Autumn Light, Luggage and Bespoke Accessories

Copenhagen Supermum relaxes in the autumn sunshine in her Christiania cargo bike at the playground, watching the kids play.

A bit of street motion. Two girlfriends chatting away in the dreamy autumn light.

He's either just arrived home or he's leaving someone.


Bicycle Light by Søren Sögreni.

Bicycle Rack by Søren Sögreni.

Bicycle Bell by Søren Sögreni.
Our aversion to bike 'gear' does not extend to bespoke bicycle accessories in the proud tradition of Danish Design. Over at Copenhagenize.com we have a post about the design wizardry of the legendary Søren Sögreni, wherein we place focus on his beautiful bicycle accessories, like the ones above.

Those Pesky Cyclists

Look. This isn't an easy task, documenting the fashionable cyclists of Copenhagen as they happily pedal about our lovely bicycle culture.

There I was, having just visited the Copenhagen City Museum with my son, and I saw a nice shot of Copenhageners at a café, with two cyclists in front. Nice framing, a black background, sunshine, blah blah blah.

So up goes the camera and click. What happens? A pesky cyclist, damn them all, rides into my frame. I mean... it's MY frame. I created it by deciding to record time and space in pixels at that moment in time at that geographic location with those characters who will never be positioned like that ever again in the history of homo sapiens.

And then she just barges in with her sunshiny, flowing locks and big basket and bag to upstage everyone else.

Maybe I should go into the forest to start recording the stationary delights of Danish fungi culture. Let's compare:

Nah...fuhgeddaboutit.

At least things are easier at a red light. Smashing raincoat ensemble.


And don't get me started on pesky photographers. There I was, pedalling happily down a lovely shared space street in the heart of the city when CLICK, Chris from the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation snaps this shot of me with my Cykelhjelm.org bag. No rest for the wicked. He was in town researching our bike infrastructure and culture and we went for a lovely ride.

Left to Right Monday Motion

Couple doing Copenhagen on their Swedish Kronan.

Even though the truck passes at a safe distance in another lane, it's always a good idea to glance over to make sure you're safe.

Copenhagen Corner.

You can now become a fan of Copenhagen Cycle Chic on Facebook which, of course, means absolutely nothing at all. But do it anyway please and thank you.

Simplicity. Just Because.

All dressed up and everywhere to go. And you don't need a basket in order to decorate your bike. Just wrap some flowers around your handlebars.

Or under your seat. No reason. Just because. It's the simple aesthetic pleasures that count.


Bike outside The Opera in Copenhagen.
Are you an elitist? My sister sent me this link to a piece by Mark Morford, whose writing I enjoy, has this at #15 on his list of 18 ways to know if you are an elitist:

15. You speak a foreign language. This implies you might understand something of the world, have an interest in a culture other than your own, or have perhaps even traveled to some exotic foreign land that isn't Texas or New Jersey or Hawaii, a place where they like weird cheeses and don't fear gay people and ride bicycles to the opera.

Flying Dane, Cargo Bike Training and Awards Not Won

Flying Cycle Chic in Heels along the City Hall Square on an Autumn Day.


The school which my son attends have an armada of bikes in all different styles for the kids to play on. Here's two kids practicing that all important "Cargo Bike Training" for when they get bigger and have kids of their own to move around.


Just like grown-up Copenhageners.

Copenhagen Cycle Chic and Copenhagenize.com were, surprisingly, nominated for the Copenhagen Environment Award 2008. One of our readers in Copenhagen surprised us by sending in a nomination. Thanks, Claus! We didn't win - a small environmental intiative called Vestergror did, but the jury had only nice things to say. They wished they could have seen stats about whether or not the blogs have encouraged more people to ride their bikes in urban settings.

So, here's a poll, so we can win the facker next year:

Stand and Deliver and Religious Uproar in NYC

Nothing like a bit of happy acceleration.


Don't look now, here comes a female on a bike...

This just in from a reader in New York City, as only the NY Post can formulate it:

"It's the Hasids vs. the hotties in a Brooklyn bike war.

Leaders of South Williamsburg's Hasidic community said yesterday that bike lanes that bring scantily clad cyclists - especially sexy women - peddling through their neighborhood are definitely not kosher.

The red-faced religious sect is calling on city officials to eliminate the car-free lanes on Wythe and Bedford avenues, and to delay construction of a new one planned for Kent Avenue."

Here's the whole Post story.

The members of this sect should NEVER visit Copenhagen.


Freedom to ride in Copenhagen.

Calmly Calmly

Waiting for the light to change along the one of the busiest streets in the nation need not be a stressful affair.

The golden light of a late-autumn evening shines on this couple who walked slowly along outside my flat. She didn't need to pedal, he just pulled her along as they spoke in a quiet, intimate tone.


We added a few more t-shirt designs for gentlemen and ladies to our online shop. The idea above is that if you melt a car, you'll have enough metal to weld 118 bicycles. Frightfully unscientific but fun all the same.

Copenhagen Blues

Red Lights, Lego, Amsterdam, Media Blitz

How to Wait at a Red Light. No hurry.

As ever, we checked in with Marc at Amsterdamize.com to see what the Danes with the different language are doing. Love this shot.


The original Legoland amusement park is celebrating 40 years this year. A perfect opportunity to repost this shot. Cycle Chic is everywhere in the Danish nation. Even at Legoland. The cycling girl is such an iconic figure in Danish history that she is present in town and city settings all over the park.


I'm quite taken with this photograph in the Danish Politiken newspaper of yours truly. Great stuff. The photographer Tobias is quite brilliant. It's been a hectic fortnight for Copenhagen Cycle Chic and copenhagenize.com.

For some strange reason that now escapes me, I ended up on a page on the Cannondale website - a bike brand, apparently. No wonder we don't see many around here. It's a FAQ about choosing the right bike, including such pearls of useless text as:

"Because we are obsessed as you are about your bike's weight, we implore you to go visit your local Cannondale Dealer to help you determine the specific weight of any bike you may be considering. We know you'll be impressed."

"Individual fitting of a bicycle is a step-wise process and a series of compromises. Professional guidance DOES simplify the process and we encourage you to be fit properly by a trained bicycle professional."

"Your body type is the only factor that does not change. Your inseam to height ratio, the length of your arms, the size of hands, the size of your torso etc. all factor into determining the correct fit of a bike."

"As a result, Cannondale highly suggests that you not rely on fit charts, but instead seek professional guidance and recommendations from an experienced bicycle shop."

"Buying a Cannondale is an investment in your recreational pleasure. Fitting a Cannondale should be like fitting a wedding gown, or an expensive suit. It should fit the individual as well as either of these other fine items."

If I'm going to use a bike for competitive racing, this might make sense. But otherwise it's merely an excerise in Terminology Folly as we posted about previously. If you think about it, there are either hundreds of millions of really stupid people who dare to buy their bikes without 'fittings' involving 'measuring hands' or there is a handful of really silly bike websites. My money is on the latter. [Ironically the word 'latter' means laughter in Danish.]

Art and Things

We've been looking forward to the next piece from our favourite artist, Janet Karam. This time she interpreted our most iconic photo:

Thanks again, Janet!


Overtaking off the light.

Coasting towards the light.

Copenhagen summer cycle wear.

Back Rack Culture

We've posted about how the bike basket is an integral part of our bike culture and now the time has come for a tribute to the oft-overlooked back rack. Pannier bags are a rare sight in Copenhagen. Grocery-wise, you see far more people dangling two or three shopping bags from the handlebars is easier and quicker.

But the back rack is important as well. It was one of the first things to get dumped when the sports industry in America started branding cycling as a sport, along with kickstands, chain guards and even fenders.

Some people have a little wire basket on the back rack but most just stick their bags under the springloaded thingy.

The back rack has created an arm movement that is second-nature. You'll see it at least once almost every day. Either while riding or at a red light the cyclist's hand will sweep back and check if the bag is still in place. Nobody ever looks, you just know if the bag has slid to the left or right.

Whatever you need to transport, the back rack is there for you. Shopping, your bag, umbrella, groceries, you name it.

For decades the back rack featured a little hook on which you could hang a briefcase, like this gentleman. They are returning now and I use mine when carrying a laptop somewhere.

My daughter turned one last Saturday and I transported one of her presents home on my back rack, with the help of strap and some string.