Skip to main content

Early Cargo Bike Learning in Copenhagen

Lulu Cargo
Cargo bike culture starts early in Copenhagen. With 25% of families with two or more kids using a cargo bike to get around, it's a part of life for children in so many ways to be well-acquainted with cargo bikes. The municipality of Copenhagen estimatest that there are around 30,000 cargo bikes in Copenhagen. Copenhagenize Design Company has reached a number of 40,000, based on sales numbers and including vintage cargo bikes, in Greater Copenhagen.

That number, however, doesn't count the armadas of mini cargo bikes found at schools and kindergartens and in the backyards of flats around the region. I've just moved to a new place and we found the cargo bike, above, in the backyard. For communal use. Lulu-Sophia has taken a liking to it and gravitates to it like magnet whenever we're out playing.
Cargo Lulu
Here's an even mini'er version at her kindergarten for the two to four year olds.
Cargo Kids of Mine
Here's another version in our new backyard. Perfect for pint-sized, sociable urban mobility. Big brother Felix loves giving Lulu-Sophia a ride.
Early Cargo Bike Culture
In the playground at Felix's school there are many bikes for kids to play on. Here's Lulu-Sophia showing off a couple of them, above and below.
Early Cargo Bike Culture
A bit too big for her, this one, but it's intended for older kids. Most of them feature a passenger seat. Because Citizen Cyclists - whatever their age - like cycling sociably.
Cargo Bike Training
Much like this, at the school. And these are just the tip of the iceberg regarding design and variety.

Lulu Rides 2
This trike, with the back bucket, is a Danish classic. Winther Bikes have been making them for 50 years and they are rather iconic in this country. The bucket at the back serves a practical purpose, of course. Carrying stuff. Which is what cargo bikes are all about.

ADDENDUM
Cargo Bike Training
Here are a couple more examples from the mean streets of the Danish capital. Above, heading home from kindergarten, a Copenhagen kid gets to try and ride the family's Christiania bike along the cycle tracks.
Bike Share
And this was spotted on my way home from picking up Lulu-Sophia from kindergarten. A mum sitting on the back rack and letting her kid get the feeling of the ride from the saddle of this Nihola.

The Secret Life of Cargo Bikes
Here's a glimpse into the secret life of cargo bike compartments. This one - one of many - was parked outside the kindergarten. All the essentials for a kid's life. Including a magic wand.

Things I Bring Home On My Bike From Kindergarten
I used to use the Velorbis to pick up Lulu-Sophia from kindergarten. Well, Lulu and friends, of course.

Things I Bring Home On My Bike From Kindergarten 2
The classic hook on the back racks of Danish bikes comes in handy when transporting a lunchbox. Although apples are doable as well - among many other things. Here's more on these hooks on our bikes.


Popular posts from this blog

Overcomplicating Winter Cycling - Why It's Bad

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...

A Walking Helmet is a Good Helmet

At long last logic prevails. A new campaign has hit the streets of Denmark, thanks to the visionaries at The Danish Road Safety Council [Sikker Trafik] and Trygfonden [an insurance company]. Intense promotion of walking helmets for pedestrians has begun. This logic has been sorely missed. These two organisations have happily promoted bike helmets but pedestrians suffer just as many head injuries, if not more. This Danish campaign poster reads: "A walking helmet is a good helmet" "Traffic safety isn't just for cyclists. The pedestrians of Denmark actually have a higher risk of head injury. The Danish Road Safety Council recommends walking helmets for pedestrians and other good folk in high risk groups." The slogan is catchy in Danish since it kind of rhymes. All in all it's a brilliant project. Let's save some lives. The new walking helmets will be available in the Danish Cyclists Union's [Dansk cyklist forbund] shop. Although, as the...

Driving Kills - Health Warnings

I think it's safe to say that we have a pressing need for marketing cycling positively if we're to encourage people to ride bicycles and begin the transformation of our cities into more liveable places. Instead of scare campaigns about cycling [a life-extending, healthy, sustainable transport form], wouldn't it be more appropriate to begin campaigns about the dangers of automobiles? Many people in car-centric countries no longer regard cars as dangerous. Maybe they realise it, but the car is such an ingrained part of the culture that the perception of danger rarely rises to the surface of peoples consciousness. Sure, there are scare campaigns for cars out there, but what if we just cut to the chase? Much like smoking. Only a couple of decades ago, cigarettes were an integral part of life, whether you smoked or not. That has changed radically. We think that we could borrow freely from the health warnings now found on cigarette packs around the world. In order to be tho...