Posts
You ate too much at Christmas, it's your first day back at work, and you're feeling guilty 'cos you didn't get astride your bicycle so much over the Christmas holidays... well, hopefully the following film will help cheer you up...
'The Waltz of the Bike' was put together by Australian film maker Mike Rubbo. We've featured Mike here before with his film about Mikael Colville Anderson from Copenhagenize.com, and also his fascinating film about Sue Abbott, who is fighting to repeal the compulsory helmet laws in Australia. This, his latest film should put a smile on your dial and I think helps to illustrate perfectly the sort of everyday and ordinary cycling for everyone that is perfectly achievable here in London, if only our town planners, Mayors and various campaigning organisations had the wherewithal and foresight. It's a good aim to have for 2010, for London to become more like this film.
Interestingly, Mike is trying to track down some of the 'stars' of his film, and I'm sure would be thrilled to hear from you over at his blog, The Sit Up Cycle, should you spot any familiar faces. What's interesting about the people in this video is that they would stand out so much if cycling in London because of their lack of helmets, high visibility clothing and all the associated cycling paraphernalia we tend to encase ourselves within. It has to be said, their way looks effortless by comparison. These are not 'cyclists' as we would define them here in the UK, they are people who happen to be using cycles. That richness is clearly evident in the variety of the video, and indeed there is so much to see within. Check out the boys walking past the cargo bike at 6.19 and see where their eyes are drawn.. certainly made me giggle.
Happy New Year everyone, and let's make 2010 the best year for cycling that London has ever seen!
The Waltz of the Bikes from mike rubbo on Vimeo.
- ibikelondon
Rehabilitating the bicycle!
Follow me on Twitter: markbikeslondon
Join us on Facebook: ibikelondon
Find me on Flickr: ibikelondon
- 101 reasons to love cycling in London
- air quality
- bike hire scheme
- bike lanes
- bikes on trains
- Boris Johnson
- City of London
- commuting by bike
- Copenhagen
- copenhagenize.com
- critical mass
- cycle advocacy
- cycle chic
- cycle infrastructure
- cycle parking
- cycle routes
- Department for Transport
- emissions
- Greenways
- health
- helmet law
- image
- London cycle chic
- London Underground
- Mayor of London
- noise pollution
- Oxford Circus
- promoting cycling positively
- safety
- savings
- Snapped
- theft
- Transport for London
- women
- Y O U B I K E L O N D O N
i b i k e l o n d o n
Followers
Categories
- A View from the cycle path (The Netherlands)
- Amsterdamize (The Netherlands)
- As Easy As Riding a Bike (U.K)
- At War With The Motorist (U.K)
- Auckland Cycle Chic (New Zealand)
- BIKEMINDED (U.K)
- Bicivilzados (Argentina / Spain)
- Bicycle Dutch (Cycling videos from the Netherlands)
- Change your life & ride a bike (U.S.A)
- Copenhagen Cycle Chic (Denmark)
- Copenhagenize (Denmark)
- Crap Cycling & Walking in Waltham Forest (London, UK)
- Cycalogical (Merton, London, UK)
- Cycle Gaz Croydon (U.K)
- Cycling Embassy of Denmark
- Cycling Embassy of Great Britain
- Cycling Embassy of the Netherlands
- Cycling Intelligence (U.K)
- Cyclists in the City (of London, UK)
- Do The Right Thing (U.K)
- EcoVelo (U.S.A)
- Freedom Cyclist (helmet free Australia)
- Kennington People on Bikes (London, UK)
- Let's go ride a bike! (U.S.A)
- Lisbon Cycle Chic (Portugal)
- Lo Fidelity Bicycle Club (U.K)
- London 5 day weather forecast from the BBC (U.K)
- London Cycle Chic (U.K)
- London Cycling Campaign (U.K)
- London Cyclist (U.K)
- London Fixed Gear & Single Speed Forum
- Pedestrianise London (U.K)
- People Powered (Germany)
- Portlandize (U.S.A)
- Real Cycling (U.K)
- Road CC (U.K)
- Road Danger Reduction Forum (UK)
- Simply Bike (U.S.A)
- Sit Up Cycle (Australia)
- Sportive Cycling - everything you wanted to know about road cycling but were too afraif to ask...
- The Bike Show (U.K)
- The Cycling Silk (U.K)
- The Guardian Bike Blog (U.K)
- The Vole O'Speed (U.K)
- Two Wheels Good (U.K)
- UK Cycle Rules (legal points for bikes, U.K)
- VeLo Loves the City (U.K)
- Yehuda Moon (bicycle comic, U.S.A)
Bike Blogs
Search the blog
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
Dear God, that video just made my day! And it's only 2:00 a.m. here. Wonderful stuff. I'll spread the word. This is the kind of cycling city I want to live in!
Thanks for stopping by Anne, and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. When you see how effortless and normalised cycling is in Amsterdam in the video it makes you wonder why it's all so difficult everywhere else!
It looks very chilled out over in Amsterdam. Think the speed monster inside me would not be too happy though!
Smiled through the whole video! Fabulous! (And not a helmet amongst them!) This is the future I envision for my city, Portland.
Nice video.
It might be a fun project to have interactive media where people can add their favorite song to this video. And/or have people make their own bicycle video from selected images.
Seems that curiosity in such foreign things (everyday cycling) will come with some connection to familiarity.
I agree, it is a real feel good video - just what we need to kick-start the new year and to re-focus our attentions on why we all love cycling; sometimes it's hard to see the wood for the trees when we're campaigning for better facilities / dealing with other road users / overcoming public negativity.
Christa; I love the idea of different cities around the world doing the video with their own cyclists - it would be very telling of what kind of cycle culture exists in each place. Isn't it strange that everyday cycling has become so 'other' that this video seems strange to us, rather than the norm?
Mark,
Yes, I imagine we sort of do this with our blogs already. I try to photograph cyclist (what they're wearing, who with) in their native habitat. Bicycle ecosystem. :)
happy new year, mark! loved mike's video - am in the uk briefly for the next 2 weeks visiting family - loving the snow! also loving the empty roads - bliss!!! - armed with new camera and ready to photograph cyclists in the snow - such a random concept for australians!!!!
Happy New Year to you too Sue! You've come over here at such a magical time, the snow is pretty incredible - worse I can remember in my life time. I suspect it will be ever more wintery when you head to Copenhagen. Should you find yourself passing through central London send me an email - would love to shout you a coffee (not that UK coffee is up to Aussie standards to be honest!)
hey mark! i might just do that!
Post a Comment