This morning every Londoner was extolled to get on their bike. Mayor Boris launched a Summer Cycling campaign, which involved having his picture taken with, er, lots of bikes. He revealed research from Transport for London that showed that while 1 in 3 of us has access to a bike (we hope this means 'owning' one - and does not include the thieving numbskulls who 'gain access' to your bike and then sell it......

A sign of this country's creeping Torification, with Britain's top two Blues boasting their two-wheels-better philosophy at any opportunity (never mind the traffic signals)? Or merely a sensible policy that could help get more people on their bikes? Kensington and Chelsea are to trial a scheme by which cyclists will be allowed to go the 'wrong way' down one-way streets. Natty new signs are to be introduced on six streets in the borough, advising......

101 reasons why cycling on the pavement should be encouraged. This one's perhaps a bit longer than it needs to be, but still impressive. Original video by coops1. If you have a London-based video, or a splendid idea for one you'd like us to film, write to londonist - at - gmail - dot com.......

It’s been another bruising week in the London mayoral election campaign. Eccentric Tory contender Boris Johnson may have had the best of it. On Tuesday Ken Livingstone announced that drivers of gas-guzzlers will be charged £25 to enter the Congestion Zone from October – assuming he’s re-elected. The Greens support the move, but the Lib Dems’ Brian Paddick – he’s the gay, “cannabis cop” from Brixton, you’ll recall – was critical, notably of the same......

Londonist is a massive fan of two-wheeled transportation, especially when it comes with a gift voucher attached. Yes, the lucky residents of Islington can now give up the motor, get on the manual and be £100 richer. Or even £300 richer, for those who would otherwise fork out £200 annually on a parking permit. We were practically packing the bags and moving to the Borough upon reading this, but alas, the following recent government statistics......

Rapha makes clothing for serious cyclists - the couriers, the racers, the hardcore fundraisers pedalling over the Andes. They are also organising one of the most unusual events we've had the privilege of hearing about: this Saturday is the second Rapha Roller Race Culture Clash which is "a four-way clash between teams of bicycle couriers, cycle journalists, media folk and a ‘dark horse’ Dutch team made up of unnamed riders." And before you try......

It seems Ken Livingstone isn't content with the new, faster Eurostar, but wants to make London actually resemble Paris. He is proposing pedestrianised, tree-lined streets a la the French capital and even wants to get us our own version of the famous Paris Plage, the artificial beach that takes over the Right Bank of the Seine. For this, the Mayor wants to shut a section of the Victoria Embankment's four lanes from traffic. Other......

The breathlessly international Bicycle Film Festival is seven years old this year and it is rolling into London with a string of cool films and even cooler parties and exhibitions, from Wednesday 17 October to Sunday 21 October. Films about two-wheel transport range from modern-day radicalism in Canada to gruelling fundraising cycle hikes over the Alps, from the factory floor in America to changing lives in Ghana, a helmet-camera tour of several international cities......

Apparently London’s motorists are in a state of ‘panic’ as they are having trouble finding petrol stations near them…. A new report out today by petrol industry boffins Catalist reveals that a third of London’s forecourts have shut down since 2002, and that England as a whole has 617 cars per petrol station, which sounds quite a lot really. But hang on a minute. This is London. If there is no longer a garage in......

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......

Sometimes a band comes across as a bit of a gimmick, a good one-trick pony. At first we thought The Polyphonic Spree were just this, a (large) collective with three albums of the same summery tunes. However, after being coaxed into going to see them, this londonista quickly changed his mind – they’re a force to be reckoned with, ensuring that whoever is around them can’t help but feel the summer is here. Opening up......

Hot on the heels of the pay as you go pups comes brilliant news that Ken Livingstone has ordered a feasibility study into a pay as you go bike scheme for London. We were in Paris the other week and saw the excellent Vélib' (freedom bike) set up. Specially designed, heavy grey cycles are stationed at bike stands all over the city, available for hire for as little as 1 Euro for half an......

It's a always sad day when superheroes turn to the dark side. First Spider-Man got all dark and mysterious on the big screen, and now he's taken to vandalism on London's streets. Spider-Man (or a vandal disguised as Spider-Man, which really seems more probable) is accused of causing £1,000 worth of damages to the window of a Chingford Domino's Pizza. Apparently enraged at being unable to buy pizza after the shop was closed, he......

Banner week for SFist as the site's new editor introduced himself -- hooray for Brock! While the NY Times weighed in on SF's mayoral race, only SFist had the (insert tongue firmly into cheek) hard-hitting latest on candidate/activist Josh Wolf. Coverage of a protest vs. gentrification spawned a fantastic debate amongst SFist's readers. Finally, from the sublime to the ridiculous: video of a man that confused a Board of Supes meeting with "open mic......

The Prologue of the Tour de France was quite a show. The view from the QEII centre front lawn was perfect, and a big screen broadcasting from the BBC helped dispel everyone's confusion at what the hell was actually going on. An early glass of fizz in the sunshine also helped. At lunchtime, the crowds had already built up in the sunshine and it was getting difficult to cross over the route at either......

When the long arm of the law finally caught up to bike thief Daniel Westrop, it....slapped him gently on the wrist and said “You naughty boy! You’ve been very bad. Now go sit on that comfortable armchair and think about what you’ve done!” Westrop, 27, had been stealing scores of expensive mountain bikes from stations in the heart of commutersville, mainly targeting Walton on Thames, West Byfleet, Brookwood and Surbiton. Though only charged with......

This Week In London’s History Monday – 11th June 1988: The Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute (a.k.a. Mandela Day Concert) takes place at Wembley Stadium. On a scale approaching the Live Aid concert that took place some three years earlier, more than 600 million people worldwide tune in to watch the epic day-long concert featuring dozens of high profile bands protesting against the apartheid regime in South Africa and the ongoing incarceration of Nelson......

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......

Forget locking up your daughters – lock up your bikes! New statistics indicate that bike theft is up 10% in England, bringing the average to one bike stolen every 71 seconds. Though the thieves are not quite up to snuff, stealing something every 60 seconds like Nicolas Cage with his muscle cars, it’s still a pretty impressive number. The areas of the capital in which you are most likely to be parted from your......

Playing a gig as a solo musician can be quite a strange experience. Rocking up to a dingy pub on your own with just a guitar for company can be at once isolating and liberating - you may miss out on the friendly banter of bandmates and friends but it certainly seems to make dealing with calamity easier, as I experienced last Tuesday night. The pub in question - Leonard's on Northampton Road, EC2.......

Everyone's talking about the C-charge today. Five days before the extended western zone comes into play, there are a few pre-launch jitters. Although the number of vehicles entering the original zone has fallen by 20%, congestion and travel tmes are almost back to pre-charge levels. If you're wondering how the deuce those two facts square up, there are three schools of thought: 1. Mayor Ken points his newt-bitten finger at the utility companies. Firms......

As the world holds it's breath, teetering precariously on the cusp of the Super Bowl (well, at least in America), the wheels of the -ists keep on turning. Austinist was in a musical frame of mind as they listened to the new Shins album, updated the SXSW band listings and got called "punk rock" for their efforts by MTV. And an ice storm swept through the area. Bostonist said goodbye to John Kerry's plans......

As we mentioned on Wednesday, the opening kilometres of the Tour de France are coming to London from July 6th - 8th this year. While this weekend's Vive La France event at Olympia celebrates the culture of those who would have been Frenglish, the Tour organisers are staging an event of their own, a roadshow in front of the Ritzy Cinema, Brixton (LB Lambeth) from noon - 4.30pm this Saturday. The main thing to......

Green box? Pink bag? Whatever you've got, start using it. London has the worst recycling rate in the whole country. We weren't aware that London has a thriving tiger based black market, but man who sold a a ten day old tiger for £20,000 has been jailed for six months. Some doom and gloom for the weekend as bomb making materials were discovered very close to Croyden and district synagogue. Out there at the......

It's a bit of a mixed bag this week, to match the weather and the annual wardrobe meltdown that we are facing as we try to cover all potential weather situations. It's been a bit of a scramble to bring the Culture Crawl indoors after such a great summer of outdoor pursuits but inside we go... and there's plenty to see and do... Shunt, the people who brought us Tropicana and Amato Saltone in......

Like small children, tourists and big dogs, cars don't really belong in London. Sure, they have their uses but they do take up a lot of space, are noisy and tend to move very slowly along the streets. creating bottlenecks at crucial points in the transport infrastructure. We need them and perhaps even like them, but we know, deep down, that they just don't belong inside the M25. Greenwich Council has grasped the fact......

Velorution says: We ride our bikes everywhere, but that doesn’t mean we want to look like it. Londonist says: Amen to that brother. As keen bicyclists, it always makes us green with envy when we go to Europe and see dapper gents and chic chicks navigating those picturesque European backstreets without a shred of lycra and no evidence of Goretex. Luckily for us, it looks like Velorution have been thinking the same thing: Late......

A tribute to the capital’s alleys, ginnels and snickleways. 8. Wild Court, WC2 Where? Relatively spacious route connecting Kingsway to Wild Street What? A quiet sanctuary behind the Freemasons Hall on Great Queen Street. Frequented by upper-class gents with square briefcases and weird handshakes. It hasn’t always been so hushed, though. 150 years ago, over 1000 people (mostly Irish) resided here, in just 13 houses. Why use? The passage leads nowhere useful and runs......

Cycling has reached saturation point in our capital of late: the Tour of Britain finished with a few laps around the Royal Parks this weekend and the city's capability for large-scale cycling events has been called into question after a bit of a fumble during the race. Still, you've followed the race, you've bought the cheeky replica yellow jersey, you've smelt the sweaty lycra... now see the film!. Or indeeed, see the sixth annual......

The super-stacked summer season of stuff to see and do is over... and the even more packed autumn schedule of stuff to see and do has launched without pause for breath. There's no time to stop and stare in London - and why would you want to? Friday 1 September Late at Tate Britain, 6.00pm - 10.00pm, FREE The monthly Late at Tate Britain, held on the first Friday of each month, is tonight......