BikinginLA

El Segundo police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who hit a bike rider.

According to the Daily Breeze, a dark haired, 20-something Asian woman was behind the wheel of a black BMW that fled the scene after running down the rider at Maple Ave and Center Street on October 29th.

Although how they can tell she had a thin build seated inside a car is beyond me.

A source tells me the speed limit in the area is just 25 mph; no word on how fast the driver was going. And no word on the rider’s condition.

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I think we all can relate at times.

The designer of Google’s self-driving car says “I’m a cyclist. I don’t like cars.”

Especially since 98% of cellphone-owning drivers say they know the dangers of texting behind the wheel, but three-quarters do it anyway.

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The British transport agency compares benefit-to-cost ratios for various means of transit, and finds bike are off the charts.

Road and rail projects are considered high benefit when they offer a benefit-to-cost ratio of just 2:1, while the country’s new cycling plans offer a ratio of 5.5:1 — and some are as high as 35:1.

I’d like to see a similar study here, where the results would undoubtedly be the same.

Correction: Initially, I had accidentally reversed the term benefit-to-cost as cost-to-benefit, which changes the whole meaning of the story. I have since changed it to read correctly. Thanks to Calla Weimer for the correction. 

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Local

A rental site creates a map of where your bike is most likely to get stolen in cities around the country, including right here in Los Angeles; be extra cautious locking your ride on the Westside. And Fox-11 gives a much appreciated shout out to BikinginLA as part of the story.

The Daily News looks at the LACBC’s Operation Firefly to provide lightless riders with free lights.

A Glendale cyclist is hit by a car, whose driver doesn’t flee for a change. Fortunately, the rider only suffered a broken arm.

Santa Monica Next explains that yes, SaMo is considering going ahead with their own bike share, but they’re working with Metro and the Westside COG to ensure compatibility with any future countywide system.

 

State

The Union-Tribune asks if San Diego can be a mecca for cyclists. Maybe, but I don’t plan to bow down in their direction anytime soon.

Good news from Murietta, as the critically injured cyclist who was run down by a drunk, distracted driver who was eating mushrooms and — as Opus the Poet pointed out — driving in the bike lane, is expected to survive despite major injuries.

Fair warning. If you’re riding a bike in Santa Barbara on the 11th and 12th, make sure you stop for red lights and stop signs.

San Francisco safety advocates rally for faster action on Vision Zero.

Longtime pro Chris Horner talks with a Bay Area business publication about how to build a winning culture.

A proposed Sacramento law goes beyond banning bikes from sidewalks, requiring cyclists to pass a test and get a $10 bicyclist license — something that would probably be illegal under California law, which supersedes misguided local ordinances. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

 

National

The top ten bike apps for Android users. Because not everyone has an iPhone. No, really.

Making cities more bikeable helps return them to a more human and livable scale.

A new study shows what we already knew. If you build a safe bicycling network, more people will ride their bikes and overall health improves.

Someone posted an illegal sign on a Hawaiian road to warn drivers about Japanese bike riders who don’t know the rules of American roads.

The body of a French adventurer has been found six months after he disappeared in an effort to walk, bike and canoe across Alaska.

A new Utah radar system can detect cyclists at red lights. Maybe they could put them in cars, too.

You’ve got to be kidding. The driver whose carelessness nearly killed American cycling legend Dale Stetina in Colorado gets off with restitution and a 60 hours of community service.

As usual, Boston’s Bikeyface nails it in sort of celebrating bike-cations.

A New York TV station panics over speeding cyclists in Central Park, some of whom exceed the posted speed limit by a whole 5 mph! Which naturally leads to…

The NYPD promises to give drivers a little leeway when it comes to enforcing the city’s new 25 mph speed limit. But cracks down on bike riders.

A drunk NYC cyclist hands his bike over to an unarmed thief just because the guy asked for it. Well, okay then.

A New Orleans judge clears the way for a road diet that will probably benefit the businesses suing to halt it.

 

International

A British sustainable transport group says the country’s roads aren’t safe enough, as bicycling injuries and fatalities go up 10%; no word on whether that corresponds to an increase in ridership.

The Netherlands opens the world’s first solar bike path to generate electricity while providing a safe route between two cities. Seems a little problematic, but we’ll see.

Polish cyclists evidently in search of that healthy glow ride through the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Yes, that Chernobyl.

An Indian city gets a new Dutch-inspired cycle track. Which coincidently, just happens to surround the chief minister’s residence.

Katy Perry buys a bike helmet, after she’s spotted riding without one in violation of Australia’s mandatory helmet law. I used to see her riding along the beach in the South Bay so often I started to think we were dating.

Celebrating bikes on a gran fondo-style ride through Japan.

 

Finally…

Repeat after me: if you’re riding a bike with a crack pipe in your pocket and a rock in your pants, don’t deliberately ride in front of a police car. Evidently, God likes bikes, as a nine-year old says the Almighty told him to ride across the country; he must have said something to the boy’s parents too, since they went along with the plan.

And the devil may be in the details, but he won’t be chasing competitors in the Tour de France anymore.