In 1986, 60 percent of the citizens of Beijing rode bikes; now 17 percent do. In an age in which every industrialized nation with even the slightest desire to get through the 21st century with its oil-dependent economy intact is ramping up efforts to make its cities more bike friendly, China is undergoing a grand reversal, a de-bikification on a scale only China could manage.

Photo by M. V. Jantzen.

It was the classic test of a longstanding question: Who is the supreme cyclist, bike messenger or road racer?

The field had winnowed to just two riders in the final race of the Diamond Derby, a daylong bicycling event in Northern Virginia just across the Potomac from Washington, D.C. Road racer Michael Esmonde, all Lycra-clad and riding a high-end carbon fiber speed machine, faced down bike messenger Sean O’Donnell, who sported just a cotton T-shirt and cutoff jeans while pedaling a well-worn fixed-gear bike.

Almost as interesting as the matchup between the two bicycling worlds was the event’s location: a parking garage.

Photos by Natalie Walsh.

Have you ever wanted to have a stunningly beautiful bike helmet that would shatter into dangerous splinters if you ever actually fell on your head? Well, you're in luck, because Instructables user Natalina has posted step-by-step procedures for making a helmet that looks like a disco ball. (She emphasizes that it's meant as a costume piece, since it's, you know, covered with glass -- but you could do it with acrylic mirrors instead for a safer ride.)

There is a city in which 80 percent of residents commute to work by bicycle, even in winter. And they train their young to do the same!

Photo by Watson House.

Velomobiles are reclining bicycles with fiberglass shells on top, to make you super aerodynamic, weatherproof, and sort of whimsical.

Oh yes, you're cool. Your bike looks like a Victorian gentleman. Your helmet looks like a tweed fedora. And your reflective vest looks like ... a shitty reflective vest. You have two options: Embrace ugliness as a hipness signifier (it worked for all these guys), or find reflective clothing that actually looks like something you'd wear on purpose. If you picked door No. 2, Brookyn-based (duh) company We-Flashy is here for you.

Photo by Brandon Stanton.

The extraordinary Humans of New York -- which is just what it sounds like, terrific photos of humans (and the occasional head-cat) in the Big Apple -- unearthed this dude, and I think he's what we all aspire to be in 50 to 70 years. Here's what he has to say about his tricycle:

From "Motherfucking Bike," by Sons of Science

It was a Tuesday morning when I watched the cyclist -- decked out in a green jacket and a bright yellow helmet, and laden with bags -- ride into the crosswalk in front of a group of stopped cars, going against the flow of traffic. He was breaking a few laws -- but for convenience and self-preservation, I sometimes break them, too. My hometown, Baltimore, is a terrible biking town.

So I felt some sympathy for the guy -- that is, until he turned to a woman waiting in her car at the red light, and started yelling: “Hey! Hey! You’re not supposed to be in the crosswalk!”

Photo by Mikael Colville-Andersen.

Copenhagen, the bicycle-friendliest place on the planet, publishes a biannual Bicycle Account, and buried in its pages is a rather astonishing fact, reports Andy Clarke, president of the league of American Bicyclists:

“When all these factors are added together the net social gain is DKK 1.22 per cycled kilometer. For purposes of comparison there is a net social loss of DKK 0.69 per kilometer driven by car.” 1.22 Danish crowns is about 25 cents and a kilometer is 6/10 of a mile, so we are talking about a net economic gain to society of 42 cents for every bicycle mile traveled. That’s a good number to have in your back pocket.