Monkey see, monkey poo.
A bike-raging British Columbia bicyclist reverted to his simian self following a collision with a motorist.
He reportedly dropped his pants on a public street, pooped on the pavement and flung it at the woman’s car, who had wisely locked the door after he had previously opened it to hurl abuse at her.
Before hurling his own poop, that is.
And like they say, if there’s no video, it didn’t happen.
So yeah, poop happens.
According to Phil Gaimon, there’s a word for that.
English major moment! “Buscumber” means to throw poop. One who throws poop is a “bescumberer.” Via @bikinginla https://t.co/AMHsbfU0Xi
— Phil Gaimon (@philgaimon) November 21, 2018
I could come up with a lot more words for someone like that — especially for someone who now has to ride home with that crap all over his handlebar.
Needless to say, police are looking for him.
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SoCal Cycling offers a list of Thanksgiving Day bike rides if you can tear yourself away from the turkey and football.
Bike Walk Burbank is hosting its own post-Thanksgiving ride from Burbank to Lake Balboa this Saturday.
And SoCal Cross is holding the 15th annual Turkey Trot Cross in Glendale this Sunday.
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The Bike Exchange has launched a new ad campaign in an attempt to create the world’s first global bike marketplace.
I haven’t managed to get past the buffering to see the last 24 seconds, despite several attempts. But maybe you’ll have better luck.
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Carlton Reid says “Cargobikes have a long history, and a bright future, even in car-obsessed America.”
And tells the story of how America’s WWII Victory Bikes led to a notable anti-car — or at least anti-OPEC — beer commercial made by an Oscar-winning director.
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Local
Metro has proposed starting work on the $365 million Los Angeles River Bike Path Gap Closure Project by 2023, hoping to finish the eight-mile connector between the existing sections of the path in time for the 2028 LA Olympics.
Santa Clarita has installed a traffic light bicycle detection system; if you have the app installed on your phone, it can detect your bike and activate the signal from up to 300 feet away. If not, you’re evidently on your own. Correction: In a comment below, Nina Moskol of the LACBC’s Santa Clarita chapter clarifies that this system is being beta tested, and not yet available for public use. She says it’s intended as a backup system for when the bike detectors currently in place fail to work properly.
State
Streetsblog offers a reminder of California’s projects and programs to help meet climate change and equity goals, including bicycle and pedestrian safety training.
After first filing suit against the city, Encinitas NIMBYs are now suing the state Coastal Commission to keep Highway 101 dangerous as it passes through Leucadia.
San Diego County is considering a 6.5-mile bike path leading from the border crossing in San Ysidro, and connecting with the new Bayshore Bikeway around the San Diego Bay.
Streetsblog’s Roger Rudick says the only reason San Francisco has to consider spending $300 million to add a bike and pedestrian path to the Bay Bridge is that drivers refuse to give up an inch of the bridge’s ten lanes.
National
Bike Snob wants to know whatever happened to single-speed mountain bikes.
A Santa Fe newspaper tells drivers to move over and make room for bicyclists, noting that it’s not sharing when everyone has an equal right to the road.
An Aspen CO columnist lists the things she’s thankful for, including bike riders who respect those who can’t or won’t ride a bike themselves.
A Colorado Springs CO letter writer insists she’s not anti-bicyclist — then says “The bicycling thing is out of control” and those “crazy cyclists” should be limited to just certain streets and trails.
A pair of bike advocates write that Montana will be healthier with cleaner car regulations — and more people on bicycles.
An Oak Park IL resident says the city will only see minimal benefits from a planned road diet.
A Cincinnati wheelchair user asks drivers to please stop hitting him with their cars, after getting hit three times in ten months.
Life is cheap in Ohio, where a driver who walked with nothing more than probation for killing a bike rider won a court order to have her sentence sealed. So she won’t suffer any consequences for taking the life of another human being.
It’s been just five years since DC finally removed its mandatory bike bell law that had been on the books since 1884; bicyclists had originally requested the law, but tried to have it removed three years later after concluding the bells were ineffective.
International
Canadian Cycling Magazine offers tips on how to true your own wheels.
A London writer questions whether the city’s bike lanes are on the wrong side of the road.
In a story most California residents can relate to, a UK bike advocacy group says the country’s roads are in a dangerous state of disrepair, putting bike riders at needless risk.
British police will go undercover as ordinary bike riders to catch drivers who pass too close. Which we could easily do here, if police cared enough about bike safety to enforce the three-foot passing law.
Britain’s Laura Laker examines the failure of the country’s bicycling network.
The European Union is preparing to take action against China after accusing the country of ebike dumping.
The city of Utrecht in the Netherlands is opening the world’s biggest bike parking garage, with space for 12,500 bicycles once it’s finished next year.
Agenda 21 alert! The UN is working with the Zambian government to make space for bike riders and pedestrians despite the country’s crushing traffic congestion.
An anonymous Aussie writer questions whether the country’s “Safe System” is working to protect vulnerable road users.
Competitive Cycling
Cycling News looks at late-blooming Nebraska cyclist Ashton Lambie, who applied his training as a classical pianist to breaking the world record in the Individual Pursuit.
Cycling Weekly explains the point behind a breakaway in bike racing.
Cyclist writes in praise of the gruppetto.
About damn time. The new head of pro cycling’s governing body says he’s working to eliminate the overlap between the one-week Tour of California and the three-week Giro d’Italia. Although my preference would be extending the ToC to two weeks, and shortening the Giro and the Vuelta by a week to open space in the calendar.
Former Tour de France champ Bradley Wiggins promotes his new book with an “emotional, funny, rude” talk demonstrating “a deep dislike for everyone and everything.”
Slovenian cyclist Martin Lavric is the winner of this year’s Zwift Academy challenge, and will join next year’s Dimension Data Continental development team.
Finally…
Convicted of scooting under the influence. And nothing like riding to the hospital with a knife embedded deep in your skull.
Who says bike riders aren’t tough?
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One last thought.
Bicycling offers a list of the best Black Friday bike deals.
Here’s what I think about that.
Fuck #BlackFriday. Get out on your bike instead of shopping. Then go to your favorite local bike shop for #SmallBusinessSaturday and buy something. Anything. #BuyLocal #SupportLocalBusiness #SupportYourLBS https://t.co/6psD6bwOjQ
— BikinginLA (@bikinginla) November 20, 2018
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Barring any unexpected breaking news, the Corgi and I will be taking the rest of the week off to celebrate Thanksgiving.
But that doesn’t mean BikinginLA will go dark for the next four days.
Tomorrow will mark the start of the Fourth Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive. So save a few bucks from your holiday feasting and festivities to help support this site and keep the Corgi in kibble.
We’ll also repost a couple of guest posts on Friday about the importance of supporting your local bike shop for this weekend’s Small Business Saturday.
Enjoy the holiday, be good to yourself, be kind to others, and ride safely. I want to see you back here on Monday.
Snoop Dogg y dog.
If you would take a moment to look at the Facebook group for the LACBC Chapter in Santa Clarita, I have explained in the comments there regarding this press release that the app is currently beta-testing via Apple’s Test Flight and is not available for general use yet. Also, there are sensor ALREADY IN PLACE detecting ALL USERS (bikes and peds) of our bike trails in these areas. The app is more of a fail-Safe method, to ensure the signal, and a means of bike counting data collecting from volunteer users. . These three intersections are complex and controlled by the railway. They will not be improved any time soon by the railway even though all of these see pedestrian and bicycle crossings regularly. This is a safety measure that our Chapter has campaigned for, and we are the first community in the state to use an integrated bike detection system and app pairing. I am not sure why we keep earning snark when our city is working hard with us to come up with solutions for bikes. -Nina Moskol, LC Chair, LACBC SANTA CLARITA
If you think that was snarky, you should have seen what I was going to write.
I thank you for the clarification, and I’ve noted that in my piece above. However, you seem to credit me with omniscient powers to read beyond the words on the page, with a) doesn’t mention that this is a beta test, b) doesn’t mention the existing bicycle signal detectors, and c) doesn’t mention the LACBC or the Santa Clarita chapter in any way. How you think I’m supposed to be aware of that, or your hard work, is beyond me.
My comment that you complain about — which is pretty damn mild, in my opinion — is based on the fact that I’m not a fan of app-based safety solutions, which only benefit those who can afford a current smartphone and a data plan sufficient to leave the app operating while they ride. And they don’t work at all for those who don’t have the app installed, or come from other cities that don’t use it. The fact that this is a backup to the existing detectors changes that equation.
The only other “snarky” comment I recall you complaining about was my criticism of the Heads Up traffic safety campaign, which I’m not a fan of. As someone who has worked in bike advocacy for ten years, and advertising for 30, it just doesn’t strike me as effective. But if local residents like it and it actually works, that’s great. It won’t be the first time I’ve been wrong.
There’s an easy solution if you want to avoid confusion like this in the future. Just contact me, like countless other groups and business do, and I’ll be happy to tell the world about your hard work to improve safety. Just email me or send me a press release at the address on the About page.
And I always strive to be as accurate and truthful as possible. If I make a mistake, just let me know and I’ll correct it. Like I did today.
I just saw a recent youtube video by comic Bill Burr as he is driving around the streets of LA.
Some of the comments that he makes toward bicyclists, pedestrians other motorist are quite alarming. I don’t live in LA or even California but as a commuter cyclist and total fan of this blog I think you should watch this video. Bill Burr is out there driving on your streets making terrible and dangerous comments that other motorists might act on.