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I'm always haranguing readers to try the latest cycle fads around Oxford. Be it cyclo-cross, Bike Quest, bike polo . . . you name it, I've been and had a look, but have I actually got my bum on the saddle? No, idly not. So, in a fit of enthusiasm last week, I booked an Oxon Cart to take me and my fiancée from Divinity Road to Jericho.

The ride cost £15, which included a red rose stem for each pair of Valentine's passengers. Georgia accepted ours and I didn't demur, though I don't know what would have happened in the event of two Valentines demanding one. I suspect they wouldn't have wanted to rock the cart. The verdict? Fantastic! A perfect melding of function with affordable luxury. An Oxford must-do. I've travelled widely in Asia, where pedicabs are a usual way from A to B.

In this cold, congested country, pedicabs take on an altogether more exotic, magical allure. Until they become more widely used and seen, passengers can expect bemused glances from pedestrians and jealous waves from kids stuck in traffic-jammed cars. As we cruised along Cowley Road at less than 20 mph, cars and buses either held back or gave us a pleasantly wide berth.

Our driver gave us a blanket to keep the evening air from our legs, and I was glad as otherwise, after 15 minutes' sitting pretty in a pedicab, we'd have been hypothermic. Halfway over Magdalen Bridge, the cycle lane took us past dozens of buses to the front of the roadworks. Cyclists loved being around the cart, while bus passengers looked on helplessly.

The pedicab followed the bike routes along Turl Street, Broad Street, Magdalen Street and St Giles, then down the Little Clarendon Street contraflow to deposit us safely, soundly and feeling suitably romantic, outside Bangers and Mash in Walton Street. The ride was comfy, interesting (drivers are either students or bikey locals), fun, quick and left us feeling more pampered than anything else.

Talking of taking up others' recommendations, Harriet Waters always went on to me about Howies. They make cyclist/surfer-wear somewhere in Wales, and their stuff is only available online.

Apart from this weekend, that is, when you can acquire a Howies (as well as other makes) at an ethical fashion fair in the Oxford Union debating chamber, St Michael's Street, Oxford, on Saturday, February 24 (noon-6pm) and Sunday, February 25 (11am-5pm). They'll give you up to 70 per cent off the Howies' range, which is worth knowing. Full-price Howies isn't cheap.

I did visit their site in the end, and am now the absurdly proud owner of two T-shirts. One has a cartoon bike on it with the words My Prozac, the other proclaims LOVE ME LOVE MY BIKE in huge white letters on black. These are both less controversial grammatically, as well as road-ragily, than Cyclox's popular One Less Car T-shirt.

Perhaps the best thing about Howies, and I'm going to have to check this out, is that they make trousers with special drawstrings at the turn-ups to keep them free of chain oil. How cool is that?

10:17am Tuesday 20th February 2007

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