Comments on Cycle Chic - The Original from Copenhagen. Streetstyle and Bike Advocacy in High Heels: La Semaine du Vélib' et du Vélocouture Parisienne

Thanks bro

2010-01-22T19:51:20.091+01:00

Thanks bro

What a great blog! You would love Davis, Californi...

2010-01-16T19:45:32.639+01:00

What a great blog! You would love Davis, California! :)

Bella Ciao is not only a song any more. Now it is ...

2009-12-06T21:26:57.160+01:00

Bella Ciao is not only a song any more. Now it is also a bicycle. - Bella Ciao - La canzone della resistenza - La poesia della libertà.
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Best from Berlin.

Its one month since the Dublin bikes went live. Re...

2009-10-27T13:14:17.500+01:00

Its one month since the Dublin bikes went live. Really successful over 25% more sign ups in the first month then the target for the year already they are planning an expansion. And why not I have always said is a nice city to cycle around. Small yet nicely formed between a wonderful bay and lovely rolling hills.

I think it's a great idea, here in London we have ...

2009-10-14T12:12:50.534+02:00

I think it's a great idea, here in London we have cyclists who can only ride in the street with the buses and cars, and it's completely nerve wracking to see them! I would love to cycle around the city, but you really do have to cycle in a pack for security. Hopefully London will follow the great example of bike-friendly cities like Copenhagen and Paris. :o)

Elodie

Slim Girl Diary

The chappie smoking a cigarette is on a "segway", ...

2009-09-28T10:23:47.850+02:00

The chappie smoking a cigarette is on a "segway", which is an electric human transporter...

what do you mean by "even the chinese"? that makes...

2009-04-20T19:10:00.000+02:00

what do you mean by "even the chinese"? that makes no sense, and you didn't even provide any sort of context to that statement.

the hype about the failures of Velib are greatly e...

2009-03-31T10:44:42.850+02:00

the hype about the failures of Velib are greatly exaggerated. It is said the JC Deceaux, the ad company with the contract, has overhyped the negative aspects in order to get more money out of the city in the contract negotiations. these negative points have been thoroughly debunked in the press.

I've heard that vandalism is actually quite a prob...

2009-03-30T08:37:00.000+02:00

I've heard that vandalism is actually quite a problem. It seems that 40% of the bikes are unusable.

http://tf1.lci.fr/infos/life-styles/0,,3908989,00-apres-velib-victime-succes-.html

Similar systems exist elsewhere. I've used them in Vienna and Lyon - and in Copenhagen about 12 years ago :-) - I don't know what the stats are, but vandalism doesn't seem threathen the system's sustainability. Is there less respect toward city property in Paris than in Vienna?

I don't really get how you can steal a Vélib' considering you have to give your credit card information though...

Well, hopefully it will still last...

Great article !!! I'll make sure to practice cycli...

2009-02-16T19:21:00.000+01:00

Great article !!!
I'll make sure to practice cycling in Copenhagen first then I'll try Paris.. I loved this post :)

Great article and photos, I have driven my car man...

2008-10-03T15:36:31.155+02:00

Great article and photos, I have driven my car many times in Paris and always found the chaos stressful and exciting at the same time, especially going around "The Arche"!
ow here in Edmonton there is good news, I just read in the news paper this week:
"Let's watch what happens in pioneering Montreal, and consider a bike-sharing system for Edmonton. For all the wind about evironmental sustainability generated by the turbine of the human persuasion, any real progress must also begin at home.[...] For the past few years, some 100 cities - including the likes of Paris, Barcelona and Washington, DC - have hosted bicycle sharing programs. [...] Paris' Velib program has been a massive success, for example, where over 20,000 bikes have been used on 27 million rides.[...] Montreal is road-testing its own bike-sharing system that could serve as a template for other Canadian cities, including Edmonton.[...] with Montreal leading the way, Edmonton will have an appropriate model to study. The hope is City Hall will be doing just that over the coming year. Bike-sharing could well make sense here, at once improving the city's environment, along with the health of Edmontonians."
Very Good news, if only the political good will translates in concrete planning and action soon! Greetings from Edmonton, Canada

I loved this - we tended to think Parisian mentali...

2008-07-03T00:57:00.000+02:00

I loved this - we tended to think Parisian mentality (since post WWII) was an obstacle to bicycle use. This is sweet revenge.

My bicycle is a six-speed Raleigh Sprite, black, upright handlebars, mixte frame - about what I'd need in Paris, as there are a couple of hills I couldn't do with a Dutch Omafiets without damage to my middle-aged knees.

Eventually I'd like to see a bicycle funiculaire up Montmartre and Méilmontant/ Belleville, about the only high hills that might be an obstacle to people of a certain age with joint problems (cycling is very good for many kinds of athritis, etc).

And, of course, it keeps people beautiful! Not necessarily model-slim, but toned, and aware of our bodies.

Absolutely, it is amazing to see the turnaround in...

2008-06-10T15:38:07.549+02:00

Absolutely, it is amazing to see the turnaround in attitude towards cycling in Paris. I would have never believed it if anyone told me 5 years ago that Paris would be accessible by bike nowadays and that it has become a quite common means of transportation for the Parisians.

Therefore I think it is an interesting situation for bike developments and I wonder whether this success would be possible for example in the Netherlands, where many people already have their own bicycle.

I agree, Myana. The Velib system was intended for ...

2008-06-10T13:23:12.603+02:00

I agree, Myana. The Velib system was intended for Parisians. We saw very few tourists using them.

In other cities with new bike share systems, they are ONLY for the locals and you have to sign up a week in advance, etc.

In CPH, it's only the tourists and the occasional inebriated copenhagener on their way home at night.

nevertheless, the amount of bikes we saw and the ease of use the cyclists exhibited in paris is, i believe, a fantastic sign.

Once implemented, the target group is not always a...

2008-06-10T10:48:57.818+02:00

Once implemented, the target group is not always as it was initially intended.

The tourists of Paris are part of the target group of the Veli'b, the option is there to use it. But it was positioned for the inhabitants, in addition for the public transport and to encourage people to leave their car at home. However for this last group there is no change in car usage measurable.

I read somewhere that the initial plan for Copenhagen was to offer commuters the possibility of using a bike in combination with other public transport. I am not sure who the current users are, but it seems to be that the system is mainly used by tourists. Most inhabitants of the city already own a bike, and use it rather than the city bikes. The question is actually if the success of the Veli’b is related to the amount of bicycles the Parisians own.

great to hear from all of you.matt: melbourne is i...

2008-05-23T12:12:33.164+02:00

great to hear from all of you.

matt: melbourne is indeed cool. used to live there actually.

it's also one of the nine cities chosen by architect Jan Gehl as a fine example of a 'reconquered city.' Read this post about it.

Hello,Great to read about this system working in a...

2008-05-21T13:51:26.905+02:00

Hello,
Great to read about this system working in a big city ... there was talk of setting up a free bike scheme here in Melbourne (of the advertising-sponsored variety) but it seems to have foundered on our compulsory bike helmet laws ... we keep our fingers crossed.
BTW, the biggest innovation here is "Copenhagen lanes" (on one main city street at the moment) -- named after your city, of course ... bikes separated from traffic by a car parking bays ... the biggest hazard is people getting out of the parked cars ...

love your blog.

My Amex card has a chip in it, and I intend to use...

2008-05-15T02:03:56.150+02:00

My Amex card has a chip in it, and I intend to use it in Paris this summer.

Micheal,Not sure...my wife carries the card with t...

2008-05-14T01:25:19.382+02:00

Micheal,
Not sure...my wife carries the card with the chip, but I believe you are correct. I only carry a single Visa card and I can assure you it does not have the chip.

Aaron

2whls3spds- true that some Amex have the chip - is...

2008-05-13T23:47:04.983+02:00

2whls3spds- true that some Amex have the chip - isn't it in the wrong place? It's in the center of the card, but that's not where it is on the european cards, right?

SOME of the American Express Cards have the chip a...

2008-05-13T23:45:00.715+02:00

SOME of the American Express Cards have the chip and some don't. I didn't realize I was missing out on one ;-) I do travel a fair amount but so far my international travel has been fairly limited and to only a couple of days of business at a time. I hope to change that soon.

Aaron

Hi from Santa Monica, California. I love your sit...

2008-05-13T23:03:50.666+02:00

Hi from Santa Monica, California. I love your site. I've enjoyed all (recent) posts as I mentally will U.S cities towards a more progressive bike culture. Santa Monica is a fairly bike-savvy city, but I love witnessing the explosion elsewhere. I have hope. Thanks again.

Here's the article on the post-american world:http...

2008-05-13T22:42:15.479+02:00

Here's the article on the post-american world:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/135380

ROFL, thanks for the article link, had a good laug...

2008-05-13T22:25:33.946+02:00

ROFL, thanks for the article link, had a good laugh. It pretty much lived up to expectations, conflated and all. Cultures apart, indeed. :-)

michael... do you have a link to that post-america...

2008-05-13T21:23:04.485+02:00

michael... do you have a link to that post-american world article? sounds interesting.

dupuy... indeed, you are correct. i've checked around now and that seems to be the case.

for a great laugh, read this article and especially the comments.