Hypebeast has the scoop on some new LIVESTRONG goodies. In addition to the Marc Newson special edition designed Zvezdochka, you get guide maps to the city of Paris, a LIVESTRONG band and an invite to the STAGES art event which opens this weekend (July 17th) in Paris at the lovely Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin.  Very hot.

The two most important factors in combating a beast such as cancer are courage and hope. Perhaps there’s no better embodiment of those two words than Livestrong founder and seven time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. While Armstrong may have triumphed over the disease there are still many who need the strength to fight it every day and still those who have not been so fortunate. Still, the message of hope and remembrance of the struggle of others goes a long way towards inspiring those currently engaged in such a battle and the loved ones who face it with them everyday. That’s why Nike and Livestrong have teamed up with Deep Local and StandardRobot to make technology a little more human and spread positive messages about the fight survival during this year’s Tour De France. They’re not doing so by passing out flyers or writing pretty messages in the clouds over the Pyrenees. Instead they’re using the wondrous trailer-sized replica of an inkjet printer known as Chalkbot, to spread personal messages of perseverance and remembrance across the roads of competition of all those who have endured the pain over the long haul on the road of life, regardless of which side they’ve come out on. Check out the Nike site for more info or text LIVESTRONG and your message to 36453 and it will let you know when it has been painted. Wonderful.

Update: It wouldn’t be fair to mention this project without a hat tip to the amazing team at W+K who pushed this project through!  Two W+K folks are in France right now with it!  Fantastic work…

The Kaws bike just got some unlikely company by way of the original spud boys, DEVO. Created and donated by Michael Hammond of Trek Bicycles, this fixed gear bike is a piece of rolling artwork, complete with DEVO lyrics integrated into the custom paint. Per devobikeauction.com: “You might not be able to eliminate all the ninnies and the Twits but they won’t be able to keep up with you on your very own one of a kind custom-built Devo Bike. So go beyond the normal thing, do the super thing. Bid to help fight cancer and bid to claim this devo-lutionary machine.” The auction has been underway for a week and ends today. 100% of the proceeds from the auction go to Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Cancer Foundation. More pics after the jump.

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There’s not a huge amount of crossover between athletes and toy collectors. But when that intersection occurs you’ll be sure to find a handful of fit fanboys — like the ones drooling over art superstar KAWS and Lance Armstrong’s bike collaboration. Supertouch has been breaking the news of Lance’s “Stages” art show, which brings together 30 artists for a summer exhibit in Paris with all profits going to LIVESTRONG. To draw attention to the show, Lance will be riding several art bikes on the Tour de France. From a distance, the KAWS bike doesn’t stand out, but get up close and you’ll see his trademark teeth and XX eyes. Lance had KAWS hide the slogan, “Winners Not Whiners” on the bike’s bottom bracket, too. Lots more pictures here and below.

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The 94th Tour de France kicked off this past Saturday, coincidentally on my birthday (07-07-07, shameless plug). I couldn’t think of a more exciting time for cycling fans around the world; while Team Discovery and CSC and others battle it out in 20 stages as they make their way through France (and often neighboring countries), across the pond, another cyclist is more than halfway through his own tour of the west coast of much of North and Central America. Michal Brichacek, a chemistry student at Wayne State University decided to spend his summer riding some 12,000km from Anchorage, Alaska to Panama. The Cycling For a Cause ride started on May 3rd and the trip is expected to take 120 days, although he was a few days ahead of schedule last time I checked. The ride is entirely self-funded and self-sufficient, meaning he has no true sponsorship nor does he have any sort of support vehicle trailing him. Though he lists skiing as his favorite pastime, he only started biking recently and actually trained by running on a treadmill! He carries forty pounds of gear in his side, rear, and front panniers, which include everything from the basics (clothing, toiletries) to a digital SLR and even a sub-compact notebook.

Being a pre-med student and having seen the effects of cancer, Michal decided the ride should benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation. In fact, all donation links on the site lead directly to the LAF website. His goal is to raise $1 for every kilometer he rides and despite contributions by his legion of fans — there are plenty of people who anxiously await his funny and insightful journal entries — the jar could use a little more filling. Michal is proudly sporting his yellow LiveStrong bracelet as he rides through Guerrego Nego, Mexico and I am sure he and the Foundation would appreciate any generosity you can spare. Either way, check out his website and you’ll be rewarded with (currently) 64 journal entries with stories of Alaskan bears, giant redwoods, street-side taco stands and thousands of pictures that paint a mesmerizing portrait of the American coast.

Research has shown that putting thoughts down on paper, whether it be in a journal or diary, can help people to battle illness and depression and the new Cancerpants Journal with Superfuntime Kit is aimed at doing just that. The “funny and irreverent, yet sophisticated take on the journal for the loved ones with cancer” was created by Deb Dormody, owner of If'n Books and Marks, while watching a close friend endure treatment for melanoma. Grammy-nominated illustrator Jesse LeDoux, who worked as the art director for over 7 years at Sub Pop Records creating iconic album and poster artwork for the Shins, Iron and Wine, and Hot Hot Heat, was the natural choice to bring the idea to life. The clever and comical figure on the journal's cover expels the gloomy cancer from its body with a smile and it is the hope that every journal will help in that process. $1 from each sale will be donated towards a cancer-related charity and this quarter the proceeds benefit The Lance Armstrong Foundation.

For all of us that wont be celebrating come Jan 20th…. it was only a matter of time until someone manufactured these “I did not vote 4 Bush bracelets. This is from the same people that manufactured the Livestrong bracelets. A symbolic black, my guess these will catch on just as the rest of them did. I wonder if Kerry will get one, he was often seen with his Yellow livestrong bracelet. [via pop gadget]