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bike advocacy in high heels, Copenhagen the world's cycling capital, where 36% of the citizens ride their bike each day on an advanced network of bike lanes. This blog demonstrating how a normal bike culture doesn't involve lycra, expensive gear and fancy bikes.

blog showing ladies going about there daily routine wearing sometimes quite elegant clothing , What I am surprised is that they obviously don't believe a helmet is necessary.

Thought i would link these pics , they are rather quite artistic and also showing us what cycling elsewhere is like , away from the glamour of lycra, expensive gear and fancy bikes

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She flew along with her baskets, chatting amicably on her hands-free mobile, turning heads the whole way. Elegant heels, short skirt, flowing locks.
Classic Copenhagen.Copenhagen loves you. And your bike. But mostly you on your bike.


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Wifealiciousness rummages through the basket on her Velorbis Victoria Classic for her keys.

We get alot of lovely emails and comments from readers about what bikes feature on the streets of Copenhagen, what bikes are cool and what bikes we can recommend. It's a tough subject. Mostly because the vast majority of bikes in Copenhagen aren't available abroad and are made by companies most of you have never heard of. Which is a shame, really. We're spoiled for choice in this bike-saturated market but in regions like North America only a few brands of European bikes are on the market.

Only a few Danish and Dutch brands are geared for export. The majority of the well-established companies are content with producing their bikes for the Northern European market. The brands that are exported to North America are generally very fine bikes and this is reflected in the price. They tend to market themselves for the upscale crowd. Fair enough, we say, but still a shame that so many cool bikes are inaccessible to bike culture lovers abroad.

We'll try to highlight some of the brands seen in Copenhagen in some upcoming posts, as well as cool brands from elsewhere in Europe.

GENERIC BIKE PLEASURE AND OLD SCHOOL RETRO-LOVING
There is a bike boom happening in Copenhagen, which seems to have started within the past five years. There are lot of new bikes on the bike lanes with new, bright colours and forms available after a century of black frames. We'll focus on bikes for ladies - the classic 'Bedstemor cykler', or 'Grandma bikes' as they're called in Danish.

By and large, however, most of the bikes are classic workhorses and many are of a rather generic nature.

I don't know what brand the bike above is but I see them, and others like them, all day long. They do the job. There are hundreds of bike shops in Copenhagen and many of them sell these basic "bedstemor cykler" - or Grandma bikes

Raleigh of China [formally of Nottingham] enjoy a strong prescence on the Copenhagen bike lanes. Vintage bike lovers will wet themselves standing on a busy street corner. Old Raleighs roll past in their scores and new Raleighs accompany them.

The bike above is a newish Raleigh. One of the travesties of the bike marketing world is that Raleigh produces classic models only for the Danish, German and Dutch market, leaving the rest of you out in the cold. You can see the contrast when looking at:
Raleigh's Danish website - elegant girl in heels on the front page - and then looking at
Raleigh's US website - agressive sports orientated image, or even
Raleigh's UK Website - outdoorsy weekend cyclists and loads of 'gear'.

On the Danish website there are 8 Ladies models under 'Shopping' and a classic retro model under Tourist De Luxe. On the US website there are four 'women's bikes', with only one resembling a normal everyday bike.

Old Raleighs are, in many ways, much lovelier. A bit of rust adds so much character. Many young women choose these trashed bikes as an image statement. They are coolest with heels and elegant clothes, for some reason. We have spotted a tendency to wear shoes by Louboutin while riding an old Raleigh.


It's not just old Raleighs, there are so many old brands that still do service on the bike lanes. In most cases, it's not about the bike, it's about the person riding it.

A fancy, expensive and wonderfully designed bike is cool, but you don't want people noticing the bike when they should be noticing you.Copenhagen loves you. And your bike. But mostly you on your bike.


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A little modern irony on Tyr's Day. Tyr, or Tiw, was the Norse god of war and it is for him that we call today Tuesday - Tiws Day. So why not chuck up a photo so far removed from warfaring and agression. A floral summer's dress, smart, elegant white heels and a classic Danish bike. Chatting on the mobile, planning pleasant rendevouz' with pleasant friends, all while riding along the peaceful, segregated bike lane.

On another note, when your shopping and your flowers have to get home, it requires a bit of logistics to get it all onto your bike. The Bobike seats for kids are invaluable for transport when the rugrats aren't in them. A big bag of groceries fits perfectly in the seat and can be secured with the seatbelt straps.

And if you can't do all of this in heels, high or low, you're not in Copenhagen.


We'll wrap up Tyr's Day with a submission from Jillian, who was kind enough to send this photo in.

"Hello, I am a huge fan of your blog. It is, in fact, one of the main reasons for my decision to change my life and the life of my family. Thank you for just doing what you do[...] and keep up the beautiful work"

Jillian has a blog called Button McSweet wherein she is documenting her attempt to travel almost exclusively by bicycle and many other life changes her family is making.

Thank YOU Jillian for letting us know about your quest and for sending us this lovely guest photo.Copenhagen loves you. And your bike. But mostly you on your bike.


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I've posted the above photo before, of Wifealiciousness, my son and our daughter, in the womb. Here it is again, together with other photos of women cycling with child.

As one might expect, there are few things that stop you riding your bike in Copenhagen. A normal pregnancy certainly isn't any reason to stop. You still have to get around town - to work or on errands - and exercise is important when pregnant.

We live across the street from a midwives office - almost all births in Denmark are done by midwives - and you see pregnant women cycling to and fro on a daily basis.




Copenhagen loves you. And your bike. But mostly you on your bike.


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These cruisers are all the rage in Copenhagen, in the 15-25, female demographic group.Copenhagen loves you. And your bike. But mostly you on your bike.


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Another brilliant painting by Janet Karam, inspired by one of my photos. Art imitates art once again. This one was inspired by this photo:

Janet's Blog.
Janet's website - Funkytown Art.

Taking a literary angle, Inge in Antwerpen has a Dutch literature blog called Plankje Ongeregeld and she interviewed me for a new feature on her blog - Bloggers Read and Tell. Now I'm looking forward to photos/reportage about her and her new black Oma bike. :-)

Michael in Brooklyn has a cool blog started up. Drunk and In Charge of a Bicycle. Michael and his roommates have been discussing getting cool 'normal' bikes and they are all casting themselves into the fray. Michael had a poll on his blog about what bike his should buy. Either an Azor Opa [some Dutch contraption] or a Velorbis Churchill [bespoke Danish elegance and exquisite design]. Needless to say, the Velorbis won the Euro-challenge.

Michael will be posting about his new bike and his travels in NYC as they happen. He is also compiling a list of dealers/distributors for various European-style bikes in the States, which should come in handy for those of you who are in the market for one.


We have a backlog of guest photos itching to get online so we'll start with another photo from Patrick in Portland. Pure Copenhagen.Copenhagen loves you. And your bike. But mostly you on your bike.


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What better way to wrap up Semaine du Vélib' here on Copenhagen Cycle Chic than with a little video tribute.

The music I used is courtesy a friend of mine, Jason McNiff. The song is called 'Bella Ciao' and it's from his latest album 'In My Time', which is available on Amazon.co.uk
He used one of my photos from New York for his album cover:

Which is lovely, of course. My son and I run around the house singing Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao Ciao Ciao! :-)

I love that it's an Englishman singing an Italian song in a Danish film about the French capital. Vive l'Europe... :-)Copenhagen loves you. And your bike. But mostly you on your bike.


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We're getting ready to wrap up our love affair with Paris and Les Vélibs this week. There are a couple of things left, however. Firstly, some photos of les hommes doing their casual thang in the French capital.

Fly by.

Still going strong. And I just love his driving gloves.

Le shopping.

Any bike will do. Even if you have to borrow it. :-)

And then there's this chappie. Zipping along the Seine on his [what are they called?], casually smoking a cigarette. Tres cool. Trop cool.Copenhagen loves you. And your bike. But mostly you on your bike.


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One of the best things we noticed about cycling in Paris was that Parisians have understood how sociable cycling is. Cycling in couples is a common sight in Copenhagen and by all accounts Parisians have embraced this sociability as well.

Couple contemplating directions.

Pere et fils in the bike box at the traffic lights.

Casual moment. He was pointing out various buildings to the girl as they rode.

A flock of Vélib's on the bridge.

Chic couple at an intersection.

An interesting aspect of this bike life in Paris is that the Vélib is seen on the streets at all hours. The metro closes early, compared to other cities, but the Vélib is always there for you. Nightlife in Paris is made so much easier.
Copenhagen loves you. And your bike. But mostly you on your bike.


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