For some strange reason this short film by François Truffaut popped into my head the other day. Les Mistons - The Brats - was one of his first directorial efforts, in 1957. It laid the groundwork for the adolescent themes in some of his later films. It's about five boys who quite fancy an 'older woman' and who subsequently get jealous when she takes a lover.
No, this hasn't turned into a film blog, I'm including it here because the first 3:30 of the film is a beautiful woman on a bicycle. Skirts a'fluttering. As they have since the bicycle was invented - so feel free to giggle when somebody tells you cycling is only a 'sport'. That's why I call it Bicycle Culture 2.0 [beta]. We've all been there before and we're going there again. Regular people on normal bikes in everyday clothes. All over the world.
”In the late 19th century, large numbers of women were already using bicycles to get to work, women office workers and shop assistants wending their way each weekday morning from the suburbs to the town. They found the bicycle a convenient form of transport for distances up to, say, ten miles”. John Woodeforde ”The Story of the Bicycle”, 1970
And they weren't wearing lycra or riding carbon fibre contraptions and they weren't restricted to flat areas. The Sartorialist - aka The Colville-Andersen on No Wheels - :-) posted a couple of lovely bicycle shots recently. The film above was shot in Nîmes and this photo is in Paris.
Nothing French about this shot, I just like it. Taken at the new Royal Theatre - Skuespilhuset - on the harbour in Copenhagen.
How can we not blog about this wonderful French blog called 'Bike in the City - Ma vi(ll)e à vélo'. The tagline means "My life/city on a bike" and it's all about a character called Leah, who lives a cycling life in Paris, both on the Vélib' and her regular bike. It's nothing short of brilliant and we especially love it because it is frightfully chic and it portrays an urban cycling life in regular clothes.
The illustrations are by Didier Néel - or Le Did - and the concept is the brainchild of Patricia Gallot-Lavallée at Kenazart Strategy Interactive.
The blog is a non-stop chic-fest featuring our protagonist living, loving and loving it as a 'Vélibiste' in Paris, with all the trials and tribulations that involves. Handsome men, silly motorists, rain and sun, flat tyres, you name it. All while portraying urban cycling just as we do here on the blog - as a normal, enjoyable, effortless transport option.
CELEBRITY CYCLE CHIC From the other side of the Atlantic a reader sent us some celebrity photos of Hollywood stars doing their cycling thang. I don't give a toss about the celebrities, but it sure is important that they are setting good examples for their fellow citizens. And looking good doing it.
PART ONE We've heard much about the Vélib' Revolution in Paris. Marie was down there for a visit a while back and now it was my turn, together with Wifealiciousness. I was looking forward to seeing how the bike share programme worked and how it fit into the urban landscape of the French capital.
In short, I was astounded. It's hardly been a year since the Vélib' was thrust upon Parisians and yet the Vélib' has already become an iconic addition to a city hardly lacking icons. This first photo doesn't even feature a Vélib' bicycle and that is on purpose. The Vélib' Revolution has spawned bike culture. Vélib bikes are everywhere, of course. There are 20,000 of them in the city. But what amazed me was seeing so many normal bikes. I've read that bike sales have increased since the beginning of 2008. Parisians have tried the Vélib and now many are investing in their own bikes. Ah... there's a Vélib'. Wifealiciousness and I were in Paris for three days - sans enfants. Friday was spent visiting old haunts and certain shops we love. All the while we regarded the flow of bicycles in the streets. Who was riding them? Was it easy or hectic?
What is fantastic is that there is no one demographic group cycling on the streets. It's men and women, young and old. Couples, families, you name it. The key to any successful bike culture is to get women onto bikes. They are the group that is most likely to ride and yet least likely to actually do it, especially in urban settings. But the Parisiennes are out in force. Vélib' is short for Vélo Libre and Vélo Liberté - Free bike and bike freedom. The perfect name. Wifealiciousness and I hopped on our first Vélibs on Saturday and never looked back. It takes three minutes on the machine at any bike rack to set up a subscription. One day, seven days or one year. All you need is a credit card with a chip in it, but when even the Chinese have chips in their credit cards, that's hardly an issue anymore. We took the one day subscription and were issued a card with a number. Each time we wanted to take a bike we went to a machine, typed in the number and selected a bike. In under a minute we were cycling away.
It's even easier with an annual subscription. You get a permanent card and you just wave it in front of the card reader next to each bike and the bike is unlocked. Once again, it is segregated bike infrastructure that makes bike culture possible. You cycle, by and large, along existing bus lanes, although there are many dedicated and segregated bike lanes around the city.
The most fascinating thing is that motorists have already figured out how to deal with all the bikes. The cars watch for bikes and the cyclists take it easy [Style Over Speed... :-) ] and watch for vehicles. This karmic co-existence is remarkable, especially so soon after the introduction of the Vélib'.
I've driven in Paris many a time and it used to be a witches cauldron of automotive chaos. You get used to it, but it was always a nervy experience. Second only to Roma in my experience for stress. Riding through the city on a Vélib, however, is no great feat. It is liberating, glorious and it is easy.
If chaotic Paris can adapt to the sudden appearance of 20,000 Vélib bikes and thousands of normal bikes, then it should be no problem for other cities. Bike share programmes, segregated bike lanes, ease-of-use. Off you go.
The mentality of Parisians and the French in general is a big plus, but Paris is now the yardstick that all other cities itching for bike culture have to measure themselves by.
I'll post photos and commentary all this week - La Semaine du Vélib' here on Copenhagen Cycle Chic. JOIE DE VIVRE AVEC VÉLO LIBRE - PART TWO Riding Vélib bikes - shouldn't we just call it Vélib'ing? - around Paris is a breeze. I'm sure that to some the above photo, however, looks a trifle perilous.
Not to worry, though. Busses in Paris have frequent stops so you can usually stay ahead of them. If you find yourself next to one at a light, they provide ample room for cyclists and, most importantly, they know the cyclists are there. Wifealiciousness and I were overtaken by busses a few times, but they drove slowly and gave us a wide berth.
Taxis in Paris use the bus/bike lanes, too, but even on speedier stretches along the Seine or Rue du Rivoli, taxis slow when overtaking bikes. Brilliant. There is a sincere sense of 'joie de vivre' present in Paris these days, thanks to the bicycles. The system itself is so easy to use and the massive number of bike racks means that you're always within spitting distance of a Vélib. As the map below shows, Vélibs are widely available :-) One thing that we noticed was that with the Vélib you get to see parts of Paris you would normally zip past on a Metro deep underground. One evening we rode up to Sacre Coeur. It's a long climb up the mountain, especially the last stretch, with all the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix combined with a Haute Categorie climb in the Pyranees. The Vélib bikes have three gears, like most normal bikes in European cities, and while getting up the mountain required a bit of muscle, it was no problem. The real hell was all the tourists up at Sacre Coeur, but we were the only ones on Vélibs, which was quite cool. We didn't fancy running the gauntlet of tourists to get back down so we merely followed the road that cars take, down the backside of the mountain. We realised that neither of us had ever been on the other side. Who has? Millions of tourists climb up the front and back down again, like so many camera-toting Dukes of York. We discovered a hidden corner of Paris that we would never have visited without the Vélib. The whole time we rode down streets we've never seen before, discovered cool shops previously unknown to us and generally experienced a whole new Paris.
Joie de vivre, indeed.
VÉLIB - SOCIABLE AND SUSTAINABLE - PART THREE One of the best things we noticed about cycling in Paris was that Parisians have understood how sociable cycling is. Cycling in couples is a common sight in Copenhagen and by all accounts Parisians have embraced this sociability as well. Couple contemplating directions. Pere et fils in the bike box at the traffic lights. Casual moment. He was pointing out various buildings to the girl as they rode. A flock of Vélib's on the bridge. Chic couple at an intersection. An interesting aspect of this bike life in Paris is that the Vélib is seen on the streets at all hours. The metro closes early, compared to other cities, but the Vélib is always there for you. Nightlife in Paris is made so much easier.
VÉLO LIBRE POUR HOMMES - PART FOUR We're getting ready to wrap up our love affair with Paris and Les Vélibs this week. There are a couple of things left, however. Firstly, some photos of les hommes doing their casual thang in the French capital. Fly by. Still going strong. And I just love his driving gloves. Le shopping. Any bike will do. Even if you have to borrow it. :-) And then there's this chappie. Zipping along the Seine on his [what are they called?], casually smoking a cigarette. Tres cool. Trop cool.
VÉLIB - THE MOVIE - PART FIVE What better way to wrap up Semaine du Vélib' here on Copenhagen Cycle Chic than with a little video tribute.
The music I used is courtesy a friend of mine, Jason McNiff. The song is called 'Bella Ciao' and it's from his latest album 'In My Time', which is available on Amazon.co.uk He used one of my photos from New York for his album cover: Which is lovely, of course. My son and I run around the house singing Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao Ciao Ciao! :-)
I love that it's an Englishman singing an Italian song in a Danish film about the French capital. Vive l'Europe... :-)
After three days in Paris with Wifealiciousness [just got home], I have only rave reviews of the Vélib' bike share programme and the Parisians who use it.
Prepare yourself for Semaine de Vélib' here on Copenhagen Cycle Chic where we salute the French capital for getting so many people onto bikes. And with style.
Here's a great shot of cycle chic down under from Lucy. Thanks for sending it along to us. Lucy restores vintage bikes and sells them on Australian e-Bay, if anyone is interested.
A wonderful shot from France from La vie en rose on flickr.
And here's a spot of cycle chic in Rome from Cappanelle.
CYCLE CHIC FOR KIDS Here's a shot from Carl in Colorado. Thanks for thinking of us! "This is my daughter just after she learned to “do it myself daddy!” Of course, if you are going to ride around the neighborhood, you MUST wear pink and more pink and knee high fuzzy boots. I guess I’ll have to get her a new bike now. (I bet it will be pink.) I really enjoy your site. Keep up the great work. Carl."
The urban landscape of Paris has changed drastically since the introduction of the Velib bike sharing programme. Velibs are hot and they are now beyond trendy. They are a part of the fabric of the life of the city. And as more people use them, they'll soon get their own bike and the [r]evolution will snowball. I am looking forward to the day when Paris is a humming cyclocity like Copenhagen. Photo by RuiPeriera. There are even Copenhagen-style rush hours these days in the streets of Paris. [okay, that's a relative postulate... you'll need another 85 bikes in that picture for a true Copenhagen rush hour... but what a great start] And that classic European photo... now with Velibs.
It's wonderful that over 60 European cities of all sizes now have bike sharing programmes but it is when the big cities like Paris really start to embrace urban cycling that changes are made and The New Age of Urban Cycling really takes off.
Gliding effortlessly towards the light, timing the change to green perfectly.
Once in awhile - not often enough for our liking - we discover a blog filled to the brim with fantastic wit and irony. In this case it's the Stuff White People Like Blog. At #61 - Bicycles. It's all brilliant satire, but I'm especially fond of this:
"... they love expensive Road Bikes and the accompanying spandex uniforms. This enables them to ride long distances and wear really tight clothes without any social stigmas. These types of riders will spend upwards of $5,000 on a bicycle and up to $400 on accessories, but will not ride to work. Perhaps because they cannot wear the spandex. It is important that you never question why someone needs a $5000 bicycle since the answer is always “performance."
A guest photo rolled into the inbox this morning: I just stumbled upon Copenhagen Cycle Chic and I thought I'd send a couple of pics of my sweetheart looking bike-chic during our year using the Vélo'V bike-share program in Lyon, France. She finds the shots on your blog to be quite the inspiration, as do I, of course!, and is curious as to whether she is cycle-chic-worthy.
Sad to say, I send these pics to you from the cold climate of Edmonton in northern Alberta, Canada. Not one of the most bike-friendly towns.... Keep up the marvelous work! Matt.
Thanks to you and your sweetheart for thinking of us. There is no question in our minds that she qualifies for the much respected and sought after accolade of 'cycle chic'.
Matt's email reminded us of Lyon's bike share programme, Vélo'V. While much is written about the capital cities who have implemented bike sharing, like Paris, Barcelona and - coming soon - London, there are many cities in Europe that are already rolling. Lyon being one of them. It's a fair sized city, with almost 2 million inhabitants.
With all the hype about urban bike sharing, let's send a warm thought to the forgotten city that started it all, shall we? La Rochelle, on the French Atlantic coast [and favourite summer holiday destination for Wifealiciousness and I] had a legendary mayor back in the 1970's. He was quite the urban planning revolutionary. Inspired by Copenhagen, he created pedestrian streets in the city centre and, in 1974, he started a bike share programme. He bought a load of yellow bikes and slapped them into racks by the harbour. The original idea was merely "take one, use it, bring it back." These days you can borrow them free for two hours if you leave some ID.
The programme never had, and still doesn't have, a fancy marketing name like ByCyklen, Velib, VeloV, SEVici or Bicing, which is probably why nobody knows about it. But La Rochelle was the first, so hats off to them.
Let's wrap todays cyclobabble with another photo of Copenhagen Cycle Chic, shall we? Another fine example of matching your clothes with your bike.
This photo wraps up our guest photo backlog for today. Bruno, from Valencia, thought of us when in the French capital: "I was in Paris last week-end and enjoyed seeing so many people riding bikes with the new rent-system called Vélib'. The weather was just great for the season and I just couldn't resist to send you this picture I took Saturday night, near Saint-Germain-des-Prés, one of the most interesting areas in Paris. And let us enjoy some more nice pictures from Copenhagen, a paradise of bikes for us living in Spain!" Thanks, Bruno! We're working on more photos from Copenhagen. Stay tuned!
A big thank you to two our of readers. Firstly, Kathleen in Jersey City, who sent the above photo of herself and a good friend. Let's let Kathleen say it best:
"At home in Jersey City, across the river from New York, I ride my bicycle to work at my antique clothing shop and also use it to run almost all of my errands. I have the usual reasons: exercise, environment, difficult to park a car at the post office and bank, etc.
It is also important that my bike be a sort of spokesmachine for my shop, because style is my business. It is a low-slung machine that looks very 1970s, especially with the flowered basket I added. What made me choose this bike was that I could ride it wearing just about any feminine outfit--I have ridden it wearing 1950s circle skirts, 1960s chiffon cocktail dresses, 1940s pencil skirts, and of course an assortment of high heeled boots and shoes.
But my most important question for now is, IS there a New York chapter of your organization? I admit I didn't do an exhaustive search of your blog but didn't see anything from my area. Not a surprise since New Yorkers and Jersey Cityites view city biking as something akin to roller derby. Yet I know so many people who, given a bit of encouragement and camaraderie, would join a movement like yours. If there isn't one already, I'm ready to start one!"
A wonderful email, Kathleen, and thanks very much for thinking of us. Feel free to send any other cycle chic photos our way. We had never thought about us being a 'movement' but it sounds kind of cool!
And here is a lovely shot from Nancy [the city in France, bien sur], sent to us by Stéphane. Thanks very much!
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