International Women's Day

Tomorrow, on International Women's Day, we here in Ensliga Bergens cykelklubb would like to congratulate all women.

And we would like to big up two great initiatives:

(We borrowed this picture from bikelikeagirl.org. Hope that's OK!)

Bike like a girl! As they write on their homepage: "Bike Like a Girl is about empowerment and inclusion. We want to provide skills which set girls up for success, and that allow them to tackle any challenge life gives them.  Everyone should get the opportunity to discover what can be learned from the simple act of riding a bike." Awesome!

(We borrowed this picture from World Bicycle Relief. Hope that's OK!)

World Bicycle Relief. We have written about them before. It's still not an organisation specifically for women, but it is just fantastic how something as simple as a bicycle can help women go to school, start a small business or provide healthcare. More people should support this.

Happy International Women's Day. Ride safe!

Postgirot Open 1985

You know, I was about to give you a review of the Craft Sportswear cycling gear that I currently own - the X-over Convert Jacket M (labelled as a mountain bike item, but it works just fine for road too), knee warmers and a neck tube. But when I mailed them and asked about their thoughts upon manufacturing their products in China - you know, a totalitarian state that oppresses dissidents, threatens Taiwan and occupies Tibet - I didn't receive a reply. I admit that I'm a sucker for Italian cycling gear, clothes and accessories from Barbieri, De Marchi, Diadora, Nalini, Kask, Santini and so on. They're really good-looking, of high quality and the connection road cycling - Italy just feels right. The fact that they are often made in Italy and that Italy neither oppress dissidents, threatens Taiwan nor occupies Tibet is just a bonus. (Yes, there is racism in Italy too and the Giro d'Italia will start and have three stages in Israel this year, but let's not get into that now.)

But I kind of like Craft too. They're Swedish, at least they're recognising that there are problems with manufacturing products in China, they think about the environment and they use non mulesed wool. (And yes, using or not using wool is another complex question to which I don't feel that I have a right answer. But I'm more than willing to discuss and/or write a blog post about it, so don't hesitate to give me your thoughts!) But since they didn't answer my questions I won't.

Instead I'm going to give you a new part of my series Postgirot Open (memorabilia). And I  apologise to all you who end up here when you do a search on "Postgirot Open" and get a crapload of politics every time. (I just don't seem to be able to shut up.) Now it's 1985, and this is when Postgirot Open started to get a clear graphic profile, and a good one too! This post card is just plain cool.

Other than that there's not much to say, I don't really have any information about the race, except that the winner was Marc Gomez of the team La Vie Claire. Well, I do know that the La Vie Claire jerseys and riders looked awesome. Just look at these guys! First Marc Gomez himself:

(I borrowed this picture from Capovelo.com. Hope that's OK!)

And then Greg Lemond and Steve Bauer. 1980's fashion just might be underrated.

(I borrowed this picture from Rouleur.cc. Hope that's OK!)

Ride safe!