Morning Links: SaMo approves bike share, SMPD targets bike & ped safety, and a blast from the BikinginLA past

Let’s start with a quick blast from the past.

It came up in conversation on Tuesday, when the subject turned to the needless divisions between bike riders based on what we ride or wear.

This is how I addressed the topic a couple years ago, in a post called The terrible tyranny of two-wheel tribal wear.

The bottom line is, clothes don’t make the bike rider.

It doesn’t matter who you are, how you ride, what you ride, where you ride, or what you wear. Especially not what you wear.

The only thing that really matters that you ride.

The rest is just details.

It’s not a bad piece, if I say so myself. And maybe worth a second look if you’ve got a few extra minutes.

……..

It came too late to make the news, but word is the Santa Monica city council voted to go forward with a 500-bicycle bike share program, making it the first in the LA area.

And hats off to the Santa Monica Police Department, which will fairly target violations that can lead to bike and pedestrian collisions this Friday.

They deserve congratulations, because unlike previous safety efforts that unfairly focused on bicyclists or pedestrians, this one will look equally at violations by drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.

And yes, as we all know, motor vehicles pose the greatest risk.

But police are required to enforce the law equally, rather than targeting one group while ignoring the rest.

Nice to see they get it.

……..

No page to link to yet. But mark your calendar for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition’s 2nd Annual Open House on December 4th at LACBC world headquarters, 634 S. Spring Street in DTLA.

And while we’re on the subject, the LACBC is hosting a Basic Biking Skills class for coalition members on Saturday, November 22nd. A good reason to join if you haven’t already.

……..

Local

Bike thefts are on the rise in Huntington Beach. And pretty much everywhere else, as well.

Student run Tommy’s Bike Shop is gaining momentum at traditionally less than bike friendly USC.

KABC-7 looks at Ride 2 Recovery, a great program that uses bicycling to help bring wounded vets all the way back home.

 

State

San Diego has to address the concerns of the city’s bike-loving residents if it plans to meet ambitious goals to increase bike commuting by 2035.

A San Diego bike manufacturer makes Oprah’s list of Favorite Things, which is pretty much the next best thing to being anointed by God.

Caltrain is looking for new members for its Bicycle Advisory Committee.

Nothing like getting into a bike collision on the way to an interview with a San Francisco paper to discuss your new album.

 

National

This is what can happen when you ride in extreme weather, as a Portland cyclist is hit by a falling tree; fortunately, she’s expected to survive.

If you’re going to steal a bike, probably not the best idea to try to make your getaway through a group of Spokane ROTC cadets.

Louisville KY plans to build 100 miles of bike boulevards.

In response to the city’s panic over speeding cyclists, New York officials propose banning hand-held cell phone use by bicyclists, which should cut the city’s traffic death toll by roughly zero.

No bias here. A Florida TV station blames a teenage bike rider for a sideswipe collision with a driver when the kid’s pedal — yes, pedal — allegedly hit the car, rather than blaming the driver for passing too close. And they freak out over riding his bike safely and legally a whole 30 inches inside the traffic lane. Or at least it would have been safe if the driver hadn’t been violating the state’s three-foot passing law.

Palm Beach officials seriously think Share the Road signs will make bicycling safer. There’s a first for everything.

Thanks to an alert — and caring — bike rider, a Florida Marine gets his missing ring back.

 

International

A Toronto writer goes into histrionics over the supposed wasted space of bike lanes in the winter when no sensible person would ride a bike; clearly, these people would beg to differ.

A British study shows drivers pass bikes more safely on roads without center lines; not too surprising that motorists will give more space when they don’t feel constrained by lane markings.

London Cyclist offers advice on riding safely around potholes — something every LA bike rider should know, considering the decrepit quality of our deteriorating streets.

‘Tis the season. A UK charity is looking for bike riding Santas.

Apparently, I’m not the only one with concerns about that new solar panel bike path in the Netherlands, which will only generate enough power for three households when it’s fully built out.

 

Finally…

Congratulations to the newly married Chris Froome. If Cadel Evans and Oakley have their way, your next bike could have a truly bizarre set of handlebars. Or you could end up with an e-bike that weighs less than 11 pounds and folds down to fit in your backpack.

 

6 comments

  1. David says:

    1. Regarding November 14th enforcement day in Santa Monica: I read the police bulletin just now–My suggestion is that cyclists try to refrain from riding in that city on Friday the 14th. The police force in Santa Monica is not exactly the seasoned former military veterans that confidently exercise a high degree of common sense and discretion. It’s more of a less experienced reactionary force, puppets of the city counsel filled with too many mommies.

    2. Regarding the article on bike theft in Huntington Beach. I frequent Surf City Cyclery a lot and purchased my Specialized road bike there. One of the sales guys that has been there for a long time, shared all the sad stories of Specialized owners that came back because either their bike was stolen, or the seat and seat post was stolen from a locked bike, or the rear carbon wheel and cassette. His suggestion was back then to everyone who owns a bike they care about is to Not Lock it up at all. The bike needs to be in your possession, in a locked car, or in your locked house, or at the least, locked with your eye on it like at the restaurant sitting outside. Get a cheap beater if you have a commute and need to lock it and leave, or if you like to lock it at the beach for activities where you cannot watch it. It is impossible to secure a carbon bike with any lock. They are easily stolen when the thief cuts the carbon in seconds and leaves the lock around the post. What has the most value are all the parts–and without the frame–are impossible to trace.

    I know that more than a few bike clubs in the OC, where 5000K plus bikes are common, have had bikes taken from Starbucks rest stops mid ride in the past couple of years with dozens of their fellow club cyclists around. Don’t get complacent anywhere. Don’t feel that your bike is safe because you are in a group. Thieves are trained to watch for subtle movements of inattention and strike fast.

  2. richard says:

    If they are really going with smart bikes I am pleased. The share program should though share its parking spaces with rider owned bikes especially ones available for sharing/rent. Such arrangements allow ‘peer based better balancing’ instead of the Parisian etc yet not adequately disrupted conventional labor cost unvirable model. The role of the city is to help organize sharing by individuals. You don’t need to buy a bike alone but rather for only the time and direction of your needs. A monopoly can most efficiently match bikes built for 98 or less pounders or couples or legless. The city can afford to charge only for parking and some users might end up making money returning bikes uphill or however against the tide or away from congested racks. Viral means the people can buy back lanes used poorly for cars to instead be used to hand off bikes between community members. A truly social system does not force any of its bikes to sleep alone much less outside nor be wasted on just one master.

  3. […] Santa Monica Moves Forward With Bike Share (Biking In L.A.) […]

  4. brian says:

    Man, 30 inches = middle of the lane? I didn’t know that traffic lanes in Florida are only 5 feet wide, how do they drive in them?

  5. […] Daily Ted. Morning Links: SaMo approves bike share, SMPD targets bike & ped safety, and a blast from the Bi… good links again […]

Discover more from BikinginLA

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading