BikinginLA

Let’s catch up on a few upcoming bike events.

Walk Bike Burbank is hosting their third annual Midnight Ramble this Saturday.

The LACBC’s monthly Sunday Funday ride will explore the South Bay beach cities with a pair of rides this Sunday.

Also this Sunday, API Forward Movement and Healthy Active Streets will team with Metro to host a Blue Line Summer Bike Ride and Interactive Pop-Up.

Mark your calendar for the 12th, when Public Bikes will begin a going out of business sale at their Santa Monica store. Thanks again to Erik Griswold.

LA’s favorite street party rolls next Sunday when the San Pedro meets Wilmington CicLAvia takes place from 9 am to 4 pm at the Los Angeles Harbor. Or leave your bike at home, and walk it.

On Saturday, August 26th, the Michael Ray Vega Memorial Ride will be held in Huntington Beach to remember the 5th anniversary of the rider’s death.

Bike SGV will hold their August Bike Train on Sunday the 27th.

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Let’s take a few minutes and let Los Angeles explain Vision Zero with a hard-hitting video.

Show that to the next person who just doesn’t seem to get why human lives are worth a few moments of inconvenience.

I’ve criticized the city a lot for crappy communications over the years.

But this time, they got it right.

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The war on bikes goes on, as bicyclists continue to report being shot with pellet guns.

A 34-year old Virginia man told police he’s been shot in the back with a pellet gun while riding his bike earlier this week, but didn’t want to pursue charges.

And a 73-year old Florida man was shot with a BB gun from a passing car while he was on a group ride; the group had been threatened earlier by someone who leaned out of a car and fired a Taser at them.

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A Chinese website profiles the life of a 30-year old Tibetan professional cyclist, who’s been pursuing his passion since he was 16.

And nothing like a pony in the peloton. Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

https://twitter.com/TeamSky/status/893133035029372928

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Local

A writer for the Fox & Hounds business and politics site says if LA wants to be successful in changing attitudes about our streets they need to show more respect for drivers and do a better job of communicating. He’s got a point. With the exception of the above video — not the pony, thank you — it’s hard to picture how LADOT could do a worse job of communicating the benefits of safety projects, too often leaving it up to advocates to sell projects to a skeptical public.

A JPL climate scientist offers advice on how you can fight climate change; naturally, he recommends riding a bicycle instead of driving, and using an ebike if pedaling isn’t an option.

Monrovia has begun implementing the city’s Bike Master Plan with sharrows and Share the Road signs on Magnolia Avenue. Someone should tell them Bikes May Use Full Lane signs are a lot more effective.

Eleven years before the Olympics are expected to come to LA, the World Police and Fire Games are coming to the city next week, with the cycling events to be held in the Santa Clarita Valley.

 

State

A Palm Springs writer opposes the planned CV Link multi-use trail through the Coachella Valley for fear it will turn into a homeless camp like the Santa Ana River Trail.

A Thousand Oaks planning commissioner wants to bring bikeshare to the Ventura County city.

A 12-year old Vacaville girl won her age group at the BMX World Championships in South Carolina.

A Healdsburg driver will face a vehicular manslaughter charge in the death of a cyclist, even though he never made contact with her; prosecutors allege he made an unsafe pass that caused two riders to crash into each trying to avoid him.

Sacramento installs its first two-way cycle track.

 

National

Now your touring bike can have its own sleeping compartment in your new tent.

A Spokane bike shop used social media to track down a stolen mountain bike after a customer failed to return from a test ride, finding it at a pawn shop just a few blocks away.

Interbike will abandon Las Vegas next year, and set up shop in surprise winner Reno-Tahoe. But at least you’ll still be able to gamble all night.

A Boulder CO cyclist opposes the Idaho Stop Law because he’s afraid it will confirm the windshield bias against bike riders.

Houston police have written less than 36 tickets in the last 30 months for violations of the city’s three-foot passing law. Which is about 36 more than most places.

The bicyclist injured in last month’s Natchez Trace hit-and run in Tennessee will be riding a new Cervelo when he competes in a triathlon this Sunday, after members of the cycling community pitch in to replace his damaged bike.

It takes a real pair of schmucks to steal a 12-year old Connecticut boy’s bicycle at gunpoint.

A group of artists created a pair of installations along a Boston bikeway to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

Advocates claim a proposed New York state law that would require bike helmets only in New York City would make bicycling less safe, rather than better.

The Miami Herald examines the increase in road rage and aggressive driving. Best advice, just keep cool and ride, walk or drive away. Which is easy to say, much harder to do.

 

International

Now that’s a close call. A British bike rider catches a driver pulling out directly in front of him on his bike cam.

Even bike-friendly Amsterdam is taking issue with dockless commercially owned bikeshare bikes.

Sounds like fun. A five-day fully supported bike tour of fortified Romanian churches will promote the importance of reading; best of all, it only costs the equivalent of $133.

Aussie police team with the local Rotary Club to buy a new bicycle for a young boy whose bike was stolen just days after his father died.

 

Finally…

Now you don’t have to choose between pedaling and working on your term paper. Before you shoot a bike rider with a paint gun, make sure he doesn’t have a real one.

And nothing like discovering a haunted pet cemetery while riding your bike.