Let’s start off today with the latest edition of Great Achievements in Bad Reporting.
Writing about a bike rider killed in collision with a truck, a Boston TV station failed to mention the driver at all.
Or if the truck even had one.
Then they added this sparkling gem.
Seriously?
Sources report the truck is bereft, and receiving counseling. No word on whether the vehicle will face charges.
Photo by Markus Winkler from Pexels.
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This is who we share the road with.
New Yorkers engage in an all-out brawl that starts with a baseball bat, and ends with a car slamming through a storefront.
All over a damn parking space.
Pretty lucky no one died during this insane road rage battle in Flushing yesterday, apparently sparked by a parking space dispute https://t.co/6RqGG3lbaS pic.twitter.com/SQZMQStP5l
— Jake Offenhartz (@jangelooff) November 17, 2020
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Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Police in New Jersey are looking for a bike-riding man who mugged a woman as she sat at a sidewalk cafe.
A New York thief who apparently doesn’t know how to wear a face mask walked out of a Queens bike shop with an $11,400 Trek Domane SLRQ, after posing as a customer taking it for a test ride. Seriously, Covid-19 aside, if you’re planning to commit a crime, keep your damn mask on. And even if you’re not.
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Local
A Jewish publication questions whether LA Mayor Eric Garcetti is worthy of a spot in President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet. My take is that the city would be better off without him, so we could get a replacement who isn’t so easily distracted by national ambitions.
The Los Angeles Fire Department will now be even more nimble in crowd situations, after accepting a gift of four ebikes from Ontario CA bikemaker Aventon.
Culver City got a $47,000 state grant for bicycle and pedestrian safety education programs; Pasadena topped that with a $150,000 grant.
Glendale is attempting to reduce traffic fatalities by improving 16 intersections responsible for 40% of pedestrian deaths.
State
San Diego is moving forward with plans for protected bike lanes in the North Park neighborhood, which could be a problem for restaurants that have expanded into the street for al fresco dining.
Ventura sheriff’s deputies busted a pair of suspected thieves with a hot bike stolen in Malibu, as well as meth and burglary tools.
Bad news from Lompoc, where a bike rider was critically injured in a collision. Although once again, there doesn’t appear to actually be a driver involved, judging from the story.
More bad news, as a San Francisco man suffered life-threatening injuries when he reportedly fell off his bike, striking his head.
‘Tis the season. A pair of Red Bluff women are planning to distribute 200 bicycles to kids in Shasta, Tehama, and Siskiyou Counties for the holidays.
National
Writing for Outside, Joe Lindsey says the pandemic had presented us with a rare opportunity to reimagine how we get around, resulting in more bikeable, walkable and enjoyable cities.
Portland is teaming with Oregon State University to conduct a study of conflicts between bus and bike lanes at intersections.
Apparently, bikes are getting more like cars every day. Case in point, Seattle is building a $2.5 million bicycle interchange connecting two major bike trails that literally cross, without actually meeting.
Seattle-based Rad Power Bikes continues to push down ebike prices with their new RadMission 1, starting at around a grand.
An Illinois cycling instructor argues that an accident is never just an accident. Which is why I never use the word, unless someone drops a glass of milk or the puppy pees on the carpet.
A South Carolina columnist explains what the hell sharrows are. But fails to mention that they are pretty much useless, except to help angry drivers improve their aim.
International
Pink Bike talks with bike industry professionals about what comes next after the coronavirus bike boom. Good to see them hopeful for the future, which is a nice change from recent years.
A London man described as a professional bike thief and one-man crime wave will spend the next two years behind bars after confessing to his crimes.
That didn’t take long. It only took a couple hours for UK residents to snap up all 50,000 vouchers in the country’s second round of bike repair funds.
No surprise here. A new report from an organization that advices the British government on transportation safety makes clear who is responsible for most deaths on the country’s roads, and it ain’t the people on bicycles. Although the family of a 70-year old English woman might disagree.
A Scottish man discovers what happens when his solo bike tour across Europe turns into a tandem ride after meeting a stray kitty in Bosnia.
Competitive Cycling
Legendary cycling coach Edward Borysewicz died in Poland from the effects of Covid-19; the 81-year old man better known as Eddie B coached the US Cycling Team to its greatest successes in the late ’70s and ’80s, as well as coaching American cycling greats Greg LeMond, Andy Hampsten and Rebecca Twigg, as well as He Who Must Not Be Named.
An unlicensed British truck driver has pled guilty to charges for killing women’s pro cyclist Josephine Gilbert; he’ll learn his sentence next month.
Finally…
Your next bike may not have a chain — or much of a frame, for that matter. That feeling when you fall off a stolen motor scooter after seeing a cop, and your mom comes out to scold the police for, you know, making you fall.
And Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer for the win.
I won the Tour de France! https://t.co/WRBcNicFGD pic.twitter.com/xxJRKJfKeN
— Earl Blumenauer (@repblumenauer) November 16, 2020
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
