I waited behind them, snapped a shot. But then as i waited I was wondering why the chap would choose a tricyle. He looked all dapper and casual in his suit and scarf and even engaged the girl next to him in a charming exchange of words and smiles.
I figured it was a style choice, that bike. Fair enough. It's a trendy European city.
When the light changed, he cycled away, keeping his right hand in his pocket. Or so I thought. It was then i realised that he was missing his right arm.
Of course. That's why he pedals around on a tricycle.
And how wonderful and Copenhagenesque that he still chooses a bike over other transport forms. And looks sharp in doing so.
There are so few reasons not to ride.
One of the main focuses of this blog has always been on how Copenhagen and other cities have succeeded in increasing cycling levels by approaching the subject using mainstream marketing techniques. Tried and tested marketing that has existed since homo sapiens first started selling or trading stuff to each other. Modern bicycle advocacy, by and large, is flawed. It is firmly inspired by environmentalism which, in turn, is the greatest marketing flop in the history of humankind. Four decades of sub-cultural finger-wagging, guilt trips and preaching have given few results among the general population. When sub-cultural groups start trying to indoctrinate and convert the public, it rarely ever succeeds. For the better part of a century, people all over the planet rode bicycles because they were quick, easy, convenient and enjoyable. In hilly cities. In hot cities. In snowy cities. After the bicycle largely disappeared from the urban landscape because urban planning s...