It’s a light news day today, so let’s get right to it.
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Local
Metro approves funding for the next two-year cycle of open streets events.
State
Encinitas approves plans for bike and pedestrian-friendly makeover of the coast highway through Leucadia.
Coronado says no to dockless bikeshare, but the bikes show up there anyway. And will get impounded by the police.
Good news from Madera County, where bicyclists will now be allowed to cross the San Joaquin River on Highway 41.
National
No surprise here. Honolulu police are using a grant intended to improve bicycle safety to crack down on bike riders.
The Portland police department gave away 100 new kids bikes in memory of a bike rider who died nine months after he was paralyzed by an 84-year old red light-running driver.
A Seattle group opposing safety improvements on a local street gets an earful when they tweet that single moms don’t bike. I’m afraid I lost my record of who sent this one to me, but thank you, anyway.
A Boulder CO Op-Ed says it’s time for the city to lower speed limits and implement Vision Zero, as well as eliminating right turn on red.
A long-planned Wisconsin bikeway connecting Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River is at risk after estimates for a bridge over a highway come in higher than expected.
The head of a Wisconsin bike advocacy group thanks the DA’s office for prosecuting a distracted driver who killed a woman riding her bike while he was searching for some papers on his passenger seat, even if the jury disagreed.
Springfield IL is preparing for its first open streets event, patterned after LA’s own CicLAvia.
Ann Arbor MI considers a seven-point plan to improve safety, including lowering speed limits and adopting a Vision Zero task force; Ontario, Canada considers a very similar four-point plan.
The Wall Street Journal asks if ebikes are actually worth it.
The war on bikes continues, as a Virginia SUV passenger is caught on video throwing a full water bottle at a trio of bike riders, hitting one; the occupants of the SUV could be charged with assault and battery.
International
A friend of Britain’s Prince Harry rode the length of South America in just over 48 days, shaving ten days off the existing record.
Toronto bike riders will stage a die-in on the steps of city hall to call for safer streets. It’s long past time we did the same thing right here in Los Angeles, if anyone would actually show up.
A London paper complains that driving across the city will soon be slower than riding a bike. Like that’s a bad thing.
As usual, an English town decides to fix a dangerous intersection to make it safer for bicyclists, but only after it’s already too late.
A British writer says shared pathways allowing bikes on one side and pedestrians on the other are just an accident waiting to happen.
A Dublin, Ireland university news site says the city lacks the bicycling infrastructure to keep the growing number of bike riders safe. And that bicyclists shouldn’t have to slide under a bus to stop being swept under the rug.
An Australian writer says bicycling is good for you, so give bikeshare a chance. Meanwhile, an Aussie site says ditching the country’s mandatory helmet law could lead to better overall health.
Singapore went carfree on Sunday, as part of a monthly program to close the streets of the Civic District to motor vehicles on the last Sunday of each month.
Competitive Cycling
World champ Peter Sagan has now won nearly four percent of the 80 editions of the Belgian classic Gent-Wevelgem; Italian cyclist Ilia Viviani broke down in tears after being boxed out at the finish, calling it the most disappointing loss of his career.
An Indian bike race ends in chaos after one of the lead riders crashes just before the finish, as riders are forced to share the busy road with cars.
A New Zealand website considers how to fairly accommodate transgender athletes, as a Kiwi woman dominates the women’s elite mountain biking field after formerly competing as an average men’s racer.
Nice to see that at least one of Lance’s friends has stuck by him.
Finally…
Sometimes, biking is for the birds. Bicycling helps keep you young, but your bone marrow is getting old.
And gift wrap for — or from — the bike rider in your life.
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A special thanks to Pedego 101 and J Fylling for their generous donations to help replace my late, lamented laptop, which, after two full months in the repair shop, appears destined for that great recycling facility in the sky.
