How Cycle Chic is the new king?
As you probably have heard; we have a new king! On Tuesday the ceremony of the abdication and the coronation (without a crown though) took place in Amsterdam. Prince Willem-Alexander (also known as ‘Prins Pils = Prince Pilsener’) is now king Willem-Alexander and his Argentinian born wife, Máxima, is Queen Máxima.
For Amsterdam Cycle Chic the first question that arose was of course; how cycle chic are the new king and queen? As a royal couple you usually are very chic, but do they also cycle chic? We found the following pictures of the King and Queen on bikes. What do you think? Quite cycle chic eh?!
The king of the Netherlands cycling in a suit
Dutch Royal family on bikes
Royal family cycling with a cargo bike
Queen Máxima on a bike
The Dutch king and queen on their bikes
King Willem-Alexander as a boy
Bike crate
You probably already noticed it on our blog, but to have a crate on the front of your bike is really trendy in Amsterdam! Hardly any cute baskets in the streets just cool and sturdy crates, in different colours, sometimes branded or full of stickers. What do you think of this trend?
Senior Cycle Chic
In Amsterdam people of all ages cycle. Last week we saw ladies with their babies on bikes, we have seen young kids cycling and trendy students. This week we show you chic cyclists with grey hair. Aren’t they stylish and fit? I guess cycling keeps you young!
Cycle chic-in-training
Isn’t this the sweetest?! Daddy and daughter, hand on shoulder…and a cute little orange flag.
Now there’s a chic cyclist-in-training!
by Meredith
Mohawks ride faster
There’s so much going on here. First of all, the mohawk. (No, it wasn’t just the wind). Awesome! Then the Louis bag. Classy. Bright blue jeans? Totally hot. Old school Nike’s. Yes, love it. Slick wheels–obvi. Should I expect anything less in the 9 Streets?!
I don’t think so.
by Meredith
Cyclist of the Month: ‘Miss Fair Fashion’ Marieke
Meet ‘Miss fair fashion’ Marieke Eyskoot: her mission is to make fair fashion normal in the Netherlands. “For me fashion is a way to celebrate life. I love it! But it should also be nice for the people who make it. I can’t enjoy clothes that people made in terrible working conditions.” For many years people have asked Marieke where they can buy fair fashion, what to look out for when shopping, easy things they can do for a more ‘fair lifestyle’ and if a fair lifestyle isn’t too expensive? Those questions made Marieke decide to write the book ‘Talking Dress- Vertelt je alles over eerlijke kleding (en lifestyle)’ that was recently published.
‘Talking Dress’ is a guide –written in Dutch – to a fair lifestyle in the Netherlands and Belgium. The book shows you the way to your own fair fashion lifestyle. Ranging from shopping tips to DIY-tricks, from washing instructions to swapping ideas, from clothes to accessories, beauty products, food and even marriage: Talking Dress makes it easy (and fun!) to do good and look great at the same time.
We love Marieke’s book and know that she uses her bike every day, so we asked her for an interview. We met in the lovely fair lunchroom and boutique ‘Beter & Leuk’ on the Eerste Oosterparkstraat.
Marieke and her bike
“This interview is a tribute to my bike. I bought it second hand in 1996 for 100 guilders and I have cycled it daily through the streets of Amsterdam since then.” The frame is from 1967 and it is a classical black Gazelle Dutch bike. But after more than 40 years some essential parts can’t be repaired anymore. So Marieke has to get a new bike. The decision of which bike to get was an easy one; “A Roetz bike of course!” Roetz’ bikes are sustainable and fair bikes made in the Netherlands. (Read more about Roetz on our blog).
“I love to cycle and I use my bike every day, to go to my office, to meetings, to go out and to go for cycles in the weekend. I like to go fast on my bike. It is a great break every day to cycle in between the many meetings, phone calls and long hours behind a computer. The movement, the wind or sun and just being outside for a while make me feel relaxed. When I pass bridges I always slow down a bit, to enjoy the beautiful city and look at the water.”
“I can still clearly remember the moment I learned to cycle. I was with my father practising in the street where I grew up. I was cycling and he was running beside me, holding me. Suddenly I heard him quite far behind me shouting ‘I am not holding you anymore!’ and from that moment on, I could cycle on my own!”
Text by Joni – Pictures by Aude
Links
- Order Marieke’s book ’Talking Dress’ (19,95 euros, free shipment in the Netherlands).
- Marieke co-organises MINT, the fair fashion section of international fashion tradeshow Modefabriek
Happy birthday to us!
Today our blog is 1 year old! Let’s celebrate it and choose the best picture of the year…all 4 of us (Joni, Else, Meredith and Aude) picked our 2 favorite pictures. Now it is your turn to choose your favorite one among our selection and enter the contest:
Father and son:
Sexy sunday:
Dreaming away:
Business man:
Good laugh:
Japanese scenery:
Opa:
Together:
Have you made your choice? Please let us know (comment below) or on facebook.
You may be the lucky one winning this saddle cover! There are 3 saddle covers to win, we will pick randomly 3 people who shared their choice with us..so don’t miss it, you have until Friday 21st december!
Tres Sexy Sunday
I was in Paris this weekend and couldn’t help but notice all the girls on bikes! Très sexy! Looks like the Velibe bike share system is getting put to good use. I tried it too! It’s amazing how much smaller the city became when riding a bike. Plus, the first 30 minutes are free! Fantastique!
by Meredith
Mr. Sunday
Oh hello there, Mr. Sunday! Where are you pedaling off to with those goodies from de Bijenkorf and AH? Looking super chic in those yellow pants and that 5 o’clock shadow (not too bad for Movember).
by Meredith
Blonde Sunday
As these days are getting shorter and shorter, does it also seem like skirts and shorts are getting shorter and shorter, too?! Just another reminder that Amsterdammers cycle chic.
by Meredith
Fall colors in Amsterdam
One thing the Dutch love to talk about is the weather. I hear these conversations all day long. Such a lovely time of year in this city. The leaves of course are the highlight. All the oranges and yellows. Bring your layers though and get out your gloves: this is the time of year the weather can’t decide on anything.
I joined a local yoga studio and in one of the classes, the instructor spoke about the fall; that it’s a time to reflect inward and, like the trees, change your inner color, express yourself in a different way, and maybe think about shedding something you’ve been holding on to for a while. I’ve been thinking about that quite a bit because I can’t seem to pin something down. What could I let go of? Maybe I should be vegan again. Become a tea drinker. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just think about it more and get back to you.
For now, I just looooove riding my bike in this city…
by Meredith
Bike Fashion Show in Budapest
As we wrote in our previous post, the absolute highlight of the Cycle Chic Conference in Budapest last weekend, was the Bicycle Fashion Show. When you think of a fashion show, you think of a catwalk, spotlights, photographers, press, and beautiful models. That was all the case in Budapest. But the models in the fashion show were very special. Not only did they walk the catwalk with (their own) bicycles, but also, they were not professional models, but just normal people that love cycling in their city, Budapest.
The models had been spotted on the streets and subscribed themselves to participate in the fashion show. The goal was to show the beauty of cycling, that cycling is for everyone and that you can wear the clothes you love the most while cycling. No need for lycra of sport gear.
Check out Budapest’s stylish cyclists!
Waiting for the show to start
posing for the cameras
Cycle Chic Conference 2012 – Budapest
This year’s Cycle Chic Conference in Budapest was legendary! The Cycle Chic Republic was united in the Hungarian capital. So it was a weekend full of bike events, chatting about cycling, photographing, tweeting and instagramming with bloggers from o.a. Vienna, Copenhagen, Berlin, Vitoria (Brazil) and Budapest.
Cycle Chic bloggers
Hungary Cycle Chic host: Áron on his Dutch bike
Hungary Cycle Chic organised the conference and found many sponsors to make our stay even more enjoyable and the cycling events even cooler. The main event for us was definitely the Bicycle fashion show, in which normal people walked the catwalk with their bikes, dressed up in their best clothes. It was so nice that we decided to dedicate a whole blogpost to it, that will follow later this week.
Budapest is working hard on improving their cycling infrastructure. The very successful Critical Mass meetings have certainly left their mark. And now organisations like Hungary Cycle Chic and the Hungarian Cyclist Club are taking bicycle activism over to make the city more bicycle friendly. But as you can see on the pictures; Budapest has bicycle infrastructure and cyclists, and was quite a comfortable city to cycle around. So let’s hope the amount of cyclists, cycle lanes and bicycle traffic lights will only improve!
Budapest bike lane
Budapest cyclists
Budapest Cyclist
Budapest Cyclists
Bikes on boat on Danube
Bicycle traffic light
Budapest bicycle infrastructure
Bike repair at Danube
Budapest in bike light
Thanks Cycle Chic Hungary
Thanks to the Hungarian Cyclist Club, the European Mobility Week and the Center for Budapest Transport for sponsoring the cycling events. Thanks Csepel Bikes for lending us our very comfortable and cool bikes! And thanks Anker’t for being such a cool bar and for sponsoring the afterparty after the fashion show.
Cycle Chic Republic: Doubling and Cycling together
Cycling is very social, all over the world people cycle together. In a lot of pictures from the Cycle Chic Republic below you see ‘doubling’ (two people on one bike) something you see a lot in Amsterdam!
Mums and dads cycling – Cycle Chic Republic
This last Friday of the month, the Cycle Chic Republic collected pictures of mothers and fathers cycling with their kids from all over the world.
Cycle Chic – The Book
Mr. Cycle Chic and founder of the entire Cycle Chic Republic, Mikael Colville-Anderson, made a book full of pictures of chic cyclists from all over the world. It is called ‘Cycle Chic’ and published by Thames & Hudson.
Rainy Cycle Chic
If I can bicycle, I bicycle
With colourful images Mikael takes you around the globe and shows you how people enjoy cycling through their cities and look fashionable at the same time. There are pictures from his Copenhagen and from our Amsterdam, but also from many other cities from all over the world.
Budapest
Paris and London
Dublin
Amsterdam
Wanna see more?
- Order the Cycle Chic book
- Check out the original Cycle Chic blog by Mikael: Copenhagen Cycle Chic
Bike trunk
Picture by Barbara
Cycling without cycling
I wonder how this Italian lady goes back up the hill!
Bikes and business men
Suits, ties and bicycles. Check out the monthly post by the global Cycle Chic Republic of business men on bikes from all over the world.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Copenhagen, Denmark
Dublin, Ireland
Vancouver
Cardiff, Great Britain
Belgium
Budapest, Hungary
Vienna, Austria
Barcelona, Spain
Paris, France
Foto by Barcelona CC
Toronto, Canada
Caracas, Venezuela
Graz
Sydney, Australia
Lisbon, Portugal
Gdansk, Poland
Strasbourg, France
Red bicycle day
It’s Red Bicycle Day in the Cycle Chic Republic. Check out the pics from all over the world.
‘The sun never sets in the Cycle Chic Republic’
Copenhagen, Denmark
Sevilla, Spain
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Barcelona, Spain
Lisbon, Portugal
Caracas, Venezuela
Vienna, Austria
Berlin, Germany
Mexico
Graz, Austria
Montreal, Canada
Sydney, Australia
Cardiff, Great Britain
Budapest, Hungary
