Archive for bikinginla

New Broadway protected bike lane could be final Santa Monica bike project; DTLA 7th ST protected bike lane moves forward

May 4, 2020 / / One comment

A special thanks to Los Angeles Bicycle Attorneys Josh and Paul Cohen of Cohen Law Partners for renewing their sponsorship for the coming year. 

They join title sponsors Pocrass & De Los Reyes in renewing their support, despite these troubling economic times. 

It’s their sponsorship that allows me to do what I do, and bring you the latest and best bike news on a daily basis. 

Without their support — and yes, yours — this site would not be possible, at least in its present form. 

Now saddle up, because we’ve got a lot of ground to cover.

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Let’s start in Santa Monica, where good things are happening.

And not so good.

On the plus side, David Drexler sends word that the city has taken advantage of the slow traffic during the coronavirus shutdown to install parking protected bike lanes on a short section of Broadway.

Look at this, a gift to cyclists from Santa Monica. They took advantage of the low corona traffic to redo Broadway thus far from 20th Street west a few blocks. They moved the parking away from the curb and replaced it with a very protected bike lane on both sides. These photos were a taken at 19th and Broadway. Not sure how far they will extend it. It goes from 20th to the Santa Monica food coop right now, then the old green lane picks up there.

The picture of the G on the ground is probably where they will pain green.

It makes cycling much safer in those lanes than the ones next to traffic, I feel. Hope they do more.

On the other side of the ledger, Santa Monica is planning to make drastic cuts to city funding in response to the loss of sales tax revenue due to the lockdown.

Advocacy group Santa Monica Spoke joins with other organizations to warn that excessive cuts to the transportation department could imperil the safety of vulnerable road users, as well as any post-pandemic economic recovery.

Santa Monica’s economy depends on a functioning transportation network that safely moves people, goods and services. Current proposed budget cuts will be destructive to transportation work, will disable basic functions, and slow our safe recovery from this pandemic. Transportation staff, infrastructure and services are classified as essential government functions* and perform vital functions that literally keep our community running safely. These cuts will damage safety and the very fabric of services and programs that we depend on living in Santa Monica…

These essential life saving functions are under threat with extreme plans to cut over half of the City Transportation and Mobility Division compared to 20-40% across other departments. While we can only imagine the stress and burden of decisions weighing on City Council, this level of cuts would severely impact basic public safety and infrastructure operation functions, wounding our city’s ability to rebound fiscally from the COVID-19 crisis. It is imperative to be strategic. We must consider the holistic dynamic relationships, dependencies and functions that contribute to safety, economic stability and regrowth. While the City suffers catastrophic shortfalls, we should not use a sledgehammer where a scalpel is needed to balance new budgets. Council needs to take time to cut costs strategically, while maintaining essential staff that would facilitate a safe and secure path to economic recovery and resilience.

As part of the cutbacks, Santa Monica plans to cut all bike, pedestrian and Vision Zero funding for the next year.

Which means those Broadway protected bike lanes may be the last we’ll see for awhile.

https://twitter.com/StevenMWhite/status/1257148020769951745

The Santa Monica City Council will hold a virtual council meeting tomorrow to discuss the proposed budget cuts.

Santa Monica Spoke urges you to contact the councilmembers to demand continued funding of the Transportation Department, and ongoing support for bicycle, pedestrian and Vision Zero projects.

Because lives depend on it.

And the proposed cuts are more than just a scratch.

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Evidently, Vision Zero isn’t completely dead in the City of Angels.

Just badly wounded.

The program is rising from a premature grave, as LADOT invites you to attend a free public workshop to discuss plans to fix 7th Street in DTLA.

And about damn time, since the existing bike lane is largely unrideable much of the time, and usually serves as nothing more than free parking in front of the Bloc shopping mall.

And the only rule governing traffic on 7th seems to be to aim for the soft, squishy people instead of the cold, hard cars.

You can learn more about the project here.

Thanks to Kent Strumpell for the heads-up.

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Meanwhile, Streets For All offers a glimpse of what could be if LA actually remembers it has an already-approved Mobility Plan.

https://twitter.com/streetsforall/status/1256351201462870017

You can see a larger, interactive version of the above map here.

And here’s the link to the petition, since the link in the tweet is broken.

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Bike Angeles examines some unexpected improvements along a two-mile stretch of Vineland Ave in North Hollywood.

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This is why we can’t have nice things.

https://twitter.com/BikeLAredditors/status/1256654454557835265

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When a bike rider hits a pedestrian, it usually end badly for both parties.

Which is exactly what happened in Berkeley on Saturday, where a 55-year old man on a bike crashed into a 60-year old woman, leaving both victims in critical condition.

Although it’s not clear how it happened, since police say he was riding in the street and she was standing on the sidewalk; a witness says the man on the bike must have had “mental issues.”

The same thing happened in Minneapolis, where a pedestrian is in critical condition and a bicyclist seriously injured following a crash.

Anyone who’s ridden for awhile can tell you it’s not always the bike rider’s fault in a situation like that; people are unpredictable, and can step out into the street without looking for someone on a bicycle.

But it’s always our obligation to ride carefully around pedestrians, because they’re the only ones more vulnerable than we are. And be prepared to stop or swerve to avoid crashing into someone.

Especially if you’re riding on a sidewalk.

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This working from home thing might just catch on after all.

https://twitter.com/cycling_woman/status/1255909638907846659

Thanks to W Corylus for the link.

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Maybe it’s not the best idea to draft a dump truck in heavy traffic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SjdFUcGPRo

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

Nashville police are looking for a goateed, bike-riding miscreant who smashed a jewelry store window with a cinderblock and made off with over 200 rings. Although as someone who spent a decade in the jewelry business, I’d question why the window wasn’t shatterproof glass, and the rings in a safe after hours.

A Scottish thief made off on his bike after taking over 100 wedding rings worth more that $124,000 in a grab and run.

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Local

Streetsblog examines the massive failure of LA city officials in cancelling a Slow Streets social distancing program in the Del Rey neighborhood, just hours after it was announced.

The LA Times says city officials think closing streets for social distancing just too risky, even though other cities throughout North America are doing exactly that. Evidently, they think we’re calling for CicLAvia-style street closures that would draw people from across the city, rather than closing a few streets in every neighborhood to allow people to get outside without risking their health and safety.

Dylan McDermott is one of us, as the Hollywood star went for a bike ride through Pacific Palisades with his family.

Santa Monica residents join the chorus of voices demanding safe space on the streets for social distancing.

 

State

A Chula Vista bike rider suffered a leg injury when he or she was was right hooked while riding in a crosswalk by a truck driver, who never bothered to look the direction he was turning.

Britney Spears is one of us, posting a photo showing her riding her bike with her boyfriend near her Thousand Oaks home in happier, pre-pandemic days.

A Santa Barbara bike rider is in critical condition after he was run down by what must have been a self-driving car, since the story does’t even mention a driver.

Bay Area bike shops can’t keep up with the demand as business booms during the coronavirus pandemic.

It takes a major schmuck to steal bikes and tools from a nonprofit San Jose bike co-op as they were preparing to reopen next week.

This is why you shouldn’t try to reclaim a stolen bike by yourself. A Santa Rosa man is recovering from stab wounds to his hand after he approached a man who was riding his stolen bike.

Sacramento will block or limit motor vehicle traffic on some streets to make more room for social distancing. On the other hand, San Jose says don’t hold your breath.

 

National

Yes, May is Bike Month, even if everything has been cancelled and too many cities won’t give an inch on the streets during the coronavirus pandemic. Including Los Angeles.

Zwift wants you to ride or walk in place to raise funds for Doctors Without Borders.

Bike Snob says road cycling isn’t dead after all, even if gravel is all the rage.

An eight-year old Honolulu boy got his stolen bike back after conservation officers spotted it outside a state park.

You don’t mess with an angry dog — or a grandfather. Reality TV star Dog the Bounty Hunter is offering a $1,000 reward for the “scum” who stole his granddaughter’s bike from the family garage in Hawaii.

A New York nurse continues to bike to work, even after she was hit by a driver.

We already know NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is one of us. But apparently supporters of his new team are just figuring it out, as fans are shocked by his “absurd” 74-mile Florida ride.

 

International

People around the world are being encouraged to see bikes as a post coronavirus commuting option — when they’re not getting stopped by the cops for doing exactly that.

Bike historian Carlton Reid offers a warning from history despite the boom in bicycling during the Covid-19 lockdown. Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.

Bike Radar explains what muscles are used to ride a bike, and offers advice on what to wear when you ride one. Never mind that you can ride in anything from T-shirt and shorts to a three-piece suit. But the right clothes can make it a hell of a lot more comfortable.

Road.cc says you’re not a pro, so you don’t have to ride like one.

A nine-year old Ontario boy has set out on a 621-mile bike ride to raise funds for a local health foundation, riding roughly six miles a day.

When a Nova Scotia nursing home worker went to pick up her bike after having it repaired, the shop surprised her with a new bicycle to thank her for her work on the frontlines of the Covid-19 battle.

Speaking of rising from a near grave, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson returns from his extended absence due to Covid-19, and calls on the country’s mayors to take action to encourage bicycling and walking, and keep cars out of city centers.

Noel Gallagher is one of us, as the former Oasis singer and guitarist rode his bike near his English home, despite the country’s lockdown.

British band Glass Animals talks about the 2018 bicycling crash that nearly took the life of the band’s drummer and left him unable to walk, talk, eat, read or write for a time.

Members of a Scottish cycling club honored one of their own, lining the street with their bikes and club kits to show respect for a member who died of Covid-19.

A Catholic priest in the UK had to deliver his daily podcast and evening prayers as he walked home, after going out for a bike ride and suffering successive flats.

Just call it Strassenverkehrsordnungnovelle. Germany announced a raft of changes to traffic laws, including banning parking in bike lanes, allowing people to ride two abreast, and prohibiting drivers from passing bike riders or motorcycles in narrow areas.

Over 3,500 Slovenians rode their bikes in defiance of the lockdown to protest a ban on bike riding, as well as government interference in procuring protective gear and ventilators.

Tragic news from India, where a couple were killed in a collision along with two other people, after a kindhearted truck driver offered them a lift after riding 250 miles because they couldn’t find any other form of transportation.

An Indian op-ed calls for more space on the roads for people walking or biking, arguing that the biggest hurdle in making making it more popular in the country is a lack of necessary infrastructure.

Tokyo commuters are taking to their bikes to avoid the risk of infection on the city’s packed trains.

 

Competitive Cycling

A UK paper looks back at what they call the toughest bike race ever ridden, a snowy seven-stage, 1,300-mile race through the battlefields of the just-ended Great War, as well as in the middle of the Spanish Flu pandemic.

Apparently assuming Covid-19 will blow over by then, officials tell pro cyclists to be ready for an August 29th start for the Tour de France.

Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome says the race can work without spectators, but isn’t sure organizers can keep them away.

June’s mountain bike worlds was just the latest race to fall victim to the coronavirus, while September’s European road championships were put off until next year.

A British man raised the equivalent of $16,000 by riding the length of the Tour de France without ever leaving his apartment.

 

Finally…

Your next bike could be a seatless Penny Farthing. Or long enough to let you maintain social distance from your tandem partner.

And when you’re drunk, riding salmon, and carrying an open container, at least put some damn lights on your bike.

And don’t fight with the cops that try to stop you.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dangerous new barrier-protected bikeway in Encinitas, giving street space to people, and gravel riding in our own backyard

May 1, 2020 / / 4 comments

Not all bicycling improvements really are.

San Diego’s Phillip Young has been kind enough to include me in a series of emails with Encinitas city leaders about the dangers of a new and apparently not-so-much improved protected bike lane along the coast highway through the city.

I asked him to explain just what the problem is, and what could be done to fix it.

The City of Encinitas has created a narrow Class 4 protected bikeway/cycletrack with too much going on in a confined space with no escape routes. This stretch of Coast Hyw 101 has recorded no bicycle accidents from 2016 until a week ago. The wheel stops / berms were added a week ago and now the accident count are 3 serious crashes requiring cyclists to be taken away by ambulances. The third accident was today. The Encinitas Mayor and officials ignored input for the public and experienced cyclists at multiple public meetings prior to final design.

Possible factors:

  • Mix flow of high and low speed cyclists
  • Many travel modes and stuff: bicycles, eBikes, walkers, runners, baby strollers, three wheelers, inline skates, skateboards, kids in tow by moms, old people, couples, surfboards, beach stuff
  • Mix of ages and abilities from world class triateletes to first time riders
  • Two-way traffic possible for all the above types. Only bicycles are allowed but the city design does not accommodate the others travelers elsewhere – no sidewalks.
  • Too narrow to accommodate the traffic as validated by 3-accidents in a week and the wheel stops / berms have only been installed for 1-week.
  • Northbound is higher speed due to a descending slope – the three accidents are northbound events
  • Signage needs improvement but that creates more road furniture to run over
  • The wheel stops / berms are the problem and offer no true protection from cars and create a maintenance problems because machinery can’t get in to clean and resurface the bikeway with more safety issues

The best solution would be to shift the Coast Hyw 101 roadway from 2-car lanes each way to 1-car lane each way. The old #2 car lane for each direction could be turned into a Class 1 Bikeway with K-rails for separation from vehicular traffic. The old Class 4 protected bikeway / cycletrack with wheel stops / berms could be turned into a sidewalk for non-bicycle use.

Second best solution is to add sharrows to the tarmac in the #2-car lane each way plus pole mounted signage.

These are just a few of my thoughts that come to mind. Riders with more experience may have some better ideas.

We are working to get the word out to the cycling community to be made aware of the new road hazards on the Coast Hwy 101 in Cardiff.

One more example of why bike riders should always be included in bikeway plans. Or at the very least, why they should turn the job over to an engineer who actually rides a bike.

Hopefully, Encinitas will get this fixed before there’s any more blood on the pavement.

Today’s photo was taken from the email chain; I’m not sure who should be credited.

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Today’s common theme is finding space on our streets for people, instead of just cars.

Alameda is just the latest Bay Area city to install slow streets, returning unused street space to the people to get outside during the coronavirus shutdown.

A Minnesota website casts a critical eye towards Oakland’s slow streets program, saying it plays great in gentrified and urbanist neighborhoods, but not so much in  areas where people are struggling to survive.

Politico says European cities are betting on pedal power for post-coronavirus mobility.

Liverpool, England’s walking and cycling commissioner is calling for a “quiet revolution” to relegate motor vehicles below the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists when the city reopens.

Paris is closing the iconic Rue de Rivoli to cars to provide more space for cyclists and pedestrians while the city reopens.

Brussels is taking street space to make room for bike riders after Belgium’s coronavirus lockdown lifts.

And Vilnius, Lithuania is turning the city into a vast open air cafe.

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Heavenly gravel biking in our own back yard.

Thanks to Zachary Rynew for the link.

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Now this is how you ride under lockdown.

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

A Mendocino County man faces charges for violently attacking his pregnant wife — with an effing propane tank, no less — before attempting to make his getaway by bike.

A Montana man faces multiple charges for fleeing from police and resisting arrest while high on meth, after a cop tried to stop him for riding without lights on his bike.

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Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton deservedly takes LA city leaders to task for ignoring the already-approved Mobility Plan, locking in auto-centric streets under the city’s accelerated repaving program.

Long Beach bike shops are riding the crest of the Covid-19 wave.

Not only is Shia LaBeouf one of us, he’s now the proud owner of a kid hauler for his bike.

 

State

California belatedly releases a list of approved outdoor activities during the coronavirus shutdown, including bicycling and BMX.

A San Diego man will muster out of the Navy today, and embark on a cross-country bike ride on Saturday to raise funds for wounded vets. Which should be interesting with half the country shut down right now.

The woman killed by an alleged drunk hit-and-run driver while riding her bike in Goleta earlier this week has been identified as 59-year old Goleta resident Katherine Stewart Peden.

A San Jose website offers advice on how to buy a new bike during the pandemic. Pro tip: Always get your bike from, or at least through, a local bike shop. It may cost a little more, but it will more than pay off in service down the road.

A San Francisco nurse was overwhelmed by an outpouring of support after complaining on Facebook that her bike was stolen as she was working a 12 hour shift; she now has two bikes to choose from.

 

National

It may not seem like it, but May is still Bike Month, pandemic or not.

PeopleForBikes advises bike shops to share the good news about bicycling in these scary times, while Bike Magazine examines why bikes are booming during the coronavirus crisis.

Pink Bike rediscovers the joy of bike riding on a gravel bike.

A writer for Bicycling movingly describes finding her first real sense of home on her bike.

Five cheap upgrades to make your bike feel like new. I’d say give it a good overhaul and cleaning, slap on some better tires, and finish up with some fresh bar tape.

A health website comes up with a list of bike safety tips “you’ve definitely forgotten about since childhood,” none of which you’ve probably forgotten about. Any list that starts with “always wear a helmet” reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how to stay safe on a bike, anyway. A bike helmet should always be considered the last line of defense when all else fails, not the first.

Add Oregon’s wine country to your bike bucket list. And drinking list, for that matter.

A Utah driver turns his dash cam the wrong way, and catches the roof of his Lotus Elise sports car blowing off as he drives down the road — and naturally, it lands in the bike lane.

Minnesota is changing next week’s Bike to School Day to Bike Anywhere Day. Which can and should be celebrated 365 days a year.

Kindhearted Kentucky police bought a new bike for an autistic teen after his was stolen.

New York City’s essential workers are now eligible for a full year of free bikeshare.

 

International

Road.cc recommends the 28 best bicycle smartphone apps.

A British Columbia man describes how bicycling helped him drop 65 pounds.

London’s Evening Standard takes a look at their picks for the best bike backpacks.

Evidently, Southern California isn’t the only place where people are overwhelming beachfront trails, as police increase patrols in the Welsh coastal city of Swansea to deal with a flood of bike riders.

That’s more like it. A British driver was fined the equivalent of $150 for driving too close to a bike rider. Which was easy to prove, since he actually hit him.

Great idea. France is attempting to support local bike shops while encouraging people to ride their bikes, by making everyone in the country eligible for up to $56 worth of bike repairs.

Cyclist explores the hidden mountain roads of Valencia. No, the one in Southern Spain, not northern LA County.

Once again, bike riders are heroes, but in a different sense. Nine bighearted Mumbai bicyclists are crowdfunding meals to serve poor migrants and homeless people, delivering 5,000 meals a day.

Tel Aviv, Israel is pulling the plug on its bikeshare service, saying it’s become obsolete with the rising popularity of ebikes.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Redlands Classic goes virtual this weekend.

Red Bull talks with French cyclist Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, the only person to hold road, ‘cross and mountain bike world titles at the same time. 

The winner of the Dirty Kanza breaks down what gear he uses and why.

A writer for Outsports explains why she loves the classic look of the 7 Eleven Cycling team jersey, and the history behind it. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind wearing one myself.

 

Finally…

It’s a lot easier to overcome a bad bike crash when you can’t remember it. Now you, too, can be the proud owner of an ’89 Colnago monocoque carbon-frame prototype built with the Ferrari Formula 1 team, for the low, low price of just 50 grand.

And beware of killer sheep.

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Thanks to Matthew Robertson for his monthly donation to help support this site, and bring you the latest bike news every morning. 

On a related note, some people have asked for an alternative to PayPal or Zelle to donate to this site. Does anyone have a favorite free or low-cost online resource you can recommend?

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

LA pulls plug hours after approving Del Rey Slow Streets, San Diego shows how it’s done, and proof bikes mean business

April 30, 2020 / / One comment

My apologies if you got a premature draft of today’s post. Evidently, I somehow inadvertently posted this while I was still working on it.

Either that, or I’ve got a bad case of cyber gremlins. 

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In a dramatic reversal, Los Angeles approved plans to install the city’s first Slow Streets on several streets in the Del Rey neighborhood, which would have allowed people to get out to walk or bike while maintaining a safe social distance.

Then the city changed its mind, pulling the approval just hours before it was supposed to go into effect.

Never mind that any delay defeats the entire purpose of the program, which is intended to help people get out now for fresh air and exercise when they need it most to maintain their mental and physical health.

But even if it hadn’t been cancelled, this is exactly what’s wrong with Los Angeles.

One small area would have gotten desperately needed slow streets to allow for social distancing. But only because one neighborhood council asked for them, and one councilmember cared enough to — almost — get it done.

We need citywide leadership in a time of crisis, not 15 fiefdoms with widely varying commitments to safer streets.

As in, none at all in some cases.

Let’s hope LA city leaders get their figurative heads out of their collective asses, and start giving Angelenos safe places to get outside and move around, like the World Health Organization calls for.

Not in one small neighborhood, but in all of them.

And if it sounds like I’m pissed off, that’s only because I am.

Especially after Portland committed to 100 miles of slow streets.

Meanwhile, BIKAS — Bicycle Infrastructure Knowledge Activism and Safety — calls for an email campaign to demand quick-build safety improvements on LA’s Fourth Street during the Covid-19 pandemic.

And Streetsblog say LA’s new program to accelerate repaving during the coronavirus slowdown is ignoring the city’s previously approved Mobility Plan.

Photo by Athena from Pexels.

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San Diego continues to show LA how it’s done, closing part of four streets to motor vehicles to provide space to walk or bike while maintaining social distancing.

Meanwhile, San Diego County has reopened the SR-56 commuter bikeway between Solana Beach and Rancho Bernardo to pedestrians and bike riders.

As Robert Leone points out, it’s true that the pathway gets a lot of recreational use. But no one is stopping drivers to ask if their trips are necessary.

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Yet another study shows that bikes are good for business.

Researchers from Portland State University studied fourteen economic corridors in six cities with and without bike lanes.

And discovered that most businesses saw improvements in sales and employment as a result of bike lanes, with restaurants showing the greatest growth.

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PeopleForBikes is hosting a virtual Draft Meetup for San Diego-area bike riders this evening; you can RSVP here.

Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.

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When you absolutely, positively have to pass the person on the bike, road dividers be damned.

Note: I missed the date on this before posting it. Not the date of the tweet, but the May 14, 2015 on the video itself. So either the bicyclist didn’t set the date properly, or I need to apologize for posting a five year old video. Thanks to Aurelio Jose Barrera for the catch.

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Phillip Young forwards a full-length film about the glory days of Detroit’s Wolverine Sports Club, dedicated, as their site says, to promoting cycling, speedskating and cross-country skiing at all levels.

And no, I haven’t had a chance to see it myself yet, so let us know what you think.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

Police in the UK are looking for the motorcycle-riding schmuck who pushed a bicyclist off his bike for no apparent reason.

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

An Alabama man with an outstanding warrant for domestic abuse faces additional charges after leading police on a slow speed bike pursuit.

An “extremely intoxicated” Florida man faces multiple charges for attacking his former roommates while demanding to know where his bicycle was.

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Local

The LA County Sheriff’s Department says even though we’re all under safer at home orders, May is still Bicycle and Motorcycle Safety Month.

According to a new plan, LA County beaches could reopen on the 18th, but the beach bike path will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Good idea. An LA Times op-ed calls for turning streets in front of restaurants into expanded seating areas, allowing them to reopen while maintaining social distancing.

The owners of Pure Cycles have sold the Burbank-based bikemaker to Florida bicycle distributor J&B Importers; however, founders Michael Fishman and Jordan Schau will continue to operate it as a standalone company.

Against all evidence, Pasadena somehow decides yellow “traffic calming’ signs will get drivers to take their foot off the gas pedal, while a Pasadena writer explains why red lights don’t prioritize people and still make you push a button to cross. Hint: Older red lights are hard to reprogram, and cars matter more than people in the Rose City.

Lime has pulled up stakes and ridden their scooters out of Santa Monica for the last time.

After Ocean Drive was flooded with people exercising when the beachfront Strand pathway was closed, Manhattan Beach residents call for banning bikes and skateboards, and restricting it to residents only. Which is only slightly illegal, since bikes are legally allowed on any street cars are allowed on. 

Coldplay’s Chris Martin is one of us, as he goes for a mountain bike ride through the ‘Bu, while Ryan Phillppe rides his mountain bike in LA.

Prodigal Son actress Bellamy Young is one of us now, after she had two weeks to learn how to ride a racing bike for a part on Criminal Minds. And had to film the scene with a chipped a tooth from grinding her teeth out of fear of falling off.

 

State

Once again, the CHP accuses a bike rider of a SWSS,* insisting the victim swerved in front of a Fresno County driver and suffered “moderate to major” injuries. *For the uninitiated, SWSS refers to a single witness suicide swerve, which is a bike meme referring to the fact that bike riders usually get blamed for riding in front of drivers in the absence of independent witnesses, when it’s often the driver who doesn’t hold his or her lane.

Palo Alto transportation planners say we need to plan for more bicycling and walking after the pandemic, expecting both to be in greater demand.

Great idea. A UC Berkeley grad student is analyzing San Francisco blocked bike reports to determine where protected bike lanes should be installed.

A Stockton man was busted for violating his probation by towing a rifle hidden in a guitar case on his bike trailer.

 

National

Gear Patrol complains that Canyon’s new roadie ebike isn’t available in the US; service isn’t available here for the bike’s Fazua motor. They kinda like Rapha’s new lightweight summer jersey, too.

Pink Bike rates riding glasses. My personal recommendation remains giving San Diego’s Sport RX a call, and let them fix you up with prescription bike glasses, including progressive lenses.

A local website asks whether Denver has what it takes to be a great bike city.

Burglars stole over $35,000 worth of bicycles from a Colorado bike shop.

Chicago finally gets around to repainting faded bike lanes, six months too late to save the life of a bike-riding woman.

Michigan bike shops reopened Tuesday after the governor lifted the state’s strict coronavirus lockdown.

A kindhearted Niagara Falls nurse bought a 12-year old boy a new bike after reading about his stolen bike on Facebook.

A Brooklyn thief faces charges for punching a man in the face to steal his bicycle, then attacking him with it.

A writer for Forbes says ebikes are cooler than you think, praising a chunky looking 30 mph bike from a Boston startup. Even though the article says it’s suited for bike lanes, its speed makes it illegal to ride in one in many states, including California. And you’ll need a helmet and a driver’s license.

DC bike riders stage a rolling protest with a musical soundtrack to highlight inequality exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

A North Carolina high school principal is honoring her school’s graduating seniors by riding her bike around the campus ten times every day this week.

Take a virtual bike ride through the streets of Atlanta, without the inconvenience of actually going there.

Atlanta is getting serious about Vision Zero, cutting speed limits on most city streets to 25 mph.

 

International

Road.cc recounts ten brilliant inventions that changed the bicycle forever, including, yes, pedals.

Cyclist has advice on how to buy a gravel bike.

Regina, Saskatchewan city leaders overwhelmingly defeated a proposal to require bike helmets for all riders, instead opting for an education program to make them less needed.

An Ontario man set a new world record by riding 626 miles in 24 hours on his Zwift stationary bike.

The BBC questions whether we’re witnessing the death of the car, as cities around the world hope to keep many motor vehicles off the road long after the lockdowns end. Except in Los Angeles, of course, where city leaders seem committed to doing nothing.

Apparently, Los Angeles drivers aren’t the only ones taking advantage of empty streets by gluing their feet to the gas pedal. London has seen an eight fold increase in speeding compared to this time last year.

No bias here. A London writer describes bicyclists as irritating little wasps that you can’t run down without fear of maiming one, yet gives riding a try anyway, on an ebike the size of a small motorcycle. However, most of the article is hidden behind the damn paywall.

It’s two years behind bars for a pair of bike thieves who targeted workers at a Nottingham, England medical center.

The British tabloids clearly have celebrity chef and reality TV star Gordon Ramsey in their sights, accusing him of running a red light and nearly causing a crash on his latest ride from his Welsh home.

A Belgian bike path across a huge pond creates the illusion of riding through water.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 79-year old Dutch man chased down a bike thief on his ebike — with a passenger on the back.

 

Competitive Cycling

Despite being rescheduled for August, the Tour de France is once again in jeopardy after the French prime minister extends a ban on sporting events through September. Am I the only one who says just pull the plug on 2020 and try again next year?

The Vuelta has nixed its planned Dutch start, and will cut back to just 18 stages this year. Assuming the race happens at all, of course.

The cancellation of the pro tour has put a crimp in anti-doping labs and testing. Not that anyone would take advantage of that, of course.

VeloNews talks with women’s cyclist Kasia Niewiadoma and recently retired cycling scion Taylor Phinney, who got stuck in Girona, Spain while on a bikepacking trip after the pro tours were cancelled.

Kiwi cyclist Ella Harris is spending her lockdown time baking bread and working on her degree in food marketing.

 

Finally…

Seriously, don’t ride your bike past a store and spit on the window — let alone five times. Yes, you’ll probably want a seat on your bike for long distance rides.

And watch out for gators on the bike path.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Move along, nothing to see here — internet outage edition

April 29, 2020 / / 4 comments

Seriously, I don’t recall internet outages being one of the warning signs of the apocalypse.

But the way the year is going, it’s starting to look like I may have missed something.

Our cable and internet service is down, along with what I’m told is a wide swath of West LA and the San Fernando Valley.

So after a couple hours of sitting here waiting for it to rise from the dead, I’m giving up and going to bed.

As usual, we’ll be back tomorrow with anything we missed.

Assuming Spectrum can get its shit back together by then.

Category: General /

SaMo bike path closures ignored, beautiful new Marina Del Rey bikeway, and Pendleton bike path closed next week

April 28, 2020 / / One comment

Last week, David Drexler sent photos showing that the bike and pedestrian path on Santa Monica’s California Incline was closed.

The city had shut it down to keep people from traveling down to the closed beaches and bike path.

Today he sends another one from over the weekend showing just what good it did.

Then again, blocking the bike path and threatening violators with arrest doesn’t seem to be stopping anyone, either.

………

On the other hand, Drexler also reports the long awaited bike path improvement through Marina Del Rey is finally ready.

I wanted to share with you these photos from yesterday of what will be one of the most popular destinations for cyclists when it fully opens later this year.

It’s the newly redesigned Marvin Braude bike path section that runs between Mindanao Way and Bali Way. When it opens there will parking for 40 bicycles, dozens of restaurants (seen on left on photos) and shops, as well as a Trader Joes that is already opened and drawing a lot of cyclists right now. It’s on the marina waterfront that will offer ticketed hourly excursions, with Burton Chase park just around the corner.

That section has such a great feel to it. This new path connects to the Ballona Creek path via Fiji Way, and the ocean paths to Santa Monica and Redondo Beach.

It’s like something you would see in Copenhagen, only better.

I would like to see more bike and pedestrian path improvement like this around LA.

This used to be the crappiest section of the bike path, through a section of the Marina that saw its best days back in the ’70s.

Nice to see such a good upgrade.

………

Robert Leone forwards word that the bike route through Camp Pendleton from Las Pulgas Gate to the State Park gate will be closed for military operations next week while the Marines blow shit up and stuff.

………

Pasadena is offering free basic bike repair to people in need.

Thanks to my old friend Tim Rutt for the heads-up.

………

A video explains why an intersection in the middle of nowhere that appears to provide a clear view in every direction could be the most dangerous one in Great Britain.

Hint: It’s not because bike riders run the stop signs.

Thanks to Prince_of_PWNAGE for the link.

………

This is what it looks like when a driver pulls out in front of a bicycle on a rain-slicked street, with predictable results.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RHXBQ1w7QA

………

Bike thieves continue to target British doctors and nurses. Then again, a cable lock is pretty much an invitation to just take it.

https://twitter.com/DanielMontano/status/1254783137378217986

Thanks to Dan Montano for forwarding the tweet.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

After a Denver bike rider escalated a road rage dispute by smashing a car window with his U-lock, the driver chased him down and attacked him with a machete.

………

Local

A columnist for the LA Times says enjoy the light traffic while you can, because it’s not going to last.

 

State

The mayor of Encinitas is proposing a cycle track alongside Hwy 101 through the city, connecting the new Cardiff Rail Trail with the Solana Beach Rail Trail. Neither of which existed when I lived down there, of course. Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up. 

A 20-year old Goleta driver is behind bars for allegedly running down a bike rider from behind and fleeing the scene, leaving an innocent woman to die alone in the street.

San Francisco is finally responding to repeated pleas from Bay Area residents by closing streets through Golden Gate and John McLaren Parks.

Sad news from San Francisco, where a 37-year old man suffered life-threatening injuries when he hit a curb in a solo bike crash.

 

National

Lyft is continuing to offer free e-scooter rides to critical workers through the end of next month — if you can still find one, that is. Meanwhile, Slate says dockless cooters are changing cities for the better, despite originally being seen as a sidewalk scourge.

Smart Cities wonders whether the Covid-19 cycling surge will result in lasting changes on the streets.

Maybe transit isn’t as risky as people think right now, as the executive director of a transportation policy think tank says there are much greater risks for transmitting the coronavirus. And cars aren’t all that safe, either. Thanks to Richard Risemberg for the tip.

Gear Junkie recommends the best new inexpensive bikes, with prices starting at just $325.

Vox takes a dive into why you’re unlikely to get or spread Covid-19 when you run or bike.

A Colorado woman was honored with a bike and car parade to celebrate her 99th birthday.

Despite all the reports to the contrary, Colorado mountain bike maker Yeti Cycles concludes bicycles aren’t in demand right now, so they’re switching their efforts to making medical face shields.

A Wisconsin man was busted riding his bike with a whopping seven pounds of meth; police were tipped off because he was acting suspiciously while hanging out behind a school.

A writer for The Radavist describes delivering personal protective equipment by bicycle in the Big Apple.

New York’s mayor finally gives in and commits to opening 40 miles of streets for bike riders and pedestrians, with a goal of increasing that to a full 100 miles by summer. Meanwhile, the NY Daily News calls on the city to build more bus and bike lanes now.

Bicycling injuries are down dramatically in New York — except for the Bronx, where a lack of bikeways has resulted in a jump in injuries.

The coronavirus bike boom is keeping bike shops busy in the Big Easy.

 

International

Fast Company says cities around the world are planning for a post-lockdown world by encouraging people to ride their bikes instead of getting back into their cars as an alternative to crowded transit.

Cycling Tips explains why health experts are calling for more road space for bike riders and pedestrians. And criticizes what they call a “terrible” and badly named new ebike, even if it’s raised over $4.7 million on Indiegogo.

London’s annual bike show has been cancelled for this year.

English police warn rural vigilantes that it’s not okay to take the law into their own hands by blocking roadways to stop bike riders from entering their villages, or threatening people who dare to ride their bikes during the coronavirus lockdown.

A new survey shows 20% of Brits plan to drive less once the coronavirus shutdown is over, while 36% plan to ride their bikes more.

Once again, a bike rider is a hero, after a British man jumped off his bicycle and into a river to save the life of a man who’d fallen in.

A “despicable” bike thief in the UK is refusing to say what he did with a bike he stole from a front-line medical worker, despite being locked behind bars for the past eight weeks in an effort to loosen his tongue.

Italy and Spain are both planning to remove restrictions on recreational bike riding after this coming weekend.

I’m in. A Romanian website recommends exploring Bucharest by bicycle.

An Indian man rides his bike through the streets of Kolkata festooned with the colorful face masks he’s selling.

 

Competitive Cycling

With the help of the Challenged Athlete Foundation, a former triathlete completed her first multi-sport event since she was paralyzed by a truck driver while training two years ago.

 

Finally…

If you’re riding a freshly stolen bicycle, refusing to file a report after calling the police may not be your best move. You know you’re committed to finishing your first Ironman triathlon when you build your own backyard pool for the swimming leg.

And why march when you can ride a bike?

https://twitter.com/may_gun/status/1254900718948872193

Clearly, the Dutch do everything by bikes.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Anti-urbanist writer insists LA sprawl prevents Covid-19, and cure your coronavirus blues with a simple bike ride

April 27, 2020 / / Comments Off on Anti-urbanist writer insists LA sprawl prevents Covid-19, and cure your coronavirus blues with a simple bike ride

What a load of crap.

In a Sunday op-ed in the LA Times, longtime anti-urbanist Joel Kotkin insists once again that Angelenos love single-family sprawl.

And that spread of the coronavirus proves they’re right.

No, really.

Let’s ignore for now his bizarre belief that Los Angeles residents love living in far-flung communities — and the resulting hours long commutes that come with it, rather than being forced to move to distant suburbs in order to find somewhere, anywhere, they can actually afford to live.

It’s his equally strange insistence that LA’s relatively low rate of Covid-19 infections compared to New York that proves sprawl is better that density.

For nearly a century, Los Angeles’ urban form has infuriated urbanists who prefer a more concentrated model built around a single central core.

Yet, in the COVID-19 pandemic, our much-maligned dispersed urban pattern has proven a major asset. Los Angeles and its surrounding suburbs have had a considerable number of cases, but overall this highly diverse, globally engaged region has managed to keep rates of infection well below that of dense, transit-dependent New York City.

As of April 24, Los Angeles County, with nearly 2 million more residents than the five boroughs, had 850 coronavirus-related deaths compared with 16,646 in New York City.

I’d say someone should remind him that correlation does not equal causation, but that would destroy his entire argument.

In Kotkin’s blindered view of the world, the virus spread rapidly through New York merely because people live close to each other and share transit systems.

And was slowed in its deadly progression through the City of Angels because we hide out in our hermetically sealed SUVs on the way to our single-family homes in socially distant communities.

Never mind that Los Angeles shut down at the first reports of Covid-19 infections and deaths, followed quickly by California, while New York waited until the virus was already widespread within the city and neighboring New Jersey.

He also conveniently ignores the fact that parts of Los Angeles are among the densest communities in the US — and by some reports, the densest. And that over half of LA residents are renters, most of those in multi-family buildings.

For his argument to bear any validity, the virus would have to tear through denser neighborhoods like Maywood, Huntington Park and West Hollywood, while sparing less dense areas in the San Fernando, San Gabriel and Antelope Valleys.

Not so much.

As this chart from the LA Times shows, the coronavirus is well dispersed throughout LA County, in dense areas as well as the sprawling single-family communities Kotkin seems to think are virus proof.

The only way to accurately determine what effect density has on the spread of the virus will be to wait until it’s over, and perform epidemiology studies to look at just how and where it spread.

Because it’s entirely possible that an area with lower population density could show a significantly higher rate of infection per capita than an area with two or three times the population.

And let’s not forget the role that redlining and racial convents have played in how LA’s communities formed, and the relative wealth and health of their residents.

Kotkin concludes by simultaneously making, and refuting, his own argument that people prefer sprawl.

At the same time, most Californians seem less than eager to abandon their single-family homes for the pleasures of what some call “elegant density.” Even before the pandemic, they were voting with their feet for less density and lower costs. Even as L.A. County’s population has started to decline, over 87% of all the growth in the region in this decade took place on the periphery where single-family homes and spacious apartments are still remotely affordable.

State policy, urban planners and pundits may decry this trend, but after a pandemic, dispersion may well seem a safer bet than densification. It turns out Californians are already headed in that direction.

Exactly.

Angelenos continue to move to far-flung neighborhoods, often against their own wishes, because those are the only places they can afford to live.

And no, over-reliance on cars didn’t save us, either.

Because it only takes a quick glance at those underserved communities to see the virus didn’t get there by transit.

I could go on. And on.

But Grist already dismantled Kotkin’s flimsy arguments in favor of sprawl six years ago.

Besides, the best argument against Kotkin’s love of sprawl is to just go outside and take a deep breath.

And let what has recently turned into the cleanest air of any major city remind you what life could be like without hundreds of thousands of people driving into the city every morning.

It’s just tragic that so many people had to die to get us there.

Photo by Josh Kur from Pexels.

………

Sadly, a poorly framed article from the Los Angeles Times repeats many of the same misguided arguments about density being responsible for spreading the coronavirus.

Even though they refute it themselves.

At the same time, there’s lots of evidence that shows density isn’t destiny.

Highly populated cities in Asia, including Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong, have seen a fraction of New York’s cases. The same is true for America’s next densest big city, San Francisco, which issued a shelter-in-place order nearly a week before the East Coast metropolis. As of Saturday, the Bay Area city had reported only about 1,300 confirmed cases — compared with more than 8,450 in the city of Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, they insist on following the lead of too much of the American press by presenting unsupported arguments on equal footing with demonstrable evidence to the contrary.

Because opinions aren’t facts.

No matter who has them, or how loudly they express them.

………

On the other hand, Times columnist Robin Abcarian gets it.

After what she describes as weeks of “major mood swings and a bizarre feeling of dislocation,” she found a simple solution.

She got together with her ten-year old niece, and went for a bike ride.

At this weird moment in history, with an invisible virus making life hell for so many, I daresay that getting outside and communing with nature, where it can be done safely in a socially distanced way, is one of the best ways to regain a sense of well-being and optimism.

I defy you to wander around the wetlands, or get up close to a colony of frisky sea lions, and not be thrilled to be alive.

………

I think we can all relate to this one.

https://twitter.com/chrisfroome/status/1253702076120563721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

………

The Global Cycling Network builds a tall bike.

………

Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton says LA city officials are slow walking requests to open up streets for pedestrians and bike riders to provide space to exercise while social distancing, as other cities around the world have done.

Pasadena is taking a half-step towards giving people more space on the streets, posting signs warning drivers that bike riders and pedestrians could be using them in hope that might encourage them to take their foot off the gas pedal. Okay, make that just a quarter-step.

A planning website interviews Santa Monica’s former bike-friendly city manager, suggesting Rick Cole’s resignation under pressure could be a warning for other cities dealing with heavy financial loses due to Covid-19.

The Long Beach bikeshare service has shut down during the coronavirus crisis, turning their attention to private’s rentals and bike repair instead.

Ryan Phillippe is one of us, going for a ride though Brentwood with his 16-year old son.

 

State

This year’s AIDS/LifeCycle ride has been cancelled, but fundraising to fight HIV/AIDS and support HIV+ people goes on.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports Bill Walton’s virtual group ride Bike for Humanity raised $100,000 from over 1,500 participants around the world.

Berkeley embraced slow streets decades ago, even without a pandemic to force their hand.

They get it. A Lodi newspaper calls bicycling an ideal way to get some exercise and get around town during the coronavirus shutdown.

 

National

Writing for the Atlantic, Traffic author Tom Vanderbilt says the pandemic has finally shown people the damage cars have done to our cities, and the road space they’ve commandeered.

A Nevada woman learns that riding a mountain bike again really is just like riding a bike.

A Lawrence, Kansas bike shop is reclaiming bikes dumped in a landfill by the city’s bikeshare provider, and giving them to people in need.

Last week we shared video of a St. Louis bike rider getting run down by a hit-and-run driver. Now it turns out that what the police described as minor injuries actually were cracked ribs, a punctured lung and a broken vertebrae.

Chicago Streetsblog calls the late Effective Cycling author John Forrester a worthy adversary.

Bicycling and walking continue to boom in Minneapolis.

Indiana University’s famed Little 500 has been cancelled, costing the women’s ROTC team their first chance to compete; the race was the inspiration for Breaking Away.

A book store in New York’s East Village is staying afloat during the lockdown by delivering books to customers by bike.

So much for supporting essential workers. A roving band of armed bandits are targeting bicycle delivery riders in Upper Manhattan, pushing them off their ebikes before riding off on them.

 

International

Seriously? A writer for Cycling News says riding with earphones is pointless and selfish during the lockdown, and any other time. In California, it’s legal to ride with one earphone in your ear, but not both; it’s also smart to keep the volume down to a level that allows you to hear people and traffic around you. But it would be nice if drivers were required to keep their volume down so they can hear, too. 

People around the world are getting on their bikes and trainers to raise funds to fight Covid-19.

I like him already. The councilman who got the most votes in the Dominican Republic’s latest election arrived for his inauguration on a bicycle, his preferred form of transportation for the past several years.

Bike repair is booming in Saskatoon as people turn to “the only activity left,” but the Saskatchewan city isn’t providing more road space for riders and walkers.

She gets it. A writer for London’s Independent newspaper says bicycling is booming during the coronavirus crisis, and we need to keep it that way.

British experts say bike riders are getting a bad rap, and someone on a bike is no more likely to spread coronavirus than someone taking a leisurely walk.

Sad news from Great Britain, where bicycling fatalities are running twice as high as normal for this time of year, despite the country’s coronavirus lockdown; 14 riders have lost their lives, along with another in Northern Ireland.

Welsh bicyclists are limited to riding within a “reasonable walking distance” of their home under the country’s lockdown rules, whatever that means. That can vary from a few blocks to several miles, depending on who’s doing the walking. And the question is whether the same rules apply to people in motor vehicles, or if they’re singling out transportation riders.

A Scottish advocacy group calls for more space on the streets for people biking and walking to maintain the gains seen during the coronavirus shutdown.

If you’re tired of sitting around waiting for the US to reopen, consider moving to the UK, which has a critical need for people capable of putting bikes together to clear up a 20,000 bike backlog.

A Dublin newspaper looks at the worst places to ride a bike in Ireland.

Bikes are making a comeback as Europe prepares to reopen and people look for an alternative to mass transit.

Milan plans to rebound from the coronavirus shutdown by permanently reallocating 22 miles of streets for biking and walking.

Covid-19 forced an Italian couple to cut short their six-year bike ride around the world, after crossing the Himalayas and Australian Outback.

A ten-year old Indian girl is supporting her family by pedaling around her Uttar Pradesh city peddling the face masks they’re making.

Sad news from Iran, where a 17-year old member of the country’s national cycling team was killed in a collision.

A bighearted former teacher is volunteering to deliver medications by bicycle to HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis patients in Eastern Uganda.

A Korean company is investing $8 million to provide up to 4,000 ebikes in Thailand, along with solar-powered charging stations.

Conde Nast Traveler talks with Kiwi TV producer Jemaine Clement, who’d rather do his traveling by bicycle.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Weekly looks back at the career of Britain’s Madam Gray, who the credit with being the godmother of women’s cycling, helping the sport become what it is today.

 

Finally…

Nothing like getting knocked off your bike — and ticketed in the ER for violating the quarantine. How to ride RAAM without actually going anywhere.

And now you, too, can own your very own steel-framed roadie used by five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain, for the low, low price of just under 60 grand.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Update: 49-year old bike rider killed in early morning Oxnard crash

April 26, 2020 / / 3 comments

An Oxnard man was killed while riding his bike in a crash early Sunday morning.

And no one seems to know what happened.

According to multiple sources, the victim, identified only as a 49-year old Oxnard resident, was struck by a driver around 4:30 this morning on the 2400 block of Statham Blvd in Oxnard.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver, identified as a 43-year old man from Oxnard, was traveling north on Statham. However, police aren’t sure which direction the victim was riding.

Let alone how or why the driver struck him.

There’s no word on whether excess speed, drugs or alcohol played a role. Or whether the victim had lights and reflectors on his bike nearly two hours before sunrise.

A street view shows an unobstructed two lane road, with a 35 mph speed limit. The Ventura County Star describes it as an industrial area between Oxnard and Channel Islands Boulevards, which would likely have been dark and empty in that early morning hour.

Anyone with information is urged to call Oxnard PD Officer Michael Wood at 805/385-7750 or email micheal.wood@oxnardpd.org.

This is at least the 17th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first that I’m aware of in Ventura County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 49-year old Michael Nunziato, an Illinois resident living in Oxnard. 

Unfortunately, there’s still no explanation of how the crash occurred, or why. 

Police are looking for the driver of a second vehicle that was in the area around the time of the crash, and ask him or her to come forward with any information.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Michael Nunziato and all his loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

SaMo bike path remains closed, free rescue wagon for stranded bike riders, and OC Bike Week moves to fall

April 24, 2020 / / One comment

More proof you can carry anything on a bike.

Or in this case, pull.

Thanks to Aurelio Jose Barrera, who spotted this sign in Boyle Heights.

………

Beaches in Santa Monica, Los Angeles and LA County remain closed, along with the beachfront bike path.

Even if Hermosa Beach residents don’t like it.

On the other hand, Orange County beaches are open for business. But only for OC residents. Although whether they’re checking IDs for bike path riders is open to debate.

Meanwhile, SaMo resident David Drexler confirms the beachfront bike path is officially verboten. And the path on the California incline is now, too.

Even if that part gets ignored.

SM closed the incline that leads to the overpass that drops you on the beach. They fenced the bottom I saw today but a gap in the fence  was open and as you can see some people still went over. But to further discourage you if you venture over to the beach, SM bulldozed sand barriers you see in the photos to make your bike ride annoying (unless you have a Mountain Bike?).

………

Things like this are why I love the LA bicycling community.

Just as I was about to post this page, I got a late night — or early morning, if you prefer — email from Daniel Gaffey with a great offer on behalf of his company, Silver Lake Electric Bicycles.

Free bike bailout shuttle

So my company started an electric bike tour a few months ago. It turned out to be a pretty bad time to do that, with COVID cancelling all the rides we had worked so hard to book. Nonetheless we’ll survive but a lot of the equipment is now just idle.

I’d like to offer something to LA bicycling which has given so much to me, by converting our tour van into free emergency transport for the duration of the COVID shutdown. If you (and others) are somehow stranded on a ride, I will send a guide out to help you or your bikes get home. The van holds six mountain bikes or four road bikes and has a good set of tools and air on-hand.

Call 213-537-6774 if your ride goes bad and you have no one else to call. We’re licensed and insured, you can look us up at webikela.com.

Think of it as your own personal rescue wagon when things hit the fan.

So on behalf of all of us, thanks to Dan for a really bighearted offer.

But give ’em a little something for helping out if you can. Because they’re not making any money now either.

………

Orange County will mark Bike Week this September, with Bike to Work Day to be celebrated on September 22nd. Thanks to the Orange County Bicycle Coalition for the heads-up.

Colorado will join them, moving their Bike to Work Day to September, as well.

But there’s still no word from Metro about when, or if, we’ll see Bike to Work Day in Los Angeles this year. Let alone Bike Week and/or Month.

………

More on the recent death of Effective Cycling author John Forester.

British bike historian Carlton Reid skips the niceties, and calls it the death of a dinosaur. Thanks to Phillip Young for the link.

Bicycle Retailer offers a more respectful remembrance of the man who had an outsized influence on how bike riders rode for decades.

But Peter Flax got in the last word — literally — with last September’s Sunday conversation with John Forester, which may have been his last interview.

………

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

Police in New Jersey are looking for a bike-riding armed robber wanted for holding up a convenience store.

………

Local

No surprise here. Beverly Hills decides that cars still need street space more than people do right now.

A kindhearted Santa Clarita sheriff’s deputy gives a new bike he was saving for a raffle to seven-year old kid whose bike was broken and too small.

 

State

One more reason to be careful out there, as SoCal street racers are turning streets emptied by the coronavirus into their own illegal speedways.

San Diego’s KPBS looks at how Covid-19 is changing the city’s streets, concluding there’s more bicycling and walking, and fewer cars. The question is how can cities continue to encourage that after the lockdown is lifted? Because the last thing we need is to go back to the former auto-centric status quo.

Streetsblog calls on Bay Area officials to encourage bicycling by opening the Bay Bridge to bike riders.

Morgan Hill-based Specialized is making deep cuts to survive the coronavirus crisis, laying off seven percent of its workforce and cutting executive pay.

Yes, Yosemite is closed, unless you can walk or ride a bike in.

 

National

HuffPo says the coronavirus shows it’s time to remake American cities for a world where cars are no longer king.

A writer for Bicycling says wear a mask when you ride a bike, even if your city or state doesn’t require one. Meanwhile, Outside recommends new social distancing rules for trail riders.

Spin is sponsoring a contest to design better lane delineators to separate bicyclists and pedestrians from other traffic.

Gadget Flow recommends a handful of “must-have” bike accessories. None of which actually are, but still.

That’s more like it. Bike Radar recommends ten cheap and discounted suggestions to keep you warm, cool and comfortable on your bike.

Colorado mountain bike maker Yeti Cycles paused bicycle production to turn out masks and face shields for Denver’s transit agency.

The boom in bike commuting inspires Cleveland planners to consider how to accommodate bike commuters in a post-coronavirus world.

Ebike maker Aventon Bicycles donated several bicycles and thousands of surgical and N95 masks to a Queens hospital at the forefront of the coronavirus battle.

A New York community board calls for safe routes for essential workers riding through Central Park.

A Philly mother is on a personal mission to get kids to wear bike helmets, after crediting her son’s with saving him from serious injury when he was hit head-on by a driver.

DC will convert no-parking zones into new dockless vehicle corrals.

 

International

Europe’s bike industry is ready to go as the continent moves towards lifting restrictions on businesses.

A new film examines how an ebike was life changing for an English man with multiple sclerosis.

Seriously. If you’re still riding a bike and competing in triathlons at 80 years old, you deserve a hell of a lot better than getting run down by a Brit driver.

A new survey shows 35% of UK bike riders have been involved in a crash, with 20% of those blamed on drivers.

Unbelievable. A British judge sends a message that it’s perfectly okay to kill someone for damaging your car by giving a driver a suspended sentence for repeatedly punching a drunk man riding a bike for allegedly breaking off his car mirror.

A 12-year old boy in the UK raised the equivalent of more than $5,000 by riding 460 miles in a 36-hour virtual cycling challenge.

Wired says that Belgian-Dutch study warning about the danger of spreading coronavirus while biking or running ain’t necessarily so, and the health benefits of physical activity likely outweighs any risk.

Austria’s Secretary of State for Cultural Affairs is one of us, though she could use a little work on staying on the bike and off the pavement.

About damn time. Germany’s transportation ministry is funding Masters-level courses in bicycle traffic at several universities, saying bikes must be put on equal footing with other forms of transportation.

E-bikeshare use is climbing as a healthier alternative to mass transit in China, as the country slowly reawakens from Covid-19.

 

Competitive Cycling

World champ Ruth Winder responds to the cancellation of the women’s cycling tour by baking sourdough babka and delivering them by bike to her friends in Boulder CO. But riding to LA with a couple wouldn’t be that far out of her way, would it?

A South African cyclist explains why he loves the annual joberg2c mountain bike race, which was cancelled like everything else this year.

Bicycling looks at the pro tour’s rush to virtual cycling, while a writer for Bike Radar says esports aren’t a substitute for the real thing, and he’d rather do literally anything else than watch virtual cycling. Took the words right out of my mouth. Although I can think of a few things even less enjoyable.

 

Finally…

You know your marriage is in trouble when your wife turns you in for hit-and-run. When you’re trying to escape the police on your bike, you’ll have much better luck if you avoid doing a faceplant.

And you could own your very own 1973 Campy-equipped Colnago Super Pantografata, just like the one the Cannibal rode.

But those rare Ebay bike finds aren’t always what they seem.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

Ramadān Mubārak!

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Vehicular cycling founder John Forester has died, toxic car culture, fighting for street space, and courteous CA drivers

April 23, 2020 / / One comment

Sad news from San Diego.

CABO President Jim Baross writes that John Forester, author of Effective Cycling and the father of America’s vehicular cycling movement, passed away last week.

Reported to me today by his son Jeff Forester

John died April 14, 2020 at 90 years of age

He was Born Oct. 1929

I have known John primarily related to bicycling and CABO. Some things I know about him off the cuff:

Author of Effective Cycling now in a 7th edition, former League of American Bicyclists Board member (was he board chair at one time?), instrumental in the formation of CABO, certainly the Father of the concepts and trainings of vehicular cycling, an early outspoken advocate for the rights of people to use bicycles on public roads, etc. etc.

Whatever your opinion of vehicular cycling, Forester was hugely influential in the ’70s and ’80s, and throughout the past 50 years. Both in affirming the place of bicyclists on our streets, and blocking the growth of separated bikeways.

He fought for what he believed right up to the end, long after most modern advocates and planners had left his philosophies behind.

But in his day, his work was a revelation, creating the framework most road cyclists employed through the last decades of the past century.

Myself included.

Thanks to Richard Masoner for the heads-up.

Cover image from MIT Press. 

………

Let’s talk about a great opinion piece from today’s LA Times.

Senior digital editor Matthew Fleischer writes that the coronavirus shutdowns are making it clear just how toxic car culture really is.

The coronavirus is making it abundantly clear that cars are their own kind of plague. And, in many ways, our lives are better when we don’t have to use them.

Some city leaders have come to this realization and are refusing to allow their automotive status quos to return after the lockdowns end. In Milan, Italy — one of the hardest-hit cities in the world by coronavirus — planners have already begun preparations to permanently transform 22 miles of streets for non-automobile use after witnessing reductions in air pollution of up to 70% during lockdowns.

Then there’s this.

Frankly, the idea that we can transport ourselves sustainably en masse in toxic 4,000-pound battering rams is just as delusional, entitled and self-destructive as the “liberate” protestors who are demanding a premature end to coronavirus-related stay-at-home orders…

There is no herd immunity from the damage caused by millions of personal automobiles roaming the streets at all hours.

Seriously, this will probably be the most insightful thing you read today. If not, it’s still a damn good way to spend the next few minutes.

Let’s hope Mayor Garcetti reads it.

Because he can let coronavirus derail his ambitious plans to reimagine our streets as part of an LA Green New Deal.

Or he can use this as a rare opportunity to actually make it happen.

………

Closing or narrowing streets for cars in response to Covid-19 continues to make news here in LA, across the US and around the world.

Los Angeles political advocacy group Streets For All has forged a powerful coalition of LA-area groups to lead the call to keep Angelenos physically and mentally healthy during the COVID-19 crisis.

And expressed that call in a strongly worded letter to leaders of the City of Angels.

The road space in Los Angeles is now dramatically overbuilt for the current vehicle traffic volume, causing vehicles to travel at dangerous speeds – average speeds are up 30% on our wide open roads according to LADOT. At the same time, the average width of our sidewalks is 4.4’, too narrow to allow people to pass each other while maintaining 6’ of distance. As a result, people are forced to be in close proximity with each other, risking proliferating the virus or walking, running, scooting, or biking in the street next to speeding cars. This isn’t just a street safety issue, but a public health issue as well…

While the top priority is limiting COVID-19 spread and saving lives and livelihoods, there must be a long term plan to sustain the mental and physical well being of Angelenos. Isolation and inactivity can lead to increases in chronic health conditions like heart disease and obesity and pose other mental and physical health risks that we may pay for as a society for years to come.

Therefore, for the critical reasons of equity, mental health, safety, and the physical well-being of Angelenos, we ask you to authorize the creation of an emergency people street network – using cones or other temporary infrastructure – to create additional sidewalk and open space for people to walk, run, scoot, and bike in, while maintaining 6’ of distancing. ​On neighborhood streets, this could be as simple as a few cones and a “slow down” sign taking up some of the street, calming traffic but still allowing local and emergency vehicle access. On major arteries, this could be redistributing a parking lane and/or single vehicle traffic lane on each side of the street, while taking care not to interfere with bus stops​. These treatments may also advance the Mayor’s goals under L.A.’s Green New Deal to “Activate Streets” and “Prioritize Land Use and the Right-of-Way” in ​Executive Directive 25​. All of this can be accomplished inexpensively and without the need of distracting our police or fire departments with enforcement during this critical time.

It’s worth taking the time to read the full letter. And voice your own support.

Meanwhile, KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis talks with Curbed’s Alissa Walker about closing some roads to cars so people have more space to walk, run or bike.

Salt Lake City joins the growing movement to convert streets to bike and pedestrian use.

Berlin is the latest world capital to carve out more space on the streets for active transportation in the wake of the coronavirus shutdown.

And Paris trumps everyone by readying the equivalent of 400 miles of permanent and temporary bikeways for use when the city reawakens.

………

No surprise here.

The Governors Highway Safety Association says speeding is up around the country on streets emptied by the coronavirus crisis, which means crashes are more serious, too.

Case in point, the CHP reports that tickets for speeding in excess of 100 mph have jumped 87% over the past month.

Which can either mean that more drivers are speeding. Or that more are just getting caught.

Or maybe both.

………

New York City’s mayor demonstrates that he’s never been to California by bizarrely insisting that California drivers are so courteous, they stop on every block — even when they don’t have to.

https://twitter.com/laura_nelson/status/1252979892846645248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1252979892846645248&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fnyc.streetsblog.org%2F2020%2F04%2F22%2Fstill-defiant-now-mayor-de-blasio-wrongly-claims-california-can-have-open-space-because-its-drivers-are-better%2F

………

The LACBC and Sunset For All are teaming up tomorrow to show that bikes mean business.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

A “furious” English man demands that bike riders be banned from a multi-use path along the coast for the alleged crime of failing to maintain social distancing.

………

Local

Khloé Kardashian’s two-year old daughter is one of us.

 

State

A San Diego columnist questions whether it’s time to reopen parts of the city, arguing that the fitness of residents helped it avoid the worst of the coronavirus.

I want to be like them when I grow up. A group of San Diego men up to 80 years old are still taking long rides along the SoCal coast. And the coast of Normandy.

After losing his job in a San Francisco restaurant, a Venezuelan chef turns to his native cuisine, and starts a new business delivering homemade arepas by bike. Which is literally what he named it.

Once again, a Bay Area bicyclist posts a nearly one-hour video of a ride through Oakland and San Leandro. And once again, an Oakland News blogger freaks out over his scofflaw behavior.

They get it. A pair of Sacramento mayors agree this is no time to back down on climate change, coronavirus or not.

 

National

PeopleForBikes aims to support bike shops by encouraging responsible riding during the Covid-19 crisis, along with virtual cycling.

How to turn your kid into a mini mountain bike shredder.

A pair of Idaho bike commuters are credited with helping the environment by trading gas pedals for bike pedals; one was inspired to get on her bike by attending CicLAvia when she was a student at USC.

Evidently, Texas trail users don’t like being told which way to go.

Wisconsin wrenches are raising old bikes from the dead at a record pace.

Security cam video shows a St. Louis hit-and-run driver plowing into a bike rider, hurling him into the air before flooring it and fleeing the scene; despite the head-on crash, the victim only suffered minor injuries. This video is just as disturbing as it sounds, so be sure you really want to see it before you click on the link.

Three friends from Maine end up driving 2,000 miles home when their fundraising cross-country bike trip ground to a halt in Texas after the coronavirus shut down much of the country.

After an MIT researcher blamed New York’s transit system for spreading Covid-19, a researcher from George Mason University reminds him that correlation isn’t causation, noting that restaurants and bikeshare showed the same curve — and points the finger for spreading the disease at motor vehicle use, instead.

Streetsblog says the empty streets have turned New York’s Third Ave into a dangerous speedway.

A writer for Rolling Stone takes a desolate and desultory ride through the city, feeling anger towards people flaunting social distancing rules and mourning places that may not return.

A Philly radio station says bicycle couriers have had to change their strategies to avoid spreading Covid-19. Or getting exposed to it.

 

International

She gets it. A writer for Forbes says our planet needs cities to prioritize people over cars, and this is the perfect time to do it.

The Pinkbike Podcast discusses why every new bike now seems to be a trail bike.

Cycling News says you can save time and money by learning to fit your own bike chain. Meanwhile, Bike Radar offers a beginner’s guide to road bike shifting.

Bike-riding British Columbia mounties stop a man for riding without a helmet, which is against the law there. And end up busting him for stealing the bike he was riding.

Dutch model Lilly Becker is one of us, too, going for a socially distant ride through London’s Wimbledon neighborhood.

Tragic news from the Netherlands, where an 18-year old man was stabbed to death in an apparent random attack while riding his bike; police arrested a “known troublemaker” immigrant with mental health problems.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews talks with five-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault about his 50-mile solo breakaway through a brutal snowstorm to win the 1980 Liège-Bastogne-Liège

 

Finally…

Who needs a BMX track when you’ve got a Tribeca apartment with an awesome view of the waterfront? Why move over when you’ve got a six-foot social distancing stick?

And no, bikes aren’t “the new toilet paper.”

You can actually get a bicycle.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bike rider killed in Fullerton crash Tuesday afternoon, few details available

April 22, 2020 / / One comment

Once again, a bike rider has been killed in Southern California.

And once again, almost no information is available.

According to the Orange County Register, a person was killed when he or she was stuck by a driver in the 1900 block of Orangethorpe Ave in Fullerton just before 3 pm yesterday.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

And yes, the driver stuck around and cooperated with police.

Unfortunately, there’s no information available on the victim, or how the crash may have occurred. Or anything else that might explain what happened.

A street view shows a major six lane roadway, with a narrow painted bike lane on each side; without traffic, there’s little or nothing to slow drivers down.

Anyone with information is urged to call Fullerton Police Department Collision Investigator Chad Keen at 714/738-6812.

This is at least the 16th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Orange County, in what is turning out to be a very bloody year in the county.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his or her loved ones.

Thank you to the person who forwarded this to me.

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