Faith, Hope and Love

Ah, the oddities of the internet. Bill over at District Citizen Cycling, a DC bicycle blog, has dug up this clip from a Danish film directed by Bille August in 1984. It's called 'Twist and Shout' in English and 'Tro, Håb & Kærlighed'. Which translates as 'Faith, Hope and Love'. It takes place in 1963.

Perfect title for the context presented here. As Bill writes ironically on his blog, "This short scene is pretty charming, but does serve as a stark reminder of one of the real perils of bicycling: you may not be able to catch up to your girlfriend on the bus."

Faith in the bicycle as a tool for transforming our cities. Hope that rationality will prevail. Love. Period.

Evening Flow

Darkness was falling quick and the snow was increasing. But that didn't stop the bicycles.

Colour Splash

What a spectacular splash of colour on the wintry urban landscape. Brava!

Cycle Chic Loves Dring Dring

There are some things that Cycle Chic love just a little bit more. The brilliant bicycle bells made by Dring Dring, out of Montreal, are no exception. We've been chatting back and forth with Annie, who owns Dring Dring, for ages. About collaborating, sure, but generally just big, wet, mutual kisses of affection back and forth across the internet.

Annie's Dring Dring take large and sturdy metal bicycle bells and hand-paint them in her studio in Montreal. A team of artists create an ocean of cool designs on the bells. Indeed, one look at Annie's website and you'll see that fantasy really has no limits. There are some products that just sing Cycle Chic and these bells are doing so at the top of their voice.


I love not just the bells but some of the creative ways they package them. Like the cupcake [below left] and the turtle [below right]. The bells sound like bells should sound. A bold and yet dreamy 'dring dring' ring. The kids here at Cycle Chic headquarters seem to love the sound because they keep ringing them at all hours.


Here are a couple more bells that we have here at CCHQ. So simple. So elegant.


Check out DringDring's online shop to see what's on offer. The bells are coming to this side of the Atlantic and will soon be available - if not already - at our friends in London - Velorution.


We've also acquired a few bells through our collaboration with Dring Dring. Limited Edition Cycle Chic bells. We're flogging them over at this online site. If you're interested. No trouble if you're not. There are only 10 bells. One of each of the above. Get 'em while they're hot. :-)

Noctural Flow

We just got dumped on with 10-15 cm of snow - to add to the 45 cm or so on the ground. But here's a nice photo with my new 7D camera. :-)

Cycle Chic Christmas Wish List 2010

It's beginning to look at lot like christmas, as the song goes. We got asked the question not long ago... "What would Cycle Chic like to see under the tree?" Which made us think. After a lot of thinking, we've whipped together this Cycle Chic™ Wish List for Christmas 2010. Or CCCWL10 for short. Here's a selection of stuff we like.

1. A Bicycle Basket from David Hembrow

It's cool when you buy a new basket and someone says, "Hey! Cool new basket!" It's just a bit cooler to say, "Yeah, thanks! It's a custom-made basket from a fourth generation basket weaver living in the Netherlands." That's Cycle Chic™/Cheek.
LINK: Custom bicycle baskets from Hembrow.eu
LINK: Read a review of the baskets and Hembrow at Copenhagenize.com

2. Bicycle Bells from Dring Dring

There are loads of bells out there. Any old webshop can grab bells from Taiwan [nice bells, pretty bells, sure] but really... Cycle Chic approves of hand-painted, old school bells from the hand of a talented artist in Montreal. Can't beat it.
LINK: Bicycle Bells from DringDring.ca

3. A Bicycle Vase for Your Handlebars

Let's be honest. This idea is one of the purest Cycle Chic ideas in history. Pure loveliness. A vase attached to your handlebars. Nuff said.
LINK: Bicycle Vase [website is in German, but that's what Google Translate is for]
LINK: Original post about the Bicycle Vase.

4. The Last Bag

What a cool name. The Last Bag [you'll ever own/need]. Danish designer Piet Breinholm took the classic satchel that every Danish kid ran around with well into the 1950's and made a modern version. Classic Danish Design. Style, form, simplicity and function. Makes us weak at the knees just looking at it.
LINK: The Last Bag

5. Bicycle Wine from Cycle Gladiator

There are many wines that feature bicycles on their logo but our favourite is Cycles Gladiator, produced by Hahn Family Wines in the US. It features an iconic bicycle poster from the history of bicycles as the label. The added bonus is that this wine was banned in Alabama, USA, because the label featured... um... breasts.
LINK: Bicycle Wine from Cycles Gladiator. Find out where you can get it on their website.

6. The Bike Porter from Copenhagen Parts

It's tough designing new and interesting angles on bicycles. After 125 years, most of it has been tried and tested. But the integrated basket/handlebars from Copenhagen Parts are a fresh, new solution and we love the innovation.
LINK: Bike Porter from Copenhagen Parts

7. Bicycle Bag from Ortigiano

We blogged about these hand-made bags from Ortigiano in Italy earlier this year. And we still love them something rotten. Hand-dyed, with a bicycle tube for a strap and with buttons carved from the lava of Mt. Etna. As well as hooks for hanging the bag on your back rack. Wicked.
LINK: Bicycle Bag from Ortigiano
LINK: Earlier post about the bags from Cycle Chic

8. Animal Seat Covers

These animal seat covers from Swiss designer Tilo Ahmels are lovely Cycle Chic accessories and a great gift idea. There are a number of animals to choose from and they all come in a cool round tin.
LINK: Bicycle Seat Covers [website in German but you'll figure it out]
LINK: Earlier post about the seat covers, with loads of photos.

9. Dutch Delft Blue Bags and Skirtguards

Delft Blue is a famous trademark in the Netherlands and the unique patterns usually found on porcelain are now found on pannier bags and skirtguards. Beautiful stuff!
LINK: Dutch Delft Blue Bag/Skirtguard

10. Knog Bike Lights

There is an ocean of bike lights on the market but Knog seem to capture design and functionality all at once. They're available all over the planet. If you're in the UK, you can buy them online at either The Bike Chain or Tredz.co.uk. And we noticed they're on sale both places, too. In the US, LL Bean sells them, too. There are different models to choose from. At Cycle Chic we use the Skink model. And we like it.
LINK: Knog Bike Lights (and stuff)

11. Bicycle Skirtguards from Simeli.nl

Once again, this product is one we blogged about previously, simply because we love it. It's retro - crocheted skirtguards are as old as the bicycle itself - but Simeli brings the idea into the new millenium. Cycle Chic in a nutshell, baby.
LINK: Crocheted bicycle skirtguards from Simeli.nl
LINK: Earlier post about Simeli skirtguards from here on Cycle Chic.

12. Spoke Beads from Ebay

This just may be the perfect stocking stuffer. Colourful spoke beads for a bit of retro bling on your bicycle. There are loads of them on eBay, so shop around for the best price.
LINK: Bicycle Spoke Beads [the link is from British eBay - maybe you could search your local version]

13. Cheeky Cycle Chic T-shirts from Cycle Chic™

Allow us to chuck our t-shirts into the fray. These "Hold My Bicycle While I Kiss Your Boyfriend/Girlfriend" have proved to be popular on our little online shop at Cafe Press. Make your Cycle Chic statement with one of these, or wrap it up nice for someone you like.
LINK: Cycle Chic™ t-shirts for ladies
LINK: Cycle Chic™ t-shirts for men

14. The Cycle Chic™ Calendar for 2011

And last but not least, the Cycle Chic Calendar for 2011. Nuff said. We blogged about it here, with more photos. We're not shy in saying that we'd love it if you had one hanging on your wall.
LINK: The Cycle Chic™ Calendar for 2011.

Neon

Here's a friend of mine. Christian. He lives in Brooklyn but is home in Copenhagen for an extended visit. We went a few nights ago for drinks and catch-up chatting.

If you're in Copenhagen you should really check out his Facebook marketplace listing. He's selling a bunch of old, but cool, stuff. I've already bought my share. It's like an online, one-stop version of a funky Vesterbro flea market.

See the Marketplace listing here.

Yellow Backdrop

Climate Change - Australia Cycle Chic

Climate Change is a serious issue. It can also be quite depressing. When the climate changes to winter here in Copenhagen, it's changing to summer Down Under. Lucy from Sydney Vintage Bikes sent us these shots from a recent campaign in Sydney. Bondi, to be precise. They were taken by Lara Inc. - Sydney’s most respected fashion and lifestyle events agency and were in conjuction with an event for Switch Flops.

Lucy provided the vintage bikes for the event.

While we wouldn't want to live anywhere else but Copenhagen, we certainly wouldn't mind a little Australian holiday right about now.

Remember, you always have Sydney Cycle Chic for more photos from Down Under.


Meanwhile, back at Cycle Chic Headquarters in Copenhagen:

Back on the Bridge

Some more wintry shots from Queen Louise's Bridge over The Lakes during the morning rush hour.

More Morning Traffic

Sometimes I have a hard time imagining living somewhere else.

All the goodness inherent in urban cycling and having large numbers of bicycles in our cities is definately an idea worth spreading. See what I have to say about how The Culture of Fear puts this at risk in my talk at the TED x Copenhagen day last Tuesday. The Copenhagen version of the TED.com talk series.

Morning Traffic

Ooh. Chilly. Pushing - 20 C with the wind chill. Go Copenhagen Go!