This week’s upcoming events:
Catch all the grace, guts, grit and glory of the Tour de France when Chasing Legends plays at Cinespace Hollywood Saturday night; credit to Claremont Cyclist for the heads-up.
Chinatown Summer Nights continues in Downtown’s Chinatown District from 5 pm to midnight every Saturday in August, with DJs, food trucks, and cultural and cooking demonstrations, among other activities; free bike valet courtesy of LACBC.
Sunday the 15th, Bikeside LA hosts a meeting to organize a campaign to increase penalties for hit-and-run at Hollywood Adventist Church.
The Mayor’s Bike Summit is scheduled for Monday the 16th from 9 am to 11 am at Metro Headquarters, One Gateway Plaza; submit or vote on questions in advance even if you can’t be there in person.
Good sponsors Moving Beyond Cars on Wednesday the 18th to celebrate L.A.’s alternative transportation, in conjunction with railLA, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and de LaB. The event takes place from 7 to 10 pm at City National Plaza, 525 S. Flower, Downtown.
Also on Wednesday, the LACBC Board of Directors meets in the mezzanine at 634 Spring Street from 6:45 to 8:46 pm; as always, the meeting is open to the public.
The next Bikeside Speaks is scheduled for Saturday, August 21st in conjunction with Santa Monica’s Cynergy Cycles, Specialized and the Disposable Film Festival; speakers include Mike Bower, Gary Kavanagh and CD 4 candidate Stephen Box.
The Santa Monica Museum of Art hosts the Cause for Creativity: Tour da Arts, vol. 2, on August 22; the bike tour is full, but other activities include spoke card workshop and a closing party.
Streetsblog LA resumes regular publication on Thursday, August 26. The night before, Damien will be hosting a re-launch party and fundraiser starting at 7 pm on Wednesday the 25th at St. Andrews Lutheran Church, 11555 National Blvd; I’m going to do my best to be there.
Make your plans for Parking Day LA on Sept. 17th.
New Belgium Brewery’s Tour de Fat makes its first L.A. stop on Saturday, October 23rd. The following day, Sony sponsors a bikeless, but probably still fun, Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon.
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Just two days after cyclists discussed making Metro station stairwells more bike-friendly at Wednesday’s Metro Bicycle Roundtable, 4th District Councilmember Tom LaBonge introduces a motion to have city staff study bicycle stairways. Blogdowntown says the city is moving forward on cycling, but challenges remain. Glee’s Heather Morris rides a bike in full cheerleader drag. Two bike thieves are behind bars in Long Beach. A woman drives through a Gilroy crosswalk and kills a cyclist, then blames the agencies who built it. A bicyclist — and his dog — get run over by a regular Tuesday night bike ride in Tucson; needless to say, the riders did not stop. Well, how do you ride in heels? Searchers rescue two cyclists stranded for 12 hours in bad weather in Southwestern Colorado; they can expect a very big bill. Ride a bike without a helmet in Dallas, get searched by police; link courtesy of Cyclelicious, who has almost as many as I do — links, that is. Envisioning an NYC where cyclists aren’t the only ones who cycle. Delaware cyclists and pedestrians get the nation’s second vulnerable users law. A cyclist gets buzzed by an impatient driver; guess which one gets the ticket? Buying a bike can save you money in the long run. Evidently, not paying attention and running down a Spanish RAAM competitor isn’t a crime in Kansas. A cyclist is hit in Key Biscayne; the driver plays the SMIDSY (Sorry Mate, I Didn’t See You) get out of jail free card. A fatally injured cyclist begs for help from under the SUV that hit him. A three-year fight for justice in a Montreal hit-and-run results in a $430 fine. But that’s better than Britain, where you can kill a cyclist while driving without a license, and get an 8-week curfew and £85 in court costs. New tax rules could threaten the UK’s Cycle to Work plan. Commit a crime, get a free stolen bike courtesy of the local police. Hey, I’m a MAMIL. Even when you try not to take pictures of bikes, they get in the damn picture. Paris, the City of Lights continues to transform into the City of Bikes.
Finally, now that the great bike share conspiracy has been revealed, it’s time to get out your blue UN helmet.
The rider who was ticketed for crossing the lane line after the motorist caused him to loose control needs to show this video to the FBI. As old as this cop is can you imagine how many false reports he has made over the years. They need to study this individual and compare his police reports. Look closely at the video you can see the hatred and disgust on the cops face. He could hardly control his words. He came close to calling the bicyclist a public nuisance. It is obvious that he believes that the bicyclist has no right to be on the road.
Listen to the sound closely and you will hear a click just as the motorist passes the bicyclist. I know that sound. I believe the vehicle made slight contact with some part of the bicycle or bicyclist. If the bicyclist tries to use this video they will probably not allow its use. If they catch wind of it being played on the web they will probably bring him up on more false charges.
The Gilroy crosswalk thing is actually in Morgan Hill, which is in south Santa Clara County. The driver, Sandra Arlia, is a real piece of work who has always been shocked — *SHOCKED!* — that the county would try to pin any blame on her for her reckless disregard for human life.
It is nice that we are pushing for new laws and some of them are taking effect. Laws to protect vulnerable road users are a good start. The hard part will be changing the attitudes of the public so the enforcement of these laws will actually happen. People like officer friendly in that posted video are a major problem with equal enforcement.
The addition of some new laws along with pressure to change is going to brew some public discord. We need to watch our backs and keep our heads about us.
Well you can’t even see the video online now