Have you made your plans for Sunday’s CicLAvia yet?
Curbed provides details for Celebrate LA!, the epic Disney Hall-to-Hollywood Bowl CicLAvia, sponsored by the Los Angeles Philharmonic to celebrate its 100th anniversary.
LA Phil has more info on performances scheduled for throughout the day on their website. And it can’t hurt to download the app to make sure you don’t miss anything.
However, they both forgot to mention the first-ever public appearance of the Militant Angeleno, author of the popular Militant’s Epic CicLAvia Guides, as he co-hosts the Militant’s Epic CicLAvia Tour with yours truly.
You can find details at the end of this piece.
I’m planning to do more listening than talking, since I’ve been trying to talk the Militant into doing a tour like this for some time.
But if you’re aware of safety problems or anything in need of improvement along the CicLAvia route, let me know, and I’ll be happy to discuss it on Sunday.
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It’s one thing to ride a dockless bikeshare bike on level ground.
It’s another to take one up Mandeville Canyon.
But that’s exactly what David Drexler did over the weekend. Here’s what he had to say about the experience.
UBER’s JUMP Bike Company Social Cycles dumped a ton of these glowing red electric bicycles on the streets of Santa Monica this past week, so I could not help jumping on one and putting it through some tests.
I wanted to see if these 3 speed HEAVY monsters — and they are Heavy — have what it takes (the torque) to make it 5 miles straight up to the top of Mandeville Canyon Road. I do it all the time on my road bike, but what about JUMP?
Anyone that thinks these things with only 3 gears! can’t make it up a hill, think again — in 30% less time than self-powered.
And the constant demand for power only drained the battery from 96% full at the start to 56% from Montana at 9th Street in SM and Back over the course of 1 hour. I could have done it again.
Here are some photos of the bike and me at the top gate at the end of Mandeville most cyclists are familiar with.
And I would also mention that the bike had excellent stability and control at fast downhill speeds, more stable than my road bike.
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Metro will consider two motions involving bikes at their board meeting this Thursday. One would provide full funding for 14 open streets events and partial funding for one more, while another would authorize a report on options to provide more secure bike parking at Metro stations.
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Local
The LA Times urges a no vote on Prop 6, the ballot measure to revoke the recent gas tax increase, saying it’s hard to overstate how destructive it would be.
An ebike website reviews the Cero One e-cargo bike from LA’s three-year old ebike maker Cero.
State
A 19-year old man was shot and killed in unincorporated Anaheim Monday afternoon; later reports indicated he was shot while riding his bike, and you can see his abandoned bicycle on the sidewalk in the background of the video.
A San Diego advocacy group has developed a comic book hero called Captain VZ to promote Vision Zero to school kids.
National
Bicycling looks at the history of your bike shorts. And says every bike community needs the riders who don’t fit in.
Streetsblog says the recent e-scooter deaths point out the need for safer streets, while a DC website puts the blame on car-centric streets, not scooters.
A Seattle writer says the best way to visit a nearby island is on two wheels.
Moots bicycles brings together Colorado ranchers and gravel cyclists to try to find common ground.
This is who we share the roads with. A pair of motorcycle riders punched out a Chicago bike rider with a hard-shell glove when he caught up to them after one of the motorcyclists grabbed his wife’s ass as she rode in a bike lane.
A Detroit man saved his own life by taking up bicycling after being diagnosed with diabetes five years ago; he lost 45 pounds in the first two months, and is now in the pre-diabetic range.
The Providence Journal questions whether Rhode Island’s bikeway system is safe for children after a six-year old was killed earlier this summer; warning signs and crossings blocked by vegetation doesn’t help.
New York urges people to ride bicycles instead of driving to avoid gridlock caused by the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, while the NYPD responds by blocking key bike lanes for security purposes. Streetsblog says it’s an argument for a carfree city.
A local historical society looks back at a six-day women’s bike race held 118 years ago in Elmira NY. Thanks to Ted Faber for the link.
A Philadelphia program brings bicycling to students who might not otherwise have a chance to ride.
DC advocates plan to install a ghost scooter for the e-scooter rider who was killed in a collision on Friday.
A South Carolina bike shop owner warns that bicycles are about to get a lot more expensive, thanks to Trump’s tariffs.
This is what real heroes look like. An Alabama couple opened a coffee shop as a side business, with 100% of the profits going to buy bikes for people with MS.
International
A British letter writer gets it, saying bicycling is fun and should be encouraged.
Over 25,000 people took part in Cycle to Work Day in the UK and Ireland last month.
Ireland is considering a plan to cut speed limits to 20 mph in built-up areas around the country, with support from Mark Beaumont, who set the record for the fastest trip around the world by bicycle.
Fifteen thousand woman took part in last weekend’s Fancy Women Bike Ride in 60 cities in Turkey and throughout Europe to celebrate World Car Free Day.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real, as a South African bike rider suffered serious injuries when someone sabotaged a bike trail with a wire strung at neck level.
Sydney, Australia agrees to conduct a lane reduction on a four lane bridge, converting it to three motor vehicle lanes and a two-way protected bike lane.
Australia is conducting a three-day inquest into the death of famed endurance cyclist Mike Hall, who was killed in a collision last year while competing in the inaugural Indian Pacific Wheel Race; authorities say he was virtually “indistinguishable” in the dark, despite a red taillight and reflective stripe. Needless to say, no charges are expected against the driver.
Seoul, Korea averages ten collisions involving a bike rider every day; bicycling fatalities were up 25% last year.
Competitive Cycling
Next year’s Giro will start with a short uphill time trial in Bologna.
A former columnist for the New York Times looks at the startling descent of once-feared cyclist Jan Ullrich, who won the Tour de France in 1996 when he was just 23, and little or nothing since. He admitted to doping in 2013, and was briefly admitted to a psychiatric facility earlier this year after attacking a prostitute, as well as a neighbor.
Finally…
Who needs drugs when you’ve got bikes? A new bike rack could let you keep going if you flip your car.
And you’ve gotta have fuel to ride, which means some serious donuts.
Although they should have included the amazing peanut butter and jelly donuts from Stan’s Donuts in Westwood.
I’m just saying.
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Join the Militant Angeleno and BikinginLA for the first-ever Militant Angeleno’s Epic CicLAvia Tour at the Celebrate LA! LA Phil 100 CicLAvia this Sunday!
Just RSVP to MilitantAngeleno@gmail.com. We want to guarantee a relatively small group to make sure we can keep the group together, and everyone can hear.
