BikinginLA

CBS2 news anchor Jeff Vaughn is asking everyone to be on the lookout for a bicycle that was stolen from a member of the station’s charity cycling team.

According to Vaughn, a Cervélo S1 belonging to Erez “Eric” Setty was stolen from outside the Woodland Hills Ralph’s market at 21909 Ventura Blvd on Tuesday, October 2nd at 2:49 pm.

He found security camera footage from inside the market that showed the thief making off with his bike.

The theft has been reported to the police. So if you happen to spot the bike on the street, or see a suspiciously low priced Cervélo S1 being sold on Craigslist or some other forum, contact the detectives at the LAPD’s West Valley Division.

If you’re not sure if a bike is hot, you can check Bike Index’s free nationwide stolen bike registry, which has helped return over 5,000 stolen bikes to their original owners.

I don’t know how the bike was secured in this particular case.

But let this be yet another reminder to never leave your bike unlocked and unattended even for a few moments; even a lightweight cable lock or chain could be enough to deter a thief while you run in for a quick errand.

If you need to lock your bike up for a longer period, use a heavy chain to secure the frame and both wheels, or remove the front wheel and secure it to the frame and back wheel with a heavy U-lock. Or a combination of both.

You can find more tips on how to lock your bike here.

It’s a pain in the ass to carry around a heavy lock with you everywhere you go. But it’s a lot better than coming back and finding your bike missing.

Even if it isn’t a Cervélo.

And if you haven’t already, stop what you’re doing and take a few moments to register your bike for free with Bike Index or some other service.

Before something like this happens to you.

………

Streetsblog’s This Week in Livable Streets offers news of a trio of bike events.

• The West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition hosts a free panel discussion this Thursday with BikinginLA title sponsor Jim Pocrass, along with representatives of the sheriff’s department, CHP and the city.
• CICLE and Metro are teaming for the BEST Ride: Celebrating the Music Box Steps on Saturday, riding to the famed steps where Laurel & Hardy filmed their 1932 Oscar-winning short film The Music Box.
• Also on Saturday, Bike Safe USC is joining with Metro to explore the new My Figueroa Complete Street and bike lanes.

………

Local

Curbed looks at the new left-side, parking-protected bike lane on Spring Street in DTLA. And wishes drivers would just stop parking in it.

Long Beach is ranked as the 27th best bike city in the US, even if a pair of councilmembers are standing in the way.

CiclaValley takes a ride up Mount Gleason. Which probably wasn’t named for Jackie.

 

State

CityLab says San Francisco fought the e-scooters, and the scooters won.

Tragic news from Sacramento, where a bike rider was killed in a collision with the driver of a truck.

 

National

Bicycling names the year’s best bike gear.

NPR examines the safety concerns that are rolling into American cities along with the e-scooter rollouts. The best way to improve safety for scooter users is the same as with bike riders — build out an actual network of safe, protected bike lanes.

Life is cheap in Hawaii, where a former Honolulu cop faces a $2,000 fine and up to one year in prison after being found guilty of misdemeanor negligent homicide for the on-duty crash that killed a bike rider; he was acquitted on charges of evidence tampering and filing a false police report.

Curbed asks if New York is ready for the e-scooter revolution. Then illustrates it with a photo of Bird riders on the beachfront bike path in Venice, where they’re prohibited.

Huh? A Louisiana letter writer says Baton Rouge isn’t safe for bicyclists and doesn’t need a bikeshare program, then complains that certain areas were left out. And says he conducted his own survey of how many people ride in the city — while he was driving — then fails to share those undoubtedly accurate stats.

A Miami jury sided with Bell Sports in a $17.5 million lawsuit alleging that the company’s Giro Skyla bike helmet caused a triathlete to suffer brain damage when she fell during a competition; the company’s lawyers allege she failed to follow the instructions in fitting the helmet.

Even sleepy Key West, where many people get around on two wheels, can be deadly for people on bikes; two bike riders have been killed in the last two weeks, and another was airlifted after a crash on Friday.

 

International

Authors Melissa and Chris Brunlett discuss how to turn a car town into a cycling city.

Forget drones, cargo bikes are the future for urban deliveries.

A European website asks if the European Union should be doing more to promote ebikes. Short answer, yes. So should everyone else if we’re serious about fighting climate change.

This is who we share the roads with. A driver in Northern Ireland lost his license for just one year for cutting off a group of bicyclists, causing an experienced rider to fall and fracture his elbow — then telling the riders to fuck off and flashing the bird as he sped away. Sounds like a nice guy. No, really.

A Scottish woman is scheduled to arrive in Berlin on Thursday, shattering the women’s record for riding around the world by a full 20 days.

New York Magazine examines the plans of Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo to reduce the city’s reliance on motor vehicles, saying it could be a guide for Gotham. Not to mention Los Angeles.

Advocates in Switzerland, which recently added bicycling to the constitution, call for the equivalent of a nearly five-foot passing law; similar laws are already in effect in Germany, Ireland, Spain and Portugal.

Police in a town in the United Arab Emirates “improved safety” by confiscating 500 bicycles belong to allegedly reckless cyclists, as well as motorbikes used by unlicensed food delivery people. I think everyone in the city will rest easier know that they’ve removed a few hundred bicycles and their riders from the streets.

Lime’s e-scooters have established a beachhead in New Zealand.

 

Competitive Cycling

Trek-Segafredo team director Steven De Jongh was hospitalized with a concussion after police spotted him lying unconscious in a ravine; his wife had reported him missing for several hours when he failed to return from a training ride.

Cyclist ranks the top ten pro cyclists of the year. For a change, Peter Sagan only comes in third.

Cycling Tips offers photos from the recent Il Lombardia, calling it the neglected Monument.

Canadian university professor Rachel McKinnon became the first transgender woman to win a women’s world track cycling championship in Los Angeles on Sunday; needless to say, conservative news sites did not approve. Meanwhile, VeloNews talks with her about the win, and the objections to it.

At least three bike races have been cancelled by organizers in a Louisiana parish, after it passed an anti-bike ordinance requiring bicyclists to wear fluoro hi-viz and ride single file in groups of ten or fewer.

 

Finally…

One stolen bike is bad, 24 is about two dozen times worse. Nothing like banning hunting after it’s already too late.

And just a quick reminder that…

…is worth two in the bush.