Taiwanese Animators On Alec Baldwin

Whoa.

MANHATTAN: Alec Baldwin Arrested For Biking Wrong Way On Fifth Avenue

CNN has the story:

Actor Alec Baldwin was arrested Tuesday and issued two summonses -- one for disorderly conduct -- after riding a bicycle the wrong way on a New York street, police said. The "30 Rock" star allegedly became angry and started yelling at police after they asked him for identification to give him a summons, police said. The other summons was for riding a bike against the flow of traffic. Baldwin is to appear in court July 24. "Police stated that he got belligerent and started arguing with them and using profanity," Deputy Chief Kim Y. Royster said. Baldwin was not carrying identification and police took him into custody, police said. The actor reportedly became angry at the officers, yelling "Give me the summons already," a law enforcement official said.

Once at the police station, Baldwin reportedly pulled the "Don't you know who I am?" bit. He was released shortly afterwards.

VIDEO: The Makeover Of NYC Streets

Via the Atlantic:

Clarence Eckerson has been documenting conditions on the city's streets since the 1990s, and he has a huge archive of footage. Here, he juxtaposes images of key New York locations before, during, and after radical redesigns that took place under the jurisdiction of the Bloomberg administration’s transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan. Eckerson shows the transformation of Times Square, Herald Square, the Brooklyn waterfront, the Queensboro Bridge, and several other formerly car-choked areas that are now havens for human beings on foot and on bicycles. If you've been walking or riding a bike in these places over the years, you know how profound the changes wrought by Sadik-Khan’s policies have been. But now that New Yorkers have begun to get used to more humane streets in many parts of the city, it's startling to see just how stark the contrast is. It makes you wonder, how did people accept the previous status quo?

Lets hope that De Blasio's administration continues one of the few Bloomberg campaigns that everybody loved.

293 Bike-Share Stations For NYC

New York City's long-planned bike sharing program launches in May and today we get a first glimpse at the proposed locations.  Ho-hum, nothing above 60th Street.

Bicyclists Pollute The Air

"You claim that it is environmentally friendly to ride a bike. But if I am not mistaken, a cyclists has an increased heart rate and respiration. That means that the act of riding a bike results in greater emissions of ;carbon dioxide from the rider. Since CO2 is deemed to be a greenhouse gas and a pollutant, bicyclists are actually polluting when they ride. I know, you own a car and drive so are paying gas tax — but not while you are riding your bike." - Washington GOP state Rep. Ed Horcutt, explaining his support for a proposed bicycle tax to a bike shop owner. 

Lance Armstrong Confesses

Today's New York Post

Armstrong did confess, according to the New York Post.

Lance Armstrong cemented his place in the pantheon of history’s most notorious liars yesterday, when he finally admitted to doping his way to seven Tour de France titles. The disgraced cycling superstar came clean about his years-long campaign of deception in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that was taped yesterday and will air Thursday night, sources said. Surrounded by 10 friends and advisers, the 41-year-old cancer survivor copped to cheating during an emotional interview with the talk-show doyenne in an Austin, Texas, hotel. The edited, 90-minute-long interview airs 9 p.m. Thursday on Winfrey’s network, OWN.

Lance Armstrong To Confess

The $20 Cardboard Bike

Very cool, should it ever become available.

Morning View: Charlotte B-Cycle

Charlotte's shared bike program is called B-cycle. It's the same company used by more than a dozen other cities. I didn't see any of them in use, probably because so many of the streets are closed for the convention. Love the handy baskets.

Lance Armstrong Drops Doping Challenge

There go his seven Tour de France titles.

Afternoon View - East River Bike Path

Today was the final Summer Streets for the year and Farmboy C and I biked from the Upper East Side to the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, then toured through Chinatown to the Bowery for brunch. We cut through the East Village on the way home, stopping for Mermaid cones at Big Gay Ice Cream before pausing to watch some Fringe Festival socialist street theater near Thompkins Square Park. Then it was back uptown via the bike path that hugs the East River. The weather was cool and perfect despite a dark drizzly start.

Summer Streets NYC Via Helmet-Cam

Here's a lovely video of Saturday's Summer Streets event from the helmet-cam of a gay Irish ex-pat. I really dig the soundtrack by British electronica duo Mount Kimbie. The final Summer Streets for the year is this Saturday. Highly recommended just for the cityscapes usually viewed from the windows of a taxi.

(Via JMG reader Michael)

TOMORROW: Summer Streets NYC

On three Saturdays every August, New York City closes Park Avenue from the Upper East Side to the Brooklyn Bridge for the exclusive enjoyment of bicyclists, joggers, and pedestrians. There are hundreds of vendors on the side streets, free bike repair stations, promotional giveaways, and live music all along the route. Later in the day there will be free concerts at Central Park's Summer Stage. Summer Streets runs from 7am until 1pm and we've learned that the return trip can be arduous if you don't finish before the streets have reopened. Highly recommended. It's like Critical Mass minus the assholes.

Where To Get NYC's Shared Bikes

Gothamist alerts us that NYC's hotly anticipated CitiBike program has posted a map of where the program will launch this July. There will be at least 600 stations for the first year, with more planned for next year.

SAN FRANCISCO: Vehicular Manslaughter Charges For Castro Bicyclist

A bicyclist who reportedly blew through the intersection at Castro and Market streets will be charged with vehicular manslaughter. The 71 year-old man struck in the crosswalk died on the scene. Such a charge for a bicyclist is extremely rare. The case has roiled San Francisco's blogosphere since the April 6th incident.

The last time there was a fatal collision between a bike and a pedestrian the DA charged it as a misdemeanor. A source told the Chronicle that the DA has strong evidence that shows the bicyclist was grossly negligent. The wreck did prompt city officials to promise that there would be stricter enforcement of traffic laws. Part of the evidence the DA's office has is a motorist that saw the bicyclist, Chris Bucchere, blow through some stop signs and red lights before the accident. A conviction of felony vehicular manslaughter is punishable by up to 16 months in jail.

Here in mostly-flat New York City, I've long told friends that if I'm ever killed on the street, it won't be terrorism. It'll be kung pao chicken hurtling the wrong way on my block. Sometimes they're even on the sidewalk.

Morning View - Miami Beach Deco Bike

Portable Airbag

This is an actual thing for bicyclists.

The airbag is shaped like a hood that surrounds your head. It's made in an ultra-strong nylon fabric that won't rip when scraped against asphalt. The way the hood is designed and folded into the collar ensures that it will inflate quickly and safely. It takes about 0.1 seconds to inflate and the airbag will be fully inflated before head impact. Hövding protects nearly all of the head while leaving the field of vision open. The airbag provides soft and effective shock absorption and maintains constant pressure for several seconds, making it able to withstand several impacts to the head in the same accident.

Before it inflates, it looks rather like a neck brace.

A Year In The Life Of A NYC Bike

It took 270 days for the last piece to be stolen.

Biking Broadway In Five Minutes

Rather hypnotic, isn't it?