Archive for bikinginla

Update — 37-year old cyclist critically injured in Westside dooring

December 11, 2013 / / 38 comments

Word is just coming in that a bike rider suffered severe injuries after being doored last night.

According to an email from LAPD West Traffic Division bike liaison Sgt. Laszlo Sandor, a 37-year old bicyclist was riding south on Barrington near the intersection with San Vicente in Brentwood at 6:46 pm when he came in contact with the open door of a parked car.

No word on whether the victim, whose name was withheld due to privacy restrictions, was hit by the door as it was opened, or if he collided with it after the door was opened in front of him.

Barrington is a narrow, two-lane street on both sides of San Vicente, with substandard-width lanes that legally allow riders to take the lane in order to avoid the door zone. However, heavy traffic and impatient drivers encourage many cyclists to ride in the door zone, where passing cars can leave them trapped with nowhere to go if one of those doors should open.

Sgt. Sandor reports the rider is in critical condition and was in surgery last night for head trauma.

No helmet was found at the scene. This is exactly the sort of relatively slow-speed impact helmets are designed to protect against; however, there’s no way of knowing whether one could have made a difference in this case.

He was also using a headlamp and tail light, so he should have been visible to the driver.

And no word yet on whether the driver was cited. Drivers are almost always at fault in a dooring; CVC 22517 clearly requires that drivers only open car doors when it is safe to do so.

22517.  No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open upon the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.

Head trauma is never a good thing; if not life-threatening, it can often be life-changing, sometimes permanently. So prayers, good thoughts and/or best wishes for the rider are definitely in order.

More details when and if they become available.

Update: I was just forwarded the following email, which went out as part of a community crime report from a Brentwood-area homeowner’s association. 

Unfortunately, an accident occurred last night on the 600 block of Barrington involving a cyclist and a vehicle. My partner and I were the first responders at scene.  The severity of the accident moves me to encourage all cyclists to PLEASE wear helmets — even for short trips. The cyclist is in critical condition and sadly, it doesn’t look good for him. 

A man sitting in his parked vehicle opened his door just as the cyclist passed and the cyclist clipped the door sending him head first onto the pavement. Does everyone know that it is the driver’s responsibility to look behind them before opening their door? The driver was incredibly shaken and upset and did not realize, until the traffic officers gently explained to him, that he was the party likely at fault. 

As our community continues to increasingly utilize cycling as a mode of transportation, please be ever aware of cyclists maneuvering throughout the traffic. And cyclists please wear your helmets and follow the rules of the road—all the rules of the road—for your own safety and protection.

Thank you. My apologies go out to the Brentwood Homeowner’s Association board and members for missing the meeting that I was en route to when we came upon the accident. I’ll make every effort to be at the next one….

Thanks to George Wolfberg for the heads-up.

Update 2: I’ve received confirmation that the victim, identified as Julio Martinez, died sometime after he was hospitalized; I haven’t been able to confirm the date. His brother, who worked with Martinez at the Belwood Bakery on Barrington Court, took his body back to their hometown in Mexico. 

This is the 88th bicycling fatality in Southern California in 2013, and the 39th in Los Angeles County. It’s also the 18th in the City of Los Angeles — a 360% increase over 2012.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Julio Martinez and all his family and loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

BOLO Alert — bike stolen in front of HMS Bounty in Koreatown

December 11, 2013 / / One comment
Kapoor Stolen Bike

This is the bike that was stolen.

Sometimes even a U-lock isn’t enough.

The LAPD recently reported that bike theft is one of the few crimes that continues to increase in the face of falling crime rates in Los Angeles — as much as 200% in some areas in recent years.

Something Daveed Kapoor found out the hard way, despite doing everything right to secure his bike.

I’ll let him tell the story.

Monday night at 6:30pm I locked my bike to the LADOT inverted U-rack on Wilshire just west of Kenmore, as indicated in the photo. It was dark but in front of the Gaylord Apts entrance with fair amount of foot traffic, didn’t seem risky at all. I used my Kryptonite Evolution U-lock locked through the frame and rear wheel. This is my everyday city bike that I use to get everywhere all over LA.  For 3 years I’ve been u-locking it on Central LA streets and never had a problem. I weigh 210 pounds, I kept breaking my wheels so a couple years ago I bought Aerospoke wheels, which are super heavy but don’t need to be trued. The wheels are attractive to thieves, so I use Pitlock locking skewers, which take are very theft proof, but can be removed using vice grips or a hammer and a wedge, and a lot of time. But in 3 years biking in LA almost every day I have never had a problem before.

When I came out of the Bounty two hours later at 8:30 pm, all that was left was my sawed-through U-lock in two pieces. Looks like a clean cut, I suspect they used an angle grinder. I’m guessing it was one of these van bike theft units that parks the van in front of the bike, cuts the lock off and quickly throws the bike in the van. But who knows…

Where the bike was stolen; even a busy, well-lit street isn't always enough.

Where the bike was stolen; even a busy, well-lit street isn’t always enough.

He offers a good description of the bike and accessories, which should make it easy to identify if the thief tries to sell it intact or brings it into a bike shop.

  • Bike was black 2010 GT Tachyon 3.0, 24 speed
  • Pitlock Skewers
  • Schwalbe Marathon Tires
  • Black Aerospoke Wheels
  • ISM Adamo Race Saddle
  • Rear Rack w/ Linus ‘Sac’ Saddle Bag – with Black Fiji Sweater + Oakley Clear Industrial M Frame
  • Glasses inside the bag
  • 2 Gotham Industries Defender Bike Lights locked to the handlebar
  • Light & Motion Vis 180 Rear Light
  • Green Giro Hex Helmet was locked thru the U lock, taken as well

Kapoor estimates the total value of the bike and accessories as around $2000, making the crime Grand Theft. And he notes that police were very polite and took the crime seriously when he filed his report, something that doesn’t always happen.

If you see the bike or find it listed for sale, call the LAPD at 877/ASK-LAPD (877/275-5273). Or if you see a bike theft in progress, call 911.

Meanwhile, the LAPD and local cycling organization CICLE offer advise on how to protect your bike from theft.

And homeowner’s and renter’s will usually cover your bike in the event of theft, even when you’re away from home. So check with your agent and make sure you’re covered — and that your deductible is low enough to to make it worth filing a claim if your bike is stolen.

Because as this case shows, you can do everything right and still lose your bike to a determined thief.

 

Category: Stolen Bikes and Bike Crime / Tags: , , ,

Rail-to-River comes to South LA, important meeting in BH, and e-bikes to help the recently homeless

December 10, 2013 / / 4 comments

We finally made it.

As you can see, things look a little different around here.

Which is a clear sign this site finally made the transition to a new server, the first step in transitioning to an advertising supported bike news site.

There are still some bugs to work out, including the fact that links from the old site haven’t followed over to the new one yet, and visitors to the old site aren’t automatically transferred over here.

Meanwhile, the design is just temporary, an attempt to replicate the old look and feel while we work on the cool new site to come.

So bear with me while we work out the bugs, and build a whole new bigger and better BikinginLA.

And thanks to everyone for the kind words of support in recent days.

I’m definitely feeling the love.

………

Big news from LA’s undiscovered country south of the I-10.

County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas has joined with fellow Supervisor Gloria Molina to propose an 8.3 mile rail-to-trail conversion through the heart of South LA.

The proposed Rail-to-River trail would follow Slauson Avenue east from the future Crenshaw/LAX rail station in Inglewood to just north of Washington Blvd near the LA River. Which means that riders will finally have a direct off-road route from the LA River bike path most the way to the beach.

More importantly, bike riders — and potential riders — in one of LA’s most underserved areas will have a safe place to develop their skills and build a healthier lifestyle. And the county will turn an underutilized eyesore into an asset that could help revitalize the area.

What’s not to like?

The first meeting to discuss the trail will take place this Wednesday at the Los Angeles Academy Middle School, 644 E. 56th Street in Los Angeles.

Big thanks to Ridley-Thomas and Molina for bringing this to the table.

………

The Cyclist Down Facebook page reports yet another hit-and-run in Downtown LA.

A Cyclist was injured in a Hit & Run early Sunday morning in DTLA.

The cyclist suffered injuries to his wrist and a broke his nose in two places.

The incident occurred around 1 am near 4th & Hill. Cyclist was knock unconscious and does not remember the incident and was transported to a local hospital.

No further details available at this time.

Hopefully, we can find the jerk who left yet another rider bleeding in the street.

In case you have noticed, I effing hate hit-and-run drivers.

………

The Biking Grey Hole of Beverly Hills — upgraded from Black Hole thanks to some nice bike lanes on Burton Way — will host a meeting tonight to discuss the planned reconstruction of Santa Monica Boulevard through the city, including the possibility of bike lanes to fill the gap between lanes in Century City and West Hollywood.

The meeting will take place in the Municipal Gallery on the second floor of the Beverly Hills City Hall, 455 North Rexford Drive starting at 6 pm. If you ride through the city — or would if you felt safer on the streets — you owe it to yourself to be there.

Or at least voice your opinion on the comment page.

………

I’m not one to simply repost a press release.

In fact, most never make it any further than the trash bin on my email account.

But I’m going to make an exception this one time. Because not only is the piece unusually well-written, but it tells the tale of a young man determined to make a difference.

And we could use a lot more like him.

bikeshareLOS ANGELES, CA, December 9, 2013 – Formerly homeless residents at two Los Angeles supportive housing projects will soon have wheels to get to jobs and job training, school, interviews, medical appointments, sober meetings, and gatherings with loved ones – courtesy of a teenage Eagle Scout candidate and competitive bicyclist.

Diego Binatena of Boy Scout Troop 927 in Westchester learned that the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC), a bicycle advocacy group, was looking for a good home for 20 electric pedal-assist bicycles that were sitting unassembled in a warehouse due to the closure of a bicycle company.

“A bicycle is a terrible thing to waste,” joked Binatena, a Scout since first grade, a bicycle commuter and national-level competitive racing cyclist. More seriously, said the Playa del Rey teenager, he created “Cycle Forward BIKESHARE” as his Eagle Scout Service Project to put the LACBC bicycles to use as transportation for formerly homeless youth and men trying to improve their lives.

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty

Binatena is aware of the effects of poverty and homelessness. His mother, Julie Lansing, is the administrator of a rent-subsidy housing program for low-income families and chronically homeless adults.

“Our dinner table conversations were often about the problems of homelessness and how our family could help with solutions,” said Binatena. “My mother had us participate in food drives, adopt-a-family, and fundraising events. She taught us that everyone who cares about people in need can make a difference in their lives.”

Binatena found his partners and beneficiaries for BIKESHARE at two Los Angeles transitional housing agencies: Jovenes, Inc, in Boyle Heights and PATH La Kretz Villas in East Hollywood. Jovenes focuses on helping at-risk men ages 18-25 years and PATH provides intensive supporting housing for 48 residents.

“Moving around the city is a tremendous challenge for our residents, and this bike sharing program will make a real difference,” said Eric Hubbard, Development Director for Jovenes, Inc.

Be Prepared

Binatena launched his project in September and quickly learned that for his project, the Boy Scout motto “Be Prepared” required hard work, money and friends. After consulting with bicycle advocates, he set a $25,000 budget for the project. Beyond the bikes donated by the LACBC, valued at $1,000 each, he needed bike racks, safety equipment, locks, commuter bags, and safe-cycling program materials.

With a polished Power Point presentation in hand, Binatena got agenda time at the Westchester/Playa and East Hollywood Neighborhood Councils and the Westchester Rotary Club. He left all three meetings with checks in his pocket. He got donations from the South Bay and Los Angeles Wheelmen Bicycle Clubs and the Southern California Gas Co. He successfully solicited bicycle accessories, and safety equipment from KHS Bicycles, Collision & Injury Dynamics, and Planet Bike. He recruited fellow Scouts and friends to assemble the bicycles and racks.

Three months after project launch, Binatena exceeded his goal: He collected $2,700 in donations and $2,300 worth of bicycle equipment.

“I was not prepared for such a positive reaction from everyone,” he said.

Hard work and persistence are not new to Binatena. Bicycle racing requires planning, preparation and focus – plus countless hours on the bike in training to compete at a high level, he said. After winning the 2013 California Junior State Road Championships and other elite races, he was recruited by the USA Cycling National Team to race in Europe against the best in the world.

When Cycle Forward “BIKESHARE” is rolling at PATH and Jovenes, Binatena will present his service project to the Eagle Board of Review to become an Eagle Scout, the highest rank a Boy Scout can achieve.

………

Finally, maybe you missed the uproar over the weekend about the overly-litigious gang that couldn’t shoot straight, as Specialized threatened to sue a small Canadian bike shop that dared to use the name Roubaix, which Specialized claims to own but really doesn’t.

No offense to local bike shops who carry the brand. But it’s going to be a long time before I’ll be willing to buy anything bearing the Specialized S. Evidently, I’m not the only one.

And no, an apology won’t be enough.

Not this time.

Category: Guest Columns, Hit-and-Run, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

Update — bike rider killed in wreck with Sheriff’s patrol car

December 9, 2013 / / 119 comments

Word is just coming in that yet another bike rider has lost his life on Mulholland.

And this time, the police may be fault.

According to KCBS-2, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding in the bike lane on the 22000 block of Mulholland Highway in Calabasas around 1:05 pm yesterday when he was hit by a Sheriff’s Department patrol car. Calabasas Patch reports that both the victim and the patrol car were traveling in the same direction, suggesting the rider was struck from behind.

The sheriff’s deputy behind the wheel was reportedly on routine patrol and not responding to an emergency call; a sheriff’s spokesman said speed was not a factor in the crash.

However, the driver was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor lacerations to his face and eye due to broken class from the impact, suggesting a significant impact. No explanation was given for why the driver apparently entered the bike lane to hit the cyclist; drug or alcohol use was not suspected as a factor.

This is the 82nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 34th in Los Angeles County; that compares with 71 in the seven-county SoCal region and 21 in LA County this time last year. And this was at least the fourth cyclist to lose his life on Mulholland Hwy in the last four years.

My deepest sympathy for the victim and his loved ones.

Thanks to Carlos Morales, Danny Gamboa, sonofabike and John McBrearty for the heads-up.

Update: KABC-7 has just identified the victim as 65-year old Milton Everett Olin Jr. of Woodland Hills; a well-known attorney in the entertainment field. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Anyone with information is urged to call the LASD Malibu/Lost Hills Station at 818/878-1808.

Meanwhile, the Ventura County Star reports that Olin’s bike somehow hit the patrol car, rather than the other way around — despite obvious damage to the car’s windshield. The LA Times confirms the car’s windshield was broken, making it virtually impossible for the rider to have struck the car if they were both traveling in the same direction. 

Update 2: KTLA-5 reports Olin and the patrol car were both traveling east on Mulholland Hwy when the collision occurred.

The Times fills in Olin’s work history, noting that he was Chief Operating Officer at Napster from 2000 to 2002, at a time when the file-sharing service was under fire from the music industry for enabling piracy, and forced to liquidate in bankruptcy court. 

He’d been a practicing attorney since graduating from UCLA Law School in 1975, and worked as vice president of business development for A&M Records — which was chiefly responsible for the lawsuit that led to Napster’s bankruptcy. He also served briefly as the senior vice president for business development for Firstlook.com before joining Napster.

The Star has corrected their story that repeatedly blamed the victim for the collision in a later report, although they’ve left the initial biased story online; thanks to Lois for the tip.

Update 3: Too often, we never learn anything about the victims of bicycling collisions, or the pain their loss leaves behind. But in this case, both the LA Times and KNBC-4 fill in the blanks with nice reports on a man who loved his family and riding his bike.

Although it does not build more confidence in the investigation to know the lead investigator in the case took yesterday off. Or that I’m told the CHP was willing to conduct an independent investigation, but wasn’t asked.

Meanwhile, a reader forwards an email exchange with the editor of the Ventura County Star in which he complained about the bias in the initial report. And received a very nice response promising to look into the matter — which resulted in the updated report correcting the misinformation, as well as changes to the initial story.

Too often, complaints like that get ignored. So let’s give credit to VC Star editor John Moore for doing the right thing.

Update 4: The LA Sheriff’s Department offers an apology, but doesn’t accept responsibility.

Update 5: The Daily News identifies the Sheriff’s Deputy who killed Olin on as a 16-year veteran from the Malibu/Lost Hills station, despite a lack of confirmation from the department. The collision is still under investigation; two weeks later, investigators still haven’t spoken to all the witnesses. 

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

Update: Bike rider killed in Pacoima train collision; eighth SoCal train victim this year

December 9, 2013 / / 11 comments

Eighty-one. And eight.

That’s how many bike riders have lost their lives in what has turned out to be a horrible year for SoCal cyclists. And how many of those riders have died as a result of train collisions.

According to the LA Times, a male bike rider was hit and hilled by a Metrolink train in Pacoima this afternoon. The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding on Van Nuys Blvd when he attempted to cross the railroad tracks just north of San Fernando Road around 3:50 pm.

The paper reports he apparently tried to beat the train, despite the fact that the warning gates had already been lowered. He was struck by the 218 train on its way to Union Station in Downtown LA, and pronounced dead at the scene.

With this death, nearly 10% of the fatalities involving Southern California bike riders have been the result of train collisions — the easiest type of collision to avoid. All you have to do is stay off the tracks when there’s a train coming.

Unlike motor vehicles. trains are restricted to a specific pathway, and can’t vary their route in any way. And they have warning systems to let you know when they’re coming; all you have to do is squeeze on the brakes.

At least three of those eight deaths resulted from riders attempting to beat the train or ride around the warning gates. Which makes me wonder if they were truly attempting to beat the gates, or if at least some might have been fixie riders forced to ride through because they lacked the skill to stop in time.

Unfortunately, we may never know, since none of the reports identify the type of bike the victim was riding.

But it’s a question worth asking as we struggle to understand why so many riders have died in a type of collision that’s so easy to avoid.

This is the 81st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 33rd in LA County. This is also the 14th rider to lose his life in the City of Los Angeles since the first of the year, three time the average for the city.

Update: According to KCBS-2, the victim, identified only as a 30-year old Hispanic man, was riding west on Van Nuys at the time of the collision. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his family.

Update 2: Over two weeks later, there’s still no ID on the victim. He is described as a Hispanic man over 21 years old, about 5’2” and 144 pounds, with brown eyes and a black Mohawk, and a red stud earring in one ear. Anyone with information is urged to call coroner’s investigator Daniel Machian at 323-343-0754 or the coroner investigations division at 323-343-0714.

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

Let’s try this again

December 4, 2013 / / Comments Off on Let’s try this again

Just a quick note to let you know we’re going to try once again to transfer my blog over to a private server, hopefully tonight.

With a little luck — okay, a lot of luck the way things have gone so far — we’ll be back up and running in a day or two, almost as if nothing has changed.

On the other hand, if things go the way I expect, it may take a few days to get it back to where it needs to be. Or maybe even better, as I start to add some of the new pages I’ve been working on.

Which means, unless there’s breaking news, you may not see anything new here the rest of this week. So bundle up and get out on your bike, which beats the hell out of sitting in front of a screen reading about it any day.

In the meantime, I hope to see you here Thursday night.

Category: General /

Bike-riding dancer suffers broken leg in Westside hit-and-run

December 2, 2013 / / 7 comments
A broken leg is a serious injury. Especially for a dancer.

A broken leg is a serious injury. Especially for a dancer.

LA yoga maven and bike rider Joni Yung forwards word of a nearly month old hit-and-run that left a dancer with a broken leg.

This is from the victim’s husbands Facebook page:

As some of you know, on Nov 6th, my wife was involved in an hit and run accident while riding her bicycle. As a result of the accident she has a broken fibula in two places. We are posting this to activate our community of friends to help locate the driver and/or car. Luckily, we have a couple witnesses that were able to get a description of the driver and a partial plate number. The car involved was a Black Mercedes with the partial plate 7AF65. (not sure the placement of digits missing) The driver description: female, early 20’s, around 5’5-5’6, with long wavy brown hair. The accident was at the intersection of Federal and Rochester in West Los Angeles. Feel free to share and please contact the police department at 213-473-0222 case number 130816261 with any information regarding the car or driver. Thank you for your help.

The driver reportedly stopped to check on the victim, then said she had to move the car. And took off.

That’s definitely someone who deserves to be found.

And held accountable for her tiny, cold, hard heart.

………

An innovative new kickstand design promises to support bikes born without them; the project just passed it’s Kickstarter goal with less than three days to go.

………

The LA Times takes a belated look at the controversy over the killer redesign of the Glendale-Hyperion bridge complex, and adds to the story, including news of a possible road diet. Sweet Ride USA reviews their most recent sweet ride. Firestone Walker Brewing plans a bike-friendly Venice beer tasting room; I’m in. SaMo city councilmembers want better bike and wheelchair access to the planned replacement for the new pier bridge. A Long Beach paper asks if bicycling has a future in the city; aka trolling for controversial comments to boost readership. Burbank will hold a meeting on the Channel Bikeway Project on the 11th, while the San Gabriel Valley will hold a series of meetings for their proposed bike plan. Is it just me, or are there too many bike meetings to keep up with these days? Either way, it’s a good problem to have.

Caltrain makes it easier to park your bike and ride the train. Laguna police are looking for a stolen $10,000 mountain bike; seriously, what kind of person would leave any bike, let alone one worth that much, in an unlocked pickup bed overnight? Bakersfield city councilman promises a better bike plan and rides one himself — a bike that is, not a bike plan — while the local paper calls for better bike infrastructure.

A new Bike League infographic looks at women and cycling. A Seattle letter writer says the hilly city will never be a cycling city, despite plans to spend $500,000 on bike infrastructure and programs. A PA driver faces charges for intentionally running down a bike rider following an argument — with his dad sitting next to him. Safety isn’t the only concern many cyclists have to deal with, as women and LGBT riders face harassment on their bikes. Former Auburn Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson will ride to the school’s spring football game as his third annual bike ride for tornado relief.

After London cyclists stage a die-in, the city’s cycling czar says bike safety advocates are spreading fear; actually, six riding deaths in nine days will do that. A BBC poll shows one in five bike commuters has stopped riding as a result. London prosecutors drop charges against a rider who stopped ahead of a bike box because there was a car in it. UK residents call for a crackdown on “lunatic” ninja cyclists. Former cosponsor Oleg Tinkoff buys the Saxo Bank team, and proclaims cycling’s doping era is over; yeah, right. Former TdF champ Jan Ulrich is at peace with his doping past, while the cutback in drug use seems to have produced more grand tour winners. Bangalore bike commuting questions answered. Qatar introduces a women’s cycling team; the question is whether they will be permitted to dress in a way that allows them to be competitive. Eritrea wins the African Cycling Championships for both men and women. Queensland cyclists will get the equivalent of a three-foot passing law, with more space required at higher speeds. Aussie judge loses her license and faces charges after hitting a cyclist while driving drunk. A Brit pro cyclist is punched out in New Zealand because a local didn’t like his T-shirt. Three-hundred Singapore cyclists ride for better safety.

Finally, an Aussie paper jumps on the bike hate bandwagon, offering 14 reasons why they hate cyclists, aka “cockroaches of the road.”

Nice.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

The more things don’t change, the more they remain the same; LA driver confesses to threatening cyclists

December 1, 2013 / / 4 comments
Here's a picture of my dog, who could have done a better job of moving my blog than the people I hired to do it.

Here’s a picture of my dog, who could have done a better job of moving my blog to a private server than the people I hired to do it.

So much for that.

As we left off last week, I promised this blog would be transferred to a private server over the holiday weekend, as the first phase of long-gestating plan to remake it into an advertising-supported website.

Long gestating, indeed. Many species have their babies in a lot less time than this process, which started in August, has taken.

But as you’ll see, either the transfer was done so perfectly that nothing has changed, or nothing has changed.

Smart money is on the latter.

Over the weekend I received an email from the web-hosting service I’d hired to do the transfer that they too lacked the capability to move it to their servers. This, despite sworn assurances from their sales staff that they’d done it many times before, and would have me up and running in a matter of days.

Turns out they hadn’t. And wouldn’t.

But at least I got my money back.

So the transfer is on hold for now. Hopefully, it will get done later this week, by another company that doesn’t have its head so far up it’s own ass knows what it’s doing and is a little more honest about its own abilities.

I’ll let you know more when I do.

………

It’s not everyday someone confesses to assault with a deadly weapon on National Public Radio.

But that’s exactly what self-proclaimed life-long LA driver Jackie Burke did in an otherwise positive piece about LA Bike Trains.

The story focused on the founding of the program by New York transplant Nona Varnado, who has become a leader in the local bicycling scene in the short time she’s been here — though I do miss her incredible design work for women cyclists. Along with the success the program has had in helping beginning bike commuters take to the roads.

Not that everyone welcomes new riders to the roads.

Like the aforementioned Ms. Burke, for instance.

“It’s like they enjoy taking up the lanes,” says Jackie Burke, who has lived in Los Angeles her whole life. She says bicyclists drive her crazy when she’s in a car and has to slow down for them.

“It’s very frustrating, to the point where I just want to run them off the road,” Burke says. “I’ve actually done one of those drive-really-close-to-them kind of things to kind of scare them, to try to intimidate them to get out of my way.”

Let’s start with the fact that neither Burke, nor anyone else, has a right to the roadway, let alone a right to drive unimpeded. And as Niall Huffman points out, bikes aren’t hard to pass — as long as you’re not the kind of sociopath who’s willing to intentionally threaten another human being for the crime of slightly inconveniencing your commute.

Because that’s exactly what Burke has admitted doing.

By her own account, she used her vehicle as a weapon in an attempt to intimidate another person using the roadway in a legal manner. She could, and perhaps should, be charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Except that she would undoubtedly deny her own words, which is currently the only evidence against her.

In order for charges to stick, her victim or an independent witness would have to come forward who could testify that Burke threatened the rider with her car, and could place her — or at least her vehicle — at the scene of the crime.

Because a crime is exactly what it was.

Her words also place her in violation of LA’s groundbreaking cyclist anti-harassment ordinance, which allows a cyclist to file a civil suit against deliberately threatening drivers. But again, that would require Burke’s victim(s) to come forward, and be able to identify her as the attacker.

Not likely, given the challenge of taking down a license number as a rider struggles not to get run off the road. Let alone over.

Which means, despite her very public confession on national radio, she’s likely going to get away with it. Just like all the other otherwise decent people who somehow turn into blood-thirsty, road-raging sociopaths once they get behind the wheel.

Although the DMV should seriously look into permanently pulling her license. Or at least until she can learn to drive without threatening the lives and safety of complete strangers who have the misfortune of sharing the road with her.

Perhaps more frightening, though, is that Alex Schmidt, the reporter on the piece, didn’t even bother to challenge her comments.

Because attitudes and actions like hers are far too common. And far too accepted in our society.

And if that doesn’t scare the crap out of every American, it should.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, Road Rage, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , ,

Happy Thanksgiving. And wish me luck.

November 27, 2013 / / 3 comments

First of all, please forgive my absence the past couple days.

While I try to write something every day — or every weekday anyway —  sometimes other obligations get in the way. Especially when the calendar calls for riding my bike to meetings downtown.

And as much as I enjoy the ride, time spent on my bike or in meetings is time I can’t spend writing.

Then again, there are other things that have been eating into my time lately.

As I’ve hinted at before, there are changes afoot at BikinginLA, as I make the transition bike blog to an advertising-supported bike news site. The first step will — hopefully — take place this weekend when my site is scheduled to move to a private web server.

It’s not going to be the whole new website I’d planned; not yet, at least. But it will allow me to do things I can’t do now, like accept advertising and put up a link for donations while I work on getting a whole new design online.

If everything goes as planned, you won’t notice the difference. Otherwise… well, let’s just hope for the best, shall we?

Although if you have this site bookmarked, you may want to change it from bikinginla.wordpress.com to just bikinginla.com. Both work now, but the latter will be the address going forward.

Finally, I know I’ve said it before.

But in this season of gratitude, let me take a moment to thank you for coming here. Because without you, and all those who take the time to visit here, nothing I have to say would mean anything.

And if you need a little help counting your blessings this year, or remembering what really matters, read this.

Hopefully, I’ll see you back here next week.

Until then, please accept my best wishes for a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving and a very happy Chanukah.

And stay safe out there.

Category: General / Tags: , ,

Bus driver who killed Udo Heinz may have been distracted; and a long list of Monday links

November 24, 2013 / / 8 comments

Official results aren’t expected from federal investigators until the end of the month in the death of Udo Heinz, the popular San Diego cyclist killed by a bus while riding on Camp Pendleton last August.

However, San Diego’s NBC-7 confirms that Heinz and two other riders were hit from behind, as reported here earlier, rather than sideswiped as reported in other press accounts. And reports — or strongly implies — that the bus driver was illegally using a handheld cell phone at the time of the collision.

………

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton questions the courage of CD5 Councilmember Paul Kortez following his recent kowtowing to Westwood homeowners. UCLA unveils a new on-campus bike counter, while less bike-friendly cross-town rival USC reneges on promises for street improvements. Touring LA without a car. Santa Monica could see new green bike lanes on Main Street and Broadway, pending Tuesday’s SaMo city council vote. Cycling in the South Bay isn’t shocked by doping by masters racers. The new bike team at Cal State Long Beach is starting to make waves. The Pomona Valley Bicycle Coalition is hosting a fund raiser at the Dale Bros Brewery on Saturday, December 14th. BikeSGV discovers newly installed protected car parking, uh, bike lanes.

Palm Springs could become more bike friendly. Santa Cruz cyclists get a new off-road dirt bike course. If you’re riding with an illegal blackjack and two outstanding warrants, stop for the damn stop sign, already. A cyclist suffers major injuries when his bike is rear-ended on the Stanford campus; fortunately, a second car only hit his bike. SFist asks if San Francisco is the most bike-friendly city in the country; uh, probably not. Salinas cyclist killed after allegedly running a stop sign; but if the driver had the sun in her eyes, who saw him run it? Napa Valley paper asks if California’s laws are enough to keep bicyclists safe. Improve safety by designing roads for cyclists.

Treehugger says let’s stop calling the deaths of cyclists at the hands of negligent drivers accidents; I couldn’t agree more. Reflective vests don’t have to look like crap. A 78-year old driver kills cyclist participating in El Tour de Tucson bike race, even though the rider “did everything right.” Seattle spends $225,000 for a special bike lane street sweeper. Boulder CO bike advocates question lenient penalties for drivers who kill or injure cyclists; actually, I think bike riders everywhere question that. Chicago driver jerks — with emphasis on the jerk — his vehicle into a cyclist after the rider asks him to stop playing video games while driving. A Tennessee town misinterprets local law to ban children from riding bikes on city streets. Actually, new Boston sharrows – even on steroids — don’t give priority to cyclists or motorists; that’s kind of the point of a shared lane, no? Maryland grand jury gives an aggressive driver a pass for fatally not passing a cyclist. Bipartisan support for bicycling baffles the media. A Florida rider corrects the misconception that salmon cycling is safer.

Bicycling British writer politely responds to the very unfunny, anti-bike troll she has the misfortune of sharing the planet working with. New report says the UK is falling behind on bike safety. London’s Police Commissioner says he’s afraid to ride a bike and that only poor people do, then backs off on his own comments. On the other hand, Bristol’s police chief says he’s one of us, while the city steps up enforcement against both cyclists and motorists. The Independent says cyclists and motorists should be on the same side. Brit author and WWII survivor is run down by a driver blinded by the sun. A Scottish letter writer calls for £500 — $811 — fines for rogue cyclists; I wonder how many rogue drivers face fines anywhere near that? Former pro rider Arnaud Coyot was killed in a French car crash on Sunday. Former world time trial champ Emma Pooley is back in the saddle after taking time off for her PhD. American triathlete is forced to pay blood money to leave Abu Dhabi after colliding with a race volunteer who ran into his path. Kiwi cyclist confesses to being less of a rebel, with more of a cause. Are Australian cities underestimating the potential for bicycling? Aussie cyclist gets five years for fatally pushing a 71-year old woman who got in the way of his bike. A new bike safety campaign wants your help in reporting articles about cyclist/driver incidents; thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. A Tokyo police sergeant is under investigation for trying to stop a rash of bike thefts; yes, you read that right.

Finally, a British Lord claims bike riders want to get run over so they can film it; personally, I’ll pass, thank you. And a London cyclist says he’s okay, but everyone else sucks. Then again, he’s probably never had to defend himself from a family of elk.

Category: General, Injuries and Fatalities, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , ,
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