Things should pick up after Labor Day. In the meantime, some holiday season links:

One of our favorite bike writers, Zap, hearkens back to the day when.

Another favorite bike writer, Jacquie Phelan, blogs the here and now with the back-then-ers.

Fellow blogger BikingBis reiterates, there’s always hope for the future too!

As part of Issaquah’s push to become a cycling hotbed, there’s a new club forming.

BikeRadar with a great interview of Mark Weir.

Help the city count Seattle’s burgeoning bike commuter population.

You read something like this and have to wonder: What kind of bike was it?

What’s a “spyclist“?

Mark Cavendish takes a tumble at Tirreno-Adriatico, but somehow sprinters never seem to get hurt.

Sausalito by the Bay is the latest town to consider taxing bicycles, and feel the burn of backlash as a result.

If you bicycle in Florida you have the highest chance of being killed of any state in the union. But that may be true of just about anything you do in Florida. We’ve never been to Florida, but if the novels of Carl Hiaasen are any indication, its infestation of drunken corrupt coke-headed crooks, thieves, liars and politicians might help explain the fatality rate.

In our continuing coverage of continuing series, Cycling Bee‘s latest on Jobst Brandt and Alan Durning’s latest on Juice Hawgs (e-bikes) are up ‘n running.

Kent Peterson covers Trek Demo Day at Duthie Hill.

Good interview with Mark Weir on Muddy Roots … his love of cycling, his burned-down house, his Downieville legendry all explored.

Perspiring: British dude wheelies for 8 miles, claims world record.

Aspiring: The Schleck brothers take aim on this year’s Tour. We’re big fans of Andy Schleck and brother Frank and think they hold the key to this year’s Tour de France. With no obviously dominating team like Astana in 2009, the Tour should be a ripper in 2010. Let’s hope the Schleck’s stay healthy and mix it up!

Re my consternation at Bogota beating out Portland in the world’s Top 10 bike-friendly cities, Tim over at CarFreeDays has a thoughtful response.

Top 10 things you don’t wanna hear after a bicycle accident… and Top 10 things you should do.

LA Streetsblog has argument against bike paths. All well and good, but one note: Crappy LA bike paths don’t mean all bike paths are crappy like LA. Many of the deficiencies raised have been addressed in more bike-friendly places, and in general bike paths are a huge plus for getting the new and timid out on two wheels.

What in Sam Hill? Aussie downhill king and former World Champion Sam Hill had the Australian Mountain Bike Championship within his grasp but slid out just meters from the finish line. Chris Kovarik claimed the win, epitomizing the expression about better to be lucky…

BikingBis: Mudslide blocks Burke-Gilman Trail.

Some days you think you’ve got problems. Then you read about Mark Weir’s loss…

Led by Epicenter Cycling, a new bike shop in Aptos, an effort is under way to install a pump track in the unused dirt lot adjacent to the bike shop. Right now commercial zoning stands in the way, but advocates are working with regulators to enable accommodation of the track.

This is a great opportunity for Aptos/Santa Cruz to build on its growing reputation, stoked by icons like Cam and Tyler McCaul, Jamie Goldman and Greg Watts, the reigning Krankworx Slopestyle champion who flies more air than United.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu4n5k5oyD8&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

The Aptos clan has not only brought fans, groupies and fellow starz to the tiny seaside community, their Jump Jam contests and cameos on DVDs have put Aptos on the international mountain biking map. It used to be when a McCaul was introduced, people would say, “Aptos? Where’s that?” Now they nod and say, “Yeah dude, that’s where the jump park rools!”

Alas, the jump park is slated to be shut down, and there isn’t a clear alternative nearby. Freeride trails are springing up in the woods, but replacing the jump park isn’t going to be easy. Aptos definitely will need a new holy grail.

A pump track would be a big step in the right direction. Downieville and Marin County celeb Mark Weir has garnered lots of attention for a track he put in on private property in Novato, where the mtb v. hiker wars continue apace.

Pump tracks are like mini LeMans courses for bikes. You ride berms and humps around a large, wide loop, gaining speed (without having to pedal) for jumps and launches. It’s a great way to build riding skills as well as get a nice workout, which shuttling up a fire road or riding a chair lift won’t provide.

Two other benefits to tracks, which parallel skateboard bowls: They’re great gathering places, and they provide a positive recreational outlet for kids at a much-needed time of their lives.

With the regulatory process just under way, there’s no ETA yet for the pump track. But backers hope to have it in place in time for the 2010 season.

“Lots of folks are anxious to get in and start building,” said Shawn Wilson, owner of Epicenter Cycling. “Human power won’t be a problem.”

Ooof…bike sales down 5 percent in October, shipments down 11 percent. It’s gonna be awhile before we dig out of this hole, folks.

On the brighter side, Mountain Bike Action‘s resident Everyman, Jimmy Mac, looks back on 2009. Great stuff, but Jimmy, I haveta speak up. That photo of the guy going over the rock: As a faithful MBA reader, I recall a letter you printed whose author claimed the photo was faked. And MBA said, as I recall, Hey, we DO NOT FAKE photos. So which is it? Your faithful fan, Paul.

We luv Evil cuz they’re based in our home town of Seattle and have one of the coolest bike names, slotting in at No. 4 on our Top 10 Bike Names Of All Time list. So by extension we have to luv Steve Smith.

Happy 2010 everyone! Now get out ‘n RIDE!!!