BikinginLA

Just 274 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.

So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re now up to 1,030 signatures, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

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It’s now 103 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 34 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, Calbike offers an update on the virtually moribund program based on a recent virtual public work group, saying the program’s soft launch really is underway — and they believe the statewide launch will happen “soon.”

No, really.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

An English bike rider underwent extensive surgery to repair a broken elbow after someone sabotaged a bike trail by placing a large tree branch across it; a group of youths were seen “fleeing the scene,” though no one seems to have actually seen them move the branch.

A disabled British man suffering from Parkinson’s disease won his battle to have barriers removed that blocked his recumbent bike from a section of the National Cycle Network, reaching an out-of-court settlement to move the barriers, which were designed to keep motorbikes off the bikeway.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A self-professed Boulder, Colorado bike rider accuses his fellow bicyclists of brazenly breaking the law, alleging that Boulder bike riders “want all the rights of both cars and pedestrians without any of the responsibilities.” Actually, bicyclists already have the same rights, as well as the responsibilities, regardless of whether they may or may not want them. And it’s not like drivers or pedestrians behave any better. 

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Local 

Streetsblog offers more details on Metro’s cancellation of a plan to have ride hailing provider Lyft operate the Metro Bike bikeshare system, saying the contract will stay with Philadelphia-based Bicycle Transit Systems (BTS) — and its unionized local workers — for the foreseeable future.

A retired Santa Clarita motorcycle cop says yes, you can get busted for biking under the influence.

 

State

A city planner on TikTok explains why bicycling rates are sometimes higher in cities with less favorable climates, comparing California’s traffic-challenged painted bike lanes with safer off-road bike paths in the Yukon and British Columbia.

Work is beginning on repairs to the landslide plagued Beacon’s Beach bike path in Encinitas, which could reopen in time for Memorial Day.

A new musical making its US debut at San Diego’s Old Globe Theater tells the tale of the first woman to ride a bike around the world in the 1890s — even though it barely shows an actual bike.

San Francisco opened a new quick-build bike lane leading to the city’s Oracle Park baseball field, linking to a new bikeshare station and the Giant’s bike valet. Meanwhile, anyone wanting to ride to LA’s Dodger Stadium continues to be on your own.

A Marin paper complains about a compromise plan to remove the “costly” bike lane on the Richmond-San Raphael Bridge four days a week, citing the “underwhelming” use by bicyclists while arguing that it doesn’t go far enough. Even though officials say the bike lane isn’t to blame for the massive traffic tie-ups on the bridge.

 

National

Dozens of people turned out for a Portland bike ride and ghost bike installation in honor of a homeless man who was killed by a driver while riding a bike, observing that he always stepped up to help others.

The Seattle suburb of Bellevue tossed the city’s commitment to Vision Zero out the window, exposing city staff members to needless personal and professional attacks.

An Indiana man was the victim of a bizarre attack while riding his bike when he was pepper sprayed and stabbed in the neck with a box cutter, in an apparent case of mistaken identity; as the victim lay on the ground, his attacker asked his name, then responded “Wrong guy” before running off, later telling police he was “Done with people.

‘An Indiana nonprofit gave out more than 750 refurbished bikes to kids in need to mark the Easter weekend.

A Virginia man managed to morph his ice cream bicycle business into a bike-and-mortar hot dog stand.

Raleigh, North Carolina will use a $150,000 federal grant to pay ebike riders up to $1,500 in exchange for usage data on where and how they ride.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A Florida man celebrated his 90th birthday with a 90-mile bike,

 

International

Momentum writes in praise of the humble beater bike for urban commuting.

Next City considers how chilly Montreal became a year-round bicycling success story. Meanwhile, sunny Los Angeles continues to be a hot mess for bike riding. 

Huge masses of people turned out for an Edinburgh bike ride to protest plans to halt the city’s Low Traffic Neighborhoods.

Shop owners in Manchester, England accuse a new bike lane of killing their businesses by preventing customers from parking in front of their shops. Although as we’ve seen other places, anecdotal claims of sales declines are often contradicted by sale tax receipts, or more easily explained by other reasons.

No bias here. London’s Daily Mail complains about the “menace” of ebikes, noting that the 260 illegally modified ebikes seized by police last year was double the number in 2022. Even though that works out to less than one a day — and the vast number of ebikes on the streets weren’t modified, legally or otherwise.

Bike riders in Macedonia argue you can’t have a smart airport in a smart city without first building smart streets.

Dubai will now use AI-powered robots with facial recognition to identify scofflaw bike riders and e-scooterists, and automatically send tickets for traffic and helmet violations,

 

Competitive Cycling

World champ Mathieu van der Poel won Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, making his move on a brutal cobbled climb with 26 miles to go, staying in the saddle when other riders jumped off to run their bikes up the hill; Elisa Longo Borghini sprinted for the win on the women’s side.

The five-day Redlands Bicycle Classic will return for its 38th annual edition on April 10, featuring a number of new twists — including a record number of women in the peloton.

Cycling Weekly says forget Giro’s weird and wacky time trial helmet, because everything bicyclists have put on our heads since bikes were invented are mystifying and ridiculous.

Smile and the world smiles with you — but put on a grumpy face if you want to mess with the competiton at your next race.

 

Finally…

Who needs a warehouse, when you can mount a DJ set and a set of speakers on a bicycle, and conduct your own rolling rave? Seriously, who wouldn’t want shag carpet pedals?

And that feeling when your ebike goes up in flames outside Buckingham Palace.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin