BikinginLA

Writing for an automotive website, a third-generation Californian endorses former LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for governor in tomorrow’s primary election, in part because of his support for bicycling, CicLAvia and transit.

He’s got my vote, as well, for many of the reasons listed in the article.

As well as pushing through LA County’s Measure R that increased sales taxes half a cent to fund transportation projects. Then Villaraigosa got the federal government to adopt the America Fast Forward program that has allowed Metro to expand rapidly.

Besides, Antonio Villaraigosa is the only gubernatorial candidate — or LA mayor — I’ve actually ridden and chatted with at CicLAvia.

But no matter who you support, get out there and Bike the Vote tomorrow.

I’m happy to report that my brother and his kitty litter panniers have finished the first leg of his trip, from Grand Junction CO to Denver, with a brief stop at the Continental Divide.

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Los Angeles released its new Great Streets Strategic Plan.

I haven’t had a chance to read the whole thing yet, but it doesn’t seem to include anything about the mayor actually showing up to defend any of the beleaguered projects already in place.

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Must read piece from bike lawyer Bob Mionske, on how insurance companies are undervaluing bicycles damaged in crashes to avoid paying the full value. And more importantly, how you can fight back.

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Local

More bad news from South LA, where a man was shot and killed in a drive-by as he rode his bike on the 200 block of East 95th Street shortly after midnight Sunday morning.

Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell has proposed mostly cosmetic upgrades for Hollywood Boulevard. Let’s demand that they include protected bike lanes, and a pedestrian plaza at Hollywood and Highland, in any makeover.

A new bike boulevard is under construction in Los Angeles. That’s LA County, not the city.

 

State

Apparently never having heard of induced demand, San Diego is replacing a 1950’s era four lane bridge in Mission Bay with two separate bridges with three lanes each. But at least they’re adding protected bike lanes in each direction.

Streetsblog says Caltrans’ Chief of Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety has made great strides in just two years, but clearly has a long way to go to change the state DOT’s car-centric culture.

A San Francisco writer says the city doesn’t have an e-scooter problem, it has a car problem.

Frightening news from San Francisco, where a man was beaten with a metal pipe by a thief who stole his bicycle, then threatened a second man to steal his bike, as well.

Sad news from the Oakland Hills, where a bicycle tour guide for Backroads was killed in a head-on collision with the driver of an SUV.

 

National

Carshare company Lyft is buying bikeshare provider Motivate, the parent company of bikeshare systems in New York, DC, Chicago and San Francisco.

Viva, Las Vegas, which may be the least likely candidate to make the Bicycle Friendly Community list.

Complete Streets volunteers in Phoenix resign en masse to protest inaction at city hall.

Inspiring story from my hometown, as a young man fights back to graduate from high school after he was paralyzed by a sleeping driver as he was walking in a bike lane.

A Tulsa OK writer says the shop manager and wrench for a local bikemaker could be the luckiest man in town because he’s the most content in his work.

A Wisconsin letter writer says the real problem is bike riders refuse to share the road with drivers, even though he owns one himself. A bike, that is, not a bike rider.

Detroit names a bike and pedestrian bridge after the father of Michigan’s rails-to-trails movement.

Infuriating story from Kentucky, where a woman recounts being left lying alone in the street with a broken back as she watched the driver who slammed into her bike just drive away without stopping.

Russian pianist and composer Daniil Trifonov is one of us, which may not have been the best thing in this case. He was forced to cancel his upcoming tour to premier his latest work, after injuring his ankle in a New York bike crash.

A native New Yorker says channel your bike rage into something more productive, like attending community board meetings to demand more bike lanes.

Maryland mountain bikers ride to honor a bike-riding Baltimore cop who was killed in a collision while responding to a call.

Florida bicyclists ride to remember a young mother and daughter who were killed by a street racing teenager doing 102 mph on a surface street.

 

International

After Quebec quadrupled traffic fines for bicyclists, one rider received $381 worth of tickets for bad brakes and not having front and rear reflectors, even though he had red taillight.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A Canadian careless driver says he’s now haunted by death after killing a bicyclist, and has ruined countless lives — including his own.

A Toronto insurance company says drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians all break the rules.

Montreal responds to the death of a bike rider last year by banning cars from a mountain road through the city, even if drivers don’t like it.

The London Standard recommended celebrating yesterday’s World Bicycle Day by exploring unusual parts of city. Seriously, there’s no better way to get to know any city — whether your own or anywhere else.

London’s Telegraph says hotel hopping by bicycle may be the next big travel trend.

A London nonprofit is rebuilding old bikes to give refugees a new lease on life.

A writer for the Guardian says requiring ebike riders to carry insurance, like the European Union recently ordered, will slow the growth of ebiking when we should be encouraging it.

Caught on video: A British bike rider just barely avoids getting doored by the passenger of a moving car.

A Malta newspaper says poorly designed roads are putting bicyclists in danger. Pretty much like everywhere in the US.

Mumbai bike riders celebrate World Bicycle Day with a two-wheeled flash mob, while India’s vice president calls bicycling the best and cheapest form of exercise.

Auto-centric cities are the main barrier to promoting bicycling in Iran. Pretty much like everywhere else.

A Kiwi radio host apologizes to the motorist who ran over him on his bike, calling himself a moron for not paying attention to the traffic light because his mind was on the book he read the night before.

An Australian pro-driving extremist group is targeting bike riders with doctored photos and death threats both online and on the road; naturally, police in New South Wales have responded by ticketing bike riders for not wearing a helmet.

The Korea Times looks back at the introduction of bicycling in the country; the first bike on record in Korea was a Penny Farthing ridden by an American naval officer in 1884, though the bicycling craze soon spread to the country’s royal family.

 

Competitive Cycling

Nearly two dozen cyclists were treated for injuries when bad pavement caused a mass crash in a Maryland bike race.

Once again, a pro cyclist has been sidelined by a collision, as Dimension Data’s Lachlan Morton suffers a broken arm when he’s struck by a driver while training in Colorado.

 

Finally…

Don’t bring a knife to a car fight. Nothing like getting rescued by Sherlock Holmes. Thanks to Tim Rutt for the heads-up on both stories.

And maybe it’s not just drivers who drive us crazy.