CycleChic in Italy. Small city in North of Italy, not having an decent infrastructure for cyclists and still - plenty of people using their bikes to get from A to B. Older people, younger people, man and woman... Everyone cycles and they look good!!!!
Here it is. The outer limits of extreme Cycle Chic hardcore bike stunts. Do not try this at home. But only because you probably don't have a lovely sloping Italian hill in your living room on which to coast down...
Grandma Lina is her name and she is our favourite Cycle Chic freerider, shopping and all...
Here's some more Cycle Chic-esque shots from Roma. The bicycle is alive and well in the Italian capital. More separated bike lanes would really make the numbers of Citizen Cyclists boom. I'm loving this lady at the top. She was so very cool.
It was most encouraging and pleasing to see so many cool bicycles in Rome. Loads of vintage rides that are still going strong. Seeing flowers on baskets was more common than I would have thought, and it's so lovely every time.
This one isn't vintage but that backrack and basket add to the mainstream bicycle culture flavour.
This is old school parking. For decades this is how people parked their bicycles. Leaning them against the curb with the pedal. Probably not a good idea in cities that are getting used to the return of the bicycle, but the bike, above, stayed standing.
Just back from Rome and here are some Rome Cycle Chic photos for your consideration. It's a mad city, Rome. Most Citizen Cyclists ride carefully and intelligently through the witch's cauldron of traffic. In classic Roman style, of course.
Can anyone tell me where some good spots are to photograph cyclists in the city? Certain streets? The University? Please drop us a line in the comments.
Our friends at Italian Orco Cicli weren't content with the art of making bicycles. They took their craft one step further and dug out the paintbrushes to create this porcelan-inspired paint job. Beautiful stuff. The bike is retro-goodness with a classic grandpa style reminiscent of the 1930's but for heaven's sake raise those handlebars so people can sit up straighter - like their mothers taught them. We've blogged about their other bikes previously here on Cycle Chic.
We're loving the paint job but we wouldn't mind seeing this lovely personalisation on some of their upright models, too.
The seeds of Cycle Chic have been spread by the winds of change for a good portion of time now and small, fertile gardens of bicycle goodness are blooming all over the world. Not least on the island of Ortigia, just off the coast of Siracusa, Sicily, where Dave Jenkins owns a bicycle shop - Ortigiano.
Dave is known locally as the man with the crazy bicycles. The city rubbish collectors bring him bicycles they find thrown away and he repairs them or uses them for parts. He also rents bicycles to tourists and his shop has become quite a photo opportunity for visitors. Dave also produces splendid bags that deserve a wider audience. He produces them himself con amore and sells them online and in the shop. He has a variety of colours and styles available. Ready-made for your shoulder or your pannier rack. They're made of naturally-dyed cotton canvas and, of course, recycled bicycle inner-tubes. Dave's friend Alessia is responsible for dying the fabric and her steady hand is also involved with making the bags. She also has a lovely website. Dave collaborates with a friend from nearby Catania who makes unique buttons using lava from Mt. Etna and they add a brilliant detail to the bags.
Oh dear. Yet another bicycle that makes us weak in the knees here at Cycle Chic. And goodness me, another Italian make. This affair has got to stop. Meet the much too fine bicycles from Orco Cicli, out of Milano. Above is the Preta Donna, that cheeky vixen.
From Orco Cicli's website: We don’t make bikes in series, we make them by hand one at a time: the measurements, the colour, the accessories and components can all be changed. What remains the same, is the geometry of the frames, the passion and care with which they are made and our trademark discreetly placed on the stem and on the rear case that holds the bike’s worksheet: you can remove it and use the case as a cigarette paper or business card holder. How cool is that?! A little case holding the bike's worksheet but that can be used to hold rolling paper or business cards!
Anyway, back to business. If The Preta Donna is a cheeky vixen, then god knows what the Nilde Donna gets up to after dark. I shudder excitedly just thinking about it. The boys are just as precocious, it would appear. The Amadeo Uomo, for example. Thank goodnes Orco Cicli only have five base models to choose from otherwise I'd go quite mad. Oh, and lovely bicycle bell. Well, I thought it was a bell, but it's a gear shifter thingy.
Here's a film about the three chaps who started the company. It's in Italian, which is lovely to listen to even if you don't parlo.
Orco Cicli are based in Milano. www.orcociclia.com Their bicycles start at €1300.
I just love this shot from Bologna. And here's a late night shot from last Saturday here in Copenhagen. The Metro runs all night here. It's a beehive of activity from 2 AM when people move on to bars and nightclubs from cafes and parties. Girlfriends, bikes and beer. The night is still young.
When I coined the Italian phrase for 'cycle chic' - Cicloeleganza, this is really what I meant without even knowing it. Brilliant photos by the Italian photographer Silvia Baglioni. The photos were taken for the monthly fanzine for the Italian football club Arezzo AC.
