The town that made the bicycle a centerpiece of urban culture–a culture that is lively, creative, and prosperous, and one that shows how supporting bikes and transit over cars is actually good for business as well as for your soul.

Now, one of the longtime “playas” in the Portland scene, Mia Burke, has come out with a book on the benefits of bicycling culture–Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet–which Diane Dulkin reviews on Huffington Post.

Dulkin doesn’t talk too much about the book itself, being almost too enthusastic about its subject. But she does come up with some gratifying tidbits, a couple of which I want to quote here:

Car-centric building is simply too expensive — for ourselves, our planet and our communities. We can’t afford our obesity epidemic or the climate-changing pollutants we send into the air and our lungs. And we can’t afford car-centric sprawl and its many miles of asphalt, where roads separate instead of connect us….

Portland built its entire 300-mile network of bike ways for the cost of a single mile of urban freeway.

When we visited Portland early this year, we found a healthy, happy, happening city–an inspiration.

But we’ve got to turn this inspiration into policies here in LA. Don’t neglect Your local LA politicians. Let Portland be an inspiration here too. an inspiration to you to nag your city council member, LADOT, Metro, and the mayor’s office.

Want someone else to do it for you? Join the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition–they’re on it.

Let’s get going!

Happy Labor day and enjoy the Bicycle Film Festival.

Think these show up by magic?

First of all, before you can ask for bike-friendly streets, you gotta show that there are bikes to be friendly to. (Okay, I know motorists didn’t have to do this, because GM et al were pushing hard to get states and cities to lay down free roads for drivers from the mid-1930s on…but that was then, and then is now.) Well, if any of you lives in Glendale (and I know you do), here’s your chance: LACBC is looking for volunteers to help with a cyclist and pedestrian count in that city on September 22nd & 25th 2010, and you can volunteer here.

Next chance: you wanna be famous? Okay, here’s another opportunity, to build your online content creator portfolio at no cost or profit to yourself. Yes, it’s LACBC again, looking for a “social media intern” to work on their Facebook, Twitter, blog, and website. Become a cycling celebrity! Take your first steps towards that Pulitzer Prize! Email Aurisha (whom you’ve seen around Orange 20) and let her know you’ll work for the cause!

Help grab back our fair share of the streets!

Present proof of purchase to any of the BFF events at the counter at Orange 20 and get 5$ off any purchase through Sunday!

[Read more]

We’ve all been buzzed by careless or malicious drivers, so a sentence or two in our favor in the CVC might result in a different kind of sentence for the selfish twerps who think (quite wrongly, as you know) that they “own the road.”

Even Mayor Tony V. is behind it!

However, V-Dog has also come out in favor of a mandatory helmet law, so temper your enthusiasm, or at least send him an email about it, yah!

This is run mostly by Damien Newton, who does a hell of a lot of good work for the LA cycling community, and also helps keep us networked with bike folk in other cities, so show up, have fun, help out!

Details

Bikeside Speaks on August 21st

Afterparty at the Hotel Erwin in Venice. See the Bikeside blog for details. The lineup includes CD4 candidate and local bike advocate Stephen Box, Gary Kavanaugh, Cool Ass Mike, and more.

$3 Fat Tire on Draft if you ride to CASA!! Wed. 7:00-8:00pm Charity Guest Bartenders- $5 Cocktails all tips go to BIKE MS…Good Intentions, Great Time and there is no such thing as a Bad $5 DRINK!