This is who we share the road with.
And what, unfortunately.
Heartbreaking news from Riverside County, where a father ran over his own son in his own driveway as he was coming home from work, killing him.
Apparently, the boy was playing next to the gate and ran into the driveway to greet his father, where the grill of the man’s massive Chevy Tahoe SUV may have blocked his view of the one-year old boy.
It’s one of the most absurdly needless dangers we all face on the road, as the ever-increasing size of SUVs and pickups can block the driver’s view of anything directly in front of them, up to and sometimes including grown adults on bicycles.
https://twitter.com/DrTCombs/status/1528853211582455814
Their high, flat grills also make it more likely that anyone the drivers hit will be knocked down in front of the wheels, increasing their risk of getting run over by a nearly three ton vehicle.
So if you’re looking for a reason why pedestrian deaths continue to spike, you can start right there.
There’s simply no excuse for allowing machines that are literally designed to kill to use our public roadways.
Photo by Abdulwahab Alawadhi from Pexels.
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Streets For All reminds everyone to tell Metro to stop wasting billions on demand-inducing highway widening projects this Thursday.
This Thursday: Tell Metro to cancel the 710 widening and stop spending billions to widen more highways!
This Thursday, the Metro board on its agenda (#9) will consider a motion to formally kill the 710 freeway widening project, and to develop a local project investment plan that includes transit and active transportation improvements.
Despite this, the board will also consider approving a budget (item #15) that allocates billions of dollars more to widen yet more highways, often based on lies told by Metro staff.
We know that widening the freeway will only induce demand and is Destruction For Nada, and Metro needs to reallocate funding and priorities based on this proven fact.
If you’re able to call in (Thursday at 10am) and make public comment, this is most impactful. If not, send the board an email.
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Today’s common theme is advances in bike lighting and security.
New clipless pedals from Redshift Sports come with built-in front and rear facing lights to improve safety, with the rotational movement of the pedal more likely to draw attention than a stationary light; the lights turn on and off automatically, and always know which direction they’re facing.
A new Schwinn ebike comes with a built-in frame light, while a new longtail foldie ebike from Calendar Bikes actually glows in the dark.
Wing Bikes new VanMoof knockoff ebike comes with a built-in Apple Find My network tracker to keep tabs on your bike.
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Looks like progressive talk radio host Stephanie Miller is one of us.
Rolled 50 miles 1400 ft elevation Long Beach to Laguna Beach and back w my Major Taylor bike crew! I dedicated my ride today to all the brave souls in my beloved hometown of Buffalo, NY. #BuffaloStrong #lovetrumpshate #bikefamily pic.twitter.com/Z6aw2iOjAE
— Stephanie Miller (@StephMillerShow) May 22, 2022
Thanks to Mike Burk and the Smiling Corgis for the heads-up.
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Either Bob Dylan is one of us, or he just found a beat up old bike to pose with.
https://twitter.com/CoolBikeArt1/status/1528948908763643904
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Here’s your chance to learn planning and design the Dutch way.
NEW ‘Bicycle Infrastructure Planning’ course in the Netherlands: 4-8 July, 2022. #DCElearn
Learn to apply planning and design principles to your local situation during an inspiring 5-day training by #DutchCycling experts.
More information and enrollment: https://t.co/zUJGjFz43q pic.twitter.com/q0lzy957uG
— Dutch Cycling Embassy (@Cycling_Embassy) May 23, 2022
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Oopsie.
https://twitter.com/HoodFamousTV_/status/1528059154539360258?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1528059154539360258%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-23-may-2022-292953
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. A Houston letter writer insists bicycles should be licensed so bike riders will help pay for planned new bikeways. Never mind that people who ride bikes pay taxes just like everyone else, while studies show a bike license program would cost more to administer than it would bring in.
Horrific video from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where a driver swerved into a bike lane and ran down several bike riders, in a crash that appears to be anything but accidental; fortunately, none of the victims, all of whom were riding in the bike lane, were seriously injured.
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Local
Los Angeles was the nation’s second most deadly city for bike riders in the past decade, coming in just behind New York, as bicycling fatalities continue to rise; Los Angeles County led the nation with 276 deaths from 2011 to 2020.
State
Sad news from Madera, where a man riding a Huffy beach cruiser was killed by a hit-and-run driver who lost control of his car while making an unsafe turn, swerving off the roadway onto the dirt shoulder where the victim was riding.
Extreme endurance cyclist Grant Lottering is planning a 700-mile nonstop ride from Central California’s Shaver Lake to Irvine, including 63,000 feet of elevation gain, to raise awareness of a charity using sports to help children and young people overcome violence, discrimination and disadvantages.
National
It was nice while it lasted. Just a year after acquiring Peloton, Outside has axed the magazine, as well as mountain bike startup Beta; the publishing company also terminated some editorial staff members at CyclingTips and VeloNews, as it transitions from print to online.
The Navajo Nation is working on a 60-mile rail-to-trail conversion, which would be the first such bikeway on native lands in the US.
A 29-year old Idaho man pledged to do whatever it takes to become a better man, after he was sentenced to seven and a half years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a bike-riding man; he was smoking heroin when police took him into custody.
Bicycling looks inside the Major Taylor display at the Indiana State Museum. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.
A “burrito ministry” using bicycles to deliver food to homeless people in Nashville and Memphis twice a week is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Nice piece from the New Yorker, as a university professor takes a very personal look at the history of bicycling, from the first Laufmaschine to the pandemic bike boom, noting that a toddler who starts on a balance bike can experience virtually every type of historic bike as they grow up.
A Republican sponsored bill would legalize parking protected bike lanes in Pennsylvania.
A Miami weekly considers three ways to improve safety on the deadly Rickenbacker Causeway, where a bike-riding couple was killed by a dozing driver.
International
The New York Times highlights seven great bicycling cities, along with the best bike trail to ride in each one, from Geneva to Bogota, and San Francisco to New York and DC.
Famed Irish travel writer Dervla Murphy has died, after making a career of traveling the world by bicycle, foot, pack pony or public transport; she first came to fame with a book about bicycling from Ireland to India in 1965. She was 90 years old. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.
An Irish website recommends five bucket list worthy bike routes to explore the Emerald Isle.
A British man has died two weeks after his bicycle was stuck by a ped-assist ebike.
Differences in speeds are leading to conflicts between different types of bike riders on Brussels bikeways.
Bicycling crashes have dropped significantly in Amsterdam after e-scooters were banned from the city’s bike lanes.
A New Zealand university professor says ignore the bikelash, because the benefits of investing in bicycling far exceed the cost.
Competitive Cycling
Tragic news from Italy, where the sports director of the Viris Vigevano cycling team was killed when he was struck by a rider as he was watching the conclusion of the Trofeo Castelfidardo race in Italy’s Marche region.
Dutch pro Ellen van Dijk is the new women’s hour record holder, covering 49.254 km — the equivalent of 30.605 miles — at Switzerland’s Gretchen velodrome.
CyclingTips profiles Ally Wollaston, a New Zealand track cyclist making her mark on the women’s WorldTour.
Friends and family members remember Moriah “Mo” Wilson, the gravel cyclist fatally shot in a love triangle murder in Austin, Texas earlier this month.
Finally…
Who needs a tandem when you can ride a bicycle built for seven? Now you, too, can have a vintage 1946 Bianchi racing bike owned by four-time Giro winner Luigi Casola, for a mere 27 grand.
And what do you do when a YouTube star slams a rented Tesla into your car trying to catch air on one of the steepest streets in Los Angeles?
You write a song about it, of course.
Thanks to LAPD Central Traffic Division for the link.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
The TV report you linked of the Ft. Lauderdale wreck has the police refusing to treat it as a hit and run, insinuating the cyclists might have incited it somehow. I don’t see how that has any effect on the criminality of the offense, he ran into another vehicle and then left the scene of the crime, both of the elements required for hit and run. Inciting the driver doesn’t negate the crime, it upgrades it to an assault with a deadly weapon, with hit-and-run as the lesser included crime.