Posture Postulates

We're suckers for all the posture delights that mainstream bicycle culture offer up. Even though we have determined that, from an anthropological perspective, there are only 10 ways that Copenhageners wait for a red light, there are of course accents and dialects in the chosen posture.

We love the casual feel to these photos. Like the gentleman above. Relaxing and watching his city go by until the light turns green.

A pensive moment, perhaps, for this chap. The bicycle culture version of Rodin's The Thinker?

Sitting up straight and taking a moment to consider things.

The young woman rests her elbow on her knee while waiting at the light, perhaps selecting a new set of tracks on her smartphone.


And then there is The Felix. Hanging all cool and casual on one of the many railings and footrests at red lights around Copenhagen, to let cyclists take a load off whilst they wait.

If cyclists have a bad name about their rogue behaviour where you live, it's simply because they are not provided with well-designed infrastructure. Good design inspires good behaviour.

Stop Light Fragments

At stop lights bicycle users are frozen in time.

Pause for Thought

Urban cycling is motion and momentum but it is also the pauses between the movement. The similarities between pedestrianism and urban cycling are many, not least in the simple act of waiting for a light to change.

Such moments of pause are often elegant and aesthetic.

Red Light Series: Tip Toes

New Additions for the Red Light Posture Series.

Posture #2: Tip Toes
A classic stance for those who can't be bothered hopping off the saddle or those who prefer leaning to the left and therefore cannot enjoy the comfort of the raised curb.

With laptops, book bags, cellos and no curb it's also one of the easiest. Graceful and practical.

Orange Glow

Brilliant coloured hair made just a bit more brilliant by the light of the sunset. What a relaxed way to wait for the red light to change. A combination of posture #3 and #8 on the Red Light Posture Series - the 10 postures Copenhageners use when waiting for lights to change.

Friday Evening

Heading off for a night out, these are some of the things I saw in Copenhagen.

Sunshine Pauses

Enjoying the autuman sun whilst waiting for the light to change.

Regarding one's city whilst waiting for the light to change.

Sipping a frappucino whilst waiting for the light to change.

Red Night

These new traffic lights in Copenhagen are wild when photographed digitally. So bright. Heading home in the evening, or heading out on the town. We'll never know where she is heading but we can hope it was fun.

Same Spot Different Copenhageners

Coolest cat in the whole downtown. And silhouetted in a winter sub-zero sunset to boot.

Trois femmes.

Winter Moments

Waiting for a red light to change.

Mother and daugher rolled down to The Lakes on their cargo bike to go for a skate.

Frosty

The snow continues, which means the snow photos do, too. The temperature today was about -2 C but with the wind chill it was -16 C. Didn't stop the bicycles or the style.


How to wait for a Copenhagen red light in style in sub-zero temperatures.

Great Moments in Cycling

A couple of Great Moments in Cycling. Two friends continue a conversation whilst waiting at a red light.


A little farther north, two other friends do the same.

Red Light Conversations

There's nothing quite like two people riding together having a pleasant conversation whist waiting at the red light.

Morning and Afternoon

Heading towards the city one morning. The weather has been nice so flip-flops are still a popular choice around the city. And don't worry, that cyclist is in her own lane.

I really wish I'd see more of this. In the Red Light Posture Series, I called this posture "Classic Grace". This was standard Red Light Posture for ladies back in the day. Elegant and graceful. You hop off your bicycle with the step-through frame and place one foot on the pedal, ready to go.

Watch Out

The sticker on the bike lane reads "Watch out for blind angles", reminding cyclists of the blind spots that large trucks have when turning. A nice, friendly reminder. No, they're not slippery. The City of Copenhagen takes good care of us.

The Copenhagener atop the sticker has a grass mat in her basket, leading us to believe that she is returning from the beach in the lovely late summer weather. She is practicing the Copenhagen Straddle from the Red Light Posture Series to perfection.

Red Light Poise and Grace

Waiting for red light in Copenhagen can easily become an exercise in poise and grace. There's no hurry. The light will change soon enough and being in a hurry is sooo 1990's. Keep your foot down, girl. It signals not only style but power.

Let the cars have their run. Your turn is coming up shortly. The cute little bicycle traffic light on the left turn lane of the bicycle lane will soon turn green and you'll be scooting over the Copenhagen Blue in no time.

A Little Slice of Copenhagen Bicycle Life

Complete with kissing couple.

Three Red Bicycles and a Musing

Nothing quite like red bicycles, is there? Strange, that.

One of the books I'm reading at the moment is Nothing to Be Frightened Of, by Julian Barnes. It is an autobiographical work about the author's fear of death, which has nothing at all to do with bicycles or streetstyle. Nevertheless, one passage in the book struck home one of the sub-conscious reasons for continuing to produce this blog featuring the beautiful citizens of Copenhagen on their bicycles.

Barnes experienced a fear of flying for a period in his mid-twenties but he cured himself of it, quite unexpectedly, at Athens airport. He was a day early for a flight home to the UK and he camped out in the airport.

"To kill time, I went up on to the viewing roof of the terminal building. From there, I watched plane after plane take off, plane after plane land. Some of them probably belonged to dodgy airlines and were crewed by drunks; but none of them crashed. And this visual, rather than statistical, demonstration of the safety of flying convinced me."

There is little statistical proof that cycling is dangerous anywhere in the world, which is brilliant. But perhaps the visual demonstration of the beauty and safety of cycling that is this blog will convince readers, wherever they may live, that cycling is a normal, potentially gorgeous and safe form of transport. The 'Style over speed' motto coined here on the blog is, if you think about it, a fine traffic safety slogan.

Red Light Posture Series - Addendum

Damn. I thought I had them all covered. In my Red Light Posture Series from last year I thought I had seen all the variations Copenhageners use while waiting for red lights. Here's a new one. Lovely.

We'll call this one The Copenhagen Casual Lean.

Red Light Moments in Amsterdam

A potpourri of Amsterdammers at a red light.

Different kinds of rides at the red light.

Cool bike.

Regarding the RSS saga... I put the feed back on FULL several days ago. But many of you are saying it doesn't work. Any bright ideas out there? I use blogger, as you know, and feedburner. Please assist. The customers are almost always right, some of the time... :-)