BikinginLA

Let’s start with a small correction. 

The other day, I tried to make one of my typically lame jokes, about why Islands magazine was writing about Montreal, when it isn’t one. 

Except, as Doug pointed out, it actually is. 

Which I suppose is the Canadian equivalent of not knowing Manhattan is an island. So I’ll just sit over here in the dunce corner for the rest of the day. 

Photo of one of SoCal’s far too many ghost bikes by Matt Tinoco.

………

A ghost bike will be placed tonight for 36-year old Regan Cole-Graham, who was killed by an elderly driver while riding with her husband and two sons on Pershing Drive in Playa del Rey — right where a road diet was ripped out to appease angry drivers in 2017, after being installed just months earlier.

I’m also told a heartbreaking little white Strider bike is being prepared to honor her unborn child, who died with her just two months short of full term.

………

Long Beach bike groups are hosting a memorial ride for Lori Ann Carreon this Sunday.

According to Bike Long Beach,

…this coming Sunday, a number of Long Beach cycling groups will gather at 4:00 p.m. at 2nd Street and Redondo Avenue for a memorial ride to remember Lori Ann Carreon, the cyclist that was struck and killed by a speeding hit-and-run driver two weeks ago. At 4:30 p.m., the group will ride together to Bixby Park (approximately 1 mile, 2 miles round trip) for a sunset candlelight vigil as they honor her life and come together in community. All are welcome. The ride will be slow and accessible to all. Please ride safely and bring a candle if you’re able.

 

I wish installations and rides like this wen’t necessary. But as long as they are, I’m glad there are still people willing to do it.

And you can get flameless candles online for as little as ten bucks, some of which look pretty realistic if you opt for the flickering variety.

………

Streetblog’s Damian Newton says the early reviews are bad on the proposed license plate-mandating ebike legislation we discussed here the other day, as bike safety advocates pan the bill.

And give him extra credit for quoting my comment that it’s just “an asinine political stunt.”

Meanwhile, Calbike wants your input to help fight the damn thing, as well as enforcing existing laws against illegally misrepresenting e-motos as legal ebikes.

………

Bike Long Beach is also hosting their next Bikes and Coffee ride Sunday morning, with a nine-mile, no-drop ride exploring the city’s aviation history.

If you’re planning to attend, sign their ride waiver. And you’re encouraged to bring a helmet, bike lock, and repair kit, as well as a bike in working order.

The latter of which would seem to be a prerequisite.

………

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

No bias here. An English driving academy questions whether bicyclists have a right to the road, while using AI slop to conjure a not-quite right image of a bicyclist riding on the road near a narrow bike path, accompanied by a couple paragraphs of AI written copy.

No bias here, either. An Irish bike lane is scheduled to be redesigned, or maybe removed, after drivers complained it was a pilot program “with no pilot,” and compared it to a “North Korean style” bike lane that left poor, afflicted motorists with nowhere to pull over if they had a flat or engine trouble, while making it impossible for two combine harvesters to pass one another, which must be a common problem there. Although some of those North Korean bike lanes look better than a lot of LA bike lanes. 

………

Local 

Eaton Fire recovery charity Lotus Rising LA will host a Lunar New Year bike ride this Saturday through Pasadena and Altadena to celebrate the Year of the Fire Horse.

 

State

Calbike is introducing their new line of bike-themed T-shirts and accessories. Some of them aren’t bad.

About damn time. San Diego is moving forward with a comprehensive plan to lower speed limits “around school zones, business corridors, key pedestrian and bicycle routes, and areas with a history of crashes.” Although in Los Angeles, that last clause could cover the entire city.

A Florida father is planning to ride across the country, from San Diego to the East Coast of Florida, to honor his sister who was killed on 9/11. With all due respect, though, riding across the country is hard, with countless unforeseen obstacles that can derail even the best plans — like when my brother was forced to ride out a tornado in a public restroom. So wake me when someone completes a ride, not when they’re planning one. 

Bike riders in San Francisco will highlight Black history and culture with a five-hour ride through the SoMa, Mission Bay and Bayview neighborhoods, culminating in a block party at the end of the ride.

Manteca has formally banned street takeovers by bicyclists, with a $1,000 fine if you’re caught participating, or a mandatory bike safety course and having their bike impounded for anyone under 16.

 

National

More than 1,100 organizations, including major bikemakers, sounded the alarm over funding cuts to bike and active transportation infrastructure, urging Congress to maintain current levels as it drafts the next national transportation bill.

Mountain Bike Action asks if a new drop bar ebike can erase the line between mountain and gravel bikes. Finally bringing this divided nation together. 

An enterprising 12-year old Bend, Oregon boy is detailing cars to raise money to buy his own ebike. You gotta applaud the spirit, even if kids that young shouldn’t be riding them — especially not throttle-controlled electric motorbikes. 

Sad news from Seattle, where a local TV station announced that a 14-year old spaniel has died, two years after he was the first dog to walk across a new pedestrian freeway overpass. No, really.

LV Sports Biz says Las Vegas paid $800,000 to a Henderson, Nevada firm for a Vision Zero study, but questions what difference that has actually made on the streets.

Over on the other coast, a 67-year old Connecticut man says the Watchman procedure has allowed him to get back on his bike, after 15 years on blood thinners. Yes, I know it’s a healthcare advertorial, but still. 

A New York bike club is suing the city over Central Park’s new 15 mph speed limit, calling it a real threat to active transportation.

 

International

Bike riders in Halifax, Nova Scotia complain that collisions are rising along with bike ridership, as the streets remain dangerous for people on two wheels.

A Welsh police captain has been forced to apologize after a “miscategorized” emergency call left an injured bike rider lying in a busy intersection for more than three hours before an ambulance arrived.

There may be dirty tricks afoot in London’s bikeshare wars, as dockless ebike firm Bolt is accusing its competitors of secretly moving the company’s bikes in the middle of the night to areas where they will get impounded by morning.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website busts a handful of ebike myths, starting with ebikes aren’t just for seniors and lazy people. Both of which could describe me these days. 

A British woman shares the highs and lows of her “magical” 6,214-mile bike ride across Africa, from Kigali, Rwanda to Cape Town, South Africa. Although getting chased by tsetse flies was probably one of the lows. 

New Zealand authorities are belatedly paving over a railroad track running through the middle of a bike path, after a 71-year old man suffered multiple injuries when his bike tire got caught in a rut.

 

Finally…

That feeling when a “Mensa reject” says you can avoid a ticket by putting your car’s license plate on the bike rack. Who needs an ebike when you’ve got an e-ski?

And nothing like pedaling a three-wheeled bike through the Moroccan desert loaded with 21 satellite dishes.

Or maybe on an artfully deconstructed and rearranged bike.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.