Tag Archive for bicycle access

Morning Links: Haute couture Dior ghost bike, bicyclists told to walk across bridge, and $43.6 million for LA bike projects

May 20, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Haute couture Dior ghost bike, bicyclists told to walk across bridge, and $43.6 million for LA bike projects

Apparently, memorials for dead bike riders are high fashion now.

In a remarkably tone deaf move, haute couture fashion house Dior is working with French BMX maker Bogarde to co-opt the all-white ghost bike look to further their brand.

And no doubt, rake in big bucks from people with too damn much money and too little taste.

The limited edition BMX is due at the end of the month; the only good news is that only 150 of the utterly tasteless Dior bikes will be built.

Maybe their designers saw a few white bicycles chained to the side of the road, and had no idea why they were there.

Or maybe Dior came up with the idea themselves, and didn’t bother to find out that someone else had the idea first, for an entirely different purpose. And that the all-white paint job actually means something far more important than overpriced fashion.

Though you’d think their bike-making partners could have told them.

Let’s just hope Dior wises up at the last minute, and cancels the sale out of an abundance of caution and taste.

Or at least donates all the proceeds to benefit the families of those who died riding their bikes.

Photo is a screen grab from Hypebae.com.

………

Bicyclists in the Malibu Hills are up in arms over plans to reopen the Troutdale bridge on Mulholland Highway this Wednesday.

But only if you’re in a car.

County officials plan to require, or maybe just firmly request, that bike riders dismount and walk across the pedestrian walkway adjacent to the bridge while it is undergoing reconstruction.

Something that would be problematic, to say the least, with the bridge located just beyond a sweeping turn following a steep descent along the popular riding route.

It would also be of questionable legality, since bicyclists are allowed on any road where cars are allowed, with the exception of many limited access highways.

But whether there is an exception for construction zones is unclear at this time.

A lot will depend on just what the traffic signs look like when the bridge reopens.

If they have a yellow background, it’s merely advisory, like the suggested speeds on corners that virtually everyone ignores. But if the signs are white, like a speed limit sign, they carry the force of law, and violators can be ticketed.

Whether those tickets are legal, however, could be up to the courts to decide.

………

Los Angeles has scored two state grants totaling $43.6 million for bicycle and street safety.

The city will get $18.8 for a three-mile section of the LA River bike path in the West San Fernando Valley, as part of the mayor’s Twenty-Eight By ’28 program, to complete a pathway along the full 51-mile length of the LA River by 2025.

The other grant provides $24.8 million for improvements along the Broadway/Manchester corridor in South LA, including bike lanes, along with sidewalk and crosswalk enhancements and other safety projects.

Let’s hope that means bicyclists will finally see the long-promised bike lanes along Manchester that might have spared the life of Frederick “Woon” Frazier.

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In a bizarre crash, an Irvine bike rider was injured by a hit-and-run driver Saturday night.

The driver stopped after the collision, and his passenger got out to check on the victim.

Then the driver took off, leaving both the injured bike rider and the person who had been in the car with him on the side of the road.

Something tells me he — or she — will have a lot of explaining to do once they get caught.

………

Today’s must-read is a hard-hitting Namibian op-ed that starts out with a clear-eyed look at drivers blaming bicyclists for “minor misdemeanors or violations of road rules to say we ‘asked for’ accidents.”

Then abruptly shifts to an examination of race and privilege, as “black Namibians literally take their lives in their hands every time they head out onto the road.”

It’s more than worth the few minutes it will take to read, if only to get a different perspective from a view most of us seldom see.

Go ahead, I’ll wait.

………

A black woman accuses Irish police officers of racism after they tackle her 15-year old brother, apparently for the crime of riding a bicycle.

https://twitter.com/Ciindy_Dasilva/status/1130229305085239296

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

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Today’s common theme is generosity.

Hundreds of Renton, Washington kids got new bicycles, helmets and a party courtesy of a local church.

After a Nebraska middle school student was hit by a driver while riding his bike, the local police teamed with a bike shop to give him a new one.

After thieves made off with the motorized bicycle a Detroit-area Air Force vet spent months saving for and building, a stranger saw the story on TV, and convinced his coworkers to pitch in to buy the man a new ebike.

A stranger responds to a social media request to replace the adult tricycle used by a Michigan man with special needs to get to work after his was stolen.

………

Local

In a huge victory for advocates of safer streets, LA CD4 Councilmember David Ryu has decided that the road diet and bike lanes on Rowena should stay in place. And recommended that the bike lanes should be extended and converted into protected lanes — an outcome that seemed highly unlikely just a few months ago. You can read Ryu’s full letter here.

A Long Beach bike commuter says the new protected bike lanes on Broadway create more problems than they solve, calling it a horrible experience to ride.

 

State

An estimated 2,300 bike riders and support staff will leave San Francisco in two weeks on their way down the coast to Los Angeles for the 2019 AIDS/LifeCycle Ride.

Unbelievable. A $50,000 settlement from the city confirms that a San Diego cop may have overreacted just a tad when he roughed up a 64-year old bike rider and threw him in the psych ward — all because he ran a stop sign.

Victorville will begin construction on a four-mile separated bike path along Bear Valley Road.

A group of four men and two women with ties to Azusa Pacific University will ride across the US to raise funds for clean water.

Sad news from Paso Robles, where a 70-year old homeless man was found lying dead on railroad tracks next to his bicycle, leading to speculation that he fell and hit his head on the tracks. Police says he wasn’t hit by a train, but are treating the death as suspicious pending an autopsy.

Two Palo Alto neighborhoods are finally connected after the city opened a bike and pedestrian bridge over busy Highway 101.

Forget ghost bikes. Oakland is permanently honoring a fallen bicyclist by renaming the street where he was killed in his honor.

The San Francisco Chronicle serves up Marin County’s Mount Tamalpais — aka Mount Tam — two ways. The hard way, and the less hard way.

 

National

The Wall Street Journal says Trump’s tariffs will mean more pain for the already struggling bicycle industry. As always with the Journal, the usual paywall issues apply.

NPR tackles the same subject, talking with the owner of American bikemaker Detroit Bikes, who relies on imported parts even though the bikes are built in the US.

Bike Index offers tips on how to help recover stolen bikes with a Facebook page.

Bicycling profiles the bike-riding pianist you’ve seen performing in trouble spots around the world, who tows his piano behind his bicycle.

NACTO is teaming with the Natural Resources Defense Council and Delivery Associates to give Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis and Philadelphia a crash course in building out bike infrastructure fast.

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer joins in on Bike to Work Day, proving you can ride a bike in a bow tie.

The Seattle Times takes a look at the city’s deep-rooted bike culture.

Spokane WA gets an unplanned bike and pedestrian bridge after structural engineers ban cars from a 102-year old bridge.

Life is cheap in Montana, where a hit-and-run driver walked with just probation for a crash that paralyzed a bike-riding woman from the waist down; if she fulfills the terms of her probation, the felony conviction will be wiped from her record. Her victim, on the other hand, will serve a life sentence in a wheelchair.

No disconnect here. An Illinois man says a local road is too dangerous for people on bicycles, and it’s not a good idea to ride a bike there. Then adds that drivers pass him way too fast when he does.

No bias here. A Minnesota kid gets right hooked by a school bus turning into a parking lot. So naturally, the kid gets the blame for riding into the bus.

An Indiana triathlete says don’t drive into people on bicycles, after a driver chose to hit him rather than slow down and pass safely.

Nice. Sandusky, Ohio is building a 12-mile bike and pedestrian boardwalk along the city’s waterfront. And yes, with real boards.

DC bike advocates have been fighting for safer streets since Watergate was just a gleam in Richard Nixon’s eye.

Bad enough that a speeding driver killed DC bike advocate David Salovesh a few weeks back; now another speeding driver has murdered the ghost bike put up in his honor.

 

International

An Ottawa op-ed says a hit-and-run driver may have struck a bike rider, but it was bad road engineering that killed him.

You could get a free ebike if you promise to ride it in Europe for 300 to 600 miles in six days.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 96-year old Dutch man rides his ebike up to 22 miles a day — even though he didn’t start riding until he was 65.

The e-scooter invasion of Europe is nearly complete after Germany approves their use on the country’s roads and bike paths, leaving the UK as the continent’s only holdout. Then again, if Britain goes through with Brexit, they’ll sever the ties binding them to Europe anyway.

An Indian city is the latest to get a bicycle mayor to improve it focus on bicycling. Meanwhile Los Angeles still has to make do with the mayor we’ve got.

 

Competitive Cycling

It shouldn’t be a spoiler at this point to point out that race leader Tejay Van Garderen cracked on the steep slopes of Mount Baldy, allowing 20-year old WorldTour rookie Tadej Pogačar to vault to the lead. And ultimately, to victory in the Amgen Tour of California, setting a record for the youngest WorldTour winner.

On the women’s side, Dutch cyclist Anna van der Breggen led start to finish to claim victory in the all-too-brief three stage race.

The LA Times offers a behind the scenes look at the Tour of California, from the perspective of a team director racing behind the peloton.

La Cañada residents turned out to cheer the racers as they sped through the city on Saturday.

Is it a spoiler if Geraint Thomas tells us who will win the Giro in another two weeks?

Former world champ Jack Bobridge won’t be doing any partying for awhile, after being convicted of supplying ecstasy to an undercover cop.

 

Finally…

Commute by towing your foldie behind your foldie, then put the other foldie in the first foldie. Your best bike hack is a $2 pool noodle.

And evidently, there really is a war on bikes. And they’re calling in the Air Force.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Pendleton bicycle restrictions take effect, and LA’s not the deadliest place to bike after all

September 26, 2018 / / One comment

Let’s start off today with a reminder that this is the last weekend you can ride through Camp Pendleton without registering first.

To make matters more complicated, you have to register in person, on base at Camp Pendleton, at an office that’s only open Monday through Friday.

Which is a problem, considering that the popular route through Pendleton is the only way to get from southern Orange County to North San Diego County by bicycle without riding on the 5 Freeway.

One more reason Caltrans needs to create a protected bikeway — if not a separate bike path — through the base.

Thanks to David Drexler for the heads-up.

………

A new study from the Wall Street Journal pinpoints the most dangerous place in the US to ride a bike.

And for a change, it’s not Los Angeles. Or even in Southern California, for that matter.

Instead the study, which ranks bicycling deaths per capita, lists the Sacramento area as the nation’s fifth deadliest, after four Florida cities.

Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida ranked number one, with an average of seven deaths per 100,000 people.

Previous studies have shown Los Angeles as the nation’s deadliest city for people on bicycles. However, those fail to consider that LA is the nation’s second largest metropolitan area.

While even one death is one too many, Los Angeles ranks just ninth on the Journal’s list at 2.8 deaths per 100,000 people, above San Jose and behind Riverside San Bernardino.

So we still suck when it comes to providing safe streets for bicyclists.

We just don’t suck as much as some other places.

Note: You may or may not hit a paywall when trying to access the Journal article; I was blocked trying to access it directly, but was able to get in by clicking the link in the Sacramento pieces.

………

Unbelievable.

A Florida man is under arrest for grabbing a woman’s bicycle and throwing it off a bridge as she was walking across it with a flat tire.

Then he threw her boyfriend off when he tried to intervene.

Fortunately, he only suffered a cut and a bloody eye in the 30 foot drop to the ocean, and was able to swim to a pylon to await rescue.

The whole thing was witnessed by a cop who just happened to be crossing the bridge at the same time, and caught part of the incident on video.

………

Sometimes, showing a little courtesy and respect is appreciated.

And it’s not that hard to do.

https://twitter.com/Satar_Gaza/status/1044640978873782273

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Local

Good piece from CiclaValley, as he accuses CD4 Councilmember David Ryu of having a one-size solution to traffic on Rowena Ave, and pursuing 20th Century solutions to 21st Century problems.

The Verge looks at LA’s scofflaw underage e-scooter underground. Which is ridiculous, when you consider that a 16-year old can legally operate two tons of high powered glass and steel, but can’t legally ride a 15 mph scooter.

 

State

Abandoned Ofo bikes are still strewn about in San Diego after the dockless bikeshare provider pulled out of the city, but left its bikes behind.

The annual Eroica California ride for classic bicycles will now be based in Cambria.

Marin bike shops are the latest to feel the effects of Trump’s trade war with China.

 

National

A new baseball cap-style bike helmet folds down to the size of a water bottle.

Texas Monthly looks at the cyclist safety that isn’t happening in the Rio Grande Valley, after city commissioners walked out on a 19-year old woman as she spoke passionately about the death of her friend, who was killed in a collision as he was riding.

The Vision Zero program in San Antonio, Texas awarded a $10,000 prize to the city’s safest driver, after an app tracking the winner’s speed, hard braking and distracted driving showed he beat out over 14,000 other participants.

A local paper says that despite what people say, thousands of people bike and walk in Houston; the proof is the number of people hit by cars.

Bizarre tragedy in Chicago, where a motorist chased down a driver who fled after striking a bicyclist — moments after telling another rider in the group that he was going to jail — then was shot and killed by someone in a third vehicle as he argued with the hit-and-run driver. He was facing trial for discharging a weapon in a road rage incident last year, which he claimed was self-defense. Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for the heads-up.

A blind DC woman now rides a tandem bike once a week, after not riding since she was a girl. And discovers that riding a bike really is just like riding a bike, whether or not you can see.

Instead of demanding safer streets, the Washington Post calls for kicking e-scooters off the sidewalk and requiring helmets for users. Never mind that mandatory helmets are impractical for a device that encourages spur of the moment usage, and could halt their rapid spread; few people just happen to carry a helmet with them everywhere they go on the off chance they might want to ride one.

 

International

Business Insider ranks the best bike lights.

A writer for Bike Radar examines ten things to consider when commuting by bike.

New aero wheel fairings — think hi-tech fenders — claim to cut wind resistance more than aero wheels.

The new VeloGuide website developed by a pair of Calgary men acts like a combination of Tinder and Airbnb for bicyclists, connecting riders with local guides in cities around the world.

Hamilton, Ontario police blame a bike rider for not wearing a helmet and riding on the sidewalk after she swerved to avoid a pedestrian and crashed into a stone wall, instead of blaming the dangerous street that made her feel safer on the sidewalk.

A Cayman Islands website says danger lurks around every corner for bicyclists, on a daily basis.

A Manchester, England teen pleads guilty to beating a man to steal his bicycle in a daylight attack that that went viral.

An annual program in the UK has given away over 750 refurbished bicycles to Londoners who can’t otherwise afford them.

Strava says it hasn’t seen any verified cases of bicycle theft related to the platform, after a British rider blames the app for leading bike thieves to his home.

This is who we share the roads with. A road raging Brit driver was sentenced to three years behind bars for deliberately running down a bike rider after the victim complained about a dangerous pass.

Great idea. A new website in the UK is designed to help local bike shops compete with internet dealers by allowing bicyclists to shop online from multiple shops across the country, and have their purchases shipped to them or pick them up at the store.

The director of a Scottish sportive has dropped charges against two farmers who allegedly attacked participants with sticks to protest the road closures during harvest time, saying they’ve learned their lesson. And that the decision doesn’t give others a green light to attack bicyclists.

Well organized Dutch bike thieves stole 33 bicycles worth over $117,000 from a single shop.

Bike riders in the Netherlands face a ban on distracted bicycling.

University students in India can now take a short course in bike culture and learning how to use European bikeshare systems.

An Aussie woman says the key to a happy marriage is a spouse who keeps your bike in working order.

Two other drivers report nearly hitting famed enduro cyclist Mike Hall on the morning he was killed while competing in an cross-Australia endurance race, saying he came out of nowhere — even though other drivers said he had front and rear lights, as well as reflective gear.

Hong Kong will lift bicycling bans on 16 bridges and underpasses, while keeping them in place on another 324.

Singapore will deal with the problem of dockless bikeshare bikes blocking sidewalks and private property by charging users $5 for improperly parking bikes; three fines in a single year will result in a 12 month ban.

 

Competitive Cycling

A writer for Bicycling says the cyclocross race between Dutch veteran Marianne Vos and young American Ellen Noble was a battle for the ages. Even though she didn’t actually, you know, see it.

Cycling Tips gives a shout out to the “ageless” six-time cyclocross World Cup winner Katerina Nash, who finished third behind Vos and Noble.

An Emirates website goes behind the scenes with the UAE Team Emirates at the Vuelta.

 

Finally…

No spoiler here; this race ended — tragically — 122 years ago. Why choose between beer and bikes when you can roll out the barrel with a single Octoberfest?

And who wins a fondo when neither rider finishes rubber side down?

………

Join the Militant Angeleno and BikinginLA for the first-ever Militant Angeleno’s Epic CicLAvia Tour at the Celebrate LA! LA Phil 100 CicLAvia this Sunday!

Just RSVP to MilitantAngeleno@gmail.com. We want to guarantee a relatively small group to make sure we can keep the group together, and everyone can hear.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Policy change for Camp Pendleton bike access, and recovering a stolen bicycle with Bike Index

July 16, 2018 / / 4 comments

Decades of relatively easy bike access to Camp Pendleton is coming to a close.

According to an email from Major Chad David Walton, anyone wanting to ride the popular cycling route through the Camp Pendleton Marine base will now need to register with the new Department of Defense Biometric Identification System.

And it will have to be done on the base at Pendleton, not online as has been the case in the last few years.

The passes will be valid for one year, and good for one adult only; you can bring a minor with you to bike on the Marine base, but no adult guests will be allowed to enter Pendleton without their own pass.

If you have a current pass, it will be good through September.

After that, you may have to enlist if you want to ride through Camp Pendleton without one.

Thanks to Richard Masoner and David Drexler for the heads-up.

Photo of Retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Fernando Andrade by Lance Cpl. Dalton Swanbeck.

………

This is why you should register your bike with Bike Index.

A Redditor got his bike back a full year after it was stolen, when someone checked Bike Index after buying it on Craigslist.

You can register your bike for free — or all your bikes — right here on this site, or report a theft to add it to the nationwide Bike Index database. And you can check to see if a bike was stolen right here, for no cost.

Maybe someone should tell the LA City Council about that, before they decide to reinvent the bike registration wheel.

Full disclosure — I don’t get a dime from Bike Index for hosting or promoting their site. I just hate bike thieves, and want to see every bike find it’s way back home.

……..

A pair of British bike riders were sideswiped by a driver who clearly needs a lesson in safe passing distance.

One rider suffered broken bones and a concussion, while another lost part of an ear, but both are recovering.

Needless to say, the 81-year old driver will be free to get behind the wheel again after losing his license for just two years.

………

Hey Los Angeles media — can someone please hire the BBC’s Naga Munchetty and bring her here to the City of Angels?

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone shut down an anti-bicycling crank so effectively.

……..

Stop what you’re doing, and take a few minutes to read this piece from Cycling Savvy’s Keri Caffrey on how to survive riding around large trucks.

Seriously. It could save your life.

……..

Local

Nice piece from the Daily News, on how the community came together to recover the stolen bicycle belonging to fallen teenage cyclist Sabastian Montero.

She gets it. Curbed’s Alissa Walker says instead of banning scooters, cities should redesign streets to make room for them.

 

State

OMG! Some people in San Diego are using bikeshare bikes and e-scooters to commit crimes. Sort of like they use personal bikes, skateboards, cars, feet, rental cars, horses, and any other form of human conveyance.

Officials say the Coachella Valley’s 50-mile CV Link multi-use pathway will save lives, as Palm Desert approves plans for the design.

Sad news from Santa Cruz, as a long-time bike rider was killed in a collision while riding across a bridge. Naturally, police blame the victim, insisting he somehow veered into traffic, which usually means the driver didn’t see him until it was too late; something that happens so often it’s commonly called a SWSS, or Single Witness Suicide Swerve

San Francisco bike riders are protesting delays in implementing much needed safety projects.

One of the four bike riders run down by a hit-and-run driver in Marin County describes in his own words what it’s like to nearly get killed just for riding a bike.

 

National

Streetsblog offers eight tips for cities to make the most out of dockless bikeshare and e-scooters.

A Denver man is using his bicycle to rebuild his life, commuting 20 miles a day to classes after becoming homeless following a car crash; now he’s preparing for a 120-mile ride over three high mountain passes.

Colorado’s new Idaho Stop law could lead to confusion — and tickets — since it leaves implementation to local communities; as a result, it could be legal to ride through a stop sign on one side of an intersection, and illegal on the other.

Iowa officials say no charges will be filed against two bicyclists who lost control on a bike path and killed a 79-year old woman before riding off.

Little Rock gets it. Instead of blaming the victims, the Arkansas city is developing an educational program for drivers on how to share the road with people on bicycles, modeled after a similar program in my hometown.

An adaptive bicycling program in Minnesota’s Twin Cities is allowing people with handicaps to get on bicycles, sometimes for the first time.

No bias here. A Minneapolis commentator assumes the people behind the dockless Bird e-scooters must be California hippies.

Kentucky becomes the latest state to adopt a three-foot passing law; 35 states now require at least a three-foot distance to pass someone on a bicycle.

Talk about not getting it. Newport RI officials want the state Department of Transportation to improve safety on a major street, while backing off from plans to install a bike lane and new turning lanes — and making it safer for pedestrians by removing a crosswalk. Sure, that will work.

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on, as someone sabotaged a Boston bike lane with thumbtacks for the second time in a month.

Streetsblog offers a brief history of New York mayors on bicycles, as the current mayor takes a dockless bikeshare bike for a spin.

No bias here, either. There were several ways to describe the attacker who fatally stabbed a Philadelphia developer following an argument. But he rode a bicycle, so of course they chose “cyclist.”

Evidently, officials in bike friendly DC are no better than those in Los Angeles, as bicyclists continue to die as promised Vision Zero projects gather dust on the shelf.

 

International

Donald Trump’s trade war could mean you’ll have to pay more to fix your bike.

Don’t stop in Winnipeg if you want to keep your bike on a cross-country tour of Canada.

The BBC investigates how dangerous it really is to ride a bike on the streets of Toronto, while a college student says major changes are needed. Even though the city is safer for bicyclists than Phoenix, Philadelphia and yes, Los Angeles.

Speaking of Toronto, bicyclists have started a #NearMissToronto hostage campaign to report dangerous incidents and drivers, and call for safer streets. Maybe we should copy it; #NearMissLA has got a good ring to it.

A British writer raises a good point, asking if there’s a class divide in cycling, as rising equipment cost separate riders into those who can afford the best gear, and those who can’t. Or who just get turned off by the perception of high cost, and don’t bother trying.

 

Competitive Cycling

If you haven’t caught up on your Tour de France viewing, skip this next section. We could say the same about the Giro Rosa, except no one bothers to broadcast women’s bike racing.

In today’s semi-spoiler free Tour de France report, classics specialist John Degenkolb had a very good day.

Tour de Suisse champ Ritchie Port is out of the Tour de France, abandoning after apparently breaking his collarbone following a crash near the start of Sunday’s stage nine; Tony Martin is also out with a spinal fracture.

The Telegraph describes Sunday’s stage as a day of chaos on the cobbles.

No, you can’t butt heads in the peloton or bash everyone else out of the way, even on Bastille Day.

Lawson “Crash” Craddock has now raised over $92,000 for a Houston Velodrome by riding in the Tour with a broken scapula; no word yet on whether he survived Sunday’s cobbles.

Nice gesture from the UnitedHealthcare Pro team, which named a five-year old speech therapy patient “Pro Cyclist for a Day” at this year’s Twilight Criterium in Boise, Idaho; they gave her a new bike, helmet and autographed team jersey.

Yes, there was a women’s race, which was largely ignored even though it wasn’t tainted by questions of doping with asthma medication; as usual, a Dutch rider won the race, including the final stage, though an Australian team took the title. Maybe someone can explain to me why any race still has podium girls, let alone a women’s race.

 

Finally…

Nothing like riding 10,000 miles together to inspire a little romance. If you’re going to Comic Con, don’t ride your bike inside. No, really.

And no, being a state legislator does not give you diplomatic immunity from speeding tickets.

Thanks to Evan Burbridge for that last link.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Notes from Neil Storm Stephany sentencing, and update on new Camp Pendleton bike policy

January 22, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Notes from Neil Storm Stephany sentencing, and update on new Camp Pendleton bike policy

For anyone who downloaded the full PDF of PCH bike crash stats yesterday, please note that I inadvertently linked to an earlier draft of the report compiled by Ed Ryder; the link has now been corrected to provide full stats through the end of 2015.

My apologies for the mistake.

………

Our anonymous Orange County correspondent offers some belated, and very hard-hitting, notes from the recent Neil Storm Stephany case.

As you may recall, Stephany was sentenced to 15 years to life for the heroin-fueled 2014 hit-and-run death of cyclist Shaun Eagleson on PCH in Newport Beach.

The impact statements presented at Stephany’s sentencing were brutal. The Register didn’t (and couldn’t) print half the poignancy. At one point, Eagleson’s mom yelled “I hate you! I fucking hate you!” at the back of Stephany’s head, which he kept bowed for most of the proceedings. She told the judge that no matter how long the murderer’s sentence is, it will never be enough, and she will be at every parole hearing he ever has. She ended her statement with, “I am Shaun’s voice.” No mama should ever have to say that.

Sandra, Shaun’s widow, presented two statements. One detailed the inescapable darkness left by the absence of her husband, who was “my past, my present, my future, my forever.” Although she didn’t quite offer Stephany forgiveness, she wasn’t going to hold onto her hatred, because she recognized it eclipsed everything her husband loved about her. As she was writing her statement, “each word was killing the woman Shaun loved so much. With every ugly word I wrote, I was killing Shaun’s best friend.”

Her second statement was a letter to her unborn child, begging forgiveness: “Once again, I have failed you. Please forgive me. I have cried for you since the first time I lost you. Please find your father wherever he is and tell him I love him.” She described the rush to the hospital, and the denial that flooded her as she clung to her husband’s lifeless body: “Wake up. This isn’t real. We still have adventures to go on.”

GODDAMMIT WHO PUT ALL THESE ONIONS ON MY KEYBOARD WHERE THE HELL IS THAT KLEENEX.

Stephany wrote a letter of apology to the family, but it didn’t get him any reduction in sentence, although the judge did grant 450 days of credit for time served. When the defense argued that “some degree of mercy is a appropriate here,” tsk’s of incredulity arose from one side of the courtroom.

Judge Paer used the word “mind-boggling” several times while pronouncing sentence. He pointed out that Eagleson, like many others who use that stretch of PCH, was a vulnerable road user. The judge was mindful of the irony that such “an ugly event could occurring one of the most beautiful places in the county.” “Hopefully,” the judge said, “this case will send a message.” That message is: If you’re gonna engage any homicidal activity, make sure you use a motor vehicle, ’cause otherwise you’re goin’ away for a long time.

My jaw dropped when the judge said, “Believe it or not, I have to give Mr. Stephany a Watson advisement again.” He then recited the advisement, even though it didn’t do Mr. Stephany any good the first time. He also revoked Stephany’s current probation, since it’d expire long before Stephany could even start hoping for release.

(As a side note, one probation was for assault; the victim died of a heroin overdose a month after the assault, with his broken jaw still not fully healed.)

Stephany’s sister is an LA County Sheriff’s Deputy; their uncle is a homicide investigator for the OC Sheriff’s Department. Young Neil was a Boy Scout, First Class. He played team sports in high school, while also taking ROP classes in fire science & first aid. He earned his Professional Mariner’s certificate. Unfortunately, he fell in love with a girl whose family had moved from up north to get her away from unsavory characters who influenced her opiate addiction. It didn’t help; the contagion spread to Neil.

On the day Shaun was murdered, Neil had left his apartment knowing he was going into rehab. When his parents went to his apartment to retrieve his belongings, they found his bags already packed, with his Bible and a rosary his mom had given him for strength.

In December, a juror recognized Neil’s mom and approached her. They spoke; the juror said they think of the family a lot, and hoped that Neil would get help. How kind to get a hug from someone who had to convict your son of murder.

………………………………………………………………………………..

The Stephany case is going to stick with me. Such a small percentage of people, especially in Orange County, commute by bike. Of that tiny percentage, even fewer do so because they like to, rather than out of economic necessity. And out of that number, how many commute fixed? I might be the only one left.

………

Camp Pendleton riders, don’t panic. Not yet, anyway.

There’s still a lot of confusion over upcoming changes in the access policy for bicyclists at the Marine base.

So Mike Wilkinson reached out to Joe A. Grabman, Assistant Services Officer with the base’s Provost Marshal’s Office, and got this response.

A final decision on the procedure for recreational bicyclists after 01 Feb 2016 has not been made.

Which is about as clear as the mud the base’s Marines have to crawl through after an El Niño rain storm.

Mike writes…

I was confused by Officer Grabman’s response, so I called and left a voicemail asking for clarification. He called back just a few minutes ago and told me this:

  • There will be a process or an accommodation that will allow recreational bicyclists who comply with certain requirements to ride through Camp Pendleton.
  • The exact form and requirements of that process or accommodation have not been determined yet. However, they are scheduled to be in place by March 1.
  • Until March 1, bicyclists will be able to ride through Camp Pendleton the same as they have been able to do recently. They will need to present a U.S. or state government issued identification card.

I wish that I had some exact quotes for you, but Officer Grabman talks very quickly. He told me he has been contacted by hundreds of people about this issue, so I guess he’s a busy guy.

Based what I have learned on my own, those who want to ride through the base should remember the usual advice: Your ID must be the original – no copies; comply with the traffic rules of the base, because as you wrote a couple of days ago, “…don’t mess with the Marines!;” the base closes from time-to-time, some times on short notice.

………

Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton says the proposed new Griffith Park plan is a step in the right direction, but questions why a currently car-free road has to be opened up so tourists can avoid a lousy 1/3 mile walk to see the Hollywood Sign.

CiclaValley talks Griffith Park with Larry Mantle, and get caught up in the LA River bike path closure.

A Streetsblog piece says the proposed anti-growth Neighborhood Integrity Initiative would ban the planning process, and throw a wrench into plans to reshape Los Angeles around transit and bikeable, walkable streets. Meanwhile, LA Curbed says the initiative would be dangerous for Los Angeles, and maintains the city’s addiction to parking.

Downtown’s new upscale residents are looking forward to bikeshare coming to DTLA.

It looks like the 41-year old Hermosa Cyclery will survive despite leasing their property to a developer; plans are announced to move into a new hotel to be built on the site.

 

State

San Francisco’s Streetsblog looks at the psychology of road rage, and asks if Bay Area drivers and cyclists can get along.

Former LA newsman Roger Rudick says bike advocates must never yield to regressive politics, despite the veto of San Francisco’s proposed Idaho stop law.

Caught on video: Where’s the best place to offload a truckload of new Mercedes for a San Francisco dealership? In the bike lane, of course. Thanks to Erik Griswold for the link.

A road raging Mill Valley driver gets a slap on the wrist for brake checking a cyclist who flipped off his horn-honking wife; he gets off with just two years probation and 80 hours of community service. Although someone please tell me what the hell difference the make of car he was driving makes.

Lake Tahoe will break ground on a three mile, $27 million separated bike path, which planners say promises to be one of the most spectacular bikeways in the US.

 

National

Here’s what happens if your bike has to live outside.

Despite its stated Vision Zero goals, New York proposes to rip out a vital bike lane and replace it with two-directional sharrows. Maybe they didn’t get the memo that sharrows don’t improve safety.

 

International

A sales slowdown at the UK’s leading bike dealer suggests the county’s bike boom may be ending.

Someone needs to tell Arnold they drive — and ride their bikes — on the other side of the street in Scotland. Thanks to cdp8 for the heads-up.

What to do when you call off your celebrity divorce? Go for a romantic bike ride through the streets of Paris, of course.

Sometimes a new wheel just isn’t enough. After American pro Tyler Farrar crashed into a ditch at 40 mph in Australia’s Tour Down Under, a fan loans him his bike. And his shoes.

 

Finally…

They already make bikes and helmets out of wood, so why not bike paths? Ride the next CicLAvia in style on your very own $25,000 gold seahorse fixie; thanks to Cyclelicious for the tip.

And if you’re riding a stolen $5,000 bike, remember to leave your drugs and paraphernalia at home.

 

Category: General / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Expo bike path meeting tonight, and bikes may or may not be banned from Camp Pendleton

January 13, 2016 / / 7 comments

Less than one week to nominate someone you know to win a new bicycle.

Read more about our first-ever bike giveaway, and tell us who you think deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net today!

………

Don’t forget tonight’s meeting to discuss closing the nearly one-mile gap in the new Expo Line bike path through the NIMBY Northvale wasteland.

I’ve got another commitment that will keep me from attending, so feel free to forward your thoughts on the meeting.

………

Riders making their way between Orange County and San Diego may soon have to find a new way to get there.

Or maybe not.

Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious forwards news that as of February 1st, Camp Pendleton will be closed to anyone without a sponsor and a valid reason to enter the base.

But whether that will include bike riders remains to be seen, despite the anti-bike hysteria in the comments.

The base is currently the only approved route for bicyclists connecting OC with North San Diego County, since riders are banned from the 5 Freeway. Its scenic views and relatively low, though sometimes heavily armed, traffic also makes it a very popular route for recreational riders and group rides.

Closing the base to riders would almost certainly force the state to open the freeway to bicyclists, which is the case in other areas where there is no alternate riding route. Although I can’t imagine anyone willingly trading the quiet roads of Camp Pendleton for a rock and glass-strewn shoulder with semis buzzing by at 70 mph or more.

It may turn out to be much ado about nothing, as a message from the base indicates that no decision has been made regarding bicycle access after the 1st. There have been similar scares in the past with no action taken restricting riders.

However, it does serve as a reminder that, like with the VA grounds in West LA, bicyclists are guests on federal property, and expected to act accordingly; Pendleton has their own rules that riders are expected to observe.

And while one commenter worries about bike-borne ISIS terrorists sneaking in to attack the base, it’s the people on two wheels who have faced the greatest danger.

………

Just a touch of schadenfreude yesterday, as I watched a car driving in a bike lane nearly get doored by a driver who didn’t bother to look before throwing his door open.

And no, neither of them seemed to have a clue what just happened.

………

Local

CiclaValley questions the necessity of closing a large portion of the LA River bike path to put up flood control barriers, and the effect it will have on businesses in Frogtown and Elysian Valley.

Bikabout offers a 12-city bucket list of where they want to wander by bike this year, including the City of Angels and our own CicLAvia.

The LA Times wonders which NFL stadium plan would screw up traffic the least; the Inglewood site got the nod from the NFL. The owner of the stadium should be required to pay for a rail extension to serve the site, as well as safe cycling infrastructure and bike parking facilities to provide an alternative to driving to the games and other events.

Santa Monica police will once again be on the lookout for traffic violations that put bicyclists and pedestrians at risk this Saturday, regardless of who commits them. So be on your best behavior while riding through the city this weekend.

Long Beach will host its second Beach Streets ciclovía on a still-secret route through the Downtown area on Saturday, March 19th, less than two weeks after the next Valley CicLAvia.

 

State

People for Bikes quotes the reactions of six Californians on Caltrans’ new guidelines for protected bike lanes, including LADOT maven Seleta Reynolds and BikeSD’s Sam Ollinger.

Bicycling says to give hoverboards a wide berth now that they’re banished to the bike lanes, since you never know when they’ll burst into flames. The magazine also talks to the amazing Jo Celso, the San Diego pro cyclist who beat Hodgkin’s to come back stronger than ever.

There’s a special place in hell for anyone who’d steal a truckload of bikes and helmets from an Oakland nonprofit serving East Bay children.

 

National

A new survey says one in ten Americans would steal a bike for $10,000; for a billion, 12% of men would be willing to kill you. Then again, I’ve run into some drivers who seem willing to do it for free.

A Portland writer panics over plans to allow mountain bikers into city parklands.

Cheyenne WY considers eliminating the city’s largely ignored bicycle licensing requirement; only one person bothered to register a bike under the current law last year.

A New York writer says a Vision Zero law protecting pedestrians and bicyclists isn’t necessary because, you know, accidents happen and drivers just can’t be held responsible for killing someone.

A Baltimore bicyclist tried to use his bike to defend himself from a group of attacking teenagers.

Horrific testimony from an Alabama cyclist in the trial of the driver who ran down her two riding partners; the driver claims the sun was in his eyes, though she disputes that.

More evidence that bicycling benefits Parkinson’s patients, as a patients’ symptoms disappear during a Maryland spin class.

 

International

A university professor is riding across Canada virtually. Which isn’t the same thing.

A Toronto driver will serve the next three months behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a bike rider, weekends only. This has got to be a joke, right?

A Brit bike shop owner laughs at some of the absurd gear the industry tries to push on us.

Now that’s more like it. A prolific British bike thief has been given a lifetime ban from even coming within 13 feet of bicycle unless he can prove he owns it.

A road raging driver from the UK gets nearly five years for the death of a 69-year old bike advocate following an argument; the Afghan vet, who suffers from severe depression and PTSD following his service, says he doesn’t even remember making contact with the victim’s bike.

Madonna’s ex is one of us, too.

Copenhagenize says yawning bike riders are the best sign of a bicycle-friendly city.

India plans to build smart cities to address the country’s many urban ills; a writer says smart thinking about bicycles needs to be part of the process.

Caught on video: A dashcam view catches a truck driver fleeing the scene after toppling a bike rider; fortunately, the cyclist bounces back up to his feet.

 

Finally…

It’s one thing to get pissed off at a driver; spitting and hurling racial abuse is another matter. Seriously, if you’re going to ride your bike to a friend’s house when it’s 8° outside, put some damn gloves on.

And that’s one way to do it, as two boys each take a pedal to share a single bike.

 

 

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Help stop hit-and-runs, stop a Burbank equestrian bridge grab, and your Morning Links

April 10, 2014 / / 4 comments

Stop whatever you’re doing — like reading this, for instance — and sign this petition in support of AB 2197.

You’ll find my signature there among the 800 plus current signees.

The bill, currently before the state assembly, would require every car sold in California to leave the dealership with some form of license plates.

Currently, drivers have up to 90 days to license their cars. But some never do, as you may have noticed; if not, try counting all the unlicensed cars, trucks and SUVs you see the next time you ride.

And imagine how the police would find them if one were to hit you and take off, even if witnesses were able to give a description of the vehicle.

Without a plate number, hit-and-run drivers too often get away with it.

And too often, we pay the price.

………

I’m told Burbank equestrians are attempting a land grab by demanding that bikes be banned entirely from the Mariposa bridge over the LA River.

The bridge was originally built to provide bike riders, pedestrians and horse riders access to both sides of the river near Griffith Park. The proposal would prevent cyclists from even walking their bikes across the bridge, as most do now.

The City Council will take up the matter on Tuesday, May 6th at pm, Burbank City Hall, 275 E. Olive.

Thanks to Mike Kim for the heads-up.

……..

Local

A real estate developer proposes putting a 9-mile extension of the LA River bike path directly on the concrete riverbed through Downtown LA. Sounds good in theory, but wouldn’t that adversely affect plans to restore the river to a more natural state?

The next Spoke(n) Art Ride rolls this Saturday, while the USC Bicycle Coalition invites you to join them in biking to the beach the same day.

Mark your calendar for the first bike-in movie of the year on April 26th at Reseda Park on the LA River.

Pasadena gets a brief open streets, aka ciclovia, event of their own on Saturday, May 17th, while Glendale offers the Jewel City Fun and Fitness Ride the next day.

CICLE’s next bike Traffic Basics Class will be held at Caltech on June 7th.

A double-amputee Marine will arrive in Long Beach on Friday after a 5,200 mile cross country bike trip driven by prosthetic legs.

 

State

In a remarkable display of common sense, Redlands builds a new bike trail after a dispute over whether riders are allowed on an access road.

NACTO brings their Cities for Cycling Road Show to Oakland; maybe they’ll make it down here eventually. Meanwhile, Caltrans has finally joined the 21st Century by endorsing the NACTO guide in a surprise announcement.

A three-year old San Francisco boy is hit by a truck, even though he was riding his bike in a crosswalk with the walk signal and family members nearby.

Yo, Sacramento Bee — what’s wrong with this sentence? “Many drivers similarly are discourteous toward the rare cyclists who do obey rules of the road.”

Rare my ass.

 

National

A Muncie IN man is arrested for intentionally running down a bike rider, telling police that drivers have the right-of-way and cyclists were taking up the whole road. He also claimed he hit the rider because the cyclist somehow struck his driver’s side mirror — even though the rider was on his right.

A Boston writer explains why he rides a bike, and why you should, too.

Two Iraq veterans are biking from Boston to Seattle in memory of a fallen fellow Marine.

A New York Community Board bars on-street bike corrals to protest the imaginary war on cars.

An Alexandria VA writer says becoming friendlier to bikes shouldn’t come at the expense of pedestrians, something I’d have to agree with.

A Tennessee town anticipates up to 500 cyclists for the fourth annual Pedal for Paws event to raise money for spaying and neutering. So who wants to bring something like that to LA?

 

International

In tragic examples of what not to do, a London cyclist is killed jumping a red light, while another celebrated his 21st birthday by getting drunk — then riding into the path of an oncoming bus.

British Cycling says it’s succeeding in getting more women on the saddle.

A 25-year old rider gives up on pro cycling in protest of his 15-month doping suspension.

An Aussie paper gets its knickers in a serious twist over bike riding young women taking a selfie.

 

Finally…

Police in my hometown find a fleeing driver locked in the restroom of a nearby auto parts store after she runs away from a collision with a bike rider, leaving her car behind.

And would you ride a big wheel bike with hind legs instead of wheels?

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,
 
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