Portraits of cyclists: Lilian - "The day before I gave birth to my son, I was on my bike"

"I cycle everyday. So, I really need my bike and I love this one, especially the color."

"What do you like when you bike in winter?"

"I like to get some fresh air and to exercice."

"What would be your tips to cycle in winter? Do you wear specific clothes?"

"You should not dress to warmly, since you produce heat while you’re cycling. You really don’t need skiing clothes. You just need to wear a windproof outfit and of course a warm pair of gloves."

"What is your most unforgettable memory related to your bike?"

"The day before I gave birth to my son, the « water breaking » happened when I was on my bike on my way to the hospital".

Even if it seems incredible for a lot of other countries, here in Danemark, women cycle when they are pregnant, and they even bike with contractions to the hospital. Read here.

More pictures of Copenhagen every day on Byliv in CPH.

Copenhageners in New York

Our very good friends Ole and Lærke from the company Purpose Makers headed to New York City last week for some work. Being Copenhageners, they immediately acquired bicycles - and from a cool local company, of course. All their transport was done on their bicycles. Here we have Lærke - six months pregnant, by the way, enjoying cycling in the city despite the -15 degree temperature.

A trip to New York is not complete without a photo of an NYPD vehicle parked in the bike lane. It's as New York as a hot dog stand.

A practical bike was necessary when you're riding around going to meetings all week.

Sometimes it was all Copenhagen-esque when riding around.

Sometimes, you're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

Nevertheless, it was a brilliant trip by all accounts. And cycling whilst pregnant? Yeah, we've covered THAT before here on the blog. Have a look at the articles on the Bicycles and Pregnancy tag.

Beginning of July: Black is back and the sun is hiding

Where are you people? Where are you cyclists?
It's the first week of July and Copenhagen is empty. The inhabitants headed for their summer houses and the young generation for Roskilde Festival.

But what did you bring the sun with you?


All black pregnant woman.



A hint of yellow.


Black bag, black clothes, but leopard shoes.


Black. Still black



Have a nice summer holiday. See you next week with I hope colorful cyclists in the sun :-)

More pictures everyday on Byliv in CPH.

Joni from Amsterdam

Joni, from Amsterdam Cycle Chic, riding strong only weeks before she gave birth to her son. Congratulations, Joni!

With Child - Two Versions

Our Cycle Chic Barcelona Wheels

So Cycle Chic went to Barcelona. Not surprisingly, we needed bicycles to get around on. From A to B. A being cool cycle events and B being cool bars and restaurants. We were incredibly fortunate to get a load of bicycles to ride fra various sources.

I decided to bring a prototype of the new Cycle Chic bicycle from Copenhagen to Barcelona to show the gang. We hoping for a launch in the fall. Above is the bicycle on the quay next to the yacht that some of us stayed on in Barcelona's Port Vell.

Here's the bicycle being rolled onto the plane at Copenhagen airport. It arrived fine in Barcelona. We're still working on the colour combination for the bicycle and we're working on getting the price down so that it is affordable.

Once on the ground in Catalunya, we needed more wheels. And this is where our good friends from CityBici stepped in to help. They provided us with cool bicycles from Creme Cycles. You know it's a chic city when your lovely friends show up with their friends and all of them are lovely and gorgeous. Here they all are, above, in front of Barcelona's Arc de Triomf. Vanessa from CityBici, in the middle, is beautifully pregnant and we'll promptly add this shot to our Bicycles and Pregnancy tag here on the blog.

Creme Cycles make a variety of bikes. Most are upright but they have funky models, too. Like this one.

CityBici were also kind enough to let us use their gorgeous showroom/flat for our conference where we discussed Cycle Chic and shared experiences from the various countries, as well as plotted out the way forward for the brand. Cold beer, cool friends, groovy city. Me gusto.

We still needed a few more bikes for the bloggers, though. My friend Koos from BikeTech bike shop in Barcelona helped swing some bicycles from another shop. Intemperie is an outdoor gear shop in Barcelona and they were kind enough to loan us 10 Brompton folding bikes. Txell, from Barcelona Cycle Chic, held a master class in folding/unfolding the bikes for the uninitiated on the sidewalk outside Intemperie. On the left is a seat warmer from Velorbis having a test ride on a Brompton.


Once in a while situations arose where the people outnumbered the bicycles, as they do, but our crew merely shrugged THAT off and made it work. Tiago and Saskia on the left and Philip and Joni on the right. If memory serves, I had a certain Quebecoise on the back of my bike when taking these shots. :-)

So, all in all, we were well covered in the bicycle department for the duration of the Cycle Chic Bloggers Conference 2011. A couple of rental bikes were squeezed into the equation, as well as a few Bicing bike share bikes. But thanks to a whole bunch of good, cool people for helping us out!

Copenhagen Foursome

A Copenhagen foursome. Including two smiling to themselves and one with child. How lovely. I love this city.

Dentherlands Nethermark

Another beachalicious photo. A family with two cargo bikes. One a Danish Sorte Jernhest and the other a Dutch bakfiets. Perfect for getting to and from the beach with three kids. And on the left is a pregnant Copenhagener parking her bike. Cycling while pregnant is encouraged and virtually prescribed in Denmark.


A Nihola cargo bike in action near the City Hall Square on a blustery day.

Sisters Doin' It For Themselves

Yes, yes, we cycle about feeling chic'er than thou, off to cafés and dates and parties oh my. Chic, however, is undefinable. Chic in Copenhagen may be chic in Sevilla, and vice versa, but farther afield chic has other cultural definitions.

It's high time we blogged some chic photos from other bicycle cultures, of sisters doin' it for themselves. As they should and as they have since the dawn of the bicycle. Above is a Sister from the good people at Krakow Cycle Chic.

Classy and pregnant. Shot taken by Flickr user Meanest Indian.


This is just splendid, taken by Flickr user Rick Elkin.

Beautiful people on beautiful bicycles.

This is Where It's Hat

So, one of our readers, Lynn, requested a Hat Theme. We're only too happy to oblige. The problem is that I discovered I have so many photos of Copenhageners on bikes wearing hats. Hats are a staple in the winter months here. It would be a mammoth post if I included them all. However, one photo from last winter pops into my head whenever I think 'hat' and 'Copenhagen' and 'bicycle'. It's above. A stylish couple at a red light.


A while back I took this photo of two Korean tourists renting bikes at Baisikeli - the place you have to go if you want to rent bikes in Copenhagen. Smashing outfits the both of them.


These two shots were taken a few days ago. Two cargo bike Copenhagener ladies avec chapeau.


The beret is an absolute evergreen.

As is the many incarnations of the woolen hat.

Here's a splash of colour on a grey winter's day. I believe she was a tourist, speaking another language to the chap behind her.

Jumping south to Paris, I simply had to include this brilliant hat - and outfit.

And I'll wrap up with this, one of my favourite shots, taken on the City Hall Square. Double hatasticness.

And if hats are your funky thang, be sure to visit the Victoria & Albert Museum in London as they have the Anthology of Hats Exhibition running until May 2009.

They also have an exhibition about the romance between sports and fashion called Fashion vs. Sport. Now as anyone who reads this blog will now know, urban cycling is transport, not sport. Cycling is a sport to a tiny percentage of the world's daily cyclists. Nevertheless, this exhibition is a fascinating mix of the two and highlights how they influence each other. This exhibition runs until 04 January 2009.

Regarding cycling as a transport form for the majority of cyclists, I found this text on the Netdoktor website about cycling and pregnancy. It is highly recommended by doctors in Denmark to ride while pregnant, right up to the end if you can. But this text says it all about how cycling is regarded in Denmark:

"Cykling er ikke kun en transportform, men i lige så høj grad en motionsform"

In English: "Cycling isn't only a form of transport, but also a great way to excercise."

I love that. Reminding Danes that cycling is good exercise, too.

Couple of Things

This couple, complete with a kid at the front of the chap's bike, were ready for green.


It's been a while since we've had a little "It's Not Just Us" post - wherein we show that The Cycling Girl - Cykelpigen - is still an integral and iconic part of Danish culture after over a century. Here's a cover of a book called Pregnancy and Exercise and what better photo on the cover than a pregant woman on a bicycle.

Eat, Cycle and be Merry

One of our dear readers, Village Mama, requested a Bicycle and Food series and I quickly discovered that I have a shocking absence of this theme in the archives. Not because it's not an important part of Copenhagen bike life, but merely because I haven't caught the shots. So above is me heading for a meeting and enjoying a pain au chocolat on the bike lanes.


Here's an apple munching cyclist.

And ice cream counts, too, doesn't it?


One thing the Copenhagen Cycle Chic archives are filled with is photos of Copenhageners transporting coffee, like this previously posted photo above.

Or this pregnant Copenhagen sipping an ice coffee.

Coffee holder on the handlebars.

Two girlfriends, both carrying coffee.

I'll be sure the keep an eye out for 'diner transportable', as they say in French. Eat 'n ride. Cykle og spise.