Archive for August 19, 2019

Morning Links: Debunking a bike rumor, Insurance Institute criticizes protected bike lanes, and a bicycle video Monday

August 19, 2019 / / 13 comments

Before we start, let me offer a quick apology and thank you to anyone who sent in links for today’s post.

As you’ll see below, it’s been a traumatic weekend, and with a few exceptions, I’ve lost track of who may have sent what. 

I’m incredibly grateful to anyone who takes a few minutes out of their busy day to give me a heads up, whether or not my muddled brain manages to keep up. 

Photo by Deniz Anttila from Pixabay.

………

Let’s start by debunking a rumor.

According to a Reddit post last week, a bike rider was killed by motorist in DTLA last week as a result of a road rage dispute.

Fatal bicycle accident on 7th and hill in DTLA

I was walking on 7th today around 10:30am and came across a woman on the side of the street who was clearly having a panic attack. I looked beyond her parked car and there was a man on a bicycle, his head face down on the pavement and blood everywhere. He wasn’t moving. There were no police or authorities on the scene yet. A man next to me said that the bicyclist kicked a car and the car hit him and drove off. He died on contact… Did anyone else see this? Have any more info? I’m not sure if the woman was panicking because she saw it happen or because she hit him and the kicking story isn’t true. Pretty gnarly to see. I walked on the same corner about 30 minutes later and it was as if nothing happened… all there was left was some blood and a bit of flesh on the pavement. Woof.

Except it didn’t happen.

Any fatal crash would require the roadway to be closed for several hours as police investigate the crash. Especially if it involved a homicide investigation.

Not just cleaned up and reopened in a matter of minutes, as if nothing ever happened.

But just to be sure, I checked with someone with knowledge of the situation, who said there was an incident at that location, but it didn’t involve a crash. Intentional or otherwise.

And no one was killed.

So let’s be careful spreading rumors. There are enough real tragedies without needlessly, and incorrectly, adding more.

Thanks to Matt Stewart for the tip.

……….

A new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says not all protected bike lanes are created even.

And in some cases, aren’t even as safe as a regular painted bike lane.

Compared with a major road with no bike infrastructure, the risk of a crash or fall was much lower on two-way protected bike lanes on bridges or raised from the roadway — for example, within greenways. In contrast, the risk of a crash or fall on a two-way protected bike lane at street level was much higher than that of a major road.

One-way protected bike lanes differed little from major roads in terms of injury risk.

“A cyclist on a protected lane at street level is likely to encounter vehicles at intersections, driveways and alleys more often than on a protected lane enclosed within a bridge or greenway,” says Jessica Cicchino, IIHS vice president for research and the lead author of the new paper. “Pedestrians also sometimes enter street-level bike lanes, which can cause cyclists to swerve and fall.”

On the other hand, a crash in a protected bike lane is less likely to be fatal.

That said, the types of bicyclist crashes seen in street-level protected lanes weren’t the type that are typically most severe. Most fatal bicyclist crashes involving motor vehicles occur midblock, while cyclists in protected bike lanes in the study collided with vehicles most often at intersections or junctions with driveways and alleys. In such cases, vehicles are usually turning and traveling slowly…

“There is evidence that protected bike lanes help prevent the worst crashes,” Cicchino says. “What our study shows is that certain locations are better than others for this type of infrastructure.

So the choice seems to come down to whether you want to prevent crashes, or save lives.

Or just insist on building better bike lanes to begin with.

You can read the full press release here. Thanks to Chris Woodyard for the heads-up.

………

CiclaValley narrates an inaugural ride along a new segment of the LA Riverfront Greenway in the San Fernando Valley, better known in lower sections as the LA River bike path.

………

A Boston public radio station traces the long and winding backstory connecting a mass market brand of French cognac to early cycling legend Major Taylor.

………

Seriously, don’t blame the driver next to you when you don’t hold your line. Or keep both wheels on the ground.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DYuP-7BDTQ

Meanwhile, bike-riding British radio host causes an uproar by responding that a clown on a bicycle doesn’t hurt anyone, unlike a clown in a car.

………

Dutch bikemaker VanMoof released the video below to show how willing people are to buy a stolen bike.

Except it turns out the entire thing was a scam — the “real” people were hired actors, and the money came directly from the film crew.

Which is a little worse than just spreading rumors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI546_0Bnbo

………

It’s sort of like lane assist for bicycles.

A new Dutch ebike prototype has smart steering assistance built into the handlebars to help keep riders upright.

………

Evidently, the old song was right.

A new study shows breathing in air pollution is as bad for your lungs as smoking. Especially for active people — like the ones who ride bicycles, for instance.

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This is who we share the roads with.

Washington State police found a distracted driver stopped on the side of the road playing Pokémon Go on not one, not two, but eight separate phones at once.

And apparently let him go with just a warning.

If you want to know why people keep dying on out streets, that’s a pretty good place to start.

………

Local

Los Angeles is now marking the sites of fatal collisions with rainbow halos created by artist John Morse, in collaboration with Southern California Families for Safe Streets and Los Angeles Walks.

WeHoVille offers a recap of Sunday’s Meet the Hollywoods CicLAvia, which allowed tens of thousands of people to experience Hollywood, Highland and Santa Monica Blvds without cars, most for the first time. Meanwhile, apologies for the tardiness as the Militant Angeleno’s latest Epic Tour tells you what you may have missed yesterday.

Santa Clarita police will stage yet another bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement day this Thursday, ticketing anyone who commits any violation that could jeopardize the safety of people walking or biking. The usual protocol applies — ride to the letter of the law that day until you leave their jurisdiction, so you’re not the one who gets written up.

 

State

California Streetsblog accuses Caltrans of trying to sabotage the Complete Streets bill in the state assembly with an over-inflated price tag.

A news story popping up across the US asks if California can put cars in the rear view mirror, noting that the only way to meet the state’s climate goals is reducing the number of cars on the streets.

The Orange County Register’s David Whiting considers the family fun of the popular Over the Hump mountain bike race.

KPBS says a group suing to stop plans for a bike lane on 30th Street in the North Park neighborhood vastly overstated their local support, as 31% of the people who signed their petition live outside of San Diego, let alone North Park.

A Santa Barbara man recovered a stolen bike and returned it to its rightful owner after spotting someone stashing it in an alley.

It’s only taken the state three years to get around to clearing a rock slide off a Sacramento-area bike path, once again demonstrating just how much they value people who get around on two wheels.

 

National

An Irishman gets a different view of the US by riding his bike 4,500 miles across the country.

Maybe he should have kept up the steroids. Turns out the singer/dancer/actress is in much better shape than her athlete boyfriend, as J-Lo nearly drops A-Rod on a bike ride.

CityLab looks at the birth of the beach cruiser in 1970s California, and how it helped turn vacationers into bike riders.

GeekWire says Lime’s ebikes can be a blast. Sometimes literally.

Bicycling rates the best commuter bags for bike riders, starting at just $30.

A lot of people go spring skiing, but not many ride their bikes there. And even fewer ride their bikes 3,650 miles to just ski Alaska’s Mt. Denali.

Colorado Springs CO spent ten years installing bike lanes before the auto-centric bikelash began; a leader of the car-focused activists says he doesn’t like bike lanes even though they haven’t slowed down his commute, because he’s highly offended that someone wants to force out of his car and onto a bicycle. Because really, who hasn’t stood by helplessly as those damn militant bicyclists grab some poor, innocent driver, jerk them out of their cars and force them onto bicycles?

Nice. Houston opens a 30-acre, $25 million bike park.

This is who we share the roads with. An Oklahoma driver admitted to being high on meth when he crashed into a bike rider, apparently without breaking.

That’s more like it. A drunken Illinois hit-and-run driver who killed a 19-year old bike rider and injured another man was sentenced to 15 years behind bars — which could be doubled due to prior felony convictions.

Sometimes a story just goes from bad to worse. After a Pittsburgh bike rider was run down from behind by a hit-and-run driver, police arrested an off-duty Pittsburgh cop for the crime, after video showed he downed two shots and 160 ounces of beer before getting behind the wheel — because he was celebrating the drive-by murder of Pittsburgh rapper Jimmy Wopo.

A mob of “two-wheeled hooligans” rode their bikes on a wild rampage through Providence RI, stealing snacks from a Dollar Tree and randomly assaulting people. Police bizarrely blamed dockless Jump ebikes for the rampage because some of the kids rode them after hacking the locks. Which is like blaming car rental companies for all the reckless drivers on the 405. Or anywhere else.

A kindhearted Connecticut cop turned bike mechanic when he saw a kid having problems with his bicycle.

A Buffalo NY man decides to trade his motorcycle for a slow roll bike ride.

New York bike riders are up in arms after the local DA refuses to charge a truck driver who kept going after running over a bike rider, concluding she fell over after hitting a pothole, and the driver had no idea he’d hit anyone. No, really.

A Gothamist op-ed says making incremental changes on the streets has failed, and it’s time to break car culture now.

A surprisingly even-handed report from a New York TV station observes that the rate of pedestrians hit by bicyclists is going up. But while many bike riders break the law, it’s not always the bicyclist’s fault.

On the other hand, a writer who seems to suggest he’s an expert on bicycling because he briefly worked as a bike messenger 20 years ago says New York is living in a golden age of bicycling — or would be, if not for all those lawbreaking bicyclists. Yes, people on bicycles need to obey the law and use the streets safely, just like anyone else. But safe bike riders get killed just like the other kind.

Wealthy New York residents are suing to stop a bike lane next to Central Park, choosing to protect their precious parking spaces over human lives; as one resident who opposes the suit puts it, “The optics are terrible. No doubt we look like an overprivileged, insensitive group of people.” Gee, you think?

A Brooklyn bike shop is taking the next step in bike advocacy by posting the city’s bicycling death toll on the door to ensure everyone see it. Meanwhile, LA bike shops don’t seem to grasp the concept that safer streets would mean more customers.

Miami police have finally arrested the motorcyclist who fatally shot a bicyclist on a group ride after other members of the ride came forward with video contradicting his claim of self-defense. The New Times says the shooting is symptomatic of the dangers people on bicycles face.

 

International

Don’t steal a bike from a runner. A Winnipeg woman manages to chase down the man making off with her bicycle and get it back. While running in bare feet, no less.

The Guardian’s Laura Laker considers just how much we lose when a local bike shop shuts down. Hint: A lot. You may get a better price online, but you’ll pay much more in the loss of hands-on service. Besides, you might make some new friends if you venture out into the real world to do your shopping.

An Aussie woman living in France got her stolen bike back thanks to a sharp eye in the classifieds and an assist from the local gendarmes. 

A new German/Canadian study shows that bike helmets make you feel safer. Even if you’re nowhere near a bicycle.

Wonder Woman’s Gail Gadot is one of us, as the Israeli actress poses for a photo on her bike as she waits on a bridge. Although someone should explain to the Daily Mail what a selfie is. Because they don’t seem to have a clue.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling offers a preview of the 2019 Vuelta a España; the year’s final Grand Tour kicks off on Saturday in the Alicante province.

1960s Italian racing great Felice Gimondi passed away from a heart attack at age 76; he won the 1965 Tour de France in his first year as a pro, followed by victories in the Vuelta and the Giro, making him just one of seven riders to win all three Grand Tours.

The pro cyclists union says the narrow streets, unmarked road furniture and dangerous conditions of the Binck Bank Tour mean it doesn’t deserve to be a WorldTour race.

Writing for the Guardian, competitor Nick Van Mead offers a first-hand description of what it’s like to compete in the self-supported, unmapped Transcontinental bike race across Europe from the Black Sea to France’s Atlantic Coast — including getting chased through Serbia by packs of wild dogs.

 

Finally…

Seriously, who needs a seat tube? Apparently, you can carry just about anything on a bicycle or four.

And who needs an ebike when you’ve got an exosuit in your shorts?

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Move along, nothing to see here

August 16, 2019 / / 2 comments

I’m afraid yesterday was one of those days I warned about, when the burden of caring for a corgi slowly dying from cancer took a heavy physical and emotional toll.

She’ll see the vet over the weekend, at which point we should know more. And we’re preparing ourselves for the possibility that she may not come home with us, though that seems less likely than it did earlier in the week.

As usual, BikinginLA will be back on Monday, and we’ll catch up on anything we may have missed today.

Category: General /

Morning Links: Telling off the cops for blocking bike lane, upcoming bike events, and racing through a flash flood

August 15, 2019 / / 2 comments

Don’t try this at home.

A New York man was lucky to ride away after telling off a group of cops for needlessly blocking a protected bike lane in an obscenity-laced tirade.

Even if it was well-deserved.

“You guys are putting my life in danger because you are fucking assholes,” the man riding the fancy looking e-bike tells the police.

“You gotta go” one cop mutters.

“No! I don’t have to do shit! You guys are blocking the bike lane for no fucking reason!” the man responds.

“There’s no emergency! Nothing is happening! I’m looking around, there’s no terrorist threat. There’s just you guys jerking off and doing nothing but standing here staring at me. I’m not threatening people’s lives—you are! You are the problem!”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1H1-7CAvLG/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_video_watch_again

Maybe the officers were showing remarkable restraint because the man was right. Or maybe just because there was a camera running.

But something tells me a black or brown bike rider might have found himself in cuffs for the same thing.

Then again, the NYPD doesn’t seem to grasp the idea behind bike lanes, as a New York cop cited a man for not riding in the non-existent bike lane, while insisting it’s illegal to ride a bike on any street without one.

It’s not.

Just like it’s not illegal here in the City of Angels, or anywhere else in the US.

Photo by Jiarong Deng from Pexels.

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Let’s catch up on a few upcoming bike events.

Besides this Sunday’s CicLAvia, that is, which will be the first one to take place in my Hollywood backyard.

If I had a backyard, that is.

Walk Bike Burbank will host its annual Midnight Ramble moonlit ride this Saturday.

The San Gabriel Valley Foothill Flyers Vintage Bicycle Club will host its first bicycle swap meet and show this Sunday, followed by a short ride on those same vintage bikes.

Join Gravel Bike California for Send it Sunday at Topanga State Park next weekend.

The international Fancy Women Bike Ride rolls on September 22nd, described as the “most colorful, fantastic and empowering women’s parade in the world.” No word yet on whether there will be an LA edition of the ride.

And traffic safety deniers Keep LA Moving will hold a national conference in Mar Vista this October to discuss their virtually fact-free opposition to road diets and Vision Zero, along with their vision for the auto-centric America of tomorrow. It would be a real shame if any biking or walking advocates were to show up; thanks to Erik Griswold for the tip. 

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Local

The widow of an LA County Sheriff’s Department reserve deputy who was killed competing in the 2017 World Police and Fire Games is suing helmet-maker Bell and parent company Vista Outdoor, alleging his bike helmet was negligently designed, which made it a “useless safety device” and “an ultimate death trap to cyclists” — apparently concluding the fatal heart attack he suffered during a mountain bike race was caused by a head injury due to a fall.

CiclaValley records the sights and sounds of a sideways solo bike crash.

San Francisco bag maker Timbuk2 will now answer to LA furniture maker Exemplis. So maybe your next messenger bag will fold out into a sofa.

Nick Nolte is one of us, looking pretty in pink as he rides his ebike in the ‘Bu.

 

State

A new Orange County bikemaker is offering fully customizable high-end ebikes made entirely in Newport Beach.

KBPS says the lawsuit filed by a small group of local residents and business owners to stop plans for bike lanes on San Diego’s 30th Street appears to be a longshot, with their arguments contradicted by the city’s community plan.

Oceanside votes to make major safety improvements on the Coast Highway, reducing the four lane roadway to two lanes with bike lanes and parking, and replace six intersections with roundabouts.

The Fresno Bee offers more details on the crash that killed a bike rider Tuesday morning, when a teenage driver drifted onto the shoulder in minivan full of high school students and rear-ended the 56-year old victim at around 45 mph. Thanks to John McBrearty for the heads-up.

Streetsblog SF says a little paint that was added to an Oakland bike lane doesn’t improve what they describe as a hellscape for people on two wheels.

 

National

A new study shows the best sex aid could be your bicycle.

A boutique distillery in Minnesota has built America’s first British-style Cycle Speedway, where four rider compete simultaneously on the short, 300-foot clay track.

A Brooklyn website talks with the founder of The Brown Bike Girl consulting firm, who works to makes sure non-white, non-male bike riders are represented in advocacy, and comfortable riding on the streets we have now.

NPR examines New York’s rising bicycling death toll, and the glacial pace of solutions to the problem.

Life is really cheap in Philadelphia, where a judge dismissed all charges against an allegedly distracted garbage truck driver who fatally right hooked a young woman as she was riding in a bike lane.

Speaking of Philly, the city is finally paving over some long abandoned trolley tracks, eliminating a rough, wheel-grabbing ride local bike riders called The Handshake.

Evidently, it’s not just younger motorists who drive distracted. A 60-year old Pennsylvania driver was allegedly texting behind the wheel when she rear-ended a bike rider, who died nine days later.

A Miami bike rider was fatally shot by a motorcyclist while on a group ride, following an argument on the side of the road. Yet police inexplicably released the alleged shooter as the investigation continues.

 

International

A British bicyclist will attempt to set a new record for the fastest motor-paced speed ever accomplished by a man on a bicycle. Although he’s got a ways to go to catch up with the record for the fastest speed period, held by an American woman at nearly 184 mph. Just a tad faster than my best downhill speed.

The capitol of Armenia unveils its first dedicated bike path, which looks a lot prettier than anything you’ll find in LA. Bonus points if you can name the capitol of Armenia without looking.

Late summer in Los Angeles means magpie swooping season Down Under.

 

Competitive Cycling
Luxembourg national cycling champ Christine Majerus responds to the death of Dutch pro Bjorg Lambrecht by saying she wishes cycling race juries would prioritize safety over the length of her socks.

Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel returns to road cycling after dominating the mountain bike competition.

Rouleur examines women’s cycling’s #MeToo moment, uncovering abuse and harassment at the highest levels of the women’s tour. Seriously, there’s no excuse for that crap. Ever.

 

Finally…

Nothing like a visionary, if really uncomfortable looking, ebike concept. Pick up a bottle of Bike Path wine to swig on the bike path.

And that feeling when a flash flood washes out your team time trial.

Literally.

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Thanks to Robert Leone for his generous contribution to help support this site and defray the cost of the Corgi’s hospice care, along with a very kind note — both of which are much appreciated.

Especially now.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

Morning Links: Sonoma man faces retrial in death of bike rider, new video in South LA hit-and-run, and Florida duck murderer

August 14, 2019 / / 2 comments

Maybe two times will be the charm this time.

A 75-year old Sonoma County man will face a second trial in the death of a Sebastopol woman, who was killed while taking part in a 2016 charity ride.

The driver faces a single count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for either striking the bike rider while driving on the wrong side of the road, or causing her to lose control and fall.

The driver said he thought he had plenty of room to pass a slow moving truck without hitting the pair of bicyclists coming in the opposite direction, and only realized he might have been wrong when the driver’s side mirror fell off his truck.

An investigator for the CHP somehow concluded that there was no evidence of a crash, apparently believing the man’s mirror just happened to fall off the same time he passed the victim.

Sure. Let’s go with that.

An earlier trial ended in a hung jury, leaning 10 – 2 in favor of a conviction.

Apparently most of them didn’t buy it either.

Thanks to Sindy Saito for the heads-up.

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The LAPD has released another video of the hit-and-run driver who critically injured a 15-year old boy as he rode his bike in a South LA crosswalk.

https://twitter.com/okaybyemoses/status/1161376901958533120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1161376901958533120&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fktla.com%2F2019%2F08%2F13%2Fvideo-released-in-hunt-for-hit-and-run-driver-who-left-15-year-old-bicyclist-in-icu%2F

Fortunately, Roberto Diaz survived the crash, though he remains in the ICU following five surgeries, with at least one more planned for today.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Central Traffic Division detectives at 213/833-3713.

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Looking for a good cause to support?

The One Bicycle Foundation urges you be a hero to a kid by supporting their efforts to give bicycles to children in poor countries.

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This is who we share the roads with.

An apparently drunk Florida man was arrested for duck murder after witnesses say he deliberately ran over a family of ducklings swimming in a puddle in the roadway, killing two and seriously injuring a third.

Schmuck.

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Still more kindhearted people, as a Houston TX truck driver collects and refurbishes old, unloved bicycles, and gives them away to people in need.

After a nine-year old Cleveland girl calmly called 911 to report the bike she got for her birthday had been stolen, dispatchers pitched in to buy her a new one, with a helmet and lock, too.

After police rescued a five-year old Boston-area boy who wandered off in his pajamas, while pushing a bike with flat tires and a missing training wheel, an anonymous donor gave him a new one, along with supplies for the new school year. 

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Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton examines the toxic vitriol directed at supporters of the proposed Nordhoff bus rapid transit (BRT) lane by local NIMBYs, including one woman who called a 19-year old American-born college student an “ignorant Oriental.” Nothing like trotting out outdated, racist slurs to win friends and influence people. Then again, that seems to work with some people these days.

LAist nails it, reporting that yes, Uber and Lyft are contributing to LA’s traffic problems, but LA drivers should take a hard look in the mirror before pointing fingers.

A writer for LA Downtown News ponders bikes, rivers and homelessness in Berlin, Paris and Los Angeles, concluding that if two great European cities can come up with the answers, a great metropolis like LA should be able to, too.

Great piece from LA Taco on how to ride public transportation in Los Angeles, including tips on taking your bike on Metro buses and trains.

Do we really need to see more photos of “ruggedly handsome” Arnold riding his massive fat tire bike through the streets of LA? I didn’t think so.

WeHoVille calls on everyone to get out of your house and out of your car for Sunday’s Meet the Hollywoods CicLAvia.

 

State

No surprise here, as a San Diego group has filed suit over plans for protected bike lanes on 30th Street, alleging it’s illegal because they’re not included in the community plan, and the community didn’t have enough time to weigh in on the loss of parking spaces.

Coronado police use a bait bike to bust three bike thieves in just 72 hours. Meanwhile, the LAPD won’t use bait bikes over fears of being accused of entrapment, even though they’ve been successfully used throughout the state.

Sad news from Clovis, where a bike rider was killed when a 17-year old driver drifted onto the shoulder of the roadway.

Modesto police have issued a BOLO alert (aka, be on the lookout) for a red light-running, hit-and-run driver who injured a bike rider this past July.

 

National

Dominos is turning to ebikes to solve the problems of parking and traffic congestion for their pizza deliveries, while allowing the company to hire people who don’t have a car or driver’s license.

Now that’s more like it. A Seattle councilmember wants to force the city to build bike lanes by requiring them on any street that gets at least $1 million in roadwork.

Boise, Idaho is considering a petition to make a key bike route less safe by reversing a road diet and ripping out the bike lanes, along with the improved crosswalks kids use to get to and from schools. But hey, if it allows drivers to go zoom! zoom! again, that’s all that really matters, right?

South Dakota property owners sing the refrain of NIMBYs everywhere, saying they support bike lanes — just somewhere else.

Residents of a disadvantaged Kansas City neighborhood are questioning why new bike lanes took priority over more pressing community needs, like dealing with blight, crime, illegal dumping and aging infrastructure.

It takes a major scumbag to steal a bicycle after the Houston man riding it was killed in a crash. Unless maybe it was taken by the man’s riding companion, for reasons known only to him or her.

Minnesota police bust a serial bike thief who was selling the purloined bicycles through Facebook to support his drug habit.

New Haven CT police put out a BOLO alert for a wheelie-popping reckless bike rider who allegedly almost caused drivers to crash.

The recent rash of New York bicycling deaths has bike riders wondering if drivers have a license to kill. Short answer, given the reluctance of the NYPD to hold drivers accountable, yes.

New York’s part-time mayor and full-time presidential candidate Bill de Blasio calls for charges against the speeding, red light-running teenage driver who caused the crash that killed an innocent bike rider, while his fellow politicians put the blame on de Blasio. Meanwhile, the victim was remembered as an advocate for bike safety.

New York will soon have a 750-mile biking and walking trail crisscrossing the state. Meanwhile, California doesn’t. And won’t anytime soon, if ever.

Next up on DC’s micromobility agenda, 30 mph dockless mopeds.

Virginia bike advocates call on Amazon to help build a protected bike lane on the street in front of their planned second headquarters in Arlington.

 

International

A Vancouver website says don’t place construction signs in the middle of the damn bike lane. Okay, I may have added the invective to that; they politely called it a terrible mistake. But still. 

The family of an Ottawa man is demanding answers after he was critically injured in a collision, saying not enough is being done to protect people on bicycles. Nice reporting job by the Ottawa Citizen, which managed to get through the entire story without mentioning that the vehicle that hit him had a driver.

A Halifax, Nova Scotia city councilor wants to copy Oregon in placing a $10 to $20 tax on the purchase of any new bicycle. But that’s just the start; he also want bicyclists to be registered, insured and licensed, just like the cars they’re not.

Good question. A British letter writer wants to know why some people always have it in for bicyclists.

Yesterday we mentioned the London woman who was looking for the man who gave her a bicycle as a child in a Dutch refugee camp; the Guardian reports she found him, and will soon get to thank him in person.

 

Competitive Cycling

Hundred of people turned out for the funeral of fallen pro cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht in his Belgian hometown; the 22-year old Lotto-Soudal rider was killed when he struck a concrete culvert while competing in the Tour of Poland. And yes, his teammates attended the funeral.

Denver will celebrate the new four-stage women’s Colorado Classic bike race with a free bike expo and open streets event.

 

Finally…

A-tisket, a-tasket, find your perfect basket. Forget ebikes; your next bike could run on a hydrogen-powered fuel cell.

And peak NIMBYism is fighting the bike lane that was never in the plans to begin with.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Vote for Loraine Lundquist in CD12 today, more kindhearted people, and kick leads to shove in the UK

August 13, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Vote for Loraine Lundquist in CD12 today, more kindhearted people, and kick leads to shove in the UK
It’s Election Day in the Northwest San Fernando Valley, and there’s a stark differences between candidates.

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.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Victorville bike rider critical after crash, LA bike lanes pay for themselves, and Clarkson says FU bikes

August 12, 2019 / / One comment
Let’s start with bad news from Victorville.

A man riding a bicycle suffered life-threatening injuries when he reportedly tried and failed to beat traffic on a busy highway.

The CHP reported it as a fatal crash; however, San Bernardino sheriff’s deputies were unable to confirm a fatal Victorville crash over the weekend.

We’ll let you know when and if we get more information.

………

Someone should remind our elected officials here in Los Angeles that spending on bicycling infrastructure makes sense.

And dollars.

Lots of dollars.

https://twitter.com/geoff_doerksen/status/1147536368253300736

………

A letter writer in the Los Angeles Times says a Copenhagen-like level of bicycling may not be practical in the short term, but building a backbone network of bike lanes crossing the city would get many people out on their bikes.

Which, oddly, is exactly what the city’s bike plan calls for.

Meanwhile, another letter writer says Copenhagen is a great place for bicycling because it’s relatively flat.

Unlike Los Angeles, which is… uh, relatively flat.

………

As long as we’re on the subject of letters, an Oregon letter writer says —

  • Bicyclists need to take more responsibility.
  • There’s no proof bicycling infrastructure benefits anyone but people on bikes;
  • Bike riders use senior citizens as “wrinkly, silver-haired pylons on the imaginary racetrack of the handle-barbarians;”
  • Bicycling can never be made entirely safe, so riding on city streets will always be a gamble;
  • Oregon’s governor is rewarding the lawless behavior of bicyclists by allowing them to “wander through red lights, stop signs and ignore yield signs while challenging vehicles to the same space.”
  • Bike riders need to be taxed, tested and licensed. And ticketed.

Damn, that’s a lot to unpack.

But let’s give it a try.

First of all, yes, bike riders — and everyone else — need to assume more responsibility.

I myself recently assumed responsibility for disappearing Jimmy Hoffa, snatching the Lindberg baby, and trading Babe Ruth to the Yankees.

Second, there is plenty of evidence that bike lanes improve safety for everyone.

Third, anyone who endangers pedestrians, especially older, younger or disabled pedestrians, is a complete and total jerk. And probably drives exactly the same way. Never mind that a lot of the people on bikes fit in that nebulous senior category themselves.

Fourth, saying the streets will never be safe for bike riders is just another way of saying motorists are incapable of driving safely. But yes, there are ways to improve safety, even in intersections.

Fifth, the version of the Idaho Stop Law that was recently approved in Oregon only allows bicyclists to treat stop signs as yields, while still requiring bike riders to stop and wait at red lights. And it passed both houses of the legislature.

Finally, most bike riders already hold a drivers license, so they have been tested and licensed. And bike riders are subject to traffic fines, just like drivers, in every state of the union.

And as we’ve already seen, testing and licensing drivers hasn’t exactly inspired good behavior, either.

………

Talking with a driving website, Jeremy Clarkson, co-host of the Amazon Prime series The Grand Tour, and former host of Britain’s Top Gear, laced into bicycles and the people who ride them in an expletive-filled diatribe.

He particularly goes off on plans for a bike lane on the street next to where he’s sitting, insisting no one rides there, as numerous bike riders glide past behind him.

And he insists you’ll get a disease if you ride a bus.

No, really.

Although evidently, he’s including himself in that big FU to bikes and the people who ride them.

Thanks to F. Lehnerz for the heads-up.

………

Lots of generous people in today’s news, starting right here at home.

Unfortunately, that’s all the information we have now. I’ve put in a request for more information, and will let you know if we learn more.

Meanwhile, thanks to the bighearted people the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers’ Charities, 13 special needs kids and two adults now have new adaptive bicycles.

A Colorado Springs CO paramedic and firefighters teamed with a local nonprofit to give a boy a new bike after his was stolen.

Milwaukee residents help a little girl raise enough money in half an hour by selling lemonade to replace her mother’s stolen bike — including two people who paid $100 for their $1 drinks.

Kindhearted firefighters replaced a 10-year old Ohio girls’ bicycle and helmet, just two hours after her brand new bicycle was destroyed by a hit-and-run driver.

………

More proof that bikes can go where cars can’t.

https://twitter.com/HeartScotNews/status/1159196732279992321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1159196732279992321&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2F265382-video-edinburgh-cyclist-rides-past-cars-stranded-deep-flood-water

………

This is who we share the roads with. Legally or otherwise.

………

Local

LA-based ex-pro Phil Gaimon goes on KCBS-2 to discuss his Phil’s Cookie Fondo coming this October in Malibu; the ride benefits Chef’s Cycle and No Kid Hungry to help ensure every child has something to eat.

Sixty-two-year old Claremont resident Sandra Marie Wicksted faces up to 17 years behind bars after pleading not guilty to murder for intentionally plowing her car into bike rider Leslie Pray, as well as four counts of attempted murder for trying to do it to other people, as well.

The Hoff is one of us, as David Hasselhoff goes mountain biking in Calabasas with his new Welsh wife.

 

State

A 55-year old San Diego man suffered a serious leg injury when he was hit by a driver while riding his bike, after allegedly failing to yield.

San Diego councilmember and candidate for mayor Barbara Bryophytes tries to stuff the genie back in the bottle, calling fo a moratorium, if not an outright ban, on e-scooters.

The Encinitas bikeshare system has been put on hold thanks to Trump’s trade war with China.

A young boy and his father were rescued from the base of a San Francisco cliff after the child somehow rode his bike off the edge and his father went down to help him.

Results of San Francisco’s pilot study on the city’s Valencia Street protected bike lane shows a dramatic reduction in risk to bike riders, including a 95% decrease in mid-block interactions with drivers, where dooring had previously posed a substantial risk.

Time says higher prices for Jump bikes and e-scooters are threatening the micromobility revolution in the Bay Area.

 

National

Far from being cheating, a new study shows ebike riders actually get more exercise than regular bike riders.

An Oregon appeals court says yes, bicyclists can legally pass vehicles on the right, after a bike rider was cited by a cop for unsafe passing after he was right hooked by a bus driver who’d just passed him.

More on the innovative new bike lights developed by students at the University of Colorado that bathe the user in rainbow-hued lights, as well as illuminating the road.

An ex-Denver radio host lists of a who’s who of local bike advocates as he complains about their “activist agenda,” while spouting his own anti-bike lane one. But he does claim that he’s polite to each and every one he meets, even “the obnoxious ones.”

Beyonce fans take a bike ride in Houston’s blistering heat to visit Queen Bey’s favorite haunts.

It was nice while it lasted. In the two years since St. Joseph MO opened a free bikeshare system with a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all 40 bicycles have been stolen or destroyed.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a pair of donated adaptive bicycles from a couple of adopted, autistic Kentucky children.

Finishing our Kentucky trifecta, it’s good to be king. Or mayor, anyway. The former mayor of Somerset KY walks with a lousy $100 fine for clipping a 15-year old girl while she was riding in a crosswalk with the right-of-way — then driving off, claiming he didn’t realize he’d hit her bike.

Riding a bike across the country isn’t all that rare anymore. But riding a bike 3,000 miles across the US with serious vision and hearing problems due to a genetic condition, like this Kentucky teacher, is.

Vermont’s governor is one of us, taking to his bike to see what problems bicyclists face in one county, and what they’re working on. That exactly what we should expect of all elected officials.

A New Hampshire bike rider tells drivers not to be nice by waving bicyclists through intersections, and to be predictable, instead.

A Rhode Island chef is beating his addiction to alcohol with the help of his bicycle, riding 100 miles a week and losing 40 pounds in the process.

After a Connecticut bike rider was injured in a crash, police added insult to injury — literally — by giving the victim a stern warning for riding salmon.

A vehicular cyclist in upstate New York repeats the myth that bike lanes make bicyclists less visible and safe, when the fact is, bike lanes have been repeatedly shown to improve safety. And the better the bike lane, the greater the improvement.

Things just keep getting worse in the Big Apple, as the city suffered its 19th bicycling fatality this year when a 52-year old man was collateral damage when a teenage driver ran a red light and smashed into another vehicle. And yes, the crash was captured on video, and no, you don’t really want to see it. Trust me.

As we speculated last weekend, Atlanta appears to lead the nation in scooter deaths, with twice as many this year as any other major American city.

An angry Miami man exited a restaurant, stripped naked and hopped on his bicycle, riding in the buff to a nearby store where he grabbed a pair of shorts and walked out, telling the startled clerk he was paying with his bicycle. Needless to say, he didn’t have any ID on him. Although he does have some great thighs and a definite cyclist’s tan.

 

International

Automakers seem to think the future is in micromobility, as five companies — Volkswagen, Ford, Audi, BMW and GM — explore variations on e-scooters, while Peugeot goes back to its bikemaker roots with a line of ebikes. Just don’t plan to ride them on the medieval cobbles of Bruges.

Evidently, near total hegemony on the streets isn’t enough for some drivers, as one is captured on video driving on a busy bike path in a Vancouver park.

Vancouver brightens the city’s outlook for bicyclists with a series of colorful new bike racks.

After getting hit by someone on a bicycle, an Ontario man says bike riders are too comfortable breaking the law against riding on the sidewalk. The simple fact is, no one rides on the sidewalk if they feel comfortable on the street. So the best way to stop sidewalk riding is to demand safer streets.

No bias here. Police in the UK stopped a 13-year old black kid and demanded the receipt for his bike to prove it was actually his. Because we all carry the receipt for out bikes with us every time we ride. Right?

The mother of a fallen British bike rider calls for requiring bike lights on the sale of every new bicycle.

Trump ex-wife Marla Maples is one of us, riding a bike as she vacations in Spain.

Great photos from a Czech city, as they celebrate the 150th anniversary of the country’s first bike race. Although the first caption, by way of the Chinese press, seems just a tad off.

 

Competitive Cycling

Who says women can’t compete with men? Twenty-four-year old medical student Fiona Kolbinger became the first woman to win the grueling Transcontinental Race, riding across the European continent in 10 days, two hours, and 48 minutes — beating her nearest rival by 11 hours.

A Philippine paper looks at SoCal’s Coryn Rivera and her efforts to make the US cycling team for the 2020 Olympics, even though she could compete as part of the Philippine national team.

If you couldn’t get past the Wall Street Journal’s paywall to read Jason Gay’s profile of South LA’s back-to-back US crit champ Justin Williams and the League of Cycling, a Belizean website offers a synopsis of the piece in honoring the Belizean-American cyclist.

Lance may be officially barred from bike racing, bu that doesn’t mean he can’t gloat about “blowing the doors off” Vice President Mike Pence on a Nantucket bike path.

Forget doping, now you can just cheat on Zwift.

 

Finally…

Don’t just drink your expensive single-use coffee, ride it. Who needs a barber shop when you can just use a bikeshare bike.

And if you’re going to ride your bike carrying a loaded BB gun while high on crack, put a damn light on it.

The bike, not the BB gun.

Or the crack.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Wicksted to stand trial for murdering bike rider, throwing in Mariposa towel, and new CicLAvia Hollywood map

August 9, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Wicksted to stand trial for murdering bike rider, throwing in Mariposa towel, and new CicLAvia Hollywood map

Let me start with a brief personal message today. 

Like many people, I’ve struggled to comprehend the incomprehensible in recent days, and make sense of a world that doesn’t any more. So let me say how fucking proud I am to live in a city made up of countless races, religions and communities.

Simply put, Los Angeles is richer for all of us.

I love being part of our rainbow-hued, multi-ethnic, multi-faith and multi-oriented bicycling community.

And I’m proud to be a small part of such a vital segment of our city — one that keeps riding, regardless of how much we’re marginalized, and despite those who would force us off the roads and elected leaders who turn their backs on us.

We’ve got a long way to go just to break even and claim even a small part of the streets for our own. 

But we’ll get there. 

And riding bikes helps it all make just a little more sense. 

Photo by Tim Mossholder from Pexels

……….

We may finally see justice for the murder of Claremont bike rider Leslie Pray.

According to the Claremont Courier, 62-year old Sandra Marie Wicksted will be arraigned today after being found competent to stand trial for drunkenly swerving her car across the street — intentionally — to crash into Pray, for no apparent reason.

Allegedly.

She also faces three counts of attempted murder for swerving at other people on bicycles before slamming into Pray, as well as one count of attempted grand theft.

Wicksted is currently being held on $6.1 million bond — over three times the original bail amount.

And she faces a very long time behind bars if she’s convicted.

………

A lawyer’s website says an 85-year old man died two weeks after he was struck by a driver in Seal Beach on July 8th, in an apparent hit-and-run.

However, I’ve been unable to confirm either the crash or his death at this point; if anyone has any information, let me know.

………

Burbank bike rider Doug Weiskopf says he’s given up on his long-running fight to gain access to the Mariposa Bridge over the LA River.

Burbank’s neighborhood bullies on horseback have managed to fence off our public section of the Los Angeles River and make it their own taxpayer-funded riding preserve.

It would be very easy to walk around the massive iron gate that’s recently been installed just off the Victory Boulevard overpass, but after seven years of battling there and in court against forces far more powerful than I am, with very little support from other cyclists and bike advocacy groups, I’ve sadly given up on it.

On the other hand, there are three new bike and pedestrian bridges currently planned or under construction in the Griffith Park area.

So hopefully, it won’t be a problem for long.

………

CicLAvia has unveiled the official map for next Sunday’s Meet the Hollywoods open streets event through East Hollywood, Hollywood and West Hollywood.

It will go right past my favorite Hollywood building, the legendary and recently restored Mayer Building at Hollywood and Western.

Can’t wait to see what the Militant Angeleno will have to say about that one. And what else he’ll come up with along the route.

And yes, that’s a hint if the Militant is reading.

………

Great piece from the Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay about LA’s past and present national cycling champ Justin Williams, and his elite Legion of Los Angeles cycling team.

Assuming you can get past the paywall, that is.

Gay also answers the question I’ve long had about why the teenage cycling phenom from South LA never made the pro tour.

And thankfully, it’s not because the door was closed to a black cyclist earlier this century, like LA’s other former national crit champ has claimed.

It’s a stirring rebirth for a cyclist who was tapped early in his career to be an elite American talent. Williams won a lot when he was young—he took the under-23 national criterium championship when he was 19, and was part of a track pursuit title in 2009 with teammates including Taylor Phinney. His ascension would stall, however, as he grew disillusioned—as an African-American who grew up in the inner city, Williams said he felt a “disconnect” from the Europe-African-American who grew up in the inner city, Williams said he felt a “disconnect” from the Europe- based sport and its stubborn structures—and a promising sprinter wound up coming back and deciding to stay home.

“I would say the U.S. National team didn’t have the right system to develop a rider like me,” Williams says. “I think that was an opportunity missed.”

It’s definitely worth the time to read.

PS — They tell me deleting your cookies might get you in. Even if it didn’t work for me.

………

One local event we missed yesterday, before we move onto the big wide world of bike news, as Lyft and Santa Monica Spoke team up for a free scooter skills class.

………

Maybe not so fast.

Heartbroken family members demand greater police enforcement of people on bicycles after the NYPD reported that a bike rider fled the scene after crashing into a pedestrian, who died a few days later.

And no bias from the anti-bike NY Post, which featured an op-ed claiming it’s now the pedestrian Davids against the Goliath of the New York bike lobby. Never mind that pedestrians outnumber bike riders by magnitudes in the city.

Only problem is, maybe it never happened.

Yes, the victim was found unconscious in a bike lane.

But according to the city’s medical examiner, no determination has been made as to whether he was struck by a bike, hit-and-run or otherwise, or just fell and hit his head.

Then again, knowing how New Yorkers love to park in bike lanes, there’s nothing to say there might not have been a car involved in some way.

Unfortunately, though, there’s no way to stuff the genie back in the hyperventilating Gotham media bottle.

………

J. Patrick Lynch forwards footage of an awesome handcycle from behind the Red Curtain in 1970s Poland.

………

Tell your boss you have my permission to waste a minute and a half with a little rocking downhill action.

Unless you are the boss, of course.

As if watching something like that could ever be a waste of time.

………

Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A pair of Long Island towns propose banning teenage swerving incidents, with a $100 fine and confiscating bikes or scooters for cutting in front of drivers or performing stunts in traffic.

A group of teenaged British “bike thugs” break the unwritten rule that swerving belongs outside by riding though a supermarket and wrestling with an elderly woman. Seriously, just don’t.

………

Local

KFI has more on the opening of Metro Bike in North Hollywood. LA officials, including Councilmember and Metro board member Paul Krekorian, celebrated the official Grand Opening of the docked bikeshare system on Thursday; it was Krekorian who cancelled the planned road diet and protected bike lanes on Lankershim Blvd that would have made it safer to ride in the NoHo Arts District.

Billy Bob Thornton’s Bad Santa costar Tony Cox hit a kid on a bicycle at some apparently secret location in Los Angeles yesterday as the boy was riding in a crosswalk; the victim wasn’t seriously hurt, so police concluded the crash was just an oopsie.

There will be a bike corral at this year’s Teen Choice awards in Hermosa Beach on Sunday; locals will be allowed into a special standing section to watch artists like Taylor Swift and the Jonas Brothers perform. So when will they provide safe and convenient bike parking at the Oscars, Grammys and Emmy Awards? The latter has already seen a top producer ride to the show.

 

State

A longtime Menlo Park resident says it’s time to build bike lanes and improve bicycling in the downtown area.

 

National

City Lab says lower speed limits do more than improve safety, they also help bring cities back to life.

Maybe trees aren’t so good for cities, and the walking and bike-riding people in them, after all. Personally, I’ll still take a tree-lined street anytime, thank you.

Turns out that bike thief busted in Idaho on Monday is accused of stealing over 40 high-end bikes in seven states, including California.

A Wichita KS man reminds bike riders to wear a helmet, insisting his helped prevent a concussion and stitches when he collided with another rider on a bike path. Although standard bike helmets don’t actually protect against concussions; you need a MIPS or WaveCel helmet for that.

Iowa bike advocates call on drivers and bicyclists to focus on safety after a truck driver slammed into a mother and her 13-year old son; naturally, the driver played the universal Get Out of Jail Free card, claiming he couldn’t see them because the sun was in his eyes.

This is who we share the roads with. An Iowa man is under arrest after allowing a 12-year old to drive his car, who proceeded to crash it into a four-year old kid riding his bike. Seriously, what the hell did he think would happen?

A kindhearted Wisconsin cop gives a little boy a new bike after his was destroyed in a garage fire.

They get it. A Michigan town is installing a road diet and bike lanes in the commercial district to bring in more pedestrians and bike riders, and spur business development.

Police in Massachusetts had to break up a fight between several people after a driver crashed into a bike rider, who had the right-of-way, although the story doesn’t say if the victim or his friends were involved.

A Massachusetts town is struggling to define what a bicycle is, after an e-assist party bike applies to use the city’s bike trails. Apparently, that reflects a gap in state law, although neighboring New Hampshire seems to have it down.

What the hell is going on in Atlanta? After the city saw a fourth e-scooter rider killed, the city’s mayor instituted a nighttime ban on dockless scooters and ebikes. As far as I’m aware, that appears to be far beyond the death toll for any other city, and in far less time.

The Palm Beach Post offers a photo essay of the city’s legendary Jack “the Bike Man,” as the nonprofit bearing his name creates a special “Never Again” bike honoring Majorie Stoneman Douglas High School, site of the Parkland massacre.

 

International

British bicyclist Mark Beaumont talks on the Guinness World Records site about what it takes to bike around the world in record time.

Bike Radar reviews the best inexpensive bike locks, while a writer for the site says e-mountain bikes are brilliant and you should buy one.

Sad news from Peru, where a 31-year old Japanese teacher riding his bike around the world was killed when he was struck by a truck driver.

The LA Times discovers car-lite and bicycle-obsessed Copenhagen. So now you can expect NIMBYs and other anti-bike lane forces to say “This isn’t Copenhagen.” Which will be a refreshing refrain from the usual “This isn’t Amsterdam.”

Two Cambodian sisters are shattering traditions and gender stereotypes to achieve their goal of becoming the region’s fastest women on two wheels.

 

Competitive Cycling

A number of pros from WorldTour cycling teams will park their road bikes this weekend, and mount mountain bikes for Colorado’s Leadville Trail 100 MTB race on Saturday.

The Irish Times says the death of 22-year old Belgian cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht is yet another reminder of the dangers of open road racing, saying he’s the eighth cyclist to die in competition in just the last three years.

Lambrecht’s team physician says it would have taken a miracle to save him, given the nature of his injuries, even if it had happened inside a hospital.

Tragic news from Tennessee, where former BMX age group national champ Riley Eugene Jenkins was killed in a motorcycle crash; he was just 20 years old.

One of just three wooden outdoor velodromes in the US is throwing in the towel after nearly 30 years of Minnesota winters have taken its toll.

 

Finally…

We may have to deal with LA drivers, but we hardly ever have to fend off a grizzly with a pocket knife. Keep dreaming of the day bikes will outnumber cars, comrade.

And here’s your chance to be a naked bike-riding Hulu extra.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

Morning Links: Upcoming bike events, why people stop going to public meetings, and a look at a friendly little OC bike shop

August 8, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Upcoming bike events, why people stop going to public meetings, and a look at a friendly little OC bike shop

Let’s start with a few upcoming bike events.

The GiddyUp! Cycling Film Tour will unreel tonight at the Ahrya Fine Arts by Laemmle theater in Beverly Hills, offering a global showcase of films capturing why we love to ride.

Celebrate NoHo’s new Metro Bike Bikeshare with an informal bikeshare celebration ride tomorrow. And yes, there will be donuts involved.

Metro will be offering another of their BEST bicycle education classes this Sunday in West Hollywood, with emphasis on developing group riding skills to see you safely through next weekend’s Meet the Hollywoods CicLAvia.

The Orange County Wheelmen will be hosting a new century ride from Irvine to Carlsbad on September 7th.

………

If you’ve ever wondered why people stop coming out for important public meetings, these tweets should give you a pretty good idea.

https://twitter.com/hippierunner/status/1159201025951031297

https://twitter.com/topomodesto/status/1159119037932007424

https://twitter.com/topomodesto/status/1158943765706366977

By all reports, last night’s public workshop in Eagle Rock to discuss plans for a North Hollywood to Pasadena bus rapid transit line was much better managed, without the anti-transit threats, harassment and intimidation of previous meetings.

You can sign here to show your support for the plan, which preserves existing bike lanes.

………

This is why you need to support your local bike shop.

The Orange County Register’s David Whiting talks with a former domestique who runs a tiny bike shop in Rancho Santa Margarita, where customer service and ensuring everyone leaves with a smile matter more than pumping out high priced merchandise.

You’ll never find that kind of service online.

Or at most bike shops, for that matter.

………

This is who we share the roads with.

https://twitter.com/DashCamTwats/status/1156659172836040707

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

Someone continues to sabotage Australian bike trails, this time in Adelaide by stringing fishing line at neck height; fortunately, a woman discovered it before anyone got hurt.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A Michigan cop suffered minor injuries trying to stop a bike-riding leaf blower bandit when he attempted to knock the man off his bike, but missed. And missed with his taser, too.

Tragic news from New York, where police are looking for a hit-and-run bike rider who killed a 60-year old pedestrian. And as often happens, it sounds like bicyclist wouldn’t be in trouble if he’d just stuck around after the crash.

………

Local

Sixteen Metro Bike stations are now up and running in North Hollywood, Valley Village and Studio City in the San Fernando Valley.

We already know that Katy Perry is one of us, taking her bicycle with her torrid to her shows; she’s also taken her $19 million Beverly Hills mansion off the electric grid to reduce her carbon footprint.

Burbank is cutting speed limits around schools to 15 mph in a much-needed effort to improve safety.

A pair of bike-riding transients were busted for a failed attempt to steal a pair of bronze statues from a Covina business after the shopping cart they were towing them in toppled over. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

 

State

Irvine bicyclists can now expect to share the streets with Amazon Prime delivery robots and their human minders, at least for now.

San Diego mountain bikers are on edge after a man was shot in the hand by a robber who stole his bicycle on Tuesday.

The Voice of San Diego says the city is undermining its own climate action goals by continuing to prioritize cars over people on Morena Blvd.

A salmon cyclist suffered minor injuries when he was hit by an SUV driver while riding the wrong way in a Ramona bike lane.

A San Luis Obispo paper looks at why the city has lost two bikes shops in a single week. Like the owner of one having to work a second job just to keep the shop afloat.

A Los Altos writer says yes, it is legal to ride a bicycle in many places in California, but there’s no good reason to scare or inconvenience others.

 

National

If you lost your fully loaded AR-15 rifle while riding on an an Anchorage AK bike path, a man found it while walking his dog. And the police would like to talk to you.

A Utah woman reflects on the life-changing moment when you learn to ride a bicycle.

Denver announces plans to lower speed limits on several streets in response to recent bicycling deaths.

A Lutheran bishop rides RAGBRAI, and considers the spiritual aspects of the popular ride across Iowa.

A Chicago woman turns herself in for a hit-and-run so bad her bike-riding victim remains in critical condition over three weeks after the crash; she’s been charged with felony hit-and-run and DUI counts. She should also face charges for attempting to coverup the crime by replacing her car’s mirror and windshield the day of the crash. Although it will be interesting to see how they can make the DUI charge stick without a blood, breath or field sobriety test.

A group of young men are apparently mugging bike riders in the Windy City. A bikeshare rider was the victim of the third attack in less than a week.

After taking up bicycling in honor of her late bike-riding husband, a Chicago woman was crushed when someone stole her bike in South Carolina. Until she got it back when the thief tried to sell it to a legitimate dealer.

Jeff Goldblum is one of us, going to Detroit to visit a bikemaker and take part in a slow roll ride, and leaving the city with a new bicycle.

Indianapolis bike riders are getting new bikeways, courtesy of a dollar per day fee on scooters.

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. New York responds to recent bicycling deaths by rushing to install 45 blocks of new protected bike lanes in Brooklyn.

Take a 13-mile sightseeing bike tour of Manhattan on the Hudson River Greenway.

A writer for c|net credits his new WaveCel helmet with saving his life when he was hit by driver in an unprotected New York bike lane.

 

International

Road.cc offers an updated bicycle to English dictionary, while Rouleur provides all the bicycling quotations your two-wheeled little heart could desire.

No bias here. An Ottawa letter writer generously allows that not all bike riders break the law, just 95% of them, while calling for mandatory licenses and insurance. Just wait until someone tells him how effective that’s been for motorists.

The CEO of British foldie maker Brompton says ebikes will lead to a mega transformation of the bike industry in the near future.

Evidently, it helps to be British royalty-adjacent to get your dogs’ stolen cargo bike back.

No bias here, either. A UK motorists group says it doesn’t matter if traffic deaths are down, London’s Vision Zero is a “counter-productive road safety fantasy.” And suggests that if you really want to reduce bicycling crashes, stop encouraging people to ride bikes.

Or here, either. A trucking website says forget requiring new truck standards so drivers can actually see the road around them, because bikes just don’t belong on London’s narrow streets, and all bike riders should be required to pass a proficiency test instead.

Paris plans to expand a network of bike paths to the outlying suburbs to make it easier for commuters to bike to work.

Vienna, Austria is fighting motor vehicle usage with a subsidized cargo bikeshare program.

Right-wing Austrian politicians are calling for a ban on bike trailers after two small children were killed when a driver slammed into the trailer their mother was pulling behind her ebike, while calmer voices say the real problem is cars and the people driving them.

Turns out Luxembourg isn’t all that bike friendly after all.

Heartbreaking story from Hiroshima on the 70th anniversary of the first atomic bomb attack, where a three-year old boy was buried with his tricycle until his bones were exhumed 34 years ago and moved to the family cemetery.

 

Competitive Cycling

American cyclist Chloe Dygert Owen honored former teammate Kelly Catlin after winning her second gold medal at the Pan American Games with a runaway victory in the individual time trial. She previously won silver with Catlin, who took her own life earlier this year, in the team time trial at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

 

Finally…

The next time a seagull attacks you on your bike, try giving it the stare down. Apparently, if you want to keep bicyclists safe on both sides of the road, you have to ask pretty please.

And you may not be going anywhere, but at least you’re art.

Or maybe riding art.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: 15-year old fixie rider dragged 1,000 feet by hit-and-run driver, and a flaming bagpipe unicycle ride

August 7, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: 15-year old fixie rider dragged 1,000 feet by hit-and-run driver, and a flaming bagpipe unicycle ride

Horrible news from South LA, where a 15-year old boy was critically injured by a hit-and-run driver who sped off, leaving him bleeding in the streets.

While the story identifies him as a pedestrian, he was actually riding or walking with what appears to be a fixie when he was run down by a heartless coward at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Woodlawn Avenue around 9 pm last night — then dragged over the length of a football field under the driver’s car.

That’s around 1,000 feet.

Police described the victim as barely alive.

Officers are looking for a 2007 or 2008 dark blue or green Honda Accord with tinted windows and front-end damage.

As always, there is a standing $25,000 reward for any hit-and-run involving serious injuries in the City of Los Angeles, which will increase to $50,000 if the worst happens.

Let’s hope they catch this murderous jerk.

And pray that the boy he tried to kill by not stopping makes a fast and full recovery.

Update: The victim has been identified by his mother as Roberto Diaz, who was riding in a crosswalk after buying a soda at a nearby store when he was run down by a driver who blew through a stop sign. 

The driver stopped briefly when he or she was followed by witnesses before taking off again. 

………

Apparently, parking is a common theme today.

Harbor Area planning commissioners approve plans for a new 80-room hotel in San Pedro, with 56 parking spaces for drivers, and all of five — count ’em, 5 — spaces for people with bicycles.

A massive new San Diego commercial development will feature just 90 short-term bike racks, along with 90 long-term bike lockers, to compliment nearly 1,400 parking spaces for motor vehicles. Not exactly the way to encourage people to leave their cars at home.

A bike-riding Seattle business owner says he’d rather keep the street parking in front of his cafe and put a planned bike lane somewhere else, evidently preferring his current customers to getting more business from people like him. And before someone says Seattle isn’t Amsterdam, maybe it should be. Then again, so should Los Angeles.

………

Trek’s podcast talks with the founder of Black Girls Do Bike, who deserves the Medal of Freedom. Or sainthood. Or something.

………

Security video captures a Kansas City-area driver plow through a crosswalk without looking, and right into a bicyclist riding in it.

Then the police ticket the driver, as well as both bike riders for not waiting for the walk signal even though they had the green light.

………

Former Top Gear host James May calls on drivers to live in peace with fellow road users, and not “buy into the anti-cycling thing.”

https://twitter.com/SafeCyclingEire/status/1158470770110189569?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1158470770110189569&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2F265136-live-blog-dont-buy-anti-cycling-thing-james-may-tells-drivers-stop-worrying

………

Local

The LA Weekly goes on a bicycle pastry tour through LA’s Fairfax District and points east. And gives a shout out to former Flying Pigeon owner Josef Bray-Ali’s popular Get Some Dim Sum rides. 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton explains LA’s wonky and acronym-heavy shift from LOS to VMT, saying it’s “likely to have big ramifications for making L.A. healthier, more walkable, more bikeable, and transit-friendly.”

Plans to redevelop the aging South Bay Galleria include what are obliquely described as “bicycle connections,” whatever that means in real life.

No need for guilt when you attend a track cycling race at the VELO Sports Center on the complex that houses Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, which Los Angeles Magazine calls the world’s most sustainable soccer facility, right down to its fleet of cruiser bikes for workers to traverse the expansive grounds.

 

State

In today’s faux soap opera report, ebikes have infiltrated the Real Housewives of Orange County, as Kelly Dodd presents her plastic surgeon boyfriend with a William Shatner-approved Pedego. And no, I had no idea who Dodd is, or anyone else on the show for that matter. But hey, good taste in gift giving.

A man was shot in the hand by a bike-jacker just after dark on bike path in the San Pasqual area near Escondido; he was shot as he raised his hands after the armed thief jumped out from behind some rocks and demanded his bicycle.

Everyone was on their best behavior as thousands of people turn out for Santa Barbara’s long-running Fiesta Cruiser Ride, after police cracked down on previous rides.

These are difficult days for local bike shops trying to compete in today’s online shopping world, as demonstrated by two bike shops closing in San Luis Obispo in just the last week.

The Davis Enterprise offers a quartet of stories celebrating the US Bicycling Hall of Fame on its 10th birthday, calling it the most bikey thing about the bike-mad town and part of the fabric of the community, while noting that the hall may shift gears in the future.

 

National

If anyone is shocked that Uber and Lyft are making traffic congestion worse, you need to get out more. But at least they finally admit it.

Ebike price continue to drop, as Electrek and Verge like the new Swagtron EB12 city bike, which checks in at penny under $1,000; the best part is it looks like an actual bicycle. And hopefully rides that way.

Great idea. A new bike light currently crowdfunding online offers dual lights, with one forward-facing 500 lumen LED to light the road, and another back-facing LED to make the rider more visible to drivers.

C|net compares a pair of low cost GoPro alternatives to the real thing.

A pair of cancer survivors just rode 4,000 miles across the US to promote bone marrow donations and raise $24,000 for the organization that helped save their own lives.

The mountain bike front derailleur isn’t dead yet, it’s just 90% off.

Hats off to a Boise, Idaho pawnshop owner, who helped bust a serial bike thief trying to unload $40,000 worth of bicycles reportedly stolen in Washington, California, Nevada, Florida, Colorado, Virginia, and North Carolina.

After 45 years, savage serial killer Ted Bundy’s last case was finally closed, 45 years after he took the life of a young Colorado woman as she was out for a bike ride.

A Kansas man is on trial for aggravated battery for critically injuring MMA fighter Carmella James while she was riding her bicycle to work; police believe he was under the influence, but don’t appear to have tested him.

A San Antonio TX bike rider was shot in the back in a drive-by.

An Arkansas bicycle coordinator says bike helmets are great, but mandatory helmet laws aren’t.

Yes, 288-pound NFL star JJ Watt replaced a young Green Bay Packers fan’s bicycle, after breaking the boy’s bike riding it to training camp.

Broadway actor Noah Galvin is one of us, riding along Manhattan’s Riverfront Park when he’s not performing in the hit show Waitress.

It takes a humongous schmuck to steal not one, not two, but three ghost bikes dedicated to a Virginia woman’s sister, who calls them a powerful symbol of a life lost.

A North Carolina city legalizes riding on the sidewalk as a stopgap measure until they get a planned bike lane network installed, recognizing that their streets aren’t currently safe for people on bicycles. On the other hand, riding on the sidewalk usually isn’t any safer; in fact, it usually increases your risk due to limited sight lines.

They get it. In a New Orleans podcast, bike advocates say we’ll have peace on the road when everyone has a piece of the road; meanwhile, the host of the podcast says progress on the city’s bike network is “worth the inconvenience of adapting to it.” I like him already.

 

International

No bias here. European truck drivers say they’ll give bike riders a safe passing distance as long as we’re required to wear hi-vis and and use daytime lights.

The family of a fallen London bike rider call for safer streets after the pioneering physician was fatally doored last September.

WTF? A local UK council gets an injunction preventing bike riders from meeting or congregating at a new cycling café. Which raises the obvious question of what exactly is the point of a cycling café if cyclists can’t use it. And if you bump into someone there who also rides a bike, does one of you have to leave?

The former Posh Spice is one of us, as she goes for a bike ride on a romantic Italian getaway with husband David Beckham and their four kids.

Travel and Leisure says the best way to see the scenic Swiss countryside is by bicycle, even if you’re a beginning rider.

A Luxembourg website lists the most common traffic violations for the country’s bicyclists, while noting that bike riders were only held accountable for 40% of bike crashes. The question is how many drivers were ticketed for the same crashes.

News reports question whether the president of Turkmenistan is suffering from a serious illness — or worse — despite recent news clips showing him riding and participating in other activities, which could have been outtakes from previous clips.

 

Competitive Cycling

Underscoring the danger pro cyclists face on a daily basis, the director of the Tour de Pologne, aka Tour of Poland, blames the tragic death of 22-year old Belgian cyclist Bjorg Lambrecht on a single “moment of hesitation.”

Yesterday’s stage of the Tour of Poland was transformed to a solemn memorial procession with the peloton riding in Lambrecht’s honor.

A writer for Cycling Weekly recalls the pivotal role Lambrecht played in an extraordinary day of racing at a U-23 race trough the Pyrenees.

Cycling Tips questions how long on-and-off road cycling champ Mathieu van der Poel can keep up his torrid pace.

Who says women can’t compete with the men? Twenty-four-year old German cancer researcher Fiona Kolbinger became the first woman to win the European Transcontinental Race, covering 2,485 miles across the continent in just 10 days, two hours and 48 minutes to beat 265 other riders. And it was her first bike race.

Finally…

This is what you might call an epic bike lane fail. Take your pooch on a Jump bike ride.

And we’ll just end on this one without comment.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: A little good news, new NoHo Metro Bikes but no Lankershim bike lanes, and anti-bike Redondo official

August 6, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: A little good news, new NoHo Metro Bikes but no Lankershim bike lanes, and anti-bike Redondo official

After recent events, I think we could all use a little good news to start the day.

After an Indiana woman’s bicycle, which was her only form of transportation, was stolen, a pair of kindhearted Indiana bike cops gave her an extra bicycle one of them had at home.

A Maine bike co-op allows new immigrants and low-income residents to earn a bicycle by learning how to refurbish and repair it.

Thanks to a Virginia nonprofit founded by a US Army vet, 21 special needs kids now have new adaptive bicycles to ride.

And hats off to a couple Georgia cops who spotted a 71-year old man riding his bike on a busy highway without any lights or reflectors to get something to eat. So they put his bike in a patrol car, drove him to the restaurant, then went to Walmart to buy safety gear for his bike.

Photo of bike-riding family by Brett Sayles from Pexels.

………

On the local front, the good news is Metro Bike has made its first appearance in North Hollywood.

The bad news is, we could have had a safe place to ride them if CD2 Councilmember Paul Krekorian hadn’t blocked plans for a lane reduction and parking-protected bike lanes on Lankershim Blvd.

Krekorian killed the fully funded and shovel ready plan two years ago, bizarrely claiming that the project needed more public outreach.

As if five years of meetings, workshops and pop-up bike lanes isn’t enough.

And someone should tell him we’re still waiting on the additional public outreach and those alternative Lankershim options he promised us.

Or maybe Krekorian is just waiting until he’s termed out of office and it becomes someone else’s problem.

………

Nothing like a Redondo Beach official finding a little humor in running your ass over for no apparent reason.

Except maybe people commuting, exercising, recreating or having fun just annoys the crap out of her.

https://twitter.com/carsonblume/status/1158477368077377536

That would be this Recreation & Parks Commission, in case you were wondering.

………

This is who we share the roads with.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

………

The Green Bay Packers take their traditional bike ride to training camp, borrowing bicycles from little kids, who carry their helmets for them.

Unfortunately for one kid’s bike, the Houston Texans joined them.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

Someone is shoving people off their bicycles on Portland OR bike paths.

………

Local

The LA Bicycle Advisory Committee will meet in Hollywood tonight; unfortunately, the posted agenda here is from December — 2018.

LA City Planning announces that LOS, which measures how many cars can move through a given point, is out, and VMT, or Vehicle Miles Traveled, is in; the latter counts people on bikes and buses, too.

Adam Conover, host of TruTV’s Adam Ruins Everything talks about living carfree in the City of Angels, and how it’s cars that actually ruin everything.

A Frogtown artist bought a small slice of the LA River to give himself a bigger voice in plans to restore it.

The last candidate forum for next week’s special election in LA’s 12th Council District will be held in Chatsworth Wednesday night. You owe it to yourself to be there if you live in CD12. Unless you’ve already decided to vote for Bike the Vote LA and LA Times-approved Loraine Lundquist, in which case you have my permission to stay home tomorrow night.

Los Angeles County puts forth a sustainability plan for a carbon-free county by 2050. Which could be about 30 years too late. Then again, the way things are going on the international front, the long-sought solution to global warming may turn out to be a nuclear winter.

 

State

Camarillo is starting work on a road widening project to add bike lanes on Pleasant Valley Road.

San Diego bike riders turn out to support plans for protected bike lanes on 30th Street; however, some in the area evidently prefer parking spaces to more customers and saving lives.

A San Jose driver complains that she right hooked a bike rider and was actually held responsible for it. And columnist Mr. Roadshow says that’s because she was. Thanks to Robert Leone for the link.

A San Francisco newspaper watches a bike lane for 30 minutes just before rush hour, and observes drivers blocking it an average of once per minute.

No bias here. A bike-riding Sausalito marketing flack says all the people in his neighborhood “resent the awful attitudes, rude demeanor and reckless actions” of roving packs of scofflaw cyclists who terrorize the city at speeds of up to 50 mph.

A popular Sacramento riverfront bike path will be shut down for a month to realign the path and repair a damaged embankment. Someone might want to point that out to officials in Los Angeles, where repairs to the LA River bike path are usually measured in years.

 

National

Bicycling recommends a more comfortable bike seat for women, who have to sit on often-painful parts men don’t.

A Washington columnist says yes, it’s legal to ride a bike on a freeway in the state, which doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

For the second week in a row, a triathlete has been killed during a competition, this time a 68-year old man who crashed his bike in an Illinois race.

Sad news from Minnesota, where an off-duty cop was killed when he was rear-ended by a driver while riding his bicycle.

There’s a special place in hell for the hit-and-run driver who killed a nine-year old Gary, Indiana boy as he was riding his bike, then burned the car to hide the evidence.

Police and the press in upstate New York freak out over a group of around 60 kids on bicycles riding in the roadway. And by all reports, taking the lane just like they should.

A New York op-ed says the way to stop the recent rash of bicycling deaths is to do what it takes to cut the number of cars on the streets.

Bike Snob says New York Mayor and presidential candidate Bill di Blasio’s “audacious” plan to prevent bicycling deaths just isn’t enough.

The University of Virginia offers suggestions on how to stay safe while you’re riding your bike. And for a change, most of them make sense.

The bike rider killed in a collision with a pickup truck driver during a Mississippi charity ride was a respected structural engineer for the U.S. Army Engineer and Research Development Center.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution presents six of the city’s best bike trails for your next journey to the Peach State.

Surprisingly, it’s pretty easy riding in the Big Easy these days, as the city ranks  fifth in the US in bike commuting per capita, with 3% of people riding to work. Needless to say, Los Angeles didn’t the list.

 

International

Forbes‘ Carlton Reid offers advice on the easy way to teach your kid to ride a bike.

Here’s another one to add to your bike bucket list — a 400-mile network of dramatic British Columbia rail-to-trail conversions, including 18 former railroad trestles in just one 12-mile stretch.

It takes a massive asshole — and I use the term advisedly — to sell an apparently purloined UK ghost bike online. Or anywhere else, for that matter.

A British author says narrow bike lane traffic islands turn bike riders into human traffic calming islands.

 

Competitive Cycling

In a heartbreaking reminder that cycling is a dangerous sport, 22-year old Belgian pro Bjorg Lambrecht, a member of the Lotto-Soudal team, was killed yesterday while competing in the Tour of Poland.

Lambrecht reportedly fell into a concrete culvert 60 miles from the finish of Monday’s stage, and died during surgery after being resuscitated at the scene.

Race organizers cancelled the traditional post-race podiums and festive atmosphere when the news about Lambrecht broke; today’s stage remains in question.

Thanks to John McBrearty for the tip.

Finally…

Bikeshare today, furniture tomorrow. And don’t park in a bike lane, bro — especially if you’re armed and drinking.

 

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