Over the tramways

Spotted in Manchester City Centre by Alan, these chic cyclists braved crossing the tram tracks! But with style and aplomb nothing can stop them.

You can find more of Alan's Manchester Cycle Chic photography here

Bike dancing

At the Big Green Festival in Chorlton last Saturday, bike dancing ladies The Spokes took on Bristol's Les Velobici. It was a fierce battle featuring white wigs, hula hoops and Kraftwerk's Tour de France. The winners? Everyone.

Pimp your ride

At Chorlton's Big Green Festival on Saturday there were all sorts of bikes. Mountain bikes. Racing bikes. Battered bikes. Shiny new bikes. And customised bikes - lots of customised bikes.

Skirt & Sandals

Do we need to say more?

Image by imagesbyjim via mcr cycle chic flicker pool

Through the viewfinder...

...of Sheffield Cycle Chic.

From our Manchester Cycle Chic flickr pool.

There is nothing wrong with this man

I spotted this chap, presumably about to set off home by bike. He is dressed in bike-specific trousers, jacket and even shoes, with a high-visibility tabard and pannier cover and a helmet. There is nothing wrong with this man.

The Cycle Chic movement was borne partly out of a desire to "re-normalise" cycling, to make it feel like a normal everyday activity which almost anyone can enjoy. I imagine the man in the picture is happy with his choice of clothing and his bicycle, and I say good for him. Some people misinterpret the cycle chic movement as being against cyclists like the man pictured, but this is not at all the case. What we are trying to show is that his way of cycling is not the only way. He prefers to wear specialist cycle gear but someone else may prefer not to.

The problem here in the UK is that the cycle industry and mainstream media portray cycling solely as a sporting activity, which attracts people who are predisposed to enjoying cycling for sport. What it also does is put-off people who want to cycle a few miles to get around, visit the shops or meet a friend for lunch by making it seem like an energy-intensive activity requiring specialist gear, sporty bicycles and a lot of perspiration. The aim of the Cycle Chic movement is not to find the most fashionable cyclists or to direct hate at sport-focussed cyclists who wear specialist clothing. It is simply a way to try and redress the imbalance in the image of cycling in the UK, where too much focus is given over to sport-cycling and the potential for the bicycle to be used as everyday transport is all too often overlooked.

Cycle Chic Estonia - Manchester visit

While browsing fellow Cycle Chic blogs, we came across Cycle Chic Estonia! And it so happens that they visited Manchester back in 2009, and already noticed a good cycling community back then, saying "... much more cyclists than Tallin, Estonia".

All images copyright of Cycle Chic Estonia

We recommend heading over to their blog for some great photography of Estonian citizens cyclists.