Wroclaw, Poland Cycling Promotion

Nothing like a bit of positive bicycle promotion to make our day.
This lovely video is produced by the Cycling Wroclaw organisation in Wroclaw, Poland. It's in collboration with the Do The Right Mix initiative and European Mobility Week.

Brilliant stuff. Although we noticed the opening shot is a cinematic nod to our very own video, produced for the City of Copenhagen back in 2009. We're flattered.

Cycle Chic Hungary 2010

What a fantastic film from our friends at Hungarian Cycle Chic, wrapping a year of cycle chic in Budapest.

There are a handful of cities out there that serve as an inspiration to the world in the way they have gone from no bicycles to an armada of bicycles and Budapest is one of them. (Paris, Barcelona, Bordeaux, Seville are among the others). A mere five years ago the city was as car clogged as anywhere else and the percentage of people cycling hovered below 1%. Now they're at 5% and rising. It has been a combination of implementing the all-important separated bicycle infrastructure and passionate advocacy based on promoting cycling positively.

Bicycle planning consultants will usually say that getting from 0% to 5% bicycle traffic is the hardest step of all for a city. After that it's a bike ride in the park. Getting from 5% to, say, 15% is much easier. Cars still dominate in Budapest and the traffic makes a North American city look calm and civilised but change is in the air. The revolution is underway.

Budapest has adopted an approach that is close to our hearts and that is something we write about over at Copenhagenize.com - promoting cycling positively and aiming the promotion at Citizen Cyclists - potential bicycle users, as opposed to the existing sub-cultures. Cycle Chic Hungary works closely with the Hungarian Cyclists Club to develop campaigns that sell cycling to the mainstream. Just look at the kind of films they produce - they're brilliant.

The film, above, is a testament to the hard work the bicycle advocates are doing in Budapest. Citizen Cyclists - and a whole lot of Cycle Chic - are redefining the urban space.

Budapest is also famous for its Critical Mass, or rather Civilised Mass. There are two of them a year and the one I rode in featured 20,000 people on bicycles. It was a slow day. The record, I believe, is 80,000.

Auto-Mat

Our friends the urban mobility NGO Auto-mat in Prague have produced this classy poster for an upcoming event. It's called A Different Experience and it's all about allowing the citizens the opportunity to see their city in a new light on five chosen streets. To gain insight into what a city can be.

Thanks to Todd for the link.

French Bicycle Advocate Cycle Chic

Last week, as mentioned, I was in La Rochelle, France attending a national bicycle conference as a speaker.

On one of the days we all went for a bike ride around the city, ending up at city hall. These photos are a good indication of what passionate French bicycle advocates look like.

Skirts and heels.

Dapper in the evening.

Poise and casual elegance.

If it's role models we're looking for in order to promote urban cycling as a normal, accepted and respected transport form, this bunch are leading the way.

Elevation Nation

Click on the photo to see it larger over at Flickr.
"It's all so modest, gentle, dreamy. One is in a new, floating situation and it feels as though you're halfway to becoming a spirit that is about to leave the surface of the earth.

One can see over everyones' heads and because of that one is lifted up in an mood of calm and romantic elevation."
Johannes Wulff -'Paa cykle' - 1930

As ever, it's the comments and the emails we get that make it all worthwhile. We're loving this little community and the people we've met. We've included a number of our favourite bits of feedback in this post. Just simple comments on a post like this one are so wonderful to read:

"Hurray! As one who rides her bike to work in Houston wearing dresses, black suede boots and anything else imaginable, I salute you. Thank you for showing that riding a bike to work doesn't have to be a big deal."

We're not saying that the ONLY way to ride is in stylish clothes - some people prefer it differently - but there are so many people out there who WANT to ride in normal clothes and if we can inspire that, we're content. Thanks for being here, whoever you are.


Another study in that fascinating moment when a cyclist pushes off, propels themself forward, gaining momentum enough to settle into the saddle, feet seeking out the pedals instinctively, accelerating away.

Here's another Acceleration Moment.

And as we can see the cyclist above has been shopping, we remembered this post over at our sister blog about how Cyclists are Better Shoppers than Motorists. Worth a read.

History Repeating Itself

My friend Marie used this in her thesis about bike culture. This cartoon was used in America back in the 1930's, showing how the bicycle was seen as a way of kickstarting the American economy after the Depression. "Back to Prosperity!" "That Buy-cycle you're hearing so much about." "Circulating dollars."

While America isn't currently in a Depression, the dollar continues to fall and oil dependency is a big issue, not to mention environmental concerns. So it seems quite appropriate that this cartoon gets a revival.

And while we're on the History Repeating Itself subject:

Mrs Harcourt Williamson wrote this in The Complete Cyclist in 1897:
"The whole secret of a woman looking well on her bicycle lies in the cut and hang of her skirt." The best skirt of all, in her opinion, was made on the same lines as a habit, fitting the figure perfectly and cunningly stretched and shrunk. Once the skirt was successfully negotiated, the rest of the attire was simple:
"After all, however, the skirt is the thing, and once having this perfect, there is no reason why one should not wear an elaborate blouse and really smart hat on a fine day".

Indeed, Mrs Harcourt Williamson. Mr Colville-Andersen agrees with you. If only you knew how visionary your words were and how appropriate they are to this new generation of cycle chicsters.
Plucked from "The History of the Bicycle", by John Woodeforde, 1970.

Terminology Folly

Waltzing around the cycle blogosphere it seems odd that so much terminology has spawned regarding what is, in fact, a simple pursuit.

Is it a result of the decades-old tendency in North America and other non-bike culture countries to nerdify cycling because it has primarily been viewed as a sport or a hobby for closed groups of "enthusiasts" - and not a reasonable and basic form of transport? Perhaps.

Let's straighten things out, shall we? What you see in the photo above, taken in Copenhagen, is something we call a "cyclist".

Not a "bicycle commuter", nor a "utility cyclist". Certainly not a "lightweight, open air, self-powered traffic vehicle user". It's a cyclist. Actually, to be honest, it's just a "bicycle user"

The Copenhagener above is not "commuting" - or at least she doesn't call it that. She's not going for a "bike ride" or "making a bold statement about her personal convictions regarding reduction of Co2 levels and sustainable transport methods in urban centers".

She's just going to work. On her bike.

And that's what she's riding. A bike. A "cykel" in Danish.

She doesn't call it "my city bike" or "my Alternative Transport Vehicle" or "my Dutch bike" [whatever THAT is...] - it's just her bike.

When she bought her bike at her local bike shop she didn't have a "fitting" at the "full service workshop and showroom". She probably walked into the shop and said, "I need a bike". The chap working there probably shrugged, glanced her up and down and said, "you'll be needing a 52cm".

"I like the black one, over there..."

"That's a 52cm"

"Is that basket included?"

"Yep"

"Great. How much?"

And off she went with her new bike. He didn't offer her any fancy, expensive "bike gear" or "accessories" and he didn't try to dazzle and confuse her with inaccessible, nerdy tech-nerd babble in order to make more money. He doesn't even have "cycle clothes" in his shop. He assumes she has clothes in her closet at home. A wooly hat for winter. A summer dress for... well... summer. She needed a bike. He owned a bike shop. It was over in 20 minutes. Although he probably adjusted her seat for her.

The bike she chose was a black one. Probably a good, reliable Danish brand. It certainly wasn't a "TerraTurbo Urban Warrior X9000". It was just a bike. What it is called isn't important to her. Just the fact that it works.

She doesn't know how much it weighs. Nobody she knows or has ever met could tell you how much their bike weighs. Likewise, she doesn't know how far she rides each day. It isn't interesting. She rides at a good pace, not too fast to cause a sweat, and the ride is nice enough. She likes the fresh air and she often sees friends on the bike lanes. She loves crossing The Lakes and seeing the transformation from season to season. That will suffice.

She doesn't wake up and make a decision to "commute by bike to work today". It's just a part of her day. She just walks out of her flat and gets on her bike. If it has a puncture, she'll walk it down to the local bike shop to get it repaired and then take the bus or train to work. Picking it up in the afternoon.

She isn't an activist, doesn't belong to a cycling organisation with a long acronym and she doesn't even think about the fact that she lives in something called a "bike culture".

She's just a bicycle user. Riding her bike to work.

She'll be doing the same tomorrow.

If other cities had more bicycle users and had advocates who worked to encourage more bicycle users, instead of bike geeks, they'd find that a "bike culture" would be achieved a lot more quickly.

Vélocouture - Fashion, on a bicycle

We've long been a big fan - and contributor - to the very excellent Flickr group called Vélocouture.

The group guidelines make it clear what separates this group from so many other bike groups on Flickr.

"Vélocouture is not bicycle fashion. Vélocouture is fashion, on a bicycle. Smart, stylish, functional outfits worn by transportational bicyclists.

Celebrate the creative re-purposing of "normal" clothes for use as a transportational cyclist. Help popularize the innovative, functional and fashionable garments that are (finally!) being created by pedal-powered fashion-forward folks around the world.

This isn't about wearing costumes or bizarre outfits while on a bike. Plenty of places for that. This is about stylishly carrying oneself through the everyday -- on a bicycle.

Also, please note that this group is about fashionable cyclists, not fashionable bicycles. No bike-only shots. Again, plenty of groups exist for photos of your bike."


The group features photos of both women and men and, in our opinion, it's one of the beacons of hope for normalising urban cycling and removing the bane of lycra from the streets of cool cities around the world.

Vive la vélocouture!

Cyclopornography Film - Copenhagen Bike Ride

Finally... we got around to slapping a Gorillapod - flexible camera tripod - onto one of our bikes. Setting the film function to 'time lapse' and hitting the bike lanes.

It's a simple, funky little film. A journey from my place to the City Hall Square and back again another way. Just a quick 6-7 km journey in the lovely winter sunshine.

On bike lanes the entire way. It's worth noting that I rode in the afternoon. During rush hour you'd see hundreds more bikes. We'll try to get out one day to capture this Copenhagen phenonemon.

Until then, enjoy this one.

Why Do We Ride?

Some of our visitors have commented about how petrol and car prices are much higher in most European countries compared to the US, for example, and that is perhaps why Copenhageners ride their bikes so much.

We'd just to clarify that this is not entirely the case. If you convert the price of petrol to US dollars, sure, it sounds amazing. It's currently $2 a litre [or just under $8 for one of those gallon things.]

It's important to remember that our standard of living is different and these prices, while high, are not prohibitive to us. In the rural provinces in Denmark, like many places, young people buy a car as soon as they get a driving licence, so it's obviously not difficult to acquire an automobile if you want one, even with 180% tax on cars.

The point is that we don't need to drive in Copenhagen. Copenhageners ride bikes because they can. Because it's easy and fast.

The statistics back this up. The City of Copenhagen publishes a biannual Cycle Policy Report - a kind of state of the bike nation - wherein they gauge progress and problems and revise our goals.

In the 2006 report, for example, the goal of having 40% of Copenhageners riding their bike to work or education was revised to 50% by 2015.

But why do we ride? According to the research and the polls, here's why:
54% ride because it is easy and fast.
19% ride because of the benefits of excercising WHILE using the bike as transport. (Not fitness).
7% ride because it is cheap. [there goes the expensive petrol theory...:-)]
6% ride because it is handy.
1% ride because of the environmental benefits.


Bikes are used primarily for transport, not for excercise.
50% ride up to 50 km a week.
15% ride more than 100 km a week.

Of those who ride up to 30km a week:
34% ride to work.
68% ride for other errands apart from work.
17% ride only for recreation/excercise.

In all, 73% of Copenhageners DON'T ride for recreation. The bike is not a hobby article used for recreation or excercise. It is transport.

The fact that riding a bike is beneficial to your health is listed as a secondary reason of 38% of those polled. 51% mention how easy it is as their secondary reason and 45% say it is because it is fast.

Why do YOU ride where you are? Let us know.

Bike Lane Simplicity

Bike Lane Simplicity, originally uploaded by [Zakkaliciousness].

Simple aestheticism on the bike lanes of Copenhagen.

The cyclist featured enjoys an average speed, together with the other half a million daily cyclists, of 15,3 km/hour.

In comparison, busses have an average of 14 km/hour and cars, 28 km/hour.

While the stats for the automotive traffic are tied to congestion, the average cycling speed is largely based on how fast people bike. There are traffic jams for bikes in Copenhagen - on the busiest arteries over 20,000 bikes will pass each day - but increasing the average speed would mean that cyclists would just have to ride faster.

There is, however, a fantastic initiative set into place along many of the busiest arteries:

The 'Green Wave' system coordinates the traffic lights to give cyclists a 'green wave' all the way along the route.

This means that if you ride 20 km per hour you'll hit green lights the whole way.

Some people have bike speedometers - not many - but most can adjust their speed using their experience, without electronic interferance, and enjoy an uninterupted ride to and from work.

Most of the stretches featuring the Green Wave have 15,000 - 30,000 bikes per day.

That's progress.

Freedom to Ride - Freedom of Expression

Image above is best viewed large. Just click on it and feel free to save as a screensaver.

It has to be said that we here at Copenhagen Cycle Chic are rather overwhelmed at the response we get regarding this blog. It's amazing how many people send us emails and photos for consideration as guest photos from around the world. Thanks so very much.

It's amazing to us because we started out merely wanting to record the bredth and depth of Copenhagen bike culture. It is so ingrained on our culture - as you see here in this photo of a wall mural in Copenhagen of a girl on a bike:

Or just see this advert for Raleigh bikes in Denmark. A rather different approach to marketing. Compare it with Raleigh's US website... One features casual elegance, the other men in lycra. :-)

We merely wish to show how effortless bike commuting can be. To inspire those in countries without a firm foundation for bike culture to just get out and ride. Lycra begone. Fancy gear begone. Just get on with it.

As expected we have a large group of female fans from around the world. This demographic group often tell us how inspiring the photos are to them. We think that is great. That's the whole point. As Dave Moulton writes on his blog - Womankind - You can save mankind.

A friend of ours pointed us in the direction of some inspiring historical references to women on bikes. We're thankful that women are no longer ridiculed for riding bikes as they were in the late 1800's, back when the bike was regarded as a 'freedom machine' for women during the suffragist movement.

Indeed, this quote is inspiring and still relevant today:

"Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammelled womanhood." - Susan B. Anthony, American Suffragist, 1896.
Or consider Frances Willard - another legendary activist - who wrote a book in 1895 called 'How I Learned To Ride The Bicycle' wherein she praised the bike for the freedom it gave women. She often used a cycling metaphor to urge other suffragists to action:

"I would not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum."

We've come a long way. Moreso in some countries than others. Dave Moulton has had some grief about his post about Womenkind - You can save mankind - he responds here. But the narrow-minded won't get us down. Those who merely slap the label of 'sexist' on this blog don't have a very basic understanding of what it's all about and they judge others based on their own cultural norms. Without respecting the fact that people in other countries think differently.

And if they think bike advocacy in high heels is sexist, I would love to see their faces if they saw this advert for a Danish bike shop Cykelkongen [Cycle King]:

We don't particularly fancy this kind of photo - it is targeted at a different demographic group - but we respect the fact that others out there do fancy it.

All in all, thanks again for your support and kind emails/comments. We shall endevour to continue bringing you inspiration from the World's Cycling Capital.

May you forever ride with a tailwind.