Someone you know needs a new bicycle. Just click here to read about our first bike giveaway and nominate someone who deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net.
And come back later today when another rider uses video to describe his ride.
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It looks like bike-friendly Davis is breaking the law. But only a little.
The platinum level Sacramento-area college town is reminding bike riders to renew their licenses, since any two-year bike license issued in 2013 has now expired.
Just two small problems with that.
First, they suggest that bicycles are registered with the state of California, which doesn’t license bikes. Instead, CVC 39002 allows local jurisdictions to license bikes at their discretion. Meanwhile, CVC 39003 (same link) makes it clear that the licenses must be issued by the city, county or some other agency they designate.
Not the state.
Second, they charge a modest $10 for a new two-year license, and just $5 to renew an existing license.
But both of those amounts are illegal and excessive.
According to CVC 39004 (ditto), those same jurisdictions are allowed to charge no more than $4 per year for a new license, and $2 a year for a renewal.
Which means Davis is overcharging bicyclists by a whopping 25%. Or a measly $1 or 50¢ a year, respectively, depending on how you want to look at it. Although that’s no small amount when multiplied by the tens of thousands of bikes in the city.
Either way, the program is in clear violation of state law.
Something to remember if your city or county has a bike licensing program, or is considering one.
On the other hand, the registration program is helping a number of UC Davis students get their bikes back, after Dixon police bust a pair of thieves with 31 hot bikes.
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Streetsblog LA named the winners of their annual Streetsie Awards, including LA City Councilmember Joe Buscaino as Elected Official of the Year, Caltrans’ Dale Benson as Civil Servant of the Year, and the LACBC’s Tamika Butler and Mark Lopez of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice in a tie for the Deborah Murphy Award for Excellence in Advocacy.
You can see the full list of winners here.
Meanwhile, California Streetsblog names Santa Monica Assemblymember Richard Bloom as Legislator of the Year.
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I’m not really tuned into the SoCal bike racing scene. But if David Huntsman and Seth Davidson both say there’s something wrong with the sport’s local governing body, then something is definitely rotten in our cycling state of Denmark.
Besides, if you can’t trust a couple of bike riding lawyers, who can you trust?
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Following up on yesterday’s tech news, Sony ups the ante to take on GoPro in the action cam market, while Nikon introduces a cam offering 360° views. Of course, the only way to make that work is to mount it on the outside of your handlebars or the very top of your helmet. And then sit up very straight.
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Local
CiclaValley offers tips for riding in the rain. Rick Risemberg recommends lights, capes, wool clothing and fenders, while Ciclelicious asks which fender. I’d suggest this one, but I doubt it would help.
Not surprisingly, the LA River bike path is closed due to the rains, along with most, if not all, of the other creek and riverside bikeways in the county. Meanwhile, plans are underway to improve the lower portion of the river.
Glendale will host a public meeting on Saturday to get input on a planned redesign of Ocean View Blvd, including bulb-outs and bike lanes.
State
Campbell cyclists raise $20,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation in a post-Christmas ride.
Beaver fever strikes on a Merced bike path.
Cupertino’s De Anza college adds three new e-bikes to their fleet of 56 bikes available to students free of charge for a full quarter.
National
Conspiracy theorists are still opposing bike and transit projects throughout the US, even though the Agenda 21 Chimera that fueled it is gone.
Bicycling lists seven people — okay, 219 — who could really use a good bike ride.
Next City says it’s time to bury the sharrow for good.
The newest member of the Baseball Hall of Fame is one of us.
Outside offers a profile on Ned Overend, who’s still kicking fat bike ass at age 60 — 26 years after his mountain bike world championship.
An interesting study from the University of Washington finds neighborhood density is the primary factor that encourages low and middle income residents to walk or bike; for wealthier people, the attractiveness of their neighborhood is key.
Seattle bike cops recover a $4,000 stolen bike using the Bike Index website. You can register your bike, report a stolen bike or check to see if a bike has been stolen using Bike Index right here on this site. And unlike the Davis program, it’s free.
It takes a real jerk to steal a motorized recumbent from an Iowa man battling stomach cancer who used it as his only form of transportation.
A Florida paper shows what a difference it can make when the press calls attention to bicycle safety instead of trolling bike riders.
Nothing like starting young. A pair of Florida boys, just seven and eight years old, are under arrest for an attempted strong-arm bike jacking. No one hates bike thieves more than I do, but handcuffing a seven-year old seems a tad extreme.
International
Bike Radar offers some good advice on buying a used bike online.
A Canadian writer offers lessons learned from 100,000 kilometers — 62,137 miles — on the seat of a bike.
A British site offers advice on how to make your bike commute more like the Tour de France, while Road.cc pipes in with some additional suggestions. Although getting someone to hurl abuse at you is no challenge in LA traffic.
A new study shows London bike riders are six times fitter than other commuters.
It takes a major jerk to punch a 62-year old British woman after shoving his bike into her, regardless of what she may have said to him.
Retiring former world track champ Martyn Irvine says he shamed dopers by beating them fair and square.
Drain a Paris canal built by Napoleon, and what do you find? Bicycles, naturally.
Bike riders are braving Delhi’s infamous traffic, despite conditions that make LA seem like a breeze; meanwhile an ad for an Indian hospital sums up the health benefits of bicycling.
A 24-year old biology student works to become the first professional cyclist from Burkina Faso. If there are any bike makers reading this, send this guy a new racing bike. Now.
An Australian chief traffic cop questions whether older drivers belong on the road. It’s a tough call; some older people retain the vision and reflexes they need to drive safely into their nineties, while others should have their keys taken away.
Toyota’s new robotics expert was inspired to build crash-proof cars by seeing the aftermath of a bicycling crash as a child.
An Aussie expat living in Ho Chi Minh City has set out to ride every road connecting north and south Vietnam.
Finally…
Nothing like banning a doper after he stops racing. It doesn’t do a lot of good to sue the Forest Service for failing to maintain an illegal bike trail.
And evidently, the fastest way to improve bike safety is to get the damn bike riders off the road.
I think you dropped a decimal on your Davis calculations, when I ran the numbers I got 250% not 25%.
I attended UC Davis over 30 years ago and it was bike crazy even back then. I rarely drove. The mayor rode her bike to work. Bike cops everywhere. Class changes were bicycle chaos – my only adult bike injury was during one; and I hear it’s gotten even worse. While it’s wonderful that this community has gone to the extreme with bicycles, it’s a special case, and perhaps warrants special laws like increased bike license fees to help pay for the cycling infrastructure and patrols.