Archive for bikinginla

Morning Links: LACBC hires new ED, LA Walks hiring new ED, and Diamondback bike found in Silver Lake

January 11, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: LACBC hires new ED, LA Walks hiring new ED, and Diamondback bike found in Silver Lake

Let’s offer a round of congratulations to Eli Akira Kaufman, the new Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

Although you may know it better as the LACBC.

Kaufman takes over an organization that has spent the last few years in transition, following the departures of former LACBC Executive Directors Tamika Butler and Erik Jansen in just the past 18 months.

Hopefully he’ll be able to steady the bike coalition, and provide the stable leadership the LACBC desperately needs as the LA area’s leading voice for bicyclists, at a time when our streets have been in turmoil due to a lack of support at city hall.

The simple fact is, we need strong, effective leadership from the LACBC, in the halls of city hall, in the media and on the streets. And the LACBC needs strong, effective leadership in order to provide it.

So let’s all pat him on the back and wish him well.

And tell him to roll up his sleeves and get down to work.

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Speaking of Executive Directors, pedestrian advocacy group LA Walks is in the market for a new one.

Current ED Emilia Crotty is stepping away after three and a half years to be closer to her family on the East Coast.

She’s been a strong advocate for safer streets for people on foot, and all other road users, and will be missed.

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If you’ve lost a Diamondback Sorrento recently, you may be in luck.

https://twitter.com/lawalksdmurphy/status/1083437307779137537

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

Portland police are looking for whoever has been tossing nails into a bike lane, using different kinds of nails at different times of day.

A separated bike lane in New York’s East Village was sabotaged with broken glass, as well as graffiti calling for a return of street parking.

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We mentioned earlier this week that New Mexico State Rep. Angelica Rubio is biking across the state to attend the opening session of the legislature.

Now Bike Santa Fe’s Brian Kreimendahl forwards word that she’ll be introducing a bill to mandate a five-foot passing distance in the state.

The bill also allows drivers to briefly cross the center line when safe to do so to pass someone on a bike, a provision California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed in an earlier version of our state’s three-foot law.

Let’s hope she arrives safely at the legislature; the safety of all the state’s bike riders could depend on it.

And let’s hope someone in California’s legislature follows her example, and re-introduces the provision Brown killed.

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Local

CicLAvia’s annual pLAy day in LA fundraiser is scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday, February 10th.

A writer for UCLA’s Daily Bruin says Elon Musk’s tunnels will only benefit the people who can afford an all-electric autonomous vehicle, and he’d be better off donating the money to the mayor’s Twenty-Eight by ’28program to build road, transit and bike projects before the upcoming LA Olympics.

The good news is Monterey Park has installed a new buffered bike lane on Riggin Street. The bad news, it’s just over half a mile long, giving way to sharrows on either end. As we’ve said before, the arrows in sharrows are only there to help drivers improve their aim.

State

California has finally revised CEQA rules to eliminate LOS (Level of Service) standards that considered bus lanes and bike racks bad for the environment, although the new rules don’t go into effect until next year.

San Diegans are invited to learn how to fix their bikes and make jewelry from bike parts.

A Modesto man was stabbed by a man on a bicycle while delivering newspapers in a “bad neighborhood.”

National

An Alaskan man was set on his path to become a stuntman stand-in for Kevin Bacon and Keanu Reeves when a truck ran his bike off the road, wrecking it while he walked away injury-free.

PC Magazine tries out Nordic Track’s new Virtual Reality stationary bike at CES in Las Vegas, and says it’s a fun workout — if you don’t throw up.

A Kansas man has pled guilty to second degree murder for intentionally running down a man riding a bicycle, claiming the man had struck his mother with a lead pipe.

A Lubbock TX website says the growing number of e-scooters are increasing the need for bike lanes in the central city.

A Chicago letter-writer tells drivers to learn the Dutch Reach and save a life.

A Minneapolis bike writer says there’s still hope, even though the theme of the past year was conflict between drivers and bicyclists.

Two years after an Ohio teacher crowdfunded enough money to buy every kid at her school a new bicycle, the project has morphed into a nonprofit to give kids bikes, as well as other “joyful” things like Halloween costumes.

A Boston letter writer says an auto-first policy is a road to ruin.

Massachusetts plans to get more bicyclists on the roads by focusing on improving safety and accessibility.

New York’s TransAlt advocacy group asks the city’s leaders for a Bike Mayor like London has,. Although we need it here in Los Angeles a lot more than they do.

A DC writer takes a deep dive into the liability issues surrounding e-scooters, after she ends up in the ER when the one she was riding came to a rapid and unexpected stop.

Life is cheap in Louisiana. The widow of a fallen East Baton Rouge councilmember says a lousy 12 days behind bars for the driver who killed him and injured another man as they rode their bikes is a perversion of justice. No shit.

International

The Guardian offers suggestions from around the world on how to encourage urban bicycling, from providing free bicycles to putting spikes on drivers’ steering wheels.

Road.cc goes to the source and gets the inside scoop on how to protect your bicycle from a professional bike thief.

After an English bike rider complains about a close pass by a bus driver, a cop tells him maybe he should drive a Hummer.

A new British bike helmet promises to protect your skull and grey matter even if you get run over by a bus. And remains wearable after surviving 200 impacts.

This is who we share the roads with, UK edition. A drunk van driver smashed into the home of a 92-year old woman, barely missing two young schoolgirls on bicycles, after careening through the town.

Paris is planning free transit and bikeshare for kids.

French bikemaker Coleen has introduced a very cool looking ebike based on a 1941 design by French architect Jean Prouvé.

One more for your bike bucket list — an adrenalin-pumping bike tour of the Greek Isles for a mere $7,000 per person.

Horrifying story from India, where a bike rider was struck by a hit-and-run driver, severing his leg, while the force of the impact threw him into the back of passing truck; his body was finally discovered over 250 miles away. Unfortunately, the Indian press uses the same term to describe bicyclists, motor scooters and motorcycles, so it’s unclear just what kind of bike he was riding.

Entrepreneur looks at the not-unexpected collapse of Chinese dockless bikeshare company Ofo, which dismissed its entire international business department. Meanwhile, the company has pulled its 6,000 out of London, where most of the surviving bikes had been illegally converted to private use.

Competitive Cycling

Congratulations to Redlands bike club GS Andiamo, which got USA Cycling’s nod for Division II Cycling Club of the Year for 2018. Thanks to David Huntsman for the heads-up.

Peter Flax confesses what it was like to be a fondo VIP for Bicycling magazine.

Speaking of Bicycling, the magazine suggests 15 mountain bike races you should seriously consider entering this year. Unless you don’t ride mountain bikes, that is. Or race. But otherwise, sure.

Finally…

If you’re going to ride off on your bike after throwing a flaming Molotov cocktail into your neighbor’s yard, try not to get caught on the security cam. More proof you can carry anything on a bike — even a stolen flatscreen TV.

And this must be where dockless bicycles go to die.

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

Morning Links: LA Vision Zero back from dead, Oakland hit-and-run driver caught, and lack of barriers on PCH

January 10, 2019 / / 3 comments

Maybe Los Angeles is finally ready to do something about Vision Zero.

Or maybe not.

After angry drivers protested the initial scoring system that gave priority to underserved communities and deaths involving vulnerable road users, the city council told the Vision Zero program to go back to the drawing board and base the results on unweighted data.

And the results are exactly what you’d expect.

According to LA Curbed, they identified 23 streets and 60 intersections in need of immediate improvement.

They could have saved time and just asked the city’s bicyclists and pedestrians, and probably come up with the pretty much the same list.

The most deadly corridor identified by transportation officials is a stretch of Imperial Highway between Athens Way and Vermont Avenue in South LA. Here, between 2013 and 2017, more than 21 people were killed or injured per mile of roadway.

The deadliest intersection is where Pacific Coast Highway meets Temescal Canyon Road, at the entrance to Will Rogers State Beach. Nine people were killed or seriously injured there during the same time frame…

The deadliest corridors are overwhelmingly concentrated in central Los Angeles, and they include segments of well-known and well-traveled thoroughfares like Hollywood, Sunset, Beverly, and Pico boulevards. Safety improvements are needed at multiple sections of some major streets, including Western, Normandie, and Vermont avenues.

But you already knew that, right?

Then again, most people could probably name at least 20 of the worst streets off the top of their heads.

Surprising, the story says road diets aren’t off the table, despite our weak-kneed mayor and councilmembers pulling the plug on virtually all of the ones implemented or under consideration over the past year.

See Playa del Rey, Temple St, et al.

Whether they’ll finally find the courage to stand up to impatient, traffic safety denying drivers remains to be seen.

But at least one member of the council gets it.

Talking about the minimal funding LA’s Vision Zero has received to date, with just $37 million allotted in the current budget, CD6 Councilmember Nury Martinez had this to say.

“We at some point need to be very, very serious about this program and committed to funding it—and committed to getting to the communities that have been historically plagued with these accidents,” said Martinez at a committee hearing last month. “If we’re not going to be serious about that, then let’s not kid ourselves.”

Thanks to Jeff Vaughn for the heads-up.

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An arrest has been made in the hit-and-run crash that left a 14-year old Oakland boy critically injured after the alleged asshole behind the wheel allegedly dragged the boy under his car for three blocks.

Video from the scene reportedly shows a man and a woman standing over the victim, watching him writhe in pain, before getting back in their car and driving away.

If they’re convicted, let’s hope they lock them both up in a deep hole for a very long time.

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Longtime community advocate George Wolfberg points out that the section of southbound PCH above the parking lot for Will Rogers State Beach is largely unprotected by guard rails or other traffic barriers.

Which was undoubtedly a factor in Tuesday’s crash, where a bicyclist was critically injured by a car that flew off the highway and landed on its roof.

He reports that Caltrans will look into making a fix.

Let’s hope they do it before someone else gets hurt.

Meanwhile, a Reddit comment from someone who came on the scene shortly after the crash says that the victim was either riding in the parking lot or on the beach bike path when he or she was injured, rather than on PCH.

And suggests that the driver may have been under the influence, which shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone.

Unfortunately, there’s no update on the condition of the victim.

Thanks to Brian for the link.

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Local

Time Out suggests taking time out to explore the LA-area’s best bike trails.

A proposal for a road diet on Pasadena’s Cordova Street received a surprisingly positive response at Tuesday’s public meeting. Pasadena Star-News columnist and occasional bicyclist Larry Wilson says he’s glad to see the failed fight over Orange Grove Blvd hasn’t killed road diets in the city.

Good thread from Megan Lynch on the benefits of an ebike conversion kit for a handicapped ‘bent rider.

Santa Monica’s Cynergy Cycles is hosting a pair of rides on roads less traveled this month, with a gravel ride on January 20th, and a Specialized mountain bike demo ride on the 26th

Everyone hoping for the death of e-scooters may be disappointed, as Santa Monica-based bird raised yet another $300 million.

State

The California branch of the American Council of Engineering Companies has honored the state’s top engineering projects, including Long Beach’s Daisy-Myrtle Bike Boulevard and the Georgia Street Bridge in San Diego; the newly bike-friendly Santa Monica Blvd in Beverly Hills got an honorable mention.

Sad news from the Fresno area, where a man riding a bicycle was killed in a hit-and-run.

An Oakland man is suing a San Francisco driver, claiming he rear-ended the plaintiff’s bike at a red light, then got out, hit him and threw his bicycle.

National

You’ve got two more days to comment on a proposal to exclude ebikes from Trump’s crippling 25% Chinese tariffs.

Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss says bicycling is only as dangerous as you make it. While I get the point, I’d say it’s more like bicycling is as dangerous as the roads you ride and the people around you make it, because there’s only so much you can control.

Strong Towns demonstrates the benefits of road design in slowing traffic with two simple photos. Thanks to Tim Rutt for the tip.

A cross-country bike ride to honor an Oregon man’s late father has morphed into an annual long-distance ride.

Seattle’s bike-hating shock jock says the city’s reasoning for why bike commuting rates are down is embarrassing, and that the argument that more people will ride if they have a connected network it ludicrous. Maybe he should try driving his car sometime when most of the streets are under construction, making it impossible to find a safe, connected route to his destination, and see how ludicrous that is.

If you’ve ever ridden a bicycle in Stow, Ohio, you’ve probably broken the law; a councilmember is proposing repealing an ordinance requiring a license to ride a bike in the city that no one seems to even know about.

Bike New York, the group behind the annual Five Boro Bike Tour, is finally entering the world of advocacy 18 years after its founding, hiring long time New York bike advocate and former NYDOT Policy Director Jon Orcutt to lead the effort. Thanks to Michael MacDonald for explaining to me why that matters.

Bike advocates call for Gotham to appoint the city’s first bike mayor.

More evidence that bike-friendly community status doesn’t mean much, as the Bike League bestows a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Community award on the Florida county the New York Times calls the most dangerous place in the nation to ride a bike.

International

Thermal imaging may help make autonomous cars safer, but you may have to keep driving your own car for awhile.

Road.cc ranks their top ten road bikes of the year — two of which actually sell for the equivalent of under $1000.

Winnipeg considers a proposal to mandate bicycle registration at the point of purchase to combat what they describe as meth-fueled bike thefts.

The bicycling death of the Queen’s homeopathic physician in London show’s the need to prioritize people over motor vehicles, according to his sister; witnesses say he swerved in front of a truck traveling at just eight mph.

A bike-riding British truck driver says no, large trucks don’t have bicyclist-obscuring blind spots, too many drivers just don’t look.

An English driver got a measly three years for killing a bike rider while high on coke and cannabis.

Cellphone video shows an Irish man throwing a bicycle at a food delivery rider in an apparent road rage attack, then bravely running away when the rider confronts him.

Competitive Cycling

They get it. A New Zealand website says shaming a 91-year old US cycling champ for inadvertently failing a drug test is another black eye for anti-doping authorities.

Finally…

Why wait until after work to ride your bike — or pedal, anyway. And it takes a major schmuck to steal an award-winning bikemaker’s custom “Rat Rod” bikes after his unexpected death.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

Morning Links: Bike rider critical after PCH crash, become an LCA, and police search for bicycling SaMo shooter

January 9, 2019 / / One comment

A bike rider was critically injured on PCH in Pacific Palisades on Tuesday evening when a driver somehow lost control of his car , and overturned in the parking lot.

No word on the identity of the victim, or whether he was riding on PCH or in the parking lot when the driver crashed into him.

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Here’s your chance to be a League Certified Cycling Instructor, as Bike SGV is hosting a training session next month.

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Santa Monica police are looking for a bike rider who pulled out a gun and shot a driver in a liquor store parking lot last November, after a confrontation with the occupants of her SUV.

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Scottish stunt rider Danny MacAskill races a horse and finishes in front, despite having two fewer feet.

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Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton examines Metro’s bike ban on 1st Street in Little Tokyo and the mostly ignored 2,700-foot detour, saying it may not be legal, and is just another example of Metro’s repeated failure to fix known problems.

Here’s your chance to design your own LA parklet. Hint: More bike corrals, please.

Good piece from LA Bike Dad, who discovers the hard way that he and his kids aren’t made of sugar, after getting caught in Saturday’s expected downpour while riding their bikes.

CiclaValley goes riding on the Santa Clarita Truck Trail, also discovering the hard way that it was a lot longer and steeper than expected.

A Burbank man was busted for burglary after police spotted him riding a bicycle with no hands while carrying a large box at 3:45 am.

State

San Diego police are looking for the hit-and-run driver who ran down a woman riding a bicycle in Mission Bay. Note to SDPD: Bike riders can ride in a crosswalk, but aren’t required to. Or expected for that matter.

San Jose’s bike-riding mayor is working from home as he recovers from his recent collision.

San Francisco Streetsblog asks readers where they want to see the next protected bike lane. My choice is Los Angeles.

Once again, an alleged drunk driver fled the scene of a crash with the victim embedded in his windshield. The Sacramento driver faces numerous charges, while his skateboarding victim is recovering from shattered bones in both legs, as well as injuries to her arm and neck.

National

Bicycling offers advice on how to make your dog the best riding partner ever.

Tech Guide takes a close-up look at the new bicycle air bag vest. Just one more example of upping the bike safety arms race because people can’t be expected to drive safely.

An Illinois woman is under arrest for embezzling money from the bike shop where she worked as a bookkeeper.

Boston’s bike hating columnist gloats over the recent decline in bike commuting rates, insisting it’s time “for public officials and policy makers to turn their backs on the militant, self-righteous bike lobby and its fantasy of a world in which drivers defer to cyclists as the rightful kings of the road.” Um, right.

This is why you don’t try to stop bike thieves by yourself. A New York man was slashed with a knife when he tried to stop two thieves who were trying to make off with an ebike behind the restaurant he works at.

A Virginia bike club is crowdfunding donations to build a new bike path.

Three Florida kids gave up their own Christmas celebration so their dad could ride a bike across Florida to raise funds to fight domestic violence.

International

Massive trucks and SUVs may make the people in them feel safer, but increase the danger to everyone else.

That’s more like it. Toronto distracted drivers will now face a $1,000 fine and three points off their license. California charges a measly $20 for the first offense — and zero points. Recently retired former governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill which would have toughened fines for California’s almost universally distracted driving laws.

A British convict’s taste of freedom didn’t long. He was rearrested in a nearby town the day after he stole a prison bicycle and rode out the gates.

A Rwandan teenager has found his American Dream working as a bike mechanic after spending 13 years in a refugee camp.

Bikeway maps show just how much the Dutch government cherishes bicycles and the people who ride them.

Competitive Cycling

Yes, there really is a US Open Fat Bike Beach Race, which is expected to double in size for this year’s race.

Finally…

Your next bike could be a tall bike or chopper — or both. If you’re going to murder a mob enforcer in a bike-by shooting, be sure to wear a hi-viz vest to call more attention to yourself.

And this new motorcycle can really fly.

No, literally.

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

Morning Links: Bighearted San Jose cops, shredding mountain bike firefighter, and e-scooter dog cruelty

January 8, 2019 / / 4 comments

Somehow I lost this one on my desktop over the holidays.

Robert Leone forwards news of bighearted San Jose cops who pitched in to buy a new bicycle for their favorite shoe shine person, after his was damaged when he was hit by a car before Thanksgiving.

Thanks and apologies to Robert Leone for the delay in posting this one.

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No, that’s not a professional mountain biker. It’s an Orange County firefighter.

And officially one of the nation’s fastest non-pro downhill racers.

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Some people shouldn’t be allowed to have dogs.

Or ride scooters.

Bakersfield police are looking for a woman who was caught on video dragging a dog behind an e-scooter going an estimated 15 mph.

Let’s hope they find her, and take both of them away. Permanently.

And yes, the video is just as disturbing as it says.

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Local

After advocates managed to beat back an anti-road diet motion from traffic safety deniers Keep LA Moving, the L.A. Neighborhood Council Coalition approved a more neutral motion calling for community input on road diets. But as Streetsblog’s Joe Linton points out, no one demands community engagement for most driver-friendly changes.

Downtown News says the Los Angeles River Bike Path Gap Closure Project has the potential to be a key component in a regional bike network, but with a gasp-inducing $365 million price tag and an overly long timeline.

More mass insanity, as speed limits go up in Westwood and Century City, including the popular bike route Ohio Ave.

Metro is now offering Pedal Perks to bikeshare members; 50 rides will get you a Metro Bike Share T-shirt.

A new app allows you to plan your trip by comparing transit, bikeshare, ride-hailing and carpooling for 15 cities around the world, including Los Angeles.

The Santa Clarita Valley is peppered with a network of bike and walking paths to take users back to nature, thanks in part to the efforts of the Santa Clarita Valley Bicycle Coalition, the LACBC’s neighborhood chapter for the area.

State

A CHP officer says police are more likely to ticket bike riders under 18 for not wearing a helmet, now that it’s a fix-it ticket rather than a traffic fine.

All those new bike lanes in San Luis Obispo must be doing some good, with bicycle crashes down to their lowest level in the 20 years the city has been keeping track.

The rich get richer. An outgoing San Francisco city supervisor unveiled yet another protected bike lane in the City by the Bay on her last day in office.

A San Francisco bike rider got stuck with a $20,000 bill from the city’s largest hospital following a bike crash, learning the hard way that the hospital named after Mark Zuckerberg is out-of-network for everyone.

A Marin paper says a new study shows too many people on bikes and on foot are getting hit by motorists, and calls on everyone to pay attention and play by the rules.

National

Outside looks at the rise of e-mountain bikes, saying the quality keeps getting better, despite the vitriol they elicit. Especially if you’ve got ten grand or more to spend on one.

The Peloton community raised over $37,000 for a man suffering from cancer, after his wife posted on Facebook asking if anyone wanted to buy hers to help pay for her treatment.

Students at the University of Arkansas are about to get a new cycle track and sidewalks leading through campus.

This is who we share the roads with. A Michigan Uber driver has pled guilty to shooting eight people between fares, killing six.

A Pittsburgh letter writer says bike riders should be subsidized, not taxed, because they reduce overall car usage.

An Adirondack, New York newspaper thanks the state’s governor for finishing the 34-mile rail-to-trail Adirondack Rail Trail.

There’s a special place in hell for the hit-and-run driver who ran down a New Jersey man delivering food to the homeless on his bicycle, leaving hm to die alone in the street.

International

Road.cc looks at six of the best bike locks to help keep your bike from getting stolen.

Havana’s new docked bikeshare system is turning out to be more popular than expected, even with just 60 bicycles.

A Winnipeg city counselor says screw the bike lanes, clear snow off the roads and sidewalks first.

I want to be like him when I grow up, too. A bighearted Montreal man anonymously gave over 1,700 bicycles to disadvantaged kids over the last 34 years of his life, earning the nickname the Bike Man; it was only after his death that his true identity finally came out.

Prince Charles is one of us. Or at least he was during his college days.

British foldie bikemaker Brompton isn’t taking chances, stockpiling the equivalent of nearly $1.3 million in parts in case a “shit hits the fan” Brexit disaster strikes, which is looking more likely every day.

Now that’s more like it. Police in an English city have opened a web portal allowing people to submit bike and dashcam videos and still photos showing traffic violations. It would take a law change to allow police to use videos and photos in California. And it should be.

No, using a motor vehicle to intentionally knock someone off their bike isn’t a prank, it’s assault with a deadly weapon.

Even Azerbaijan is becoming bike friendly.

Thor is one of us. Or at least the actor who plays him, as Chris Hemsworth goes for a shirtless bike ride with his family in their Australian hometown.

Competitive Cycling

USA Cycling has a new CEO after hiring the former head of New Balance; he’s one of us, too.

New Paralympics individual pursuit champ Clara Brown won her title eleven years after she was paralyzed from the neck down, and just five months after taking up track cycling.

Finally…

If you’re going to make your getaway by bicycle, make sure you’re faster than the bike cop chasing you. No, the correct usage of a kid’s bike is not smashing the windshield of the person you’re arguing with.

And now you can have your very own bike airbag, just like all the cool people in cars (scroll down).

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: Hollywood development plan released, and discrimination and LA’s deadly streets

January 7, 2019 / / One comment

The streets of Hollywood could look at lot different in the next 20 years.

If we can all manage to survive that long.

The city has released the new Hollywood Model Development Report conducted by consultants Fehr + Peers to plan for development in the Hollywood area by 2040, including streets and mobility.

Appendix J Hollywood Model Development ReportDownload

They operated on the assumption that nothing can be done to mitigate Hollywood traffic congestion, so the focus was providing alternatives to driving.

Like riding bikes.

In fact, the study calls for a number of lane reductions to make room for bike lanes, protected and otherwise — including protected bike lanes on Hollywood Blvd and Melrose Ave.

Along with bicycle friendly streets as part of the Neighborhood Enhanced Network proposed in the 2010 bike plan.

The bad news is, the plan is based on LA’s Mobility Plan 2035, which is already gathering dust on the shelf.

And predicated on the support of Hollywood councilmembers who haven’t been elected yet.

Then again, that could be a good thing, since the ones we have now appertains to be too risk averse to make the major changes necessary to provide alternatives to driving and improve safety on our streets.

Let alone confront the angry drivers who seem to be setting the city’s transportation policy these days.

Thanks to Brandi D’Amore for the heads-up.

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Great Twitter thread from LA Bike Dad looking at the long-lasting effects of racial discrimination in Los Angeles. And how it lines up perfectly with LA’s most dangerous streets.

It’s definitely worth a click to read the full thread.

And here’s what LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds had to say in response.

https://twitter.com/seletajewel/status/1081337050362605568

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As long as we’re visiting Twitter, Pedal Love discovered what may be the best ever bicycle sidecar.

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Marin Facebook users seem thrilled to see a group of bicyclists stopped and ticketed by sheriff’s deputies.

If you have a strong stomach, it’s worth the click just to read the comments. Like this, for instance.

Funny how people often want to ban bicycles from narrow roads because they think it’s too dangerous for bikes. But it never occurs to them to ban the cars that make them that way, instead.

Never mind people, like the woman below, who think bicycling is too dangerous because of all the dangerous drivers on the roads. And somehow continue to believe the myth that if they innocently hit a lawbreaking bicyclist, they’ll be held responsible.

Most of the time, no one is. And in the rare case when police blame someone, it’s usually the victim.

Thanks to Frank Lehnerz for the heads-up.

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Now you can be the proud owner of a classic 1989 Eddy Merckx team bike made for the late, great 7-Eleven team for the low, low price of just $6,700 US.

As long as you promise to let me ride it.

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Local

Candidates are lining up to fill the seat of CD12 Councilmember Mitch Englander, who is walking away from the district he was elected to serve. We’ll have to wait see which of the candidates support safer streets, if any.

LADOT has released the environmental study for the Winnetka Avenue Street Improvements project to extend the existing bike lanes on Winnetka Ave.

After the recent disastrous proposal for a road diet on Pasadena’s Orange Grove Blvd, the city is giving it another shot with a proposal for a lane reduction, bike lanes and improved crosswalks on Cordova Street; a public meeting will be held to discuss it on Tuesday. Rose City NIMBYs and traffic safety deniers will undoubtedly be out in force to oppose it, so anyone who lives, rides or works in the area should turn out to voice your support.

State

An op-ed on a San Jose website says the mayor’s recent bike crash was no accident, but blames bad road design instead of the inattentive driver. Only the other hand, the mayor says any head defects he may have were a pre-existing condition.

San Francisco Streetsblog says no, bike commuting rates did not drop 19.9% in San Francisco, and 25.8% in Oakland, as reported in last week’s USA Today article.

Oakland plans to speed up repairs on one of the city’s most dangerous streets, a week after a 14-year old boy was critically injured when he was dragged three blocks by a hit-and-run driver.

Washoe County is continuing to build bike paths in the Truckee Meadows, despite a drop in ridership.

National

US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is one of us, after surgery to repair an undisclosed broken bone suffered in an undisclosed bicycling fall and/or crash. Evidently, it’s on a need to know basis. And apparently we don’t.

A bike industry writer says e-scooters don’t appear to threaten the bright future of ebikes.

An ebike maker is used as a model for how to successfully raise prices without losing customers after they get hit with a 25% tariff increase for parts imported from China.

A Utah law firm concludes that downtown Salt Lake City and Provo are the state’s most dangerous places to ride a bike.

A New Mexico State legislator is riding her bike 300 miles to the state capital for the new legislative session.

Who needs employee parking? A Colorado company gave all of its 85 employees new $1,300 ebikes.

A Colorado man put thirteen old kids bikes along his fence for anyone to take. Only to find others continually adding bicycles to the line to replace any that get taken.

A 73-year old Michigan man has now ridden his bike across all seven continents after finishing a leisurely ride across Antarctica.

An Ohio driver pled guilty to aggravated assault for a road rage attack on a man and his wife. But he did write a letter saying he was really, really sorry.

An Irish boxer goes head-over-heels after hitting the skids on the streets of New York.

The rich get richer. Bike friendly DC is going to get three new protected bike lanes in the next three years.

A Florida man is being held on $10,000 bail after he was busted for riding a gas-powered bicycle, despite a suspended license for DUI.

International

Treehugger says drivers should thank bicyclists for modern roads, instead of complaining about us.

Maybe a hot bath doesn’t burn as many calories as riding your bike, after all.

Life is cheap in Calgary, where a bike rider was charged for killing a 75-year old man as he walked in a crosswalk — except he was only charged with failure to stop at a red light. We can’t complain about killer drivers getting off with a slap on the wrist, and not hold deadly bicyclists to the same standard.

A Toronto op-ed calls the modest bicycle one of humanity’s great emancipators.

Police are looking for a British bike rider who smashed a driver over the head with his bike lock after a crash. Seriously, there’s no better way to go from victim to criminal than trying to retaliate against a driver. Or anyone else.

A 20-year old English college student has set a new record for the youngest person to bike across the world, riding 18,000-mile through 14 countries in 159 days.

Bike advocates in the UK accused the country’s Highway Code of victim blaming for tweeting that bike riders should wear helmets and “appropriate clothing for cycling,” rather than calling for safer streets and better driver education.

Britain has been ignoring their own government agency’s advice to prioritize active transportation over driving every year since 2015.

A man in the Netherlands was killed after somehow getting stuck between a fence and the roof of an apartment building bike shed; authorities were unsure what he was doing there. Although considering that he got stuck around 3 am, we can probably make an educated guess.

Sure, let’s go with that. A Zambian man told a divorce court he used the used condoms his wife found in his pants to repair bike tires. No, seriously.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole and vandalized a ten-year old autistic New Zealand boy’s custom-made three-wheeled bike.

Competitive Cycling

Once again, a cyclist has been stripped of his title after testing positive for a banned substance. Except this time, the doper is a 90-year old US track cycling champ.

How bicycling became entrenched in Eritrean culture, despite the difficulty obtaining bikes and parts. And led to the first black Africans to compete in the Tour de France.

Last year was the most successful year yet for Rwanda’s nascent cycling programs.

Finally…

Probably not the best idea to steal a police bike five minutes after you’re released from jail. Nothing like reading a six-mile long poem while you ride.

And seriously, who carries a shotgun on a bicycle — let alone uses it on their riding partner?

………

Thanks to Connie L for her generous donation to support this site. The holiday fund drive may be over, but donations are always welcome and appreciated.

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

Update: 64-year old woman killed in bicycling crash in the Wrigley neighborhood of Long Beach

January 5, 2019 / / 5 comments

That didn’t take long, either.

Just one day after the first Southern California bicycling death of the new year, a second rider was killed in a collision in Long Beach’s Wrigley neighborhood.

The victim, identified only as a 64-year old woman, died four hours after she was struck by a driver Thursday evening.

According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, the woman was riding north on Golden Avenue in Long Beach around 6 pm Thursday. She crossed the intersection at Willow Street on the green light, however, the light changed before she cleared the street.

The driver of an SUV accelerated through the intersection as the light turned green on Willow, striking the victim.

She was taken to a local hospital, where she died four hours later.

The driver remained at the scene, and was not suspected of being under the influence.

The question is why he failed to notice the victim riding her bike in the roadway directly in front of him, regardless of whether he had the green light.

This is the second bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first in Los Angeles County. It’s also at least the fourth bicycling death in Long Beach in the past year.

Update: The victim has been identified as 64-year old Long Beach resident Rhodora Roldan Bachillar.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Rhodora Roldan Bachillar and her loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Florida man killed, woman loses part of leg in Imperial County bicycle collision; first SoCal bike death of 2019

January 5, 2019 / / 4 comments

That didn’t take long.

The Imperial Valley Press is reporting that a bike rider was killed in an Imperial County crash, just two days into the new year.

According to the paper, a 25-year old Florida man, who has not been publicly identified, died after he was struck by a driver while riding in Imperial County’s Slab City Wednesday night.

A 23-year old woman who was being towed in a cart behind his bike was seriously injured, suffering a partial amputation of her leg, as well as a broken arm and facial cuts.

Her dog, who was apparently in the cart with her, was also killed.

The crash occurred around 7:52 pm Wednesday on Beal Road, near The Range dance club in Slab City.

The victim was apparently riding on the wrong side of the road when his bike was struck head on by a car traveling at 50 mph; there’s no word on whether he had lights on his bike in the desert darkness.

The driver remained at the scene, and was not suspected of being under the influence.

This is the first bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first I’m aware of in Imperial County in the nearly two years.

Update: I’m told they did have lights on the bike, and were struck when they were cut off by a driver, forcing them onto the wrong side of the road. The victim is reportedly recovering from multiple injuries.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victims and all their loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: Bike commuting down in US, PA man faces jail for riding a bike, and $500,000 bike shop thefts

January 4, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Bike commuting down in US, PA man faces jail for riding a bike, and $500,000 bike shop thefts

USA Today examines the recent Bike League report showing bike commuting is down in cities across the US, and the reasons behind it.

Although the story also notes that ridership is up in some cities, particularly where they’ve invested in safe bike networks.

Around the country, city transportation officials wish there were more bicyclists like Dandino as they seek to cut traffic congestion, promote health and identify alternatives to cars. After rising for several years, the percentage of commuters turning to bikes declined for the third year straight, U.S. Census Bureau figures show.

Nationally, the percentage of people who say they use a bike to get to work fell by 3.2 percent from 2016 to 2017, to an average of 836,569 commuters,  according to the bureau’s latest American Community Survey, which regularly asks a group of Americans about their habits. That’s down from a high of 904,463  in 2014, when it peaked after four straight years of increases.

Census Bureau figures are notoriously unreliable, however, since they only count people biking to work, and not commuting or riding for other purposes.

And if someone uses a bicycle as part of a multimodal commute, it’s usually not categorized as a bike commute.

Meanwhile, the news was mixed in Long Beach.

Long Beach, California, saw a 23.1 percent increase in the number of bike commuters from 2016 to 2017, though it was down 19 percent from 2011 to 2017, the league’s report says. Over the past decade, Long Beach added bike lanes throughout the city and dedicated routes separated from traffic, including some that recently opened. Its bike-sharing program continues to grow, having 11,000 members.

“I think we are getting a lot of commuters coming into the downtown,” Public Works Director Craig Beck said. “A separated bike lane that goes four blocks doesn’t really do anything. It’s about point-to-point safety.”

And as usual, the view from Los Angeles was far less rosy.

In a push to make the city more bike-friendly, Los Angeles started installing miles of protected bike lanes and embracing “road diets,” or slowing streets to make them safer for bikers and pedestrians. In a city where the car is king, a backlash from motorists drastically cut back those efforts.

As a result, Bicycling magazine named Los Angeles the worst biking city in America in October.

Something LA city leaders still haven’t addressed. Or even seem to care about.

The story goes on to quote the author of a certain humble LA bike blog.

“The City Council and the mayor’s office are only listening to angry drivers who don’t want their commute to be slowed down by anyone,” said Ted Rogers, a veteran bike rider who writes the BikingInLA blog.

“I hear from countless people who say they quit” biking, he said. “They just don’t feel safe on the streets anymore.”

………

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any stranger.

After spending nearly two years behind bars for the crime of taking the lane — or rather, violating a judge’s order to stop doing it — a Pennsylvania bike rider could be going back to jail for violating his probation.

By riding a bicycle.

Authorities had accused David Smith of repeatedly riding in the traffic lane on narrow country roads, causing major traffic backups and — allegedly —  posing a danger to motorists by not allowing them to pass.

His defense had been that his bicycle is his only form of transportation, and that he was only riding where he was supposed to by taking the center of the lane.

Evidently, though, the local authorities weren’t fans of vehicular cycling. Smith was sentenced in 2017 to up to two years in jail, but released on probation after having already served a total of 20 months because he refused to accept a mental health evaluation that could have led to his release.

One condition of his probation was that he not ride a bicycle until his probationary period ended in 2020.

A condition he allegedly broke by riding this past October.

Still, there’s something very wrong when what a simple traffic violation — if that — can lead to serious jail time.

………

Either something is a little fishy, or a Colorado bike shop owner may be the world’s unluckiest pedal peddler.

Because he’s now lost half a million dollars worth of bicycles in two separate break-ins less than three years apart.

The Boulder Daily Camera reports that thieves stole up to $300,000 worth of bikes, tools and other merchandise from the Boulder bike store in a carefully planned New Years Day break-in.

That follows an unsolved 2016 break-in at the store’s Miami location, where thieves smashed their van into the storefront and made off with $200,000 worth of bikes.

………

The perfect solution for those leisurely afternoon bike rides across the lake.

https://twitter.com/spexyone/status/1080463039927853056

………

Local

Enough with the bleak news already. Curbed offers 19 things to look forward to in 2019, including a new bike/ped bridge over the LA River, ebike dockless bikeshare, and half-hearted improvements to six LA streets.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton says Westside traffic safety deniers cynically rushed to blame the Venice Blvd Great Streets project for the death of a pedestrian on Centinela Ave over the holidays, even though the crash occurred four full blocks away. And even though the tragedy makes a better argument for implementing similar safety improvements on Centinela.

Bicycles have been banned from westbound 1st Street in DTLA through 2021 for work on Metro’s Regional Connector Transit Project; a detour is in place to get around the construction zone.

A Playa del Rey scooter rider was collateral damage in a wild police chase through three counties Thursday afternoon; fortunately, the victim was not seriously injured.

The new Spectrum news channel looks at the efforts of Watts-based East Side Riders to use bikes to keep kids on the right track.

CicLAvia is hiring an Event Production Assistant and a Social Media Manager. If they ever need an anti-social media manager, I’m all in.

Peer-to-peer bikeshare system Spinlister is back from the dead, thanks in part to Oprah’s favorite LA-based ebike maker.

State

California announced the winners in the latest round of funding for active transportation projects, including several in SoCal and the LA area.

Arraignment was postponed for the allegedly stoned driver who killed Costa Mesa fire captain Mike Kreza as he rode his bike in Mission Viejo last November. That’s nothing unusual; preliminary hearings and arraignments are often postponed several times before anything actually gets done.

A Cardiff railroad crossing will be closed for three weeks to install new crossing guards and build new bike and pedestrian paths.

No surprise here. San Diego’s docked bikeshare provider Discover Bikes says it’s being negatively impacted by dockless bikeshare. Which will inevitably be the case for most docked providers unless they make major changes.

The family of fallen Riverside County mountain biker Andres Marin is suing over a delay in searching for him after he called home to say he had been injured, which may have contributed to his death.

A Minnesota man visiting San Diego suffered nine broken ribs and a punctured lung when the crank snapped on his fixie as he stood on the pedals to beat a traffic light.

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo was released from the hospital just one day after he slammed his bike into the side of an SUV whose driver cut him off, despite suffering a broken vertebrae and sternum. Apparently, when you’re the mayor, they actually ticket the guy behind the wheel for a change.

A 14-year old Oakland boy was critically injured in a hit-and-run that’s equal parts horrifying and infuriating; the fleeing driver dragged him for three blocks after smashing into his bike before the poor kid was able to roll free. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

National

Outside says stop tossing your damn banana peel on the trail.

Now you can take Alexa everywhere you ride. Why you’d want to is another question.

A Seattle man lost 50 pounds by taking up bicycling after his car died.

Ride Uber’s electric JUMP bikes too far in Seattle, and it will cost you a cool $25.

A Seattle bicyclist’s conscience gets the better of him, or possibly her, for yelling at an older couple to hurry up crossing the street.

Trump’s tariffs are taking a toll on little kids in Denver, because a non-profit bike shop can’t afford parts to recycle bicycles as part of an earn-a-bike program.

Clever piece from a Dallas man who rode 1,617 miles to work over the past two years; he started riding after leaving his car at the office Christmas party, then riding his bike back to get it the next day after he sobered up.

A San Antonio TX bike rider was lucky to escape unharmed when he hid behind a bus after a man started shooting at him, apparently at random; the gunman was shot and killed by police.

An Austin TX bike rider leads police to the body of a woman who had been murdered and dumped in the woods.

Actor Justin Theroux is one of us, riding his Australian-made single speed around the streets of New York. Apparently, fellow actor Bruce Campbell is, too. Thanks again to Megan Lynch.

The NYPD finally instructed its officers to ticket business owners who use banned ebikes, rather than the low-wage delivery workers who ride them.

International

A 64-year old London woman uses her bicycle to get around after suffering a stroke. But bikes are only for the young and fit, right?

A British health institute calls for improving public health by remaking the country’s streets to give bicyclists and pedestrians priority over motor vehicles.

Life is cheap in the UK, where an unlicensed, road raging driver got just five months behind bars for using his van as a weapon to ram a rider off his bicycle. It’s questionable whether he would have gotten the same light sentence if he’d used a gun instead of a motor vehicle.

Ireland’s attorney general has scuttled a proposal to establish a minimum safe passing distance in the country.

Two Chinese boys were lucky to survive with minor injuries when they were run over by a large truck and dragged 30 feet in a crash caught on security cam. As usual, be sure you really want to see it before clicking the link; even though the boys weren’t seriously injured, the image is horrifying.

Evidently, those step-through bikes are stronger than they look. After a Chinese salmon cyclist was hit head-on by a driver, the car suffered major damage to its bumper, while the bike and rider were relatively unscathed.

Competitive Cycling

About damn time. Bike racing’s governing body has finally banned the use of the opioid painkiller Tramadol during competition, even though the World Anti-Doping Agency is still allowing it.

Finally…

If you’re trying to lose weight, forget the bike ride and just take a bath. More proof you can steal anything by bike.

And seriously, if you’re riding a bike with coke hidden under your hat, put a damn light on it (scroll down).

The bike, not the hat.

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

Move along, nothing to see here, 2019 edition

January 3, 2019 / / Comments Off on Move along, nothing to see here, 2019 edition

Okay, I’m throwing in the towel.

Between last night’s bad news, and a bout of high sugar caused by a minor medical procedure, I haven’t been able write a word of today’s Morning Links.

And at 1:30 in the morning, it’s a little late to start. Especially on something that usually takes me four to five hours to finish.

As much as I hate to do it — especially this early in the year and just one day removed from taking the holidays off — I’m going to have to give up on getting anything done tonight.

We’ll be back as usual tomorrow, and catch up on anything you might have missed today.

So get out and ride your bike. And take a few minutes to read yesterday’s epic post-holiday post if you haven’t already.

I’ll see you back here bright and early on Friday.

Category: General /

Santa Margarita BMX rider dies two weeks after he was struck by a car

January 2, 2019 / / 3 comments

It may be a new year, but last year’s bad news isn’t done with us yet.

According to the Orange County Register, 25-year old Chandler Espinoza died on New Year’s Day, 17 days after he was hit by a driver while riding his bike.

The Trabuco Canyon man had spent the last two weeks in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo before succumbing to his injuries.

There’s no word on exactly where the crash occurred, or why the driver wasn’t able to see Espinoza or stop for his bike while he rode in the crosswalk.

He was riding his BMX bike to work in Rancho Santa Margarita on December 15th when he was struck by the driver’s car shortly after entering a crosswalk just before 3:45 pm.

However, a Caring Bridge post apparently written by Espinoza’s mother says “There appears to have been no reckless behavior on behalf of the driver, who stayed at the scene.” She goes on to describe it as “just a tragic accident.”

His mother describes him as an adventurous risk taker since early childhood.

Photo from Chandler Espinoza Caring Bridge Page

Chandler engages life with his body, mind, and spirit. He is loyal, funny, a great dancer, athletic, a deep thinker, adventurous, protective, generous, and never meets a stranger. 

I knew he had a lot of friends, but I never understood the impact Chandler had on those friends and what he meant to them until this week. Chandler makes everyone feel special. I have a whole new perspective on my son now. 

This is at least the 51st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Orange County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Chandler Espinoza and all his loved ones and friends.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,
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