One quick note before we move on to today’s big CicLAvia news.
My email is down this week after running an update, so my apologies if anyone has reached out to me and I haven’t responded. I’ll try to catch up once I get it working again.
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CicLAvia officially unveiled the route for their next open streets event, taking a first-time journey through the Heart of the Foothills, from Claremont to San Dimas, next Earth Day.
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Once again, while the war on cars is mythical, the all-too-real war on bikes goes on.
A road raging driver threatened a Massachusetts bike rider with a baseball bat, for the crime of riding in the left traffic lane because the right lane was blocked with snow; needless to say, the driver hasn’t been charged.
A Florida nurse was shot in the leg with a pellet gun in a drive-by while riding her bicycle.
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Local
Streetsblog congratulates the winners of this year’s Streetsie Awards.
The Press-Telegram offers more information about Saturday’s police shooting of a Long Beach bike rider, including that the officer who fired did not have a body cam.
State
A bicyclist from India stops in Fresno on his round-the-world tour to raise awareness for climate change and global peace.
Apple is providing 1,000 “minimalist” bicycles for employees, so they don’t get too tired or bored on the ten minute walk from the parking garage to the company’s new campus.
A 70-year old man who lives in his car faces a host of charges, including DUI, hit-and-run and attempted murder, for allegedly intentionally driving down a San Francisco sidewalk, though he claimed it was due to faulty brakes.
A Sonoma County group gave away 25 donated bicycles to victims of the 2015 Valley Fire; it was their sixth bike giveaway for fire victims.
Take a four day bike tour of the Northern California wine country for $2,299 a person. Or just grab your bike and a sleeping bag, and do it for free.
Sacramento considers an ordinance that would give dockless bikeshare companies just two hours to collect stray bikes after they’re notified to retrieve them. Meanwhile, the city is planning a road diet and parking protected bike lanes along a popular downtown street, much to the chagrin of some.
National
A sports site talks with NASCAR racer and SoCal native Jimmie Johnson about sparking the “cycling craze” in his fellow drivers.
Washington’s new budget includes several million dollars to fund bike trails throughout the state.
Iowa goes the wrong way on traffic safety, moving forward with a bill that would ban automated traffic cameras in the state’s largest cities.
The jump in bikepacking is driving demand for bike frame bags made by Minnesota’s Cedaero.
Duluth MN business owners complain about plans for bike lanes that would eliminate parking on one side of the street; one businessman uses it as free storage for his auto shop, while another evidently didn’t consider how bike lanes could reduce the need for more spaces in his overflowing parking lot.
A New York woman says Queens’ infamous Boulevard of Death is still dangerous despite recent safety improvements, after her father was nearly hit by a driver while crossing the street; her calls for increased safety at a recent meeting were drowned out by people complaining about the bike lanes.
International
Vancouver’s Modacity offers eight rules of effective bike marketing.
No bias here. A sidewalk-riding Canadian bicyclist receives a trio of tickets after getting right hooked by the driver of a semi.
City Lab looks at the recent study that showed expanding European bike networks could prevent 10,000 premature deaths each year. So just imagine what it could do here in the US, with just a fraction of the bike networks Europe already has in place.
After a British bike rider posts video complaining that an ambulance nearly hit him, the ambulance service responds that he should have pulled over and let them pass. Seriously, bike riders have exactly the same obligation motorists do to get the hell out of the way of emergency vehicles, even if LA drivers seem to forget that.
An Irish father gets a suspended sentence for assaulting a 17-year old boy who was riding his son’s stolen bicycle; no word on why the boy had the bike that had been stolen earlier that day.
Bicycling cafés are gaining in popularity across France.
An Australian driver says leave your phone alone while you’re driving, after nearly running down a bike rider while simply changing songs on her mobile phone.
Uber’s chief rival in Southeast Asia is getting into the bikeshare business, as well.
Finally…
If you’re going to complain about cyclists breaking the law, make sure they actually are first — and don’t use your phone while you’re driving.
And you know a new car is dangerous when even an automotive website says it should be banned from the streets.
