BikinginLA

Thanks to Good Samaritan Hospital, LA Metro, Incycle Bicycles and the LACBC for another great Blessing of the Bicycles on Tuesday.

A few hundred riders turned out the annual event offering free food and drinks, t-shirts and a non-sectarian blessing; after all, it never hurts to have a little divine support on your side as you navigate the mean streets of Southern California.

The event honored Ghost Bikes LA for their work in memorializing fallen riders and calling attention to the need for everyone to ride and drive safely.

Because the primary goal in placing ghost bikes is to eliminate the need for them.

On a personal note, I set just one goal when I was diagnosed with diabetes five weeks ago. And that was to get back on my bike in time for the Blessing of the Bicycles.

Twenty-three round trip miles later, mission accomplished.

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Volunteers are still needed for next month’s AIDS Lifecycle Ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

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Marcel Kittel goes from Giro favorite to withdrawing due to a fever, while an Irish fan apologizes for being an idiot taking a selfie with the collapsed rider after his victory in Stage 3.

Meanwhile, Santa Monica’s Helen’s Cycles invites riders for a bike ride and viewing party for Sunday’s 8th Stage of the Amgen Tour of California.

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Courtesy of the Witch on a Bicycle comes two stories of the harm careless bike riders can do to one another.

A Seattle cyclist is being sought for hit-and-run after injuring another rider in a bike-on-bike collision, while a Vancouver rider loses his life after being clipped or passed too close by another cyclist.

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Local

The Daily News looks at LA Bike Week, while Long Beach Transit and LA Metro will offer free rides to bicyclists on Thursday’s Bike to Work Day.

Incentives in the new parking requirement ordinance passed in LA last year means some buildings are being built with more bike than car parking.

Over 3,000 cyclists raise $2,000 for pediatric cancer research in the Tour of Long Beach.

 

State

A Newport Beach councilmember says removing cars from the Back Bay Trail is a non-starter. After all, why would you want to improve safety for everyone else if it means inconveniencing people in the big, dangerous machines?

Remarkably, San Francisco prosecutors decline to charge the truck driver who killed a cyclist, even though video footage found by the city’s bike coalition after the police failed to investigate the case shows him right-hooking her.

A Fresno TV crew catches a bike thief in action.

 

National

The Bike League gives the proposed Senate transportation bill a solid B+.

The Atlantic Cities asks if there’s a masculine way to ride a bike, and quotes LA’s own Flying Pigeon.

Riding in a suit isn’t awkward if you do it right.

Someone booby-trapped a Colorado bike and hiking trail with an improvised spike strip; when they catch the schmuck, he/she should face domestic terrorism charges.

The Washington Post offers a guide to the language of bike riding in the city.

 

International

The Toronto Star says the actions of a few scofflaw cyclists shouldn’t stop the city from building bike lanes.

Toyko’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper calls on the city to become more bike-friendly and reduce the real estate given over to cars in advance of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

 

Finally…

Police arrest Alec Baldwin for riding salmon on 5th Avenue, then going ballistic after officers ask for his ID. But is it really news when he has yet another meltdown, on a bike or otherwise? Then again, the Times says he has a point.

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A special thank you to the anonymous woman who brought a donation to support this blog to the Blessing of the Bicycles. It was very generous, and very appreciated. And the card that accompanied it thanking me for my work here touched my heart and brought a tear to my eye.