Grab a cup of joe, limber up your link-clicking finger and settle in for a little Monday morning reading.
The petition drive to get SCAG to increase funding for SoCal bike projects is nearing the deadline; have you signed yet? The Slauson Avenue Public Improvements Taskforce will meet on Wednesday, February 22nd; this is your chance to argue for bike lanes and a more human scale for one of our city’s great boulevards. Cynergy is offering a bike commuting clinic in conjunction with the Santa Monica Bicycle Center. There’s less than six weeks until the 28th Annual Redlands Bicycle Classic. Get ready for 300 miles of epic Death Valley cycling. Family members sue UC Santa Cruz as a killer bike path goes unrepaired. A 64-year old San Simeon man is killed near Cambria; police say he was hit at 60 mph as he stood next to his bike on the side of the highway. Mark your calendar for the first ever Legends Gran Fondo sponsored by the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in Davis. The SF Gate says the U.S. House was wrong to eliminate funding for Safe Routes to Schools, and that the House Transportation Bill was hijacked by Republicans “locked in a pave-and-drill mentality of the 1950s.” Well said.
Drivers work about two hours a day to pay for their cars; cyclists work about 3.5 minutes a day to pay for their bikes. Seattle man gets off a bus, hails a cyclist, punches him in the face and rides off on the other man’s bike. A bike thief is busted by a little cooperative effort by Moots bikes and bike shops in Golden CO and Pittsburgh PA. My old hometown has come full circle in supporting cyclists; I’m still waiting for their call offering me the bike coordinator’s job. A Michigan cyclist is cited for not getting across the intersection before the light changes, even though the driver who hit him admits not seeing the bike directly in front of her. Little 500 teams compete to convert pedal power to electricity. A Texas cyclist argues against bike lanes, citing the dangers posed by cars, doorings & buses; aren’t those the exact reasons to build them? Preserving a historic bridge while making it more fit for humans. The death of his cyclist brother turned a Charleston lawyer into an advocate for bike riders. A South Carolina cyclist is killed as he’s turning his life around.
Cerebral Palsy doesn’t stop this UK man from riding, so what’s your excuse? The head of Scotland Yard’s Road Death Investigation Unit says current penalties for dangerous drivers are too lenient — and killer motorists should face up to life in prison. Advice on avoiding the door zone. A British MP warns about the dangers of Lycra Louts. After breaking our hearts with allegations of doping, tarnished legend Jeannie Longo is set to retire, a few years too late. An Australian Parliament Member wants to triple the fine for dooring. A New Zealand man wants to form a human chain to force participants in the annual World Naked Bike Ride off the road and into the ocean. A New Zealand bike safety advocate says bike helmets aren’t fit for the purpose they’re intended. Tokyo police have issued 10,000 warnings for violating the city’s new cycling regulations.
Finally, Bicycling reminds us about Wham-O’s long lost Wheelie Bar; when I was a kid, everyone had one of these, or wanted one. And the Cycling Embassy of Great Britain offers another of their typically great blog roundups, authored by my favorite London expat Scottish bike blogger.
The real reason for not having bicycle lanes. Is that they are designed in such a way, that it is more dangerous to use the bike lane than the road. I am not against bike lanes that are properly designed. There are a few that I have actually used. The article about the lawsuit over the death of a cyclist is tragic and sad. I believe anybody who rides at night on bike lanes and public paths should use very wide tires and only the best of lights. Motor vehicles commonly push the road debris to the right. When there is no bike lane it rests far to the right. When there is a bike lane it tends to accumulate in the bike lane . After bike or public paths are built they are usually not well maintained. I avoid the roads that have poorly designed bike lanes when I can. I rarely pedal on public paths. I have a weekly appointment in Loma Linda There is a bike lane on Anderson. The law requires you to ride in it. The law also allows you to leave it when necessary. There is a maintenance vehicle that is almost as wide as the bike lane that sits in it while some clown mows the lawns. He has managed to have it there the last three weeks. There are also the plastic barrier poles separating the traffic lane from the bike path. I was harassed for not riding in a blocked bike lane that is full of used broken car parts, glass and other debris.
For many years the most common way to get killed bicycling was at night with no lights. I believe this is no longer the case. I was riding my tandem with my bob hooked up going south on boulder toward the Redlands Trader J’oes Sunday morning. As I approached the road that leads to the gun range there were several cars stopped waiting to make a left turn. An approaching car never slowed. He nearly rear ended the group of other cars waiting for me to pass. He pulled out into my path and I had to swerve left than right to coax him back over so he did not plow me. I am guessing cell phoneitis is the problem here. It is obvious the driver did not see the stopped cars until it was to late. It is also obvious that he did not see me either. I have a cell phone. I put in the left rear pannier on my tandem. It is on vibrate only. If I want to call somebody I get it out and call. If somebody wants to call me. They can leave a message or wait until it is in my breast pocket when I am off the bicycle.