I’m in the air today, headed back from a crazy couple weeks in St. Louis. Lots of wonderful bike stuff happening here. If you are ever in town, you must go to the HandleBar, a great bicycle-themed bar. Wonderful murals, bike art, beer and music in the Grove neighborhood.

Here’s a quick roundup of bikey stuff floating around the Web this week. As always, this is an open thread.

First up, check out the Motor City’s incredible bicycle rush hour just over 100 years ago (Update: This video was mislabeled. Todd Scott commented below to say it is actually from an 1899 fire drill. Still super cool to watch!):

• The Star’s editorial | Time to pedal forward with more bike lanes in KC – KansasCity.com – Dear Seattle Times editorial board, please read this from your Kansas City counterparts.
• Our State’s Priorities? Billions for Highways – Seattle Transit Blog
• Donations pour in to Salvation Army in Alexandria after theft of bikes | The Town Talk
• seattlebikewarrior – The 7-Minute Commute
• Why Fat Americans Are Reducing Ferry Capacity | Slog – Interesting explanation of why reducing people and not cars on ferries actually makes sense (in a physics, not-tiping-the-boat kind of way)
• BikePortland.org » In Portland, separation is the new standard – Ahem…
• Dirtwork 101 – The Borrow Pit « Because I Can – CAUTION: GEEKS ONLY
• City Parks, Like Madrid Río, Stand Where Highways Did – NYTimes.com
• Driving has lost its cool for young Americans | Grist – Like, duh.
• Blinchik Maker – The True Meaning of Christmas – Heartwarming.
• One Speed: Go!: So wrong, so right, so glam – Even Barbi bikes now (and she gets to wear flats when she does it!)
• Pedestrian hit when SUV veered off Aurora – seattlepi.com
• Clear bike paths of snow and ice, study says
• Road Diet’s Latest Critics: South Seattle Residents Worried Police Cars Will Slow Down – The Daily Weekly – SDOT says it will improve safety, and SPD has given it their OK. Unfortunately, the Weekly still decides to run an unnecessarily bike-antagonizing lead.
• 2011’s Biggest Transportation Failures – Commute – The Atlantic Cities – Yup, the deep bore tunnel made the cut.
• Bikestravaganza: Grist’s top bike stories of 2011 | Grist
• Thinking warm thoughts: Bike mechanics pose nude in calendar
• How to Make the Rest of Your Family Hate Biking – Good advice.

Finally, here’s an adorable video of the 2011 Balance Bike World Championships:

Balance Bike JoJo takes on Toddler No-Pedal Racing from Balance Bike JoJo on Vimeo.