Remember when 30 Seconds to Mars asked for cyclists to show up for a video shoot in Los Angeles? Remember when we all wondered if Jared Leto rides a fixed gear bike?

Well, now we know — it’s a freewheeling singlespeed.

“The Ride” by 30 Seconds to Mars.

The blinky lights are really cool, especially in the tunnel. Now if only I knew what the lyrics, the music, the song, the random imagery of cyclists, horses, fires, and the wreck are all supposed to mean. Enjoy!

Update: And I just noticed BSNYC already posted about this video. I need to move to the east coast!

Photographer Jonathan (Jono) Devich shares his view from the motorcycle as he rides on back and shoots during the 2009 Tour of Missouri. Fun stuff!

Via SoCal Cycling.

Cindy Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber rode their very sensible, rack-equipped bikes to the beach in Malibu, California last Sunday. She even signals left turns when riding through traffic.

The other day on the train my friends and I talked about this week’s episode of Castle in which a mystery writer and homicide detective team up to solve the murder of the week.

“Kill the Messenger,” (clever title, eh?) begins with an erstwhile bike messenger in really nice duds and a brand new Timbuk2 Commute 2.0 bag crazily riding against traffic. A guy in a black car whacks the poor messenger. You know it’s a murder because (a) the driver is wearing a mask; (b) the driver steals the Timbuk2 Commute 2.0 bag from the messenger’s body; and (c) the homicide detectives shows up!

This is a completely unbelievable scenario, of course. Any competent criminal knows the easiest way to kill somebody without risk of investigation is to run him over with a car. The silly mask looks a little suspicious, but I doubt anybody would have noticed the bad guy pilfering the bag.

Compare to a recent episode of Psych, in which a daily bike commuter is apparently run over by a car.

In “High Top Fade Out” the police dismiss the crime as a vehicular hit and run and everybody assumes the driver will never be found. The diligence of the victim’s close friends, however, uncovers evidence of foul play!

Which do you think is more believable and realistic? The Castle scenario in which the homicide cops immediately jump on the case and investigate a murder? Or the Psych story in which the cyclist is just a poor schmuck who got in the way of a car, and the police ignore the death because they consider investigating “accidents” as a superfluous waste of their time?

Bayfront Park, a Menlo Park city park, isn’t really a mountain biking destination, but bikes are permitted on the dirt and gravel trails and it’s only two miles from my work.

Bedwell Bayfront Park, located where Marsh Road intersects with Bayfront Expressway, is a popular lunchtime walking and jogging area for the workers at the nearby office parks. Leashed dogs are permitted on the trails here. In spite of some speculation about public safety, Menlo Park police report almost no instances of violent or property crime at the park.

Dirt and gravel travels crisscross the small hills of this park which was built on a closed landfill. You can see the methane recovery plant at the back of the park, along with the remains of a retired sewage treatment plant. A wide gravel road runs along the perimeter of the park, from where you can watch the shorebirds and other critters in the adjacent sloughs and mud flats.

No trail signposts point the way, but it’s impossible to get lost in tiny Bayfront Park, which encompasses 160 acres. The perimeter road is only two and half miles, so if you somehow lose your way, either head to the top of a hill and look around, or go downhill until you hit the perimeter, then ride until you’ve reached the park entrance.

I’ve ridden about every trail at Bayfront on a fixed gear bike, so this isn’t exactly challenging mountain bike terrain. For a quick, relaxing lunch time fix, though, the location works and the views of the Bay are pretty nice. The unmarked trails invite exploration. Any kind of bike is suitable and riders of just about any level can handle most of the park trails — there are a couple of moderately steep sections but you can easily avoid them if you want.

More:

• Bayfront Park location on Google Maps.
• Friends of Bayfront Park.
• Bayfront Park Yelp reviews.
• Bayfront is part of the San Francisco Bay Area Trail system. When completed (someday), the proposed 500 mile walking / biking trail will ring the entire Bay Area.