BikinginLA

We’ve got another long list of links this morning, so let’s get right to it.

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A settlement has been reached in the bus collision that injured cyclist John Edwards on Camp Pendleton last August.

As you may recall, rider Udo Heinz lost his life in the same collision when a North County Transit District bus rear-ended three cyclists who were riding single-file on the right side of the roadway, exactly where and how they should have been riding; the driver was reportedly distracted at the time of the collision.

Terms of the settlement weren’t announced, but the company that operates the bus line agreed to work with the San Diego Bike Coalition to improve bike safety training for their drivers.

According to Edwards’ attorney, Oceanside-based Richard Duquette, the company claims to be the largest bus line operator in the US. Which means the settlement could have ramifications far beyond Southern California by improving safety for riders throughout the county.

Maybe I should mention Duquette is a competitive cyclist.

Because it would probably take a fellow rider to ensure the settlement that benefits his client also benefits the rest of us.

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Local

The first ever Tour de UCLA celebrates National Public Health Week.

There’s still time to sign up for the LA Circuit Race this weekend near LAX.

Boyle Hieghts Beat looks at everyone’s favorite Eastside feminist cycling brigade.

Sunday’s successful CicLAvia points out the need for better bicycling infrastructure; clearly, there’s a pent-up demand for safe places to ride a bike. Especially with your kids.

Speaking of which, Downtown News calls on everyone to keep pushing for agreement on the My Figueroa plan.

KPCC asks what will it take to encourage people to ditch their cars? Besides making CicLAvia a daily thing.

Work is proceeding on the Expo bikeway.

 

State

Cyclelicious notes California’s proposed bike tax now has a more user friendly name, even if it wouldn’t bring in enough money to cover administrative costs.

Bike Newport Beach reminds us that a bicycle is a necessary part of any earthquake survival kit; works for the coming zombie apocalypse, too.

Santa Ana city officials plan to make it Orange County’s “most friendliest bike city,” which is not the same as bike-friendliest city, is it?

Fullerton’s bike share program expands onto the local CSU campus.

A tragic mystery in Modesto, as a cyclist with minor scrapes rides into a gas station and asks the clerk to call an ambulance, then passes out and later dies of a ruptured spleen before he could tell anyone what happened.

Bay Area bike share expands into the East Bay.

 

National

The Bike League announces a Bicycle Friendly America photo contest.

Seven reasons why bikes are for everyone. Okay, but can we quit denigrating “cyclists” already? Anyone who rides a bike is a cyclist, just as anyone operating a motor vehicle is a motorist. It applies equally to kids with training wheels, los invisibles, bike commuters or spandex-clad weekend warriors. Anything else is trying to force a meaning on the word that it just doesn’t possess.

Bike Portland explains why a woman arrested for intentionally ramming a cyclist — there’s that word again — was released without charges. And yes, you’re legally obligated to stop if you witness a road rage collision, at least in Oregon.

A bike manufacturer in my hometown introduces a reduced road bike for petite riders.

The Missouri legislature votes down a proposed anti-bike funding amendment.

Good interview with Streetsblog founder Aaron Naparstek.

New York police refuse to release impounded bikes for a year and a half. Couldn’t that be considered bike theft?

Now that’s more like it. A Virginia women faces 31 years in prison for killing a cyclist in a drunken hit-and-run; she was three times the legal limit when tested after the wreck.

Hats off to a Carolina 4th grader, who plans to celebrate his 10th birthday by bicycling 200 miles to raise funds for clean water around the world.

Gainsville FL city commissioner is just the latest to demand double taxation for cyclists, who already pay more than their fare share of the roads. Unlike cars, bikes cause virtually no damage to the streets and infrastructure they use, and most streets are paid for through general taxes, not gas taxes. You’d think an elected official would know that.

 

International

London will reduce speed limits to 20 mph. If they can do it, why can’t we — at least on residential streets and populated commercial districts?

Less than a year after a UK rider gave up his dream of becoming a pro cyclist when his heart stopped for 25 minutes, he’s back on his bike and riding 1000 miles through South America for charity.

Now that Lance has fallen, America’s only other Tour de France winner continues his remarkable comeback, becoming an on-air cycling commentator for the Eurosport network.

I want to vote for this guy. A Polish mayor makes a citizens arrest after watching a drunk driver kill a cyclist, calling the driver he struggled with a “murderer.”

Yet another young rider has been impaled on his handlebars, this time in Israel. Clearly, there’s a design flaw that needs to be addressed on children’s bikes; this should never happen, let alone as often as it does.

 

Finally…

In a truly bizarre case, a man escapes from a Miami mental health clinic after jumping into the ocean, then attempts and fails to carjack a driver before bike-jacking a passing bicyclist — then crashes head-on into the car he’d attempted to steal moments earlier.

And Washington state police have to take down photos of 60-plus recovered bicycles when pornographic images somehow get included.