Out of town; the man behind Copenhagenize and Copenhagen Cycle Chic

Cycling is a broad church indeed and we're as diverse as people in general.  Some of us like to run round muddy tracks racing against each other, some of us like to get togged up in lycra and cleats and ride round and round velodromes (and have the thighs to prove it)  Others still wouldn't even consider themselves as 'cyclists' they're just families who like to get out with the kids and pootle down canal towpaths or through parks and its not about cycling but being out and about together.  Some of us don't care what we ride, so long as we do - not because we like bikes necessarily but because cycling is the sensible option for getting from A to B, whilst saving a packet and keeping fit and living a little at the same time.

I know for certain that my approach to cycling, and the place it can hold in the urban environment, was heavily influenced by the words and photographs of Mikael Colville-Andersen, the man behind the Copenhagenize and Copenhagen Cycle Chic websites.  If you haven't come across these websites yet it's time you checked them out.  It's his writing, right back at the start of my adventures with cycling, that convinced me that as an activity getting on a bike wasn't so 'other' that even I could do it.  Since then it's become an everyday and ordinary activity for me, and now I want it to be the same for other Londoners too. 

Green Light Go - The Birth of Cycle Chic
Originally uploaded by [Zakkalicious / Mikael]

Mikael's adventures in the blogosphere started with the upload of a single photo of a lady astride her traditional 'Dutch bike', waiting at the traffic lights, dressed in her ordinary clothes and just going about her business.  The reactions he got were like wildfire and before you could say 'Colville-who?' his websites were born and the rest, as they say, is history.  There is now a proliferation of cycling blogs around the world including 'Amsterdamize', 'Portlandize' and many more.

And now Australian film maker and cycle blogger Mike Rubbo has compiled a short movie which includes an interview with Mikael, and compares the cycling 'scene' in Copenhagen with that of his home (and my old abode) Australia.  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and thought I'd share it all with you in the hope that you do too.  It's great to hear about people who are out there advocating for cycling and spreading the word and hear their thoughts and ideas first-hand.  Oh, and he's got a sweet bike too.