The one time of year when we beg, plead and cajole to get you to give just a small part of your hard-earned cash to help keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.
Sort of like the membership drive for your local public radio station, but just once a year, and we don’t interrupt the whole reason you come here just to harangue you for money.
Well, not much, anyway.
And you get cute corgi pictures, real and otherwise. So that’s a plus.
The money you give helps cover the costs of running this site throughout the year, and tide us over until our sponsors start to renew in the spring.
Not to mention keep that corgi down there in kibble.
It couldn’t be easier to donate with just a few clicks via PayPal. Or by using the Zelle app that is probably already in the banking app on your smartphone; just send your contribution to ted@bikinginla.com.
Every donation is very needed and deeply appreciated, no matter how large or small; I know just how hard it can be to give on a limited budget.
“It’s always darkest before it turns absolutely pitch black.”
— Paul Newman
Actually, things are finally looking up with my scratched cornea. It’s slowly healing, and improving a little more every day.
The problem is, I have two eyes.
And the other one is recovering now after getting an injection in the eye to address a bleeding retina caused by diabetes.
Yes, I said in the eye.
So now I’m dealing with two balky, blurry eyes that can read the headlines, but can’t make out much of anything underneath.
As a result, I’m going to take the rest of the week off to rest my eyes and try to get my eyesight back to normal. Or whatever passes for normal these days.
We’ll be back bright and early Monday morning to catch up on all the weekend news.
I managed to survive my birthday, but woke up Saturday with corgi hair in my eye. By the time they finally got it out at urgent care, my cornea was scratched so badly I can’t a thing.
This included, so if I screw something up, please forgive me.
Hopefully, my sight will clear up and we’ll be back tomorrow. If not, we’ll be back once I can see again.
In the meantime, take advantage of this great weather and get out for a ride.
I’ve been dealing with major blood sugar swings this week. Wednesday’s post was canceled due to a major blood sugar crash, while today’s was due to a blood sugar spike.
Both knocked me out for several hours, making it impossible to get anything done.
So I’m going to take the rest of the week off, and try to get things back under control.
I’ll see you back her next week.
Just one — or two — reminders that diabetes sucks.
I didn’t bounce back after a trip to the doctor in today’s heat and humidity, and wrangling the corgi for her first official outing as a diabetic alert dog.
Yet more of the myriad joys of diabetes — little things take a lot out of me, and it takes me longer to recover from a simple bus trip than it used to take for a century.
So get tested if you’re at risk or have a family history of diabetes, and do whatever it takes to avoid getting it, because diabetes sucks in more ways than you can count.
As usual, we’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we missed today.
June 8, 2023 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Former BMX champ Pat Casey killed in motocross crash, and driver charged for killing ebike-riding Carlsbad mom
The victim was riding at an offramp to the 905 Freeway near Airway Road and Britannia Blvd in Otay Mesa when he was run down by the driver around 4:33 am Tuesday.
There’s no word on how the crash occurred, or the identity or condition of the victim.
SB 50, which would halt police stops for minor traffic violations to stop pretextual policing
SB 712 requires landlords to allow at least one micromobility device — bicycles, scooters, etc — per unit.
AB 6 would give Gov. Gavin Newsom another chance to sign a bill putting his climate money where his mouth is by requiring regional transportation agencies to prioritize and fund transportation projects that significantly contribute to meeting regional and state climate goals.
AB 7 mandates climate-first transportation planning.
AB 73 would give Newsom yet another opportunity to sign a bicycle safety stop bill, aka stop as yield or Idaho Stop.
AB 361 allows public agencies to enforce parking violations by taking photographs of vehicles blocking bike lanes, although it would not allow individuals to submit photos.
AB 413 would require daylighting at intersections by prohibiting parking, standing or stopping within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk.
AB 645 creates a speed cam pilot program for three cities each in Northern and Southern California, including Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale.
AB 825 legalizes sidewalk riding on any street without a marked bikeway, while requiring bike riders to share the space responsibly and limiting speeds to 10 mph.
AB 1266 eliminates bench warrants for minor traffic violations, including for bicyclists and pedestrians.
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Nice to see more progress being made in the San Gabriel Valley.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on rolling.
Actor, humorist, author and woodworker Nick Offerman is one of us, as he talks with The War on Cars podcast about riding a bike in Los Angeles and New York, and “why the best way to explore an unfamiliar city is at the speed of a good walk.”
A Michigan TV station marks yesterday’s 7th anniversary of the Kalamazoo massacre, when a stoned driver plowed into nine members of a local bike club, killing five people and seriously injuring the others; Charles Pickett Jr, was convicted on 14 charges, and will be 90 years old before he’s eligible for parole. Which is still too damn soon.
The New York Times says make way for the bike bus, as more families are commuting to school on two wheels.
This is who we share the road with. A 26-year old New York man faces charges for killing a pedestrian and injuring four other people, including an 18-year old ebike rider, after allegedly drinking all day, and getting behind the wheel with a BAC nearly twice the legal limit.
Bike Radar has advice on how to make your components last longer to prolong the lifespan of your bike. Take good care of your frame and it can last longer than you do, because everything else is replaceable.
Life is cheap in England, where a woman calls for drivers to pay attention after the driver who her down from behind while she rode her bike, leaving her with life-changing injuries, wasn’t even charged.
The victim, described only as a possible minor, died at the scene. The station reports a bicycle was lying on the sidewalk afterwards, next to a tent in the street covering the victim’s body.
Unfortunately, that’s about all we know.
There’s no word on how he may have been killed, or any description of a possible suspect.
Assuming this was a hit-and-run, there is a standing $50,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the driver for any hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.
This is at least the 19th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; four of those have been in the City of Los Angeles.
It’s also the eighth fatal hit-and-run involving a SoCal bike rider this year.