We’re now up to six new members of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition after day three of the BikinginLA LACBC Membership drive, with just 94 more to go to reach our goal by the end of this month.
So tell your friends, family and fellow riders to sign up now to give bike riders a greater voice in our local communities, and help make LA County a better place to ride a bike for all of us.
And get some great bike swag, too.
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LA County approves a $1.3 million settlement in the death of Alfonso Cerda, who was run down on his bike by overzealous sheriff’s deputies who mistakenly thought he might have a gun.
As Cerda’s son put it, “If he was on his bike he had a flashlight, his wallet, and that’s it — and his happiness.”
Note: The original story from KNBC-4 said the settlement was for $1.7 million, but later revised it to show the amount as $1.3 million. I have revised this piece to reflect that. Thanks to Opus the Poet for the correction.
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A Camp Pendleton sailor will face trial on felony hit-and-run and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charges in the 2014 death of bike rider Philip White.
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Bike lawyer Bob Mionske says most cops are motorists and many see the world from a windshield perspective, which is why they often get the law wrong and blame the bicycling victims.
In a similar vein, New York bike advocates justifiably demand the NYPD stop automatically blaming the person on two wheels.
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Local
Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman rides along with last Sunday’s third annual Unity Ride from Little Tokyo to Watts.
The publisher of the Jewish Journal says ebikes could be the best way to beat LA traffic.
The West Hollywood city council says no go to WeHoGo as the name for the city’s coming bikeshare system.
Alex de Cordoba shares photographic proof that people really are riding bikes in LA. Although someone appears to left their child locked to a Trader Joe’s bike rack.
Seriously, how stupidly car addicted do you have to be to drive away from a Van Nuys probation hearing about your double DUI license suspension?
State
The OC Register offers truncated results from Sunday’s Dana Point Gran Prix.
An Oceanside teenager was injured when he crashed into a truck while riding down a steep hill on a bike he’d just gotten hours earlier.
CiclaValley shares details of a recent ride through San Luis Obispo.
National
It’s National Bike to School Day. Bicycling Magazine offers advice on how to get your kid’s bike ready for the ride.
Portland’s Oregonian offers a beginner’s guide on how to ride to work. Thanks to Pedal Love for the link.
There’s something seriously wrong when a Seattle bike rider isn’t even safe on the sidewalk from man driving while high. Or maybe low, since he says he was on a depressant.
An Iowa driver faces up to 25 years in prison for running down a cyclist while driving at three times the legal alcohol limit.
Ohio AAA now offers road service for bike riders. So when will SoCal AAA get around to realizing that a lot of their customers ride bikes, too?
Is a possible $500 fine enough to stop Connecticut drivers from carelessly crashing into bicyclists and pedestrians? I didn’t think so.
What are New York bike lanes for? Evidently not bicycles.
A DC writer describes the life-changing magic of riding your bike to work. It’s worth the click just for the amazing illustration that accompanies the story.
A New Orleans man faces life in prison for shooting two teenage brothers after they allegedly pushed him off his bicycle; he called a friend to deliver the murder weapon he used in the shooting.
International
The Guardian gives tips on how to fix a flat, even if you don’t have tire levers. Or a spare tube. Or a patch kit.
An Amsterdam man invented bikeshare in the 1960s, even though it took decades to catch on, and his own city never embraced it.
Apparently not having injured enough cyclists, the disk brake trial may return to the pro peloton next month.
Add daydreaming to the list of motorists’ Get Out of Jail Free cards, as an Aussie driver walks after killing a cyclist because she just wasn’t paying attention.
China appears to have a love-hate relationship with ebikes.
Finally…
Nothing like coming wheelie close to a moving bus. If you can’t jack a bike, might as well steal a car instead.
And seriously, don’t head-butt the cop if you get stopped for reckless riding.
Wow! Nice!
That CT fine is off by about a decimal point. I really want to apply for that job with Discovery as a Mythbuster just so I can record a car/SUV running into a building, and recording an identical building getting shelled by a 105 or 155mm howitzer and comparing the destruction. My bet is on the car/SUV being much more destructive than the howitzer.
Oh and that link to the LA County payout shows $1.3 million now.