The World's Only Gourmet Kitchen With A Puncture Kit!

Yes that's right - you are not being deceived, this really does exist. Morten, one of the craziest and happiest Danes I've ever met, has something that no-one else in the world has. A gourmet kitchen on wheels. After twenty years as a professional chef he decided to take his culinary skills to the next level. The bicycle-kitchen - the love child of combining two of his passions: bicycles and cooking.


At first I didn't believe that this stallion of a bicycle-kitchen could weave through the tight and narrow streets of his Copenhagen neighbourhood. He proved me SO wrong.


Casual scene of a kitchen gliding down the street. Nothing unusual about that at all...


So how did this begin? Well Morten loves to cook and as much as he loves working in a kitchen he also loves being outdoors. He also happens to have a long-established love for Long John bicycles. So one day it became painfully obvious to him to combine all of his passions: An outdoor kitchen designed on a Long John - I mean why not? So together with a friend they decided to take on the challenge of transforming his beloved bike by adding a sink, a stove and kitchen units.


Morten is a firm believer in buying fresh local produce and even does his grocery shopping using his other Long John bike! Even just by looking at this collection of vegetables makes me feel healthy and terribly 'eco-chico'...


Morten preparing for the meal he's about to cook. He even uses his bicycle parts to hold his herbs! Talk about being innovative...


Then there was that moment when we all suddenly felt a few drops of rain come out of nowhere...decision time, will the flood gates open or not?


They did. And this is Denmark so it rained HARD!


Not to worry as this guy is always one step ahead! He just steered his kitchen over to an unused cycle passage and set up his dining space there.


Making the place 'hyggeligt' or 'cosy' by lighting a few candles...and cracking open a bottle of vino!


Bon appétit! Or in danish 'Velbekomme!'


Morten has really found an alternative way to enrich his family, friends and customer's experience of fine dining. So here's a testament that some of the craziest ideas can really become some of the most ingenious and fascinating realities. Congratulations Morten - so dinner at yours next time, yeah?

He's known as the cycling chef or 'cykelkokken' - don't forget to like his Facebook page!

Finally the launch of the Cykelkokken website! Click Here.

Over and Out!

K.E.G. x

Bicycles, Beers and 'Hygge'. Welcome to Ølsnedkeren.

If you're ever walking around parched in downtown Copenhagen be sure to drop by Ølsnedkeren. It's a bar. They sell beer. But it's not just any bar or any beer - they actually brew the beer themselves down in the basement and every week the manager, Simon, experiments with new ingredients and flavours. I was lucky enough to come along to see just how it's done.


Upon entering the place I couldn't help eyeing up the bicycle hanging up on the ceiling. I think I'm gonna like it here...


When you go up to the bar you can ask for a taster of some of the beers that you may have never heard about before. It's Simon's thinking that by tasting a few of the experimental beers you can better make that all important decision of which pint to order. I had never tried 'Rhubarb beer' but it quickly became my all-time favourite.


I was also shown the microbrewery downstairs. The idea behind this half-bar-half-brewery was developed so that Simon could embrace his passion for brewing and experimentation whilst at the same time work behind the bar and engage with his customers. Especially to find out what they have to say about his beers and special concoctions!


So one of the fabulous reasons to visit Ølsnedkeren (amongst many) is that the manager and staff are always looking for ways to be incredibly innovative. One way this microbrewery transports their special beers across town is by an old-fashioned Long John bicycle. But wait, it gets even more 'eco-chico', the barrels themselves are light weight and recyclable. Here's Simon showing just how easy it is to attach the barrels to his bike.


Why take up street space and pay for gasoline with a van when you can deliver small goods around town by simply using a cargo bike? It's this line of thinking that many Copenhageners share. It's also how Simon runs his business and is an example of the new movement of alternative business transport and supports the collaborative European project CycleLogistics. To learn more about CycleLogistics Click Here.


Ready to roll...


Ølsnedkeren. Yes, it may be hard to pronounce but all you need to remember is that one very important danish word "Øl"...meaning "beer". Hmmmm, it sounds like "Ooool", no wait, "ulll"...good luck.


Does it get any better? Oh yes, the prices here are very friendly. More reason to have another pint!


Congratulations to Simon and the staff at Ølsnedkeren for their one year birthday. That calls for a pint. Skål!

Where? Griffenfeldsgade 52, 2200 København/Copenhagen. Check out their website here!

Over and Out!

K.E.G. x

Copenhagen Fashion Week - on the Street

Chic'sters in motion heading to the next show.  Most on bicycles.  The easiest way to get from event to event.

Literally, fashion week on the street, as the streets of the Grønnegade neighbourhood in central Copenhagen were closed.  Roads covered with red carpet.  Cars replaced with models.  

This wonderworld had to be created somehow.  We found out it was partly via bike, like the Velorbis Long John cargo bike above helping to organise and advertise the show. 

Long Johns

The traditional Long John bicycle has a long history of heavy use in Denmark and Copenhagen.

The original Long John bicycle was a Danish invention by Morten Rasmussen Mortensen in 1929. Nowadays a modern fleet of offsprings has taken to the streets. Including the already iconic Bullitt, from Larry vs Harry.


The beauty of the Long John is the ability to carry large, heavy loads and still be highly manoeuvrable.


Longs Johns became very popular in Denmark with many makers churning out Long Johns for transport and delivery.


Today the main cargo seems to be children!

Happy Cycling!

Old School Messenger Cool

Last Saturday the Danish Cargo Bike Championships were held here in Copenhagen and here's the Copenhagenize Red Rum Team posing with my Bullitt cargo bike, together with my son, Felix.

These cargo bike races were a regular event for decades and decades in the city, up until 1960. The bike messengers in Copenhagen would race for bragging rights and honour on old long john bikes, massive cargo bikes and short john delivery bikes.

Our team chose to dress for the occasion. The messengers back in the day were well-dressed, with ties and caps and pressed trousers [we didn't bother with those] and were a smashingly handsome addition to the urban landscape.

They were nicknamed 'svajere' or 'swayers', because of the movement they made when pedalling the massive bikes. Swaying through the streets.

You can read about the dapper history of the Svajere in this post at Copenhagenize and see how frightfully well-dressed they were, especially in the YouTube film at the end. Wouldn't it be brilliant to see bike messengers dressing in style?

The races were a load of fun and it was a great day out. There was the 2 wheeled cargo bike championships, the 3 wheeled championship and the team relay. Copenhagenize Red Rum Team took part in the latter. We stuck to tradition in the races. Basically, you do one lap [1.3 km] with an empty bike and then you load two car tires and a bundle of newspapers onto the bike. Then the remaining three riders do a lap with the heavy load.

The Copenhagenize Red Rum Team in action. Featuring me, Tiago from Brazil, Joel from Ottawa and Jeff from Washington, DC.

We won our heat and then finished fourth in the final. Although we clearly won the style championships... :-)

For more shots from the Cargo Bike Races, check this longer post over at Copenhagenize.com.

Cycle Tracks Launch Party

Last Wednesday, 50 of us went for an evening bike ride to celebrate the launch of our Copenhagen Cycle Tracks guide book to Copenhagen, which I wrote with three friends. It was a great night out and fit perfectly with the concept of one of my other babies - The Slow Bicycle Movement. We went for a ride out to the Nordvest neighbourhood, stopping off at various locations we write about in the guide book, including a great Turkish bakery and an impromptu park on an empty lot. There was a poetry reading outside a bar and loads of rolling down cool urban streets and parks, enjoying beers from a cargo bike.

Here's Kristine, one of my co-authors, with her groovy-cool bicycle.

Here's some other friends, including Emma, at far left, whom you may recognise from this previous post.

A nice easy pace, perfect for conversing with friends.

This is Kristine and one of the other co-authors, Simon, on his cool Longjohn cargo bike.

Some Cycle Chic street art and a chic cycling couple.


The man carrying the beer is always a popular fellow. There are various ways to acquire beer whilst in motion. You can serve yourself [at left] or you can have it served for you [at right].

You can also get a beer from the cargo bike and then hand it off to your friend, before taking one yourself.

It started to rain a bit so we ducked into a underpass for some more beers and some dancing.

The music was, of course, mobile and propelled along the streets on this Sorte Jernhest cargo bike.

Riding a bike in heels is, of course, incredibly simple. Sometimes, however, it's best to take them off whilst dancing on a bridge in a park, before heading off into town to continue the festivities.

There are some more photos in this Flickr set. Thanks to everyone for a great night out!