Morning Links: Tamika Butler moves to LA’s Toole Design, suspect busted in Hyperion hit-and-run, and LA SciFi Bike

January 17, 2019 / / No comments

She’s back.

After stepping away from local bike advocacy for a few years, Tamika Butler is stepping back onto the field.

The former head of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is taking a position as Director of Planning, California, and Director of Equity and Inclusion for Toole Design Group, working out of their Los Angeles office.

This is how the company announced the hire.

A civil rights attorney with a diverse background in law, nonprofit leadership, and community engagement, Tamika brings a unique perspective to the intersection of transportation, inequality, community, and shared values. Formerly the executive director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, Tamika helped the LACBC shift its advocacy platform to include and incorporate the voices of communities of color, LGBTQ communities, and young people into its work improving active transportation in Los Angeles County. Her three-year tenure leading the LACBC brought numerous advocacy wins and earned the organization national attention for its work on ensuring that bicycle planning and programs across Los Angeles County includes and acknowledges its community members’ values and lived experiences.

In addition to her responsibilities on planning projects, Tamika will also lead Toole Design’s internal efforts to become a more diverse, inclusive workplace that employs people of all backgrounds. This includes collaborating with Human Resources on recruiting and hiring practices, leading trainings for staff, and serving as a resource for colleagues across the country.

Let’s hope they know what they’re getting into.

During her too-brief stay with the LACBC, Butler quickly rose to national prominence as a public speaker and community leader, challenging the predominately white world of bike advocacy to broaden its horizons and refocus its efforts on creating genuine equity on our streets. A role she continued after she left the coalition.

As the above link shows, she’s not one to pull her punches, which has led to inevitable pushback, and sometimes anger, from those she challenges.

But she’s opened far more eyes, and caused countless people in and out of the advocacy world to rethink their approaches to communities of color.

Myself included.

I’d say I hope Toole allows her to keep up her fight for inclusiveness. But knowing Tamika, from my own time with the LACBC, I doubt she would have taken the job if they had restricted her voice in any way.

So let’s welcome her back.

And look forward to many more years of speaking truth to power, and challenging us all.

………

A suspect has been arrested in the hit-and-run death of a mother who was gathering recyclables on Hyperion Ave to pay for her daughter’s college tuition.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding page in her honor has already raised nearly $4,000 over the $15,000 goal.

I’m told that community members reached out to LADOT and Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell’s office over two years ago to request safety improvements to the intersection where she died, but never got a response.

Let alone any action.

Which sadly shouldn’t surprise anyone.

………

Your next bike could have levers instead of pedals.

A new Kickstarter campaign from an LA-based inventor promises to let you ride more efficiently with less effort. And on a very cool, if very strange, SciFi-looking frame.

All for the low, low price of $3,600 for just the frame and drive system; all the other components — wheels, seat, handlebars, etc — are on you.

Although so far, it’s raised just $211 of the $347,000 goal, with 28 days to go.

………

Local

The LACBC’s next Sunday Funday Ride will take a tour of historic San Fernando and Pacoima on February 3rd, for anyone who’d rather ride than watch the Super Bowl pregame. Which should be just about everyone, unless the Rams win on Sunday.

London’s Evening Standard offers what they call the ultimate feel good guide to Los Angeles — as long as Los Angeles doesn’t extend much beyond the Westside. But at least they recommend renting a bike and riding the beachfront Marvin Braude bike path.

Culver City will hold a ribbon cutting next Friday for segment 7 of the Park to Playa Trail, a 13-mile regional trail connecting Baldwin Hills to the Pacific Ocean.

State

A proposal in the state legislature would eliminate the need for duplicate federal and state environmental reviews for roadways, bikeways and pedestrian projects, reducing costs and speeding the approval process.

Encinitas may cut the speed limit on the Coast Highway from 35 mph to 30, in advance of construction on new bike lanes and sidewalks.

Perhaps making up for the demise of Interbike, the opening day of the inaugural CABDA West bike expo in Del Mar drew 1,200 retailers, mostly from Southern California.

Robert Leone forwards this story about the UC San Diego fencing team deciding to wear helmets any time they bike or skateboard, noting that fencing was one of the first sports to require helmets. Then again, they also have swords, which should help immensely in slicing through traffic or cutting across campus.

A San Diego man is asking for the public’s help in identifying the thief who stole the bicycle he was using to recover from injuries suffered in a motorcycle crash. On the other hand, that’s about what you can expect when you leave an unlocked bike on your front porch.

A Canadian writer goes mountain biking at SkyPark at Santa’s Village near Lake Arrowhead.

A year in, not everyone in Santa Cruz is happy with Jump’s dockless ebike program.

A new San Francisco bike brand can be ordered online and built up for whatever kind of riding you want, from gravel to touring. And then a local bike shop or mechanic will put it together for you.

National

Nothing like a DARPA designed foldie for the next time you need to jump out of a plane and hit the ground rolling.

This is why you shouldn’t fight with a bike thief. An Albuquerque man was fatally shot after struggling with a man who tried to take his bike as he waited for a bus. Seriously, just let it go. No bike is worth your life.

The company behind the late, lamented Interbike trade show floats a trial balloon, saying they could combine a bike trade show with Denver’s Outdoor Retailer shows.

Bicycling injuries and fatalities spiked in Dallas last year; a local magazine blames the introduction of bikeshare on streets without bike lanes. Although as others have told me, correlation does not equal causation; blaming bikeshare is meaningless until we know how many of those deaths and injuries happened to bikeshare riders.

A Boston area bicyclist and former selectman says bike lanes would be great, but they’re a luxury until the crappy pavement is fixed.

Bicycling says Whoopie couldn’t be more wrong about bike lanes, and the one she complained about on The View doesn’t even exist. She didn’t seem any calmer the next day, either. Meanwhile, a writer for Denver Streetsblog says he still loves Whoopie, even though she hates bikes.

A Philadelphia councilmember wants to know if e-scooters are good for black neighborhoods not served by the city’s bikeshare system. Although a better option would be a bikeshare system that serves everyone.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is in a wheelchair as she recovers from a broken hip socket and pelvis suffered in a recent bike crash.

Orlando FL follows Santa Monica’s lead, and installs parking boxes where dockless bikeshare ebikes can be left and picked up without blocking sidewalks. Los Angeles, not so much.

Good Samaritans use a floor jack to rescue a Florida bike rider after he was run over by a pickup driver and trapped under the truck.

International

Road.cc considers 15 things they say every cyclist loves. Which, of course, not everyone does.

Bicycling as a moving meditation to keep you grounded. I’ve long considered riding a bicycle a form of meditation, and the only place I’ve ever experienced the Zen state of satori.

A UK columnist says bicyclists should have properly policed, protected bike lanes, and drivers should have to retake their driver’s test every seven years.

A British man faces serious charges after he was busted for the hit-and-run bike crash that left a 70-year old woman with life-changing injuries.

A bike-riding Brit hit man has been convicted of two murders, tied to the crimes by his fitness tracker. Note to the wise: If you plan to kill anyone, leave the Apple Watch and Fitbit behind.

Only in Ireland would a story on bike safety begin by quoting George Orwell and the poet Philip Larkin.

No bias here. A former Irish mayor describes bicyclists as “vicious.”

You can now legally use your e-scooters and hoverboards in Denmark’s bike lanes.

A New Zealand driver slammed into a group of bicyclists riding home from a race, hitting two directly, while several others fell like dominos; fortunately, none of the victims were seriously injured. And do we really need to say the driver kept going without stopping?

An Aussie news site offers tips on what kind of bike you should get.

Complaints about bikeshare were up 450% in Shanghai last year, making up nearly 20% of all complaints the city received.

Also in Shanghai, a man got a month in detention for running down a bike rider while still drunk from the night before.

Competitive Cycling

The Amgen Tour of California releases this year’s designs for the leader’s jerseys.

Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss says drug testing a 90-year old cyclist is just going too damn far.

Finally…

Yes, it may wrap around your waist and sit on your hip, but don’t call it a fanny pack. The key to preventing bike theft is finding a safe place to park it.

And Lance Armstrong, venture capitalist.

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

Morning Links: Metro plans congestion pricing, CiclaValley gets right hooked, and Whoopi hates bike lanes

January 17, 2019 / / No comments

In a surprising revelation, Metro’s CEO says the transit agency will move forward with plans for congestion pricing on LA freeways.

The fees are intended to ease traffic and get cars off the roads, while providing funding to fast-track transit projects and subsidize free fares on buses and trains.

Although knowing LA drivers, it’s likely congestion pricing to just shift traffic onto already overcrowded surface streets unless steps are taken to mitigate it at the same time.

Meanwhile, Streetsblog’s Joe Linton lists the benefits of congestion pricing.

And New York Streetsblog says a New York columnist is wrong when he calls congestion pricing a scam.

Which is putting it mildly.

………

CiclaValley nearly gets right hooked from the left lane, and asks how many other “wrong things” the driver did.

On the other hand, it’s nice to note he’s not the only bike commuter out there, even in today’s rainy weather.

………

Evidently, Whoopi Goldberg is no fan of bike lanes.

She took New York’s Mayor de Blasio to task when he appeared on The View to discuss his recent proposals, including Vision Zero.

“It all sounds good, but you know what’s pissing me off?” said Goldberg…

“You built 83 miles of protected bike lanes, and I like people who ride, but I don’t think you understand the impact of taking something like Tenth Avenue, which is six lanes, down to two-and-a-half — particularly when you have a winter storm and you can’t move. None of that movable, so nothing flows,” added Goldberg, referring to the Tenth Avenue dedicated bike lane.

Although she might have been exaggerating slightly, as Gothamist points out.

It’s not clear if Goldberg was referring to the bike lane on Amsterdam Avenue between 72nd and 110th, which the DOT says has not meaningfully affected traffic flow, or the planned bike lane on 10th between 52nd and 72nd, which will only require repurposing one lane of traffic, and will delay traffic by five seconds. 

She was just getting started, though.

“And I am just saying you might want to take a look at all of this because you now have [Gov.] Cuomo coming in talking about congestion pricing and I kind of feel like it’s a set up,” said Goldberg, to loud applause from the audience. “I am upset that you love these bikes, but you don’t tell people to put helmets on,” she added. “We tell children to put helmets on.”

“We have nine-block-long trucks delivering, and they can’t make the turns,” she added. “What feasibility study did y’all do when you decided to put these in? I noticed they are not on Madison Avenue, and they are not on Park Avenue?”

Which sounds like a good argument to put them on Madison and Park Aves to me.

Never mind that she begins by trotting out the inevitable support for people who ride bicycles, as long as they don’t get in the way of her commute from her $2 million New Jersey home.

And don’t get me started on how bike helmets can prevent some head injuries, but aren’t magic talismans to somehow prevent crashes or injuries to any other part of the body.

Gothamist also has this to say about her complaints over congestion pricing.

Studies have shown that congestion pricing is a “scam” if you think charging predominately wealthier New Yorkers to travel into Manhattan is a scam—only 4 percent of New Yorkers who commute into Manhattan take a private car, and more than half of that group are “high income” individuals. Variety has reported that Whoopi Goldberg is paid around $5 to $6 million a year to appear on The View. 

The View tapes at 57 West 66th Street, steps from where cyclist Madison Jane Lyden was killed by a garbage truck driver last year, increasing demands for a two way bike lane along Central Park West. 

………

Local

Maybe someone can explain why Los Angeles, with its nearly perfect winter weather — present circumstances not withstanding — continues to ignore Winter Bike to Work Day, which is scheduled for Friday, February 8th.

Just heartbreaking. A speeding hit-and-run driver lost control on Hyperion before slamming into a building. And killed a mother of three who was sorting the trash looking for cans to help pay her daughter’s college tuition — then got out of his car to inspect the damage before driving off.

Things are changing already in Westwood after the breakup of the overly conservative Westwood Neighborhood Council, as the new North Westwood NC votes to support a plan to remove four parking spaces to create a parklet on Glendon Ave.

State

Ebike prices continue to drop, as former fixie maker Aventon introduces a $1,000 model at Del Mar’s CABDA West trade show.

Santa Clara is the latest city to attempt to shove the e-scooter genie back into the bottle, banning the devices until next December.

National

A new white paper from The City Fix suggests three ways cities can harness the benefits of the bikeshare revolution.

Safe Routes to Schools has released their 2019 guide to starting and growing a safe routes to schools program.

If you like to do your cycling inside — which is starting to look better and better here in SoCal — and don’t mind parting with $2,200, CNET says the Peloton Bike is a worthy splurge. Except for the water bottle holders.

After riding 14,000 miles across the US, Alaska, Ghana, Mexico and Cuba, a Washington woman takes a deep dive into the lost history of female bicycle explorers, and shares what she learned.

A cow made a mad dash for freedom from an Alaskan rodeo six months ago, and has continued to evade cowboys and fat bike riders in the frozen wilderness.

Evidently, Lance’s settlement with the feds left him with a few bucks, as Architectural Digest visits his art-filled Aspen home, complete with a new Banksy he bought online.

A Colorado man is back behind bars after making a break from county jail on a bicycle and facing additional charges for the escape; he would have been a free man in less than two weeks with a little more patience.

The University of Colorado offers tips to prevent the #1 crime on campus — bike theft.

Nice guy. After a judge orders a hit-and-run driver to apologize to the ten-year old upstate New York boy he sideswiped, the man responded with a snarky non-apology, saying he’s “very sorry that you rode into the side of the car I was driving.” The judge scheduled a hearing today to reconsider his decision to dismiss the case. Let’s hope that judge finds a deep hole to shove him into.

International

Good question. A Trinidad newspaper wants to know what’s going on with the investigations into three people who were killed while riding their bikes on the island in November and December.

Yet another pedestrian has been injured in a collision with a bike rider in the UK, as Scottish shopkeepers rushed to help a young man who suffered serious head injuries in the crash; no word on whether the rider stopped.

British police are looking for a mountain biker who punched a pedestrian in the face as he rode by, in what appears to be a random attack.

A short video from the BBC asks if popping wheelies can keep kids away from knife crime.

Spanish actor Dani Rovira was lucky to survive a horrifying crash with a distracted driver; the cameras were rolling as he and a companion were riding from Barcelona to Rome to raise awareness for Rett syndrome when the driver plowed into them. As always, be sure you really want to see the crash before you hit play, because you can’t unsee it once you do. Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up.

Who says you can’t carry things on a bike? After all his neighbors refused to help because she was from a lower caste, an Indian teenager carries the body of his dead mother up to two and a half miles on his bicycle to be cremated.

Six New Zealand men are proposing what would be an 80-mile mountain bike loop.

A group of bighearted Aussie bicyclists belonging to Bicycles for Humanity shipped forty donated bicycles to help impoverished people in Malawi.

Forget license plates for bicyclists. Shanghai is using facial recognition to bust scofflaw bike and scooter riders who stop in the crosswalk.

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist talks with a domestique about the life of pro cycling’s invisible men.

An American cycling journalist travels to Central America and discovers pura vida at the Vuelta Ciclista a Costa Rica.

British cyclist Jess Varnish lost her employment discrimination and whistle-blower case against British Cycling after she was dropped from the team; the court ruled that she wasn’t an employee in dismissing the case.

Finally…

Repeat after me — when you’ve got an outstanding warrant for assaulting a police officer, don’t ride your bike on the damn sidewalk. Now you, too, can have your very own $140,000, 3D-printed bicycle. Yes, $140,000.

And America’s president thinks if you bike too much, you’ll use up all your energy and drop dead.

No, really.

Category: Morning Links /

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

January 16, 2019 / / No comments

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

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

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

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

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

………

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

………

LA cops just insist on parking in bike lanes.

………

I want to be like him when I grow up.

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

………

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

It may just be the best thing you see today.

………

Local

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

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

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

State

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

National

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

International

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Competitive Cycling

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

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

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

Finally…

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

And how to tell when you’re wheelie bad.

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

Morning Links: New bill requires Complete Streets on state roads, and SD man suffers life threatening injuries

January 15, 2019 / / One comment

A new bill in the state legislature would require Caltrans to make changes to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians whenever they maintain or improve any state highways.

And that includes requiring Complete Streets on state-owned surface streets such as LA’s Sepulveda and Santa Monica Blvd, and Pacific Coast Highway in the ‘Bu.

SB 127, sponsored by San Francisco State Senator Scott Weiner, would shift the focus of California’s transportation department to serving all road users, not just the ones in the big, dangerous machines. Unlike what it has done throughout its existence.

It would also require state transportation funding programs to prioritize pedestrian and bicyclist safety.

According to Streetsblog California,

Senator Wiener said his goals with S.B.127 are threefold: to increase safety, to help people live healthier lives by encouraging more use of active transportation modes, and to create better climate outcomes by giving people the option to use environmentally friendly travel modes. “That can only happen if it’s safe to do so,” he said.

“Caltrans has historically treated these surface streets as if they were the same as a major traditional highway,” said Senator Wiener, “and they’re not. We need to make sure these streets are safe for all users.”

The bill will undoubtedly meet opposition from entrenched motorist interests, just like any other recent Complete Streets bill that seems to threaten the automotive hegemony on our streets.

But it could make a real, and lasting, difference in the way Californians get around.

………

Sad news from San Diego, where a man suffered life-threatening injuries in a collision while riding his bike in the Linda Vista neighborhood.

Unfortunately, a message from a police watch commander makes it clear he’s not expected to survive.

Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.

………

That hardly ever happens in real life.

After a very close call, a truck driver pulled over to apologize to the bike rider he nearly ran down.

………

There’s a reason why bike racers ride instead of rapping.

………

Local

Santa Monica provides a three-month update on the city’s Shared Mobility Pilot Program, including 52 bike and scooter parking zones throughout the city, with plans for up to 50 more. That compares favorably with LA’s zero.

A Dallas magazine says Santa Monica-based Bird has quietly backed off plans to give cities money to build more bike lanes, after apparently running out of venture capital cash.

State

San Jose’s mayor is back at work following his New Year’s Day bike crash.

A San Francisco-based company is using cellphone data to measure bicycle and pedestrian traffic to improve traffic planning.

San Francisco Streetsblog’s Roger Rudick takes local officials to task, correctly noting that Vision Zero requires a total commitment to safety and responsibility. Someone please tell our mayor and city council that. And LADOT. And the LAPD. And LA Vision Zero.

National

If you own a 2017 or later Specialized with Specialized’s Future Shock front road suspension feature, you should stop riding it immediately and take it back to a dealer for repairs under a recall.

Business Insider lists their picks for the best bike helmets in five different categories.

Bicycling says doing any kind of physical activity for just 30 minutes a day will help you live longer. Like bicycling, for instance.

Police in Everett WA are trying to identify a man seen riding a bicycle in the area, after he was found dead in a local park.

A Washington man says if a BMX rider is wearing a mask or a bandana, police should assume they’re criminals and violate their constitutional rights. And let ’em sue if they don’t like it.

Writing in Bicycle Retailer, a staff member from Bike Utah says better infrastructure in the answer to growth in ridership and the bike industry.

Unbelievable. A road raging Illinois driver repeatedly slammed into a bike rider, then ran over him, breaking his arm, leg and pelvis, before she was arrested driving away with his bike still stuck under her SUV. Then was acquitted of attempted murder and six other felony counts a year later by reason of insanity. By that standard, there are a lot of crazy people behind the wheel. Thanks again to Phillip Young.

Chicago and New York both held extensive public meetings on how and where to expand their public bikeshare systems — and promptly ignored the results.

A Massachusetts magazine calls for a “radical rethinking” of Boston’s major streets, describing them as “grotesquely overbuilt, inequitably allocating nearly all their space to single-occupant motor vehicles.”

Apparently having missed the memo that bikes are good for business, New York business owners are demanding that the city rip out new bike lanes that were installed as part of a now-cancelled plan to shut down a subway for maintenance. Because parking.

A Philly bike cop sues the department, alleging bias against Italian-Americans.

A Virginia newspaper remembers a local icon known for decades as Bicycle Charlie due to his ever-present bicycle. Except his name was Floyd.

International

The European Union is considering a plan that would require ebike riders to carry liability insurance — which is not required for any other type of bicycles — in an apparent attempt to kill the market for them.

A 12-year old London boy was lucky to escape with minor injuries after riding into the path of a bus as he tried to escape from older boys who were chasing him.

Irish police bust a suspect bike thief, and recover five hot bikes and a stash of coke and weed.

An Aussie rider’s high-end Pinarello road bike is now a melted carbon mess after his add-on ebike hub caught fire — and couldn’t be approached to put it out because the CO2 canisters in his seat bag started exploding.

Three Australian bicyclists suffered minor injuries in a rare bike on bike on bike crash.

No bias here. An Aussie motorcycling group has called for bicyclists to be forced to wear unique numbers somewhere on their body, so they can be charged for violating traffic laws. Never mind that unlike motorcyclists and drivers, bicyclists pose minimal risk to others.

Competitive Cycling

Slovenian cyclist Jani Brajkovic got off with just a ten-month ban for failing a doping test, after he convinced officials he ingested it accidentally as part of a supplement.

The former team physician for Team Sky and British Cycling faces doping related criminal charges.

Great story about a Cat 2 bike racer from Arkansas, who lost his leg as a result of a crash while playing bike polo — then won a national championship in individual pursuit, along with another silver and a bronze, at the recent Paralympic National Championships.

A 15-year old British boy is the first champion of the five-day E-Bike Desert Challenge through the sands of the Moroccan desert.

Finally…

If you want to lose weight, get a job as a bicycle courier. More proof bike shorts look ridiculous in the absence of a bicycle, no matter what decade you’re in.

And if you’re riding your bike while drunk as a skunk and tossing the empties, half empties and full cans into your bike trailer, put a damn light on it already.

And don’t threaten the cops that pull you over.

Seriously.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Huizar, Price under corruption cloud, bike rider kills Davis cop, and driver attacks Fresno bicyclist

January 14, 2019 / / No comments

A couple quick notes — If anyone is still using the old [email protected] email address to contact me, that account has now been closed; please use the address you’ll find on the About page.

And use extra caution if you’re riding in the rain today, or any day this week. Most drivers can’t imagine anyone would ride in wet weather, and aren’t likely to be looking for you. At all.

………

The FBI could be preparing to take down one of bicycling’s biggest supporters on the city council.

And one who’s not.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that DTLA Councilmember Jose Huizar is a subject of a wide-ranging investigation into possible “bribery, kickbacks, extortion, and money laundering involving 13 people” in the Los Angeles city government.

Also among those 13 is South LA Councilmember Curren Price, and a senior aide to Council President Herb Wesson.

Huizar has overseen the rapid expansion of bicycling networks in DTLA, while Price was responsible for killing plans for a desperately needed bike lane on historic Central Ave and removing it from the city’s mobility plan.

But supporter or not, there’s no excuse, ever, for corruption.

Period.

If any or all of those under investigation are indicted, let alone convicted, they should leave the council immediately — and have a nice, long sentence to reconsider their crimes.

It just hurts a little more when it’s a trusted ally like Huizar who’s done so much good for the community.

………

Very sad news from bike-friendly Davis, where an apparently disturbed gunman rode his bicycle up behind a young cop as she was investigating a traffic collision, and shot her multiple times, before reloading and shooting wildly around him.

She died at the scene.

He then rode his bike back home, locked himself in his apartment, and fatally shot himself as police tried to get in.

He left behind a letter claiming the police had been assaulting him for years with “ultrasonic waves” meant to keep dogs from barking.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

………

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

After a Fresno woman was sideswiped as she was taking the lane in Clovis, the road raging driver lunged his car at her when she complained, then got out and physically attacked her.

Although here’s a hint: If you don’t want the occupants of a car to assault you, don’t use pepper spray on them — regardless of how much they may deserve it.

………

The next generation of e-scooters is about the hit the streets of Austin TX, courtesy of an Oxnard company. The scooters are designed for street use, with seats and wider platforms and tires for greater stability.

Maybe that will help reduce the e-scooter conflicts on the sidewalks.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles County is attempting to shove the genie back into the bottle, as it considers a policy that would ask companies to pretty please not to deploy their scooters in unincorporated areas.

………

The Wall Street Journal has prepared a 20 minute video about Denise Mueller-Korenek’s successful attempt to set a new bicycle speed record of 184 mph.

Thanks to George Wolfberg for the tip.

………

Not only is this guy better on a bike than you — or me, for that matter —  he’s only eight years old.

Okay, especially me.

Seriously, when I was eight years old, I was still trying to master a controlled skid on the gravel playground across the street.

………

Local

Los Angeles is proposing a nearly one-mile bike lane on deadly Winnetka Ave, connecting the Orange Line to the LA River bike path.

Streetsblog offers a short interview with new LACBC Executive Director Eli Kaufman.

KABC-7 profiles Manny Silva, the Mexican-born owner of Compton’s Manny’s Bike Shop, builder of some of the world’s best chromed-out, custom low-rider bicycles.

If you prefer to do your riding inside, especially in this weather, Peloton has opened a new Pasadena showroom.

A new 185-acre, 450-home residential development in Santa Clarita will include an 11-acre park with 10 miles of shared-use pathways.

Santa Monica is finally taking steps to improve safety on deadly Wilshire Blvd as part of the city’s Vision Zero program; unfortunately, no lane reductions or bike lanes are planned.

State

A UC Irvine student was seriously injured when his bike was struck by a rideshare driver leaving a parking structure Friday morning.

A group of bighearted Laguna Beach middle school students built bicycles for children at the Orange County Rescue Mission as part of their annual Christmas toy drive.

Spectrum News 1 considers Riverside’s Bikes for Vets program, where veterans refurbish confiscated bicycles for people in need.

The Coachella Valley bicycling community turned out on Sunday to remember fallen bike rider Will Campbell, who was killed by a speeding driver exactly one month earlier. Thanks to Victor Bale for the link.

A couple takes an ebike ride along the Monterey Peninsula’s famed 17 Mile Drive. And discovers bike riders don’t have to pay the $10.25 toll.

A bike riding Bay Area architect switched to rowing after surgery for a brain tumor left him blind; he says he’s now even better at his job.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever broke into a Stockton ministry that built and refurbished bicycles to donate to people in need, forcing it to close after it was broken into for the fourth time.

National

Americans are now more likely to die of an opioid overdose than in a traffic collision. Which is not actually good news.

The Bike League offers five tips on how to build a more bike friendly business.

Your next helmet could take you from bicycling to snowboarding, complete with built-in speakers and microphone, impact sensor and turn signals. Which would no doubt come real handy on the slopes. Especially the turn signals.

Writer and artist Anna Brones is one of us.

A former addict is riding his recumbent through 48 states to raise awareness of addiction.

Bicycling says the death of bike commuting has been greatly exaggerated, noting that commuting rates are still way up from just ten years ago. Meanwhile, the magazine looks at the best bike tech from the CES trade show in Las Vegas.

New Mexico state legislator Angelica Rubio finished her six day, 350-mile bike ride from Las Cruces to Santa Fe for the new legislative session.

Nice story from a small — okay, minuscule — Kentucky town, where a tree-cutting crew pitched in to buy a new bike for a man who came to watch them work every day, after his was stolen.

Liev Schreiber is one of us, as he goes for a cold weather ride in NYC.

My new hero. Bike-riding New York Rangers hockey player Sean Avery is picking fights with people who park in bike lanes.

He gets it. A New Jersey letter writer says streets aren’t just for car owners.

International

Road.cc ranks their top ten commuter bikes for under $1,300. Note to Road.cc — if you’re doing a piece on commuter bikes, try not to picture most of the people riding in spandex.

Vancouver bicyclists aren’t thrilled bikes have to share a lane with buses. And neither are the bus drivers.

He gets it. A Toronto columnist says the city’s bike lanes prove transportation solutions can be cheap and effective.

No surprise here, as London’s attempts to reclaim the streets to fight pollution have been met with hate and anger from some drivers.

Brit bike hero Chris Boardman says he knows how to turn auto-centric Manchester, England into a bicycling city, setting an example for other cities to follow.

The Guardian says British bike shops are closing because Millennials think bicycling is too scary. Seriously, is there anything Millennials don’t get blamed for these days?

Interesting idea. A German company has developed a city bike that converts to a cargo bike and back in just seconds. It’s set to sell for around $2,000 when it hits the ground this summer.

Luxembourg is now the first country to make all transit free.

The Guardian asks why is Australia failing its bicyclists. Which is a question we should be asking here, too.

Japan is moving forward with plans for mandatory liability insurance for bicyclists.

Caught on video: A Singapore bicyclist is lucky to escape with a few scrapes after falling trying to move away from a bus during a far too close pass.

The South China Morning Post asks who gets the blame credit for fashion’s current bike shorts craze.

Competitive Cycling

Australia’s Caleb Ewan held off Peter Sagan to win his home country’s Tour Down Under, beating last year’s champ by a bike length.

Wired examines the insane numbers behind the hour record, calling it bicycling’s most masochistic race.

Bicycling profiles 2016 Trans Am champ Lael Wilcox, calling her the fastest untraendurance racer in the world. And questioning why anyone else even bothers.

Forget racing in the SoCal sun. If you really want to impress everyone, try racing on snow and ice in the dead of the Alaskan winter, with a wind chill of -11° Fahrenheit. And leave those skinny tires at home while you’re at it.

Finally…

No, ebikes don’t pedal themselves. If Strava crashes, did your ride really happen?

And if motorcycles don’t need riders anymore, how long before your bicycle can do a century while you sleep on the couch?

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Thanks to John H for his generous donation to support this site. Donations of any size are always welcome.

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

Update: Bicyclist killed on PCH in Seal Beach this morning

January 11, 2019 / / 44 comments

Still waiting for official confirmation, however, I’ve received two credible reports that a bike rider was killed at PCH and Seal Beach Blvd in Seal Beach around 8:12 this morning from people who passed by the crash site.

More information when it becomes available. However, it looks like SoCal’s killer highway has taken yet another life.

If confirmed, this will be at least the third bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first I’m aware of in Orange County.

Update: Still no official confirmation of the crash. However, I received the following update from Allyson Vought Friday evening.

My friend was at the accident scene just after it occurred. He said the rider was on a black Kestrel road bike and sadly was face down on the roadway — unmoving. The bike had been struck from behind at speed and a vehicle’s windshield was badly damaged.

This is a particularly bad intersection that Strava calls “time the light.”  It’s a downhill from a bridge into Seal  Beach on PCH that we riders always make speed — while watching for cars that can travel 50 mph plus through the intersection while traveling straight — or speed ahead of riders on a long right hand turn lane that takes you to the 405. Cars often interfere with the riders in making this turn and all of us have had to dodge, slow or slam on the brakes all too often here! Important to note that this is a marked bike lane as well. Solo riders are often not seen or just ignored by careless drivers in too bag a hurry. 

Update 2: We finally have official confirmation from the Seal Beach Police Department. However, his name has not been released, despite being well known in the community. Thanks to Nani Luculescu for the heads-up.

Update 3: The Orange County Register has identified the victim as 64-year old Long Beach resident Paul Smith.

I refrained from naming him over the weekend, even as his name became common knowledge, out of respect for his family until he was publicly identified.

The paper reports around 150 people attended a memorial service for Smith on Sunday afternoon, on an unpaved shoulder of the roadway where he was killed. They recalled him as a loving, generous and devout man who was a friend to everyone he met.

In 2016, Ed Ryder prepared a report on Southern California’s deadly coast highway through San Diego, Orange and LA Counties for this site, based on stats from the CHP’s SWITRS crash database.

It hasn’t gotten any safer in that time. 

You can download the full report here.Download

Thanks to Richard, John McBrearty and Jeff for the above link.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for John Smith and all his loved ones.

Thanks to Derek Willburn and Cleave Law for the heads-up.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: LACBC hires new ED, LA Walks hiring new ED, and Diamondback bike found in Silver Lake

January 11, 2019 / / No comments

Let’s offer a round of congratulations to Eli Akira Kaufman, the new Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

Although you may know it better as the LACBC.

Kaufman takes over an organization that has spent the last few years in transition, following the departures of former LACBC Executive Directors Tamika Butler and Erik Jansen in just the past 18 months.

Hopefully he’ll be able to steady the bike coalition, and provide the stable leadership the LACBC desperately needs as the LA area’s leading voice for bicyclists, at a time when our streets have been in turmoil due to a lack of support at city hall.

The simple fact is, we need strong, effective leadership from the LACBC, in the halls of city hall, in the media and on the streets. And the LACBC needs strong, effective leadership in order to provide it.

So let’s all pat him on the back and wish him well.

And tell him to roll up his sleeves and get down to work.

………

Speaking of Executive Directors, pedestrian advocacy group LA Walks is in the market for a new one.

Current ED Emilia Crotty is stepping away after three and a half years to be closer to her family on the East Coast.

She’s been a strong advocate for safer streets for people on foot, and all other road users, and will be missed.

………

If you’ve lost a Diamondback Sorrento recently, you may be in luck.

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

Portland police are looking for whoever has been tossing nails into a bike lane, using different kinds of nails at different times of day.

A separated bike lane in New York’s East Village was sabotaged with broken glass, as well as graffiti calling for a return of street parking.

………

We mentioned earlier this week that New Mexico State Rep. Angelica Rubio is biking across the state to attend the opening session of the legislature.

Now Bike Santa Fe’s Brian Kreimendahl forwards word that she’ll be introducing a bill to mandate a five-foot passing distance in the state.

The bill also allows drivers to briefly cross the center line when safe to do so to pass someone on a bike, a provision California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed in an earlier version of our state’s three-foot law.

Let’s hope she arrives safely at the legislature; the safety of all the state’s bike riders could depend on it.

And let’s hope someone in California’s legislature follows her example, and re-introduces the provision Brown killed.

………

Local

CicLAvia’s annual pLAy day in LA fundraiser is scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday, February 10th.

A writer for UCLA’s Daily Bruin says Elon Musk’s tunnels will only benefit the people who can afford an all-electric autonomous vehicle, and he’d be better off donating the money to the mayor’s Twenty-Eight by ’28program to build road, transit and bike projects before the upcoming LA Olympics.

The good news is Monterey Park has installed a new buffered bike lane on Riggin Street. The bad news, it’s just over half a mile long, giving way to sharrows on either end. As we’ve said before, the arrows in sharrows are only there to help drivers improve their aim.

State

California has finally revised CEQA rules to eliminate LOS (Level of Service) standards that considered bus lanes and bike racks bad for the environment, although the new rules don’t go into effect until next year.

San Diegans are invited to learn how to fix their bikes and make jewelry from bike parts.

A Modesto man was stabbed by a man on a bicycle while delivering newspapers in a “bad neighborhood.”

National

An Alaskan man was set on his path to become a stuntman stand-in for Kevin Bacon and Keanu Reeves when a truck ran his bike off the road, wrecking it while he walked away injury-free.

PC Magazine tries out Nordic Track’s new Virtual Reality stationary bike at CES in Las Vegas, and says it’s a fun workout — if you don’t throw up.

A Kansas man has pled guilty to second degree murder for intentionally running down a man riding a bicycle, claiming the man had struck his mother with a lead pipe.

A Lubbock TX website says the growing number of e-scooters are increasing the need for bike lanes in the central city.

A Chicago letter-writer tells drivers to learn the Dutch Reach and save a life.

A Minneapolis bike writer says there’s still hope, even though the theme of the past year was conflict between drivers and bicyclists.

Two years after an Ohio teacher crowdfunded enough money to buy every kid at her school a new bicycle, the project has morphed into a nonprofit to give kids bikes, as well as other “joyful” things like Halloween costumes.

A Boston letter writer says an auto-first policy is a road to ruin.

Massachusetts plans to get more bicyclists on the roads by focusing on improving safety and accessibility.

New York’s TransAlt advocacy group asks the city’s leaders for a Bike Mayor like London has,. Although we need it here in Los Angeles a lot more than they do.

A DC writer takes a deep dive into the liability issues surrounding e-scooters, after she ends up in the ER when the one she was riding came to a rapid and unexpected stop.

Life is cheap in Louisiana. The widow of a fallen East Baton Rouge councilmember says a lousy 12 days behind bars for the driver who killed him and injured another man as they rode their bikes is a perversion of justice. No shit.

International

The Guardian offers suggestions from around the world on how to encourage urban bicycling, from providing free bicycles to putting spikes on drivers’ steering wheels.

Road.cc goes to the source and gets the inside scoop on how to protect your bicycle from a professional bike thief.

After an English bike rider complains about a close pass by a bus driver, a cop tells him maybe he should drive a Hummer.

A new British bike helmet promises to protect your skull and grey matter even if you get run over by a bus. And remains wearable after surviving 200 impacts.

This is who we share the roads with, UK edition. A drunk van driver smashed into the home of a 92-year old woman, barely missing two young schoolgirls on bicycles, after careening through the town.

Paris is planning free transit and bikeshare for kids.

French bikemaker Coleen has introduced a very cool looking ebike based on a 1941 design by French architect Jean Prouvé.

One more for your bike bucket list — an adrenalin-pumping bike tour of the Greek Isles for a mere $7,000 per person.

Horrifying story from India, where a bike rider was struck by a hit-and-run driver, severing his leg, while the force of the impact threw him into the back of passing truck; his body was finally discovered over 250 miles away. Unfortunately, the Indian press uses the same term to describe bicyclists, motor scooters and motorcycles, so it’s unclear just what kind of bike he was riding.

Entrepreneur looks at the not-unexpected collapse of Chinese dockless bikeshare company Ofo, which dismissed its entire international business department. Meanwhile, the company has pulled its 6,000 out of London, where most of the surviving bikes had been illegally converted to private use.

Competitive Cycling

Congratulations to Redlands bike club GS Andiamo, which got USA Cycling’s nod for Division II Cycling Club of the Year for 2018. Thanks to David Huntsman for the heads-up.

Peter Flax confesses what it was like to be a fondo VIP for Bicycling magazine.

Speaking of Bicycling, the magazine suggests 15 mountain bike races you should seriously consider entering this year. Unless you don’t ride mountain bikes, that is. Or race. But otherwise, sure.

Finally…

If you’re going to ride off on your bike after throwing a flaming Molotov cocktail into your neighbor’s yard, try not to get caught on the security cam. More proof you can carry anything on a bike — even a stolen flatscreen TV.

And this must be where dockless bicycles go to die.

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

Morning Links: LA Vision Zero back from dead, Oakland hit-and-run driver caught, and lack of barriers on PCH

January 10, 2019 / / 3 comments

Maybe Los Angeles is finally ready to do something about Vision Zero.

Or maybe not.

After angry drivers protested the initial scoring system that gave priority to underserved communities and deaths involving vulnerable road users, the city council told the Vision Zero program to go back to the drawing board and base the results on unweighted data.

And the results are exactly what you’d expect.

According to LA Curbed, they identified 23 streets and 60 intersections in need of immediate improvement.

They could have saved time and just asked the city’s bicyclists and pedestrians, and probably come up with the pretty much the same list.

The most deadly corridor identified by transportation officials is a stretch of Imperial Highway between Athens Way and Vermont Avenue in South LA. Here, between 2013 and 2017, more than 21 people were killed or injured per mile of roadway.

The deadliest intersection is where Pacific Coast Highway meets Temescal Canyon Road, at the entrance to Will Rogers State Beach. Nine people were killed or seriously injured there during the same time frame…

The deadliest corridors are overwhelmingly concentrated in central Los Angeles, and they include segments of well-known and well-traveled thoroughfares like Hollywood, Sunset, Beverly, and Pico boulevards. Safety improvements are needed at multiple sections of some major streets, including Western, Normandie, and Vermont avenues.

But you already knew that, right?

Then again, most people could probably name at least 20 of the worst streets off the top of their heads.

Surprising, the story says road diets aren’t off the table, despite our weak-kneed mayor and councilmembers pulling the plug on virtually all of the ones implemented or under consideration over the past year.

See Playa del Rey, Temple St, et al.

Whether they’ll finally find the courage to stand up to impatient, traffic safety denying drivers remains to be seen.

But at least one member of the council gets it.

Talking about the minimal funding LA’s Vision Zero has received to date, with just $37 million allotted in the current budget, CD6 Councilmember Nury Martinez had this to say.

“We at some point need to be very, very serious about this program and committed to funding it—and committed to getting to the communities that have been historically plagued with these accidents,” said Martinez at a committee hearing last month. “If we’re not going to be serious about that, then let’s not kid ourselves.”

Thanks to Jeff Vaughn for the heads-up.

………

An arrest has been made in the hit-and-run crash that left a 14-year old Oakland boy critically injured after the alleged asshole behind the wheel allegedly dragged the boy under his car for three blocks.

Video from the scene reportedly shows a man and a woman standing over the victim, watching him writhe in pain, before getting back in their car and driving away.

If they’re convicted, let’s hope they lock them both up in a deep hole for a very long time.

………

Longtime community advocate George Wolfberg points out that the section of southbound PCH above the parking lot for Will Rogers State Beach is largely unprotected by guard rails or other traffic barriers.

Which was undoubtedly a factor in Tuesday’s crash, where a bicyclist was critically injured by a car that flew off the highway and landed on its roof.

He reports that Caltrans will look into making a fix.

Let’s hope they do it before someone else gets hurt.

Meanwhile, a Reddit comment from someone who came on the scene shortly after the crash says that the victim was either riding in the parking lot or on the beach bike path when he or she was injured, rather than on PCH.

And suggests that the driver may have been under the influence, which shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone.

Unfortunately, there’s no update on the condition of the victim.

Thanks to Brian for the link.

………

Local

Time Out suggests taking time out to explore the LA-area’s best bike trails.

A proposal for a road diet on Pasadena’s Cordova Street received a surprisingly positive response at Tuesday’s public meeting. Pasadena Star-News columnist and occasional bicyclist Larry Wilson says he’s glad to see the failed fight over Orange Grove Blvd hasn’t killed road diets in the city.

Good thread from Megan Lynch on the benefits of an ebike conversion kit for a handicapped ‘bent rider.

Santa Monica’s Cynergy Cycles is hosting a pair of rides on roads less traveled this month, with a gravel ride on January 20th, and a Specialized mountain bike demo ride on the 26th

Everyone hoping for the death of e-scooters may be disappointed, as Santa Monica-based bird raised yet another $300 million.

State

The California branch of the American Council of Engineering Companies has honored the state’s top engineering projects, including Long Beach’s Daisy-Myrtle Bike Boulevard and the Georgia Street Bridge in San Diego; the newly bike-friendly Santa Monica Blvd in Beverly Hills got an honorable mention.

Sad news from the Fresno area, where a man riding a bicycle was killed in a hit-and-run.

An Oakland man is suing a San Francisco driver, claiming he rear-ended the plaintiff’s bike at a red light, then got out, hit him and threw his bicycle.

National

You’ve got two more days to comment on a proposal to exclude ebikes from Trump’s crippling 25% Chinese tariffs.

Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss says bicycling is only as dangerous as you make it. While I get the point, I’d say it’s more like bicycling is as dangerous as the roads you ride and the people around you make it, because there’s only so much you can control.

Strong Towns demonstrates the benefits of road design in slowing traffic with two simple photos. Thanks to Tim Rutt for the tip.

A cross-country bike ride to honor an Oregon man’s late father has morphed into an annual long-distance ride.

Seattle’s bike-hating shock jock says the city’s reasoning for why bike commuting rates are down is embarrassing, and that the argument that more people will ride if they have a connected network it ludicrous. Maybe he should try driving his car sometime when most of the streets are under construction, making it impossible to find a safe, connected route to his destination, and see how ludicrous that is.

If you’ve ever ridden a bicycle in Stow, Ohio, you’ve probably broken the law; a councilmember is proposing repealing an ordinance requiring a license to ride a bike in the city that no one seems to even know about.

Bike New York, the group behind the annual Five Boro Bike Tour, is finally entering the world of advocacy 18 years after its founding, hiring long time New York bike advocate and former NYDOT Policy Director Jon Orcutt to lead the effort. Thanks to Michael MacDonald for explaining to me why that matters.

Bike advocates call for Gotham to appoint the city’s first bike mayor.

More evidence that bike-friendly community status doesn’t mean much, as the Bike League bestows a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Community award on the Florida county the New York Times calls the most dangerous place in the nation to ride a bike.

International

Thermal imaging may help make autonomous cars safer, but you may have to keep driving your own car for awhile.

Road.cc ranks their top ten road bikes of the year — two of which actually sell for the equivalent of under $1000.

Winnipeg considers a proposal to mandate bicycle registration at the point of purchase to combat what they describe as meth-fueled bike thefts.

The bicycling death of the Queen’s homeopathic physician in London show’s the need to prioritize people over motor vehicles, according to his sister; witnesses say he swerved in front of a truck traveling at just eight mph.

A bike-riding British truck driver says no, large trucks don’t have bicyclist-obscuring blind spots, too many drivers just don’t look.

An English driver got a measly three years for killing a bike rider while high on coke and cannabis.

Cellphone video shows an Irish man throwing a bicycle at a food delivery rider in an apparent road rage attack, then bravely running away when the rider confronts him.

Competitive Cycling

They get it. A New Zealand website says shaming a 91-year old US cycling champ for inadvertently failing a drug test is another black eye for anti-doping authorities.

Finally…

Why wait until after work to ride your bike — or pedal, anyway. And it takes a major schmuck to steal an award-winning bikemaker’s custom “Rat Rod” bikes after his unexpected death.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

Morning Links: Bike rider critical after PCH crash, become an LCA, and police search for bicycling SaMo shooter

January 9, 2019 / / One comment

A bike rider was critically injured on PCH in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday evening when a driver somehow lost control of his car , and overturned in the parking lot.

No word on the identity of the victim, or whether he was riding on PCH or in the parking lot when the driver crashed into him.

………

Here’s your chance to be a League Certified Cycling Instructor, as Bike SGV is hosting a training session next month.

………

Santa Monica police are looking for a bike rider who pulled out a gun and shot a driver in a liquor store parking lot last November, after a confrontation with the occupants of her SUV.

………

Scottish stunt rider Danny MacAskill races a horse and finishes in front, despite having two fewer feet.

………

Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton examines Metro’s bike ban on 1st Street in Little Tokyo and the mostly ignored 2,700-foot detour, saying it may not be legal, and is just another example of Metro’s repeated failure to fix known problems.

Here’s your chance to design your own LA parklet. Hint: More bike corrals, please.

Good piece from LA Bike Dad, who discovers the hard way that he and his kids aren’t made of sugar, after getting caught in Saturday’s expected downpour while riding their bikes.

CiclaValley goes riding on the Santa Clarita Truck Trail, also discovering the hard way that it was a lot longer and steeper than expected.

A Burbank man was busted for burglary after police spotted him riding a bicycle with no hands while carrying a large box at 3:45 am.

State

San Diego police are looking for the hit-and-run driver who ran down a woman riding a bicycle in Mission Bay. Note to SDPD: Bike riders can ride in a crosswalk, but aren’t required to. Or expected for that matter.

San Jose’s bike-riding mayor is working from home as he recovers from his recent collision.

San Francisco Streetsblog asks readers where they want to see the next protected bike lane. My choice is Los Angeles.

Once again, an alleged drunk driver fled the scene of a crash with the victim embedded in his windshield. The Sacramento driver faces numerous charges, while his skateboarding victim is recovering from shattered bones in both legs, as well as injuries to her arm and neck.

National

Bicycling offers advice on how to make your dog the best riding partner ever.

Tech Guide takes a close-up look at the new bicycle air bag vest. Just one more example of upping the bike safety arms race because people can’t be expected to drive safely.

An Illinois woman is under arrest for embezzling money from the bike shop where she worked as a bookkeeper.

Boston’s bike hating columnist gloats over the recent decline in bike commuting rates, insisting it’s time “for public officials and policy makers to turn their backs on the militant, self-righteous bike lobby and its fantasy of a world in which drivers defer to cyclists as the rightful kings of the road.” Um, right.

This is why you don’t try to stop bike thieves by yourself. A New York man was slashed with a knife when he tried to stop two thieves who were trying to make off with an ebike behind the restaurant he works at.

A Virginia bike club is crowdfunding donations to build a new bike path.

Three Florida kids gave up their own Christmas celebration so their dad could ride a bike across Florida to raise funds to fight domestic violence.

International

Massive trucks and SUVs may make the people in them feel safer, but increase the danger to everyone else.

That’s more like it. Toronto distracted drivers will now face a $1,000 fine and three points off their license. California charges a measly $20 for the first offense — and zero points. Recently retired former governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill which would have toughened fines for California’s almost universally distracted driving laws.

A British convict’s taste of freedom didn’t long. He was rearrested in a nearby town the day after he stole a prison bicycle and rode out the gates.

A Rwandan teenager has found his American Dream working as a bike mechanic after spending 13 years in a refugee camp.

Bikeway maps show just how much the Dutch government cherishes bicycles and the people who ride them.

Competitive Cycling

Yes, there really is a US Open Fat Bike Beach Race, which is expected to double in size for this year’s race.

Finally…

Your next bike could be a tall bike or chopper — or both. If you’re going to murder a mob enforcer in a bike-by shooting, be sure to wear a hi-viz vest to call more attention to yourself.

And this new motorcycle can really fly.

No, literally.

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

Morning Links: Bighearted San Jose cops, shredding mountain bike firefighter, and e-scooter dog cruelty

January 8, 2019 / / 3 comments

Somehow I lost this one on my desktop over the holidays.

Robert Leone forwards news of bighearted San Jose cops who pitched in to buy a new bicycle for their favorite shoe shine person, after his was damaged when he was hit by a car before Thanksgiving.

Thanks and apologies to Robert Leone for the delay in posting this one.

………

No, that’s not a professional mountain biker. It’s an Orange County firefighter.

And officially one of the nation’s fastest non-pro downhill racers.

………

Some people shouldn’t be allowed to have dogs.

Or ride scooters.

Bakersfield police are looking for a woman who was caught on video dragging a dog behind an e-scooter going an estimated 15 mph.

Let’s hope they find her, and take both of them away. Permanently.

And yes, the video is just as disturbing as it says.

………

Local

After advocates managed to beat back an anti-road diet motion from traffic safety deniers Keep LA Moving, the L.A. Neighborhood Council Coalition approved a more neutral motion calling for community input on road diets. But as Streetsblog’s Joe Linton points out, no one demands community engagement for most driver-friendly changes.

Downtown News says the Los Angeles River Bike Path Gap Closure Project has the potential to be a key component in a regional bike network, but with a gasp-inducing $365 million price tag and an overly long timeline.

More mass insanity, as speed limits go up in Westwood and Century City, including the popular bike route Ohio Ave.

Metro is now offering Pedal Perks to bikeshare members; 50 rides will get you a Metro Bike Share T-shirt.

A new app allows you to plan your trip by comparing transit, bikeshare, ride-hailing and carpooling for 15 cities around the world, including Los Angeles.

The Santa Clarita Valley is peppered with a network of bike and walking paths to take users back to nature, thanks in part to the efforts of the Santa Clarita Valley Bicycle Coalition, the LACBC’s neighborhood chapter for the area.

State

A CHP officer says police are more likely to ticket bike riders under 18 for not wearing a helmet, now that it’s a fix-it ticket rather than a traffic fine.

All those new bike lanes in San Luis Obispo must be doing some good, with bicycle crashes down to their lowest level in the 20 years the city has been keeping track.

The rich get richer. An outgoing San Francisco city supervisor unveiled yet another protected bike lane in the City by the Bay on her last day in office.

A San Francisco bike rider got stuck with a $20,000 bill from the city’s largest hospital following a bike crash, learning the hard way that the hospital named after Mark Zuckerberg is out-of-network for everyone.

A Marin paper says a new study shows too many people on bikes and on foot are getting hit by motorists, and calls on everyone to pay attention and play by the rules.

National

Outside looks at the rise of e-mountain bikes, saying the quality keeps getting better, despite the vitriol they elicit. Especially if you’ve got ten grand or more to spend on one.

The Peloton community raised over $37,000 for a man suffering from cancer, after his wife posted on Facebook asking if anyone wanted to buy hers to help pay for her treatment.

Students at the University of Arkansas are about to get a new cycle track and sidewalks leading through campus.

This is who we share the roads with. A Michigan Uber driver has pled guilty to shooting eight people between fares, killing six.

A Pittsburgh letter writer says bike riders should be subsidized, not taxed, because they reduce overall car usage.

An Adirondack, New York newspaper thanks the state’s governor for finishing the 34-mile rail-to-trail Adirondack Rail Trail.

There’s a special place in hell for the hit-and-run driver who ran down a New Jersey man delivering food to the homeless on his bicycle, leaving hm to die alone in the street.

International

Road.cc looks at six of the best bike locks to help keep your bike from getting stolen.

Havana’s new docked bikeshare system is turning out to be more popular than expected, even with just 60 bicycles.

A Winnipeg city counselor says screw the bike lanes, clear snow off the roads and sidewalks first.

I want to be like him when I grow up, too. A bighearted Montreal man anonymously gave over 1,700 bicycles to disadvantaged kids over the last 34 years of his life, earning the nickname the Bike Man; it was only after his death that his true identity finally came out.

Prince Charles is one of us. Or at least he was during his college days.

British foldie bikemaker Brompton isn’t taking chances, stockpiling the equivalent of nearly $1.3 million in parts in case a “shit hits the fan” Brexit disaster strikes, which is looking more likely every day.

Now that’s more like it. Police in an English city have opened a web portal allowing people to submit bike and dashcam videos and still photos showing traffic violations. It would take a law change to allow police to use videos and photos in California. And it should be.

No, using a motor vehicle to intentionally knock someone off their bike isn’t a prank, it’s assault with a deadly weapon.

Even Azerbaijan is becoming bike friendly.

Thor is one of us. Or at least the actor who plays him, as Chris Hemsworth goes for a shirtless bike ride with his family in their Australian hometown.

Competitive Cycling

USA Cycling has a new CEO after hiring the former head of New Balance; he’s one of us, too.

New Paralympics individual pursuit champ Clara Brown won her title eleven years after she was paralyzed from the neck down, and just five months after taking up track cycling.

Finally…

If you’re going to make your getaway by bicycle, make sure you’re faster than the bike cop chasing you. No, the correct usage of a kid’s bike is not smashing the windshield of the person you’re arguing with.

And now you can have your very own bike airbag, just like all the cool people in cars (scroll down).

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,
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