Archive for September 5, 2019

Morning Links: Failing presidential candidate calls for licensing bike riders, and CiclaValley to open LA River segment

September 5, 2019 / / One comment

Not exactly the best way to establish your climate change cred.

The same day CNN held their series of presidential candidate climate change town halls, New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, who didn’t participate, said he’s considering requiring licenses and registration for bike riders.

And if that’s not enough to force New Yorkers back into their cars, forcing bikeshare riders to wear bike helmets should do the trick.

“We have to think about what’s going to be safe for people first, but also what’s going to work,” the mayor said of the helmet requirement. “Is it something we could actually enforce effectively? Would it discourage people from riding bikes? I care first and foremost about safety.”

Although if he truly cared about safety, he’d start by banning motor vehicles from Manhattan. And taking steps to tame them everywhere else.

Questioning whether 4th tier presidential candidate is trying to undermine his own city’s bikeshare system, Streetsblog succinctly captured their take this way —

De Brainless: Mayor Endorses Meritless Helmet and Licensing Requirements for Cyclists

New York’s Daily News summed it up best, though.

Whether or not he moves forward with the license requirement, the mayor said he plans to crack down on cyclists who break traffic laws, despite little evidence suggesting that bikes are a menace to public safety.

Maybe just he’s hoping that attacking people on bikes could boost his presidential poll numbers up to a full one percent.

Mandatory bike helmet photo by malcolm garret from Pexels.

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CiclaValley’s Zachary Rynew will be speaking at the official opening of a new section of the LA River Greenway — aka the LA River bike path — at 10 am today.

Look behind the Coffee Bean if you want to attend.

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You still have time to call your state assembly member to urge the passage of SB 127, the state’s proposed Complete Streets bill.

CA Streetsblog breaks down exactly how Caltrans lied in an attempt to defeat the bill exaggerated its costs in their required estimate to state legislators by hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Meanwhile, Streetsblog profiles new Caltrans Director Adetokunbo Toks Omishakin, saying he has a background in healthy living initiatives, Complete Streets and activite transportation with AASHTO, Nashville and the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

So maybe there’s hope for the agency yet.

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A live streaming bike rider in an undisclosed European city suffered a “brutal cycling accident” when he caught a wheel in some railroad tracks and fell off his bike, suffering a boo boo on his hand.

Maybe they define brutal just a tad differently over there.

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

A Stockton man is under arrest on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon for intentionally using his car to attack a bike rider, who was able to jump off just in time to avoid getting hit; his bike was not as lucky.

The New York man with a long rap sheet arrested for intentionally running down and killing a bike-riding burglar says he was just trying to get close enough to catch the man, and blamed the victim for maybe doing something to mess up his brakes and steering. No, seriously.

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Local

Looks like we won one for a change. Buried in an LA Times story about LA’s self-appointed anti-everything NIMBY extortionists Fix the City suing to halt the city’s Transit Oriented Communities program — which would stop much-needed affordable and market-rate housing — is the news that the group’s challenge to the Los Angeles mobility plan recently failed. That should free the city to finally get started on building bike lanes and safer streets. They should change the group’s name to something else with one more letter that also starts with F, which would be a hell of a lot more accurate.

Hats off to the Eastside Riders for installing a ghost bike for the still unnamed victim of the hit-and-run in South LA earlier this week.

Metro will start using automated cameras on the front of their buses to catch drivers illegally using the Bus Only Lanes. Maybe they could put them on all their buses to catch people parking in bike lanes while they’re at it.

 

State

A 78-year old San Diego man suffered life-threatening injuries when he allegedly rode though an intersection without yielding, and collided with an SUV. As always, the question is whether there were independent witnesses who saw him violate the right-of-way.

Speaking of San Diego, the city is proposing a road diet and bike lanes to tame dangerous Mission Blvd. It’s been 30 years since I lived down there, but Mission was a nightmare for bike riders and pedestrians then, and I doubt it’s gotten any better since.

The San Diego Reader rides the county’s 44-mile Coastal Rail Trail stretching from Oceanside to downtown’s Santa Fe Depot, though not all of it is paved.

Once again, a dangerous pass has taken the life of a bike rider, as a man riding in Fresno County was killed when a driver passed a semi and struck his bicycle head-on as he drove on the wrong side of the road.

The Stanislaus County town of Riverbank is adopting LA’s new permanent memorial signs to honor a fallen bike rider. With a little luck, maybe they will spread throughout the state.

Santa Clara County is considering a paved, 10-mile bicycle superhighway to encourage bike commuting.

Every first and second grader at a San Francisco school got a new bike, thanks to a Colorado nonprofit that’s given away 2,900 bikes to kids in low-income schools across the US. Make that 2,984 now.

 

National

Bicycling considers when, and when not to, wear bike gloves.

Financial website Market Watch considers the best bike helmets under $100. Which could come in handy the next time the stock market crashes.

Speaking of bike helmets, a new study shows drugs, alcohol and not wearing a helmet are frequent factors in e-scooter injuries — even though most of the injuries involved leg, ankle, collarbone, shoulder blade and/or forearm fractures, which bike helmets aren’t likely to prevent. And evidently, dangerous streets and bad drivers don’t play any role at all in e-scooter injuries.

Hit-and-run isn’t just an LA problem anymore. A Denver-area man was killed when his bike was struck by two separate drivers, both of whom fled the scene, three minutes apart; police found what they believe is the first vehicle Wednesday afternoon.

A Minnesota woman got a minor miracle when someone spotted her stolen bike for sale on Facebook, and she arranged to meet the seller so police could swoop in and make the arrest. Which is exactly the right way to do it, without putting yourself at needless risk.

A researcher at an Ohio university used kitty litter panniers on her bike to ride around town and prove that squirrels eavesdrop on birds to tell when it’s safe to come out and find their nuts. Those are the same panniers my brother is currently using on his epic bike tour down the left coast, though I don’t believe he’s planning to eavesdrop on birds, squirrels or anything else.

Forget parking. The newest argument against a bike lane bordering New York’s Central Park is that it would cause problems for carriage drivers and their horses. Because really, what could be more romantic than forcing bike riders to contend with impatient drivers?

Police are looking for a Florida man who rode up to a bike shop on his bicycle, then left it behind and rode off with a customer’s $11,000 bike that had been left for service.

Apparently tiring of telling kids to get off his lawn, an anonymous Florida columnist says bikeshare bikes are an eyesore, and it’s a bicyclist’s own damn fault for whatever it was that happened to him. Or her.

 

International

A British woman had been up all night before she killed a bike rider while driving back home; studies show drowsy driving is as bad, or even worse than, drunk driving.

If there’s a major bike race in front of your building, you might want to hide your rooftop cannabis garden; although under Spanish law, it may or may not be legal.

Successive groups of Indian bike riders rode around the world nearly a century ago, each one inspiring the next — despite encounters with elephant herds and Amazon headhunters. Or deciding to drop out and stay in America.

Tokyo considers a government proposal to sort-of require bike riders to carry liability insurance, but without a penalty if they don’t.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews says it was mixed results for the US team at the Mountain Bike World Championships, marked by grit and close calls, but no results. Admit it, you didn’t even know the mtn bike worlds took place over the weekend. Well, I didn’t, anyway.

USA Cycling hired former Olympic silver medalist and world champion Mari Holden to coach the women’s road cycling team leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

 

Finally…

Nothing will encourage you to practice sprints like someone chasing you down the street waving a machete. What is it with bike-riding people — okay, men — wacking off in public lately?

And when your near drowning is captured on live TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrelT6fp_BE

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

Longtime bicycle industry executive Chad Peterson died following Labor Day bike crash near Ortega Highway

September 5, 2019 / / 2 comments

Trade industry publication Bicycle Retailer and Industry News is reporting that Chad Peterson, Chief Operating Officer and Product Director for mountain bike maker Intense has died following a crash on Labor Day.

According to a press release from the Temecula-based company, Peterson was riding near Ortega Highway on Monday when he somehow became injured. He succumbed to his injuries the following day.

Unfortunately, no details are available. It’s not known at this time if he was injured while riding offroad, which seems most likely, or in some other way.

Chad Peterson originally entered the bike industry as a bike mechanic following college, before starting as a mountain bike product manager for Cannondale in 1999.

He moved to Intense nearly six years ago, following stops at Patagonia, Brooks England, Selle Royal and Crankbrothers.

He leaves behind his wife of 20 years, as well as two sons, the oldest of whom is a recent Marine Corp recruit.

This is how the company’s press release summed up their loss, concluding with Peterson’s favorite quote.

Chad’s strong spirit will live on in our memories,” stated Jeff Steber, INTENSE founder and CEO. “He lived his life INTENSE and his drive for cycling inspired the majority of the bikes created since his arrival. There is no person that represents INTENSE For Life in a better way than Chad has. He felt like our Superman here—always invincible—and his passing will continue to not seem real.

“It’s all OK in the end. If it is not OK, it is not the end!”

This is at least the 46th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year.

It’s unclear at this time if Peterson was injured while riding in Orange County or Riverside County; it would either be the eighth bicycling death in Orange County, or the seventh in Riverside.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Chad Peterson and all his family and loved ones.

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: Hit-and-run is worse than you think, bad pedestrian advice, and call to support CA Complete Streets bill

September 4, 2019 / / One comment

Today’s common theme is hit-and-run in the City of Fallen Angels.

Curbed considers the problem of drivers who flee crashes in Los Angeles, noting that less than one percent of drivers who flee the scene of an injury crash are ever convicted of a felony.

Meanwhile, Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman offers a hard-hitting photo essay examining the human toll of hit-and-runs, concluding like this —

Our streets are full of too many memorials.

Whether they be traffic-related or gun-related or manifest in the sheer number of folks living on the street, there’s too much evidence of how little we care for our fellow Angelenos, particularly those on the margins.

Too much evidence of how little we are willing to expend to make their lives even just the tiniest bit less fraught.

Both of those come the same day news broke of yet another bike rider was left to die alone in the streets, a 50-something man run down as he was crossing the street after collecting cans in South LA.

By all appearances, just another one of those Angelenos living on the margins that Sulaiman referred to.

But the simple fact is, we’re dying out here — rich and poor, bike riders, pedestrians and, yes, even drivers. And no one is doing a goddam thing about it.

Yes, our elected leaders talk about it, and make endless promises to do something.

But talk is cheap.

Speaking strictly for myself, I’m sick and tired of waiting for the day when our elected officials care enough to actually do something to keep drivers from fleeing the scenes, instead of futilely trying to track them down after the fact.

Let alone the day when our city leaders finally take our hard-won bike plan off the shelf and build the fucking thing.

And don’t even get me started on the city’s ludicrous lack of action on Vision Zero, as that promised 20% drop in traffic deaths the first year has turned into a continually rising curve.

As someone else pointed out, there’s no need to flee a crash that never happened in the first place.

I don’t have the answers. Lord knows, I wish I did.

I’ve offered my own suggestions to bring an end to hit-and-runs once and for all, which have been presented to state legislators. And forgotten in less time than it took to explain.

But someone has to come up with an answer, maybe more than one.

Now.

Because the problem is only getting worse.

And I don’t want your loved ones, or mine, to be the next ones left to die alone on the streets.

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Seriously, the Culver City PD’s hearts may be in the right place, but their advice to pedestrians seriously sucks.

Simply put, no one is going to walk blocks out of their way for a crosswalk if there isn’t one where they need to cross.

Nor should you have to dress up like a clown during the day, or light yourself up at night just to attract the attention of drivers who probably won’t see you anyway because their noses are illegally buried in their phones.

While people should pay attention crossing the streets — or just walking on the sidewalk, for that matter — no one has shown that distracted walking is a significant cause of traffic deaths and injuries, here or anywhere else.

And I’d much rather see someone walking after getting drunk or stoned than getting behind the wheel. Or in or on any other personal transportation device.

And yes, that includes a bicycle. Although even that is far better than driving.

Maybe next time they can try a little harder, and not just reprint AAA’s seriously windshield-biased talking points.

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Semi-frequent contributor Mike Wilkinson asked me to urge you to contact your state legislator to support SB 127, the Complete Streets Bill that would require Caltrans to consider the needs of all road users whenever they rework a state-owned or managed roadway.

But since he already did, I’ll let Mike do it.

https://twitter.com/OCBiking/status/1169049247318040576

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BBC presenter and bike rider Jeremy Vine sends a video message to his local council, politely pointing out the need for safer streets.

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A new video from Patagonia traces how mountain biking saved the California gold rush town on Downieville.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on coming.

No bias here. An Oklahoma country DJ says yes, bicyclists have a right to the road, unless they get in his way or slow him down, in which case he reserves the right to throw ball bearings at them, or crash into a group ride because he somehow thinks several humans on bikes will cause less damage to his pickup than hitting an animal.

A Maryland man was the victim of a drive-by dooring, as the passengers in a passing car intentionally doored him as he rode his bike, then got out and beat him as he lay on the ground. All just to steal a pack of cigarettes.

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Local

The LA Times considers LA’s new Rainbow Halo project, which will place colored disks at the site of traffic fatalities to cast a rainbow on the sidewalk below, as part of the city’s Vision Zero program. So we can’t get road diets or safe bike lanes, but we’ll try to stop drivers from killing people with rainbows. Maybe they couldn’t find any unicorns, so they’re hoping to attract leprechauns.

Sadly, West Hollywood’s WeHo Pedals has gone to that great bikeshare in the sky.

 

State

Congratulations, Los Angeles. According to a new study, LA doesn’t suck as much to drive in as Oakland or San Francisco, coming in at a surprising 93rd among the top 100 American cities for ease of driving; our state mates to the north checked in at 99th and 97th, respectively.

 

National

As usual, Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss gets it, insisting people on bikes and on foot are natural allies in the battle for safer streets, even if cars have driven us apart.

Bicycling looks at the new rules that will allow ebike riders on many national park and BLM trails; Fast Company says not everyone is convinced that’s a good idea.

They get it, too. Seattle votes to include protected bike lanes on any paving project costing over $1 million, and build 3,000 bike parking racks by the end of next year.

A Colorado bike shop owner explains the effects Trump’s tariffs are likely to have on his business after he’s forced to raise retail prices to cover them.

There are worse ways to mark your 66th birthday than riding a 66-year old Bottecchia ten speed down Route 66 through Oklahoma. Except for the part where he drives part way before getting out and riding for awhile. Although anyone who would abase himself by riding in a car when he has a sweet piece of Italian steel like that really doesn’t deserve it anyway.

Cooler heads prevailed in Schenectady NY, as the city council voted down a proposal to seize bicycles belonging to teenagers accused of “reckless” trick riding, concluding it was “a little extreme” and could haunt the kids later.

Sounds like fun. Buffalo NY will mark the 100th anniversary of the Great Steel Strike with a bike ride touring the sites made famous in 1919 by the men who led America’s largest labor strike, and the violent response they were met with in return.

Talk about keeping a dangerous driver on the roads. A 41-year old New York ex-con faces a murder charge for intentionally killing a bike-riding bandit with his SUV, after the victim had tried to break into cars and threatened a couple with a screwdriver. The victim had an extensive rap sheet with 38 previous arrests, which his killer easily topped with a whopping 42 priors. Clearly, New York doesn’t have a three strikes law, or both of these guys could have been safely behind bars already.

New York advocates says the problem isn’t that protected bike lanes take up too much space, it’s that the city’s vehicles are too damn big.

A Louisiana man faces a murder charge for shooting a suspected bike thief in the head as he was riding off on the shooter’s bike, then simply leaving him there and walking away.

 

International

An Ottawa columnist says bicyclists and drivers both need to develop more empathy for one another, adding that bike riders need to be more predictable when they ride, while motorists need to be more understanding.

New Atlas says Czech automaker Škoda is rolling out a new pedal-less throttle-controlled 28 mph ebike concept that looks pretty, but you probably wouldn’t want to ride it.

Writing for Cycling Tips, an anonymous Iranian bicyclist explains what it’s like to defy the country’s fatwa against women riding bikes.

Apparently, it’s not just an American problem. Even authorities in ostensibly polite Japan are looking for solutions to the rising rate of road rage incidents. My apologies, I lost track of who brought this to my attention today. But thank you anyway.

Thailand’s roads remain among the deadliest in the world, especially for the poor; only war-afflicted Libya is worse.

A Malaysian newspaper says e-scooters aren’t helping the environment after all, as a German study shows they replace more environmentally friendly bicycle trips.

 

Competitive Cycling

A former lower-rung pro cyclist recalls all the dietary myths that were passed down like revelations from the gods among racing teams.

 

Finally…

When you really, really don’t like seeing naked people on bicycles — and bikeshare seats, in particular. Into each life a little rain must fall, but apparently, a little Cat 5 storm is just too much for a charity ride.

And a tip of the Stetson to that Okie DJ we mentioned earlier, who somehow thought this cool pre-war bike safety video was a slam against modern bike riders.

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Thanks to Matthew Robertson for his generous monthly donation to help support this site, and keep SoCal’s best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

Any donation is always welcome, in any amount, and for any reason.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

Man killed by hit-and-run driver while walking bike across street in South LA

September 3, 2019 / / 2 comments

Yet another bike rider has been murdered by a heartless coward on the mean streets of Los Angeles.

According to KABC-2, the victim was struck by a driver around 11:50 pm last night near 92nd Street and Grape Avenue in the Florence-Graham neighborhood of South LA.

The driver fled the scene, apparently without stopping, leaving his victim to die in the street.

The victim, publicly identified only as a man in his 50s, was dead by the time first responders arrived.

KCBS-2 provides more details, reporting that the victim was walking his bike across the street, though it’s unclear whether he was crossing 92nd or Grape.

He was found surrounded by aluminum cans, leading police to conclude he made his living by recycling them.

There’s no information available on the suspect or his or her vehicle at this time, and it was unclear which direction the driver fled.

It seems likely the victim was crossing 92nd, since it’s a through street, which would enable the driver to travel at high speed at that hour; 92nd has two lanes with a center left turn lane and bike lanes in each direction, while Grape is an unlined residential street that dead ends into 92nd.

The crash comes barely over 24 hours after Frank Mendez messaged to say he witnessed the aftermath of another crash just half a mile away at 92nd and Compton, suggesting a major safety problem on the street; fortunately, the victim did not appear to be seriously injured in that collision.

This is at least the 45th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 19th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; it’s also the ninth in the City of Los Angeles.

At least six of those deaths in the county have resulted in hit-and-runs, half of which occurred below the 10 Freeway.

Yet city, county and state officials have done virtually nothing to halt hit-and-runs, even though a recent report found only 1% of LA hit-and-runs result in a conviction.

And meanwhile, we are literally being left to bleed — if not die — in the streets.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his loved ones.

Thanks to Sean Meredith for the heads-up.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Permanent memorial for young Valley bicyclist, Aussie distracted driving cams, and more NY anti-bike bias

September 3, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Permanent memorial for young Valley bicyclist, Aussie distracted driving cams, and more NY anti-bike bias

One tragic note before we get started.

I’m told that a man from Altadena has been gravely injured in an apparent solo fall while riding with a friend in the Northern California backcountry.

The victim is currently being treated in a Bay Area hospital for severe neck, spine and brain injuries.

I’m withholding his name and other details for now out of respect for his family and their privacy.

But prayers or best wishes are definitely in order.

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He gets it.

Bike advocates rededicated the ghost bike for 15-year old Sebastian Montero, who was killed by a speeding driver while riding his bike in Woodland Hills on Easter Sunday last year.

The ceremony also saw the installation of the city’s first permanent marker honoring a fallen bicyclist, one of up to 20 per year the city will install with a reminder to drive safely.

Photo from Councilmember Bob Blumenfield’s Twitter account

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield struck the right tone, reminding the small audience about the big hole Montero’s death left in the lives of everyone around him.

And that a simple sign wasn’t going to fix anything.

“The signs themselves are wonderful,” said Blumenfield. “[But] they’re not going to solve our problems with people dying on the roads.”

It will take a renewed commitment to Vision Zero by the people elected to serve all of us — not just the people in the big, dangerous machines.

And a willingness on their part to stand up to NIMBYs and angry drivers that has been sorely lacking in the city in recent years.

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Great idea.

Inspired by the death of his friend James Rapley, the Australian bike rider killed on Temescal Canyon while on a layover at LAX six years ago, an Aussie entrepreneur has developed an automated camera system designed to capture drivers illegally using a handheld cellphone.

The automated cameras from Acusensus are designed to work like red light or speed cameras to provide photographic proof of the driver breaking the law, along with the license of the car.

Presumably, tickets would follow in the mail.

It would likely require a change in the law to use them in California, where red light cameras are allowed at local discretion, but speed cameras are currently prohibited.

However, it should withstand privacy concerns, since there is no legal expectation of privacy for anything that is readily visible in public.

Although the state’s overly entitled drivers would likely rise up to complain, just like too many do over any attempt to hold motorists accountable and keep them from breaking the law.

But there are few things the state could do virtually overnight that would have a greater impact on safety and do more to save lives.

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No bias here.

The bike-hating New York Post says bike riders are killing pedestrians, and accuses the city of not doing anything to stop it.

Then they go on to explain there were seven pedestrian deaths in the last nine years — something works out to less than one a year, along with another 250 injured each year.

While one death is one too many, the paper doesn’t bother to mention how many bike riders were injured or killed in crashes with pedestrians.

Never mind who was actually at fault in those crashes.

And as anyone who has ever had a pedestrian step out into bike lane without looking, or turn suddenly in front of your bike can tell you, it ain’t necessarily the person on two wheels.

Nor do they bother to put it all in perspective by citing the 100-plus pedestrians killed by motorists each year.

Which only works out to a margin of slightly 100 to one, anyway. Making it pretty damn clear who represents the real danger to people walking.

But who cares about facts if it sells newspapers.

Right?

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Speaking of which, a New York study shows zombie pedtextrians isn’t really a thing after all.

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Go for a Monday mountain bike ride with the great Peter Sagan.

But maybe drop a little dramamine first.

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Thanks to Sgt. Helper for forwarding video of a bike-riding nun who could probably drop most of us.

Well, me anyway.

https://twitter.com/TrumpPatriotPL/status/1167874990810648577

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Local

Hats off to LAPD officer Andrew Gonzalez, who rode his bike 300 miles from LA to Stanislaus County to deliver a flag to the family of a fallen Newman police officer who was killed during a traffic stop last year.

Katherine Schwarzenegger and Chris Pratt are two of us, as they enjoy married life on a mountain bike ride in Los Angeles.

NoHo’s Chandler Bikeway is set to get $1.2 million in improvements. None of which is apparently aimed at improving safety for bike riders.

E-scooters are officially banned in the ‘Bu.

The Daily Breeze recounts the story of deadly Vista Del Mar, including the failed 2017 attempt to install a road diet, which was ripped out when drivers insisted on their God-given right to go zoom zoom even if it keeps killing people.

 

State

A San Diego woman suffered severe head trauma when a driver leaving a parking lot smashed into her bike as she rode on the sidewalk. Yet another example of why riding a bicycle on the sidewalk isn’t as safe as most people think.

After a Murrietta boy was hit by a car while riding his bike, the kindhearted people at Target gave him a new one.

Sad news from Bakersfield, where a 56-year old bike rider died after allegedly making an abrupt left turn into the path of a pickup driver.

San Jose police bust ten suspects in a series of burglaries targeting bike shops, as well as construction sites and school districts in the Bay Area.

A San Jose columnist goes for the jugular, arguing that a bike rider killed in a head-on collision on popular Mount Diablo would be alive today if parks officials hadn’t ignored a judge’s 27-year old order to improve the roadway. Thanks to Robert Leone for the link.

Officials identified the victim in last week’s fatal hit-and-run in East San Jose as a 44-year old San Jose man. Thanks to Ralph Durham and Robert Leone for the heads-up.

Indicating a total misunderstanding of what speed limits are for, a Santa Rosa-area letter writer says drivers should be required to drive the speed limit, and bike riders should get the hell out of the way so they don’t slow down the more important people in cars. Just like drivers, bicyclists are required to pull over when safe to do so if there are five or more vehicles stuck behind them and unable to pass; the law does not apply if there are two or more lanes in each direction, or if the people can safely pass them.

Three new members were named to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in Davis; the trio will be inducted November 2nd.

A Eureka woman was busted for trying to pass a phony $100 bill at a bike shop to buy a bicycle for…wait for it…$5.46. Sound like maybe she was getting a fake bike for her fake money, anyway.

 

National

New rules for the national parks system would allow ebikes on any trails other bicycles are allowed on, providing new access to the wilderness for older or less able-bodied riders.

Buzzfeed says Amazon’s next day delivery is bringing chaos and carnage to America’s streets, while the company avoids responsibility for the harm they’re causing.

New street design guidelines from the American Society for Landscape Architecture show why inclusive cities start with safe streets.

Guarantee your kid wins playtime at the park with his or her very own Harley-Davidson e-balance bike.

Portland police finally busted the bike thief who stole a 69-year old man’s $11,000 bicycle in a strong-arm robbery in July; a friend of the victim had filmed the thief riding it shortly after the theft.

A hit-and-run bike rider rode over the hind leg of an eight-month old Labradoodle puppy on an Idaho greenbelt, snapping it in two, then simply rode off. Which makes him no less of a cowardly a-hole than any heartless hit-and-run driver. Schmuck.

Kansas City MO develops the usual factions in the fight over bike lanes, as advocates argue for improving safety and boosting local businesses, while opponents fear harm to businesses and want to keep their dangerous streets just the way they are.

A Texas man refuses to take no for an answer after doctors told him he’d never ride a bike again when he lost his leg in a horseback riding accident, completing a 168-mile ride on a prosthetic leg he designed and built himself.

An 18-year old girl rode 550 miles on a tandem bike with her father from Chicago to Toronto for her first day of college, while a Flint MI bike shop owner saved the day when they developed a crack in their tandem’s steering tube.

More proof hit-and-run isn’t just a California thing, as Chicago police are looking for the heartless coward who slammed into a mountain bike rider, and left him to die on the side of the road. Thanks to Art S for the tip.

After a legally blind Indiana man’s bike was stolen, a friend spotted it on someone else’s porch and stole it back.

Congratulations to Ohio officials for keeping a dangerous driver on the roads until he killed someone. The alleged drunk driver who killed a bicyclist on Saturday had been charged with driving while impaired seven years ago, but prosecutors pled it down to a single count of reckless driving with a small fine; the victim was chief counsel to a former Ohio governor. Which means his blood is on their hands.

A driveway vigilante is under arrest after a New York driver took the law into his own hands, deliberately slamming his SUV into the screwdriver-toting bike rider he suspected of breaking into his vehicle, and killing him.

New York’s former parks commissioner says bike and pedestrian traffic in Central Park has become so chaotic and dangerous due to its growing popularity and lack of pedestrian and cycling safety infrastructure that he won’t ride his bike there anymore.

An op-ed in the New York Daily News says sure, bikes are all fine and good, but the city’s Belmont neighborhood needs its parking. Unlike, say, every other neighborhood that says the same thing, until they find out they’re actually better off with more bikes and fewer cars.

Need a haircut? A bike-riding New York barber says he’ll go anywhere to cut hair, traveling from Machu Picchu to Tokyo.

Now that’s more like it. A Philadelphia man is suing a delivery company for repeatedly blocking a bike lane, as well as the city’s parking authority for failing to enforce it.

A Delaware man who is “hardly a bike-phobe” says they’ve already had several bike riders killed in the area, and its totally the fault of those careless, lawbreaking vacationers on bicycles.

An op-ed in the Washington Post says we can have an enormous impact on improving our cities by making it easier to ride a bike and harder to drive a car.

Life is cheap in Virginia, where a woman walks without a single day behind bars despite a conviction for reckless driving in the death of a man riding his bicycle.

A new Clemson University study confirms that daytime taillights can significantly improve your safety. Speaking strictly for myself, I’ve had far fewer close calls since I’ve started riding with multiple taillights and an ultrabright headlight during the day. As much as it really pisses me off to have to do it. 

 

International

London is changing building design rules for skyscrapers to reduce the wind tunnel effect for bicyclists.

A British writer calls for taming the automotive hegemony on our streets by banning all car advertising.

Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden is one of us, too, going for a casual ride with her two daughters.

A new study shows cargo bikes are more efficient than delivery vans in urban areas, so the UK government put its money on…flying taxis.

It’s a long, long way to Tipperary, and an Irish columnist just wishes you’d show a little respect and use your bike bell on the way there.

Yet another study confirms the safety in numbers effect, as a new Belgian study shows motorists will adjust how they drive in relation to the number of bicyclists on the street.

South African police ended a nearly two-year reign of terror when they arrested a Zimbabwean man for murdering a bike rider and a hiker in a national park, as well as eight other nonfatal stabbings and muggings.

A New Zealand charity refurbishes bicycles to give to refugees, and teaches the recipients how to ride them, giving them new hope in the process.

An Aussie op-ed says just painting bike lanes on a street and assuming bicyclists will be safe and motivated to use them is delusional, and does nothing to encourage more people to give bike riding a try.

The Philippines considers a bill that would require elected officials to use public transport. We need something like that here, like requiring officials — elected and otherwise — to walk, bike or use transit at least once a week.

 

Competitive Cycling

A “crazy week” ends at the Vuelta with yet another leader change.

Cyclist looks at the winners and losers in the Vuelta’s first week, while Cycling Weekly confines itself to five talking points from stage 9.

One of those losers was Tejay van Garderen, who was forced to drop out with a broken finger following a crash on Thursday.

Rouleur considers how tiny Slovenia rose to the top of the cycling world.

A Mexican cyclist got a two-year ban after getting busted for doping. But the doping era is completely and totally over, right?

Once again, a bike rider is a hero, as a bicyclist competing in a Russian bike race loses control and veers off the course, but grabs a little girl to protect her as he falls.

Finally…

Yes, a bike lane can save your life the next time you inhale a wasp while riding. If you’re going to take your loaded shotgun into Home Depot, at least get off your bike first.

And don’t toss trash out the window of your chrome-covered Lambo.

Especially if there’s a bicyclist around.

………

One final note. 

This is exactly how I feel when I post most mornings. Now if I could only figure out how to include a decent bottle of booze as a downloadable attachment.

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