It was a relatively quiet day in the bike world. So let’s get right to it.
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So much for all that talk of Philippe Gilbert sweeping the Five Monuments; he’ll be skipping the famed Hell of the North this weekend, which makes it kind of hard to win.
Lance’s favorite dope doctor is convicted in an Italian court. And walks with an 18-month suspended sentence.
Cycling’s international governing body shifts focus and pledges to support all forms of bicycling, not just racing.
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Local
FOX-11 reports the petition to save Lil Bill’s bike shop on the USC campus now has over 5,000 signatures. As of this writing, it’s reached nearly six times the original goal of 1,000 signatures.
When is a bike lane not a bike lane? When it’s blocked by construction signs.
Parklets are finally coming to Santa Monica, even if some residents don’t get it.
Malibu city officials discuss the proposals in the city’s PCH parking study, which is designed to improve safety for everyone by addressing the problems caused by haphazard parking on the coast highway.
It’s been too long since we’ve heard from LA Bike Dad, who crashed the marathon with kid in tow. And decries the lack of human space on our streets.
State
A San Diego man faces charges for a campaign of attacks on homeless people, including hitting two men in the back of their head while riding his bicycle.
A driver in San Luis Obispo was blinded by the sun as he tried to make a left turn, but did it anyway, oblivious to the bicyclist directly in his path. If you can’t see, don’t go. Is that really so hard to understand?
The third annual L’Eroica vintage bike fest will take place in Paso Robles this weekend.
A bighearted Fresno kid earned a new bike by getting good grades in school. Then immediately gave it to his friend, who didn’t have one.
The Youth Cycling Alliance is working with UC Berkeley to map and assess youth bicycling groups around the country to encourage more young people to ride.
National
Something our president and I can agree on: support for the Wounded Warrior Project.
GQ offers advice on how to properly warm up for a bike ride. Or you could just do what most people do, and just get on your bike and start pedaling.
Bicycling looks at the anti-bike Montana state senator and his hare-brained proposal to charge out-of-state bicyclists a $25 fee to ride Montana roadways, while noting he was fined for an ethics violation, and his wife was convicted of embezzling $20,000 from her own mother.
Life is cheap in Colorado, where an allegedly high driver gets off with just 150 days behind bars for killing an eight-year old girl as she rode her bike in a crosswalk with her stepfather.
A Minneapolis website looks at the award-winning Prince tribute bicycle.
New York police are doing their best to discourage bicycling by issuing riders bogus tickets, including for not wearing a helmet. Which isn’t against the law in that state unless you’re under 14.
It’s not just bike riders who are imperiled by trail-sabotaging terrorists. Megan Lynch forwards news that a North Carolina runner’s foot was impaled by a four-inch nail pounded into a tree root back in February, one of 40 found on the trail.
International
“Do you know what time it is?” “No.” “Time to steal your bike.” Seriously, there’s a special place in hell for anyone who’d threaten violence to steal a 12-year old Vancouver boy’s bicycle.
Canadian veterans will ride nearly 400 miles through Europe this summer to combat PTSD.
A Canadian cop says bike owners need to take responsibility for protecting their bikes by buying a good lock and recording the serial number of the bike. And register it!
The Telegraph asks if riding along the banks of the Danube is the world’s most relaxing cycling holiday.
The joys of bicycling around the German Bodensee and bathing naked with strangers after dark.
Who needs a battery when your cargo bike has a German-made fuel cell?
An Aussie website says plans for a Melbourne veloway look good, but there’s room for improvement.
Malaysian teenagers “repent” after eight late night bike riders where killed when a driver slammed into them earlier this year, while the story notes that not all “bike gangs” are bad.
Finally…
A burglar cleverly disguises himself as a bicyclist by riding a bicycle. The next time you’re reincarnated, don’t come back as a Chinese bikeshare bike.
And a Formula 1 race car driver is busted for speeding.
On a bicycle.
In a triathlon.