Collecting the Sounds of Copenhagen on an E-Cargo Bike

By Adam Marsal

Listen. Sea waves crash against the pier, straws on the dunes rustle in the wind, raindrops splash into puddles on the road. In the middle of all this stands Sofie Birch with her furry microphone. The music producer and DJ from Copenhagen is interested in one thing above all: the sound of her surroundings. Between the silence of nature and the noise of her hometown, she records every sound and transforms it into artistic compositions. The result is delicate, melodic, and unique.

Sofie Birch travels to her soundscapes on an e-cargo bike, which is the most sustainable and fastest mode of transport she could have acquired. Since 2005, Copenhagen has invested around 135 million euros in cycling infrastructure, making the city one of the most progressive and cycling-friendly in the world.

Sofie Birch
© Sofie Birch

There is growing interest in e-cargo bikes in cities other than Copenhagen, which is considered a cycling mecca even beyond its borders. The German market, for example, is setting new records. Of the two million electric bikes sold in 2021, 120,000 were e-cargo bikes, which means cargo bikes with electric drive.

The Cargo Line bike equipped with a drive from Bosch eBike Systems offers Sofie plenty of small pleasures. In addition to accommodating the entire audio equipment, the display on the handlebars shows how fast she is going, how far she has travelled or what is the range in relation to the current battery capacity, which makes Sofie confident not to run out of power on her long journeys around the sea coast.

Sofie Birch
© Sofie Birch

Digital navigation has helped her many times. Sofie likes to use offline maps to get to her destination easily and safely, even if she runs out of the GSM network. The cargo electric bike allows her to cruise through the sounds of the city while doing creative work or enjoying the tranquillity of nature. At the same time, it allows her to complete all daily tasks in a clean, environmentally friendly and sustainable way. Regardless of the rush-hour traffic or bus schedules, Sofie picks up her daughter or rides to do some shopping. At the end of the day, the display shows her how much money and CO2 emissions she has saved by using an electric bike.

“My wish for the future is to live in greener cities. Moreover, the e-bike lets me discover beautiful places almost every other day,” Sofie says. She admits she can no longer imagine life without her e-cargo bike. “It offers me the exact freedom I need for my creative life,” she says.