* Italian bicycle sales surpass auto sales.  The BBC reports that in 2011, Italian bought more bicycles than cars, a first time in decades.  Last year, some 1.75 million bicycles were sold in Italy, while car sales slumped to a level last registered in 1964.

* Biking her way out of unemployment: After getting laid off, single mom opens bike shop for women. CNN shared this inspiring story about Robin Bylenga, a single mom of three kids who opened a cycling shop in South Carolina that caters specifically to women.

* A 12-year-old boy in the UK has gathered over 700 signatures in an effort to have bike lanes installed. Fed up with cars and trucks speeding by him – even knocking him off his bike twice – on his way to school, 12-year-old Jack Barker started a campaign for safer bicycling options. “I would just like safer roads so I can get on my bike and ride to school with my friends without being scared of being knocked off,” he explains.

* King County removes Vashon rumble strips. Opponents argued that the strips would make roads more dangerous and less comfortable for cycling.

* Toronto’s The Grid reports that tricycles could soon become extinct thanks to the introduction of the balance bike.

*Latest efforts to save bike lanes in Toronto falls flat. The Globe and Mail reports that Toronto’s City Council voted to remove the bike lanes along Toronto’s Jarvis Street despite a last-ditch effort to save them. The good news is that Jarvis bike lanes will not be removed until a separated cycle track is completed on Sherbourne Street, a major arterial road parallel to Jarvis.

* Need more reasons to ride your bike? From losing weight to saving the environment to building community, Bikeminded has listed 15 reasons why you and everyone you know should ride a bike.

* Cyclists and pedestrians spend more money in local economies, reports Tree Hugger. In a tale of two cities – Portland, Oregon and New York City – studies find a similarity among the cities’ cyclists and pedestrians – they tend to spend a bit more money in local economies. “Streets that promote bicycling and walking mean more business for local shops and restaurants,” said Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. “When it comes to the impact bike lanes have on local businesses, it’s a case of ‘if you build it, they will come’.”

* Women in New York are flocking to women-only bike club. DNAinfo reports that the popularity of a newly-founded city-wide women’s bike club mirrors a nationwide demand for a gender-based communities of bikers to get more women out riding.

*Seattle among selected cities for the 2013 Bicycle Retailer & Industry News (BRAIN) dealer tour. BRAIN staff will visit retailers in San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle next year as part of the magazine’s popular Dealer Tour, now entering its fifth year. Riding from shop to shop in each city, editors and Dealer Tour sponsors meet with retailers, conduct interviews and gather best business practices from owners and managers. The editors post daily reports of each visit online with photos in a gallery.

* On Wired magazine’s Observation Deck, Adam Roger’s contemplates the car-free metropolises of the future.

* Don’t text and ride! Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine learned last week that texting while riding a bicycle is not a good idea. Valentine suffered minor injuries to his knees and hips after he crashed his bicycle while riding in Central Park. An avid bicyclist, Valentine admitted that he had been reading a text and his distraction caused him to skid and slide down a hill.

* The Carmichael Collective surprised several bicyclists in Minneapolis while filming this little video, which features a fully dressed matador squaring off with cyclists on some of Minneapolis’ many bike paths.

* StarCrossed, one of Seattle’s most popular cyclocross races, happened on Saturday afternoon/evening. Here’s a glimpse of what you missed during the Eliminator Shootout race. (Note: that’s local favorite Steve Fisher flipping his bike.)

* Dallas, Texas gets its first bike lane; bicycle advocates celebrate baby-steps. You have to start somewhere.

* After months of pressure from campaigners, London Mayor Boris Johnson has retracted his claim that two-thirds of cyclists killed or seriously injured in London had suffered as a result of breaking the law, London Cycling Campaign reports. “This retraction should help correct the damaging misconception, including among many politicians and journalists, that people who are hurt while riding a bicycle are usually responsible for their own injuries,” states LCC’s Charlie Lloyd.

* League of American Cyclists shows that bikes aren’t just good for you, they’re good for the economy, too. The League released a detailed graphic which highlight studies from across the country showing the positive benefits of bicycling.

* Driver’s License fees go up in Washington State from $45 to $80. That’s like two new commuter tires!

* The NewScientist featured this cool “Tron-like” animation, which provided a snapshot of 5 million bicycle journeys  in London.

* 100-year-old man sets 100-kilometer cycling record. Robert Marchand, a French amateur cyclist, set a record for the fastest 100-year-old to cycle 100 kilometers (62 miles), finishing the distance in 4 hours, 17 minutes and 27 seconds.

* According to the Seattle P.I. headline, everyone hates Critical Mass.

* Would you ride a Porsche bicycle? Designer Bastiaan Kok has come up with a cool concept design for a Porsche 911 Bicycle, as the name suggests his concept is based on the Iconic Porsche 911 car.

*Clarence Eckerson points out that a Lexus car commercial filmed in Vancouver, BC, is the first U.S. commercial to feature a complete street with a protected bike lane. But Eckerson doubts the commercial producers were trying to make a statement that streets are for more than automobiles. “After looking at the manipulation closer it’s probably just that it’s really just a nice-looking, busy-with-people-city-street to use as a canvas to show off the Lexus,” Eckerson said.

* An Op-Ed in Hush magazine calls for a slower, simpler, more civilized bicycling culture, with less “Gore-Tex clad” militant cyclists.

* Following Cher’s angry Twitter rants about bicyclists, this image has been making the rounds on the twittersphere.

* We all know that the best way to get to know a place is from the saddle of a bicycle. Englishman Dominic Gill takes that one step further, by riding solo on a tandem bicycle and inviting people from the local countryside to join him through Egypt. If you have a subscription, you can watch his documentary on Universal Sports.

* Pro Walk/Pro Bike took place last week in Long Beach, California, and of course Cascade was onsite to learn, share, and network with other bicycling non-profits. Founded in 1980 by the National Center for Bicycling & Walking, Pro Walk/Pro Bike is the leading international conference on walking and bicycling. Max reported from the conference, and our Principal Planner, Tessa Greegor, was honored by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) with the “Young Professional of the Year” award.

Elly Blue (left) & April Economides (right) At Pro Walk-Pro Bike (Image courtesy of Pro Walk/Pro Bike)

* La.Steetsblog posted a nice piece about Walknomics and Bikenomics based on the presentations by Elly Blue and April Economides’ presentations at Pro Walk/Pro Bike.

* Following the Pro Walk/ Pro Bike conference, the first-ever National Women’s Bicycling Summit took place on Thursday, Sept. 13. With a goal to gather leaders and galvanize action to get more women riding, the Women’s Summit brought together hundreds of women and was a huge success, according to Carolyn Szczepanski, Communications Director at League of American Bicyclists.

* According to a new poll by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Americans support transit over new roads.   When asked what would solve traffic problems in their community, 42 percent of Americans say more transit. Only 20 percent say more roads. And 21 percent would like to see communities developed that don’t require so much driving. Two-thirds support local planning that guides new development into existing cities and near public transportation.

*A Texas jury decided last week that the driver who struck and killed two bicyclists will not be charged with a felony, My San Antonia reports.  Gilbert John Sullaway Jr., 43, was facing up to 10 years in prison if found guilty for criminally negligent for colliding with, and subsequently killing, a married couple on a tandem bicycle in October, 2009. The collision outraged the bicycling community and the verdict is likely to do the same.

* Increase in ridership brings lower crash rate in Philly. The “safety in numbers” phenomenon seems to be working in Philly as traffic crashes involving bikes in Philadelphia have fallen from a high of 1,040 in 1998 to 553 in 2010. Safety experts believe that motorists become more alert to cyclists when there are more of them.

* In cool gadget news this week, PSFK shares news about a new bike helmet sticker that will call for help if it detects a fall.  ICEdot (In Case of Emergency) has partnered with SenseTech LLC to develop a helmet-mounted impact sensor. The innovative wireless sensor — which looks like a plain, yellow sticker — can detect motion, changes in forces, and impacts that occur when the rider has fallen. It then communicates with the ICEdot app on the user’s smartphone using Bluetooth and automatically alerts their emergency contact with a GPS coordinate of the fall and how severe it was.

* The Atlantic takes another look at bike theft and why bike theft is so hard to stop. According to the article, Transportation Alternatives has estimated that upwards of a million bikes get lifted annually (although most aren’t reported). And the F.B.I. values stolen bicycles and their parts at $350 million a year.  The article concludes that cities aren’t properly equipped to catch bike thieves, so “riders might do well to ask themselves what part they can play in deterring the behavior”.

* According to a Washington Post article, the first automobile accident in U.S. history is said to have been recorded in New York in 1896 when a car collided with a bicycle.  There are now 250 million registered vehicles on U.S. roads, and Americans are buying almost 16 million bikes a year. About 700 people a year die in bike accidents, and 45,000 are injured. Recreational and competitive cycling have soared in the 21st century, and the number of people commuting by bike is estimated to have increased by 43 percent since 2000. Bikes seem to be everywhere, and with them, frustration has grown among many drivers who already feel pinched by the congestion that often creates nightmarish commutes. In the article, author Ashley Halsey II, explores  what drivers should know about sharing the road with bicyclists (and vice versa).

BikePortland.Org/Caters News Agency

* Portland super bike mom receives media attention.  Emily Finch, mother of six, has been receiving quite some media attention for trading in her SUV for a super-sized bike.  Emily pedals around Portland in a cargo bike with various carriers and seats to carry her 6 kids, ages 2 through 11. Between the bike, the kids, their gear and the groceries, she’s often carting about 550 pounds.

* Remember our blog post about Tall Bike Bobby –  who set out on a mission to raise awareness about the practicality of bicycling by riding his tall bike from Vancouver, BC to Los Angeles, Calif? While his adventurous trip isn’t over yet, it looks like Bobby will be sharing his story at Ted Talk UCLA.  Bobby said he will likely present the talk as a how-to guide for tall bike touring in the hopes of inspiring others to undertake “crazy trips”.

* Tokyo is getting serious about number plating cyclists.  The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is seriously considering making it a requirement for all cyclists to display a large number plate on their bicycles. Under the proposed law cyclists will be required to pay a fee to register their bicycles, and then will be bound by law to notify authorities when they change address, sell, or dispose of their bicycle as is the case with motor vehicles. Government officials say the plan hopes to achieve a number of goals including reducing the number of illegally abandoned bicycles, lowering rates of bicycle theft, and preventing cyclists from riding in a dangerous manner.

* Kid learns how to ride a bike, gives motivational speech:

* No helmet? Rent one from a bike helmet vending machine. A group of Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers have developed a solar-powered vending machine capable of dispensing and collecting up to 36 helmets at a time. HelmetHub provides helmets on the go, making the vending machine popular among BikeShare programs. The helmets come in three sizes and will likely cost between $2 and $5 to rent, Mills said, and returned helmets will be inspected and sanitized before re-entering the supply.

* Chris King receives invitation to the White House to discuss U.S. job creation. BikePortland reports that Chris King, founder of the Portland-based C hris King Precision Components, has been invited the White House next week for a discussion about how American manufacturing can spur job creation.

* Shortage of crossing guards has Seattle students dodging traffic. KOMO news reports that the Seattle school district hasn’t hired enough crossing guards, leaving nearly two dozen intersections near schools without crossing guards and forcing children to dodge traffic.

Photo byDerek Blagg Photography

*Bikes, mud, obstacles, and cheer – cyclocross season is here! Yes, the weather may still be nice but the first September rain drops fell on Monday morning and the first cyclocross race of the season was raced in Big Finn Hill Park in Kirkland. With two cyclocross series in the greater Seattle area, weekends will be filled with muddy bicycle fun for the whole family.

* Cancer surgeon commandeers little girl’s bike to rush to the hospital. Grist shared a cute story of a Louisiana breast cancer surgeon who, on her way to the hospital, got stuck in nightmarish traffic after a serious accident shut down the interstate. Knowing her patient was waiting at the surgery center, she hopped off the highway, drove to a friend’s house, and commandeered his eight-year-old daughter’s bike and a Disney princess helmet. Even with her knees knocking her chest, Baucom traveled faster than the stopped cars on the highway. She pedaled madly all the way to a police checkpoint, where the officers escorted her to the surgery center.

* Ingeniously designed kids bike grows with the young riders as they age. Spanish bicycle designer Orbea has designed what may be the first line of bikes that expands with the frame of the owner. With a crossbar, stem, and seat that can be lengthened over time, as well as longer-lasting components, the aptly named Grow bikes only need to be replaced every five to seven years compared to two to three years for conventional bikes, according to Orbea.

*A cycling renaissance is taking place in America. Thanks to cycle-friendly policymaking and increases in government spending, more and more Americans are taking to the road on two wheels and Cities are increasingly vying to be bike friendly, says The Economist. Between 1977 and 2009 the total number of annual bike trips more than tripled, while the bike’s share of all trips rose from 0.6% to 1%.

* USA Today (finally) discovered that Portland is a city of bikes, not cars:  America spent 50 years and billions of dollars after World War II redesigning itself so that cars could move people across this vast country more quickly. Now, with many cities in gridlock, one-third of the population obese and climate change forcing innovators to look beyond the internal combustion engine, cities are beginning to rethink that push toward the automobile. Perhaps no place has thought about it more than Portland, where City planners, businesses and, yes, the citizens of this Pacific Northwest city have embraced a shifting of gears designed to enhance the quality of urban living with a nod to the environment.

* Could London get an elevated bike network? A London architect is trying to convince the mayor that the way to expand the city’s bike infrastructure is not on the streets but in the air. His firm calls the idea SkyCycle:

*Elly Blue reviews sharrows, calling them to the “the Jordan Catalano of bike infrastructure”