Morning Links: Mobility Plan to be revised, a crumbling Bike Route 66, and biking with a machete in your pants

A friend wrote last night to suggest I need a less cumbersome name for the condition that currently afflicts me.

Diabetic Amyotrophy may be the correct term.

But he thinks we need something easier to understand that doesn’t need a complicated explanation. Something that will make discussion easier, while allowing me to take ownership of my illness.

Like the 24/7 Pain Party, perhaps. Or maybe the Effing Crap That’s Keeping Me Off My Damn Bike.

On the other hand, when I suffered a massive hematoma that lingered on my hip for over four months following the Infamous Beachfront Bee Encounter, my wife named it Bob.

The last remnants of which are still visible on my hip seven years later, for those who have the rare privilege of seeing me naked.

Let’s hope this one doesn’t hang around as long.

Whatever we call it.

……..

Local

The LA Planning Commission sends the city’s proposed Mobility Plan back for revisions. Not promising when a commissioner requests a “more realistic balance” on the streets because Los Angeles is “hooked on automobiles;” the whole point is to break that deadly, destructive addiction.

Nice read from Across Los Angeles, explaining 12 ways bicycling has changed his life for the better.

Hats off to the CicLAvia-riding Pasadena City College Chemistry Club, honored by the American Chemical Society. But probably not for attending CicLAvia together.

Baldwin Park becomes the second city to formally approve the San Gabriel Valley bike plan; very smart to have a regional plan that crosses city boundaries.

 

State

Laguna Streets says the city’s planned roundabouts are designed to move more cars, not people.

The Adventure Cycling Association says the planned Bicycle Route 66 leaves a lot to be desired in San Bernardino County; then again, I’ve seen a lot of LA streets that look worse than that. Thanks to Milestone Rides for the link.

Shouldn’t be hard to find a snazzy stolen bike in Arcata — a description I’ve never heard anyone other than my mother use, especially not for a missing bike.

 

National

A nod and a smile can help defuse the tension between cyclists and drivers. I’ve always believed in giving a friendly wave to thank helpful drivers, though sometimes I only use one finger for the other kind.

Bike Radar offers 10 superfoods to supercharge your riding. Although they have a very broad definition of superfoods.

Good news, as the Specialized-lululemon women’s team will go on next year under the Velocio-SRAM moniker.

Evidently, the leading Portland paper finds running over bike riders pretty funny; they’ve since apologized.

Proposed protected bike lanes could help keep Des Moines from dropping off Bicycling’s list of the top 50 bike cities.

A Memphis writer complains about unintentional racists in spandex, insisting that the bike movement is leaving black and brown and poor people behind. Evidently, they don’t ride bikes in Memphis.

New York is making the city’s bridges safer for bicyclists.

 

International

A new study says getting your mind right can boost your bike speed, as psychological factors account for as much as 20% of cycling performance.

You’ve got to be a pretty crappy driver to mistake a bicyclist for a pothole. And a pretty crappy judge to let him off for it.

Government ministers says biking and walking should be the norm for short trips in Scotland within 15 years.

A Dutch website asks if it’s possible to have too many people on bikes. Depends on who you ask; some drivers would say one is too many.

Cycle Space rails against the punishment pass, something most of us have experienced, as self-appointed driveway vigilantes try to teach us a lesson for being in their way. Or on their planet.

 

Finally…

Bike Snob gets bent out of shape over the New York press getting bent out of shape that Bono may not have been wearing a helmet when he fell off his bike and got bent out of shape. A bike riding radio host gets a ticket for speeding in London’s Hyde Park, at the breakneck speed of 16 mph; thanks to Jim Pettipher for the heads-up.

And if you’re on your bike with a two-foot machete hidden in your pants, don’t ride on the damn sidewalk. He’s lucky he didn’t give himself an unwanted circumcision.

 

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