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FASHION:As Dublin takes to the wheels, with 450 bikes available on the streets from the middle of this month – from 40 rental locations around the city – we spoke to some hardcore cyclists, including cool cats for whom high heels and two wheels are perfect partners . . .

“This is a US-style beach cruiser with wide handlebars. It’s very comfortable and it’s about the 20th or 30th bike I’ve had. After I left college everybody seemed to be starting to cycle, and I much prefer it for getting around. It’s greener as well and far better than sitting in a bus all morning. You can manage your own time much better, too. I wear a backpack or shoulderbag, but not a basket. I wear the clothes I normally wear. It’s not an athletic bike, and although it’s quite a journey to work every day, I don’t race. I think the new scheme is brilliant and I hope it will work. Dublin has a reputation for bikes being stolen and vandalised, and hopefully the bikes won’t be ravaged. It will be great to see more cycle lanes.”