The 82^nd Academy Awards are at 8 ET / 5 PT Sunday, March 7, 2010 at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and the glamour will be in full effect. In honor of this year’s Oscars we’d like to recognize those that we consider superstars by setting positive examples of safety by wearing a helmet! This week’s Fast Facts Friday is a collection of photos from around the web of Oscar-related celebs wearing helmets.

Jake Gyllenhaal is best known for his roles in Donnie Darko, Bubble Boy, The Day After Tomorrow, Jarhead, and Brokeback Mountain (in which he was nominated an Oscar for best actor in 2005). He isn’t nominated for an Academy Award this year, but his older sister Maggie Gyllenhaal is nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in Crazy Heart.

We’re not sure if Maggie rides a bike, but Jake sure does. We’re excited to see him staying safe in a Giro helmet when he’s riding the streets.

Photo courtesy JustJared.BuzzNet.com

 Matthew Broderick is best known for his role in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. He also starred in the 1999 movie Election which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing. These days he keeps his pant leg rolled up so it won’t get caught in the chain, and wears a Bell helmet for safety.

Photo courtesy Cyclelicio.us

Matt Damon is best known for … ummm, well, he’s been in a TON of popular movies including Good Will Hunting, Saving Private Ryan, Rounders, The Bourne series, The Departed, and 2009’s Invictus. He is actually nominated this year for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in Invictus. We’re definitely glad to see he’s staying safe with a Bell Helmet.

Photo courtesy ShowHype.com 

Hugh Jackman is known for his role as the slashing, side-burned X-Man Wolverine. He hosted the 81^st Academy Awards last year to rave reviews. He isn’t nominated for an Oscar this year, and he’s not hosting the awards show either, but when we found photos of him wearing a helmet while riding his mountain bike we had to share.

Photo courtesy DailyMail.co.uk

Carey Mulligan is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her role in An Education.

Here she is seen sporting a helmet as she rides on the back of a motorcycle with boyfriend Shia LaBeouf, also protecting his valuable head with a helmet.

Photo courtesy DailyMail.co.uk

Have you seen or know of any other celebrities that wear a helmet? Please share with us by leaving a comment below!

Cycling festivals galore! Plus, are you in it to win it? The Golden Helmet Award, that is! Whether you want to lost weight one bike ride at a time, head to Oregon for their annual Bike Summit or cycle across the country for a charitable cause, this week’s cycling news will get you riding!

• February 23, 2010: Tips for losing weight – changing the way you eat and adding in some more exercise time! Some facts on hiking and bicycling (Mark Richardson, Viploan.co.uk)

• February 23, 2010: Roswell, Georgia’s only bicycle-friendly community in Georgia, is having their annual Cycling Festival – Alive & Rolling – on April 24-25, Part of the plans? The Roswell Criterium with professional race teams, Kid’s Bicycle Rodeo, Mountain Bike Rides, Mayor’s Ride and more. One Region, Seven Communities, Dozens of Springtime Festivals and Events (Staff Writer, Hospitality Highway Newsletter)

• February 23, 2010: Organized by Cycle Oregon, the 5th Annual Oregon Bike Summit has been scheduled for June 4, 2010, and will be held at the World Trade Center in downtown Portland from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Save the Date: Oregon Bike Summit is June 4th (Jonathan Maus, BikePortland.org)

• February 23, 2010: Ann Wilson began her bicycling expedition in England last July, and has covered over 7,000km since, criss-crossing Italy, Serbia, Turkey, Iran and India. Now in Malaysia, she was inspired to embark on her journey after reading a book, “A Bike Ride”, written by Anne Mustoe, which chronicled the author’s around the world travels on a bicycle. Briton Ann Wilson cycles her way around the world (Shaun Ho, The Star)

• February 24, 2010: A trio of young Connecticut men in their 20s are bicycling across the country from St. Augustine, Fla., to San Diego trying to raise awareness of autism and collecting donations for Autism Speak. Autism awareness riders make their way from Florida to California (Marilyn Monroe, Wicked Local/GateHouse News Service)

• February 25, 2010: The Golden Helmet Award will recognize a Monterey County resident for his/her dedication to bicycling to and from work. Sign up before the March 31 deadline! Nominations sought for Monterey County Golden Helmet Award (Rachel Zentz, The Californian.com)

• February 26, 2010: Being called a “Hub Grub Ride”, the Seminole Heights Bicycle Club met up last weekend and pedaled to eight Seminole Heights restaurants. Tour Seminole Heights restaurants with the Hub Grub Ride (Dalia Colón, St. Petersburg Times)

• February 26, 2010: The sixth annual North American Handmade Bicycle Show took place this past weekend in Richmond, VA, at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. Handmade Bike Show Kicks Off (Staff Writer, Bicycling)

Hipsters cycling all over Japan, “Car Free Day” in Mumbai, an impressive finding around Safe Routes programs, a YouTube stunt champ and more. This past week’s news about bicycling has been insane! In case you were too engrossed in the Olympics (understandably) to get your fill of cycling news, take a look at our highlights from last week!

• February 19, 2010: Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz, a club and advocacy group that hosts weekly rides, monthly meetings and trail-work days is hosting their annual Mountain Bike Festival February 27-28, 2010. Karen Kefauver, Spin City: Down and dirty – Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival is around the corner (Karen Kefauver, Santa Cruz Sentinel)

• February 18, 2010: A listing of movies that are sports-related but can also loved by a less-than-active crowd. Can you guess what the featured movie is in the bicycling category? What is the Best Sports Movie for People Who Hate Sports? (Adam Hirsch, The Takeaway)

• February 18, 2010: 10 riders of Bangalore Cycling Club (BCC) cycled to Mumbai to promote the ‘Car Free Day’ in Mumbai, which was held on February 21. Mumbai Car Free Day is part of a worldwide movement that encourages motorists to give up their car for a day. The event was hosted by Transport and Road Safety Commissioner, before the Vidhana Soudha. It’s all about the bike (Staff Writer, Express Buzz)

• February 17, 2010: Coming in the summer of 2010 – “Tokyo to Osaka” – A movie documenting the journey of 13 American bicyclists traveling for one week, 350 miles across Japan. ‘Junkan’: Biking from Tokyo to Osaka (David Marx, CNNGo)

• February 16, 2010: Danny MacAskill, a Scottish stunt bicyclist, is one of six nominees for The 2010 Laureus World Action Sportsperson Award. The award recognizes sporting achievement over a single year. MacAskill first gained famed after posting a 5 minute and 37 second YouTube video of bicycle stunts – including riding along the top of a spiky metal fence, doing a back flip off a tree and jumping off huge ledges. MacAskill Nominated for Laureus Award (Staff Writer, Bicycling: MB World Blog)

• February 15, 2010: Willie Weir, a globetrotting adventure cyclist, delivered speeches to interested fans in Sacramento on 2/15-2/18 to benefit the nonprofit programs Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, the Bicycle Kitchen and Mustard Seed Spin. Adventure cyclist Willie Weir speaks at Sacramento benefits (Blair Anthony Robertson, San Francisco Bee)

• February 15, 2010: The report, “Safe Routes to School Local School Project: A health evaluation at 10 low-income schools,” indicates that there has been positive progress toward achieving many Local School Project goals – a program that began in April 2008 and assists Safe Routes programs at 10 schools from around the country. Safe Routes Low-Income Program Report Released (Stephane Babcock, School Transportation News)

Bike thieves, junior Olympians, big bucks for bikes, economy booster, gold medal Olympian Kristin Armstrong, a tour of the coastal state and more! Last week, bicycling created quite a stir in the news! Check out these top stories from across the country.

• February 12, 2010: Justice for everyone – except for the bicyclists? Crime dropped in Los Angeles in all areas except bicycle thefts, which rose 29% last year. L.A. sees 29% jump in bike thefts, prompting some vigilante justice (Richard Winton, LA Times)

• February 12, 2010: The 2010 World Series of Bicycling kicks off Friday, June 18, and runs 10 of 11 Friday nights. VPCC announces its 2010 schedule (Gary R. Blockus, The Morning Call)

• February 11, 2010: Portland’s City Council on Thursday unanimously passed a measure that could spend as much as $613 million over 20 years on new bike paths and other bicycling infrastructure needs. City Council OKs $613 million bike plan (Staff Writer, Portland Business Journal)

• February 11, 2010: The 2010 Benchmark Report, a national survey, reviewed 50 of the largest cities to determine how educated children were regarding bicycle safety. San Jose ranks first for kids’ cycling safety (Kirsten Robbins, BikeRadar.com)

• February 11, 2010: A new study by University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate students says bicycling generates more than a $1.5 billion economic impact in Wisconsin, exceeding the impact of even the deer hunting industry. Bicycles helping Wisconsin economy go ’round with $1.5 billion annual impact, study says (Michael King, Green Bay Press Gazette)

• February 10, 2010: Lucky school! Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Kristin Armstrong will deliver the commencement address at the University of Idaho on May 15 of this year. Kristin Armstrong will deliver University of Idaho commencement speech in May (Brian Murphy; IdahoStatesman.com)

• February 10, 2010: The winter cold doesn’t stop this crew from maintaining their 40-mile bike rides. Winter wheeling (Denise M. Baran-Unland, The Herald-News)

• February 9, 2010: Organized by AEG, the Tour of California 2010 course details should be revealed shortly…Tour of California organizers release stage details (Al Fresco, Bike World News)

• February 8, 2010: This year’s Bike Leadership Conference that will be held in Monterey, California, on April 13-15, has already drawn more retail attendees than in any of the past four years, including seven REI staff members. BLC Drawing More Retailers (Press Release, Bicycle Retailer)

Can you imagine a freeway made up of bicyclists?! A cycling advocacy group in LA can, and they’re taking measure to make this vision turn into a reality. Check out this and other tops stories in the news from last week involving two wheels!

• February 1, 2010: Organization One Less Car held its annual Smart Transportation and Bicycling Symposium Wednesday, Feb. 3 in Annapolis, Maryland. One Less Car holds annual bike symposium (Meredith Cohn, B’MoreGreen)

• February 2, 2010: Continuing the conversations around immigrants and bicycling. More Conversation About Not-So-Invisible Bicyclists (Sarah Goodyear, StreetsBlog.org)

• February 2, 2010: Team funded by Kazakhstan (split with Spanish and Kazakh riders) hopes to provide leader Alberto Contador with yet another Tour de France championship in 2010. Astana Launches 2010 Season (James Startt, Bicycling)

• February 3, 2010: The Topeka Community Cycle Project was started by Washburn law student Robert Fitzgerald and has already become home to numerous donated bicycles of all shapes, sizes and conditions. Law student creates bike co-op (Richard Kelly, The Review)

• February 3, 2010: An LA bicycling advocacy group (LA Bike Working Group) has proposed the Backbone Bikeway Network – a network of long-distance bike routes they say would be comparable to the city’s freeways. Bicyclists propose ‘freeway’ bike routes (Staff Writer, UPI.com)

• February 4, 2010: We agree!! Make bicycle helmets mandatory (Cyrus Bahrassa; Student Life)

• February 5, 2010: Bicycling’s view on the top controversies and moments for cycling in 2010: Lance versus Contador II. Team Sky versus tradition. Electronic shifting going mainstream. Riccardo Ricco trying to get through a full season without testing positive for doping. Rapha’s soon-to-be-unveiled shot at doing for performance-casual style what they did for hardcore road style. The Best Thing in Cycling This Year (Bill Strickland, Bicycling: Sitting In)

• February 5, 2010: The Bicycle Leadership Conference is asking for input from riders to help it better understand the current needs of cyclists in the US. To take the survey here. Bicycle Leadership Conference wants your input (Staff Writer, BikeRadar.com)

Bicycle riders are a dedicated bunch. They ride to work and school in the rain and cold – over bridges, through tunnels and down freeways (where legal). Some choose to ride for the health benefit, while other’s ride for the environment’s benefit. Many ride for the sheer pleasure, and others ride out of necessity. At Bell Sports, we are inspired by those who bike long distances to get where they need (or want) to go. Today’s Fast Facts Friday is in honor of those who take their bikes on busses, trains and other transit options. So without further adieu, here are some transit-related bicycle facts from around North America:

1) Bike riders in New Jersey are thankful there is no extra charge for bicycles brought aboard NJ Transit vehicles, and no permit is required. NJ TRANSIT provides free parking capacity for about 2,300 bicycles at stations and park/rides, and bikes are allowed on NJ Transit trains, busses and light rail. Be sure to check the schedule though, because bicycles like BART, bicycles are not allowed at all times. (NJTransit.com)

2) The Seattle and Tacoma, Washington area is conveniently bike friendly, and bicycles and transit are highly encouraged. Bicycles are welcome on all Sound Transit Express buses, Sounder commuter rail, Central Link light rail and Tacoma Link light rail vehicles and stations. Each Central Link Light Rail car has mounting hooks for two bicycles, and the Sounder commuter rail has bike storage areas where riders are encouraged to secure their bikes using tie-downs in the bicycle priority storage area. (SoundTransit.org)

(IndependentStitch.typepad.com)

3) In Washington D.C. the Union Station Bike Transit Station is the first secure bike parking facility of its kind on the East Coast. The station, which  opened on October 2, 2009, was built by Mobis/Bikestation with funding from DDOT and the U.S. Department of Transportation, but local bicycle rental company Bike and Roll is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the transit center. Bike and Roll employees staff the parking area from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends, providing rentals, repairs, and retail assistance in addition to the daily parking area. Staffers can also help potential members sign-up online in person at the station. Memberships currently cost $96 for a full year, or $12 per month. Membership cards allow users 24/7 access to the parking area. (DCist.com)

4) Regional Transit of Sacramento, California offers bike racks on buses, bikes on trains and bike lockers at 15 light rail stations. This is similar to BART, or Bay Area Rapid Transit, which offers a dedicated “bike space” to riders … but remember bikes are never allowed on the first train and are not allowed during peak commute times. Folding bikes are welcome at all times, though! (BikesOnBart)

5) The City of Chicago and the Active Transportation Alliance sponsor numerous bicycle related events throughout the year including Bike the Drive, Boulevard Lakefront Tour, Veggie Bike and Dine, Bike to Work Week, Bike Town Bash, and Chicagoland Car-Free Day. Visit  ActiveTrans,org for a full calendar of events. The CTA, or Chicago Transit Authority has indoor, sheltered bike parking at 83 stations providing security and weather protection. The CTA also has options for travelling to O’Hare and Midway airports with your bicycle. (CityOfChicago.org)

6) And for those who drive, but need  a convenient way to transport your bike(s), Bell offers bike racks for your car! The locking, three-bike rack makes it a cinch for three friends (or family) to drive to their favorite biking destination. (Target.com)

Are there any interesting transit-related bike options in your area? If so, tell us about it with a comment below!

One of the most touching weeks for bicycle news, to date. Our hearts were filled with joy in hearing all that people are doing to promote bicycling – cheaper lunches? A poetic tale of riding through the rain? Helping to heal those ailed by illnesses? Yes, these are all stories that made the news last week. To hear more of the stories that either put a smile on our faces or made us put on our thinking helmets, check out this week’s post of news from around the world.

• January 29, 2010: Want discounts on restaurants just for riding your bicycle? Move to Long Beach (for one day, at least)! To Encourage Bicycle Commuting, Cyclists Get Lunch Deals in Long Beach (Zach Behrens, LAist.com)
• January 29, 2010: Honking In Traffic is a thought provoking story that points out the often forgotten population of people who ride bicycles not necessarily for pleasure, but out of necessity. The Invisible People on Bikes Right in Front of Our Eyes (Sarah Goodyear, Streetsblog.org)
• January 28, 2010: On the same day as President Obama’s State of the Union address, the Alliance for Biking & Walking also spoke out – on the lack of federal and state funding for bikers and walkers. A Bike-Ped State of the Union: 9.6% of Trips, 1.2% of Federal Funding (Elana Schor, DC.Streetsblog.org)
• January 28, 2010: “La Chanson de la Seine” – And the similarities between Tucson and Paris through the eyes of a rainy bicycle ride. Bicycle ride in the rain reminds her of a walk down the Seine (Barbara Russek, Arizona Daily Star)
• January 27, 2010: On Wednesday, India opened a 6,000-square feet building houses over 200 models of the top bicycles from all over the country and the world. India’s first bicycle mall opens in Pune (Staff Writer, Thaindian News)
• January 26, 2010. As shown with the Bell True Fit, a bicycle helmet doesn’t necessarily need to be expensive to keep your noggin safe. Study: Cheap bike helmets offer same protection as expensive ones (Desiree Ferenczi, ConsumerReports.org)
• January 26, 2010: Chinese officials acknowledge the need for bicycling to make a comeback in Beijing. Back to the Future, by Bicycle (Sarah Goodyear, SF.Streetsblog.org)
• January 26, 2010: Pam Emison, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, found strength through bicycling. M.S. slows athlete down – but not much (Josh Wimmer, WhiteBearPress.com)
• January 25, 2010: Professor Jan Helgerud and co-workers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have found several ways to help improve a chronic-obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patient’s overall fitness and quality of life – through cycling on a stationary bicycle, using one leg at a time. Cycling to Better Health, One Leg at a Time (Staff Writer, ScienceDaily)
• January 25, 2010: Los Angeles police detectives arrested two men last week who were in charge of a Los Angeles bicycle-theft ring and recovered several stolen bicycles and parts, among other things. Detectives Bust Bike-theft Ring Downtown (Staff Writer for the Los Angeles Police Department, Ethiopian Review)

Wearing a helmet is the best way to protect your noggin when riding a bicycle, however injuries and accidents are best avoided when the bicycle rider knows his or her surroundings, understands proper bicycle etiquette, and has a finely tuned bike. In today’s edition of Fast Fact’s Friday we’re offering up some nuggets of information on bicycle repair, quality bicycle products and bicycle efficiency.

 1) The most efficient animal on earth in terms of weight transported over distance for energy expended is a human on a bicycle. The most efficient machine on earth in terms of weight transported over distance for energy expended is a human on a bicycle. To keep your bike in efficient condition be sure to give it a tune-up at least once a year, or every few months if you ride every day. (BikeWebsite.com)

2) Long-time cyclist, author and contributor to The New York Times and The New Yorker Robert Sullivan offers four basic, bicycle etiquette tips that every bike rider should adhere to: Stay off the sidewalks, ride in the direction of traffic, use signals and stop at lights. (MotherNatureNetwork.com)

3) An estimated 124 million bicycles were manufactured worldwide in 2007, and the vast majority of all bikes sold worldwide (82 percent) are manufactured in two countries: China (71.8 percent or 89.0 million units) and India (10.0 percent or 12.4 million units). (InterBikeTimes.com)

4) Need a suggestion on purchasing a new mountain bike? According to ConsumerSearch.com the best “entry-level cross country race bike” is the Kona Kula, the best “trail-oriented mountain bike” is the Giant Trance X2, and the best “mountain bike for serious riders” is the Gary Fisher Roscoe 3. (ConsumerSearch.com)

5) Looking for a good bicycle repair shop near you? BicycleRepair.com lets you browse bicycle repair shops by popular cities, by most popular bicycle repair shops, and by the top rated bicycle repair shops. (BicycleRepairUSA.info)

By the way – if you’d like to check out a great video on self-bicycle tuning basics, go to BicycleTutor.com. Do you have a bicycle repair video or tip to share? Post your tip below!

What did you learn from the news last week? On the cycling front, we learned that for some people – helping to make sure our environment is green is more important to them than making sure their pocketbook is green, we learned that the coldest day in Chicago’s history was a whopping negative 27 degrees, and we learned that we should “eat dessert first”. Want to know how we learned these things? Check out this past week’s batch of bicycling-related news!

• January 19, 2010: One man’s reasons for turning in his stock portfolio and picking up a bicycling plan. Is cycling the answer to our urban woes? (Mahesh Vijapurkar, Rediff News)

• January 20, 2010: BicyclePASS – A new business model created by resident Philip Koopman of Mount Rainer where the services and products offered will not only cater to current bicycle commuters, but also broaden the appeal of using a bike for transportation to those who have been reluctant to do so because of the lack of proper accommodations at their destination. Industry Veterans Form BicyclePASS (Press Release, Bicycle Retailer)

• January 20, 2010: The coldest day in Chicago history was minus 27 on Jan. 20, 1985, and to mark the occasion, the Active Transportation Alliance encouraged commuters to bike to work and handed out coffee and treats to those who did. Bike to Work in Honor of Chicago’s Coldest Day (Hunter Clauss, NBC Chicago)

• January 20, 2010. The number 10 most friendly bicycle city is Basel, Switzerland. The number one….? The World’s 11 Most Bicycle Friendly Cities (Warren McLaren, Tree Hugger)

• January 21, 2010: “Build It” is a program that was created by the Bike Transportation Agency in hopes of BTA hopes that it will put pressure on city leaders to build out the bike plan once it’s adopted on February 4th. BTA launches “Build It” social media campaign (Jonathan Maus, BikePortland.org)

• January 22, 2010: Touching story on why we should always try to enjoy our life. World bicycle adventures: Eat dessert first! (Frosty Wooldridge, OEN)

• January 22, 2010: The SFMTA 2009 Bicycle Count Report (PDF), which shows an 8.5 percent increase in the number of cyclists on the streets last year compared to 2008, and a 53 percent increase since 2006, is now out! Bicycling Up 8.5 Percent in SF Last Year, 53 Percent Increase from 2006 (Michael Rhodes, SF Streets Blog)

The wheels are in motion and helmet heads are a spinning – full of brilliant bicycle ideas! What are your thoughts on bike sharing, pothole tours and cycling delivery folks? Or ice “racing”, spinal cord helping helmets and Rollers? Not quite sure what we’re referring to? Check out this past week’s bicycles stories that were in the news!

• January 11, 2010: One frustrated citizen discusses the dangers of bicycling on ice – what she calls “Hood ornament racing”. A new winter sport, just in time for Olympics. (Jeanne Holden Cornwall, Standard Freeholder)

• January 11, 2010: A government study has recently found that while movies made for kids are getting better at portraying safety behaviors like wearing seatbelts and bike helmets, they’re still missing the mark about half the time. Seat Belts, Bike Helmets Go Unused in Movies Aimed at Kids. (Serena Gordon, BusinessWeek)

• January 11, 2010: A team of scientists at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver have developed what they call a two-shell helmet design that adds extra protection to deflect the shock of an impact away from the spinal cord as well as the head. Canadian scientists designing helmet to prevent spinal cord injuries (Staff Writer, BrainandSpinalCord.org)

• January 12, 2010: Bicycling Diaries – Thoughts and opinions from one semi-competitive cyclist. Elbow Room: Pedal To The Mettle (Ben Spies, SuperBikePlanet.com)

• January 13, 2010: Virginia staple, The Bike Lane, donated 42 new bikes to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation last holiday season and collected over $8,500. Donating Joy of Biking (Allison Austin, The Connection)

• January 14, 2010: Don’t want to brave the cold weather, but miss your bike during the winter months? Get Rollers! They are a special indoor training device that allows you to ride your regular outdoor bicycle like a real bike inside. Rollers look like a set of three big metal rolling pins with a rubber band and an aluminum frame. Rollers: like learning to ride a bike (Tim Burke, The Palm Beach Post)

• January 14, 2010: Bike Delivery in Portland: They not only bring the market to you—they help alleviate the congestion and the smog that comes with it. Pedal Power: Portland’s Bike Delivery Services (Chad Walsh, Neighborhood Notes)

• January 14, 2010: On Saturday and Sunday, the City of Cape Coral’s 19th annual Tour de Cape (featuring running, walking and bicycling events) took place. Everyone’s a winner in Tour de Cape events (Staff Writer, News-Press)

• January 14, 2010: Following in the footsteps of places such as Paris and Amsterdam, LA looks into bicycle sharing. As Bicycle Sharing Plans Develop, LaBonge Would Rather See Bike Stations (Zach Behrens, LAist)

• January 15, 2010: A bicycle ride featuring a tour of the largest sinkholes in the High Springs area was held by the Yellow Bellied Sliders Bicycling Society at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 17. Bike ride to tour High Springs’ largest sinkholes (Staff Writer, The North Florida Herald)