​These days, if you're still not satisfied with the kickball or roller derby leagues popping up all over South Florida, maybe bicycles will whet your alternative sport appetite.

The Miami Bike Polo league (polo, as in a mallet in one hand, a handlebar in the other, and a street hockey ball flying through the air) saw it's fourth monthly BBQ early in the month at José Martí Park. If you missed it, no worries because you can plan around games there every Sunday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 7 p.m. (except for Fridays that precede Critical Mass).

And for those of you who'd like a closer look at what you might be getting involved in, this video should bring you to your senses.More >>

Photos by Janis Krakops

​Twenty years ago, Miami was getting to be a frigging weird place, and if you went to José Martí Park on any given Sunday, it might not have surprised you to see a bunch of maniacs riding in circles on bicycles, screaming and swinging sticks. Today, the city has cleaned itself up a bit, but the stick-swinging bikers are still around, though now they are a lot less socially dangerous and organized into teams thanks to Miami Bike Polo.More >>

​Ever since 1997, when Florida stopped requiring riders over 16 to wear helmets, we cringe every time we see someone on two wheels without a cranium cap. Don't get us wrong, we're not necessarily worried about the safety of the rider. We just have an understandable aversion to vomiting in public should their brains spill out onto Miami's hot asphalt and make a sizzling sound. We'll let that sink in.

Well, researchers are concerned with more than just the safety of the rider; they're interested in their sexual orientation. A new study recently found that bisexuals are less likely to wear bike helmets than heterosexuals. Although it sounds like some sort of anti-gay Tea Party propaganda, the researchers say the ultimate goal is to improve public health intervention for at-risk youth.More >>

via fornoparticularreason.wordpress.com

Biking across country? That's a lot of rest stop bathrooms.

​When Cultist was in college we drove from Miami to Los Angeles and along the way thought, "God damn, this is a freaking long trip. We're so bad ass!" But after learning of Mario Renteria's planned Miami to San Francisco bike trip, we're currently reassessing how bad ass we really are. Cause Mario is going  a lot farther. And it's on a freaking bicycle!

Renteria, 23, took off earlier this week, and plans to ride about 75 miles a day. His route will take him 3,500 miles which means it should take him about 47 days of riding. We hope he has a comfortable bike seat (half an hour of riding for us and the chafing is unbearable). Read on for more details.More >>

​When you were a kid and you got your first bike, you just wanted to ride wild. You rode in the middle of the street, played chicken with your friends, etc. Now that Miami is making cycling more accessible, with bike lanes and DecoBike rentals popping up all over the place, you might soon find yourself hopping back onto a bicycle seat, if you haven't already. When you do, remember these words of caution.

A rush of nostalgia might make you want to cycle like a reckless, lawless child, but please resist. First, you're not 5 years old anymore. People have a lot less tolerance for 32-year-olds swerving gaily across the double yellow lines. Second, a bicycle is considered a vehicle by law, and that means there are laws to follow -- laws that keep you from running over pedestrians or getting hit by more substantial vehicles. We recently explained Why Your Neighborhood Cyclist Hates You. Well, here's the flip side of that -- things every cyclist should know -- taken from the Florida statute on motor vehicles that applies to bicyclists (Chapter 316, Section 2065):
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Graffiti Bike Tour winds through Wynwood Saturday.

​Unlike its sister art forms that hang neatly in pristine galleries, graffiti offers no dainty placards to explain technique, meaning, or message. Three- or four-letter tags and, occasionally, year and crew, are the only hints at the personalities behind the spray cans and the stories hidden in the curves of winding letters and intricate stenciling.

Lucky for you,  this Sunday's Graffiti By Bike Tour offers an opportunity to snake through the mural mazes of Wynwood and the Design District with veritable encyclopedias of street-art knowledge, Olga Cano and Dario Gonzalez. We spoke to Cano about green transportation, the explosion of Miami street art, and what to expect on a graffiti tour. More >>

Janis Krakops

Eric Madrid in action.

​Ever watch a polo match and think, that'd be fun to play? Probably not. Mounting ponies  and dodging swinging mallets and hard-ass balls is not exactly part of our regular sports diet in South Florida, with apologies to Palm Beach socialites and fans of Miami Beach Polo World Cup. For the most part we're just not that into polo. But what if instead of horses, the sport had you riding bikes? Hmm. That might just make things palpable.

The Miami Bike Polo movement just showed up in town and a group of enthusiasts is already holding regular meet-ups to play the growing sport.  Minus the horses and giant open fields, the two sports are pretty similar.  Bike polo uses street hockey goals instead of two posts in the ground. Read on to learn about the sport and see where to play.More >>

​Brendt Barbur started the internationally renowned, grassroots Bicycle Film Festival after getting hit by a bus in New York City. He took a crappy situation and did something positive for bike riders by promoting biking through arts and movies. After only ten years, the festival is now established in 27 cities around the world. "I keep doing it, because people keep coming," he said. This Thursday to Sunday, the BFF has its second year in Miami.

Rydel of The Miami Bike Scene is glad the festival is visiting Miami, listing us among more obvious biking capitals like Austin and Portland. He hopes people will come out on their bikes and enjoy the events surrounding BFF, and said, "It's exciting that this festival's coming down to South Florida."More >>

Pitchers and kickers report to camp Feb. 25 at Peacock Park.

​Who doesn't all want another excuse to go drinking and misbehaving during the work week? Such is the allure of kickball leagues in Miami and across the country. That and finding intelligent women! The sport is thriving and there are several leagues in Miami-Dade sponsored by World Adult Kickball Association (WAKA), including one in Peacock Park in Coconut Grove which starts next Friday (sign up here!)

But the thrill of competition is only part of what makes kickball fun. There's also the ogling coworkers in skimpy athletic gear, wearing wristbands and headbands for no discernible reason, and possibly hooking up with (or even better yet getting rejected by) Susie from accounting and then having to face her the next day. The point is kickball is here to stay as an adult pseudo-sport.  But sadly, kickball season eventually comes to an end. Luckily, Cultist is here to suggest five other fake-sport-leagues-that-are-just-an-excuse-to-drink-and-get-laid. More >>

C. Stiles

Maybe bike lanes mean less memorials.

​Don't get us wrong, we think creating bike lanes on any street is a smart and safety conscious decision. But Washington Avenue on South Beach? Lord help us! If there's one street that attracts the I-just-popped-three-bottles-at-LUX Nightclub-set, then it has to be Washington Avenue. Perhaps city officials believe that a pilot bike lane on Washington will be a good litmus test for the rest of the beach. After all, if bikers can ride (or survive) there, they can ride anywhere.More >>