Think of it as sort of like a pledge drive for your favorite public radio station. Except we don’t take away the reason you came here while we ask for your money.
Or maybe plead is a better word this year.
Like a lot of people, we’re hurting this year, emotionally and financially, after my wife’s job disappeared along with the company she worked for during the first Covid-19 lockdown. And we’re facing an even bigger cliff when her health insurance disappears along with her job at the end of the year.
Good times.
But those are my problems. You’ve undoubtedly got your own right now.
Which is why I’m not asking for your help if you’re struggling, too. If you can’t afford it, don’t sweat it. Just coming here to read this site means more than I can ever begin to tell you.
But if you’ve to a few extra bucks lying around, keep reading.
Because running this site is a more than full-time job, for a lot less than minimum wage. And while I truly appreciate each of our sponsors, their support, as valuable as it is, doesn’t begin to cover what’s needed to keep this site going.
I count on whatever comes in during the annual fund drive to tide me over until those sponsors renew in the spring.
If they do in the middle of this pandemic, which could be in doubt, just like everything else right now.
But that’s where you come in.
Your support helps fill in that gaping gap, and allows me to devote my working hours to bringing you all the latest bike news, from around the corner and around the world.
And devote whatever time I have left in this world to helping make it a safer place for people on bicycles, and a more livable world for all of us.
Because we can’t fix the problems we all face if we don’t know what they are. And our elected leaders can’t hide the truths we shine a light on.
So please, give what you can, or what you want.
But give something if you can.
You can contribute with just a few clicks by using PayPal. Or by using the using the Zelle feature that came with the banking app already on your phone; just send your contribution to ted @ bikinginla.com (after removing the spaces, of course).
As always, any donation, in any amount, is truly and deeply appreciated. And will help keep all the best bike news coming your way every day.
Thanks to Arthur B and Eric L for their generous contributions before this fund drive even began.
And a special thanks to Todd Rowell, who came up with the idea for this fund drive in the first place.
Finally, say hi to the new corgi puppy, as she takes a break from training to be a diabetic service dog to make her debut as official spokesdog for the Holiday Fund Drive!
November 25, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Your help needed for precedent-setting legal case, Epstein enters CD5 council race, and reward for hit-and-run drivers
This has been a rough year for all of us.
And riding a bike hasn’t always been enough to get through it, emotionally or otherwise.
So take some time to find something you can truly be thankful for, and give your heart and mind a break for a few days.
And stay safe out there. I want to see you back here bright and early when we return to our regular programming on Monday.
The corgi puppy is already hard at work preparing for her debut as our new spokesdog.
But feel free if you want to get a jump on donating and beat the holiday rush.
Update: Thanks to Arthur B for kicking the fund drive off!
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Today I learned what depublishing means — and what we can do about it.
Recently, we mentioned a legal ruling from a California appeals court that held Sonoma County responsible for injuries a woman suffered when her bike hit a pothole at 25 mph, setting a precedent that would make it easier for other injured riders to hold local governments accountable for bad roads, and their failure to maintain them.
The argument put forth by appeals attorney Nadia Sarkis, representing the County, focused on the length, speed, and purpose of Williams’ ride, claiming that as she was engaged in an “extreme sport” and was not an “ordinary user” of the road, she assumed the “inherent risk of the sport.” In other words, she should have known she could get hurt riding a bike and that County liability for poor road condition therefore does not apply to her.
The Justices’ line of questioning really hammered on this idea that the County’s liability varies based on the speed and purpose of a cyclist’s ride on a given day. One Justice gave Sarkis some hypotheticals and asked in which cases the County has duty. They included a woman riding at the same speed and distance but to work; a teenager riding the same speed but on her way to soccer practice; a 65-year-old woman riding the same speed on an electric bike she bought after having a knee replacement. They all seemed somewhat incredulous only Williams’ incident, but not the rest of these situations, should release the County from liability for the cyclist’s injuries and questioned the whole idea of defining “ordinary” versus “extreme” bicycling.
(Sarkis had quoted a study on “average” speed and distance for recreational versus transportational cyclists and implied that anything above “average” was “extreme.” The speed and distance of Dr. Williams’ ride were certainly those of a fit and serious rider, but nowhere near what any of us would consider “extreme.”)
Which is ridiculous, of course. And has nothing to do with the failure to ensure a safe riding surface.
Which is where you come in.
Alan Charles Dell’Ario, the plaintiff’s attorney, is asking for letters from bicyclists to forward the Supreme Court within to oppose depublishing the ruling, and keep it as a precedent that could prove invaluable to other injured riders.
Just hurry, because it’s due at the Supreme Court by the end of next week.
Update: Mr. Dell’Ario sends word that your letter must follow the format below to be forwarded to the court.
Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.
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This year’s city council election ended less than a month ago. But the campaign to replace termed out Paul Koretz in CD5 is just getting started, as Scott Epstein tossed his cycling cap into the ring.
I am running for city council because I believe we need leaders in LA who are at once connected to community and committed to progress. This is a campaign fueled by #PeoplePower which is why I’m so proud to have the endorsements of over 100 civic leaders & engaged CD5 residents. pic.twitter.com/JEaLrA7m8D
Epstein is a life-long bike rider and advocate for safer streets, and a long-time leader with both the Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee and the Mid City West Community Council.
I’ve known him for over a decade, and it’s hard to imagine a better replacement for the pseudo-environmentalist Koretz, who has opposed virtually every bike project in his district.
Epstein has my unqualified support. And you can find a long list of other endorsements by clicking on the thread above.
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This is who we share the road with.
The LAPD is looking for a motorcyclist and two drivers who ran down a South LA man in a deadly triple hit-and-run.
Fifty-year old Jose Fuentes was crossing Central Ave near 78th Street when the motorcycle rider slammed into him, followed by both drivers running over him, one after the other, as he lay in the roadway.
And not one had the basic human decency to stick around afterwards, let alone call for help or render aid.
Meanwhile, 76-year old Kuen Ham died several hours after she was run down by yet another hit-and-run driver as she was crossing Miramar Street at Union Ave in the Westlake District, dragging her several feet as they fled the scene.
As always, there is standing $50,000 reward offered by the City of Los Angeles for information leading to an arrest and conviction in any fatal hit-and-run, which applies in both these cases.
Thanks to Jeff Vaughn for the Fuentes heads-up.
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Four people find the balance between mountain biking and skiing.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
The NYPD has finally done the right thing, and cancelled dozens of outstanding ebike tickets after the city belatedly got around to legalizing them; the department’s crackdown fell primarily on immigrant delivery riders who could least afford it.
Unfortunately, that’s all the information we have at this time. No word on how the crash happened, or whether the victim had lights on his bike after dark.
However, an email from Lois adds a few more thoughts.
This is a super dangerous crossing where a downhill proceeds to a right turn on a busy road with no clearance. Mountain bikers with no road riding experience frequently cross to the far side and ride salmon style to make the next left back to the Fullerton Loop. There’s a much safer but slightly longer and less exciting route to get to the same place. It has a light at the crossing. Maybe the city should have a sign to direct the Loop riders in that direction but many still won’t take it.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Accident Investigator H. Barclay of the Fullerton Police Department at 714/738-6815.
This is at least the 60th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 16th that I’m aware of in Orange County, which has seen an already too-high average of 12 bicycling deaths in recent years.
That puts it neck-and-neck with Los Angeles County, which has also seen 16 bike deaths this year, with over three times the population.
Update: The victim has been identified as 33-year old Joshua Pumphrey, who was killed just two weeks after he’d gotten married.
The Fullerton Observer explains how the crash happened.
Pumphrey was in a group of 11 riders on the “Fullerton Loop,” a popular series of interconnected local bike trails that sometimes cross major streets. According to witnesses, as the group of riders headed westbound on Valley View to Bastanchury, they turned right and hugged the right curb as cars were coming their same direction, northbound. The cars passed and the group merged across northbound traffic to the left turn lane which would put them westbound on Lancer Way. It was then that Pumphrey was struck by the car.
Never mind that, as his father is quick to point out, the sidewalks are the only playground kids in the neighborhood have.
Or that the alternative is for a little kid to ride his bike in the city’s dangerous streets, in a neighborhood that hasn’t seen the city’s bike lane expansion. And probably won’t for the foreseeable future.
Let alone that the kid is just eight effing years old.
Seriously, use a little common sense.
And if you don’t want the world to think you’re a racist, stop acting like one.
Stolen 'Banksy bike' wasn't stolen after all: the original bike that forms part of the latest Banksy is "safe and well" according to the Nottingham Project, and it's even been replaced by a Good Samaritan already… https://t.co/XRQRhsV1uF#cyclingpic.twitter.com/KbbKVp3lmo
Opponents of a bike lane on San Diego’s 30th Street accuse the city council of playing a shell game by giving less than 24 hours notice of a vote to approve the plan, which will trade 500 parking spaces for protected bike lanes, under the guise of a construction change.
The CHP actually gets bike law right for a change, telling a Fresno questioner that bicycles are allowed on highways, while banned on many limited-access freeways. Correction: They got that part right, but failed in saying bicyclists have to stick to “the rightmost portion of the roadway” and ride single file — neither of which is accurate. Thanks to Andy Stowe for the catch.
A San Jose writer explains to a letter writer what to do if a dog chases your bike. Most dogs are trained to obey commands, so I’ve had good luck giving a firm order to sit or go home. Never mind that ebikes that can go 23 mph, like the letter writer claims, aren’t allowed on California bike paths.
We’ve seen countless stories that bike thefts have jumped during the pandemic. Yet somehow a Chicago stolen bike registry has shown a 50% spike in stolen bikes, while the Chicago PD only reports a measly 6% increase.
English actress Michelle Keegan is sort of one of us, looking good in her Lycra bikewear while confessing she only took up bicycling for about three weeks during the pandemic.
Gridlock everyday? But he’s stood next to a road that isn’t gridlocked?! Come on @DailyMailUK at least wait for a picture where the roads are gridlocked!! #amateurspic.twitter.com/9WYENoEYrB
November 23, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Hard-hitting look at race in cycling, South LA teen killed in drive-by while riding bike, and a deep dive into SoCal bike deaths
Note: I’m not censoring his language, even though it includes a word I would never use.
I’ve had several people – even a “teammate” – call me nigger. I’ve had racists shout it from their cars as they pass me on my bike. I sat there as a white man criticized my Mom, who looks white, but is Hispanic, for being with a monkey, my father – a Black man. I had a woman tell me at the Redlands Classic she would never even think about dating a black man because “they’re too much trouble.” A girl I was dating told me she had racist grandparents. This came up only as they were potentially going to be joining us on a trip, a problem I’m sure many Black folks have run into.
After quoting LA’s former national crit champ Rahsaan Bahati saying he feels like a raisin in a bowl of milk in the overwhelmingly white world of pro cycling, he finishes this way.
If you’ve gotten to the end of the article and you haven’t clicked any of the links, shared this message, or taken it upon yourself to educate yourself more, then the problem is lack of self-education in society and dismissal of stories like this. It’s the continued silence and lack of discussion from common people that supports racism and still propagates the idea that silence is safe.
Well, safe for whom? Clearly, not for people like me. If this struck a chord, please share this and begin the talks. It starts at the table with friends and family.
Seriously, take a few minutes and read it.
And if it makes you uncomfortable, that’s the point.
This is why people keep dying on the streets. A Spanish woman faces a maximum of just four years behind bars — and could walk free — despite killing three bike riders and maiming two others while driving high on coke and at four times the legal alcohol limit in a 2017 crash.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Usually when a bike rider is involved in a collision with a motor vehicle, it’s the person on the bicycle who bears the brunt of the crash; this time, it was a Danville motorcyclist who was tragically killed when a bike rider somehow fell into the traffic lane and the victim crashed into the bicycle lying in the roadway.
Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss concludes that 20 miles is the ideal length for a bike ride. That used to be when I felt like I was just warming up; these days, I’d be happy just to get that far.
Bighearted coworkers bought a new bike for an Indianapolis man after the bicycle he rode to work to support his three kids was stolen; kindhearted security guards at the courthouse where he works replaced it the first time.
USA Cycling introduces the new Olympic Development Academy to help young cyclists develop Gold Medal skills. Thanks to David Huntsman for the tip, who calls it a sea change in their approach to Junior/U23 racer development.
November 20, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on LACBC virtual holiday celebration, Calbike agenda reveal, and this is who we share the road — and the bike path — with
Think of it as a legislative baby reveal, when Calbike officially unveils their 2021 agenda next month.
@bikinginla CalBike is excited to announce our ambitious 2021 agenda. Join us for our agenda reveal party (no fireworks, we promise) on December 3, 2020. We'd love to hear what you think. When: Thursday, December 3, 5:00 to 6:00 pm PT Where: Online. https://t.co/bOoYCy8K5j?
The LAPD is looking for a woman who abandoned her vehicle after slamming into another car in a fiery crash while participating in a speed contest, as well as a second driver who helped her flee.
Cyclists in Denver this morning are encountering a car stuck between fence rails of a bike/ped bridge over the South Platte River. pic.twitter.com/jkkrvcROmg
Jets rookie safety Ashtyn Davis does not have a car and still rides a bike to work every day. This morning it was 23 degrees. He said it is a 10 minute ride. Impressive for a California guy.
He was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. He was described only as male, which could be an indication that police weren’t able to immediately identify him.
The driver continued north on Main without stopping; the suspect vehicle is described only as a dark-colored sedan.
There’s no other information available at this time. No word on how the crash happened, or whether the victim had lights on after dark.
Or if the driver did, for that matter.
Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Detective Flannery or Officer Mitchell at 323/421-2500.
As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in Los Angeles, despite mention of just half that amount in the KTLA report.
This is at least the 59th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 16th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.
At least seven of those deaths in LA County have been hit-and-runs.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his love ones.
If you live in the San Gabriel Vally or the South Bay, the LACBC is urging you to ask your local Council of Government representatives to support a proposal allowing Metro to repurpose highway funds for active transportation projects.
Instead of just flushing it down the toilet on more projects that will just induce more induced demand.
As we shared in our recent News Cycle, Metro has proposed a change that would open up the funding available for the highway program to be used by local jurisdictions for active transportation projects. We have been made aware that despite there being support from members of the Metro Board of Directors, they will not push to support this change so long as the Council of Governments, which represent the nine sub-regions, offer strong pushback.
If you live, work, or play in the San Gabriel Valley or the South Bay Cities, we are calling on you to take action now!
To show a groundswell of support for the motion, which would make funds more flexible and increase availability of funding for city active transportation projects, LACBC is asking you to reach out to your local COG representatives and share your support for the motion during each meeting’s public comment period.
This urgent action tomorrow could make all the difference in reducing pushback from COG leaders and help to make it possible for this change to be made.
We will have additional information for other COG meetings taking place in the coming weeks. Keep an eye on your email or our social media to recieve those updates.
In solidarity,
Team LACBC
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Zachary Rynew, aka CiclaValley, declares victory in a long running battle to halt a dangerous street widening project on Magnolia Blvd.
Bicyclingoffers tips on how to clean your chain like a pro. You can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling’s site blocks you. Seriously is it just me, or is it a tad absurd for the magazine to hide their stories behind a paywall, while allowing another site to repost them with no restrictions?
A missing Colorado mother who reportedly disappeared during a Mother’s Day bike ride is listed as presumed dead in her father’s obituary, who died of cancer following her disappearance.
Bicyclists in a Delaware town are accused of riding like it’s the Wild West by flouting traffic laws. Seriously, have they ever observed how people drive? It makes bike riders seem positively tame by comparison. And it’s not the people on two wheels who pose a real risk to others.
November 18, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Great achievements in bad reporting, New Yorkers brawl over parking, and whether we’re better off with Garcetti in DC
Let’s start off today with the latest edition of Great Achievements in Bad Reporting.
A New York thief who apparently doesn’t know how to wear a face mask walked out of a Queens bike shop with an $11,400 Trek Domane SLRQ, after posing as a customer taking it for a test ride. Seriously, Covid-19 aside, if you’re planning to commit a crime, keep your damn mask on. And even if you’re not.
A South Carolina columnist explains what the hell sharrows are. But fails to mention that they are pretty much useless, except to help angry drivers improve their aim.
November 17, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on After Pasadena NIMBYs shouted down safety improvements, deadly Orange Grove Blvd claims two more victims
Never put it past OC to mark the World Day of Remembrance for victims of traffic violence by adding to them.
Then wonder what the hell is going on down there, as the county suffers its 15th bicycling death of the year — the same as Los Angeles County, with over three times the population of OC.
Two more people died on our streets this weekend. One was walking and the other was driving. Both were on Orange Grove which is currently being repaved and re-striped without the safety improvements that were proposed in 2018. Read our statement here: https://t.co/81JSD42hUUpic.twitter.com/hkmEOQfTXm
— Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition (@PasadenaCSC) November 16, 2020
Peter Flax points the finger directly at Keep LA Moving and its founder, as well as local chapter Keep Pasadena Moving.
If you want to know who to blame for two deaths on Orange Grove Blvd in Pasadena—which was slated for safety improvements until John Russo, Ken Carey and these folks bullied the city to back down in 2018. pic.twitter.com/WdJ0AwTXvK
This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Memphis is pushing for ways to improve a deadly intersection after a bike rider was killed and another seriously injured in a crash; both were collateral damage in a collision between two motorists as they were waiting on the red light.
The British government continues to promote bicycling as an alternative to driving and transit during the pandemic, with a second round of bike repair vouchers to help people get their bikes in ridable condition.
Police officials in a British town say they’ve taken action against drivers on 80% of close pass videos sent to them by bike riders. We need to change the law so that can happen here; currently police in California are unable to use video for traffic violations and misdemeanor infractions.
Your support helps fill in that gaping gap, and allows me to devote my working hours to bringing you all the latest bike news, from around the corner and around the world.
