BikinginLA

Forecast says it’s going to be too wet to ride Saturday. So grab your beverage of choice and limber up your link-clicking finger.

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The hit-and-run epidemic continues, this time claiming the life of a 13-year old pedestrian in Brentwood. Deepest sympathies to her family and loved ones.

How many hit-and-runs before we say enough?

Update: Despite day-long reports that the driver had fled the scene and a police search for the missing Mercedes that killed the girl, followed by reports that two vehicles had been involved and only one had stopped and waited until the victim was taken away and then left without giving a statement to police, the LAPD now says it was all a big mistake.

According to the latest version of events, both drivers stopped at the scene and waited until the victim was taken away by ambulance, then apparently left without taking to police.

Odd that no one at the scene seemed to be aware of the presence of a vehicle that had just killed someone; you’d think someone might have noticed that. And also odd that, despite saying the victim was “grazed” by the mirror of the first car, which knocked her off balance and into the path of the second vehicle, resulting in her death, the LAPD does not consider that striking someone.

Evidently, a car must smack full on into someone before it’s even considered a collision.

No wonder we don’t feel safe out there.

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In a case reminiscent of the Mandeville Canyon case, an Oregon man is charged with intentionally driving into a cyclist last January. And in a state that has a three-foot passing law but fails to enforce it, a 57-year old Arizona cyclist struggles for her life after being struck by a passing garbage truck, despite riding on the “far right side of the road.”

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If the weather holds off — or you’re willing to risk it anyway — there may still be time to make Chinatown’s Firecracker 10k run/walk and bike ride, with rides of 20 and 42 miles, a bike valet courtesy of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, and door prizes from the LACBC, Jones Biycles II and Flying Pigeon.

And a party that goes on all weekend.

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Will Campbell goes to City Hall; when it’s raining Saturday, he may content himself with photos of the people he passed on the beachfront bikeway yesterday. The Salt Lake Tribune surprisingly endorses Utah’s proposed Idaho Stop law. The mayor of Columbus, Ohio, wants to turn the town into Bike City, USA, while Forth Worth’s mayor says car-centric planning was a mistake. Being for bikes and transit isn’t the same as being anti-car. Illinois considers three pro-bike measures, including an anti-harassment bill and an education campaign. 500 people turn out for a hearing on Austin’s first bike boulevard; despite loud opposition, over 300 were there to support it. Miami expands its bike safety PSA campaign — something desperately needed here in L.A. Longing for the recent past, when cycle teams had simple names and were sponsored by brothels. Bike sharing comes to Mumbai. A few simple pointers for your next long distance tour; like through Eurasia, for instance. A former railway is converted to a bike trail in Portsmouth, UK. The fiancé of a British soldier serving in Afghanistan will ride across the battlefields of Europe to honor the troops and raise money for charity. If you’re not doing anything on Monday, there a great sounding family ride that kicks off at 8 am — in Fiji. A group of Formula 1 engineers build what may be the world’s most expensive bike; $33,600 stripped, $40,000 fully loaded.

Finally, a great quote from the Director of Cycling South Africa, who won’t let his own children ride on the country’s roads:

It’s important to remember that cyclists are just as entitled to their space on the road as motorists, or donkey carts for that matter…. But this is telling: motorists bitch about cyclists riding abreast yet the cyclists who are killed are usually riding alone.