Rainy Sunday Streets

San Francisco’s final “Sunday Streets” event for 2010 fizzled out when nobody showed yesterday.

The SFBC euphemistically calls the Tenderloin “misunderstood“, lost tourists call it “scary,” SF residents think it’s interesting, and addicts of any and all vices call it home. This gritty downtown neighborhood was so-called supposedly because at one time San Francisco police who patrolled this district bounded roughly by Market, Post, Van Ness and Mason could afford more expensive cuts of meat due either to the extra hazard pay they earned, or from the bribes they took in exchange for looking the other way.

A man riding a bicycle pauses to watch a fisherman dip his fishing net, which is attached to two poles, into a polluted canal at central Beijing.

A man riding a bicycle pauses to watch a fisherman dip his fishing net, which is attached to two poles, into a polluted canal at central Beijing October 24, 2010.  REUTERS/David Gray (CHINA - Tags: ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY TRANSPORT IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Residents, nevertheless, were excited about Sunday Streets in the Tenderloin. The city closed Polk north of Civic Center Plaza to O’Farrell Street. Unfortunately, nobody filled the streets when drenching rain drizzled down all day. Jym reports he felt a lot like Charlie Brown on a rainy ball field.


Bicycle news, blogs, & links.

Chris doesn’t let a little rain get in the way of his cycling, as he reviews a “new cyclist themed restaurant” in Santa Rosa, California. :-).

Jud Turner’s Dino Bicycle sculpture is making the rounds again. It’s been pointed out that it looks a lot like the San Francisco Bicycle Messenger Association logo.

I’ve written on this before as have others, but it’s good to have this reminder and update from Grist: Biofuels and food prices. ‘What does all of this talk about commodity corn prices have to do with food? Many believe biofuels are responsible for a 25 to 35 percent increase in food prices, and as Naylor put it, “Food prices make a difference, particularly for poor peoples.”

Attaching a GoPro Hero Cam to my seatpost facing forward doesn’t usually work for me, but here’s a cool BMX jump POV video.

An Afghani boy rides his bicycle past U.S. Navy corpsman HM3 Michael Pepper of Detroit, MI with India Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment during a patrol near Forward Operating Base (FOB) Zeebrugge on October 17, 2010 in Kajaki, Afghanistan. The Marines of India Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment are responsible for securing the area near the Kajaki Dam on the Helmand River.

KAJAKI, AFGHANISTAN - OCTOBER 17: An Afghani boy rides his bicycle past U.S. Navy corpsman HM3 Michael Pepper of Detroit, MI with India Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment during a patrol near Forward Operating Base (FOB) Zeebrugge on October 17, 2010 in Kajaki, Afghanistan. The Marines of India Battery, 3rd Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment are responsible for securing the area near the Kajaki Dam on the Helmand River. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Politics: Florida CFO candidate Loranne Ausley will bike 400 miles across the state to meet Jeff Atwater, because he’s “not man enough to debate me.”

Lynchburg VA regional planning agency approves bike friendly policy for regions roads. Here’s the part that gets me: “ Cary was among the officials at a public hearing on the plan held in Lynchburg on Thursday before a dozen members of the Central Virginia Metropolitan Planning Organization. No members of the public attended the hearing.” People, you have not because you ask not! Dan Grunig’s first rule of bike advocacy: YOU’VE GOT TO SHOW UP! (Via.)

John Simpson, chef for Austin Children’s Shelter, injured in a hit and run as he rode his bicycle to work.

Infrastructurist: Luxury car makers now making bicycles.

Bandit on bicycle robs a British Petroleum gas station. “He was last seen pedaling off westbound on Pulaski Highway on a girl’s banana bike.

Purdue University police to crack down on scofflaw cyclists. West Lafayette police note bike registration requirement as well!

More rain is expected this week in the San Francisco Bay Area, so tis the season for this cool DIY project at Lifehacker: Make a Rear Mud Guard for Your Bicycle Out of an Old Wheel.

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