Meet Sienna, the newest non-cycling member of the BikingInLA family.
This is supposed to be about my take on the planned Main Street road diet.
But that will have to wait until things settle down a bit. (Here’s a hint, though: why in hell would we sacrifice a plan that benefits everyone — especially cyclists — in order to accommodate obscenely oversized Escalade, Navigator and Hummer parking?)
In fact, I had Sunday night blocked out to put my thoughts to silicon. But that was before a certain young lady caught my eye, and my wife and I decided it was time to expand the family.
So we’re now the proud parents of Sienna, a four-year old Pembroke Welsh Corgi — the same kind the Queen is partial to — adopted from an animal rescue late last night.
After overcoming a fear of men that allowed her to bond instantly with my wife while skittering from my slightest move, she has grown comfortable enough that she’s seldom more than a few feet from my side. And I have fallen hopelessly in love, even though she seems to have decided that her primary mission in life is preventing me from accomplishing anything.
A little more of this would help me get some work done. I'm just saying.
So if you notice any typos in this post, blame it on a rather successful attempt to blackmail me into a belly rub by lying on top of my keyboard.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, even though it’s a perfect day for a ride, my bike is going to stay in the stable because someone needs a long walk to burn off a little excess energy.
And I think maybe the dog does, too.
I’ll try to get back to that Main Street post after I’ve worn her out.
Or vice versa.
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The Claremont Cyclist reports on Saturday’s memorial ride for masters champion Kevin Unck. No, rides like this won’t bring anyone back, but they remember and honor those who have been taken from us. And bring a lot of comfort to those left behind.
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A Calgary survey shows local residents would like to ride their bikes, but most are afraid of the city’s streets. You could pretty much change the location to any North American city and the story would be the same — or Australia, for that matter. Meanwhile a rider in nearby New Zealand didn’t feel safe riding in Wellington, and unfortunately, he was right.
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Good news — the C.I.C.L.E website is back after being down over the weekend; they do a lot of good for riders throughout the greater L.A. area.
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The Bikeways Subcommittee of the L.A. Bicycle Advisory Committee meets downtown tomorrow at 1 pm; yes, you’re invited even if you didn’t get an invitation. How to get bike racks at your favorite shop or pub. Free bike fit and basic maintenance workshop at the Bikerowave on Feb 5 at 6 pm. The Times says CicLAvia is gearing up for round two, while Sacramento considers a ciclavia of their own. Long Beach begins a series of meetings to gather input on the city’s new bike plan. Speaking of Long Beach, cyclists down there are about to get separated bike lanes. A new pro-bike mural appears on Sunset, photo courtesy of @dudeonabike; Will Campbell completes the picture of the full mural. Flying Pigeon drastically detunes a bike. Stanford students promote bike safety with musical bike helmets and lockable lights. Turns out Just Another Cyclist’s Ross del Duca loves his Gatorskins as much as I do.
Freakonomics looks at the decline in driving. Bike blogger Biking Bis points us towards a very positive review for the popular Surly Long Haul Trucker. How to chose the right framebuilder for your new custom bike. Speaking of framebuilders, Dave Moulton says society will always have anti-social jerks, and some of them will be on two wheels; putting license plates on bikes isn’t going to change that. Cyclelicious notes that bike riders aren’t the only, or even most egregious, scofflaws on the road. Ohio bike lawyer Steve Magos notes that accidents aren’t, and careless driving is no different than shooting a bullet into the air and calling it an accident when it kills someone; he’s right. An Indiana man faces 100 years in prison for beating a man to death in a dispute over a bicycle. New York continues its crackdown on scofflaw cyclists “from now until forever.” A Maryland cyclist credits CPR from another rider with saving his life after going into cardiac arrest during a cyclocross race. Jens Voight looks forward to his 15th and last season as a pro cyclist.
Corgi-owner King George VI, or rather the actor who played him, makes news by riding his bike. A 72-year old former record holder is killed in a collision in the UK; tragically, he was supposed to be in Tunisia, but cancelled his trip due to the recent unrest. British courts blame the lack of a helmet for an 85-year old woman’s death rather than the driver who killed her. A world champion French hurdler leaves the ICU after being hit on his bike.
Finally, a British blogger demonstrates his complete and total indignorance by a) criticizing a Brit Olympian who called attention to the country’s pothole problem, b) complaining that she pointed out the hazard it poses to cyclists, c) demanding cyclists should pay the country’s Road Tax, which hasn’t existed in decades, d) insisting — incorrectly — that drivers pay for their own share of the road, and e) telling cyclists if they don’t like potholes, they should carry some asphalt with them and fix it themselves.
And a Brit university student worries about cyclists because of, you know, people like her.
RIP Jack LaLanne, who taught the greatest generation and their baby boomer kids that exercise can be fun.
Indignorance? I like that term very much, as a bar room philosopher it applies. Allow me to rebut before your readers slag me right off too.
No slagging this time. Fortunately, cyclists are easily distracted by a cute puppy.
CORGI!!!!!!!!!
I amaze myself sometimes at my stupid emotional reactions.
I love dogs and had a pet dog for almost my entire life. But I saw that photo of your Corgi and immediately thought of my neighbor Darrel.
Darrel has a Corgi, and the Corgi is pretty cool. But Darrel is an irresponsible pet owner who doesn’t pick up after his dog. So now I want to punch Darrel whenever I see a Corgi or even a photo of a Corgi.
Weird, huh?
And “indignorance” — heh heh.
So every time I post a photo of her, you’ll go punch your neighbor?
Cool!
Suddenly, I feel like an evil mastermind…
“Sorry, neighbor, but Ted made me do it.”
That’s my story and I’m sticking with it. #flipwilson
Love it! Which shelter/organization did you use?
We got her from Save-A-Life, a no kill rescue shelter. They bring a lot of great dogs and cats to the Westwood Petco every Saturday and Sunday from 3:30 to 6 pm.
A certain young lady playing hard-to-get seems about right. 😉
awwwwwww!
One of my favorite moments in the movie “The Queen” is when she has to take a phone call from the Prime minister, and of course she doesn’t do cell phones, and she has to take the call from this ancient bakelite contraption in the Balmoral kitchen, and this little river of Corgi follows her, and she with a quick motion diverts them all back out again.
My “assistant” loves to sit on my lap and rest his head on my mouse hand, so I know all about how productivity enhancing they can be.
Hope she’s getting more used to you (treats of course make all the difference!)
I only wish I got so many treats! Any more, and she won’t be able waddle down the stairs.
Thanks everyone!
Note on the Indiana man who beat the other man, had he just run him over with his car and claimed “I didn’t see him” he would have gotten at worst a couple of weeks in jail, as per the Steve Magas link.
Yep, it’s the universal get out of jail free card.
CONGRATULATIONS – so happy to read that you found your new companion!!!
Thanks GT. Hope things are going well with those pups!
The Corgi breed is renowned for it’s intelligence and I predict it will not be long before this one has both your wife and yourself very well trained indeed. Do not be surprised if it tries to herd both of you into the same room, they were used originally by farmers and the like to control and shepherd animals.
You may be right. She’s already training us to take her outside at 6:30 am — or else. And while she hasn’t tried to herd us, she does position herself where she can keep an eye on both of us at all times, even if we’re in separate rooms.
[…] already been covered in Will Campbell’s [sic], dudeonabike, Biking in L.A., and Streetsblog, and making its way around facebook, but you heard it here sixth! There’s a […]
The article by the road raging college student seems to have been taken down. The cached version is here, for anybody who wants to read it:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:_nBAo9C2RkoJ:www.bristol247.com/2011/01/19/kayla-maratty-my-homicidal-tendencies-towards-cyclists-aside-the-tuition-fees-fight-goes-on/+%22kayla+maratty%22&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
Congrats!
If you need a dog sitter or dog walker, I volunteer. I’ll gladly trade puppy love for sitting services. =)
On another note, I saw a cyclist on Friday with a side car for his bike an a great big labrador chilling out in the side car. I was hysterically excited and my co-worker thought I was insane. Dogs+bikes=awesomenicity.
Careful, I might just take you up on that. And I’d like to know where that sidecar came from, I might just be tempted.
It’s a good thing Sienna doesn’t ride a bike, because you’d have to shell out on a custom build. 2in seat tube, and an 8 in top tube… sounds like perfect geometry for a touring bike though.
Thanks for that — best laugh I’ve had in ages.