Evidently, Friday night’s LAPD-accompanied Critical Mass was a success, with reports of police corking intersections, passing out lights and one officer riding a tall bike.
Now that’s something I’d like to see.
Update: Read more at Bicycle Fixation, Streetsblog and BikesideLA. Some of the news outlets reported on CM Friday night, but don’t seem to have the stories online as of noon Saturday.
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In this weekend’s riding news, Saturday marks the Eastside Bicycle Club’s 2nd Anniversary Celebration in Lincoln Park, with fireworks at sunset; Stephen Box and the LAPD’s bike point man Sgt. David Krumer will be honored with the club’s 1st Annual Golden Crank Award.
Saturday will also see the Los Angeles Wheelmen’s 52nd Annual Grand Tour, with rides from 200 to 400 miles. It was on last year’s Grand Tour that Rod Armas was killed and his son critically injured when they were struck by a truck allegedly driven Robert Sam Sanchez, who fled the scene.
On Sunday, Flying Pigeon looks forward to the second annual Pershing Square Discovery Bike Ride, while Claremont Cyclist looks at Sunday’s 49th Annual Manhattan Beach Grand Prix.
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Maybe sharrows are contagious; after suddenly appearing in Los Angeles, signs suggest they’re about to make an appearance in Santa Monica. Flying Pigeon offers photos of the recent Streetsblog fundraising ride. The birth of a (fast) bike. Riding under the 405 on Wilshire just got a lot safer. More on the arraignment of two San Bernardino teens charged with killing pro racer Jorge Alvarado. San Francisco cyclists won’t ride the city’s new sharrows; even the city’s lead traffic engineer says no way. Bike fashions for on and off your ride. A new rider makes the slow transition to serious cyclist, but can’t quite work up the nerve to shave his legs. How to corner at speed. Ten riders to watch in the 2010 Tour. How to ride wisely as you age. Portuguese soccer star Christiano Ronaldo shows what he does when he’s not competing in the World Cup; evidently, cycling is sexy. London cracks down on rogue road users, on two or four wheels. UK police look for a hit-and-run schmuck cyclist who left an elderly woman badly injured in the street. The department of DIY moves north as homemade sharrows hit the pavement in British Columbia.
Finally, bike lawyer Bob Mionske offers advice on what to do when you really, really have to go.
Ted,
Your last link goes to LADOT Bike Blog’s coverage of the East Side Bike Club’s 2nd Gear Ride and not to Mr. Mionske’s advice. Not that I don’t appreciate the pingback.
Critical mass was quite an event. I had a blast.
Thanks Chris — I’ve fixed it now. I was going to use your link for the Eastside anniversary celebration until I found their Facebook page; guess I got my links crossed up somehow. Considering the topic of Mionske’s post, I could see where that could be a problem.
Glad you had a good time at CM — can’t wait to see what you have to say.
Dammit… Cristiano Ronaldo hate level only now 9.5 instead of 10/10. He might ride a bike but seriously, he’s such a knob!
To tell you the truth, the LACM ride was pretty uneventful. After initial uneasiness about how it would go, the LAPD blocked intersections for us and they were totally laid back. I was with the first group that made it to the end stop, and when we got there, the LAPD bike cop with us nabbed some guy for tagging, and we all applauded him. Then some cyclists totally dissed on the young guy who got nabbed while he waited in the police cruiser that he was waiting in (that came for him while we waited for the rest of the ride).
Actually, in a grand full-community sense, it was a nice opportunity for LAPD to work with the “people” as “people”, not just cyclists, and build a relationship. When you’re cruising next to a bicycle cop who’s huffing it, it’s hard not to applaud him for being there–he’s traveling back and forth between points in the ride, trying to keep up and monitor for our safety at the same time.
Regarding the tension and crackdown that was expected? Didn’t happen. I was actually grateful for the way their presence mitigated some of the shady activity that happens. Hope we see at least a few of them every month.
[…] a good time was had by all last night when the Los Angeles police joined LA Critical […]
That’s awesome that it seemed to be such a success.
Also Ted, commiserations my friend.
Thanks Richard. I wouldn’t be as disappointed if I thought they gave it their best, but the Yanks didn’t show up until the second half. And even then, you reach a point where shots on goal don’t mean anything unless you put the damn ball in the net.
Ah well. I guess we’ll both be pulling for England if they can make it past Germany.
And then there were none.
Poor England in some ways, however I still think the Krauts would have won. It was a cracker of a game though. That second Germany goal was a stunner of a team effort.
Ah well, the two old enemies play each other. Tbh in some ways I’d rather see the Germans win, especially the way they’re playing.
[…] Streetsblog, BikesideLA, and BikingInLA all provide accounts of Friday’s ride. Check it out for more […]
[…] LAPD involvement in the critical mass ride, while reported as wildly successful by both sides, unfortunately also only arose in response to an unfortunate circumstance. A […]