Just ten days left in the 8th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!
We’re entering into the home stretch just slightly ahead of last year’s record-setting pace. But we’ll need to raise almost $1,000 over the next week and a half to make it happen.
So thanks to Miriam H and Phillip Y for their generous donations to help keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day, and ensure it will always be there, ready and waiting when you need it.
So now it’s your turn.
Just stop whatever you’re doing, and donate today via PayPal or Zelle! Every donation, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated!
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Tragic news from San Diego, where a 56-year old woman is on life support with a brain bleed after crashing her ebike into a shopping cart someone carelessly left in a bike lane Tuesday evening.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding in the westbound bike lane on the 5100 block of Friars Road shortly after dark, which would have made the cart that much more difficult to see.
And no, she was not wearing a helmet.
Which matters in this case, since she suffered a head injury, and this is exactly the kind of low speed crash bike helmets are designed to protect against.
Let’s all hope she makes a full and fast recovery.
Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.
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A small group of San Francisco community organizers is calling for kicking cars out of the city’s Embarcadero.
Advocates Stacey Randecker and Alex Soble suggest converting the waterfront into a vibrant, walkable Grand Embarcadero that “could match or surpass comparable destinations like Chicago’s Lakefront Trail, San Antonio’s Riverwalk and Paris’ Seine waterfront.”
Not to mention easily exceed anything found here in Southern California.
Which would be a big improvement from the Embarcadero’s current deadly and dangerous car-choked environment.
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A pair of holiday rides are on tap this weekend, with rides on Saturday in Costa Mesa and Sunday in Glendale.
#CostaMesa holiday bike ride is back! Join us Saturday, 12/17 in your holiday gear & decorated bikes. We’ve got a casual 10-mile route w/ stops at WinterFest & Snoopy House! ❄️ Wheels roll at 12:30pm, finish ~2pm, and roll over to NEAT Coffee after for hot chocolate & cookies! pic.twitter.com/5BqpiEyRLQ
— Arlis Reynolds (@arlis4costamesa) December 15, 2022
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Good question.
Is it the scooter or the cars that are really blocking the sidewalk?
I know they said the scooter is blocking the sidewalk but it’s really the cars. We have given cars too much land space. But yes scooter should be off to the side as well. @StreetsblogLA @EntitledCycling @BikeLanesLA @schroedinger_ @bikinginla @streetsforall https://t.co/EbiNHXb9vP
— How The West Was Saved (@HowTheWestWS) December 15, 2022
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No surprise here, as San Diego’s bike hating Ocean Beach Rag jumps on yesterday’s anti-bike lane hit piece in the San Diego Union Tribune. If you missed it, you can read my takedown on the piece here.
Its a sad commentary when a Chicago ghost bike isn’t even safe from traffic violence.
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Local
‘Tis the season. The San Diego Chargers of Los Angeles partnered with the Bikes for Kids Foundation and Pechanga Resort Casino to surprise about 150 Compton second and third-graders with a new bicycle.
State
The Bike League announced their latest list of Bicycle Friendly Communities, with several NorCal cities renewed or promoted; the only city named in Southern California is Beverly Hills with an honorable mention.
CalBike looks back at the past year’s wins in the state legislature, including new bike laws, more funding for bikes and walking, and the state ebike rebates, which remain sadly theoretical at this point.
Streetsblog takes a very early look at the transportation bills expected to be considered in the next legislative session, including a requirement to consider the climate emergency in transportation funding, and another bite at the apple for Stop As Yield.
The Voice of OC says the death of 8-year-old Bradley Rofer as he rode his bike through an Orange County intersection this past September is “prompting a tough debate about whether civic leaders are doing enough to protect kids at dangerous intersections.” Short answer, no. Longer answer, oh hell no.
The Coast News Group looks forward to next month’s Cyclovia Encinitas open streets event.
Agoura Hills officially unveiled a new, wider bridge on Roadside Drive as the first project in implementing the city’s bicycle master plan — yet somehow, they don’t seem to have included any bike lanes in the project.
Heartbreaking news from San Francisco, where a 16-year old boy rode his bike halfway across the Golden Gate Bridge before jumping to his death, as a project to install mesh suicide barriers on both sides of the bridge has stalled amid soaring costs.
‘Tis the season. A Castro Valley man has fixed up and given away over 700 bicycles to people who can’t afford one for work, school or fun, calling the money-losing program Bad Business Model Bikes.
National
No surprise here, as researchers have concluded that 55% of people involved in serious or fatal crashes had drugs or alcohol in their systems — whether drivers, passengers or people outside the vehicle — with nearly 25% each testing positive for weed or alcohol.
Forbes recommends their picks for the best balance bikes for your favorite toddler — including a $1,000 carbon framed Specialized for your future pro. Junior doper kit sold separately.
House Digest recommends the five best American cities to live in if you don’t have a car. Shockingly, Los Angeles was not included among them. And yes, that’s sarcasm.
Bicycling considers the meaning of the massive, and completely unrecoverable, $353 million judgement against the drunk and stoned hit-and-run driver who killed master’s cyclist Gwen Inglis as she rode with her husband in Lakewood, Colorado — not Boulder, as the magazine says. For a change, read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you.
The owner of San Antonio’s oldest bike shop is asking for support from the community, as nearby construction could force it to close before it can reach its 103rd year.
Chicago drivers will now face a $250 fine for blocking a bike lane, as well as running the risk they could be towed; the move stems at least in part from the deaths of four little kids this past summer.
The Boston Globe says we need to make traffic jams a thing of the past if we’re going to curb emissions by 2030, calling for congestion pricing and better transit. And more biking and walking would help, too.
Grocery chain Safeway teamed with a local nonprofit to give a new adaptive bicycle to a young Baltimore girl suffering from a form of childhood dementia.
International
Bike Radar offers five reasons why you don’t need a new bicycle, including N+1 is dead. Which should come as a surprise to many of us.
Canadian Cycling Magazine is surprised to find Gwyneth Paltrow’s luxury Goop gift guide suggests a trio of relatively reasonably priced bikes.
Past and present English city officials protest the poor quality of a Hereford bike lane before it even opens to the public.
German manufacturer Bosch is pushing the US to adopt the tighter ebike regulations that allowed the company to dominate the European market.
An Aussie truck driver will have to spend four years behind bars for the drunken, distracted crash that killed a 21-year old man who was riding throughout the country to call attention to climate change.
Competitive Cycling
Bicycling offers a photo essay from the recent ‘cross Nats. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.
Finally…
That feeling when your new e-cargo bike is based on a Japanese bento box.
And bike touring down the East Coast on one wheel.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
