Let me start with a quick thank you to my friends at Clif Bar for sending me samples of their two new flavors.
Personally, I preferred the Berry Pomegranate Chia flavor, though the Nuts and Seeds wasn’t bad, either.
Even though I’m not on my bike these days — something I hope to change in the next few weeks — both came in handy during my recent move, giving me the energy I needed to get through all the packing and heavy lifting.
And their whole grain formula helped avoid the sugar crash that can come with other energy bars — even more important for a diabetic like me, since it can lead to dangerously low blood sugar levels.
……..
Local
LA Weekly talks with Aaron Paley about the founding of CicLAvia, which he says was a turning point for the city.
The bike route improvement project along PCH in Malibu is nearly complete, and expected to finish later this month.
The Long Beach Post looks at the LACBC’s successful Operation Firefly to give bike lights to lightless low-income riders.
Flying Pigeon hosts their popular monthly Get Sum Dim Sum ride on Sunday.
Streetsblog, the LACBC and Los Angeles Walks will host a forum on livable streets for the candidates to replace Tom LaBonge in LA’s Council District 4 — which I just moved into — on February 5th. So yes, this would be an appropriate time for candidates to start sucking up to me showing their support for bicycling.
State
Governor Jerry Brown reveals himself to be a true visionary stuck in the past, viewing more efficient cars as the solution to cutting gas use in the state while ignoring alternative transportation, including bikes.
The San Diego Bicycle Coalition looks back on a very successful year for bicycling in our neighbor to the south.
The San Francisco Fire Department is urged to stop opposing safety improvements designed to slow traffic.
Caltrain will increase bike capacity on six of their trains. Eventually.
Turlock is working to make life safer for cyclists and pedestrians.
National
Making road designs safer for people in cars could be killing the rest of us.
The Bike League talks with Bekka Wright, the artist behind the popular web comic Bikeyface.
Bicycling provides good advice on protecting your vision when you ride. Personally, I use a pair of prescription sunglasses from San Diego’s Sport Rx.
Distracted driving costs a man in Minneapolis a year in jail; on the other hand, it cost the bike riding mother he hit her life. As more proof of how non-seriously traffic crime is taken in this country, he will get out of jail some weekends to fulfill his National Guard obligations.
The amazing Katie Compton defends her national cyclocross title for the 11th straight year. Jeremy Powers took the men’s title for the second year in a row, although he’s holding up the wrong finger to suggest he’s number one in the photo accompanying the story.
New York’s bus system will soon start using radar to alert drivers to people and objects hidden in their blind spots, including bike riders.
Nice. A New York man is riding from the Big Apple to LA, with stops to volunteer in 20 cities along the way.
A Florida cyclist watches, splayed out on the street, as the driver who hit him picks up his bike, throws it on the sidewalk and drives away like a heartless jerk.
International
Cargo bikes are gaining traction with businesses around the world — including a very cool three-wheeler from UPS.
The insanity goes on, as a Canadian driver continues her lawsuit against the three teenage cyclists she hit — including the family of one she killed — for the emotional trauma it caused her. Seriously, there ain’t a pit in hell deep enough.
A Toronto rider describes what it’s like to be subjected to catcalls from men, and it ain’t pretty.
A member of the British Parliament says thoughtless cyclists need to watch out for pedestrians. But also calls for better infrastructure to keep cyclists and pedestrians safe.
Britain starts a new ad campaign to get women more active, including a nice one encouraging women to get on their bikes, in shape or not.
Turns out bicycling in Mumbai doesn’t mean taking your life in your hands after all.
Finally…
Caught on video: A cyclist rides through São Paulo with a gas can and a watermelon on his head. A travel website actually encourages drivers visiting Portland to run “entitled, grade-A cyclist douchebags” off the road.
And a Seattle cyclist is the victim of a pedal cab-by fooding.
The Portland story reminds of an episode of Portlandia called “Spyke Drives”, where Spyke, a bicycle delivery driver who is virulently anti-car, is forced by his boss to buy a car to keep up with demand. Once he starts driving by car, he finds that the bicycles are a major nuisance that hinder his deliveries. He goes from being a cyclist douchebag to a car douchebag. The episode culminates at busy intersection with a big showdown of cyclist protesters vs. car protesters.
I guess the moral of the story is that a douchebag is a douchebag, regardless of how they get around.