It’s the last four days of the 8th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!
Just 96 short hours to show your love for this site, and help keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.
Or even less, depending on when you read this. Never mind when I finally get it posted online.
So let’s all thank James S, Brian N and Robert L for doing their part to ensure this site is here for you today, and every day!
Don’t waste another minute. Let alone another hour.
Take a moment to donate right now via PayPal or Zelle. Then pat yourself on the back for doing a good thing.
Because every contribution, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated. And needed.
And seriously, I mean it. Our spokesdog and chief fundraiser is going to keep staring until you give in and give something.
Trust me, you don’t want that.
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The LAPD is looking for a hit-and-run driver who seriously injured a bike rider in the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood earlier this month.
The victim was struck by the driver of a 2012 to 2017 Toyota Camry at the intersection of Venice and Hauser around 9 am December 7th.
No information has been given about the victim, who suffered serious, but thankfully, non-life threatening injuries.
As always, there is a standing $25,000 reward for any hit-and-run resulting in serious injuries in the City of Los Angeles. Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD detectives at 213/473-0234, or 877/527-3247 after hours.
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The first NTSB report on ebike and e-scooter crashes is a bust, as the agency concludes they just don’t have the data they need to reach any conclusions, after finding just 117 deaths on electric micromobility devices over a four-year period.
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A new holiday PSA from the LAPD’s Central Traffic Division sends a pretty clear message about the dangers of impaired driving.
LAPD Central Traffic Division PSA on Impaired Driving – "It's NOT worth it" https://t.co/PhOz0495cW via @YouTube. @CBSLA @nbcla @KTLAnewsdesk @abc7 @FOXLA @Dongrahamjr @LAPDVTD @LAPDSouthTraff @LAPDWestTraffic @bikinginla @TheEastsiderLA
— LAPDCTD (@LAPDCTD24) December 21, 2022
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Japan will become the fifth country to mandate bike helmets for adults, after Argentina, Cyprus, Australia, and New Zealand, in an apparent attempt to reduce ridership right when we need it most; however, there’s no penalty for failing to comply.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
There’s a special place in hell for the Florida man who tried to use his bicycle to abduct a 14-year old girl who was walking with her friends. And hopefully, behind bars, soon.
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Local
California Senator Alex Padilla announced $80 million in funding for projects in the Los Angeles area; the list includes $5 million for Glendora’s ten-mile active transportation People Movement project, $4 million for Metro’s Rail to River Active Transportation Corridor, and $3 million for El Monte’s Merced Avenue Greenway. His office also announced $69 million in funding for the Bay Area, and $48 million for the Sacramento area.
State
Orange County cities are struggling to regulate e-bikes, with restrictions — such as a 10 mph speed limit on public streets in Lake Forest — that may be illegal under state law.
Fifty San Jose kids could win free bicycles and helmets if they pledge to reduce waste and be more environmentally aware.
A Michelin-starred San Francisco chef examines the parallels between riding a bike and running a restaurant. Although no one ever got a Michelin star for riding a bike, though some of us do use Michelin tires.
National
VeloNews talks pinch flats and how to fight them, while Road Bike Action wants to know why bike events are so damn long.
PinkBike considers whether elite bicyclists are at higher risk of heart problems and premature death, concluding there’s a slightly elevated risk, but it’s still significantly less than not riding at all.
The NYT’s Wirecutter recommends the best gifts for bike riders, ranging from olive soap to an otter-shaped water bottle and cage, as well as summer weight women’s jerseys from LA-based Machines for Freedom.
Bike Portland’s Jonathan Maus asks if officials really care about record traffic deaths when they don’t do anything to solve the problem.
Kindhearted Seattle residents have raised over $1,600 to buy a new e-cargo bike for a young girl after someone stole the bike she used to ride with her father on Sundays.
Utah is suffering through a record number of bike and pedestrian deaths; bicycling fatalities are at least 50% higher than any year since record keeping began in 1994.
A bike path along a Nantucket roadway is wanted by virtually everyone except the homeowners who live alongside it, who call it a bike path to nowhere and fear bike riders “wandering around private property.” They also suspect people won’t be able to control their bladders after a modest ten-mile bike ride.
Some Cambridge, Massachusetts city councillors want to rip out a new lane reduction and separated bike lanes, rather than give it time for traffic patterns to settle in.
A New York man says riding outside is still better than riding in his basement, even after getting hit by an elderly driver, and that surviving the crash made him feel invincible. Oddly, getting hit by a road raging driver had the opposite effect on me.
The Washington Post offers advice on how to stay safe while biking through the dark winter months. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t have their usual option to share it, so your ability to read it may vary.
A 91-year old Florida woman will spend what could be the last years of her life behind bars after running down a couple riding their bikes, then getting out to look at them, and just getting back in her car despite their serious injuries, and driving away to have it repaired at the local dealership; one of the victims called her “a heartless monster who only thinks of herself.”
International
Great idea. An English market district is using ebike-riding volunteers to make Christmas deliveries.
Cyclist talks with the British couple who just set a new world’s record for riding around the world on a tandem.
Ikea is experimenting with three-wheeled, solar powered e-cargo bikes to make deliveries in the Netherlands.
You could go for a Christmas bike ride through the streets of Cyprus tonight. Except it will probably be over by the time you read this, thanks to a ten-hour time differential between Cyprus and Los Angeles.
Autoevolution considers a vaporware slap bike lock developed by a Korean inventor, designed to be easy to use and carry, but which currently exists only as trademark renderings.
Competitive Cycling
Cycling’s governing body will expand the Mountain Bike World Cup even further next year, with the introduction of enduro and E-enduro racing, which comes on the heels of adding cross-country marathon racing to the Cup.
No surprise here, as VeloNews names Annemiek van Vleuten their female cyclist of the year.
Finally…
Nothing like turning your e-cargo bike into a heavy duty snowplow. That feeling when your kid’s new Christmas bike was built by prison labor.
And don’t lie to your mom about wearing a helmet.
Seriously.
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Happy Chanukah to everyone celebrating today.
Chag Urim Sameach!
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
