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

London Velonotte (G)hosts: Prince-consort Albert

Drawn in Moscow by Dorfmeister for London Velonotte 2013

Alas, poor Albert! Prince-consort is severely underrecognized by public opinion and intellectuals alike. The political elite detested Prince Albert, because the German-born aristocrat tried too hard to win the hearts of the nation. In our eyes he was the Great Enabler. It is Albert who facilitated the founding of the first World Expo of 1851. And last but not least, London was cured from dirty water by Albert's sewage system, designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette. And finally it is during Albert's reign the Metropolitan Railway was granted permission to build the first line of the tube. The Prince died young, in 1861, when he was only 42. 

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

London Velonotte (G)hosts: Sir Joseph Paxton

A genius gardener who created the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park for the World Exposition of 1851, the conceptual peak of Victorian times, exploding the size of a simple orangerie to a scale of an Egyptian pyramid! Paxton effectively gave birth to an ultramodern idea of architecture and space. The Crystal Palace is a bunch of ideas, really, each one of them more durable than the times that Paxton lived in. First, ecology: while building the Palace, Paxton conserved ancient trees of Hyde Park. Second, the status of glass and iron: glass can be prestigious. And third, numbers: positively shocking. The amount of visitors, the grandesse of orchestras and choirs. The Palace, unfortunately, is not with us anymore: first, it was moved from its original location in Hyde Park to Sydenham, then it was lost in the fire in 1936. But, thanks to Serpentine Gallery, we have the next best thing: Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto has built a temporary pavilion that recreates the experience of the Crystal Palace for the 21^st Century. The spirit of construction is visible there.

London Velonotte aka L'Albertina (G)host №1. By Dorfmeister

To join London Velonotte 22-23 June, please visit www.velonotte.com