Tag Archive for Santa Clarita

Update: Man killed riding bicycle in Santa Clarita Saturday afternoon; at least the 32nd bicycling death in LA County this year

Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be any end to the danger on our streets this year.

That was driven home yet again in Santa Clarita Saturday afternoon, when a man was killed in a collision while riding his bicycle.

According to The Signal, the victim was struck by the driver of a Mini Cooper around 12:42 pm at Market Street and Railroad Ave.

While he was down on the street, the man, who has not been publicly identified, was then run over by another driver. He died at the scene.

Both drivers reportedly remained following the crash.

There’s no word on where in the intersection the crash occurred, or how the initial collision happened.

However, raw video from the scene appears to show the Mini Cooper stopped in front of a building on the northwest side of the intersection, with the victim’s body blurred out on the corner.

Which should serve as a warning to be careful deciding whether you really want to click on the link.

This is at least the 66th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 32nd that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 42-year old Franklin Mejia.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Franklin Mejia and his loved ones. 

Update: 17-year old ebike rider killed by Bud Light truck driver in Santa Clarita Monday; 5th SoCal bicycling death in 6 days

At least this time it wasn’t a hit-and-run.

The Santa Clarita Valley Signal is reporting that someone was killed while riding a bicycle in Valencia this morning.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was apparently riding on southbound McBean Parkway at Skycrest Circle Drive when they were struck by the driver of a Bud Light semi-truck around 9 am Monday.

He died at the scene.

Unfortunately, no other details are available at this time. Hopefully, we’ll learn more soon.

This is at least the 40th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

The victim was also the fifth person killed while riding a bicycle in SoCal since Wednesday.

Update: KTLA-5 has identified the victim as a 17-year Santa Clarita resident Louie Alexander Barba.

The station reports he was riding an ebike, though it’s unclear if that had anything to do with the crash. 

The station places the crash at Decoro Drive and McBean Parkway in Santa Clarita, rather than two blocks away at McBean Parkway and Skycrest Circle Drive. 

Update 2: I receive the following email from Nina Moskol, of BikeLA chapter Santa Clarita Valley Bicycle Coalition, which adds some context to the story.

As of now, there are no particulars that we have received to share regarding the crash, other than the crash location. It could be noted however, that the area where the crash occurred is posted for 45 mph traffic with 3 lanes apiece traveling north and southbound. Named as a parkway, motor and truck traffic are often traveling on it at highway speeds. The parkway is flanked on either side with sidewalk, and oversized sidewalks, referred to here as paseos, which are intended for pedestrians and cyclists to use. Sidewalk riding is legal in this part of the city.

Unfortunately, it looks like the crash occurred in an uncontrolled intersection. This parkway is really hard for pedestrians and cyclists to cross, unless at a signalized crosswalk or via the nearby bike/ped bridge.

The nearest signalized intersections would have been a few tenths of a mile away from Skycrest, where the crash happened, and the only bike/ped bridge is further north of where the crash occurred too, serving a park and elementary school. If he was traveling to school at COC, this bridge would have been in the opposite direction of his intended destination. Regardless of the travel choices to make, the teen cyclist never had a chance against a semi-tractor trailer.

A crowdfunding page to benefit his family has raised over $35,000, far exceeding the $21,000 goal.

According to the page, Barba was riding his bike to school at the Academy of the Canyons, where he was in his final year of high school. 

They describe him this way — 

Louie was not just any teenager; he was a beacon of joy, hope, and dreams. A brilliant student, he was adored by his peers, teachers, and every life he touched. Those hallways of the Academy will surely miss his infectious laughter, his unwavering dedication to learning, and his unforgettable presence.

But school was just one facet of Louie’s vibrant life. The great outdoors was his playground. Whether it was skiing down snowy slopes, cycling through mountainous terrains, fishing under the serene sky, or camping under the stars, Louie was happiest when he was amidst nature. And what made these experiences even more precious was the company of his beloved family. Louie leaves behind his mother, Oksana; sister, Ivanna; father, Louie; and stepfather, Chris.

SCVBC is planning on placing a Ghost Bike near the crash site on Monday at or around 7pm.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Louie Alexander Barba and all his family and loved ones.

More Bike Week news, bikes and accessibility at PCSC next month, and LA gets new electric bike lane sweeper

More Bike Week news.

The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition is teaming with Day One to host a free evening taco ride tonight.

Pasadena’s Day One is hosting a bike-in movie Saturday night, screening Together We Cycle, a documentary about the history of bicycling in the Netherlands.

Santa Clarita is hosting a Bike to Work Week Challenge for businesses and their employees, including five pit stops on Thursday’s Bike to Work Day.

Metro is sponsoring a series of Bike Week events —

UCLA Bike Week Commuter Event

  • May 18 @ 8:30 am – 10:30 am
  • Perloff Hall at UCLA, 1317 Portola Plaza
  • Los Angeles, CA 90095 United States

It’s Bike Week! Come to Perloff Hall to learn more about Metro Bike Share at UCLA.

Bike Share 101: Bike Safety Basics at UCLA Bike Week (In-Person Class)

  • May 18 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
  • UCLA LuValle Commons, 398 Portola Plaza
  • Los Angeles, CA 90095 United States
  • RSVP HERE

The BEST Bike Share 101: Bike Safety Basics class, presented by Metro, Metro Bike Share, and LA County Bicycle Coalition, is a 1.5-hour in-person class where you will learn how to navigate the Metro Bike Share system and improve your safety while riding Metro Bike Share on campus. RSVP REQUIRED.

Bike to Work Day Celebration

  • May 19 @ 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
  • Union Station, 800 N Alameda St
  • Los Angeles, CA 90012 United States

Ride Metro Bike Share to work on Bike to Work Day! Stop by our booth in Union Station East for free coffee, pastries, and passes for FREE 30-minute rides.

Bike to Work Day Lunch Community Ride

  • May 19 @ 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
  • Union Station West Portal, 834 N Alameda St
  • Los Angeles, CA United States

Are you a bike commuter? Do you work from home and want to get out for a bike ride? The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and Metro Bike Share invite you to celebrate National Bike to Work Day with a short, fun-filled lunch hour bike ride sponsored by Metro’s Bicycle Education Safety Training (BEST) Program. Join us at Union Station, where we’ll ride along to Chinatown and the LA State Historic Park to enjoy a tasty fresh lunch.

3rd & Santa Fe Pop-Up

  • May 21 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
  • 3rd & Santa Fe, 999 E Third Street
  • Los Angeles, CA 90033 United States

Are you looking to visit the Arts District this weekend? Visit our table at 3rd & Santa Fe and get a free 1-Ride pass for you and your friends.

In addition, Metro is offering a one-year Metro Bike bikeshare pass for $75 this Thursday and Friday only.

You can find still more Bike Week news in yesterday’s post, in case you missed it.

Photo by Ana Arantes from Pexels.

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Bike accessibility advocate Megan Lynch will be speaking at next month’s meeting of the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition.

As she notes, her appearance builds on the successful panel discussion she hosted at last month’s Calbike summit.

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Apparently, Los Angeles has a new electric bike lane sweeper.

Now we just need more bike lanes to sweep.

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

No bias here. NFL quarterback Tom Brady rode a bikeshare bike through the streets of New York over the weekend, but all anyone seemed to notice is he wasn’t wearing a helmet.

No bias here, either. Bike riders in a British city decry plans to cope with periodic flooding by removing a bike lane to make room for the flood waters, rather than actually dealing with the problem.

Or here. Scottish bike riders criticize an Edinburgh website for posting a video purporting to show a bike rider racing through a roundabout, which has obviously been speeded up to make it appear far more dangerous than it was. While ignoring the real problem of the person on the soundtrack singing about how he’d like to run the rider down with his truck.

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Local

Los Angeles looks at the battle between challenger Dulce Vasquez and incumbent Curren Price for LA’s CD9 council seat.

Streetsblog’s SGV Connect podcast talks with bike-riding state Senator Anthony Portantino, who has sponsored legislation requiring communities to make progress on bicycle and pedestrian planning, as well as talking with the leaders of the very active Active SGV.

 

State 

A San Diego man was shot in the leg following an argument with another man in the city’s Logan Heights neighborhood, before the shooter made his getaway on a bicycle.

 

National

The Biden administration is sending out $5 billion to cities and localities to address the rising traffic death toll on our streets by by “slowing down cars, carving out bike paths and wider sidewalks and nudging commuters to public transit” under the Transportation Department’s new Safe Streets & Roads for All program. Needless to say, right wing Breitbart News does not approve.

Mas mojitos, por favor! Bicycling says drinking mint could make you faster in the summer heat. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

A writer for Electrek says “acoustic bikes” are incredible, but he only rides ebikes for transportation.

Cosmo offers their picks for the best cruiser bikes, with prices starting at just $190. Although that’s for a Huffy, so “best” may be relative.

Kindhearted Spokane cops replaced a seven-year old girl’s stolen bicycle after a group of teens pushed her off and rode off with it.

In a sign of pent-up demand, it only took three weeks for buyers to max out Denver’s new ebike rebate program. A fate that’s likely to befall California’s $10 million ebike rebate program as well, once it kicks off later this summer.

Nice gesture from the Pro Football Writers of America, who gave a lifetime achievement award to former Denver Broncos and New York Jets assistant coach Greg Knapp, who was killed in a collision while riding his bike in San Ramon last summer.

Houston is holding its annual Bike Summit for the first time since it was cancelled by the pandemic, amid calls to do more to improve and maintain the city’s bikeways. Los Angeles held a bike summit once. And needs to do it again.

More on the murder of rising gravel cyclist Moriah Wilson, who was shot to death in Austin, Texas last week while preparing for Saturday’s Gravel Locos race in Hico, Texas.

Once again, an elderly driver has taken the life of an innocent victim, as an 85-year old Oklahoma woman ran down a popular dentist from behind as he was riding his bike; investigators described it as “unfortunate,” while saying it’s unclear why she didn’t see him. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive.

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland has withdrawn a request for the death penalty for the truck-driving terrorist who killed eight people by speeding down a New York bike path, opting for life in prison instead of the death penalty requested by former Trump AG Jeff Sessions.

Unbelievable. The driver who killed a man and woman riding in a green bike lane on Miami’s Rickenbacker Causeway has been ticketed, but isn’t facing charges for their deaths; meanwhile, advocates call for safety improvements on the deadly bridge. Because evidently, killing two innocent people while breaking traffic laws is just an oopsie.

 

International

The United Nations is marking next month’s World Bicycle Day with a set of ten bicycle postage stamps. Raise your hand if, like me, you had no idea the UN had its own post office.

Treehugger says there’s an ebike and cargo bike revolution happening, and cities need to catch up with bike storage solutions to accommodate them. Add adaptive bikes to that list, too; as Megan Lynch has pointed out, bike parking for non-traditional bikes is woefully lacking.

More proof that not even physically separated bikeways are safe from reckless drivers, after a Toronto bike rider was left with life-altering injuries when a driver lost control of their car, jumped the curb, crossed a grass divider, and struck the victim on a bike trail before slamming into a guard rail. Sounds like maybe the guard rail was on the wrong side of the pathway.

The Conversation asks if New Zealand’s new budget will be another lost opportunity to get drivers out of their cars.

 

Competitive Cycling

LA’s Bahati Foundation, founded by Compton’s multiple US crit champ Rahsaan Bahati, is sponsoring five young people of color in this summer’s SBT GRVL race in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to “help broaden their cycling experience and bring diversity to gravel’s starting line.” Unfortunately, this one doesn’t seem to be available on Yahoo, so you’re on your own if Bicycling blocks you.

 

Finally…

Hide your AirTag inside your tire. That feeling when you catch a bike thief in the act, and the cops never show up.

And turn your bike into an ebike with a pocket-sized battery. As long as you have a very big pocket, that is.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Update: Man killed riding bike near Santa Clarita in Canyon Country; victim ID’d as popular Rapha ride leader

Please make it stop.

The deadliest year in memory got even worse, when someone was killed riding their bike in Canyon Country this afternoon.

According to KTLA-5, the victim was struck by a driver around 12:45 pm on the 21500 block of Sand Canyon Road near Santa Clarita.

They were pronounced dead roughly 45 minutes later, apparently the result of head trauma.

There’s no word on the identity of the victim, or what may have caused the crash. There’s also no information on the driver, raising the possibility they may have fled the scene.

Hopefully we’ll learn more soon.

This is at least the 33rd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

Update: This story is still developing. I received the following email from Hamid Valai with additional information contradicting much of. the earlier reports.

Hi Ted, thank you so much for reporting on our deadly streets.  I rolled on the accident scene in Santa Clara today minutes after it had happened.

First, the news is wrong.  This did not happen in Sand Canyon.  It happened on the Santa Clara Truck Trail, about a mile south of Fire Department Camp 9 (who first responded to the scene).  Here is a Google maps link of the accident site.

I had just met this group minutes before the accident and talked to the victim while we were filling up our bottles at the Fire Department mentioned above.  I didn’t get his name, but he was a really nice guy who told me about all the trails in the area (I was visiting this area and not really familiar with it).  They descended The Santa Clara Truck Trail a couple of minutes before me.  I was devastated to roll on to the accident scene.

Also, the driver did not flee the scene.  He was on the phone with 911 on speaker phone, while they gave CPR instructions to the cyclist’s friend.  He was probably in his late 20’s or early 30’s driving  a BMW convertible.  The front windshield was destroyed along with other front-end damage from the impact.

I did not see the accident.  I have no idea who was at fault.  All I know is that it happened around a tight bend in the road, where you have no idea who’s coming around the corner.

You can see my Strava post with some pictures and my description.

This was absolutely devastating.  A wonderful day or riding turned tragic.  I just attended the Andrew Jemel memorial ride last week in Griffith Park.  As an avid cyclist, this is very disturbing.  Thanks for all the help in reporting on cycling fatalities.

Update 2: The victim has been identified as 37-year old Los Angeles resident John Hermoso

Update 3: Phil Gaimon added this to what we know. 

Update 4: Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for the CHP to blame the victim

According to a CHP spokesperson, Hermoso was riding on the wrong side of the road as he rounded a blind curve, and slammed into the driver’s BMW, which was traveling at a sedate 15 mph. 

Yes, 15 miles per hour. Which seems pretty damn unlikely. 

It also doesn’t make sense that an experienced ride leader would take a blind curve on the wrong side of the road. Or that a collision with a vehicle traveling at 15 mph would result in fatal injuries, especially for a helmeted rider, unless he was traveling downhill at an extreme rate of speed. 

What makes far more sense is that both Hermoso and the driver were hugging the centerline, and traveling at far more than 15 mph. And that the CHP investigated with their usual windshield bias. 

But we’ll never know what really happened until we hear from the other people on the ride. 

And shamefully, Rapha Los Angeles has still had nothing to say about the tragedy

My deepest sympathy and prayers for John Hermoso and al his loved ones.

Thanks to Hamid Valai and Michael Kim for the heads-up.

Morning Links: DIY red cup protected bike lanes today, LA traffic deaths up despite Vision Zero, and a busy bike weekend

It’s National Red Cup Project Day. 

So go out and stake out your own protected bike lane by using your favorite brand of plastic red cups to mark your favorite bike lane for just a few bucks.

And knowing LA drivers, for just a few minutes before they run them over anyway.

But still.

Then send me the photos or video, and I’ll post them on here.

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Good piece from the LA Times’ Laura Nelson, who writes that, despite Vision Zero, traffic fatalities are up significantly in Los Angeles; advocates blame inaction by the city and a lack of commitment to improve safety if it means inconveniencing drivers.

I’d say that about sums it up.

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It’s a busy bike weekend in the LA area.

Culver City is looking for volunteers to clean up Ballona Creek on Saturday, presumably including the bike path.

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield hosts his annual Blumenfield Bike Ride in Reseda Saturday morning.

Long Beach’s popular Beach Streets open streets event takes place on Saturday, as well.

And the ever-popular CicLAvia rolls through the streets of Wilmington on Sunday, with their first event of 2015.

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KCBS-2 looks forward to Monday’s arrival of LA’s first two-way bike lane on Spring Street in DTLA.

Although unlike the photo they use to illustrate the story, it probably won’t be cobbled.

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Kindhearted Santa Clarita sheriff’s deputies surprised a young boy with a new bike after his was stolen; credit the local Bicycle John’s outpost for donating the bike.

Thanks to Nina Moskol, Chairperson of the Santa Clarita Valley Bicycle Coalition for the heads-up.

Speaking of Santa Clarita, the city’s mayor looks forward to next month’s visit by the Amgen Tour of California, while encouraging residents to explore the city by bicycle.

And a columnist for The Signal decries a “relative bloodbath of pedestrian and bicycle accidents” in the area, saying more must be done to improve safety, especially on busy six-lane McBean Parkway.

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Today’s common theme: mountain bikes.

Recently retired football great Rob Gronkowski is one of us; Bicycling offers a little unsolicited advice as he takes up mountain biking.

Congratulations to gun maker Smith & Wesson, whose attempt to enter the mountain bike market ranks 41st on USA Today’s list of the 50 worst product flops of all time.

Finishing our mountain bike trifecta, Outside offers seven tips for beginning mountain bikes, whether or not they answer to Gronkowski.

But wait, there’s more!

The Orange County Register’s David Whiting takes a docent-led mountain bike tour through the volunteer-managed Irvine Ranch Conservancy, which he says most people have never heard of, even though at 40,000 acres it’s nearly as big as Bryce Canyon National Park and even more spectacular.

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Local

Spectrum News 1 is the latest LA news outlet to look at the city’s new program to install permanent memorials to fallen bicyclists.

A former LA city planner states the obvious, suggesting that LA traffic congestion is only going to get worse and that solutions like walking and biking remain woefully underfunded, without the safe infrastructure necessary to make them work. However, he also blames increased density and transit oriented development, as well as reduced parking requirements, calling them frauds, without citing evidence to back it up.

An op-ed in the LA Daily News says California drivers won’t willingly give up their cars.

This is who we share the beach with. A woman tells what it was like to get run over by an LAPD SUV while sunbathing on Venice Beach.

Santa Monica’s Breeze bikeshare program could be on the chopping block due to competition from dockless bikes and e-scooters, as the city faces budget cuts and layoffs under a program to speed payment of its $448 million unfunded pension liability. 

He gets it. An op-ed from the vice chair of the Long Beach Transit board of directors says everyone deserves safe streets.

This is who we share the roads with. A Long Beach bus driver faces charges for sideswiping more than a dozen cars while driving at three times the legal alcohol limit.

Signal Hill police will be cracking down on violations that endanger bike riders and pedestrians net month.

 

State

California’s Complete Streets bill moves forward after passing through the Senate Transportation Committee; SB127 would require Caltrans to consider the safety of all road users on any state-owned road.

That’s more like it. An El Cajon woman driving with a suspended license got three years behind bars for the hit-and-run crash that seriously injured a nine-year old boy who was riding his bike to school.

A San Diego TV station says bike riders and skaters at a new pump track think the park isn’t big enough for both of them.

A 75-year old Indian Wells man was hospitalized with significant injuries after he somehow crashed into the back of a parked city van Thursday morning.

Riverside sheriff’s deputies are still on the lookout for the red light-running hit-and-run driver who killed a 21-year old Eastvale man as he was biking home from work five years ago; deputies originally arrested a man who admitted to driving while “drunk out of his mind” and thought he had hit something that night, but phone records placed him miles from the crash site.

The speeding driver in the Sunnyvale crash who intentionally rammed eight pedestrians and bike riders as they waited at a red light was reportedly suffering from PTSD from his time in the Army; witnesses said they heard him repeatedly moan “Thank you, Jesus” following the crash.

 

National

A tax bill pending in Congress could mean an extra $53 a month in your pocket for commuting by bike.

Fast Company says people only realized just how much they’d miss ebikes after they were taken away.

Breaking a sweat today can provide health benefits up to a decade later.

An Oregon weekly offers its annual bicycling edition, with stories ranging from BMX and gravel grinding to low stress bicycle networks.

Phoenix says what’s a few traffic deaths between friends, bucking the national trend by voting not to adopt a Vision Zero plan.

A new study from an Arizona professor recommends leading bicycle intervals or split LBIs to reduce the risk of collisions with right-turning drivers.

Colorado comedian Wally Wallace discusses the second edition of his bicycle and comedy festival in tiny Trinidad CO, choosing the city of slightly more than 8,000 people because it’s halfway between Los Angeles and Chicago by train.

A Boise, Idaho bike cop is about to log 100,000 miles on his bike.

A Minneapolis transportation columnist says if you want a happy commute, travel by bicycle.

The NYPD is cracking down on red light-running bike riders, after a woman suffered a fractured skull that left her in a coma when she was struck by a food delivery rider who blew through the light. Seriously, unless you live in Idaho or Arkansas, stop for the damn red light, already — especially when pedestrians are present.

A DC website says it’s very charitable to conclude that the cop who hit a bike rider as he rode in a crosswalk actually had the right-of-way, as the local police insist.

Life is cheap in North Carolina, where a speeding driver who killed an 18-year old basketball star while he was riding his bike walked with just 75 days behind bars — and even that was suspended.

A travel writer visiting New Orleans says bikeshare is a surprisingly good way to tour the city.

 

International

Research papers usually tell just half the story about exercise science, since they too often leave women out of the equation, according to a Cycling Weekly writer.

Heartbreaking video from England, where a balance bike-riding three-year old became collateral damage in a road rage dispute between two drivers; remarkably, the truck driver who killed him was cleared of wrongdoing. Evidently, road rage is perfectly legal in the UK, even if it kills an innocent person.

You’ve got to be kidding. Life is cheap in Britain, where a “remorseless” hit-and-run driver walks without a single day behind bars for leaving a triathlete with serious injuries after deliberately cutting in front of her bike — and saying she deserved it, calling it karma, for the crime of delaying his car for a few moments. Let’s wish him well, because karma’s got a nasty way of coming back to bite you in the ass.

Seriously? Japan Today points out the dangers of reckless bicycling, while noting that police blame bike riders for “nearly 100%” of crashes with pedestrians. While we have an obligation to ride safely around people on foot, anyone who’s ever had someone step off a curb or turn around in front of them knows that’s pretty damned unlikely.

The Japanese man whose wife and three-year old daughter were killed when their bike was struck by an 87-year old driver calls attention to elderly people who can no longer drive safely. We’ve got to find a better way to identify unsafe drivers and take the keys out of their hands. Because despite what Elon Musk says, self-driving cars are a long way off.

 

Finally…

When you’re sexually harassed by your e-scooter.  Here’s your chance to tour Winterfell by bike.*

And yes, I would.

In a heartbeat.

*dragons not included

Morning Links: LACBC Open House tonight, and Amgen Tour of California gets Santa Clarita to Pasadena finish

It’s Day 14 of the 4th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive.

Your support keeps SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.

And allows me to devote whatever I have left on this planet trying to make it a better place for people on two wheels. 

Anything you can give helps, and is truly and deeply appreciated!

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The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition will celebrate their 20th anniversary tonight with an Open House at LACBC headquarters on Spring Street in DTLA.

The event is open to members only. However, you’re welcome to join the LACBC at the door if you’d like to attend.

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Evidently, we got it right.

The Amgen Tour of California announced the host cities for next year’s race, starting in Sacramento on May 12th, and ending with a final stage from Santa Clarita to Pasadena a week later.

But you already knew that last part.

Or at least you did if you read BikinginLA yesterday.

After noting that the Daily Breeze posted, then removed, a story about that final stage, we speculated that the paper may have jumped the gun on a news embargo by the race.

Sure enough, when the stages for next year were announced this morning, they included the aforementioned final stage.

So congratulations if you read that before the official announcement was made.

You got a jump on cycling fans around the world.

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Forget singletrack. Try mountain biking down ramps, jumps and endless flights of stairs at breakneck speed through the alleyways of Medellin, Columbia.

Sort of like this.

Okay, maybe exactly like that.

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This one is pretty self-explanatory.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

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Local

The LA City Council will vote next Tuesday to raise speed limits on 67 streets around the city to comply with the deadly and outdated 85th Percentile Law.

Marketplace looks at LA’s efforts to bring e-scooters and dockless bikeshare to Boyle Heights and other lower income neighborhoods.

Bike SGV says Metro is scheduled to vote this morning on an unhealthy, unsustainable package of auto-centric proposals to replace the now-cancelled 710 Freeway extension.

Not even a Welcome to Glendale sign  is safe from traffic violence.

 

State

Safe Routes to School is hiring a Southern California policy manager.

A Los Altos bicyclist says one size does not fit all when it comes to bike lanes. Or paths.

‘Tis the season. A group of St. Helena bike riders greet Santa Claus on the city’s kickoff to the holidays.

 

National

Walt Disney was one of us. So was Sylvia Plath.

Bike Snob argues for not wearing a bike helmet, saying you don’t have to wear one just because the pros do. On the other hand, you don’t have to not wear one just because he says so.

Quartz says scientists are still debating whether drivers pass helmet-wearing bicyclists closer than non-helmeted riders.

Bicycling continues their profiles of people who made positive changes in their lives through bicycling, like this man who was pushing 400 pounds before he lost 150 after he started riding.

A new study being conducted by Portland State University will look at how bicycle and pedestrian street improvements affect retailers and other businesses.

More proof that drivers are the same everywhere, as Albuquerque NM traffic engineers are working on keeping cars out of a new bike and pedestrian crossing, because motorists keep ignoring the posted No Motor Vehicles signs.

A bike rider found dead on a Boulder CO bike path in October died of a meth overdose.

She gets it. A Lincoln NE letter writer says it’s cheaper for the city to go into debt to build a bike lane than pay for injured bike riders because they didn’t.

Memphis gets a road diet right, reducing a five lane boulevard in the medical district to three lanes, with wheel stop-protected bike lanes, hi-viz crosswalks and self-watering planters.

NYPD officials refuse to call the thumb tack attack on a city bike a terrorist attack, settling for describing it as a nasty crime. And insist they’re taking it seriously.

A New York driver was arrested for hit-and-run, even though the cops were probably at fault in the crash for parking in a bike lane, which forced the victim to swerve her bike around their van.

 

International

Modacity offers photographic proof that it is possible to take your Christmas tree home on a bicycle. And lots of people do it.

Great idea. Vancouver’s Spikes on Bikes program uses trained volunteers on bicycles to spot homeless people suffering from drug overdoses, and intervene in time to save their lives.

Calgary is overcoming growing pains in their two-year pilot program with Lime’s dockless bikeshare.

Fourteen bike riders from the UK combined to ride 4,200 miles in just four days, raising the equivalent of nearly $45,000 for cancer research; riders included a former Olympic-level cyclist recovering from a life-threatening brain injury.

A road raging British traffic instructor loses his job after being convicted of running a bike rider off the road because he had the audacity to ride in it.

Now they’re just showing off. The transport minister in the Netherlands is going far beyond Vision Zero to set a goal of no traffic collisions at all.

A market study for a newly opened New Zealand bike shop predicts that ebikes will make up 80% of bike sales in the country within five years.

 

Competitive Cycling

British Cycling is using Zwift to identify the next British cycling star with a 3D virtual reality eRacing Championship next February.

The San Francisco Chronicle says summer won’t sound the same without Paul Sherwen.

 

Finally…

Maybe there really is a conspiracy to keep mountain bikes skittish. How to match your bike to your kit instead of the other way around.

And reviewing bike helmets is one thing. Firsthand testing by crashing headfirst into a pile of rocks is another.

And not particularly recommended.

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Thanks to Kevin G, Robert K, Amanda G and Stephen C for their generous donations to the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive

Morning Links: Englander proposes temporary dockless bikeshare ban, and BOLO Alert in El Monte hit-and-run

Not everyone is welcoming dockless bikeshare to Los Angeles.

CD12 Councilmember Mictch Englander has introduced a motion that would ban any dockless bikeshare programs in the city, with the exception of pilot projects sponsored by various councilmembers.

The motion calls on the city to develop guidelines for any future dockless programs, as well as penalties for providers who fail to live up to those standards.

This would allow existing programs from LimeBike and Ofo to continue in the port cities and Griffith Park, respectively, but could prohibit the LimeBikes at Cal State Northridge from being taken off campus.

While the motion seems a little heavy-handed, the experiences in other cities make it clear that unregulated dockless programs invite problems, along with the inevitable bikelash from people who find the bikes on their lawns or blocking the sidewalk.

Let alone in their trees or swimming pools.

Hopefully Englander and the council can find a way to develop effective regulations without stifling the growth of what could be a very effective way to reduce motor vehicle traffic.

Thanks to TJ Knight for the heads-up.

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Police in El Monte are asking the public to be on the alert to help find a hit-and-run driver who critically injured a bike rider.

Thanks to Tim Rutt for the tip.

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There will be a pair of public meetings next month to discuss a proposal to convert Pasadena’s Orange Grove Blvd into a complete street.

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A man riding a bicycle was injured in a collision near the Calgrove onramp to the 5 Freeway in Santa Clarita; no word on his condition.

Nina Moskol, chairperson of the Santa Clarita Bicycle Coalition, had this to say afterwards.

The location of this crash is a known bike corridor. The County has proposed bikeways plans to improve this area. The Santa Clarita Valley Bicycle Coalition has been discussing this area at every opportunity with LA County, Cal Trans, and City transportation officials.

To date, we have had no word as to what proposed improvements for safety will be implemented, when, or where exactly. What we do know is that this freeway/County road interchange is complex and under heavy use because of ongoing construction on the I-5 to complete pavement restoration (and possible HOV lanes). We encourage everyone to ride safely and carefully.

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Local

Curbed says the new Glendale-Hyperion Bridge will feature protected bike lanes on both sides, which would be a change from the painted bike lanes called for in the original plans, but it would still have just one sidewalk on the north side.

Somehow we missed this one, as Metro’s BEST program hosted a tweed ride in Culver City yesterday.

Clear your schedule next Sunday for Los Angeles Walk’s annual fundraiser and free block party

 

State

The LA Times reports on Montclair’s ridiculous law banning pedestrians from crossing the street while using any electronic device, including headphones or earbuds.

Officials opened the first section of the planned 50-mile CV Link bikeway around the Coachella Valley. Or it would be 50 miles, if Rancho Mirage was willing to let it besmirch their fair city.

Protected bike lanes could be coming to Oakland’s Lake Merritt.

Marin’s anti-bike lane crank columnist ridicules comments of a mode shift on a Bay Area bridge, saying 235 bike crossings a day pale in comparison to 71,000 motor vehicles. He’s got a point, although the question is whether there are any safe connections on either side of the bridge that encourage people to ride across.

 

National

Good piece from Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss, who says we need to get more kids on bikes.

Some Portland bike shops are beginning to shun brands owned by Vista Outdoor, which has been linked to a maker of ammunition and AR-15-type weapons.

A Wisconsin nonprofit intends to refurbish 1,000 bicycles to donate to local kids next month.

Heartwarming story from Milwaukee, where motorcycle maker Harley Davidson helped design a custom adaptive tricycle for a four-year old boy born without legs and forearms. And no, the story doesn’t explain how he’s going to pedal it.

Two Indiana men face up to 30 months in prison for building an illegal singletrack trail through an Indiana nature preserve.

A Philadelphia councilwoman proposes requiring city council approval for any bike lane that could affect the flow of traffic. Never mind that people on bikes are traffic, too.

 

International

A Caribbean-based physiotherapist explains how to avoid minor injuries when you start riding.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a road raging driver who threw oven cleaner on a bike rider — with her two kids in the car, no less — and leaving the victim with severe chemical burns, walked with a 12-month suspended sentence.

A British soldier has gotten six years for fatally slamming his car into a man riding his bike, after he was shown on video downing five beers and three shots in a pub.

Road.cc looks at presumed liability, which is the norm in most of Europe, and whether it would make streets safer for cyclists in the UK. If we ever want to end car culture and the automotive hegemony on our streets, we’ll have to adopt some form of presumed liability, which assumes the operator of the larger vehicle is at fault in any crash, because they have a greater responsibility to avoid a collision due to their greater ability to cause harm.

A Scottish newspaper makes the case for a 20 mph speed limit, saying initial opposition has died down nearly a year after it was implemented.

CNBC has discovered Copenhagen, where officials say traffic would come to a standstill if 15% to 20% of bicyclists switched to motor vehicles. Which suggest that getting 15% to 20% of Angelenos on bikes might get traffic moving again.

Chinese dockless bikeshare company Gobee has pulled out of Paris without warning, after quitting other European cities due to extensive vandalism.

Evidently, bike riders are second-class citizens in Kolkata, where they’re required to get off and walk their bikes across major streets.

A Canberra, Australia newspaper says there’s no reason for the country’s Capital Territory to reconsider its mandatory helmet law, which it calls a proven lifesaver. Even though multiple studies have questioned whether the health benefits of bicycling outweigh the benefits of bike helmet laws, which have depressed bicycling rates in Australia.

Japan is considering plans to build a suspended bikeway under a bridge connecting Shikoku and Awajishima islands. Or you can ride a 44-mile route connecting six islands in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea right now.

 

Competitive Cycling

ESPN considers how Cal Berkeley law school dean Molly Shaffer Van Houweling broke the 12-year old hour record in 2014.

Yes, the cycling season is underway already, as Spain’s Alejandro Valverde takes the Abu Dhabi Tour, and Dylan Groenewegen wins on the frozen cobbles of Belgium’s Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

 

Finally…

The best way to get over a bad breakup? Ride across the US. When the real Tour de France leads leads to fictional romance.

And now you, too, can own your very own dockless bikeshare bike to leave anywhere you want.

 

Morning Links: Charges filed in Santa Clarita hit-and-run; candidates for LA County 4th District Supervisor talk

Charges have been filed in the death of cyclist Rod Bennett in Santa Clarita last week.

According to the Santa Clarita Valley Signal, Lucas James Guidroz has been charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run resulting in death for fleeing the scene after running down Bennett from behind.

It will be interesting to see what evidence prosecutors to support the DUI charge, since Guidroz waited two days to turn himself in — and then only after his car was discovered — giving him plenty of time to sober up first.

Meanwhile, the Santa Clarita Gazette offers a nice profile of the popular music and math teacher who lost his life at age 53. And unlike the Signal, they get his name right.

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KPCC’s Air Talk program hosts a debate among the candidates for the 4th District LA County Supervisor to replace termed out Don Knabe, who’s held the seat for 26 years.

Bike the Vote LA rates US Rep. Janice Hahn as the top choice for the position.

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The family of fallen Panorama City bicyclist Peter Loretta is looking for the kindhearted stranger who comforted the homeless man as he lay dying after being struck by a car last month.

They’d like to thank him for his kindness. As should we all.

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Another Russian cyclist has tested positive for doping based on four-year old samples from the London Olympics. Meanwhile, Cycling Weekly asks the experts if doping can ever be eradicated from cycling. As long as there are benefits to cheating, people will find a way to do it. 

US pro cyclist Tejay van Garderen pulls his name from consideration from the Rio Olympics out of concern for the Zika virus with a pregnant wife at home.

VeloNews offers a nice profile of American cyclist Evan Huffman, who’s back racing for a domestic Continental team after two less than satisfying years on the WorldTour with Astana.

Two cyclists were bound by Taylor Phinney’s violent crash in the 2014 Nationals; one made it back to the top, the other hit bottom.

Cycling Tips looks at how unknown rider Greg Daniels surprised the favorites to win the US national road championship.

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Local

It could take until next month to fully reopen the LA River bike path. The Corps of Engineers should have most of the flood control barriers removed by the middle of this month, then LADOT could take up to another two weeks to ensure the path is safe to ride. And even then, some barriers could stay up until next year.

UCLA’s Daily Bruin endorses candidates — and in some cases, withholds endorsement — for the Westwood Neighborhood Council. Including one candidate who believes bike lanes on Westwood Blvd should have been studied before being rejected. He’s got my vote already.

The Eastsider takes a look at the co-ed Los Angeles Bike Polo team.

Portland’s Elly Blue, Joe Biel and Joshua Ploeg return to Santa Monica for a vegan bike-focused night sponsored by Santa Monica Spoke.

Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson reacts to having complaints of fallen cyclists and riders harassed by drivers ignored by the Traffic Safety Committee in Palos Verdes Estates.

Long Beach police bust a thief who tried to use a shovel to break the lock on a bike near the beachfront bike path.

Bike-friendly Long Beach Councilmember Suja Lowenthal prepares to step down after 10 years on the council. Meanwhile, the city ups their bike-friendly ante with 14 new recharge stations providing a fix-it stand and water fountain for cyclists.

 

State

Streetsblog looks at three bike-related bills in the California legislature; one that would explicitly authorize riding side-by-side — which is now tacitly allowed, since it’s not addressed in state law — appears to be in trouble.

Nearly 1,800 students in next year’s Stanford freshman class will get a new bike helmet, courtesy of a bike-riding Stanford parent and his wife.

Sad news from Sacramento, as a bike rider was killed in a collision trying to make a right turn out of a driveway.

 

National

Bicycling offers advice on where to position yourself on the road. Yet somehow recommends riding “a bit more into the lane,” rather than assertively taking the center of the lane as recommended by CyclingSavvy and the League of American Bicyclists.

Streetsblog says one chart shows why helmets aren’t the answer to bike safety.

Colorado’s governor vetoes an auto-centric bill that would have banned red light and speed cameras in the state, putting bike riders and pedestrians, as well as drivers, at risk.

A Boulder CO woman says a cyclist just came out of nowhere to pound her car and punch her in the face. The fact that she thought he came out of nowhere probably explains why he was so mad. But violence is never the answer.

Over 100 Texas kids get new bikes for having perfect school attendance over the past year.

Sixty-seven University of Texas students will spend their summer bicycling 4,687 miles from Austin TX to Anchorage AK.

 

International

A London track cyclist died after suffering a heart attack when three separate ambulances failed to respond because the velodrome wasn’t in their outdated satnav systems.

London cyclists call on the city’s new mayor to live up to his promises to improve bike safety.

Now that’s more like it. Great Britain considers on-the-spot fines up to £5,000 — the equivalent of $7,200 — for passing bicyclists too closely. Which compares rather favorably to the measly $35 fine for violating California’s three-foot passing law.

The European Parliament issues a report on the state of bicycling on the continent.

Uber has started a new service for Dutch bike riders, which provides bike rack-equipped cars for an additional charge.

Caught on video: An Aussie truck driver repeatedly attempts to run a cyclist off the road, then exchanges curses with him at the next red light. If a driver tries to run me over, the last thing I’m going to do is wait next to him at a traffic light.

A Thai drunk driver gets four years and a $59,000 fine for killing three bike riders and injuring four others when she plowed into a cycling club last year.

 

Finally…

Get your hot bike back with Bunz. The traditional battle over bike lanes versus parking goes on — but this time, the other side is armed.

And if you’re going to assault an elderly driver for tailgating your bike, it’s probably best to get rid of the meth and syringes in your backpack before the police show up.

Or better yet, just don’t.

Update: Bike rider killed in Santa Clarita hit-and-run Wednesday afternoon

More bad news.

According to the Santa Clarita Valley Signal, a man on a bike has been killed in a hit-and-run while riding in Santa Clarita.

The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was on the 20100 block of Placerita Canyon Road when he was struck by a car just before 4:30 pm. The paper places the collision near a curve just southwest of the entrance to Disney’s Golden Oak Ranch.

He was declared dead at the scene, his helmet lying nearby.

The paper reports the CHP conducted an intense hunt for the driver in the area; the suspect vehicle is described as a dark gray Mazda 3 with a roof rack and a possible broken windshield.

No other information is available at this time.

This is the 40th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 15th in Los Angeles County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 53-year old Valencia resident Rod Bennett.

He was riding a blue Eddy Merckx road bike in the far right of the eastbound lane when he was rear-ended by the driver, who continued east as he fled the scene, apparently without stopping or slowing down. 

Update 2: The CHP has updated the description of the suspect vehicle. They are now looking for a Silver Lexus CT 200H; some unconfirmed reports indicate it may have a roof rack and a damaged front bumper.

Meanwhile, the San Fernando Valley News reports Bennett was the band director and math teacher at Arroyo Seco Junior High School. The site describes him as an avid cyclist, as well as a musician.

Various Facebook posts confirm his interest in cycling, as well as identifying him as a jazz musician who performed around the Valencia area.

Update 3: The CHP has released a photo of the suspect vehicle, apparently taken from a surveillance camera. It appears to show a dark colored car, rather than silver; however, images like that can be deceiving. 

Update 4: According to the Signal, 28-year old Canyon Country resident Lucas James Guidroz was arrested after turning himself in at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station early Friday morning — five hours after the car believed to have been used in the collision was found in Newhall. 

Which gave him nearly 40 hours to sober up if he had been under the influence at the time of the collision. 

He was taken into custody on a single felony count of failing to stop at the scene of a collision causing injury or death.

Meanwhile, the chairwoman of the Santa Clarita Valley Bicycle Coalition says all cyclists on Placerita Canyon encounter distracted drivers, as well as those who appear to intentionally frighten or possibly hurt people on bicycles. 

To which commenters respond by blaming “arrogant” cyclists, apparently for simply existing. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Rod Bennett and his loved ones.

Thanks to John H for the heads-up. 

Morning Links: Tragedy in Santa Clarita, LA announces Vision Zero, and too much racing news for one day

Sad news from Santa Clarita, as a man apparently rode his bike to commit suicide Sunday morning.

According to the Santa Clarita Valley Signal, the unidentified man jumped to his death off the bridge on White’s Canyon Road at Via Princessa in full view of several people. Deputies said an overturned bicycle behind the yellow sheriff’s tape belonged to the man who jumped.

As others have said before me, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

No matter how bad things may look today, it will change. Maybe not now, maybe not soon. But it will. That’s the way life goes.

Hopefully the good, in the end, will outweigh the bad.

And you are not alone.

There are people who care. If you need help, call. Or talk to someone you know. Not tomorrow, not next week.

Now.

I want to see you back here tomorrow. And many more tomorrows after that.

NOTE: I heard from a relative of the victim who complained that the line about the permanence of suicide was glib. It was not intended that way; I learned it from a psychiatrist who specialized in treating depression. And it has helped me get through some very bad days.

I didn’t say this last night in my rush to get this online, but my heart and prayers go out to the victim and all his family and loved ones. Regardless of how he died, he was one of us.

Update: The victim has been identified as 23-year old Phillip Michael Griffin; a search had been underway since he went missing on Wednesday. 

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This is a big day in LA.

According to Los Angeles Walks, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will formally announce the city’s Vision Zero initiative to end traffic deaths in the City of Angels within the next 10 years. He’s set to make the announcement at the intersection of Cesar Chavez and St. Louis in Boyle Heights at 12:30 pm.

Of course, the question is whether the city is willing to make the tough choices that will require. As the recent controversies over Westwood Blvd, North Figueroa and the Glendale-Hyperion bridge make clear, many Angelenos — and a handful of elected representatives — still favor convenience over safety, and maintaining the automotive hegemony on our streets.

And are more than willing to twist that safety argument to preserve the status quo and keep our streets dangerous.

It will take strong leadership to make a dent in the number of deadly collisions in our city, let alone eliminate them in 10 years. And it can’t be done if we continue to carve out certain streets, neighborhoods or council districts.

We haven’t seen that yet from our city leaders. In fact, we haven’t heard from the mayor on any of those controversies, or any of the other streets where opposition to bikes has blocked much needed safety improvements.

Hopefully, that will change today.

In fact, it has to.

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Way too much racing news today.

Taylor Wiles won the second stage of the women’s USA Pro Challenge; Kristen Armstrong ended up winning the short three-day tour by 29 seconds over Wiles on Sunday. Taylor Phinney’s mom — who was a pretty decent cyclist herself — is thrilled to see how Colorado has embraced women’s bike racing.

Saturday’s men’s stage was taken by Roman Kreuziger after a long breakaway, while BMC’s Rohan Dennis finished with the main pack to hold a 44 second lead. He held that lead to win the Pro Challenge, with teammate Brent Bookwalter taking second.

Earlier in the race, Dennis had chucked his panini at a rider who attacked when the peloton stopped to pee.

Across the Atlantic, BMC won the team time trial on the first day of the Vuelta a España; however, no individual times were recorded due to a dispute over the unsafe conditions of the sand-covered route. On the other hand, at least they didn’t have to outrace a tank.

After all the rumors about motor doping over the summer, Vincenzo Nibali did it old school, getting bounced from the race for holding onto a team car to catch up to the peloton after a crash. Astana teammate Paolo Tiralongo posts a nasty eye injury he suffered in that same crash. All of which supports Deadspin’s observation that the Vuelta is the best race of the season, calling it “as spectacular as a relatively tame sport gets.”

And for future reference, you might want to keep your eye on a 16-year old racer from San Diego’s Torrey Pines High School.

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Sometimes, cyclists really are heroes.

On the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Washington Post tells the story of professional cyclist Ken Bellau, who returned to his New Orleans home after competing in the Tour of French Guyana, hopped in a boat, and saved over 400 people from the flooding caused by the hurricane.

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Local

South Pasadena neighbors team up to chase down a one-man bike theft crime wave; the thief had been busted three times for similar crimes in just the last 45 days.

Pasadena’s newly passed general plan calls for increased density in the urban core while encouraging people to walk, bike or ride transit.

 

State

A Laguna Beach website asks if it’s possible for hikers, mountain bikers and wilderness habitat to co-exist.

A Coronado letter writer says beaches and bicycles are not at match. A statement disproven daily at pretty much every beach, everywhere.

Those anti-bike Coronado people couldn’t have been happy on Sunday, as 3,400 cyclists rode around the bay, through the town and across the San Diego-Coronado Bridge in a fundraiser for the San Diego Bicycle Coalition.

A reminder from Santa Cruz that drivers are required to make a right turn from the farthest lane to right, which means merging into a bike lane rather than turning across it. But make sure to check for bikes first.

Deb Hubsmith’s hometown newspaper says the late founder of Safe Routes to School showed the impact one person can have in a short lifetime.

The Bay Area’s Bicicletas Por la Paz is a band, bicycle advocacy group, awareness collective and food kitchen rolled into one.

The Sacramento paper says it’s long past time to make safe, easy bicycling a priority.

A South Lake Tahoe cyclist is back home after riding through Iran to meet with school children to promote peace, although not everyone in this country welcomed his efforts. Or in that one, probably.

 

National

Now that’s more like it. A Reno man gets 20 years for the drunk driving death of a 16-year old bike rider; he was nearly twice the legal limit when he was arrested. Similar cases here seldom result in more than a couple years.

A Chicago writer rides Missouri’s 238-mile Katy Trail with her husband, even if their starting point was under water. Meanwhile, the Windy City has a shiny new three-mile elevated rail-to-trail conversion.

The Chicago man who was brutally beaten by five honor students was selling the bike to raise money for school; his attackers reportedly believed the bike was stolen.

Cleveland prepares to paint a buffered bike lane on a newly resurfaced street. And bizarrely puts the buffer next to the curb, instead of next to the traffic lane where it might actually do some good.

Sad news from Massachusetts, as a bike rider hit by a drunk driver in 1996 dies after 19 years in a coma; his family has forgiven the driver, but the DA has yet to determine if additional jail time is warranted as a result of the death.

President Obama and family ride their bikes through the drizzle on Martha’s Vineyard. Although judging by the photo, daughter Malia isn’t too happy about it.

A PA paper offers advice on how to teach someone to ride a bike safely. But despite what they say, might does not make right; drivers don’t have a superior right to the road because they’re in the larger vehicles.

If you really want your employees to ride to work, try offering a free bike valet like this New York company. But discourage them from stealing a bikeshare bike to commute with.

A Baltimore driver hits a cyclist while trying to pass on a curve, then gets out of his SUV and hits him some more. With his fists. Showing how non-seriously authorities take traffic violence, he’s out on just $25,000 bail.

 

International

A musician rides 1,800 miles across Canada to perform, while supporting a movement for clean air, food and water.

Bicycling looks at how Bogotá’s ciclovía changed the world. I’m not sure the new Mobility Plan would have passed without CicLAvia, which is based on the Bogotá event.

Better bike routes and more bicycling could solve the traffic problems in Manchester UK.

A British bike rider was lucky to get away with a broken wrist and hand injuries after someone sabotaged his bike by disconnecting his brakes; the local government councilor crashed into a lamp post after careening down a hill at 30 mph.

A private postal service in Edinburgh delivers the mail by bike for a third less than conventional services; not surprisingly, business is growing by booming 20% a month.

A Chinese tourist who was kidnapped by Taliban militants while bicycling through Pakistan over a year ago has been freed by Pakistani security forces.

 

Finally…

It may not be safe for Florida kids to bike to school, but at least they can pedal at their desks. A new smart helmet could help avoid wrecks. Too bad we can’t get drivers to wear it.

And while the driverless car is still in development, the riderless bike is here today.