East London = fixed-gear + racing bikes
I spent last weekend in London visiting my sister. I already reported on this city in my previous trip.
Apart from cycling around a city, the second best way to discover one is to take the bus. Especially in London with the classic red double-decker bus. Just climb on the second level and enjoy the view from this point. Then you get to see stuff like this. All was just perfect. Like this guy. His pose. The yellow lines on the street. The house. And his look. I could not help thinking of Super Mario Bros with the colours of his outfit and such a moustache! Movember is over right?!
This time, we mainly stayed in East London. I was amazed by the number of single speed/fixie and racing bikes. Here are some instagrammed pics:
In Broadway market
In Hackney, the cool bike shop Hackney cycles
Further on, still in the neighboorhood of Hackney, a cyclist in woodcutter shirt
For Valentine’s Day, London made a city-wide art installation, with 14 eye-catching red #HeartsOfLondon cycle stands across the city. Hackney-based artist Graham McLoughlin collaborated with Cyclehoop, an award-winning company specialising in bicycle parking solutions, in a bid to raise awareness for the British Heart Foundation.
– REPORTAGE BY AUDE –
Cycle Chic Spotlight: Singer songwriter Andy
Andy knows what it is to follow your heart. She used to be an investment banker for one of the Netherlands’ biggest banks, but she stopped that promising career to follow her heart and she became a musician. Andy is a happy, positive, 30 year old Dutch singer songwriter. She sings about love, love in relationships but also love for a city. And Andy… she is in love with Amsterdam.
Andy loves Amsterdam
Nine years ago Andy moved to Amsterdam and she fell in love with the city. “Amsterdam is beautiful, the atmosphere is good and there are so many different people. The fact that there are more bikes than people makes the city even cooler. Everyone cycles! Cycling makes people more social then when everyone sits in their own car. I also love the trams in the city. Sometimes I just hop into a tram and let it take me to its final destination. In those 9 years I got to know all the tram routes!”
City Love
‘City love’ is the name of the record Andy is working on. She is in the middle of a crowdfunding campaign to finance it. With as little as 10 euros people can fund it: “Crowdfunding the money to release my second record is a logical choice for me. Music is social. It is my way to communicate. I make music for people. To move them, to inspire them, or to make them happy. So if I make music for ‘the crowd’ why not involve them in the process of producing my record?” The campaign is going well. In only two weeks Andy funded nearly 60% of her project. The record ‘City love’ is about Andy’s love for Amsterdam and about love between people. “Love is nice, it is horrible, it is disastrous… sometimes love makes you act like a complete idiot. That is what makes love fascinating.”
Racing bike
Andy is not only in love with her city, but also with her bike. She bought her racing bike 6 years ago on Marktplaats (the Dutch eBay). “I bought it because I wanted to see if I liked to go racing. But the bike wasn’t good enough for long cycles so I kept it as a city bike. I have many bikes that got stolen in Amsterdam so I am very careful with this one. I used to carry it up three stairs to my apartment, so that I didn’t have to leave it on the street. Luckily I now have a shared garden with a little storage box where I can put it.”
Look at Andy: No side wheels!
Andy has one very clear memory of when she was 4 and learned to cycle. “It was the last day I would cycle with side wheels. I knew that this would be a ‘Kodak’ moment, so that morning I put on my best dress and cycled with a big smile, and my cute little pink basket to my father taking the picture.”
(Cycling) style
Like most Dutch Andy doesn’t have a ‘cycling’ style, she just cycles with what she is wearing that day. Almost always Andy wears All Stars: “I wear All Stars since I was 9 years old and they really became part of my identity. I wouldn’t go on stage without my All Stars. People would just be so surprised to see me wearing something else.” We also loved Andy’s ring: “That ring used to be my grandma’s. That makes it extra special. My grandma was a tiny lady. She was always very sweet, friendly and quiet. But she was a tough cookie: she had 9 kids and a bakery and her husband passed away quite young. So she worked incredibly hard! Also she was a talented violin player. When I look at the ring I think about the hard work she did and that she didn’t have a chance to make music her life. I then feel so lucky that I do have the chance. That is why I decided to go for it. To follow my heart…”
- Want to help Andy to make her dream come true? Fund her crowdfunding campaign!
- Andy is planning a world tour. Do you know a nice venue where she could play? Email her! andy@sidewalkconcert.com
Photos: Aude; Text: Joni
Cycling Berlin style!
Milou, one of the Amsterdam Cycle Chic team members, moved to Berlin a few months ago. So Else and Joni of Amsterdam Cycle Chic decided to visit her there.
Joni, Milou and Else
We loved it! And in between enjoying one of the many terraces, parks and museums, we spotted cyclists, quite a lot of cyclists, and many of them in cool Berlin style!
Check out these elegant ladies on their pink bicycles…
and the many other cyclists!
Cycling Berlin style
Listen to the music!
Mum and daughter
Dutchie on his racing bike
Chicks on racing bikes
Last weekend the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant wrote about a new trend in Dutch cycling culture: elegant girls on racing bikes. It is not very practical with high heels and without a chain guards, but it is chic and vintage. We like it!
Girls on racing bikes: a new trend in the Netherlands
Amsterdam Cycle Chic 