Spent a weekend in Tokyo. Japan must be the most Photographic country on Earth - and Tokyo cyclists are as Chic as Copenhagen's. Was happy to see that biking continues to grow in Tokyo. Maybe some of the many Danish bike promotions had a little impact after all(?)
We were asked a good question the other day. "Which cities have the cycle chic'est police officers on bicycles?" After some thought and a look in our photo archives, we thought we'd whip up a list based on what we've seen over the past five or six years. We admit we haven't seen every cycling policeman in every city, so there may be more out there. Please let us know in the comments.
Finding the number one spot was not difficult. Off to Japan we go.
1. TOKYO, JAPAN (and other Japanese cities)
Leave it to the Japanese to excel in uniforms. Perfectly pressed shirts and trousers, shined shoes and dapper caps abound on the cycling police officers.
We love the bicycles they ride, too. Sensible steeds, with proper chainguards and an upright position. We'd love to have a look in that box on the back rack, but we've never dared asking.
The cycling Japanese police officers are everything a cycling police officer should be. A uniform that commands respect and authority and that allows the police officer to blend in with the citizens. If you're stopped by a cop as you walk or cycle through the city - or have to approach one for directions - it is certainly best if they are dressed in a uniform that regular citizens can relate to. As opposed to a spacey outfit made out of stretchy, artificial fibers and all sorts of sportif gear.
So dapper are the gentleman policeman in Japan, like in the above photo, that we have to repress the urge to salute and stand up a little bit straighter as they pass.
2. FERRARA, ITALY Che sorpresa that we're going to Italy for the number two spot. In Italy's premier cycling city, Ferrara, with 30% modal share for bicycle users, these two police officers commanded our respect and admiration. Pillars of calm in a world of chaos. And helpful as wayfinders to boot. It was autumn when we were last there and sensible, styled jackets were de rigeur for the cycling police force. Not to mention impeccible uniforms and splendid hats. And my goodness, we love their bicycles, too. Matching his and hers models. 3. AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
These two police officers were casually watching the crowds wander past on Dam Square, having a chat as they did so. Like every Amsterdammer, they exuded a cool and approachable demeanour. If you don't feel like you could sit down and have a coffee with a police officer then they aren't doing their job right.
The bicycle cops we see in Amsterdam roll along with the flow, blending in with the urban landscape. You don't doubt, however, that when they need to muscle it - chasing a suspect or responding to an emergency - they will do so with vigour and graceful speed - they're Dutch after all.
HONOURABLE MENTION VITÓRIA, BRAZIL
While a bulletproof vest may be a bit of an exaggeration rolling along the beach on a Saturday in 35 degree heat in a lovely, beach city like Vitória, these police officers don't look like it bothers them. That's the key, really. If their dress code dictates that they have to carry around all manner of police equipment, you as a citizen don't want them to look like they're some Rambo bumbling through the jungle. They have to make it look effortless and even stylish. Citizens should be able to reflect themselves in their law enforcement officers and this chap appears approachable and calm, cool and collected.
HONOURABLE MENTION
BARCELONA, CATALONIA
While we haven't recorded a cycling cop in Barcelona, we love this recruitment poster stating that the city was recruiting 150 new officers. Lovely, sensible bicycles placed firmly and proudly alongside the police cars and scooters. That earns an honourable mention in our books.
Update: 15 May 2016.
Saw this yesterday. Fellow Copenhagener. No hands - only stumps - and with one foot pedalling his converted Nihola cargo bike. The right foot resting on a platform. The left clipped into the pedal. Still rolling strong.
Update: 08 September 2014.
Spotted this fellow citizen - on the left - ahead of me in Copenhagen today.
Caught this shot yesterday of a Copenhagener in the morning rush hour riding with what looks like a broken - or at least injured - hand. Still looking cool as you like.
Last weekend I spotted this Copenhagener carrying her crutches with her on her bicycle. Fair enough, she might have been heading to the hospital - across the street - to deliver the crutches back.
Then I remembered this shot from a while back of a girl carrying her crutches and getting doubled by her mum. The bicycle is a versatile tool. I know several friends who, after many years playing sports, have problems with their knees. They are invariably advised to ride a bicycle by their doctors.
If you also make the bicycle the quickest and safest way to get around a city, people will do so - whatever their handicap. The bicycle is a freedom machine for the people.
The dapper gentleman to the left may have reduced mobility for whatever reason, but he can get out and about with ease on this tricycle. Note his cane sticking out of the back.
I see the man in the right photo quite often. He rides a tricycle and only has one arm. A friend of mine knows him and I'm told that he only has one leg, too. He lost his limbs in a landmine explosion in the country he was born. He still gets about with ease on his wheels. Both of these gentlemen were impeccably dressed.
I took this photo in Tokyo. The man had some form of disability with his legs. It required effort for him to get the pedals to turn but you can bet that it was a fraction of the effort he'd use when walking.
The lady on the left has a kind of cast on her leg, but still rides. The two photos on the right are from last winter. The boyfriend was holding the girls' crutches and she moved slowly along - injured foot wrapped in plastic - on a child's bicycle they had borrowed. It was icy so the crutches were probably more dangerous than helpful so the bicycle stepped in to assist. They were heading to the hospital down the road.
I spotted this lady in Vienna, Austria. Carrying her walking sticks to help her after she got off her bicycle.
This quaint sign on this tricycle reads, "Slightly Disabled".
What with all the bicycle options for disabled - whether permanently or temporarily - it's not surprising to see a parking sign like this outside my local library. It reads "Invalid Bicycles", reserving a space close to the door for those who need it.
If it is ripe old age that has reduced mobility, the bicycle still serves a purpose. I see this lady all the time in my neigbourhood. Always walking her bicycle with groceries in the basket. Perhaps too unstable to ride, but using the bicycle as a kind of crutch. Lovely.
I was asked in an interview recently what the best cities for Cycle Chic are and it was a good question. I figured I'd whip up a Top 5 List of the Cycle Chic'est Cities on the planet. I limited the list to larger metropolises. Being a Cycle Chic Metropolis requires, basically, two elements. A high fashion bar among the population and... bicycles. It requires that a city has a developed bicycle culture, meaning that the bicycle is an important and respected transport option that is used by regular citizens. Citizens who don't identify themselves as being 'cyclists' or members of a sub-culture but who merely use a bicycle to get around. In many ways, Cycle Chic is synonomous with Mainstraim Bicycle Culture.
1. COPENHAGEN,DENMARK This probably doesn't surprise you, but we're going with Copenhagen at #1. The reason, apart from the fact that bicycles are an integral part of life in the world's cycling capital, is that the fashion bar is frightfully high in Copenhagen.
Copenhageners are simply an incredibly well-dressed bunch. You'll see well-dressed people in every city but in the Danish capital style and textile æsthetics are a fabric extension of the Danish design tradition. If we measure the procentage of a city's population who are well-dressed, Copenhagen is way ahead.
Whatever they're wearing, Copenhageners just hop onto bicycles to get around. Crappy, squeaky bicycles, fancy bicycles, cargo bikes, whatever. The city gets extra bonus points for the rather recent development of investing in cooler bicycles. For over a century bicycles were black and heavy. With the economic boom of the last decade, bicycles were all of a sudden available in all sorts of colours and styles. Now Copenhageners can accessorize with their bicycles. Chic. Cycles. Cycle Chic.
2. TOKYO, JAPAN At #2, Tokyo. Fashion capital of the planet. Sure, we look to the catwalks of Milano and Paris to see what's coming, but it is in Tokyo that the clothes make an impact. Even the greeters who bow at customers inside the doors of department stores are wearing ensembles worth more than annual salary.
As far as bicycles go, Japan is third only to Denmark and Holland regarding mainstream bicycle culture. Bicycles abound in this major car-producing nation. You'll see more bicycles in the racks around Shibuya Station on any day of the week than you'll see on the streets of New York and London combined in the course of a year.
In the 'Well-Dressed Sweepstakes' Tokyo nudges ahead of Copenhagen but loses points on the bicycle front. There is less separated infrastructure for bikes than in Copenhagen and, say, Osaka or Kyoto. Cyclists often ride on the sidewalks, which is great for Style over Speed, but the city would be that much more Cycle Chic friendly with bike lane catwalks for the impeccably-dressed citizens.
3. AMSTERDAM, THENETHERLANDS To be completely honest, it's a tight race in the top three. Amsterdam breathes down Tokyo and Copenhagen's neck on the Cycle Chic Cities list. The bicycle is king in Amsterdam, no doubt about that. Amsterdam and Copenhagen are the Romulus and Remus of modern bicycle culture.
One thing that always strikes us about Amsterdammers is their fantastic individual style. They are so cool, unique and relaxed, with a high level of 'urban funk' in their style.
We find the Amsterdam affection for clunky old bicycles to be fantastically charming. They compliment their non-chalant attitude brilliantly.
4.PARIS,FRANCE Basically, if you don't include Paris on any list that has anything to do with fashion or style, they send a stiletto clad task force after you to blow cigarette smoke in your face and to shrug in your general direction.
Fortunately, including Paris at #4 wasn't a difficult choice. Ever since the Vélib bike share programme showed up in the city, the French capital has been under a constant and brilliant transformation to a much more liveable city. Here's a previous Cycle Chic article about the Vélib system's influence on the city.
Since Vélib started, 2 million private bicycles have been sold in the city and it shows. So... the city is virtually bicycle-friendly, which certainly counts on the Cycle Chic scale. Fashion-wise... well... it's Paris. The fashion bar is high and the people who are using the Vélib bicycles and private bicycles are people who you would otherwise ride the Metro with. Impeccably-dressed gents and fabulously-fab fashionistas.
If the city keeps up it's push for a more bicycle-friendly future, you'll see Paris muscling it's way up this list.
5. LONDON,UNITEDKINGDOM We had to think about #5 for a while, but London ended up rolling away with the honours. Cycling is up and coming in the city and there are a lot of positive players promoting it. Much of our decision for the #5 spot is based on a two-day photo gig in the city back in June last year. Sitting outside Lock 7 Café in Hackney and watching the morning bicycle traffic roll past was like sitting in Copenhagen or Amsterdam. It blew us away.
Sure, most are fairweather cyclists and sure, there is a lot of lycra about, but hey... it's London, innit. Global city and all that. Fashion centre supreme. "Get on with it, mate" attitude. If there's one global city that has the potential to follow in Paris' footsteps, it's London. From the Swinging Sixties to the Two-Wheeled Teens.
Waiting in the Wings So who's coming up fast from behind? What cities are - hopefully - soon reaching a level of mainstream urban cycling and therewith glorious Cycle Chicaliciousness? Three come to mind right off the bat.
TORONTO There is a great deal of effort being made in Toronto to push cycling over into the mainstream realm and already the streets are graced with chic cyclists of both sexes. MONTREAL With the success of the BIXI bikes share system Montreal is following in the footsteps of many French cities by bringing cycling as transport back to the people.
SAN FRANCISCO If there is an American city that has the will and the style to reach the heights of Cycle Chic, it's San Francisco. It's where I left my heart.
