My apologies.
We haven’t been able to correct the problem with email notifications yet. So if you’re not getting emails when new posts go up, we’re working on it.
And just keep coming back each day until we get it corrected.
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Nothing like reading an article, and finding one of your own comments cited to support the observations of one of your favorite writers.
Curbed’s Alissa Walker writes that it will take more than bike lanes to make bicycling safe, noting that while cities are “working hard to stripe streets with green lanes and helmeted stick-figure icons,” few have managed to build a continuous, protected and highly visible network of bike lanes.
She observes that US cities need to start with a grand gesture like the plan in Paris to turn a prominent riverfront highway into a grand boulevard for biking and walking, showing that biking is a “vital, valued part of Parisian street life.”
The best way to make biking safer is not to hide our bikes on a “quiet” side street, but to put them on display in the busiest part of the city—a vibrant, active, healthy city.
That’s something LA has yet to do, even though a complete network of bike lanes is called for on many of the city’s major boulevards under the new Mobility Plan.
Instead, we’ve moved the other way, removing major streets from the plan and shunting riders off onto those quieter side streets, where they won’t be seen or heard.
Or probably even ride, since that’s not where they want to go.
Which was what my comment was about.
For all the talk about LA moving past its auto-centric past into a more complete, multi-modal future, it remains just that.
Talk.
Let’s hope that the release of LA’s Vision Zero plan, which is due sometime this month, spurs some real commitment, let alone bold action, on the part of the city.
Because actions speak louder than words.
And right now, when it comes to bicycling, Los Angeles has its hands over its mouth, and fingers planted firmly in its ears.
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Caught on Video: A Chicago driver high-fives one of her passengers after dooring a bike rider, while the cop who responds threatens the victim with a ticket for not riding in the non-existent bike lane.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn6YWRW5xog
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Pro cyclist Tom Zirbel set a new American hour record in his final act before retiring, while finishing just short of Bradley Wiggins’ world mark.
A European sports site questions whether Alberto Contador can win another Grand Tour as he jumps to the Trek-Segafredo team; two-time Giro winner Ivan Basso follows him as part of the support staff.
A look at Day One of Mammoth Mountain’s Kamikaze Bike Games.
Cycling Industry News talks with mountain bike legend and bikemaker Gary Fisher.
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Local
Plans for a new and improved LAX include a network of bike lanes to provide safe access to the airport, which currently is extremely unwelcoming for cyclists.
Streetsblog looks at the new report calling for mobility sharing to help remove 100,000 vehicles from LA’s streets in just five years.
CiclaValley goes on a bike date with fellow bicycling parent LA Bike Dad.
The Border Grill’s Mary Sue Milliken writes about riding 300 miles in three days with 100 other chefs to help ensure no kid goes hungry.
Santa Monica Next asks six candidates for SaMo city council about the last time they walked or rode a bicycle.
A Pasadena councilmember asks LA Mayor Garcetti to help kill the much-hated 710 Freeway extension, saying the money would be better spent on a north-south boulevard, more bike lanes and widening other nearby north-south streets.
Bike SGV hosts a women-only bike ride to the Alhambra Farmer’s Market today.
Cycling in the South Bay discovers that most Palos Verdes Estates residents don’t actually hate cyclists, despite the impression given on unsocial media.
State
Construction begins on a four-year project to add bike lanes to the Bay Area’s Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.
An Oakland driver took bike jacking to the extreme, running down a bike rider with his car, then driving off with his bicycle.
An Op-Ed in the UC Berkeley paper says the city must unite to support bike-friendly street designs.
A passing CHP bike cop helped save the life of a 30-year old Sacramento woman when she collapsed with a heart attack while playing kickball.
National
Bicycling explains how a pedal strike can, in fact, start a wildfire. Which is not that different from starting one with a careless swing of a titanium golf club.
An electric vehicle website finds what they consider the perfect bike rack for your new Tesla. Other than obscuring the license plate, which is illegal in most, if not all, states.
Las Vegas Magazine says there’s no shortage of great riding around the gambling mecca.
File this one under you’ve got to be kidding. A state senator from Queens NY says the city should keep cyclists safe by installing traffic signals instead of bike lanes. Never mind that, despite his assertions, bike lanes have been studied and reviewed by the city, and proven to improve safety.
New York cyclists turn out in force to demand safer streets and increase police reforms under Vision Zero.
A Maryland bike thief traded up, breaking into a garage to take a Trek hybrid, and leaving a Huffy in its place.
International
Britain’s bike-riding countess is planning a 450-mile palace to palace ride.
An English physician says ebikes really are good for you and your wallet.
British police go undercover on bicycles to nab drivers making unsafe passes; motorists are given the choice of prosecution or a 15-minute lesson in how to pass a bicyclist safely. Thanks to Ed Ryder for the heads-up.
Penalties are going up for drivers in the UK who use their phones behind the wheel.
A Scottish farmer was fined for camouflaging a pipe running across a roadway after a bike rider was injured when he crashed into it.
The lawyer for a meth-using Aussie driver says it wasn’t really her fault that she killed a cyclist, because she might have been taking a nap at the time.
Finally…
You, too, can operate your own pop-up pedal-based bike bar. Are you really a pro cyclist if you have to pay to join the team, let alone actually race?
And why rush your pregnant wife to the hospital in a speeding car when you can go by cargo bike?
Wow. The resolution in the video is terrible. The plate is illegible. Is there no record of the plate anywhere? Did the cop not note it in her ledger, even if she made no report? People’s ability to disappoint never ceases to amaze.