Archive for Advocacy & Politics

Morning Links: Bike beats car in race to beach, Calbike wants your take on bike politics, and BMX legend dies

February 5, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Bike beats car in race to beach, Calbike wants your take on bike politics, and BMX legend dies

No surprise, really.

KPCC challenged three staffers to race from Union Station to the Santa Monica Pier in Monday morning rush hour traffic, travelling by bike, bus and car. Or rather, a funky three-wheeled motorcycle equivalent.

But whatever.

And just as has happened in other cities that have run similar races, the bike came out on top. Even though the rider failed to plan out his route, and dropped down to pothole-ridden Venice Blvd for his journey to the pier.

Had he planned it better, he could have cut a big chunk of time off his commute by taking Wilshire Blvd, which runs directly to the coast, and where bikes are allowed in the Bus Only lanes that operate during morning and evening rush hours. Even though the lanes skip Beverly Hills and the condo corridor in Westwood.

A simple jump over to the bike lanes on Santa Monica Blvd through Century City, then cut over to the Broadway bike lanes in Santa Monica and coast down to the coast.

He might have even been able to slow down a little.

And wear something other than spandex.

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Calbike wants your input on candidates and issues that affect bicyclists, to help develop their endorsement strategy for the coming year; you can take the survey here.

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Sad news from Greenville NC, as BMX legend and X Games star Dave Mirra died of an apparent suicide on Thursday.

If you’re thinking about hurting yourself, talk to someone. Anyone. There are people who care and want to help, no matter how bad things may seem now.

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Local

Richard Risemberg doesn’t pull any punches, depicting CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo as the carpetbagger-in-chief while calling for a movement to draft Flying Pigeon owner Josef Bray-Ali to run against him. Somehow I missed this one when it was originally posted. And yes, Councilmember Bray-Ali does have a certain ring to it.

The Eagle Rock and Boyle Heights areas receive nearly $18 million in Complete Streets funding, including bike and pedestrian improvements.

Great piece from LAist, as they talk to the guy who rode a New York bikeshare bike across the US, ending in Santa Monica last week.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports the Ride Report app for iOS has gone national; the app is designed to run in the background, allowing riders to track and rate their trips while crowdsourcing riding data.

 

State

San Diego’s KPBS discusses women’s professional bike racing, saying women riders are making progress, but there’s still a way to go.

Last year, we discussed the mobile bike repair shops from Beeline Bikes; now one is rolling into the Conejo Valley to serve cyclists in Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks and Agoura Hills.

A Salinas writer observes our streets are safe for everyone but people.

A writer from Modesto is up in arms that the city is paying $75,000 to house and feed riders in the Amgen Tour of California for one night. Never mind that the race will likely bring in a lot more that to local businesses.

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is barring bikes — and trees — from a proposed public park in Mountain View, apparently because other parks elsewhere have had problems with connectivity. Which is sort of like blaming all bike riders because you saw one run a red light once.

 

National

Horrible story of road rage from Portland. As usual, the police refuse to do anything about it unless the rider ends up bleeding in the street.

The Chicago Trib says riding a bike on the Las Vegas strip is just too damn scary. Which shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone who’s been there.

Why does my Platinum Level Bicycle Friendly hometown have to keep making bicycling improvements decades after I left? What, they couldn’t have done any of this while I was still there?

Forget three feet, an Iowa legislator proposes a bill that would require drivers to change lanes to pass a bike rider. Thanks to Cyclelicious for the link.

Caught on video: A Michigan bike rider beats a ticket for obstructing traffic when a state trooper gets the law wrong, using the cop’s own dash cam video to make his case.

Not all DC churches think bike lanes infringe upon their freedom of religion; an African American church in the same neighborhood as the one fighting tooth and nail against a bike lane says protected bike lanes make the streets safer for everyone.

 

International

The owner of the UK’s Vulpine bikewear company says the great helmet debate only serves to put people off bicycling, while concluding: “Cycling is not a major killer. Putting people off cycling is.”

A British website says more needs to be done to make bicycling a safe and normal activity.

Let’s hope it was a damn good bike. A Brit entrepreneur traded his stake in the Swiftkey mobile phone app for a bike, only to watch his former partners sell it to Microsoft for $252 million.

Russian women’s track cycling champ Elena Brezhniva gets a four-year ban for an unspecified doping offense; her coach naturally writes it off as a case of mere negligence. Because no cyclist would ever intentionally cheat, right?

A Philippine bicyclist takes a thrilling and scary ride through Manilla’s Quezon City.

An Aussie driver talks to the mother of a teenage boy who rode out in front of her car.

 

Finally…

Someday, every bike with come with its own mushroom knife and fire pit. Now you can get a pedal-assist motor doping bike of your very own; meanwhile, Dutch researchers will pay you to dope as you climb Mr. Ventoux.

And how to discover if anyone on your club ride is motor doping.

It’s easy to tell if I have a hidden motor on my bike. Just watch to see if I pass someone. Anyone.

No, really.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Car vs Bike, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Improving bike safety on Bouquet Canyon, less liability on bike paths, and doping gets mechanical

February 1, 2016 / / 4 comments

Anyone who has ridden Bouquet Canyon through the Santa Clarita Valley — or driven it, for that matter — knows it’s a fun ride, but far from safe.

Especially at the speed too many drivers take it.

Following the death of a teenage motorist on the roadway last month, the Santa Clarita Valley Bicycle Coalition has written an open letter to LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich urging safety improvements on Bouquet Canyon Road. Especially in light of its inclusion as a Class III bike route in the new county bike plan.

Their suggestions include better signage warning drivers of the possible presence of bicyclists, reducing the speed limit, and installing a rideable shoulder the full length of the road.

You can read the full letter here.

Let’s hope Antonovich does, too. Then actually does something about it.

And no, it’s not just drivers who have lost their lives there.

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A California appeals court strengthens the concept of trail immunity, which holds that land owners and government bodies aren’t responsible for dangerous conditions on trails used for recreational purposes, including bike paths.

In Teresa Burgueno, et al. v. The Regents of the University of California, the 6th Court of Appeal ruled that bike paths that are used for both recreational and transportation riding are still considered recreational trails under the law.

Which means that if you’re injured due to dangerous condition on an off-road bike path, you can’t hold anyone legally responsible for your injuries. Even if they knew about it in advance, and failed to do anything about it.

And even if it’s used by people riding to school or work, in addition to people riding for fitness or enjoyment.

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Caught on video: There is something seriously wrong with a driver who’d back up just to run a group of cyclists off the road; the incident occurred near Perth, Australia.

And yes, it’s been reported to the police.

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After years of rumors, there’s finally been a confirmed case of motor doping.

A Dutch rider competing in the women’s Under 23 Cyclocross Worlds was forced to withdraw after race authorities found an electric motor hidden inside her bike.

Naturally, she claims it wasn’t her bike and she knew nothing about it.

The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay calls it perhaps the goofiest scandal ever, while Bike Hugger accuses the cycling world of a Motor Omertà.

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Local

A bike rider in his 40s had to be rescued from rising waters in the LA River near Fourth Street due to Sunday’s rain. Which should serve as a reminder to avoid rivers and streams during and after a heavy rain, even if the path isn’t closed. And seriously, don’t go around the gate if it is.

You have just over a week to legally walk your bike across the Mariposa Street Bridge over the LA River; at the urging of horse riders, Burbank is scheduled to vote on the 9th to ban the mere possession of a bike on the bridge. Hopefully, they’ll listen to the Burbank Leader, which says they got it wrong.

Now here’s a good cause. The East Side Riders Bike Club has started a gofundme account to get a mobile bike shop. Their goal is to get kids hooked on bicycling, instead of something more dangerous.

 

State

A Highland man has his bike stolen after fleeing a man with a gun following an altercation.

There’s a special place in hell for someone who’d steal a bike from a legally blind former Marine in Eureka; prior to the theft, he was still able to ride using his peripheral vision.

 

National

A new study has shown what many of us already know. Riding harder doesn’t necessarily mean burning more calories or losing more weight, since metabolism tends to plateau at a certain level.

A Seattle writer places the blame for the failure of the city’s bikeshare system on a disconnected bike lane network, a lack of stations in popular places, and their bike helmet requirement.

Portland has now made protected lanes the default design for bike lanes; if city engineers recommend an unprotected lane, they have to be able to justify it.

Who knew sharrows were born in the Mile High City? No offense to my home state, but in most cases, they can keep them.

A Texas jury awards a cyclist injured by a distracted driver over $850,000, even without a finding of gross negligence. The victim and his wife hope this will inspire change in the state; remarkably, Texas still has not banned hand-held cell phone use while driving. Thanks to Steve Katz for the heads-up.

This is why you don’t chase after bike thieves. After an Ohio woman tries to use her car to chase down the man stealing her bike, he steals her car. And runs over her with it.

Any film or journalism school graduates want to move to PA? Bicycling Magazine is looking for a video producer.

Once again, a bicyclist rides to the rescue, as a Florida man rolls his truck and an anonymous man on a bike helps pull him and his brother to safety.

 

International

Evidently, drivers are no better in Canada than they are here. And it’s about time someone pointed out it’s often the people behind the wheel who act entitled, rather than those on two wheels.

A Brit Olympic legend says scandal-plagued international athletics should follow cycling’s anti-doping example. Like placing tiny motors in runners’ shoes and springs in the vaulting poles, perhaps?

A Philippine filmmaker worries that her new movie, which promotes a love of biking, fitness and nature, may put riders at risk by encouraging them to take to the country’s streets.

 

Finally…

Repeat after me: Don’t ride drunk with nearly two ounces on dope in your backpack. How about a rousing game of match the celebrity to the bike?

And that’s what I call a cargo bike. At least, China’s People’s Daily swears there’s a tricycle under there somewhere.

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Come back later today, when we’ll announce the winner of our first-ever bicycle giveaway, courtesy of Beachbikes.net.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , ,

All hands on deck! Planning Comm to consider anti-bike LA Mobility Plan amendments Feb. 11th

January 29, 2016 / / 2 comments

My apologies.

Due to health problems after attending an event last night, there won’t be a Morning Links today. I’ll try to pull it together and get the Weekend Links for you tomorrow.

However, one important item came through my inbox Thursday.

The Planning Commission meeting to consider amendments to LA’s recently adopted Mobility Plan 2035 will be held at City Hall on Thursday, Feb 11 at 8:30 am.

This is the one where opponents to the plan will try to remove key streets, such as Westwood Blvd and North Figueroa — as well as most of Councilmember Gil Cedillo’s CD1 — from the Mobility Plan.

Which means it’s an all-hands on deck meeting for anyone who cares about bicycling and safe streets in the City of Angels. Let alone Vision Zero.

Which should be just about everyone who reads this in LA.

 

Screen Shot 2016-01-29 at 1.23.43 AM

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

Morning Links: New app for navigating LA, advice on running for your local NC, and pointing the finger in Westwood

January 28, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: New app for navigating LA, advice on running for your local NC, and pointing the finger in Westwood

Figuring out how to get around the City of Angels just got a little easier.

And could help improve the way you get around in the future.

The new Go LA app, created by Xerox for iOS and Android devices, calculates the shortest, cheapest, and most sustainable way to get to your destination — whether on foot, by bike, motorcycle, taxi, car or transit, as well as ride-sharing options — while providing map routing and real time traffic and parking information.

And not just in terms of distance, but also time, cost, carbon footprint, health benefits and calories burned. Which means walking and biking will usually win on the last four counts.

The app also sends anonymous trip data back to LADOT to provide feedback on how people actually get around the city to provide data for future planning.

You can read more about the app on the Go LA press release.

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Maybe that app will make it easier to use Metro, as the LA Times says ridership on public transportation is in a decade-long decline.

The paper cites other transportation alternatives, such as bicycling and ridesharing, as just two in a long list of factors leading to the drop. Although a more likely culprit is increased fares combined with cuts in service.

Charging more for worse service is rarely a good business model.

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The LACBC offers details on the upcoming Neighborhood Council elections, and urges you to not only vote, but consider running for election to your local council.

As they point out, local councils are usually the first stops for any discussion for or against bike projects in the local community, and their opinions often carry a lot of weight with the area councilmember.

So your involvement really does matter. But you need to hurry, because the deadline to register as a candidate is approaching quickly in some areas.

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Speaking of neighborhood councils, a writer for UCLA’s Daily Bruin says the Westwood Neighborhood Council gets the blame for blocking improvements to Westwood Village, including putting up roadblocks to the Westwood Blvd Great Streets project. Homeowners in the area are among the city’s most notorious NIMBYs, and should be held accountable for the decline in the once vibrant Village, where even dancing is banned at their insistence.

Meanwhile, the same writer says Councilmember Paul Koretz has been making opposing promises to both sides about the planned Westwood Blvd bike lanes, promising the neighborhood council and homeowner groups he’d kill the bike lanes, while telling the Sierra Club he supported moving forward with engineering studies. Thanks to Michael Cahn for the heads up.

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BikeSGV reports that a proposed bike park is included in plans for the coming Puente Hills Landfill Park, along with bike and pedestrian access.

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Local

Richard Risemberg accuses the city of malign neglect in its approach to 6th Street in the Mid-City area, where a planned road diet and bike lanes have been blocked as injuries and deaths mount.

CiclaValley looks at the numbers behind the proposed Griffith Park shuttle service, and says they don’t add up. Or even come close.

A Santa Monica advocacy group says the city talks a good game when it comes to promoting alternative transportation, but is hardly discouraging its own employees from driving when they receive free parking.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a $5,300 three-wheeled adaptive bike from a Burbank teenager with cerebral palsy.

Duarte develops a new Citywide Bicycle Master Plan and Safe Routes to Transit Master Plan to encourage more riding and promote bike and pedestrian safety. Evidently, the smaller the city, the more grandiose the title for their bike plan.

 

State

The head of the California State Transportation Agency — no, not Caltrans — says au contraire, the state is actually leading the nation in investments for bicycle and pedestrian facilities. Of course, as the nation’s most populous state, we should lead by default; the question is how do we stack up for spending as a percentage of population.

Some Cardiff residents are up in arms over a proposed bike and pedestrian trail that would run along a railroad track, claiming it would somehow cause irreparable harm to their community and the environment. Because evidently, bikes are so much more harmful than trains.

Menlo Park considers a bicycle boulevard connecting the east and west sides of the city.

San Francisco’s bikeshare program is expanding across the bay to Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville.

The CHP is looking for the heartless coward who fled the scene after left-crossing a Sonoma Valley bike rider; the victim, who was on his honeymoon, is reportedly making a “miraculous” recovery, despite suffering a broken neck.

 

National

Seventy percent of American mayors support more bike lanes at the expense of traffic lanes or parking. The problem is getting their auto-centric constituents to agree.

A Portland cyclist wins a nearly half-million dollar judgment against a car wash after he slipped on the wet, soapy pavement, fracturing his hip, when a car wash customer pulled out and blocked the bike lane he was riding in.

An Idaho bike lawyer makes the case for the Idaho stop law that allows bicyclists to treat stop signs as yields and red lights like stop signs, arguing that it has helped the state maintain one of the nation’s lowest bicycling fatality rates as a percentage of population.

Not surprisingly, it’s going to be days before DC’s bikeways are cleared following last weekend’s blizzard. And things aren’t looking any better in New York.

 

International

Good news from Argentina, as Italian rider Adriano Malori has awakened from a medically induced coma after hitting a pothole at nearly 40 mph in the Tour de San Luis.

A Toronto paper rides along with bike-borne food delivery people through the city’s frozen streets.

It’s a daily double for the Guardian, as the paper test rides the sub-$700 dream bike of the British Labour Party leader, and looks at how bicycling unexpectedly became cool in Tel Aviv.

Caught on video: A British driver gets two and a half years for deliberately swerving head-on at a cyclist from the other side of the road in a successful attempt to frighten him. Thanks to Jeffrey for the link.

 

Finally…

Nothing like getting a punch in the face when you agree to buy a bike. Forget riding with your dog; try riding with a couple goats on your back.

And driving while very distracted: A pantsless Detroit man was killed in a car crash while watching porn on his smartphone.

 

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

Morning Links: Koretz aid promises Westwood bike lane removal, and the Bieb nearly takes out bikers in the ‘Bu

January 15, 2016 / / 2 comments

Don’t forget, there’s just four more days to nominate someone you know to win a new bicycle in our first-ever bike giveaway. So take a moment to tell us who you think deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net today!

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Do they know something we don’t?

A field deputy for Westside Councilmember Paul Koretz assured the Westwood Neighborhood Council that a bike lane slated for Westwood Blvd north of Wilshire Blvd in the Village will be removed from the new Mobility Plan.

Even though he doesn’t have the authority to do that. And even though a proposal to remove it, or any other bike lane, from the plan must first be approved by the city Planning Commission, then face a hearing by the city council Transportation and Planning and Land Use Management Committees, before being voted on by the full council.

To this point, there have been no public discussions of the matter by any of those bodies.

Any secret discussions or backroom deals attempting to bypass that process would be a violation of the state’s Brown Act, which requires that all meetings of official bodies be held in public. And would likely invalidate any decisions resulting from it.

So let’s hope that she just misspoke or was misquoted, and meant to say that Koretz will attempt to have the bike lane removed from the plan.

Because we all have a right to be heard before any decision is made.

Especially the wrong one.

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CiclaValley catches up on the latest details of the LA River bike path closure. The good news is most of the barriers will be on the opposite side of the river from the bike path. However, he says the path will close for construction of the barriers between Riverside and Glendale Blvd for two weeks starting on the 26th; no word yet on whether it will reopen in full or in part once the work is finished.

Meanwhile, LADOT Bike Blog fills in the history and the background of the flood control efforts on LA’s concrete river.

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Tres shock! A new study shows what we already knew — sharrows don’t improve safety, and they don’t seem to increase ridership, either.

Meanwhile, another study suggests that biking infrastructure and gentrification mirror one another, making it difficult to say which one causes the other.

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Semi-reformed celeb bad boy Justin Bieber nearly takes out an entire cycling team that was training in the ‘Bu, inexplicably running out in front of the riders waving his arms while they cruised down PCH at 25 mph.

However, all was forgiven when he posed for selfies with the riders, who forgot to ask why he did it in the first place.

Maybe he just wanted their autographs.

Although one site seems to blame the guys in the tight shorts, saying they should have stuck with SoulCycle.

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Local

The petition to remove bike lanes from York Blvd in Northeast LA has 304 supporters as of this writing; the petition to keep them has 454.

There’s now more hope on Hope Street, as the DTLA street gets a new parklet.

A UCLA alum is filming a documentary about the problems bike riders face, focusing on last year’s Emmy Ride; the film’s executive producer is former Ad Men producer Tom Smuts, who started the ride.

Another former UCLA student writes that she has continued to ride after graduating, commuting to work, leading rides and volunteering as an advocate for safer streets. And it all began with the school’s program to rent out commuter bikes to students for $45 a quarter.

That guy riding one of New York’s Citi Bikes across the US has now made it to Claremont; Santa Monica Spoke invites you to welcome him when he ends his journey at the end of Route 66 on the 23rd.

Long Beach firefighters rescue a woman who injured her head when she somehow fell off the San Gabriel River bike path.

Mark your calendar. BikeSGV lists the seven — count ‘em — open streets events scheduled for the LA area this year.

 

State

Three Leucadia coffee shops will soon get bike corrals in the North San Diego County community.

Sad news from the Bay Area, as an 80-year old Novato sidewalk cyclist was killed in a collision with a 16-year old driver who was making a left turn out of a parking lot.

Streetsblog talks with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s new interim ED.

Best wishes to one of last year’s AIDS Lifecycle riders, Sonoma-area winemaker Chuck Hovey, who is recovering from a massive stroke he suffered just a week after finishing the ride.

In a crime that appears to be getting more common, a Sacramento cyclist is bike-jacked at knifepoint. Expanding the city’s bait bike program won’t help with that kind of theft, even though it lead to around 60 busts last year.

 

National

Nice. An Albuquerque program gives bikes to the homeless to help them get back on their feet.

An Oklahoma driver will face a felony manslaughter charge for the distracted driving death of a cyclist, who was biking across the country building and repairing homes; the woman who was riding with him is still recovering from her injuries.

Even the sponsor of the Missouri bill which would require every bicycle to have a 15-foot orange fluorescent flag agrees that it’s ridiculous; he claims he just wanted to get people talking about bike safety. He previously co-sponsored a bill that would have banned bikes from state roads if there was a bike trail within two miles of the highway.

Chicago is ticketing more drivers for parking in bike lanes, while expanding its bikeshare into predominantly African American and low-to-moderate income communities.

A 50-mile Kentucky bike ride will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the bike-riding Buffalo Soldiers in 1896.

A Massachusetts eighth grader testifies in front of a state legislative committee in support of a pair of bike safety bills, after his father was nearly caught between a bus and a row of parked cars when it cut into the bike lane as they were riding together.

Boston’s Bikeface compares bikes to shoes to explain why you always seem to need one more.

You still have a chance to win a bike ride with Bono through New York’s Central Park, who is tempting fate by returning to the scene of his solo crash.

A Georgia nurse who just happened to by passing by saved the life of a bike rider when he collapsed from a heart attack in the middle of an intersection.

Despite doomsday predictions, there have been no bike crashes on a Florida bridge two years after a ban on bikes was lifted.

 

International

Caught on video: An angry Brit bike rider confronts a driver inside a supermarket after a dangerously close punishment pass.

Supporters of British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn raise funds to give him his dream bike, a sub-$700 Raleigh Criterium — even though a writer for the Telegraph criticized him for coveting such an “expensive” bike.

It took four cops to put an “arrogant” Irish bike rider in a squad car after he was busted for insisting on his “right to cycle in the manner in which he insisted he cycled;” during the incident, he called the Irish equivalent of 911 in an effort to report the police to the police.

So much for that friendly welcome to Europe. Norway is sending bike-riding Syrian refugees back to Russia the same way they came after they exploited a loophole banning anyone from walking or driving across the border.

The National continues its recent coverage of bicycling in the United Arab Emirates and beyond, this time offering a look at riding in Rwanda.

Dutch bank ING donates pedicabs to Philippine hurricane survivors to help lift them out of poverty.

 

Finally…

No matter how angry you get, don’t take it out on your bike. Speaking of tres shock!, LA bike thieves learn the hard way not to steal bikes. Or sit on them, anyway.

And it’s a common tactic for bike thieves to lock another bike to yours so they can come back later to take it. But what does it mean when someone ties a cute little dog up to your bike?

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Thanks to John Hall for his generous donation to support this site. Contributions are always welcome in any amount, for any reason.

 

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

Morning Links: Expo bike path meeting tonight, and bikes may or may not be banned from Camp Pendleton

January 13, 2016 / / 7 comments

Less than one week to nominate someone you know to win a new bicycle.

Read more about our first-ever bike giveaway, and tell us who you think deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net today!

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Don’t forget tonight’s meeting to discuss closing the nearly one-mile gap in the new Expo Line bike path through the NIMBY Northvale wasteland.

I’ve got another commitment that will keep me from attending, so feel free to forward your thoughts on the meeting.

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Riders making their way between Orange County and San Diego may soon have to find a new way to get there.

Or maybe not.

Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious forwards news that as of February 1st, Camp Pendleton will be closed to anyone without a sponsor and a valid reason to enter the base.

But whether that will include bike riders remains to be seen, despite the anti-bike hysteria in the comments.

The base is currently the only approved route for bicyclists connecting OC with North San Diego County, since riders are banned from the 5 Freeway. Its scenic views and relatively low, though sometimes heavily armed, traffic also makes it a very popular route for recreational riders and group rides.

Closing the base to riders would almost certainly force the state to open the freeway to bicyclists, which is the case in other areas where there is no alternate riding route. Although I can’t imagine anyone willingly trading the quiet roads of Camp Pendleton for a rock and glass-strewn shoulder with semis buzzing by at 70 mph or more.

It may turn out to be much ado about nothing, as a message from the base indicates that no decision has been made regarding bicycle access after the 1st. There have been similar scares in the past with no action taken restricting riders.

However, it does serve as a reminder that, like with the VA grounds in West LA, bicyclists are guests on federal property, and expected to act accordingly; Pendleton has their own rules that riders are expected to observe.

And while one commenter worries about bike-borne ISIS terrorists sneaking in to attack the base, it’s the people on two wheels who have faced the greatest danger.

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Just a touch of schadenfreude yesterday, as I watched a car driving in a bike lane nearly get doored by a driver who didn’t bother to look before throwing his door open.

And no, neither of them seemed to have a clue what just happened.

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Local

CiclaValley questions the necessity of closing a large portion of the LA River bike path to put up flood control barriers, and the effect it will have on businesses in Frogtown and Elysian Valley.

Bikabout offers a 12-city bucket list of where they want to wander by bike this year, including the City of Angels and our own CicLAvia.

The LA Times wonders which NFL stadium plan would screw up traffic the least; the Inglewood site got the nod from the NFL. The owner of the stadium should be required to pay for a rail extension to serve the site, as well as safe cycling infrastructure and bike parking facilities to provide an alternative to driving to the games and other events.

Santa Monica police will once again be on the lookout for traffic violations that put bicyclists and pedestrians at risk this Saturday, regardless of who commits them. So be on your best behavior while riding through the city this weekend.

Long Beach will host its second Beach Streets ciclovía on a still-secret route through the Downtown area on Saturday, March 19th, less than two weeks after the next Valley CicLAvia.

 

State

People for Bikes quotes the reactions of six Californians on Caltrans’ new guidelines for protected bike lanes, including LADOT maven Seleta Reynolds and BikeSD’s Sam Ollinger.

Bicycling says to give hoverboards a wide berth now that they’re banished to the bike lanes, since you never know when they’ll burst into flames. The magazine also talks to the amazing Jo Celso, the San Diego pro cyclist who beat Hodgkin’s to come back stronger than ever.

There’s a special place in hell for anyone who’d steal a truckload of bikes and helmets from an Oakland nonprofit serving East Bay children.

 

National

A new survey says one in ten Americans would steal a bike for $10,000; for a billion, 12% of men would be willing to kill you. Then again, I’ve run into some drivers who seem willing to do it for free.

A Portland writer panics over plans to allow mountain bikers into city parklands.

Cheyenne WY considers eliminating the city’s largely ignored bicycle licensing requirement; only one person bothered to register a bike under the current law last year.

A New York writer says a Vision Zero law protecting pedestrians and bicyclists isn’t necessary because, you know, accidents happen and drivers just can’t be held responsible for killing someone.

A Baltimore bicyclist tried to use his bike to defend himself from a group of attacking teenagers.

Horrific testimony from an Alabama cyclist in the trial of the driver who ran down her two riding partners; the driver claims the sun was in his eyes, though she disputes that.

More evidence that bicycling benefits Parkinson’s patients, as a patients’ symptoms disappear during a Maryland spin class.

 

International

A university professor is riding across Canada virtually. Which isn’t the same thing.

A Toronto driver will serve the next three months behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a bike rider, weekends only. This has got to be a joke, right?

A Brit bike shop owner laughs at some of the absurd gear the industry tries to push on us.

Now that’s more like it. A prolific British bike thief has been given a lifetime ban from even coming within 13 feet of bicycle unless he can prove he owns it.

A road raging driver from the UK gets nearly five years for the death of a 69-year old bike advocate following an argument; the Afghan vet, who suffers from severe depression and PTSD following his service, says he doesn’t even remember making contact with the victim’s bike.

Madonna’s ex is one of us, too.

Copenhagenize says yawning bike riders are the best sign of a bicycle-friendly city.

India plans to build smart cities to address the country’s many urban ills; a writer says smart thinking about bicycles needs to be part of the process.

Caught on video: A dashcam view catches a truck driver fleeing the scene after toppling a bike rider; fortunately, the cyclist bounces back up to his feet.

 

Finally…

It’s one thing to get pissed off at a driver; spitting and hurling racial abuse is another matter. Seriously, if you’re going to ride your bike to a friend’s house when it’s 8° outside, put some damn gloves on.

And that’s one way to do it, as two boys each take a pedal to share a single bike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfNndLkhF6s

 

 

 

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

Morning Links: All hands on deck for Expo Line bike path, hit-and-run goes global, and Culver founder one of us

January 8, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: All hands on deck for Expo Line bike path, hit-and-run goes global, and Culver founder one of us

Someone you know needs a new bicycle. Just click here to read about our first bike giveaway and nominate someone who deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net.

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Streetsblog’s Joe Linton writes that there will be an all-hands-on-deck meeting next Wednesday to discuss closing the Northvale gap in the new Expo bikeway.

After neighborhood NIMBY’s in the upscale Cheviot Hills neighborhood failed to stop the train, they turned their attention halting the bike path, expressing fear that bike-riding burglars and two-wheeled peeping Toms would soon terrorize the area.

Which is only a slight exaggeration.

Meanwhile, funding dried up amid disputes over where to locate the path, and where — or if —there should be access to the neighborhood.

Linton writes that Councilmember Paul Koretz, who has made it his life’s mission to keep bikes off Westwood Blvd, is working to close the gap in what would be the only continuous bikeway from Downtown to the Beach.

There will undoubtedly be many people opposing the bike path going through their neighborhood, so as he notes, if you live, work, bike, or breathe in this part of West Los Angeles, you need to be there to voice your support.

It takes place from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Palms-Rancho Park Branch Library, 2920 Overland Ave.

………

Clearly, hit-and-run is a worldwide problem.

A New Hampshire cyclist was lucky to escape with bruises when he was hit by a driver who sped away; police later arrested the suspect for hit-and-run, as well being a felon in possession of an unlicensed gun.

A British man faces “substantial” jail time for driving away after killing a cyclist while speeding at over twice the 30 mph limit.

And an Indian driver is under arrest for fleeing the scene after running down a man who was riding home from work.

………

Local

CICLE will host a learning to ride class for adults on the 17th.

The founder of Culver City was one of us. Before coming to California, Harry Culver rode in 53-day, 4,120 mile bike race ending at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Long Beach begins work to improve access for bikes and the disabled at Alamitos Beach.

 

State

Calbike poses six detailed questions about the governor’s new budget, and says he stalls on climate change.

Caltrans buys an Encinitas strawberry field to convert it into a park and ride and freeway access ramp, as well as community gardens and open space; the facility will include bike lockers and a bike lane that connects to bike paths planned for the area. Maybe they should call it a bike and ride.

San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood gets a road diet and buffered bike lanes to improve safety after a close vote by the neighborhood planning committee.

Next time you’re in Morro Bay, check out the new bike park that opened over the holidays.

Fresno will shut down a freeway for a day and turn it over to bicycles for the California Classic century ride.

Sad news from Vacaville, as a woman died of injuries she suffered in a collision while riding her bike last month.

 

National

The co-chairs of the Congressional Bike Caucus – yes, there is one — introduce a rare bi-partisan bill to allow communities more flexibility to use federal funds for bikeshare programs.

Fast Company looks at the nation’s five best bike lanes.

Nike sponsors Portland’s new Biketown bikeshare program.

A Seattle radio host continues his anti-bike rants, this time saying if officials really care about bike safety, they should ban bike riders from going through a parking lot they’re legally entitled to use, since a protected bike lane will be built nearby. It’s not safety he’s concerned about; it’s really about the money and lost parking spaces for a bike lane he opposes.

Vermont considers a bill that would require right-turning drivers to yield to bikes, and allow motorists to cross a yellow line to pass a bicycle.

North Carolina cyclists say a proposal requiring them to ride on the right half travel lane will increase the risk of serious crashes.

A trio of brothers followed the course of the infamous Sherman’s March to the Sea in the Civil War, riding 340 miles from Atlanta to Savannah. Hopefully they didn’t slash and burn along the way.

 

International

A Vancouver cyclist was killed in a bizarre accident when he was hit by a piece of trash tossed by a dumpster diver.

The founders of Vancouver’s Modacity write in praise of slow cycling, saying the slower a city’s bicyclists ride, the more mature its bike culture.

A Toronto paper questions whether Vision Zero can succeed in the auto-centric city.

No surprise here. Bikes were the most stolen items in Britain last year.

Cycling Weekly looks at the Cannibal as the legendary Belgian cyclist turns 70.

Riding through the coastlines, deserts and mountains of Spain’s Andalusia region.

Bicycling is booming in Mumbai.

Bike riding in New Zealand is getting safer as it gets more popular.

The mayor of Taipei will ride his bike 21 hours tomorrow to promote the Velo-City Global Conference to be held in his city next month.

 

Finally…

How does someone fail to see a stopped bus before crashing your bike into it? When a bus company driving instructor says running over cyclists is a public service, you’ve got to wonder what he’s teaching his students.

And a five-year old rides to the rescue in his pajamas.

 

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

Morning Links: Curmudgeonly SaMo writers, LABAC meets tonight, and giving on Giving Tuesday

December 1, 2015 / / 4 comments

Apparently tired of telling kids to get off his lawn, a curmudgeonly SaMo writer complains about a whopping four — yes, four — Main Street parking spaces that are being converted into parklets, which will evidently prevent anyone from parking anywhere in the neighborhood ever again; he similarly bemoans the parklets and loss of traffic lanes on Broadway in DTLA.

As an aside, the story mentions that the Santa Monica Planning Commission will meet on Wednesday to consider the city’s bike and pedestrian plans, which he’s clearly not in favor of, either.

………

Meanwhile, Dr. Michael Cahn forwards this letter copied from the Santa Monica Observer, in which a driver is offended when his attempt to educate and/or enforce bike traffic laws from behind the wheel of his car is met with a predictable response.

TaylorLetterSMObserver

………

LA’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, the city’s only official voice for bicyclists, meets tonight in the LAPD Hollywood Division Community Room, 6501 Fountain Ave.

BAC-Agenda

………

The story of popular Silver Lake Trader Joe’s parking lot attendant Egee Mabolis is picked up by LAist and the Eastsider, following the bicycling injury that left him with no feeling in his arms and legs.

A gofundme account to help defray his medical costs has raised 3/5 of the $25,000 goal.

After all, it is Giving Tuesday.

………

Speaking of Giving Tuesday, you can bid on a Silca SuperPista Ultimate Bicycle Pump hand-painted by cycling scion Taylor Phinney, with 100% of the proceeds going to support the Davis Phinney Foundation to fight Parkinson’s Disease. Phinney — Taylor, not Davis — is putting off additional surgery on his badly injured left knee in hopes of competing in next year’s Rio Olympics.

And with a little luck, a $10 donation to the (RED) campaign to fight HIV/AIDS could get you ice cream and ride through Central Park with U2’s Bono.

………

Take a few minutes out of your day for this must-read piece from CiclaValley, in which he surprises a driver by saying he was lucky he got in a collision, even with his kids in the car, and even if the red light-running driver who hit him seemed to think it was no big deal.

………

Next City offers a much better take on the documentary Bikes vs. Cars than yesterday’s Daily Beast hatchet job; the film opens at the Laemmle NoHo 7 this Friday.

………

Local

Bicycling takes a very brief look at LA artist cycling tour guide and bike salesman Adam K. Masters, and how he got hooked on track racing.

Former DC and Chicago DOT chief and current author Gabe Klein calls for creative solutions like protected bike lanes and bikeshare stations to improve transportation in LA, along with a switch to self-driving cars.

A new video from Metro explains how to use the Metro Bike Hub at El Monte Station, which promises to be just the first of several throughout the LA area.

Temple City will consider a proposed redesign of Las Tunas Drive into a more vibrant, safe and people-friendly business district at tonight’s city council meeting; supporters of a more livable, walkable and bikeable street are urged to attend to counter expected opposition.

 

State

Good read from a cyclist who offers seven lessons he learned from riding 673 miles from San Francisco to San Diego with no idea what he was doing.

Oceanside residents are calling for safety improvements to the city’s main drag following the death of 12-year old Logan Lipton while he was riding his bike to school last month.

The Coronado bike lane madness goes on, as a letter writer says the town doesn’t need bike lanes because they didn’t slow traffic on a street where average speeds were only 28 mph to begin with.

Two local businesses come to the rescue after a burglar steals 26 bikes from a San Francisco middle school.

A San Francisco bike deliveryman comes to the rescue after a women gives birth to a premature baby on the sidewalk.

Stockton is holding a number of public workshops to update their Bicycle Master Plan. Let’s hope they don’t have to deal with lawsuits and recalcitrant councilmembers trying to overturn the public process, like some cities we could name.

 

National

The Pew Charitable Trusts says bike tourism means business, as cities and states are warming to the economic benefits of bicycling.

Seriously? Oahu residents suggest ticketing bike rental shops when their customers break the law. Which makes no more sense than holding car rental firms accountable when their customers speed or run red lights.

Indianapolis drivers are apparently confused by the city’s first parking protected bike lane.

City Lab says laws prohibiting bicyclists from wearing headphones, like one under consideration in Massachusetts, miss the point. Several writers, including frequent contributor Megan Lynch, beg to differ.

Brooklyn bike riders call for a statewide Idaho stop law.

The Wall Street Journal belatedly discovers that retirees are getting on their bikes. Note to the Journal: 50 ain’t exactly old.

A Philadelphia conference calls for Vision Zero to protect the lives of bicyclists and pedestrians; Toronto discusses the idea, as well.

A Delaware driver faces up to seven years for killing his bike-riding friend in a drunken hit-and-run.

Interesting idea from Florida, as a proposed law would require in-ground safety lights where bike paths cross roadways to alert drivers to the presence of bicycles.

Bighearted Tampa police officers chip in to buy a five-year old a new tricycle after his brand-new birthday bike was stolen in a car burglary.

 

International

Vancouver, which has made a massive investment in protected bike lanes, is rated Canada’s safest major city in which to ride a bike.

The Yukon tourism board wants you to explore the Great White North by fat-tire bike.

Brit bike riders are being offered a better deal on car insurance because they’re better drivers. Thanks to joninsocal for the link.

‘Tis the season. A bighearted four-year old British girl donates her new birthday bike so someone else can wake up to a new bike Christmas morning.

UK cyclists are being criticized for excessive speeds after single rider is clocked on Strava approaching 30 mph.

It’s a dream come true. Bike riders in one Danish town can outfit their bikes with special RFID tags that turn traffic lights green as they approach so they never have to stop for red lights.

Aljazeera says carless cities are the future of Europe. Maybe the idea will cross over to this country before we’re all old and grey.

A South African cyclist says the way to deal with dangerous roads is to stay off them when you can, and ride facing traffic when you can’t. Which is exactly the wrong thing to do.

Life is cheap in Melbourne, as an Aussie driver is fined a lousy grand for a fatal dooring.

‘Tis the season, too. An Australian town responds to complaints that it has the world’s worst Christmas tree by creating one made out of bicycles.

 

Finally…

Fund-Drive-With-Type-2If you’re trying to make your getaway by bike with a meth pipe and stolen guitar, make sure you can ride with it first. Or if you’re going to steal a bike, make sure the owner isn’t still attached to it.

And here’s your chance to ensure the Star Wars fan in your life ride gets to ride with his or her very own R2D2 bike helmet.

………

Thanks to Todd Munson for supporting this site by contributing to the BikinginLA Holiday fund Drive.

 

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

Morning Links: Daily News spins bike news badly, not getting it San Pedro, and a local bike rider needs your help

November 30, 2015 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Daily News spins bike news badly, not getting it San Pedro, and a local bike rider needs your help

Fund-Drive-With-Type-2Sometimes, good news is bad news, depending on how you spin it.

The LA Daily News looks at the LA city council’s re-adoption of the new Mobility Plan last week, and the promise to consider proposed amendments after the first of the year.

Except they give it a very negative spin.

The story focuses on the possibility that bike lanes could be removed from the plan, likely or not. Along opposition to the plan from Councilmembers Paul Koretz and, disappointingly, David Ryu.

Koretz focuses his opposition to removing bike lanes planned for Westwood Blvd in and near Westwood Village, just outside the UCLA campus, claiming it’s too dangerous for bike riders. Yet somehow, refuses to consider any plans to make it safer or propose any viable alternative.

His only solution is to keep it dangerous, while his search for a long-promised alternative route is seeming more and more like OJ’s search for the real killer.

Meanwhile Ryu, who promised to reconsider the decisions made by his predecessor Tom LaBonge, instead appears to be following in his anti-bike footsteps.

Writing for Orange 20 Bikes, Richard Risemberg says at least the city isn’t stabbing us in the back anymore.

They’re aiming their knives directly at us.

………

Apparently, parking causes less congestion than bike lanes.

A San Pedro letter writer complains that replacing parking spaces with bike lanes on Western Avenue would increase congestion and make it harder for emergency vehicles to get through.

Which seems highly unlikely, unless cars are currently able to pass through parked vehicles, which would appear to violate the laws of physics. And emergency vehicles usually find it easier to drive through bike lanes than parked cars.

He also complains that the Measure R funds that would be used to pay for the lanes weren’t supposed to be used for bike lanes, suggesting they should instead be funded by supporters of Calbike and CABO, neither of whom had anything whatsoever to do with them. And that funds should be raised by registering and taxing bicyclists, and imposing fines on law-breaking cyclists.

The first of which is impractical for many reasons, and the latter already happens, despite his protestations. And those fines go to the state, just like the fines paid by scofflaw drivers.

Never mind that bike riders already pay more than their share for the roads we ride.

Then again, that letter has nothing on this absurdly auto-centric writer from Santa Barbara.

Thanks to Margaret for the heads-up.

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If you’re looking for a good cause this holiday season, you can’t do much better than World Bicycle Relief, which is using donated bicycles to change lives in less developed countries.

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Another good cause a lot closer to home.

Popular cyclist Egee Mabolis was badly injured during the monthly Ride With No Name, leaving him with no feeling in his arms and legs. A gofundme account established to help cover his medical costs has raised nearly $11,000 of the $25,000 goal — even though that won’t begin to cover the cost of his hospital care and rehabilitation, since he doesn’t have insurance.

If the name sounds familiar, it may be because Mabolis was profiled by the LA Weekly last year for his work taming the notorious Trader Joe’s parking lot in Silver Lake.

………

Film fans take note.

The first film from famed British director Ridley Scott, the auteur responsible for Alien, Blade Runner and Gladiator, was about a boy and bicycle, starring his late brother and future Top Gun director Tony.

The 27-minute student film is now available online.

While we’re on the subject of films, a writer for the Daily Beast kind of misses the point of the new documentary Bikes vs. Cars, which doesn’t really call for replacing all cars with bicycles, as tempting as that may seem at times.

If you want to see for yourself, Bikes vs. Cars opens this Friday at the Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood.

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Local

CicLAvia staffer and LADOT commissioner Tafarai Bayne discusses what it’s like to grow up carless in LA and the perils of biking while black.

A cyclist in his 40s suffered moderate injuries when he was hit by a sheriff’s deputy in Carson Thursday night.

Just one problem with LA’s 2024 Olympic bid: The BMX and mountain biking events projected for Griffith Park could be illegal.

Evidently, people really do walk in LA and Pasadena. And ride bikes, too.

 

State

An Escondido cyclist suffered life-threatening injuries when she was the victim of a hit-and-run Saturday night; police are looking for the driver of a black Toyota Corolla.

A local hiking group voices their support for the planned 50-mile CV Link bike and pedestrian pathway around the Coachella Valley.

San Francisco follows an all-too-familiar pattern of fixing dangerous streets only after it’s too late. But at least they fix them, unlike some LA council districts we could name.

A transportation expert from UC Davis will make a presentation at this week’s Paris climate change conference touting the benefits of bicycling as a climate-friendly measure.

Family members and witnesses question the CHP’s investigation of a cyclist killed by a Sacramento judge, leading them to wonder if it’s just sloppy work or a cover-up.

 

National

America may not have hit peak car after all. Or maybe it did.

HuffPo says bikeshare is having a positive impact on city life throughout the US.

Life is cheap in Portland, where a truck driver faces a maximum $260 fine for dangerous left turn that took the life of a bike rider.

A Detroit man raised $15,000 to buy a new car for a man who rode a bike to work every day to save money to care for his sick wife.

The bike-hating New York Post blames scofflaw cyclists for the 4,463 bicyclists injured in the city last year, not the people in the big dangerous machines. And insists an Idaho stop law will only make things worse.

 

International

England’s last Plantagenet king is helping to lead the reclamation of Leicester from automobiles, over 500 years after Richard III famously failed to trade his kingdom for a horse.

British bike thieves get 12 years apiece for stabbing a man who was trying to reclaim his stolen bike.

Police in an English town are on the lookout for a cyclist — to thank her for lending them her hi-viz jacket so they could direct traffic.

A British man rides 400 miles to honor his late bike-riding mother.

Brit riders hold their third annual die-in to call for a stop to killing cyclists.

Caught on video: Apparently, being pregnant and wearing glasses is the latest excuse for left-hooking a British cyclist.

An injured cyclist says Maltese authorities are always on the driver’s side, concluding that his recent collision somehow broke the laws of physics.

Vogue says stylish cyclists are taking over Moscow.

Selling bikes by Bollywood.

A gold medal-winning Thai-American BMX rider is just as happy working in the rice paddy as competing against Asia’s best. No, really, that’s what it says.

 

Finally…

The beauty of a bicycle is its simplicity, until designers get their hands on it. Why clutter your home with bikes when you can park them on the ceiling? Evidently, the color of his bike is enough to make a man a suspect in the UK — accurately, as it turned out.

And shirtless cyclist and actor Russell Crowe goes riding with his mates in the “middle of f**king nowhere.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKdHWH8XQFA

 

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

Morning Links: Confronting LA’s diabetic drivers, and bike thief’s mom gives back bike her son stole

November 19, 2015 / / 3 comments

Let’s talk Diabetes.

Before I was diagnosed last year, I spent about a year trying to keep my sagging energy up with carbs and energy bars.

What was happening, unbeknownst to me, was that my blood sugar would spike after I ate something high in carbs — even the whole grains I thought were better for me — then crash, leaving me hypoglycemic and needing still more carbs to get back up.

In a very real sense, I was chasing the dragon, just like any other addict. Except my addition was to sugar and other carbohydrates.

I thought I could burn them off by riding my bike, even as I became sicker and sicker, my weight slipping from a muscular 190 pounds down to 160, before finally crashing to 145 shortly after I was diagnosed.

I was killing myself with every bite I took, even though I thought I knew what I was doing.

LA drivers are diabetics.

They’re addicted to ever-increasing road capacity every bit as much as I was addicted to carbs, demanding ever more and wider roads, despite the evidence that greater capacity just results in induced demand.

If you don’t believe me, just ask anyone who drives the 405 if the $1 billion road widening project has made their commute any easier.

And they fight tooth-and-nail to preserve every traffic lane and parking spot, even from projects designed to improve safety while providing those who want it with alternatives to driving.

It’s not that they’re bad people. They just don’t know any better.

It’s our city officials that have failed them.

Common sense tells people that removing a traffic lane will only make their commutes worse. Even though it’s been shown repeatedly, in cities around the world, that it can actually improve traffic flow while increasing the odds that they, and those they share the road with, will get home to their families in one piece.

And it tells them that no one will actually ride a bike to work, despite those who do it every day right here in bike-unfriendly LA, and that bike commuting rates have gone up in other cities that have installed safe bike lanes and cycle tracks.

They simply can’t see their addiction is killing them and the city we all love, as LA’s streets, many of which are already at or above capacity for large portions of the day, continue to get more congested as we continue to follow the old failed approach.

Like me, they need an intervention.

In my case, it was my doctor telling me that my blood sugar levels were literally off the charts; so high, in fact, he was surprised I wasn’t already in a diabetic coma. Forcing me to rethink my entire approach to food, and give up those things I thought I needed.

In the case of LA drivers, we need our city officials, from the mayor down to our too-often weak kneed councilmembers, who insist on being led by their constituents rather than the other way around, to explain why the old ways no longer work. And show them how alternative approaches can actually work better, even if it doesn’t seem that way at first.

And that bike lanes, and the people who use them, aren’t the enemy.

They can’t leave it up to us, as they have in the past, to explain why things have to change. That only creates yet another us against them confrontation, as bicyclists fight with drivers and homeowners over our safety versus their fears of gridlock.

It will take our leaders actually leading for a change.

And sticking their necks out to do what’s right, because they already know it is.

………

Talk about an unexpected development.

Three weeks after a man pushed an 11-year old boy off the bike he’d just won during a Halloween celebration at Ted Watkins Park and rode off with it, the mother of the suspect identified by police has returned the bike to him.

Which means he now has two bikes, since the ESR Bike and Skate Shop had already replaced the stolen bike.

Nice to see mom step in and do the right thing.

………

Local

CiclaValley explains why drivers are the real threat, even to other drivers.

Thanks to the LACBC, the NoHo Red Line Station now has a short off-road bike path connecting the station to the popular Chandler Bike Path.

Streetsblog reports Metro’s Planning Committee has approved the fair structure for LA’s coming bikeshare system. Meanwhile, Santa Monica’s Transit App now includes real-time information on the city’s Breeze bikeshare program.

In a totally unsolicited plug for a friend, Richard Risemberg’s Bicycle Fixation is offering merino wool bicycling tops on sale at just above cost.

Monrovia is the latest city in the San Gabriel Valley to develop a bike plan, as well as considering a bikeshare program.

Long Beach will crack down on unsafe drivers who put cyclists and pedestrians in danger on Thursday. But that doesn’t mean they’ll let law-breaking bicyclists off the hook.

 

State

The OC Register looks at the recent Orange County Honor Ride, which raised $40,000 for injured vets.

A Bakersfield school district gets a $100,000 grant to teach children to ride bikes safely during PE time. Although someone should explain to them that’s not what Vision Zero is, and that it can’t be accomplished in a year. Especially not without focusing on drivers instead of kids.

The three-day Eroica California returns to Paso Robles for the second annual vintage bike event next April.

The Santa Cruz paper looks at the city’s elevation to a gold-level Bike Friendly Community.

Noah Budnick, the Executive Directive of the San Francisco Bicycle Coaliton, has unexpectedly stepped down just under a year after he was hired.

The Sacramento-area’s Cycle Folsom is getting casual riders out onto the road and into spandex.

 

National

Streetsblog looks at that study showing a 14% transportation share by bikes in the world’s major cities could result in an 11% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.

Bicycling encourages you to get out and celebrate Blacktop Friday the day after Thanksgiving instead of Black Friday.

Portland prosecutors ask for $250,000 bail for the self-proclaimed King of Bike Thieves.

If you can make it out to Tucson AZ this Saturday, you could ride with America’s only remaining Tour de France winner.

Researchers in my hometown found the air bike commuters breath basically sucks.

A Wichita cop goes way beyond the call of duty, giving his own bike to a veteran in need after his had been stolen.

Nebraska bike and pedestrian deaths reach their highest level since the turn of the century.

A Chicago hospital executive gets a slap on the wrist for killing a cyclist while on his way home from a holiday party; the judge gave him just 100 days behind bars, even though state law calls for three to fourteen years for aggravated DUI.

Intriguing new bike coming from Boston’s Fortified Bicycle, which promises their Invincible urban bike will be theft proof, flat-resistant and virtually indestructible.

In a sign of what can happen when bike riders and local residents actually listen to each other instead of arguing back and forth, the two sides may be close to an agreement in a dispute over a Baton Rouge bike lane. If Paul Koretz or Gil Cedillo showed enough leadership to sponsor that kind of conversation, we might have had an agreement on Westwood Blvd and North Figueroa ages ago.

A South Florida ride combines bicycling and black jack to raise funds to give bikes to children who can’t afford them.

 

International

Ottawa plans a permanent memorial to fallen cyclists.

The new Cycling Revolution exhibit at London’s Design Museum celebrates bicycle engineering; it will be open through the end of June if you’re planning a trip across the pond.

British retailer Tesco is accused of dumping $6,000 worth of new bicycles, some still in boxes, in the trash rather than donating them to those in need.

Fast Company calls the coming 200-foot high Copenhagen bike bridge the craziest bike lane ever built, with elevators that will lift riders up to cross over the harbor.

India’s elite cyclists are attempting to rebuild the cycling team following the death of the team’s coach two years ago, although their training is limited by the country’s dangerous roads.

Motorcycle-riding Bangladeshi gunmen seriously wound an Italian priest as he rode his bike.

Over 3,000 Egyptian cyclists are expected to take part in Cairo’s fourth annual Orange Bike Day sponsored by the Dutch Embassy.

 

Finally…

If you’re holding large quantities of cash and illegal drugs, maybe you’re better off not riding a stolen bike. And if you’ve been very good this year, maybe Santa Claus or Hanukkah Harry will bring you a 62 mph carbon fiber hydrogen-fueled e-bike.

 

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