What laws do I break to get that kit? I was expecting prisoner stripes, not corporate sponsorship.

Who gets drug tested more? Pros, or these convicts?

The 2009 Prisoner Tour de France departing from Lille in the north of France on June 4. 200 prisoners volunteered for this ride, along with about 100 prison staffers. They’ll ride 2,200 km in 15 stages, arriving in Paris on June 19th.

Robert in Vancouver, BC wanted to rent a bike on his last vacation but had a hard time finding information on local bike rentals.

“I thought that a bike rental site that listed bke rental shops around the world would be very useful,” says Robert. He was familiar with other mashup sites using Google Maps. “I thought I would design a site similiar to this but for bike rentals shops.”

He created Bike Rentals Online to help you find bike rentals. Shops that rent bikes can post their information in the map and can also post info about suggested bike tours to take.

Bike rentals online.

Why is TARCK so “in”?

David, Carlton, Rich Kelly, Byron, Donna and I are recording a new episode of the Spokesmen cycling podcast this weekend and one of the likely topics of discussion is this whole “new bike culture” outside of what has been mainstream bicycling in the United States. Byron and Carlton both plan more in depth posts on this topic (with great insight from Rich Kelly), but I’m interested in your observations and opinions.

Where are these kids coming from? Who are their influences? Are there popular culture influences for teens and young adults that encourage them to take up fixed gear bikes?

A new thing in San Jose, California is the San Jose Bike Party. Every third Friday of the month, people show up with all kinds of bikes — choppers, BMX, fixies, cruisers, hybrids, even road bikes and mountain bikes. In May, over 1,000 people showed up for this loosely organized ride and stretched out over a mile as they made their way from Campbell to the new Mary Avenue bike bridge connecting Cupertino and Sunnyvale.

What strikes me is the anti-establishment sentiment among many riders. My guess is that a lot of people are taking up bikes partly as a statement against mainstream views on transportation and community. A lot of them come from the BMX and skater community.

This sentiment is still not widespread, however. The 1,000 people who showed up for the May San Jose Bike Party represents 1/10th of 1% of San Jose’s population. Most teens in the South Bay still don’t seem to know what a fixed gear bike is.

I’m an old guy with a vaguely independent streak who’s been riding bikes for a while, but I’d like to know: for the teens and young adults who are into fixies — what was your influence? How did you first hear about fixed gear bikes?

Why are tarck bikes so “in” now?

All photos by Richard Masoner.

June is Bike To Work Month in Colorado.

Do you remember the story about the Real Estate agents who show properties by bike? One of them, Pedal To Properties in Boulder, Colorado, received venture capital to expand their concept nationwide by opening new “Pedal To Properties” offices in other markets around the United States.

BikeDenver will provide bike valet parking at the Capital Hill People’s Fair this weekend.

There’s an interesting bike shop Denver in Highland Square. The Urbanistic Tea and Bike Shop offers a full service bicycle repair shop and loose-leaf tea and spices. More at their blog. 3215 Lowell Boulevard.

& cetera…

Fred’s tips on a road race road trip on a budget.

The Philadelphia International Cycling Championship takes place this weekend. I was hoping to talk to somebody from the Nigerian National Cycling Team (!) who were scheduled to participate, but they apparently ran into some visa problems and couldn’t get into the country. They train at altitude but lack supplies, coaching and experience, so I’m sorry they’re missing out on this opportunity.

I learned that Delta 7 Sports provides their Ascend road bikes to the Verducci women’s cycling team. The Ascend is the funky see-through spider web bike. Photographer Michael Franken spotted the bikes at the Air Force Cycling Classic in Arlington, VA last weekend.

A good article in the Chron about the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s Urban Cycling Workshops, which teaches cyclists how to ride more safely in San Francisco.

Linda Atkins, an everyday bike commuter who hasn’t owned a car for 20 years, was amazed at the difference in perception a little training could make. “It was like night and day,” she says of her experience with the Urban Cycling Workshops. “I felt much safer, much more relaxed, much more confident.”

More in the Chronicle: “Safe streets: Workshops help cyclists trim risk.”

For similar bike safety education programs in your area in the United States, look at the League of American Bicyclists Bike Education resources page. You can search by state for instructors and classes.

I have an LAB Road 1 certificate; someday maybe I’ll become an LCI.

Summer Palace is a Chinese romance centered around the events of Tiananmen Square in 1989. The film has been banned in China. You can see some characters ride their bicycles past Tiananmen Square in the trailer.

Available from Amazon: Summer Palace Region 1 DVD with subtitles.