RSVP here. This event is a tweetup of our #bikenyc twitter community but all are welcome. You can follow the conversation on #bikenyc and check us out @brooklynbybike. See you Friday!

São Paulo has been drowning in a sea of automobiles (6 million and counting). This car-centric urban transport model is showing signs of exhaustion. The average São Paulo inhabitant spends almost three hours a day stuck in traffic jams. That’s about 15 hours a week – or almost 2 working days.

Enter,  São Paulo Intermodal Challenge. “The challenge: to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible – during rush hour – using the mode of transportation of your choice.” [via PSFK]

And guess who wins?

What a fantastic way to bring bicycles into the mix as a potential solution for São Paulo’s transportation issues!

“NYC Five Borough Bike Tour

This fills up quick so I am putting the word out now. Reblog if you’re going to attend (or comment below!). Hope to see you there!

There are 42 miles of adventure ahead on May 3, when you can ride car-free through New York City! Join 30,000 cyclists for the largest recreational cycling event in America. Registration is limited, so act fast to assure yourself of a spot and save money by registering early. Entry Details and Registration >

The journey starts in Lower Manhattan. You’ll head north through the heart of Manhattan to Central Park and continue on to historic Harlem and the Bronx, returning south along the East River on the FDR Drive. From there you’ll cross into Queens and then Brooklyn, where cyclists take over the highway before making the thrilling climb up—and down—the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge to Staten Island. The route is 42 miles, mostly flat except for the bridges. Route Details >

New Charity Program

Would your charity like to raise funds by participating in the TD Five Boro Bike Tour? Check out our new program of charitable admissions to the Tour. Charity Entries >

Need a Bike?

Bike and Roll NYC is the preferred rental partner for the TD Bank Five Boro Bike Tour and your key to a hassle-free day. With a Bike & Roll rental package you get:

• Your choice of Trek bicycles—hybrid, road, and kids bikes available.
• Bike delivered to the start or picked up beforehand, tuned up and ready to go.
• Bike drop-off on Staten Island, so you don’t have to wait in the bike line for the ferry.

Click here for details and reservations. Early reservation is recommended as some sizes and styles are limited.”

[via NYC Tumbls]

Might I also add that for those worried about the length or pace of the ride, it is rather leisurely and friendly to all. This is no race.

Galapagos Art Space: 16 Main St. Brooklyn, NY 11201

via [HipsterNascar via bike short films]

Anyways, there is good news for the cyclists out there! The Washington Area Bicyclist Association will perform a valet service with fully uniformed valets.

As an added bonus, commemorative spoke cards and valet claim check tickets will be available free of charge to everyone who uses the bike valet. While supplies last. [via WABA]

That alone makes us regret not biking into town.

The Washcycle suggest going early or biking around as the volunteers are preparing to check 1000 bikes for 1.5 to 3 million people and they “might” be overrun. Click the map below to check out the valet sites and bike paths. [via Washcycle]

Click for more details.

[Hear more via Minnesota Public radio here.]

Only a small fraction of streets have dedicated bike lanes, and with an installation cost of $5,000 to $50,000 per mile, we shouldn’t expect to find them everywhere anytime soon.  Instead of adapting cycling to established bike lanes, the bike lane should adapt to the cyclists.  This is the idea behind the LightLane.  Our system projects a crisply defined virtual bike lane onto pavement, using a laser, providing the driver with a familiar boundary to avoid.  With a wider margin of safety, bikers will regain their confidence to ride at night, making the bike a more viable commuting alternative.

Check out more. [via Dustbowl]

In bike polo, the front wheel of the bike is protected so that a the mallet doesn’t get stuck in the spokes while the mallet itself is usually homemade with some plastic and a ski pole. The bike of choice is the fixed gear for its control. The sport has gained quite a bit of popularity in the last few years, and I imagine that is will continue skyrocket as bike popularity itself takes off. Being a displaced Midwesterner, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Wisconsin has some of the best polo teams in the country!

To learn more check out Hardcourt Bike Polo and NYC Bike Polo. A lovely video of the sport shot in Paris is below and of course one in NYC as well.

All in the name of removing the bike lane. WTF?  Bike lanes make neighborhoods more habitable and safe for communities! Because of all the commotion, the DOT has now replaced the no stopping signs with no standing signs and bike lane advocates continue to insist that this is a much needed growth in New York City. DOT spokesman Scot Gastel spoke to the Gothamist.

The lanes enhance safety in a neighborhood with one of the largest and fastest-growing bicycling populations in the City, and they are a key step in building the Greenway along the Brooklyn waterfront. The project was developed with the support of the community board, and we have worked closely with the community to address their concerns. We will continue to identify locations to increase parking along side streets in the near future.

I know it is hard to acknowledge that regardless of the bike lane, parking will continue to become a problem as population grows in NYC. However the bike lane actually helps move us forward by encouraging alternate methods of transportation. I do sense that there is a bit of a class war going on here between the old guard of the neighborhood and the new hipster gentrifiers and unfortunately – though it’s not so bad in this case – we know who always wins.

[via The Gothamist]