Ghost Tire installation at Westwood’s 99 Ranch Market, new Venice Metro Bike dock, and Rio velodrome burns again

April 10, 2026 / / No comments

Hard to believe it’s been over two months since an elderly driver smashed through Westwood’s 99 Ranch Market.

The driver, a 92-year old woman, was apparently attempting to make a left turn when she hit a bike rider, then continued down the bike lane on the wrong side of Westwood for a full block before slamming into the market.

Three people — 28-year old Zih Dao, 42-year old Deris Renoj, and 52-year old Leonel Mateo — died at the scene, while six others were injured, two critically.

Surprisingly, the bike rider escaped with only minor injuries.

Not surprising, given the circumstances, the woman’s driving privileges were suspended at the scene.

This tragedy once again raised the inevitable question of how old is too old to drive. And how can were identify drivers who can no longer operate their vehicles safely before something like this happens, rather than responding after it’s too late.

Streets Are For Everyone will host a Ghost Tire Memorial, similar to a ghost bike, but for other victims of traffic violence, at the site of the crash tomorrow to commemorate the people who were killed.

SAFE will be hosting a Press Conference and Ghost Tire Memorial on April 11, 2026 to honor the victims of the mass traffic fatality at 99 Ranch Market and call on our local government to take immediate action to prevent tragedies like this…

The Ghost Tire Memorial uses white-painted tires placed at fatal crash sites to honor victims of traffic violence and raise awareness about road safety.

Event Details:

Ghost Tire Memorial & Press Conference

Date: April 11th, 2026

Time: 10:00 am to 11:20 am

Location: 1360 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Event Timeline

10:00 am – Event begins

10:05 am – Ghost tires decorated

10:20 am – Carry ghost tires to the location

10:21 am – Moment of silence

10:22 am – SAFE founder Damian Kevitt introduces family members of victims

10:25 am – Family members of victims Speak

10:45 am – Family members of victims Conclude Speaking

10:46 am – Damian speaks, drops open letter & introduces coalition partners

10:50 am – Coalition partners speak

11:15 am – Coalition partners conclude speaking

11:20 am – Event concludes

Ghost Tire photo from SAFE Website. 

………

Forget trying to find parking at the beach this summer.

Let alone high gas prices.

Metro Bike has opened a new bikeshare dock right on the sand in Venice Beach. So all you have to do is check out a bike somewhere, ride it to the beach, then just dock it and walk away.

Something tells me this is going to be the busiest bikeshare dock in the city. Never mind the opportunity to admire all the native art.

………

The roof to the velodrome built for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics burned in a dramatic fire early Wednesday morning. Bizarrely, it was the third time the roof had burned since 2017; the first two fires were blamed on faulty lighting.

Maybe it’s just be me, but they might want to consider using a somewhat less flammable material for the roof next time.

………

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

A suspected hit-and-run driver was arrested after barreling down a Colorado bike path at a high rate of speed, then fleeing on foot when he crashed into the guardrail separating the path from Interstate 70 through the mountains; police suspect he was under the influence. Well, no shit. What was their first clue?

………

Local 

The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments received a quarter-million dollar federal grant for the East San Gabriel Valley Sustainable Multimodal Improvement Project to improve pedestrian, bicycle and transit throughout the region.

 

State

Seventy-three-year old Corona del Mar resident Mark Strauss is planning to leave next Friday on a 3,388-mile ride across the US to raise a remarkable $1 million for No Kid Hungry. A lot more people start across the country than actually finish, but raising that much is a worthy goal if he can pull it off. 

Mark your calendar for April 21st, when the Encinitas Rotary Club will host record-breaking bicyclist Denise Mueller-Korenek, who will share the story behind her 183.9 mph land-speed record. Of course, that means you’ll have to hang out with a bunch of Rotarians, but still.

A local mom teamed with a La Jolla artist to build a community-driven campaign to Save the La Jolla Bike Path from an AT&T cell tower.

A UC San Diego professor makes the case for why physical activity needs to change from an individual pursuit to a societal priority if we’re going to see widespread public health benefits.

 

National

Houston bicyclists say a street is significantly less safe after a “safety project” pushed by the city’s mayor, which replaced barrier-protected bike lanes connecting a pair of bayous with a sign reading Bike Land Ends.

Meanwhile, a Houston teenager discovers that you can find a lot of things while riding your bike — like a woman’s body in a lake.

Chicago residents demanded safer streets and the capture of the hit-and-run driver who killed an 18-year old delivery rider after blowing through a red light, and injured two other people in a motor vehicle, before literally running away from the crash scene.

Sad news from Vermont, where longtime bike journalist, and former International Mountain Bicycling Association and BikesBelong/PeopleForBikes chief executive Tim Blumenthal has passed away after a two-year battle with cancer; he was 70 years old. I was flattered when Blumenthal reached out to me personally shortly after PeopleForBikes founded, that the head of the nation’s largest bike advocacy organization would even think a small-time bike blogger like me was worth his time.

Streetsblog got its hands on internal Boston city government polling documents showing broad support for transit and bicycle projects, even if that means removing parking spaces.

New York Mayor Mamdani will team with the city’s Department of Transportation to give out free bike lights and helmets throughout the city to promote safe bicycling. That compares favorably with Los Angeles, where officials seem to be doing their best to prevent it.

Bike riders in Richmond, Virginia raised six grand to buy their own volunteer driven — or rather, bicycle towed — bike lane sweeper, after they got tired of maintenance problems and other issues preventing the city from doing the job.

Once again, a bike theft victim spotted his bicycle for sale on Facebook, this time in a Florida city, where the thief was met by cops when he arranged a meeting with what he thought was a potential buyer for the $1,200 ebike. That’s the right way to handle it, even though the cops aren’t always so willing to get involved. 

 

International

A London bike advocate says bicycling in the city is safer than ever, but still has a long way to go to before people stop being nervous when they ride; the city’s mayor promises that new traffic lights will make a big difference.

Once again, a motor vehicle was a weapon of mass destruction, this time in Spain, where a driver plowed into a group of six bicyclists on the popular Costa Brava scenic route, seriously injuring three Irish tourists in their late 50s; another rider was treated at scene for minor injuries.

A British man is planning to ride up Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji later this year to mark three years of sobriety, after taking up bicycling to avoid alcohol; last year he rode up Mt. Vesuvius. Even if riding up an active volcano brings his actual sobriety into question. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist offers a preview of Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix, aka the Hell of the North; meanwhile, the Visma-Lease a Bike team was up in arms after UCI banned them from using self-inflating tire tech just two days before the race, leaving them scrambling for a replacement.

Emily Ehrlich of Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY28 cycling team won the women’s time trial on stage 1 of the Redlands Classic by an astounding 36 seconds, while Project Echelon Racing’s Eric Brunner won the men’s race, with just a slim nine-second margin separating the top four finishers.

Virginia’s Blue Ridge TWENTY28 won again in stage two of the Redlands Classic, as local native Ella Sabo led a one-two finish of the women’s race ahead of teammate Olivia Cummins, while Skylar Schneider of L39ION of Los Angeles finished third.

Meanwhile, the leaders remained tightly bunched on the men’s side of the Redlands Classic, as Canel’s–Java’s Sebastian Mata outsprinted Olinka’s Carlos Garcia and Luke Elphingstone of Project Echelon.

Forget doping. New Zealand cyclist Kiaan Watts accepted a 25-day ban for punching another rider in the head during last month’s one-day Salverda Bouw Ster van Zwolle in the Netherlands; he was also fined the equivalent of $253 and had 25 UCI points deducted. Which means he’ll have to work that much harder to get enough points for a free Jumbo Jack.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your brake cable is the literal definition of “hanging by a thread.” Who needs a bicycle-shaped object when you can get an object-shaped bicycle (seriously, you try it first, I’ll just stay here and watch).

And who needs Jordans when you can get your own BMX-themed Nike Airs?

Oh, wait, they are Jordans.

Never mind.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

2nd lawsuit filed over LA HLA failures, changing “accident” on death certificates, and 14-year old DUI driver kills bike rider

April 9, 2026 / / 2 comments

No surprise here.

The Los Angeles City Board of Public Works heard another three Measure HLA appeals filed by Joe Linton.

And all three were denied, naturally.

Here’s is how Linton described the appeals.

  1. Hyperion Avenue – As part of installing speed tables, LADOT reconfigured striping making Hyperion Avenue. This moved cars a couple feet further to the right, where cyclists ride, making the street even less safe for bicycling. I content that this reconfiguration triggers bike lanes and accessibility improvements approved in the city’s 2015 Mobility Plan. The city contends [staff report] that the reconfiguration was “restriping without other improvements” and therefore did not trigger HLA.
  2. Vernon Avenue – As part of a peak-hour lane removal project (my reporting on similar projects), the city added more than a mile of new parking on Vernon Avenue. I contend that this project triggered HLA bus/walk/access upgrades. The city contends [staff report] the reconfiguration was “restriping without other improvements” and therefore did not trigger HLA.
  3. Terra Bella Street – As part of a Metro-L.A. City light rail project, the city is working with Metro to remove Van Nuys Boulevard bike lanes and add partial bike lanes on Terra Bella Street as a replacement. The city plans omit the block of bike lanes closest to the new light rail station. I contend that the Terra Bella bike lanes trigger HLA, and that the city should proceed with the full planned extent, not dropping the bike lanes next to the station. The city contends [staff report] that the Terra Bella bike lanes do not trigger HLA because the city plans to slurry seal the street before making modifications.

The denial of the appeals means Linton can, at his discretion, file a lawsuit to force the city to comply.

He has already filed one lawsuit against Metro for failing to include the bike lanes required by HLA in the Vermont Avenue Bus Lane project; HLA requires the city to build out projects included in the city’s mobility plan whenever significant road work takes place.

And reworking the entire Vermont corridor would seem to be significant.

Or rather, make that two.

Because Linton filed a second HLA lawsuit yesterday.

This time he’s going after the city for using numerous loopholes to avoid complying with the requirements of HLA — including LA Street Services ridiculous invention of the term “Large Asphalt Repair.”

That’s the city’s term for avoiding repaving projects that would trigger HLA, as well as requiring the installation of curb cuts to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

To the best of my knowledge, no other city in the world uses the term Large Asphalt Repair. Or would have the temerity to.

The new lawsuit alleges a number of violations, including, according to Linton,

  1. Cesar Chavez Avenue/Sunset Boulevard (Figueroa Street to Alameda Street): Announced city project would follow a community plan updated after HLA cut-off; the announced version includes unprotected bike lanes, but the project triggers protected bike lanes.
  2. Eagle Rock Boulevard (Avenue 32 to York Boulevard) – Late 2025 “large asphalt repair” projects over 660 feet long trigger protected bike lanes and pedestrian enhancements.
  3. Hollywood Boulevard (Gower Street to Virgil Avenue) – 2024 “large asphalt repair” and reconfiguration triggers adding one missing curb ramp.
  4. Ohio Avenue (Centinela Avenue to Bundy Drive) – 2026 slurry seal project triggers protected bike lanes.
  5. Victory Boulevard (Lankershim Boulevard to Clybourn Avenue) – 2025 peak hour lane removal project triggers adding bike lanes.
  6. Western Avenue (Washington Boulevard to Cambridge Street): 2025 and 2026 “large asphalt repair” projects totaling over 660 feet trigger bus lanes and pedestrian enhancements.
  7. The fact that city leaders are going so far out of its way just to avoid building the mobility plan they already approved demonstrates why we need new leadership, in my relatively humble opinion.

Mayor Bass, and the majority of the city council, seem to be doing anything and everything they can not to make the streets of this city any safer, or any more welcoming to anyone not encased in a couple tons of steel and glass.

Nor do we even hear them talk about it, even when the mayor is urged to declare a state of emergency to deal with traffic violence, let alone implement Vision Zero.

Bass frequently ties herself in knots patting herself on the back for how much crime has dropped, while failing to mention that crime has dropped nationwide, in cities she’s never been to, let alone led.

But it has not gotten any safer on city streets for bike riders and pedestrians, who continue to die at record rates.

In fact, the city has gone out of its way to hide the effects of traffic violence, no longer updating Vision Zero maps or releasing information about traffic deaths and injuries.

I don’t know who would make a better mayor for this city at this point.

Streets For All has endorsed Nithya Raman. And while I trust their judgement, I want her to show commitment to safer streets, and finding the funding to implement them.

But in the meantime, count me in the Anyone But Bass camp. And Linton’s lawsuits just scratch the surface of why I’m pitching my tent there.

Apropos of nothing, today’s photo is a corgi celebrating her 6th birthday by barely fitting into a Metro Bike basket. 

………

Speaking of Joe Linton, while his lawsuits and appeals have been filed in his personal capacity, here he takes a tour of the coming curb-protected bike lane on Colorado and Broadway in Santa Monica in his role as editor of Streetsblog LA.

And frankly, I had no idea he could ride that fast.

New curb-protected bike lanes under construction in #SantaMonica – on Colorado and Broadway

— Streetsblog L.A. (@streetsblogla.bsky.social) 2026-04-08T01:08:39.540Z

………

An interesting bill in the state legislature would allow families to change death certificates after a driver is convicted of a crime.

When someone is killed in a collision, the death certificate typically lists cause of death as “accident.” But SB 1071 would allow the cause of death to be amended to “homicide” if the driver is convicted of felony DUI, hit-and-run, or other felony charges.

However, in this case, homicide isn’t synonymous with murder. It simply means that the death was directly caused by the actions of another person, without implying intent.

But it does make clear that a death resulting from a traffic crime isn’t an accident.

………

This is why people keep dying on our streets.

A Texas woman will spend the next two years behind bars for child endangerment after letting her drunk 14-year old son drive her car, and killing someone riding a bicycle

And that after he was already stopped by police while driving her car two other times. The only reason she wasn’t charged with manslaughter prosecutors couldn’t prove she knew the boy was under the influence.

Although you’d think authorities might have done something the first time the kid was stopped by the cops, instead of waiting until he actually killed someone.

But, you know, Texas.

………

Streets Are For Everyone recaps a recent webinar on completing the LA River Bike Path before the 2028 Olympics.

That was originally part of former Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Twenty-eight by ’28 list of transportation projects that were to be finished before the Games, until Los Angeles and Metro moved the goalposts by taking out the projects that were just too hard.

Because evidently, trying harder to accomplish the hard things just isn’t in our playbook.

………

They’ve got a point.

Those little white car-tickler plastic bendy posts just ain’t gonna protect anyone from anything.

………

Local 

Public radio’s Marketplace visits LA’s Bike Oven co-op, calling it bike repair shop dedicated to giving you everything you need to learn how to fix your bike yourself.

Temporary bus and bike lane detours are in effect on Sepulveda Blvd for the next year and a half while Metro builds a new bridge for the G (Expo) Line, with work expected to be completed in December, 2027.

La Verne approved building a short two-way protected bike lane to connect to a longer lane in Pomona, providing bike access to the Pomona North Metro Station.

 

State

A bill from Encinitas State Senator Catherine Blakespear to redefine ebikes and create a new class of electric motorbikes unanimously passed the Senate Transportation Committee; SB 1167 would require that ebikes have operable pedals and a maximum engine output of 750 watts or less, the same limit required under European Union rules.

This is who we share the road with. A 69-year old Apple Valley man faces a charge of assault with a deadly weapon after first attempting to push a kid off his dirt bike, then getting in his car and attempting to run him down when the boy went to his father to tell him what the man had done.

Santa Barbara reopened the Maria Ignacio Bike Path after a temporary bridge was installed to repair storm damage from earlier this year.

Police in Manteca cracked down on road takeovers by wheelie-popping kids on bikes, impounding 18 bicycles under a new city ordinance allowing their seizure and slapping 25 teenaged riders with $200 tickets.

 

National

The Minnesota state Senate is considering three ebike-related bills, including a bill that would redefine ebikes and e-motos, similar to California’s SB 1167.

Tennessee is adding more than 1,000 miles of gravel trails to the state’s bike network, in addition to 52 paved routes for bicyclists.

Megan forwards news that the National Park Service is still semi-functioning, opening up a seven-mile segment of the historic Colonial Parkway in Virginia’s Colonial National Historical Park for a carfree open streets event. 

Huntsville, Alabama is preparing to host its 17th annual Mayor’s Bike Ride, led by the city’s sitting mayor. Los Angeles hasn’t had a bike ride led by the mayor since Richard Riordan was mayor back in the ’90s. Which is also the last time a Republican held the office. 

 

International

Police in Waterloo, Ontario charged a driver with making an unsafe turn and driving with an obstructed view after he hit a 12-year old girl riding a bicycle, sending the girl to the hospital with serious injuries — then slapped her parents with a ticket for allowing their daughter to ride without a bike helmet.

A Welsh bicyclist complains that it costs twice as much to rent a bike locker in Cardiff as it does in most London neighborhoods; prices for bike storage in the UK range from the equivalent of $160 a year in Cardiff, to as little as $15 in Scotland.

Ultra cyclist Justyna Jarczok somehow got her stolen bike back, albeit looking somewhat worse for wear, days after it was stolen with all of her belongings from a British gas station; her other things were found later in a nearby park.

An addendum to yesterday’s mention of the new DuoBell bike bell from Czech carmaker Škoda, which is actually just vaporware at the moment; designed to defeat noise cancelling headphones, the bell is a prototype, and may or may not make it into actual production.

A Philippine bicyclist says he felt weird wearing his bike helmet on a visit to Taiwan, where bicycling is so normalized it feels more like walking.

 

Competitive Cycling

Mexico’s Isaac del Toro was forced to abandon the Itzulia Basque Country after he tore his right thigh muscle in a bad crash in stage 3 of the race; there’s no prognosis on his recovery and return to racing at this time.

The driver of the official Itzulia Basque Country race doctor’s car was unceremoniously kicked out of the race and fined the equivalent of $632 for causing local star Mikel Landa to abandon the race after he collided with the car and fell heavily on a high speed descent; but apparently, bike racing means never having to say you’re sorry.

 

Finally…

Your old bike frame could have a second life as a hotel chair. When a night at the pub leads to a 525-mile bike ride to watch a soccer match, it might be time to cut back on drinking just a tad.

And that feeling when the “sadistic” coverage of a bike racing crash beats the hell out of any horror flick.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Hoboken goes 9 years without a traffic death while LA gives up; and Streetsblog tracks transportation bills in CA legislature

April 8, 2026 / / 2 comments

Hoboken proves once again that Vision Zero works.

But only if a city actually commits to it.

The New Jersey city, famous as the home of Frank Sinatra, has now gone nine full years without a traffic death.

Not one bicycling death. Not one pedestrian.

Not even someone driving or riding in the big, dangerous machines.

According to The Good Men Project,

Sixteen years in, about two-thirds of Hoboken’s intersections are now furnished with physical deterrents, and the city has hundreds of high-visibility crosswalks and dozens of curb extensions.

After especially extensive road upgrades in 2022, Hoboken saw 18% fewer injury crashes and a 62% reduction in serious injuries from 2022 to 2023.

The key, according to outgoing Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who oversaw the project for the past eight years,

Bhalla successfully rallied support from within and outside of government, launching Hoboken’s Vision Zero Task Force in 2019. Public engagement, Francese says, was and is core to this. Community surveys and meetings allowed leaders to hear from multiple voices, “not just the loudest,” he says, and piloting changes at one or two intersections first allowed people time to test and assess new infrastructure before commitments were made on a larger scale…

Not only did community members come to better understand the reasons for certain changes, but many also got on board once they saw the changes in action. Community members now play a role themselves, flagging when infrastructure needs fixing and asking for specific upgrades at intersections that don’t have them. Public reporting of “near-miss” data also supplements close calls caught by city cameras that are being piloted around the city.

No one said it’s easy, or cheap.

Vision Zero failed in Los Angeles because the city failed to adequately fund it. And the first time there was significant pushback, city officials ran scared, cancelling fully funded and shovel ready projects in multiple council districts, including dangerous and deadly streets like North Figueroa and Temple Street.

Now there’s a campaign urging Mayor Bass and the City Council to declare a state of emergency regarding traffic violence — although that may fall to her successor, whoever that may be, after June’s election.

You’ll find my name on the petition calling for it.

If you haven’t already, add yours. Do it right now; it only takes a few moments.

Then demand that our city leaders follow suit now, during the campaign, when they need our votes.

And let’s hold them to it this time.

Photo from Streetsblog LA shows former Mayor Eric Garcetti signing Vision Zero proclamation at his big, beautiful desk.

………

Streetsblog offers a detailed update on transportation-related bills in the state legislature, including bills to increase the penalty for DUI and limit the power of ebikes to the same cap as in European nations, while another bans passengers on ebikes not designed for two people.

It’s worth taking a few minutes to read the entire list — and making a few calls to your representatives to make sure they pass.

Well, most of them, anyway.

………

Now you, too, can build your own DIY bike frame. But whether you should is another question.

………

Nothing like crash-landing on the roof of a car.

Relatively on purpose, for a change.

………

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

No bias here. A San Diego writer says recent news that ridership on the city’s 30th Street bike lanes has risen to record levels is absurd, because she and her friends hardly ever see someone using it from their comfy seats at a local cafe, bike counters be damned. And the bike lanes aren’t accepted by the local community, and never will be. So there.

San Francisco police staged a ticket crackdown blitz on bicyclists and other micromobility users at the intersection of Powell and Market, following the release of the city’s latest High Injury Network map. Never mind that the real danger comes from motorists, it’s also illegal selective enforcement to focus on one group of road users at the exclusion of another. So unless they also ticketed drivers during that enforcement operation, all of those tickets can and should be dismissed.

………

Local 

A Los Angeles woman tallies up the cost of giving up her previous carfree lifestyle nine months ago. But you’ll have to find a way around Business Insider’s paywall, or sign up for a free trial that will automatically renew at 13 bucks a month unless you cancel it. 

Hats off to the Pasadena City Council for declaring five key “sacrosanct” budget priorities protected from budget cuts, including improving roadways and implementing pedestrian and bike safety strategies. Maybe they could have a little chat with LA’s city leaders. 

 

State

Apropos of our earlier discussion, San Francisco officials caved to angry drivers by removing a neck-down that had been shown to improve safety, making their ostensible commitment to Vision Zero “meaningless.”

Sad news from Mono County, where a 34-year old man was killed by a driver as he walked his bicycle along a highway after dark.

 

National

Dwell looks at the world of online urban planning influencers.

The bicycle industry has been protected from the latest round of Trump’s tariffs, after industry leaders came together to oppose a proposal by a kid’s bikemaker and an aluminum trade group to include bicycles in the 50% tariff on imported aluminum and steel.

Honolulu’s bikeshare system is given only a 50/50 chance of survival after a series of setbacks left it with just half the number of bikes it needs to operate sustainably. Funny how many cities refuse to adequately subsidize bikeshare, active transportation and transit, but have no problem pumping hundreds of millions into subsiding the motor vehicle network.

Seriously, it takes a special kind of asshole to steal an adaptive ebike from a Las Vegas Make-A-Wish kid with cystic fibrosis.

Speaking of which, ebike sales are surging at one Las Vegas bike shop, as gas prices top $5 a gallon. Never mind what gas costs here in LA.

A Salt Lake City bicycle collective refurbishes 5,000 bicycles a year to help Utah families, while a Rockford, Illinois “bike surgeon” fixes up old, unwanted bicycles to donate to families in need.

A Brooklyn man was caught on video jumping off his bicycle, just before it was completely run over by a wrong-way driver.

A Pennsylvania man is biking 6,000 miles across the US to visit every Ronald McDonald House to raise awareness and funds for families in need.

DC letter writers complain about the Trump administration’s efforts to rip out a popular bike lane in the city, which they say improves safety for everyone.

 

International

Your next set of bike fenders could set you back a thousand bucks.

Hundreds of Cayman Island bicyclists are expected to turn out next month to finish the ride of a father and triathlete who was killed by a driver last Easter.

Canadian MTB profiles airbrush artist Dylan Forbes, who they say is responsible for some of the “sickest” mountain bikes and helmets out there.

Ignorance is apparently bliss for a large subset of British motorists who somehow think signs reading “no motor vehicles” actually means “cars and motorcycles only”.

A new study from the Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment has found that ebikes offer clear benefits for older people and those with health conditions, but could reduce overall fitness among younger users.

A man from the Netherlands has spent the last 400 days bicycling along and across some of the world’s most challenging borders, questioning why he can pass so easily when so many others can’t.

Czech carmaker Škoda has developed a bike bell designed to penetrate even active noise cancellation headphones. Although the real question is whether it can pierce hermetically sealed motor vehicles with the windows up and the sound system turned to 11. 

A couple students from a Parisian political science institute learn the hard way that just because Manilla, Philippines is considered an “emerging cycling city” that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a smooth ride.

 

Competitive Cycling

People picks up the tragic story of Masters cyclist Colin “Creepy” Wilson, whose wife Tricia Jeffers was watching live online when he swerved to avoid a fallen cyclist during a race in Trinidad and Tobago, and severed his neck on the fence circling the course; his final words as he left for the race were “Tricia I going, I going to put us on the map.” Which he did, though not in the way either expected. 

Bike Radar answers the rocky question of why Paris-Roubaix is raced on cobbled roads never meant for bicycles. Kinda answers itself, doesn’t it?

Cyclist offers photos from the just completed Tour of Flanders. Insert gag about Bart and Homer’s neighbor here.

 

Finally…

Why climb to Everest Base Camp when you can ride there on a vintage foldie? That feeling when a press release for the 13th Annual Amgen Tour of California somehow pops up in the daily news — even though the race was cancelled six years ago.

And who really needs the whole front half of your bike, anyway?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Disinformation campaign opposes Better Overland project, and Florida adults rough up kid for pulling ebike wheelies

April 7, 2026 / / No comments

She gets it.

A writer for Culver City Crossroads complains about a lawn sign campaign to “Save Overland” from the Better Overland Complete Streets project.

She argues that the opposition campaign is “both amazing and shocking. Also, laughable.”

The slogans on these signs are not just false, they are complete reversals of truth. That is organized disinformation.

So, first of all, there is no plan to remove all the parking from Overland Ave. Making this the top slogan shows that the people leading this campaign are consciously using a bait-and-switch approach to getting your attention.

She goes on to make the case that the project has been thoroughly vetted, and if people didn’t know about it, it’s only because they weren’t paying attention.

Actual, verifiable facts: The Better Overland project has been in process since May of 2024, and has been approved twice by the Culver City Council. Twice.

City staff held eight public meetings for the community, in addition to multiple private meetings with smaller organizations that were stakeholders in the process.

There were QR codes posted along the entire length of Overland Avenue so that everyone using the street could post their thoughts and ideas regarding Overland directly to the project portal. They received more than a thousand public comments, the vast majority in favor of the project.

It’s typical whenever a project like this goes in that some people will somehow insist there wasn’t enough public outreach, no matter how many times they were given an opportunity to provide their input.

Or that they were never informed, despite repeated efforts to do just that.

That was what happened in Playa del Rey, when opponents said they were never informed about the road diets to Vista del Mar, Pershing Drive and Manchester Ave, or given a chance to voice their objections.

Even though the project was designed by local residents, part of a multi-year public process that included several meetings at a local school, as well as outreach efforts to contact local residents.

So if anyone didn’t know about it, it was because they had their heads firmly buried in the sand at Dockweiler Beach.

Never mind that any increased congestion usually goes away as motorists find other routes, or other ways to get around, like walking or riding a bicycle.

Then there’s the ultimate trump card for the driving public, which seems to be in play with Better Overland, that officials are coming for your parking spaces.

Even though most homes have driveways, and the curb space along the street belongs to the city, not local homeowners. And any actual loss of parking is usually mitigated nearby.

It’s inevitable that no matter what a city does to prepare residents for road changes, some people will always complain. It’s human nature to resist change.

But as former New York DOT director Janette Sadik-Khan put it, people always fight to prevent changes. Then once they get used to it, they’ll fight to keep it.

………

A group of at least five adults are being investigated for allegedly roughing up a kid in Palm Beach, Florida who was doing wheelies on his ebike, while a woman heckled the boy from the sidelines.

They are also accused of stealing the boy’s phone, which contained video of the altercation.

No matter what the boy was doing, or what kind of ebike he was riding, they had no right to put hands on him or take his property.

If he was actually causing a problem, call the cops. That’s what they get paid for.

@sab.trader445

Crazy, who do you thinks at fault? – #fyp #viral #ebikekid #karen #xyzcba

♬ original sound – CrazyClips

………

Streets For All is endorsing CD4 Councilmember Nithya Raman for Mayor of Los Angeles, calling her the change agent the city needs.

………

LADOT is looking for input on creating a low-stress bikeway along Marmion Way and Monte Vista Street, rather than implementing the road diet long planned for the deadly, high-speed North Figueroa corridor.

The Complete Streets project was killed by former Councilmember Gil Cedillo, who was for it before he was against it. Cedillo conducted a series of sham public meetings, which ostensibly gauge public opinion, while blocking comments from those in favor of the project.

………

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

Sad news from Tulare County, where the CHP was quick to blame the victim when someone riding a bicycle was killed after allegedly veering left in front of an SUV driver — which a local paper TV station reported by saying “it” veered in front of the SUV. Talk about a great job of dehumanizing someone. Never mind that what actually happened depends entirely on whether there were any independent witnesses, or if the CHP relied entirely on the driver’s perspective. 

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

Schmuck. A British bike rider is justifiable criticized after posting video of himself telling a pedestrian to “use a bit of fucking common sense” when the man steps out in front of him as the bike rider ran the red light. Seriously, don’t do that. 

………

Local 

No significant action yet on Joe Linton’s lawsuit to force Metro to comply with Measure HLA by installing bike lanes on the Vermont Avenue project, after the first day in court last week.

 

State

Sad news from San Jose, where a man was killed trying to put out an ebike battery fire in his apartment; a woman was able to escape without serious injury. A tragic reminder to only use UL or European certified lithium-ion batteries, as well as a battery that’s made for your bike.

That’s more like it. Santa Rosa is installing 120 new U-shaped bike racks in key locations along the city’s bicycle network.

 

National

Portland, Oregon is launching a $20 million ebike rebate program to help pay for more than 6,000 ebikes over the next three years. Which compares favorably to Los Angeles, which has invested exactly $0 in ebike rebates to help improve traffic congestion and air quality by getting cars off the road.

Washington State is rolling out another round of ebike rebates up to $1200 for a Class 1, 2 or 3 bike, with recipients chosen by lottery. That compares favorably to California’s ebike rebate program, which now only pays for electric cars after the funding was stolen by the California Air Resources Board, aka CARB. Thanks to Megan for the heads-up. 

You’ve got to be kidding. A 52-year old Arizona man died in police custody after he was repeatedly struck and tased by cops for fleeing a traffic stop — because he didn’t have a damn headlight on his bicycle.

A Las Vegas writer says you can easily bike to any of the city’s three major sports arenas in ten minutes or less from the Las Vega Strip, with bike parking available at each site.

A Wyoming group is opposing a bike trail over fears it would cut off a vital migration route for a mule deer herd, even though supporters says it would be on the opposite side of a lake and wouldn’t affect the herd.

A writer for Cycling West recounts her experiences exploring the bikeways of the Grand Tetons National Park, easily among the most beautiful spots in the US.

A pair of sisters in their 60s are riding more than 2,000 miles from Miami to Cape Cod along the East Coast Greenway to raise climate awareness.

Hats off to a group of Fort Meyers, Florida nonprofits, who provided eight adaptive bicycles to local kids with disabilities.

 

International

Momentum offers 20 reasons why the Netherlands is a bicyclist’s paradise, as if we needed any convincing; the magazine also shares six lessor-known bike-friendly cities around the world. None of which is Los Angeles. Or even on the West Coast. 

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 72-year old Indian man is joining six other men to ride more than 2,200 miles across Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Prices for Chinese ebikes are going up, as the price of raw materials goes up and the country reduces trade-in incentives.

A 33-year old Australian man faces culpable homicide and DUI charges after a woman was killed in a skitching incident last year, when she lost her grip on the man’s SUV and fell into the car’s path.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tadej Pogačar could etch his name in history as just the fourth cyclist to win all five Monuments, including the great Eddy Merckx; Pog has already won Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and Il Lombardia, and only needs a win at Paris-Roubaix to complete the cycle.

The 40th edition of the Redlands Bicycle Classic kicks off tomorrow with a time trial at Lake Perris.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole the bike and belongings of Polish endurance cyclist Justyna Jarczok, which she described as everything she owns, including her house keys, when she stopped at a gas station after winning one of the UK’s toughest bikepacking events; her belongings were found at a local park, but her rare Kona mountain bike is still missing.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you somehow find humor in the idea of running someone down with an SUV.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Drunk driver plows into Lao New Year celebration injuring 15, and Moriah “Mo” Wilson murder comes to Netflix doc

April 6, 2026 / / No comments

So much for that.

Despite taking Friday’s post off, I still don’t have my taxes done.

I got up early Friday and got straight to work on them, only to run into a software problem that required nearly an hour trying to get past the company’s uncomprehending AI-based help line to actually speak to a human, who solved the problem in about five minutes. 

Which left me wanting to punch the first robot I saw rolling down the sidewalk. 

As a result, I didn’t actually get started on my taxes until Friday night, when I ran into a question with my wife’s forms that couldn’t be answered until the office in question opened Monday morning. 

Good times. 

And in my tax-driven stress Thursday night, I forgot to wish a happy Easter to all those who marked the day yesterday, so please accept my best wishes and apologies a day late. 

………

This is who we share the road with.

Fifteen people were injured, several seriously, when an alleged drunk driver plowed into a Loa New Year parade just outside of Broussard, Louisiana.

According to The Independent, 

Todd Landry, 57, of Jeanerette, faces 18 counts of first-degree negligent injuring, driving while impaired and careless operation of a vehicle, among other charges, police said. Police do not believe the incident was an intentional act based on a preliminary investigation, officials said.

That’s good to know.

So it was just plain old-fashioned intoxication and stupidity, not terrorism. Which somehow doesn’t seem to make it better.

………

Time Magazine looks at the new Netflix doc The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson, which premiered last week.

The movie tells the story of Kaitlin Armstrong’s 2022 murder of rising gravel pro Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson in Austin, Texas, as well as Armstrong’s escape from custody to flee the country and avoid prosecution.

Armstrong was convicted a year later, after she was caught living in Costa Rica with a new face and identity.

Former gravel champ Colin Strickland says he walked away from bike riding after Armstrong, his former girlfriend, murdered Wilson in a fit of jealousy.

He says now he just works alone in his repair garage, and regrets everything he’s ever done, wishing he’d never started racing so he would have never met Armstrong or Wilson, and she’d still be alive today.

………

If anyone wants to get me an Easter/Passover gift, I’m registered here.

🎨Veronika Pozdnyakova

— Cool Bike Art (@coolbikeart1.bsky.social) 2026-04-04T18:42:20.264Z

………

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

No bias here. Denver blocked a key bike lane leading through downtown and to the city’s Major League stadium for opening day, while allowing drivers full use of the street. Because evidently, no one would want to bike to the stadium in the bicycling city, while they could ride in their big, dangerous machines, instead.

A 46-year old Colorado man is finally in custody, nearly a year after he used his car as a weapon to run down and seriously a man he knew while the other man was riding his bicycle; he was tracked down with the help of the FBI.

Seriously? British tabloids have yet another of their stupid “who’s at fault” debates after a truck driver passes a “cycling vigilante” way too close, claiming it’s the bicyclist’s fault because he wasn’t in the bike lane. Even though close passing laws are the same, no matter where you are on the roadway or why.

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

One juvenile is under arrest after around 200 kids riding bicycles and ebikes knocked a motorcyclist off his bike at a red light, then swarmed him and began kicking and punching him as a lay on the ground, for no apparent reason.

There’s a special place in hell for the rock-throwing bike rider who paused his ride to bust into an East Sacramento karate dojo and steal a priceless 17th-century wakizashi samurai sword that has been in the same family for over 400 years.

A 53-year-old Key West man was arrested on DUI and drug charges after he plowed his ebike into someone riding an adult tricycle; fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

………

Local 

Protected bike lanes are coming to a 1.2-mile stretch of Spring and Alameda in Chinatown.

West Hollywood will consider installing secure bike lockers at city facilities.

The Santa Monica Daily Press looks forward to the new West LA CicLAvia later this month.

 

State

A bill in the state Assembly, AB 1976, would cut the red tape preventing transformational bike and pedestrian projects, impacting everything from pedestrian malls and neighborhood greenways to safe routes to schools projects.

San Diego is cracking down on ebike “speed demons” on the city’s oceanfront boardwalks during spring break.

Good news from Ventura, where a 14-year old girl is recovering from the rattlesnake bite she got while mountain biking in Newbury Park two weeks ago; she was bitten after falling off her bicycle into some bushes.

That’s more like it. Over 100 people turned out for an organized rideout in Hayward on Saturday, to “create a safe and respectful place to carry on the tradition of what’s dubbed ‘bike life,’” and deter violence in the bicycle community.

 

National

People are pointing fingers back and forth after a Eugene, Oregon coalition devoted to sustainable transportation and better infrastructure for bike riders and pedestrians fell apart.

More than 50 years ago, over 1,200 Portland, Oregon bike riders turned out to demand carfree spaces for their bikes.

A crowdfunding campaign has raised over $50,000 for a Golden, Colorado woman who remains in critical condition in an induced coma, over ten days after she was struck by a drunk driver who blew through a red light while she riding her bicycle.

Nice gesture from the Corpus Christy, Texas bike community, which came together for a memorial ride to honor a local man best known as “Mr. Pointy Boots,” after he died of stage 4 prostate cancer.

Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Project Dudeman encourages men to show up as they are and ride bikes, to combat the stigma associated with mental health.

Even El Paso, Texas is putting Los Angeles to shame, installing over 1,000 miles of new cycling facilities over the last decade.

A Chicago bike rider was killed and two other people injured when an SUV driver blew through a red light and plowed through an intersection at 1:30 am Sunday, slamming into the bicyclist before continuing on to hit a car; the driver then abandoned his vehicle and literally ran away.

A Rochester, New York nonprofit gave away over 500 free bikes to local children in their 5th annual Easter giveaway.

Charlottesville, Virginia will release another 36 vouchers in the city’s ebike rebate program. That compares favorably to Los Angeles, which doesn’t have one, and California, which just gave up and gave the money to electric car buyers. 

A 62-year old woman was killed riding her bike in New Orleans Sunday morning, in a tragic reminder to never trust other drivers to stop when someone stops to let you cross a street; the victim waited for traffic to clear, and started across when a driver in the right lane stopped for her, but an oncoming driver in the left lane didn’t.

 

International

Cubans rode their bikes to protest Trump’s embargo of the island, which has led to frequent nationwide blackouts.

London plans to provide two new east-west bike routes, after riders are banned from Oxford Street once it becomes pedestrianized. Hard to imagine a carfree Oxford Street, which was one of the busiest car sewers I’ve ever seen, second only to the Champs-Élysées in Paris. 

England’s Lizzie Hermolle became the fastest woman to Everest offroad, shattering the old record even though a dog ate the donuts she was counting on for energy.

A British cardiologist and five-time Masters track champ explains the risks and benefits of bicycling as you mature, saying there’s no reason you can’t start or continue riding, but check with your doctor first.

British tabloids are up in arms over “the country’s most expensive bike lane,” which is costing the equivalent of nearly $6.6 million for less than a mile, while claiming it’s the locals who are angry and insist no one will use it. But just wait until someone tells them what it costs to build a mile of highway.

No bias here. A man in the UK received a warning from the police about his “dangerous” bicycling, after submitting helmet cam video of drivers illegally using their phones behind the wheel.

Bike riders in Dublin, Ireland will be allowed to turn left on a red light — the Irish equivalent of a right on red — but only at one specific intersection as part of a trial program.

The Guardian explains how former Paris Mayor Anne Hildago was responsible for “planting 155,000 trees, adding several hundred kilometers of bike lanes, pedestrianizing 300 school streets and banning cars from the banks of the Seine,” but not without significant resistance. Fortunately, newly elected Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire is committed to continuing her work.

A South African website says a woman from Norway bicycled to South Africa in a series of TikTok videos. Although she probably did it in real life, too.

I want to be like him when I grow up. After Chinese man lost his entire family over a period of two years in his 60s, he started bicycling, spending the next three decades criss-crossing the country, eventually switching to a tricycle as he continues riding at 90 years old. I mean, not about the bad stuff, but still.

 

Competitive Cycling

Heartbreaking story from Trinidad and Tobago, where the wife of cyclist Colin Wilson watched as he was killed during an Easter Sunday race, slashing his neck on the fence lining the course while trying to avoid a fallen cyclist.

Race winner race winner Tadej Pogačar could be in deep doo-doo with Belgian authorities after he ran a red light at a railroad crossing, along with another 20 or so riders, in violation of race rules as a train was bearing down on them.

Dutch cyclist Demi Vollering won the women’s race, without apparently violating any choo-choo rules, while the legendary Marianne Vos had to drop out after the death of her father.

Two Colorado bike races were named among the top ten in the US by USA Today, including the iconic Tour of the Moon featured in American Flyers, staring some guy named Kevin Costner; the Hotter’N Hell Hundred in Wichita Falls, Texas topped the list.

Canadian Cycling Magazine helps former cyclist Gord Fraser reunite with his 1986 Bertrand racing bike, when someone emailed the magazine to say they had it after Fraser wrote that he regretted selling it.

 

Finally…

Presenting the weird, wacky and wonderful world of bicycles; thanks to Steven for the heads-up. That feeling when an iconic beachfront bike path started life as a fortified WWII military installation.

And the winner for greater LA’s worst intersection is….

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Today’s post called on account of tax prep hell

April 3, 2026 / / No comments

Look, it was a very light news day yesterday.

Even if I included everything I found, it would amount to what you could find on the back of an average breakfast cereal.

And I’m up against an immutable deadline to get our taxes done. No, not from the IRS; they only want it by 15th.

I’ve been buried up to my neck in tax prep all week because my wife insists it has to be done by this weekend. And she scares me a lot more than the feds do.

So I’m tossing in the towel tonight, and I’ll see you on Monday, when hopefully we’ll have enough news to make it worthwhile, and I’ll have about 1040 pounds off my shoulders and a small woman off my back.

Photo by RDNE Stock project from Pexels. 

Category: General /

Streets For All legislative agenda speeds safer streets and redefines high-powered e-motos, and April Fools in the bike world

April 2, 2026 / / No comments

Chag Pesach Sameach!

………

Streets For All introduced its legislative package for the 2026 session, sponsoring ten bills while requesting a $200 million annual addition to California’s Active Transportation Program.

Among their sponsored bills,

AB 1740 (Zbur)  makes it easier to build bike lanes, bus improvements, infill housing, and other multimodal projects in urban coastal communities. Right now, even straightforward street safety projects can get bogged down in the coastal permitting process. This bill would let qualifying urban communities move more quickly on projects that improve safety and reduce emissions, while still preserving coastal access and protections.

AB 1837 (Mark González) extends transit lane and bus stop camera enforcement and makes that authority permanent statewide. Illegal parking in bus lanes and at bus stops slows buses, creates unsafe boarding conditions, and makes transit less reliable. This bill would help keep transit moving and make bus service faster and safer for riders.

AB 1976 (Wicks), the Safe Streets Streamlining Act, tackles the process barriers that delay or kill good street safety projects. It changes local input requirements, ends unreasonable petition requirements for traffic calming, updates the pedestrian mall law, and creates a clearer path for cities to actually deliver the bike, pedestrian, and transit projects they have already said they want. California cannot keep saying yes to safe streets in theory while allowing them to be endlessly blocked in practice.

SB 1167 (Blakespear) cracks down on high-powered “e-motos” being sold as e-bikes. It tightens definitions, changes labeling rules, and requires sellers to clearly disclose when a device is actually a motor vehicle and not a legal e-bike. Real e-bikes are an important transportation tool. But that only works if the category remains clear and trustworthy.

AB 2015 (Wicks) helps cities keep slow streets actually slow by stopping navigation apps from routing cut-through traffic onto neighborhood streets that have been intentionally designed for local access, walking, and biking. If a city has decided that a street should function as a calm neighborhood street, app-based routing should not undermine that decision.

AB 1599 (Ahrens) creates a centralized California Transit Stop Registry. Transit stop data is often fragmented, inconsistent, and confusing across agencies. A statewide registry would make transit data more accurate and useful, improve coordination, and help create a better rider experience. The bill will also help us get more data on what amenities are at transit stops.


SB 1292 (Richardson) gives cities stronger curb management tools to enforce parking violations in places like loading zones, bike lanes, and crosswalks. Curb space matters, and mismanaged curb space creates safety problems, transit delays, and chaos on the street. This bill gives local governments more tools to manage that space better.

AB 2284 (Dixon) requires CHP to publish a list of devices that are being marketed as e-bikes but are not actually legal e-bikes. That kind of transparency would help consumers, schools, local governments, and law enforcement better understand what devices comply with California law and which ones do not.

AB 1833 (McKinnor), the Consumer Driving Data Protection Act of 2026,allows drivers to voluntarily opt into insurance telematics systems, with privacy protections, to better align insurance rates with actual driving behavior. This bill is about allowing safer driving to be reflected more fairly, while preserving strong guardrails around consent, data use, and consumer protection.

SB 1423 (Stern) would steer half of one of California’s biggest transportation funding sources toward projects that actually make streets safer. The bill would dedicate half of STIP funds, one of the state’s largest transportation pots of money, to projects that improve safety for people walking, biking, and taking transit. It would also simplify the application process for the state’s top safe streets grant program and elevate its identity as California’s flagship source of funding for street safety.

Budget Ask: A $200 million annual addition to the Active Transportation Program (ATP), which is our state’s premier pot of street safety funding. Last year, ATP only funded about 30 of the 350 projects that applied.

They’ll host a webinar to discuss their support for the bills on Thursday, April 16th at high noon.

………

Pink Bike highlights the best April Fools gags from around the bike industry.

Meanwhile, Road.cc wrote that BP — the former British Petroleum — is encouraging drivers to deal with rising gas prices by skipping the pump and riding a bike instead. Which actually had me fooled at first. 

Strava joined in with a gag about opening a dating platform. Although that might not be the worst idea. 

Then there was the electrolyte gravy, a fish tank bike saddle and skinsuits that come pre-crashed so you don’t have to worry about messing them up.

On the other hand, an Aussie writer says paying people to ride a bike is no joke, despite what an April Fools gag said.

………

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

An op-ed from the executive director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association decries demands from the Trump administration for the National Park Service to rip out a popular bike lane that has cut injuries by 91%; meanwhile, Bloomberg’s CityLab considers why Trump’s war on DC streets matters, as the administration exerts control over the city while sidelining its residents.

No bias here. A San Diego letter writer says if you really want to help kids, skip the bike lanes and use the money for libraries, instead. Which sets up a false dichotomy between libraries, which should get better funding, and bike lanes, which improve safety for everyone on the streets, not just kids. Although you’ll have to find a way around the paper’s paywall to read it. 

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

Great use of police resources. The Macomb, Georgia Police Department put their new drone to use in less than 24 hours by capturing a 14-year old kid speeding on his ebike. Next they’ll use it to bring in other dangerous desperados, like maybe a bunch of littering nuns. 

………

Local 

The LA Times examines how to stay safe on an ebike, starting with knowing the difference between a ped-assist bicycle and an electric motorbike.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton takes an in-person look at new protected bike lanes going in on Colorado and Broadway in Santa Monica, and Washington and Adams in Culver City.

 

State

Orange County’s Newport-Mesa Unified School District is considering a proposal to ban all ebikes for elementary and middle school students, and allow only Class 1 ebikes for high school students with parental consent.

San Francisco’s transportation department is working on plans for hardened daylighting, installing barriers like bike racks or bollards to keep drivers from speeding around the corners newly opened by California’s daylighting requirement.

Longtime Michelin starred San Francisco chef Roland Passot is one of us, balancing work with his passion for road cycling.

 

National

A prolific Portland burglar will spend the next five years and five months behind bars, after he was convicted for stealing over 30 bicycles and ebikes over a three-year crime spree.

A Eugene, Washington program is teaching residents of homeless shelters how to become bicycle mechanics.

Bodycam video is raising questions about a Texas cop’s takedown of a 16-year old kid, who make the simple mistake of trying to call his dad when the cop stopped a group of teens for rolling a stop sign; after taking the kid down, the cop then seized and searched the boy’s phone without a warrant.

A Providence, Rhode Island event demonstrates Intelligent Speed Assist, which could be authorized to rein in chronic speeding and reckless drivers under a bill in the California legislature, as well.

Life is cheap in Charlotte, North Carolina, where a driver faces just a misdemeanor charge for killing an eight-year old girl riding a bicycle, even though he was driving with a revoked license and an unregistered vehicle — and even though witnesses said he revved his engine and sped up just before the crash.

 

International

A British bike rider is suing three police departments for the equivalent of $6.35 million, alleging they covered it up when a driver knocked him off his bike; the cops said he just fell off his bike, even though a witness said she saw the driver clip him. Which sounds a lot like when I was run down by a road-raging driver, and the LAPD concluded I somehow defied the laws of physics by falling to the left while making a right turn, but it never occurred to me to sue them. 

Bicycling Australia says that country is seeing a renewed interest in bicycling as a result of the fuel crisis caused by the war in Iran, but no full blown bike boom — yet.

Velo considers why bicycling in Taipei feels safer than riding in Portland (scroll down).

China’s longtime bikemaker Flying Pigeon is shedding its traditional image as a self-destructing bicycle-shaped object, and using combination of flexible sensors, artificial intelligence algorithms and the internet of things to redefine the bikes from a simple form of transport into an “intelligent health management terminal.” Unless China Daily is pulling an April Fool’s joke, in which case they got me.

 

Competitive Cycling

Filippo Ganna overcame a snapped handlebar and late bike change to win Dwars door Vlaanderen, while Swiss cyclist Marlen Reusser shocked herself by winning the women’s edition.

The Athletic looks, not at the pros taking part, but the Belgian super fans on the sidelines of De Ronde van Vlaanderen, aka the Tour of Flanders.

A 17-year British amateur, part of the country’s development team, was left brokenhearted when an insurance company refused to pay for three stolen Pinarello Dogma bikes worth a total of $20,000 because the thieves weren’t violent enough, and just walked away with the bikes instead of breaking in or causing major damage.

Austria’s eight-time national junior was lucky to walk away with a broken arm and a shattered bicycle when he was cut off by a driver on a training ride, and slammed into the back of the driver’s car.

 

Finally…

Playing bike polo, aka riding a bicycle with a big wooden hammer in your hand. And that feeling when your bike-on-bike collision is memorialized for the masses on Google Street View.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Nothing like bad bike news to bring out the worst in people, bicycling makes your brain ripple, and add iron to make your bike go

April 1, 2026 / / No comments

He gets it.

A writer for Road.cc lives in rural Warwickshire, England, just outside of Stratford-upon-Avon, which he calls a beautiful part of the world.

One that he says is repeatedly voted as one of the best places to live, as well as a great place to ride a bike.

The cycling here is also amazing. You can find miles of quiet country roads, there’s plenty of mountain biking trails around, and there’s even a disused railway nearby where hundreds of children learn to ride every week.

But it only took the death of someone riding a bicycle to “reveal how sickeningly awful some people in your local community can be.”

Regardless of circumstances and fault, the overwhelming feeling I have is of sadness and loss – somebody lost their life while out on their bike. There is never a reasonable explanation for this, it’s always a tragedy.

However, when I look at the local Facebook group, you wouldn’t think somebody had died, because on posts about it people are instead focused on the person being a cyclist, so it was probably their fault…

It shows how publications like the Daily Mail, Daily Express, and the Telegraph have done their job. Cyclists are dehumanised, and the people in my community demonstrate this better than any study or focus group ever could. If you’re killed on a bike, you deserve it.

Looking at the comments section, there are 19 direct comments at the time of writing. 15 of them are the standard bingo card comments about cyclists’ behaviour with no sympathy for somebody being killed. It’s sickening.

It’s a phenomenon I’ve encountered hundreds of times in writing this site, as has anyone else who has dared venture into the comment section following a news story that even mentions someone on a bicycle. Or who has had the temerity to venture into social media.

If the victim of a crash was on a bicycle, it had to be their fault, because the commenter once saw someone run a stop sign or a red light. Or maybe it’s everyone on two wheels, because none of us ever obey the law.

It’s an automatic case of collective guilt, painting us with the same broad brush used to disparage any group somehow considered “other.”

Even when it comes to people who simply disagree about some simple civic or political matter.

I’ve had my stomach turned by what I’ve seen, heard and read so many times it feels like a washing machine on spin cycle, discovering once again just how truly awful people can be.

Just as it has when I’ve heard hateful comments from people who seemed decent enough until they opened their mouths, apparently assuming that their distasteful opinion is so obvious everyone must share it.

Too often I’ve just kept my mouth shut and turned away to avoid an ugly fight.

I wish I had an answer, some sort of magical solution that would show them just how wrong they are, and shame them for their lack of compassion.

But that seldom seems to work in the real world.

And almost never in the virtual one.

………

Bicycling makes your brain grow.

And ripple, apparently.

A new study published in the journal Brain Communications builds on a Chinese study release last year that showed even brief periods of bicycling can cause growth in the hippocampus.

The research, recently published in Brain Communications, was conducted on a much smaller test group, but the people involved all had a specific disorder, drug-resistant epilepsy, that the scientists were examining when they made their discovery.

So go out and ride hard.

And maybe someday you, too, can pass a whole bunch of cognitive tests just like our president.

………

Staying on the subject of health, a medical specialist in iron deficiency and anemia suggests that an iron deficiency could affect your performance long before you actually develop anemia.

So stop by your neighborhood bar and toss back a few rusty nails every now and then.

It’s for your health, after all.

………

Local 

Santa Monica is building a new curb-protected bike lane on Colorado Ave.

 

State

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton says the recent road rage incident in Newport Beach demonstrates the limits of painted bike lanes.

Irvine-based Rivian makes the obvious transition from electric truck builder to ebike maker to autonomous DoorDash delivery bot.

 

National

Surprisingly, the US Department of Transportation is making $1 billion available through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program, despite recent government cutbacks in active transportation funding.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole an adaptive ebike from a Las Vegas teenager with cystic fibrosis.

The traffic “expert” for a Denver TV station just can’t seem to figure out what the lines marking buffered bike lane are for — especially since he didn’t see anyone using it at the exact time he happened to be watching.

 

International

Cyclist looks at the year’s best insulated bicycling water bottles.

Bike Radar says anti-lock brakes could revolutionize mountain biking, even if they’re not quite ready for mass consumption.

It’s time to don your best tweed and hie thee to Saville Row for London’s most stylish bike ride.

A British bikeshare company is being investigated for false advertising for claiming to give you ten minutes free — but only after you pay to unlock their bikes.

A writer for Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website examines how to make bikeshare even better, starting with connected, physically separated bike lanes and more stations in under-served areas.

A 72-year old man was killed when he hit a low tree branch over an Australian bike path, even though officials had been warned about it a week earlier.

 

Competitive Cycling

IDL Pro Cycling says British cyclist Lorena Wiebes can still be beaten, despite achieving “Pogačar-like status in the women’s peloton.”

 

Finally…

If you left your bike on a US military base, get it from the MPs. Who needs a living room when you can have a fully equipped bike workshop?

And now you, too, can have your very own Cookie Monster bike. As long as you don’t need a seat, or pedals or anything.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

West LA CicLAvia coming next month, LA speed cams and photo bike lane ticketing, and new helmet may be safest ever

March 31, 2026 / / No comments

Happy César Ch…uh, Farmworkers Day, to all who celebrate. 

And Erev Tov!

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The next CicLAvia will roll just three miles from Westwood to West Los Angeles, along Westwood and Santa Monica Blvds on Sunday, April 26th.

The ride will offer an opportunity to consider long-gestating plans to build protected bike lanes on Westwood between Westwood Village and the E Line; an earlier proposal for painted bike lanes was killed by former CD 5 Councilmember Paul Koretz because he felt like it to satisfy wealthy homeowners.

………

Los Angeles is finally getting around to installing the speed cams authorized by a 2023 law.

The legislature, in a typical compromise to avoid passing any major traffic safety legislation, approved a pilot program allowing speed cams in six cities, three in Northern California and three in Southern California.

Streetsblog reports San Francisco and Oakland already have their speed camera programs up and running, while Long Beach and Glendale have finalized locations and approved vendor contracts; San Jose is the other NorCal city included in the program.

The law was later amended to allow a handful of desperately needed speed cams on PCH in Malibu, as well.

The six-city pilot program was a compromise to get a bill that would have legalized them statewide out of committee.

According to Streetsblog, Los Angeles was the last city to move forward with its program, as usual for the notoriously risk-averse and driver-shy city. But the city finally finalized the speed cam locations last week, and will send the contract out to bid with a goal of getting them installed and working by the end of the year.

Yay, us.

In other long overdue news, Streetsblog adds that Los Angeles is trying to work out the details on a program to use cameras to ticket drivers parked in bike lanes.

Here’s a thought.

Let the people who actually use the bike lanes enforce the law by submitting their own photos and videos of drivers blocking bike lanes, and just send the owners a ticket, already.

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The new Si road bike helmet from Vancouver, BC’s PIKIO LABS has been rated as the safest bike helmet ever tested by the Virginia Tech Testing Lab.

The helmet scored a 4.61, more than two points better than the next highest rated helmet.

It’s based on the company’s proprietary OBLIK impact management system, designed to reduce both linear and rotational forces; the nearly 20-year old MIPS system only reduces rotational forces.

………

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

Someone may or may not have tried to sabotage an Iowa bike path, after the bomb squad destroyed a suspicious device packed with nails and explosive materials left in a backpack along the trail.

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

This is what it looks like when a hundred or so kids on bicycles and ebikes attempt to enter a San Francisco freeway the wrong way, even if the CHP can’t seem to hold the damn camera steady or even make a decent edit.

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Local 

A new pocket park and recreation center called the Slauson Connect project will rise on a narrow strip of land along the north side of Slauson Ave between Budlong and Normandie Avenues next to the new Rail to Rail shared use path.

 

State

Two separate HIV/AIDS fundraising rides will replace the late, great AIDS/Lifecycle ride, with a three-day ride from San Francisco to Guerneville and back benefitting a Bay Area nonprofit, while the three-day Center Ride Out will take bicyclists from Los Angeles to San Diego, to benefit the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

Santee is the latest California city to crackdown on ebikes, without apparently distinguishing between e-motos and non-street legal dirt bikes, and Class 1, 2 & 3 ped-assist ebikes.

A recent University of Arizona grad from Humboldt is setting off with his dad on a 9,600-mile ride to visit all 30 major league ballparks. Although if they really wanted a challenge, they should try riding to all 120 minor league parks in the US alone. 

 

National

A new bi-partisan bill in Congress would give the Consumer Product Safety Commission the authority to define and regulate ebikes and other electric micromobility devices at the national, rather than state, level. Although whether there’s anything left of the CPSC after Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts remains to be seen. 

Outside recommends the year’s best mountain bikes as chosen by the pros at Pinkbike. And they might actually be this time, for a change. 

There’s not a pit in hell deep enough for the co-founder of the Bellingham, Washington edition of the World Naked Bike Ride after he was busted on kiddie porn charges; he claimed he was doing research for a children’s book about a child who runs around naked — even though his book was published six years ago.

Alaska’s Lael Wilcox will attempt to beat her own 108-day women’s world record for riding around said planet, attempting to shave 30 days off her previous time for the 18,000 mile ride to beat the outright record of 78 days, 14 hours; she’ll set off from Chicago on June 7th.

Now drivers aren’t even waiting for bicycles to leave the shop before running them down, as a Colorado driver somehow plows in and through an Aurora bike shop.

 

International

An Oxford, England traffic cam installed to catch drivers making illegal left turns — the equivalent of a right over here — has generated the equivalent of nearly $800,000 at one of the most dangerous sites for bicyclists in the UK, which see around 12,000 daily bike trips per day when Oxford University is in session.

Bicyclists in the London borough of Havering have launched a safety campaign asking candidates for the local council to commit to building bike infrastructure where the city’s department of transportation has identified the need.

Former Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo looks back on her dozen years leading the French capital — which included a massive bike and pedestrian friendly makeover of the city streets — saying “Changing a city is complicated.” Which is probably why no one has succeeded here in the City of Angels, and few have even bothered to try. 

Authorities in The Netherlands are considering introducing a quality mark to show ebikes meet legal EU standards. Which would be a pretty good idea over here, too. 

A Delhi-based white-collar worker swaps his car for a bicycle to commute to work for four months to see if biking every day can help improve the city’s air quality crisis, and finds he can get to work on a bicycle as fast as in a car. A few years back, I spoke with a Delhi-based bike accessory maker, who was comfortable riding that city’s seemingly chaotic streets, but just couldn’t imagine how we manage riding the mean streets of Los Angeles. 

The London Times asks if Tokyo can manage to rein in its sidewalk surfing bicyclists, especially all those darn moms on their mamacharis. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Swiss prosecutors have closed their investigation into the death of 18-year old Swiss cyclist Murier Furrer without charges, concluding there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing even though it took 85 minutes before anyone even noticed she was missing following a crash in the 2024 Road World Championships in Zurich.

Somehow we missed this one last week, as a pro-Palestinian and environmental protestor caused a major smashup in the Tour of Bruges by sitting in the middle of the road as the peloton approached; the same man disrupted the finale of the 2022 Tour of Flanders by running across the roadway, splashed paint on Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring, tied himself to a goal post during the Belgian FA Cup final, and sprayed the British Embassy in Brussels with red paint. Yet somehow, he was still allowed within 50 miles of a bike race without adult supervision. 

A 21-year old Philippine food delivery rider set a new national track cycling record riding the same bike he uses for his delivery work, with the frame and wheels worth the equivalent of less than $250.

 

Finally…

Seriously, when you’re carrying a concealed gun, meth, and illegal prescription pills on your bike, and riding with an active arrest warrant, stop for the damn stop sign. Or if you nearly hit a police car while riding your bike drunk, put a damn light on it, already (the bike, not the cop car).

And your next ebike could be the world’s skinniest car.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

UK driver walks for trying to kill bicyclist, Whittier man shot riding past car, and CHP thwarts bicycle takeover of Bay Bridge

March 30, 2026 / / No comments

No major news stories this weekend, so let’s get right to it. 

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

Life is cheap in the UK, where a road-raging driver walked with a suspended sentence for deliberately attempting to slam into a semi-professional cyclist, even though the judge bellowed from the bench “What the bloody hell were you doing? Had you hit him and he went under you could have been facing a charge of manslaughter or causing death by dangerous driving. What were you thinking of? You are right to look ashamed.” And even after that, let him off with a slap on the wrist. 

A British parish council faces well-deserved backlash for reporting a group of kids to the cops for building a tiny dirt bike ramp, as locals ask why the council doesn’t have more important matters to attend to.

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

The bomb squad was called out in San Diego when an apparently well-meaning man rode off on his bicycle after dropping off a bag full of high-powered ammunition at the Santee sheriff’s station; he just wanted the deputies to safely dispose of it and didn’t intend to cause a security incident.

The CHP seized a whopping 85 bicycles and cited dozens of people when participants in an apparent rideout attempted to take over the San Francisco’s Bay Bridge; the state police stopped the group as they tried to enter the bridge on an offramp after riding recklessly through the city.

………

Local 

The Eastsider wants to know if you’d be willing to reduce or eliminate curbside parking on Sunset Blvd to make room for bike and bus lanes. “Hell yeah!” doesn’t seem to be an option, so you’ll have to settle for yes. 

A Whittier man was hospitalized in unknown condition early Friday after he was shot when he rode his bicycle past a car, and two people inside fired multiple shots at him.

Once again, ebikes got the blame when a group of about 50 people riding “illegal electric motorcycles, pocket bikes and e-bikes” took over Long Beach streets late Friday afternoon, leading to the arrest of a 17-year old boy, police issuing five traffic citations and impounding five vehicles. Something tells me that not one of those ebikes would be legal under California’s Class 1, 2 or 3.

 

State

The LA Times catches up with the road rage harassment and attempted assault of two bicyclists in Newport Beach last week, and the subsequent arrest of one of the drivers allegedly involved, which we told you about on Friday. Ironically, the belated story was reported by the paper’s breaking news desk.

In a story that should sound familiar to Los Angeles bike riders, criticism directed at Caltrans for building a very short bike lane should have been directed at San Diego officials, who were supposed to build a new bike lane when a street was resurfaced for a water project, but neglected to budget enough for a complete resurfacing, and decided to just skip it, even though Caltrans didn’t.

The inaugural family-friendly Bike the Coast Ventura is scheduled for this June.

A Spanish architect completed a six-month, 1,200-mile bike trip retracing the route of the 1775 Anza expedition from Sonora, Mexico to the San Francisco Bay.

Speaking of San Francisco, the city’s transportation department released a map showing where the most collisions involving drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists occurred. Something that we were promised under Vision Zero, but which the city only maintained for a year or two.

Finishing our San Francisco trifecta, the city absurdly ripped out a DIY protected bike lane installed by a local advocacy group after a driver ran down and killed a two-year old kid last month — removing their yellow plastic posts and replacing them with white posts.

 

National

A Redditor is grateful for a random act of kindness after she fell off her bike on a rough patch of pavement, and a stranger ran over with his dog to was her off and help her get back up.

A website for people over 60 offer the best bicycle dad jokes — or grandad jokes, in this case — although “best” is doing a lot of work here.

A health website offers “the ultimate guide to choosing the best bike for every rider.” Which isn’t, and aren’t.

Seattle creates four “low-pollution neighborhoods” designed to reduce air pollution and increase access to transit and safe walking and biking infrastructure.

A Washington bike rider was lucky to escape with minor injuries when the driver of box truck jumped the sidewalk she was riding on, and fled the scene after hitting her; the driver was later arrested for reckless driving, hit-and-run and driving with a suspended license.

That’s more like it. Denver, Colorado is moving forward with a nearly $1 billion Complete Streets makeover of the city’s streets, with over 500 traffic calming projects which will reduce space for motor vehicles and replace it with wider sidewalks, bike lanes and dedicated bus lanes throughout the city; naturally, critics complain it will increase traffic congestion. However, you’ll have to find your own way past the paper’s paywall. 

That’s more like it, part two. A 24-year old Colorado ex-con was sentenced to 18 years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a 41-year old man riding a bicycle in Boulder, Colorado, after he was paroled despite being previously considered a high risk to re-offend on drug crimes.

An Indiana bikemaker is urging the Trump Administration to level the playing field by imposing hirer tariffs on imported bicycles, in what could be a test case of the administration’s strategy of using import taxes to promote domestic manufacturing.

That’s more like it, part three. New Jersey officials threw the book at a hit-and-run driver for dragging the victim and their bicycle behind her car as she fled the scene; she was charged with vehicular assault, aggravated assault, and endangering an injured victim, as well as DUI, reckless driving and hit-and-run counts.

A five-year old Virginia boy was remembered with a 6th annual Easter event that gave away 20,000 eggs and 65 bicycles to families in need; he was shot point-blank by a neighbor while riding his bike in North Carolina in 2020.

You’ve got to be kidding. Police in Charlotte, North Carolina blamed the victim when an eight-year old girl was killed by a driver after she rode her bike out of the family driveway into the street — even though the driver was a) driving with a revoked license, b) driving without insurance, c) driving an unregistered vehicle, d) driving with a fictitious registration, and e) may or may not have been speeding.

Life is cheap in Louisiana, where a 36-year old man got just two and a half years behind bars for killing a 64-year old man riding his bicycle, despite pleading guilty to negligent homicide and a number of traffic infractions after striking the victim with a too-close pass. And even though sideswiping the victim’s bike is a prima facie violation of the state’s three-foot passing law. 

 

International

How to find yourself metaphorically singing in the literal rain while you ride.

Tres shock! It turns out that sucking high-sugar energy gels is bad for your teeth.

The UK’s Factor bike brand received a cease-and-desist letter from a Colombian bikemaker, which complained the Scarab logo for Factor’s new iridescent aero bike is too close to custom steel bikemaker Scarab Cycles name and logo, and likely to cause confusion in the market. And yes, they’ve got a damn good point.

A British soccer legend learns the hard way that being the Premier League record-holder for goals scored is no protection from hitting a nasty pothole on his bike.

A bicyclist in Malta dreams of a safer environment for riding.

Tragic news from India, where a 42-year-old businessman was killed by a speeding 17-year old hit-and-run driver, while on his very first bike ride after taking up bicycling to maintain his fitness.

Dubai announced the opening of 13 new cycle tracks to create a nearly 400 mile network, placing the Emirate on track to open over 630 miles of bikeways by 2030.

Starting next month, bike riders in Japan will be subject to traffic tickets and fines, just like drivers; parents fear it will make it more challenging to get their kids to school.

 

Competitive Cycling

A couple of men in Italy seriously stretched the definition of “fans” as Velo reports a “rampaging fan” climbed on top of the moving Visma-Lease a Bike team car during stage four of the Coppi e Bartali, attempting to steal a bike off the roof, while another “fan” punched and threatened the people inside; American teenager Ashlin Barry went on to claim his first victory for the team’s development squad.

Speaking of first wins, Aussie Brady Gilmore claimed his first WorldTour victory on the final stage of the Volta a Catalunya — even if Bicycling Australia takes until the final paragraph to mention almost in passing that Jonas Vingegaard captured overall victory.

Speaking of the Volta, British cyclist Tom Pidcock considered himself lucky to escape with relatively minor knee and wrist injuries from crashing down a steep ravine on Friday.

Good news from Italy, where Debora Silvestri is out of the hospital, more than a week after she suffered severe chest trauma going over a guard rail in a terrifying Milan-Sanremo crash, then landing on a service road after a ten-foot drop.

Texas Monthly says the next great American cyclist could be unassuming Amarillo 18-year old Beckam Drake. Although once again, you’ll have to get around their paywall. And never mind how the last great American cyclist from Texas turned out. 

Speaking of which, it turns out that women dope, too, as Italian cyclist Linda Laporta was provisionally suspended for testing positive for a banned substance during the recent UAE Tour Women. Although she has a long way to go to catch up with Lance’s record of seven ex-Grand Tour wins.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you “ingeniously” tow a mattress-laden boat with your ebike, unless maybe it was all stolen. Who needs carbon fiber or titanium when you can build your own frame from PVC pipes?

And why let tandem riders have all the fun, when you can build your very own unicycle for two?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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