By Simon-K via the Londonist Flickr pool Saturday saw the streets of London awash with naked, semi naked, costumed and painted people on bicycles for World Naked Bike Ride Day. By randydandy via the Londonist Flickr pool What's it all about? "A peaceful, imaginative and fun protest against oil dependency and car culture. A celebration of the bicycle and also a celebration of the power and individuality of the human body. A symbol of the......

There's finally been a nice stretch of weather, but if you still need that final push to get out on your bicycle then this weekend is the end of your excuses: Bike Week 2008 kicks off Saturday 14 June until the 22nd with lots of fun for two-wheelers. Events span bike inspections for those of you that have let your rides get a little rusty, workshops for those adjusting to cycling around London, as......

Sport is sometimes accused of taking itself too seriously, but Saturday evening will see a historic London landmark welcoming elite athletes, dogged semi-professionals and high-spirited amateurs alike to the second running of the Smithsfield Nocturne cycling event. Last year's occasion attracted 5000 spectators to the bars and barriers around the 1km course despite heavy rain and was such a success that further similar events around the UK, including perhaps one in Canary Wharf, are......

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......

New trends have been emerging with safety in mind, though some of them suggest a more aggressive culture or an apocalyptic future. For the rest of us, the Design Against Crime centre based out of Central St Martins is hard at work researching and devising gadgets to help protect your stuff and ease your mind while you’re out and about. One of the DAC’s more successful designs has been the M-shaped bike stands tested......

Forget rivers of blood, famine and locusts; Tooting and Putney motorists, cyclists and motorcyclists are suffering the daily torment of perpetual potholes, some up to 6 inches deep. The local paper delved into council funding and found that their budget for footway and carriageway repairs was £1m less than it was 3 years ago. Wandsworth blame this on the cyclical nature of funding from central government and claim that all reported potholes are programmed......

Spring is in the air: The warm weather’s finally here, it’s light well into the evening, and the tube workers may or may not be striking. If you’ve ever flirted with the idea of adopting the bicycle as your means for getting around town, then the current climate is bound to make cycling seem a bit more attractive. But for many people who’ve dabbled with the idea of peddling around London, the question remains......

Transport for London's latest cycle safety campaign focuses on road user awareness of what's going on around them. Especially HGV drivers. But this awareness test genuinely shocked us, making the point that however observant you may think you are, however you use the roads, you often don't see things you're not looking for. To reduce the number of incidents involving cyclists and lorries, TfL are giving out free "safety lenses" to freight companies operating......

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......

Yesterday, Ken announced that London will have a city bike hire scheme, a la Vélib' in Paris, with up to 6,000 bikes located across docking stations every 300m. Hooray! This major investment in cycling - £500 million over a decade - will transform the way we get around the capital although it's unlikely we'll see the bikes on our streets until 2010. Better commuter cycle routes are also planned. The programme will improve pedestrian......

Us and Paris have won an award for "visionary achievements in sustainable transportation and urban livability". Yes, such an award could only come from the US of A and it is courtesy of their Institute for Transportation and Development Policy that we are sharing such an honour. Ken's C-Charge scheme and best efforts to get us all on our bikes impressed the judges whilst we imagine our Parisian pals' fabulous Velib scheme won them......

Move over Queenie. The Mayor has his own seasonal message. As you might imagine, it’s all good news. London is now the business capital of the world. Two million extra passengers a day are carried on the buses than in the 1990s. Crossrail funding is secured. Cycling has doubled. We’re chairing the C40 group of cities fighting climate change. And so on and so on. Although he begins by saying that 2008 will be......

Every day this month the Londonist team will be pointing you in the direction of a Christmas present that (with a bit of luck) you won't already have on your list. Climb up onto our collective lap and we'll see what we can move from our sack to your stockings... How do you get people to cycle more? Ken would like to know I'm sure. Well, let's hope someone buys him some Green Knickers......

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......

Forget supping champagne as you hurtle from shiny new St Pancras to Gare de Nord by Eurostar, soon we'll be considering a picturesque pedal to Paris. No doubt inspired by this summer's Tour de France prologue in England which took an ultra scenic route to the French capital, three County Councils have signed an agreement with Transport for London to back the development of a cycle route to span both sides of the Channel......

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......

As it gets closer to Halloween for LAist, a contributer recollects her tale of staring down the serial killer, Richard Ramirez, otherwise known as the Night Stalker. Must think happy thoughts -- okay, free organic chocolate chip cookies for Los Angeles -- now that's a happy thought. Other happy Los Angeles thoughts include an interview with Jack Kehler of The Big Lebowski (he was the Dude's landlord), a beautiful and magical photographic moment in Venice......

For those of you who are still dubious about London’s public transport system, you may be interested to hear it’s just been rated as the third best in the world. Although station cleanliness and comfy seats may not initially strike you, it is, apparently, one of the most luxurious transportation systems in the world. Carrying 3 million people a day, and featuring a whole host of options from the iconic double decker buses to......

If you've been wanting to join the cycle revolution but are put off by all that aggressive, unpredictable and dirty traffic out there then maybe this weekend's Hovis London Freewheel, which will trundle through nine miles of traffic-free town on Sunday, will help you get on your bike. The number of cyclists on London's streets has apparently increased a stunningly impressive 83% in the last 12 months. Unfortunately, it's too late to register to......

Boris wants London to tackle bike thieves. Especially this one who's on the run. Not cycling. Which is a little bit silly of him. Yesterday was 30 years since Mark Bolan died in Barnes. We export wax figures just as Chinese terrecotta figures arrive. Terracotta is obviously the new wax. Three people have died in a bus crash. But if that hasn't put you off you can now go from London to Sydney on......

We love a play on words at Londonist so we're delighted to tell you that the third Tree-athlon hits Battersea Park tomorrow. Taking it's etymology from the triathlon but spinning it towards the event's beneficiaries - the trees - charity Trees for Cities will be raising money in a tripartite manner: 1. A 5k run for registered tree-athletes - sponsor/donate here 2. An urban "tree wish" for each registered runners printed on their bib......

From BBC News: London must become car-free if it is to substantially cut carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new report. Crikey. In response to the findings London Green Party member Jenny Jones said: "I have asked the London mayor to do a feasibility study into creating a car free pedestrian zone in central London linking all the main squares and parks. "We need to show that the car no longer rules in London......

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 looks like summer might actually have arrived in London this week, but if you're determined to stay inside, here are a few things to help you bide the time. On TV, Londonist likes: Monday, 30 July The Tower (BBC1, 22:35-11:25) After the disputes last week about whether or not the Pepys Estate was being represented fairly in this 8 part documentary, this is your chance to form your own opinion. In episode 6,......

London Grand Prix ruled out. Civil servant seduced by slick oil giant at Wimbledon. Spit 'n' polish on St Paul's revealed. Green experts ban cycling to work. Image of last night's queue-heavy, rainsoaked Chinwag event courtesy of renaissancechambara's Flickr Photostream.......

At Londonist we never knowingly turn down the offer of a canape and glass of sparkly. One particularly quiet week we were even spotted at the Smoked-Meat Purveyors Buffet And Mingle. This is not a quiet week - the Tour De France has come to town, so we headed to ExCeL in Docklands to enjoy a bit of collective excitement with media, athletes and event officials at the temporary Tour de France 'Permanence' (French......

As the buzz surrounding the weekend's Tour de France action in London builds steadily, more and more people are asking where will be the best places to watch, especially during the Prologue individual time trial on Saturday afternoon. Unlike the annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race, where the best vantage points are well established, there's no obvious form to go on for this one-off cycling spectacular in terms of where to set out your viewing stall......

On Saturday, the Royal Academy of Arts will be opening early (from 9am) to celebrate the Tour de France. It's the first day of a new Sea Impressionists exhibition, so if you fancy a quick escape from the cycling mayhem then pop in for breakfast and a mooch at some oceans. They'll even give you a free bottle of Firefly Tonic (which we think is the nice drink you can get at Yo! Sushi)......

Contrary to the grey skies and what sounded like thunder twenty minutes ago, it is summer in London! And that means... the National Theatre's annual outdoor free summer festival Watch This Space is back for two and a half months of stuff to enjoy. Last year, we remember seeing the three lissom-limbed, fetching, female acrobats of Mimbre getting rained off their three storey climbing frame (see picture, right), a dragon made out of drums......

Only a fortnight to go now before central London is engulfed by the two-wheeled juggernaut of the world's most celebrated race. "Le Grand Depart" is the title given to the weekend of sport and festivities from 6th - 8th July that marks the first visit to the UK capital of the Tour de France, a cycling contest in the same way that a royal wedding is a quiet ceremony in a local family church.......