Exploring Scandinavia

The book Cycle Chic is photographed by Danish Mikael Colville-Andersen, who is the man behind the popular blog Copenhagen Cycle Chic. He has hunted cyclists from Copenhagen to Amsterdam and to Paris. Read more about Cycle Chic in Copenhagen.

Cycle chic or bicycle chic refers to cycling in fashionable everyday clothes. The phrase Cycle Chic was coined in 2007 by Mikael Colville-Andersen, who started the Copenhagen Cycle Chic blog in the same year.

Copenhagen – The biking capital of the world
Copenhagen is an extremely stylish city – as well as a biking city. Thanks to Mikael Colville-Andersen, we are able to catch a glimpse of both worlds as they collide and whiz by. It seems like the most effective transportation system of the 21^st Century is going to be the future – the humble bicycle.

Related: Picturesque Biking in Sweden

Cycle Chic is a modern phrase to describe something that has existed since the invention of the bicycle in the 1880s – regular citizens on bicycles. Cycling was fashionable from the late 1880s and through the 1940s.

The book Cycle Chic contains a collection of snapshots of beautiful, happy cyclists on the go. The photographer has stated that he does not care about cycling, but that cities should be livable for those who want to ride around them on a bicycle. He started blogging in 2007 and had to quit his regular job as a film director and photographer; the interest in ordinary cycling was enormous.

The Cycle Chic philosophy
“The Cycle Chic philosophy is about looking good, interacting with your urban landscape, and contributing to the urban scene by merely riding a bicycle,” says Colville-Andersen. “We all think and breathe design in our daily lives,” he adds.

Related: Biking the Danish East Coast Route

Copenhagen’s cycle tracks are winning the “space race” in cities across the globe – and having an immediate and massive impact. Better catering to residents’ comfort and ease can make cycling irresistible. “The seductive power of well-designed infrastructure can even transcend important issues, like weather,” Colville-Andersen said, showing a photo of Copenhagen cyclists pedaling in the snow. And, not only are people getting out of their cars; they’re more likely to act like model citizens.

The book Cycle Chic is the story about a new generation of cyclists. The book has long since sold out and we are waiting for a new edition. The publisher, Horst A. Friedrichs, believes the popularity is related to the downturn and the availability of the bicycle.

Good design breads good behavior
Around the time that Mikael Colville-Andersen coined the phrase Cycle Chic, the bicycle had largely disappeared from the public consciousness as a transport option, at least in many North American cities, though that was not the case in northern Europe.

Related: High Mountain Biking in Northern Norway

“I realized that people in other countries were hungry for this rebranding of the bicycle as not just transport, but also as an urban lifestyle accessory,” said Colville-Andersen. “Good design breeds good behavior,” Colville-Andersen emphasized. When you get 400 bikes through a single light cycle, like they do in Copenhagen, you’re much less likely to see those scofflaw riders charging through a red, as is common in many other cities.

“Everyone can afford to buy a bicycle. Now that people have less money to spend, the bike is more relevant than ever,” he says.

The Photo That Launched a Million Bicycles
The current bicycle boom in transportation and fashion has its roots in his very first published photo of an “elegantly-clad” woman on a bike. IBM’s Smarter Planet have documented the birth and growth of the Cycle Chic trend using advanced analytic software – from its origins in Copenhagen through 2012.

“I didn’t notice the bicycle, I noticed the urban scene,” he explained about the picture that has been coined “The Photo That Launched a Million Bicycles.”

Denmark isn’t the only model. Major leaders around Europe are making bold announcements about their intentions to go back to the future of bicycling. Colville-Andersen shared a stunning quote from the mayor of Paris: “The fact is that automobiles no longer have a place in the big cities of our time.”

Cycle Chic in Copenhagen, written by Tor Kjolberg

All photos © copenhagencyclechic.com

Cycle Chic is a modern phrase to describe something that has existed since the invention of the bicycle in the 1880s – regular citizens on bicycles. Cycling was fashionable from the late 1880s and through the 1940s.

The book Cycle Chic contains a collection of snapshots of beautiful, happy cyclists on the go. The photographer has stated that he does not care about cycling, but that cities should be livable for those who want to ride around them on a bicycle. He started blogging in 2007 and had to quit his regular job as a film director and photographer; the interest in ordinary cycling was enormous.

The Cycle Chic philosophy
“The Cycle Chic philosophy is about looking good, interacting with your urban landscape, and contributing to the urban scene by merely riding a bicycle,” says Colville-Anderson. “We all think and breathe design in our daily lives,” he adds.

Related: Biking the Danish East Coast Route

Copenhagen’s cycle tracks are winning the “space race” in cities across the globe — and having an immediate and massive impact. Better catering to residents’ comfort and ease can make cycling irresistible. “The seductive power of well-designed infrastructure can even transcend important issues, like weather,” Colville-Andersen said, showing a photo of Copenhagen cyclists pedaling in the snow. And, not only are people getting out of their cars; they’re more likely to act like model citizens.

The book Cycle Chic is the story about a new generation of cyclists. The book has long since sold out and we are waiting for a new edition. The publisher, Horst A. Friedrichs, believes the popularity is related to the downturn and the availability of the bicycle.

Good design breads good behavior
Around the time that Mikael Colville-Andersen coined the phrase Cycle Chic, the bicycle had largely disappeared from the public consciousness as a transport option, at least in many North American cities, though that was not the case in northern Europe.

Related: High Mountain Biking in Northern Norway

“I realized that people in other countries were hungry for this rebranding of the bicycle as not just transport, but also as an urban lifestyle accessory,” said Colville-Anderson. “Good design breeds good behavior,” Colville-Andersen emphasized. When you get 400 bikes through a single light cycle, like they do in Copenhagen, you’re much less likely to see those scofflaw riders charging through a red, as is common in many other cities.

“Everyone can afford to buy a bicycle. Now that people have less money to spend, the bike is more relevant than ever,” he says.

The Photo That Launched a Million Bicycles
The current bicycle boom in transportation and fashion has its roots in his very first published photo of an “elegantly-clad” woman on a bike. IBM’s Smarter Planet have documented the birth and growth of the Cycle Chic trend using advanced analytic software – from its origins in Copenhagen through 2012.

“I didn’t notice the bicycle, I noticed the urban scene,” he explained about the picture that has been coined “The Photo That Launched a Million Bicycles.”

Denmark isn’t the only model. Major leaders around Europe are making bold announcements about their intentions to go back to the future of bicycling. Colville-Andersen shared a stunning quote from the mayor of Paris: “The fact is that automobiles no longer have a place in the big cities of our time.”

Cycle Chic in Copenhagen, written by Tor Kjolberg

All photos © copenhagencyclechic.com