Bike Shares Around the Republic, Part I

Barcelona's bicing

We did a tour for a wonderfully attentive and sharp group of visitors from Washington, D.C. earlier this week.  From the Summit Foundation's Sustainable Cities program they were researching and experiencing, well, sustainable cities.  Bike share systems of course play a role and got us thinking, what is it, in the simplest explanation, that makes bike share such A Good Thing.

Copenhagen's City Bike

Boiled down to one easy phrase, it redemocratises the bicycle.  It brings the bicycle back to the city's residents.  It boldly reintroduces the bicycle as urban transport. This is one of the key points in Mikael's keynote, "Four Goals for Promoting Urban Cycling," and features in much of our work at Copenhagenize.

Velib in Paris

Business men and women, Chic'sters, hipsters, going about their daily business with a little two-wheeled help.  No wonder we like it so much.

dublinbikes

Moving people and furniture.  One Montreal Bixi at a time.

Cycle Chic Super Cargo Dads

It's quiet in Copenhagen at the moment, during the three weeks of summer holidays. The numbers of bicycle users heading to and from work are still mind-blowing to visitors but it is clear to those of us that live here that most of the nation are holidaying at home, in their summer houses or off travelling.


Cargo bikes and Copenhagen are like a hand and a glove. With 40,000 cargo bikes in the city you're certain to see them everywhere. In the summer holidays the pace slows. Kids don't have to be transported off to kindergarten or school but cargo bikes still fulfill an important role. There are still beaches or museums to be visited, playgrounds to be explored.

Denmark is one of the countries in the world with the greatest level of gender equality. It's not just in business or politics - out of the eight polictical parties, four have female leaders, including the Prime Minister - but in everyday life. A simple phrase from other societies like "soccer mom", for example, seems rather odd and archaeic. We're just soccer parents.

We hear, however, the same thing from cargo bike brands and bike shops. When a young family is discussing getting a cargo bike, it tends to be the mother who calls the shots regarding brand, accessories, etc. Nevertheless, the bike becomes The Family Bike when it rolls out of the shop, as you can see in this article. Superdads just getting on with it. Rolling kids around the city.

Given our involvement in the European Cyclelogistics project, we have cargo bikes on the brain at the moment here at our offices. So here goes.


At left: Here are my kids napping on the way home from the beach on our Bullitt.
At right: My boy and two friends on our old Longjohn.






Christiania Bikes in action.







Nihola Bikes do their thang.


In Ljubljana and Montreal, too.




Bullitts from Larry vs Harry.


A no-name brand at left and an Winther Kangaroo at right. The flag reads "Go, Mum!" and they were riding alongside his wife as she ran the Copenhagen Marathon.

The iconic Triobike.


Bakfiets from the Netherlands.

Sorte Jernhest (means Black Iron Horse). The one on the right is available for residents to borrow from various locations around the city.

Then again... kids are doin' it for themselves.

Pasta Bicycles

How cool is this? Pasta bicycles in a package of gluten-free pasta. You can make a whole Copenhagen rush hour with them! I can't remember the brand - I just put them in a glass jar - but I bought them the cool organic supermarket, Bio-Terre Épicerie Sante on St. Viateur in Montreal.

Montreal Bicycle Winter

I was in Montreal last week and it was brilliant to see so many bicycles on the streets. I didn't have a chance to photograph too much because of work, but here are some shots from the city's streets.

Betina Lou & Bicycles

Betina Lou Spring Summer 2012 from Betina Lou on Vimeo.

Montreal brand Betina Lou has lovely bicycles in this ad/video! Cool.

Cycle Chic Legends - Montreal

We have a lot of people who have been following this blog for a long while. When we travel about the world we get to meet many of our readers but meeting the 'veteran readers' is always an added bonus. Like Maria, in Montreal, at the launch of Montreal Cycle Chic last summer. A blog is many things but it is nothing without our readers. Hooking up with Maria in Montreal was a pleasure. Bike love to you, Maria!

Couvreselle Bicycle Seat Covers

The heart and soul of bicycle culture thrives in the creations of passionate individuals. This post is about one of them.

There I was, riding through Montreal and heading for the Tour la Nuit - the annual evening bike ride in the city. Down the separated bike lane on rue Brébeuf. I saw someone on the sidewalk and just had to turn around. That's when I met Viviane.

Outside her flat she was selling bicycle seat covers to the many cyclists heading for the Tour la Nuit, an event by Vélo Québec, with 17,000 people on bicycles! And not just any bicycle seat covers. Covers she crafts herself in a wild variety of fabrics and styles. I mean wild.


We started chatting and she had heard of Cycle Chic. She invited me inside to show me the fantastic selection of seat covers that she had made. This is really Cycle Chic con amore. As it should be. Gorgeous personalised accessories. Perfect for adding a splash of style and colour to you bicycle and even keeping your bottom warm in the winter.

Each seat cover takes her three hours to create. There is incredible attention to detail and quality. A one-woman Cycle Chic extravaganza.

Viviane has a website, in French, called www.couvreselle.ca.

After a great deal of deliberation, I settled on the one at the top. :-)