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.

Harbour Hygge

Oh, the joy of gently rolling around Copenhagen, taking in the cozy coolness of it all!


If Hans Christian Andersen's little mermaid were a blond Danish girl on two wheels, it might have been this one. She gazed firmly down into the water as if looking after something she'd lost.

It's not hard to convince friends to stop by at the harbour, it being located in the centre of Copenhagen and with the fresh air and shimmering water easing everyone's minds.
Here's Nicoline, a typical cycle chic Copenhageness, and a good mate.



This guy looked so smooth, rolling in from somewhere in the 70'ies.


For a long time, this stylish business guy sat and wondered how he could make his car-driving buddies shift over to the cycle chic life style.

Traffic Calming and Other Wednesdayish Things

In Copenhagen we have a unique traffic calming system. Traffic lights are sooo last century. Instead, we send carefully selected Copenhageners into intersections with red boots on. Within seconds, the traffic stops, both motorised as well and bicycle and pedestrian. Men and women alike. For those sweet few moments, the city is safe and even more aesthetically-pleasing. Works like a charm.

Yet another brilliant application of the bicycle in the Copenhagen urban landscape. Selling fresh fruit on street corners. They call it the Fruitbike.dk, a custom-built cargo bike for this specific purpose. Nobody does cargo bike culture like the Danes. But then again, we've been at it for a century or so. For more cargo bike culture...


It's funny how many people find riding in high heels or in a suit to be such a foreign concept, while it really is as easy as buttering a delicious, thick slice of Danish rye bread. Above, barristers heading home from the City Courts. Below, a smashing chappie on his Raleigh waiting for the light.



A little criss-cross cycle waltz. Cyclist on left rolls easily along the separated bike lane. Cyclist on right negotiates crossing the street. The 'Copenhagen Bike Lane', as illustrated on the left celebrates 25 years this year. Read more over at our Copenhagenize.com blog. Separated bike infrastructure is the flagship for any established bike culture and the goal for any city wishing to increase the number of cyclists in the urban landscape.

A display at a shop in the Tivoli Gardens. They don't sell bikes or anything to do with bikes but the bicycle is such a quintessential symbol of Danishness that it works in every setting.

Our friends the Dutch are planning on building a massive artificial island off the coast in the shape of a tulip. If we choose to do the same here in Denmark, you can bet it would be in the shape of a bicycle. I'd love to see that. A massive granny bike in the sea between Denmark and Sweden.

For the new visitors showing up on the blog today, here's our Cycle Chic All-Stars Selection:

This Could Be You

In the US, according to the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey:
- 25 percent of all trips are made within a one and a half kilometre [1 mile] of the home.
- 40 percent of all trips are within 3 km [2 miles] of the home.
- 50 percent of the working population commutes 8 km [5 miles] or less to work.

Yet more than 82 percent of trips 8 km [5 miles] or less are made by personal motor vehicle.

The figures are not far off the European averages. Basically, as we've been waffling on about for ages, distances aren't an issue. They are quite accessible. Which is a fantastic point of departure for encouraging people to get onto bikes. Sure, we often hear people say "I live much farther than that from work... so I can't ride my bike..."

Surely there must be ways to divide up the trip. Put a bike rack on your car, find a secure place to park it within cycle striking distance of your work and ride the last leg. Or ride to a train station nearby and take the train part of the way. Get a beat up old bike that nobody wants to steal, in case you're worried about theft.

Suits are no hindrance, even in 28 degree heat, if the distances are as reasonable as stated above. It's Style Over Speed, after all.

Bring a bottle of juice along for the ride.

Another Copenhagen Supermum in action.

And here's a stat that's interesting from the same study at the top:
60 percent of the pollution created by automobile emissions happens in the first few minutes of operation, before pollution control devices can work effectively. Since "cold starts" create high levels of emissions, shorter car trips are more polluting on a per-mile basis than longer trips.

New York Times & The Guardian
Just a little addendum. We were sent this link to T-Magazine, a supplement of the New York Times about Copenhagen. A shocking lack of bikes, but still cool.

Then there is The Guardian's 'I've Been There' feature - great for collecting readers' tips about traveling to various cities. Here's the Copenhagen intro.

Copenhagen is an aesthetic capital that is content with its laid-back, cool attitude and rather unimpressed with the delusions of grandeur suffered by other European cities. The city centre is a charming labyrinth of cosy streets peppered with trendy cafes and boutiques. The surrounding neighbourhoods are relaxed areas where the Copenhagener can be seen in its natural environment.
[...]
If "big is better" is your thing, then Copenhagen will disappoint. Upon seeing the Little Mermaid statue on her rock on the harbour generations of puzzled tourists have uttered the same remark: "But she’s so SMALL!" Upon hearing this a Copenhagener will merely shrug and remark, "She’s life-size". All with a crooked smile and a twinkle in the eye,

Which would be an ideal motto for Copenhagen. Life-size. An ego to match any other capital but an ego which is wrapped up in a Nordic coolness that makes any visit to the city a calming, groovy and aesthetically appealing experience.