Team Quickstep has gone totally web two-point-oh this season. Youtube, twitter, facebook, the works. If you want to get a sense of how big of an operation they’ve got going on, check out these stats.

In this upload Iljo Keisse and Wouter Weylandt basically have a bro’s-day-off in Ghent before race weekend. In true euro fashion, they’ve got layers of Quick Step team wear on. My question is, why can’t we order those bad-ass euro jackets from the online store? I don’t want a Rapha, Assos, or any other jacket. I want to get one of these so when it rains I can imagine I’m bro-ing-down in a small Belgian city before race weekend.

(We don’t really take public transit)

Obviously nothing useful can be learned from the video. But Keisse and Weylandt have really taught us something today. Those are cool jackets. Even Yvan Van Mol got his own!

Also, has anyone else seen this? Awful.

Related posts : Winterizing your bike by Cavendish

St Paul, Charles, and Maryland Avenue are all mostly clear. Maryland was “clear” by Monday and then almost 12 hours after the second snowstorm, though the sidewalks are still completely covered. If you’re riding in Charles Village, avoid the East Side of St Paul (Service road where Chipotle, Eddy’s, etc are). It’s completely covered in ice.

Falls Road is great heading into the city – except for the switchback which will probably be impassable by bike for a couple weeks at least.

If you are a NYC cyclist, here’s a list of some really useful twitter accounts you can follow. Some are people, some are local shops that do twitter discounts and promotions. The list was last updated in July 2009, and some of the accounts listed are not currently activated but seasonal (ie accounts set up for specific NYC bike races).

If I missed anyone, please @ me at http://twitter.com/ratherbebiking

NYC Bike Shops :

@nycvelo – 2nd Avenue (Manhattan)

@BicycleHabitat – Lafayette Street (Manhattan)

@sidsbikes – 34th Street and 19th Street (Manhattan)

NYC Bike Races :

@crca – Official Century Road Club Association twitter

@nyracereport – Updates on the status of the Floyd Bennett Field summer race series in Brooklyn, NY

@harlemcrit – Official Harlem Criterium updates (currently inactive)

@STATENCX – Official StatenCX updates

NYC Cyclists :

@gwhalin – Founder of nyc.mybikelane.com, etc.

@brooklynbybike - NYC bike commuter, ride information, Brooklyn based

@bomboloni – NYC bike racer

@joaoisme – Former / Current proffesional cyclist

@crihs – NYC bike courier, currently participating in 42Below promotional ride

@gabelloyd – NYC bike racer, runs Echappe wheel rental service

@campyrider NYC bike racer, cycling coach, crca / TNT organizer

@johnprolly NYC cyclist, blog feed / etc.

@bikeblognyc Mike Green, NYC cyclist, blog feed / etc.

Other :

@waffletruck – Promotes and sponsors NYC bike races

@streetsblog – NYC cycling news / Ped advocacy

@bikeandrollnyc – NYC bike rentals (west side, central park, etc)

@nycbridgereport – Transportation Alternatives account for east river crossing notices (useful during winter months, etc).

@bikingrulespsa – Transportation Alternatives account for promoting their biking rules PSA contest

@BikeLaneSpeakUP – Transportation Alternatives account for bike lane awarness and CB meetings

@pedicabdrivers – Appears to be run by a NYC pedicab driver (mikhail?)

@parkingdaynyc – Transportation Alternatives account for Parkingdaynyc

@nycbikepolo – NYC bike polo updates

@ridethecity – Updates on the great, ridethecity map app.

@5BBC – The Five Boro Bicycle Club

@nycbikemaps – nycbikemaps.com account

@bikewatchnyc – Stolen bike updates

@NYBikeJumble – For the bike jumbles around the city

@NYVelodrome – group working on getting a real velodrome built in metropolitan NYC

Update – July 31st 2009 – Keep an eye on these folks, people. See if they stick to their word (I would also like to personally apologize for the font style Gristedes uses in Customer service emails)

Dear Customer,

We have spoken to the store manager store  to advise the vendors who service our store not to park in the bike lane.

Sincerely,

Hy Yamuder

Senior Executive Director

of Operations/Assistant to CEO

Gristedes Foods Inc.

823 11th Avenue

Gristedes Supermarket on 8th Avenue has always had issues respecting the uptown bike lane which runs infront of the store. The lane is now separated and no vehicles are supposed to enter it at all. A user on mybikelane.com captured this photo of a tractor trailer completely blocking the bike lane (when legal parking was apparently available).

2007 – Early 2009 : On Street painted lane

July 2009 : ‘Protected’ bike lane – Gristedes doesn’t notice

White Rose trucking usually handles deliveries for the location and other Gristedes in Manhattan, but the local store is probably party to blame for this blatant disregard for cyclist’s safety :

The scene, as usual, on Eighth Avenue in Chelsea. Pure greed—there was enough space for the tractor-trailer in the parking lane but the driver couldn’t bother.

You can send an email to Gristedes about this by clicking here here.

Rite Aid had similar issues on 9th avenue but they eventually started using the actual parking / unloading zone. More info on that here :

Previously – Rite Aid ignores protected bike lane on 9th Avenue (September 2007) :

Awesome.