BikinginLA

Haven’t been able to keep up with this week’s massive amount of bike news. So here’s a hot, steaming mound of delicious bike links to see you through the weekend.

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Let’s start with today’s most popular item.

A French cyclist set a new age-group record for one hour cycling. No big deal, except it came 86 years after he lied about his age to enter his first cycling event — at the tender age of 14.

That makes Robert Marchand 100 years old when he rode 15.1 miles in 60 minutes on a track in Aigle, Switzerland recently.

As Velonews points out, it does not threaten the record of 30.1 miles set by Ondrej Sosenka in 2005. But it did motivate the UCI to establish a new 100-plus age category.

And yes, I want to be just like him when I grow up.

Thanks to Evan G. for the heads-up.

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Satnam Singh, the driver charged with the murder of Ventura cyclist Nick Haverland, entered a plea of not guilty to second-degree murder, felony drunken driving, felony hit and run, and misdemeanor hit and run, as well as two counts of inflicting great bodily injury.

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A British bus driver is sentenced to 17 months in jail for using his bus as a weapon when he deliberately ran down a cyclist he’d argued with moments earlier, in a horrifying wreck captured on a nearby security camera; his victim credits his helmet for saving his life. Thanks to Erik Griswald, Richard Risemberg and Stanley E. Goldich for the tip.

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A couple of noteworthy CHP reports today courtesy of Cyclelicious, as a bike rider reported a car stuck in the trees after seeing it come off the 405 near Carson — not off the exit ramp, but over the side of the freeway.

And a classic definition of a SWSS (Single Witness Suicide Swerve), as a Riverside cyclist is accused of intentionally turning into a vehicle in order to get hit.

Yes, they’re finally on to our evil plan to get ourselves killed in order to collect the insurance money.

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An Occupy 90210 rider is hit by a car in Beverly Hills; the aftermath is caught on video as fellow protesters press for information and flirt with the police. Downtown’s Spring Street green bike lane gets extended to Venice Blvd, but may lose it’s hue, which turns out to be not so Hollywood friendly; the LA Weekly never misses a chance to unfairly bash bicyclists. Here’s your chance to influence the city’s new Transportation Master Plan. LAist looks at the LACBC’s upcoming Tour de Taste; if you’re thinking about going, move fast because only 200 lucky ticket holders will get to attend — and once it’s sold out, you’re SOL. Santa Monica may roll out new bikeways sooner than planned. If you’re hit by a car while riding drunk, don’t try to fight with the paramedics who are trying to help you. Rolling Hills Estates considers a 1.3 mile bike lane along Palos Verdes Drive, as residents rail about the risks posed by out-of-town bicyclists; thanks to Jim Lyle for the link. A recent Long Beach transplant offers a video love letter to her new bike-friendly hometown. Alhambra’s proposed bike plan moves forward. SF Gate reviews the new book Hollywood Rides a Bike by Steven Rea; you can meet the author in Pasadena on Saturday.

Bicycling offers their take on the 100+ best rides in California. Frank Peters predicts the future in Newport Beach. A former Orange County postman and Klan member once held a bike speed record; maybe that robe and pointy hat were surprisingly aero. OC residents prematurely protest a planned expansion of the Santiago Creek Bike Trial. The 13-year old cyclist seriously injured in a Santa Ana hit-and-run has forgiven the driver who hit her; at 13 she’s already a better person than I will ever be. A bad week for San Diego cyclists continues with a Thursday hit-and-run that left a rider severely injured. Bicyclists in San Diego can Ride the Boulevard on Saturday. A 73-year old cyclist rear-ends a CHP patrol car in Cambria. Berkeley bicyclists are now part of the second city protected by an L.A.-style cyclist anti-harassment ordinance; we’re still waiting for that first test case here.

War vets plan a nearly 4,200 mile cross country bike ride to draw attention to veterans issues. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood proposes requiring automakers to stop electronic distractions from working while the car is moving; with a platform like that. why isn’t he running for President instead of those other guys? Did a federal prosecutor whitewash the Lance Armstrong case, or is Lance just too big to fail? Fat Cyclist features a guest writer who lost a whopping 364 pounds on his bike. Maybe it’s time to rebrand bikes and buses. A car site offers drivers 10 rules for coexisting with bicycles. Is big oil afraid of bikes?

Someone tries to nail Oregon bikes, literally. If you already have two outstanding warrants, maybe you shouldn’t ride your bike with meth in your sock. A world-class women’s bike race will be revived in Idaho. If you’re riding with drug paraphernalia, maybe you should replace your burned out headlight after the first six times you get stopped. Your next bike could have an automatic transmission, courtesy of students at my hometown university. Chicago’s WGN claims more than 1,000 people died in Illinois in the last year as a result of distracted driving; a little odd, since only 927 people died as a result of traffic collisions in that state in 2010. A New York driver who fatally doored a cyclist, then left the scene, will face charges — for driving with a suspended license, with a maximum sentence of 30 days; this is what passes for justice in Gotham? Then again, there’s no justice for pedestrians in NYC, either; what the hell is wrong with the NYPD? Maybe the reason is New York police will only investigate collisions if someone is killed or likely to die — and issues more summonses to cyclists than truck drivers. Ex-framebuilder Dave Moulton suggests killing someone shouldn’t be just a whoops-a-daisy. Writing for The Atlantic Cities, Sarah Goodyear says the city needs a version of their famed “Broken Windows” approach for traffic crimes. A 70-year old cyclist looks back on a lifetime of riding; thanks to George Wolfberg for the heads-up. When you’re riding with cocaine in your wallet, make sure you have a light on your bike — and don’t fight the cop who stops you.

Vancouver vigilantes battle bike theft with GPS-enabled bait bikes. A writer for London’s Independent writes about ghost bikes, but clearly doesn’t get it. Cyclists will be riding ‘round Parliament in protest on Wednesday. How cycling went mainstream in today’s London. Do bike safety campaigns do more harm than good? Uh, no. Make that hell no. A road raging driver head-butts a bicyclist in Bristol. Edinburgh cyclists get on-street bike lockers. Biking is just a little different in the Scottish countryside. An Indian court rules that dangerous drivers should see no mercy in case involving a bus driver who ran down a cyclist; is it too late to move to Delhi? The bike movement continues to spread as Jakarta plans 50 kilometers of new bike lanes.

Finally, a Gainesville City Commissioner evidently fears the local police will be threatened by Spandex-clad cyclists with plastic tire levers. And courtesy of frequent contributor George Wolfberg, why drivers may not see you; George was also — quite deservedly — named Pacific Palisades Citizen of the Year for 2011, and should be every other year, as well.

And in non-bike news, my dogsled racing brother and his team get stomped by an angry moose; fortunately, neither man no beast was seriously injured.