It has cleared up a bit in Amsterdam and the rest of the country, two weeks of what seemed like never-ending downpour was clearly enough for most. People moaned, sighed and bitched like there was no tomorrow. But whaddayagonnado? Shit happens. At the same time we completely and conveniently forget about the absolutely gorgeous months of April and May (record droughts). Alright, alright, it’s supposed to be summer in July, not feel like the end of November.

Anyhoo, tomorrow I’ll be getting on a plane (gasp) to Copenhagen, on business. Last time I paid the Danish Blues a visit it was for leisure and I took the (slow) train, as I had to bring my bike along. It was cool. I serenaded ladies in red, competed in a slow bicycle race (and let my opponent, who was coming of age, win, of course) and drank way too many expensive beers. Emphasis on ‘expensive’, not ‘too many beers’.

Referred to by the aforementioned, herring-eating individual I was invited by Wonderful Copenhagen to cover the UCI BMX World Championships in my role as an inquisitive journalist, who expect me to insightfully peel off the layers of one of the sportiest of ’street bicycle cultures’. Naturally, I’ll try not to disappoint them.

Accredited by the UCI, yes m’am, there’s a first for everything. You see, there will be all sorts of street events going on all over town, all evolving around our two-wheeled (if not more) friend, the arts, the urban life, etc. I’ll be all over it, trust me. Lauren is joining me, so she can see for herself how cheap Amsterdam really is for shopping. ;)

My lack of BMX-cred doesn’t mean I won’t attempt to sneakily attach my GoPro camera to the BMX of one of the Dutch contestants, because I will. Or whoever will indulge me. Either that, or they’ll most likely rip off my press card and toss me in the Søerne to go look for bikes there.

As you might know or have been able to assess, I have NO knowledge whatsoever of who’s what in the BMX universe. Doesn’t mean I don’t admire these rascals. It will be intriguing to dive back into this semi-sub-bike-culture which I left behind at the age of 10. Oh, the memories.

I leave you with photos..I mean postcards, as many often tell me I live in one. From a, as you by now have guessed, VERY wet Sunday in July.

I’m charging 3 cameras as I type this, cross your fingers it will be a dry weekend in Copenhagen.

That, or I just might convert and ask this fine craftsman and fellow Dutchie if I can join him on his maiden voyage…when the moment is right. And only if I can bring Lauren, of course.

Croix De Beaucaillou.

Wanna GAGA?

Tourists will ride their rental bikes, no matter what. In style.

‘Double Dutch’ – summer contradictions.

Mikael recently published a set of 49 pictures called ‘Bicycles: Cyclists Signalling* a Turn or a Stop‘, 48 of which he took in Copenhagen, 1 in Amsterdam. Two examples, one of a stop & one of a turn:

Given the similarities of our two bicycle cultures (which also includes drinking habits), I figured I could match that, so I roamed my archives and found out I had the opportunity to top that figure by 1..call it symbolism :) (and I’ll get to cycling & drinking some other time).

As you obviously figured out on your own, Amsterdammers & Copenhagenianerannersuskjuians (freely translated from a Dane’s mouth chewing on raw herring with pickles) have the signaling in common, but the Dutch don’t do and have never done the stop sign. We don’t miss that, what we have works for us. Stopping just needs a little anticipation, a quick scan of your environment and it’s fine to do so. No fuss.

Or…you could just argue that the Danes are more polite, in conversation (less blunt) and in this case, regarding gesturing to their fellow human beings – leaving out the middle finger phenomenon. But…then you could counter that the Dutch are more laissez-faire, no-nonsense. Which in turn are generalizations that probably have some truth to them, but don’t do little nuances any justice. Nuances like that people on bikes in Amsterdam are so intuitive in traffic, they don’t need to read a whole lot of body language to see what’s going on or going to happen. [...] Oh right, ‘body language’. No no no, I’m not even touching that sexist filth called ‘Cycle Chic’. Ugh, what is he on, right?!? People in normal clothes on normal bikes (or vacuum cleaners, as he calls them) going from A to B, chatting about livable urban utopias and what not. Pff, you’re not fooling me.

Anyway. For those who can’t be bothered to take a look at the rest of my specially arranged photo set, here are a few more:

Oh wait, about that ‘cycling & beer’ thing;

It’s not my kind of beer, but it is my town & exactly my spirit. Now, can somebody direct me to København’s equivalent? :p

* ‘Signalling’ is British spelling. Mikael is half British, half Dane. ‘Signaling’ is North American spelling. My girlfriend is from the US…yup, that’s my excuse.

Mikael recently posted the above picture of a young woman cycling in Copenhagen.

It vaguely rang a bell, so I went through my 2008 video footage of my long weekend in CPH. Bingo. And I thought I’d edit up a little something dedicated to Mikael’s birthday today and Cycle Chic in general (for the Dutch and Danes also known as ‘normal people in normal clothes on normal bikes, nothing to see).

You (my loyal readers/viewers) will remember my trip to Copenhagen in November last year. Mikael and I shot quite a few photos, go see this, this, this, this, this, this & this to refresh your memory. :)

Since then there was one real loose end…the video of one of Mikael’s life long dreams: racing a real Amsterdammer.

Well, you guessed it, he finally got to edit it and put it up. I then inserted parts of my own footage, to cover all angles, so here’s my Redux of:

The World’s First Copenhagen Invitational Slow Bicycle Race. At the Slowodrome on the Copenhagen Harbour.

PS: As a guest, I did the right thing…