Wallpaper Day

Let's make Monday wallpaper day, shall we?
1024x768, and all that.

If anyone has ideas for wallpapers or needs other sizes, do let us know.

Here's a version in 1280x800.

Guest Photos: Cordoba, Spain

One of our biggest fans and frequent comment writers, Raquel from Gratis Total fashion blog, sent us some photos from Córdoba. She's been itching to take some cycle chic photos and finally got the chance during easter holidays in her hometown.

Mucho gracias, Raquel, for giving us insight into bike culture and cycle chic in Córdoba. Now you have to take even more and send them to us regularly!

Every city and town worth its salt has a bike share programme these days and Córdoba is no exception.

Cyclists getting on with it - in their regular clothes - in the heart of Córdoba.

Spring Sunshine

Guest Photos: Japan and Texas

Thanks to Joe, in Austin, Texas, for this great guest photo. We love the contrast between the chic cyclist and the behemoth pick up truck.
"This image was taken last week. I had to fumble for the camera, as the lady in blue sported a much better pose before she began to pedal off to the next concert (they are everywhere during SXSW week). Alas, she shoved off and left us with this. Typical of the hip set in Austin: summer dress, cowgirl boots and leisurely vintage bikes are all the rage."
Thanks, Joe, for showing a bit of Cycle Chic from Texas. If we could hand out honourary keys to the city of Copenhagen, this cyclist would get one.
Harajuku Cycle Chic:

The wild, mad Harajuku neighbourhood of Tokyo.

Only the Japanese have thirty-five ways to double on a bike.

Guest Photo: New York City

NYC Bicycle Commuter, Park Ave. @ 58th St., originally uploaded by bicyclesonly.

A wonderful shot from New York City by BicyclesOnly over at Flickr.

The title tells all:
NYC Bicycle Commuter, Park Ave. @ 58th St.

Looking chic. stylish and just plain cool.

Snowfall & Ponytail

A quiet moment in a quiet snowfall on a quiet street in Copenhagen.

More History Repeating Itself

My Cycling Heritage - 2, originally uploaded by westfieldwanderer.

This wonderful photo was scanned in by a mate, WestfieldWanderer, from his family album. Anno 1947.

There are often articles in newspapers and magazines about how cycling is 'hot', cycling is 'trendy', cycling has finally become 'mainstream'.

Bollocks. Urban cycling in everday clothes is not a new phenomenon. At some point in the not so distant past members of your family - yes, you and you and you - rode their bikes each day.

Devoid of cycling gear and fancy equipment. Just good sturdy bikes and their regular clothes. Skirts and suits. To the shops. To work. To visit friends.

Daily cycling isn't 'mainstream' all of a sudden. It has been for more than a century. Perhaps it has faded out a bit in some countries, but it's not new.

Which makes it incredibly easy to merely start doing it again.

”In the late 19th century, large numbers of women were already using bicycles to get to work, women office workers and shop assistants wending their way each weekday morning from the suburbs to the town. They found the bicycle a convenient form of transport for distances up to, say, ten miles”.

Plucked from John Woodeforde's book ”The Story of the Bicycle”, 1970

And that was on machines that would seem monstrous to us now. Not to mention the fact that they were wearing frightfully heavy dresses. If they could do it on those bikes, in those clothes, there are little excuses for not cycling chic today.

The Cape of Good Hope

Looks like the cape is still going strong on the ladies of Copenhagen. It's been a classy addition to the streetstyle scene this winter.

Another pair of Copenhageners being socialable as they ride from A to B.

Found this on the Telegraph's website: Goodbye Lyrca, hello street cred. Great title.

And this from The Guardian - On your bike!:
"More and more people are choosing to cycle to work, but what do you wear if you have an aversion to Lycra and road racing? Paula Cocozza offers some suggestions for the fashion-conscious cyclist..."
It's an amusing satirical piece but with many a vein of cycle chic truth.
On the helmet:
"The fallacy at the root of all helmet design is that people who ride a bike are cyclists. We're not. We just want to look like ordinary folk who happen to have chosen the bicycle as our mode of transport."

On the Breast Pocket:
"A humble adornment, but, according to Boris Johnson in response to our inquiry, it's the single most important accessory to cycling. Over to Boris: "When you're cycling and you want to stop talking quickly because you're about to hit the car in front, you need to put your mobile phone smoothly away in a fluid action, to ease from the breast pocket to the handlebars in one swift parabola of the wrist."

I'm off to the summer house in Sweden for a few days over easter. The Danish nation shuts down completely. We have bank holidays on Thursday, Friday and Monday, so rest and relaxtion with La Famiglia is on the cards. Unfortunately the woods of Sweden are devoid of cycle chic, but I'll be back soon enough. :-)

Copenhagen Snow

We awoke to a bit of snow this morning. 10 cm or so. Not unusual in March, but it feels strange since easter is early this year.

Guest Photo: Banff - Rocky Mountain Cycle Chic

Town Bikes of Banff, originally uploaded by Banff Lake Louise.

Steve sent us the link to this cool photo from the winter wonderland of Banff, Canada. I spent many years growing up nearby and I know the secret to every black diamond piste within 100 km of the town centre... :-)

Steve tells us how bike culture is blossoming in the Canadian Rockies:

"Thought you might be interested to know that Copenhagen's influence has spread to Banff, Alberta, Canada: the local municipal government offers interest-free loans to city staff who buy bikes to commute to work. It only makes sense in a town that exists in the middle of one of Canada's original National Parks.

Banff and Lake Louise are famous for their mountain biking, but you'll see locals riding to work and touring Banff Avenue on their high-end "town bikes."

Costing as much as several thousand dollars, the town bikes are mountain style at its finest."

Brilliant news and a fantastic initiative, Steve! Those bikes are coolliciousness. It's Cycle Chic, sure - but you guys make it all your own.

We just coined the phrase... everybody has their own angle and Banff has theirs hammered down.

See more cool bikes and photos on Banff-Lake Louise's Flickr photostream.

Sure Sign of Spring

Sure Sign of Spring, originally uploaded by [Zakkaliciousness].

Fair enough, the stockings are still on, but a white skirt is a sure sign of seasonal change.

And here's another Great Moment in Cycling:

After The Snow - Awaiting the Summer

After the snowstorm yesterday, which was unexpected and a bit late in the season, all eyes are now on spring and summer. I'm looking forward to it. Here's some photos from summer, from last year.

And this photo - below - is by far the most popular in the Copenhagen Cycle Chic archives. I've entered it in a competition over at JPG MAGAZINE - cast a vote for it - and bike culture - if you have the time. It's in the Human Impact category. Can't argue with bikes making impact on humans. And certain cyclists making impact on others.

The funny thing about this shot was that I was out riding to the supermarket with Wifealiciousness. We were at a red light and she elbowed me and said, "Camera... get your camera out..." I did, just in time.

The very best advocate for cycle chic swept past.

Red Ride in Hood

Red Ride in Hood, originally uploaded by [Zakkaliciousness].

Geddit?
You can't see the snow in the above shot but...

Here's the Boy Wonder on the pavement, with cyclists riding past.

I'm sure there is a statistic fall in the number of cyclists on the bike lanes in Copenhagen when it snowstorms, but there were still loads and loads of bikes heading home in the evening.

A little snow doesn't stop very many people. The snowstorm was sudden and unexpected so our bike lane snowploughs weren't out yet, but all you have to do is ride straight, anyway, which is easy even in the snow. You just slow down and take it easy when turning and approaching intersections, but there really isn't any good excuse for not riding.

The Boy went to bed with fingers crossed for snow enough to go sledding tomorrow.

Guest Photo: Kofu, Japan

"Surely there must be one place left to put my bike?", originally uploaded by beeldmark.

And then the same chap, beeldmark, has a mirror shot of the one below, this one taken in Japan. Wonderful shot.

Guest Photo: Utrecht

"I'm sure I put my bike here somewhere?", originally uploaded by beeldmark.

I've been looking to take this kind of shot here in Copenhagen for ages. And then I found this great photo on Flickr, taken in Utrecht, by beeldmark.

Says it all about established bike culture, really. The pros far outweigh the cons. The main con, according to Copenhagen cyclists, is bike parking. We have a number of double decker systems, but it is hard to control the massive number of bikes.