Brian Dotson offers insights on what he’s learned about “mindful driving” by riding his bike in the suburbs of Houston, which he compares to Anaheim.
And that may be my favorite new phrase of the year.
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I’d like to describe one of my ride’s effects on me.
I cycle primarily for transport in the suburbs of Houston Texas. My environment is like that around Anaheim. We’ve got a few shared-use routes like your Santa Ana River Trail, and we’re getting more. And these trails are really good when they go the right direction. But to reach destinations like work, stores, and public services, I have to cycle with motor vehicle traffic.
Consequently most of my cycling is on suburban roads with 35-50 mph posted speed limits, and my primary objective is preventing collisions. Over the past ten years I’ve gotten in the habit of replaying each trip in my head, thinking through ways to reduce my risk. As recently as my last trip to an infrequent location, I decided to adjust my route to handle a specific situation at an intersection in a different way. This “mindful cycling” is a habit that kicks in anytime I ride, even on the shared-use trails.
Earlier this year I had occasion to think about the pyramid of traffic casualties that is topped by over 300 deaths per year in Harris County, Texas. By far, the majority of the casualties are motor vehicle occupants. So I decided to start “mindful driving” when motoring.
Wow. I’m finding it incredibly difficult to change 40+ years of habit. What drove this home for me was the day I started off with no radio (no distractions for “mindful driving,” of course) and when I got to my destination, the radio was on! All by itself!
Why is this? It must be because I’m a highly-trained, above-average driver who is so experienced that thinking about my driving experiences and looking for ways to improve just aren’t worthwhile.
Yeah, right.
Much more likely is that 40+ years of mindless habits inside a steel box are very hard to break.
So my ride has shown me that I have a driving problem.
I need help. I’ve recruited my daughter to help me say a little reminder that “no one gets hurt around us on this trip” when we set off in a motor vehicle. Maybe going public with my problem will help. I really want to drive as safely as I cycle.
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If you’d like to share your ride with us, just send it to the email address on the About BikinginLA page. It can be a rant, rave or anything in between, from a few sentences to a detailed description. Or any other format you think tells the story best, however and wherever you ride.
January 14, 2016 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Alleged drunk hit-and-run driver faces charges, and Che Garcetti leads urban streets revolution
Unfortunately, I was tied up in a meeting last night, and didn’t have time to write the usual daily bike news roundup. But there are too many good stories to skip entirely, so let’s call this Morning Links Lite.
And come back later today, when we’ll have a different take on Describe Your Ride.
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Don’t forget, there’s less than one week to nominate someone you know to win a new bicycle in our first-ever bike giveaway. So take a moment to tell us who you think deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net today!
A police officer heard the collision, and stopped Rodriguez after seeing the damaged car speed away; a second officer found Ruiz-Villanueva lying dead at the scene.
She faces a well-deserved 15 year behind bars if she’s convicted, though the DA will most likely plead the case out for far less.
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Newsweek calls LA Mayor Eric Garcetti the Che Guevara of SoCal infrastructure as he leads an urban revolution that, if successful, could spread across the country.
However, the story also relies on the old misleading stat that only 1% of Angelenos commute by bike, which fails to include other transportation riders such as students, shoppers or anyone who uses a bike for just part of their commute.
And it neglects to mention the huge jump in Santa Monica ridership after the city built a complete bike network, which should serve as a model for LA, and prove that people here will ride if they’re just given a share of the streets.
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Speaking of remaking our streets — and the inevitable blowback cited in the Newsweek story — a petition on Change.org calls for the removal of bike lanes on York Blvd, claiming they cause major congestion at rush hour, overflow traffic on side streets and lost sales for local businesses.
Meanwhile, a counter petition says au contraire, most people want keep the bike lanes right where they are. Sign the latter if you live, work or ride in the area.
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On top of all the other bad news yesterday, a man was murdered while riding his bike in Carson Tuesday evening. Police are looking for two suspects who ran away after shooting him; motive is unknown.
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Police bust a career petty thief living in Leisure World in Seal Beach; the area saw a jump in stolen bicycles after he moved into the community following his latest release from jail.
But in a very generous gesture, his family has requested that any further donations go the Inland Empire Biking Alliance, even though the fund has raised only $305 of the $2,000 goal.
Something similar happened to a cyclist right here in LA recently; we should have the story soon.
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Also in the Bagdad by the Bay, a bike deliveryman says he was brutally beaten by a cop, apparently for using his cellphone while cycling, which isn’t illegal.
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After Utah firefighters save the life of a college student who was nearly killed in a collision, they take up a collection to buy him a new bike.
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Cyclelicious reports that a proposed law in Missouri would require all bike riders to have a 15-foot tall orange fluorescent flag attached to their bicycles, apparently to protect riders from low-flying aircraft.
Edinburgh police are on the lookout for a “scruffy” bike rider with dark circles around his eyes who allegedly kicked a toddler as he rode by on his mountain bike.
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We may have to deal with LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to worry crashing into a sheep on a high speed descent.
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An Aussie motorcycle cop rode up next to a moving bicyclist and pushed him off his bike in the middle of a busy intersection, allegedly for the crime of riding through a red light and not wearing a helmet.
Police claim the rider had refused to stop when the cop tried to pull him over, but witnesses told a different story.
According to the Downey Patriot, a bike rider was killed in a collision with a semi-truck this morning.
The victim, identified only as a 47-year old Norwalk resident, was riding west on Stewart and Gray Road when he was struck by the truck traveling south on Bellflower Blvd.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver, a 59-year old Lakewood man, was questioned and released. He did not appear to be under the influence.
No word on how the collision occurred. A satellite view shows an intersection with four lanes in each direction, and right and left turn lanes on Steward and Gray.
This is the third bicycling fatality this year, and the first in LA County. And it’s the third in Downey in less than two years.
Sad news from Burbank, as a bike rider has died more than a month after he was injured in a left cross collision.
According to a press release from the Burbank Police Department, 63-year old Henry Peter Kuen was riding east on Magnolia Blvd when he was hit by a car turning left onto Buena Vista Street at 2:25 pm on December 9th.
Kuen was hospitalized with a severe head injury, where he remained in critical condition. It’s unclear exactly when he died; the press release only notes that the police were informed of his death yesterday.
He was not wearing a helmet; in this case, it’s possible that it might have made a difference.
The driver remained at the scene, and police note that the driver was not under the influence. However, there is no word on who had the right of way, or why he or she apparently didn’t see Kuen on his bike.
A street view shows a typical urban intersection with traffic signals and four lanes, plus turn lanes, in each direction.
Police note that the case remains under investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact BPD Traffic Detective Sam Anderson at 818/238-3100.
The press release ends with this, which should be a mantra for everyone on the streets:
The Burbank Police Department logged four fatalities in 2015 as a result of traffic collisions. We would like to remind the public to remain vigilant and avoid distractions while traveling on our roadways. Drive at a safe speed for conditions, don’t text/talk on your cellphone, always maintain safe distances and look twice for pedestrians and bicyclists.
This is the 73rd, and hopefully last, bicycling fatality in Southern California, and the 29th in Los Angeles County. Kuen appears to be the first person to die while riding a bike in Burbank since at least 2011.
My deepest sympathy for Henry Peter Kuen and all his lived ones.
But whether that will include bike riders remains to be seen, despite the anti-bike hysteria in the comments.
The base is currently the only approved route for bicyclists connecting OC with North San Diego County, since riders are banned from the 5 Freeway. Its scenic views and relatively low, though sometimes heavily armed, traffic also makes it a very popular route for recreational riders and group rides.
Closing the base to riders would almost certainly force the state to open the freeway to bicyclists, which is the case in other areas where there is no alternate riding route. Although I can’t imagine anyone willingly trading the quiet roads of Camp Pendleton for a rock and glass-strewn shoulder with semis buzzing by at 70 mph or more.
It may turn out to be much ado about nothing, as a message from the base indicates that no decision has been made regarding bicycle access after the 1st. There have been similar scares in the past with no action taken restricting riders.
However, it does serve as a reminder that, like with the VA grounds in West LA, bicyclists are guests on federal property, and expected to act accordingly; Pendleton has their own rules that riders are expected to observe.
And while one commenter worries about bike-borne ISIS terrorists sneaking in to attack the base, it’s the people on two wheels who have faced the greatest danger.
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Just a touch of schadenfreude yesterday, as I watched a car driving in a bike lane nearly get doored by a driver who didn’t bother to look before throwing his door open.
And no, neither of them seemed to have a clue what just happened.
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Local
CiclaValley questions the necessity of closing a large portion of the LA River bike path to put up flood control barriers, and the effect it will have on businesses in Frogtown and Elysian Valley.
Bikabout offers a 12-city bucket list of where they want to wander by bike this year, including the City of Angels and our own CicLAvia.
The LA Times wonders which NFL stadium plan would screw up traffic the least; the Inglewood site got the nod from the NFL. The owner of the stadium should be required to pay for a rail extension to serve the site, as well as safe cycling infrastructure and bike parking facilities to provide an alternative to driving to the games and other events.
Santa Monica police will once again be on the lookout for traffic violations that put bicyclists and pedestrians at risk this Saturday, regardless of who commits them. So be on your best behavior while riding through the city this weekend.
Long Beach will host its second Beach Streets ciclovía on a still-secret route through the Downtown area on Saturday, March 19th, less than two weeks after the next Valley CicLAvia.
State
People for Bikes quotes the reactions of six Californians on Caltrans’ new guidelines for protected bike lanes, including LADOT maven Seleta Reynolds and BikeSD’s Sam Ollinger.
Bicycling says to give hoverboards a wide berth now that they’re banished to the bike lanes, since you never know when they’ll burst into flames. The magazine also talks to the amazing Jo Celso, the San Diego pro cyclist who beat Hodgkin’s to come back stronger than ever.
A new survey says one in ten Americans would steal a bike for $10,000; for a billion, 12% of men would be willing to kill you. Then again, I’ve run into some drivers who seem willing to do it for free.
Cheyenne WY considers eliminating the city’s largely ignored bicycle licensing requirement; only one person bothered to register a bike under the current law last year.
A New York writer says a Vision Zero law protecting pedestrians and bicyclists isn’t necessary because, you know, accidents happen and drivers just can’t be held responsible for killing someone.
Horrific testimony from an Alabama cyclist in the trial of the driver who ran down her two riding partners; the driver claims the sun was in his eyes, though she disputes that.
More evidence that bicycling benefits Parkinson’s patients, as a patients’ symptoms disappear during a Maryland spin class.
Now that’s more like it. A prolific British bike thief has been given a lifetime ban from even coming within 13 feet of bicycle unless he can prove he owns it.
A road raging driver from the UK gets nearly five years for the death of a 69-year old bike advocate following an argument; the Afghan vet, who suffers from severe depression and PTSD following his service, says he doesn’t even remember making contact with the victim’s bike.
Copenhagenize says yawning bike riders are the best sign of a bicycle-friendly city.
India plans to build smart cities to address the country’s many urban ills; a writer says smart thinking about bicycles needs to be part of the process.
It’s one thing to get pissed off at a driver; spitting and hurling racial abuse is another matter. Seriously, if you’re going to ride your bike to a friend’s house when it’s 8° outside, put some damn gloves on.
And that’s one way to do it, as two boys each take a pedal to share a single bike.
Just one more week to help someone you know win new bicycle. Read more about our first-ever bike giveaway and suggest who deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net!
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The Marvin Braude bike path on Dockwieler Beach in Playa del Rey remains closed due to damage from last week’s rains and heavy surf. And is likely to stay that way for some time.
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In a heartwarming story from Montebello, a Sherman Oaks triathlete sets up a gofundme account for a wheelchair-bound homeless man who suffered two broken legs when he was hit by a car while on his way to a hospital for follow-up care for a leg infection.
She met him while riding a double metric century before the holidays; completing the circle, the man, who once worked as an EMT, helped save the life of a stranger who had collapsed from a heart attack while riding his bike last year.
As of this writing, the fund had raised just over $3,000 of the $5,000 goal.
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Local
The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is pushing for 10% of a possible transportation sales tax measure to be set aside for biking and walking projects, while noting that other areas commit more.
Melissa McCarthy is one of us, going for a pre-Golden Globes ride with her family.
Streetsblog’s Damien Newton kicks off a new series of podcasts focused on sustainable transportation in the San Gabriel Valley by talking with Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian and Bike SGV’s Andrew Yip.
Improvements in bicycling safety appear to be paying off in San Luis Obispo, as bike collisions are down 20% since 2009 even as ridership increases; overall traffic collisions in the city reached their lowest point in 15 years.
Great piece from the Bay Area looking at streets that are dangerous by design for bicyclists and pedestrians to an extent that would be unacceptable for roads designed for motor vehicles. The story notes that traffic fatalities are three times higher in California cities on streets laid out after 1950, before California’s deadly auto-centrism took over.
Fairfield police use a bait bike to bust five bike thieves. As the story implies, most bike thieves don’t suffer any real consequences; we need to change the law to make the theft of any bike a felony, regardless of value.
National
Bicycling offers advice on how to deal with angry drivers. Nothing defuses an angry confrontation faster than pulling out your phone and taking a photo of the driver and his or her license plate, while making a show of dialing 911 will almost always get them to drive away. Just don’t stand in front of their car while you do it.
Seattle moves forward with a one-mile protected bike lane on a popular riding route that preserves 90% of parking along the street, but at a surprising political cost for a city that supports bicycling.
A Colorado driver gets eight years for killing a bicyclist while driving drunk; the judge wanted to show more leniency, but the driver showed no hint of remorse or taking responsibility for his drinking. Contrast that with a Georgia case where a motorist got off with one year of probation after pleading to vehicular homicide in the death of a cyclist.
Kentucky considers a bill requiring children under 12 to wear a bike helmet.
Kirstie Alley is one of us, riding through New York with her friends helped her lose 50 pounds and keep it off for the past year.
Seriously? New Jersey considers forming a commission to study how to better protect bicyclists and pedestrians. Because it takes a commission to find proven solutions like protected bike lanes, better crosswalks, slower speeds and prioritizing people over motor vehicles?
A Baltimore man was stabbed to death and robbed following a confrontation with a group of men while riding his bike; two teens are charged with his murder while police look for other suspects. Always try to ride away from confrontations, and remember no bike — or anything else you have on you — is worth you life.
A British cyclist lost her life because of a water-filled pothole that was supposed to have been fixed weeks earlier — and finally was, two days too late.
UK track cyclist Victoria Williamson is expected to make a full recovery after shattering her pelvis, ribs and several vertebrae in a crash with a Dutch competitor last week.
A new study from the Netherlands shows bicycling is so popular the country’s bike lanes are bursting at the seams. Note to City Lab: Referring to the Netherlands as Holland is like calling the US West Virginia.
That solar bike path in the Netherlands has proven successful after a full year of use, although the energy produced is far more expensive than other sources.
January 11, 2016 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Bike lanes on WeHo’s Fairfax, news from the ‘cross Nats, and bike riding kung fu Buddhist nuns
Just one more week to help someone you know win a new bicycle. Read more about our first-ever bike giveaway and suggest who deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net.
Even if that person is you.
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Fairfax Ave could soon have a continuous bike lane from Hollywood Blvd to Melrose Ave.
The lanes would connect with existing bike lanes on Fairfax north of Fountain, as well as planned lanes between Willoughby and Melrose in the City of LA. The WeHo website suggests they might even extend below Melrose; however, that would likely require removing parking from the narrow, small business-lined street.
Which isn’t likely to happen given the city’s risk-averse culture.
Still, it’s nice to see a little coordination between the two cities to provide a badly needed north-south route for bike riders in that part of town.
Santa Monica will create a new coastal zoning plan, taking into account the new bikeshare program, as well as future sea level rises due to global warming.
The Daily News looks at Winnetka’s five-year old Girlz Gone Riding mountain bike club, which has grown to include chapters in San Diego and the Inland Empire. Note to Daily News: 1,000 Facebook members sounds impressive, but chances are, they’re no more real than Facebook friends.
If you build it, they don’t always come. A bikeshare program operated by a British rail system has averaged only one rental per station every six days.
Remarkably, all five candidates for London mayor have endorsed banning cars from one of the city’s busiest, and most polluted, streets, as well as implementing an Idaho stop law. Maybe we could get the losers to run for office here.
A road raging Brit bike rider is confined to a curfew for attacking a driver who allegedly passed too close. Seriously, keep your anger and your fists to yourself, no matter how much you think the other party might deserve it. On the other hand, if a bike rider is smashing in your window and threatening to kill you, you may not have given “ample room” after all.
Now that’s a good dog. A British police dog sniffs out a stolen mountain bike worth over $4,300.
Adventure Journal relates the story of Polish cyclist Kazimierz Nowak, who twice rode the full length of Africa in the 1930s as the world was building up to global war.
A Kiwi expat competes in 14 mile time trial on Friday and goes a 46 mile bike ride on Saturday, then gets married that night.
The death of a young bike-riding mother leads to a campaign for more and safer bike lanes in the Philippines.
A Singapore cyclist offers a whopping $10 to forget the whole thing after crashing into a three-year old and knocking out his tooth.
Schultz was unconscious and suffering from a serious head injury; he died at 2:45 pm after being taken to UCI Medical Center in Orange.
He appears to have somehow lost control of his bike and fallen, perhaps after striking a fixed object; police investigators say no other vehicle appears to be involved. Of course it’s always possible that a passing car or truck, or some other action, could have caused him to lose control.
A satellite view shows a four lane roadway with bike lanes on either side; there’s no word on which direction he was riding.
Anyone with information is urged to call Accident Investigators Josh Page at 714-536-5670 or Bob Barr at 714-536-5663.
This is the second bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first in Orange County. And it’s the fourth bicycling fatality in Huntington Beach in just the last eight months.
Update: An Orange County rider sent this in response to the Register article.
Curiously, the article states that the road was “free of hazards” and that no vehicles were involved. Both are suspicious statements. First, on Saturday morning, that’s an incredibly busy stretch of road. It crosses Beach Blvd (a stroad that Caltrans won’t let the city put bike lanes on). It’s right by the Walmart driveway, and westbound leads directly to Central Park, whose sports fields are slamming busy on Saturday mornings. Also, the westbound stretch borders the cemetery, so it’s kind of treated like a speedway, and a lot of motorists punch the gas when they see the pesky yellow light of the signalized “intersection” of the Walmart driveway, which can lead to a lengthy red light in letting a backed-up line of motorists exit the parking lot. As far as the “free of hazards” claim, DOUBTS. Hunny’s pretty good at maintaining a street sweeping schedule, but there’s been so much grit & gravel & puddles & leaves & mud & fronds & trash & hidden potholes thanks to the storms lately, it’s been harrowing riding pretty much everywhere. Not to mention, I really have no confidence in the ability of HBPD’s Major Incident Reconstruction Team to assess what counts as “hazards” to a bicyclist.
Update 2: According to the LA Times, he was wearing a helmet. That raises more questions, since it suggests that either the helmet failed, or the force of the impact somehow exceeded the design capacity of the helmet.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Richard Schultz and his loved ones.
A bypass is reportedly in the works, most likely directing riders onto Vista del Mar.
Judging by photos tweeted by County Supervisor Don Knabe, it could be some time before the path reopens.
The other bad news is a possible closure of the LA River bike path through Griffith Park, Silver Lake and Atwater Village until next spring.
According to the LA Times, the Army Corps of Engineers will be installing temporary flood control barriers along the river to reduce the risk of flooding this winter.
The Eastsider reports it will cover a three-mile stretch of the river, and may require closure of the bike path, while Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, who represents the area, says sections will be closed on an “as needed” basis through mid-April.
Construction is expected to start on Monday and take several weeks. Chances are that section of the path will be closed, in all or in part, during the construction phase; whether it reopens afterwards remains to be seen.
Thanks to Patrick Pascal and BikeSGV for the heads-up.
January 8, 2016 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: All hands on deck for Expo Line bike path, hit-and-run goes global, and Culver founder one of us
Streetsblog’s Joe Linton writes that there will be an all-hands-on-deck meeting next Wednesday to discuss closing the Northvale gap in the new Expo bikeway.
After neighborhood NIMBY’s in the upscale Cheviot Hills neighborhood failed to stop the train, they turned their attention halting the bike path, expressing fear that bike-riding burglars and two-wheeled peeping Toms would soon terrorize the area.
Which is only a slight exaggeration.
Meanwhile, funding dried up amid disputes over where to locate the path, and where — or if —there should be access to the neighborhood.
Linton writes that Councilmember Paul Koretz, who has made it his life’s mission to keep bikes off Westwood Blvd, is working to close the gap in what would be the only continuous bikeway from Downtown to the Beach.
There will undoubtedly be many people opposing the bike path going through their neighborhood, so as he notes, if you live, work, bike, or breathe in this part of West Los Angeles, you need to be there to voice your support.
It takes place from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Palms-Rancho Park Branch Library, 2920 Overland Ave.
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Clearly, hit-and-run is a worldwide problem.
A New Hampshire cyclist was lucky to escape with bruises when he was hit by a driver who sped away; police later arrested the suspect for hit-and-run, as well being a felon in possession of an unlicensed gun.
A British man faces “substantial” jail time for driving away after killing a cyclist while speeding at over twice the 30 mph limit.
The founder of Culver City was one of us. Before coming to California, Harry Culver rode in 53-day, 4,120 mile bike race ending at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Caltrans buys an Encinitas strawberry field to convert it into a park and ride and freeway access ramp, as well as community gardens and open space; the facility will include bike lockers and a bike lane that connects to bike paths planned for the area. Maybe they should call it a bike and ride.
San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood gets a road diet and buffered bike lanes to improve safety after a close vote by the neighborhood planning committee.
Next time you’re in Morro Bay, check out the new bike park that opened over the holidays.
A Seattle radio host continues his anti-bike rants, this time saying if officials really care about bike safety, they should ban bike riders from going through a parking lot they’re legally entitled to use, since a protected bike lane will be built nearby. It’s not safety he’s concerned about; it’s really about the money and lost parking spaces for a bike lane he opposes.
Vermont considers a bill that would require right-turning drivers to yield to bikes, and allow motorists to cross a yellow line to pass a bicycle.
Bike riding in New Zealand is getting safer as it gets more popular.
The mayor of Taipei will ride his bike 21 hours tomorrow to promote the Velo-City Global Conference to be held in his city next month.
Finally…
How does someone fail to see a stopped bus before crashing your bike into it? When a bus company driving instructor says running over cyclists is a public service, you’ve got to wonder what he’s teaching his students.
