Within hours of this broadcast, Lance Armstrong created a Twitter storm that resulted in a big mea culpa from Kornheiser. The sports shock jock had already been suspended in this past for off color remarks about a female colleague and was rumored to be on the chopping block over this until he invited Armstrong on his show to apologize.

Let’s hope this is a waning trend and stay safe out there.

Also, if you are attending SXSW Interactive, there will be a session today at 11 AM called Change the World, Lives, with Bikes featuring DL Byron from BikeHugger and Doug Ulman from LiveStrong.

This core conversation will talk about how cycling, the bike, and social media are changing the world and lives. You’ll learn about Livestrong’s community and Bike Hugger’s blog, events like the Mobile Social, and the millions who follow Lance Armstrong on Twitter. It’s a discussion of bike and pop culture and socializing the good with these Interweb tools.

This week’s short puts that common occurrence to film and portrays a Portland commuter “resplendent” in the maillot jaune with delusions of grandeur. This is very well done and be sure to watch to the end where he gets podiumed at work. Enjoy.

Those interested in submitting artwork should design an 18×24 poster that promotes cycling for transportation in Austin and submit it to Tom Linehan at atxbikepostershow@gmail.com by April 30, 2010. There is no cost to submit your work, but selected finalists will be asked to supply 30 copies of their submission for display and sale at the show. Artists will be compensated for poster sales and part of the proceeds will go toward Lamar Middle School’s Safe Routes to School program.

As another preview of what’s coming to town, this short video of the 2010 show was put together by attendee Michael Wendell.

2010 North American Handmade Bicycle Show from Michael Wendell on Vimeo.

Can’t wait for 2011!

Richard Sachs:

Boston framebuilder Geekhouse:

Mike Flanigan of A.N.T.:

Finally, Doug Fattic, the master framebuilder who taught me how to build:

The ad which ran in Canada a few years ago was a more radical departure from the automotive industry’s usually more subtle attempt to make alternative transportation less appealing than throwing down tens of thousands of your dollars on their product. Since I was the founder of Austin CarShare, I’m often asked what I think of the new Car2Go program launched by Diamler last fall. The carsharing scheme using a large fleet of Diamler’s SmartCars seems to be a significant change in outlook for an auto company by embracing alternative transportation. However, given the auto industry’s past history participating in non-automotive transportation, I’m wary of stated commitments from the industry in supporting a departure from single occupancy motorized vehicles. It can sound a bit like “clean coal” or the ads from ExxonMobile or British Petroleum touting how they’re really just working towards green fuels (pay no attention to the billions we make off of oil.)

So, next time you hear a car company say they are committed to the environment (as if buying any car can be environmentally positive) or how they want to change how people get around, remember this ad and their true colors.

Flanigan recently produced this short video giving us a peek into the design thought process we use to create this style of bikes and some of the unique touches he puts into his frames.

Copenhagenize had a post this week with this video about the concept of strict liability which has been widely adopted in Europe and may account for the reason bikes, pedestrians, and cars interact more harmoniously in these countries.

Essentially, strict liability says that since a car is many times more powerful than cyclists and pedestrians and that the consequences of car accidents with this group are so deadly, the default assignment of liability in these accidents falls with the motorist.

Some find this concept radical, but I think it would go a long way towards dispelling the cavalier attitude may drivers have about speed and attentiveness. Our attitudes towards the liability of drivers is one of the reasons people drive so carelessly in the US. If you get into a wreck, you have a protective steel cage keeping you safe from all but the most extreme accidents. Even if you are at fault, the most you walk away with is a ticket and the deductible on your insurance. It has just been accepted that there will be a certain percentage of accidents and much of safety focus has been on air bags and roll cages, not reducing accidents. I think of it as similar to the tolerance we used to have for drunk drivers.

It is time to restore balance to our streets and respect the vulnerability of certain users. In other videos I have shown from great cycling cities, there is a culture of the city that defers to these vulnerable users in traffic interaction. The fact that so many people bike and walk is surely part of this attitude but also having legal consequences for actions gives a societal backing. Technically, motorists in the US have the same responsibility to give right of way to these road users, but as we all have experienced, without real legal repercussions and with roads built to the advantage of cars and disadvantage of others we continue to see a disregard for our fellow un-carred citizens. Strict liability offers an interesting way to create the more balanced approach.