Pimp Your Ride #2 - sparkly bike

Well this is just lovely - mad but lovely.  I'm actually a bit surprised that I don't see more bejeweled bikes?  Where are you hiding?  I have a feeling you're out there somewhere?

It's tempting...... and a great way to pimp up an old bike.  All you need is some sparkly jewels and a hot glue gun - and who doesn't have one of those in the bottom drawer.

Thanks to velojoy for sending Sparkle Pony my way - great story over at their blog too.

Great Gazelle Giveaway - Cycle Chic Sundays SMH Growers' Market Competition

This Saturday's ride is all set to be another fun event.  My search for a cycling chef to join us has been a dismal failure, perhaps they are just pacing themselves before October's foodie month of mayhem begins.
So good friend and foodie blogger Tanja from i (heart) my food will be joining us on her new Velorbis (yes I eventually get to all my friends.......) along with William who we met on the last ride.  He promises he'll "play chef" and he's half Danish so I'm expecting some delicious Nordic inspired picnic nosh - watch out René Redzepi!

I am also very excited to announce that we have joined forces with our lovely friends at Gazelle Australia who will be awarding one of their beautiful Basil panniers to the chic-est rider of the day.
So, if you needed and excuse to dress up here it is.

How it will work.  I'll be taking photographs of the best dressed riders and posting them on the blog and inviting everyone to vote.  Voting will be open for 1 week and the rider with the most votes wins the pannier.  Simple.  You can even vote for yourself!
All you have to do is embrace your inner cycle chic god/goddess and ride with style.

Full details of the ride here and it's not too late to RSVP on the facebook page - look forward to seeing you all on Saturday.

Bicycle Sculptures Around the World

When you first see the Bike Bike sculpture in Martin Place, it takes your breath away.  It's huge.
Constructed from old bicycles in the shape of a Penny Farthing, this 12 metre high bicycle by Alasdair Nicol is part of the City of Sydney's 2010 Art and About Festival.
Thought provoking and absolutely timely as Sydney continues to "green" the city and encourage us to think about sustainable modes of transport.  Oh and it's a beautiful work of art too.
It's at the Macquarie Street end of Martin Place until October 24.

Another wonderful bicycle sculpture was unveiled in August this year in Gdansk, Poland. during the 30th anniversary celebrations of the Solidarity movement.  Honouring the Gdansk shipyard workers, whose most common mode of transport was the bicycle.

UPDATED!!

This is so utterly fabulous I had to add it... thanks Nevenka for the link and Sydney Daily Photo for posting.

One Day All Road Signs Will Look This Way

[image via NEW BROL ORDER]

Bicycle Advocacy in High Heels....

As an addendum to the last post - I was digging around doing some research on bicycle racks and remembered the ones David Byrne did for NYC.  Wonderful stuff - I'd love to see these heels scattered around Sydney.  His blog and book The Bicycle Diaries, chronicle David's observations and insights as he pedals his way around some of the world's major cities.  He totally gets it.  As Planetizen reviewed his book "Bryne's writings feel like haiku for urbanists".

Bicycle advocacy in high heels?  Adds a whole other dimension to the original Copenhagen Cycle Chic tag-line doesn't it?

Bike Rack as Art ?

If you ride a bicycle, you probably have need to park your bicycle.  Ever thought about designing your own rack ???
A joint project of the Powerhouse Museum and the RTA, as part of the NSW BikePlan, this Australia-wide competition gives you that chance.  Open to anyone with a creative bent, designs are invited for a public bike rack that is not only an inspirational piece of street art but a functional device.
The winner will receive a cash prize of $10,000 and their bike rack will be manufactured and installed at selected locations around Parramatta, Penrith and Liverpool.  Second and third prizes are $5,000 and $2,000 respectively.
Judges include artist, designer and architect, Richard Goodwin; the Powerhouse's Design Manager, Diana Lorentz; Greg Chalberg, the Marketing Manager of Shimano Australia; Matt Faber, RTA Sustainable Transport Section; and Myfanwy Lawrence, representing Liverpool, Penrith and Parramatta Councils.
Applications must be received by 18 October 2010.  More details here.
Feeling creative ?  The winner could be you!

[photograph by David Mist from the Powerhouse Museum Collection]

Cycle Chic Sundays Does the SMH Growers' Market - Oct 2

Final plans are still underway for the next ride - I am plotting and scheming to come up with some delicious ideas but so far here are the details.....

WHAT: A leisurely ride to the SMH Growers' Market for some foodie fun folowed by a ride around the Pyrmont Foreshore as the mood takes us
WHO: Anyone who favours style over speed and likes to eat good food while lazing around in parks chatting to other like-minded slow bicyclists
WHERE: Meet at the city end of Pyrmont Bridge (near Darling Park Monorail Station) at 9am before heading to the market
WHEN: Saturday 2 October from 9am to midday and on......

The October SMH Growers Market is part of the Crave Sydney International Food Festival and there will of course, ('cause that's our thing) be much eating, drinking, bicycling, picnic-ing fun with (fingers crossed) some surprises revealed over the next few weeks.

Keep the morning free and don't forget to like our facebook page and RSVP to this event or drop me an email if you have any questions.

UPDATED!!!!
Great Gazelle Giveaway.....

Fietsen - Pep

And more happy cycling girls from Amsterdam... it's becoming somewhat of a theme this week...enjoy!

Thanks to Marc from Amsterdamized for hooking me up to this one.

Hier op mijn Fiets - Batiste en David

Yeah I'm fluent now.:-)  'Here on my bike' is wonderful, it's cheesy, it's Dutch and it's full of bikes and damn it's catchy.  Feel good song for Summer #2, gives Mark Ronson a run for his money....

Thanks for the tip PvB.

どうもありがとう Tokyo Bike

[via Feather Brigade]

This photograph, taken last Saturday on our ride, completely sums up the generosity of the guys at Tokyo Bike.

Not only did they loan us several of their beautiful bikes and have their in-store mechanic on hand to pump tyres and help with maintenance but they smiled their way happily through the crowd offering magnetic leaves to the riders as gifts.  A very cute idea and we're looking forward to riding with them again soon!
Dōmo arigatō Yuki and Fuyuki x

Sassy Cycling Lady Needed for Tikki Tikki Adventure!

On the way back from Surry Hills last week, Miss Sonja and I met a nice chap called Russell down at Circular Quay.  He operates 4 lovely Cycles Maximus pedicabs, part of the global pedicab boom that is spreading across the world.  Massive in the UK, Europe and the States, it's a damn good way to get cars off the streets in the CBD if you ask me.  Just $20 for a standard trip through the city, the cabs take 2 people and cost almost the same as a taxi fare nowadays in heavy traffic, and are abviously far more fun as these photos would suggest.

[photos via Cycles Maximus]

Russell earns good money from the tourists and late night drunken girls on the town who like to pinch his bum!  (but he's cute, can't say I blame them...)
If you can put up with a bit of bum pinching, perhaps you enjoy it, and want to earn money for riding around the city in Summer (!)  leave a message here or email me and I'll put you in touch with him.  Or pop down to Circular Quay and say hi in person.

Love the tagline on their website - zero polution transport solution - absolutely.

Cycle Chic Sundays Sydney Does Surry Hills in Style!

Wow.  I'm still coming down from Saturday's ride and it's now Monday!
The image of everyone smiling, ringing their bike bells cycling down Bourke Street in the spring sunshine is still very much with me and this really does feel like the start of something very exciting in Sydney.  How wonderful to meet so many other like-minded riders who most definitely "get" what the cycle chic movement is all about.  Bravo to everyone for getting into the spirit and joining us, it wouldn't have been a success without you!

Special thanks, of course, to City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore for showing her support and joining us at the start of the ride.  Thanks to her vision, we are slowly getting the infrastructure we need to explore this "city of villages" - and explore we will, just try to stop us.

There's only one way forward from here - and that's straight ahead, on two wheels, slowly, stylishly and smiling.....

Here is a snapshot of the day from Tokyo Bike to the Beresford Hotel via the Bourke Street cycle way to  Remy & Lees Cafe with lunch in a park and shopping at I Ran The Wrong Way.  Rather a lot of socialising and less riding than perhaps we envisaged but so nice to just let the day unfold organically.  This is after all, what Cycle Chic Sundays is all about - catching up with friends and meeting new ones while riding bikes and looking chic.  Indeed.

  

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

Special thanks go to Mike Rubbo of Sit-up Cycle Blog for documenting the ride in his inimicable way.  He's posted his colourful take on the day here.
And the completely delightful and inspirational Sue Abbott who also posted about the ride on her Freedom Cyclist blog here.
And the lovely Feather Brigade who posted here.
There are also a zillion more photographs in the Cycle Chic Sundays Sydney flickr group.  Feel free to join and add your own pics of the ride to this group - we'd love to have you.
[apologies for not naming everyone here, I will attempt to do so in flickr]

PS: plans for the next ride are underway and will be posted here soon so please follow us or like our facebook page to keep upto date with everything!

The Cycle Chic Manifesto

Perhaps you've never read this, perhaps you can recite it by heart ?

Either way, it always makes me smile and on the eve of the next Cycle Chic Sundays Sydney ride it's good to remind ourselves what this cycle chic thing is all about.

So read and enjoy.  Mikael Colville-Andersen wrote it "with a hint of seriousness, a splash of poetry and a dash of playfulness" which is how we choose to take it.

See you all tomorrow for some serious cycle chic fun in Surry Hills!

Miss Eva's Tour de Chic - Amsterdam, Copenhagen & Oldenburg

Reigning Queen and Founder of Cycle Chic Sundays, Miss Eva, has left her home in sunny California behind to go in search of bicycle heaven on her Tour de Chic through Europe.
And judging by the photographs she is having FAR TOO MUCH FUN in the motherland, meeting up with fellow bicycle bloggers Dave from Portlandize, Marc of Amsterdamize and Mikael of Copenhagen Cycle Chic/Copenhagenize.

Check out her blog for the full story and more photographs.

[photograph via Amsterdamize]

[photograph via Amsterdamize]

[photograph via Amsterdamize]

[photograph via Mikael Colville-Andersen/Copenhagen Cycle Chic]

"Gonna ride my bike until I get home.........."

Catchy, very catchy, you won't be able to stop yourself singing along.  Just perfect for spring bike riding and a wonderful slice of cycle chic London stylee. 

Mark Ronson feat. Kyle Falconer and Spank Rock - I'm looking forward to some remixes!

Cycle Style, Bake Sales and Bicycles

Plans for this Saturday's Cycle Chic Sundays ride have taken over my life lately so before I get on with the final preparations, here is the latest from Sydney.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending time with Joyce from Cycle Style Australia.  She was in town for a few days doing some research for her stint as guest blogger on the Design Files - very exciting to be featured in her Sydney roundup today. She has also written about some great Sydney cycle destinations so check it out!
Of course we spent our time looking for cycle chic on the streets of Surry Hills, (what really, I hear you say)..... and we weren't disappointed!

       

[l. Lisa & that Bullitt / r. Anna and her retro pink Repco Traveller]

[Taylor Square chic - Matt & Anna]

[Anna & Ronan doing a lap around Taylor Square before heading off down Bourke St]

           
[l. Remy outside his Bourke St cafe Remy & Lees /
r. Molly & Kit from Three Point Turnz blog and their yummy bake sale to raise funds for
Joy Ride - 10 bike babes riding from Melbourne to Brisbane]

       

[l. Chris and his red racer / r. Matt from the Bicycle Film Festival]