More details on the closure of the San Gabriel River Bike Trail later this month.
As we noted yesterday, the pathway will be closed from 2nd Street to Marina Drive in Seal Beach from April 23rd to May 4th, between 9 am and 3 pm, Monday through Friday.
In response to an email from Mike Wilkinson, Long Beach Mobility & Healthy Living Programs Officer Michelle Mowery explained LA County is doing a video examination of discharge drains along the lower levee to ensure they’ll work properly during heavy storms.
It will require the closure of the entire San Gabriel River path, since the camera/vacuum truck takes up the entire width of the bike trail.
No detour will be provided, however, because the west bank of the San Gabriel River is in poor condition and not available for use.
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This is what it looks like to get cut off by a Metro bus while riding in a DTLA bike lane.
Evidently, that small strip of green paint doesn’t work as bus repellant.
And yes, the bike rider has the right-of-way in that situation; driver’s are required to wait until the bike lane is clear before moving into it.
Bus drivers included.
Spring and Main Streets are scheduled to get protected bike lanes in the coming months, which should keep bus drivers from cutting into them like that.
Because nothing else seems to.
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Today’s common theme is bike tours around the world.
A group of Arkansas cyclists say let’s bike to Luckenbach, Texas, with Waylon and Willie and the boys.
You can now take the high-speed train under the channel from London to Amsterdam. And yes, with your bike. But do it fast before Brexit screws everything up.
The London Telegraph suggests taking a bike tour through Jordan, calling it perhaps the most surprising cycling destination on Earth.
A New Zealand newspaper suggests a series of international bike tours that won’t make you feel like you’re riding in the Tour de France. Seriously, they had me at visiting a Scotch whisky distillery in the Inner Hebrides.
Enjoy the fresh sea breezes on Japan’s “sacred spot for cyclists.”
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Local
Maybe we should all move to Wilmington. Councilmember Joe Buscaino — one of the few LA city councilmembers willing to fight for bike safety — is calling for a four to five mile cycle track loop connecting the main features in the port area.
CBS News offers a brief report on LA’s pilot program to paint a few streets grey to cool the surface and the surrounding area. Which should make riding more comfortable on hot days if it proves successful.
West Hollywood drivers hit a pedestrian and a bike rider two hours and four blocks apart; the bicyclist wasn’t hurt, but no word on the walker.
Anti-bike forces strike out in Culver City, as both candidates endorsed by Bike the Vote LA come out ahead.
A writer takes an ebike for a spin in El Segundo to determine if they really are the future of transportation. And likes what he feels.
State
A San Diego drunk driver has been ordered to pay his victims just $12,000 in restitution — while their lawyer gets a whopping $218,000.
If you’re riding in Goleta today, watch out for a police crackdown on traffic violations that put bike riders at risk, regardless of who commits them. You know the drill; ride to the letter of the law until you’re outside the city limits.
A Napa paramedic is taking a bike tour across the US while he still can, to promote laws requiring drivers to move over to pass emergency vehicles. He and his partner were hit by a speeding driver high on meth while they were on a call five years ago; doctors tell him he will probably be paralyzed from his injuries in another few years.
Sad news from Lodi, where a salmon cyclist was killed in a crash after reportedly swerving in and out of traffic.
National
No bias here. An appropriately named conservative talk show host goes on an anti-bike rant, asking if cyclists are Seattle’s most selfish commuters, and saying if you don’t like the crappy car-centric conditions, get on a bus.
Bike crashes are down in Austin TX, but like everywhere else, bicyclists still face dangers on the streets. Including one woman who barely survived a crash last year, only to be struck a second time by a hit-and-run driver this week.
Good idea. A Chicago suburb urges everyone to walk or bike to church or temple during Earth Day weekend.
New outdoor stairs in Oakland — no, the one in Pittsburgh — will get a bike ramp to help riders get their bikes up the hill.
International
A Toronto transportation planner who was seriously injured in a bike crash last year calls for stiffer penalties for drivers who kill or injure vulnerable road users
Sad news from the UK, as a 50-year old cyclist died of a heart attack while competing in a race.
A pair of Dutch cities will be connected with the longest heated cycle path in Western Europe to keep the path free from snow, and permit year-round riding.
An Indian website catches up with Alexi Grewal, still the only American man to win gold in the Olympic road race.
A local paper insists bikeshare can work in Delhi, despite the oppressive heat and air pollution.
After a deadly year, New Zealand bicyclists deliver petition to Parliament calling for safer bike infrastructure and lower speed limits.
An Aussie paper says it’s time for drivers to show a little respect after a pro cyclist describes how frightened she was to barely escape a close call.
Competitive Cycling
Cycling Tips looks at the up-and-down racing career of Tejay van Garderen, once the great young American hope. And suggests all he needs is a little luck.
Cycling Tips also profiles little known Aussie climber Alex Evans, who’s joining his Continental team for a block of races in the US.
Good question. A German website remembers a number of pro cyclists who’ve died of heart attacks, with Begian rider Michael Goolaerts just the latest in a long list. And asks why so many are dying.
Twenty-four-year old Swiss cyclist Stefan Küng left Paris-Roubaix with a broken jaw suffered in a crash, and will be out six weeks following surgery.
Finally…
As usual, safety tips for bicyclists, but none for the people in the big, dangerous machines. Don’t bother with evidence, just take the driver’s word.
And when finishing dead last shows as much heart as winning.
If not more.
OMG. The exact same thing happened to me on Spring Street this morning as well. Driver is older, bald and very thin.
First, he cut into bike lane and then back into traffic. Then as I was riding past, he started cutting in again. I saw no blinker until after I hit my brakes and he was actually going to a stop. Thought about saying something to him while he was taking on passengers, but thought better of it.
Except for the horn, my experience this morning is almost duplicate of what is on the video.
The San Gabriel river trail has a feature that I find very frustrating. At the mouth of the trail as you cross Marina drive you come across a gate that blocks almost all of the paved path, forcing you to get back onto the trail on the far right side. A sign on the fence declares it Private Property. I’ve been harassed and verbally abuse a number of times when riding on this last segment of trail, told to “go back to Long Beach” “fucking Long Beach cyclists” etc. The story of this last section of the trail is something I’ve never heard or read about. Why would you pave a trail and then block it forcing users to ride at or past the edge of the pavement to access it?
Does anyone know anything about this?