Commute to Work - Barcelona Style

I was looking through the flickr archives today and came across this photo from Barcelona.  I think this was about the biggest concession to "commuter cycle gear" that I witnessed - certainly the most inventive.

So very Cycle Chic.

The Two Faces of "Commuter" Cycling

We at Cycle Chic dislike the word commuter.
It's not that we don't "travel some distance regularly between one's home and one's place of work" like countless other people but more the connotation that it must be a "specific activity".

Bicycles to us are just a way to get from A to B.  Always have been.
It's only in recent years that they have become an accessorized sport tool rather than a simple, easy, accessible mode of transport.  We aim to reclaim the humble bicycle - to remind you that it can be easy, it should be accessible and nothing is needed other than a set of wheels.

This morning on Twitter I happened across two very different examples of regular citizens heading off to work - commuting if you will - which I'd like to share.
We'd be interested to hear your comments.

The first is a video from Cascade Bicycle Club in Seattle showing a first-time commuter as she prepares for and starts riding her bike to work.

And then there is this image from the Sartorialist - ever stylish, ever inspirational.
http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/51511LucaR_0738Web.jpg

It reminded me of a certain dapper gentleman I snapped back in September last year outside Customs House.  A beacon of "commuter" style on the street of Sydney.

My work colleague summed it up nicely this morning when she said "the word commute to me means being specifically "equipped for the journey" but surely it's just a question of taking the bike out of the house and getting on it".

Indeed.

Sydney Bicycles From Morning to Night

       

Started the day with commuter bicycles on the ferry this morning and ended it drinking with bicycles in the laneway beside Blender Gallery.  Summer in Sydney - hot, hot, hot!

Sneaky Chic

Some days when you're rushing to work you you see her, chic bicycle girl, a flash of colour in a sea of communter suits and it's all you can do to fumble for your phone/camera and take a few shots before the moment is gone.
So, sneaky ferry chic, here it is..... high heels and all.

Ride To Work Sydney 2010

Wonderful to see so many people take their bikes to the streets today for Ride To Work Day but it's still puzzling to me why they feel the need to wear "cycling gear".  I haven't been faced with so much lycra since my clubbing days in the '80's.

But I went in search of, and found, just a little chic in amongst the fluoro spandex......

    

     

[Jamie & Jacqui from I ♥ Sydney Bike Lanes and Cycle Ways]

[Show Sydney you care - wear Alan in Spring. T-shirts available from Remy & Lees on Bourke St]

[City of Sydney Cycling Ambassador Nell Schofield with Susan modelling a Rocket Fuel cycling cap]

Snapped - Amity on train

  

This is a common image in many cities but here in Sydney, on a busy train commute at the end of a long day seeing a little cycle chic is like a breath of fresh air !