More bicycling miscellanea

I was reading this post the other day about mapping urban heat islands in Raleigh, and it reminded me of something - a heat map like this would be incredibly useful in many cities for helping people identify the best bicycling and walking routes in the summertime. Maybe it would also be useful for getting people think some more about reshaping their local environment by adding more shade plants. Phoenix used to have trees lining all of its canal systems, but for some reason people decided at some point that the trees were using up too much water, so they were cut down. Now the canals are wide open and exposed. There are still two benefits to riding alongside them - the canal paths are car-free, and evaporation out of the canals still makes them marginally cooler than other places one could ride. But still - for the most part, the canals are all still just sitting there, waiting to be turned back into the life-veins of the city. Many of the key canal crossings are still terrifying chasms where one has to wait for a break in traffic before shooting across 5 or 6 vehicle lanes to get to the next section of canal.

Even out here, the shade factor could affect my route decisions.

Ever seen a geared unicycle? I wonder if it has aero bars.

I want to remember this video as a training tool for people new to group riding, although it's missing something pretty important (women cyclists, ahem).