Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.
Let me start with a profound apology for yesterday’s unexcused absence.
Usually when my blood sugar crashes, I get warning signs, like uncontrollable shaking or yawning, sleepiness, or the cold sweats, that allow me to catch it before it’s too late.
But sometimes, none of those thing happen. And that’s when it’s most dangerous, when I have no idea that my blood sugar has dropped to dangerous levels.
That’s what happened Tuesday night.
When I checked my blood sugar before taking the Corgi out for her last walk of the day, I felt fine. So I was shocked to discover it was just 53 mg/dl.
Normal for you is around 100; normal for me, as a diabetic, is 100 to 150.
And much below 50, for too long, is dead.
In fact, that’s the point where my doctor has instructed my wife to get me to the ER, stat, if I can’t get it back up.
I was just four points from that before I even knew there was a problem.
Fortunately, a fig bar and a bowl of ice cream got me back up around 80 mg/dl within half an hour.
And no, the irony is not lost on me that my life-saving medication is dessert for anyone else.
But the damage was done.
The symptoms, when they finally came, hit with the impact of a failed parachute.
Then once I got that under control, I passed out. Except this time, it didn’t last for just an hour or two, allowing me to resume work once I woke up.
Instead, it was 4:30 in the morning before I could rouse myself just to make it from the couch to the bed. Then almost noon before I woke up enough to take the Corgi out, sleeping through a number of alarm clocks and a phone call from my wife along the way.
Not to mention one hell of a headache.
So my apologies for not posting yesterday, or even posting about why I wasn’t posting. But I was in no shape to write anything.
And frankly, too out of it to care.
………
On the other hand, there’s one bit of good news before we get started.
My physical therapist has given me the okay to actually ride my bike out on the street, instead of on the trainer, once I feel up to it.
Problem is, I don’t feel up to it right now.
If I lived in a quieter neighborhood, or had better access to an offroad path like the LA River of Ballona Creek, I’d give it a try.
But here in Hollywood, with its heavy traffic and almost complete lack of bicycling infrastructure, I need a lot more strength in my newly repair leg before I’m confident enough to mix it up with LA drivers.
And don’t even get me started on those laughable sharrows on Vine Street.
I’m getting stronger every day now, though, and hopefully I’ll have enough confidence in my new knee to give it a try in the next week or two.
Because we definitely won’t be getting any new bike lanes anytime soon.
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A team of UCLA “climate explorers” is riding from Oakland to Los Angeles as we speak, to learn “first-hand about climate change impacts and solutions.”
They’ll pitstop in Malibu on Saturday, June 22nd for a panel discussion about climate change and sustainability.
And presumably, what they learned along the way.
………
Now that’s more like it.
A 24-year old woman faces murder and hit-and-run charges for the high-speed crash that killed a motor scooter rider in North Hollywood last week.
Now if we could just see charges like that when someone runs a bicycle rider down.
………
A British bike rider blocked a pair of angry salmon motorists from taking a short cut on the wrong side of the road. And got so many pats on the back from fellow bike riders and passing drivers he may not be able to wear a backpack for a few weeks.
Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for the heads-up.
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.
Police are looking for whoever strung rope at varying heights in several places along a Newport RI bike path with “the intent to cause harm.”
………
Local
LA Councilmember Paul Koretz tries to shove the genie back in the bottle, declaring his fevered desire to get rid of e-scooters entirely, while calling them anti-Vision Zero. In which case he should support them, since he’s been fighting Vision Zero since the beginning. And if he really wants to talk anti-Vision Zero, wait until he hears about cars.
Long Beach responds to drivers complaints about the new Broadway parking-protected bike lanes by ending street-sweeping in favor of sweeping just the bike lanes, and restoring 65 parking spaces.
CiclaValley shows you the sights and sounds of PedalFest 2019. And he’s leading a Pacifico Mountain Ride for Gravel Bike California on June 30th.
State
Lyft is dumping their association with Ford and the Ford GoBike brand for their Bay Area bikeshare system, and will bring their new black and pink ebikes to San Jose next.
Bird buys its way into the San Francisco e-scooter market by buying scooter competitor Scoot, after being blocked out by the city.
Bicycling remembers Petaluma master framebuilder Bruce Gordon, who passed away last Friday.
A Modesto paper calls Yosemite’s bike trails among the park’s best kept secrets.
National
Bicycling lists eleven things you need to start riding on gravel. Or you could just get a bike, put wider tires on it, and ask CiclaValley to take you for a ride.
Bike lawyer Bob Mionske is back with advice for how to deal with an assault by an unfunny prankster. Best advice — always ride with a bike cam. I mount mine on my helmet; the minimal neck strain is offset by the ability to focus it anywhere I turn my head.
Your next ebike could be made of plastic.
An Oregon man is riding across the US in memory of a friend who died of breast cancer — despite suffering seven strokes himself.
Great idea. Denver public libraries will now allow you to check out a bike repair kit, including tools and a tire pump.
Bike cops in an Illinois town will now be patrolling the streets on a pair of massive, “military-grade” ebikes.
A Michigan bike rider is shocked when an SUV driver rear-ends his bike — then blames him for the crash before fleeing the scene.
Louisville KY police recover a boy’s brand new bike after it was stolen, and personally deliver it to the emergency room where he was taken for apparently unrelated injuries.
He gets it. A Nashville op-ed writer says don’t give up on e-scooters, following calls to ban them after a man was killed.
Best argument so far for not stopping at a red light. A Chattanooga bike rider was injured when someone walked up and shot him as he was stopped at an intersection.
Tuesday night races are back on at a defunct Brooklyn naval air base after nearly getting priced out of existence.
City Limits says if New York’s Vision Zero isn’t working, blame the lack of consequences for drivers who hit bike riders and pedestrians.
New York rapper A$AP Ferg is one of us, partnering with Redline to market his own limited-edition line of BMX bikes showcasing his own mad skills.
A New York Streetsblog editor picks the best bikes for foldie lovers on a budget, testing “a bunch” of bikes to pick the best folding bikes for under $1,500.
An op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer says a bill under consideration to legalize parking-protected bike lanes in Pennsylvania would improve safety for everyone, while helping to improve people’s heart health.
You’ve got to be kidding. The hit-and-run driver who fled after crashing into a Charleston SC pedicab while driving with a BAC of .24 — three times the legal alcohol limit — walked with less than a slap on the wrist, as a judge sentenced her to a fine and a lousy 48 hours of community service. If you want to know why people keep dying on our streets, this is it.
Best product placement ever. A Florida bike rider refuses to go to the hospital after he was hit by a truck driver until someone bought him a Coke. They did, and he did.
International
National Geographic gets it, saying bikes are the best way to tour cities around globe. And good for the planet, too.
Saskatoon takes a big step backward, ripping out protected bike lanes because the city’s drivers somehow couldn’t figure them out, and wanted more parking places, anyway.
An Ottawa bike rider made the point the hard way when he was hit by a driver just blocks from a protest at city hall calling for safer streets.
A Berlin group is helping refugee and migrant women gain confidence and independence by learning to ride a bike.
When Aussie bike riders post a video of crashes and near misses, commenters are quick to blame the people on two wheels. Even though a kangaroo caused one of them.
A writer for Cycling Tips pulls out his deerstalker hat and pipe to uncover the strange tale behind the rapid rise and sudden disappearance of disruptive Chinese smart bike maker SpeedX.
Competitive Cycling
Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome suffered a major setback in his quest for a fifth title when he crashed into the side of a house at high speed. Froome had just finished a descent when he took his hand off his handlebars to blow his nose, and a sudden gust of wind blew him off the road; he’s currently in intensive care with undisclosed injuries.
VeloNews looks at LA’s Justin Williams and his new Legion of Los Angeles cycling team following his two stage wins and second place finish in last weekend’s Tulsa Tough.
Maybe the thief just wanted to take a joy ride. The Jumbo-Visma cycling team was victimized by a bike thief who struck when the team mechanic turned his back for a moment, then left the distinctive looking bike on the side of the road the next day.
Finally…
Pedal harder, or no Netflix for you. On the other hand, how slow can you go?
And you might want to hold off on using the New Orleans bikeshare for awhile.
