BikinginLA

Sad news from Indio, as one of the founding fathers of BMX riding was found dead in a tent over the weekend.

A member of the BMX Hall of Fame, Scot Alexander Breithaupt had organized some of the first races while growing up in Long Beach in the 1970s, before going on to win a national championship and founding SE Racing bikes.

There was no sign of foul play.

He was featured in a 2005 documentary about the sport.

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A Hawaiian Gardens man was shot and killed by sheriffs deputies reporting to a report of a prowler last night.

According to his wife, he was just fixing his bicycle when the officers arrived. Although she doesn’t explain why he jumped a fence in a apparent attempt to get away.

No weapon was found at the scene, and no reason was given for the shooting.

Meanwhile, the LA Times calls on Gardena to release the dashcam video of officers shooting the unarmed brother of a bike theft victim two years ago.

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People for Bikes offers six reasons to watch the Tour de France, which kicked off on Saturday.

Aussie Rohan Dennis got a yellow bike to go with the yellow jersey he won in stage one of the Tour de France, while GoPro offers a first-bike view of the first stage.

Two of the four pre-race favorites are down, if not out, after just the second wind-swept, rainy stage in the Tour de France. Cavendish appeared to tank it at the end of the second stage, and blames everyone else.

Joaquim Rodriguez took stage three, as Chris Froome finished just behind and slipped on the yellow jersey this morning.

VeloNews says Andrew Talansky is riding back into form just in time. Bicycling asks if it’s safe to root for Tejay van Garderen or if he’ll break our hearts again. And looks back 40 years to when a fan punched the great Eddy Merckx, and kept The Cannibal from winning a record sixth Tour.

Turns out there’s another race going on right now. And unlike the other one, an American is in first place, as US Nat. champ Megan Guarnier takes the leader’s jersey after the second stage of Italy’s Giro Rosa.

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Local

A bike-riding Pomona boy was seriously injured when he was hit by a car Sunday night.

A legally blind Santa Clarita vet rides a four-wheeled ‘bent led by his guide dog, and was honored as the 2014 National Veteran Volunteer of the Year.

Hundreds kick off the 4th with a bike ride in Long Beach’s Belmont Shore.

A 21-year old Harbor City man was killed in a bike-by shooting. Proof bike riders aren’t always the victims. Or the good guys.

Sounds like fun. Bike-themed restaurant Pedaler’s Fork hosts the 10-Speed Grinder ride, complete with BBQ lunch, on the 19th.

 

State

Inspirational story from Oakhurst, as a vet who lost both legs in Afghanistan — and nearly his life — is riding across the US on a recumbent handcycle to raise money for the Semper Fi Fund.

 

National

The Economist says America’s roads remain extremely dangerous. No shit.

Bike Radar discusses the nine things you should never ask a female bike shop employee.

Riding cross-country on a solar powered e-bike.

The Spokane sheriff concludes a deputy violated policy by driving 70 mph on a surface street without lights and siren. But somehow, that had nothing to do with the death of a teenage bike rider who went over his handlebars as the speeding car passed within one foot of him.

A Montana paper looks at how national bike routes bring bike tourists and cash to rural towns.

A Denver couple explain the benefits of going car-free.

Even tiny Norway, Maine — population 5014 — gets bike share before we do.

A West Virginia paper looks at one of the riders critically injured in the first responders bike race that took the life of a Brazilian police inspector.

Virginia police write a whopping 12 tickets for violating the state’s new three-foot passing law last year, but at least that’s up from two tickets for unsafe passing the year before.

 

International

The physics of how your bike can keep going without you.

A Canadian bike collector rescues an 1889 bicycle he found in a landfill.

The Toronto Star says too many bike riders are getting doored, and says it’s time for bike lanes everywhere. Those same stories could have been written right here.

A cyclist tries bicycling the path of the Thames on a path not intended for bicycling.

A British lord says a survey saying people don’t like spaces shared by cars, bikes and pedestrians is proof they’re a dangerous and costly folly. After all, there’s no point in relying on facts or anything.

A Brit driver is allowed to remain on the road with three-and-a-half times the number of points against his license for moving violations than the law allows. No point in taking dangerous drivers off the streets, either.

A record-setting adventurer rides 102 miles through the Scottish countryside on a Penny Farthing.

An Irish cyclist says everybody hates cyclists. Even cyclists.

A 10-minute mini-documentary explains how bicycles are helping to liberate women in war-torn Yemin.

Now that’s more like it. The man in charge of managing roadways for an Australia’s Victoria state says you can’t build your way out of congestion, and recommends getting a new job or riding a bike to avoid gridlock.

Aussie cyclists ride topless to protest the country’s mandatory helmet law. No, not like that.

 

Finally…

That’s one way to stop a breakaway. The CHP is called out to deal with a bull blocking a roadway — and a bike race; seems to be an epidemic of that these days. When you’re a convicted felon carrying coke, marijuana and a .357 on your bike, don’t ride salmon.

And don’t forget your ankle monitor when you ride.