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Spetses: Runaway Tweed
EPITOME insider Despina Pavlaki reports from Spetses during the island's annual Tweed Run, a one-day cycling event dedicated to timeless tweed and riding your bicycle in true 1910's style.
37D 16' 08.24", 23D 09' 18.72"
Coordinates redefined
37D 16' 07.37", 23D 09' 18.08"

The enduring appeal of old fashioned cycling.

You know what I’ll be doing this coming April? I’ll be wearing tweed! Why, I hear you ask. Well, there is a good reason, but mostly because I want to look good on my bike! Style and cycling have been a major issue I’ve had to tackle in the past few months, ever since my partner gave me the worst and best gift I’ve ever received: a road bike! Yes, the kind with the annoying horizontal tube that makes it virtually impossible to wear skirts.

Sunday, April 17th, 2016
20°C, Mostly Sunny
Wear: Wear RL Tweed blazer, Cordings herringbone cashmere tie, Shooting stockings
37D 16' 06.27", 23D 09' 16.10"

All you need is a bike and some tweed to wear!

I’ve been thinking long and hard about this styling conundrum, until I came across the Spetses Tweed Run, the most fun anyone’s ever had on a bike! This lovely rural ride through the chic streets of the most elegant of the Saronic islands is part of a global network established in London in 2009 that shows no signs of waning.

37D 16' 06.27", 23D 09' 16.10"

Poser’s pursuit.

On a designated day in early spring, visitors and locals alike don their Sunday best and take to the streets with their dolled-up two-wheelers for a glamorous tour of the local landmarks, stopping for tea and a picnic along the way. The connecting link between the London event and the island of Spetses was none other than the Poseidonion Grand Hotel adopting the race to celebrate its 100th anniversary. This stunning landmark was initially erected on a whim by Sotiris Anargyros in 1914, a tobacco tycoon with a penchant for hunting. Spending months on location during turtledove and quail season, he decided it was high time the 20th-century jet-set got a stylish place to rest their tired bones after a good day’s hunt, something in the vein of the Carlton in Cannes or the Negresco in Nice.

37D 16' 27.87", 23D 08' 36.56"

The ultimate picnic basket.

37D 16' 27.87", 23D 08' 36.56"

The most stylish bike race wouldn’t be complete without a picnic.

With lodging worthy of their aristocratic background, his hunter friends soon starting bringing along their wives and children, sowing the seeds for a brilliant future in hospitality, even if it all started for rather unusual reasons! The Poseidonion continues to stand tall, a gatekeeper of old-world class and modern-day comfort, that has become intricately entwined with the island’s history. And now it was going to be part of mine.

Credits

Words
Despina Pavlaki

Photos
Courtesy Poseidonion Grand Hotel

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