BikinginLA

It’s a relatively quiet news day, so let’s get right to it.

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Local

The LA Times asks if e-scooter startup Bird can control the behavior of miscreant scooter users.

Los Angeles broke ground on a Safe Routes to Schools project designed to improve safety for people biking and walking to Breed and Sheridan elementary schools, and should eventually include a road diet and bike lanes on Soto Street in Boyle Heights.

 

State

The Ventura County Star applauds Giant Bicycles North American operations, which is headquartered in Newbury Park; the area’s US congresswoman recently toured the plant to promote National Bike Month.

 

National

A writer for Outside says women face sexual harassment on the roads, in addition to the harassment they face just for riding a bike. Meanwhile, the magazine offers eight pieces of bike gear to keep you safe on your commute. And no, pepper spray isn’t one of them, but maybe it should be.

Bicycling considers the annual Remember the Removal ride, with 18 members of the Cherokee nation riding their bikes along the infamous Tail of Tears to honor their ancestors who were forced to march from Georgia to Oklahoma.

A website for engineers and designers asks what all the buzz about ebikes is about. And proceeds to answer their own question.

A Mac website reviews the Apple Watch-controlled Lumos bike helmet, and likes it — if you’re willing to fiddle with it to keep it working properly.

Bend OR bike riders complain the city’s bike lanes have become an obstacle course.

Denver uses inexpensive rubberized curbs to form traffic circles to create a neighborhood bikeway. Which is a reminder that we were promised an actual network of Bicycle Friendly Streets — which everyone interpreted as another name for bike boulevards — in both the 2010 bike plan and the subsequent Mobility Plan 2035. None of which has appeared, by any name.

He gets it. A Colorado writer says safer streets will mean more people on bicycles. And that’s a good thing.

In a rare example of a town pulling together to honor fallen riders, a Kansas town installs a ghost bike to honor a pair of German bike tourists who were killed while riding on the famed Route 66. The police donated the bicycle, while the local convention and visitors bureau worked with the Kansas Historic Route 66 Association to acquire the land and install the bike. Although a better way to honor them might be filing charges against the 23-year old driver who killed them.

A Nebraska bike rider credits his helmet for saving him when he hit a loose chunk of asphalt at 23 mph and went flying, landing on his head and skidding 15 feet. As we’ve said many times before, a bike helmet should always be seen as a last resort when all else fails. But I’ve been very glad I had mine when it did.

Michigan legislators vote to approve a three-foot passing distance, and require at least one hour of bike, motorcycle and vulnerable user instruction in driver education classes. However, that’s a step down from the bill’s original five-foot passing distance.

New York developers are adding bicycling amenities to compete for buyers and residents.

A Philadelphia TV station asks why cyclists keep dying on the city’s streets. Maybe someday an LA station will finally ask that same question.

The war on bikes goes on, as a Baltimore firefighter is charged with lifting a young black man up by the throat in a public bike lane meeting.

Let’s hope a Florida Patch site made a typo in the subhead, saying construction will begin construction on a project “designed to the death of cyclists” at a deadly intersection. More surprising is learning there are still Patch sites lingering around.

 

International

If you want to live longer, ditch the drive to work.

As usual, bike riders won a commuting race in Vancouver, beating people who drive or took transit. And won on commuting costs, too.

The sponsors of a British Columbia Bike to Work Week offer five reasons to ride your bike, including it’s social and ridiculously fun. Which may just be the best reason.

The trucking industry in Halifax, Nova Scotia is fighting proposed regulations to require side guards on trucks to save lives in right hook collisions. Which should be required on every truck, everywhere.

A Halifax paper offers tips on how to become a better bicyclist.

The parents of a fallen Canadian bicyclist urge the coward who fled the scene after killing their son to turn him — or her — self in. Proving that hit-and-run is not just a Los Angeles, or even a California, problem.

No shit. A British judge tells a convicted drunk driver she’s a danger to the public, as he tosses her appeal to have her sentence for killing a teenage bike rider reduced, especially since she had three previous DUI convictions.

A UK campaign calls on the government to teach the Dutch Reach in the face of rising dooring incidents.

An Edinburgh couple wasn’t satisfied with the choices they had for bike jackets, so they designed one that converts to a messenger bag or rolls up under your seat. There’s eight days left to grab one for around $250 on Indiegogo.

An Indian website profiles a 17-year old boy who has overcome cerebral palsy to excel at cycling in the Special Olympics.

Factor Daily looks at leading Chinese dockless bikeshare provider Ofo’s plans for India, the second most populous country after China.

Australian bike riders push for a law that would require a high tech device in all cars that would completely block cellphone use while the car is in motion. We need that here, although there should be an exception for 911 calls.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Tips offers a great photo essay from the recent Amgen Tour of California. But wasn’t there a women’s race, too?

The same site says Tour of California winner Egan Bernal really is that good.

That big Italian bike race is in its final week.

 

Finally…

Jensie loves Johnny Cash. How to pedal pot.

And when you’re not sure if safety barriers are there to slow riders down or injure them.