When in Denmark
I came out in Copenhagen and it was liberating.
I’m not a cyclist. There, I said it. Mikael
Colville-Andersen said it to me, and I said it back to him.
Mikael is an urban designer and mobility expert and the
founder CEO of the
Copenhagenize Design Company. Mikael is an example of a
social-entrepreneur who’s identified a social problem and is
working to fix it, albeit in the private sector.
Clearly, in one sense I am a cyclist. I work for
Sustrans, I have a shed full of bikes and virtually every pair
of trousers I own has stubborn oil and dirt marks around the
ankles. But in another sense, I am not a cyclist. Cycling is
something I do, rather than something I am. Lots of people
cycle for sport or leisure, and sometimes I do; but most of my
trips on a bike are for practical purposes like commuting to work
or traveling to meetings.
Mikael drew a parallel with the vacuum cleaner. Most of us
own one and use one regularly, yet we wouldn’t describe ourselves
as a ‘vacuumists’. It’s just one of several machines we use
to make our lives easier.
