Copenhagen Cycles - cinetrope by Eric Dyer

I just discovered this zoetrope masterpiece by artist/filmmaker Eric Dyer in the interwebz - Copenhagen Cycles.



For a behind the scenes look at the creative process behind this amazing art, check out his Cinetrope Mashup.



And for even more bike artsy goodness, here's Eric's ode to his own Schwinn Speedster, called Chopin's Bicycle.



Now your Monday is filled with movie magic! Enjoy.

what am I thankful for?

Last year at Thanksgiving, the Giants had won the World Series, it was a beautiful, sunny day, and I rode my mom's orange bicycle across the Golden Gate Bridge to celebrate the holiday with my family.

This year is different.



The Giants experienced a season that many of us would like to forget. It's raining and cold outside. I won't be riding over the bridge in my fall colors today.

And yet, I am still thankful for the same things:



that I am still here

that my body still functions quite well

that I can make a living in San Francisco

that the water I drink and the air I breathe is clean



that I have a lot of love in my life

that each new day is filled with infinite possibilities

that I live my life feeling connected and alive.



How about you?

A New Manifesto? Or No Manifesto?

What is a manifesto?



Webster defines it this way: a written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer.



Now I ask, how can you assign a manifesto to a cyclist? When a bicycle represents freedom? A bicycle is a mode of transport that gives you choices. It gives you independence. It lets you turn right or left at a moment's notice. It exhilarates you. It makes you feel timeless.

The bicycle also connects you. Your senses are elevated. You notice the little details. You hear conversations on the corner. You feel the crisp wind on your face. You sense the vibrations of the earth in your bones. You smell the air - or sometimes must hold your breath. You share this unique experience with the person saddled next to you in the bike lane.

So why, when one is manifesting his or her own ability to move freely, would she want to adopt a manifesto, when she alone decides when to switch gears or turn in a new direction, wherever the wind carries her?

Perhaps the manifesto is a concept of the past. How can 7 billion people adopt one manifesto? And is that what we truly need - another set of rules to adopt? Someone else to tell us what we want?

Or is what we need the absence of a manifesto?



For much of our lives, we were told that we need to get a job. Make money. Buy a house. Settle down. Invest in things. And then we grow up, and we may not have any of them. We may have little or nothing of "value."

I've realized that once you subscribe to a philosophy of life, you should be open to the idea that your philosophy could fall short of not just your reality, but more importantly, your dreams. You need to be willing to accept the negation of any train of thought. (The earth, for example, revolves around the sun.)

Perhaps it's time to say goodbye to manifestos. It's time to not define the way things must be.

Perhaps it's simply time to create and connect.

Cowboy Boots?

People always ask me how I ride in my cowboy boots.

I always tell them it can't be much more difficult than riding a horse with them.

Bicycle Portraits hits the shelves... SOON!

Stan Engelbrecht and Nic Grobler have spent the last 2 years cycling over 6000 kilometers to collect over 500 portraits of everyday commuters throughout South Africa, and now the Bicycle Portraits project is finally near completion.



They're publishing the best 165 portraits and stories over 3 books. Each of the 3 books will contain 55 different stories, and also two essays each by local South African and major international cycling figures. The books are designed by Gabrielle Guy and they have also collaborated with celebrated South African artist Gabrielle Raaff to create an individual hand-painted watercolor map, based on Google Maps, to indicate the location of each of the portraits.




Help Stan and Nic make this project a reality by pre-ordering your book(s) via their Kickstarter campaign.

Kickstarter funding DEADLINE - 8 December

Official launch:
Design Indaba Expo in Cape Town / 2-4 March 2012

Pre-orders / orders taken via www.bicycleportraits.co.za/kickstarter or via Paypal on their website.

A couple uniquely South African portraits to whet your appetite for these gorgeous books:





Congrats to you both! What a wild ride around South Africa you must have had!

Occupy Our World

Thanks to Fossil Fool, I came upon this video of the recent Occupy SF Music Festival in San Francisco, with the stage and sound system powered by bicycles provided by Fossil Fool and Shake Your Peace - two bicycle powered local musicians.

Way to rock our world.

Also just read this incredible analysis of the Occupy Movement in the Rolling Stone, written by Matt Taibbi. There are many well-put thoughts in his article, including: "If there is such a thing as going on strike from one's own culture, this is it."

But my favorite quote from the article is here: "The relentless sameness of the two-party political system is beginning to feel like a Jacob's Ladder nightmare with no end; we're entering another turn on the four-year merry-go-round, and the thought of having to try to get excited about yet another minor quadrennial shift in the direction of one or the other pole of alienating corporate full-of-shitness is enough to make anyone want to smash his own hand flat with a hammer."

Read the whole article here: How I learned to stop worrying and love the OWS protests.

Despite the most recent police raids at the crack of dawn in New York, Portland and Oakland, I hope the occupiers know that they still have the support of the majority of Americans. Michael Moore spoke at Occupy SF a couple weeks ago. He's been traveling around Occupy encampments all over this country and he argues that 59% of Americans support the global Occupy movements. Not exactly what the media wants you to believe.

Why write about the Occupy movement here on Vélo Vogue? Because together we can unplug from the system and pedal power our way into a more liveable future.

Ride on and Occupy!

fancy footwork!

Here's an experience I will never grow tired of - crossing the Golden Gate Bridge by bike. I've documented my own crossings, but watch how Greg Ciro Tornincasa does it.



Greg describes this film like this: "My first video time-lapse using the GoPro HD, biking from San Francisco to Sausalito. 3,000+ photos, shot every 2 seconds, cut with a few video transitions."

Fancy footwork in those fancy yellow shoes, Greg. I like it! Thanks for sharing!

Bike Fashion According to SF's Gwen Lutz in the Times

One of the fabulous upsides of cycle chic is the abundant options that have consequently sprung up in the world of bicycle fashion.


photo of yours truly modeling at last year's bike fashion show by Pedal Savvy

Not only do we have bike fashion and lifestyle blogs like this one, but we have bike fashion shows that parade the latest and greatest from bike fashion designers from around the world. And we're not just talking messenger bags and caps anymore. From dresses in bike-friendly non-wicking fabric, to capes and commuter jeans - the world of bike fashion has diversified, as is pointed out in today's article in the NEW YORK TIMES, featuring SF's very own Gwen Lutz of Pedal Savvy, who will be putting on the bike fashion show this Saturday at the SF Bike Expo.


photo of all the models, Gwen Lutz on far left, at last year's bike fashion show by Pedal Savvy

Yes, bike fashion has got its validation. We made the Times. Rejoice!

hot dudes on bikes - cycle beauty

Some of you may have caught wind of the debate in the world of cycle chic lately, as some cyclist-bloggers feel that being fashionable on your bike - and showing off how you look - demeans and objectifies women.

I disagree.

As a bike fashion blogger, who is also female, when I see photos of women wearing "normal" and "stylish" clothing when riding their bikes, I am inspired by them. You are making not just a fashion statement, but a political statement for the normalization of cycling in our cities.

Sure, you will turn some heads. But I say, own it. You are beautiful. You are bold. We see and hear the statement you are making.

Biking to work is normal. Biking to socialize is normal. Biking to run errands is normal. Biking to sight-see is normal. You don't need any special equipment or clothing to do it.

And that doesn't just go for women cyclists. You men out there are quite inspirational too.

Here at Vélo Vogue, we appreciate not just your beauty, but your intelligence for choosing the healthiest, most sustainable, most enjoyable mode of transportation, and your decision to inspire others with your choices by sharing your photos with us.


by Richard Masoner / Cyclelicious


by Daydreamer HQ


by Daydreamer HQ


by 'Xander @416cyclestyle


by Cosmoblue


by M$MO


by Adrienne Johnson SF


by Claudio Olivares Medina

It's ok to admire beauty, in all its permutations, right?

the jetpack is finally here

The Bicycle Transportation Alliance says it best - we can ALL just get along! Let's put aside our differences as different kinds of cyclists and all roll on into the future! Into a city that allows us to ride safely and comfortably wherever we choose to go.

Roll On, Oregon from Bicycle Transportation Alliance on Vimeo.

Ride on!

le long chemin

This weekend I was going through some of my photos from a past trip to France. It got me thinking about how strange and wonderful life is, and the many places - expected and unexpected - that it takes us.

That one day we can wake up in a foreign land, find new love, make a family, feel grounded, find ourselves. Each day that we wake up, no matter where the road of life takes us, is an opportunity to create new history. To explore the many avenues we can go down that take us to places that inspire us, frighten us, disgust us, entertain us, change us.



And even then, life keeps going. There seems to be more road behind us than ahead of us. When we're young, it seems like the road is never ending. How many miles or kilometers that lie ahead is inconceivable.

And yet, one day, we will all reach the end of that road.



I just hope that when I get there, I look all around me and all I see is beauty.

Peace, Love & Freedom

It's what we are constantly in pursuit of - our whole lives - and what inspires us to stand up and fight, collectively.


As I commute to and from work, I am joined by more and more men and women who represent my beliefs - that we should be able to safely ride our city streets without fear of losing our lives, where our city makes appropriate, designated space for us. Where we can be free to move. In peace.

One can argue that it's what our democracy represents.


So don't forget to vote on Tuesday. Do some research. Find out what candidates represent us. The candidates that stand up for what we believe. If you live in SF, and need some guidance, the SF Bike Coalition has made its endorsements.

[This post by no means endorses any particular candidate. I am in fact undecided as of this writing. But I am a dedicated voter that doesn't take my freedom for granted.]