Wickertastic in Santiago

A great streetstyle shot from Bilobicles in Santiago, Chile.
Cycle Chic and a groovy, personalised bike, wrapped in wicker. Right down to the chainguard...
It's so great to see that cities like Santiago are pushing the bike forward and creating a normalised bike culture. The City Council in Santiago is investing in no less than 1000 km of bike lanes, as we reported earlier over at Copenhagenize.com.

Your Daily Dose of Copenhagen Cycle Chic

Two of the 10,000 cyclists, on average, on this stretch of Copenhagen street. And that's a medium-sized route.

She was so quick, flying along the bike lane. It amazed me how effortless it looked.

Cool and dapper Copenhagener on a cool Bugatti bike.

Paris Cycle Chic - The Velorution is Underway

The urban landscape of Paris has changed drastically since the introduction of the Velib bike sharing programme. Velibs are hot and they are now beyond trendy. They are a part of the fabric of the life of the city. And as more people use them, they'll soon get their own bike and the [r]evolution will snowball. I am looking forward to the day when Paris is a humming cyclocity like Copenhagen. Photo by RuiPeriera.

There are even Copenhagen-style rush hours these days in the streets of Paris. [okay, that's a relative postulate... you'll need another 85 bikes in that picture for a true Copenhagen rush hour... but what a great start]

And that classic European photo... now with Velibs.


It's wonderful that over 60 European cities of all sizes now have bike sharing programmes but it is when the big cities like Paris really start to embrace urban cycling that changes are made and The New Age of Urban Cycling really takes off.

Guest Photo: Santiago, Chile

Costanera río Mapocho, originally uploaded by bilobicles.

A splendid splash of cycle chic in Santiago, Chile, by Bilocicles on Flickr. Entitled "Costanera río Mapocho", it really shows how cycle chic is spreading across the planet.

The New Age of Urban Cycling has begun.

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: