BikinginLA

Not a lot of major bike news over the weekend, as tomorrow’s Election Day seems to have sucked all of the oxygen out of the room. 

So let’s jump right in. 

And if a corgi can make time her busy schedule to vote, you can, too. 

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

Britain’s Daily Mail demonstrates they have no idea how bike safety projects get done by their shock — or pretending to be shocked — that the country’s first bike boulevard cost the equivalent of $3.25 million to build, but still could get ripped out because the work won’t be considered permanent until the actual, factual results are in — or that some locals will complain no matter what gets built. In other words, kind of like every other safety improvement, everywhere.

Good point. The communications manager for a Minnesota advocacy group says your rage at dangerous drivers may feel like cathartic justice, but it won’t get the bike lanes fixed.

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Local 

Altadena community members took part in the city’s inaugural Golden Poppy Bike Ride to promote wildfire recovery and resilience, and gather input for a community-driven effort to reconnect the area through a multimodal trail network.

If you ride the Arroyo Seco Bike Path in Montecito Heights, you might find it a tad scorched but in good condition, after firefighters held a brush fire to a mere quarter acre.

 

State

A man is riding down the entire California coast on a tandem bike, and inviting strangers to join him for part of the ride.

This is who we share the road with. The CHP conducted a 24-hour special enforcement period in San Diego County on Wednesday, writing 1,023 citations, most for speeding, including 17 drivers cited for doing than 100 mph, and another 17 for DUI. Although anyone driving that fast should be arrested on the spot, rather than ticketed.

 

National

Velo has a list of Pride Rides throughout the country to help find one wherever you are, even in red states.

PeopleForBikes looks at what’s in The BUILD America 250 Act being considered by Congress for people on bikes.

Salt Lake City opened a new bike and pedestrian bridge along an existing viaduct, featuring the state’s longest continuous piece of public art. Or as most of us would call it, a nice fence. 

The local Durango, Colorado paper finally features a story about the recent Iron Horse Classic ride that isn’t paywalled.

Um, okay. A Minneapolis writer says even if everyone in the city stopped driving cars entirely, it wouldn’t make a significant difference in global CO2 emissions. On the other hand, it would make the air locally a hell of a lot cleaner. And if everyone, everywhere, did what they could to cut emissions, it might make a real difference. 

Good news from Indiana, where an autistic 21-year old man was found safe two days after he disappeared while riding his bicycle.

Members of a Buffalo Bills supporters group set out on a week-long, 665-mile bike journey from Chicago to Rochester NY for mental health. Which they probably needed after that overtime playoff loss to Denver last year.

A New Jersey dad riding an illegal, high-powered scooter was attempting to pass a slower rider on the Queensboro Bridge bike path when he slammed head-on into another man on a bicycle last week, killing them both. Then again, when you’re riding in a bike lane on a scooter that can do up to 55 mph, everyone is a slower rider. 

A writer for Gothamist declines to take World Cup officials at their word that it’s too dangerous to skip the high transit fees and bike to the venue at New Jersey’s Met Life Stadium, but concludes that it’s actually sound advice.

It’s bibles, books, and bicycles in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to get kids to read and practice their faith — or whatever is equivalent for your faith. Although when I was down there, bibles were what was read on Sunday, before they threw books and rocks and beers at bike riders the rest of the week. 

An Alabama nonprofit surprised kids at a local elementary school by giving 120 bicycles to underserved first graders; for many, it’s the first bike they’ve ever owned.

 

International

Thousands of Edinburg, Scotland bicyclists took to the streets to demand safer roadways in the annual Pedal on Parliament ride. And yes, I’m proud to have a Pedal on Parliament t-shirt hanging in my closet, even though I’ve never been.

A British program is using the equivalent of a $135,000 grant to fix up broken and abandoned bikes and loan them out for free in an effort to get more people riding.

A mountain biker in the UK thanks a mysterious stranger who took his bike to his home when he had a heart attack while on a descent — and perhaps more surprising, that it was still leaning against his garage when he finally returned home. Proving once again that there are a lot of good people in this world. 

A British TV host had a full meltdown in reaction to a respected bike journalist, screaming that bike riders go faster than cars, only 75,000 people live in Amsterdam, and the whole damn country can’t be 25-year olds in Lycra. Although admittedly, we often can go faster than drivers because their 100 mph+ machines are stuck in traffic. 

A 34-year old Dutch man completed a seven-country, 1864-mile bicycle journey from Amsterdam to Istanbul in 46 days to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s disease in honor of his late grandmother.

A woman in Hangzhou, China was lucky to survive when a fishing line wrapped around her neck as she rode her bike past a crowded bridge, before finally snapping on its own; she suspects a careless angler was responsible.

Bicycling Australia complains about “bicycles by name only,” aka so-called ebikes that are actually electric motorbikes.

 

Competitive Cycling

To the surprise of no one, Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard became the eighth man to win all three Grand Tours by claiming the Giro on Sunday, over five minutes ahead of second-place Felix Gall, while Jai Hindley completed the podium.

Bicycling Australia charts how Vingegaard took control of the race on the road from Bulgaria to Rome.

Before the Giro came to a close, 31-year old American Sepp Kuss soloed to victory on the queen stage.

In a bizarre development, Giro points leader and triple stage winner Jhonatan Narváez withdrew after stage 18 after colliding with the team bus following the race.

The women’s edition of the Giro took the extraordinary step of kicking stage one winner Lorena Wiebes out of the race entirely for violating UCI’s 6.8 kilograms weight limit by just 0.02kg — less than one ounce underweight — transferring the first maglia rosa and stage win to Italy’s Elisa Balsamo.

Wiebes’ SD Worx Protime team blamed a faulty scale for her DQ, and threatened legal action.

Cycling News says an unexpected rainstorm changed everything at Unbound Gravel, and apparently, 32-inch wheels didn’t roll over the field, after all.

 

Finally…

No one ever died of Bicycle Face. That feeling when your mountain bike pratfall circles the globe, or when your new bike lane isn’t any wider than your handlebars.

And seriously, no matter how big a hurrying you’re in to get out on your bike, try not to forget your pants.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.