Vienna Insight
by Karin Sawetz, publisher Fashionoffice
19 July 2013

Urban cyclists' needs

I met an old friend and used my bike for the distance of around 10 kilometers to reach the Inner City of Vienna. It's a nice route which can't be found on common maps. I wouldn't say that it is an 'insider route', but a track that follows not only the official bike roads such as calculated by geographical online tools. My cycling style is more 'cross-country'. Several kilometers go through the woods and around 1 kilometer on the streets. The other time, I am using official bike roads which are signed well here in Vienna; sometimes they are too small for the bike traffic such as on the bridge at the Urania. The region around this bridge (Aspernbrücke) is the most 'dangerous pavement' on my route; it's a knot point for many bike roads, streets and walkers. I think I will change my route next time to avoid this region. Changing the route is easy!

The bike styles of the Viennese differ strongly. Some ride on bicycles which look like 70s race bikes, others prefer the grandma-vehicles with basket and romantic decorations. I wouldn't say that there is 'one typical' Viennese style. The style depends on the needs. For example: for mastering my cross-country route, grandma's vehicle is not maneuverable enough and the 70s race bike with its narrow tires would fail at the latest in the wood.

fig.: The image above shows me at the Donaukanal at the Inner City of Vienna. Below, three pictures from the official bike route along the channel of the Danube; two of them show trees decorated with crochets in grandma style. Photos captured on 18 July 2013.

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