Archive for bikinginla

Morning Links: A report on Garden Grove’s April Fools ciclovía, and a brief update on today’s news

April 3, 2017 / / 3 comments

Yesterday, I received the latest in a series of reminders that there is, as my doctor puts it, a chemistry experiment going on in my body with the many medications I take for diabetes, allergies and neuropathy. Not to mention the diabetes itself.

Usually they play together well. But every now and then they combine to knock me flat on my ass; I can go from feeling fine to sick as a dog in a matter of minutes. Which is what happened yesterday.

Fortunately, Mike Wilkinson was ready to step into the breach with a report on Saturday’s Re:Imagine Garden Grove open streets event, complete with photos by his wife Argelia.

You’ll find his story below, followed by a handful of items to keep you abreast of the day’s most important news.

And barring anything unexpected, we’ll be back with a full report tomorrow.

………

The city wasn’t fooling on April 1st when Re:Imagine Garden Grove closed 2.5 miles of downtown streets to motorized traffic and opened them to bikers, skaters, walkers and other people on hard-to-describe conveyances. My wife and I couldn’t resist an event so close to home, so we put the pups in the trailer and enjoyed a pleasant three mile tandem ride to the event.

The starting point for most attendees was historic Main Street, where there were bands, booths and local businesses doing a brisk business. That was also the location for the planned “after party”. When we were there it looked like things were just getting started… even Elvis was in the house!

The route east from Main Street began on quiet side streets. It passed through the civic center and had a pleasant block party atmosphere. The pace was slow, so there was plenty of time to check the Vans skating demo and the many displays staffed by a variety of businesses and public agencies. Then a left turn took us onto Garden Grove Boulevard, where one side of the street remained closed to motorized traffic while the other side was open. The block party vibe was gone, but there were more booths and even some large, county-fair-style rides.

The quiet streets and turns at the start of the route were more relaxed but less impressive than the massive, straight line location of the Long Beach event we attended in November. Relaxed vs. impressive is a personal preference, but riding on one side of Garden Grove Boulevard while cars whizzed by on the other side probably diminished the open streets magic for almost everyone. On the plus side, Garden Grove had a distinct party central location that was an attraction for many and appeared to be good for business. Overall, we thought it was a sign of progress that a local city was hosting such an event, and we were glad to go.

All photos by Argelia Wilkinson

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VeloNews asks if Philippe Gilbert can win all five Monuments this year, and offers photos of Tustin’s Coryn Rivera’s historic win at Flanders.

………

Local

One year into the city’s Vision Zero program, traffic fatalities are up sharply in Los Angeles, and increasing so far this year, as well, putting the called-for 20% reduction by the end of 2017 at risk. That was never a realistic goal. It took all of last year just to identify the high-risk streets and develop an action plan; so far, the city has taken no real action to reduce deaths.

LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds discusses the increase in traffic fatalities on KPCC’s AirTalk.

The NoHo Arts District looks at efforts to reimagine Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood as a Great Street, including a calendar of public meetings; CiclaValley encourages you to make your voice heard.

If you want a fast and hassle-free way to get to Dodger stadium, ride a bike.

 

State

A new study shows providing driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants has cut the rate of hit-and-runs in California.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition comes out against a bike lane, after the city removes plans for a protected lane.

 

National

A new study shows one in four drivers were using their phones just before they crashed.

Talk about driving distracted. A Florida driver was blinded by the sun, using an inhaler and possibly nodding off due to sleep apnea when he ran down a local bike advocate. But he walked with no charges or citation because he didn’t do it on purpose.

 

International

An English cycling legal group is bringing a private prosecution against a killer driver after the state declines to do it. In the UK, private citizens or groups can pay to bring legal charges against someone the state won’t prosecute, for whatever reason. Too bad we don’t have that option here.

I don’t think they’re supposed to do that. A British bus driver is caught on video wrestling a bike rider to the pavement after getting out of his vehicle, for reasons apparently only they know.

An Aussie driver gets six years for the meth-fueled crash that left a bicyclist critically injured. She was reportedly on her way to beg her father for money to buy more drugs when she ran down the rider and fled the scene, claiming her car was damaged by hitting a kangaroo.

 

Finally…

For just $5,000, you can own your very own bubble-shaped e-trike. A new use for your old bike pumps.

And even Mary Poppins is one of us.

 

Category: Bike Events, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Dirty tricks from Cedillo campaign, riding 4,000 miles for love, and 1,800 through the frozen Yukon

April 3, 2017 / / 3 comments

Not surprisingly, things are getting dirty in CD1.

Now that bike shop owner Joe Bray-Ali has forced incumbent Councilmember Gil Cedillo into a runoff, it’s been anticipated that Cedillo would pull out all the stops to hold onto his seat.

Including, apparently, trolling Bray-Ali with a parody Twitter account run directly by Cedillo’s campaign. If not the man himself.

According to a post by Jon Leibowitz, the Lyin’ Joe Twitter account began tweeting early Saturday morning — April Fools Day — and continued throughout the day.

That is, until someone noticed a tweet featuring a screenshot from a Facebook Live post by Bray-Ali, which appears to have been taken from Cedillo’s own Facebook account.

Notice the small avatar photo in the right corner. Screenshot from Jon Leibowitz

A close-up view shows a photo of Gil Cedillo. Screenshot from Jon Leibowitz

That suggests the parody account was either run by Cedillo himself, or by his campaign with his direct involvement. Which would seem to violate all kinds of ethics rules, city and otherwise.

Not to mention devolving into the kind of dirty tricks that would make Nixon proud. Or maybe Donald Trump, given the resemblance between Lyin’ Joe moniker, and Trump’s use of the Lyin’ Ted nickname in reference to Ted Cruz.

Needless to say, once the ruse was exposed, the account was quickly taken down.

But it only makes you wonder what will come next, with a full month to go before the election.

Full disclosure: I was one of the first people followed by the parody account. And quickly blocked it because I just wasn’t in the mood to deal with that kind of crap.

………

This may be the best two stories you read today.

National Geographic talks with Pradyumna Kumar “PK” Mahanandia, the Indian man who rode his bicycle 4,000 miles to be with the woman he loves.

And a British reporter discusses riding 4,000 miles from London through the Middle East to show it’s “…far from the volatile hub of violence and fanaticism people believe. And that a woman could cycle through it safely.”

………

Former women’s world road champ Lizzie Armistead is the latest British woman to complain about sexism in pro cycling; she says she could kick herself for the three missed drug tests that put a cloud over her career. Thanks to George Wolfberg for the heads-up.

Men’s world road champ Peter Sagan says the key to dealing with the pressure of winning a championship is just don’t think about. And that anyone who dopes is stupid.

Spoiler alert: If you still have yesterday’s Tour of Flanders on your playlist, skip to the next section.

………

Local

LA County sheriff’s deputies discover an apparent suicide victim while searching for an injured bike rider; fortunately, the rider was not seriously injured.

Over 3,000 USC students have signed a petition calling for keeping a bike repair shop on campus; Lil Bill’s repair shop is getting the boot due to a non-compete clause with a new bike shop moving into a college-owned building.

The new WeHo sheriff’s captain wants to increase bike and foot patrols.

 

State

Environmentalists oppose the proposed state transportation bill that would raise money to repair roadways and fund active transportation projects while allowing truckers to keep polluting.

The lead engineer behind the transformation of New York’s streets is moving on to become the first head of Oakland’s recently created Department of Transportation. Which means there’s now an opening in New York if you want to get your application in.

Apparently, bike-friendly Davis isn’t so interested in ebikes.

 

National

A veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division is nearing the end of a 2,300 mile ride across the US to call attention to the Mission 22 campaign to end veteran suicide.

That’s more like it. A Wisconsin driver gets 15-years for the heroin-fueled crash that killed an Oregon cyclist.

Apparently, lowrider bicycles are a gateway drug to Hispanic culture for Phoenix kids.

A columnist for the Denver Post says cyclists are collateral damage for careless drivers.

The bike-hating president of the Montana senate has tacked an amendment onto a bill to fight invasive species that would charge out-of-state bicyclists $25 to ride on Montana roadways. Aside from driving a stake through the heart of the state’s thriving bike tourism industry, it’s probably unconstitutional.

NPR goes for a bike ride through a carfree Yellowstone.

An Iowa bill that would require drivers to change lanes to pass a bicyclist stalls after a legislator attached an amendment that would have forced riders to wear neon colors over 50% of their body. Which would prohibit riding in street clothes without a neon jacket; even a hi-viz vest would fail to qualify under that standard.

Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel is accused of caring more about flowers and bike lanes than combating violence in the city.

The mother of one of the victims in the Kalamazoo massacre says the killer’s insanity plea is just a ploy; she now wears a tattoo memorializing all of the victims.

The Village Voice takes a tongue-in-cheek look at NIMBY outrage over the bicycle lobby, as New York’s mayor overrules a local community board to overhaul a street in Queens for Vision Zero.

The head of ad agency J. Walter Thompson is one of us, commuting to her New York office by bicycle.

A South Carolina teacher was successful in her efforts to raise enough money to buy a new bicycle for every student in her school, raising $80,000 for 650 bikes.

A recently returned New Orleans man started riding his bike because of a DUI; now he’s the head of a Black-owned riding club that that draws as many as 500 people.

 

International

A writer for Bike Radar asks why people are afraid of bicycles, noting you’re more likely to be struck by lightening than killed in a crash with a cyclist.

A drunk driver who killed two Canadian cyclists, as well as the passenger in his own car, made a tearful apology in court; he was three times the legal blood alcohol limit hours after the crash. No matter how bad he feels, the friends and relatives of the victims feel a hell of a lot worse.

A new London study shows speed cameras save lives, reducing crashes by 30%. Unfortunately, they’re currently banned under California law, something that will have to change if Vision Zero is to succeed; there aren’t enough cops in the entire state to stop California drivers from speeding.

Caught on video: A Brit bike raider snatches the keys from a distracted motorcyclist who was busy vlogging instead of signaling; needless to say, the motorcycle rider was not pleased.

Police in a British town decide to spend their time fighting actual crimes instead of ticketing people on bicycles, resulting in a drop from 103 cycling tickets in 2014 to just two last year.

The 11-year old son of bike-riding former UK Prime Minister David Cameron was praised for coming to the aid of a bicyclist following a crash, along with three of his schoolmates.

Taking a page from Jules Verne’s playbook, a Scottish man is attempting to bike around the world in just 80 days, which would beat the current record by 43 days.

Pakistani women stage a number of bike races across the country to reclaim their place on the road in response to harassment and abuse.

An online petition apparently derails a parliamentary proposal to ban bicyclists and pedestrians from Indian highways.

A new 1.5 mile elevated bikeway is planned to allow bike commuters to bypass traffic signals and motor vehicles on their way into downtown Melbourne, Australia.

Two men are under arrest in China for scamming bikeshare users out of their money by attaching fake barcodes on the bikes that sent the money to the wrong bank, without unlocking the bikes.

Twenty teenage cyclists were detained by Malaysian police for racing at 3 am in the same location where eight riders were killed during a similar gathering in February.

 

Finally…

Caught on video: If you’re going to ride home after drinking, make sure you can stay upright on two wheels — or two feet, for that matter. If you’re going to intentionally sideswipe a cyclist, try not to leave your side mirror behind. Or get caught on bike cam.

And nothing like taking a little 1,818 mile ride through the frozen Yukon.

The again, he could have just taken a nice hot bath.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: More on Wednesday Vision Zero win, and LA cops ride from H’wood to DC to honor fallen officers

March 31, 2017 / / 4 comments

More reaction to Wednesday’s meeting of the city council Transportation Committee, which voted to devote 60% of Measure M local return funds to the city’s Vision Zero plan.

According to the LACBC, the remaining funds will be split with 10% going to bike infrastructure, 10% to sidewalk repair and reconstruction, and 20% to median island and curb extension improvements.

A Los Feliz paper looks at Wednesday’s meeting that resulted in prioritizing Vision Zero work over repairing potholes with Measure M return funds.

But evidently, saving human lives is a “pet project,” according to a community activist who spoke to KABC-7.

The anger is understandable. Measure M was pushed in large part with promises that it would fix our crumbling streets. Although I’d like to think we could all agree that improving safety for everyone on the road is more important than patching potholes.

But I could be wrong on that.

The proposal goes before the Public Works and Gang Reduction committee next week.

Whether this comes under the heading of public works or gang reduction remains to be seen.

………

Hats off to a group of LA police officers, who will be riding from Hollywood to DC to honor fallen police officers in the first-ever Hollywood Memorial Ride.

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World road champ Peter Sagan denies he intentionally hip-checked another rider during Sunday’s Ghent-Wevelgem classic.

An unsupported Aussie ultra-endurance race was cancelled midrace when British ultracyclist Mike Hall was killed in a collision near Canberra; another rider was nearly scalped when he was hit by a car earlier in the 3,400 mile race. The race, which started March 18th, had been expected to finish today.

New Zealand cyclist Keagan Girdlestone completes a near-miraculous recovery after severing his carotid artery and jugular vein when he crashed into a team vehicle during a race last year, as he prepares for his first race since the crash.

Cycling Weekly looks at LA cyclist Phil Gaimon’s series of Worst Retirement Ever videos, as he documents his efforts to claim KOMs throughout California.

………

Local

CiclaValley describes a major bike lane fail on Moorpark Street in Sherman Oaks.

From sponsored BMX racer to SoCal’s in-demand DJ.

A new mixed-use project in Larchmont will offer nearly as many bike parking spaces as spaces for cars.

Model CJ Franco is one of us, as she rides a WeHo Pedals bikeshare bike to Bristol Farms in Beverly Hills for a little shopping. But if the Daily Mail doesn’t stop drooling over her, it’s going to short out my keyboard.

 

State

Streetsblog interviews BikeSD executive director Sam Ollinger, who has risen to become one of the nation’s leading bike advocates.

A San Bernardino cop was cleared in the shooting of an unarmed man after he tried to escape on his bike.

Ventura advocacy groups are working for more and better bikeways to ensure people can ride safely.

A Salinas writer looks at the bipartisan effort to pass the Idaho Stop law.

App-based, dockless bikeshare provider Bluegogo is off to an awkward start in San Francisco, pulling their bikes off the street after several were left on a sidewalk in the Castro district.

 

National

No surprise here, as Trump’s proposed budget would gut funding for transit expansion and TIGER grants.

Outside magazine asks why mountain bikers keep running into bears on the trail. Probably because they’re the ones that live in the wildeness, and we’re trespassing on their territory.

It takes a special kind of jerk to punch a 10-year old Phoenix boy and steal his bicycle.

Sad news from Montana, where the executive editor of Adventure Cyclist magazine died unexpectedly of natural causes.

A Nebraska college student may have a self-described vendetta against cyclists, but at least he gets it, calling for an Idaho Stop law and better bike facilities to improve safety for everyone.

An Austin TX bike advocacy group says two recent bicycling fatalities could have been avoided if the roads were more accommodating for people on bicycles.

A judge rules the driver who killed five Kalamazoo cyclists and injured four more in a drug fueled crash last June will face multiple counts of second degree murder, as well as a DUI charge.

New York plans to install a protected bike lane on the iconic 5th Avenue as part of the city’s Vision Zero plan, removing 38 parking spaces to protect human lives.

The Wall Street Journal says you should trade your regular bike for a gravel bike that can do almost everything, while Road.cc just happens to have a few suggestions for you.

Georgia state police are looking for a road raging driver who deliberately sideswiped a cyclist leading a group ride; police may be aided by bike cam video recorded by the victim. Just one more reminder why it’s so important to put a camera on your bike or helmet. Or both.

Savannah GA rejects plans for a road diet and bikes lanes to calm traffic on two streets leading in and out of downtown.

Miami considers adopting a Vision Zero plan to reduce bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities; the city ranks third in the US for pedestrian deaths, after Los Angeles and New York.

 

International

A new app will identify when you’re riding your bike, so your boss can pay you for riding to work. Because he or she will totally do that, right?

Two months after Ottawa, Canada police said the victim didn’t want to press charges — which he quickly denied — the driver caught on video repeatedly nudging a cyclist blocking his path pled guilty to assault and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

A London writer questions whether riding a bicycle through the city makes him a better architect, while looking forward to Rapha’s Unlocking the City program in Los Angeles this July.

Manchester, England is finally beginning to embrace the cycling revolution.

Paris is leading the fight to reclaim our streets from motor vehicles.

Kiwi advocates call for scrapping the country’s mandatory helmet law.

 

Finally…

Rail to trail to roadway. No, bike riders aren’t required to wear stretchy pants, but should be on their best behavior.

And apparently, the all-powerful bike lobby is running a shadow government in NYC.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure, Vision Zero / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Vision Zero funding carries the day, cyclist-killing pedophile sentenced, and bad bike marketing

March 30, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Vision Zero funding carries the day, cyclist-killing pedophile sentenced, and bad bike marketing

Safer streets won the day at yesterday’s meeting of the LA City Council’s Transportation Committee.

According to Curbed LA, a motion passed to allocate 60% of the city’s Measure M local return funds to Vision Zero projects, as opposed to a city plan to allocate two-thirds to fixing the city’s crumbling streets.

The motion sponsored by CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin passed by a slim 3 – 2 margin, with CD5’s Paul Koretz and CD4’s David Ryu voting to fix potholes while keeping the city’s streets dangerous.

As Bonin put it,

“We can fill a bunch of potholes, or we can save a bunch of lives.”

However, comments from Koretz blamed jaywalking pedestrians and poor pavement quality in bike lanes, not high speeds, poor street design or dangerous drivers, for the city’s unacceptably high rate of fatalities.

Never mind that he’s the one responsible for blocking planned bike lanes on Westwood Blvd and on other streets in his mostly Westside district.

And Ryu is the one standing in the way of a desperately needed road diet on 6th Street that’s overwhelmingly supported by the neighborhood councils in the area.

But sure, let’s go with potholes over human lives.

………

Sometimes, I don’t even know what to say.

An Agoura Hills man was sentenced to the maximum term of nearly six years behind bars for committing lewd acts with a 14-year old boy, 29 years after he was convicted on felony counts of hit-and-run and conspiracy for killing a bike rider in Laguna Hills.

Gary Haw, who owned a string of tanning salons in the early 2000s, is also suspected, but wasn’t charged, with molesting other boys who worked for his company.

He was driving his father’s $80,000 Porsche when he slammed into his 17-year old victim in 1988. Despite throwing the boy’s body the length of a football field, he was somehow acquitted of vehicular manslaughter in the case, and received just two years in prison.

His father was convicted of obstruction and lying to a police officer for attempting to cover for Haw by claiming he was the one driving, even though he was at his Culver City home at the time of the crash.

Haw was also convicted of molesting a child in Santa Monica that same year.

Yet his attorney in the current case argued that Haw was a “pillar of the community” who was unlikely to re-offend.

Which seems highly unlikely, given his track record.

And which makes the five year, eight month sentence seem a few decades too short.

………

Once again, a bicycle company badly misses the mark by assuming their market is made up solely of immature straight males.

As Bicycling points out, the sexist and homophobic ad Wolf Tooth Components and another company shared on social media over the weekend was quickly pulled when wiser heads prevailed following an intense backlash.

The question is why anyone would approve it in the first place. And why does the bike industry just not get it?

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Patrick Lynch forwards video of an airport bike cop photobombing a Today Show news report on TSA pat-downs.

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A professional mountain biker describes his addiction to Tramadol, the painkiller used — legally — by many cyclists in the pro peloton.

Women’s races have been added to two of the four stages of the new Colorado Classic bike race, with an unrelated women’s crit the third day.

A German website profiles American cyclist Leah Thorvilson, who went from marathon runner to winning a pro cycling contract at age 38 by coming in first in a Zwift virtual cycling competition.

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Local

CiclaValley calls tonight’s People For Bikes Draft Meetup at Pure Cycles a must.

LA-based Smart Bikes is accepting pre-order sales for their new Hexagon light, combining a rear-view camera with a taillight, brake light and turn signals, and allowing you to use your smartphone to see what’s coming behind you. But probably not the “ultimate safety device,” as the company describes it.

The LACBC’s annual River Ride will once again feature a Long Beach start, as well as the traditional starting line in Griffith Park; the Long Beach start was discontinued last year due to construction work.

 

State

There seems to be a common theme to our first three stories. I just can’t seem to put my finger on it.

  • Health rankings of California counties indicate where you live has an impact on how healthy you are and how long you’ll live, with Orange County near the top of the list, and Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties not so much. Safe, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods with access to fresh fruits and vegetables made a positive difference.
  • Calbike says a good state transportation bill was poisoned at the last minute by an ill-advised compromise allowing the trucking industry to keep polluting neighborhoods near ports and trucking routes.
  • A white paper from the California Air Resources Board says physical activity is good for you, just try not to breath the air.

Long delayed plans for a bikeway on San Diego’s Coronado bridge could cost as much as $210 million for a 15-foot tube suspended beneath the bridge, and could require a toll to fund it — either on the bicyclists and pedestrians using it, or the drivers on the bridge above them.

A Santa Cruz letter writer says “smug weekend cyclists” should be banned from a large number of mountain roads. Does that mean modest weekday riders are okay?

A Sacramento magazine says it’s time for the city to stop spinning its wheels and build its first protected bike lane, noting that Sacramento and Las Vegas are the only two of America’s 40 largest cities without at least imminent plans for one.

A Folsom newspaper says cyclists and motorists need to work together for safety, and drivers shouldn’t squeeze cyclists off the road.

 

National

A new study questions why girls lose interest in bicycling when they reach their teens; not surprisingly, traffic is a major factor.

A writer for Forbes calls the new $5,000, 33 mph Stromer ebike a people magnet and a thing of sheer beauty. Although here in California, any motorized bicycle that goes that fast requires a helmet and a motorcycle license.

It was a big night out for a Denton TX man, who was arrested after allegedly crashing his car into three separate vehicles before hitting a woman on a bicycle, then running away and attacking a woman getting out of her car, insisting he needed it to get something to drink.

Chicago bike riders are cheering plans for extending a bike trail and building a riverwalk bike path on both sides of the river through a gentrifying industrial corridor.

A Cleveland letter writer says don’t be a jerk by riding in the middle of the lane and slowing down traffic just to prove you have a right to the road. Never mind that riders are taught to take the lane to avoid the door zone, increase visibility and make drivers go around them to pass.

Next City examines how Massachusetts is updating its statewide bike plan to shift focus from recreational riding to riding for transportation.

 

International

The international bicycle industry is finally getting onboard with bike advocacy.

Peru’s Agricultural Minister was fired for sunbathing and riding her bicycle while half the country was being devastated by the worst flooding in two decades.

Plans are underway to install segregated bike lanes on London’s Westminster bridge, site of last week’s terrorist attack. However, work has been postponed for the foreseeable future, as one British lord inexplicably blames the current painted lanes for contributing to the carnage.

A British rider is close to finishing his goal of riding 107 kilometers (66 miles) every day for 107 days, despite working full time, and overcoming food poisoning and a major storm.

The head of Ireland’s Green Party calls for improving safety for cyclists on the country’s roads, comparing riding in Dublin to a Ben-Hur chariot race.

CNN takes a 12-day, 602-mile ride around Taiwan on a route that is rapidly becoming one of Asia’s greatest adventures.

Singapore is trying to encourage bicycling by installing bike racks and bike parking zones throughout the island.

 

Finally…

Caught on video: Going full Superman downhill on a fixie doesn’t look as hard as getting back on the spinning pedals. Evidently, bike racers get fined for riding where bike riders are supposed to.

And nothing like riding your fat bike past a long line of cars stalled in an Alaskan blizzard.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Bike Events: Storm city hall today, Draft Meetup and Finish the Ride poker night tomorrow

March 29, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Bike Events: Storm city hall today, Draft Meetup and Finish the Ride poker night tomorrow

Several upcoming items and events need your attention in the next few days.

To wit — 

………

The LACBC is urging you to attend today’s meeting of the City Council Transportation Committee, starting at 12:45 pm, to demand that Measure M return funds be spent to ensure safer and more equitable streets in the City of Angels.

………

People For Bikes is joining with Pure Cycles to host another Draft Meetup in Burbank tomorrow night, complete with beer from Golden Road Brewing.

………

It’s a Golden Road doubleheader on Thursday, as Finish the Ride invites you to join them for a benefit poker tournament at Golden Road Brewing tomorrow night. It will be going late into the evening if you want to stop in on your way home from the Draft Meetup.

………

Santa Monica wants your input on plans to improve the oceanfront bike path north of the pier, including a much needed proposal to separate bicyclists and pedestrians on the often overcrowded pathway.

………

Bike SGV is looking for help with bike park weeding this Sunday.

………

The schedule has been announced for this year’s edition of the Redlands Bicycle Classic; the May stage race is one of just two California stops for the USA Cycling Pro Road Tour this year.

Former Italian cycling great Mario Cipollini disses his fellow countrymen, including Vuelta winner Fabio Aru, calling Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali Italy’s only talented rider.

A sidewalk-riding kid does what we’ve all been tempted to do by shadowing pro cyclist Philippe Gilbert, if only for a few moments.

A bike-hating Brit writer gloats over the scandal-plagued British Cycling, while inadvertently making the case for better infrastructure.

………

Local

More great photos and video from Sunday’s CicLAvia.

LA parking meister Donald Shoup says the best way to encourage commuters to use alternative transportation is enforcing the state law requiring employers to offer a parking cash out if they provide their employees with subsidized parking.

The Press-Telegram reports on yesterday’s all-too-brief mini-ciclovía on the course of this weekend’s Long Beach Grand Prix.

Parks and bike paths are included in the mitigation guidelines to offset the environmental damage caused by the Port of Long Beach. Which does not, of course, mean they will actually be built.

 

State

Calbike wants you to nominate someone who has “worked to advance equitable transportation policy or infrastructure changes” for their 2017 Transportation Equity Award; the deadline is this Friday.

California climate officials says state residents will have to reduce driving by 1.6 miles a day to meet the state’s climate goals, through a combination of denser housing and alternative transportation, including bicycling.

A San Diego attorney says his bike-riding client won a nearly $5 million judgment against the city because of its failure to promptly fix damaged sidewalks.

A Stanford golfer withdrew from a tournament after she was hit by a car while riding her bike on campus.

The penalty for riding salmon on an Hanford street while allegedly on meth may have been blindness in one eye. A lawsuit alleges the rider lost his eye when he was cut off, then punched by a cop; needless to say, the officer tells a different story.

 

National

It’s the end of the road for Seattle’s Pronto bikeshare, done in by the city’s hills and mandatory bike helmet law.

Denver residents are using a $75,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente to jumpstart the process to get a new bike lane installed.

Colorado bicyclists rally to support a cyclist who was attacked and strangled by a trail-raging runner.

Wichita KS officials reposition posts to keep drivers from cutting into a bike lane to make right turns; the posts replaced the toilet plungers used by DIY activists to shame the city into action

The homeless Texas man whose bike was stolen just a week after it had been given to him by Lubbock police officers was given a replacement, by a man who could relate to his struggles because he’d also been homeless.

The Chicago Tribune calls for equal enforcement the laws in every section of the city, after a recent report showed that bike riders in minority districts were far more likely to be ticketed than riders in mostly white neighborhoods.

A Cleveland website examines the state’s laws governing bicycling, including the right to take the full lane.

Don’t swing bikes, dude. The Philadelphia bike cop who was filmed swinging his bicycle at an anti-Trump protester is now being investigated by Internal Affairs.

In a truly bizarre case from Virginia, police shoot a suspected bike thief who suddenly lunged at an officer with a knife, even though the suspect was the one who called police to report the theft.

A Savannah GA writer says bike lanes are not just about cyclists, but form a vital link for people “who use wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, and other mobility aids.” Although judging from the picture, that one looks woefully substandard.

Cape Coral FL is considering a $63 million plan to add 200 miles of bike paths and sidewalks, after recently being named the most dangerous city for pedestrians in the US.

 

International

A cyclist in the UK accuses his town council of waiting until someone gets killed before fixing a dangerous junction. Which is exactly what happened in Atlanta, where a father says a road diet could have saved his daughter’s life. Sadly, that seems to be what it takes before things get fixed, just about anywhere. And sometimes, not even then.

Police are looking for a road raging British driver who followed a driver home after a dispute, and threw a brick through the car’s window.

It’s been a rough year for Irish bicyclists, and it’s only getting started.

The Guardian says bikes are good for more than moving people, suggesting that carrying freight by bicycle could free up roads and transform cities and towns. Although Dutch bicyclists are complaining that the boom in cargo bikes is crowding them out of the bike lanes.

An Indian driver claims his brakes failed when he crashed into two cyclists, a cycle van, a motorcyclist, a pair of pedestrians, a car and a bus, injuring ten people in the process, including the passengers in his car. And swears he only fled the scene because he was afraid of being lynched by angry bystanders. Which could be true, given the county’s track record.

A Canadian cyclist riding through India is being held by Maoist soldiers.

 

Finally…

Nothing like riding nearly 2,000 miles in just five days without leaving the house. If you’re going to ride your bike with heroin in your pocket, put a damn light on it — and try not to hit the curb when you try to ditch the smack.

And seriously, don’t ride your bike in the supermarket.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bike Events, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: #BikeLA on TV, the value of bicycling, and an early morning bike theft caught on video

March 27, 2017 / / One comment

Wednesday’s episode of Major Crimes on TNT is about someone intentionally running down bike riders on the streets of Los Angeles, including one stereotypical rider with a GoPro fastened firmly to his helmet.

Evidently, it’s a documentary.

Thanks to Gil Solomon for the heads-up.

………

As long as we’re talking TV programs, don’t worry if you missed Monday’s airing of the Ovarian Psychos documentary on the PBS series Independent Lens.

You can download it from their website, or via Roku or Apple TV.

………

If you need to put a dollar sign on bicycling, consider this from a new Minnesota study.

…the state’s bike industry produces $780 million in annual economic activity, 5,519 jobs and millions of dollars in health care savings because of reduced obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Just imagine what a bike friendly California could do, with better weather and over seven times the population.

………

This is why you don’t trust bike parking area’s in your building’s garage, even if it seems like a great idea.

Ashley Grohosky forwards video of a bike thief casually shopping the bike racks in her Culver City building at 4 am until he gets out the bolt cutters after selecting the one he wants.

Hers.

………

Sad news from Germany, where a cyclist is reportedly fighting for his life after a driver strayed into the middle of bike race, in the crash we mentioned yesterday. Another rider is in critical condition, while a third competitor and a race marshal were also injured.

Good thing the doping era is over. A Brazilian cycling team faces a one year suspension after five riders have been caught cheating since July.

Fixing the cobbles for next month’s Paris – Roubaix, aka the Hell of the North.

………

Local

Santa Monica’s Montana Ave is getting new smart traffic signals that can extend a green light to give bike riders more time to cross.

Streetsblog considers Sunday’s Culver City to Venice CicLAvia; next up is a Glendale to Atwater Village route in June, along with a handful of other open streets events.

Speaking of which, if you read this early enough, you may still have time for a brief open streets tour of the Long Beach Grand Prix course from 11:30 am to 1 pm today.

The LACBC’s next Sunday Funday ride will explore Downtown LA this Sunday with The Crafty Pedal.

You may have already noticed the new ad for my favorite Bike Week event over there on the right. After all, a little divine intervention couldn’t hurt.

 

State

A San Diego bike rider is angry that she was given a ticket for running a stop sign. That’s the chance you take when you break the law, whatever the reason — at least until the proposed Idaho Stop law passes. And the unlikely event that Governor Brown actually signs it.

An Op-Ed in the San Jose Mercury News considers how to get more people riding bikes in Silicon Valley.

Caltrans is looking for input on where to put separated bikeways in the Bay Area, which is one way to get more people riding.

 

National

Realtor.com com ranks Salt Lake City as the #1 American city for Millennials, in part because of its bikeway network; Los Angeles ranks #6 despite its lack of one.

For the next four weeks, bike riders will have the roads of Yellowstone to themselves. It’s sort of like CicLAvia, but with geysers. And bears.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a bicycle from a homeless man in Lubbock TX, just a week after local cops gave it to him so he could get to his two jobs, in an attempt to get him and his wife off the streets.

Streetsblog describes how a Toledo OH mom led a grassroots campaign to stop a road widening. But why is it always assumed that mom’s are somehow less capable or involved than other women? Or men, for that matter?

A newly rebuilt bridge will provide a key connection in a shared-use pathway linking New Jersey’s two largest cities.

 

International

The worldwide bike industry is expected to be worth over $70 billion by 2026.

Now that’s more like it. Canadian prosecutors are asking for twelve years behind bars and a 15 to 18-year driving ban for a drunk driver who killed two bicyclists, as well as the passenger in his own car.

A London writer travels all of the city’s blue cycle superhighways, concluding that some are better than others, depending on how much the local borough supports bicycling. On the other hand, London has somehow managed to squeeze seven onto the city’s crowded, narrow and curving streets, with plans for three more. Yet LA can’t manage to build one on our wide, straight streets.

Welcome to England, where assaulting a bicyclist in a fit of bus-driving road rage is only worth the equivalent of a $500 fine.

A British panel rules that a bike courier deserves holiday pay even though he is technically self-employed.

Britain’s Cyclist offers 23 “free and easy cycling hacks” to improve your rides. For a change, most of the ideas aren’t bad. Even if they aren’t actually all free.

Caught on video: A Brit man uses his own bike to smash the windshield of a driver who he blamed for cutting him off in the bike lane, even though the driver denied doing it. Seriously, just ride away; now he’s the one police are looking for.

A German cyclist offers four lessons he learned riding through every nation on earth over the past decade.

This is why people continue to die on the streets. A drunk driver walks in Malta even though the judge ruled he was mostly responsible for a wreck that killed a cyclist, because the victim was riding in the street without lights on his bike. So blame the victim, don’t punish the killer, and set him loose to do it again.

Former Tour de France stage winner David Millar is working to turn flat, sandy, 100 degree-plus Dubai into a cycling destination.

The flood of Chinese app-based bikeshare systems have claimed it’s first victim, as Singapore cancels plans for a nationwide dock-based bikeshare.

One of those Chinese bikeshare companies will now pay you to ride their bikes if you find one in an outlying area.

So far, though, Chinese bike makers have managed to handle the boom in business.

 

Finally…

We only have to avoid LA drivers; cyclists in the Scottish Highlands have to dodge sheep. And if you get stranded on your bamboo bike while riding your kilt, at least you can eat it.

The bike that is, not the kilt.

Okay, maybe the kilt.

 

Category: Bike Events, Morning Links, The business of bikes / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Another successful CicLAvia, riding the KY Bourbon Country, and all the bike news that fits

March 27, 2017 / / 2 comments

LA hosted another successful CicLAvia on Sunday, where a good time was reportedly had by all, or nearly all, anyway, at the 20th edition of what is arguably the country’s most successful open streets festival.

According to a report on KNBC-4 that doesn’t appear to be online yet, the crowd was estimated at 50,000 people. Which sounds like yet another in a long line of chronic attendance undercounts, as people come and go throughout the day.

But does anyone really believe San Antonio drew more people to their ciclovía than LA did?

………

What could be better than a three day ride through the Kentucky Bourbon Country — complete with samples at the end of the day?

………

Three cyclists and a race marshal were injured, two seriously, when a car stopped around a blind curve during a German bike race and the riders reportedly slammed into the back of it. Thanks to Erik Griswold for the tip.

The cobbles belong to Belgian Olympic champ Greg Van Avermaet this year. Cycling Weekly offers five things they learned from his victory in Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem, while Finland’s Lotta Lepistö was two for two on the women’s side this week.

Spain’s Alejandro Valverde won his second Tour of Catalonia on Sunday, as countryman Alberto Contador took second.

Former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins says his testimony in a British doping investigation will shock a few people. At this point, the only that that would really shock anyone would be if there wasn’t any.

That’s one way to keep your kid home. Italian cycling great Mario Cipollini’s mom cut his bike in half to keep him from riding off when he was six years old. Apparently, it didn’t stop him.

Team Rwanda Cycling technical director Jock Boyer says his goal is to make the country an elite cycling nation. Boyer was the first American to ride in the Tour de France; he also convicted of molesting an eleven-year old girl for three years.

………

Local

Metro is asking for comments on their newly released guidelines on how to spend Measure M money; Streetsblog says cities are already jockeying for funding. My suggestion: Invest in transit and Complete Streets, and don’t waste a dime on demand-inducing highway projects, like the failed widening of the 405 through the Sepulveda Pass.

Speaking of Measure M and Complete Streets, you’re urged to attend Wednesday’s meeting of the city council Transportation Committee to call for LA to spend its share of the funds to make the streets safer for everyone.

Venice-based Solé Bicycles is opening a new bike shop near USC, intending it to be a gathering place for students. But that means a small on-campus bike shop will get the boot.

 

State

This is why you didn’t want to ride in Bolsa Chico State Park on Saturday.

The Tour de Palm Springs will stay in Palm Springs after Palm Desert agrees to host the ride, but not the name.

Cyclocross Magazine looks back at last year’s classic bicycle L’Eroica California in Los Robles; this year’s ride rolls April 8th and 9th.

The San Jose Mercury News says ebikes are catching on with the public; a 79-year old Aussie e-trike rider would agree.

Who says cyclists aren’t tough? A Stockton man continued riding home after hearing a loud pop, not realizing he’d been shot.

A Lake Tahoe advocacy group says it’s great that there are more bikeways in the area, but a map so they could actually find them might help.

 

National

Wired says the way to get commuters out of their cars is to pay them not to park them.

If bicycling isn’t enough fun, you can always turn it into an augmented reality game and deduct points for scofflaw cyclists.

Riding across the US is one thing; riding from San Diego to San Francisco the long way is another. A Kansas City man plans to ride 7,000 miles on a route that will take him to the Bay Area by way of Georgia, the Great Lakes and Oregon, to raise funds for victims and survivors of sex trafficking.

Seattle is finally getting around to cleaning up a homeless encampment encroaching on a bike path after a woman is attacked.

The president of USA Cycling writes to rebut the Montana senator who wants to ban cyclists from state roads.

It takes a special kind of asshole to steal a 13-year old autistic Albuquerque kid’s therapy bike.

Country singer Clay Walker is sort of one of us, hosting a Houston TX bike ride to fight MS.

A Houston Op-Ed says to function efficiently, roads must work for all users.

A horrifying story from Texas, as a San Antonio driver is under arrest for fleeing on foot after fatally running down a bike rider participating in an MS fundraising ride, then hitting and killing another rider just 80 yards down the road; as a third rider had to dive into a ditch to get away from him. Thanks to Steve Katz for the heads-up.

A Chicago study shows red light cameras really do improve safety. They were removed in Los Angeles when motorists argued they caused wrecks by making drivers actually stop for red lights.

A New York man was finally arrested nine months after he allegedly ran down a cyclist and fled the scene, then claimed his car had been stolen.

For some bizarre reason, ebikes are banned under New York state law, and NYC cops seem more than happy to confiscate them.

Caught on video: A bike cop throws his bicycle at an anti-Trump protester in Philadelphia.

An Op-Ed in the Washington Post says if car drivers made cyclists feel safer, we’d all be better off.

In a bizarre case, a Virginia man was convicted of pulling a gun off his bike frame and shooting a little twelve-pound terrier he claimed was viscously attacking him and left him in fear for his life. Because so many little ankle-biters have been known to leap up and rip the lungs out of passing cyclists, evidently.

 

International

Bike Radar offers advice on how to care for your next cut or road rash, while a Canadian cycling site offers advice on how to keep riding when you’re expecting.

David Beckham is a proud father, as his 5-1/2-year old daughter is now one of us, too.

The release of a British strategy to double biking and walking rates has been delayed due to last week’s London terrorist attack.

English police are looking for a bike-riding purse snatcher who left a woman in her seventies with two black eyes and a broken arm.

An Indian woman quit her job to ride across the country calling for gender equality.

A New Zealand study shows bicycling is no more dangerous than many other recreational activities, and safer than many. But fear of the perceived danger still keeps many people from riding.

Yes, cyclists are welcome on a Kiwi walkway. Not so fast, you mountain bike riders.

A Hong Kong clean air group says it’s time for the island to stop paying lip service to bicycling projects and get serious. The same could be said for Los Angeles — and most other American cities.

 

Finally…

First step as a secret KGB agent embedded in America — become a bike messenger. If you have to crash your car, always blame Bigfoot.

And maybe you need an overdose of cuteness to get you out of your post-CicLAvia Monday morning funk.

Category: Bike Events, Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Update: Pico Rivera bike rider left to die by hit-and-run driver in early morning crash

March 24, 2017 / / 6 comments

Yet another bike rider has been murdered by a heartless cowardly driver in Los Angeles County.

According to KABC-7, the victim, who the coroner said appeared to be a woman in her 30s, was found by someone passing by the Pico Rivera crime scene shortly after 2 am this morning.

The Whittier Daily News places the wreck on Rosemead Blvd south of Rex Road; photos from the scene show a retaining wall, which would appear to put it at or near the railroad overpass between Rex and Slauson.

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

KTLA-5 reports that evidence from the scene suggests she may have been riding on the sidewalk when the car jumped the curb and struck her.

Sheriff’s investigators say there are no apparent witnesses. However, based on debris from the crash site, they’re looking for a dark green Honda Accord, 2003 to 2007, with significant front end damage.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Pico Rivera Sheriff’s Station at 562/949-2421.

This is the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California, and the seventh in Los Angeles County; nearly half of the deaths in the county have been hit-and-runs.

Given the hour, the driver should be assumed to have been under the influence at the time of the wreck.

Once found, he or she should face a second degree murder charge for making a conscious decision to leave the victim to die in the street, rather than call for the prompt medical attention that might have saved her life.

Of course, since hit-and-runs are seldom taken seriously in LA County, that’s not likely to happen.

Update: The LA Times reports a suspect was arrested after deputies pulled over a 2005 Honda Accord for several vehicle violations two miles from the crash site, and saw extensive damage to the front end that matched the suspect vehicle. 

Twenty-one-year old Berta Ramirez of Pico Rivera was arrested, and was being held on $50,000 bond.

Update 2: The victim has been identified as 45-year old Pico Rivera resident Suzanne Corona. Her accused killer was released on bail a day after the crash. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Suzanne Corona and her loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: CicLAvia returns to Culver City–Venice, and Malibu parking study could bring better safety to PCH

March 24, 2017 / / 3 comments

The big news this weekend is the return of CicLAvia to Culver City and Venice, and points in between.

CicLAvia lists feeder rides, including a chance to ride with the mayor of Santa Monica. Meanwhile, Metro offers advice on how to get there via the Expo Line, which is by far your best bet if you can’t ride there.

CicLAvia also offer an interactive map of highlights along the route. And no CicLAvia is complete without the Militant Angeleno’s epic guide.

………

It was only seven short years ago that cyclists started seriously pressing Malibu officials to make much needed changes on deadly PCH through the city.

Efforts that at first seemed to go nowhere in what was then a very bike-unfriendly city, but gradually led to significant improvements as they recognized both the value of bicyclists and the need to make the city’s de facto Main Street safer for everyone.

A change for which Eric Bruins, now the Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator for Culver City, deserves the lion’s share of the credit.

Now those efforts appear to be bearing fruit, as many of the suggestions made by cyclists in those meetings — like narrowing traffic lanes to slow drivers, installing bike lanes and widening shoulders to reduce the risk of dooring from parked cars — are contained in a new PCH Parking Study commissioned by the city.

According to the Malibu Times, the study calls for making traffic lanes, which are currently anywhere from 14 to 16 feet wide, a uniform 11 feet throughout the 22-mile length of the highway through the ‘Bu.

It also calls for bike lanes, which city officials had rejected out of hand back in the bad old days, on PCH west of Trancas. And from Webb Way to Las Flores Canyon, stretching 3.3 miles from just beyond the Country Mart to a little before Pepperdine University.

However, it’s not a done deal.

Malibu is holding a special joint meeting of the Public Safety and Public Works Commissions this Wednesday to discuss the study. And it’s sure to be filled with the usual anti-bike forces who don’t want any changes to accommodate bikes, as well as residents who are willing to keep PCH dangerous if it means they can keep their parking spaces.

So if you ride PCH through the city — or would like to — make plans to be there, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm at Malibu City Hall, 23825 Stuart Ranch Road.

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It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from LA Bike Dad. Now we know why, as he relates the harrowing tale of his wife’s emergency C-section and his son’s premature birth.

Best wishes to him and his family, and congratulations on a healthy baby boy.

And let’s offer a word of thanks that everyone is okay.

………

Local

LA’s $5.5 billion plan to reduce auto traffic at LAX includes improvements in bike and pedestrian access.

Rapha is planning a series of weekend rides and parties in cities around the world; they’ll come to Los Angeles in July.

The mayor of Santa Clarita makes a call for residents to complete a short five-question survey about the city’s proposed bikeshare system before the end of the month.

 

State

Don’t plan on riding the bike path at Bolsa Chica State Beach this Saturday, unless you want to find yourself in the middle of a pro-Trump rally.

A Salinas writer says bikeshare has been a huge success in SoCal, so why not there?

A bike-hating Vallejo letter writer blames bicyclists for just about everything, from running into car doors to riding outside the door zone. The only thing she seems to have left out is colluding with the Russians to put bike lanes on our streets.

 

National

A writer for Road and Track makes a surprising call to bring back red light cameras — not to raise revenue for cities, but to actually improve safety for everyone on the streets.

Tucson concludes that painted bike lanes aren’t enough for riders of all ages.

A Seattle-area bicyclist complains about the insensitivity of drivers who refuse to pass safely.

A Boston reverend says she found a new spirituality and sense of community bicycling through the city’s traffic clogged streets.

New York delivery cyclists speak out about what the Village Voice calls the toughest job on two wheels.

New Orleans plans to double bicycling rates over the next three years as part of the PeopleForBikes Big Jump Project. Los Angeles is also one of the ten cities participating in the project, with plans to boost cycling rates in DTLA and University Park.

 

International

Grab another cup of joe; a new books says for most people, coffee isn’t just not harmful, it’s actually good for you.

Seriously? A British lord blamed the bike lanes on London’s Westminster bridge for making it easier for a terrorist to run down dozens of people in Wednesday’s attack. As if it would have been harder for him to drive down the sidewalk if the traffic lanes butted up against the curb, instead.

A physician who used to live in Visalia got caught up in the attack as he was bicycling across the Westminster Bridge, and rushed to help the victims before the paramedics arrived.

A British bike industry association is staring a new campaign to get more children to start cycling.

Officials in an English town remind angry drivers that bicyclists aren’t required to use a new network of bikeways, and there are good reasons why they might choose to ride in the road instead.

Now that I’d like to see. Danish ebike maker Diavelo will unveil a new model at the Taipei Cycle Show designed by famed auto design firm Pininfarina, the company responsible for classic cars from Ferrari, Fiat, Alpha Romeo and Maserati.

Drivers aren’t always the bad guys. A South African motorist came to the aid of a woman who had been pulled off her bicycle and dragged down some stairs by a pair of robbers; they bolted when he ran to help.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to hitch your dog to a bike rack, make sure it’s bolted down first; same advice holds for your bike, too. Maybe you’re in the market for a slightly used 24K gold BMX bike for a mere fifty grand.

And usually the douchebags are behind the wheel, not protecting the bikes.

 

Category: Bike Events, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Bike lane advice for the mayor, dueling Idaho Stop Op-Eds, and a Cannibal-themed beer in DTLA

March 23, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Bike lane advice for the mayor, dueling Idaho Stop Op-Eds, and a Cannibal-themed beer in DTLA

So far, Mayor Eric Garcetti has talked a good game when it comes to bicycling.

But as a recent Op-Ed by Bike the Vote LA’s Michael MacDonald made clear, he’s failed to translate that talk into paint on the street.

Let alone protected bike lanes.

In fact, implementation of the city’s hard-fought bike plan has fallen precipitously since former mayor Antonio Villaraigosa left office four years ago, from a high of 251 lane miles — a single side of a roadway — to just 17 lane miles in the last fiscal year.

Although it should be pointed out that sharrows were included in Villaraigosa’s total.

Now Streetsblog’s Joe Linton is offering advice on what Garcetti can do to make LA bike friendly, with nearly 23 miles of bike lanes and road diets that could be implemented right away, along with another 30.8 miles that could be easily converted from bike lanes to protected lanes.

That’s if Garcetti is serious, of course.

I would have included Hollywood Blvd in that list, which desperately needs safety improvements to protect the millions of tourists who visit the Walk of Fame every year, as well as providing a much needed east-west route for local bike riders.

In fact, there’s not currently a single safe route in or out of Hollywood in any direction. A situation that will only get worse when the Metro Bike bikeshare arrives within a few years.

LA cyclists have long supported Eric Garcetti, both during his time on council, and in his run for mayor four years ago.

It’s time he returned the favor.

………

While the LA Times has virtually ignored the subject, the Times-owned San Diego Union-Tribune has taken the lead on covering California’s consideration of the proposed Idaho Stop Law.

Today, they offer a pair of dueling Op-Eds on the matter.

The executive director of the San Diego Bicycle Coalition says it’s smart policy for California to adopt an Idaho Stop Law.

Meanwhile, a former Oceanside councilmember says it would be bad for kids who lack the judgment to make those quick decisions — and says it’s really about Strava users not wanting to stop, anyway.

She makes a valid point about kids. Although there’s nothing that says you can’t come to a full stop if you want, which might be a better option for kids under driving age.

But let’s be honest.

This law isn’t so much about the spandex-clad than it is the everyday riders who are faced with the prospect of choosing between dangerous traffic-clogged streets on their commutes or recreational rides, or taking side streets where they’re forced to stop every block or two.

And while riders would be allowed to treat stop signs as yields, they would still be required to slow down and observe the right of way, and yield to opposing traffic when appropriate.

In other words, pretty much what most drivers already do.

………

DTLA’s Mumford Brewing now has a barrel-aged brew named after the legendary Eddy Merckx. Just because.

………

Talk about a great looking poster. This is for Scotland’s Pedal on Parliament campaign, something we might want to seriously consider replicating here.

………

Belgian’s one-day Dwars Door Vlaanderen cobble classic made its first appearance in the UCI WorldTour on Wednesday; American rider Kiel Reijnen appeared to avoid serious injury when the peloton squeezed him off the road and into a ditch.

A 55-year old British amateur cyclist was banned for doping, but at least he had an excuse.

Former pro Phil Gaimon suggests that podium girls be replaced with podium puppies. Now there’s an idea we can all get behind. And clean up after.

………

Local

How to get your bike, or other possessions, back if you leave it on a Metro bus or train. Not that you would ever do that, of course.

The Argonaut says the future has two wheels, as it looks forward to Sunday’s Culver City to Venice CicLAvia, as well as efforts to make Mar Vista safer and more inviting to people walking and on bikes.

Pasadena will hold a meeting tonight to discuss the city’s proposed Climate Action Plan. Which should include a heavy reliance on walking and bicycling to help get people out of their cars.

 

State

An OC supervisor has a massive homeless camp along the Santa Ana River Trail removed. And judging by the riprap installed in its place, doesn’t want it to return, either.

An Arizona couple describe what its like to watch their cell phones, IDs, credit cards and cash go up in smoke when a newly purchased ebike caught fire on the sand in Newport Beach.

Carpenteria will host its first Open Streets festival on April Fools Day, closing over a mile of downtown streets to motor vehicles.

Santa Barbara is already getting started implementing their 2016 bike plan, with three new projects set to open by this summer. Unlike, say, a certain city to the south.

Still more bad news from up north. Fresno police are investigating Tuesday’s hit-and-run death of a bike rider as a homicide instead of a traffic collision, suggesting they have reason to believe the death may have been intentional.

The Mercury News looks at why people in San Jose are reluctant to bike to work. Spoiler alert: They’re afraid of cars.

An El Cerrito couple got more than they bargained for when they left a bike in their yard with a “free” sign, and retuned home to find the bike gone, a man in their backyard, and their home burglarized.

San Francisco moves to regulate app-based, Chinese-style bikeshare systems.

Oakland city commissioners are angry that bikeshare plans didn’t include bikes for people with disabilities.

A Napa Valley letter writer asks why the woman who right hooked him in a rush to get to church didn’t care enough to stop or find out if he was okay.

 

National

Now you, too, can ride dressed like the Simpsons.

Bicycling wants to help you master the art of the paceline. Which will undoubtedly come in handy for your next bike train commute.

Now that’s more like it. A Nevada man faces up to 40 years in prison following his conviction for fleeing the scene after crashing into an 11-year old girl who was riding her bike in a Reno trailer park; he was twice the legal limit when he was arrested. The same crime in California probably wouldn’t result in more than a few years, if that.

A bike-riding Denver letter writer reminds drivers that you’ll get home a lot later if you hit someone.

The University of Iowa profiles a bicycle-riding associate who’s using her fellowship to learn how bike safety research can influence public policy and improve rider safety.

Houston approves a new bike plan calling for nearly 1,800 miles of bikeways, adding to the current 500 miles of lanes and trails, half of which are separated from traffic in some way.

Grieving family members release balloons to honor a Little Rock AK man killed by a wrong way driver as he rode his bike last week. Nice gesture, but never release balloons — especially Mylar ones; stick with a ghost bike instead.

Two years after Memphis yanked bike lanes off the city’s Riverside Drive due to complaints from motorists, they’re planning to try again.

Pittsburgh bicyclists would rather share the road with a robot than with a human being behind the wheel. And who can blame them?

Ten young cyclists have been chosen to follow the infamous 950-mile Trail of Tears from Georgia to Oklahoma.

Mississippi’s 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway will soon be getting Bikes May Use Full Lane signs, as well as signs telling drivers to change lanes to pass bike riders.

 

International

Tern isn’t just about foldies anymore.

A bike industry news site looks at ten cities around the world that are building bicycling into everyday life. None of which are Los Angeles. Or in North America, for that matter.

Nice gesture from the builder of LA’s StoopidTall Bike, who’s in Cuba with 30 pounds of bike parts to help a man’s quest to set a new record for the world’s tallest bicycle.

Don’t ride your bike in an anti-social manner in the UK.

Former Brit heavyweight champ Tyson Fury is one of us, riding a bike with his daughter in a child seat as he talks about making a comeback, after losing his titles following a failed drug test.

A British bike rider gets six years, eight months behind bars for slashing a man across the face with a box cutter when the victim asked him for a cigarette.

Chinese bikeshare is booming, and it’s headed your way. And so are efforts to scam users out of their money.

India and Bangladesh attempt to build peace through bicycles, with an 11 day joint military ride through both countries.

A San Francisco writer goes on a bicycle tour of New Zealand looking for an actual kiwi, and comes up empty. But discovers the journey was really the whole point.

Aussie riders call for new laws protecting bicyclists from having items thrown at them from passing cars, as well as prohibiting tacks and other items left on bikeways; as it is now, someone who leaves tacks on a bike path usually faces nothing more than a littering charge.

 

Finally…

Chances are, you can’t afford a two-wheeled Bugatti, either — or ride it around the block, for that matter. Who needs a bike lock when you’ve got a rattlesnake?

And if you’re going to steal a bicycle from a former Marine, don’t leave yours behind. And if you do, don’t come back for it.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , ,
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