First up, a quick update on this week’s bike events:
Long Beach bicyclists can enjoy live music and a screening of Moonrise Kingdom at this year’s Bicycle Drive-In on Saturday.
Update: Somehow, I left off the LACBC’s monthly Sunday Funday ride, which rolls through Lakewood with a family ride this Sunday.
Somehow, I missed Brooke Shields at last year’s Brentwood Grand Prix; maybe she’ll take part in the family friendly Expo Line ride connected with this year’s race on Sunday.
Culver City Walk & Rollers hosts a Family Bike Ride on Sunday.
The Eastside Bike Club hosts a family friendly ride for National Night Out on Tuesday.
The Levi’s Commuter bike pop-up shop opens in Downtown LA on Tuesday.
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Turns out coffee and cycling really do go together. A little caffeine can boost your performance — without cheating. However, too much can be a bad thing.
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LocalUSC students consider how improving the city for bicycling could make LA more livable.
Santa Monica’s City Manager, who oversaw the city’s rise to become a local leader in bike friendliness, will retire in January.
Decent bike lanes could solve a lot of problems in Glendale.
State
After a judge dismissed a cyclist’s ticket for not licensing his bike on constitutional grounds, bike licenses could be on their way out in Santa Ana.
A Laguna Beach bike rider suggests its our own fault if a bike rider gets hit by a car — even though most of the recent OC cycling victims didn’t do a damn thing wrong. And despite his ill-informed proclamation, there are people who can afford cars that choose to bike commute, anyway.
The Desert Sun says it’s time to get a Palm Springs-area bike share rolling.
If you’re going to ride into the back of a parked car, try to make sure it’s not a CHP patrol car.
A 65-year old Bay Area bike rider explains that cycling gear is designed for comfort and protection, not fashion.
The suspect in a San Francisco hit-and-run that injured five people on Monday — including a bike rider who remains in critical condition — now faces 10 felony counts and $350,000 bail.
National
Next City offers a brief history of baseless pro-car, anti-bike movements.
A Portland cyclist sues Zipcar after he’s struck by a mattress that flew off the bed of one of their rental trucks.
Still no charges in the death of an Anchorage AK bike rider after 210 days; we can beat that, as it’s been nearly eight months since Milt Olin was killed by a sheriff’s deputy with no word on charges.
A writer for Red Kite Prayer questions the value of painted bike lanes, while a Des Moines letter writer says caving into driver pressure to remove them would be a mistake.
The investigation into that allegedly road raging Missouri mayor has been turned over to outside investigators. Thanks to Michael Eisenberg for the heads-up.
A bike riding doctor for the famed Cleveland Clinic offers tips on becoming a cyclist.
The Times looks at Richmond Virginia in advance of next year’s UCI Road World Championships.
International
A writer for London’s Telegraph says what’s stopping women riders is a lack of confidence.
An LA Times writer rides a rental bike through France’s Loire Valley.
Norwegian police charge an 82-year old man with having a bomb on his bike; turns out it was the battery pack on his homemade e-bike.
An Indian cyclist with an artificial leg accepts a challenge to ride across the world’s highest drivable road.
Finally…
In a case of real street justice, three Michigan judges help reclaim the bike stolen from one of them while he signed a search warrant a few days earlier. Missoula MT residents are up in arms over a planned local equivalent to the World Naked Bike Ride, with one father comparing it to allowing pornography in the schools.
And it’s bad enough to be bike jacked by a stranger, let alone someone you know; thanks to Bike SGV for the link.
