Velonotte (G)hosts: Alexander Herzen & Mikhail Bakunin, brothers in arms!

Herzen and Bakunin as drawn by Dorfmeister for Velonotte 2013

Since the 19th Century London was the place for radical exiles - home to Karl Marx and two of the greatest Russian social reform activists of the time. Alexander Herzen and Mikhail Bakunin were great friends, even if they didn't share a common political platform, with Bakunin being a man of action and Herzen a wordsmith and a conversationalist of the highest order. Our picture dramatizes the meeting of great minds after Bakunin escaped Siberia and arrived to London via California. The pic is based on an anecdote told by Herzen to Goncourt brothers; other versions are not favourable to Herzen: a Bakunin biographer writes that the anarchist was appaled that his Russian friends consume oysters instead of working to ensure the coming of the revolution.

To join London Velonotte 2013 please visit www.velonotte.com

Velonotte (G)hosts: Charles Darwin and Giant Hogweed

Darwin and Giant Hogweed as drawn by Dorfmeister for Velonotte 2013

As a deeply religious man, Charles Darwin has set out to prove that every human descended from Adam - that is, all people of all races and countries had the same origin. Whilst traveling and experimenting, Darwin completely changed everyone's perception of the world we live in, proving that man is basically an animal. Still, his favorite species were worms: Darwin deeply admired the way their bodies were in complete accord with their lifestyle. London Velonotte will drive through Gower Street, where Darwin lived in what he dubbed "Macaw Cottage" - a house with an outlandishly bright and colorful interior, a Pre-Rafaelite painting in 3D. His neighbors were artists and intellectuals who defined Victorian London. Why the Giant Hogweed is featured in our picture, you ask? This deadly plant was also discovered in Victorian times, and, just like Velonotte, was imported from Russia. 

To join London Velonotte 2013 please visit www.velonotte.com