BikinginLA

Once again, I failed to win the Nobel Prize for physics, despite my discovery that a body not in motion will usually grow a big butt. 

Mine included. 

So keep moving out there. 

Meanwhile, if you’re still reading this, it means Iran hasn’t taken Donald Trump up on his invitation to nuke Los Angeles and/or San Diego. 

Although what’s even scarier is the laughter from the audience. 

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Santa Monica public radio station KCRW lists Sunday’s Heart of LA CicLAvia at the top of their things to do list for this week.

CicLAvia—Heart of LA (Downtown) | Sunday | FREE
The dream of safe streets becomes reality for one day. Bike, skate, or walk through 6.5 miles of car-free streets connecting Downtown, Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Arts District, Boyle Heights, and Echo Park.

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The Los Angeles Times reports that the safest drivers on LA streets appears to be no driver, as Waymo stats show crashes involving the driverless cars are climbing. But most result in just minor damage and injuries, and many occur while the vehicles are stopped.

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Montrose invites you to the official opening of the re-imagined La Crescenta Ave tomorrow.

 

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Noted bicyclist Conan O’Brien talks bikes with Owen Wilson, including about how deadly SoCal’s killer highway is. Thanks to Megan for the heads-up.

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

No bias here. Chicago Magazine offers a two-minute guide to the city’s largely Latino-driven bikelash, saying recent research in the city shows that protected bike lanes don’t adversely affect business, but the science is still out on whether bicyclists are irritating. But you’ll have to get past their paywall to read it. 

Sometimes, it’s the person on two wheels behaving badly. 

Oops. A Chinese influencer celebrated her personal best in last month’s Berlin Marathon, but failed to mention she caught a lift on the back of a bicycle for more than three miles.

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Local 

Pasadena police urge drivers to slow down in school zones, and offer safety tips for students walking, biking or rolling for tomorrow’s National Walk, Bike and Roll to School Day. Meanwhile, LA tells drivers to just carry on.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton visits Santa Monica’s newly concrete-curb-protected Broadway Bikeway, which is now the county’s longest continuous concrete proved bikeway.

 

State

Sad news from Hollister, where a 63-year old man was killed by a driver while riding a bicycle.

More sad news from Modesto, where a 33-year old man faces charges for the — allegedly — drunken hit-and-run crash that killed a man riding a bicycle; the accused driver has a history of DUIs, which means he could face a murder charge under California law.

World Relief Sacramento examines the city’s Bicycle Kitchen, which works with the organization to send bicycles to people in need in Africa.

 

National

More proof that hit-and-run drivers really are cowards, as police in Fitchburg, Wisconsin arrested a man accused of fleeing the scene after seriously injuring a 24-year old bike rider as the driver hid in a closet to avoid arrest.

Kindhearted cops in Providence, Rhode Island gave a new bicycle to a boy after his was stolen.

New protected bike lanes are coming to Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood, replacing a painted buffered bike lane. And none too soon, judging by the photo of a woman riding her bike in the buffer.

Tragic news from New York, where a 71-year old man was killed when he crashed his bike into a roaming golden retriever in an off-leash section of Central Park; the good news is the dog wasn’t hurt, and the owner stuck around.

 

International

A Calgary city counselor is calling for a halt on all bike lane work, as the Alberta legislature works on increasing provincial oversight of bicycling infrastructure.

An Ontario man is riding a Brompton to his treatments to beat cancer. Thanks again to Megan for the link. 

Torquay, England is replacing the notorious bike path stair dubbed the “Stairway to Hell,” after a bicyclist was injured falling down them.

The Beeb questions whether London’s ebike situation has gone too far, while failing to note how cars have taken over the city.

China’s Xinhua news agency says bicycling is booming in the massive country that’s bikemaker to the world.

A pair of German ebike riders retraced the more than 4,300-mile route of Mao Tse Tung’s historic Long March during the communist revolt in 1930’s China.

Cadillac F1 driver Valtteri Bottas is skipping the flight to this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix by riding his bicycle 217 miles from the Malaysian site of last weekend’s race, accompanied by his partner, professional cyclist Tiffany Cromwell.

 

Competitive Cycling

Italy’s Giulio Ciccone is questioning the results of a photo finish that gave victory in the European cycling championships to Remco Evenepoel, despite what appears to be a dead heat; Evenepoel was awarded the win by a margin of just 0.0028 seconds.

The Upworthy site spends some time with cycling great Gino Bartali, who was not only a two-time winner of the Tour de France, but helped save hundreds, if not thousands, of Jews by hiding forged papers from the Germans and Italian fascists in the frame of his bicycle during WWII.

Cyclist examines six items at Italy’s Ghisallo Museum that illuminate the history of cycling, next to the cycling-oriented chapel honoring the Madonna del Ghisallo, the patron saint of bicyclists. Although once again, you’ll have to get past the magazine’s paywall. And I’d gladly make the case for Bartali as the patron saint of cyclists. 

 

Finally…

If you kill two people while speeding and driving impaired, be sure to call your cop daddy before dialing 911. You won’t find any anti-bike bias in Pearls Before Swine, either. When you’re riding your bike with a pair of outstanding arrest warrants and a baggie of meth, put a damn rear light on it, already.

And maybe it’s not the best idea to attack the cops after they stop you for drunkenly speeding in the bike lane.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.