It was nice while it lasted.
California’s long-delayed ebike rebate program, which hasn’t even begun yet, is already at risk after Governor Newsom failed to extend funding for the program beyond this year in his revised budget.
Calbike reports that over 17,000 people have expressed interest in the program, which only has $7.5 million left for actual rebates after the state has blown through $2.5 million of the original $10 million budget on outreach and overhead.
Which is kind of what happens when you spend a couple years dithering about what it should look like, instead of just getting the money out to people who need it.
The remaining funds should be good for just 3,000 to 7,000 vouchers, meaning at least 10,000 people are likely to walk away empty handed and out of luck.
And most will probably keep driving, instead of switching to a far cleaner, cheaper and more efficient form of transportation.
The revised budget also includes cuts to Complete Streets and investments in disadvantaged communities. Which is exactly the opposite of what we should be doing in the midst of a climate crisis, when the state is literally burning and people are suffering.
And the opposite of Newsom’s campaign promises to confront the crisis.
Photo by Alex from Pexels.
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The long-delayed Mark Bixby Memorial Bicycle Pedestrian Path is offically opening this weekend, along with the Ocean Boulevard Connector leading to it.
The bikeway on the new Long Beach International Gateway Bridge is named for Long Beach bike advocate Mark Bixby, scion of the city’s influential Bixby family, who was killed with four other people in a private plane crash a dozen years ago.
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San Diego will now close Fifth Avenue in the city’s Gaslamp district to cars every afternoon and evening.
Because, apparently, they don’t do mornings down there.
We celebrated a major milestone in the Gaslamp Promenade project #Downtown!
City crews built new crosswalks and installed steel bollards to close much of Fifth Avenue to cars from noon to 2 a.m. daily, creating a vibrant space for San Diegans and visitors to enjoy. #ForAllofUs pic.twitter.com/vXYxqxZxsH
— San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria (@MayorToddGloria) May 16, 2023
Thanks to Glenn Crider for the heads-up.
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More proof you can carry pretty much anything on a bicycle — despite the constant chorus of naysayers who insist you need a massive SUV to carry anything bigger than a coffee cup.
https://twitter.com/rendermack/status/1657509136614199297
Nothing to see here. Just your friendly school #OccupationalTherapist traveling by bike with 3 wobble stools and a testing protocol. #LeaveTheCarAtHome #CarryShitOlympics pic.twitter.com/vA2u2Lzbmn
— Kristin Cowgill (@kbcowgill) May 16, 2023
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on rolling.
We’re constantly reminded about stop sign-running bike riders as the reason we can’t have anything nice. But when someone on a bike runs a stop sign, they usually don’t kill anyone, unlike an on-duty DEA agent who was caught on video running a stop sign just before killing a Salem, Oregon man riding a bicycle.
No bias here. A Cambridge, Massachusetts letter writer says being bike friendly is a good thing, but the city is taking this whole bike safety thing too far, because some people might be inconvenienced, and stuff. Although getting killed or maimed by a driver is pretty damn inconvenient, too.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Five teenage bike riders were caught on security cams illegally riding through a Boston freeway tunnel, splitting traffic lanes and popping wheelies, to the chagrin of drivers behind them.
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Local
Burbank is hosting a pair of pit stops today for the city’s annual “Bike and Walk to Work Day.”
They get it. Alhambra residents stood up to object to the city’s proposed widening of Fremont Ave, along with the on and off ramps to the 10 Freeway, calling it a waste of the city’s share of Metro funds for the abandoned plans to extend the 710 Freeway.
State
Laguna Beach will host a bike safety expo this Sunday.
A 14-year old French Valley girl was airlifted to a hospital after suffering serious injuries when she was struck by a pickup driver while riding her bike in unincorporated Murrieta.
Even Bakersfield is hosting a series of bike events to mark Bike Month. Although closing the bike path to conduct “bug maintenance” probably wasn’t on their bike bingo card.
A 31-year old Fresno man was hospitalized with cuts and a broken leg after getting hit by a truck driver while allegedly riding salmon and running a red light.
A 4th generation San Franciscan, developer evangelist and substitute tennis coach writes glowingly about her first SF Bike Party, which is like Critical Mass, but more fun.
Writing for a nonprofit architecture and design site, a San Francisco architect says it’s time to consider the benefits of a 15 mph city.
National
The US Bureau of Statistics confirms that the pandemic bike boom was real, as spending on bikes and accessories jumped a whopping 640% over the past three years. And suggests this could be another banner year.
The Cherokee Nation announced the six women who will participate in this year’s Remember the Removal Bike Ride, ranging in age from 18 to 40; the ride follows the route of the horrific Trail of Tears, when tribal members were forcibly removed from their ancestral homes in the south, and made to march hundred of miles to new reservations.
A craniofacial trauma surgeon considers whether it’s worth spending a little more to get a MIPS bike helmet, and ends with a resounding yes.
After he was paralyzed in a snowboarding accident, a self-described adrenaline junkie finds the cure for his depression in riding an adaptive bicycle with a Washington state bike club.
A group of Houston bike riders will hold a ride and dine in support of a historic restaurant threatened by the real estate developer next door, who is blocking access to parking long used by restaurant patrons.
Authorities in Fargo, North Dakota are looking for a man who drove through a local bike race while leading a police chase last weekend; fortunately, no one appears to have been seriously injured.
A Congressional bill named for a fallen Wisconsin bicyclist would make it easier to use federal funds to build protected bike lanes; Sarah Debbink Langenkamp’s hometown officially endorsed the bill named for her.
There’s a special place in hell for whoever murdered a 56-year old Dayton, Ohio man, just 12 hours after he was bike-jacked at gunpoint and forced to walk ten blocks to report the crime.
CBS has picked up the story of the white hospital worker who tried to wrestle and whine a New York bikeshare bike out of the hands of the Black teenager who had rented it, saying the hospital she works for is looking into the incident. Which is probably bureaucratese for she can kiss her job goodbye.
They get it, too. DC bike advocates continue to fight for safer streets, despite the city’s backpedaling on a pair of planned protected bikeways, saying there can be no compromise on making biking and walking safer.
Speaking of DC, hats off to the lone bike rider who shouted down a group of white supremacists gathered for a march to the capital.
Forget tweed rides. Roanoke, Virginia is hosting a fancy dress bike ride this weekend, encouraging participants to don their finest and fanciest attire.
Kindhearted Georgia sheriff’s deputies replaced a 12-year old boy’s BMX bike after his was stolen.
Former NFL star Jimmy Graham is one of us, as he gets back on his bike after suffering cuts and bruises when a driver smashed into him in a SMIDSY* crash. *Sorry Mate, I Didn’t See You.
International
Canadian Cycling Magazine considers five goofy things non-bicycling people ask bicyclists, including “doesn’t your butt hurt,” and the ever-popular “why do you shave your legs.”
After a London van driver told bike-riding BBC presenter Jeremy Vine to fuck off, Vine responded by telling nearby pedestrians “He seems like the kind of guy who might not come to my birthday party.”
Bicycling considers what the bicycling mecca can teach the world — and the writer’s hometown — about bike infrastructure, reminding us that the Netherlands wasn’t always the bike-friendly paradise we see now. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.
Foldie maker Dahon wowed visitors to a Chinese bike show with they’re latest bikes and tech, including a new frame cable that reportedly makes single-bar folding bikes “more rigid, stronger and faster than some large-wheeled mountain bikes.”
Competitive Cycling
Denmark’s Magnus Cort Nielsen overcame the cold and wet weather to win Tuesday’s 10th stage of the Giro, as former Tour de France champ Geraint Thomas kept a tight grip on the pink leader’s jersey.
Movistar cyclist Will Barta managed to escape serious injury crashing on a wet descent in Tuesday’s 10th stage, but he can’t say the same for his bike, which snapped in two during a brush with a retaining wall.
Bicycling applauds 21-year old Dutch cyclist Puck Pieterse’s podium vibes, which she displays with increasing frequency competing in ‘cross, mountain biking and road racing. Read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you.
Finally…
Telling bike riders not to do something they wouldn’t do driving a car probably doesn’t have the intended impact, in a world where people do whatever the hell they want behind the wheel. Your next bike could have magnets instead of gears, or maybe not.
And if you get chased out the home you’re burglarizing, try not to leave your bike behind. And if you do, don’t go back for it.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
