Simply This

Father and son in the evening light on their Short John.


Copenhagener pedalling casually over Knippels Bridge.

Good Things

Nothing like a bit of Nordic backlightaciousness gracing a Copenhagener on a bike in killer heels.


And then you have the Copenhagen version of The French Lieutenant's Woman. Classic style.


And then there is Lululicious. She took a break at the playground to sit in the box of my Velorbis Long John. I haven't personalised it that much just yet. There are stickers for our Danish bike helmet website Cykelhjelm.org and a Slow Bicycle Movement sticker. And the shopping bag for the Slow Bike Movement, too, from the online store.

I had made a box for it but Harry at Larry vs Harry offered to have a bigger one made for me, so I took him up on it. It's great. The kids love riding in it, too:

I only really use the Long John for transporting the kids, but it is brilliant and practical. Old school charm, brand new bike.

Cicloeleganza in Milano

Our intrepid - and frightfully fashionable fashionista - friend Raquel from Madrid was on the Cycle Chic beat in Milano recently, recording a series of cicloeleganza shots for us here at the blog.

A splendid series of shots of citizens enjoying a cycling life in the Italian city. Cyclists who are clearly feel safe and secure and who know that taking it easy is the safest way to ride.

Sunday Somethings

She's got her own thing going on and it works for her.

There are certain photos I've taken that are Cycle Chic All-Stars. This is an older photo, but it is one of my personal favourites. I hadn't seen it for a while, had a look, and thought I'd repost it.

Cycle/Football Chic for kids. Felix heading home from a football tournament. Complete with a well-deserved medal around his neck and shinpads on his legs.

A Copenhagen nurse doing her rounds. Visiting the elderly and/or infirm in their homes. By bike, of course.

Cycling to the Vineyard in Portugal

A lovely guest photo from Portugal today. Milton sent in a photo he titled, "Mum and son at the vineyard", from a trip out the vines to check the ripeness of their grapes.

Milton writes:
"Although biking is mainly an urban phenomenon, it can exist and flourish in small villages, too. The bike is our means of transportation on our local trips, which includes trips to my hobby, the vineyard, near Aveiro, Portugal."

It's harvest time for Milton and his family. Follow his wine journey on his blog. Gets me all sentimental for the autumns I've spent picking grapes in France...

Here's wishing you a fruitful harvest, Milton.


And here's a photo from Budapest, sent it by a reader. It's from a ride on Earth Day 2008. Ahh. What a sight.

Flying Dane, Cargo Bike Training and Awards Not Won

Flying Cycle Chic in Heels along the City Hall Square on an Autumn Day.


The school which my son attends have an armada of bikes in all different styles for the kids to play on. Here's two kids practicing that all important "Cargo Bike Training" for when they get bigger and have kids of their own to move around.


Just like grown-up Copenhageners.

Copenhagen Cycle Chic and Copenhagenize.com were, surprisingly, nominated for the Copenhagen Environment Award 2008. One of our readers in Copenhagen surprised us by sending in a nomination. Thanks, Claus! We didn't win - a small environmental intiative called Vestergror did, but the jury had only nice things to say. They wished they could have seen stats about whether or not the blogs have encouraged more people to ride their bikes in urban settings.

So, here's a poll, so we can win the facker next year:

Felix Cycle Chic

The Boy Wonder and I heading to weekly football practice. Often we both ride our bikes, but now A. He just started a new, exhausting life in school and is more cream-crackered [knackered] than usual and B. Daddy's got a new Long John from Velorbis with a box the Boy Wonder helped build.

So he relaxes with a book [The Billy Goats' Gruff]as we zip along to Frederiksberg Boldklub where Daddy morphs into a merciless Coach for 11 bundles of boy energy. Football shirts are hardly chic anywhere on the planet except for at a football stadium, but when it's your own six year old, he's adorable.


The other day Boy Wonder and I went to buy some wood to make a new desk for his bedroom. Long John came along.

The Long John with the new cargo box with the kids' names on the sides.

Montage

The heart of the city we love so much.


A happy marriage of Dutch and Danish. Bike from the Netherlands. Citizens of Denmark.


Business suit on the way to work. Complete with a coffee holder on the handlebars for her latte.



Evening couples using the bicycle as a means of transport and togetherness.

Two Sunday Photos & A Stolen Bike

In the morning traffic she rode along sipping a chocolate milk.

There is nothing quite so wonderful to see as cyclists who feel secure on the bike lanes of Copenhagen. Indeed, a majority of Copenhageners say, when polled, that they feel safe in the traffic on their bikes.

Our mate Nikolas, in Washington D.C. sent us this story from the local news. The management at the city's Union Station removed a woman's bicycle because it was ugly and they thought it was abandoned. Here's the link - watch the video on the right column.

Nikolas asked if our authorities have ever confiscated a working bicycle just because it was ugly and rusty.

Firstly, well over half the bikes in Copenhagen are ugly and rusty. They are mere workhorses. Nobody would dream of removing it for this reason. With that said, there are thousands of bikes that are gathered up each year, but not unless they are absolutley sure they are abandoned.

Rusty, clunky old bikes are the standard here. There is something aesthetically pleasing about rusty old bikes.



Indeed, if you forgot your bike somewhere, you can count on nature taking it back.

Nikolas said, "This begs the question, can one be Cycle Chic with an ugly bicycle?"

Absolutely, we say. We have earlier tracked a Copenhagen trend concering old bikes. For some reason, women who wear shoes by Louboutin often ride an old, beat up Raleigh. These old bikes are an integral part of our bike culture and they're not going away anytime soon.

Old People, Animals and Children

We have a rule in the film industry that one should always avoid working with old people, animals and children. Fortunately, this unwritten rule does not apply to a true bicycle culture.


Au contraire. The very prescence of old people, animals and children on the bike lanes is the surest sign that you are doing something right.


Found this half-forgotten photo of Felix from a holiday a couple of years ago on the brilliant Île de Ré off the west coast of France. The island's best beach was 10 km from our house and we made the trip on rented bikes each day. On the way home, the Boy Wonder invariably fell asleep on his kid's seat on the back of my bike - in the 35 degree heat with headphones playing his favourite music.

A Hub of Cyclists

A school of fish, a memory of elephants, a murder of crows - why not a Hub of Chic Copenhagen Cyclists? There. We just coined the phrase.

Stripes, tights and heels. All hail the Copenhagen Cycle Summer.

Cycling is Copenhagen is a mixture of ease, grace, beauty and a casual, relaxed attitude.

More Long John shots. The kids had so much fun that I had to try it myself. Here's Jeppe doing the hard work with me in the cargo box. And another shot of the kids.


My friends at Momemtum Magazine in Vancouver sent me this link of a recent bicycle fashion show they put on. It's great to see. Just think... a year ago, when we started this blog, there were hardly any Cycle Chic sites or blogs out there. Now the net is swimming in them. Yes, we're responsible. Yes, we're pleased. :-) Seriously, it is really great to see people taking back the bike culture.

We've had a couple of write ups on cool French bicycle blogs this past week. Vocivelo and Weelz.

Copenhagen Skies

One of the primary joys of urban cycling is that your view is not restricted. You move along under the open skies. Wind in your hair, squinting into the sun or the rain, unconstrained by a roof, windows or doors.

Racing the storm clouds.

Up front and personal is the best way to ride.

Age and grace with a spot of funk.

Guest Photos from Washington State

Here are some more splendid photos from one of our regular contributors - about time we calld him a foreign correspondant - Derek, from Washington State. Check him out at bikerubbish.com. Thanks for the photos, Derek! Keep spreading the Cycle Chic.

Sunny Sunday

Today SUNday lived up to it's name. My flatmate and I were hanging out at our local corner shop. There was a constant coming and going of sun-craving Copenhageners taking a stroll, buying pizza or just hanging out.

We appreciate the fact that until the flowers begin to blossom, Copenhagen's cool chicas provide all the vivid colours we can dream of.


Notice the casually attached red hand bag on the back of the bike.


Stripes high and low.






The Copenhagenesses were accompagnied by their offspring and better halves. Also chic 'n' cycling.