Day 24 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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An upcoming new book takes a look at the past, present and future of Black bicyclists in the US and around the world.
According to the Los Angeles Sentinel,
“I’m using the past to understand the present,” (Moncrieffe) said. “And taking the voices of current Black cyclists to understand what might be the future of our representation in the sport.”
The book will be available from all the usual source — yes, including that one — next month.
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The Wild newsletter from the Los Angeles Times reports you can ride your bike to help clean up the Valley Forge Trail in the Angeles National Forest (scroll down).
2. Bike to trail clean-up in Angeles National Forest
The Mt. Wilson Bicycling Association will host a bike-in trail cleanup from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday on the Valley Forge Trail. Volunteers will park at Redbox Picnic Area and are responsible for getting themselves to Valley Forge Trail Camp by bike. The group will meet at 8 a.m. for a safety briefing before riding to the trail. The organization will provide lunch to volunteers. Participants should bring water and snacks and wear long sleeves and pants to protect themselves from poodle-dog bush and other irritants in the area. Register at eventbrite.com.
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Gravel Bike California takes one fond look back to their favorite rides of the past year.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. Readers of an Oxford, England newspaper say the best way to improve safety for bicyclists is to ban bicycling in the city.
A British city scrapped a controversial bicycling ban on a pedestrianized Main Street — or High Street in the Brit vernacular — despite claiming it had widespread support just last April.
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Local
Torched takes an in-depth look at the smoke fouling air in the Los Angeles area, as fires continue to burn throughout the region. So go ahead and ride your bike this weekend — just try not to breathe.
At least 54 hiking trails were burned in Eaton and Palisades fires, let alone what may have gone up in this week’s Hughes Fire above Castaic. Which raises the troubling question of whether your favorite mountain biking or gravel trails will still be around when all the flames are extinguished.
Santa Monica Next takes the beachside city to task for failing to adequately enforce the state vehicle code, in the wake of a deadly hit-and-run crash last month.
State
A group of 61 local, state and national advocacy groups signed onto a letter to Caltrans and the California Transportation Commission urging them to speed up action to meet the state’s transportation-related climate goals, as they continue to build dirty freeways instead of bikeways.
Police in Huntington Beach recovered a stolen ebike and arrested the alleged thief after the victim’s mom tracked it down herself.
Streetsblog takes a look at Irvine’s first curb-protected bike lane — or protected bike lane, period.
National
Bicycling recommends the gear you need for riding in all types of cold weather this winter. Although here in Los Angeles, that usually just ranges from drought weather to fire weather to earthquake weather. Read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.
People For Bikes highlights last year’s best new US bikeways, including San Diego’s Pershing Bikeway. But as usual, none are in Los Angeles.
A new bike mapping app promises to rate every street in the US on a scale of one to five for bike-friendliness.
An Oregon Marine Corps vet got his stolen custom-made ti bike back after a sharp-eyed sheriff’s detective spotted it while serving a search warrant, even though it had been partially disassembled and some of the parts used to create a Frankenbike.
The new Arkansas Global Cycling Accelerator is taking applications from bicycling-related startups and innovators hoping to jumpstart their business, as Bentonville strives to become a hub for the mountain biking industry, as well as a world-class mountain biking destination.
In today’s most touching story, councilmembers in Schenectady, New York joined a caravan of police, fire and public works vehicles to honor a local man famed for simply riding his bike throug the city while bringing warmth and cheer to everyone he met, after 56-year old Ronnie “Rondon” Cridelle lost his battle with cancer. Although when my time comes, I’ll be lucky if I get someone pulling a corgi in a wagon around the block.
A not too surprising side benefit of New York’s new congestion pricing program is that less traffic also means fewer collisions, and fewer injuries, as a result.
Bad news from North Carolina, where bicycling deaths jumped 50% last year, despite an overall drop in traffic fatalities.
International
Rouleur talks with Phil Cavell, author of The Midlife Cyclist, about how to ride a bike after 40 while staying healthy.
Despite the recommendations of an independent investigation office, a Canadian Mountie in British Columbia won’t face charges for using his police cruiser as a weapon to knock a 15-year-old robbery suspect off his bicycle; prosecutors say there isn’t enough evidence to support the recommended charges of aggravated assault, dangerous driving and dangerous driving causing bodily harm. All of which seems pretty self-evident, given the circumstances.
London bicyclists are avoiding the popular riding route around the outer circle of the city’s Regent Park, after a rash of violent high-end bike thefts.
Riders of London’s Lime dockless ebikes discover the hard way that “break a leg!” isn’t just a way to avoid jinxing theater performers.
A Scottish driver pled guilty to killing a “legendary” local bicyclist, despite playing the universal Get Our Of Jail Free card, as the woman claimed she didn’t see the 64-year old man riding his bike because the sun was in her eyes.
A historic Cardiff, Wales outdoor velodrome lives to fight another day, after plans to build a new replacement fell through.
A British man was found guilty of manslaughter for fatally stabbing another man in a dispute over an allegedly stolen ebike, after the purported thief continued to send threatening voice mail messages.
Retro bike collector and head of British Cycling Bob Howden invites Cycling Weekly into his trove of classic bikes.
You can add adventure bicycling around Taiwan to your bike bucket list.
A writer for Streetsblog sends a postcard from Shanghai, saying “the Chinese mega-city provides an example of great urban mobility, albeit with a side of authoritarianism.” Because as we all know, a side of authoritarianism goes great with Peking duck and stinky tofu.
Life is cheap in Australia, as former cycling champ Rohan Dennis formally entered a guilty plea in the death of his wife, former Olympic cyclist Melissa Hopkins, copping to a single aggravated count of creating likelihood of harm, with a maximum sentence of seven years behind bars and a five-year loss of his driver’s license; Hopkins died after falling off the hood of Dennis’ SUV as she clung to it for dear life as he sped off.
Competitive Cycling
The United State’s only remaining one-day men’s UCI bike race is coming back this September, as the Maryland Cycling Classic adds a long-awaited women’s race to go with it.
Finally…
Now you, too, can finally own that ’73 Schwinn Stingray you always wanted, for less than it will probably cost you to have it shipped. Nothing like a nice, brisk 20 below fat bike ride.
And that feeling when your editor tells you to write about bike memes, but neglects to explain there’s a difference between bicycles and motorcycles.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
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