The Origin of Ravey

Ravey takes its name from the street that it was born on and the street that Milltag calls home. In the heart of Shoreditch, an area of East London synonymous with modern design, we felt like we had to pull out all the stops for our new club. 

The colours - The Artist formerly Known as Purple & Goater Blue

Rumour has it that back in the 15th century King Edward IV had a mistress named Jane Shore. She is to have ended up in a ditch. Put the two together and you have… Shoreditch. 

Perhaps more accurate, William Shakespeare staged many of his early plays at one of several theatres in the area roughly a hundred years on from the days of Jane Shore. One of those plays was Henry V, which made us think that the are has a long running relationship with royalty in one way or another.
 

We also really like purple which happens to be a historically popular colour for monarchs thanks to it being very expensive to produce back in the day. Luckily, prices have come down nowadays and we didn’t have to wage a war in France to fund our jerseys. 

As for the blue on the gilet, cap and snood? We didn’t want a black layer on top, we were after something that was going to contrast nicely with the purple. It also just so happens that one of Team Milltag is a massive Man City fan… 


The pattern

We can’t be called Ravey and not get a bit Wavey.

The twin bodied Lion

We couldn’t believe our luck when we had a look at the coat of arms for Shoreditch. What an absolute treasure trove. Firstly, the mascot is a classic medieval style lion. With two bodies. Is it a Siamese Lion? Or has it taken one too many disco biscuits at XOYO and had a long hard look in the mirror? We’ll let you decide.


More Light More Power

The second harmonious part of the Shoreditch coat of arms in the motto. Has there ever been anything more applicable to cyclists than these words? 

No matter where you lie on the weight weenie spectrum, we can all appreciate feeling a lack of weight and flying up hills. The saying originally comes from the 1800s when Shoreditch became incorporated into the city of London. The borough was one of the first to have electric street lighting, an incredibly modern feat for the time. Indeed, it was truly ahead of its time as most of the power for the lights came from burning rubbish at the Vestry of St Leonard Shoreditch Electric Light Station, later known as the Shoreditch Borough Refuse Destructor and Generating Station. The electricity also helped heat the local baths and went on to underpin the many progressive policies of the local council, something we can whole-heatedly get on board with.