The CPD and Chicago Department of Transportation are dispatching "bike ambassadors" tonight, Thursday and Friday to remind cyclists to follow the city's safety rules. Tonight, they'll be in Wicker Park reminding people to use headlamps when biking after dark. Thursday afternoon, they'll be in Lakeview reminding people to obey traffic laws, and Friday in Uptown, asking folks not to ride on the sidewalk. (Argh! Yes! I hate that.) No one will be getting tickets—just friendly......

Get psyched, pedal-powered people: October 5 and October 26, parts of main boulevards in the city will be closed to cars to create a thoroughfare for people on bikes, scooters, folks pushing strollers and plain-old pedestrians. The Sunday Parkways program builds community, combats obesity, relieves congestion and noise pollution, and encourages people to explore their neighborhoods, according to the Chicagoland Bike Federation. The original plan, according to writer and bicycle enthusiast John Greenfield, was a......

We love bikes. We love movies. So it stands to reason that combining the two is a win-win situation. And Bike-In Cinema has done just that. Every Wednesday night though the end of the month, they'll be showing double features at dusk (9 o'clockish) via DVD projection. Just bike (or walk or CTA-it) to Reba Rar Rar's Side Yard at 1441 W. Cullerton (near Blue Island/Cullerton in Pilsen). What interesting pairings they are! This......

The Bicycle Film Festival is going on now, and this weekend includes a whole slew of documentaries, shorts, and foreign films, all about, well, you know. No Pee Wee's Big Adventure or Breaking Away, sadly. Passes for the whole fest are $27, and for specific nights $10.......

The CTA is building four new structures to meet increased demand for pedal-powered parking. The Midway stop on the Orange Line, the Sox-35th stop on the Red Line, and the Jefferson Park and Damen stops on the Blue Line will each be home to covered, three-walled bike ports that will house a combined total of 382 bicycles. [S-T]......

Not a big surprise here: authorities say that bike theft tends to pick up during the summer months. Although trends are not different than those from previous years, there are ways to detain thievery, like investing in a good lock, locking your bike through both the wheels and the frame, and always locking your bike when not in use (seriously). This won’t altogether prevent theft, but registering your bike with the city of Chicago can......

More hang-ups on Chicago’s bike sharing program: apparently no one can agree on who will be responsible if someone gets hurt. "It's all about lawyers. That's the only hang-up," Daley told the Chicago Sun-Times earlier this month. "Who takes the legal liability--is it the biker, is it the company or the city? The city has deep pockets. That's what you worry about. That's what the hang-up is. That's the only issue." Meanwhile, SmartBike, newly launched......

Photo by bowl rider Mayor Daley suggested over the weekend that if our city improves bus efficiency, bikers could use bus lanes and everybody would win. He mentioned the plan Friday at a Bike to Work rally. "As we improve the quality and movement of buses, the safest place could be in the lane for buses. . . . That's what we're really looking at because, many times, bus lanes are not filled." Daley......

So what’s the status on that city-wide bike-rental program that the Mayor’s office was touting late last year? Chicago is actively looking to imitate the structure of Paris's Vélib program, which is financed by private advertising company JCDecaux, but has not yet been able to settle on a contract. From the Sun-Times: Transportation Department spokesman Brian Steele said Wednesday that the Daley administration is still entertaining the offer from JC Decaux after a "request for......

Photo of last year's ride by our own Tim State Bike the Drive is Sunday, and registration for the annual event closes tomorrow at 5pm. Registration is $40, though sneaking in isn't unheard of.......

Dear Chicagoist, I recently got into an argument with my boss about who has the "right of way" on the road - bicyclists or motorists. While I am not advocating bicyclists to have blatant disregard for motorists, I subscribe to the idea that the slowest mode of transportation should always have the right of way - i.e. cars yield to bikes, bikes yield to pedestrians. My boss says cars have the right of way. What......

The listed events were chosen by the editors of Chicagoist and brought to you by the 2009 Toyota Corolla. Bikes Kozy's Cyclery opened a new location in Logan Square -- thank god -- and are having a huge sale to celebrate. We've always dug the Kozy's vibe, so we're glad top see them branching out into a new neighborhood, especially one chock full of so many bike riders. While you're there, maybe it's time......

Photo by JoeM500 Mayor Daley introduced a new ordinance today that would fine motorists whose reckless behind-the-wheel antics endanger cyclists. Fines from $150-$500 could be levied against drivers who turn in front of someone on a bike, pass with less than three feet of space between car and bike, or door someone. "When someone opens a door -- that's why you have to be very, very alert on a bike," Daley said. "Yes, it's......

Unless you stayed inside all day yesterday (and that wouldn't have been a bad idea, because it was dis-gusting out there), you couldn't miss the super-slippery sidewalks all around the city. An ice storm Saturday night made traveling around the city extra-treacherous due to the thin coating of ice on sidewalks. Chicago city officials, being their normal helpful selves, urged people to salt their sidewalks and walk carefully when it's icy. And also to look......

It's time to make sure your bike and biking gear are ready for winter. Bikes by wvallen.......

There was very little else for Londonist to be concerned with when the threat of a Tube strike became a very unpleasant reality. The inconvenience was extreme: there aren't many alternatives to the Tube in London despite the best efforts of the Londonist team to get everyone from A to B. Brighter news came in the form of the first ever female Yeoman Warder, or Beefeater as the position is more commonly known, and......

Obama has done it. Durbin has done it. Now Daley’s gonna do it. The “it” in question? Lobbying for alleged murderer Hans Peterson’s extradition to the United States. The story’s old hat by this point: Peterson supposedly confessed to killing dermatologist Dr. David Cornbleet last October in his office on Michigan Avenue. Unfortunately his confession fell on French ears, as Peterson had fled to the isle of St. Martin, where he invoked his Gallic heritage......

We noticed a short Fran Spielman piece today reminding us about Daley's globe-trotting and found something we didn't expect — bikes! When we first read about Paris's new bicycle initiative, Velib, we salivated. The city peppered the city with more than 20,000 heavy-duty rental bikes in an effort to become a city of bikes. The program almost seems too good to be true. The bikes can be rented from 750 stations throughout the city, free......

Here are some other newsworthy items to ponder while we slap some Tiger Balm on our knees. Serves us right for riding our bikes to Morgan Park and back. Even when being deported, Elvira Arellano can't stop talking. She also got to see her 8-year-old son, Saul, before leaving. He's staying with his grandmother godmother. The "cell-phone bandit?" Now that's a robber with a gimmick. Bond for two men accused of robbing former Bull......

So in 2000 a dude gets hit by a New York City Bus (Bear with us; the story has roots in New York, and eventually makes its way to our city) and decides he’s going to make something positive out of the experience. What does Brendt Barbur do? He creates a Bicycle Film Festival (BFF), featuring films celebrating the bike. And all forms of bikes: Tall-Bike Jousting, Track Bikes, BMX, Alleycats, Critical Mass, Bike Polo,......

If we were to describe this movie update post using song titles … In an email last week, long-time Chicago Filmmakers program director Patrick Friel announced he will be stepping down on August 10 to pursue other interests. He had been with Chicago Filmmakers for over eleven years. A replacement has not been announced yet. Also in his email was news that there will be opportunities to become involved with the programming of their weekly......

The annual Pride Parade roared through the streets of Lakeview this afternoon. Through its 38 years, the parade has become more corporate and mainstream. Channels 2, 5, 7, and 9 had a presence, as did every major bank in the city, Jewel, Whole Foods, Pepsico, AT&T, and many other corporations. Former NBA star John Amaechi, the first NBA player to come out as a gay man, welcomed the crowd as the parade’s grand marshall. A......

You know what we think would be pretty dumb? It would be dumb to rent an apartment at Adams and Wabash and then complain to the city that the trains make a loud, rumbling noise. Of course they do; they are trains. Likewise, we somehow can't wrap our minds around how someone would buy a house next to a popular neighborhood bar, and then complain about the bar and try to get it shut down.......

Part of an international movement, Chicago’s fourth-annual World Naked Bike Ride is set for this coming Saturday. Check-in will be from 6 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. in Union Park, near 100 N. Ashland, at the statue of former Mayor Carter Henry Harrison, Sr. He would be so proud. The official e-mail announcement arrived in Chicagoist’s mail box today, and warns non-participants and disruptive people will be turned away, suggesting you’re not welcome if you’re just......

All across the Ist-A-Verse (or at least the American parts thereof), writers and editors are in the midst of enjoying their three-day weekend. But after the week we've all had, we feel like the break is not only needed, but deserved. Just look at everything we've been doing! Gothamist headed into the Memorial Day weekend with a number of tasks accomplished. They worried about Long Islanders giving New Yorkers a bad name. They tried......

What happens when you remove all the cars from Lake Shore Drive? It gets filled with bikes. Thousands of bikes. Even with a little drizzle enveloping the skyline. And what fills the absence of auto noise and noxious emissions? The sweet smell of the lake, clicking of gears, the squeaks of bicycle chains, the voices of toddlers being pulled along by their fathers and mothers as they ask, “How much longer until the pancakes?” But......

So it might be a good idea to look for alternate forms of transportation. Like biking and the CTA. Why not do a combo? The CTA is reminding us about the idea with Bike to Transit week. This week, the CTA is actively pimping their efforts to make it easier for people to combine bike riding with public transit. For instance, there are racks on every CTA bus that can carry two bikes, so......

If you are horrible kids like we are, you won't be able to make it home this weekend to see mum. There will be plenty to do this weekend to keep your mind off of it though. Besides, it's always great to take advantage of the great Mother's Day brunch specials around town. The Pony's will be playing at Looptopia around 8:45 p.m. Looptopia, Chicago's "white-night" like celebration will run from 5 p.m. - 5......

The City Council's Traffic Committee approved an ordinance that motorcycle and scooter riders will now have to park their vehicles perpendicular to the curb. The reasoning? To "ease Chicago's notorious parking crunch." Hmmm. It's funny, but Chicagoist never really was all that concerned about the city's motorcycles and scooters when circling the block late at night in Andersonville or Wrigleyville or when we were downtown to see a movie. It was all the valet parking,......

We know you've been writing to Blagojevich, Daley and all the CTA members faithfully each day, pleading for more money for the CTA (ahem). You haven't wanted to give in to your addiction to oil and drive a car, despite all of the ways lawmakers are trying to ease congestion. You may just start hopping around on jets if you get your passenger's bill of rights, but until then, you need some hope that your......