Baltic Bliss

Before setting out to pedal around Copenhagen, my first challenge was to obtain the proper bike to straddle. I found it at Kobenhavns Cykler, located at the Copenhagen Central rail station (on the right side if you’re facing the station).

I even found a convenient way to get to the city center to rent my bike. Outside my hotel room, Radisson SAS Scandinavia, I found two city bikes. Copenhagen has 2,500 “City Bikes” that anyone can pedal away on simply by inserting a DKK 20 coin into the bike’s locking mechanism. Lock your bike upon return at any of 110 bike-parking stations to retrieve your coin.

Or just lean your bike against a wall if you can’t find a station. Don’t worry: Someone else will return it. Of course, they’ll also collect your DKK 20 coin. Oh, and don’t take the city bikes out of the City Bike Zone, or you will be fined.

The city bike wasn’t the bike that would win the Tour de France. The tires could have used a few more pounds of pressure, and the bike clanked with each revolution of the pedals. It was shy of material for my 6′ 5″ frame. My knees knocked my chin with each pedal. I had to stand on the pedals for most of the ride, but luckily, I wasn’t going far.

The city bike would have attracted all sorts of snickering back home, but no one gave me a second look here. Cycling in Copenhagen is more of a utilitarian activity than a fitness event. Copenhagen commuters ride all sorts of bikes, in various degrees of disrepair. Some cyclists straddled nice bikes, yes, but the majority were “beaters,” bikes that, if stolen, would not send the owner into lasting despair.

Copenhagen cyclists wore utilitarian clothing as well. There wasn’t a great deal of lycra or cycling jerseys or even cycling shoes. Most cyclists wore the clothes they would wear to work or for a night out. I found that cyclists in Copenhagen and in Amsterdam generally don’t wear helmets, and I did not either.

Even without helmets, statistically, these cities are much safer than cycling in the United States. According to Bicycling magazine, Dutch bike commuters are 30 times less likely to be killed on their bikes than their stateside counterparts. I suspect Danish commuters are equally as safe.

I abandoned my city bike, not at a station, but by leaning it against a wall. It felt odd to walk away, but I did so. I walked inside and rented a worthy bike for my ride up the coast.