BikinginLA

LA cyclist Patrick Pascal writes to say he was disappointed that he was out of the country for last week’s CicLAvia.

Until, that is, he discovered he was just in time for Spain’s equivalent in Madrid the same day.

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LA’s DT News makes a mostly accurate and insightful call for a bike friendly Downtown.

The website cites opportunities like the Spring Street Bike Lane, CicLAvia, bike trains and the needlessly controversial MyFigueroa project, as well as the need for more bike lanes and bike racks at buildings in Bunker Hill and the Financial District.

It’s a good piece, and one I hope city officials pay attention to.

Just a couple of minor quibbles.

While wearing a bike helmet may be smart, it’s not required for anyone over 18.

And when riders get furious at drivers who honk at drivers for going too slowly in traffic, it’s not the bike rider who’s the problem.

Drivers have to accept that bicyclists have a right to the roadway, just as they do. And that shared lanes — which is every right hand lane not next to a bike lane — means they have to be patient and pass when it’s safe to do so.

Not lay on their damn horns until riders get the hell out of their way.

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Bike Snob adroitly dissects the recent column by Andy Frye, the jerk ESPN and Chicago Sun-Times columnist who complained about getting flipped off when he gave a cyclist a “light toot” on the horn.

For anyone else tempted to give a bike rider a friendly honk on the horn, don’t.

Just don’t.

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Coronado is the latest SoCal city to be named to the Bike League’s list of Bicycle Friendly Communities, at the same Silver level as Long Beach and Santa Monica.

Outside of Southern California, West Sacramento and Eureka gain Bronze designations, while Menlo Park and Calistoga move up to Silver.

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LA City and County leaders call for a regional bike share program, rather than the Balkanized system we seem to be headed for. The Times says LA streets have to be made safe for cyclists, starting with the potholes; a road divot that would be a minor inconvenience to a motorist can be life threatening for someone on a bike. And speaking of road divots, the Times offers up opinions from bike hating drivers, as well as cyclists and more rational motorists, on whether California should adopt an Idaho Stop law. Glendale councilmember and former mayor urges Mayor Garcetti to slow traffic on the Hyperion-Glendale bridge project. Rather than fix a dangerous intersection near Universal, Metro plans to spend $27 million to raise pedestrians out of the way of rampaging traffic; hey Tom LaBonge, a bike lane on Lankershim might help tame traffic and make the bridge unnecessary at a fraction of the cost. LADOT announces a new program to repurpose LA Streets. A look at LA’s 4th Street non-bike boulevard. The LACBC voices its support for the most inclusive plan to restore the LA River; this weekend’s Found LA Festival along the river includes a bike ride hosted by the LACBC, ending at the Golden Road Brewery. Redondo Beach adopts a Living Streets policy, including a planned two-way cycle track along North Harbor Drive.

Red Kite Prayer talks with famed framebuilder Richard Sachs. Bike Newport Beach says it’s time to fix the deadly free right turns that turn city streets into virtual freeways; you know, sort of like LA is proposing for the Hyperion-Glendale bridge. A Newport Beach couple is arrested for biking under the influence and public drunkenness after the husband falls off his bike. Davis CA reduces the fines for bicycling violations. Because you’re mine, I ride the line; yes, I would totally ride Folsom’s planned Johnny Cash Trail. A professional cyclist with the Leopard-Sapporo cycling team is critically injured when she’s collateral damage in a Los Gatos traffic collision.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says bicycling with your kids is too risky; so do we keep kids from riding or make our streets safe for them? Your next bike lock could be controlled by your smart phone. Maybe it’s time to stop sharing the road. A road raging Seattle driver is charged with assault with a deadly weapon after purposely slamming into a cyclist, while a Seattle bike rider gets his stolen bike back a year later, a little worse for wear. A bicyclist with 16 heart stents and a pacemaker is riding from San Diego to Florida — and that’s after being shocked back to life by firefighters nearly a decade ago. Looks like my hometown won’t be adopting an Idaho Stop Law after all. A Mexican national whose feet were chopped off by extortionists plans to bike 670 miles across Texas in a ride for justice. Neither cyclists or motorists can seem to figure out new bike lanes in Cedar Rapids. A New York bike documentary says cars are the real enemy. A New York bike rider pays forward the kindness of a cycling Samaritan. The city’s famed Plaza hotel files suit over a block-long bike share rack, calling it an eyesore.

Bike Radar looks at the best lights for road bikes. A look at the world’s most dangerous highways. London cyclist gets ticketed for stopping outside a bike box because a car was blocking it. London’s first bicycle superhighway is called an accident waiting to happen following the death of a cyclist. Texting while bike riding is putting UK children at risk. Paris reclaims a roadway alongside the Seine from motor vehicles. A Zimbabwe rider is stabbed to death after accidently bumping into the wrong guy. The Bangkok Post says don’t promote cycling until bike lanes are in place to make it safer. An Aussie rider sets two long distance records for riding backwards.

Finally, in today’s wildlife report, an apparently prescient rooster — yes, rooster — saves a woman from taking a header when her handlebars fail. It looks like bike-hating deer may be trashing a memorial to a fallen bike rider. And at least all we have to worry about here are road raging drivers, rather than rampaging anti-bike bulls.