Cycle Chic Critical Style Mass in Mexico City

Finally. I got around to editing some footage from my Cycle Chic trip to Mexico City some months back. Here it is. The world's first Cycle Chic Critical Style Mass. Just a group of cool people on cool bicycles going for a bike ride through a cool city. No hardcore 'reclaim the streets' attitude accompanied by a Rage Against the Machine soundtrack. No geeky "bicycle enthusiasts" with outdated advocacy messages.

Just a cool bike ride. Winning hearts and minds with style and bicycles. Bicycle Advocacy 2.0, if you like.

Here is a post about this day and now the film is ready, above. What a city.

Check out the Mexico Cycle Chic tag here on the blog for more images.

Cycle Chic Global: México

Cycle Chic Mexico from Stromboly on Flickr.

Cycle Chic goodness from the Cycle Chic™ Flickr group.

More Mexico

My heart is still in Mexico after judging the Mexico Cycle Chic contest. Bear with me.
Brilliant shot from Maryl.

Mexico Cycle Chic - Photo Contest Winners!

So there you have it. We have finally wrapped up the super-thrilling Mexico Cycle Chic Photo Competition. There was a flurry of uploads to our Flickr group in the final stages and a buzz of activity in the Mexican blog world.

Launched by the Royal Danish Embassy in Mexico City, the Cycle Chic photo competition was in collaboration with Cycle Chic (me), Danish bikemaker Biomega and the Institute for Transportion & Development Policy [ITDP].

There were three judges - me, Sussi from Biomega and Bernardo from ITDP. [See Sussi Cycle Chic right here...:-) ]

I can tell you it was a tough job picking winners in the two categories - Gentleman and Lady. Two Biomega bikes were up for grabs - the Biomega Boston.

WINNERS:

Here we go. Here's the brilliant winning photo in the Gentleman category by Flickr user carlossagh.

The judges said:
"If this isn't the Joy of Cycling and La Dolce Vita all at once I don't know what is." Mikael Colville-Andersen, creator/owner of Cycle Chic.
"Mexicano style at its best."
Sussi Poulsen, Global Sales Manager at Biomega
"Music, freedom and moving on a bike, what else do you need?"
Bernardo Baranda, Director de ITDP Mexico


And here's the winner in the Lady category, by Flickr user Supersube.
The judges said:
"There is Cycle Chic and then there is Cycle Chic Deluxe/Extreme/Brilliance"
Mikael Colville-Andersen
"Cycle chic sublime. The guys in Guadalajara must have a strong neck pain turning their heads for this girl."
Sussi Poulsen
"It's the most "cycle chic" picture I saw. Great colors (especially the blue) and beautiful girl."
Bernardo Baranda

Both of the winners hail from Guadalajara, Mexico. Congratulations to both photographers! The Danish Embassy will contact them and work out how they get their new Biomega bikes.


The bar was raised high in the competition. Be sure to check out all the Cycle Chic goodness in the Flickr group. Here's some more examples of photographic brilliance from the competition.





Cycle Chic wishes to thank the Royal Danish Embassy in Mexico, ITDP and Biomega for a wonderful collaboration. And thanks to everyone who took part in the contest! The Flickr group lives on, so keep on documenting Mexico Cycle Chic for all the world to see.

Cycle Chic's Mexico Competition! Win a Biomega Bicycle!

The competition is hotting up in Cycle Chic's Mexico Cycle Chic competition on Flickr. Here's a few of the entries. The one above is from Guadalajara.

If you're in Mexico or know someone who is, let them know about the competition and send them quicksmart to the Flickr group - Mexico Cycle Chic. The good people from Danish bicycle brand Biomega have put up two of these bicycles as a prize. One for best Gentleman shot and one for best Lady shot:

I'm one of the judges for the competition so get snapping!

Global Cycle Chic Goodness

London.

Time for a litle update from our wide and wonderful world of Cycle Chic, all harvested organically from the lush garden that is the Original Cycle Chic Flickr Group.


Santiago, Chile y Mexico.


London. Rivendell? (Tags, people! Tags! :-))

San Francisco. Amsterdam. Portland.


Copenhagen. Chicago.


New Zealand, the both of them.


Toronto.


Calgary, Canada.

Cycle Chic Photo Shoot and Press Conference

On my recent excursion to Mexico City, there was plenty of room for Cycle Chicness. One of the days was exclusively in Cycle Chic's name. We had a press conference on the rooftop terrace of my hotel, Condesa df, in collaboration with one of Mexico's biggest newspapers, Reforma . They invited a number of young readers who don't cycle daily and haven't really cycled since they were kids.

What we're seeing now is my Cycle Chic concept as a more specific marketing platform for urban cycling. The Danish bike brand Biomega was present at all the events in Mexico, together with a container full of their bikes. So Cycle Chic had a raucous flirt with them for the duration of the Mexico City stay.

I said a few words about Cycle Chic and then Biomega presented their bikes, after which the guests all had a chance to pose with the bikes and I autographed some posters. All good fun. Reforma followed the participants and asked them questions and photographed them the whole day.


If we're going to mainstream urban cycling, it's necessary to deftly leapfrog the sub-cultural image that cycling suffers under in so many countries. In my lecture entitled Four Goals for Promoting Urban Cycling I highlight how we used to market bicycles and, indirectly, bicycle culture.

We need to go back to our roots and relearn the marketing, inspired by the massive societal and cultural boom that the bicycle launched over a century ago.


The press conference moved on to the streets of the city afterwards. The world's first Cycle Chic Critical Mass took place. But more on that later.

Mexico Bike Gang

If I had to be chased by a girl bike gang for whatever strange reason, I'd like them to look like this. Thank you.


Hotel Condesa df. Mexico City's Design Hotel Pearl
I have written an article about the hotel I stayed in whilst in Mexico City. Read about the very cool Condesa df design hotel over at the Jorg&Olif Slow Life Blog.

Bicycle Painting

I met these cool guys after my lecture at the architecture faculty at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. They are readers of Cycle Chic - I'm always humbled and amazed to meet readers around the world.

I noticed the cool paint job on the bikes and the chap on the right told me he paints them by hand. It takes four days per bike but THAT is personalising your bike in extreme style. Wicked cool. Cool bikes made cooler with TLC and paint.

Here's a friend of theirs riding one of the hand-painted bikes on Reforma boulevard on Sunday.

And a close up. Kind of. Of the paint job(s).