Mark Stevens

A welder and restorer of stained glass windows by trade, cycling enthusiast by heart. Mark Stevens is the quintessential gentleman ready and impeccably dressed for any jaunt, come rain or shine.

Name: Mark Stevens
Profession: Welder and restorer of stained glass windows.

Over the years, you've taken part in the Harris Tweed Ride, and this year you've commissioned a new cycling suit. Where did the ideas come from for it? And where will your future cycling plans take you in it?

The new suit was inspired by my old 1930s suit. I found it in a garage sale in Notting Hill. I paid 30p for it, which was a fortune in 1983. I was delighted to find it fitted without any alteration. I thought that Stewart Christie would be the people to go to for a replica. Hopefully the new cycling suit will garner some orders from enthusiasts. We also have plans for a specific motoring suit for vintage car drivers. This will have a denser wind proof weave. The old suit was a major disappointment at first. I bought it before I had any enthusiasm for old bicycles. I thought I would cut a dash out on a New Year's Day shoot in the Highlands. I stepped outside and instantly regretted it as a bitter East wind roared around my nethers. I went in and changed and realised you could see daylight through the weave. Years later, someone gave me some old Holdsworth Cyclist Aid catalogues from the 1930s in which were pictures of smartly dressed cyclists in suits and plusses. The penny dropped, it was a Cycling Suit. I needed the opinion of a professional tailor, so I took it to show Vixy and Dan. Dan was able to point out various features that made it very likely. The extra width across the shoulders to enable you to reach the handlebars being one. Reinforced sides and back to the trousers with a deep sweatband. These features plus some modern twists will find their way into the new suits.

I hope to ride Eroica Britannia in it next July. Perhaps Goodwood Revival too where we can show it to potential customers.

The mustard hose and the printed scarf gave a wonderfully modern twist to a classic look. Was the scarf an eastern twist?

The mustard coloured hose were given to me by the Librarian at Christ's Hospital in Sussex. They are part of the school uniform. They are suitably oil stained. The neck attire is a Japanese 'Tenugui'. A piece of dyed cotton cloth. The history of Tenugui goes back to the Heian Period, AD 794-1192, when they were used in Shinto rituals. They are used as neck wear, head wear, wiping cloths, bandages, gift wrappings and as business cards. Go look at http://kamawanu.co.jp. I bought mine in Tokyo last year. My 1940s flying goggles have yellow lenses to match the socks...

We believe congratulations are in order for earning joint first place for your ensemble this year. Who shared the honour with you?

I was joint first with Hamish Campbell. Hamish works for the props department at Netflix, so I suspect he had a lot of outfits to choose from. He's currently on the Isle of Skye filming a series about Rob Roy Mcgregor. I was tempted to go and be an extra. He said that the poor devils were having a horrible time, out in all weathers, up to their knees in bogs, ticks and midges.

Did you have a favourite stop in this year's Glasgow ride, and were you supplied with interesting concoctions at each stop?

Oh yes, the favourite stop. We left the Barras and had a long ride along the River Clyde then cut up past the SEC. The Comic Con was on and there were lots of folk in Cosplay outfits, Iron Man, Batman, Beetlejuice, etc.. One stopped and looked at us Tweedsters and said, "Your dressed funny!"

The next stop was The Crabshack. I was hungry and had never really appreciated Oysters until that moment. Eating an oyster with a drop of Tabasco and a squeeze of lemon on a damp Glasgow pavement, wearing damp Tweeds has to be a defining gustatory moment.

What has been your most memorable ride? If you could choose the most ideal riding location and route, season and riding partner, what would you choose?

Most memorable ride? I rode a Veterans Cycle Club event in the old suit and this ancient cyclist said, "Cor you've made my day you have! You're wearing the Crack dress of the 1930s." Back then the star riders were called "Cracks".

One of my favourite rides is along the north shore of the Beauly Firth, especially in the Autumn. The colours of the trees and the dry leaves crackling beneath the tyres. A small group of ten or less, all in suitable vintage outfits and on period correct bikes.

In today's modern world, cycling has become less gentlemanly and more a fashion sport fad, with Lycra clad weekend warriors on mountain bikes, and those who have disregard for both pedestrians and traffic...what is your pet peeve when it comes to modern cyclists?

I lived in London for many years and cycled to work. I was one of those militant cyclists back in the 80s who would go on Critical Mass and Stop the City rides. Looking back, I was probably upsetting a lot of motorists. Nowadays, I go on a Veteran Cycle Club ride and the bicycles are wonderfully turned out, but most of the riders look like sacks of potatoes. Conversely, I go on a Tweed Ride and the riders are stylish and immaculate, but the bikes are rickety old crates that need their mudguards tying on with strips of Tweed. You know who you are!

The recent discovery of two Blackrock Cycles catalogues was very exciting for me. The blacksmiths forge where they were built was not 200 yards from where I sit in Evanton, Ross-shire. The great Grandson of the maker, Kenneth MacKenzie has just opened a Gin and Whisky Distillery near Dingwall. More than that I can't say in present, but we are 'in discussion'. There is also a possible link to a cycle friendly Eco cafe on Cycle Route No 1, guided tours to the Blackrock itself and an off road cycle race called "Round the Ben". Watch this space.

You have spent much of your life working as a welder and a stained glass window restorer. You have had some very interesting jobs and commissions from rigs to working closely with artists on works such as the Giraffes outside the Omni Centre in Edinburgh. Tell us about one of your proudest creations?

I'm proud of the work I did on the 17th century windows of the East Church in Cromarty. They were a serious challenge, the old glass being so thin.

"The Stewart Christie experience is one to be savoured. From the discussions and analysis of the old suit with its unique features through the design of the new suit and its possibilities to the measuring, fitting and wearing of same. You are made to feel very special by Vixy and Dan's professional and attentive approach."

-Mark Stevens

Photography by Laura Meek