BikinginLA

Today’s common theme is bighearted people.

An 87-year old Chico man gets not one, but two bikes from generous donors after his is stolen from a Walmart parking lot.

Generous Oklahoma TV viewers not only gave a disabled girl a new bike when hers was stolen, they bought another for her disabled brother. And fixed the brakes on her mom’s car, and paid next month’s rent on the apartment where they live after losing their home when a crooked contractor ran off with their money.

A Minnesota cop gave a young girl a new bicycle after hers was stolen and damaged when someone wedged it into a tree.

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Too much racing news today.

PRI says the legendary Paris-Roubaix race goes over the worst roads possible, while CiclaValley says it’s required watching this Sunday.

The bike races must go on, as Belgium collectively shrugs off the threat of terrorism following the Brussels bombings.

Deadspin calls it the one of the best victory celebrations in cycling history as Italy’s Diego Rosa got off his bike before the finish line on a solo breakaway, held it over his head and walked across with the peloton over three minutes behind.

Former world champ Philippe Gilbert suffered a broken finger when he and a teammate were attacked by a pair of drunks who got out of their car to confront them.

A sharp-eyed bike shop employee helps recover a stolen four-wheeled adaptive bicycle in time for a disabled Marine vet to participate in the Redlands Bicycle Classic. Meanwhile, another disabled rider is competing in his seventh Redlands Classic, ten years after he was felled by a stroke.

Organizers of the Redlands Classic do their best to minimize the race’s impact on local businesses.

The annual Sea Otter Classic starts Thursday in Monterey.

And a podcast looks at Tillie Anderson and the fight for women’s place in bike racing —  a battle that’s been building since the 1890s. Although that looks like a very uncomfortable bike fit.

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This Trump-inspired ebike video cracked me up. Especially the line “Mexico is gonna pay for it.”

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Local

The Times asks Facebook users which streets are most in need of bike lanes. And of course, it immediately devolves into accusations of freeloading, scofflaw cyclists and stealing precious road space from motor vehicles. Don’t you just love social media?

Metro reminds us of the rules for taking bikes on their buses and trains.

Chris Brown and Benny Benassi ride their bikes along an oddly empty Strand in Hermosa Beach, as bikini-clad women writhe on the beach for some unexplained reason.

 

State

A new project to enhance the southern entrance to Corona del Mar will widen sidewalks and add landscaping, but fails to improve bike access despite community support.

A North San Diego County news group says painted lines are not enough after the Encinitas City Council votes to put a bikeway along Highway 101, rather than next to a rail line; another local paper likes both the result and the harmonious discussion.

A Coronado program takes a more positive approach to scofflaw riding by rewarding bike riders for obeying the law.

A Cathedral City letter writer says the traffic signals required for a proposed 50-mile bikeway around the Coachella Valley will cause traffic delays and more pollution.

SLO police use a bait bike to bust a transient bike thief.

More bad news from the central coast, as a 53-year Salinas old bike rider was killed in a collision on Thursday.

 

National

People for Bikes examines why the ride just outside your front door could be the best bike ride ever.

All of the sudden, the Dutch cargo bike that converts from bicycle with a kids seat to a stroller has millions of moms talking.

A free bikeshare program in Cheyenne WY proves a hit in its first week. Seriously, if bikeshare can succeed in cowboy country, it will work anywhere.

Coon Rapids MN goes for parking over bike lanes, and can’t even decide to paint sharrows to designate an already existing but unmarked bike trail.

 

International

Triple Pundit looks at a group of bike trail projects around the world they say are an urban cyclist’s dream.

Vancouver unveils its prototype bikeshare bike, which does look kind of cool; the system is scheduled to start this summer.

When Calgary built out an entire network of bikeways all at once, bike counts on those routes jumped 95% in just three months.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that over half of all British motorists confess to becoming more aggressive when they drive. The number here would likely be much lower. But only because American drivers probably wouldn’t admit to it.

A British QC — a senior lawyer appointed by the Queen (and yes, I had to look that up) — says juries are too eager to acquit dangerous drivers who injure or kill someone who isn’t in a motor vehicle.

A London truck driver gets just five months for the death of a cyclist that could have been avoided if the driver had used his turn signals and checked his mirror.

An Englishman says a new bike path has ruined his life by destroying the view outside his apartment and keeping him up with lights that stay on all night. Although the landscaping hasn’t been put in yet since it was just finished, and they’re waiting on programming to automatically dim the lights. Thanks to David Wolfberg for the heads-up.

Athens gets its first bikeshare station; it’s free for the first half hour, and 50 cents every half hour after that.

Caught on video: An Australian rider’s bike is run over by an SUV — whose driver doesn’t stop — while trying to undertake the car as it turns onto a roundabout; police blame the guy on the bike.

Not really caught on video: An Aussie cyclist apparently catches a tow on an 18-wheeler, although the video stops before he grabs ahold and starts up again after he lets go.

 

Finally…

When you’re already driving a stolen pickup, probably not the best idea to toss a GPS-enabled bait bike into the back. No, seriously, stealing a bike is nothing to brag about.

And there’s nothing wrong with operating a business out of your home, unless it’s running a successful bike theft ring.