Weekly Roundup of Interesting Bike News May 28 2012

The "Weekly Roundup" is a new series we'll be running on the blog to keep you up to date on lots of interesting bicycle related news floating around the intranetwebs (my new favorite non-word!).

Bikes are cool again and everyday there seems to be more news coming from all over the world about how bicycles are changing our communities for the better.

Enjoy!  

"Chain Reaction."
The cycle-chic movement sprang from a single photograph taken by a Calgarian in Copenhagen. It’s now a worldwide phenomenon, with cyclists choosing style over speed. They’re contributing to a more sustainable city and looking good, sans helmets.

"High school kids suspended for riding to school"  
On Monday, 64 Kenowa Hill High School seniors biked to school in Walker, Mich. Nice, right? Well, the principal didn’t think so. She suspended the kids for the day and threatened to keep them from walking in their graduation ceremony. Somehow, this one story manages to encapsulate everything that is wrong with American attitudes towards biking.

"What do bicycles, backyards, and basil have in common?"
Erica Lemieux has ingeniously incorporated all three of these elements into her urban agriculture business, City Seed Farms. As the planting season begins, you’ll find her cycling between backyards in the High Park and Junction neighbourhoods of Toronto, with a trailer full of tools and seedlings.

"There is no “War on the Car.” War implies a fair fight."
The conflict between bikes and cars is more like a skirmish between a weak civilian militia and a military giant. The giant has heavy artillery, while the militia is armed only with rocks and a whole lot of pent-up anger.

"What kind of cyclist are you? An illustrated guide."

Do you bike for exercise? To earn street cred? Or just to get around? As our options for cycling expand, so have our reasons for doing it. Here are eight types of bikers you may recognize from the neighborhood.

"Confessions of a Winnipeg sidewalk cyclist."
I am a criminal, and the offence of cycling on the sidewalk in Winnipeg could land me a fine of $110. But the alternative of cycling along the very busy and far-too-narrow thoroughfare of St. Mary's Road during my daily commute seems far more risky.