L.A. Times

Another little rush hour shot. Over 30,000 bicycles ride past this point each day.

If you have the time, have a look at this over at the Los Angeles Times. They asked me to guest blog and this is the inaugural piece on their traffic blog Bottleneck, comparing Copenhagen to Los Angeles.

Paris Cycle Chic & Celebrity Cycle Chic

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.

Brilliant stuff. I couldn't RSS the site fast enough.
Here's some links to our Vélib Week series from our visit to Paris back in May:

- La Semaine du Vélib' et du Vélocouture Parisienne
- Joie de Vivre Avec Vélo Libre
- Vélib' - Sociable and Sustainable
- Paris Cycle Chic pour hommes

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.

Felted Handlebar Bag

Felted Handlebar Bag, originally uploaded by ann14989.

Normally we're not big fans of 'Bicycle Accessories' - it usually involves people producing products of little use in the interest of profiting off of a trend.

But 'personalising' your bike is a major activity in Copenhagen and this fine, hand-made bicycle bag is a brilliant addition to the bike.

Read more about the bag and the designer on My Electric Ride.

This and That from Here and There

Another brilliant painting by Janet Karam, inspired by one of my photos. Art imitates art once again. This one was inspired by this photo:

Janet's Blog.
Janet's website - Funkytown Art.

Taking a literary angle, Inge in Antwerpen has a Dutch literature blog called Plankje Ongeregeld and she interviewed me for a new feature on her blog - Bloggers Read and Tell. Now I'm looking forward to photos/reportage about her and her new black Oma bike. :-)

Michael in Brooklyn has a cool blog started up. Drunk and In Charge of a Bicycle. Michael and his roommates have been discussing getting cool 'normal' bikes and they are all casting themselves into the fray. Michael had a poll on his blog about what bike his should buy. Either an Azor Opa [some Dutch contraption] or a Velorbis Churchill [bespoke Danish elegance and exquisite design]. Needless to say, the Velorbis won the Euro-challenge.

Michael will be posting about his new bike and his travels in NYC as they happen. He is also compiling a list of dealers/distributors for various European-style bikes in the States, which should come in handy for those of you who are in the market for one.


We have a backlog of guest photos itching to get online so we'll start with another photo from Patrick in Portland. Pure Copenhagen.