At long last, podium girls are on the way out.
A year after the Vuelta a España stopped using the models paid to look good while posing with the stage winners, the Tour de France has announced an end to the anachronistic practice.
Which just leaves the Giro d’Italia as the last of the three Grand Tours employing the sexist tradition.
Along with our own Amgen Tour of California, which really should know better. Especially in the era of the #MeToo movement.
A woman belongs on a podium because she won the right to stand on it.
Not as prize for a male victor to claim.
Photo by Connor Man from Wikipedia.
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The campaign to boycott Vista Outdoor, the parent company of Bell, Giro, Blackburn, CamelBak and Copilot, among other outdoor brands, is gaining speed.
The company, which also makes AR-15-style rifles and is one of the nation’s largest ammunition manufacturers, as well as a leading supporter of the NRA, has lost a number of retail clients across the US following the NRA’s tone-deaf response to the Parkland shooting.
REI announced yesterday that they are placing future orders with Vista-owned companies on hold while they encourage Vista to show some leadership.
In addition, Canada’s REI equivalent, Mountain Equipment Co-op, or MEC, has announced that they will no longer sell any Vista products.
Meanwhile, CamelBak has issued a non-commital statement of values, which reminds the public that they operate separately from the company’s shooting sports division.
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Local
Great discussion on NPR with Curbed’s Alissa Walker about the dramatic jump in pedestrian deaths in Los Angeles, despite LA’s Vision Zero program.
A Pasadena letter writer says we should really have more compassion for those poor, vulnerable road users. You know, the ones in the cars.
State
Streetsblog highlights a couple of pedestrian safety campaigns that make some sense.
A Paso Robles magazine looks forward to next month’s Eroica California.
National
Good read from The Atlantic, explaining how the creation of the NACTO guide helped spread protected bike lanes throughout the US.
The Oregon legislature moves forward with a proposal to expand the state’s bike tax to cover all bicycles over $200, regardless of size.
Las Vegas bicyclists continue to fight for a separated bike path in Red Rock Canyon following the death of a rider in 2005, but keep running into delays and a lack of funding.
Colorado Public Radio discusses a proposal that would allow some cities to permit bicyclists to roll stop signs, even if drivers don’t seem to like the idea.
Escape Southern California’s June gloom and ride nearly 250 miles through northeast Nebraska.
Kindhearted Oklahoma City cyclists crowdfund a new bike for a 14-year old boy after his was stolen from outside a bike shop.
New York is following up on the national Women’s March with a seven-mile Women’s Ride sponsored by a bike advocacy group in conjunction with several women’s groups.
Bicycling talks with NASCAR racer Scott Lagasse about his annual bike ride at Daytona, and dealing with an angry driver.
Caught on video: This is what a right hook looks like, as a Florida bike rider catches his own collision on his bike cam the first time he put it on his bike. Which conclusively proves that bike cams cause crashes.
International
Get ready to throw away your air pump and CO2 cartridges.
A writer for the CBC says Ottawa is taking a calculated risk by allowing bikes on trains at rush hours, unlike most Canadian cities. Although they will only allow two to three bikes per train; any more riders than that will have to wait for the next train.
No bias here. The London Daily Mail says a woman was killed while walking her dog when a cyclist “ploughed” into her during a mass ride, even though the story makes clear that she had ignored the ride marshal’s instructions not to cross.
Paris is taking over the disastrous rollout of its next generation Vélib’ bikeshare after the chosen vendor failed to get the bikes out on the streets.
Wellington, New Zealand is reviewing traffic speeds in order to actually lower them. Unlike Los Angeles, where traffic studies almost inevitably lead to higher speed limits.
A Kiwi columnist says bike lanes will save Auckland as it reinvents itself, but only if the city can avoid awkward compromises with a small group of anti-bike protesters.
Competitive Cycling
Pro cyclists shower Italy’s Strade Bianche with praise in advance of Saturday’s race.
Finally…
Lance Armstrong and the hijab-wearing porn star. No, women don’t need permission to wear pants to ride a bike anymore.
And don’t complain about today’s rain. You could be riding in this.
https://twitter.com/LAS_CycleTeam/status/969112675392413696
I hadn’t even thought about the podium models until you mentioned it here … which might say a lot about their inclusion as a “prize” for the stage winners. I think the first time I watched the Tour de France I noticed them, but since then my only interest is who won the stage and other jerseys. It’s long past due the practice was eliminated.
I’d like to see people other than just the riders celebrating on the podium. How about a couple of local dignitaries who helped arrange the needed permits, etc. How about a couple of members of each rider’s families? That would make for a a bunch of happy people, and would be better than having some trophy girls who may be pretty but don’t have any connection to the event.
There are a couple of engineering things to reduce the problems with drivers turning right on red.
1. Ban the practice for all practical purposes.
2. Along with the ban have a right turn only light in conjunction with the cross street’s left turn arrow. One problem is the U-turn but on narrow streets many have no U-turn. This allows a few right turns to be made not in conflict with pedestrians.
3. Along with teh right turn restrictions place the traffic lights on the near side of the intersection which will force drivers to stop before they park on the crosswalks and bike lanes. This also gives pedestrians a head start at the lights since they are 15 plus feet in front of the drivers.