Tag Archive for blocked bike lanes

Five people killed riding bikes in horrific Nevada crash, SaMo protected parking lane, and new placid bike video game

December 11, 2020 / / 5 comments

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There are no words.

Five people were killed, and another four injured, one critically, when a truck driver slammed into a Nevada group ride Thursday morning.

The victims had broken off from the main group, and were trailing an escort vehicle on the shoulder of Highway 95 near Searchlight to get some protection from the wind. They were trapped between the two vehicles when the truck driver inexplicably veered off the roadway.

All five died at the scene.

The Nevada Highway Patrol appeared to absolve the driver of any responsibility, saying it was just a tragic accident after concluding he was not under the influence.

Evidently, if you’re sober in Nevada you get a free pass, no matter how many people you kill.

Bike shop worker Clay Weeks knew many of the victims personally, as well as the crash site.

“That shoulder on the side of that highway is wide enough to fit three cars,” Weeks said. “We don’t really know how somebody managed to get that far off the road. These were all very very experienced cyclists. It’s not like they accidentally rode off and into the road.”

It was not the first time those riders made the trip.

“These are people who ride 10,000 miles a year. Some race professionally,” Weeks said. “How did something like this mistakenly happen?”

The bicyclists were celebrating the recent retirement of Las Vegas police officer Michael Anderson.

The 22 years he spent as a cop before retiring in November couldn’t have prepared him for what he witnessed Thursday. “I’ve seen stuff, obviously as a police officer,” he said in a low voice, pausing and tearing up. “But it’s your friends … I’ve never seen that…

“It’s the worst thing I can ever see in my life,” he said, noting that he had contacted the victims’ families. “(I) didn’t know how to say it to them. It’s terrible.”

They’ve done the same 130-mile loop through Nevada and California for the past 15 years, with no incidents until yesterday’s crash.

A graphic from a Las Vegas paper explains how it happened.

https://twitter.com/KostelecPlan/status/1337279939490410496

What’s still unknown is why the driver left the roadway, and why he couldn’t see seven grown people on bicycles and a cars with its flasher on directly in front of him.

Let’s hope they subpoena the driver’s cell phone, and any onboard screens or entertainment system.

The identity of the victims was behind withheld until relatives could notified. However, one was identified by family and friends as a 43-year old woman from Las Vegas.

The tight knit Las Vegas bike community was in mourning Thursday as news of the crash spread rapidly through the city. A drive-through vigil will be held at a Las Vegas bike shop today.

Thanks to everyone who sent me links for this story. There’s far too many to thank individually, but I sincerely appreciate the help.

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When is a protected bike lane not a bike lane?

When it becomes a parking space for city workers.

Although Oakland seems to have the same problem.

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Any video game that lets you explore the world by bicycle has got to be a good one.

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Sometimes it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

An Akron, Ohio man was busted for robbing a store with a hatchet, before fleeing the scene on his bike. Or someone’s, anyway.

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Local

Good question. Streetsblog’s Joe Linton wants to know why streets can’t be closed off for bike riders, when LA officials don’t hesitate to close them for rich people.

A new study shows LA traffic collisions dropped a whopping 21% since the initial coronavirus shutdown.

No surprise here. Traffic volume is still down in Pasadena during the pandemic, but average speed are up.

 

State

Business is booming at a San Diego bike shop, despite being down two staffers due to the pandemic.

El Cajon’s Main Street is getting greener, literally and figuratively.

BMX riders catch big air at two-year old Sapwi Bike Park in Thousand Oaks, built as a partnership between the Concerned Off-Road Bicyclist Association and Conejo Recreation And Parks District.

Great idea. A group of San Francisco bike messengers are skipping the big app-based delivery services, and forming their own food delivery co-op. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

 

National

Get your new Lumos bike helmet at your friendly neighborhood Apple Store.

A writer for Clean Technica shares what it’s like to ride the new Harley Davidson ebike.

Speaking of motorcycle makers, Italian bikemaker Ducati is bringing their e-mountain bikes to an American motorcycle dealer near you.

Nevada’s new three-foot passing law hasn’t stopped bike riders from getting killed, with three deaths in the Las Vegas area in the previous three months. Make that eight in four months, now.

‘Tis the season. Police in Fayetteville, Arkansas teamed with a bike nonprofit to donate 100 bicycles to area kids.

An Illinois bike advocate and licensed cycling instructor says nothing will change until drivers slow down and pay attention, or face real consequences for their actions.

Life is cheap in Ohio, where a reckless driver who killed a prominent attorney as he rode his bike walked without a single day behind bars; he could have faced up to five years in prison.

A new documentary premiering today focuses on exploring Maine’s Acadia National Park by bicycle.

A writer for New York Streetsblog witnesses a bike rider get left hooked by a driver — and watches as the police let her go without so much as a warning.

A high-ranking Georgia state lawmaker has been indicted on charges of wrongly ignoring a fatal 2019 hit-and-run crash, after a friend called to say he’d just killed a bike rider and left him lying in a ditch.

‘Tis the season, too. A New Orleans motorcycle club is teaming with a local lawyer to give away 100 bicycles to kids between three and nine years old to share their love of riding on two wheels.

 

International

Cyclist pulls back the curtain on Specialized’s $1,000 full carbon balance bike, for the weight weenie toddler in your life.

Cycling Weekly looks at their favorite bicycles and accessories for 2020.

Toronto bicyclists took to the streets to remember the 15 bike riders killed in the city this year.

The European Union calls for doubling bicycle infrastructure as part of the continent’s Green New Deal. Then again, LA’s mayor made a similar climate fighting declaration, and you can see how that turned out.

Bicycling says it’s time to add Slovenia to your bike bucket list. You can make a pilgrimage to visit the shrine to Melania Trump while you’re at it. And yes, you can read the story on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

Life is cheap in Singapore, where a Finnish expat was sentenced to a single week behind bars for crashing into a pedestrian while riding a bike; the victim died five days after the crash.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling’s governing body has finally gotten around to adopting a new in-race concussion protocol for the 2021 season, assuming it actually happens.

The Bianchi bike Marco Pantani rode to the top of Mount Ventoux in the 2000 Tour de France, beating out a fellow doper from Texas, will find a new home in a museum dedicated to the late, great Italian cyclist after a consortium of Italian business people bought it for the equivalent of $87,000.

Cycling News says Justin Williams and the L39ION of Los Angeles cycling team has the power to change bike racing for the better by encouraging cultural diversity in the sport and opening doors for aspiring young riders.

Pro mountain biker Brett Rheeder won’t be riding anytime soon, after breaking his leg crashing at an indoor skate park in British Columbia.

 

Finally…

That feeling when police recover a rare $15,000 Colnago/Ferrari roadie, and have to figure out who owns it. And your new ebike could come with the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Morning Links: Oslo’s Vision Zero map, Hollywood commandeers Main Street, and busting distracted drivers with TAP cards

January 10, 2020 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Oslo’s Vision Zero map, Hollywood commandeers Main Street, and busting distracted drivers with TAP cards

Please forgive my unexcused absence on Wednesday. 

I’ve been dealing with high blood sugar for the past few weeks. When it finally came down, it crashed hard, taking me down like a shot. And kept me there for several hours. 

One more reminder that diabetes sucks. 

………

Good question.

A writer for Strong Towns wants to know why Americans view Vision Zero as an impossible goal.

Even though Oslo, Norway has proven that it can be done.

And offers a recipe any city can follow to break America’s addiction to speed, and the cars that make it possible.

Although in most cities, the overwhelming number of cars and trucks make any kind of speed virtually unachievable for much of the day. Including right here in Los Angeles.

Or maybe especially in Los Angeles.

Never mind that the excess capacity that allows those cars to inch along at rush hour also allows drivers to blow well beyond what passes for speed limits the rest of the day. Putting the limbs and lives of everyone else on or near the roads at risk.

But here’s the path Oslo followed. And the one every other city could, and should, if human lives matter even a whit more than the convenience of people in cars.

Changing that basic fact is our challenge. It’s possible, but it’s going to require both institutional and far-reaching cultural changes, including but not limited to:

It’s a holistic strategy. It will take decades. The lesson from Oslo is that if we embark on this path, the potential rewards are great. We too could have cities where nobody fears losing their son or daughter or parent or best friend to a car crash.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

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When is a new two-way protected bike lane not a bike lane?

When the city forgets that we live here too, and it becomes a Hollywood backlot.

When you run into something like that, complain to FilmLA, LADOT and the local councilmember — in this case, Jose Huizar.

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Maybe we can get Metro to give the LAPD a few TAP cards.

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Show up for the bike safety course, stay for the free helmet and bike light.

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Evidently, work on the coming Red Car bike and pedestrian bridge over the LA River is coming along nicely.

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It’s not too early to start thinking about impressing that Valentines date with a little hand-drawn bike art. .

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on. 

Nothing like getting attacked by an angry driver who’s blocking a San Francisco protected bike lane. And yes, that’s assault with a deadly weapon, and should be reported to the police.

But sometimes it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly. 

Police in New York are looking for a bike-riding creep who approached a special needs student, then grabbed her ass when she tried to get away.

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Local

New Los Angeles political advocacy group Streets for All wants your help electing Sarah Kate Levy in CD4, and Loraine Lunquist in CD12; both are running against incumbents who are anything but friendly to safer streets.

CiclaValley offers up a video bike tour of Elysian Park, the second largest park in the City of LA. And takes a gravel bike ride in the snow.

CicLAvia is celebrating ten years of America’s most successful open streets events with a fundraising party on the 2nd of next month.

Pasadena Weekly profiles longtime bike advocate and Altadena Councilmember Dorothy Wong.

LongBeachize says with 29 people dead as a result of traffic violence in the city last year, including four bike riders and 17 pedestrians, it’s time to change the way we talk about it.

 

State

San Diego County has paid an injured woman half a million dollars after she suffered a traumatic brain injury when she was thrown from her bike by bad pavement on Highway 8. Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.

Speaking of San Diego, Robert Leone forwards SANDAG’s winter progress report, with 16 miles of bikeways currently under construction and more on the way.

Finishing off our San Diego trifecta, business owners in the North Park neighborhood have proposed an alternative plan that would extend the protected bike lane planned for 30th Street, while allowing them to keep 100 of the 550 parking spaces scheduled to be removed.

Encinitas is closing a section of the coast highway for the first time ever for Sunday’s inaugural Cyclovia.

Heartbreaking news from Ramona, where 53-year old Michelle Scott remains unresponsive with minimal brain function more than three months after a hit-and-run crash while she was riding her bike to work; a crowdfunding page has raised just over $11,000 of the modest $15,000 goal to help pay her medical expenses. Let’s all say a prayer or send good wishes her way for a full recovery. 

Apparently Robert Leone gets around; he’s also looking forward to San Jose’s Library to Library bike tour next Saturday.

The new bike path on the Richmond – San Raphael Bridge may be great, but getting on and off apparently leaves something to be desired; there’s already been a fatal fall when a bike rider crashed into a fence. Thanks to Al Williams for the link.

 

National

A new insurance industry report ranks the 20 most dangerous cities for bike riders; sadly, San Bernardino comes in 3rd and Chula Vista 6th; Bakersfield checks in at 11.

Streetsblog examines the real reasons e-scooter injuries are booming. Hint: scooter usage is, too.

No surprise here. A new study shows the US needs to invest a lot more in bicycling and walking infrastructure if they want active transportation rates to grow. On the other hand, if they just want our streets to become increasing clogged until no one can move, make our air unbreathable and our planet an oven, then carry on.

Lime is responding to continued losses by laying off 14% off its employees and pulling the plug in 12 markets, including San Diego; the company will continue serving Los Angeles, for now anyway.

Road.cc offers eight bike gadgets from this year’s CES tech trade show. And yes, that water bike really is a thing.

Ebike maker Blix has dropped its prices after moving to online distribution only.

Two men have already been arrested in the apparently random shooting of a bike-riding Texas teenager we mentioned just yesterday; still no word on a possible motive.

Evidently, biking while black or brown applies to people on foot, too. At least in New York.

In a remarkable outcome, a Philadelphia food delivery rider won’t spend a single day behind bars for fatally stabbing a wealthy real estate developer who reportedly threatened to “beat the black off” him. Michael White was acquitted on a number of charges after claiming self-defense, and sentenced to just two years probation for evidence tampering for throwing away the knife he had used.

A Maryland state legislator rode her bike 324 miles over a 13-month period to cover nearly every block of every street in her hometown.

A Virginia woman faces charges for the drunken hit-and-run that took the life of a bike-riding father, who was found dying in a ditch nearly an hour after the crash; the driver still had the victim’s hi-viz safety vest embedded in her windshield when she was busted.

A man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana has been charged with 2nd degree murder for shooting a bike thief in the head as he attempted to make off with a bicycle from in front of a convenience store.

 

International

Now you, too, can own what may be the world’s most bicycle with a sticker price of £60,000 — the equivalent of over 78 grand in the US.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews examines the rise of Peter Sagan over the past decade, saying he became the most popular pro cyclist by making winning fun.

 

Finally…

Probably not the best idea to Tase a bike-riding young man for popping a wheelie.

And it’s always been my belief that people drive the way they push a grocery cart.

 

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

Morning Links: Driving on Ballona Creek, SaMo sued over Lyft scooter trip-and-fall, and December die-in at City Hall

November 13, 2019 / / 3 comments

When is a bike path not a bike path?

When it unexpectedly turns into a roadway for lost drivers.

Josh Hamilton forwarded this photo he took Tuesday morning on the Ballona Creek Bike Path in Culver City, along with the following note.

Longtime reader and wanted to share something that happened this morning.

Turns out there is nothing preventing cars from entering the bike path at Sepulveda Blvd (and minimal signage) and 2 people in a car accidentally drove onto the Ballona Creek Bike Path. They were driving slowly when I stopped and spoke with them near the pedestrian bridge at the school next to the path.

I assume they were foreign tourists as they were in what seemed like a rental car with out of state plates and they didn’t speak English. They mistakenly had Google Maps set to bicycle directions. They were concerned and clearly meant no harm, but it’s clearly an issue if drivers can just enter the bike path on accident or on purpose.

Then again, it seems to be a problem other places, too.

Photo of the unprotected entrance to the Ballona Creek Bike Path from Google Maps; photo of car on bike path by Josh Hamilton.

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Santa Monica voted to extend their e-scooter and bikeshare program another six months, until it can be replaced with a more comprehensive program.

Even though an 88-year old woman is suing Santa Monica, Lyft and the Santa Monica Community College District after suffering multiple hip, pelvis and elbow fractures when she tripped over a Lyft scooter that had been illegally left in a no scooter zone in front of the school.

It had been left on the sidewalk next to a passenger drop-off zone where the city had instituted a scooter “no deployment zone,” but allegedly failed to enforce it.

I’ve long supported micromobility to reduce the numbers of cars on the street and vehicle miles traveled.

Long being a relative term, since they first hit the streets just two years ago.

But inherent in that support is the need to use them responsibly. Which does not include leaving them where they block sidewalks or other places where people can trip on them.

A successful micromobility program demands safe places to ride the devices, as well as safe places to park them.

We need a complete, comprehensive network of bike lanes throughout every city in the LA area, along with secure, in-street bicycle, bikeshare and scooter parking on every block.

Whoever left that scooter there in violation of the rules, whether it was the last person to use it or someone who moved it there, is who’s really responsible for harming an elderly woman.

And they’re extremely lucky that’s all it was.

Instead, every resident of Santa Monica will be on the hook for that one person’s carelessness.

Thanks to Andrew Goldstein for the heads-up.

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This time they gave us plenty of notice.

So mark your calendar for December 3rd, when LA bike riders will hold a die-in on the steps of city hall.

Let’s there’s at least one person on the ground for each of the 28 people on bicycles killed in LA County so far this year — half of them in the City of Los Angeles.

And those numbers will continue to grow until Vision Zero finally becomes more than just a feel-good slogan for our elected leaders.

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A woman was injured when she was left crossed by a motorist pulling into a driveway during last weekend’s Tour de Foothills in Upland.

No word yet on how serious her injuries are.

Thanks to CiclaValley’s Zachary Rynew and Erik Griswold for the video.

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This is who we share the roads with.

Alleged drunk driver Carlo Adrian Navarro has been charged with murder for the Halloween night crash that killed an entire family in Long Beach.

The 20-year old man faces up to life in prison for the crash that killed a mother, father and their three-year old son as they were trick-or-treating.

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Thanks to the Beverly Hills PD for keeping the streets safe from people driving without a valid sofa license.

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The Orange County Bicycle Coalition sends word that half the Seal Beach Blvd bike lanes will be closed for the next six weeks.

Speaking of which, Orange County didn’t quite turn out as promised.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.

Someone has been smearing shit under the handlebars of DC bikeshares.

A road raging London driver screamed at a bicyclist to get in the bike lane, apparently unaware that bike riders don’t have to use them in the UK. Or maybe he was just pissed off about having to pay for a tiny fraction of it.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Seriously, if you’re taking up more than one seat on the train, move your damn ass if someone else needs one.

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Local

No surprise here. Uber is taking Los Angeles to court to prevent getting banned over their refusal to share use data with the city.

UCLA police are cracking down on scofflaw scooter users.

A USC editor talks about his bike commute, and says LA’s bikeability could use some improvements. Meanwhile, a writer for the school paper says distracted bicycling has to be banned on campus. Just wait until the New York Times tells him about distracted walking.

Bruce Willis is one of us, taking up bicycling after he sold his motorcycles and donated the profits to support active and retired soldiers. Although you can’t win with the British tabloids, who criticize people who don’t wear helmets and ridicule them if they do.

Get a ticket riding in the South Bay, and you could find yourself in bike traffic school.

It’s a tad too late for this month. But you might want to mark your calendar for next month’s full moon ride in Long Beach.

 

State

Cycling News offers photos from Peter Sagan’s three-day Sagan Roadie-Oh! in San Diego last weekend.

A board member with the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition says criticism from a man who failed to get elected to the board was off base, because he simply failed to convince enough people to vote for him.

San Diego mountain biker Nate Marroquin will walk into med school next summer, despite breaking his back in a fall that left him paralyzed last year.

A bike-riding serial killer will face trial for attacking a number of mostly homeless people in San Diego, killing four and injuring several others.

A Ventura neighborhood will get new sidewalks and bike lanes.

It takes a major schmuck to steal a trailer from a Fresno bike club, along with the mountain and cross bikes inside.

A San Jose columnist says yes, green lanes are important.

Sad news from the Bay Area, where a San Francisco man suffered life-threatening injuries in a collision while riding his bicycle. Let’s hope he pulls through, and makes a fast and full recovery.

San Francisco is making plans to lower the speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph on narrow residential streets, even though that requires changing or repealing the state’s deadly 85th Percentile Law.

Berkeley considers instituting a sort-of Idaho Stop Law by asking police to de-emphasize ticketing riders who treat stops as yields, and red light like stop signs.

 

National

RideApart considers what tools you should carry on your bike.

Liberal think tank Center for American Progress says all-of-the-above transportation strategies won’t work. And what has to go is the country’s over-reliance on motor vehicles.

That’s more like it. A Denver driver gets some real justice for right hooking a bike rider, when a judge sentenced her to 50 hours of community service — to be served with a bicycling organization.

The Chicago Tribune offers tips one how to choose the best foldie. Oddly, they recommend a Schwinn, which has got to be one of the few times that’s happened since the ’60s.

Streetsblog says don’t blame the victim after a woman was killed when she was right hooked by a garbage truck.

Call it the two-wheeled Indy 500. IndyCar racer Tony Kanaan is one of us, riding 500 miles in a typical week. He considers the 56-mile bike leg of a triathlon a light day.

Speaking of Indy, a student at Indiana University has started a petition to remake Breaking Away with a female cast; the movie is based on the university’s annual Little 500. I’m all for it if Dennis Christopher they let reprise his role; Dave Stohler would a hell of a bike coach. And yes, I signed the petition.

A Rhode Island construction company is threatening to build apartments on a new bike path, claiming the state doesn’t own the land it built it on.

The New York Times recommends ped-assist bikes to help new mountain bikes gain confidence and fitness.

The NY Times also piles on with the victim blaming by offering tips on how to stop your distracted walking. Unlike distracted driving, no one has ever been killed by a distracted pedestrian. And there are few, if any, stats to support the idea that there has been a rash of distracted walking deaths.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a three-wheeled adaptive bike a Pennsylvania special needs man used to get to work.

Bicycling checks in with ex-Tour de France winner and new Amish Country hemp mogul Floyd Landis.

Sure, that’s credible. A Florida hit-and-run driver who killed a man riding his bike claimed he didn’t know he hit anyone. And just happened to buy some spray paint and repaint his truck.

After someone stole the bicycle a retired cop and stroke survivor used as his only form of exercise, kindhearted Florida sheriff’s deputies pitched in to buy him a new one.

 

International

A new study confirms that helmet laws drive down bicycling rates — but also finds that helmet use corresponds with a higher rate of upper body injuries. Before you throw your helmet away, bear in mind that correlation does not equal causation. And a wrecked shoulder is better than a wrecked skull.

That’s more like it. A Calgary man could face up to life in prison for the meth-fueled hit-and-run that killed a 15-year old boy and seriously injured his friend as they were riding their bikes; prosecutors waived 11 other charges against the man, who was driving a stolen vehicle without a valid driver’s license.

Seriously? The British government is allowing thousands of wild duck eggs to be destroyed because they might, potentially, grow up and walk in front of a bike rider someday.

Meital Weiss is one of us, too. She’s a 12-year old Israeli girl paralyzed from the waist down since she was 10 months old, who will celebrate her bat mitzvah by trading her wheelchair for a handcycle and ride to raise funds for the rehab hospital that cared for her. And that makes her a celeb — and a hero — in my book.

Aussie researchers consider why people fail at riding a bicycle, and how we can learn to fail better. And how you can tell where someone is in their commitment to ride by where they keep their bikes.

A Hong Kong bikeshare firm suffers a timely system breakdown, which just happened to make free bikes available to students and protesters.

Your next Chinese-made ebike could cost $425 and fold down to the size of a very large sheet of paper. Although that looks more like a scooter to me. And doesn’t have any pedals.

 

Competitive Cycling

Sad news from Australia, where five-time Paralympic medalist Kieran Modra was killed in a collision while he was riding to meet family members for a bike ride.

Eighty-three-year old French cycling great Raymond Poulidor passed away on Wednesday; he had eight Tour de France podiums in his 15-year career in the ’60s and early ’70s, but never wore the yellow jersey.

Cycling legend Eddy Merckx says he could have been a goner following his mid-October bike crash, if not a nurse who happened to be passing by.

 

Finally…

Forget that business degree; now you can major in bikes. You may never be a world champ mountain biker, but at least you can own his bike.

And riding your bike the wrong way on a freeway is not the recommended way to escape from the cops.

Even if it works.

 

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

Morning Links: Successful 626 Golden Streets, Smokey Bear visits AToC, and NIMBY traffic safety denier Bingo

May 22, 2019 / / 2 comments

We’re back with a nice, long update after yesterday’s unexcused absence.

So grab some coffee and buckle in.

It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

Today’s photo is from the Amgen Tour of California women’s final at the Rose Bowl, courtesy of David Drexler. See below for more.

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The LA News Group’s Steve Scauzillo offers a recap and photos from Sunday’s 626 Golden Streets: Mission to Mission open streets event in South Pasadena, Alhambra and San Gabriel.

Meanwhile, an Alhambra paper says crowds flocked to the event once the rain ended.

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As long as we’re on the subject of open streets, CicLAvia has released the map for the Mid City Meets Pico Union event at the end of next month.

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David Drexler forwards some photos from the women’s Amgen Tour of California final on Saturday. Unfortunately, we don’t have names to go with the photos, but its amazing how close fans can get to the riders.

Drexler also took part in the Rose Pedal Ride after the race, when the Rose Bowl course was open to bicyclists while remaining closed to drivers.

And nearly had the entire thing to himself.

This is how he describes it.

What if you threw a CicLAvia and No One Came?
It was called the Rose Pedal — where was everyone??
After the Amgen from 2 Pm to 8 Pm there was a ciclovia — all the roads were closed to car traffic around the Rose Bowl, but it was me and less than 10 other cyclists. Sometimes I rode half way around the Bowl with no one in back or in front of me, no cars. It was weird.
I almost think that there would have been more people out there if it was not for Amgen keeping the regulars away due to car restrictions.
I had this vision of 1000’s of people cycling around he Rose Bowl like the LA CicLAvia’s.
Lot’s of people came on bikes to Amgen, but when it ended — most left?

And he posed for photos with a couple of celebs, one of whom is former US Postal Service Team rider and current broadcaster Christian Vande Velde.

I’m told the other one is pretty famous, too.

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Bike journalist Peter Flax plays Bingo with LA’s favorite traffic safety deniers. Take this one to your next contentious traffic safety meeting.

Then again, aren’t they all these days?

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Apparently, those new protected bike lanes we were promised as a condition of granting permits to build the towering Wilshire Grand aren’t exactly what we got.

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Evidently, it’s even worse in San Francisco, where a bike rider films himself riding, or trying to ride, through one of the city’s car-choked bike lanes.

https://twitter.com/Brad_in_SF/status/1130159506296492034?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1130159506296492034&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfchronicle.com%2Fbayarea%2Farticle%2FVideo-captures-dangers-of-biking-San-Francisco-13861616.php

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The next time you need a babysitter, maybe don’t call Danny Macaskill.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps going on.

Maryland police are looking for a road raging driver who yelled obscenities at a group of bike riders, then intentionally swerved into three riders, forcing one woman into a ditch.

Meanwhile, Maryland police seem more concerned with whether the driver violated the three foot passing law. One of the victims says he may give up bicycling after 20 years, while his friend and fellow rider remains in the hospital, fighting for her life.

And evidently the motoring world has enlisted wildlife on their side. A kamikaze deer ran out into the road and smashed into a woman’s bicycle during an upstate New York fondo.

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Local

LA Bike Dad offers a status update on all the current bike projects in the City of Los Angeles. Meanwhile, LADOT provides update on work along the LA River bike path, including storm damage near the Riverside bridge that may force an additional closure. Thanks to Matt Stewart for the heads-up.

This is the cost of traffic violence. Actress Rebecca Gayheart says she didn’t want to live after killing a nine-year old boy as she was driving in Los Angeles. On the other hand, the kid probably did want to live. And her comment of “Why me? Why Jorge?” seems to prioritize the victims of this crash the wrong way. Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for the heads-up. 

The Eastsider picks up the story of CD4 Councilmember David Ryu’s unexpected support for retaining, and improving, the road diet and bike lanes on Rowena Ave. It’s so cute that they pretend there’s actually a democratic process on the city council, when whatever a councilmember decides for his or her district goes.

CiclaValley enjoys his best bike weekend ever, witnessing the Mt. Baldy stage of the Amgen Tour of California, and taking in a vintage BMX show. On the other hand, my best bike weekend is all of them.

Malibu sheriff’s deputies will be conducting a bike and pedestrian safety enforcement crackdown today. As usual, that means riding to the letter of the law while in the city. And hoping deputies don’t fall back into their bad habit of ticketing riders for nonexistent requirements to ride single file and hug the door zone.

 

State

California’s proposed Complete Streets bill moved forward in the state legislature, while a bill that would have re-allocated active transportation funds died in committee.

Meanwhile, the state assembly approved a bill to regulate e-scooters and dockless bikeshare, requiring companies to get permits from cities and agree to local rules on how to run things; it now goes to the senate for consideration.

Olympic freestyle skiing silver medalist Gus Kenworthy says he’s participating in next month’s AIDS/LifeCycle ride to remind people that HIV rates are still climbing. He’s raised $153,000 to benefit the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation; his goal is to raise $1 million.

The NRDC says California cities are rolling towards a more sustainable future, calling out San Jose, San Francisco and San Diego for their efforts to increase bicycling rates. Noticeably missing is Los Angeles, for good reason. Maybe CA cities have to be named afters saints instead of angels to actually do something about building better streets for bike riders.

An Irvine bike rider was the victim of a hit-and-run driver who slammed into him at the Irvine Blvd onramp to the 133, then fled north on the highway; no word on the victim’s condition. Thanks to Bill Sellin for the tip.

A writer for the Riverside Press-Enterprise says yes, bike riders are required to stop for stop signs and traffic lights, after a driver writes he did, and a bicyclist didn’t. However, there have been times when a driver called me out for running a stop sign I had already stopped at, so take it with a grain of salt.

Santa Barbara firefighters flew a critically injured mountain biker out by helicopter after the rider suffered what was described as a major spinal injury Monday afternoon. Let’s offer our prayers and best wishes for a fun and fast recovery.

Frank Lehnerz forwards another story about the Fresno crash where a Telsa’s onboard cameras proved the bike rider was at fault. Although judging by the headlines, the self-riding bicycle apparently didn’t have one.

Cupertino is widening a roadway to make room for protected bike lanes by moving the sidewalks, five years after a high school student was killed there riding his bike.

Traffic deaths are soaring in San Francisco, despite the city’s Vision Zero program.

A San Ramon letter writer somehow feels the need to remind us that bikes are inanimate objects and don’t have rights. And that mountain bikers have the same access to trails that anyone else does — on foot. Bikes may be inanimate objects, but the people who ride them do have rights.

Once again, a bike rider is the hero. A 20-year old woman is alive today after a passing bicyclist saw her drive off a 450-foot cliff and into the ocean in a remote area of Napa County.

 

National

A new NACTO report says fixing intersections — where nearly half of all urban bicycling deaths occur — could dramatically reduce crashes between bikes and cars.

Distracted driving is the new drunk driving, responsible for at least 3,166 traffic fatalities and countless close calls in 2017. And those are just the ones they know about; too many distracted driving crashes go undetected because police need a warrant to examine the driver’s phone, which requires probable cause. The law should be changed to require implied consent to search the driver’s phone after a crash, just like with blood alcohol levels in many states.

Hats off to the Bike League for teaming with the LA-area’s LACBC, T.R.U.S.T South LA and ActiveSGV, as well as the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, to produce a much-needed Spanish language version of their bike education manual.

Go ahead and take it with you. American Airlines becomes the latest US air carrier to drop extra fees for bicycles.

A Seattle writer says his bike commute was ruined by the city’s mayor, who canceled plans for a protected bike lane and replaced them with…nothing.

Running about a week behind, Bicycling catches up with the story about Walmart heirs opening their private Colorado ranch to mountain bikers. Speaking of Walmart, the massive retailer has cut prices on ebikes up to 40% for Bike Month.

A city councilmember in Colorado’s high country apparently thinks only fit, able bodied people should be allowed on 55-mile mountain bike path, voting to maintain a prohibition on ped-assist ebikes.

Longmont, Colorado, wisely considers lifting a requirement for sidewalk riders to get off their bikes and walk across a crosswalk.

A week after a six-year old Iowa boy was nearly killed in a collision while riding his bike, he started collecting bike helmets for kids without one, while Detroit physicians call a bike helmet the best way to protect kids from bike crashes, while noting that one in five kids don’t wear one. Actually, the best way to protect kids is to fight for safe streets and teach kids how to ride safely. Although helmets are still a good idea, since children are far more likely to fall on their own.

Apparently, it’s okay to actually kill someone on a bicycle and flee the scene in Texas. Just don’t try tampering with the evidence to cover it up. Thanks to Stephen Katz for the link.

A Detroit columnist says there’s a lot of synergy between high-end bikes and cars — and a lot of bike riders in the halls of car makers.

Ohio cops want to know where all the abandoned bikes keep coming from, when no one ever reports them stolen.

New York advocates are pushing for a bike and pedestrian path on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to help people on and off Staten Island without cars.

Bighearted Philly police fixed a young boy’s bike for him while he was at school, after he asked if he could leave it at the station because his rim was broken and he didn’t have a lock. And threw in a new lock while they were at it.

 

International

Great idea. A shipping container is converted into a portable bike parking locker that fits into a single parking space, capable of holding 24 bicycles.

A former Vancouver writer recalls the city’s bike-riding mayor, who convinced the city council to invest $25 million in remaking the streets to be safer for people on bicycles. One more reason LA needs to elect a bike-riding mayor in 2020.

A writer for the AP says Quebec endlessly beckons to bike riders, thanks to its beauty, history and an extensive network of bike trails.

A British lawyer wants bicycle training returned to the schools to cut injuries among children now, and throughout their lives.

I think we’ve been insulted. A Scottish op-ed says the system that kept Edinburgh from becoming a second-rate Los Angeles is broken, while calling for a greater emphasis on making the city safe for people on foot.

Over 40,000 people turned out for a Moscow semi-pro bike race and open streets event.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Weekly offers eight takeaways from last week’s Amgen Tour of California; VeloNews offers their takes, as well.

Cycling Tips’ Neal Rogers wants to introduce you to AToC champ Tadej Pogacar, calling him a future World Tour winner. Meanwhile, Pogacar set a new power record for the Mt. Baldy climb.

As for races that still have two weeks to go, Bicycling says Italy’s Valeria Conti may have the lead, but Slovenian Primož Roglič is in the best position to win the Giro. And yes, I had to copy his name to get it right.

Meanwhile, riders in the Giro say sure, it may be boring so far, but just wait.

 

Finally…

When you’re holding a fundraising bike ride, but you can’t tell anyone because it’s top secret. If you somehow feel an irresistible need to cremate a mouse, maybe try taking it out of the bike shop first.

And just…don’t.

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

Morning Links: Who we share the roads with, Spring Street filming, and parking in the not-so-protected bike lane

January 31, 2019 / / 2 comments

This is who we share the roads with, part 1.

A hit-and-run driver plowed into a line of parked cars at 6th and Daisy in Long Beach, resulting in a daisy chain of crashed cars.

Or as the Long Beach Post called it, a car conga line.

But sure, tell us again about those entitled bicyclists.

Or maybe scooters.

………

This is who we share the roads with, part 2.

A Texas woman had this to say about the driver of the bus she was on after the driver fatally rear-ended a bicyclist on the University of Texas campus.

“She was drunk or she was crazy or something. She was not normal. I could feel it the whole time I was on the bus,” Mitchell said. “She was all over the place. One second she’d be 34 miles per hour, then 17 miles per hour, then 21 miles per hour. There was nothing steadfast about it.”

Not exactly the most comfortable way to get from here to there. And as usual, it was the guy on the bike who paid the price.

Thanks to Stephen Katz for the heads-up.

………

This is who we share the roads with, part 3.

A drunken Honolulu driver killed three people when he somehow drove his truck across three lanes, jumped a traffic island and hit six people, followed by crashing into a pole, then into another truck.

Three other people remain in critical condition, including the driver of the other truck.

Initial reports indicate one of the people killed was on a bicycle.

………

CiclaValley points out that the new Spring Street sort-of-but-not-really protected bike lanes don’t seem to have hurt filming, unlike the Hollywood rebellion over the previous green lanes.

Then again, it also seems to double as a parking lane.

But wait, there’s more.

Then again, I’m told that parking in the bike lane is a daily occurrence.

And so is the filming.

………

BikinginLA sponsors Cohen Law Partners offer advice on how long you have to file a lawsuit after a crash — two years in most cases.

Unless the driver holds you captive.

No, really.

………

Freemont, California approved plans for a 17-mile, $1 million bike lane network to make up for their existing patchwork of disconnected lanes.

And yes, the plans include Complete Streets and lane reductions.

Although Robert Leone suggests that maybe it’s just a ploy to keep more motorists off the main streets and on the highways.

………

Local

A Los Angeles architect says little vehicles like e-scooters and bicycles can help heal car-centric cities.

Long Beach has seen an average of over one person killed in traffic collisions every week this year, including two pedestrians and two bike riders.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department received a nearly $2 million grant from the state to conduct traffic safety operations over the coming year, including DUI checkpoints and bicycle and pedestrian safety education.

State

San Diego officials suggest defunding proposed bike lanes and sidewalks in a low income urban neighborhood, and moving the money to another project — even though it scored much lower on the city’s Visio Zero network.

The two-day, 30-mile Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride across San Diego County is intended to “help military veterans wounded on battlefield begin a new path towards healing.”

A mountain biker was airlifted to a hospital after suffering serious injuries while trail riding at the Vail Lake Village Resort east of Temecula.

The faux Dutch village of Solvang put a bike lane project on hold, after discovering it was cheaper to remove parking on both sides of the street than just on one.

A San Francisco woman got her $4,000 foldie e-cargo bike back after it was stolen, thanks to Bike Index and an alert cop. One more reminder to register your bike for free before something like this happens to you.

Not bias here. A Marin newspaper says six months is plenty of time to judge if a pilot bikeway program on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is a success. Let’s see if they say the same thing about the area’s next highway project.

Petaluma police busted a pedal-pushing burglar peeping into parked cars with drug paraphernalia and break-in tools in his pack.

Chico got a $12 million cash infusion from the state’s Active Transportation Program to build a bike bridge over a major roadway.

National

Good news. A new study shows “extreme” exercise like bicycling or running doesn’t put any extra strain on your middle-aged heart.

A writer for Bicycling wants to know if Google Sheets is trolling her with the image of four bicyclists on its homepage.

A new study of 22 cities shows that transit use drops an average of 1.27% annually when ride-hailing services enter a city; the only one not to see a drop was Seattle. It would be interesting to see if it has a corresponding effect on bicycling.

A Washington driver was sentenced to four and a half years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a woman out for a 30-minute bike ride; her 81-year old husband found her body in a ditch when she didn’t come home.

In yet another example of our legal system keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, a Las Vegas hit-and-run driver with a previous DUI conviction downed three-quarters of a gallon of beer before he ran down a bike rider. Then downed another three-quarters afterward because he said he was going to jail anyway.

A Montana writer says it’s dangerous to tailgate bike riders, so don’t do it. Especially in the snow. Which is not a problem LA riders are likely to face anytime soon, though rain is another matter.

Pensacola FL embraces Complete Streets after a previous effort was torpedoed by city leaders.

West Palm Beach, Florida officials credit the city’s Vision Zero program for a more than 20% drop in crashes involving bike riders and pedestrians over the past year. Even though they didn’t adopt it until the last five months of the year.

A hate crime lawsuit was filed against the white Miami driver who threatened a group of black teenage bike riders with a gun while yelling racist epithets. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy.

International

Toronto votes to make a set of separated bike lanes permanent after they reduced crashes involving bicyclists by a whopping 73% during the pilot period. More proof that bike lanes work, despite what the traffic safety deniers claim.

There’s a lot of good people out there. A British woman wants to thank the strangers who rushed to her aid after she skidded on some oil and flew off her bike.

Not surprisingly, a UK used car magazine’s campaign to give free reflective wear to vulnerable road users got a lot of blowback on social media, even though the company says they had a great response from the bicycling community.

Twenty more bicyclists have come forward claiming they had “inexplicable” crashes at a single intersection on an English roadway, bringing the total to 28 people who say they were injured falling off their bikes at the same location.

No size shaming here. An Irish rugby player says when he sees someone who weighs 280 pounds riding a bicycle, he wonders “What’s the point?” The point is a) they’re improving their health, b) they may be going somewhere, and c) they’re enjoying themselves. So get over it, already.

A Norwegian startup has developed a rechargeable, bendable GPS tracker that can be wrapped under your handlebar tape to help fight bike theft.

A one-armed Indian bicyclist rode nearly 1,000 miles from Delhi to Mumbai in just 15 days. No word on whether anyone lent him a hand.

An Aussie newspaper says motorists are wrong when they criticize bike riders for breaking the rules — like the man who drove on a bike path to swear at two bicyclist who were riding in the road, not doing a damn thing wrong.

A bicyclist says the barriers blocking an Australian bike path are just a load of bollards.

Hurry, and you might be able to score one of two remaining handmade ti bikes inspired by the ancient Chinese imperial court in the Forbidden City, for just under $6,000; the other seven have already been given to foreign dignitaries as national gifts. Or you could just ask your favorite dignitary to give you theirs.

Finally…

Evidently, the fifth time is not the charm. If you’re trying to ride away from an angry owner after stealing his bike, watch out for cross traffic.

And now you can ride My Boo.

As long as you’re willing to move to the UK first.

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

Morning Links: Bike riding pervs and hit-and-run bike riders, LA stands in for NYC bikeshare, and cops in bike lanes

January 16, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Bike riding pervs and hit-and-run bike riders, LA stands in for NYC bikeshare, and cops in bike lanes

Today’s common theme is bike-riding sexual predators, and hit-and-run bike riders.

Sheriff’s deputies in Woodside CA are searching for a bike rider who grabbed a girl’s ass as she walked on a high school campus Monday night. Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up. And no, there’s no effing excuse for that, ever.

A bike-riding Hungarian man will spend a well-deserved four years in a UK prison for groping 21 women as he rode by over a 13-week period.

Meanwhile, British police bust a hit-and-run bike rider after a collision with a 70-year old woman crossing the street that left the victim with what police describe as life-changing injuries.

And police in another English town are investigating a crash between a bike rider and a pedestrian that left the victim with a serious head injury.

………

Either Downtown Los Angeles is once again standing in for New York, or New York bikeshare Citi Bike has decided to give LA’s Metro Bike a run for its money.

https://twitter.com/StevenMWhite/status/1085221735815761923

………

LA cops just insist on parking in bike lanes.

https://twitter.com/topomodesto/status/1085265487959740416

………

I want to be like him when I grow up.

An 82-year old Englishman is back on his mountain bike after beating cancer.

………

Stop whatever you’re doing, and take two minutes to watch former BMX pro Matt Row rip through a Welsh mountain bike trail as if he was still riding a stunt bike.

It may just be the best thing you see today.

………

Local

Los Angeles County dropped plans to ban e-scooters from the streets in unincorporated areas after discovering it wouldn’t stand up in court, ordering staff to draw up plans by March to regulate scooters instead.

I’m not a fan of Santa Clarita’s Head’s Up traffic safety campaign, but it may be working; traffic collisions are projected to drop 14% in the city last year.

As we enter our third consecutive day of rain, a floating bike might come in handy for SoCal bicyclists right about now. Just a suggestion.

State

No bias here. After a bike rider was struck by a Costa Mesa cop, the Daily Pilot questions whether the rider had “safety gear” or lights, but doesn’t question the driver’s actions in any way — or even mention one. Meanwhile, a new study points out six ways the media is still blaming the victims.

Mission Viejo will host a bike rodeo and workshop for the city’s Bikeway Master Plan on January 26th.

An op-ed from an Orange County healthcare consultant says better health is as easy as riding a bike.

Del Mar will be hosting the inaugural CABDA West bicycle expo this week, with 1,150 attendees from 410 bike shops.

The family of a fallen bicyclist calls for changes on the Fresno street where he was killed, blaming a lack of bike lanes and street lights for his death. Thanks to Frank Lehnerz for the tip.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo says he learned the hard way that SUVs don’t bend, as he returns to city hall two weeks after broadsiding one in a New Year’s bike crash. Thanks to Patt Morrison for the link.

San Jose transportation columnist Mr.Roadshow explains the what and why behind all those different bike markings on the street.

National

An engineering website says the only correct number of traffic deaths is zero.

Wired asks if advocates are selling out by going to work for tech companies as they move into the bike world. If you can call companies like Uber, Lyft and Lime tech companies.

Bike commuting appeared to spike in Seattle this week in the Emerald City’s version of Carmageddon, as the seaside Alaskan Way Viaduct was shut down, three weeks before the tunnel replacing it is set to open.

A new Seattle study shows that only 20% of dockless bikeshare riders wear helmets despite the city’s mandatory helmet law, compared to 90% of riders using their own bikes.

A bighearted Wyoming man has given away over 7,000 bicycles in the last two years; he started the Lauralynn Project after giving an extra bike to a woman who had one stolen, then bought two more for her kids.

Dallas plans to increase the amount of bike lanes in the city to accommodate new dockless bikeshare, ebikes and e-scooters.

An Ohio driver pled guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the death of a bike rider, even though he claimed the sun was in his eyes. Which is usually a Get Out of Jail Free excuse for most motorists, even though it shouldn’t be.

A 34-year old Tennessee woman dropped 160 pounds by getting on her bike after her father died from a heart attack.

A New York state woman faces charges after lying to the police; she allegedly struck a ten-year old boy with her car, then walked up to police officers investigating the crash and told them the driver fled in another direction.

Life is cheap in New York, where a garbage truck driver who killed a bike-riding Australian tourist walked with just a $1,000 fine despite drinking beer before driving, after prosecutors couldn’t prove he was drunk.

Talk about not getting it. A Virginia letter writer says Vision Zero is just a plot to increase congestion and force more cars off the street.

Heartbreaking story. Bicycling asks who has the right to remove a ghost bike, as a Virginia property owner ignores a mother’s pain and removes the ghost bike honoring her daughter, even though it wasn’t on his property.

A Florida newspaper compares bicycling versus running, and concludes that running burns more calories, but bicycling is safer. They also note that Men’s Health says you can expect to crash on your bike just once every 900,000 miles. Which means I’m way above average.

International

The Sierra Club profiles a woman who got back on a bike for the first time in 12 years after leaving Iran for Canada, and has no intention of getting off.

Good piece from a BC planning student, who says we can do a lot more to improve safety on our streets — starting with dumping the big trucks and SUVs.

Caught on video: This is how easy it is for British bike thieves to steal a $5,000 ebike.

Bike Europe calls for action to fight a plan to require liability insurance to ride an ebike on the continent.

Here’s one for your mountain bike bucket list — shredding the trails of Italy’s South Sardinia.

The town of Karditsa has become one Greece’s most bike friendly cities, with one bicycle for every two residents.

Two men from Nepal were arrested in Tokyo after getting drunk, stealing a bicycle and placing it on a set of train tracks, where it was run over, damaging the train and delaying morning commuters. Must have seemed like a good idea at the time.

A Singaporean bike rider and the truck driver who rammed him off the in a viral road rage video last month are both facing serious charges as a result of the clash.

The South China Morning Post says blockchain can save what’s left of the dockless bikeshare industry following the collapse of Chinese bikeshare providers.

Competitive Cycling

Good news from Italy, where 18-year old junior cyclist Samuele Manfredi has come out of a medically induced coma, a month after he was run over by a driver while on a training ride.

The Australian Broadcast Network says descending at over 60 mph remains one of cycling’s greatest tests of nerve.

Outside writes that pros won’t ruin gravel racing. Probably.

Finally…

Probably not the best idea to punch a bike thief if he didn’t really steal your bike. Riding your bike without handlebars is now officially reckless.

And how to tell when you’re wheelie bad.

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

Morning Links: Bike thefts from Westwood Expo Line station, and blocked MyFig bike lane

September 12, 2018 / / 5 comments

How many people would continue to use transit if they had to worry about their cars being stolen from the station while they’re away?

Yet that’s exactly the problem people in West LA are facing after a series of bike thefts from the Westwood Rancho Park station on the Expo Line.

Jonathon Weiss writes to report that his son’s bike was stolen from the bike corral at the station, just months after his own bike was stolen from the same place.

And as he continues to wait for a response to his request for temporary bike lockers at Metro stations without a Bike Hub.

Which would be almost all of them.

He also notes that his son’s bike was securely locked with a good quality U-lock; the thieves apparently pried it open to get the bike.

That doesn’t bode well for most of us, who have long been told that a good U-lock was the most effective theft deterrent.

Weiss is right to call for more bike lockers at Metro stations. I’m told the Westwood Rancho Park station has a waiting list over 50 names long for the few available lockers on site.

Rather being reserved 24/7 for one person, like Metro’s existing bike lockers, the kind he proposes would be available for a single, short-term rental, allowing users to lock their bikes securely without having to worry about frequent bike thefts, while only paying for the time actually used.

And making it much safer and more convenient to use bicycles to solve the first mile/last mile problem.

Because no one is going to be comfortable leaving their bikes at the station if there’s no guarantee they will be there when they get back.

And right now, there isn’t.

The bike that was stolen Monday

Let this serve as yet another reminder to register your bike for free before something like this happens. Because that offers your best hope of seeing it again if it does.

Top photo shows the empty Expo Line bike corral where Weiss’ bike should have been earlier this year.

………

Chris forwards a brief video clip of yet another driver blocking the MyFigueroa bike lane at 22nd Street Friday afternoon.

Or as he calls it, the MyFig Loading Zone.

He also notes that the semi-protected bike lane didn’t manage to protect one rider.

Also, there was a crash involving a cyclist further up at Fig between 7th and 8th, in the far left lane, closest to the plaza. Did not witness the crash but I did see police questioning a motorist and a witness. The cyclist was in an ambulance and the police put the bike in the ambulance with him or her. Not sure how it happened or the condition of the cyclist. Perhaps something to look into, but I couldn’t find any news or police reports.

………

The exceptionally popular beachfront Marvin Braude bike path will be closed for construction work near the border of Santa Monica and Venice through the end of October, except for Sundays.

Hopefully there will be a well marked detour around the construction zone.

Thanks to Alt Housing California for the heads-up.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

And it claimed a new victim in Seattle, where an 18-year old man was hospitalized after crashing into a tree because some sick schmuck cut the brakes on the Lime Bike he was riding.

Let’s hope they find the person responsible, and lock ’em up for a long damn time.

………

Local

LA Downtown News says the MyFigueroa Complete Streets project has potential — if the bugs can be worked out.

A new proposal would build a pedestrian bridge at the secluded Los Angeles River & Aliso Creek Confluence Park in the San Fernando Valley, as well as adding bike and pedestrian paths leading from the bike lanes on Reseda Blvd.

A Pasadena columnist invites e-scooters to besmirch the city’s streets now that Metro Bike has been given the boot, while blaming high user fees for the demise of the bikeshare program.

 

State

Streetsblog questions whether recent news stories about the dangers of e-scooters are an attempt to derail a newly passed bill that would remove the requirement to wear a helmet, as it sits on Governor Brown’s desk.

The CHP is recommending a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge against the woman who killed Grossmont College professor Brian Jennings near El Cajon while allegedly sleeping behind the wheel.

Sad news from Sacramento, where a bike rider was killed in a collision with apparently driverless pickup.

Sacramento police are looking for whoever brutally attacked a 73-year old bike rider on a secluded trail; a 76-year old man was killed in an attack on the same trail earlier this year.

 

National

A new report suggests that improving transit systems can improve traffic safety, because cities with a higher level of public transit usage have a smaller proportion of road fatalities.

REI offers advice on how to chose an ebike.

A Texas public radio station asks if e-scooters are the key to getting better bike lanes in San Antonio. We can only hope that works in LA, since the limited adoption of bikeshare hasn’t done the trick.

Friends struggle to make sense of the hit-and-run that left a popular San Antonio restaurant manager in the hospital with critical injuries; she was injured when her bike was rear-ended by the driver, knocking her into a tree. Thanks to Stephen Katz for the link.

Detroit is rapidly shedding its reputation as the Motor City, with a five-year plan to build out a complete protected bike lane network, as well as making improvements for pedestrians. Compare that with LA’s mobility plan, which calls for improvements over the next 17 years. And which we’re told is only aspirational.

The hit-and-run epidemic has hit Ohio, with a 50% increase in drivers fleeing the scene since 2012.

A Maine driver has admitted to driving under the influence of a sleep-inducing medication when he allegedly hit a bike rider in the face with the mirror of his truck, before crashing into two other cars; police suspect he was on other medications, legal or otherwise, but were unable to get a blood sample after the crash. He had a previous DUI, as well as a long string of other traffic violations. Yet another example of authorities keeping dangerous drivers on the road until they kill someone. Or in this case, nearly.

A Delaware man faces up to 30 months behind bars after he was convicted of killing the bike-riding owner of a TV station; he unsuccessfully tried to blame the victim by saying the rider swerved out onto the roadway.

Another reason to hate Elon Musk. A New York Tesla dealer is converting the streets, sidewalks and two-way bike lane in the Red Hook neighborhood into its own private car storage.

Bicycling helped save the life of a DC Iraq War vet who suffered from Gulf War Illness; she’s now competed in 27 triathlons.

No bias here. Black bike riders get two-thirds of the bicycling traffic tickets in New Orleans, but make up just one third of the city’s riders.

 

International

After a Toronto city councilor urges pedestrians to point in the direction they want to go to cross a street — even in a crosswalk with the right of way — a columnist compares it to using an automotive air bag or a bike helmet to improve safety.

An Anglican bishop rode his bike nearly 4,500 miles across Canada, raising over $187,000 to support his church’s ministry; that converts to over $147,000 US.

A European website looks at the adoption of graphene in bike tires and clothing, predicting internet-connected bikewear with embedded electronics to help prevent collisions.

This is the benefit of ebikes. A 93-year old English letter writer says his ebike has changed his life, allowing him to get uphill to the local market — and pass younger riders along the way.

In a new survey that should surprise absolutely no one, most people in the UK — but especially women — prefer riding in bikeways that are physically separated from vehicular traffic.

Britain offers incentives to buy any kind of electric vehicle — except ebikes. That’s also true in the US, something that will have to change if the country every gets serious about reducing traffic and fighting climate change.

A pair of bike tourists from Slovenia and the Czech Republic pause in Pakistan on a world tour that began twenty years ago.

Bicycling is making a comeback in India.

A sharp eyed South African driver helped bust a bike theft ring when he spotted a pair of vans with $26,000 worth of high-end bikes carelessly thrown in the back; the bikes had been stolen from a bike shop that same day.

Nothing has been done to fix a deadly Brisbane, Australia intersection, despite the city’s promise to install protected bike lanes after a woman was killed riding there four years ago.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews says five moments in the last two weeks have given American cycling fans a reason to cheer.

Cycling Tips profiles America’s newest cycling hero, newly crowned world mountain bike champ Kate Courtney.

 

Finally…

Now you can get on your bike at spin class, and get off somewhere else. You can own Robin Williams’ fixie — if you have an extra $4K to $6K lying abound.

And apparently, Alabama has repealed the law of gravity, and mountain bikers can now ride horizontally.

………

Join the Militant Angeleno and BikinginLA for the first-ever Militant Angeleno’s Epic CicLAvia Tour at the Celebrate LA! LA Phil 100 CicLAvia on September 30th!

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.

 

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Morning Links: LAPD recovers possibly stolen bikes, Los Feliz NC gets real with Ryu, and ticketing trucks in SaMo

August 30, 2018 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: LAPD recovers possibly stolen bikes, Los Feliz NC gets real with Ryu, and ticketing trucks in SaMo

If you had a bike stolen recently in Santa Monica or Venice, you might want to check with the LAPD’s Pacific Division.

According to the LA Times, the driver of a pickup crashed into two other vehicles as he was fleeing the police. The chase began when officers discovered the truck had been stolen a few days earlier in Bakersfield.

Three people were hospitalized, including a passenger in the truck.

After police arrested the driver, they discovered a number of bicycles in the back of the truck, and were checking to see if they had been stolen.

However, given that most bike thefts are never reported to the police, if the bikes weren’t registered, there’s a good chance they won’t show up in a police database.

Which means the thief will get away with it — assuming they are stolen.

And the owners may never see them again.

Thanks to Joe Linton for the heads-up.

………

I can’t say I’m familiar with the members of the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council. But after reading this letter, I could kiss every one of them.

This especially matters as Ryu contemplates ripping out the highly successful road diet on Rowena — after he already cancelled the desperately-needed road diet planned for 6th Street behind LACMA in the Miracle Mile neighborhood.

LA’s Vision Zero program is already at risk of dying before it has even been implemented, thanks to the auto-centric reactions of city councilmembers who, like Ryu, seem to fear angry drivers more than they fear blood on their hands.

And to answer the question posed in the letter, there is no acceptable number of traffic deaths.

None.

I’d love to see a version of this letter forwarded to every member of the city council. Especially CD1’s “Roadkill” Gil Cedillo and CD5’s Paul “Killer” Koretz.

Thanks to Alissa Walker for posting the letter.

………

File this one under things that never happen in real life.

Yes, that’s a Santa Monica police officer ticketing a delivery driver double-parked in the San Vicente bike lane.

I complained about delivery drivers blocking the bike lanes for years when I regularly rode that route, and never got any results. From the police or the delivery companies.

And was harassed so much that I had to block the comments on my videos of bike lane-blocking trucks on my YouTube channel, and finally had to delete the videos entirely.

Which seems to be what’s happening in Reddit, as redditors argue that police are overreacting to what they consider a minor inconvenience for people on bikes.

Even though blocking those bike lanes forces riders out into the general traffic lanes on a section of roadway where few drivers seem to pay attention to much of anything, including the speed limit.

Still, it’s good to see SaMo police taking this seriously.

Let’s hope they keep it up. And maybe delivery drivers will finally find somewhere else to park.

Thanks again to the esteemed Mr. Linton.

………

The war on cars is a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

A Toronto bike rider shook his head as he passed a driver blocking an off-road cycle track. So the motorist drove down the road to the next crossing point, waited for other riders to pass, then intentionally plowed into him.

And denied afterwards that he hit anyone.

Fortunately, the whole thing was caught on video.

He now faces charges for hit-and-run and failing to report a collision, as well as failure to yield. Even though he should have been charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

And then a local website has the audacity to say “Both drivers and cyclists are responsible when it comes to road safety.”

Which is like telling shooting victims they have a responsibility to stay out of the way of bullets.

Then there’s this one, where an impatient and indignorant driver can’t even manage to wait a few seconds for a bike rider to have room to pull over and let her pass.

And evidently concludes that the woman on the bike doesn’t belong there, because there’s no bike lane on a street that’s too narrow for one.

………

Local

Coldplay’s Chris Martin is one of us, as he goes for a bike ride in the ‘Bu.

 

State

The proposed Peninsula Bikeway promises to connect the cities of Mountain View, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton and Redwood City, and eventually extend across the entire South Bay Peninsula.

 

National

NPR reports on the great American e-scooter debate, saying dockless scooters are gaining popularity and scorn across the US.

El Paso TX bike riders get a shiny new two-way cycle track along a street car route.

A legally blind Indiana man put over 2,000 miles on his bike in the last year, despite his vision problems — until he was taken down by a pothole. A reminder that bad roads pose a risk to everyone on bikes, but some more than others.

A Cincinnati city councilmember says scooter companies like Bird and Lime should be held responsible for the actions of the people who use them. Which I’m all in favor of, as long as the same rule applies to a few other companies, like Tesla, Ford, GMC, Chrysler, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Toyota, Honda, Kia, et al.

Providence RI gets creative with outreach to build support for a bike lane project, including day-long popups. Then again, if people in Rhode Island are anything like people in LA, once the bike lanes are installed, they’ll insist they were never consulted and the popups never happened.

In a study that runs counter to what we’re usually told, Boston researchers conclude that lowering speed limits actually does result in lower speeds. Which we should remember the next time we’re told that raising speeds under the deadly 85 percentile law really doesn’t matter.

Facing as much as 40 years behind bars — or as little as nothing — a New Orleans driver who fled the scene after killing a bike-riding artist begs forgiveness from the victim’s family, saying he thinks about the crash every day. Chances are, they do too.

 

International

A British Columbia woman credits her bike helmet with saving her life when a pickup driver literally ran over her head.

A Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario bike shop has become a haven for bike tourists. And having a free pump track in back doesn’t hurt.

Montreal business owners are fighting a planned bike path along a wide industrial corridor, saying it will increase traffic and angry drivers, even though it will just narrow the overly wide traffic lanes without removing any lanes or parking.

Caught on video: Road.cc talks with a British bikemaker about how hard it is to design a bicycle.

Forty percent of the residents of Malmö, Sweden bike to work or school every day, thanks to a 200-mile bike lane network that makes bicycling the fastest way across the city.

A Bangalore, India website says the city has done nothing to promote bicycling or ensure the safety of bicyclists, despite the 45,000 bike riders in the city.

Life is cheap in Australia, where a driver was acquitted on a charge of dangerous driving in the death of a bike rider, who apparently just magically appeared in front of him.

Police in Australia’s Queensland state have started a new “Stay Wider of the Rider” campaign to fight close passes by drivers.

 

Competitive Cycling

Great piece from Bicycling about LA’s own CNCPT cycling team — aka Concept — made up entirely of people of color. And dedicated to blowing up the sport, in a good way.

The Vuelta saw a long breakaway in Wednesday’s stage, and a change in the leader’s jersey.

Britain’s Mark Cavendish is shutting down his cycling season after being diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus; he ranks second on the all-time Tour de France list with 30 stage victories.

Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali continues to have pain in his back after suffering a vertebra fracture in a crash during the Tour de France, and questions whether he will ever be the same again.

 

Finally…

No, it’s not okay to right hook someone in a bike lane. Pedestrians say people on bikes should wear license plates.

And as former pro and current Cookie Monster Phil Gaiman will attest, people who ride bicycles need a good fuel source.

………

I was hoping to attend today’s official opening of the MyFigueroa Complete Streets project, but it looks like a busy day with too many obligations will keep me away. 

If you go, try to corner LA Mayor Eric Garcetti — assuming he’s not too busy running for president to show up — and ask how Vision Zero can work if councilmembers have the power to block projects like MyFig in their own districts. 

And how it can possibly succeed if his own office isn’t willing to go out and fight for it.

I think we’d all like to hear the answers to that.

 

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Morning Links: Council splits on speed for scooters, cabs banned from bike lanes, and 10 years for Oceanside driver

August 17, 2018 / / 3 comments

The city council’s Public Works Committee recommended that e-scooters be allowed on LA streets with their current top speed of 15 mph, rather than the 12 mph limit recommended by the Transportation Committee.

The full city council will now have to make the final decision.

The committee also approved a lengthy laundry list of other proposed scooter requirements, while leaving the door open for other providers to step in, in addition to the current Bird and Lime.

You can thank bike-friendly Joe Buscaino if the higher speed limit gets approved.

Today’s photo reflects a more subtle form of vandalism, spotted on the streets of Hollywood.

………

As long as we’re talking about scooters, we might as well keep going.

The Santa Monica Daily Press looks at Tuesday’s demonstration at SaMo City Hall in support of Lime and Bird scooters, and finds somewhat underwhelming. Although the 20,000 or so form emails city leaders received were just the opposite.

Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole reminds us that even though the process for legalizing scooters hasn’t been easy, few remember how the first motor cars turned cities upside down.

Streetsblog says the hyperventilating stories about scooters have been blown out of proportion, because the rollout is going well in most places.

And an Atlanta doctor gives a e-scooters a negative review, calling them dangerous to people on and off them, and recommends giving them the boot.

………

The Los Angeles Taxi Commission has officially barred cab drivers from parking or waiting in bike lanes for any reason, other than to pick up or drop off handicapped passengers.

https://twitter.com/taxicomisionado/status/1030249259419877376

………

The stoned driver who killed 70-year old endurance cyclist Paul Cornish in an Oceanside bike lane last year will spend 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Twenty-six-year old Felix Ruiz Bazan was high on meth, and driving a stolen car without a license when he ran down Cornish, who once set the record for fastest crossing of the continental US by bicycle.

………

While we’re at it, let’s catch up on a few other updates on more recent crashes.

A young father of two has been identified as the victim of Monday’s collision in Bellflower; Timothy Maurice Lewis was allegedly riding against traffic when he was struck and killed. A GoFundMe page has been created to help pay his funeral expenses.

A GoFundMe page has also been created to raise funds for funeral expenses for Apolinar Venancio; the popular Glassell Park resident known as Don Polo was killed while riding his bike last week.

And the road cyclist killed in East San Diego County earlier this month has been identified as 61-year old Daniel Lusteg of La Mesa.

………

Forget the movie Gone in 60 Seconds. Security video shows a British bike thief making off with one in about four.

………

Local

Curbed suggests five ways to make isolated Dodger stadium more accessible that aren’t Boring, including improving bikeways and making Vin Scully Ave a pedestrianized street.

The Morning Ride Cycle Club presents photos from last weekend’s LA Handmade Bicycle Show.

Santa Monica-based Bird has established a global safety advisory board to help improve safety for e-scooter users — and presumably, those around them.

A Malibu program teaches kids how to be safe on PCH, where even adult bicyclists take their chances with drivers distracted by topless selfie takers.

 

State

Seriously, what’s the point of doing a story about a San Luis Obispo bike show if you’re not going to include photos?

The JUMP dockless e-bikeshare has been a success in Santa Cruz.

Sad news from San Francisco, where a 65-year old man was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding in the city’s Tenderloin district; the driver was later arrested on DUI, hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter charges.

San Francisco unveils plans for a protected bike lane along the Embarcadero, where a pedicab operator was killed earlier this year.

Richmond’s mayor and at least one councilmember decry the arrest of Rich City Rides founder Najari “Naj” Smith in neighboring Oakland for apparently Biking While Black.

 

National

No, the problem isn’t that self-driving cars can’t spot humans, on two wheels or two feet. It’s that human beings are too unpredictable. So autonomous car makers want to make us follow the rules, or else.

Strong Towns makes the case for why drivers should support bike lanes.

Bicycling offers five scientific reasons why riding a bike is the best way to get around. And why you get addicted to bicycling social media, and what to do about it.

Portland’s master bike thief is at it again, getting 25 months in prison for violating his probation with his 80th arrest in 20 years of stealing bicycles. Yes, eighty.

Reddit solved a Washington hit-and-run, as an online discussion helped identify a tiny part left behind by the driver who killed a bicycling grandmother.

The Seattle Times recommends adding a ferry to your rides.

If you have a little extra cash lying around — preferably in pounds — consider investing in a documentary about a 75-year old man’s attempt to break the record for a human powered vehicle at Battle Mountain, Nevada.

Three hundred fifty bike riders turned out for a 350-mile ride around the Yellowstone region.

Life is cheap in Kansas, where a speeding, allegedly stoned hit-and-run driver who killed a bike rider got seven years behind bars — but will probably only serve four months.

Illinois will now teach the Dutch Reach to all student drivers, as well as adding a question about it on the driver’s test to help reduce dooring.

Minneapolis is preparing to take the middle ground between docked and dockless bikeshare, while providing marked parking spaces for the latter.

A local paper talks with Massachusetts custom bikemaker Alex Meade, who took over an old factory for his business.

A Gettysburg PA bike rider explains for motorists why we do the things we do.

 

International

Fifteen cities around the world are fighting air pollution by curbing the use of cars. Needless to say, Los Angeles is not one of them.

A story in Outside tells how bikepacker Kate Harris saw more than Marco Polo ever did. On the other hand, no one’s ever played “Kate Harris” in the swimming pool.

Cycling Tips‘ Angry Asian says enough with the ebike hate. Couldn’t agree more. It’s a damn good rant, and damn well worth reading.

Can’t decide whether to buy a roadie, commuter or mountain bike? Then just get all three in one. Or maybe you’re tired of riding everywhere and want to go un-carfree.

A crowdfunding campaign for the five Edmonton, Canada bicyclists injured by a driver who couldn’t manage to see two lines of riders directly in front of her has raised over $10,000 of the $250,000 goal.

Forget whether it’s safer for Edmonton bicyclists to ride single file or two abreast; real safety requires separated bike lanes.

Winnipeg bans right turns on red lights to protect bike riders and pedestrians. But only in one district.

A Toronto city counselor and a Vision Zero advocate debate how to make the streets safer. Hint: Don’t do it the first guy’s way.

A Toronto man walked away from his MBA and law degree to co-found titanium bikemaker No. 22.

A Guardian writer goes fat biking on the beach.

Talk about blaming the victim. London’s Daily Mail urges the UK government to crack down on Ofo’s yellow dockless bikeshare bikes because people are vandalizing them and dumping them in lakes and trees. Because God knows, they wouldn’t want to go after the vandals who are destroying them or anything.

Not even people a heartbeat away from royalty are safe on the streets, as the Queen’s personal homeopath was killed in a crash while riding his bike just seconds from the hospital where he works.

Oxford, England shut down its docked bikeshare in the face of competition from dockless bikeshares.

A British man is riding 211 miles on his daughter’s little pink bicycle to raise money in her memory, after she died of a brain tumor at age seven.

The Chicago Tribune asks if Tajikistan is safe for American tourists after terrorists killed four bike tourists, including an American couple. And no, they weren’t trying to make a point by riding through ISIS-controlled territory — and no, they weren’t naive to try.

An Indian website talks with bike clubs across the country to take the temperature of India’s bike scene.

An Aussie website explains how riding two abreast improves safety. And why it’s good for drivers, too.

Life is cheap in Australia, where a judge tells a driver who smashed into a bike rider that driving with a windshield so frosted over he couldn’t see where he was going was a mistake anyone could make.

Forget a custom bike. What you really need are custom Kiwi bike shoes.

 

Competitive Cycling

The four-day Colorado Classic bike race kicked off on Thursday, as women cyclists wonder what they have to do to get a little attention, and one rider asks who you’d rather see in spandex. Good point.

Chris Froome and Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas will skip the Vuelta in favor of the Tour of Britain.

Ritchie Porte will ride for redemption at the Vuelta and the World Championships.

A New York cyclist got tired of bike races. So he created his own.

A 20-year old Israeli cycling champ was killed in a left cross when a turning driver cut her off.

A writer for VeloNews says Donald Trump’s alleged Russian connections date back to his sponsorship of the Tour de Trump bike race in the 1980s.

 

Finally…

Yes, you’re invited to ride on a new highway before it opens — just don’t bring your own bike. If you name your company Cycling Porn, don’t be surprised when it gets blocked on social media.

And your next bike helmet could text for help if you crash.

Note: We originally ended with a police report that turned out to be a hoax. Thanks to Sam for the correction.

 

 

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Morning Links: LA backslides on Spring Street bridge bike lanes, and NY crash shows why blocked bike lanes matter

August 13, 2018 / / One comment

Once again, the City of Angels is backsliding on commitments to build the bike lanes called for in the mobility plan.

According to Streetsblog’s Joe Linton, the Spring Street bridge was widened and rebuilt for the express purpose of installing bike lanes and improving sidewalks.

But now that the $50 million project is finished, the long-promised bike lanes aren’t there.

Instead, there’s a stripped-off area where the bike lanes would normally be, nominally directing riders into the traffic lane, where most riders would have to struggle uphill in front of speeding traffic.

The question of what happened to the missing lanes appears to come in the next to last sentence, where Linton mentions that the councilmember representing the project is our old bike-hating friend, Gil Cedillo.

Yes, the same Cedillo who has singlehandedly halted the much-needed, shovel-ready lane reduction on North Figueroa. As well as cancelling the planned Complete Streets project on Temple Street, in conjunction with neighboring Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, who should know better.

It was also Cedillo who attempted to remove all the bike lanes in his district from the city’s mobility plan.

Instead, he’s just kept them from getting built.

Photo by Joe Linton/Streetsblog L.A.

………

If you’ve ever had someone tell you that blocking a bike lane in no big deal, this is why it matters.

A 23-year old Australian tourist was killed when an livery cab driver swerved into the New York bike lane she was riding in, forcing her out into traffic where she was hit by a dump truck.

It probably didn’t help any that the driver had been drinking.

The New York Times quoted the city’s mayor about the crash —

Mayor Bill de Blasio, who oversaw the creation of more than 66 miles of bike lanes last year under his Vision Zero plan, which aims to eliminate traffic fatalities, visited the scene on Friday and said he was disgusted by what happened.

“This is another example, from my point of view, of the danger of reckless driving, and we’re going to make sure there’s a full investigation and we’re going to make sure that there are real consequences for anything that happened here that was illegal,” he added. “A 23-year-old, that’s very painful.”

Yet that same Mayor de Blasio has repeatedly said that he doesn’t think drivers should be ticketed for blocking bike lanes. And has done it himself more than once.

Maybe he’ll want to rethink that now.

………

So-called experts insist bike riders have to wear hi-viz to make sure drivers see us.

On the other hand, 15 people riding side-by-side in the middle lane of a highway should be pretty damn easy to spot. Yet somehow, an Edmonton, Canada driver couldn’t manage that, either, injuring five riders after plowing into them from behind.

Meanwhile, the president of the bike club says don’t blame the victims, because the law requiring cyclists to ride single file doesn’t make sense.

………

A new law proposed by the British government could mean that bike riders who kill a pedestrian or other riders could face up to 14 years behind bars.

The bill, which would create the crime of causing death by dangerous cycling, comes in response to the death of a woman earlier this year, when authorities struggled to find a crime to charge the reckless rider with.

On the other hand, it didn’t help when the country’s Conservative Party tweeted that the law would protect the “most vulnerable road users” from dangerous cyclists.

As if bike riders aren’t vulnerable road users themselves.

Or that 445 of the 448 pedestrians killed in the country in 2016 were killed by people in the big, dangerous machines, not the people on two wheels.

Needless to say, bicyclists were not pleased.

………

Opponents of bike lanes will inevitably claim that they only benefit fit, able-bodied young people who can ride a bicycle.

Nothing is further from the truth. Especially given the popularity of ebikes, which virtually anyone can ride.

Case in point, Yusuf Çelebi, the head of the department for the disabled in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, who had this to say on the subject —

“The disabled also need bicycles, just like everybody else. They’re ideal for avoiding traffic jams and getting exercise,” Çelebi said.

“I ride my bike to show that we stand together with the disabled, not only in the home or office, but in every field.”

 

Its also worth mentioning that the bike he rides is a tandem, which his official driver uses to steer around the city’s traffic problems, since Çelebi is blind.

………

Local

That study commissioned by Councilmember David Ryu to reconsider the Rowena Ave road diet has finally been released. And as expected, three of the four options involved removing all or part of the bike lanes. Which is not surprising, since that seems to have been the whole point all along.

Lime says LA’s proposed 12 mph speed cap for e-scooters could increase the risk for users, noting that the slower speed could disrupt the flow of traffic in bike lanes. However, at 15 to 20 mph, they vastly overestimate the speed of an average bicyclist, who is more likely to travel at a relatively sedate 10 to 12 mph.

LA-based nonprofit Bikes4Orphans has just delivered four bicycles to an Indian orphanage; the group, which was founded by a high school student, uses bikes to help children get an education and lift themselves out of poverty.

The Long Beach Post looks at adventurous ways to escape the city by bike or on foot.

 

State

At least one person was critically injured when an out-of-control San Clemente pickup driver slammed into a light post, jumped the center divider and smashed into a pedestrian and a pair of bike riders before crashing into four parked cars. Police say it’s unclear if drugs or alcohol played a role, but it’s a safe bet excessive speed did.

A retired Alameda County sheriff’s deputy has finished a 68-day ride across the US to honor his partner, who was killed in a shooting in 1998.

An employee-owned San Francisco bike shop was cleaned out by burglars last week, losing 21 bicycles worth $60,000 as the thieves took every bike in the shop.

The Bay Area’s Bike East Bay is demanding changes after a rash of bicycling deaths in recent weeks.

 

National

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on, as someone sabotaged a bike lane under construction in Seattle with fireworks; a group fighting the lanes denies doing it. Which doesn’t mean their supporters didn’t.

A South Dakota TV station says bike shops and riders could be in the bullseye for Trump’s next round of tariffs, with a proposed 10% increase on most bicycles, parts and accessories, to go along with a 25% tariff on ebikes that just went into effect.

When technology put an end to his bike courier business, a Minneapolis man switched gears to open a bike food delivery service.

Even the recent death of a bike rider doesn’t seem to be enough to get a protected bike lane built on the South Side of Chicago.

A Chicago woman decides not to report a crash to police, after the driver who crashed into her bike begged not to have her deported — which means she can’t collect payment for her injuries. A GoFundMe page has raised nearly $6,000 of the $10,000 goal to help pay her medical expenses.

A writer for Streetsblog captures New York pedestrians running in fear, cyclists blocked, and drivers fuming as they try to funnel into a too-small street near the Holland Tunnel.

This is who we share the streets with. A cab driver is accused of biting another driver in an ongoing Battle Royale that raged down a New York street

Streetsblog looks towards the death of a North Carolina man as a prime example of how lazy reporting obscures the dangers on our streets; the 80-year old victim was accused of running in front of oncoming traffic, and not wearing reflective clothing even though the crash occurred in daylight. Too many news outlets simply retype whatever the police say without question, regardless of whether it makes any sense.

 

International

A psychologist offers advice on how to overcome the fear of getting back on your bike after a crash.

In a bizarre Catch-22, a ban on cars in a Toronto Park is in jeopardy after it made the park more dangerous because too many drivers ignored the ban and drove there anyway.

Road signs intended to slow Toronto drivers down have been removed because they actually worked.

Caught on video: Three thousand young bike riders take over the streets of London to call for an end to knife crime.

A new app confirms that bicycling is the fastest way to get around London.

London’s Metro newspaper vows to be more careful when tweeting from now on, after initially blaming a bike rider who was nearly run over by the driver of a large truck in the British equivalent of a right hook.

A British driver was severely beaten following a dispute with two men on bicycles. No matter what started it, violence is never the answer. The riders can, and should, be prosecuted for the attack.

Edinburgh will celebrate Scotland’s first open streets events, making select streets carfree on the first Sunday of every month.

Five ways to find a bike on your next trip to the Netherlands.

They get it. A Ghanian website asks how safe is it to ride a bike in the country, while saying drivers should direct their anger at the authorities who failed to consider bicycles when designing roadways.

Speaking of the war on bikes, the Australian press has finally discovered the death threats and hate comments and emails that bike riders receive.

Evidently, foreign tourists aren’t any safer in Australia than they are in New York, as a Dutch tourist was killed by a car thief making his getaway as she rode her bike on a busy street; police are looking for the killer, who ran away after crashing into a pair of parked cars, saying he may have been on drugs.

A Malaysian letter writer says something must be done to stop the “mat lajak menace,” groups of reckless teen bicyclists who take over highways to perform stunts.

 

Competitive Cycling

Former Tour de France winner Lars Ullrich continues his recent meltdown, as he was sent to a psychiatric facility after attacking a prostitute in his Berlin hotel room; he suffered a panic attack after he was released following his arrest for investigation for attempted manslaughter. That comes a week after he was arrested for fighting with a neighbor in Mallorca, Spain.

Britain’s Cyclist magazine talks with former world champion Johan Museeuw about his three Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders wins, his comeback from a shattered kneecap that nearly cost him his leg, and confessing to doping after he retired.

Former US mountain bike champ Sepp Kuss dominated last week’s Tour of Utah; the 23-year old rider finished second last year in the same race last year in just his second year as a pro road cyclist.

 

Finally…

Nothing like catching your mountain bike faceplant on your bike cam. Why push yourself on your bike when you can just shvitz your way to better health?

And this is how you define a Dad of the Year candidate.

 

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