Cycling Chic In Winter

Most of Central Europe has been in the grips of a cold snap this past week. Record low temperatures from Germany and Poland to Northern France and east to Italy as the mercury dropped to -20 to -30 in large swathes of the region. Here in Copenhagen we only got down to -10 but it still is chilly on a bicycle. Nevertheless, it doesn't deter the cyclists.

Jeremy took this shot of a Parisienne on a Vélib' bicycle braving the unusual cold in style.


My mate Marc from Amsterdamize.com has this great shot of Dutch chilly winter cycling with a smile.


Our friends at Lodz Cycle Chic in Poland have posted shots from the cold snap. The girl above effortlessly pedals through -17 degrees C.

This chap, while maybe not the peak of chic, gets Cycle Chic respect for cycling on a normal bike in his regular clothes at -20 below zero.

A cold snap is the best time to stop for lovely, warm Turkish take-away food to ride home with.


Let's do a little planet bouncing here and head over to Rhienna in Portland with this photo of her sister, Sara, and her bike in the unusual [for Portland] snow.

Jon, in Denver, sent us a link to his blog wherein he explains how he rides his bicycle as a gentleman, and dressed like one.

Imagine all those people who have been suckered into buying 'winter cycling clothes' when they have a closet filled with clothes right at home. Sheesh.

Portland Cycle Chic

Photo: Vanessa Cass
What a fantastic email I recieved this morning from Tricia in Portland.

Hi Copenhagen Cycle Chic,
Your blog has inspired me to get beyond my Sidi's and experience cycling in my growing collection of fabulous shoes. I love biking in heels- its so free spirited and sexy!

I hope you enjoy the attached photos. They are from our wedding which was on October 17th in Portland, OR. A friend popped in to the celebration with her bike, so I decided to take a spin. After all, what's a wedding without a bit of biking? Two of the pictures are of me on the bike (in my wedding dress) and one is of my husband and me.

Thank you again for the inspiration.

Photo: Vanessa Cass
I had to google Sidi's to find out that it is, apart from being a city in Northern Algeria, a brand of cycling shoes. :-) Thanks so much for sending us a brilliant flash of Cycle Chic from Portland, Tricia! Wonderful photos. People have been riding in heels long before cycling shoes were invented so we're pleased you love it!
Congratulations on your marriage - such a lovely couple!

Ode To A Bicycling America

Atlanta, Georgia - by San Smith - check out her blog!

The very, very best thing about this blog - and the other one - is the people we've met. It's a pleasure to cybermeet like-minded individuals who share our love of personal style, fashion and bicycles. In that order.

Santa Monica, California - by Madness Riviera.
We get so many lovely guest photos sent in or added to our Flickr group so why just chuck a little montage up with photos from a few of our American friends.

Fashion-wise there will always be differences in style on both sides of the pond, but we're loving what our friends and acquaintences are doing for Bicycle Chic in America.

Venice Beach, California
I lived in L.A. for a while back in the late-80's and every weekend was spent either surfing or hanging at the beach. Venice Beach was a favourite spot. Even back then Venice Beach was bicycle heaven. Some good things never change.

New York:


You know cycling has arrived [or rather returned] when the citizens of big cities get into the saddle. First Paris and now New York. Sure, it is far from perfect, but it's happening. And when it happens in cities like Paris and New York, it will spread. Wonderful.
Read our series about Paris for more info about the rebirth of their bike culture.

Seattle & Portland:


Sacramento, California:


Thanks for all the photos. There are so many more and we'll keep posting the, but for now this is our Ode to a Bicycling America.

Guest Photos Early August 2008

Another batch of fantastic guest photos and thanks very much for thinking of us. At the bottom in the middle is Alexandra in Washington, D.C. and she is the focal point of this article in the Washington Post. As they say in that neck of the global woods, "You GO, girl!" Great article.

All in all, looking back over the past year of Copenhagen Cycle Chic, it is quite amazing to see how things have snowballed. It was as lonely as a Finnish winter until other sites started cropping up, followed by Flickr groups and then, late in 2007, we started seeing coverage in newspapers in the UK and the US. It's increased in intensity here over the summer in the US as the media has realised the people are taking back the bike culture. Here's an article from Canada, another from Australia, and this one from Washington, DC.

It's an amazing development to behold. Funny, too, considering the fact that this cycling chic thang is hardly a newfangled thang here in Europe, but it's great to watch it develop. All I did was coin a phrase - Cycle Chic - and start photographing a theme - it's all of you who make it grow and spread the Style Over Speed word - especially with wonderful guest photos like all of them we've published on the blog.

Let's keep it snowballing, shall we? A good, stylish tailwind to you all.

Guest Photos: Italy and Portland

Nouvelle Vague Bike, originally uploaded by Federico Erra.

A stunning find on Flickr, taken by the excellent photographer Federico Erra.

Brilliant mood and cycle chic to boot.

Below is another fine shot by Patrick Finntastic in Portland. He's titled it The Fastest Girl in the World:

Guest Photoliciousness from Estonia, London and Portland

A busy inbox we have.
Thanks to everyone who sends us guest photos of cycle chic around the world. Here's today's international collection:

One of our newest member states in the European Union, Estonia, has a blossoming bike culture and Rasmus sent us this pearl of a shot. Thanks for that. Even though mountain bikes [in urban settings] are so-o-o-o 1990's, the outfit makes this shot. Nice contrast.

Thanks to Eva for this groovy photo from the London New Years Day Parade where participants dress up in vintage clothes and ride vintage bikes.
Check out Eva's cool blog - Cyclepod.

Another report from our Foreign Correspondant Patrick Finn in Portland, USA:
Here is a shot of something we see very often in Portland, girls riding track bikes with no brakes. This has caused quite a controversy here due to police citing cyclists for not having a brake, but the lawyers looked closely at the law and saw that it said the vehicle must be able to skid to a stop. Some fixed fear riders can do this and some can't. I ride a fixed gear, with a front brake. I can certainly understand how Europeans see this fixed gear craze and think it's a bit frivolous, but what can I say? It's become part of the culture here.
Great shot yet again, Patrick. You're right, it's a strange fad that fixed gear thing. But fads fade. Bikes without proper brakes are not allowed here according to the traffic laws. If bikes are to enjoy an equal footing with motorised traffic then the rules should apply to bikes as well. That's an important step towards bike culture. Thanks for keeping us up to date from your side of the pond!

Finntastic Fotos From Portland

A mere 24 hours after annointing our first Foreign Correspondent - The Right Honourable Patrick Finn of Portland, Esq. - the boy plops THIS into our inbox.

In one fell swoop he proves his worth as well as raising the bar for himself. What a copenhagenesque photo, Patrick. Great capture.

Patrick's notes:
"Thank you so much for honoring me as your foriegn correspondent, I will not let you down! So long as there are fashionable girls riding bicycles, I will be compelled to photograph them.

I have been driving to work more often than not these winter months, which fills me with ennui and pent up energy, but today I was lucky enough to share the road with this lovely cyclista for a few blocks and I was able to line up this shot out my window.

You may note the baby blue helmet in her basket. I'd like to think that bicyling isn't so dangerous as to require a helmet, but this cyclist at least carried one with her, maybe to put on as she approached her home to be a good example or to avoid castigation.

Thanks again -Patrick"

Guest Photo: Portland and San Francisco

Generally, we just think it's cool to have a blog onto which we can chuck photos that we would have taken anyway. We love that we have many viewers. It's such a laugh and we love the regulars who we have gotten to know over the past seven or so months.

But what really tickles us pink is that we now have a Foreign Correspondant! Our good friend Patrick from Portland has taken up the gauntlet and endevours to do what he can to record cycle chic and bike culture in that faraway exotic place called Portland.

Here's his latest reportage.

"Hello Mikael, It's Patrick from Portland with a bit of winter cycling here. Capturing cycle chic in winter is tricky: I see so many folks bundled up in their safety yellow rain gear that I'm not ready when a good photo opportunity rolls by.

This is the best shot I've gotten in months so I thought I'd share it with you. The color combos are a bit garish, but sometimes this grey world can use a little Gaudi.

Here's to the warm months in our future! -Patrick"

Thanks, Patrick! Always a pleasure to feel the Portland pulse through your sure and steady trigger finger.

While we're at it, here's another quick guest photo from Kristin in San Francisco:

"I find your blog incredibly inspirational for us Americans who tend to be not-so-cycle-friendly. However, SF is a great city for cycling! I caught this girl biking in a vintage mini, tights and cowboy boots on Friday evening in San Francisco's Mission District, with her basket filled with groceries, riding home with her boyfriend, probably off to cook supper".
Thanks for thinking of us, Kirstin! We look forward to more photos from San Fran!

Guest Photo: Portland, USA

We were well chuffed when Tanya's email showed up on the cyber radar. Yet another Portland view of their blossoming bike culture, this time through Tanya's eyes.

I love your blog. I used to live in Copenhagen and I really miss it there as I
miss a lot of the practical and humane ways of living in Northern Europe as a whole. Still, someone has to help spread the dream here in the USA. I am now the CEO for a corporate wellness company - RecessWellness.com. I just think that going to gym to "workout" or donning a bunch of crazy cycle gear is just silliness. I even own a Christiania trike that I use for hauling gear.

I have been trying to get regular people in Portland offices to just get on their bikes and stop making such a big deal of everything. People just about have a coronary when they find out I bike around in a suit and heels in the rain!

Happy biking (in heels)!

Tanya

What a wonderful and inspiring email to recieve. Thanks for thinking of us, Tanya! We wish you an eternal tailwind and best of luck with your quest. What a cool, blue bike you have, too.
Go Portland!

Guest Photo: More Portland by Patrick Finn

Ladies and Gentleman... another fine photo from Portland by Patrick Finn.
Thanks for sending it along to us, Patrick... and we look forward to the next installment!

Guest Photo: Portland, USA 2

IMG_6961_1p, originally uploaded by patotenere.

When it rains it pours.
Thanks to Enrique, who sent us the link to this photo from Portland, USA.
Yet another glance into Portland's blossoming bike culture.

Not an ounce of lycra or spandex or bike gear to be seen, thank goodness. Just someone who loves to ride.

Here's what Enrique wrote:
Hi all,
I'm a Spanish guy traveling from Canada to Colombia.

When I was in Portland, I took this picture. Portland is marvelous for cycling.

Enrique

Thanks for thinking of us, Enrique, and best of luck on your travels.

Guest Photo: Portland, USA

It had to happen sooner or later. At some point a photo from Portland, USA was sure to ding into our inbox. We have been hearing so much about Portland lately. The good cycling people of the city are endearing themselves to us more and more each day. [Although we'll never forgive them for bribing and flirting their way into second place - ahead of Copenhagen - on this very unscientific list... :-)]

We were dying to gain a glimpse of cycle chic in the city and we have to thank Patrick for sending this one along.

"Your website has been an absolute inspiration to me. I spent this summer attempting to document the best of Portland bicycle chic, but found that it's trickier than it looks. I did manage to get one photo I would like to share with you. Thank you so much for your amazing glimpse into your culture."

Thank YOU, Patrick. We're so pleased to be able to have a Portland photo of cycle chic on the blog.

And please tell everyone to keep up the splendid bike advocacy work in your passionate town.