BikinginLA

They get it.

A Philippine news site starts out sounding like another pro-car hit piece, asking if bike lanes really work.

As one sits in yet another line of traffic, it is hard not to glance at the bicycle lane beside the road and wonder whether it is actually doing its job. With cars barely moving, the occasional cyclist quietly passes by, prompting a familiar question: Do bicycle lanes really work?

It sounds like a reasonable criticism until one asks a different question. Are we judging bicycle lanes as transportation infrastructure, or are we judging unfinished infrastructure that was never allowed to function as intended?

According to the site, bicycles have gone from being seen as a means of recreation to being considered a vital part of the country’s transportation policy, while usage has increased from 24% to 36% of the country’s households.

The numbers suggest something important: there is demand. The challenge is that our infrastructure has not yet caught up.

International research consistently reaches the same conclusion. Bicycle lanes work best when they are protected, continuous and connected. A painted strip squeezed beside fast-moving traffic is very different from a dedicated lane separated from vehicles by physical barriers. Safety is what determines whether an experienced cyclist rides to work and, more importantly, whether a parent allows a child or an older adult to do the same.

Every study I’ve seen says that bike lanes increase ridership, and protected bike lanes encourage more people to ride more often, while improving safety for everyone on the road.

But what’s missing, as they note, is a completed network allowing riders to travel across and between cities safely. So when people complain that a bike lane isn’t being used, it’s usually a sign that the connections to it are inadequate, or nonexistent.

If you want people to use them, build a network.

Not a bike lane.

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A Canadian website places tongue firmly in cheek, and writes about an “avid cyclist” capable of “hating bikes when he’s driving and hating cars when he’s biking,” while arguing that he may be one of the most intriguing men alive.

Taylor’s dual nature has even led to him yelling at himself. “I was heading home from a ride when I encountered a car blocking the bike lane. I pounded on the trunk and yelled, ‘Bike lane, dumbass!’ Then I realized it was my own car. But hey, I was only parked there for a couple hours. And how hard is it to just go around me? Geez.”

Taylor’s wife, Lauren Smythe, 36, says she knew there was more to him on their first date. “Halfway through dinner I was like, ‘Wow. This fascinating guy hates everyone,’” Smythe recalled they talked until the restaurant closed, exploring Taylor’s many-layered opinions. “He ranted about cyclists going the wrong way on one-way streets, then went right into a rant about cars not giving bikes a full metre of space. Of course, my ‘no hookups on the first date rule’ went right out the window.”

But it seems there’s one thing everyone can agree on.

“Cyclists are insufferable health nuts; there’s just no talking to them. Meanwhile, drivers are just dumb slobs full of hamburgers.”

Taylor says if there’s any hope for improvement, it will come from seeking common ground. “And if there’s one thing everyone can agree on, it’s that we all hate e-bikes.”

Yup.

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The breakout star of the World Cup in Mexico City isn’t a striker, or a goalie, or even a coach.

It’s a dog. On a bicycle, no less.

As World Cup fever sweeps Mexico City, one of the tournament’s biggest fan favorites isn’t a player, coach or official mascot. Joining Merlin the duck in the pantheon of heart-stealers is Osito, an 8-year-old rescue poodle mix who’s become an unlikely sensation after arriving at Mexico’s opening match perched on the back of a cargo bicycle, dressed in a Mexico jersey, sunglasses and a cap.

As thousands of fans streamed toward the stadium last week for the tournament opener, many stopped to snap photos, pet the dog and post videos online. Within hours, Osito was appearing on international broadcasts and spreading across social media, transforming the bicycle-riding dog into one of the World Cup’s most charming viral stars.

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

Bicyclists in Chattanooga are pushing back against a plan to remove a bike lane and widen the existing traffic lanes to “improve safety,” as the city ignores established research showing wider lanes encourage speeding and increase risk to everyone on the road, while narrower lanes slow traffic and improve safety — as do bike lanes.

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Local 

The ongoing warehouse fire in Boyle Heights has been declared a State of Emergency in Los Angeles, as well as California. The smoke, which has spread all over the city, is highly toxic and could contain a number of dangerous chemicals, which aren’t blocked by an N-95 mask. So your best bet is if you smell smoke, don’t ride. Wait until the wind is blowing in the opposite direct, or they finally put the damn thing out.

 

State

Tragic news from Carlsbad, where a teenager was stabbed following a dispute over an allegedly stolen ebike.

More bad news from the San Diego area, where a 23-year old man riding an e-cargo bike was critically injured when he allegedly turned left directly into the path of an oncoming pickup driver on Friday.

San Diego is just the latest city considering a crackdown on ebikes, banning their use by anyone under 12 and prohibiting more than one rider on bikes that aren’t designed for two people.

Cycling Weekly sings the praises of the mid-ride outdoor coffee meetup, first popularized by Rob Perks of Ventura’s Ocean Air Cycles, and currently mapped out by Long Beach expat Russ Roca on The Path Less Pedaled website.

A Bakersfield bike rider was killed by an alleged hit-and-run driver, who was arrested for felony DUI shortly afterward.

Cycling West goes riding through the hills of the Sonoma County Wine Country.

 

National

A 61-year old woman believes that riding a bicycle has kept her out of a wheelchair by reversing, or at least delaying, her Parkinson’s disease.

This is why people keep dying on our streets. A 47-year old Albuquerque man faces multiple charges, including driving while intoxicated, for killing a 47-year old man riding a bicycle, just five days after he pled guilty to his fourth DUI offense; witnesses said they heard him rev his engine just before cutting between two bicyclists to hit the victim. Just one more example of authorities keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it was too late.

The 18 participants in this year’s Remember the Removal bike ride returned to their starting point in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, after retracing their ancestors’ original 950-mile journey in the infamous Trail of Tears 188 years ago.

A 23-year old New Jersey man faces charges for fleeing the scene after killing two teenagers walking an ebike on the side of the roadway; he initially stopped after hitting the 17-year old boy and girl, before leaving them to die in the roadway.

You’ve got to be kidding. A 67-year old masters bicyclist and former three-time Olympian and two-time canoe slalom world champ was arrested for vandalizing the reflecting pool in Washington DC; David Hearn says he stopped  in the middle off a 52-mile ride to examine the algae and paint peeling off the bottom of the pool, and merely reached in to touch the peeling paint when he was arrested.

A Florida ambulance company and the local cops went into overdrive to blame a victim who was struck by an ambulance in emergency mode while walking his bike across a street, then struck by another car, saying he ignored the siren and crossed against the light, while wearing dark clothes with no light on his bike, and cops claimed they observed a “dripping alcoholic beverage” in the wreckage of the bicycle afterwards. The only advantage of getting hit by an ambulance driver is you usually don’t have to wait for emergency care.

More tragic news from Florida, where a ten-year old boy was struck by two drivers when he allegedly rode his bike into traffic trying to escape “some incident” at a Circle K with his brother; doctors say if he wakes up from a drug induced coma, he would likely require full-time care and be unable to live independently. A crowdfunding campaign to help with his medical expenses has raised over $28,000 of the $30,000 goal.

 

International

In a moving essay, a Canadian woman says watching the Tour de France got her through the first three weeks after her bike-loving husband suddenly died of cancer at just 36.

It turns out that Irish investigators didn’t have a warrant when they seized a old Trek bicycle worth about $57 that a cop had loaned to an elderly neighbor during the pandemic, after the bike had sat in police storage for some time; the cop received a €270,000 settlement — around $390,000 — after he was suspended for the incident.

Japan’s roadside umbrella stands are facing jeopardy now that the police are enforcing a ban on riding a bicycle with an umbrella attached to the handlebars, which could result in a fine of 3,000 yen, or around $19.

 

Competitive Cycling

Your new national elite women’s road race champ is Kate Courtney, the reigning UCI Mountain Bike Marathon World Champ, who held off Lauren Stephens in a sprint to the finish line at the USA Pro Road Championships in Charleston, WV on Sunday.

British cyclist Tom Pidcock, who now calls tiny, landlocked Andorra home, won the final tuneup prior to the Tour de France in his new home country, the second edition of the Andorra MoraBanc Clàssica, topping Spain’s Carlos Verona and American Sepp Kuss.

Twenty-five-year old Australian cyclist Sarah Gigante had another operation to adjust the hardware holding her surgically reconstructed femur, ten months after she shattered her leg in a training crash in what had been her breakout season.

British ultra-endurance cyclist Sarah Ruggins shattered the record for riding the length of Europe, riding over 3,700 miles in just 13 days, 20 hours and 27 minutes, and beating the old record by three days and 32 minutes.

 

Finally…

Who knew there was an “Oscar” for the best Italian bike tourism route? How to trick a bike counter.

And that feeling when a new bike park uncovers a long lost 137-year old cemetery.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.