Like the song says, waiting is the hardest part.
Because there’s still no word on when the California ebike tax rebate program will begin.
At last word, they were expected to launch in the second quarter of this year, which ended last Friday.
The program has already spent a quarter of the allotted $10 million for administration and overhead, leaving just $7.5 million available for ebike vouchers.
It’s being administered by San Diego’s Pedal Ahead, which operates an ebike loan-to-own program for San Diego residents.
Meanwhile, Calbike offers a slightly different version, saying the program was scheduled to have a soft opening in four undisclosed regions last month, before opening statewide in a few months.
They cite a $13 million budget, anticipating it will fund between 4,000 and 7,000 ebike vouchers.
So if the soft openings do happen and exceed anticipated demand, it’s possible there might not be anything left by the time it gets to you.
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Calbike reports five active transportation-ish bills will come up before the state Senate Transportation Committee this Tuesday.
The bills include another attempt to get the Stop as Yield bill past Governor Newsom’s veto pen, as well as bills mandating daylighting at intersections, requiring climate-first transportation planning, and legalizing sidewalk bike riding statewide.
The fifth bill would establish a pilot program for free youth transit.
The link above includes a form to contact your state legislature to voice your support for any or all of the bills.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on rolling.
No bias here. After a little kid was struck by a driver in Wales, Britain’s Sky News reports the ten-year old “cyclist” suffered life-changing injuries. I believe the word they were looking for there was child.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
No bias here, either. New Jersey letter writers say a bike rider who is suing a councilmember for the hit-and-run crash that reportedly left him with serious injuries doesn’t deserve a red cent because he ran the red light, regardless of whether the councilwoman fled the scene. And, uh, because he was wearing flip flops.
Bike riders in Barrie, Ontario were fined $180 each for running a stop sign in a community safety zone, as officials stressed “Stop signs are for everyone, including cyclists.” While bike riders should observe the law, they have a much better view of the road and pose significantly less danger to others around them, which should be reflected in any fine, but usually isn’t. Thanks to How The West Was Saved for the heads-up.
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Local
Metro has received over half of the $80 million in grants distributed across six SoCal counties by the Southern California Association of Governments Regional Council, aka SCAG; the funding represents the first local distribution of a $237 million state Regional Early Action Planning, or REAP, grant for transportation and housing efforts.
Streetsblog says the new curb-protected bike lanes on Santa Monica’s 17th Street are “amazing;” the bike/ped improvements include Southern California’s first European-style curb-protected intersections.
State
The California legislature restored full funding for the state’s active transportation programs, after Governor Newsom had attempted to cut it by half a billion dollars.
CleanTechnica reports fossil fuel companies are spending millions to defeat a pair of climate reporting bills in the state legislature.
Fullerton celebrated the 4th of July with their annual bike parade.
Orange County has received $13.3 million in SCAG grants to fund innovative transportation projects designed to reduce motor vehicle use, including a number of bike-friendly projects around the county.
A built-in tracker on a stolen ebike led San Diego police to a parolee illegally in possession of a stolen shotgun, illegal drugs and the purloined bicycle. Although I’m not sure you can legally posses a stolen weapon.
A San Francisco woman who has been hit by drivers twice while riding her bike reflects on the differences between biking in the Bay Area and in Belgium, where she is visiting. Like not getting hit by motorists, for instance.
Sacramento is investing $16 million in building more protected bike lanes in the downtown area.
A Rancho Cordova bike shop is asking for the public’s help to bounce back from the challenges of the pandemic, by attempting to crowdfund a quarter of a million dollars to keep it alive until their business can stabilize.
National
Bloomberg’s CityLab writes that businesses are learning to love bike lanes as downtown areas continue to struggle, saying the need to rethink urban cores is encouraging business improvement districts to reconsider the wisdom of prioritizing motor vehicles.
The Consumer Products Safety Commission is recalling 84,000 woom ORIGINAL balance and pedal bikes due to a problem with the stem and handlebars, which can detach and cause a fall.
Washington US Congressman Rick Larsen is one of us, riding his bike as part of a bicycle town hall for a local community.
A Colorado man is recovering after two weeks in the hospital with a broken collarbone, shoulder and damaged skull, as well as “really bad road rash all over his body” after falling off his bike during a fundraising ride to fight human trafficking.
A Minnesota man faces charges for running over and dragging a bike-riding bystander, following a drunken road rage argument with another driver at a Wisconsin riverfront boat launch, while his own young kids were in the car.
Disappointing ruling from a Minnesota appeals court, which dismissed a lawsuit from the father of a 13-year old boy who was killed by a driver while riding his bike to school, ruling that the city, county and school district can’t be held accountable for dangerous conditions on the roadway.
A Youngstown, Ohio company donated 120 bicycles to kids during National Bike Month, part of a promotion promising to donated a bike to a child in need for every sale.
Columbus, Ohio is the latest city to offer residents ebike rebates, with up to 150 vouchers ranging from $500 to $1,200, depending on household income. Meanwhile, Californians continue to wait for what was the nation’s first ebike rebate program when it was originally approved 19 months ago.
A 47-year old Burlington, Vermont man faces charges after chasing bike riders and pedestrians on a waterfront bike path, and threatening them with a box cutter.
A New Jersey man learns the hard way not to snatch an unattended kid’s bike.
Community members in Covington, Louisiana are asking for prayers for a 17-year old boy who collapsed while riding his bike, and was found unconscious in the roadway.
International
More proof life is cheap in the UK, where a speeding, distracted student driver who ran down a Manchester, England milkman riding his bike to work got a lousy 14 months behind bars; the victim was just weeks from retirement when he was killed by the driver, who couldn’t be bothered to slow down or hang up his phone, and shouldn’t have been driving alone in the first place.
A Scottish man has set a new record for riding 250 miles coast-to-coast across the country in 23 hours and 8 minutes.
Thousands of people lined the funeral route for a pair of Welsh teenagers who were laid to rest together, after they were killed in an ebike crash while being closely followed, if not pursued, by the cops.
A new documentary follows the inner and outer journeys of a pair of Indian women as they take part in the London-Edinburgh-London endurance cycling race.
Competitive Cycling
After getting dropped yesterday, Tadej Pogacar bounced back to win Thursday’s stage 6, putting himself back in contention at 25 seconds behind the leader.
Like Adam Yates before him, 2022 Giro champ Jai Hindley’s time in yellow lasted just a single day, as last year’s Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard slipped it on at the end of stage 6.
American Neilson Powless is back in polka dots as the Tour’s best climber.
Velo explains the Tour’s confusing team tactics.
USA Cycling has announced their team for the track cycling worlds before they even held the US track championships at Carson’s Velo Sports Center this weekend. Which means whoever wins the nationals risks being left off the worlds team entirely, despite being crowned as the US track champ. Thanks to Steve Fujinaka for calling out what’s been bugging me since learning about the US worlds team.
A Vancouver paper says questions are being raised about safety and oversight in the wake of a teenage mountain biker’s death during a downhill race in British Columbia last weekend.
Bicycling reports that track and gravel champ Ashton Lambie’s latest challenge is taking on sailing’s iconic America’s Cup. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.
Finally…
Don’t wink at a woman while riding a bike in Ottumwa, Iowa. Now you, too, can join a pot-smoking bicycle club.
And your bike may soon be able to talk to cars.
Although I’m sure many of us would prefer to share a few choice words with their drivers, instead.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
