Thank You Thank You Thank You

Five years ago today, at 08:43 in the morning, I took a photo.

I could never have guessed that morning, on my way to work at Danish Broadcasting Corp., how that one photo would turn my world topsy turvy.

A journalist who researched where Cycle Chic - and the global bicycle boom - came from, ended up back at this photo, taken on November 14, 2006. She called it "The Photo That Launched a Million Bicycles" - a tagline that continues to humble me.

The story of this blog and the expansion around the world is well known by many. But today, for me, is a special day. The fifth anniversary of a wild ride. I'm heading down to the spot where that first photo was taken at 08:43 today. Just to be there. Take a photo or two. A bunch of the other cycle chic bloggers are going to take a photo today at the same time in their cities, too. Which is brilliant.

I'm going to take the luxury of reflection today. Remembering all the amazing experiences that this blog - and Copenhagenize.com as well - have contributed to my life.

I have had the priviledge of meeting so many fantastic people. I've given talks in over 40 cities on four continents and, invariably, ridden bicycles with these fantastic people in all the cities, as well as talking about reestablishing the bicycle on the urban landscape, liveable cities and promoting cycling positively. People I would never have had the opportunity to meet if that photo wasn't taken.

It's the people I remember more than anything. The ones that come up to me in every city and say things like "You're the reason I ride a bicycle..." I never know how to reply to that. It's too amazing. And if try to reply in length, I tend to get watery eyes. I'm going to reread the testimonials from readers today, as I do on every anniversary. I'll have a slow look at the press mentions through the years, remembering every thrilling moment when Cycle Chic grew a little bit more.

I'm going to ride a bicycle today. I do it every day, of course, but today I will just go for a ride in this amazing city and regard my fellow cycling citizens. Thanking them secretly for their constant inspiration, their beauty, their organic, human-powered symphony that makes this city - and any city - a nicer place to live.

Thank you to the many of you who have been visiting this blog loyally through the years. I'm so grateful to have met so many of you around the world and yet there are so many that I would still love to meet.

Thanks to the other people out there who have started a Cycle Chic blog and a specific thanks to those Cycle Chic bloggers who have become close and valued friends. Thanks for understanding the value of Cycle Chic and being a part of this ride.

Cycle Chic is going to be growing very soon and we're excited about the upcoming evolution.

But for today.... thank you.

Cycle Chic Inspiration

Who doesn't like to be an inspiration? Thanks so much to Wytze, who sent us a mail. He has completed his graduation project which involved designing a ladies bicycle.

I just wanted to let you know your blog inspired me during my graduation project. As a tribute I made this picture I attached. Thank you for all your nice fotographs, they reminded me to focus on style not only on features.
Wytze


Thanks so much, Wytze. And what a groovy bicycle you've designed. It's viewable here in the Graduation Project - The Movie! :-)

Happy Birthday! Two Years With Cycle Chic

It's our birthday! Call someone and let them know!

Two years ago today, the Cycle Chic blog saw the light of day for the first time. The rest is history.

Wifealiciousness and I celebrate two special days in our relationship. The day we first kissed on a bench at 06:00 after a night out and the day we got married. It's kind of like that here on Cycle Chic.

As avid readers of this blog know, on November 14th, 2006, I took the photograph that started it all. On June 11th, 2007 I figured I'd start a blog, just to have my series of photographs gathered in one place.

Little did any of us know back then how the story would unfold. It certainly caught me by surprise, this sudden international interest in photographs of something that is completely normal for us in Copenhagen - well-dressed Copenhageners on bicycles.

In a way it's as though I started a vacuum cleaner blog because in Copenhagen our relationship to our bicycles is the same as our relationship to our vacuum cleaners. We all have them, we all use them, but we certainly don't think about them in the course of a day. Except when the bag needs to be changed/the tyre is flat. So for the sake of good order, here's my vacuum cleaner:


Before the international press got a hold the story, the first magazine to publish Cycle Chic photos was the always cool KBH Magasin. This was even before the blog started.

Back in the beginning of 2007 this spread was featured in a series about The Details of Copenhagen. You can see the evolution of the press coverage on the Press About The Blog page.

So what is 'Cycle Chic' apart from a useful phrase I coined to try and describe the fashionable art of riding bicycles in Copenhagen? Well, we've tried to sum it up in the Cycle Chic Manifesto, but sitting here two years on I suppose that Cycle Chic is a fantastic way to describe how bicycling used to be, how it is in many places and how it can be again elsewhere. The individual defines their own 'chic' and what is 'chic' in Copenhagen may not be 'chic' in Cork but the very simple act of riding around in your regular clothes on normal bicycles is something all of us know, all of us have tried [if only in childhood] and something that we can identify with. Cycle Chic is a mirror into which we can peer in order to see ourselves and our urban landscape in a new way. It's bicycle advocacy, sure. It's streetstyle, yeah. It's fashion on a bicycle, as opposed to bicycle fashion.

But Cycle Chic is urban planning and a way to redefine our cities and transform them in more liveable spaces.

It's about the bicycle in many ways but really, it's not only about the bicycle. The bicycle and infrastructure are merely tools for change in cities and towns.

Rereading this morning the page with testimonials from readers from the past two years is humbling and touching. Without you readers, this blog would be nothing. So thanks so much for visiting our little corner of the internet. It is also humbling to watch the list of blogs and articles inspired by Cycle Chic grow almost daily. It's on the right column, farther down, Copycats & Collaborators. Thanks to everyone involved.


You just KNEW that we couldn't have a birthday blogpost without my colleagues being involved. Lars, a film composer in real life, has been an epic contributor to Cycle Chic. He has really raised the photographic bar. He sent in a guest photo back in the day and was soon a regular contributor. Ironically, we found out that we both work in the film industry and that we have many things in common. So above is a birthday photo from Lars.


Marie [Velomama] blogs now and then, so here's a photo from her camera. I met Marie after she completed her thesis about "Everyday Modest Democracy - The Bicycle as a Symbol of Danishness". She had included Cycle Chic in the chapter about the iconic Cycling Girl in Danish history and how the tradition lives on here on the blog. We've been friends since. She now works for the City of Copenhagen's Bicycle Office, making our city even better for bicycles. Here's a birthday greeting from Marie:

Although my postings are sporadical, my heart has always been with this blog. I've been co-blogging here since early 2008. Once and again this blog has made me marvel at how the somewhat banal reality of Copenhagen's cycling culture - which we all take so much for granted here - can be an eyeopener for people elsewhere.

I find such poetry and reassurance in the fact that a popular, everyday phenomenon such as Copenhageners cycling around in their everyday clothes can actually inspire others and show the way forward towards more relaxed, livable and living cities all over the world.

Those of you who get a kick out of this blog: Find your own voice! Spread the message! Bicycles are for everyone! Big cheers, Velomama


And then there's Wifealiciousness. Susanne doesn't blog much here - she's too busy with her own style blog in Danish - but being my muse [and wife] she is a major part of this blog and I couldn't do any of this without her. She still gets interviewed about style and the blog, however.

In celebration of our birthday, a talented friend of mine, Rasmus Balstrøm, is penning some Cycle Chic illustrations. He's done these two and there are more on the way, which we'll be turning into posters. These two are available as postcards and the first one is also available as a mini print over at our online boutique.


The boy's got talent and has really captured the essence of cycling in Copenhagen. We're looking forward to his next batch of artwork.

Enough, already. It's our birthday! We shouldn't be sitting here blogging. It's time to celebrate. Thanks again to all our readers. We're looking forward to the next two years.

Copenhagen loves you.

YES! It's a celebration!

Elevation Nation

Click on the photo to see it larger over at Flickr.
"It's all so modest, gentle, dreamy. One is in a new, floating situation and it feels as though you're halfway to becoming a spirit that is about to leave the surface of the earth.

One can see over everyones' heads and because of that one is lifted up in an mood of calm and romantic elevation."
Johannes Wulff -'Paa cykle' - 1930

As ever, it's the comments and the emails we get that make it all worthwhile. We're loving this little community and the people we've met. We've included a number of our favourite bits of feedback in this post. Just simple comments on a post like this one are so wonderful to read:

"Hurray! As one who rides her bike to work in Houston wearing dresses, black suede boots and anything else imaginable, I salute you. Thank you for showing that riding a bike to work doesn't have to be a big deal."

We're not saying that the ONLY way to ride is in stylish clothes - some people prefer it differently - but there are so many people out there who WANT to ride in normal clothes and if we can inspire that, we're content. Thanks for being here, whoever you are.


Another study in that fascinating moment when a cyclist pushes off, propels themself forward, gaining momentum enough to settle into the saddle, feet seeking out the pedals instinctively, accelerating away.

Here's another Acceleration Moment.

And as we can see the cyclist above has been shopping, we remembered this post over at our sister blog about how Cyclists are Better Shoppers than Motorists. Worth a read.

Testimonials From Our Visitors - Thank You!

We're honoured and flattered by the many positive emails I recieve almost every day. I've said it before, I'll say it again. I only ever set out to create a photographic portrait of Copenhagen cycle life. It's snowballed into bike advocacy and inspiration to other people in other cities. That's just amazing to me. Here are some of the testimonial emails that have moved me and made me misty-eyed.

I wish to thank you for your blog site and especially for the work you are doing to promote bicycling transportation. It cheers me heartily to see all the pictures of beautiful Copenhagen cyclists and it gives me hope for our future. It is also my foremost source for fashion inspiration.

In my small city in Montana, I ride my bicycle(s) almost exclusively for transportation. Your Cycle Chic movement has inspired me to celebrate being a woman and celebrate bicycling by wearing skirts and dresses on my bike. Bozeman is very informal and casual, being the former cowboy town that it is, but I try to ride elegantly despite it all. I've even had a number of women approach me saying "I make it look easy and fun to commute via bicycle." Yes! In a few weeks I will be teaching a bicycle commuting course and I hope to mention your Cycle Chic website to interested participants.

Anyhow, keep up the wonderful work. Merry Christmas to you and your family,
Reader in Bozeman, Montana

I just ordered a brand new Centurion Basic 7-gear last week. I've been cycling for many years, but only for exercising - yes, I'm one of the dreaded Lycra-clads ;-). Anyway, after following your blog for some time, it has become more and more clear to me, that I must have a bike for my daily transportation needs around Copenhagen. And after another stressful day of crammed busses and metro trains, I had enough, and raced to one of the local cycling shops and ordered a new bike! I will pick it up on Tuesday, and I just can't wait. Can't wait to be a part of the morning bike traffic and to rediscover Copenhagen by bike. Just cycling around the city for no special purpose. And I can't wait to feel free like only a bike can make you feel free. It's a long time since I have used a bike for daily purposes, but now it feels so right, and I should have done this several years ago. Even though I'm living in Copenhagen and I'm experiencing the Danish bike culture every day, it's your brilliant blog, which made me realize that I need a bike again. Thanks a lot!
Jacob in Copenhagen

Hello! Ottawa sends you greetings and thanks for an inspirational blog.

Here in Canada's capital, there are six months of winter often waist deep in snow. When the thaw comes, a switch flips in peoples' heads and they become cycle-keen. Some just can't stop when the deep snow comes, although they are mostly urban cyclists.

You will be happy to know that some Ottawans have picked up the thrown gauntlet of Cycle Chic and are both relaxing and adding style to their pedaling. Since there are hundreds of kilometers of cycle paths around these parts, there were always many cyclists. Over the last couple of years, the Chicographic has definitely changed for the better with less lycra, less clip-in pedals and more boots, overcoats and stylish street clothes.

My wife and three children are partly Copenhagenized. We all take our bikes in the morning to work and school. My children aren't the problem. The issue is I need to get my wife thinking about putting on her good clothes before she leaves for work - somehow this has not occurred to her yet. I miss out on seeing her in style! I did raise her handlebars for an upright ride - style over speed.

On a personal note, I cycle 32 km round trip to my office in the suburbs from downtown, against the cycle traffic. I have the luxury of taking a bike path from the end of my street that takes me along the Ottawa river all the way. The water, the changing seasons and camaraderie of my fellow cyclists is what keeps me going. Thanks to this new movement, Cycle Chic is now a luxury I also experience now and again on my rides. Thanks.
John in Ottawa

"I've been trying to get my wife on a bike for years. I had her very close to Getting a bike and committing to riding when she found your pictures and website and became convinced that she should. She is starting out slow, with evening rides in the neighborhood, but wants to be able to commute to work as I do. Thanks for the help.

Just wanted to let you know that you have helped add one more to the number of People in the U.S. who commute by bicycle. It is a slow process. I doubt we will Ever get to where you are in your country, but we can keep trying."
Robert, a reader in the US

"Dear Mr. Colville-Andersen,
Thank you so much for your wonderful Copenhagen Cycle Chic blog. I started reading it after it was the "featured blog" on Blogger, and just finished going through the backcatalogue of posts yesterday. Thanks to your blog, I bought a bicycle (1970's Schwinn Suburban) and went on my first big ride yesterday. Unfortunately I can't bike to work, due to a narrow, winding road between my house and the office, as well as a bunch of morons in pickup trucks who wouldn't look twice at a cycle unless it scratched their paint. So far your blog has converted me to cycling... still working on the chic part... I have the style sense of a lobster, but that will be the next problem to work on!"

"You're converting people, one photo at a time. Your comments and photos offer a glimpse into something so beautiful, and I am very jealous."
A Female Visitor from Pennsylvania

"I love this website, I really do. Cycle Chic influenced my decision to ride in the winter, to ride in a dress, to ride in heels and not care what any one else said about it."
A female visitor

"I found out about your bicycle blogs through Momentum magazine and now I read them both every day. I just wanted to let you know that the approach you all take has caused a real shift for me. I commute by bicycle year round here in Flagstaff, Arizona. (That isn't as easy as it may sound as we are at 7,000 feet above sea level and have some pretty awesome weather. Typcial temperatures here right now are 10 degrees Fahrenheit.) My problem isn't the weather though - it is my attitude. I love riding my bicycle, but when I mount up in the morning I approach it like I am going into battle. I jam my helmet on my head, grit my teeth, and charge out onto the road, just daring a motorist to deny me my lane. So, I tend to ride really fast, taking a huge amount of pleasure out of actually passing cars. Now I don't ride a racing bike - I have a fantastic 3 speed Breezer commuting biccle that I adore. But I will drive my body to the breaking point to pass a car just so I can wipe their smug smiles off their faces.

"But after reading your blogs for the past several weeks, and looking at the incrediably peaceful pictures, I have forced myself to slow down. I don't view my commute as a battle. Instead, if I find myself picking up speed so I can overtake a motorist, I make myself drop down a gear and I ask, "What would a Copenhagener do right now? They would sit up a little straighter, notice that beautiful raven perched up in a snow clad tree, and smile."

"So, thanks for the attitude adjustment. I'm going to go see if I can convince the local community college to start offering Danish classes."
Visitor from Flagstaff, Arizona.
This email was so moving and amazing to me. This little blog with its photos and commentary reached across the seas and made someone else change their attitude regarding biking. It literally brought tears to my eyes.

"I just learned about your Copenhagen bike blog from the WABA site (Washington Area Bicyclists Association). As a woman I find it utterly charming and inspirational, and I look forward to seeing the new photos each day."
Visitor from Washington, DC.

"I am so happy to have found you on the web and to hear your cheerful, sensible voice nearly every day. I am a bicycle commuter in Albuquerque, NM. All of the bicyclists and bike shops I know are recreational riders first, commuters second, and bike transportation folk third. To be able to share your point of view on 'bike culture' makes me feel un-lonely and optimistic. Albuquerque is actually not bad for bicycle transportation; there are many good things about our city and I expect the bad ones to improve. Seeing your example makes me even more optimistic for the 'Burque. Thank you."
Visitor from Albuquerque, USA
You're not alone. Not at all. Not by a long shot.

"You are my bicycle hero! You are the only person I know who thinks that bicycles are relaxed, fun transportation. Everyone else around me thinks of them as sports equipment and they talk about speed and endurance. Even my bicyclist friends who commute laugh and make fun because my bike has fenders, racks, chain guard and generator. I am the only person I have ever met (EVER!) who has a generator!

I quit riding 20+ years ago because my kids were small and my job was busy. I started again 2+ years ago and decided I was old enough and fat enough to buy the kind of bike I wanted. I told my bicyclist friend that my role model would be Mary Poppins instead of Lance Armstrong. I threw away my jerseys (too small), gave away my cleats (too uncomfortable), uninstalled the speedometer (who cares how fast I go? Who cares how far I go? If anyone ask I will guess. I might be the only person I know without a speedometer). If I could have understood then, I would have seen that my kids weren't too small and my job wasn't too busy.

Now I have a bike and a attitude that fits in to much of what you espouse on your blogs. Today your blog prompted me to write because of two things. 1) the fellow carrying home the big box. Two weeks ago I brought home a case of beer on my bike and many passing motorists honked and waved. A normal sight in Copenhagen but an unusual one in Albuquerque. 2) "Slowness is a privilege and stress is so last year… Style over Speed". Yesterday my friend asked me to address a group of potential commuters (he is head of my company's bicycle commuter group, all of whom ride road racers or mountain bikes). I told him my topic would be "The Liberation of Riding Slow". We had a big laugh; I think he laughed because it was so silly and I laughed because it was so true.

I love to read your blog every day. I feel like I have a like minded friend and a community of friendly cyclists. Aside from that I like to read about civic cycle infrastructure improvement. Maybe Albuquerque can make improvements in that direction too.
Visitor from Albuquerque, USA

"Can't say effectively how much I love your blog. Weird that it would
make me feel so happy and hopeful, especially here in the U.S. where
car-culture rules -- and will for the foreseeable future.

"But why not help us along over here, by hawking a sticker or t-shirt or
something that fans can buy. Don't make us make (and sell) them
ourselves, please.

"Keep up the great work."
Visitor from USA
This is one of many emails regarding t-shirts and stickers, etc. I finally got around to it. Check out the online boutique.

"I live in a small town in Michigan. I have not seen anyone else riding a bicycle all summer.

"This is a beautiful blog.
Visitor from Michigan, USA
Simply put. Wonderful.

"I have to say I love your web site. Every evening, when I have my session of recreational internet surfing, I check you first.

"Where I live, riding a bicycle is done mainly for recreation in the summer. Riding for practical purposes seems to be something that does not enter the minds of most people. I ride only for practical purposes, and I notice when I do it that life seems to pass at a more leisurely speed. I fantasize that in a place where tens of thousands of people move about by bicycle, the pace of life would be all that much more relaxed and pleasant.

"Plus, if I were 40 years younger, I could meet all those cycling women.
Visitor from Minnesota, USA.
Relaxed and pleasant it is, indeed.

"I recently read about your blog in a copy of Momentum that I picked up in Victoria, BC, and have been reading it ever since! It's fantastic! I've also been reading Cycleliciousness which is also awsome.

"Anyhow, it all sounds amazing, the whole Copenhagen bike culture, the way it is so integrated into daily life. That is exactly how I treat biking here in Victoria, BC, but I'm sorry to say that my mentality isn't the norm. I quite often feel like a petty criminal for riding my bike in this city. A lot of the major roads give little or no considerations to bikes, forcing bikes to bike smack dab in the middle of the road to avoid getting passed unsafely (and you can imagine how that goes over with drivers). And riding on the sidewalk isn't much better, as I've gotten multiple dirty looks, yelled at, and hit by an old man with his cane. Needless to say I normally avoid that route now. Nevertheless.....

"I don't even think about biking as something I do, it just IS something I do. If I leave the house, I have my bike with me 98% of the time, and if I don't, I often feel like I left the house without a leg - I'm constantly wondering what it is I'm forgetting.... It rains a fair amount here in the wintertime, but since I don't drive I don't really have any other option than to bike - and I usually feel better for it, no matter how wet I get during the journey. A little rain never killed anyone anyway. It's good for the soul.

"Reading about your bike culture has been quite inspiring to me and encourages me to keep on doing what I do, just living and biking daily, in stylish clothes and all."
Visitor from Victoria, Canada

"I was struck by the acute contrast between the brutal reality (you described quite accurately) of our American cycling environment and the romance and spirituality of the Denmark environment. The Copenhagen blog is really focused on appreciation of beauty; cycling is only the context and not the subject. And it is a celebration of natural beauty--no care at all about the brand of bicycle or components. It reminds me of the traditional Haiku form of poetry that must desribe and embody nature.

Two days ago I saw a trio of real lycra clad cyclists (rare here in South Bend, Ind.) blow right through a light in town...inciting some auto horn honking. I can't imagine such war in that paradise called Copenhagen. At least not the way Mikael presents it. Someday I will go and see."
A visitor commenting defending us on another blog's comment section.


Thanks to your wonderful blog, I've finally started wearing proper work clothes while riding my bike. I started bike commuting by necessity in May, and now I love it.

All of your photos (and tags) convinced me to try wearing a dress, which I did last week. Today, I wore a dress and heels. It's much easier than I expected, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. People are shocked when they see me, but I tell them it's easy and fun. Thanks, too for your Style Over Speed blog. That's my new mantra.
All the best from Melbourne, Florida, US.