Copenhagen on Velodromedary

Copenhagen Bike Count

Fri, 05 Sep 2014 07:33:00 +0000

Earlier this year, biking around Copenhagen, I took a break at Mikkeller & Friends in Nørrebro. Not content to just sit outside with an excellent spontaneously-fermented beer, I found myself counting bikes as they rode by… which turned into a comparison of bikes and cars, and then an excuse to idly tabulate anything different about the bikes…

One lost notebook returned by a bartender in Sweden a few days later (long story), and I had this quasi-scientific summary of 30 minutes of traffic:

Evening Zen Tour, Copenhagen (Two Strangers, Riding in Silence)

Mon, 16 Jun 2014 13:30:27 +0000

The BikeMike Copenhagen Evening Zen Tour: “One stop only as we let the passing cityscape and natural environment do the talking. Hard to believe it’s a city bike tour. We bike through rural areas without ever leaving the city of Copenhagen. Come and join this wonderful ride through beautiful mood pictures of Copenhagen when she is stressing down from another busy day and try to do the same yourself. The tour experience embraces the philosophy: “When we bike, the city does all the talking, when we stop, we do the talking”. Treat yourself to the luxury of two hours of total calm. You’ll hear more birds singing than cars racing by… Please understand and respect that no talking at all is accepted during the bike tour. Silence is a big part of the experience.”

Biking Kalvebod Fælled wetlands, South of Copenhagen

Sun, 15 Jun 2014 13:30:28 +0000

Another day in Copenhagen, another itch to point the bike in a direction and explore under the wide-open sky. Apparently I lucked out and this was the first sunny week all year.

My phone showed a large green area , labeled “Kalvebod Fælled" criss-crossed with car-free paths (thanks, Google maps bike layer) between the city and the airport. But what is it?

From Wikipedia: ”[Kalvebod Fælled] consists of reclaimed sea bed, with a number of former islets making up small isolated hills; it was dammed and drained during the 1940s to serve as an artillery training range. […] Most of the area, however, lies as lightly maintained parkland featuring a range of nature types, from young forests to tidal marshes […] After years of preparation the area was finally cleared of unexploded munitions and fully opened to the general public on October 15, 2010.“

Biking to the Louisiana Modern Art Museum (North of Copenhagen)

Fri, 13 Jun 2014 13:09:53 +0000

While in Copenhagen, I took a few rides farther afield. Riding about 25 miles North was a great way to spend an afternoon (and about the comfort limit on my creaky rented city cruiser, in jeans), and the Louisiana was one of the best modern art museums I’ve been to.

Denmark’s bike infrastructure extends far beyond the major cities– even through the countryside I was almost exclusively riding on separated bike paths.

Copenhagen: Bike Infrastructure

Mon, 02 Jun 2014 13:30:00 +0000

A few photos I snapped while out and about of my favorite bike-friendly infrastructure.

Wide, paved, separated bike paths around the city:

A road that in many cities would be two car lanes plus some street parking. In Denmark, I’d see roads with one-way car traffic, spacious separated two-bike bike traffic, and a pedestrian sidewalk:

Out of this busy 4-lane street, two lanes for cars, two lanes dedicated for bikes (the two right lanes shown here are bikes-only– one for cyclists going straight, and one for cyclists turning left), though this was less common than the separated bike lanes between road and sidewalk:

Bikes in Copenhagen

Sun, 01 Jun 2014 13:30:43 +0000

I got to visit Copenhagen for the first time last week. Some photos of infrastructure and rides in the surrounding countryside are coming, but to start– a few photos of bikes and the streets:

Front-loading cargo bikes were everywhere, whether carrying children, bread, musical instruments, folding tables, mops and buckets, tipsy friends (men or women), or a mix.