Morning Links: Captain Kirk is one of us, Long Beach giving bike lanes the shift, and bicycling for masochists

It’s kind of nice to have a relatively light news day after yesterday’s massive post

So let’s jump right in. 

………

William Shatner is one of us, too.

Hopefully, he has his ebike wired so Scotty’s voice calls out “I’m giving her all she’s got, Captain!” whenever he accelerates.

And yes, I know he never actually said that. At least not on Star Trek.

But still.

………

Local

Long Beach is moving bike lanes on Third and Broadway to the opposite side of the street to simplify life for people on bikes, and eliminate dangerous crossings.

 

State

San Diego finally moving forward with the bike lanes and sidewalks on Golf Course Drive that local residents have been requesting for the past thirty years. Now they just have to be patient for another three and half years.

Ventura considers stopping the e-scooter scourge before it can start, threatening to ban the scooters before anyone tries to actually introduce them to the city.

Streetsblog looks at Sunday’s anti-Prop 6 rally in San Francisco, where bike riders donned wigs and heels to shoot down a ridiculous argument against the state gas tax increase. And those were just the men.

A Marine Corps vet from Sacramento is riding across the US to get his fellow vets talking about mental health; after making the decision, his first step was to buy a bike and learn to ride it.

 

National

Bicycling sings the praises of balance bikes, suggesting that starting your toddler on one can pay big dividends when they ride a regular bike later.

The Seattle Times examines the new UPS pilot project to make deliveries by ebikes capable of carrying up to 400 pounds of cargo.

Seattle’s Burke-Gilman Trail will use solar powered sensors to warn bike riders and pedestrians about approaching cars at crossings, and vice versa, through an app on their phones. Hopefully that won’t be just be another form of distraction for drivers.

Denver bicyclists and e-scooter riders are learning to share the streets and bike lanes, even though scooters are required to stay on the sidewalk in the Mile High City.

It’s not just LA. Drivers illegally parking their cars in bike lanes remains a problem for Minneapolis bicyclists, despite increased enforcement. Though someone should tell the Southwest Journal that it’s more than just an annoyance for people on bikes.

Treehugger gives a positive review to the new podcast The War on Cars from leading New York bike advocates Sarah Goodyear, Doug Gordon and Aaron Naparstek.

Five first responders are riding from DC to Syracuse NY to honor the victims of Pan Am Flight 103, which was blown up by Libyan terrorists over Lockerbie Scotland 30 years ago.

Cycling Tips gets up close and personal with the latest bikes at last weekend’s Philly Bike Expo.

Georgia bike riders say don’t punish the victims by banning bikes from a highway bypass just because local motorists can’t drive safely.

 

International

Good question. A Canadian driver asks if it would kill you to check for bicyclists before opening a car door after parking.

Faster and heavier ebikes pose a problem for Vancouver bike riders in the city’s bike lanes.

Speaking of Vancouver, the city’s bike registration system is credited with cutting bike theft by 30% in just three years, and has spread to 35 cities across North America.

The UK edition of Runner’s World says BMX riding is the best cross-training workout to improve running. But doesn’t seem to understand that BMX and singletrack aren’t the same thing.

A British writer says making drivers over 70 do the Dutch Reach is ageism because they’re not “bleeding gymnasts.” And fondly recalls the good old days when people drove drunk and streets were even deadlier.

Caught on video: An English website collects video of the town’s “dumbest drivers,” including a pair who evidently couldn’t tell the difference between the roadway and a walking path.

A new book tells the story of former Iranian cyclist Ishbel Rose Holmes, who rescued a stray dog as she rode across Turkey while riding around the world.

Context matters. A New Zealand website says there’s been a 27-fold increase in ebike crashes in the last five years; advocates are quick to point out the increase correlates with a rapid boom in ebike use.

 

Competitive Cycling

Rouleur talks with former world champ and new mother Lizzie Deignan, who kept riding through her pregnancy, stopping just three days before giving birth.

Former British Tour de France champ Sir Bradley Wiggins has a new book out, in which he calls Lance “precisely the sort of winner” race founders had imagined. Aside from all that doping and bullying, that is.

Cycling News discusses five notable cyclists who are retiring from the pro tour this year, including American great Megan Guarnier.

Tragic news from Indonesia, where the passenger list for a downed airline flight included 26-year old former Italian pro Andrea Manfredi; all 189 passengers and crew are presumed dead.

 

Finally…

Annoying the crap out of drivers to fight knife crime. If you want to tell the history of the bicycle, always start with the invention of the wheel.

And the leading cause of death in the US is unintentional injuries.

So masochists, as you were.

 

One comment

  1. ralph says:

    Why a phone ap for a warning to drivers and cyclists for a crossing? I thought we didn’t want people using ear buds. How do we get the word out to every driver and cyclist? Waste of money all the way around. Just like Sharrows.
    In Sunnyvale there is a bad fast on ramp to Central expressway. Drivers come down hill to a 50 mph expressway with only a yield sign at the bottom.(30 degree angle) so it is hard to see a cyclist riding in the wide shoulder. There is now a detector for the cyclist which lights up a sign alerting the driver that a cyclist is coming to the intersection. Cyclist has good viability of the intersection from his direction. Makes much more sense and I don’t need an ap and an ear bud.

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