As in, one is very bike, transit and environment friendly, and endorsed by both the LA Times and Bike the Vote LA.
And one isn’t. Which is pretty much all you need to know about the race.
So if you live in LA’s 12th Council District, get your ass out there and cast a vote for Loraine Lundquist today.
Because this one is too important to sit out.
………
Kindhearted people seems to be the theme of the week.
More kindhearted cops, this time from my hometown, where police dug deep to buy a young couple a new tandem bike, after the one they got as wedding present was stolen, but too damaged to fix once police recovered it.
The Chicago Bears carried on a 15-year tradition by giving bicycles they used to get around during training camp to veterans and teenagers in need.
A London woman is looking for the kindhearted man who bought her a bicycle when she was a child refugee in the Netherlands back in the ’90s.
………
When kick leads to shove. And kick. And shove…
https://twitter.com/Yorkshire_G/status/1160888113239117825?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1160888113239117825&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2F265397-most-bizarre-road-rage-video-ever-defo-cheekiest-gb-men-be-2-riders-down-worlds
………
Local
No surprise here, as traffic collisions increased in the first full month after a road diet was installed on Broadway in Long Beach. Anytime there’s a major change to a roadway, you can expect an initial increase in collisions as drivers adjust to the new configuration. Which is why with most pilot projects, the data is only considered meaningful after they’ve been in place for awhile.
State
A San Diego woman somehow blames the bike riders she doesn’t see using bike lanes for the actions of dangerous drivers.
He gets it. San Jose traffic columnist Mr. Roadshow says delivery drivers and gardeners aren’t allowed to park in bike lanes with no parking signs. But the best solution is to install more protected bike lanes.
A San Francisco bicyclist joins up with a high-powered micromobility crowd on a scooter that tops out around 50 mph, and decides he’ll stick with human power.
Instead of fixing the roads, Sonoma County is appealing a court verdict awarding $1.9 million to a woman who suffered serious injuries when her bike hit a pothole, arguing it was her responsibility to avoid it. But it was their responsibility to ensure it wasn’t there in the first place.
National
Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss says we need more bike-friendly airports, saying riding to your flight is the ultimate in smugness.
Outside considers ten unusual bikepacking items that are worth the extra weight.
An Alaska blogger says you’re more likely to be killed riding your bike than in a mass shooting or by a serial killer, pointing out “there’s an El Paso every 11 days, a Dayton every five days. And no one gives a shit.” Ouch.
Let’s not get too specific, guys. A pedestrian in Salt Lake City suffered a serious head injury when she collided with someone on a bicycle. Or she could have been the person on the bike, and there may have been a car involved. Or not.
A Houston thief decided to trade down, leaving his bicycle behind when he stole a Chevy Tahoe after the driver left it running with the keys inside.
Life is cheap in Missouri, where man killed a bike rider while doing 93 mph in a 35 mph zone. And somehow ends up with a whole 100 days in jail.
Needless to say, it didn’t take long for the pro-Pence bikelash to roll in after America’s favorite seven-time ex-Tour de France champ claimed he blew the doors off the Vice President on a Nantucket bike path. Evidently, they failed to notice Lance’s tongue planted firmly in cheek.
A Connecticut bike rider was injured in collision with a bear; the scofflaw Smokey wannabe was reportedly wearing dark colors, had no license or insurance, and fled the scene after the crash. Seriously, bears should be required to wear hi-viz, be tested, licensed and insured, and wear numbered plates on their massive butts if they’re going to use our roads.
New York police “plan to throw the book” at an 18-year old muscle car driver who sped through a red light, causing the crash that killed a man on his bike who was waiting at the stop light. Unfortunately, given the limits of New York traffic laws, it may be a very small book. The driver’s defense should be that he was driving his Dodge Charger exactly the way Dodge says he should in their commercials.
Faded paint means some NYC bike lanes exist only on paper and in memory.
A New York project is preparing bike riders to act as bicycling rescue workers in the event of an emergency.
Great idea. A new Pittsburgh program encourages businesses to keep bike tools and patches on hand, and let bike riders use the restrooms and fill up their water bottles.
A Charleston SC columnist says bicyclists tick him off when he drives, but “you’d have to be President Donald Trump to be insensitive to the human carnage that’s taking place.”
International
A 30-year old BMX rider was killed when he fell off the Vancouver sea wall while attempting a stunt.
Seriously? A British jury let a truck driver off the hook for killing a bike rider in the equivalent of a right hook — even though the victim was doing everything right, and captured the crash on his bike cam.
Lots of people ride the length of Great Britain these days. But not many do it riding Penny Farthings.
An Irish paper says forget the expression that bicycling is the new golf; bike riding rates now exceed golf participation by more than two-to-one on the Emerald Isle. And it doesn’t have to be expensive.
A new $1,500 aluminum bike from a Swedish bikemaker is being made from old Nespresso coffee pods to send a message about the need to recycle.
A well-meaning New Zealand woman apparently makes a habit of telling bicyclists to wear their helmets because a family friend died while skitching — in 1929, when bike helmets didn’t exist. Although skitching was just as dangerous and foolish as it is now.
A 67-year old Japanese bike rider was killed, and a 27-year old man seriously injured, when a salmon driver slammed into their bicycles on a Tokyo highway; once police found the driver, he said he had no memory of the crash.
Competitive Cycling
Britain’s Geraint Thomas and France’s Julian Alaphilippe are the top names competing in this month’s four-day Deutschland Tour. Raise your hand if you didn’t even know there was a Deutschland Tour. And yes, my hand’s pointing to the sky.
Italian cyclist Domenico Pozzovivo will miss the Vuelta after he became the latest pro cyclist to be hit by a driver while training, breaking his arm and leg.
Finally…
If you’re going to steal a family’s bicycle after delivering their Amazon order, try to make sure you’re not on candid camera. Secure your bike with a 14-pound, angle-grinder proof kettle bell.
And yes, if the law says you have to wear a helmet, you have to wear a helmet.
Even if you’re the president of Russia.
