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Here's a nice cheery little tale to warm the cockles of your heart and enthuse you for next weeks ride. In other Melbourne news: The Cat May Come Back, if the weather stays cold....


Photo courtesy of foeljox

Night Riders Pedal L.A. With Mettle
There were at least 500 of them, wearing angel wings, rubber tentacles, Girl Scout uniforms and other costumes. But in a city where freakish exhibitionism is as about as original as saying you're working on a screenplay, the more startling sight was seeing everyone pedaling a bicycle. The cyclists commandeered three westbound lanes on Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake late Friday night, forming a convoy a quarter-mile long. The absurdity of the scene drew people out of bars, restaurants and even a hookah parlor. For a moment, it was as though the electricity had been shut off in Los Angeles and the streets had come alive with people wondering where the cars had gone. "Is this an AIDS benefit ride?" asked Luis Romo.

Not at all. Unlike the AIDS/LifeCycle, an annual charity ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles that ended Saturday, this ride was staged solely in the name of senseless fun. Named Midnight Ridazz, the monthly gathering of cyclists is a chance to pedal through L.A.'s busy streets with blissful abandon. Call it a mobile fete. A rave on wheels sans the pounding beat. The year-old event is equal parts Dadaism, pro-environmentalism and anti-car culture. "We're here to take back the streets," said second-time rider Beverly Lorenz, one of those not in costume. (more in article)