The battle over the Mar Vista and Playa del Rey lane reductions and bike lanes goes on.
And it’s just getting started, if the seemingly endless series of attacks from pissed off drivers in my Twitter feed over the long weekend is any indication.
Fortunately, you should have a chance to voice your opinion tonight at the Venice Neighborhood Council meeting at the Canal Club, 2025 Pacific Ave in Venice, starting at 7 pm.
Show up if you can make it. Because those angry drivers certainly will.
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Just one day after sprinting to victory in the third stage of the Tour de France — despite an unclipped pedal — fan favorite Peter Sagan was unceremoniously kicked out of the race following a collision at the end of stage four that left Mark Cavendish with a broken shoulder. Even Greg LeMond thought the penalty was too harsh.
Caught on video: Australian cyclist Luke Durbridge takes a hard slide into the barricades on Saturday’s rain-slicked streets; he was forced to withdraw with an ankle injury.
Women competing in the Giro Rosa had to contend with unexpectedly challenging hills in the individual time trial.
Lance wants his former teammate and current arch-nemesis Floyd Landis to testify at his trial, one way or another.
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Local
A writer for City Watch says if Los Angeles officials are serious about fighting climate change, they should get drivers out of their cars by expanding bikeshare, protected bike lanes and bike parking, and emulate bike networks in other bike-friendly cities.
Curbed looks at the Metro Bike Hub currently under construction at Union Station. Speaking of Metro, they’re celebrating the first birthday of the Metro Bike bikeshare tomorrow at the Wheelhouse in DTLA.
A Pacoima intersection may be named after Saul Lopez, after the 15-year old was the innocent victim of a wreck between two trucks as he rode to school last summer.
A Long Beach woman is riding cross-country from Long Beach CA to Long Beach NY to raise funds for eight different non-profits.
State
A 57-year old bike rider was seriously injured in a collision with the driver of a semi-truck in Santa Ana.
A 51-year old San Diego man credits mountain biking with changing his life.
A San Diego bike rider was seriously injured when he allegedly ran a red light and plowed into the side of a minivan. As always, the question is whether anyone other than the driver saw whether the light was red or green. But let this be a reminder to always observe the right-of-way, even if you don’t respect the traffic signals.
Riverside County bike cops are now patrolling in Jurupa Valley.
A San Francisco bike rider says tourists with selfie sticks and rental bikes have ruined the Golden Gate Bridge.
I want to be like him when I grow up. An 87-year old San Francisco man used a fire extinguisher to fight off a bike thief rolling a bicycle out of his garage.
National
Even in bike-friendly Portland, NIMBY business owners turn out to fight a proposed road diet.
A Seattle writer says he supports the city’s new private bikeshare companies, even if he’s sure they’re going to fail.
A Chicago writer recognizes that motor vehicles can do far more harm than people on bikes, but asks if reckless driving and reckless biking are morally equivalent.
A new lawsuit alleges a dangerous New York intersection was responsible for a bike rider’s death last year, after 16 other bicyclists were injured at the same junction in the previous four years.
The family of a Swedish model killed in a collision with a bus while riding her bike in NYC has settled the case for half a million dollars.
J-Lo is one of use, as she goes for a ride with former New York Yankee A-Rod, who could stand to put a shirt on.
Who was that masked man? A hero New Jersey bicyclist pulled a man out of a burning car, then rode off into the sunset without giving his name.
International
A Canadian cycling site lists the reasons bike riders make great employees. Not to mention no one has to subsidize our parking, and we’re less likely to fall asleep in those endless 8 am meetings. Although we will eat all the donuts.
A Toronto cop has been charged for a January collision with a bike rider, but no word on what the charges are.
The war on bikes continues, part one. A London van driver tries to wrestle a bike rider into submission after being told he was being recorded while illegally using a handheld mobile phone.
A London bicyclist was the victim of a careless dog walker who allowed her charge to stretch the leash across path; the dog walker didn’t fare too well, either. Always watch out for dogs on retractable leashes when you ride on multi-use trails. Because their owners may not be watching out for you.
Taking a page from San Francisco’s playbook, Dublin bike advocates form their own human-protected bike lane to keep drivers from parking in it.
Demi Lovato is one of us too, as she goes for a 4th of July bike ride with friends in Berlin.
You can save these bicycling routes for your next trip to Moscow. No, not the one in Idaho.
There’s a special place in hell for the Russian bike rider who threw sulfuric acid into the faces of three girls in two separate attacks.
The war on bikes continues, part two. A Singapore driver faces charges after brake-checking a group of cyclists, then punching and dooring one who tried to ride past his car.
Bikes have always been non-polluting. But now they can actually remove smog from the air, thanks to a Chinese bikeshare company.
Finally…
If you’re going to paint a bike lane symbol by hand, find someone who can actually paint. Why register bikes when you can register pedestrians instead?
And the Mounties always get their girl. Even if she jumps into a river to avoid getting busted for stealing a bike.
