BikinginLA

Apparently tired of yelling at kids to get off his lawn, a writer for the Santa Monica Daily Press says the city’s Pedestrian Action Plan is all rhetoric. And insists Vision Zero is just an attempt slow traffic speeds, increase congestion and make motorists more frustrated.

But at least they’ll be alive to complain about it.

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Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo get a boost to the Gold level Bicycle Friendly Community status in the Bike League’s new rankings; Santa Rosa and Woodland get Bronze. And San Diego, Carlsbad and Oxnard get honorable mentions in Southern California.

Meanwhile, my hometown stayed Platinum. Of course, they didn’t bother getting bike friendly until long after I stopped riding there.

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Not many people can claim to have put two cities on a bike path; former DC and Chicago DOT director Gabe Klein will discuss his new book on how to get it done and have fun in the process at UCLA’s Luskin Center on Thursday.

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‘Tis the Season, already.

San Diego’s Old Mission Beach Athletic Club has started their eighth annual Holiday Toy and Bike Drive to aid families of junior enlisted personnel.

Members of the San Francisco 49ers build bikes for the team’s middle school student academy.

More than 500 bikes have been donated to children who lost theirs in the Valley fire earlier this year.

And a handful of outdoor companies and bike shops are joining REI in closing the day after Thanksgiving.

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It may have nothing to do with bicycling, but the Militant Angeleno — author of everyone’s favorite CicLAvia guides — has created a fascinating guide to the remaining Red Car remnants.

If he’d ever take that mask off, I see an epic bike tour in the making.

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Local

The latest Bike Talk podcast talks Equity and the Bike with the LACBC’s Tamika Butler, Rio Contreras of Multicultural Communities for Mobility and CSULA Professor Adonia Lugo.

The UCLA Bicycle Academy criticizes the marketing director of the UCLA Health System for missing an opportunity to promote greater health by sponsoring Santa Monica’s Breeze bikeshare system.

LA Curbed looks at people’s reactions to Breeze on Twitter, where the response seems to be universally positive.

 

State

A San Francisco cyclist and an 89-year old man both suffered head injuries when they collided while the man was crossing Market Street on Friday. It may  or may not have been the rider’s fault, but always ride carefully around pedestrians — especially kids and the elderly, who can be both fragile and unpredictable.

Bikeshare is central to the Bay Area’s better, faster and more flexible new mobility.

A road raging Dr. Thompson wannabe faces charges for brake-checking a group of cyclists after attempting to block their path in Marin County.

 

National

Maybe you’ll be able to watch bike racing on TV after all. NBCUniversal promises to pick up the events formerly broadcast on the now defunct Universal Sports Network.

A San Antonio man has been found guilty of murdering his roommate in a dispute over a bicycle and an unlocked gate.

A Minneapolis report concludes there are barriers keeping minorities from bicycling, including affordability, access and lack of education on rules of the road.

LA continues to fall further behind; while we’re just beginning to get bikeshare, Minnesota’s Twin Cities are already getting canoeshare.

An Ohio drunk driver gets nearly five years for killing a cyclist, while a Vermont woman gets probation and just 80 hours of community service for a similar crime. Maybe if the Ohio driver was married to a cop, he might have gotten away with it, too.

Hundreds of New Yorkers march to remember the victims of traffic violence, while joining the call to refer to them as crashes, not accidents.

Some good can come from even the worst tragedies, as a Mississippi firefighter badly disfigured by burns received the face of a New York bike messenger killed in a wreck. That’s why I signed up as an organ donor, although I doubt anyone would want this face when I’m done with it.

 

International

An Ottawa writer says forget the debate over ghost bikes and adopt Vision Zero instead.

British traffic calming efforts, including lowering speed limits to 20 mph, cut traffic fatalities in half over a 13 year period.

A Brit thief gets the bite on a bike shop owner who chased him down to recover a customer’s phone.

A British website looks at the unwritten rules of the pro peloton.

Caught on video: What it’s really like to bike in Belfast, where police get the law on riding abreast wrong. Not unlike some police and sheriff’s deputies right here in sunny SoCal.

Seriously? Irish cyclists face an on-the-spot 40 euro fine for riding with headphones, even though it’s not illegal.

One year later, that solar panel-paved Dutch bike path is a success, putting out enough energy to power three homes.

Interesting idea from a Danish company, as they have a new Kickstarter for wireless, frictionless generator bike lights.

Pakistan swears it won’t take part in Olympic track cycling qualifying in India due to internal issues, and not the ongoing enmity between the two countries. Sure, let’s go with that.

An Indian woman is encouraging others to bike to work just like she does, despite the country’s congested roads.

Call it Genghis’ revenge, as two Brit teenagers are forced to abandon a trip retracing the legendary Mongol leader’s longest invasion route when digestive issues set in near China.

 

Finally…

Bad enough that we have to dodge angry drivers, now the trees are out to get us. If at first you don’t succeed, steal the same bike again.

And if you’re going to steal a macaw to feed your drug habit, don’t try to make your getaway with the purloined parrot on your handlebars.