This is who we share the road with.
A San Luis Obispo man faces charges for a hit-and-run crash that left a bike rider with a severely broken leg. He was arrested after getting into a second crash fifteen minutes later.
Thankfully, several people stopped to help the victim as he lay unconscious on the side of the road with a major gash in his leg.
There’s no word on why the driver crashed twice in such a short period of time.
But it certainly makes a damn good argument for why he should never be allowed behind the wheel again.
Then again, just running away from the first crash should do that.
Photo by Emre Kuzu from Pexels.
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Metro will host a virtual open house this evening to discuss the planned transformation of Union Station.
If Los Angeles can resist watering down it down any more.
The #LinkUnionStationProject (LinkUS) is hosting a virtual public scoping and open house to discuss the transformation of Los Angeles Union Station (#LAUS) into a modern transit and mobility hub on October 8. More information below! https://t.co/eLpPvNdjuf
— BikeLA (@heybikela) October 7, 2020
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Grist looks at the deadly 85th Percentile Law, calling it a relic of 1930’s city planning that allows drivers to set their own speed limits.
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A new collaboration between BMC and Formula One’s Red Bull Advanced Technologies promises that it’s going to change everything — if it works.
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Local
No news is good news, right?
State
A pair of Newport Beach women are offering free masks to people who walk or bike by. Then again, they’d probably give one to people who drive, too.
It’s a happy ending for a change, as a San Diego woman tracks down the Surly she rode across the country in honor of her late boyfriend, after a woman stole it from her porch. And gets it back from a used bike dealer who’d already bought and resold it.
National
A pair of Tennessee men from different backgrounds and political beliefs rode across America to find something we can all agree on.
Maybe we can learn more about building better bike lanes from smaller American cities than large Northern European ones.
Uber still sees micromobility in its future, despite unloading its Jump dockless ebikes and e-scooters on Lime earlier this year.
Speaking of micromobility, Lyft reports ridership is still down 50% from pre-pandemic levels, though that’s an improvement from the original 75% drop-off.
Consumer Reports is out with their latest ratings of the best bike helmets.
A writer for Jalopnik decides to build his own wheels to upgrade his $150 Schwinn.
Austin, Texas is closing down its Healthy Streets program to provide safe, low-traffic areas for walking, running and bicycling during the coronavirus crisis. Apparently, the pandemic must be over down there, unlike everywhere else.
A 19-year old Arkansas man will spend the next 42 years behind bars after fatally shooting a police officer during a chase that began when the killer was on his bicycle.
Chicago will now allow three-wheeled e-cargo delivery bikes to pedal city streets.
An Illinois man has been arrested for the murder of a 15-year old girl, who disappeared after riding her bicycle to an ATM in 2014.
A drama student at a Tennessee Christian college lifts spirits by singing as he rides his bike through campus.
An entrepreneurial ten-year old Massachusetts boy has gone into business for himself making coronavirus face shields for bike helmets; you can get yours for fifteen bucks.
The New York Times examines the record numbers of women on bikes in the city, where women’s bicycling rates have jumped 147% over last year as the pandemic has removed dangerous traffic from the streets.
One reason for that is reflected in a 60% drop in Gotham’s vehicular traffic during the pandemic. But despite the slowdown — or maybe because of it — bicycling injuries are up in places with the worst infrastructure.
International
Good point. A Canadian letter writer complains that it’s apparently wrong to hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk, but perfectly okay if that person’s on a bike. And if the law is so confusing that even a cop gets it wrong, maybe it needs to be changed.
Maybe they should hold a bake sale. The Canadian capital says they know where they need to make safety improvements to protect bike riders, but don’t have the money to do it.
A British man wants to find the Good Samaritans who cared for him when he fractured his skull falling off his bike.
Bicycling says add Spain’s “Empty Mountains” to your bike bucket list for next year. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine’s paywall blocks you out.
A Philippine city is getting good reviews after installing bike lanes on two major streets.
Competitive Cycling
Britain’s Tom Pidcock is the new world men’s e-mountain bike champ. Who knew that was even a thing?
Cycling’s governing body has been asked to investigate the Giro crash that took out teammates Luca Wackermann and Etienne van Empel when downwash from a helicopter blew a course barrier across the roadway.
Who needs to watch hours of racing when you can catch up on yesterday’s stage of the Giro in just over two minutes?
Finally…
When is a bike not a bike? When it’s a dummy — and so is the booze. Yes, bikes are made up of a number of parts, and no, you won’t get a “quality” new one for three hundred bucks.
And that feeling when you’re an inadvertent fashion icon.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
