Archive for bikinginla

Calendar: A lucky 13 bike events this weekend — Glendora Mtn Road, Amgen Tour of Calfornia & touring Central Ave

May 16, 2014 / / Comments Off on Calendar: A lucky 13 bike events this weekend — Glendora Mtn Road, Amgen Tour of Calfornia & touring Central Ave

The latest monthly ride hosted by the authors of Where To Bike Los Angeles and the LACBC rolls this Sunday on a challenging ride up Glendora Mountain Road.

Touring Los Angeles County with LACBC and Where To Bike Los Angeles

Glendora Mountain Road

When: Sunday May 18, 2014
Time: Meet at 8:30am; ride at 9:00am
Where: Claremont Metrolink Station, 200 West 1st Street, Claremont

Glendora Mountain Road (also known simply as GMR) and its sibling, Glendora Ridge Road, meander upward through the San Gabriel Mountains from the historic town of Glendora to Mount Baldy Village at the base of one of the regions few ski resorts. This ride is simply amazing for its relative tranquility (the two roads are often closed to automobile traffic) and unparalleled views of everything from the valleys to the high peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains. It is not surprising that Bicycling Magazine listed this ride among its “50 Rides of a Lifetime.” So join us, and the Pomona Valley Bicycle Coalition, on this classic ride in eastern Los Angeles County.

We will begin in Claremont and ride west through La Verne, San Dimas, and Glendora before turning north and uphill onto GMR. We will ride its many oak shaded switchbacks before connecting onto Glendora Ridge Road at Horse Canyon Saddle. From there, we’ll pedal east along Glendora Ridge Road for several miles before dropping into Mt. Baldy Village for a brief rest. From there, its 12 miles of downhill back to Claremont.

Ride Length: 45 miles.

Ride Duration: Approximately 6 hours, including stops.

Difficulty: Recommended for intermediate-level riders, age 16 and up. You should be comfortable, and capable of, riding uphill for sustained distances. While the grades are not steep (GMR averages about 5 percent), the total elevation gain is about 4,800 feet over 31 miles.

Rain Policy: Torrential rain, snow, earthquake, or fierce wind cancels the outing. Otherwise, we ride.

What to bring: A road-worthy bike, extra inner tubes, a patch kit and pump, drinking water (2 bottles), a pocket snack (such as an energy bar, banana or trail mix), a helmet, and money for refueling stops and post-ride refreshments in Claremont.

RSVP: Strongly encouraged, via wheretobikela@gmail.com, so we can send you last-minute advisories, particularly about weather.

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Bike Talk airs every Saturday at 10 am; listen to it live or download the podcast from KPFK.

Bike Long Beach hosts Bike Saturdays every weekend; ride your bike to participating local shops and business throughout the city to get special offers and discounts.

Downtown’s Just Ride LA bike shop hosts weekly no one left behind Monday evening and Saturday morning shop rides, 1626 South Hill Street.

Saturday, May 17th, the LAPD Topanga Community Police Station is hosting a free Kids Bike Safety Fair from 10 am to 1 pm; 21501 Schoenborn St in Canoga Park.

While LA’s Bike Week is sadly over, Pasadena’s wraps up with a mini-ciclovia from 11 am to 1:30 pm on Saturday, May 17th with Ride, Roll and Stroll, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, in advance of the penultimate stage of the Amgen Tour of California, which finishes at Pasadena City Hall; RSVP here.

Also on the 17th, Team LUNA Chix Los Angeles Cycling is hosting a Road Riding Skills Clinic. Check in ready to ride at 8 am at the Sports Chalet, 2 Chalet Dr in La Cañada Flintridge. 

Santa Monica’s Helen’s Cycles host a no-drop Women’s Only Group Ride on the third Saturday of each month; the next ride is scheduled for 8 am on Saturday, May 17th, details TBD.

Join the Eastside Bike Club for a 10-mile, family-friendly no-drop Community Bike Ride celebrating Bike Month on Saturday the 17th; meet at Stan’s Bike Shop, 880 Myrtle Ave in Monrovia at 7:40 am, departing at 8.

The LACBC invites you to help experience South LA’s iconic Central Avenue, the birthplace of West Coast Jazz, on Saturday the 17th. Meet at Central Avenue Jazz Park, 42nd Place and Central Ave at 10 am, returning by 2 pm.

Newly bike-friendly Rancho Cucamonga hosts the Annual Cucamonga Challenge this Saturday, May 17th, featuring a 35 mile ride, family fun ride and 5k/10k run/walk.

As noted above, the Amgen Tour of California finishes up with two final SoCal stages, on Saturday May 17th, from Santa Clarita to Pasadena, and Sunday the 18th in Thousand Oaks.

Helen’s Cycles in Santa Monica invites you to join them in a ride to view Stage 8 of the Amgen Tour of California on Sunday, May 18th. The ride offers your choice of two starting points, San Vicente and Ocean in Santa Monica, rolling at 6:30 am, and the Michael Landon Community Center at PCH and Malibu Canyon Rd in Malibu at 7:15 am. The rides will catch up with the Helen’s Cycles van on Mulholland Highway for complimentary food and beverages. 

Glendale is hosting the 2nd Annual Jewel City Fun & Fitness Ride on Sunday the 18th at Verdugo Park, with rides ranging from seven to 45 miles.

KCRW’s Design & Architecture joins with the Helms Bakery complex, 8723 Washington Avenue, to host Reinventing the Wheel on Sunday, May 18th at 1 pm. The forum of the future of mobility includes space-age cars from the Petersen Automotive Museum, Linus city bikes and mobility exhibits, as well as live music, food trucks and complimentary beer; admission $15.

The San Marino Traffic Advisory Commission will hold a meeting on Monday, May 19th at 7 pm to discuss the city’s draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan at the San Marino Center, adjacent to the Crowell Public Library, 1890 Huntington Drive.

The semi-scuttled plan to install desperately needed bike lanes on Santa Monica Blvd in the Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills comes back before the BH City Council on Tuesday, May 20th at 2:30 pm, 455 N. Rexford Drive.

The California Bicycle Coalition is hosting a Bike Advocacy Day to influence elected officials in Sacramento on Wednesday, May 21 in Sacramento.

Discover LA’s world famous street art on the Northeast Los Angeles Mural Ride on Saturday, May 24th. Meet at the Heritage Gold Line Station, 3545 Pasadena Ave at 9:30 am, rolling at 10.

Walk ‘n Rollers, Bike SGV, City of El Monte Health & Wellness and Day One team up to host the free El Monte Bike Festival on Saturday, May 24th from 9 am to 1 pm at Mountain View High School, 2900 Parkway Drive. Activities include a Bike Skills Course, Bike Repair, Group Rides, and Fitness Obstacle Course.

The San Fernando Valley Bike Club offers a twice monthly Compagni Group Ride — Italian for companion — on the second and fourth Sunday of every month; the next ride takes place on Sunday, May 25th. Click here for details and other rides; lots of other great sounding rides on the list, too.

Join Milestone Ride’s Johnny Lam and Sang Hung on a four-day ride from Chino Hills to Joshua Tree and back, from Tuesday, May 27th to Friday, May 30th; details TBD.

LACBC Empowerment WorkshopsThe Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is hosting a series of workshops aimed at empowering local advocates. The next workshop, focusing on winning campaigns, is scheduled for 10 am on Saturday, May 31st at LACBC Headquarters, 634 S. Spring Street in DTLA; see poster at left for additional dates, times and topics.

The California Bicycle Coalition, aka Calbike, will host a Los Angeles Better Bikeways House Party from 6 to 9 pm on Saturday, May 31st at a secret, undisclosed location which will hopefully be revealed upon registration. Donations will be requested to support their campaign for better bikeways throughout California.

The Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee, the city’s only official voice for bicyclists, meets on the first Tuesday of every even-numbered month; the next meeting takes place at 7 pm on Tuesday, June 3rd at 6501 Fountain Ave. I’ll be celebrating the Corgi’s birthday that night.

Learn the basis principles of bicycle and traffic safety with CICLE’s free Traffic Basic Safety Class on Saturday, June 7th from 11 am to 1 pm, in conjunction with the Caltech BikeLab; Caltech Y Ground Floor Meeting Room, 505 S. Wilson Ave in Pasadena.

Helen’s Cycles host a no-drop Men’s Group Ride on the first Saturday of each month; the next ride is scheduled for 7:45 am on Saturday, June 7th, at the Santa Monica location, 2501 Broadway.

The Chatsworth Neighborhood Council invites you to ride the COLT — the 2nd annual Chatsworth Orange Line Tour — on Sunday, June 8th. Meet for the family-friendly bike rally and health walk at 9 am at the Chatsworth Train Depot Parking Lot A, 10040 Old Depot Plaza Road.

Sunday, June 14th marks the first Tour de Downey bicycle ride, followed by the second annual Make Music Downey concert. The $25, 35-mile ride to Long Beach and back departs from Downey City Hall, 11111 Brookshire Ave, at 7 am; there’s also a free six-mile Community Ride departing at 9 am.

LA’s most popular fundraising bike ride rolls on Sunday, June 22nd with the 14th edition of the LACBC’s Los Angeles River Ride. Ten rides of varying lengths, with starting points in Long Beach and Griffith Park, including two centuries, a 15-mile family ride and a free kid’s ride; discount prices available through May 27th.

Mark your calendar for the Peace Love & Family Ride for Crohn’s and Obesity in South LA on July 5th and 6th. Great cause; more details when they become available.

Bike racing returns to Downtown LA on Saturday, July 12th with Wolfpack Hustle: The Civic Center Crit; racing takes place from 1 to 8 pm on the streets surrounding LA City Hall, 200 North Spring Street.

The Honor Ride Irvine rolls at 8 am on Saturday, August 2nd, starting at A Road Bike 4U, at the corner of Main St & Red Hill Ave in Irvine.

The year’s second CicLAvia takes place on Sunday, October 5th with a new variation on the classic Heart of LA route through Downtown LA, from Echo Park to East LA.

Paso Robles hosts a Wine and Roses Bike Ride on Saturday, October 11th; the event is limited to the first 350 riders to sign up.

Calbike is hosting the inaugural California by Bike Surf ’N Turf Tour. The multi-stage ride travels from Santa Barbara to San Diego, starting on Halloween and ending November 5th; registration is now open.

The first winter — or late fall, anyway — CicLAvia is also the first to roll through historic South LA on Sunday, December 7th, from the cultural center of the Southside in Leimert Park to the birthplace of West Coast Jazz on Central Avenue.

Find bike racing schedules and other cycling events at SoCal Cycling.

Category: Bike Events / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: Bike Week wraps up at Downtown’s Union Station, and Phinney kicks ass at the AToC

May 15, 2014 / / 6 comments

Bike Week ain’t over until the fat lady sings.

And chances are, she’ll be in Downtown LA tonight, along with just about everyone else but me for the first ever Metro Bike Night at Union Station.

The event runs from 5:30 to 8:30 pm, with a full schedule of activities for the bicycling community.

This free event will feature special guests, live music, food trucks, outdoor booths, free bike valet, bike short films, trivia, bike portraits and a fashion show. There will also be a raffle for a chance to win a Tern folding bike, a one year supply of Clif Bar products, Abus U-locks, 30-Day Metro passes, Bike Week LA special edition t-shirts and more!

And did I mention it’s free?

It’s not that I don’t want to be there. But the wife is keeping me on a shorter leash than the Corgi until this diabetes thing gets more under control.

So let me know how it goes.

And have one for me.

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Aussie Michael Matthews wins Stage 6 of the Giro d’Italia as a massive crash delays the peloton. He leads the overall standings, with Cadel Evans just 21 seconds behind.

Cycling scion Taylor Phinney takes Stage 5 of the Amgen Tour of California in a thrilling solo breakaway; bike prodigy Peter Sagan is second. Between the two of them, you could be looking at the future of bike racing. Wiggins leads overall.

Meanwhile, Pasadena’s Bike Week will culminate with the penultimate stage of this year’s Tour of California and a mini-ciclovia on the closed streets. And here’s 10 things to know if you’re planning to watch the final stage of the ToC in Thousand Oaks.

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Local

Figueroa For All looks at last week’s highly staged public meeting about the North Figueroa road diet and bike lanes, which appears to have been so slanted against the proposal it’s a wonder the speakers didn’t slide right off.

A writer for City Watch is apparently competing to see how many things he can get wrong in a single article politely decrying LA bike lanes. For one, there is no law requiring bike riders over 18 to wear a helmet. And who can legally use a bike lane has long been defined, even if it’s often ignored, just like every other traffic regulation.

The Daily News profiles a physician who planned to ride his bike 60 miles from his Ventura home to Cal State Northridge for Bike to Work Day, then take the train back home. Yet they somehow file the story under Recreational Cycling.

The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition calls on the city to pass a bike and pedestrian anti-harassment ordinance; you can sign the petition here.

Newly bike-friendly Rancho Cucamonga will host the Annual Cucamonga Challenge ride, run and walk on Saturday.

 

State

San Diego ‘s Bike to Work Day scheduled for today has been postponed two weeks due to the city’s fires.

Santa Rosa plans to substitute a greenway for a once-planned freeway extension that was canceled after public outcry.

A Los Osos woman has been biking to work for over 20 years.

 

National

NPR says bike commuting is picking up speed across the US, while a writer for the network explains the lingua franca of the bike world. So that’s where the term shoaling came from.

People for Bikes says a bicycle whizzing past stalled cars in a protected bike lane at rush hour is as powerful an ad for cycling as a 10 pm TV spot is for Taco Bell.

The Washington Post says America is anything but bike friendly.

Tragically, Portland suffers its first bicycling fatality since 2012, a record any other major city would envy.

Kansas City police dip into their own pockets to buy a boy a new bike after his was stolen.

New Jersey ups the ante by considering a four-foot passing law.

A DC real estate agent runs her business by bike.

 

International

A Vancouver writer offers advice on how to enjoy biking to work. As I’ve said before, though, the hardest thing about bike commuting is just deciding to do it.

Sad news, as legendary British long-distance cyclist Billie Fleming passed away just days after her 100th birthday.

A new film presents the tragic story of the late, great Italian racer Marco Pantani.

Aussie cyclists are outraged when a road safety official writes that bicycling does not fulfill an important transportation function; he later claims the comment was a clerical error.

 

Finally…

Some cool, beautiful and just plain bizarre bikes and riders from the early days of bicycling. But did they have bike locks that could alert you if someone tries to mess with your bike or use your cell phone to call for help if you wipe out?

And for every group-riding cyclist who ever said they can’t ticket us all, a Tucson cop would beg to differ.

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

Bike rider killed in Riverside collision; eighth bicycling fatality in Riverside County this year

May 15, 2014 / / 8 comments

More bad news for Bike Week.

According to the Press-Enterprise, a forty-year old bike rider was attempting to cross Van Buren Ave Blvd at Doolittle Ave in Riverside around 10:15 pm Wednesday when he was hit by a late-model Ford traveling north in the center lane.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified pending notification of next of kin, was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 11:30 pm.

The Riverside County coroner lists the victim’s age as 32, and places the location as 1600 feet north of Arlington Ave.

While the article makes no mention of which way the victim was riding, Doolittle does not cross Van Buren, so he could only have been riding east. No explanation is given for why he was attempting to cross the road; however, he may have been trying to reach the bike lane on the northbound side and wasn’t able to get across the the six-lane boulevard in time.

A street view shows a 55 mph speed limit north of Arlington. Whether the driver may have been speeding or the victim simply misjudged his ability to cross before oncoming traffic caught up to is yet to be determined.

This is the 39th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth already this year in Riverside County, compared to just two this time last year.

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

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: Bike to Work Day, Rick Risemberg lets Cedillo have it with both barrels, and a new Sweet Ride

May 14, 2014 / / 3 comments

Happy Bike to Work Day.

Or as I call it, trick or treating for bike riders.

And don’t forget the Bike from Work Handlebar Happy Hours in Echo Park, Santa Monica and throughout the area.

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Richard Risemberg doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to the North Figueroa fiasco.

Writing for Flying Pigeon, he accuses CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo of bait and switch in supporting bike lanes when he was running for office, and seemingly opposing them now that he’s in office.

North Figueroa has been shown to be overdesigned for the level of traffic that it sees, resulting in scofflaw drivers speeding down the wide lanes, killing and maiming residents and visitors alike and creating a bleak and harrowing ambience that diminishes the curb appeal of local businesses. The road diet and its accompanying bike lanes would restrain the speed demons, and the bike lanes themselves would allow neighbors the option to get about without cars, which so many of them do not own anyway. This would improve job access and bring more customers to local stores…

Yet Cedillo, who in the video above enthusiastically speaks of the city’s need to install “real bike lanes” such as he studied in Denmark, now is sitting on the project, and in fact giving the appearance of orchestrating the new community meetings he’s set up to make the opposition looks bigger than it is. Of course the video was taken when he was fishing for the votes of the cycling community prior to the last election….

And he cites the Councilmember’s actions as a perfect example of how to subvert the democratic process in a piece for Orange 20.

Yes, in the name of the spurious concept of “balance” employed by Faux News, the number of people speaking for the road diet was held down to match the number speaking against—a principle that, if applied to elections, would result in a tie every time.

In other words, democracy be damned.

They’re both good reads.

And if it doesn’t piss you off than an elected official is blatantly ignoring both the will of the people and the safety of cyclists and pedestrians, for reasons known only to him, maybe it should.

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Sweet Ride USA releases their fourth episode, which features a public ride to a Highland Park donut shop.

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Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers up three things he likes about Bike Week and two he doesn’t, while Damien Newton says we need to get more young people involved in planning.

Are e-bikes the missing link in LA transportation plans?

LA cyclist Kurt Broadhag will ride this year’s RAAM to support the non-profit Innovation: Africa.

LACBC local chapter SCV Bicycle Coalition works for safer cycling in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The second annual Jewel City Fun & Fitness Ride rolls through Glendale this weekend, while El Monte hosts a Bike Fest the following weekend.

It may take awhile, by Cal Poly Pomona is committed to becoming friendlier to cyclists and pedestrians; too bad it took the death of bike riding student Ivan Aguilar to make it happen

PCH will get a pedestrian-friendly makeover in Hermosa Beach, which could include bike lanes. Key word being “could.”

 

State

San Diego is looking for funding for a long-planned separated bike path through Mission Valley, while biking group the Awarewolfs — not wolves, for some reason — hosts a monthly full moon ride through the city.

Congratulations to Rancho Cucamonga and Chula Vista on making the Bike League’s new Bicycle Friendly Communities list.

The LA Times says San Francisco’s failure to prosecute a truck driver caught on video right hooking the bike rider he killed is a reminder we still have a long way to go. Meanwhile, SF Streetsblog says the legal system failed Amelie. No shit.

Bike to School Day flops in Calistoga, as only 28 students in two schools participate.

 

National

Speeding Seattle cyclist kills a leashed dog being walked in a crosswalk. Seriously people, if you can’t stop for pedestrians and dogs in a legally marked crossing, you’re the problem.

A hit-and-run driver who left a bike rider to die near my hometown gets off with less than a slap on the wrist; the local paper says the system failed her victim, too. Again, no shit.

New York’s new mayor looks to Sweden for inspiration for the city’s Vision Zero plan. Here in LA, no one in city government seems to have even heard of Vision Zero. Or Sweden, for that matter.

Under the heading of they really should know better, the EPA is closing its bike room, which means a number of employees may stop riding to work. And that can’t be good for the environment.

Now that sounds like fun. A New Orleans bike group is hosting a second line bike ride, with cyclists following a jazz band on a flatbed truck.

 

International

Five tips for a successful Calgary tweed ride.

Toronto considers building separated bike lanes through the downtown core.

Looks like stunt cyclist Danny MacAskill is up to his old tricks. Or maybe new ones.

A Sydney columnist looks at the culture war on the roads Down Under, and calls for more to be done to make cycling safer without pushing riders off the roads.

Aussie brothers use fake charity as an excuse to bike door to door and beg for booze. Works for me.

 

Finally…

If you’re a convicted felon and known gang member illegally carrying two concealed weapons, don’t ride salmon, already. Fellow salmon cyclist Alec Baldwin says cross his heart, he wasn’t asking for special treatment, while Japanese animators have their own unique take on his arrest.

And Joe Linton catches me getting blessed at the Blessing of the Bicycles on Tuesday, albeit from an unflattering angle. Then again, I don’t think my boney ass has a flattering angle these days.

Photo by Joe Linton; shamelessly stolen from LA Streetsblog.

Photo by Joe Linton; shamelessly stolen from LA Streetsblog.

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

62-year old bike rider killed in Oxnard collision Monday morning

May 14, 2014 / / 3 comments

This is not the news anyone wanted for a week celebrating bicycles.

According to the Ventura County Star, 62-year old Oxnard resident Jose Ricardo Marin was hit by an SUV driven by a 75-year old woman around 10:30 Monday morning, at the intersection of A Street and Deodar Ave in Oxnard. He was declared dead at the scene.

The SUV was headed west on Deodar when it struck Marin’s bike; no word on where he was positioned on the roadway or what direction he was riding. The driver, identified only as a Newbury Park resident, remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators.

Sad that something like that must be noted in this age when so many drivers flee following a wreck.

A satellite view shows a quiet residential street which serves as a westbound exit route for a PCH offramp, suggesting the driver may have been exiting the freeway.

The paper also notes that Marin was not wearing a helmet, even though the cause of death has not yet been established, and there is no suggestion that he suffered a head injury.

For anyone unclear on the subject, a helmet can provide valuable protection against head injuries, but does absolutely nothing to prevent injury to any other part of the body, and is not designed to offer protection against impacts over 12.5 mph. If it could not have prevented the fatal injuries, whether or not a cyclist is wearing one is no more relevant that if he was wearing boxers or briefs.

This is the 38th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, compared to 25 this time last year, and the second in Ventura County. Marin is also at least the 6th person to lose his life while riding in Oxnard in just the past five years.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jose Ricardo Marin and all his loved ones.

Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the heads-up.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: LA bike riders get blessed, an idiotic Irish selfie, and a salmon-riding Baldwin meltdown

May 13, 2014 / / One comment

Golden-Spoke-AwardThanks to Good Samaritan Hospital, LA Metro, Incycle Bicycles and the LACBC for another great Blessing of the Bicycles on Tuesday.

A few hundred riders turned out the annual event offering free food and drinks, t-shirts and a non-sectarian blessing; after all, it never hurts to have a little divine support on your side as you navigate the mean streets of Southern California.

The event honored Ghost Bikes LA for their work in memorializing fallen riders and calling attention to the need for everyone to ride and drive safely.

Because the primary goal in placing ghost bikes is to eliminate the need for them.

Ghost Bikes LA

On a personal note, I set just one goal when I was diagnosed with diabetes five weeks ago. And that was to get back on my bike in time for the Blessing of the Bicycles.

Twenty-three round trip miles later, mission accomplished.

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Volunteers are still needed for next month’s AIDS Lifecycle Ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

AIDS Lifecycle Volunteers

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Marcel Kittel goes from Giro favorite to withdrawing due to a fever, while an Irish fan apologizes for being an idiot taking a selfie with the collapsed rider after his victory in Stage 3.

Meanwhile, Santa Monica’s Helen’s Cycles invites riders for a bike ride and viewing party for Sunday’s 8th Stage of the Amgen Tour of California.

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Courtesy of the Witch on a Bicycle comes two stories of the harm careless bike riders can do to one another.

A Seattle cyclist is being sought for hit-and-run after injuring another rider in a bike-on-bike collision, while a Vancouver rider loses his life after being clipped or passed too close by another cyclist.

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Local

The Daily News looks at LA Bike Week, while Long Beach Transit and LA Metro will offer free rides to bicyclists on Thursday’s Bike to Work Day.

Incentives in the new parking requirement ordinance passed in LA last year means some buildings are being built with more bike than car parking.

Over 3,000 cyclists raise $2,000 for pediatric cancer research in the Tour of Long Beach.

 

State

A Newport Beach councilmember says removing cars from the Back Bay Trail is a non-starter. After all, why would you want to improve safety for everyone else if it means inconveniencing people in the big, dangerous machines?

Remarkably, San Francisco prosecutors decline to charge the truck driver who killed a cyclist, even though video footage found by the city’s bike coalition after the police failed to investigate the case shows him right-hooking her.

A Fresno TV crew catches a bike thief in action.

 

National

The Bike League gives the proposed Senate transportation bill a solid B+.

The Atlantic Cities asks if there’s a masculine way to ride a bike, and quotes LA’s own Flying Pigeon.

Riding in a suit isn’t awkward if you do it right.

Someone booby-trapped a Colorado bike and hiking trail with an improvised spike strip; when they catch the schmuck, he/she should face domestic terrorism charges.

The Washington Post offers a guide to the language of bike riding in the city.

 

International

The Toronto Star says the actions of a few scofflaw cyclists shouldn’t stop the city from building bike lanes.

Toyko’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper calls on the city to become more bike-friendly and reduce the real estate given over to cars in advance of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

 

Finally…

Police arrest Alec Baldwin for riding salmon on 5th Avenue, then going ballistic after officers ask for his ID. But is it really news when he has yet another meltdown, on a bike or otherwise? Then again, the Times says he has a point.

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A special thank you to the anonymous woman who brought a donation to support this blog to the Blessing of the Bicycles. It was very generous, and very appreciated. And the card that accompanied it thanking me for my work here touched my heart and brought a tear to my eye.

 

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

Morning Links: Wiggo wins, but it’s two and done for women at the ToC; even the Mayor bikes to work this week

May 12, 2014 / / 2 comments

While we celebrate Bike Week, the rest of the world seems to be racing.

Case in point, while the Giro takes the day off, Wiggo wins the Stage 2 time trial in the Amgen Tour of California; Aussie Rohan Dennis is second and Taylor Phinney third.

UnitedHealthcare’s Allison Powers takes the women’s time trial, with Brianna Walle second and Taylor Wiles third. The bad news is, while the men’s ToC goes on, the women are done until next year.

Now that’s scary. Dublin police found and disarmed a fertilizer bomb just hours before the finish of Sunday’s third stage of the Giro d’Italia. Speculation is the bomb was planted by defiant Northern Irish terrorists republicans.

Brit cyclist Emma Trott retires at age 24 after the death of two friends changes her priorities.

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Local

Downtown News looks at Bike Week, while Streetsblog covers Monday’s kickoff event.

The new Los Angeles Register asks if it’s possible to make LA friendlier to bikes, and notes that the MyFigueroa project is in the final stretch before construction.

LA’s favorite traffic maven offers advice on how to load your bike on a Metro Bus.

Even Mayor Garcetti bikes to work this week.

 

State

BikeNewportBeach calls for extending the beach boardwalk to the Wedge.

FOX-11 reports a bike rider was shot and killed in San Bernardino early Monday morning, just one in a string of three shootings minutes apart. Even if the sex of the victim changed twice in a single paragraph.

Redlands riders will get 16 miles of new bike lanes.

 

National

Gizmodo offers advice on how to keep your bike from getting stolen and how to get it back if it is.

AAA is now offering bike roadside assistance in Colorado, Washington State, Minneapolis and Southern New England. No word on when or if they’ll offer it here; I’d be happy if they’d just stop using members’ dues to lobby against bike safety legislation, which is why I cancelled my membership.

Dallas gets closer to repealing their ill-advised helmet law in advance of a planned bike share program.

Writing about San Antonio, Strongtown says if you need a reminder that bikes can use the full lane, it’s a clear sign biking and walking are just an afterthought.

An elderly Texas man gets five years probation for killing a cyclist. The penalty doesn’t even begin to fit the crime; on the other hand, what’s the benefit to society in sending an 87-year old man to prison?

Reviewing a Cycling Savvy course, a St. Louis blogger says we don’t need bike lanes, we need drivers and cyclists to learn how to interact better with one another. Thanks to Karen Karabell for the heads-up.

Turn out that Massachusetts hit-and-run driver who was caught after speeding through an apartment complex with a bike still stuck under his car stopped to throw it into a river — the bike, not the car — before threatening a witness, yet only faces $15,000 bail. Just what does a maniac driver have to do to get the courts to take traffic crimes seriously?

The Police Unity Tour reaches Washington DC to honor fallen officers.

 

International

A Montreal writer says urban cycling is worth whatever risk there might be.

Not a good weekend for notable bike riders, as the Liverpool record executive behind the Coral and the Zutons, as well as number of other bands, died after suffering serious head injuries while riding his bike, and an Australian wine maker was killed in a cycling collision, both on Sunday.

An Irish woman goes online to replace her father’s stolen bike. And finds his missing bike, instead.

 

Finally…

A road-raging DC-area driver Jerry Browns a cyclist in an attempt to force him off the road, then causes a collision by brake checking the rider. So naturally, the police ticket the cyclist for following to closely.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

LACBC releases latest bike count figures in time for Bike Week

May 12, 2014 / / One comment

2013-LA-Bike-Count-CoverJust in time for Bike Week, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition has released the results of the city’s latest bike count.

Not that the city itself conducts the count, of course. Even though they should.

Working in conjunction with LA Walks and other groups, more than 400 volunteers conducted the count over a total of six hours at 120 locations throughout the city last September. And the results are intriguing, as the Coalition points out in their press release (pdf), starting with a 7.5% increase in ridership since 2013, driven largely by the addition of 200 miles of new bikeways in the city.

The report also found that:

  • The busiest time for bicycling is the evening commute period, suggesting that most people are riding for transportation.
  • People strongly prefer riding on dedicated facilities like bike paths and bike lanes over streets with no bicycle facilities.
  • Fewer than 1 in 5 bicyclists is female, and female ridership is highest on bike paths and bike lanes, suggesting that the lack of safe and comfortable facilities is causing a gender disparity among bicyclists.
  • Bike lanes improve bicyclist behavior, cutting sidewalk riding in half compared to streets without and reducing wrong-way riding as well.

Interestingly, even though they force riders to share lanes with often unwelcoming drivers, streets where sharrows were installed after earlier counts showed a 132% increase in ridership, though only a 22% increase in ridership compared to similar streets without sharrows.

Meanwhile, bike lanes resulted in an 86% increase in ridership compared to comparable streets. And off-road bike paths showed nearly four times the usage compared to streets with no bike facilities; in fact, a full 25% of the riders counted were on bike paths, despite representing just 8% of the count locations.

Not surprisingly, bicycling was also highest near universities and in low-income communities, which suggests many people may be riding for economic reasons.

Clearly, though, there’s still a lot of work to do.

As Executive Director Jen Klausner puts it in the foreword to the study,

Since the 2010 Bicycle Plan, Los Angeles has expanded its bicycle network at an unprecedented rate, at one point exceeding 100 lane miles in one year. However, most of these miles have consisted of bike lanes “where they fit” and sharrows where bike lanes don’t. The result has been a somewhat fragmented bicycle network primarily designed to avoid impacts to motor vehicle delay rather than designed to meet the needs of people who want to ride a bike. This report makes it clear that where bicycle improvements are made, ridership is up, but that citywide growth is limited by the lack of a connected network of safe bikeways accessible to all Angelenos. 

The report ends with a number of recommendations:

  1. Design streets for people of all ages and abilities
  2. Build a network of protected bikeways, such as the one planned for South Figueroa
  3. Build safe routes to everywhere along Active Streets
  4. Engage communities directly in the design of their streets
  5. Increase age-appropriate opportunities for bicycle safety education
  6. Increase funding for walking, biking and safe routes to schools
  7. Measure results

As noted above, it should be the city’s role to collect the data necessary for effective bicycle planning — not a volunteer effort conducted by a non-profit organization. City planners have been driving blind for far too long; the mayor’s commitment to data-driven accountability must extend to our streets, as well.

Still, the organization should be applauded for taking the responsibility onto their own shoulders. And providing the most detailed look yet at how, where, when and why Angelenos ride their bikes.

You can download the full report here.

 

 

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

Morning Links: The dawn of a new LA Bike Week, men’s & women’s racing news, and bike riders under fire

May 11, 2014 / / 2 comments

Blessing of the Bicycles 2014It’s finally Bike Week in LA!

You can find links to dozens of local events throughout the LA area in this week’s Calendar.

And don’t miss tomorrow’s decidedly non-sectarian Blessing of the Bicycles honoring Ghost Bikes LA at Good Samaritan Hospital.

………

Mark Cavendish ekes out a victory in the first stage of the Amgen tour of California, while Carmen Small wins the women’s circuit race.

Marcel Kittel wins the third stage of the Giro d’Italia on his 26th birthday, edging out Ben Swift at the last second; Dublin comes out to show its support despite the rough roads local cyclists have to ride.

Marianne Vos captures the inaugural Tour of Britain, while a man in a mobility scooter just avoids colliding with the peloton.

Meanwhile, Capital Public Radio says the appeal of bike racing is the interaction of between the riders and the fans; on the other hand, KCET says it’s because it’s exhilarating. I vote for the latter, myself.

………

Local

Councilmember Gil Cedillo is now suggesting sharrows on North Figueroa in place of the previously approved road diet and bike lanes, despite being captured on video saying just the opposite when he needed our votes.

A 25-year old man was shot in the back while riding in Pasadena early Saturday morning; thanks to Complete Streets Pas for the heads-up.

San Marino Rides looks at the draft San Marino bike and pedestrian plan; there will be a meeting of the San Marino Traffic Advisory Commission to discuss the plan on Monday, May 19th at 7 pm at the San Marino Center, 1890 Huntington Drive.

Bicycle advocacy group Pedal Movement offers free bike valet and tune-ups at the Long Beach farmer’s market.

 

State

A man in his 40s was found shot to death next to a bicycle in a Huntington Beach alley, though police aren’t sure if the bike was his.

Why would a Bay Area bike thief steal 26 bikes, only to leave them behind when he moved?

A new book profiles the artistry of 88 bike makers from around the world, including seven from Northern California.

When Mountain View balks on building a bike undercrossing, Google offers to over take the project. I wonder if they’d be willing to take over the North Figueroa road diet from Gil Cedillo?

 

National

Bicycling offers up the 10 best guided bike tours in the US, including the LA Taco Tour.

Nice Bike to Work video from Denver’s Regional Council of Governments.

In a nice gesture, a Texas college awards a posthumous degree to a bike rider killed by a drunk driver just shy of his graduation.

This is why you don’t chase after the guy who just stole your bike, as a New Orleans teenager is robbed at gunpoint by the thief.

Continuing a disturbing weekend trend, an eight-year old bike rider was accidently shot in the leg when a Pennsylvania man fires his gun off his deck.

Once again, a study shows women resist riding out of safety concerns; this time in New York, as over 76% of Citi Bike riders are men.

 

International

Most Alberta, Canada residents support separated bike lanes. As long as they don’t have to pay for them.

There seems to be an epidemic of road raging Brit cyclists these days.

London Cyclist explains why many bike riders wear jerseys.

Bike riding is cool again, even in India.

Riding a bike in rural Nigeria is a part of life; in urban Lagos, it can mean risking yours.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to flee the scene of a Massachusetts hit-and-run with your teenage victim’s bike still trapped under your car, don’t speed through an apartment complex parking lot.

And Russell Brand — yes, that Russell Brand — gets out of his car to hug an angry cyclist after the rider is clipped by a passing van.

 

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

Calendar: Cyclofemme LA, the Amgen Tour of California and a jam-packed roster of Bike Week events

May 11, 2014 / / Comments Off on Calendar: Cyclofemme LA, the Amgen Tour of California and a jam-packed roster of Bike Week events

Blessing of the Bicycles 2014Bike Talk airs every Saturday at 10 am; listen to it live or download the podcast from KPFK.

Bike Long Beach hosts Bike Saturdays every weekend; ride your bike to participating local shops and business throughout the city to get special offers and discounts.

Downtown’s Just Ride LA bike shop hosts weekly no one left behind Monday evening and Saturday morning shop rides, 1626 South Hill Street.

Sunday, May 11th marks the Cyclofemme LA Mother’s Day Bike Ride and Brunch, from 9 am to 1 pm at Grand Park, 200 North Grand Ave. Take a socially paced ride around Downtown LA to celebrate and honor women around the world, ending with brunch at the Angel City Brewery. Another ride takes place in Ojai, with mountain bike and road rides starting at 11 am, with an after ride festival to follow.

The San Fernando Valley Bike Club offers a twice monthly Compagni Group Ride — Italian for companion — on the second and fourth Sunday of every month; the next ride takes place on Sunday, May 11th. Click here for details and other rides; lots of other great sounding rides on the list, too.

……….

It’s Bike Week!

The annual Bike Week Los Angeles celebration unfolds the week of May 11th through 18th.

Metro wraps up Bike Week with the first Metro Bike Night @ Union Station from 5:30 to 8:30 pm on Friday, May 16th at — you got it — Union Station, 800 North Alameda St. in DTLA. The free event will feature special guests, live music, food trucks, outdoor booths, free bike valet, bike short films, trivia, bike portraits, fashion show and a raffle.

Pasadena starts off their own Bike Week celebration on Monday, May 12th as CICLE hosts a Taste of Pasadena Ride from 6:30 to 9:30 pm; Memorial Park Pasadena at Raymond Ave and Holly Street for a tour of local eateries. There’s a Women on Bikes Night on Wednesday, May 14th, and a Bike-In Movie Night on Friday, May 16th. And they finish Bike Week off with a mini-ciclovia from 11 am to 1:30 pm on Saturday, May 17th with Ride, Roll and Stroll, sponsored by Kaiser Permanente, RSVP here. CICLE offers the full schedule of Bike Week Pasadena events here.

Glendale is hosting Bike Week events including Bike to Work Day and a Bike From Work Happy Hour on Thursday, and the 2nd Annual Jewel City Fun & Fitness Ride on Saturday the 18th.

Bike SGV invites you on a Bike Week Emerald Necklace Ride on Wednesday, May 14th from 5:30 to 8 pm. Meet at the El Monte Metro Bus Station on Center Ave. The family-friendly ride will offer a guided tour of the Rio Hondo and San Gabriel River bike paths.

Santa Monica puts their own spin on the week, including a Veggie Grill fundraiser for Santa Monica Spoke on Monday, Lady’s Choice / Coffee Talk / Ride on Tuesday and a Bike From Work Handlebar Happy Hour on Thursday.

Even UCLA is getting in on the act with a full roster of bike events and pit stops throughout the week.

………

The Amgen Tour of California runs from Sunday, May 11th to Sunday, May 18th, starting in Sacramento. Three SoCal stages are planned, Friday May 16th, Santa Clarita to Mountain High; Saturday May 16th, Santa Clarita to Pasadena, and the final stage on Sunday the 18th in Thousand Oaks. There are also two women’s races scheduled, in Sacramento on May 11th and on the 12th in Folsom. Santa Clarita plans a series of events around their two stages.

………

The Advocacy and Education Subcommittee of the LA Bicycle Advisory Commission is holding a joint meeting with the Pedestrian Advisory Committee Education Subcommittee on Wednesday, May 14th at the Automobile Club of Southern California, 2601 South Figueroa Street.

Just in time for Bike Week, Just Ride LA hosts a free 90-minute Street Cycling Skills Workshop on Wednesday, May 14th at 6:30 pm, 1626 S. Hill Street.

Saturday, May 17th, the LAPD Topanga Community Police Station is hosting a free Kids Bike Safety Fair from 10 am to 1 pm; 21501 Schoenborn St in Canoga Park.

Also on the 17th, Team LUNA Chix Los Angeles Cycling is hosting a Road Riding Skills Clinic. Check in ready to ride at 8 am at the Sports Chalet, 2 Chalet Dr in La Cañada Flintridge. 

Santa Monica’s Helen’s Cycles host a no-drop Women’s Only Group Ride on the third Saturday of each month; the next ride is scheduled for 8 am on Saturday, May 17th, details TBD.

Mark your calendar for Glendale’s 2nd Annual Jewel City Fun & Fitness Ride on Sunday, May 18th, with rides ranging from seven to 45 miles.

The authors of Where to Bike Los Angeles are teaming up with the LACBC and the Pomona Valley Bicycle Coalition for this month’s exploration of one of the best rides in the LA area along Glendora Mountain Road, called one of the “50 rides of a lifetime” by Bicycling Magazine. Meet at the Claremont Metro Station, 201 W. 1st Street at 8:30 am, rolling at 9 for the six hour, 45-mile intermediate level ride

KCRW’s Design & Architecture joins with the Helms Bakery complex, 8723 Washington Avenue, to host Reinventing the Wheel on Sunday, May 18th at 1 pm. The forum of the future of mobility includes space-age cars from the Petersen Automotive Museum, Linus city bikes and mobility exhibits, as well as live music, food trucks and complimentary beer; admission $15.

The San Marino Traffic Advisory Commission will hold a meeting on Monday, May 19th at 7 pm to discuss the city’s draft Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan at the San Marino Center, adjacent to the Crowell Public Library, 1890 Huntington Drive.

The semi-scuttled plan to install desperately needed bike lanes on Santa Monica Blvd in the Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills comes back before the BH City Council on Tuesday, May 20th at 2:30 pm, 455 N. Rexford Drive.

The California Bicycle Coalition is hosting a Bike Advocacy Day to influence elected officials in Sacramento on Wednesday, May 21 in Sacramento.

Discover LA’s world famous street art on the Northeast Los Angeles Mural Ride on Saturday, May 24th. Meet at the Heritage Gold Line Station, 3545 Pasadena Ave at 9:30 am, rolling at 10.

Walk ‘n Rollers, Bike SGV, City of El Monte Health & Wellness and Day One team up to host the free El Monte Bike Festival on Saturday, May 24th from 9 am to 1 pm at Mountain View High School, 2900 Parkway Drive. Activities include a Bike Skills Course, Bike Repair, Group Rides, and Fitness Obstacle Course.

LACBC Empowerment WorkshopsThe Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is hosting a series of workshops aimed at empowering local advocates. The next workshop, focusing on winning campaigns, is scheduled for 10 am on Saturday, May 31st at LACBC Headquarters, 634 S. Spring Street in DTLA; see poster at left for additional dates, times and topics.

The California Bicycle Coalition, aka Calbike, will host a Los Angeles Better Bikeways House Party from 6 to 9 pm on Saturday, May 31st at a secret, undisclosed location which will hopefully be revealed upon registration. Donations will be requested to support their campaign for better bikeways throughout California.

The Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee, the city’s only official voice for bicyclists, meets on the first Tuesday of every even-numbered month; the next meeting takes place at 7 pm on Tuesday, June 3rd at 6501 Fountain Ave. I’ll be celebrating the Corgi’s birthday that night.

Learn the basis principles of bicycle and traffic safety with CICLE’s free Traffic Basic Safety Class on Saturday, June 7th from 11 am to 1 pm, in conjunction with the Caltech BikeLab; Caltech Y Ground Floor Meeting Room, 505 S. Wilson Ave in Pasadena.

Helen’s Cycles host a no-drop Men’s Group Ride on the first Saturday of each month; the next ride is scheduled for 7:45 am on Saturday, June 7th, at the Santa Monica location, 2501 Broadway.

LA’s most popular fundraising bike ride rolls on Sunday, June 22nd with the 14th edition of the LACBC’s Los Angeles River Ride. Ten rides of varying lengths, with starting points in Long Beach and Griffith Park, including two centuries, a 15-mile family ride and a free kid’s ride; discount prices available through May 27th.

Mark your calendar for the Peace Love & Family Ride for Crohn’s and Obesity in South LA on July 5th and 6th. Great cause; more details when they become available.

Bike racing returns to Downtown LA on Saturday, July 12th with Wolfpack Hustle: The Civic Center Crit; racing takes place from 1 to 8 pm on the streets surrounding LA City Hall, 200 North Spring Street.

The Honor Ride Irvine rolls at 8 am on Saturday, August 2nd, starting at A Road Bike 4U, at the corner of Main St & Red Hill Ave in Irvine.

The year’s second CicLAvia takes place on Sunday, October 5th with a new variation on the classic Heart of LA route through Downtown LA, from Echo Park to East LA.

Paso Robles hosts a Wine and Roses Bike Ride on Saturday, October 11th; the event is limited to the first 350 riders to sign up.

Calbike is hosting the inaugural California by Bike Surf ’N Turf Tour. The multi-stage ride travels from Santa Barbara to San Diego, starting on Halloween and ending November 5th; registration is now open.

The first winter — or late fall, anyway — CicLAvia is also the first to roll through historic South LA on Sunday, December 7th, from the cultural center of the Southside in Leimert Park to the birthplace of West Coast Jazz on Central Avenue.

Find bike racing schedules and other cycling events at SoCal Cycling.

 

Category: Bike Events / Tags: , , , ,
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