Cars banned from Paris roads; bikes banned in Iowa; anti-dooring campaign launches in NYC; bicycle superhighways in the sky. and more

* In an effort to reduce traffic on city roads, Paris Mayor Delanoe is banning cars from some of the city’s busiest roadways. Delanoe hopes the ban will alleviate traffic, help pedestrians and make the city more livable.

*  First, Chris Hardwicke proposed VeloCity for Toronto; then Sam Martin proposed Skycyle for London. Now, Chris points to another another bicycle superhighway in the sky, the Veloway, in Melbourne, Australia. The VeloWay  is cleverly hung off the side of an existing elevated, separated rail corridor. Estimated to cost A$ 20 million, Grant O'Donnell of Melbourne Lifeform Development claims it would take a lot of load off the trains.

* A town in Iowa is banning bicycles from roadways. The Des Moines city council is considering a whole new set of bicycle regulations for the town, part of which reads “Whenever a usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a roadway, bicycle riders shall use such path and shall not use the roadway.”

* An analysis by the New York Daily News calls the delay to New York City's bike share system a "blessing in disguise". According to the analysis, the delay will give the city time to further build its network of bicycle infrastructure.

* Meanwhile the NYC Department of Transportation and the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) announced have launched a LOOK! campaign, a new video and a decal reminding taxi passengers to exit on the curb side and check for cyclists before opening cab doors.

* Bicycling is racing into the mainstream in many American communities and it’s time for the United States to shine on the international stage. To guide and support the rapid progress in top bike-friendly cities, the League of American Bicyclists has added a new challenge and opportunity for Bicycle Friendly Communities: Diamond status.

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April Economides

* April Economides, leading expert on bicycle-friendly business districts, is featured in Transportation Issues Daily, educating the masses about the emerging trend of these bike-friendly businesses.

* Mark your calendar: Oct. 6 is Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day!

* Slate takes a look at Why You Hate Cyclists and finds that it’s in part because of bicycling jerks, but it’s mostly your own illogical mind.

* As the influence of women grows across all types of bicycling, there has been quite a bit of debate about the representation of gender in everything from ads to advocacy campaigns, race tracks to board meetings. In response, Elly Blue has created an analytical tool to be used by media creators and consumers alike to evaluate images of women in bicycling: The Bike Test.

* The bicycles that Olympic gold medalist Kristin Armstrong rode in the Olympics have been stolen. The bikes, valued around $30,000 a piece, were stolen while being transported to Armstrong’s home in Boise, Id.  Armstrong says the time-trial bike is a symbol of all the hard work she put in and she's sad that somebody took that from her family. In an effort to locate the bikes, a Reward Fund has been created to offer a substantial reward for the return or knowledge of the whereabouts of the bikes.

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Hemingway and his bicycles. Photo via FlavorWire

* A Wall Street Journal article titled, “Bicyclists of a Feather Flock Together” provides readers with an easy-to-follow guide so that  anyone can identify North America's five most dazzling species of two-wheeled friends: the roadie, the beach cruiser, the cyclocrosser, the commuter and the vintage rider. Which one are you?

* FlavorWire posted a fun series of photographs of famous authors and their bicycles featuring  Leo Tolstoy, Jeffrey Eugenides, Ernest Hemingway, Patti Smith, and many more.