The Life-Sized City Blog

Nice with a bit of activism and rationality on a Saturday. Thanks to our reader Jochen, who sent us some photos from the streets of Germany in reaction to a campaign from the German Ministry of Transport, above. Next to a photo of Darth Vader the text reads: "The saga continues, thanks to the helmet. Works in every galaxy. And on the bicycle." This set cyclists and activists to task. Billboard in Bonn: "Now I'm single... thanks, helmet." Photo: Jochen  In a country where only about 10% of cyclists wear plastic hats, the Ministry of Transport decided to chuck some taxpayer money into a campaign. A lazy move from politicans whose ignorance about the importance of encouraging cycling, building infrastructure and the health benefits of a cycling population has now been broadcast to the planet. They are basically using taxpayer money to advertise how ignorant they are. There's the first problem with their campaign. The choice of Darth Vader is as str...

Thanks to our reader, Philip, for this great story. The fans of Eintracht Frankfurt football club decided to ride their bicycles to this year's derby match against local rivals FSV Frankfurt on August 21, 2011. The result was a fantastic and festive "football critical mass" from the city centre to the stadium. It was probably even more festive afterwards, since Eintracht Frankfurt cycled home with a solid 0-4 victory over their rivals. Back when the word 'hooligans' was splashed over the press in the 1990s, the Danish fans started calling themselves 'roligans' - from the Danish word 'rolig', meaning 'calm'. The fans in the above photos could easily be dubbed 'Roll-igans' or even 'rad-igans'. Mainly because 'Pedaligans' just sounds stupid. More photos over at Ultras Frankfurt 1997 website . Here's a film from a couple of years ago of Felix and I riding home from an FC Copenhagen match.

Saw this photo on a Danish website reporting about which airports are open or closed. Can't see which airport it is, but it's a cool shot. And whenever I'm in the dull, dreary hell that is Frankfurt Airport, at least I always see bicycles parked or being ridden around by the staff.