Archive for March 19, 2011

Charge filed in death of 8-year old OC cyclist; dissecting New York’s anti-bike backlash

According to the Orange County Register, the driver will be charged in the heartbreaking death of 8-year old Andrew “A.J.” Brumback in Westminster last January.

Anita Sue Cherry of Westminster is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on a charge of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, with a maximum sentence of one year in jail. She reportedly was looking down as she went through the intersection and collided with A.J., who was riding to school with his sister.

According to the paper —

Misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter may be charged when there is “ordinary negligence” or the failure to use reasonable care to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm to one’s self or another, according to DA’s spokesperson Farrah Emami. A person is negligent if he or she does something that a reasonable, careful person would not do (ed: or fails to do something a reasonable person would do) in the same situation.

If you missed it before, Louise Larsen writes movingly about the near-silent death that occurred just outside her door.

And yes, it is every bit as sad as it sounds.

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An excellent piece by Streetsblog founder Aaran Naparstek examines the roots of New York City’s bike lane backlash, finding that the sustainable streets called for by NYDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan have become a reality:

  • Traffic fatalities are at a 100 year low
  • Bike commuting is increasing 25% a year
  • Travel times for select bus routes have decreased 20%
  • New York voters prefer the new, carless Times Square by a 2-to-1 margin
  • The supposedly controversial Prospect Park West bike lanes enjoy an astounding 78% approval rating

So who is behind the anti-bika lane uproar and the calls for Sadik-Khan’s head? Naparstek points the finger — exactly which one is unclear — at a tabloid press desperate for a story, ambitious political climbers and a governmental class for whom a free city parking placard is the ultimate entitlement.

It’s amazing how something so successful and enjoying so much support can be turned into an apparent controversy when the right people are fanning the flames.

Definitely worth a read.

Meanwhile, another city poll shows that the city’s bike lane program enjoys the support of over half of all New Yorkers, with just 39% opposed. Interestingly, the older the people responding, the less likely they were to support cycling infrastructure; Republicans don’t seem to like it much, either.

And Bike Snob looks at the backlash in his own unique way.

Then again, sometimes it’s cyclists who are the worst enemies of infrastructure projects.

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Bike Talk airs Saturday at 10 am; listen to it live or download the podcast from KPFK.

If you hurry, you can still make Rapha’s ride to raise funds for victims of the Japan earthquake; the L.A. ride begins at 8 am today, Saturday the 19th, at Bike Effect, 910 Broadway Suite 100 in Santa Monica. Donate a minimum of $10 and Rapha will match your donation. Note to organizers — a little advance notice would be nice.

Ride 13 miles to the peace march in Hollywood on Saturday, March 19th; the ride begins at 11:30 am at Bici Digna, 1850 S. Main Street.

Also on the 19th, Long Beach continues their series of workshops for the city’s new Bicycle Master Plan with a bike ride from 10 am to 11:30 am, and a community workshop from 11:30 to 1 pm at Bixby Park, 130 Cherry Avenue.

Crash the L.A. Marathon course with Wolfpack Hustle’s car-free race to the coast under the biggest full moon in nearly 20 years; registration starts at 3 am at Tang’s Donut at Sunset and Fountain in Hollywood, and the ride rolls at 4 am.

Flying Pigeon’s Get Sum Dim Sum ride takes place on the third Sunday of each month; the next ride will take place at 10 am on Sunday, March 20, starting at 3714 N. Figueroa St. in Highland Park.

The final workshop for the new Long Beach Bicycle Master Plan takes place from 6 to 8 pm at the Mark Twain Library, 1401 E. Anaheim in Long Beach.

On Monday, March 28, the City Council of Culver City will consider a motion to amend the city’s recently adopted Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan to replace planned bike lanes on Washington Blvd with sharrows and allow the council to override the approved bikeway designations based on economic and safety considerations. The hearing will take place starting at 7 pm in the Council Chambers of Culver City City Hall, 9770 Culver Blvd.

The County of Los Angeles begins a series of 11 workshops for the new 2011 draft Bicycle Master Plan on Tuesday, March 28th from 6 to 7:30 pm at Topanga Elementary School, 141 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd, in Topanga. Additional workshops will be held March 29th, March 30th, March 31, April 4th, April 5th, April 6th, April 11th, April 12th, April 13th and April 14th; click here for locations and times.

L.A.’s Department of City Planning will hold a hearing on expanding requirements for bicycle parking on Wednesday, March 30th at 1 pm in Room 1010 of L.A. City Hall, 200 North Spring Street.

There should be an app for that. Metro invites anyone with a good idea to develop useful mobile apps or web mash-ups utilizing their transit data, with a goal of enhancing riders ability to use transit and encouraging more people to go Metro — and you could win up to $2,000 for your efforts. Learn more on Thursday, March 31st from 6 to 7:30 pm at Metro Headquarters, One Gateway Plaza Downtown.

The Santa Clarita Century is scheduled to roll on Saturday, April 2nd with rides ranging from a family ride to a full century, and a free expo and entertainment throughout the day. All rides begin and end at the Valencia Town Center, 24201 Valencia Blvd.

If you’re looking for something a little more relaxed, visit the free Magical Magnolia Bicycle Tour on Saturday, April 2nd from 3 to 7 pm in the Magnolia Park neighborhood in Burbank; be sure to visit Porto’s Bakery for a great Medianoche or Cubano sandwich and Cuban pastries.

The fourth installment of the LACBC’s popular series of Sunday Funday rides takes place on Sunday, April 3rd, with the Crosstown Traffic Sunday Funday Ride led by board member Greg Laemmle. The 28-mile ride will assemble at 9:30 am the Westwood Recreation Center1350 South Sepulveda Blvd, and explore routes from the Westside to Downtown, with a stop for some of L.A.’s best coffee and tamales.

Get a head start on CicLAvia on Sunday, April 10th with the 2011 edition of Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer, a 10 stage race up some of the city’s steepest hills. Competitors will assemble at 7:45 am at the intersection of Sunset and Griffith Park Blvds.

The next CicLAvia will take place on Sunday April 10th, with two more to follow on July 10th and October 9th. If you missed the first one, don’t make the same mistake again; word is that Lance will be there.

Keep the post-CicLAvia good bike feelings going on Thursday, April 14th with Bike Night at the Hammer Museum, starting at 7 pm at 10899 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood. Free admission, free food, drinks and screenings of the 1986 BMX classic Rad.

Celebrate tax day with the second annual Streetsblog fundraiser at Eco-Village on Friday, April 15th from 6 to 10 pm at 117 Bimini Place; suggested donation is $20, but L.A. Streetsblog editor Damien Newton no one will be turned away.

The Antelope Valley Conservancy sponsors the 16th Annual Antelope Valley Ride on Saturday, May 7th with rides of 20, 30 and 60 miles; check-in begins at 7 am at George Lane Park, 5520 West Avenue L-8 in Quartz Hill.

L.A.’s 17th annual Bike Week takes place May 16th through the 20th, with an emphasis on bike safety education, and events throughout the city. This year’s Blessing of the Bicycles will take place as part of Bike Week from 8 to 9:30 am on May 17th at Downtown’s Good Samaritan Hospital, 616 S. Witmer Street. And Metro is looking for Bike Buddies to guide inexperienced cyclists on Bike to Work Day.

The San Diego Century ride takes place on Saturday, May 21st with rides of 37, 66 or 103 miles, starting in Encinitas, along with free admission to an expo featuring sports, local cuisine and live music.

L.A.’s favorite fundraiser ride rolls on June with the 11th Annual River Rideadvance registration is open now. Volunteers are needed now and on the day of the ride, email RRvolunteer@la-bike.org for more info and to sign up.

And mark your calendar for the 2011 L.A. edition of the Tour de Fat on October 9th; unfortunately, Yom Kippur also falls on that date this year, so cyclists of the Jewish Persuasion will have to choose between atoning and having something else to atone for.

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The always excellent Walk Eagle Rock spots a new one-block bike lane on Fair Park Avenue that could mark the beginning of a local bike network. Bike racks finally invade the lost province of Chinatown. After surviving a road raging driver on the streets of Santa Monica, Gary says unless real action is taken to make our streets safe, another Dr. Thompson is inevitable. Writing for HuffPo, CicLAvia board member Aaron Paley invites everyone back for its return on April 10th. Clearly, the Daily News gets it, as they call for a crackdown on people who phone or text while driving. Forty-seven year old Raul Alcala, one of the most exciting cyclists I’ve ever seen compete, will take part in this year’s Redlands Classic — 25 years after he placed second with the legendary 7-11 team. The recent collapse of Highway 1 in Big Sur isn’t expected to affect the upcoming Amgen Tour of California.

New Mexico moves forward with a possible five-foot passing law. It’s tuxes and tweed for the 2nd annual U.S. Brompton championships. Bike share reaches Owensboro Kentucky. Tennessee cyclists enjoy a tour from the grizzlies of the Memphis Zoo to the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA; maybe one day the Lakers, Clippers, Kings, Dodgers, Galaxy, et al, might figure out that some of their fans ride bikes, too. A Georgia legislator thinks you have an inalienable right to be a habitual offender.

The UK’s new independent forestry panel fails to include mountain bikers. Scottish police receive lessons in how to ride, even if it is as easy as, well, riding a bike. Riding in the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Road.cc says Northern Ireland’s proposed mandatory helmet law is dead in the water, at least for now. Mark Cavendish will compete in this weekend’s Milan – St. Remo classic on a McLaren.

Finally, biking can apparently boost your bowels. And don’t worry about a little nuclear fallout this weekend; Ann Coulter says it’s good for you.

Good luck to Amanda Lipsey in her first L.A. Marathon.

Culver City backpedals on new bike/ped master plan, Ballona Creek Bike Path reopens

Cyclists in front of CC City Hall; did the Culver City Council have their fingers crossed when the voted for the new master plan?

Breaking news from Culver City —

First the good news:

After long delays due to this year’s unusually wet winter, the new and improved Ballona Creek Bike Path is scheduled to reopen just in time for weekend riding — and the weekend’s expected rain.

The project includes a newly paved section of the bikeway — something the rest of it desperately needs — as well as drought-tolerant landscaping, improved lighting and security cameras, and a separated pedestrian path.

That dull roar you hear is the sound of cyclists across the city cheering.

Now for the bad news:

Just months after approving the city’s first Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, Culver City’s City Council could be contemplating kicking the teeth out of it.

A motion by Councilmember D. Scott Malsin would replace planned bike lanes on Washington Blvd with sharrows, and amend the bike plan to allow the council to override the approved bikeway designations based on economic and safety considerations. And in government speak, that covers just about any reason under the sun.

If the motion passes, the city wouldn’t have to commit to anything in the plan, using trumped-up safety fears, as well as real or imagined budget concerns to kill anything — or everything — in it.

That includes complaints from over-privileged NIMBYists who just don’t want bikes or walkers on their street, and can claim an unreasonable fear of hitting one as justification for killing a planned bikeway or pedestrian crossing.

And it could turn the entire plan into nothing more than a bunch of lines on a worthless piece of paper, just like L.A.’s failed 1996 plan.

The city wrote the plan, with input from the public. The Council approved it.

Now it’s up to us to make sure they stand behind it.

The motion is scheduled to be considered at the City Council and Redevelopment Agency Meeting on Monday, March 28th at 7 pm in the Council Chambers of Culver City City Hall, 9770 Culver Blvd.

A room full of bicyclists and pedestrians — in other words, just about everyone who doesn’t blow through the city on four or more wheels — might help them maintain their backbone.

And make sure they didn’t have their fingers crossed when they adopted the plan.

Follow the Culver City Bicycle Coalition for future updates.

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Council President Eric Garcetti offers a great photo from the L.A. River Bike Path; you can almost ignore the massive cement wall in the background. A short L.A. River bikethon is scheduled for Saturday the 26th to protest widening of the 710 Freeway, which could soon be obsolete anyway. LACBC kicks off a campaign for bike lanes eventually along the entire length of Downtown’s 7th Street. Bicycle Kitchen hosts a basic wrenching class this Saturday. Turns out L.A.’s new fire chief rides a bike; maybe we can talk him into joining us for a ride sometime — how about an LACoFD contingent for CicLAvia? Beat L.A. Marathon traffic by riding your bike this Sunday. Joe Linton interviews the Hombres of Bici Libre, aka the Bike Wranglers. Frank Peters of cdm Cyclist interviews Long Beach Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal. More on the victims of Wednesday’s Long Beach plane crash, which took the life of bike advocate Mark Bixby and four others. San Francisco sharrows are removed after being unpopular with cyclists and ignored by drivers. Nineteen elite teams are committed for the 2011 Amgen Tour of California.

Bob Mionske looks at ride liability waivers, while Lance takes on Big Tobacco. Easy to read graphic map of bicycling trends throughout the U.S. Twelve reasons to use a bike for transportation. How to balance biking and family time. A Tucson mayoral candidate has 13 traffic tickets since ’92 — including killing an 18-year old woman when he ran a stop sign. Kansas’ proposed three-foot passing law moves forward. A Minnesota cyclist gets a ticket for running a red light after getting hit by a car; I hope they relied on witnesses other than the driver to determine who ran the light. New Yorkers thank the city for three years of traffic improvements and better road safety. In response to the NYPD’s crackdown on cyclists, two council members propose flashing yellow traffic lights in some parks when they’re closed to cars. DC cyclists gain access to a popular bikeway through the Navy Yard — but not when it would do bike commuters any good. A Republican Congress might actually be good for bicycling; only if they stop saying no to everything.

Evidently, pothole patching is sufficient for London’s Olympic road course; I hope they do a better job of it than they do here. Cyclists have been victimized by fraud after visiting a popular UK-based website. Experts thought a little girl would never walk or talk after she contracted bacterial meningitis at age 6, now she’s a 10-year old road racer. A proposed Northern Ireland mandatory helmet law will drive cyclists off the road without improving safety. Bicycling offers a preview of Saturday’s 102nd Milan-San Remo classic. Taylor Phinney hopes to bounce back from a rough start to his first pro year.  Apparently, tainted meat is the new get out of jail free card for cyclists accused of doping with Clenbuterol, but Human Growth Hormone will get you busted. A network of bike lanes are planned for Namibia. Now this is what I call a bike path. Eight Bangkok bicyclists will take on five other means of transportation to prove which is more efficient in rush hour traffic. In case you missed it, CNN offers a report on an 83-year old woman who escaped last week’s tsunami by bicycle.

Finally, for all you guys suffering from the problem of highly stressed huevos — and frankly, who doesn’t? — a new nose-less saddle from Taiwan promises testicles relaxing, as well as buttock sore no more. And a one-wheeled cyclist sues over tickets for violating a ban on two or three-wheeled devices on sidewalks.

Pissed off about bike lanes on your street? Get over it already.

There are nearly 21,000 miles of non-freeway roads in Los Angeles County. How many of those do you think were built to accommodate motor vehicles?

All of them.

So why do some people get so pissed off when a few lousy feet are finally set aside for the benefit of someone else?

Take Tuesday night, when cyclists made a last stand before the joint Porter Ranch and Northridge West Neighborhood Councils in an attempt to preserve the Wilbur Avenue road diet and bike lanes.

While no one can argue that motorists, or anyone else, received sufficient notice of the road work, people who live in the immediate area seem to like it. And there’s no real argument that something had to be done to improve safety on a residential street that had turned into a high-speed throughway in recent years, as drivers used it as a secret bypass to more congested roadways.

Yet inconvenienced drivers are up in arms about the loss of their speedway. Even if their arguments don’t always hold water.

After all, it’s far too hard to simply slow down and observe the speed limit, protecting the safety of other people on and along the street.

Or find a route that utilizes one of the overwhelming majority of streets that don’t have bike lanes or road diets, where you can drive with all the wild abandon L.A. traffic will allow.

Surprisingly, the Wilbur Avenue road diet survived this vote, despite overwhelming opposition from the 450 people in attendance — who, according to Streetsblog, went so far as to boo calls for road safety.

Why should you care if a few people are killed or injured if it means you can get where you’re going a few minutes faster?

Then there’s Doug Krikorian of the Long Beach Press-Telegram.

A respected sportswriter and columnist, he seems to have taken it upon himself to return Long Beach to its previous state of bike unfriendliness.

Why?

Because it inconveniences him.

After all, he recently found himself stuck in traffic on Broadway. And didn’t see a single cyclist using the city’s newly installed bike lanes the entire time he sat there gnashing his teeth.

It may have been a situation that left him speechless, but unfortunately, not typeless. And led him to the inescapable conclusion that no one bikes in Long Beach, despite evidence to the contrary.

Which is odd, because I’ve often found myself riding on streets without a car in sight.

Yet it never occurred to me to become angry over the wasted space devoted to motor vehicles that could have been converted to more productive uses. I just assumed that the cars would undoubtedly be along sooner or later, for better or worse.

And never mind that those bike lanes he’s complaining about aren’t even officially open yet.

But evidently, when Krikorian gazes out his window and doesn’t see a bike, that means the bikeway — in fact, the city’s entire commitment to bike-friendliness — is a failure.

Not that he has any statistics to back that up, of course.

It’s not like there’s anyone at the Press-Telegram could do a little research, after all. Or that he could call Long Beach Mobility Coordinator Charlie Gandy and ask if anyone actually rides in the city.

Although to be fair, more people might ride if their bikes didn’t get stolen.

Of course, the real problem wasn’t the bike lanes beside him, it was all the cars and trucks ahead of him. And that if more people used those bike lanes, he might not be stuck be stuck in traffic next time.

Then again, it’s not just a problem here in the L.A. area.

Anti-bike NIMBYism runs rampant just about everywhere. Even in the biking capital of North America.

Take Fresno County, where local farmers are all for cycling, but don’t want bike paths near their farmland. Not because they would be inconvenienced by all those two-wheelers silently whizzing by, of course. But because cyclists would be exposed to all those pesticides and industrial chemicals they put on our food.

As if we’re not exposed to them already when we eat it.

It’s not like cyclists aren’t riding those country roads anyway. The proposed bike paths would just make it a little safer by getting bikes out of the way of all the combines and farm trucks they currently have to dodge.

On the other extreme, there’s New York City, where Prospect Park West is Ground Zero in the bike lane wars — even though 70% of local residents support the bike lanes that were recently installed there.

The seemingly endless debate goes on, even migrating to economists, who can and will debate anything, seemingly endlessly. And again, don’t always get it right.

Yet the massive congestion claimed by opponents has failed to materialize, adding just 7 seconds to the average commute through the park. And pretty much all of dangers opponents project can be mitigated by looking both ways.

Evidently, that’s something New York mothers don’t teach their children to do, unlike virtually every other mother on the face of the planet.

Yet that doesn’t stop the opposition from offering less effective alternatives. And it keeps other bike projects from moving forward.

What they all fail to consider is that the entire total of bike lanes — whether here in L.A. or anywhere else this side of Amsterdam or Copenhagen — represents just a minute fraction of roadways otherwise devoted almost exclusively to motor vehicles.

And even then, it amounts to no more than 10 or 12 feet of space out of the entire road surface.

So let’s face it.

It’s not the bike lanes — or the bikes, or lack of bikes, on them — that’s making anyone’s commute a living hell.

It’s all the other cars and trucks on the street, most of which usually contain just one person behind the wheel, often on his or her cell phone, texting or web surfing.

Which means the bikeways they bitch aren’t the problem, but rather, just a small part of the solution.

And if the biggest problem you or anyone else has today is a cyclist or bike lane slowing your commute, your must be having a damn good day.

So just get over it already.

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Alta Planning’s Mia Birk offers tips and strategies on how to avoid the backlash, suggesting that fighting the battle upfront can help avoid Wilbur Avenue or PPW-type battles after the fact.

Although something tells me you can do all the outreach in the world, and it still won’t satisfy the people who choose not to participate until they suddenly discover a bike lane on their favorite high-speed short-cut.

Not that I’m feeling the least bit cynical today or anything.

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More on the death of Long Beach bike activist Mark Bixby and four other prominent people from the Long Beach area, from the L.A. Times, Long Beach Press-Telegram and the Daily Breeze, as well as a Santa Barbara perspective on the tragedy.

For those of us who didn’t have the privilege of knowing him, you can get a feel for who Bixby was — and how important cycling was to him — through his blog and his all-too-brief Twitter feed.

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A cyclist suffered significant injuries in a solo fall in Palos Verdes Tuesday morning. According to the Daily Breeze, the rider was one of five who were descending a steep hill on Via Del Monte around 7 am when he lost control and crashed on the 500 block near Via Ramon.

Jim Lyle writes to say that the street has an 8% grade, making speeds over 30 mph possible. Speed bumps were installed recently to slow vehicle traffic, but there’s space between them for emergency vehicles, making it unlikely that they were the cause.

Meanwhile, an Orange County rider required a helicopter rescue after going over the handlebars in rough terrain around 10:13 Wednesday morning. And an Altadena cyclist was injured in a right-hook-and-run.

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Anyone in the job market — and these days, that seems to be just about everyone — may want to check out this Craigslist listing.

Trainer/Instructor needed for outdoor bike safety program at schools and events. Physical ability needed to handle equipment and props; includes setting up student training course plus instructing students on pedestrian and bicycle safety. Will train. Background in sports or outdoor activities desired. Works well with children. Must have flexible schedule as hours vary. Weekend availability a definite plus. Pay rate based on experience. Please email resume.

Thanks to Stephanie for the heads-up.

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Yesterday’s breaking news left me with a long backlog of links. I’ll try to catch up over the next few days, starting with the ones I’d planned to post yesterday, but which seemed inappropriate given the day’s news. Look for more late tonight or tomorrow morning.

L.A. County’s new model streets manual was unveiled Tuesday night, including a requirement to design streets for all users, including bikes. LACBC announces Sunday Funday #4, exploring crosstown routes on Sunday, April 3rd. The new Bike Wrangler space across from Good Sam finally has a name. L.A. bike cops in 1904. Ride the closed-off L.A. Marathon course before the race starts. Covina is the latest SoCal city to ask for your help in developing a new bike plan, with three workshops scheduled before the end of the month. Claremont will serve as the launching point for Stage 7 of this year’s Amgen TofC. Last weekend’s Tour de Murietta honored pro cyclist Jorge Alvarado, who was killed by street racers near San Bernardino last spring. A California cyclist uses echolocation to navigate despite a lack of eyesight. Links to bike computer manuals for everyone who forgot how to spring forward.

Fifteen women who don’t exactly rule the biking world, but close. Which is worse — angry terriers or argumentative drivers? Before engineers are allowed to work on bike projects, maybe they should be required to actually ride a bike. A Colorado driver and his passenger are ticketed in a road rage case after being captured on the rider’s front and rear video cams. Ten teams are now confirmed for Colorado’s Quizno’s Pro Challenge, with some of the top pro teams participating, including Cancellara and the Schleck brothers. The Idaho house bars the use of eminent domain for building bikeways. An Iowa cyclist overcomes a broken arm and leg to win the 350 mile Iditarod bike race. Chicago considers adding a cycle track. When a cyclist has to compete for a driver’s attention, the cyclist always loses. Wednesday was Texas’ first Cyclists in Suits day. New Orleans prepares to break ground on the Lafitte Corridor, a three mile stretch of bike paths, greenways and public gardens. A New York police commander tries, and evidently fails, to defend the city’s selective enforcement crackdown on cyclists; key stat — 35 million Central Park visitors in 2010, yet just 42 incidents involving cyclists and pedestrians. A Florida truck driver swerves to hit and kill a cyclist, then keeps on driving; remarkably, the reporter refrains from calling it an accident. Miami Beach kicks off a bike share program; Toronto launches its own May 3rd.

UK employees get more than a Bike to Work Week to encourage them to ride. Evidently, dragging a cyclist 150 meters beneath a large truck is just an accident. The Cycle Opera moves forward, based on the life of British steelworker and Olympic cyclist Lal White. A Brit blogger has eight bikes stolen, and somehow gets them all back. Follow the tweets of top pros on a single Twitter list. Welcome to New Zealand, where life if cheap — at least for cyclists — although they do seem to take dooring seriously.

Finally, Copenhagenize looks at biking in post-earthquake Japan — and provides a historical perspective when some people take offense.

And anyone planning to ride through Beverly Hills today is urged to avoid the Wilshire Blvd geyser.

Breaking News — leading Long Beach bike advocate Mark Bixby killed in plane crash

A plane crash is never good news. But when it takes the life of one of the region’s leading bike advocates, it’s doubly tragic.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Long Beach community leaders Tom Dean, Jeff Berger and Mark Bixby were among the five people killed when a small plane crashed on takeoff at Long Beach airport this morning. Mike Jensen survived the crash in critical condition; the other two victims have not been publicly identified, though one was the pilot.

Bixby, commercial real estate agent and scion of Long Beach’s Bixby Land Company, has been one of the leading forces behind the city’s recent bicycling renaissance, and the founder of the annual Long Beach Bike Festival. He has also been one of the key advocates insisting on bicycling access to the new Gerald Desmond Bridge, as well as supporting the recent revocation of the city’s bicycle licensing program.

The twin-engine Beechcraft King Air reportedly took off from the runway before circling back and crashing on airport property at 10:37 am, bursting into flames on impact.

I hope you’ll join me in offering sympathy to the entire Long Beach biking community, as well as prayers for Bixby and all of his family and loved ones.

Update: According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Jeff Berger and Tom Dean were partners in a local development firm, while Mike Jenson was Bixby’s boss as owner of Pacific Retail Partners. The plane, which was owned by Dean, was reportedly on a flight to Park City, Utah for a ski trip.

Bixby is survived by his wife and three children.

Update: The Press-Telegram identified the other victim as Bruce Krall, Dean’s banker; the pilot has not been identified yet. Frank Peters of cdm Cyclist offers a moving memory of his personal friendship with Mark Bixby, and provides a link to Bixby’s blog.

Breaking news — LAPD officer bicycle training now available online

The LAPD’s officer bicycle training module has just been made available online.

As you may be aware, this training program was developed jointly through the efforts of the LAPD and the local bicycling community, and shows exactly how LAPD officers are trained to interpret and enforce the California Vehicle Code as it pertains to bicycling.

I’ll let Sgt. David Krumer explain from his email announcing the public release of the video:

At the Mayor’s Bike Summit, a promise was made to the cycling community that there would be greater communiation and cooperation between the various City Departments and the cycling community.  To that end the LAPD has recently posted the training that all LAPD officers were required to take to educate them on the specific rules of the road as they apply to cyclists. The training can be found on LAPDonline in the cycling awareness section and was also posted to youtube by Joe Linton (Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee).  Additionally the training may also be available soon on the Mayors website as well as LADOT.

The training was developed with input from our partners which included Aurisha Smolarski (Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition), Ted Rogers (Bikinginla/LACBC), Ron Durgin (Sustainable Streets), Enci Box (Illuminate LA), Dr. Alex Thompson (BikesideLA.org), Stephen Box (SoapBoxLA), Carlos Morales (Eastside Bike Club), and Glenn Bailey (Mayoral appointee to the Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee). These activists and cycling representatives worked tirelessly to ensure your voices are heard.

Thanks to Sgt. Krumer, Cdr Villegas, Chief Beck and all the members of the LAPD who have worked so hard to improve the department’s once-troubled relationship with the cycling community.

And help make us safer and more welcome on the city’s streets.

Encino Velodrome robbed; defending bike lanes from ill-considered online attacks

Thieves gained entry by tearing off roof; photos from Encino Velodrome Facebook page

Move these guys to the top of your list of schmucks who should be caught.

Over the weekend, two or more thieves burglarized and vandalized the Encino Velodrome, a non-profit organization that has served SoCal cyclists for over 50 years.

According to the Velodome’s Facebook page, the thieves peeled back the roof to steal Vittoria Diamante Pro Clincher Tires, as well as Pearl Izumi and Shimano cycling shoes. And trashed the office, spray painted a scooter and left a half-assed tag on a wall.

Do you recognize the work of this artistically impaired tagger?

So be on the lookout for anyone trying to sell those items. Or if you recognize the tag, contact the police right away. And get that loser some art lessons.

And if you happen to have a few extra bucks laying around, or a few free hours, I’m sure they could use a little help to patch the place back up.

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Bike lanes cost $5,000 to $60,000 a mile, while freeways cost $8 million to $65 million — not including maintenance costs. So why not tear down unnecessary freeways and use the money more efficiently?

Speaking of bike lanes, evidently, the New Yorker’s John Cassidy supports bike lanes except when he doesn’t. And he keeps digging himself in deeper, while high profile bloggers and economists around the world call his bluff; some even compare him Tea Party tactics and Gothamist offers a good refutation.

A similar argument is taking place right here in L.A., as local bloggers are high critical of a poorly thought-out anti-bike lane screed from a local university professor who probably should have stuck with her field of expertise. Examined Spoke offers a much needed reality check, while Damien Newton provides a point-by-point refutation for future reference.

Meanwhile, Rick Risemberg explains what L.A.’s bikeway options are, while new bike lanes manifest on Woodman Ave in the Valley.

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Tony Martin of HTC – Highroad takes the Race to the Sun and Radioshack’s Andreas Kloden finishes second. Pro cyclists prepare to boycott the Tour of Beijing — yes, there is one — in a dispute over race radios, while European federations support the ban. And banned cyclist Riccardo Ricco gives up cycling to become a bartender; don’t let the door hit you, dude.

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Help preserve the Wilbur Ave road diet Tuesday evening. LACBC wraps up a report on last week’s National Bike Summit — as does its South Bay affiliate. Bringing back L.A.’s former main street. As long as you’re going to CicLAvia, might as well race over 10 of the city’s toughest hills first; or you could wait another year and tackle the steepest climb in town. CicLAvia is looking for designers and/or developers for a new website. With a little work, a bad buy becomes a great bike. Mark your calendar for Good Sam’s Blessing of the Bicycles on May 17th; while you’re there, you can check out the Bike Wrangler space across the street. Photos from Saturday’s Hermosa Beach St. Patrick’s Day parade. This St. Paddy’s Day, try biking to the bar — but beware BUI. Long Beach celebrates its 103-year old tricycle riding resident.

Danae Miller faces up to 10 years in prison for killing Amine Britel in Newport Beach while allegedly drunk and texting. A new OC park offers cyclists stunning views. The Excutive Director of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition steps down, so they’re looking for a replacement; hey, I’m available. Over 4,200 cyclists tackle the windy Solvang Century. A NorCal cyclist sees her life change after suffering a brain injury in a collision with another cyclist. Cyclelicious points out the Road Rage Psalm, which promises that evildoers in their evil devices will be cut off; evidently, God really is on our side.

Speaking at the Bike Summit, NYDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan says the movement is unstoppable. A Tucson fast food joint is ordered to replace bike parking it removed for a DVD stand. If biking is going to succeed, we need to make it work for everyone — including women. If you want change, try writing a letter. Seventeen times more Americans die climbing stairs than riding bikes every year, so why the scaremongering tactics about helmet use?

Evidently, you don’t have to dress up like traffic cone after all. Courtesy of Witch on a Bicycle, a UK woman is injured when someone strings a wire across a bike path; I’d call that an assault, not a prank. Bike Radar looks at the author of London Cyclist, one of my favorite bike sites. The Flying Scotsman launches a bike safety program for Scottish children. Bike historian David Herlihy’s next book will focus on early TdF winner Octave Lapiz, shot down on Bastille Day while flying for the French in WWI. A review of the Bike Revolution registration program, launching soon here in the U.S. Tokyo commuters turn to bikes as other transportation options fail.

Finally, the Eastsider offers the story of a man who lost his wallet — and the fixie-riidng teenager who brought it back intact. And while we have our problems, there are some things we don’t have to worry about here.

Fight back against blocked bike lanes, SoCal bike crime beat, a brief rant and a long list of events

It’s not like we have enough of them as it is.

I mean, I can’t speak for you. But few things tick me off more than riding through one of the all-too-few bike lanes in this megalopolis we call home — let alone the even rarer ones that are actually worth using — only to suddenly have to dart into unforgiving traffic without warning.

All because some jerk decided to double park in the bike lane. Or maybe leave their garbage bins in our designated riding right-of-way.

Or my ultimate annoyance, a movie or construction crew that felt a need to place their orange cones in our way on the off chance that someone might actually stray a little too close to one of their precious trucks.

Which makes me want to slap the side of the damn things as hard as I can while I ride by. Something I have only barely managed to avoid doing.

So far.

Fortunately, there are cooler — and wiser — heads in this world.

Take I Block the Bike Lane.

A new nationwide bike safety program, IBBL invites riders to place non-destructive, static-cling stickers on vehicles and objects blocking bike lanes.

And not, as I am often tempted, to tell them what jerks they are. But rather, to start a constructive dialogue that maybe, just maybe, might make the driver think twice about doing it again.

I’ll let Michelle, one of the founders of I Block the Bike Lane, explain the rationale behind the program — and how you can get involved.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s most recent statistics, 603 bicyclists died on US roads in 2009 and another 50,000 were injured in traffic. The state of California is consistently second only to Florida in cyclist fatalities. A new and national campaign is seeking to cut those numbers by making motorists aware of the dangers associated with blocking bicycle lanes.

iblockthebikelane.com is a sticker campaign aimed at driving motorists to a friendly and educational website. At the heart of the initiative are Bike Lane Sticker Teams, who place iblockthebikelane.com easy-peel stickers on vehicles illegally standing or parking in clearly marked bicycle lanes. The stickers are invitations to visit the website, which houses a safety plea from bikers, as well as current bicycle-related news and information.

The campaign also stresses to bikers the importance of riding responsibly and peacefully coexisting with motorists.

Visitors to the website are encouraged to leave comments. One of the goals of the campaign is to foster a constructive dialogue between drivers and bikers, in the hopes that mutual understanding will make everyone feel better about sharing the streets.

As the campaign builds momentum, its organizers are looking for Bike Lane Sticker Team volunteers in cities across the country. Information about participation and sticker orders can be found online at www.iblockthebikelane.com/jointheblst.

I often have guest authors on here because I enjoy offering a variety of perspectives and seeing cycling issues through someone else’s eyes. Even if I don’t always agree with what they have to say.

But this is one program I can get behind without hesitation.

So place your order.

And go out and stick it to ‘em.

Just a quick aside — if, like Michelle, you have something you’d like to share with the biking community here in L.A., California and around the U.S., just let me know. You can find my email address on the About BikingInLA page.

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In the local SoCal bike crime beat, Patricia Ann Izquieta has been sentenced to three years in prison for killing cyclist Donald Murphy while high on prescription medications in a 2009 Newport Beach hit-and-run. And arraignment has been postponed for the woman for allegedly killed Jose Luis Carmona in a drunken hit-and-run while he walked his bike on the side of PCH.

Meanwhile, this somehow flew under my radar, as Jose Luis Huerta Mundo pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence in the death of cyclist Michael Nine in Newport Beach last year, and was sentenced to 360 days in jail on February 7th. However, cyclist/attorney Dj Wheels reports that he was released from custody two days later on February 9th; even if he was credited with time served from the time of his July 21st arrest, that works out to a lot less than 360 days. He may soon be deported, if he hasn’t been already, since ICE had a hold on him pending his release.

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At a Thursday Community Board meeting, New York’s embattled Prospect Park West bike lanes were supported by 86 people, with just 11 opposed.

But let me get this straight.

People affected by the earthquake in Japan are fighting for their lives right now, while people in Libya are fighting for their freedom. And a bunch of rich people in New York are fighting over a goddam bike lane?

Seriously?

Sometimes it seems like if you’re not pissed off, you’re just not paying attention.

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Metro throws down a challenge for local developers to build a mobile app or mash-up using their transit data; winner could get a cash prize of up to $2000. A kickoff event will be held March 31st, with entries due May 20th.

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Bike Talk airs Saturday at 10 am; listen to it live or download the podcast from KPFK.

The next Folk Art Everywhere ride rolls this Saturday from noon to 3 pm starting at Rudy Ortega Park in San Fernando, giving you a chance to tour the Northeast Valley is a fun and easygoing way, while you learn about the Valley’s past and present Native American tribes. Speakers will represent Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural, Pacoima Beautiful and Pukuu Cultural Community Services.

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day a few days early at the Hermosa Beach St. Patrick’s Day Parade beginning at 11 am on Saturday, March 12th along Pier Avenue; you may recognize some familiar faces in the bike parade.

Flying Pigeon and the Bike Oven host the free Spoke(n) Art Ride on the 2nd Saturday of every month; the next ride will take place on March 12th, starting 6:30 pm at 3714 N. Figueroa St. in Highland Park.

Also on the 12th, Long Beach continues their series of workshops for the city’s new Bicycle Master Plan with a bike ride from 10 am to 11:30 am, and a community workshop from 11:30 to 1 pm at the Expo Center (Bixby Knolls)
4321 Atlantic Ave in Long Beach. Additional workshops take place on Saturday the 19th and Wednesday, March 23rd.

Help refine the route for CicLAvia’s planned expansion into South L.A. with a monthly bike ride starting at 1 pm at Trust South LA, 152 West 32nd Street; email tafarai@trustsouthla.org for more information.

Flying Pigeon’s Get Sum Dim Sum ride takes place on the third Sunday of each month; the next ride will be Sunday, March 20 from 10 am to 1 pm, starting at 3714 N. Figueroa St. in Highland Park.

The County of Los Angeles begins a series of 11 workshops for the new 2011 draft Bicycle Master Plan on Tuesday, March 28th from 6 to 7:30 pm at Topanga Elementary School, 141 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd, in Topanga. Additional workshops will be held March 29th, March 30th, March 31, April 4th, April 5th, April 6th, April 11th, April 12th, April 13th and April 14th; click here for locations and times.

There should be an app for that. Metro invites anyone with a good idea to develop useful mobile apps or web mash-ups utilizing their transit data, with a goal of enhancing riders ability to use transit and encouraging more people to go Metro — and you could win up to $2,000 for your efforts. Learn more on Thursday, March 31st from 6 to 7:30 pm at Metro Headquarters, One Gateway Plaza Downtown.

The Santa Clarita Century is scheduled to roll on Saturday, April 2nd with rides ranging from a family ride to a full century.

If you’re looking for something a little more relaxed, visit the free Magical Magnolia Bicycle Touron Saturday, April 2nd from 3 to 7 pm in the Magnolia Park neighborhood in Burbank; be sure to visit Porto’s Bakery for a great Medianoche or Cubano sandwich and Cuban pastries.

The next three CicLAvias will take place on April 10th, July 10th and October 9th. If you missed the first one, don’t make the same mistake again; word is that Lance won’t.

Keep the post-CicLAvia good bike feelings going on Thursday, April 14th with Bike Night at the Hammer Museum, starting at 7 pm at 10899 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood. Free admission, free food, drinks and screenings of the 1986 BMX classic Rad.

The Antelope Valley Conservancy sponsors the 16th Annual Antelope Valley Ride on Saturday, May 7th with rides of 20, 30 and 60 miles; check-in begins at 7 am at George Lane Park, 5520 West Avenue L-8 in Quartz Hill.

L.A.’s 17th annual Bike Week takes place May 16th through the 20th, with an emphasis on bike safety education, and events throughout the city. This year’s Blessing of the Bicycles will take place as part of Bike Week on 8 to 9:30 am on May 17th at Downtown’s Good Samaritan Hospital, 616 S. Witmer Street. And Metro is looking for Bike Buddies to guide inexperienced cyclists on Bike to Work Day; heads-up courtesy of the marathon-training danceralamode.

The San Diego Century ride takes place on Saturday, May 21st with rides of 37, 66 or 103 miles, starting in Encinitas, along with free admission to an expo featuring sports, local cuisine and live music.

L.A.’s favorite fundraiser ride rolls on June with the 11th Annual River Rideadvance registrationis open now. Volunteers are needed now and on the day of the ride, email RRvolunteer@la-bike.org for more info and to sign up.

And mark your calendar for the 2011 L.A. edition of the Tour de Fat on October 9th; unfortunately, Yom Kippur also falls on that date this year, so cyclists of the Jewish Persuasion will have to choose between atoning and having something else to atone for.

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The American Prospect says L.A. could be the next great cycling city, while the city breaks ground on the new West Valley River Bike Path, though not everyone approves. The city finally fixes 4th Street’s infamous Hudson River, yet leaves the pavement looking like a war zone. For anyone who struggled to finish a century, try riding 256 miles in a single day. The City of Covina wants your opinion for its new bike plan; the South Bay is working on a bike plan of its own to connect seven local cities. Long Beach continues to outpace the rest of us, with construction starting on a 3rd Street road diet. Find a bike safety class near you.

The Feds are already greenlighting innovative bikeway designs based on the new NACTO standards. A look at bike commuter trends in the U.S. The National Bike Summit rides in honor of Gabby Giffords. Bike pins are popular in the halls of Congress, let’s see if that translates into votes on the floor. Oregon Democratic Rep Earl Blumenauer says opposing bike lanes is bad politics; please tell that to the guys on the other side of the aisle. Las Vegas is trying to make access to its new transit center bike friendlier; if they really want to make Vegas bike friendly, try turning down the daytime temperatures and taming the traffic a little. Portland cyclists actually get little street icons to show where to trigger a traffic signal. Nine rules for riding in a paceline. Rhode Island considers a vulnerable road user law. NY Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams calls NYDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan “that transportation insect;” hmmmm, I wonder which of those two is actually making the city a better place to live? Hint: it ain’t the gossip maven.

Developing better aerodynamics on the cheap. After suffering serious injuries in his first bike race, a cyclist sues for $20 million. Once, bike tunnels were built before car tunnels; now they’re nearly forgotten. The Beeb takes a beautiful look at the beauty of the bicycle. London Cyclist once again ranks the top 50 bike blogs, and once again, I’m not on it. Take part in a 115 mile pre-Olympic ride around London this September. Four months in jail for a drunken bike theft and crash while fleeing the police. A Dublin bike counting system can count bikes on the bike path, but not the road next to it. Relatives of a British cycling victim get the support of over half the members of the European Parliament to improve bike safety. Bike shops do big business as people look for alternative transportation after Friday’s earthquake, while the fancy automated bike parking facilities don’t work. Cyclelicious explains what we’re seeing on the news from Japan — and why he’s concerned about it.

Finally, writing for City Watch, a university professor professes a knowledge of economics while demonstrating an auto-centric misunderstanding of street planning, claiming that Angelenos who want more bike lanes need a reality check.

Funny, you’d think an Econ professor would understand that traffic is not a zero sum equation. On the other hand, Zev seems to get it.

And boy, do I know this feeling.

L.A.’s groundbreaking anti-harassment ordinance moves forward; Box says the journey continues

Unfortunately, transit issues kept me from getting to Wednesday’s Transportation Committee meeting until after the hearing for the proposed anti-harassment ordinance.

The good news is, there were plenty of other cyclists there to support it, including Ross Hirsch, Jeff Jacobberger and BAC Chair Jay Slater. In the end, the measure received unanimous approval to move forward to the full council, while the City Attorney’s office considers minor wording changes to clarify the penalties and to add a line prohibiting forcing cyclists off the road.

The committee also voted to support a study to develop solid data for a Safe Routes to School program, and to recommend funding of bike and pedestrian projects from Measure R.

Damien Newton offers a full recount of the meeting on Streetsblog, and LADOT Bike Blog provides an in-depth report on the anti-harassment ordinance. And you catch up on the meeting by following the Twitter feed.

As for me, I gained first-hand knowledge of why Wilshire Boulevard so desperately needs a Bus Rapid Transit lane.

And why I will avoid the 720 bus from here on, even if it means walking another 10 blocks to catch the 728.

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Stephen Box says even though he lost, the journey continues; let’s not forget that he remains the city’s most forceful bike activist. It will be interesting to see if the beard comes back, or if he stays in his new clean-shaven politico mode.

Meanwhile, Tom LaBonge says thanks, and Damien Newton offers his thoughts on Tuesday’s election results; as usual on Streetsblog, the comments are worth reading, too. Mark Elliot offers an insightful post-mortem on Better Bike Beverly Hills in which he blames you, if you were one of the overwhelming majority of voters who didn’t bother to.

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The Economist says if motorists paid for all the costs they impose on others, there’d be fewer drivers complaining about bike lanes and more people using them. And a writer for the Washington Post nails it when he says if you love driving, buy your neighbor a bike:

I see the (New York City) Bloomberg administration’s aggressive pursuit of bike lanes and related alternatives as an almost radically pro-car position. If driving is to remain half as pleasant as Cassidy wants it to, it will only be because most New Yorkers decide against purchasing cars. And they’re only going to do that if the other options seem attractive…. I’ve seen that future and it’s called Los Angeles. New Yorkers should want no part of it.

Neither should we.

Meanwhile, suddenly embattled NYDOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan escapes the media-generated backlash to present at the National Bike Summit. And a DC writer says hatred of cyclists is not a partisan issue; she’s got a point, I’m sure liberal drivers blame cyclists as much as conservatives do. And Dave Moulton says the whole argument is a sign that we’re winning.

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CSU Long Beach and UC Irvine were named Silver-level Bike Friendly Universities by the League of American Bicyclists; UCLA was awarded Bronze. Needless to say, USC, which banned bikes from parts of campus — including a walkway Metro lists as designated bikeway — wasn’t.

The upper levels were held exclusively by California schools, with UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara awarded Gold, and Stanford the only school recognized with a Platinum award. And that little school in my hometown gets a little credit, too.

Thanks to Evan G. for the tip.

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The next Folk Art Everywhere ride rolls this Saturday from noon to 3 pm starting at Rudy Ortega Park in San Fernando, giving you a chance to tour the Northeast Valley in a fun and easygoing way while you learn about the Valley’s past and present Native American tribes. Guest speakers will represent Tia Chucha’s Centro Cultural, Pacoima Beautiful and Pukuu Cultural Community Services.

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ABC’s Modern Family talks up cycling and safe streets; maybe some of the other Hollywood shows will join in. Without bike parking, bike lanes and other cycling infrastructure won’t encourage commuting or shopping. More on the national Best Practices Award given to LACBC’s City of Lights Program. LADOT Bike Blog reports on the March BPIT meeting. A 55-year old rider known as the Unigeezer becomes the first to ride a unicycle up L.A.’s steepest street.

Thousand Oaks residents argue over widening a roadway for a planned bike lane; opponents actually call for a separated bike path instead. A look at Amine Britel, the cyclist killed by an alleged drunk driver in Newport Beach last month. Russ Roca says this bike is not a bike, it’s a Brompton — but please don’t tell. Santa Rosa senior citizens oppose a bike lane through their retirement community. Lodi is the latest city to crack down on cyclists, though most of their scofflaws are children. Cal State Fullerton police use GPS trackers to bust bike thieves. Visalia’s bike plan calls for 200 miles of new bike lanes. The Art of the Group Ride, a great new — well, new to me at least — Bay Area blog enjoys a group ride for two, even if the other rider is just 2-1/2.

Rising young marathoner, trail runner and triathlete  Sally Meyerhoff was killed in a collision with a pickup in Maricopa AZ on Tuesday when she reportedly failed to stop at a stop sign; thanks to Todd Munson for the heads-up. Looks like bike cafes may be the latest trend. The new Urban Bikeway Design Guide is out for all you traffic engineers, street planners and infrastructure wonks. Nine tips for beginning cyclists. Detroit focuses on biking to attract young professionals to the city. As part of CNN’s Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge, a cyclist discovers the challenges of clipless pedals. Traffic isn’t the only risk some riders face.

Christian Vande Veld is passing on this year’s Giro. Former Liquigas rider Franco Pellizotti says a two-year doping ban probably marks the end of his riding career. Pro riders threaten to strike over a ban on race radios; somehow, Eddie Merckx and the other legends seemed to do okay without them. Brisbane pedestrians call for a ban on sidewalk riding “lycra lunatics” because “we were here first.” A Christchurch NZ cyclist is determined to ride again after breaking his neck while riding to check on his neighbors after the recent earthquake.

Finally, Bike Rumor says now this is a bike lane. Anyone want to bet there’s nothing like it in the L.A. or L.A. County plans?

Good news and bad news — Box finishes third in CD4, LACBC’s City of Lights honored

Newly re-elected CD4 Councilmember Tom LaBonge with LACBC board member Scott Moore.

Despite running what appeared to be a very smart campaign, bike activist Stephen Box lost overwhelmingly to Council District 4 incumbent Tom LaBonge yesterday.

While he appeared to have support from many in the cycling community — as well as backing from food truck operators — it wasn’t enough to keep him from finishing third in the three man race, with less than half the votes of second place Tomas O’Grady.

And far behind LaBonge, who sailed to victory with over 55% of the vote — echoing predictions from internal polling.

I won’t go into a lengthy post-mortem here. Bicycle Fixation offers a good look at what went wrong, while pointing out LaBonge’s re-election is far from a disaster.

However, it would be wrong to look at this as a failure of the cycling movement in Los Angeles. Prior to the election, a number of cyclists told me privately that they preferred the more moderate and usually bike-friendly LaBonge; so despite how it may have looked before the election, the bike vote may have actually been split between the two candidates. And it’s important to note that many of Box’s most ardent supporters live outside of his district.

In the end, he lost out to one of the city’s most likeable politicians. As well as the power of incumbency, which seems almost impossible to overcome in L.A.

It is worth noting that LaBonge will be termed out in four years, leaving an open seat; whether Box will try again is another question.

So let me congratulate Councilmember Tom LaBonge on winning another four years, and encourage him to continue to be a friend to the cycling community.

And hats off to Stephen Box for a very hard-fought, if ultimately unsuccessful, campaign. And for opening the door for cyclists to run for city office.

Whatever the reasons behind his loss, it wasn’t due to a lack of effort.

And he certainly won’t be the last to try.

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Congratulations to the LACBC’s City of Lights program, which was honored last night with the Best Practices Award from the Alliance for Biking and Walking at this year’s National Bike Summit.

The Best Practices Award goes to an organization that serves as a model for other bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations. In 2010, countless individuals and a number of advocacy organizations drew information and inspiration from the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. The LACBC’s City of Lights initiative elevated the conversation about “invisible cyclists” – men and women who ride bicycles but whose voices aren’t heard and needs aren’t acknowledged because of language or economic barriers. Through thoughtful outreach and, more importantly, true collaboration, the LACBC is changing the dialogue among city officials about urban planning, bringing new advocates into the movement and, expanding the scope of the bike-ped movement to address critical issues of social and economic justice.

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Lately, it seems like half the links on here have to do with the state of cycling in New York City. For instance…

A writer for the New Yorker bizarrely says he supports programs that encourage cycling, as long as they don’t affect his ability to park his Jag, although he does seem to consider bipedalism a passing fad; Aaron Naparstek artfully deconstructs — or perhaps eviscerates — his arguments. The Observer says straw men on bikes represent the city’s last culture war. Turns out that NY pol was only joking about ripping out the bike lanes; it was a real knee-slapper alright. The suddenly embattled Janette Sadik-Khan reports that her controversial efforts to reshape Gotham’s streets have improved safety 40% for all road users; yeah, I can see why they want to get rid of her. Bob Mionske offers his typically insightful perspective on the city’s bike wars. And the Guardian says it could negatively affect the future of cycling worldwide.

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If you find yourself in the Valley Thursday afternoon, stop by the groundbreaking for the West Valley L.A. River Greenway. Streetsblog reports $2.6 million in local Measure R funds will go to L.A. bikeways. LADOT Bike Blog looks at the role of mini-roundabouts in calming traffic on bike-friendly streets; considering the way drivers race around the one near me at Eastborne and Westholme, it doesn’t seem to be working. Local SF residents want to live on a street, not a virtual freeway. Cyclicious offers a more in-depth look at the new Bicycle Studies Program at Lees McCrae College.

Looking at the politics of cycling from a female perspective. The National Bike Summit is now underway in Washington DC; one of these days, I’ll find a way to be there. New national bikeway design standards are released. Why you should participate in group rides. The top five most influential women is cycling. After just one year, People for Bikes is one-fifth of the way towards their goal of 1 million cyclists. Traffic-meister Tom Vanderbilt offers an interesting infographic on the causes of traffic jams. Eight states continue to hold out in efforts to create a national bike route system; someone should tell them bike tourists spend money too. A New Mexico State Police spokesman tells cyclists to stay off the open roadways; having spent a lot of time in the Land of Enchantment, I can attest that covers most of the state. In a tragic incident, a blind Illinois cyclist is killed by an apparently distracted driver. A bike theft with a happy ending. Minneapolis cyclists find strength in numbers.

UK cyclists fight back against Northern Ireland’s proposed mandatory helmet law. Evidently, becoming the UK’s leading bike city doesn’t happen overnight, or even in three years. A look atSouth African cyclists. And a brilliant post on IPayRoadTax.com looks at driver bias and says cyclists don’t own the road, we rent it; seriously, if you don’t read any other links today, read this one.

Finally, a new study shows that traffic fatalities increase after nail-biter finishes in sporting events, but only in the hometown of the winning team. So you might want to be careful riding after Lakers games, but feel free to ride after Clippers play.

It’s Election Day in L.A. And yes, your vote matters.

It’s high noon.

Otherwise known as Election Day in L.A. And just like in the movies, this town ain’t big enough for all the candidates — and the showdown is taking place at the polls across the city.

Most of the attention has been focused on the LaBonge/Box/O’Grady race in Council District 4. While history shows it’s virtually impossible to unseat an incumbent councilmember in Los Angeles, bike advocate Stephen Box has run a very smart race and stands a real chance of pulling off an upset, drawing support from throughout the biking community, as well as significant support from local food truck operators.

But make no mistake. Neither Box, nor anyone else in the CD4 race, is likely to reach the required 50% to avoid a runoff. Right now, my best guess is that we’ll see a runoff between Box and incumbent Tom LaBonge; however, this race looks close enough that any of the three could emerge on top. And any of the three — including the incumbent — could get left off.

So if you live in the district and care who wins — or who loses — get out and vote.

And yes, your vote matters — two years ago David Vahedi won the first round of the CD5 voting by just 60 votes before losing to Paul Koretz by a slim margin in the general election.

And this one could be just a close.

There are also vital elections in council districts 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14. KPCC offers a great overview of each race, as well as candidates for the Board of Education, Board of Trustees and a raft of City Measures including pension reform, library funding and a proposed tax on medical marijuana.

You can find your polling place here. And if you can’t ride to the polls, you may be able to take a free taxi.

So you don’t have any excuse.

Now get out there and vote for someone who supports your right to ride.

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This week marks two important meetings as the BAC Planning Subcommittee meets today at 1:30 pm; the City Council Transportation Committee meets Wednesday at 2 pm to consider the proposed anti-harassment ordinance and Safe Routes to Schools. L.A.’s newly adopted bike plan will be effective the day we convert street parking or travel lanes to protected bike lanes. Matt Ruscigno is looking forward to a RAD Bike Night at the Hammer. The Times asks readers to name the ugliest intersections in L.A. Photos from Saturday’s CicLAvia fundraiser. How to use an eraser on the streets. In a fitting gesture, this weekend’s Tour of Murietta will honor fallen rider Jorge Alvarado.

Not surprisingly, young drivers are more distracted than older ones. If you don’t notice a lot of cyclists on the streets, it’s because we often take the roads less traveled by. One more reason to move to the front of the intersection, as riders stopped in traffic often enjoy two types of second-hand smoke. If anyone is surprised a lawsuit has been filed to force the removal of New York’s Prospect Park West bike lanes, you haven’t been paying attention. Zeke says you can now get a degree in cycling; if real world experience counts, I should have a PhD in bikeology. After a teenage bicyclist is killed, South Carolina cycling advocates question how safe the roads really are.

British officials recommend retaining the Cycle to Work program despite anticipated budget cuts. A cyclist’s helmet cam captures an assault, as a driver jumps out to throttle him. Another driver caught on video threatening a cyclist says he didn’t do it, really. Despite political claims that cyclists pose a danger to pedestrians, stats show just .03% of all London road injuries and 13% of pedestrian injuries are caused by bikes. The definitive refutation of the UK’s long-abandoned road tax. Lots of cyclists supplement with flax, now your next bike could, too. Then again, you could just print it instead. An Aussie man intentionally runs over his lover after seeing him kiss a woman; Cyclelicious looks at the hidden phenomenon of drivers using cars as weapons — which seems to happen on a daily basis, as many cyclists can attest. Naked bike ride season has officially begun.

Finally, after bragging about her new bike, a cyclist learns a lesson in humility courtesy of a low-flying pigeon; no, not that one. And you can vote to honor a hero dog who helped save his master’s life after a bike accident.

Happy Mardi Gras! Laissez le bon temps rouler!