The Life-Sized City Blog

So we got ourselves a new government in Denmark. When the government is formed, the tradition is that they pop down the palace to let the Queen know. She provides tea and biscuits. All very ceremonious. Here we see the leader of one of the coalition parties, Margrethe Vestager of the Radical Left (not very radical, not very left, but hey) arriving in style at Amalienborg Castle, followed by the other ministers from her party. Not a BMW/Audi/Mercedes in sight. Only elegant Velorbis bicycles for gentlemen and ladies alike. The bicycles are part of a large Velorbis bicycle fleet available for politicians to use for getting to and from meetings at various locations in central Copenhagen and are adorned with the logo of the Danish parliament. And here is Manu Sareen. This is not the first time politicians have arrived by bicycle for this, but it's the first time one of them was riding a cargo bike. In this case a splendid yellow Bullitt . Here's an earlier post about him camp...

Thanks to our reader, Aaron, for sending us the link to this photo. As he wrote in the email, "If you ever need a photo illustrating "Ignoring the Bull, here it is". Indeed. Perfectly illustrated. Fenced in, protected, backs turned to it. Classic Ignoring The Bull in Society's China Shop .

Photo: Mads Odgaard Norway's Statoil is a major oil company in Scandinavia and they have many petrol stations in Denmark. My friend Mads took these photos of a Statoil station in Copenhagen that has clearly accepted - dare one say embraced - the bicycle culture here in the City of Cyclists. In no uncertain terms Statoil has reserved space for cyclists to fix, tune-up or pump their bicycles at this Bicycle Care station. The sign, above, reads: "Dear Cyclist, You can care for your bicycle here. You can pump and wash your bicycle and, inside the shop, you're welcome to borrow a free bicycle care kit with oil, tire levers, allen keys, etc.  Enjoy. Statoil" I simply don't know how to make that text any nicer. Photo: Mads Odgaard In the centre of the bicycle pictogram is a rack that folds down so you can hang your bicycle on it while repairing, caring, whatever. An air hose is on the right and, on the left, a dispenser with paper towels and plastic ...

Cartoon from 1892. "The Holy Antonius' Last and Greatest Temptation". The Cycling Girl. Reading a brilliant book from 1947 about the dawn of bicycle culture in Copenhagen and Denmark. Chock full of goodies. Here is an incomplete list of some of the many bicycle clubs active in Copenhagen in and around 1890-1897. There were scores more than these. Loving some of the names. Trækfuglene (Migratory Birds) Dansk Bicycle Club Københavns Cycle Club (Copenhagen's Cycle Club) Østerbros Cycle Club (Østerbro is a neighbourhood) Seniorklubben Ordinary Cycle Clubben Frederiksberg Cycle Club Aftenfrokostforeningen (Evening Lunch Association) The Old Boys Record Klubben Nordiske Afholdsforeningers Bicycle Club (Nordic Temperance Associations Bicycle Club) Københavns Kvadrille Klub (Copenhagen's Quadrille Club) Kvindecycleklubben (The Women's Cycle Club) Who changed their name to: Damecycleklubben (The Ladies Cycle Club) Selskabelig-Cyclist Forening (Socia...

Here in Denmark, the summer's silly season is replaced by scary season. As the air gradually cools and the leaves fade to yellow, the people who produce "safety" campaigns start firing up their stoves to cook up a new batch of car-centric fear gulasch. The new kid on the block is the Vejdirektoratet - Danish Road Directorate with their VejKryds.dk campaign that hopes to raise awareness about right-turn collisions. We blogged about this campaign back in May when one of our readers - by chance - was invited to a feedback session hosted by Megafon.dk aimed at testing the campaign on a panel of citizens. You can read about the preview here: Fear Campaign Sneak Preview . The campaign is now on the streets. Compared to the original proposal it is clear that the Road Directorate listened - slightly - to the feedback panel and toned down the campaign a bit. It's still corny as hell with a "rhyme" theme. The main tagline is "Du tror du bli'r set, me...

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.

Here's what the parking situtation looked like outside my daughter's daycare today. It was the annual summer party. Normally parents pick up their offspring over a few hours each afternoon so it's cool to see the bicycles all gathered there at once. All manner of bicycles. You name it. Crappy old vintage short johns, fancy cargo bikes, bike seats, you name it. Oh, and I probably missed about 50 bikes or so when shooting this. There are about 200 children between 8 months and 6 years in this combined daycare/kindergarten.

Thanks to our reader, Tim, for sending us the above photo of Australian sheepshearers on their bicycles. The bicycle is credited rightly with improving the human gene pool in the way that it increased the mobility radius for people not only in cities but also in rural areas. After the invention of the bicycle and the subsequent bicycle boom in the late 1880's, family names that were previously rooted to specific towns or regions started showing up in the registries of (relatively) far-flung parishes in the UK. The same is true for rural America and Australia. The inexpensive independent mobility that the bicycle provided allowed men and women to travel farther further in the search for work and... well... TLC. These photographs are from the Flickr photostream of the State Library of New South Wales . Stanmore, NSW, Australia. May, 1946. Albury, NSW, Australia. December, 1938. NSW, Australia. June 1937. An explanation is probably needed: "Tom Morris, who will attem...

1966 – Bikes at Blundell Elementary School. Continuing the series of bicycle photos that show cycling as a normal transport form in cities, we have moved on to Vancouver, Canada. I used to be seen in the city, riding a crappy bike in regular clothes down from Lynn Valley and North Van, over the Lion's Gate to work downtown in the late 1980's. Or riding around downtown and Kitsalano in the early 1990's.  1943 – Canadian Youth Hostel bicycle hike at the grizzly bear cage in the Stanley Park Zoo. 1943 – Bicycle hike at Douglas Park. 1940s – A boy examines his new bicycle license. 1943 – Lumberman’s Arch. 1932 – Acrobats at the Vancouver Exhibition (now, PNE) 1943 – July 1st celebration in Richmond. 1890s – Bicycle racers and friends at Brockton Point.

It was lovely to see bicycles in action at Barcelona Zoo , used by the staff to get around the park. Like many zoos, each exhibition has it's own bicycles. Above, the sticker, refers to a marine exhibit. This chap works with primates. It was interesting to see a Danish Acrobat cargo bike from Esimex at the zoo selling ice cream and soft drinks. The solar panel sticking up was a bit wobbly and I wouldn't want to ride the trike in wind, but hey, it is perfect for riding or pushing the trike around the zoo. Here is a Copenhagen version of the Primate exhibit's bicycle. Sturdy front rack for carrying gear. Every bike at the Copenhagen Zoo is equipped with practical front and/or back racks. At left it is lovely to see that cycling is sociable even at the zoo. And here is a fleet of ice cream bikes, from Acrobat, at the Copenhagen Zoo. As far as I recall, the Sushi Bike that serves the beaches in Copenhagen is also the same brand. Even the humble Tapir exhibit at...