BikinginLA

It takes a major piece of walking — or in this case, driving — human scum to run down a nine-year old boy riding his bike in Huntington Beach, stop just long enough to look at him, then drive off, leaving the kid lying in the street.

Fortunately, the boy is okay.

The driver, on the other hand, isn’t. There’s something seriously wrong with anyone who could do that to a little kid.

Thanks to Lois for the link.

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It’s long past time we caught up on coming events, with a number rolling this weekend. Hopefully before the rain starts.

Join a group ride to tonight’s Night on Broadway celebration in DTLA, departing from Eagle Rock at 3 pm.

Empact Long Beach hosts a number of bike safety workshops throughout the city in the coming weeks, starting today.

Walk Bike Glendale will kick off 2016 with a pizza party at Pizza Rev in Glendale this Sunday.

Pizza seems to be the theme of the day on Sunday, as LA Bike Trains is hosting the first of their monthly Biking ‘til Snack Time rides, with stops at a number of local pizza spots along the way.

Bike SGV is going pizza-free for Sunday’s ride celebrating the fourth anniversary of their monthly bike train. They note the ride will go on with light rain; heavy rain will mean a switch to a Bike Commuting Class, presumably indoors.

The Temple City council will hold a final vote on the proposed complete street redesign of Las Tunas Drive on February 11th.

Also on the 11th, the LA Planning Commission will consider amendments to the city’s recently passed Mobility Plan, including the possible removal of some bike lanes from the plan. Glad to see city staff has recommended keeping the proposed Westwood Blvd bike lanes in the plan over the objection of Councilmember Koretz and some homeowner’s groups.

The East Side Riders Bike Club is hosting the 7th Annual Ride 4 Love 2016 through LA’s Southside on February 13th.

The Van Nuys Neighborhood Council invites you to explore the area with the LACBC-led Tour de Van Nuys on February 20th, and stay after to help reimagine Van Nuys Blvd as a bike-friendly, green complete street.

Flying Pigeon is sponsoring a NELA Kidical Mass on February 21st.

Mark you calendar for the annual Malibu Gran Fondo March 6th and 7th.

Looking further ahead, this year’s Ride of Silence will roll on May 18th to honor fallen cyclists.

And the Eastside Bike Club is holding a Riff Raff Ride into Monrovia on June 26th as an unofficial adjunct to the 626 Golden Streets Ride through seven communities in the San Gabriel Valley. Most of which are more welcoming to riders than Monrovia seems to be.

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The LACBC’s next Sunday Funday ride will be hosted by none other that Mr. CiclaValley himself, as he channels his inner Daniel LaRusso to show riders how to get to the March 6th CicLAvia in the northern reaches of the San Fernando Valley.

Meanwhile, CicLAvia continues to grow as it spreads out to Los Angeles, Lynwood, South Gate, Huntington Park and Southeast LA County on May 15th.

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Been seeing lots of complaints from cyclists the past several days over this commercial for the new Audi plug-in hybrid, in which the owner of said car wins the admiring gaze of a bike-riding woman for driving like a total jackass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOy3zjdYweI&feature=youtu.be&app=desktop

Thanks to Alice Strong for the heads-up.

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Route details are released for this year’s Amgen Tour of California, including a start and finish in San Diego’s Mission Bay to begin the race, followed stages from South Pasadena to Santa Clarita, and Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara.

If France’s one-day Paris-Roubaix race isn’t tough enough, they’re adding an uphill, cobbled section for this year.

Pro cyclist Chad Haga describes what it’s like to fight an SUV with his face; Haga was the most seriously injured member of his Giant-Alpecin teammates, who were hit head-on by a wrong way driver while training in Spain. And voices his commitment to keep riding so she doesn’t get the final say on his racing career.

And in the cycling conspiracy theory that won’t die, Italy will hold yet another hearing looking into allegations that the great Marco Pantini was murdered rather than overdosing on coke.

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Local

An OpEd in the Times says Metro’s bikeshare is set up to fail. Although I’d question the assumption that low-income residents are the most likely users of bikeshare, which hasn’t been the case in any other city I’m aware of. And while systems are planned for Long Beach and UCLA, they are not currently in place.

The city council has approved funding to install gates to keep cars off the LA River bike path, in hopes of stopping things like this from last year.

The Hollywood Reporter says allegations of preferential treatment for a former American Gladiators star accused of spousal rape is just the latest scandal involving the Malibu/Lost Hills sheriff’s station, including the death of cyclist Milt Olin, who was killed by a distracted deputy using his patrol car’s onboard computer.

Good news from Burbank, as police recovered the $5,300 customized bike that was stolen from a boy with cerebral palsy earlier this week; the bike was found on the side of a Silverlake street Wednesday night.

Speaking of CiclaValley, he say’s Glendale will be stepping up enforcement of traffic laws laws involving motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists today. Like the similar enforcement efforts in Santa Monica, make a point to obey all the laws today so whoever they ticket, it won’t be you.

 

State

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton responds to an OpEd from a Brown administration official, saying that doing better than Schwarzenegger when it comes to funding active transportation is not exactly the bar we set for the current governor.

Streetsblog also looks at the Death to Cyclists and Pedestrians Bill, which would slash fines for drivers who run red lights when making right turns. Okay, so maybe that’s not the official title of the bill. And the authors have the good taste to quote me in the story.

San Diego cyclists have to dodge motorists driving in the bike lane to avoid the crappy road conditions in Tecolote Canyon. One of the rare cases where road conditions are better in the bike lane than in the rest of the roadway.

Santa Barbara City College tries to encourage alternative transportation by providing a free breakfast for those who leave their cars at home.

After a successful Kickstarter campaign, a pair of Bay Area brothers are marketing a streamlined US-made bike bell designed for road bikes.

Sad news from NorCal, as a bike rider was found dead on the side of the road, the victim of an apparent hit-and-run. And a bicyclist was killed in Eureka after allegedly running a stop sign.

 

National

Seattle’s underfunded bikeshare system is on the brink, while bikeshare will come to my hometown before it does DTLA.

A New Mexico man starts a petition calling for tougher penalties for drivers who injure bicyclists.

A Boulder CO writer says drivers will get used to safety improvements if you give them enough time, rather than pulling out prematurely in response to complaints.

Brilliant police work in San Antonio, as police somehow conclude that a man riding a bicycle with two purses may have stolen them. Although riding with one purse might be a different matter.

Evidently, there are wiser heads in South Dakota, where a bill that would have required bike riders to pull over and stop so cars and trucks could pass has justifiably died in committee; it was opposed by the state transportation, public safety and tourism agencies, as well as cyclists. And anyone else with a modicum of sense.

A writer for the Wisconsin Bike Fed says slow down and save lives. And compares drivers to the Simpson’s Montgomery Burns careening towards people in a crosswalk, shouting, “Out of my way, I’m a motorist!”

An Ohio man faces up to eight years in prison for shooting a 72-year old man in the eye with a paintball gun from a passing car; the rider lost all the vision in his right eye as a result. One more reason to always ride with shatterproof glasses.

 

International

A Toronto paper calls this a pivotal time for cycling in the city.

London is the latest city where a marketing campaign from Orangetheory Fitness attempted to rip off ghost bikes by locking orange-painted bikes around town. But unlike other cities, complaints in London forced the bikes’ removal.

Caught on video: A London cyclist gets caught in a right hook squeeze play. As the story notes, the rider should have either pulled up to where the driver could see him, or held back behind the Porsche rather than riding next to it.

Fines for riding on the sidewalk in England and Wales have dropped 70% over the past five years.

It’s another round of road rage in the UK, as a London cabbie picked up a man riding his bike and threw him down onto the pavement, a bike rider was punched in the face by a driver who got out of his car to confront him, and an English cyclist pushed a pedestrian and threatened to punch him, apparently for no reason.

Owen Wilson is one of us, as he takes a spin around Paris. Note to the Daily Mail: There’s a big difference between a mini bike and a “quirky” foldie.

A German man has worn out six bicycles riding through the streets of Berlin calling for voting rights for non-European Union citizens.

Caught on video 2: A Singapore driver gets an earful — in English — when he tells a cyclist he’s riding on the wrong side of the road.

 

Finally…

Left in the street by a hit-and-run driver, but at least she got to meet the Bieb. Evidently, Brit bike cops only need a cup of tea to bounce back from the bumper of a distracted driver.

And it seems Specialized takes a whimsical, if painful looking, approach to a page not found page. Thanks to the BAC’s David Wolfberg for the heads-up.

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Come back Monday, when we’ll announce the winner of our recent bike giveaway courtesy of Beachbikes.net.

And don’t forget — you’ve got just three more days to take advantage of the special BikinginLA offer on a new Invincible bike from Fortified.