Cycling is a way of life for the Danes. They cycle because it is cheap, healthy, good for the environment, but mostly because it is so quick and convenient. The city is entirely flat, dense and there are cycle paths EVERYWHERE. You can cycle door to door without the need to ever find a carpark or pay for parking. Almost 40% of all citizens commute to work or school on their bikes. Bikes are used everyday by Copenhageners to go about daily life including commuting, shopping, transporting the kids, and even moving. We've even witnessed a guy cycling with a ladder!
Some vintage Copenhagen bike pics:
The traditional Christiania bicycle. Designed for transporting kids (and/or beer!) and seen everywhere in Copenhagen. 25% of all families with two or more children have one.
The traditional cargo bicycle, still used today, but the Christania version is more common.
The common ladies bicycle. Source: Spacing Montreal
Inspired, one of the first things I did after arriving in Copenhagen was to invest in a Danish ladies bicycle. It is a lovely "Juliett" VIVA cycle, with the website description "pure elegance for the sophisticated lady". Not just pretty to look at, it is super comfortable sitting high with a cushioned English Brooks leather saddle, and storage room at the front and rear of the bike!
Cycling so far has been fun yet practical, and we have not missed having a car at all. However, this week was my first experience of cycling in sub zero temperatures. The cold does not worry me - you soon warm up, but what I didn't realise was that your bicycle gears can freeze!! This indeed happened to me and I ended up cycling to work in top gear, unable to change down when stopped at lights etc. This made my usual easy cycle pretty tiring, and I thought my bike was broken and almost went to our local bike shop. Luckily I spoke to my danish colleagues about the problem, and they told me this was completely normal and just a pitfall of cycling in winter (and I was lucky my lock hadn't frozen over too!). Another Scandinavian lesson learned!
