Speaking of hate: That deranged L.A. physician who doorstopped a group of cyclists with his car last summer has received a five-year sentence. As BikingBis notes, the judge characterized the case as a “wake-up call” to motorists and cyclists. The judge urged more bike lanes, but that (as the Facebook hate page shows) hardly guarantees progress toward equal rights for cycling. Still, there’s something going on with officialdom recognizing the need for more shall we say “infrastructure.” Full historiography of the case at LA Streetsblog.

The full and authorized version of the 2009 Portland bike count has been released, confirming an unexpected drop in ridership. No surprises in the speculative reasons why: Lower gas prices got cyclists back into their cars, and a “saturation” of Portland’s cycling infrastructure. The argument being that Portland has maxed out the number of folks who will ride bikes without more “infrastructure,” e.g., bike lanes, paths and services. BikePortland.org, as usual, has the full discussion.

“Life Cycles” is the name of a forthcoming mountain biking freeride DVD that promises to be something different. One line from producer I liked: “We decided to spend a lot of time instead of a lot of money.” Freeride DVDs have gotten awfully formulaic. How many more gap jumps and back flips can we take, anyway. We’ll see if these guys can truly break the mold.

BikeHacks ran across a bike-n-ski setup that’s a real hoot.

The fact that new Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn’s pick for the city’s new transportation director, Peter Hahn, doesn’t have an obvious City Hall connection, hold a dogmatic agenda or met any obvious litmus test bothers some folks. To me it’s a plus. A big plus.

Nominations for the 10th annual Bloggies close on Tuesday. Who gets my 3-slot? BikePortland.org, Cyclelicio.us and FatCyclist. BikePortland because Jonathan is relentlessly dedicated and productive, Cyclelicious because Yokota manages to find the interesting stuff and put it in a unique light, and FatCyclist because he endured the ultimate tragedy and then went out and raised a ton of money for a great cause. Best of luck to all, and dial in your votes now!