We're Ready to be Copenhagenized!

We are loving this little clip from Copenhagenize! It's a great example of that "delight of discovery" that can occur when you're moving through a place using your own energy. And it's a great example of how small thoughtful additions to the public realm can make everyone's life a little happier.

Copenhagenizing Copenhagen from Copenhagenize on Vimeo.

Copenhagenize is a consulting company founded by ex-pat Canadian Mikael Collville- Andersen (who also runs the popular & trend-setting Copenhagen Cycle Chic blog). The city of Copenhagen has been so sucessful in implementing integrated urban infrastructure, with a massive emphasis on bicycle use (as opposed to "cycling" which is a segregative term), that its citizens are able to provide consulting services to the rest of the world on how to "Copenhagenize" their own cities! Amazing!

Oh, the Weather Outside is Frightful, but a Bike Ride's so Delightful...

With the snowflakes dancing fiendishly in the air this morning, we doubt very much that we'd have the courage to hop onto two wheels to tool around town doing our Saturday chores, but it IS encouraging to know that there are those for whom this is just "business as usual". You'll see what we mean at about the one minute mark in the vid below- that's when things get serious!

Frankly, this has given us just the inspiration we needed to resist the strong urge to dig the damn bike out from under it's snowy blanket and stash it away in the storage locker for 2 more months. Maybe if we just hang tight till next week...

Enjoy, and don't forget to enlarge to full screen turn up the volume!

Copenhagen January Cycling - Your Country from Copenhagenize on Vimeo.

All images thanks to the unstoppable Copenhagenize.com

New Feed Bag Link for the love of urban cycling

While the purpose of this blog is not one of advocacy, urban cycling does inspire us, so we are happy to include in our Feed Bag (see right) a new link to Copenhagenize, a site dedicated to promoting that cause. It is the sister site of fellow Feed Bag member Copenhagen Cycle Chic,

(pic below) already a favourite of ours.
We love the current focus at both these sites on winter cycling. Copenhagenize, in particular, has some great photos, clips & descriptions of the impressive efforts the city puts into clearing snow from bike paths. Keeping the bikes moving is priority #1.

At a time when a certain candidate in Toronto's upcoming mayoral election is seeking to use bike lanes as a wedge to be driven between city & suburban voters, and when the usual excuse from all sides as to insufficient funding of our bike routes is that "Toronto is a winter city", it is inspiring to see that at least one major metropolis with a wintery climate refuses to let weather weaken its imagination.