Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
at Ingerslevsgade 80;
www.cph-bike-rental.dk
)
.
Baisikeli
means “bike” in
Swahili, and this company donates their refurbished used bikes to Africa.
•
Københavens Cyklebørs,
also near Nørreport (75 kr/1 day, 140 kr/2
days, 200 kr/3 days, 350 kr/week, Mon-Fri 9:00-17:30, Sat 10:00-13:30-but
you can return bike until 21:00, closed Sun, Gothersgade 157—see map on
here
,
tel. 33 14 07 17,
www.cykelborsen.dk
).
•
Gammel Holm Cykler,
near Nyhavn (Holbergsgade 12—see map on
From May through November, 2,400 clunky but practical little
free bikes
are scattered around the old town center (basically the terrain covered in the
Copenhagen map in this chapter). Simply locate one of the hundred-some
racks, unlock a bike by popping a 20-kr coin into the handlebar, and ped-
al away. When you're done, plug your bike back into any other rack, and
your deposit coin will pop back out; if you can't find a rack, just abandon
your bike and someone will take it back and pocket your coin. These simple
bikes come with theft-proof parts (unusable on regular bikes) and—they
claim—embedded computer chips so that bike patrols can trace and retrieve
strays. The bikes are funded by advertisements painted on the wheels and by
a progressive electorate. Copenhagen's radical city-bike program is a clever
idea, but in practice, it doesn't work great for sightseers. It's hard to find bikes
in working order, and when you get to the sight and park your bike, it'll be
gone by the time you're ready to pedal on. (The 20-kr deposit coin acts as an
incentive for any kid or homeless person to pick up city bikes not plugged
back into their special racks.) Use the free bikes for a one-way pedal here and
there. For efficiency, pay to rent one.
