Just in case I thoroughly depressed our cyclist readers with the overview of the timeline for the Draft Bike Plan, I wanted to provide some inspiration in the form of some funny and inspiring bike commercials from the Netherlands.  H/t to Dave Feucht of the Streetsblog.net discussion group.

Fortunately, since I can't speak Dutch, the good people at Bike Forums are a couple of years ahead of me in translating.  What follows is the rough translation of the ad above.  After the jump are three more advertisements, two of them don't need a translation, but below the fourth advertisement is another translation.  All translations by Nicodemus at Bike Forums.

The translation from above:

(macho key posing)
announcement: attention: driver of a blue Saab... you forgot your parking brake.

(guy on left chuckles)

announcement: attention: the blue Saab went into the yellow Lotus

(guy on left cringes)

Cyclist at the back walks out smiling.

Zonder ongemakken? (without inconveniences?)
Pak de fiets! (take the bike!)

The first phase is understanding.

And then you must take the initiative yourself.

And if he can do it himself, we let him loose.

Autoslavery is a serious problem

We must help these people.

Yeah, someone has to sit in traffic

I know this commercial is for "last year's" L.A. County Fair, but they're using the same one this year and there's no expiration date on Cartoon Tuesday pieces.

In what I'm choosing to view as an indictment of car-culture, our three heroines have a little bit of trouble at the fair's bumper cars.  The whole mess of a commercial is a gigantic spectacle, and I've never been entirely comfortable with a children's game that encourages young people that it's fun to hit each other with their cars; but I'm convinced the people that wrote the advertisement are on our side and are using the fair's megaphone to spread our message that car dependence can have some awful side effects.  I could easily re-post this video with a "This is your brain on cars" tagline.

And for anyone bothered that Streetsblog would feature an advertisement with such blatantly sexist undertones, the advertisement would be just as powerful if they replaced the Valley Girls with some random male stereotype.  And, I hope you know that I have nothing but the strongest respect for the smart, powerful, amazing trailblazers that happen to be women that are a part of the Livable Streets movement in Los Angeles.

While reading the news magazine "The Week" this weekend, I noticed a small story about how stray dogs in Russia are starting to ride the Moscow Metro to get to their work.  In the morning, the dogs ride into Moscow's down town where they spend the day scavenging for food among Moscow's business elite.  At the end of the day they get back on the train and ride back "home."

Among some more amazing skill those Moscow dogs are the ability not to miss their stop while going on the subway train. Biologists say dogs have very nice sense of time which helps them not to miss their destination. Another skill they have is to cross the road on the green traffic light. “They don’t react on color, but on the picture they see on the traffic light”, Moscow scientist tells. Also they choose often the last or the first metro car - those are less crowded usually.

It kind of puts the argument that Angelenos can't learn to ride transit into perspective, doesn't it?

The Big Blue Bus is proudly sporting ads boasting of a new airport service.  The new route provides quite an increase in service coverage for the agency because they aren't talking about service to the local airport in Santa Monica or to LAX; but service to the airport in Houston.  Remarkably this service will cost riders only $15.  What a bargain!  I wonder how many stops there will be along the route.  If they'll stop in Vegas, I bet a lot of Angelenos will be interested.

Ok, so obviously there's been some sort of mix-up at the advertisement agency.  It's not a surprise, since many transit agencies use contractors to handle their advertising so I imagine this kind of slip-up happens from time to time.  Still, I've gotten a couple of emails about this sign slip, and as Dana Gabbard commented, 

And somehow they have been installed etc. and no one noticed they were for the wrong area...Beyond surreal...

You know an issue has hit the mainstream when it's mocked on the Daily Show or the Colbert Report.

Colbert, on his mock-conservative talk show, took aim at the dangers created by texting while driving.  After a series of jokes that end with the problems of texting a 911 call; Colbert introduced his new twitter series, Stephen Colbert's tweets for drivers.  His first tweet is, naturally, an advertisement followed by "You're in the wrong lane!"

However, as Colbert rambles on, his desk is struck by a cyclist causing an air-bag to shoot out of it protecting him.  Apparently in their zeal to make New York the Portland of the east coast, NYC DOT painted a lane right up to it.  After a brief exchange, ("Didn't you see the bike lane?" "Didn't you see my desk!?") it's revealed the cyclist was busy reading Colbert's "tweets for cyclists" all of which are reminders that cyclists look stupid in spandex.

While Colbert's humor is absurdest, there is a hidden reminder that cyclists are a heck of a lot more exposed on the street than car drivers.  When a driver misses a signal because he's distracted, he not only has thousands of pounds of steel protecting him, he also has a defense system built into the car.  When a cyclist makes the same mistake, he has no such protections.  Maybe that's why I've never actually seen someone texting while riding their bicycle and I saw two people texting while driving just on my way to the store this morning.

The online news outlet Digital City reports that the state of Alabama has banned the sale of Cycles Gladiator wine, produced by California winery Hahn Family Wines because of what it terms an inappropriate label.  Digital City reports:

A poster advertising bicycles dating back to 1895 is causing quiet a stir in Alabama. Hahn Family Wines out of California makes a wine called Cycle Gladiators and they've featured the original ad on the label.

Why all the fuss? The ad in question (pictured above) includes the image of a long-haired woman flying alongside a bicycle -- wearing nothing but a smile ... well, she's not smiling but you get the idea.

The cartoon lady could be considered artistically tasteful but the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board doesn't think so. The board decided to pull the the wine from liquor store shelves statewide, deeming the label as inappropriate.

I'm not sure why the AABCB decided the label was inappropriate.  Are they trying to make a statement about biking while intoxicated?  Is it because it doesn't appear that the bike has brakes?  Are they worried people are going to try and make their bikes fly?

Ok, now that we're past the jump and it's probably just the regulars that are still reading, allow me to say that of course I know that they're complaining about the naked lady.

Last week The Onion had a running gag that it was "sold to the Chinese" and all articles were written by staff as though they were official Chinese government proclamations about American culture.  While there were several things to chortle about, my favorite article was of course NASCAR: Why Is It Not Done on Thousands of Bicycles.

While the Onion is clearly taking a satirical pot-shot at the idea of bike commuting in large numbers, it also raises a side question about why is bike racing not nearly as popular a sport in America as car racing? 

I wish I had an answer, but I honestly find both events boring as all heck.  Feel free to drop your opinions in the comments section.

Paging all bike shop owners,

Here's an innovative idea from a bike shop in Sweden.  Who are the best people to target for new bikes during the "off season?"  How about drivers who have just gotten a parking ticket?  To read all the details about this innovative marketing campaign, click here.

After reading about a new Pew Poll that found 88 percent of Americans believe they can't live without a car, I couldn't help thinking of this cartoon from John Akre -- who also gave us Cars for Hats. Car dependence has never looked so terrifying.

If you're in need of a little comic relief today, try this seemingly subversive pro-jaywalking message from the Muppets.

Usually, I just syndicate the weekly Cartoon Tuesday post from my friends to the east, but with them mired in fare hike and service cut hell, they just don't seem as jovial these days.  Thus, I'm left to my own devices and struck gold with my first look when I stumbled on the exact opposite of the kind of cartoon we usually feature. 

Kelly, a syndicated cartoonist who's work appears in the most read weekly news-paper in the country, in addition to slamming the all-powerful Amtrak Lobby also speaks out against highway tolls, skateboarders, and librarians.  Oh, and he doesn't think much of public transit either.

Of course, the aforementioned newspaper is The Onion, so we can rest safely that even when they are inking an editorial cartoon, they're just pulling our leg.

The UK Department for Transport's no-holds-barred THINK! road safety campaign isn't just for adults. This creepy toon, one in a series designed to influence how kids interact with auto traffic (here's another), encourages bright colored clothing in favor of "trendy" darker tones when walking at night.

These spots bring to mind a number of questions. Is it possible to preach pedestrian safety to pedestrians without, even by implication, downplaying the responsibility of drivers? And when it comes to kids, is it possible -- or responsible -- to teach anything other than "Fear the car"? 

Hat tip to David Alpert for this Tom Toles toon, which nails the disconnect between the brave green world we're supposedly entering and the dramatic cutbacks plaguing transit systems across the country. Click through for the punchline (I kind of gave it away already).

This word of warning from cartoonist Mike Luckovich to Republicans in Congress feels all the more timely on the heels of today's action in the Senate. Click through for the punchline.

I'm guessing the speeding metaphor in this cartoon from Gary Varvel of the Indianapolis Star (click through for Pelosi's quote) is not intended to critique spending stimulus dollars on highway expansion. But if you stick House Appropriations Chair David Obey in the driver's seat, it makes for a rather pointed comment on the reckless approach to transportation policy exhibited by some Congressional leaders.

Good stuff this week from Tom Toles, whose transpo-themed editorial cartoons are always on target. Click through for the rest of this commentary.