The World of Bicycles - Bicycle photos strory

Article for Bike magazine

Press Release

THE WORLD OF BICYCLES

Text and photography by Bruno Sananès

The idea of constructing a photographic portrait of the bicycle's place in the world came to me in 1994. In the photos taken by a Vietnamese friend, I saw them, forever merging into the background, belittling their own importance. I saw them, sometimes laden with dozens of cumbersome wicker baskets, sometimes with bunches of bananas or pieces of coal. The bikes were everywhere, unfailingly serviceable. Some months later, I flew away to Hanoi.

I was just in time: economic expansion was knocking on Vietnam's door, but the streets of the capital always offer the same bicycle ballet, with only the "ding ding" of their bells as music. I spent my first days strolling in the alleyways of the old district of the corporations and along the main avenues, quickly becoming aware that the bicycle occupies an important place in everyday life. Much more than a simple mode of transport, here this little treasure is a real tool, the link between the fields, the market and the town. Through the lack of the telephone, the bicycle became the means of people's communication.

So, having hired a bike, I rushed to merge myself into the city, discovering rickshaws (big tricycles fitted with seats and used as a bike taxi), bicycles with trailers attached, bicycle repairers situated on street corners and especially my first fellow tyre-pumpers with whom I spent long hours chatting, whilst observing the incessant parade of bicycles. I came back from this trip with my first photos exclusively dedicated to the bicycle.

One year later, I landed in Djojakarta (on the island of Java in Indonesia). and as soon as my foot touched the airport tarmac, my gaze fell upon on a member of the runway staff in the distance, astride a bike, walkie-talkie in hand. A fleeting vision which I took as a sign, necessitating me to dip back into the universe of the bicycle, and to discover all its diverse uses. My trip continued in Jakarta; there I came across the latest bike taxis, on which the customer sits upon a little cushion fixed to the luggage rack. In Singapore, I encountered a team of cyclists from the state post office, who were delivering small parcels to the centre of this city made up of skyscrapers and futuristic architecture.

Then, heading north into Malaysia, I met a becak driver (another bike taxi) who had decorated his vehicle in a surreal kind of Harley-Davidson fashion. In this way, the bicycle sometimes becomes a vehicle of artistic expression. Paintings, stickers, there is no limit to the imagination of a becak driver in order to give his tricycle its appropriate identity. I continued my route on to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, finally returning to Vietnam. To my astonishment, many things had already changed. In Ho Chi Minh City, builders busily construct fifteen storey buildings and in the streets of the colonial past, bicycles give up their place to motor scooters, the new kings of the road. The "ding ding" of the bicycle bells gets lost in the cacophony of horns from the ever more numerous cars. I left Vietnam through the north border, arriving in China.

With more than a billion inhabitants and almost as many bicycles, I knew that China was the dream country in which to conclude this latest Asian voyage. And if a "bicycle culture" exists in the world, here it finds its peak. The bike is used for numerous professional activities. Fitted with a platform, it serves as a stall for fruit or fish sellers. Sometimes, it transports a mini-kitchen, on which steamed ravioli or fried noodles can be made. And in the old districts, called hutongs, there are hundreds of small stalls on bikes, offering every possible snack. At the end of this part of the journey, while walking along the roads and in city suburbs, my eyes were always drawn to these two wheels which men used in a thousand ways. I was surprised to find myself behaving like a hunter, lying in wait for this little jewel of transportation that often evaded my grasp. I remember all those missed occasions, all those photos which I was not able to take. So it is I alone who retains the image of a child on a bike, with his friend standing up on the luggage rack, holding at the end of his arm a huge multi-coloured kite which protected them from the midday sun and which almost flew them up to the sky.

Some months later I decided to go on a third journey to Asia. My first destination was Bangladesh, where I quickly found myself in my element. Dacca, the capital of this flat country, swarms with hundreds of thousands of bikes. During the rush hour, in the narrow streets of the old quarters, there were inevitable gigantic traffic jams of bicycles and rickshaws. I continued my trip through Burma, then finally Nepal, where it was the end of winter, and cold on the high plateaux of Terai. The melting ice of the Himalayas had not yet arrived to swell the rivers. To cross them, every day men carrying their bicycles piled themselves into frail dugouts to go to work in town on the other side. To the ends of the earth, the bicycle remains this important social link that unites mankind.

I had now finished with Asia, even if numerous countries of this continent were missing from my list. I travelled to the other side of the planet, under other skies, in order to establish a real panorama of the bicycle in the world.

Ten years ago, the island of Cuba, plunged into an economic slump, received thousands of bicycles from China. Thanks to these, the country found some semblance of dignity and the bike rapidly became the most frequently used means of transport. It was still the case when I arrived in Havana, and I soon became immersed in the peaceful atmosphere of the Cuban capital. Here, bicycles are in perfect harmony with the country's lifestyle; they can be seen weaving gently between the old Cadillacs and Chevrolets. For a week, I toured the town by bike. There I spotted an enormous bicycle sculpture, positioned like an idol, a symbol of freedom. To my surprise, I discovered that the public buses gave priority to cyclists. But reluctantly, I had to leave the peaceful ambiance of Cuba for the bustle of New York.

Here on weekends, as in many western cities, the bike is a means of leisure. Families come to pedal round the green spaces of Central Park. But during the week, in the heart of the business area, messengers use the bike for its manoeuvrability and speed. There is nothing faster than a bike courier to dodge in and out of the myriad yellow taxis and carry urgent envelopes from Wall Street businessmen. With their racing bikes, fluorescent crash helmets and outfits and whistles between their teeth, today they make up an integral part of the city's activity. Here is the proof that the bicycle also has its place in a modern, built-up environment. I crossed the Atlantic.

Burkina-Faso is one of the poorest countries within the African continent. Here the bicycle signifies real wealth. Bikes are one of the most flourishing trades in the markets. At Bobo-Dioulasso, I met importers of bike frames, which they were selling on to other dealers, who themselves were remodelling them to make sought-after bicycles. There are bicycle repair workshops in all four corners of the country. In the south, I became friendly with a mobile trader who was going from village to village on his bike, selling inner tubes. He spoke to me on the first day of the Tour du Faso, the bike race which each year attracts enthusiasts from all over Africa. Thus the bicycle can encapsulate the strong and determined spirit of an entire country.

In Morocco, outside the fortified walls of Marrakech, I saw electricians, plumbers and painters, standing beside their bikes, waiting for people who needed jobs done. Sometimes during the day, they can be seen getting on their bikes, loaded up with all their tools and brushes, following their customer to the house that needs refurbishing.

Back in France, I took stock of my project. There were still many countries missing before this photographic portrait was complete, but the world was just too large and I had to make some choices. I decided to go on a grand tour of Europe, beginning in Amsterdam, Holland, where the bicycle plays such a part in life. Here, cycle lanes cross the whole country, and thanks to them, tourism by bike comes into its own. The bike is in evidence everywhere, an essential element in the life of the Dutch. Next to the station, there was the biggest bike park I had ever seen; it is not uncommon to spot an individual lost in this sea of bicycles, in search of his or her own vehicle.

I ended the tour with visits to Scandinavia, Germany and Italy.

For several months now, I have been concentrating on other projects. But each time I go on a trip, I still keep my eyes peeled in this quest for images, finding it impossible to leave the bicycle behind. I consider this photographic portrait as a lifetime project.
Today in Europe, there is a real mania for the bicycle. Amsterdam and Copenhagen lead the way with their "all-bike" policies, and their influence is spreading to other capitals such as Paris and Berlin. If the bike is in decline in Asia, it is bouncing back in Europe, carried along on an ecological wave, and with it the people's thirst for a feeling of well-being and a new quality of life.