The East Coast edition of AAA reminds drivers that the biannual time change can leave motorists even more discombobulated on the roads than usual.
Seriously.
The Monday after the time change — aka this Monday — is one of the most dangerous days, and especially nights, on our streets.
Which means if you’ll be riding, be sure to use extra caution and ride defensively. And use your lights.
In other words, ride like your life depends on it. Because it does.
Photo by bruce mars from Pexels.
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More big hearts were on display in the bike world this week.
A nonprofit bikemaker in Rapid City SD found a new home when a boat maker offered him free use of their garage after the donated space he was working out of was sold, so he can continue his mission of building custom bikes for disabled children and low income families.
The Madison, Wisconsin police department donated 30 abandoned bicycles to a homeless center to help people in need.
A Pennsylvania pizza shop owner raised over $200 to buy a new bike for a teenage boy who had recently lost his father, after his was stolen while he was picking up some pizzas.
New Zealand police recovered an adaptive ebike, purchased with donations for a 12-year old Syrian refugee who had a leg amputated, after it was stolen from outside his school. Although that doesn’t look like a tricycle to me.
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Who says delivery ebikes are no good in the snow?
Winter is coming. Are you ready for safe, comfy and fun riding on ice and snow? #vikingbiking pic.twitter.com/RGK9ERv7x6
— Velove (@Velovebikes) October 31, 2019
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.
Leave it to Fox News to frame New York’s new $1.7 billion commitment to building protected bike lanes, and San Francisco’s recent pedestrianization of iconic Market Street, as a war on cars. Because evidently, drivers have to have 100% of 100% of the streets 100% of the time.
A Philadelphia public radio station examines how a windshield-biased neighborhood organization successfully managed to block a safe bikeway from being extended into their area.
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Local
The Los Angeles Department of City Planning proposes eliminating minimum parking requirements for new developments in DTLA, which would nearly double the space for new housing downtown.
State
A San Diego County century will take off tomorrow for a ride down PCH, starting from the Oceanside Pier.
The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition introduces Sylvie Froncek as their new program director and education specialist.
San Jose’s road columnist notes that the three-foot passing law doesn’t apply when it’s “impractical,” without apparently noticing that’s the major flaw in the law. That’s thanks to Jerry Brown, who vetoed a provision allowing drivers to briefly cross the center line to pass a bike rider if there’s no conflicting traffic. Even though other states safely allow drivers to do exactly that. And many California drivers do it anyway.
Streetsblog looks at the spread of Dutch-style protected intersections throughout the Bay Area.
National
C|net offers ten tips to safely listen to music when you run or ride. And for a change, they make sense.
An Arizona paper says if you have arthritis, get on your bike.
The US House will vote next week on a bill that would preserve mountain bike access to Colorado trails. And only Colorado trails.
The bike writer for a Minneapolis paper says the Schrader air valve is a simple thing of beauty, while fickle prestas belong on the scrapheap of history. Um, okay.
A Cleveland task force is looking at ways to build equity in the community by narrowing overbuilt streets and creating more pedestrian and bicycle friendly spaces, particularly in low-income communities.
After tearing her hamstring getting run off the road, a Rhode Island elite marathoner starts a safety campaign help pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists coexist on the road.
Brooklyn bicyclists accuse the city of catering to wealthy white bike riders while ignoring people of color, and demand new bike lanes in black communities.
This is what a bike thief looks like in action, as he was caught on security cam cutting the lock on a $1,900 ebike before rolling it away.
A domestic worker for billionaire investor Ron Perelman has been arrested for the drunken crash that killed a Long Island bike rider; she’s one of nearly 100 household employees serving at Perelman’s massive Montauk NY estate.
A DC letter writer complains that the vast majority of people on bicycles are scofflaws. Maybe he’s never noticed his fellow drivers, since drivers and bike riders break the law at about the same rate, but for different reasons. Or that good infrastructure results in better behavior — at least by the people on bikes.
A Florida paper examines why state law doesn’t protect people on bicycles, where killing one isn’t illegal if it’s just an oopsie.
International
Streetsblog says focusing on equity instead of revenue has been the key to making congestion pricing work in Europe.
Here’s a few more for your bike bucket list. The Philadelphia Enquirer recommends a daylong bike trip from Florence, Italy to nearby Siena. Or maybe you’d prefer a ten-day carbon-neutral bike tour to Morocco, Thailand or Vietnam inspired by teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg.
An Indian paper talks with the newly appointed bicycle mayor of Coimbatore, India. Which is exactly one more bike mayor than Los Angeles has.
Vietnam seized $26,000 worth of low-end bicycles destined for the US that were being shipped through the country to avoid Trump’s China tariffs.
Malaysia’s deputy prime minister says the brakeless, modified bicycles favored by many of the country’s teenagers is dangerous and illegal. On the other hand, cars are even more dangerous, and they remain perfectly legal.
Competitive Cycling
A satirical Onion wannabe takes a backhand swipe at masters age group track champ Rachel McKinnon with a story about a record-shattering motorcyclist who identifies as a bicyclist.
Finally…
Nothing like hacking traffic signs for Halloween. Busted for e-scooting the Bay Bridge.
And seriously, if you feel the need to open a beer, just get off your bike first.
