There seems to be an endless round of elections in the LA area these days.
While LA waits for the CD4 city council runoff next month, Pasadena prepares to elect a new mayor a week from today.
Boyonabike checks in with a detailed analysis of both candidates, concluding that current councilmember Terry Tornek is the best choice to bike the vote in the Rose City.
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All hands on deck.
Anyone opposed to opening Mt. Hollywood Drive in Griffith Park to cars or trams is urged to attend Wednesday’s meeting of the Recreation and Parks Commissioners on Wednesday to speak on a public non-agenda item.
The meeting starts at 9:30 am at the Expo Center next to the LA Coliseum; you’re urged to arrive at 9 am to discuss strategy and ensure you’ll be allowed to speak at the meeting.
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Local
Ted Farber offers photographic proof that the long-discussed separated bike lanes near the Redondo Beach pier are about to become a reality.
Anthony Kennedy-Shriver will team up with the Beach City Cycling Club to promote the upcoming Special Olympics with four free rides in the South Bay this Saturday.
The two adults charged with mugging people on Santa Clarita bike paths last summer have been convicted after pleading no contest; three of the five youths arrested in the case have been placed in juvenile camps.
State
Cyclelicious asks if bike counts that only measure commuters undercount bike use. Short answer, yes.
The CHP is called out to investigate as someone tried to sabotage Sunday’s San Diego Gran Fondo by strewing hundreds of thumb tacks on the course. Let’s hope they take it seriously, since this sort of assault could result in serious injuries to a rider.
Phil Gaimon takes the men’s title in the Redlands Classic, while three-time runner-up Mara Abbott wins the women’s race; Gaimon also won in 2012.
A bike riding Hanford father and his three-year old son in a trailer behind him suffered major injuries when they were rear-ended by a driver doing an estimated 50 to 55 mph.
National
Bad stats never die. The National Law Review picks up on the highly flawed report on bicycling safety and fatalities from the Governors Highway Safety Association; those same states lead to the introduction of California’s proposed mandatory helmet law, which was recently withdrawn.
A new organization hopes to help guide cities in forming Vision Zero policies.
A Portland bike commuter learns what it’s like to be the one behind the wheel, while a petition drive seeks to strip the city of its platinum bike friendly status.
There’s a special place in hell for the jerk who stole a newly restored Stingray bike before it could even be given to an autistic Utah boy for his birthday.
Duluth MN attempts to brand itself as an urban mountain biking destination.
International
A Canadian website discusses why bike licensing programs simply don’t work.
Bike Radar looks at eight innovative ideas in bike security.
The head of Cycling Scotland calls for bicycle superhighways in the country. We could use a few of those right here.
If you need a good smile, Scot bike blogger Town Mouse races a little kid and nips him at the line.
The French state railway wants to give a legal spanking to the cyclists who rode through a crossing barrier moments before a high speed train blew by, while cycling’s governing body wants to know what the hell happened.
Caught on video: Three Russian cyclists are lucky to be alive after being sideswiped by a tanker truck; a car website wants to know who was at fault.
Great story as a young Rwandan is inspired to take up bicycling after seeing the national team riding by. And now rides for it, as the country struggles to put the 1994 genocide behind it.
The president of the Australian Cyclists Party insists the new political party made a difference in the country’s recent elections, even if it didn’t make a dent in the vote.
Finally…
British university town Cambridge posts a No Bike Parking sign, but only if you can read Latin or pseudo ancient Greek; so do you fail your course in ancient languages if you park there? A trailer has been released for bike racing’s equivalent to the Fast and Furious franchise from a Hong Kong director, although the original title of Breaking Wind has been changed, for obvious reasons.
And London’s Guardian tells the history of cities around the world by examining fifty buildings. So naturally, they choose a freeway interchange to represent LA.
Long Beach and Huntington Beach should both be stripped of whatever mineral based title they receieved from whatever cycling magazine is responsible for these stupid rankings.