I haven’t had a chance to update my Events list lately. And my schedule this week meant choosing between giving you the latest news links, or the coming events.
So naturally, I chose both, starting with a brief listing of this week’s happenings, followed by all the news that seems to fit.
And I promise to get to that full Events listing soon.
No, really.
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A memorial ride for Steve Bowen will be held at 8 am today starting at the Riviera Village in Redondo Beach; the owner of Palos Verdes Bicycle Center collapsed while riding in the Malibu Hills just before Christmas.
Flying Pigeon will hold their monthly Brewery Ride today, meeting at 3 pm at 3404 N. Figueroa St, and rolling to Golden Road Brewery at 3:30 pm.
A memorial will be held Sunday for Newport Beach lifeguard Brian Gray; reports are he didn’t die as a result of falling from his bike, as initially reported.
This month’s LACBC Sunday Funday Ride will explore sites along the Metro Orange Line. The ride is free for LACBC members and a guest, and meets at North Hollywood Red Line Station at 8:30 am, rolling at 9.
Maybe the Sunday Funday ride can make a stop at Pierce College for the finale of the SoCal Cross Prestige Series from 8 am to 4 pm Sunday, January 6th; 6201 Winnetka Ave in Woodland Hills.
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles will host the License to Ride: Bicycles & Transit Workshop on Monday, January 7th from 3 to 5 pm, in the 4th Floor Conference Room of the Citibank Building, 5000 Sunset Blvd. The free workshop is open to anyone between the ages of 12 to 24; light snacks and refreshments will be provided, and a bike is not required.
The quarterly Bike Plan Implementation Team (BPIT) meeting will take place this Tuesday, January 8th from 1 to 4 pm at the LADOT – Caltrans Building, 100 S. Main Street, Downtown.
Registration has opened for this year’s LA River Ride, to be held Sunday, June 9th, starting and ending in Griffith Park. If you haven’t done the River Ride, I highly recommend it; if you have, then what are you waiting for?
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South African Olympic mountain biker Burry Stander was killed in a collision with a taxi driver who claims he never saw him; a homicide investigation has been opened. Stander’s wife of just seven months cradled him as he died, while pro riders call for safety reforms.
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L.A. Councilmember and former LAPD officer Joe Buscaino asks for council action on the city’s hit-and-run crisis; NPR picks up the hit-and-run story. Two L.A Councilmembers propose borrowing $3 billion to fix our streets; yes, it’s badly needed, but there’s no mention of installing bikeways after repaving and not a dime dedicated to fixing the city’s sidewalks. Maybe that driver really didn’t see you, since he might have been sleeping. L.A. mayoral candidates debate transportation in Beverly Hills. The Source celebrates their addiction to cycling; I think we all know the feeling. Redondo Beach considers a cycletrack on Harbor Drive connecting with the Hermosa Beach Strand. Delivering Kombucha by bike in Long Beach.
Automotive design guru Imre Molnar died of a heart attack while riding somewhere in California last week; thanks to Michael Eisenberg for the heads-up. Anaheim’s bike share program to debut later this month. The League of American Bicyclists notes the fundraising efforts of two incredible women, including April Morris, organizer of the successful Newport Beach Memorial Ride. Why Newport Beach needs a new bicycle master plan. The San Diego Union-Tribune talks with one of my favorite bike advocates, Sam Ollinger of BikeSD. San Francisco installs a new bike lane with back-in angled parking. Cyclists need parking spaces just as much as drivers do.
Bike lawyer Bob Mionske looks at the legalities of the no-contact crash. The Bike League looks at the key players for bicycling in the new Congress; sorry, but my cynicism about Congress is at an all-time high, and inversely proportionate to my faith they’ll do anything to benefit bicyclists or anyone else. An Arizona driver is charged with second degree murder in the DUI hit-and-run death of a California college student. A Dallas cyclist is intentionally run down by an angry driver, while the city considers a vulnerable user ordinance; sounds like they need it. An Illinois woman turns down a plea bargain after killing a nine-year old bike rider while allegedly high. After complaints by residents, a protected Chicago bike lane will be converted to a buffered lane. Abysmal pavement quality in a new Chicago bike lane; we have the same problem here when lanes are painted without repaving first. A New York cyclist is killed when she’s Jerry Browned by a garbage truck, then falls under its wheels; note to New York Post, even if she’d worn a helmet, it wouldn’t have done a damn bit of good. Turns out that safer streets don’t slow emergency responders after all. The New York Times reports Lance Armstrong may be ready to ‘fess up; Kent Peterson of Kent’s Bike Blog reminds up that the Onion broke the story a couple years back. Virginia prohibits tailgating cars but not bikes, and has no law requiring drivers to exercise due car to avoid cyclists and pedestrians; hopefully, the legislature will change that — and ban dooring while they’re at it. A Florida woman dies falling from her bike after apparently drinking heavily; in this case, a helmet might have made a difference. A salmon cyclist is killed after being hit by four separate vehicles on a rain-slicked Florida highway.
The Guardian asks if cyclists and pedestrians can safely share the road; walkers and riders make much better allies than enemies. Someone is booby trapping a popular off-road riding area near Manchester England in a deliberate attempt to injure or kill mountain bikers. Traveling from London to Sydney by bike. Czech riders can now enjoy a robotic, glass tower bike parking facility. A UK cyclist riding from England to India returns home to visit his sick grandmother. Delhi cyclists get reflective tape to improve safety. A New Zealand woman is still haunted by witnessing the death of her husband while they were riding together one year ago. Biking in Afghanistan isn’t exactly Portland. The gift of a single bicycle makes a difference for a Cambodian village.
Finally, fight fat with sanitized tape worms, and other health and bike ads from the 1890s. And maybe it’s cars that need the hi-viz, not bicyclists.
