There are 9 million Bicycles in Beijing, but how many are Pink?

Every so often our class is given a task or competition outside of the curriculum, usually set by someone cool in the industry.

Retro inspired fashion label Red or Dead teamed up with Raleigh to create a line of fashion bikes for those who still like to look sexy while they sweat (like those people in a silver leotard on the treadmill at the gym!) To accompany the launch of the bikes at a PR event in Kingly street, we were asked to "pimp" a helmet - the only stipulation being the madder the better.

It is rare to get a brief that encourages complete creative freedom, so we all went a bit crazy, especially as Red or Dead and Raleigh were offering a prize of a brand new bike for the winning helmet! My favourites were Victoria Borg who produced a silver sculptured raver face with headphones (my description doesn't do it justice - it was spectacular!) and Laura Baker's who's was like an actual car with wing mirrors and everything! Both helmets should have won but broke en route to the event so somehow my Chinese inspired helmet covered in false grass and calla lillys, a big chinese paper umbrella out of the top and a laughing Buddha for good luck won me one of the amazing bikes on show at the event.

In light of the fact that I enjoyed more than my fair share of the wide array of cocktails on offer it would have been against health and safety to let me ride my bike home (even with my very lucky Buddha helmet.) So the sponsors kindly sent it to me with the request that I take a couple of shots of the bike for them.

Mel and I did this happily and got the bike out in the rain on the weekend and took a few photos. There was a group of morose looking people drudging through the rain in all black under black umbrellas. We were sure to zoom past them extra fast. There is something about a pink bike that brings back nostalgic memories of heading straight for the biggest puddles instead of trying to avoid them. So with this bike comes a new motto - we are going to stop trying to avoid the puddles the rain brings in life because there is something incredibly freeing about heading straight for them and just getting soaked!

              

Thanks so much to Red or Dead for the fun challenge, the lovely cocktails and the amazing new bicycle. Now I just have to find a more socially acceptable helmet... 


***All photos from the press event courtesy of Red or Dead