Fixed gear. No brakes. Can't stop. Don't want to, either.

Full disclosure, I love and adore Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I have since '10 Things I Hate About You' (yes, I loved Heath Ledger too, but that's just kind of weird now). I'm pretty sure JGL can do no wrong and I kind of dig the fact that filming this he went crashing through the back window of a taxi and needed 31 stitches to get put back together. Because whether he's rocking a 3 piece suit or mooning over the most popular girl in school, JGL is a badass.

Treehugger's opinion of this is that it feeds directly into every New Yorker's (any city dweller, really) worst impression that cyclists are "reckless, arrogant, and dangerous". Which I can see their point. At the same time, not everyone who drives an Aston Martin is James Bond (though they're probably dreaming that they are). Not every gravely-voiced Brit is certified in kicking ass and taking names (that's just Jason Statham). And sometimes it's just a goddamn movie.

The bit that gets me though is when his not-Michele Rodriguez buddy thrashes a cab's sideview mirror with what I assume is a chain lock. Because I'm really confused by the logistics. Like, does she ride with the lock in hand, waiting for someone to piss her off? Does she keep it easily accessible so that she can catch up to them in the slow New York traffic and exact her revenge? I asked a buddy of mine who used to live in the city and he confirmed that, yeah, he did dent a hood with his lock, but only once that he'll admit to. I have so wanted to do this so many times but in the vast wasteland that is Texas, the cars have too much room to get going too fast, and there aren't many side streets or alleys I can duck into to shield myself from their wrath.

Also, this "Wilee" character (I mean, seriously? That's what confirms my worst fears about NYC cyclists. They're all a bunch of stupid hipsters with stupid names) talks a big game about fixies, but when he's pulling his hippity-hoppity, Danny MacAskill stunts, that is no fixie. Hell, I'm bike-illiterate and I know that.