Does Bernie hate bike lanes?
Bernie Sanders endorsed Gil Cedillo for re-election in LA’s 1st Council District, apparently repaying Roadkill Gil’s efforts on his behalf during last year’s presidential primary.
But maybe he should have done a little more research into Cedillo’s record. Like his attempt to have every bike lane in his district removed from the mobility plan, and blocking shovel ready safety projects on North Figueroa and Temple Street.
Not to mention attempting to gut the city’s Vision Zero program, back when it still seemed to be a real thing.
Even though many of the immigrant workers Cedillo professes to champion rely on bicycles as their primary — and sometimes only — form of transportation.
And are too often the victims that Vision Zero was supposed to save.
As the 2017 election demonstrated, Cedillo can be beaten, unlike most incumbent councilmembers in the City of Angels.
Joe Bray-Ali had him on the ropes until Bray-Ali’s campaign imploded after racist and fat-shaming comments he’d made on questionable websites surfaced — likely through Cedillo’s hidden hand.
Instead, Cedillo cruised to an easy victory.
He may have more trouble next time if a serious challenger without so much baggage tosses his or her hat into the ring.
In which case Bernie might soon discover he’s backing the wrong candidate.
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The Vision Zero Network discusses the controversial role of law enforcement in eliminating traffic deaths this Thursday.
What's the role of enforcement in #VisionZero, traffic safety? A LOT of us talk/fret/wonder about this question. Join us to dig into what positive change could look like: Thursday w/ @CityofBerkeley @eb4everyone @RigelRobinson @loridroste @IDoTheThinking https://t.co/o08AJQ0RsO pic.twitter.com/ZsoII1fCzG
— Vision Zero Network (@Visionzeronet) February 23, 2021
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Here’s your chance to attend the Bike League’s annual National Bike Summit.
And this time, you only have to travel as far as your favorite screen.
Have you checked out our #BikeSummit21 agenda lately? From a virtual ride around Delft with @modacitylife on Sunday to a night with @bffworld on Tuesday to sessions on safe systems, access to biking, youth education, and more, there is so much to learn! https://t.co/MNHilhFZpM pic.twitter.com/QkcDd5GjJt
— League of American Bicyclists (@BikeLeague) February 22, 2021
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Pinkbike offers enough bicycling videos to get you through the entire day today. And maybe tomorrow.
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Local
LADOT is holding a pair of virtual public meetings next month to discuss proposed protected bike lanes on San Vicente Blvd south of Olympic Blvd.
A “slightly cockeyed” map of 1930s Los Angeles shows several people on bicycles, raising the question of whether Los Angeles is a bicycling paradise lost.
State
Fifty-one-year old Leovardo Salceda pled not guilty in the cold case shooing death of 37-year-old Oliver Harrison as he rode his bike in San Diego in 1988; police say Harrison was not the intended target. But he’s just as dead as if he was.
Kindhearted Fontana police teamed with the Fontana Foundation of Hope to replace a boy’s bicycle after his was stolen; he’ll ride in style with a new Spider-Man bike, complete with matching helmet.
Santa Barbara will keep State Street through downtown closed to cars and open to people at least through September 8th.
This is why people keep dying on our streets. Bakersfield prosecutors settled for a lousy two years for the hit-and-run death of a bike rider — half the possible jail term — after bargaining away additional charges of destroying evidence and driving despite a license suspension due to DUI.
Good for them. Santa Cruz residents pitched to clean up a network of bike chop shops in the city; more than 90 bicycle frames, 100 rims and 150 tires were recovered from two sites.
A San Francisco op-ed says don’t sacrifice a newly carfree JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park just because a museum wants more parking.
National
The Manual offers a beginner’s guide to choosing the right size bike.
This is what it looks like to be riding in a bike lane, and get cut off by a Portland city bus anyway.
A Montana paper recounts the story of the 1900-mile single speed bike ride undertaken by Buffalo Soldiers of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps in 1897; the all-Black unit proved bicycles were a viable means of transport for the military — just in time for motor vehicles to push them aside.
More proof that bike riders are tough. A 50-year old San Antonio, Texas man rode his bike back home after he was shot in the stomach in a driveby; no word on his condition or why he was shot.
They get it. A Wisconsin paper says if you ride a bike, get to know your local bike shop, where you’ll get service you can’t find online.
Looks like time has run out for Time; the bikemaker’s pedal and shoe business was just sold to Chicago-based SRAM, while the rest of the company went to Arkansas-based Cardinal Cycling Group.
A Nashville man is looking for his 9-year old daughter’s stolen bike, which was taken before Thanksgiving when the SUV it was inside was stolen as part of a teenage crime spree that ended in the shooting deaths of two of the kids involved; the bike has sentimental value, because it was built by her older brother.
Last week we posted video showing a Brooklyn bike rider being severely beaten by a man with a bat; now the victim, an artist who dedicated his life to beautifying the borough, remains in a coma with a respirator doing his breathing for him.
A Philly op-ed calls for keeping a deadly waterfront roadway closed to cars forever after it was opened up to people walking and biking during the pandemic.
Bicycling celebrates a Pennsylvania Earn A Bike program this month, saying it may be the only one in the country that allows children as young as eight to earn a bicycle by learning how to rebuild it in a 12-week program. As usual, you can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.
International
Offroad.cc offers a guide to mountain bike lights.
The London Cycling Campaign suspended an advisor after racist tweets from 2019 accusing aggressive Black drivers of being gangsters on drugs came to light.
You could soon ride in a new public bike park built by bicycle tire and accessory maker Vittoria next to their Italy HQ.
Life is cheap in Singapore, where a speeding teenage driver walked with probation for slamming into a man riding his bike, despite leaving him with lasting brain damage and a useless left arm.
Life is cheap in New Zealand, too, where the family of a fallen bike rider feels devastated that a judge gave a driver’s license back to the driver who killed him after just three months.
A 22-year old Christchurch, New Zealand native counts the city’s bike network as one of its few success stories, as the once-vibrant city she barely remembers struggles to rebuild from a series of devastating earthquakes.
This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Sydney, Australia authorities respond to the death of a bicycle delivery rider by dropping the speed limit to 24 mph and removing several right turns — the equivalent of lefts in the US.
Competitive Cycling
In a sport where most riders are washed up by 30, Davide Rebellin is still getting paid to ride for Italian Continental team Work Service Marchiol Vega at age 50.
Seriously? Cycling’s governing body did the right thing by banning a Belgian cycling official after several accusations of sexually harassing women cyclists — then backdated the ban to last April to reduce his suspension.
Nineteen-year old Italian cyclist Miguel Ángel López skidded across the finish line of the UAE Tour individual time trial on his side following a tumbling crash. He was hospitalized with a deep gash to one knee, along with other possible injuries.
https://twitter.com/LRoisDuPeloton/status/1363817937069633538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1363817937069633538%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-22-february-2021-281091
Finally…
That feeling when you steal a pair of bikes, then come back a few days later and take the bike rack they were locked up to. That feeling when a promising new ebike turns out to be vaporware.
And the next time you have to dodge a car in the Bay Area, it may not have a driver.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a damn mask, already.
