There is a rather large and growing collection of humours, self-deprecating, but often true songs and music videos that folks have made regarding cycling.  Usually these poke fun at some of the more eccentric aspects and stereotypes of the cycling culture.  I thought it was about time someone put together a list of the best of them. Of course, this is just my opinion, and is therefore fact…

Number 7: Bike-Friendly City (funny song about bike safety in Toronto)

Obstensibly a bicycle saftey piece, but we all know that no one listens if we talk about bike safety seriously.  So lets try it with a little humor:

Number 6: SRSLY

Just try and make it past the Cliff Shot slurping scene in the beginning…

Number 5: Le Velo

The first entry from Robin Moore – the only guy to make my list not once, but three times.  This video probably would have ranked higher if he had chosen a better wine.

Number 4: Get Dirty

After poking fun at the euro crowd, Robin Moore goes after the MTB set.  Truth be told though, you may want to hold off on watching this one until you’ve watched the rest of the list.  There are references in this video to the number one video on our list.

Number 3: All You Haters ( Suck …censored… )

Something about making fun of anger is hysterically funny to me – and a heck of a lot better than actually being angry.  Warning – if you would be offended on a Juniur High School camups by the language, you should skip this video…

Number 2: Motherf<censored>ing Bike

Yes.  They swear.  A lot. But again, making fun of anger is just too enjoyable. Yes – this is the genesis of that famous “Tour de F*** You.”  Nearly every stereotype of urban cycling culture is in here.  In truth it was a very hard decision to decide the actual order of the top two.  Ultimately it came down to seniority alone.

Ooooh – and it is in HD!

Numero Uno: Performance

For me this is the first and still best bicycle music video.  The third entry from Robin Moore.  If you do nothing else in your cycling life, get this stuck in your head on your next ride.  Eminently quotable – ‘Cause its all about performance…

And speaking of quotable, one final thought:

We all know “Its all about performance”  Well – if you don’t know, then go find out now!  Next up in line is an all new serious cyclist.  It is good to make fun of yourself!

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Bike lanes are both a blessing and a curse, and anybody that has done much commuting in urban environments has likely experienced both sides of that.  On the blessing side, studies have demonstrated that bike lanes do, in fact, encourage more folks to ride.  However, it may also create a false sense of security, and can even create greater danger in some situations.  Here in US cities, most bike lanes are right in the “door zone” along parallel parked cars, causing cyclists to need to dart into traffic unexpectedly should a car door get opened in front of them.  Couple that risk with the pretense of “Mandatory Use Laws” and the dark side of bike lanes shows itself.

New York cyclist Casey Neistat put together a video in response to a ticket he received for riding outside of the bike lane on a New York street.  The video has taken off, due in large part to his rather dramatic demonstration of the utter absurdity of the uneducated interpretation of exactly what mandatory means.  Here’s to you Casey – for putting your self on the line to demonstrate to the world what should have already been obvious – but wasn’t.

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In contrast, the fuzz on the other coast in San Francisco does a great job of illustrating exactly why and when “mandatory” is anything but.

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Sacramento was treated to some fantastic pro racing as the modified stage 2 course of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California offered 3 circuits around the state capitol building.  A breakaway of 4 riders struggled to stay ahead of the peloton, but were caught before rolling onto the streets of California’s capitol city, where huge crowds waited despite the threat of poor weather.

Rain fell briefly just as the riders started to duel it out trying to get teams positioned for a sprint finish.

At the end of the day, it was Ben Swift of Team Sky that claimed the sprint – and of course the overall leaders jersey at the end of the first active day of racing of the tour.  Ben Swift stated that he actually felt the rain may have helped him out:

The rain helped me a little bit.  Coming from Britain, you get to experience riding in rain.  It puts a fear in
some people and helps you control things more.

Racing continues tomorrow as Route 3 travels from Auburn to Modesto.