Nite" isn't entirely accurate.

[kimu@wandering.shop]

@helenclayton if you pin the skirt front middle to back middle, it turns it a bit into bloomers. A safety pin does the trick for me usually. If the skirt has a lot of volume or is long, this knotting approach has also worked for me in the past: https://bikepretty.com/blogs/blog/how-to-bike-in-a-long-dress

[forth@neuromatch.social]

@SRLevine @helenclayton Lots of good answers here already that I'll have to read in more detail later, but yes - I made fenders with integrated skirt guards this winter out of old plastic campaign signs.

Between those and the low frame of my bike, I can ride with no problem in skirts and dresses that fall to mid-calf, even if they have a lot of fullness to them. I rarely wear anything longer than that, but when I do I'll usually tie a knot in the fabric or gather it up with a hair scrunchie to ensure that it doesn't get into the chain.

I don't have a photo handy at the moment; sorry!

[sister_ratched@toot.community]

@stufromoz @helenclayton @VWDasher Good on your mum!

[knord@mastodon.social]

@helenclayton My bicycling, skirt-wearing partner agrees with many of the commenters: skirt guard. Unfortunately they're hard to come by in North America, but available in Europe and Japan. Some are solid plastic, some are woven mesh, some are wire... there are lots of designs. Here are some ideas on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/market/bicycle_skirt_guard

[helenclayton@mas.to]

@kimu love the blog! I will be experimenting today. Thank you.

[helenclayton@mas.to]

Thank you all for the wonderful tips and suggestions. The fediverse triumphs again. So I’ve been experimenting and will be opting for a full, mid length skirt that I can gather in a knot or hair scrunchie over one thigh. Doesn’t look weird at all either. Not sure it’ll make me any more skilled at riding a bike but at least not any more dangerous!

[helenclayton@mas.to]

@Walkaholic I thought about it but don’t really want to faff about at the other end.