Treadlie Hits Town!

Great to finally meet Faith from Treadlie Mag after months of talking, emailing and twittering....
The official launch of their Handmade Bicycle Show happened on Friday night - if you're quick you might just catch them today before they head back on down the Hume Highway.

A couple of my personal favourites, the Velo Orange guys bike with customised porteur rack and box on the front and the Black Beauty - a simple old vintage bike, resprayed and made practical with the old style handmade crate on the back.

And here's Debbie from the Powerhouse Museum "spontaneously" riding in front of the gallery on her crafted up Giant Via....

Mrs Fairweather's Bicycle Emporium is the Adelaide based home of gorgeous up-cycled vintage bikes each with their own story. What a discovery - just brilliant.  I think we'll be hearing more from Mrs Fairweather....

A great night with many bikes, people and empty bottles crammed in to the old Deus store on Oxford Street.  More pics from the event on flickr and the Sydney Design film we did here.

  

  

Sydney Design - Made to Measure

The brilliant Treadlie Handmade Bicycle Show has finally made it up the Hume from Melbourne after it's preview at State of Design.  It's part of this year's Sydney Design Festival which kicks off tonight for 2 weeks of fabulousness.  This year's theme - Is Old New Again?

A brilliant bunch of gorgeous bikes all entirely or partly made by hand.  Well worth a visit.  Catch us at the opening tonight from 7pm or over the weekend.  Details here.

Here's a little voxpop we did last night while Treadlie were making finishing touches to the space.

It's certainly inspired me to get the old vintage bike out of the garage and spruce it up a bit.

Am so inspired in fact that Sydney Cycle Chic will be holding a workshop in the next few months so you can join me in some crafty bike building/designing fun - watch this space for details!

(It'll be fine, trust me, I have no idea what I'm doing either but we sure will by the end of it.....)

City Lights

It's been a while since I've been out in the city at night with my camera - love the simple happiness of spokelights on the night streetscape.

Lego Bike Blogger in Action!

We love Lego at Cycle Chic and of course Felix (age 4) is a big fan.  Apparently this is what he thought mummy was up to in Barcelona.

Strangely, he was not far wrong.....

Winter Sunday Chic

It's funny sometimes when you spot and snap a chic citizen cyclist going about their business and then as fate would have it, see them again not half an hour later.  Nice to meet you Paula!

Scrapertown - Power of the Bicycle

Thanks to Tiago from Rio de Janeiro Cycle Chic for putting me on to this awesome film from California is a Place.

Always cool to see how the bicycle changes lives all over the world.  The Scraper King is my new bike hero!

Scrapertown from California is a place. on Vimeo.

Salut Strasbourg!

Welcome Strasbourg Cycle Chic to the ever expanding global family.  Great to see cute guys on everyday upright bikes too, not just girls in short skirts.  We at Sydney Cycle Chic think they look hot.  That's why we had such a good time in Barcelona - surrounded by sexy guys on their euro bikes...... but I digress....

We love Sydney's obsession with a cute urban fixie or a beach cruiser as much as the next person but I wonder if Australian men realised the attraction of the upright they would ride differently? :-)

Ok, and for our male readers..... 

Oops... the cute men are back - and cute commuting dads to boot....... 

Thanks Vincent from Strasbourg Cycle Chic for the gorgeous photos and welcome!

Prince Rocks the Bicycle!

Well I just don't know how this escaped the Cycle Chic radar....

His purple holiness Prince taking his bike for a spin post gig at the LA Forum back in April this year?
Are you kidding me - just brilliant.
Funny little clip but worth every scream....

Girls on Bikes

More gratuitously gorgeous girl on bike fashion action, this time from the Phillip Lim Fall/Winter 2011 Collections.  Throw in a bit of retro Kraftwerk and there you have it....  

One Night in Rio

So the latest addition to the ever-expanding Cycle Chic family is Rio de Janeiro and looking at these photographs of yesterday's launch ride, we think we're going to like Rio!
A lot.

These gorgeous pics were taken by Sherolin Santos on a swivelling Eames chair strapped to the back of Tiago's trike.  I mean really.  I'm humming a little bossa nova as I write....

Check out more pics in Sherolin's photo album here.

And yes I did a double take too - that is a child in the basket!!!

Mikael from Copenhagen Cycle Chic was in town to "officially" launch the Rio blog and ever the showman, wowed the crowds with his daring bicycle stunts - at least this one didn't end up with a fractured rib like the infamous Barcelona Slow Bicycle Race....

Girls & Their Bicycles

Well Double Bay is not usually known for it's cycle chic, more Gucci chic, so you could have knocked me over with a feather today when I stumbled across these two.

Think I surprised them !  Turns out Elin (left) is visiting from Sweden and Cherrie (with the cool vintage beach cruiser) is from Chicago.  They'd borrowed the bikes for a bit of an explore.  Great to meet you both!

Cycle Chic Sundays Did Art!

What a glorious Sydney winter sunday we had yesterday.  We rounded up the chicsters for lunch at the new Deus Cycleworks cafe/store before heading down to Mike Rubbo's exihibition at Tap Gallery.

Great bike art, selling fast, go take a look before it ends on July 17th.  Mike is passionate about positive imagery of people on classic bikes as are we so of course we approve.  Mikael Colville-Andersen has been imortalised as in fact have I and who knows, maybe you have too!!!

   

Some hot bikes with their cycle chicster riders.

The owner of these lovely cycle chic approved red boots is Dutch and rides a Velorbis like mine - say no more.

Paul Martin from Brisbane came down to Sydney for the exhibition - this is how I always remember him - the king of looking cool while standing and riding a Gazelle.

Impromptu bicycle parking outside Darlinghurst's Tap Gallery - we kind of took over the street.

I have a thing about riding shoes..... fascinating.

   

Alacoque is our first beautifully pregnant Sydney Cycle Chicster - looking forward to seeing her in full bloom on her Electra!

Michael and Kathi from the fabulous Feather Brigade heading home as the sun started setting.

Ah the end of a great day - sunshine, friends, food, wine, art and bikes - win!

More pics on flickr as always....

Cycle Chic Bloggers Conference Barcelona - Part 3

I took close to 2000 photographs during my five days in Barcelona - yes I know, EDIT EDIT EDIT so I'm hoping you'll forgive me a little indulgent blogging.

Here's some citizen cyclists just going about their daily business.  The thing I noticed the most was the way bicycles moved about the streetscape - traversing between roads, footpaths and cycle ways easily and without fuss.  Bicycles, pedestrians, cars and scooters slowly moving as one through their city.

Such lessons to be learnt here about sharing and manners and etiquette.... and the fine art of slowing things down.