A NYC cyclist who received a fine for straying out of the bike-lane recorded this video of his attempt to ride around town without leaving the bike-lane, instead crashing merrily into any obstacle that he encountered, from taxis to construction equipment.

Guy Crashes Multiple Times To Make Point About NYPD Ticketing Bicyclists

If you'd told me a year ago that the City of Los Angeles would close off almost 8 miles of primary city streets to let cyclists have free rein for a day I never would have believed it. If I hadn't seen it actually happen with my own eyes yesterday, I'd still be suspicious. But it's true: thanks to the amazing efforts of the die-hard volunteers behind the project, yesterday the first ever CycLAvia (a riff on the South American Ciclovía idea) took place and some 100,000 residents took to their bikes and got a glimpse of what the city might be like if at least some parts of it were car-free.

As an avid cyclist living in LA, I've long said this is an amazing city to bike in and that it takes on a whole new life when you see it from a bicycle. But most often the reaction I get from non-cyclists is that I must be crazy to ride a bike in LA. I'm not, and judging by the photos on flickr and reactions on twitter a ton of people now see the city a little differently. With any luck this is just the first of many upcoming bike-friendly events in the city. I know I can't wait to see where this leads! (Follow @Cyclavia for future details)

Photos by Tara Brown and Jory Felice

Two months ago, I blogged about the hit-and-run driver who ran down JWZ and friend on their bicycles in San Francisco. The victims lavishly documented the crime, including getting witness names, a photo of the license plate and so on. They filed a report with the SFPD, and waited. And waited.

After two months, they've been told that the SFPD doesn't intend to investigate the crime. Apparently, driving your car into a cyclist, causing injury, and failing to remain at the scene isn't a serious crime in the SFPD's books. JWZ thinks that this is part of a pattern of the SFPD ignoring motor-vehicle crimes against cyclists and pedestrians.

John called SFPD, went down to the police station in person and filed a report (case 091-062-114), and after several followup phone calls over the next few weeks was told:

"No action has been taken on your case, but you can call the DMV and get the person's plate if you want to file a civil suit."

Apparently prosecuting hit-and-run drivers is beneath the notice of our police department, and the piece of shit driver who almost killed us both gets off scott free.

SFPD hates bicyclists