Some day, I wish I could ride in my own Velorbis Classic Gents bicycle. I'll either ride it in the Netherlands or have it shipped here. I love the beauty and the simplicity of this retro-style bike. Riding in an upright bike is very classy. I wish we have our own "slow bike" culture here in the Philippines so I could dress up as classy as these guys below.
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Opafiets means 'grandfather bike' in Dutch. It is a "generic term used to describe typically a two-wheeled, utilitarian bicycle, with mudguards or fenders, a rear carrier or rack, relaxed frame or geometry, an upright seating position and generally an ‘old-time’ look reminiscent of the early 20th century. It is a style of bike you will find all over Northern Europe, from bicycle friendly cities such as Copenhagen and Amsterdam, to Berlin, Hamburg, Stockholm and Oslo".
Most of the bicycles in Metro Manila are either racers or mountain bikes. I occasionally see some upright bikes that are most likely from Japanese surplus stores, but they are the minority in the road. One of these days, I'll ask Lee of Bzkleta to build me a Velorbis imitation from some scrap bike parts. The only challenge is finding a frame big enough for my height.
I have a theory - to encourage more people to ride a bicycle, maybe it would help to make cycling more fashionable. We're used to seeing bikers either with shabby bikes or with shiny sporty ones. It's rare to see pogi bikes on the road. Maybe if people start seeing more gentlemanly (and lady-like) cyclists using bespoke bicycles on the road, people would start thinking that biking is not just for the fit, the fast, and the strong.
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