Oh the joys of diabetes.
I’ve been on a blood sugar roller coaster for the last 12 hours, spiking, then crashing, then spiking and crashing again.
I’ve done my best to fight through it and finish today’s post, despite the swimming head and uncontrollable full body shakes that come with it.
But I finally have to throw in the towel.
I’m about two-thirds through what promised to be another epic post. So instead of holding off posting anything until tomorrow, I’m publishing what I’ve got so far.
I’ll catch up on the rest after I’ve managed to sleep off this awful feeling.
Which could take awhile.
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Get your red plastic Solo Cups out on Friday. And make your very own protected bike lane.
All week we’ve been keeping up with stories about the tragic death of DC bike advocate Dave Salovesh, who was killed in a collision by the driver of a stolen van.
One thing Salovesh was famous for was making his own DIY protected bike lanes using the iconic red cups.
So this Friday, bicyclists around the country will honor him while making the case for improving bicycle safety by with their own red Solo Cup protected bike lanes.
Just head down to your local store, buy a bag or two, and place them on any bike lane you want turned into a protected lane.
Maybe if enough of us do it, in enough locations around the city, our civic leaders might actually get the point and do something about it.*
We can dream, can’t we?
Meanwhile, a DC paper looks at the long journey the ghost bike for Salovesh took to get to the street, including the city’s long-time failure to improve safety that led to his death.
*I’m using us here, when I really mean you. Unfortunately, there are no bike lanes in Hollywood close enough for me to hobble to with my cane. So go out and mark one for me. And let’s hope someone finally gets around to striping a few around here before I regain my mobility, grab some spray paint and make ’em myself.
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It looks like the Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition is going to be even more short handed for awhile.
After the departure of three staff members due to a budget shortfall caused by the bike coalition’s previous, short-lived executive director, now comes word that Zachary Rynew, aka CiclaValley, is leaving after four years.
Rynew announced his decision on Facebook late Wednesday after struggling with it for several days.
When pressed for the reasons behind his departure, he said he was making himself available for today’s NFL draft, in hopes of being the oldest and most seriously out of football playing shape player taken in the first round.
If he said he was declaring for the NHL draft, I might believe him.
His departure leaves the LACBC seriously understaffed, and with a loss of experience and knowledge that will take some time to replace. Which is compounded by the board’s decision to implement four-year term limits, leading to a significant loss of institutional knowledge.
It’s not unusual to have staff turnover when a new ED comes in, as various people decide they don’t fit with the new leadership. Or have that decision made for them.
Let’s hope the new leadership can keep the coalition on track and active in the streets while they deal with all these staff changes.
Because frankly, we need them if we’re ever going to improve safety on the mean streets of Los Angeles.
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The FBI has joined the investigation into a speeding driver who intentionally slammed into eight people waiting at a Sunnyvale intersection, including bike riders and pedestrians, seriously injuring four of the victims.
The driver, Isaiah Joel Peoples, now faces eight counts of attempted murder.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on keeping on.
After attempting to run a pair of bike riders off the road for no apparent reason — even though they were in a bike lane — a Utah driver pulled in front and brake checked them, then sped off with one victim still caught on the car’s spoiler.
A London driver yelled at a man on a bike to get to the side of the road, even though he was waiting legally at an advanced stop, then intentionally rammed his bicycle before driving off. Which other kindhearted and concerned drivers immediately responded to by honking at the bike rider to get up off the road and out of their damn way.
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Local
The accused bike-riding South LA Slasher was finally arraigned on Wednesday and entered a not guilty plea.
LADOT somehow concludes that a speeding hit-and-run driver and the wet roadway caused the crash that took the life of a woman on Hyperion Ave this past January, rather than the unsafe conditions on the street itself. But decide to make some fixes to it anyway.
Fox 11 looks at LA’s new plan to provide permanent memorials for fallen bicyclists.
The Press-Telegram reports you can’t drive on Long Beach’s Pacific Ave on Saturday due to this weekend’s Beach Streets open streets festival, but says that’s a good thing.
State
San Diego approves a permitting process for dockless bikeshare and e-scooters, as angry residents get out their torches and pitchforks. Meanwhile, a San Diego planning board calls for a protected bike lane on Point Loma Blvd.
You can still sign up for Saturday’s Joshua Tree 55 Bike Ride in Twentynine Palms.
San news from San Francisco, where a dump truck driver killed professional skateboarder Pablo Ramirez Tuesday afternoon; in a tragic irony, the San Francisco Chronicle says his stunts were death defying.
More sad news, this time from Sacramento, where a man was killed in a collision while riding his bike Tuesday night.
Zombie cars strike again. A Loleta news site writes that a woman was struck by an SUV while riding her bike, without ever mentioning that the vehicle had a driver.
National
Bicycling looks at the most beautiful custom and handmade bikes from this year’s North American Handmade Bike Show.
No bias here. An Arizona newspaper writes about the problem of “rampant cyclists” on the town’s streets, as one woman calls for rumble strips or speed bumps to slow the riders down — even though that could result in countless crashes and serious injuries. But hey, that would slow them down, right?
Forget Bike to Work Day. The next town over from my hometown is challenging businesses to encourage their employees to bike to work for the next two months.
An Iowa paper encourages drivers to share the road, after record flooding forces bike riders off popular trails and onto the streets. Whether they want to be there or not.
My favorite story of the day. A bighearted Ohio motorcycle cop stopped to help a couple of kids learn how to ride a bike without training wheels.
Buffalo NY college students reinvent the laufmaschine, aka dandy horse, in response to the current climate challenge.
Advocates call the NYPD’s heavy-handed crackdown on bell-less bicyclists racist and wrong, while some of the harassment victims tell their own stories.
No bias here. After a Virginia cop hit a bike rider, police somehow conclude he had no responsibility to look to the right to ensure the sidewalk was clear before making a right turn on a red light; here’s video of the same crash from another angle. Thanks to Janet Lafluer for the second link.
A North Carolina writer worries authorities will be coming after his bikes, after a Republican legislator introduces a bill requiring licenses for bicycles.
Kindhearted St. Petersburg police officers pitched in to buy a new bicycle for a man who biked to work every day after his was stolen.
International
You’ve got to be kidding. After a Canadian bike rider was seriously injured when she was sideswiped by a truck driver, the case against the driver who hit her was dismissed because prosecutors didn’t establish that she was riding a bicycle.
Once again, businesses are shooting themselves in the foot, this time in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, where they’re opposing bike lanes on a downtown street — despite multiple studies showing bike lanes are good for business.
Competitive Cycling
Bike Snob says bike racing, I wish I knew how to quit you.
An Illinois attorney set two age-group world records for women over 50 at a Mexico City track cycling event earlier this month.
Finally…
When you somehow think riding a Penny Farthing will get you a Brexit job. If you just stole a bike, try not to sell it back to the bike shop that originally sold it.
And it may be rented out by a bike shop, but this is definitely not an ebike.
