BikinginLA

Ride a bike long enough, and you’re going to fall. As Jimmy Fallon learned the hard way on Sunday.

Not that Fallon fell off his bike. Or even rides one as far as I know.

But U2 was scheduled to begin a highly promoted week-long residency on the Tonight Show, hosted by Fallon, on Monday. Problem is, lead singer Bono went for a bike ride in New York’s Central Park on Sunday.

And somehow, fell off.

Which begs the question of how the bike-baiting New York Post will spin the story to somehow make the Irish singer a two-wheeled terrorist.

Bono was scheduled for surgery on an injured arm Sunday night. Which, according to the band’s website, means the residency is off, at least for now.

……..

Local

Bike the Vote LA is holding a 2015 strategy meeting at Expo Park on Saturday, December 6th.

The Governator’s son goes for a bike ride with his more famous dad, towing a spare bike for unknown reasons.

A cyclist suffers serious injuries when she’s hit by a car in Monterey Park.

The Press-Telegram looks at The Bicycle Stand in Long Beach, dedicated to restoring classic steel frame bikes. I should talk to them about my first generation Trek, which need some serious love.

 

State

The CHP receives a grant to improve bike and pedestrian safety through enhanced enforcement and educational programs. Let’s hope the enforcement targets the ones who pose the greatest danger, rather than the ones who have to live in fear of them.

A Marin County columnist goes ballistic upon learning a that a planned bikeway over a bridge could cost $69 million, which seems like a highly questionable figure.

 

National

A new cam is designed to act like a black box for your bike.

Sometimes we’re the good guys. A Seattle cyclist gets thanks for saving the life of a heart attack victim. Which is a good reminder for all of us to learn CPR.

Even police are victims of hit-and-run. A San Antonio bike cop is recovering after being hit by a speeding wrong way driver who fled the scene.

Cherokee Schill, the Kentucky bike rider arrested for riding a bike in the traffic lane, has announced plans to run for lieutenant governor.

There are no words. A Delaware parolee is under arrest for murdering a co-worker just to take his new bike.

Be careful out there. A road raging Virginia driver harasses and buzzes a group of cyclists — then threatens them with a semi-automatic pistol when the riders confront him.

A New Orleans man fatally shoots an unarmed man trying to steal his bicycle.

 

International

UCI President Brian Cookson says a minimum wage for women pro cyclists is premature. Then again, he’s not the one trying to scrape by just to keep racing.

British gold medalist Chris Boardman suggests it’s time to lose the helmets and focus on stopping people from getting hit by cars.

A UK driver steals his girlfriend’s car and hits a cyclist during a high speed “lunatic” police chase. And gets off with a lousy ten month sentence, despite priors.

London cyclists stage a die-in and faux funeral to call for better safety.

Welsh police warn riders that bike thieves are using GPS data from popular apps like Strava to identify and target victims. Which police say is happening here, too.

A Dutch artist has used glowing stones embedded in a bike path to build a tribute to Van Gogh’s The Starry Night.

City Lab looks at Groningen in the Netherlands, where bicycles rule the road.

Lady Gaga dresses down for a bike ride in Spain.

Bicycling is gaining momentum as sustainable transportation even in Egypt, thanks in part to the Dutch Embassy.

 

Finally…

Smart. A new kids bike made from recycled carpet converts from a tricycle to a two-wheeler, and then a bigger two-wheeler. And New Jersey police throw the book at a bike rider for the crime of — wait for it — failing to signal; evidently, they got pissed off when he failed to stop.