After her New York cycling adventure, Joyce heads westward today to Chicago, and chats to the designers from Chicago-based bike bag company Po Campo! - Lucy x

Pics from Chicago biking blog Let’s Go Ride a Bike!

pics - Let’s Go Ride a Bike again

Westward ho! It’s Joyce from CycleStyle again and today we head west to say hello the cycle chic folks in Chicago.

I’ve visited Chicago in summer and it’s a beautiful place to cycle, especially along sparkling Lake Michigan. In winter though it’s not called the Windy City for nothing – it is tres tres cold, snowy and gusty. Not the natural place for cyclists you say? Think again!

In Chicago we are meeting Emily Taylor and Maria Boustead from Po Campo, a company that make gorgeous bike bags and other cycle chic accessories. In fact, Po Campo’s bags were the very first products stocked at CycleStyle – I spotted this Robin’s Egg Blue Rack Tote and wanted one for myself! It now does double duty as a roomy handbag where I keep my lunch, yoga gear, wallet, keys and phone and when I’m on the bike I just strap it to my back rack and off I go.

Po Campo Rack totes! (you can buy them in Australia from CycleStyle!)

Here’s a video of Maria showing off her Rack Tote as well.

Emily, Maria and I meet over a virtual Chicago deep dish pizza and Nuts on Clark caramel popcorn and chat about their views on Chicago cycle chic.

How would you describe cycle chic style in Chicago?

[Maria] Chicago's style is eclectic. We love our music, our renegade designers and our thrift stores and mix all the styles together.  It could be a mix of a handmade T from a street festival with a vintage skirt and designer shoes!

What is your favourite cycle chic outfit?

[Emily] I have a favourite bright green skirt I got at a resale shop that have shorts built right in, it’s great as a cute no-worry skirt in the summer. I love wearing bright colours as they really pop on my blue bike.

What is special about cycling in Chicago?

[Maria] It's flat. The biggest hill in the city is an overpass and that really makes biking here so wonderful, you rarely even need to switch gears. There is also a great biking culture for certain clubs and festivals, some you can go to and see the fences surrounding the place completely covered with bikes 10 inches up.

Where do you go for cycle chic inspiration (online or offline)?

[Maria] Our favourite Chicago cycle chic blog is Dottie's Let’s Go Ride a Bike.

We also love reading San Francisco’s Bikes and the City and Velo Vogue, Girls and Bicycles up in Edmonton, Canada, Riding Pretty, BikeSkirt from Birmingham Alabama and the blog by the founder of Cycle Chic Sundays Eva Lu.

Dottie from Chicago biking blog Let’s Go Ride a Bike!

Tomorrow is our last stop on the cycle chic world tour – California here we come!

-Joyce