After our Subversive Bicycle Photos from Queensland post wherein we use historical photographs to bust some myths about the bicycle’s role in cities, we now offer you some subversive vintage shots from Canberra. Photos that some avid cyclists and most car lobbyists DON’T want you to see in case you get the idea that cycling is a normal, everyday transport form performed in regular clothes and on any ol’ bicycle. God forbid. One of our readers found a film in the national archives and these shots are a screen grab. They feature Vintage Cycle Chic on the streets of the Australia capital in the 1950’s.
Many of the commenters on this blog post over at RiotAct 'How Dedicated Bike Lanes Work in Amsterdam 'should have a look because there's a whole lot of mythifying goin' on in the comments.
When I'm travelling and speaking I always encourage local bicycle advocates to get digging in their local archives to find similar photos of the bicycle's role in the history of the city. Simply because such images have been forgotten for more than a generation and they serve to bring the reality of bicycle transport to the surface once again. Using the past to illustrate the future.
