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SCANDINAVIAN MONTHLY | PEOPLE
People Cycle Chic in Copenhagen Text Tor Kjolberg
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 21st 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.
