Archive for Advocacy & Politics

Morning Links: Climate Riders still need help, ending the war on our streets, and more on the Mobility Plan debacle

May 13, 2016 / / 2 comments

We’ve stalled once again at 14 new or renewing members of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition in the first-ever May BikinginLA LACBC Membership Drive.

So take a few moments to add your voice to SoCal’s leading bike advocacy organization. Or if you’re already a member, encourage your family, friends and co-workers who ride, or who simply support bicycling, to sign up today. And get some great LACBC bike swag in the process.

And thanks to everyone who has joined already!

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A couple of Climate Riders for Team LACBC still need a little help with donations to meet their commitment for the ride. Nicole Rostoker and Cesar Garcia only have until the end day today to collect another $500 and $200 respectively. So give them a boost if you can.

Meanwhile, a Climate Ride training ride will be held on Latigo Canyon Road on Saturday; the ride is open to anyone who needs a good workout, regardless of whether you’re participating in the Climate Ride.

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Today’s must read comes from the Wall Street Journal’s bike riding sports columnist Jason Gay, who tells America that bike riders are not your enemy, and calls for an end to the ridiculous battle between cyclists, pedestrians and drivers.

Not to mention making what may be the first known reference to bird-flipping koalas.

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UCLA’s Daily Bruin reports on Wednesday’s meeting of the LA City Council Transportation Committee, which voted to remove Westwood Blvd from the Mobility Plan. Maybe someone should tell Paul Koretz that the solution to a dangerous street isn’t keeping it dangerous.

Meanwhile, LAist’s Matt Tinoco does a good job of explaining the whole convoluted process.

And the LACBC offers their take on the sordid mess as they continue to fight to keep the plan intact, saying the proposed removal demonstrates a lack of engagement with the community, as well as a commitment to build a complete transportation network that works for everyone.

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We’ve got dual Bike Blessings in today’s news.

Katrina Bada forwards a reminder of Tuesday’s 2016 Blessing of the Bicycles at Good Samaritan Hospital, which will honor bike-friendly LA Councilmember Joe Buscaino, as well as featuring special guest Mayor Eric Garcetti.

The future mayor retrieves his bike at the 2005 Blessing of the Bicycles

The future mayor retrieves his bike at the 2005 Blessing of the Bicycles

Dr. Michael Cahn sends word that St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica will host their own Blessing of the Bicycles at 2 pm on Bike to Work Day next Thursday. Although they could have done a better job of promoting it.

In other Bike Week news, Santa Monica Spoke lists SaMo’s Bike to Work Day pit stops, as well as a Bike from Work Handlebar Happy Hour next Thursday.

And the LACBC is hosting their own Bike from Work Handlebar Happy Hour at the Angel City Brewery in DTLA the same day.

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Still more Bike Month news, as the Bay Area celebrated Bike to Work Day a week before LA County.

SFist says San Francisco officials only pretend to care about cycling on the city’s Bike to Work Day.

Napa shows a 25% to 30% increase in bike riders stopping at the city’s energizer stations compared to last year.

Bike to Work Day was probably the wrong day to try to flee the scene after hitting a San Francisco bike rider in front of a group of cyclists and other onlookers, who rushed to grab the driver’s keys and prevent her from leaving. Update: It looks like the wreck was an intentional assault with a deadly weapon. 

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Caught on video: The owner of a Fresno bike shop throws in the towel after a series of smash and grab burglaries, vowing to reopen somewhere else, hopefully a little safer. Thanks to Cristina Rayas for the link.

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Tom Dumoulin extends his lead in the Giro, while Lotto-Soudal rider Tim Wellens wins the sixth stage in a solo breakaway.

South Pasadena prepares to host the second stage of the Amgen Tour of California, while CiclaValley continues his run-up to the race with a look at the riders to watch.

Which can be summed up in two words: Peter Sagan. Thanks to Edward Rubinstein for the link.

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Local

Too little, too late? A deadly stretch of North Figueroa gets a flashing traffic signal. Rather than the fully funded, shovel ready road diet that might actually have saved lives if it hadn’t been stopped by CM Gil Cedillo.

Richard Risemberg says it’s time to say goodbye to Cedillo, as three people announce their candidacy in an attempt to make him a one-term councilmember.

Streetsblog reports a that meeting was held last night to discuss a road diet and bike lanes proposed for Fletcher Drive in Atwater Village; the story says a similar project on nearby Verdugo Road is in the early stages of discussion.

A judge orders a pair of sheriff’s deputies to provide photos of their tattoos to show if they’re members of an LASD gang clique; the officers are being sued in the 2013 fatal shooting of Terry Laffite in South LA.

West Hollywood considers a new list of names for their coming bikeshare system; they also have better streets to ride them on. Personally, I liked the rejected WeHoGo.

The Source explains how to get to the new Expo Line stations, including options for bike share and bike parking; the line officially opens one week from today.

Santa Monica will hold yet another of their bike and pedestrian safety enforcements on Saturday. By now, you know the protocol: Obey the letter of the law until you get outside the SaMo city limits.

Long Beach ranks tenth on Zillow’s list of the ten most bike friendly cities in the US, while another website rates it the eighth most charming city of its size.

 

State

Three Santa Barbara women are being honored for bringing “the joy of bicycling to countless youth” and making cycling safer and more accessible for everyone.

The Fresno Bee looks at next week’s Ride of Silence; last year’s Clovis/Fresno ride was the largest in the state. If you missed it, CiclaValley offers a guest post on next Wednesday’s San Fernando Valley’s Ride of Silence.

A San Francisco public TV and radio station examines the role of data in improving safety for bicyclists.

Berkeley opens a new buffered — not protected, apparently — bike lane where a woman was nearly killed by a stoned driver while riding her bike earlier this year.

The National Park Service suggests reopening a trail that would give bike riders a safer route into Sausalito, while providing expansive views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Davis doctors call for greater bike helmet use, while Treehugger says helmets are the last thing we should be worrying about when it comes to bicycle safety. As we’ve discussed before, I never ride without mine. But helmets should always be considered a defense of last resort when all else fails.

 

National

A new infographic shows the overwhelming benefits of protected bike lanes, including spurring economic growth, improving safety for pedestrians and making driving less stressful. Someone should send this to Paul Koretz. Not that he’s likely to care, of course.

Strong Towns says the economic benefits of bicycling can’t be ignored. Although LA seems to be doing a pretty good job of it; maybe if LADOT did a better job of selling bikeways, local businesses and homeowners would be fighting to get theirs instead of fighting to stop them.

Chicago Magazine offers an insider’s guide to biking in the Windy City.

An X-Games cyclist shares his journey to mental health with Niagara NY area high school students.

A former bike racer walked away from Wall Street to make high-end sport bicycles.

Sad news, as a retired New Jersey cop has died of injuries he suffered on the first day of the Police Unity Tour to honor fallen police officers.

A 17-mile DC ride has already registered close to 6,000 riders with 10 days still to go.

An article in the Washington Post says bicycling is more dangerous than you think, while another site argues that bike commuting is good for you. Actually, your odds of surviving any given ride are over 6.3 million to one; try taking that to Vegas.

A Louisiana driver gets 25 years for the DUI death of a seven-year old girl as she was riding her bike home, although he could be out in as little as three years with time served.

 

International

A proposed revision to Quebec law would require drivers to change lanes to pass a bike rider.

A new police bicycle can read license plates and measure the speeds of passing cars. We need a Kickstarter to buy one for every bike cop on the LAPD. And me, too.

 

Finally…

So if a car exiting a freeway hit a bike rider, why does the headline say the cyclist collided with the car? If you’re going to get run down by a beer truck, try to make sure it’s a decent craft brew and not just hops-flavored water.

And a funeral home billboard drives home the message not to text behind the wheel.

 

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

Morning Links: Mobility Plan suffers setback, Militant Angeleno’s CicLAvia guide, and more Bike Week news

May 12, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Mobility Plan suffers setback, Militant Angeleno’s CicLAvia guide, and more Bike Week news

The May BikinginLA LACBC Membership Drive is slowly climbing, now up to 14 new or renewing members of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition — which means we’ve got just two and a half weeks to reach the goal of 100 new members by the end of May.

Few things are more important that adding your voice to Southern California’s leading bike advocacy organization. Because individually, we can’t accomplish much, but together, we can move mountains. And maybe even councilmembers.

So please, take a few moments to sign up now. Consider it a personal favor for me, you, and countless other bike riders in the LA area.

And a special thank you to everyone who has already signed up already!

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Looks like the fix is in.

And Westwood and Central could be out.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports the LA City Council’s Transportation Committee voted Wednesday to support a pair of anti-bike amendments to the city’s Mobility Plan.

After the Planning Commission voted to keep the city’s Mobility Plan intact earlier this year, rejecting proposals to remove bike lanes proposed for Westwood Blvd and Central Ave, the plan came back to the Transportation Committee yesterday, where Councilmember Paul Koretz pulled a fast one.

Rather than arguing once again for removal of the streets from the plan, he proposed a quartet of alternate streets: Gayley Avenue and Midvale Avenue in Westwood, and Avalon Boulevard and San Pedro Street in South LA.

None of which provide direct routes, while shunting bike riders off commercial corridors and onto back streets — even though studies have repeatedly shown bike lanes are good for local businesses. And even though many riders, especially women, are less likely to ride routes out of public view after dark.

Not to mention that those streets would require extensive signalization and improved crossings, dramatically increasing costs.

Surprisingly, the usually bike friendly Jose Huizar joined Koretz and David Ryu in supporting the proposal, despite near unanimous calls from speakers to keep the plan intact. As a result, Koretz’ proposal will now go before the full council on Friday; if they vote to support it, it will go back to the Planning Commission for reconsideration.

But regardless of what the commission rules, the full council can, and possibly will, override their recommendations with a three-quarters vote.

Which is more likely than not in a city where councilmembers usually vote in lockstep out of a deathly fear of alienating one another. With the result that they rule as virtual kings in their own districts, with virtually no checks or balances on their decisions.

Not to mention an ostensibly bike-friendly mayor who professes to support safer streets, yet doesn’t seem willing to take on individual councilmembers to make it happen. Thus making LA’s weak mayor system that much weaker.

And demonstrating once again that the seven-year public process that went into developing the Mobility Plan means nothing compared to the whims of a councilman.

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It’s here!

The Militant Angeleno has released his long-awaited, personally researched guide to Sunday’s CicLAvia through the cities of Southeast LA County.

His guides are always fascinating, so don’t ride without giving it a read first.

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Still more news leading up to next week’s Bike Week.

Metrolink is offering free rides to anyone with a bicycle during Bike Week.

Santa Monica Spoke is hosting a Bike Week Camp Coffee Wednesday on the jetty at the end of Ballona Creek.

And Pasadena invites bicyclists to stop by city hall on Bike to Work Day next Thursday.

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More sad news, as Canadian pro downhill champ Stevie Smith was killed in an enduro motorcycle crash on Tuesday.

Women’s pro cyclist Lauren De Crescenzo is back in her home state of Colorado as she continues to recover from a devastating head injury suffered in the San Dimas Stage Race; her memory is slowly returning after initially being unable to even recognize her own parents or teammates. A gofundme account has raised over $46,000 to help defray her medical expenses.

And seriously, what’s a little tow between friends?

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Local

Just a tad late. The LA Times finally catches up with BMX pro Nigel Sylvester’s high speed, law defying tour of LA, a month after the video was featured here and on other media sites.

The LACBC talks with the bike-riding Gangsta Gardner of South LA.

Bikeshare has officially opened in the Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills. That chill you feel is Hell freezing over.

Walk or ride your bike to the station when Metro opens the Expo line next week; otherwise it will cost you a whole $2 a day to park at the station.

The Canyon News looks forward to Santa Monica’s first open streets event next month.

The Glendale driver caught on video trying to run a cyclist off road, then lying about it to authorities, has pled not guilty to three misdemeanor counts.

A Santa Clarita mountain biker was airlifted to safety after falling and apparently dislocating his shoulder. Rescuers rescued his bike, as well.

A man who may have been riding a bicycle was shot to death in an alley in Bell Tuesday night; two bikes were found in the alley along with the victim after the shooter fled.

 

State

A Chula Vista bike rider was struck by a big rig truck on an onramp to the 805 Freeway Wednesday morning; the 62-year old victim escaped with a broken leg.

A columnist for the Riverside Press-Enterprise is back to riding after breaking his wrist in a mountain biking race.

A British man has been arrested hiding on bike path on the Central Coast after he allegedly killed his estranged wife and mother-in-law in Clovis, then fled on a stolen bicycle.

A San Jose paper looks at the growth in bicycling and efforts to improve safety and infrastructure in the Bay Area. Although the headline could use some improvement. Cyclists don’t “trump” cars; bicycles simply provide an alternative to driving, which benefits everyone.

Sacramento begins construction on bike lanes on a city street, six years after high school students produced a video demonstrating the need for them.

 

National

Some pastors are extending their parishes to bike lanes and the riders who use them, recognizing that cyclists know the risks of the roads and choose to ride anyway. Nothing like making bicycling seem more dangerous than it really is.

Nearly 500 US retailers are participating in the BikeExchange, an online marketplace for bikes and equipment.

Momentum Magazine makes the business case for public bikeshare systems.

A black teenage girl is suing a white police officer for a brutal assault when she tried to ride off after he stopped her and her brother as they biked through a Tacoma WA parking lot; security camera footage shows the cop repeatedly pushing her up against an SUV and throwing her to the ground before using his Taser on her, while later claiming that she had attacked him.

San Antonio residents get out their torches and pitchforks after sharrows unexpectedly appear on their street, successfully demanding their removal. Seriously people, they’re just sharrows; it’s not like they actually mean anything.

Chicago police allege a group of gangbangers in an SUV made a U-turn to deliberately run down a bike rider, dragging him for blocks in an apparent random attack; yet so far the driver only faces misdemeanor charges.

A writer for the New York Times says combining intense intervals with longer rides could offer the greatest health and fitness rewards.

New York’s mayor overrides objections from a local community board to build protected bike lanes on Queens’ Boulevard of Death. Which shows what can happen in a city where leaders have the political will to support bicycling.

A Virginia woman was killed in a hit-and-run after she and her boyfriend met with a young woman, assaulted her and stole her phone before the pair fled by bicycle.

Louisiana moves forward with a vulnerable user law to increase penalties for drivers who injure or kill bicyclists and pedestrians. How about just keeping them from hitting us in the first place?

 

International

A Canadian writer says he pities long distance hikers and cyclists; but once the pain wears off, the vivid memories remain and he wants to do it all again.

A philosophy professor asks why so few black people ride bikes in Toronto, while the local paper says the city needs the political will to make its bold bike plan happen. Sounds familiar.

A British man ditched his job to ride 35,000 miles through 44 countries, raising $7,700 for charity. Which works out to 22 cents a mile.

The Guardian offers advice on how to ride in a group, while Bike Radar provides good tips on safer city cycling.

Bicycling offers four reasons by Budapest is great for bicycling.

 

Finally…

Now all you thrash rocker fans can own your very own Slayer BMX bike. A British inventor wants to secure your bike with a big bang.

And give your fellow riders a wave. But only if you deem them worthy.

 

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

Guest Post: Team LACBC gears up for incredible Northern California adventure with the 2016 Climate Ride

May 11, 2016 / / 2 comments

Redwoods_cyclists_lrAfter the excitement of next week’s Bike Week, hundreds of cyclists will converge in Northern California to wrap up Bike Month with this year’s Climate Ride. I invited Marc Horwitz, leader of this year’s LACBC contingent, to explain what it is, and why it matters.

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In the coming weeks, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (LACBC) will be sending its TEAM LACBC up north to participate in Climate Ride California 2016. It’s  an epic 5-day, 330-mile charity ride (May 22-26) that goes through the Redwood Forest and down the stunning Northern California Coast.

The event raises awareness and funds for a variety of beneficiary agencies working on the environment. Better yet, the money generated by TEAM LACBC will help make cycling safer and more accessible for everyone in the L.A. region. The ride itself is a veritable roadie’s bucket list! Highlights include Avenue of the Giants, Leggett Hill, Tomales Bay, Point Reyes Station, the Russian River, Mt. Tam and much more. It all ends with a bang, as the peloton crosses the spectacular Golden Gate into S.F. on Day #5.

Team_LACBC_lrParticipating in Climate Ride is an amazing and life-transforming experience. But it’s also a big commitment. Riders must train and get ready for the physical challenge and procure all the necessary equipment, not to mention meet the minimum $2800 fundraising requirement. It’s a big ask, and you can help! Supporting Team LACBC is easy. Go to our team fundraising page and click the orange “support me” button. Alternatively, you can browse our roster and contribute to an individual rider.

This week, we’re featuring team member Lac Vuong. Hailing from East Hollywood, Lac works for Tern Bicycles as well as for LACBC as a bike valet. This young man is an incredible asset on any group ride, frequently acting as sweep and always assisting riders in distress. As with all members of Team LACBC, Lac is riding on behalf of all of us, so why not show him a little love? Any amount of support will be greatly appreciated.

Training_PV Donut_cliffThough the team is locked in for this year, Climate Ride is something you’ll definitely want to put on your radar for 2017. Membership is open to the public and we can accommodate riders of all levels. With a “no rider left behind” policy, we’ll guide you through each step of the process – from initial sign-up right through the event itself.  Don’t let the fundraising aspect deter you. Nearly everyone who commits to raising the money winds up making it happen. It’s an incredible feeling to be riding with the support of your friends and family!

For more information, browse the Team FAQ Page or contact Marc Horwitz at climateride@la-bike.org. Also connect with Team LACBC on Facebook for news and events, including training ride announcements.

Colin_Hyeran_Carrie_Greg_01_lr

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Guest Columns / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Universal bike path on a five-year plan, and Koretz and Cedillo face challengers for LA Council in 2017

May 11, 2016 / / One comment

Good news, as the May BikinginLA LACBC Membership Drive now has resulted in a lucky 13 new or renewing members of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, which means we still have 87 to go to reach the goal of 100 new members by the end of May.

So please, take a few moments to sign up now to lend your support to the leading voice for bicyclists in the LA area. Not to mention you’ll get free bike swag when you sign up, through a special arrangement with the LACBC just for BikinginLA readers.

And my deepest thanks to all those who have signed up already!

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Don’t hold your breath waiting for that new bike path to open along the LA River through Universal Studios.

After I received an email asking about the path, which was promised by Universal in exchange for approval to open the new Harry Potterville, I contacted the LA County Department of Public Works.

And eventually, after the email was passed from person to person until it finally found someone who could answer my query, I got the following response.

A condition of the development agreement between NBC Universal and the County requires NBC Universal to provide funding to the County for the design and construction of a bike path along the Los Angeles River that will connect Lankershim Boulevard/Cahuenga Boulevard to Barham Boulevard.  The bike path requires a bridge crossing and ramps at either end in order to connect to the roadways; this requires coordination with and approval from multiple agencies, such as the Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Los Angeles.

Because the project is complex, construction will probably occur in stages as plan approvals and permits are secured.  The bike path will not be open to the public until all project components are constructed, which could take at least 5 years.

So yes, it’s moving forward.

And no, you won’t be riding it anytime soon.

Then again, considering Universal had long fought any suggestion of a pathway behind the studio lot for fear aspiring writers would sue them after tossing their screenplays over the fence, this is progress.

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It looks like CD5 Councilmember Paul Koretz will get some competition as he runs for his final term on the city council, as a 30-year old lawyer representing homeless veterans has thrown his hat in the ring. No word on whether he’ll offer more support for bicyclists than Koretz, who has dedicated his time in office to stamping out bike lanes on Westwood Blvd.

The same story also mentions that Josef Bray-Ali, a long-time community advocate and owner of the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop, has taken out papers to challenge CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo, who singlehandedly killed shovel-ready plans for a much needed road diet on North Figueroa.

I’ve known Bray-Ali for nearly a decade, and found him to be a tireless advocate for safety for all on our streets, regardless of how you travel, with a deep concern for the entire NELA community.

He also has a detailed knowledge and understanding of city spending that few can match, with an uncanny ability to ferret out where the money really goes, as opposed to where it’s supposed to.

Which is why he’ll have my unqualified support in next year’s city election.

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More big hearts in the news.

The Santa Ana police association and a non-profit community service program pitched in to buy a new adult tricycle for a man with cerebral palsy after his only source of transportation was stolen. The Orange Cycle bike shop provided the new bike at a sizable discount, while also pitching in a new helmet, bell and bike lock.

And a young Birmingham AL boy is so grateful when a cop stops to fix the chain on his bike, he gave the officer a pat on the head.

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Sad news, as 21-year old Dutch cyclist Gijs Verdick died a week after suffering twin heart attacks while competing in an under-23 race in Poland.

Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin takes the pink jersey away from Germany’s Marcel Kittel in the Giro.

The first stage of the Amgen Tour of California will cover 106 miles through East San Diego County, while CiclaValley looks at Stage 2 through the iconic roads of the San Fernando Valley.

Bicycling talks with UC Berkeley law professor Molly Shaffer Van Houweling, who briefly held the women’s hour record last year.

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Local

The LA City Council Transportation Committee meets today to discuss proposed anti-bike amendments to the city’s Mobility Plan. I can’t make it due to prior commitments, so speak loudly on my behalf if you go.

The Eastside’s Ovarian Psychos have become LA’s unapologetic two-wheeled feminist powerhouse.

Santa Monica Spoke invites everyone to discuss women’s biking issues over donuts Tuesday morning.

 

State

The latest podcast from Streetsblog’s Damien Newton talks with the newest member of Calbike’s board of directors.

A Santa Barbara family takes a weekend road trip by bike.

An Olympic road cyclist from San Mateo urges people to join her for the Bay Area’s Bike to Work Day this Thursday. Meanwhile, Cyclelicious asks if we focus too much on bike commuting to promote bicycling at the expense of other trips that can be taken by bicycle. Short answer, yes.

Caltrain and BART are adding more capacity for bikes by the Bay.

A cyclist in Calaveras County thanks the 99% of considerate motorists who pass safely, and reminds the other 1% why they need to.

A Sacramento writer says plans for a bike-friendly new development have turned out to be just the opposite as city budget problems cause cutbacks in promised bikeways.

A Chico letter writer complains about cyclists with their “smug biker gang mentality” who refuse to get out of her damn way no matter how much she honks. Even though the cyclists in question were riding to remember a much loved rider who died following a brief illness, after a 2007 collision left him paralyzed when the group he was riding with swerved to avoid a pedestrian. Big effing heart she’s got there.

 

National

A graphic from NACTO shows just how inefficient private motor vehicles are if you want to move more people without widening streets; a two-way protected bike lane can move nearly five times as many people per hour.

Remarkably, Anchorage AK police don’t keep stats on hit-and-runs, and have no idea how many drivers have fled the scene after hitting bike riders.

A 65-year old Des Moines bike rider has died after being assaulted by two men earlier this month.

An 18-year old Wisconsin bike rider gets just a $187 ticket for crashing into a woman while riding on the sidewalk, even though the victim died later as a result of hitting her head on the pavement. If we expect drivers to be held accountable for their actions behind the wheel, we have to expect bike riders to be, as well.

A New York man pleads not guilty to felony charges for failing to secure the boat he was towing after the trailer broke lose, fatally striking a young woman riding her bike last fall.

Sad news from the Police Unity Tour, as a retired New Jersey cop was critically injured on the ride to honor fallen police officers, and isn’t expected to survive.

Baltimore chefs get on their bikes to support a program that brings meals to patients with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

 

International

Nice piece from the Register’s Dan Whiting on Saturday’s 50-mile Rosarito to Ensenada bike ride, and a bike-riding East LA native who refuses to give up.

An Argentinian man traded his backpack for panniers 10 years ago, and hasn’t looked back since; he’s currently touring Africa after visiting 85 countries.

A pair of teenage salmon cyclists bring a major British highway to a complete halt, but slip away before they can be stopped.

A Manchester UK bike lane has been paved over just seven weeks after it opened, following complaints from bicyclists that it actually made the road more dangerous.

 

Finally…

If you want to go faster on your bike, just hang onto a car, only ride downhill or go through really scary neighborhoods. Bone up on excuses for your next failed drug test.

And when you’re riding Down Under, it’s bad form to punch the cops if they try to stop you for riding without a helmet.

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Don’t miss today’s guest post about Team LACBC and the 2016 edition of the California Climate Ride. 

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

Morning Links: Mobility Plan back to Transpo Comm, and Caltrans hosts bike/ped plan meeting few can attend

May 10, 2016 / / 2 comments

Our first ever May BikinginLA LACBC Membership Drive stalled yesterday at 11 new or renewing members of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, which means we still have 89 to go to reach our goal of 100 new members before the end of this month.

So drop what you’re doing and sign up now, because the LACBC may be Southern California’s leading voice bicycle advocacy organizations, but it’s only as strong as its membership. And they need your support.

Not to mention you’ll get free bike swag when you sign up, with special discounted memberships starting at just $20.

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LA’s Mobility Plan 2035 comes back before the city council’s Transportation Committee on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the city Planning Commission unanimously rejected proposed anti-bike amendments to the plan, including proposals to remove Westwood Blvd and Central Ave from the plan.

Now those amendments will be discussed by the committee, which includes Paul Koretz, who unilaterally stopped implementation of the Westwood bike lanes, and is the author of the amendment to remove them from the plan.

Opponents of the plan are likely to be out in force, so your voice needs to be heard, as well.

If you can’t make it, you can email the committee members at the addresses below.

You can find contact information for the rest of the city council here.

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If you’re not doing anything this afternoon, Caltrans is hosting a public forum to discuss the first California State Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, immediately followed by a stakeholder’s meeting.

Hats off to Caltrans for their brilliant strategy to avoid overcrowding by holding the meeting at a time when most people can’t attend.

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In Bike Month news, Santa Monica will formally proclaim May as National Bike Month at tonight’s council meeting.

Multicultural Communities for Mobility will host an Eastside Mural Ride this Saturday, which should help you get in the mood for Sunday’s CicLAvia.

CICLE hosts the 10th Annual Bike Week Pasadena next week, including a Pasadena Restaurant Tour, Women’s Bike Night and a Bike-In Movie Night.

A Santa Clarita hospital will work with the city to co-sponsor five pit stops for Bike to Work Day on the 19th.

The Orange County Transportation Authority officially kicks off bike month with a morning bike rally this Thursday; OC’s Blessing of the Bicycles will be held on the 16th, followed by the annual Ride of Silence on the 18th.

And evidently, it’s National Protected Bike Lane Week.

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Giro d’Italia riders and fans pause to remember Belgian rider Wouter Weyland five years after he lost his life during the third stage of the 2011 race.

Meanwhile, teams are gearing up for the Amgen Tour of California, which kicks off at San Diego’s Mission Bay on Sunday; CiclaValley provides a preview of the race.

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Local

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton offers a visual look at Sunday’s Los Angeles Bike Festival at Grand Park in DTLA.

The LACBC profiles former pro mountain biker Neil Shirley, editor of Road Bike Action Magazine.

A man rode his bike up to a South El Monte business Monday and fatally shot a 22-year old co-worker; he was wrestled to the ground by his fellow employees and held until sheriff’s deputies arrived.

 

State

Not even motorcyclists are safe in San Diego bike lanes. Not that he should have been riding there to begin with.

San Bernardino opens a bike co-op operated by the Inland Empire Biking Alliance.

That didn’t take long. An automated San Francisco bike counter was vandalized less than a week after it was installed.

A San Francisco cyclist suffered a shattered clavicle in a hit-and-run when a motorcyclist tried, and failed, to pass him on the right while traveling with a group of four other motorcycle riders, none of whom stopped.

SFist offers advice on bike etiquette the City by the Bay. And surprisingly, gets it right for the most part.

 

National

Nevada officials approve the first steps in a planned three-mile bike and pedestrian path on Lake Tahoe’s east shore.

A writer for the LA Times visits Moab UT for a little mountain biking, finding even the beginner trails tougher than advertised.

A Wisconsin town embraces an ex-con, despite a life of crime that began with stealing a bicycle and a candy bar when he was just eleven years old; he spent all but six months of the last five decades either on the run or behind bars.

A Massachusetts professor says it’s time to stop treating bicyclists and pedestrians like second class citizens. Amen.

Around 2,000 bicyclists ride down a deadly upstate NY highway in the Slow Roll Buffalo to call attention to plans to convert the road to a parkway.

A New York news site lists the things they hate about bike riders in the city. Most of which you’ve got to be pretty damn cranky to object to.

Hundreds of police officers are riding from the 9/11 Memorial to DC to honor fallen officers.

A Charleston SC bike lawyer says bicycling is a civil rights issue, and as important as any in its ability to positively change lives and communities. As much as I believe in biking’s ability to bring about positive change, I’d suggest voting rights, fighting poverty and equal rights for all minorities ranks a hell of a lot higher.

 

International

In a case of locking the barn after the horses escape, a judge orders the closure of the elevated Rio bikeway that collapsed last month, killing three people. Meanwhile, a Brazilian soccer player advises anyone thinking about attending the Rio Olympics to just stay home.

Toronto plans to invest $200 million dollars over the next ten years to build over 325 miles of bikeways.

London’s new mayor promises to accelerate the bicycling progress the city has already made.

Britain’s 51-year old Countess of Wessex joins with members of the Royal Military Academy to train for a ride from Edinburg to Buckingham Palace. In case you’re wondering, she’s the wife of Prince Charles’ baby brother. And yes, I had to look that up.

A gay Glasgow bike rider gets a round of applause for shutting down a homophobic street preacher.

The Limerick, Ireland man who rode his bike on a body armored shotgun shooting rampage gets a well-deserved five and a half years.

 

Finally…

As if drivers weren’t happy to do it, now your bike jacket can tell you where to go, too. Seriously, if a road raging driver slams into a car on purpose, it’s not an accident.

And congrats to LA, the unofficial road rage capital of America.

But we already knew that, right?

 

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

Morning Links: Kick off Bike Month — and get bike swag — with the first ever BikinginLA LACBC Membership Drive

May 2, 2016 / / 5 comments

Bike month officially started yesterday with the beginning of the National Bike Challenge.

And to celebrate, I’ve started my own bike challenge.

I’m challenging you — yes, you — to become a member of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition this month. Or if you’re already a member, to renew your membership through this site before the month is over.

Because this marks the beginning of the first ever BikinginLA LACBC membership drive, with a goal of 100 new or renewing members during the month of May.

That’s just over three people a day.

In other words, you and two others.

Or looking at it another way, less than 1% of the people who will visit this site this month. Okay, a lot less.

Get your friends to join. Your co-workers. Your sister. Your brother-in-law. Anyone who rides a bike in LA County, whether you’re a bike commuter, a committed roadie, an offroad rider or someone who cruises along the beach every now and then.

You don’t even have to own a bike, or live here in LA. Just support a better, more livable and bikeable community for all us.

Simply put, the LACBC is the leading voice for bike riders in the City and County of Angels, advocating for safety, equity and justice for cyclists in the halls of government, with elected leaders and before boards like Metro and the Southern California Association of Governments.

As well as with cities and universities throughout the county through the LACBC’s local chapters and Neighborhood Bike Ambassador program, giving you a far more powerful voice in your own community.

Of course, it’s not all about fighting the good fight.

The LACBC is also about doing the right thing. Like handing out over 2,000 free bike lights through their Operation Firefly. Creating a free pocket guide to the rights and responsibilities of cyclists. Doing the job the city should do by conducting bi-annual bike counts. And working tirelessly to pass and defend LA’s new bike-friendly Mobility Plan.

It’s also about having fun, with monthly Sunday Funday rides. The annual Open House and Firefly Ball. As well as various other activities throughout the year, including the upcoming, hugely popular LA River Ride.

Not to mention discounts at bike shops, restaurants and retailers throughout the LA area.

Better yet, sign up as part of this membership drive, and you’ll get cool bike swag through an exclusive arrangement with the LACBC, with memberships starting at an ultra-low $20.

So what are you waiting for?

Show your support for the LACBC — and BikinginLA — and sign up today.

Full disclosure: After six and a half years as an LACBC board member, I’ll be leaving the board after the June meeting due to my ongoing health issues; I’m simply not able to devote the time and effort I feel the position deserves. However, I continue to support the LACBC, and will remain a member for as long as I’m able to ride a bike in this city, and maybe longer; in fact, I just renewed my own membership.

This membership drive will be my last official act as a board member before I step down. So please, let’s make it a successful one.

………

Speaking of the LACBC, they’re in the market for a senior programs director and an organizer, both full-time, as well as a policy and outreach intern.

They’ve also opened up the search for new members of the Board of Directors.

And no, not just to replace me.

………

LA gets its first permanent ghost bike memorial to honor Australian tourist James Rapley, who was killed by a stoned driver while riding in the uphill bike lane on Temescal Canyon.

ghost bike

………

The Daily Breeze offers an update on the condition of Palos Verdes muralist Steve Shriver, who was critically injured when he was hit by two cars while riding on PCH in Malibu as he was heading home as part of a club century ride.

The paper reports he’s out of the ICU, but no word yet on whether he will suffer lasting injuries.

So far, a fund to help cover his medical expenses has raise nearly $82,000 out of a requested $250,000.

………

Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson is always funny. But some days, he also offers important information for anyone who rides a bike.

Today is one of those days, as he tells you how to file a police report about a threatening driver.

And why you have to.

………

South Pasadena is gearing up to host the second stage of the Amgen Tour of California on the 17th; Cycling Weekly offers a stage-by-stage breakdown of the race.

Pro cyclist Simon Yates escapes punishment, at least for now, as British Cycling says the banned substance he was busted for was an inhaler for his documented asthma problems. And yes, many elite cyclists really do have exercise-induced asthma.

Pro cycling’s governing body is using a specialized scanner they say is highly effective in examining bikes for hidden motors. On the other hand, if they haven’t uncovered any motor doping after examining over 500 bicycles, is it because no one is cheating or because the scanner’s not as effective as they think?

Cyclists rally around four-time national champion Mark Scott at this past weekend’s Dana Point Gran Prix, organizing a bone marrow drive for Scott, who needs a transplant to live.

And once again, a race moto caused a major cycling crash, as nearly the entire peloton competing in New York’s Red Hook Classic piled into the lead motorcycle after it stalled on the course just seconds after the start of the race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4D9e3QLI_Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86CnGpd-4xM

………

Local

Work will finally begin on removing the flood control barriers blocking the LA River bike path, although there’s no timetable for completion.

The head of the LA County Health Agency reacts to being called a faggot while riding his bike. Although it’s unlikely the jerk called him that because he somehow intuited that he was gay; for a subset of indignorant drivers, that’s the term for anyone who rides a bike. Because “real men” drive cars, of course.

Richard Risemberg got cut off by an SUV driver who was clearly in the wrong, but chose not to respond in kind after the driver took it out on him anyway. As he says, it’s an old story, and one we’ve all seen too many times.

Santa Monica will host its first ciclovía on June 5th, with a two-mile route along Ocean, Colorado and Main through downtown SaMo.

Glendora will host a family bike safety rally next Saturday.

Unmapped utility lines and other objects are causing unexpected delays in remaking Carson’s eponymous main street into a Complete Street, adversely affecting businesses along the route.

 

State

A bill in the state legislature, AB 516, would require temporary plates on all new vehicles. The lack of temporary plates makes it nearly impossible to identify hit-and-run drivers, which is one reason they’re required in many other states.

A Hesperia cyclist suffered major injuries when he was rear-ended by the driver of an SUV.

Santa Barbara appears ready to choose parking over bike lanes, shunting riders off to a side street and away from the businesses that could use their patronage.

A San Jose columnist explains what sharrows are all about, and actually gets it right.

A 29-year old Texas man was fatally shot while riding in a bike lane in Oakland; no motive has been established, but police don’t believe it was robbery.

Sacramento police bust a bike thief and recover 60 stolen bikes.

 

National

A pair of British Bobbies biking down the full length of the left coast make a stop in Oregon.

Denver installs a bollard-protected gutter, unwittingly turning the painted bike lane to its left into a loading zone.

A team at the University of Colorado is crowdfunding a bicycle designed for people who weigh up to 450 pounds; the leader of the team lost 160 pounds himself.

Thirty thousand bike riders turn out for New York’s annual Five Boro Bike Tour.

Black Girls Do Bike is expanding with chapters around the US after starting with a Pittsburgh woman’s Facebook group.

Amtrak adds carry-on bike service on the Vermonter from DC through New England.

A New Orleans man is found guilty of manslaughter for fatally shooting the man who was stealing his bicycle; his ex-girlfriend testified that he beat her with a shotgun while she was pregnant.

 

International

A cyclist raced a transit user and a driver to downtown Calgary during the morning commute. And as usual, the bike rider won — even though he was just 11 years old.

Call it Lili’s Secret, as a woman in the UK makes padded women’s cycling underwear that looks more like lingerie.

Caught on video: Usually police look for hit-and-run drivers; a London cop was one as he drove off after hitting a Critical Mass cyclist and destroying his bike.

Paris continues to restrict the use of motor vehicles in order to fight toxic smog levels.

A Swiss canton will install fences to protect bike riders and hikers from killer cows. Yes, cows. Now try not to have nightmares about that one.

Even members of India’s Parliament face speeding drivers, harassment from police and risk having their tires punctured when they ride to work.

An Australian bike rider is threatened with a fine for a law that doesn’t even take effect until next year; meanwhile an Aussie cyclist makes a very tongue-in-cheek call for licensing kangaroos, insisting the animals act like they own the road.

A track cyclist and bike commuter says she’s had it with riding Down Under after she’s punched by a pedestrian, who said he wouldn’t respect her until she got a license and paid road tax.

A Kiwi driver deliberately runs down a cyclist to recover the mountain bike the other man had stolen from him.

Five hundred people applied to take part in last year’s Tibet Challenge, a 10-day ride through the snow-covered peaks of China and Tibet; just 31 were selected. And only nine finished.

A two-year old girl is dead after a speeding driver plows into two separate bicycles in a Bangkok serial hit-and-run; the owner of the car is under arrest on drug charges after turning himself in several hours later, but claims he wasn’t behind the wheel. Don’t watch the video on that link. Trust me.

A Hong Kong man is riding nearly 12,000 miles to Norway on a homemade bamboo bike.

 

Finally…

Get hit by a car while riding your bike, and have a miracle post-menopause baby — and wake up speaking French with a South African accent. Probably not the best idea to steal a bike in front of a martial arts class.

And not even horses are safe in bike lanes.

 

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

Morning Links: Bike the Vote LA offers their endorsements, and CicLAvia wants to give you a bandana

April 27, 2016 / / One comment

If you haven’t heard, there’s an election coming.

Bike the Vote LA unveiled their endorsements for the upcoming June primary, when you’ll have a chance to vote against the presidential candidate(s) of your choice and have it actually mean something for a change.

And as long as you’re in the voting booth, you can Bike the Vote by casting a ballot for these bike-friendly candidates for state Senate and Assembly from the LA area.

bikethevote2016-ca_primary

A couple names on that list jump out at me.

A long-time cyclist, Steven Bradford was the father of the state’s three-foot passing law when he was in the state Assembly, and has long worked to make our streets safer for everyone. Which is why he had my endorsement the minute he announced his candidacy for state Senate.

Former Glendale Mayor Laura Friedman has been one of the most consistent voices for safer bicycling in any city government, and would make the ideal replacement for outgoing Assemblyman Mike Gatto — who will also have my support for any office he runs for in the future.

And Richard Bloom, my own state Senator now that I live in Hollywood, is up for a well-deserved third and final term.

I can’t say I’m familiar with the others on the list.

But knowing the people who make up the Bike the Vote LA team, I trust their judgment. They’re one of the few organizations whose recommendation could get me to mark my ballot.

………

Next month’s Southeast Cities CicLAvia just got a little more interesting.

Pick up a stamp card and get it stamped at all five hubs, and you’ll get a free bandana to mark the occasion. As well as the satisfaction of riding all 10 miles.

Let’s hope they have a lot of them.

I need to get one for the Corgi, who, like most redheads, looks good in black.

………

Surprisingly, the 19-year old Belgian motor doper gets just a six year suspension and a $20,000 fine; most observers predicted she’d get a lifetime ban for cheating. As usual, though, it’s unlikely she was the only one cheating; just the only one who got caught.

A year after a key report on reforming bike racing’s governing body was submitted, not enough has been done to make it an “independent, self-governing and more economically-sustainable premier league sport.”

British Cycling suspends the technical director who told a track cyclist to go have babies instead of competing for the Rio Olympics.

The Amgen Tour of California will continue to be the Amgen Tour of California, as the race’s title sponsor renews its sponsorship, along with co-sponsors Coke and United Healthcare. Good thing, since it’s now America’s only UCI Men’s WorldTour race.

………

Local

Streetsblog looks at how Mayor Garcetti’s ambitious sustainability plan has done after the first year. They’ll have to step up bikeway installation in a big way to meet the goal of 35% active transportation and transit by 2025.

A new LA startup wants to put your bike bag between your legs; the company has surpassed their $10,000 Kickstarter goal by over $6,000 with four days to go.

Aussie singer Cody Simpson is one of us, riding his bike barefoot along the sidewalks of Abbott Kinney in front of the new Shinola store.

CiclaValley edges his way around Strawberry Peak, wearing a Raspberry Beret. Okay, maybe not the last part; I may have been hearing too much Prince lately.

 

State

Calbike says the state Assembly Transportation Committee let us down by choosing bigger, faster, wider roads and highways over the needs of underserved Californians who have no choice but to ride the bus, walk and bike. Except making those roads bigger and wider seldom makes them any faster. Or safer.

Once again, a killer drunk driver gets off with a slap on the wrist, as a Bakersfield man gets one year in jail, with six years suspended, for the drunken hit-and-run death of a bike rider in 2014. People will continue to die on our streets as long as judges refuse to take traffic crime seriously.

San Francisco’s People Behaving Badly looks at badly behaving people in the bike lane who don’t belong there.

Napa Valley bike riders complain about dangerous road conditions around the tracks for the Napa Valley Wine Train.

 

National

The bikeshare director for NACTO says we’ll know we’re getting bike equity right when bikeshare systems, and bikeways, adequately serve low income neighborhoods and create jobs. See state Assembly fail above.

HuffPo says making cities less dangerous and more livable for women makes them better for everyone. That includes making our streets safe and welcoming for women riding their bikes alone, day or night.

As usual, LA expat Bikeyface nails it, saying it’s not about bicycling, it’s about creating neighborhoods where people will stop bicycling and stay awhile.

Jeffrey Tanenhaus — the guy who rode a New York Citi Bike across the US — explains why riding one was the best way to see the US.

City Lab is the latest to question Phoenix’s “incredibly gruesome” anti-bike bike safety graphic novels.

Colorado authorities confirm that human remains found earlier this year belonged to Mountain Biking Hall of Fame member Mike Rust, who disappeared without a trace in 2009.

A year later, police identify two suspect vehicles, but still no suspect, in a series of random roadway shootings that began with the murder of a cyclist near my hometown.

Where to ride your bike the next time you’re in Brooklyn.

A Charleston SC columnist investigates complaints that a trial bike and pedestrian path over a key bridge is creating massive traffic tie-ups, and finds not a single congestion in sight.

The US Department of Justice says Tampa Bay’s policy of ticketing black bike riders to reduce crime and improve safety only succeeded in unduly burdening black bicyclists; eight out of every ten bicycling tickets went to black riders. But despite the findings, the city insists it wasn’t discriminating. Of course not.

 

International

Momentum Magazine asks if banning biking under the influence is really the right answer. Both are dangerous, but I’d much rather see a drunk on a bicycle than behind the wheel.

A writer for the Guardian says don’t assume people with disabilities aren’t interested in riding their bikes, and won’t benefit from quick, safe bicycle routes.

Dublin plans to swap its door lane bike lanes for parking protected lanes.

Paris will now ban motor vehicles from the famed Champs-Élysées the first Sunday of every month. Maybe we can see their bet and shut down Hollywood Blvd once a month, as well.

Amsterdam will select the world’s first bike mayor in June, but plans to export the position to cities around the world. If they get around to LA, I’m available. Just saying.

This laser-welded aluminum Dutch bike doesn’t look a thing like a Dutch bike.

A Swiss laboratory uses a full-body model to study why your head gets hot when you wear a bike helmet; they estimate better ventilation could encourage more helmet use, potentially reducing over 1000 avoidable head injuries per year.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to wear a hoody to ride your bike on a chilly night, you might want to throw some pants on, too. If you’re going to get loaded and ride your bike, try not to crash into a loaded school bus.

And we all love our bikes. But gutting your stepson with a knife for messing with your bicycle is going a tad too far.

 

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

Morning Links: Anti-bike bile from a Tucson radio host, a bike-riding Prince in LA, and still more big bike hearts

April 26, 2016 / / 5 comments

The great thing about our society is that even people who don’t have a clue can get their own radio talk show.

Take this bike-hating Tucson “news personality.”

Please.

I do not like bikers. I’m not talking about real bikers, like Harley riders. I’m talking about bicyclists, the privileged weekend riders of Southern Arizona… the real 1%-ers of Pima County.

That’s how KQTH’s James T. Harris starts out a typically uninformed rant on the station’s website.

Never mind that many of those 1% ride a bike because it’s their only form of transportation. And that compared to cars, bikes receive an infinitesimal amount of funding and an even smaller amount of real estate.

So who’s the real privileged ones?

It takes a special kind of asshat arrogance to be a rider in Tucson. I almost killed a few on Hwy 83 a few weeks ago.

Note that he says that without the slightest touch of irony.

Bikers don’t care. Bikers own the road. Deal with it (it’s called enabling…)!

Maybe he’s right. Maybe Tucson is the one place in North America where bike riders outnumber motor vehicles, and those poor unfortunate drivers are rudely shunned off the road by arrogant, entitled cyclists.

It could happen, right?

So what’s got our friendly news personality’s panties in such a twist?

Pavement.

To wit, smooth new pavement where a bike path crosses a street, while the poor unfortunate drivers must content with crappy asphalt.

Look at this “intersection” at Overton between La Cholla and La Canada. Look at how smooth that path is where bikes cross to ensure a smooth ride…
No potholes. No buckles, chips or peeling asphalt. Just smooooooth.

Note to the unintelligent, unimaginative and uncomprehending: Any new pavement is going to be smooth.

Granted, they could make the crossing rough and potholed when they pour it, if that makes him feel better. But it will get that way soon enough in the Arizona heat.

But what’s really driving — and I use the term advisedly — his online apoplexy?

The reason why I have disdain for cyclists in this town is not because they are engaged in a healthy activity. It’s because they are being catered to on the taxpayers’ dime!

Naturally.

Because as we all know, people who ride bicycles don’t pay taxes. There’s actually a box you can check on your 1040 Form that indicates you ride a bike, and therefore get back every penny of your withholding.

And when we make a purchase, all we have to do is whisper “bicycle” to the clerk, and the sales tax magically disappears.

No, really.

Then there’s the undisputed fact that no one who owns a car would ever dream of getting out on two wheels. So bike riders never pay the same registration fees and gas taxes that everyone else does.

Rants like this seem like just so much hot air and clickbait.

Except they can do real damage when equally uninformed people nod their heads in agreement, and take out their anger on the very people trying to make the streets safer and more welcoming for everyone.

Or worse, on those who have the misfortune of sharing the roads with them.

As Arizona resident Brendan Lyons, who tipped me to Harris’ bike-hating bile, put it —

This is the stark reality so many law-abiding, vulnerable road-users (cyclists) face on a daily basis. He fails to recognize the tragic consequences of the distracted motorist. He fails to comprehend the families who are left-behind, forced to pick up the pieces. He fails to recognize that beyond the lycra-clad cyclist briefly impeding his commute- is the law enforcement deputy who serves & protects, the firefighter who responds to his emergency, the soldier defending his country, the teacher educating his child, the scientist fighting to cure cancer, or simply his neighbor (a father, mother, son, or daughter) who want to get home safely to their family.

Maybe someone could explain to Harris who the real privileged ones are, on the roads of Arizona, California or Kalamazoo.

But I doubt he’d get it. Or even listen, for that matter.

Nothing affect hearing like a closed mind.

………

A nice memory of Prince, as he rode his bike from an LA rehearsal to a grade school to invite a seven-year old girl to perform onstage with him after discovering she was learning one of his songs.

………

Evidently, there’s a lot of big hearts out there.

Like the Virginia TV station that teamed with a local bank to replace a boy’s bike after he was tricked out of his by older boys.

And the Michigan bike shop that unwittingly bought a hot $2,500 custom bike, then gave it back to the retired Marine it was stolen from, eating their $800 loss.

………

Somehow, bike racing keeps making the news, even this early in the season.

A crash by the great Dutch rider Marianne Vos is caught on video as she hit the barrier while sprinting towards the finish like at the Dwars door Westhoek; fortunately, she wasn’t seriously hurt in what was just her fifth race back after missing all of last season with a hamstring injury.

Former world time trial champ Michael Rogers wisely retires from racing after doctors detect a heart arrhythmia, combined with a previously discovered congenital aortic valve malformation.

American pro Andrew Talansky says a rule preventing top riders from participating in lower level races is hurting cycling in the US, since fans now only get to see the WorldTour riders compete in the Amgen Tour of California.

Peter Sagan can do anything on a bike. Except finish his first mountain bike race in seven years in Austria.

And former Giro winner Danilo Di Luca says he had to dope to finish first, but he has no regrets despite receiving a lifetime ban. Nice to see everyone continues to follow Lance’s lead and blame the sport instead of taking responsibility themselves.

………

Local

Bike the Vote LA invites you to attend the debate between candidates for L.A. County Supervisor District 5 tomorrow night at the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena.

The first ever Los Angeles Bicycle Festival scheduled for May 8th has exceeded its fundraising goal; as funding increases, organizers can donate more free tickets to people who might not otherwise be able to attend.

CiclaValley offers a nice photo-recap of last weekend’s all-too-brief Burbank open streets event.

Work on widening Agoura Road in Conejo Valley, including adding bike lanes, is nearing completion and should be completely finished by August.

 

State

The bicycle industry has raised $60,000 to help promote Calbike’s proposal to offer a rebate up to $1,000 on the purchase of a “utilitarian” transportation bike. Of course, if would be nice if they’d show the same support for bicycling issues that don’t benefit them directly.

A Turlock letter writer says backpack bans in retail stores discriminate against bike riders, who have to carry their belongings with them.

Sad news from Sacramento, as a woman riding her bike has lost her life in a hit-and-run.

 

National

A new study from the University of Duh says roof racks may be a great way to transport your bike, but it’s bad for gas mileage.

Elly Blue says placing bike racks outside local businesses is one of the most revolutionary, yet simplest, ways to advance the bike movement.

Next City says as cities invest more in making way for people on bicycles, investing in bike equity must be more than just talk. The LACBC was one of the first organizations to start that conversation on both a local and national level, and continues to lead the way.

USA Today notes where to bike by bikeshare when visiting cities around the US. Except in Southern California, of course.

An Iowa lawyer tries to exclude a TV interview in which his client admitted to driving drunk when he allegedly killed a cyclist, because he didn’t have a lawyer present. Even though Miranda rights only apply to law enforcement, not the news media.

The 18-year old man who shot two people outside a Wisconsin prom over the weekend arrived there by bicycle, armed with a rifle.

Once again, the anti-bike bias of the NYPD rears its ugly head, blaming a fallen cyclist for riding the wrong way, even though a witness riding behind her says she was riding with traffic.

 

International

Strava wants you to log your commuting miles on their Global Bike to Work Day on May 10th, the week before LA’s Bike to Work Day on the 19th.

Rio’s mayor says the bikeway that collapsed and killed three people will be rebuilt in time for the Olympics. Hopefully they’ll build it as if lives depend on it this time. Because they do.

When a London lawyer insists bike lanes will increase pollution by increasing auto congestion, a local councilor correctly notes that cars cause pollution, and asks why she’s not campaigning for restrictions on motorists instead.

Thousands of Budapest cyclists ride to call attention to bicycling and point out the lack of bicycling facilities in the city.

Police in Sydney, Australia crack down on bike riders on the city’s most dangerous street for cyclists. But drivers, not so much.

Shanghai cyclist are ticketed for riding in the roadway instead of a bike lane where they have to dodge pedestrians.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to haul a trailer on your bike to commit a burglary, remember to take them with you when you run away. If you’re riding salmon with drug paraphernalia, pills and three jars of dope in you backpack, just get on the damn sidewalk when the cops tell you to.

And a new bike cam turns on automatically when your heart rate spikes.

Of course, by then it’s probably too late to catch the Arizona news personality that caused it.

 

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

Morning Links: Sierra Club endorses in Tuesday CC election, and results from Redlands Bicycle Classic

April 8, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Sierra Club endorses in Tuesday CC election, and results from Redlands Bicycle Classic

Just a quick update today after a far too busy yesterday.

Not to mention I’m in mourning after my DU Pioneers lost in the semifinals of the Frozen Four.

………

The Sierra Club endorses Daniel Lee, Councilwoman Meghan Sahli-Wells, and Thomas Small in Tuesday’s Culver City election.

Which corresponds perfectly with Bike the Vote LA’s ranking of the candidates.

………

Defending women’s champ Mara Abbott won Thursday’s stage of the Redlands Bicycle Classic despite suffering a possible broken clavicle in a fall; unknown 22-year old Colorado rider Sepp Kuss won the men’s stage.

………

Local

The Times says building a bike lane will finally get easier when the state gets around to writing to CEQA rules to correspond with a change in the law eliminating the requirement for an environmental review for one.

A Manhattan Beach man is riding across the country to raise $10,000 for the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.

This year’s edition of Finish the Ride rolls through Griffith Park this Sunday. And yes, there’s free beer for every adult rider.

Also Sunday, you’re invited to ride through Northeast LA with the LAPD’s senior lead officers for the area. This would be a great time to bring up the need for better bike and pedestrian infrastructure in the area, especially on North Figueroa.

 

State

A state appeals court rules that a convicted drunk driver can withdraw his guilty plea for killing a seven-year old Fresno boy as he rode in a crosswalk with his family. Apparently, he wasn’t satisfied with his well-deserved 12-year prison term.

Fat bikes are gaining popularity among Sonoma County cyclists.

 

National

April is Distracted Driver Awareness Month. Something few bike riders actually need a month to be aware of.

Momentum Magazine looks at nine examples where bike infrastructure had a positive impact on cities and their local economies.

A new study says sleep deprived teenagers take more chances, such as riding a bike without a helmet.

Plans for a Portland bike trail are in jeopardy because of fears it will harm wildlife, while a Portland paper looks at attempts to open wilderness trails to mountain bikes.

A Oregon bicyclist is looking for the stranger who saved him when he became disoriented after a fall.

A Seattle cyclist proposes building a protected bike lane on a busy Interstate highway through the downtown area.

A Pee-Wee Herman-ish Flagstaff AZ bike rider says it’s time to take over the city council to make the city bike friendly.

A Wisconsin teenager apologizes from behind bars to the family of the cyclist she killed while driving a car in 2012, when she was just 13 years old.

A six year old Georgia boy was accidently shot by a friend as he rode his bike.

 

International

Business Insider talks to British world champ Lizzie Armistead, who has been torching the women’s cycling circuit this year. But despite the headline, as amazing as she is, she is not the world’s fastest pro cyclist.

The Guardian asks why so few British frame makers are women. A better question is why are there so few women bike builders anywhere.

A writer for Bike Biz says the shortfall in bicycling infrastructure is hitting women the hardest.

Cycling Weekly asks if Rapha is one of the UK’s biggest cycling success stories, or just a triumph of branding.

Nothing like getting doored by a London cop.

At least that’s perseverance. After a Brit bike rider is escorted off a freeway leading to Heathrow Airport by police, he gets back on the freeway and does it again.

If you’re not doing anything this June, how about a three-day bike race through the Kalahari desert?

A teenage bike rider hopefully learned the error of his ways when he groped a Kiwi kickboxer.

 

Finally…

At least no LA bike path has ever been closed on account of Wapati. Maybe Boaty McBoatface isn’t the best name after all.

And a proposed amendment to a bill repealing Nebraska’s requirement for cyclists to use sidepaths when available would require cyclists to use sidepaths when available; thanks to Mark Elliot for the heads-up.

Just politics as usual.

 

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

Morning Links: Former CM Rosendahl passes away, Calbike endorsements, and holding hands to stop texting

March 31, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Former CM Rosendahl passes away, Calbike endorsements, and holding hands to stop texting

Sad news on Wednesday, as former Westside city Councilmember Bill Rosendahl lost his long battle with cancer.

Streetblog’s Damien Newton considers how his friend changed the conversation regarding bikes and transportation in the City of Angeles, while current Councilmember Mike Bonin remembers his mentor.

I won’t bore you again with my own thoughts; I offered them last month upon learning that Rosendahl was nearing the end.

But I will say that LA is a better city today than it was just a few short years ago, and he had a lot to do with that.

And we are a much poorer city today without him.

………

Somehow I missed Calbike’s endorsements of candidates for the state legislature in the upcoming June primary, including several in the LA, OC and San Diego areas.

………

Maybe they get it, after all.

Specialized has killed their Playboy-branded ebike a week after a Playboy-themed promotion at the Berlin bike show blew up in their faces, saying “it does not align with our brand values.”

Specialized had already apologised for the PR stunt, with chief marketing officer Slate Olson saying the brand “stands strong with female riders and we do not support the objectification of women in any way, in any region.”

………

A New Zealand PSA shows how to stop a texting driver, and maybe get a little closer at the same time. Although it would be a kind of awkward from the seat of your bike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM75ulDRkhI

………

Not only has gambler and Instagram idiot star Dan Bilzerian begun his ride to Las Vegas to win a $1.2 million bet, at last report, he was just 25 miles from the finish line.

Then again, give me two chefs, a masseuse, doctor, bike mechanic and a police escort, and I’ll do it for half of that.

………

Local

The LADOT Bike Program officially unveils its shiny new website.

More on the planned opening of the new Modern Times microbrewery in DTLA’s South Park neighborhood; the founder of the San Diego craft brew maker says he was drawn, in part, by Downtown’s expanding bike lane network.

Construction is nearing completion on a several major projects in downtown Santa Monica, including a number of bicycling improvements.

Whittier police warn bike thieves to beware of their sting. It would be nice to see LAPD fight bike theft with a bait bike or two of their own.

 

State

Remarkably, some Encinitas residents fear turning a dirt trail that runs along a railroad track through Cardiff into a paved bike path, which will eventually run 44 miles from Oceanside to downtown San Diego, will somehow ruin the character of the city.

CiclaValley says Legoland could use a little Copenhagenization.

I want to be like him when I grow up. Congratulations to 91-year old Santa Maria resident Bob Mettauer, who reached his goal of riding 90,000 miles before his 92nd birthday.

A San Jose writer offers advice on how to ride a bike with your dog.

Caught on video: The Bay Area’s public TV station looks at Oakland’s Scraper Bike Team.

Nice piece by a Bay Area bike writer, who says sometimes bikes slow down cars — and sometimes cars slow down cars — and that’s okay.

San Francisco’s Bicycle Advisory Committee works for better bicycling by the bay. LA has one, as well; although it usually gets ignored by city officials, and most councilmembers seldom, if ever, meet with their representatives on the committee. And the city won’t even give them an actual website.

 

National

Gizmodo says building highways through cities was a huge, but fixable, mistake.

Portland restripes a bike lane, just one day after the Department of DIY struck by placing orange cones to mark the fading lines.

A Portland woman gets her bike back five years after it was stolen, thanks to registering it with Bike Index. You have registered yours, right? They offer free lifetime registration right at the top of this page, so don’t wait until it’s too late.

Now that’s more like it. A proposal in the Illinois legislature would require drivers on a highway to yield the right-of-way to any person riding a bicycle.

Protected bike lanes could be coming to the main drag of the Motor City.

A Vermont website explains what bike turn signals mean, while suggesting it might be better just to point out where you’re going.

A Pennsylvania court says a cyclist can’t sue for his injuries because he can’t prove the state DOT knew the pothole he hit was there.

WaPo says real estate developers are offering more “trail-oriented” communities to meet the demand for bikeable and walkable places to live and work.

 

International

A Canadian writer says cycling’s real image problem is that it’s just too much fun.

A Windsor, Ontario letter writer says cyclists have to take responsibility for making drivers feel haunted by the memory of killing them.

A writer for London’s Telegraph says if safety was really pro cycling’s foremost priority, they’d stop cycling.

Caught on video: A British driver compiles “shocking” dashcam video of scofflaw cyclists, saying this is how accidents happen. Except none of the riders he shows seem to cause any collisions, and few, if any, close calls.

UK police are looking for a hit-and-run bike rider who broke a three-year old boy’s leg while riding on the sidewalk. Seriously, in any collision with a pedestrian — or another rider — stick around until you know they’re okay. Especially a little kid.

A new carfree Amsterdam tunnel uses design and lighting to create separate spaces for bicyclists and pedestrians.

Twenty-five Pakistani women ride to reclaim their space on the roads in the face of harassment, cheered on by around 60 supporters.

A new Aussie bike helmet with built-in cams records a 320 degree view of everything around you while offering a live rear view.

 

Finally…

Maybe the real problem is crappy headlights instead of ninja cyclists. Will a new bike shop disturb a part-man, part-goat, part-sheep creature who lives under a railroad trestle?

And threatening a clerk with your U-lock to steal pornography probably isn’t the best use for it.

I’m just saying.

 

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