Archive for Bikes & the Law

Morning Links: Bike-friendly Davis breaks the law a little, and something’s rotten in SoCal bike racing

January 7, 2016 / / 2 comments

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. 

And come back later today when another rider uses video to describe his ride.

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It looks like bike-friendly Davis is breaking the law. But only a little.

The platinum level Sacramento-area college town is reminding bike riders to renew their licenses, since any two-year bike license issued in 2013 has now expired.

Just two small problems with that.

First, they suggest that bicycles are registered with the state of California, which doesn’t license bikes. Instead, CVC 39002 allows local jurisdictions to license bikes at their discretion. Meanwhile, CVC 39003 (same link) makes it clear that the licenses must be issued by the city, county or some other agency they designate.

Not the state.

Second, they charge a modest $10 for a new two-year license, and just $5 to renew an existing license.

But both of those amounts are illegal and excessive.

According to CVC 39004 (ditto), those same jurisdictions are allowed to charge no more than $4 per year for a new license, and $2 a year for a renewal.

Which means Davis is overcharging bicyclists by a whopping 25%. Or a measly $1 or 50¢ a year, respectively, depending on how you want to look at it. Although that’s no small amount when multiplied by the tens of thousands of bikes in the city.

Either way, the program is in clear violation of state law.

Something to remember if your city or county has a bike licensing program, or is considering one.

On the other hand, the registration program is helping a number of UC Davis students get their bikes back, after Dixon police bust a pair of thieves with 31 hot bikes.

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Streetsblog LA named the winners of their annual Streetsie Awards, including LA City Councilmember Joe Buscaino as Elected Official of the Year, Caltrans’ Dale Benson as Civil Servant of the Year, and the LACBC’s Tamika Butler and Mark Lopez of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice in a tie for the Deborah Murphy Award for Excellence in Advocacy.

You can see the full list of winners here.

Meanwhile, California Streetsblog names Santa Monica Assemblymember Richard Bloom as Legislator of the Year.

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I’m not really tuned into the SoCal bike racing scene. But if David Huntsman and Seth Davidson both say there’s something wrong with the sport’s local governing body, then something is definitely rotten in our cycling state of Denmark.

Besides, if you can’t trust a couple of bike riding lawyers, who can you trust?

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Following up on yesterday’s tech news, Sony ups the ante to take on GoPro in the action cam market, while Nikon introduces a cam offering 360° views. Of course, the only way to make that work is to mount it on the outside of your handlebars or the very top of your helmet. And then sit up very straight.

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Local

CiclaValley offers tips for riding in the rain. Rick Risemberg recommends lights, capes, wool clothing and fenders, while Ciclelicious asks which fender. I’d suggest this one, but I doubt it would help.

Not surprisingly, the LA River bike path is closed due to the rains, along with most, if not all, of the other creek and riverside bikeways in the county. Meanwhile, plans are underway to improve the lower portion of the river.

Glendale will host a public meeting on Saturday to get input on a planned redesign of Ocean View Blvd, including bulb-outs and bike lanes.

 

State

Campbell cyclists raise $20,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation in a post-Christmas ride.

Beaver fever strikes on a Merced bike path.

Cupertino’s De Anza college adds three new e-bikes to their fleet of 56 bikes available to students free of charge for a full quarter.

 

National

Conspiracy theorists are still opposing bike and transit projects throughout the US, even though the Agenda 21 Chimera that fueled it is gone.

Bicycling lists seven people — okay, 219 — who could really use a good bike ride.

Next City says it’s time to bury the sharrow for good.

The newest member of the Baseball Hall of Fame is one of us.

Outside offers a profile on Ned Overend, who’s still kicking fat bike ass at age 60 — 26 years after his mountain bike world championship.

An interesting study from the University of Washington finds neighborhood density is the primary factor that encourages low and middle income residents to walk or bike; for wealthier people, the attractiveness of their neighborhood is key.

Seattle bike cops recover a $4,000 stolen bike using the Bike Index website. You can register your bike, report a stolen bike or check to see if a bike has been stolen using Bike Index right here on this site. And unlike the Davis program, it’s free.

It takes a real jerk to steal a motorized recumbent from an Iowa man battling stomach cancer who used it as his only form of transportation.

A Florida paper shows what a difference it can make when the press calls attention to bicycle safety instead of trolling bike riders.

Nothing like starting young. A pair of Florida boys, just seven and eight years old, are under arrest for an attempted strong-arm bike jacking. No one hates bike thieves more than I do, but handcuffing a seven-year old seems a tad extreme.

 

International

Bike Radar offers some good advice on buying a used bike online.

A Canadian writer offers lessons learned from 100,000 kilometers — 62,137 miles — on the seat of a bike.

A British site offers advice on how to make your bike commute more like the Tour de France, while Road.cc pipes in with some additional suggestions. Although getting someone to hurl abuse at you is no challenge in LA traffic.

A new study shows London bike riders are six times fitter than other commuters.

It takes a major jerk to punch a 62-year old British woman after shoving his bike into her, regardless of what she may have said to him.

Retiring former world track champ Martyn Irvine says he shamed dopers by beating them fair and square.

Drain a Paris canal built by Napoleon, and what do you find? Bicycles, naturally.

Bike riders are braving Delhi’s infamous traffic, despite conditions that make LA seem like a breeze; meanwhile an ad for an Indian hospital sums up the health benefits of bicycling.

A 24-year old biology student works to become the first professional cyclist from Burkina Faso. If there are any bike makers reading this, send this guy a new racing bike. Now.

An Australian chief traffic cop questions whether older drivers belong on the road. It’s a tough call; some older people retain the vision and reflexes they need to drive safely into their nineties, while others should have their keys taken away.

Toyota’s new robotics expert was inspired to build crash-proof cars by seeing the aftermath of a bicycling crash as a child.

An Aussie expat living in Ho Chi Minh City has set out to ride every road connecting north and south Vietnam.

 

Finally…

Nothing like banning a doper after he stops racing. It doesn’t do a lot of good to sue the Forest Service for failing to maintain an illegal bike trail.

And evidently, the fastest way to improve bike safety is to get the damn bike riders off the road.

 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: New laws are much ado about nothing, bad bicyclist behavior, and ride faster and save your sperm

January 4, 2016 / / 5 comments

Welcome back.

We’ve got a lot of ground to cover in the next few weeks, including more people describing their rides, and an in-depth look at bike collision stats.

And come back later today when we’ll announce BikinginLA’s first-ever free bicycle giveaway, courtesy of Hermosa Beach’s Beachbikes.net.

Now make yourself comfortable. We’ve got a lot of news to catch up on.

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Much ado about nothing.

Several recent news stories have focused changes in the laws affecting bike riders, particularly a ban on headphones and a requirement for bicyclists to pull over when they’re blocking traffic.

Except neither one is really new.

It was already illegal for bike riders, as well as drivers, to use headphones or earpieces in both ears; the new law only removes some loopholes by prohibiting any kind of earpiece on or in both ears, whether or not they’re actually in use.

Similarly, bikes were already covered under the existing requirement for slow moving vehicles to pull over to allow others to pass. The only change is explicitly adding the word bicycles to the law.

(Or maybe not; see correction below.)

However, the law only applies on two-lane roadways when five or more vehicles are trapped behind and unable to pass; if cars can safely go around, the law doesn’t apply. And you’re not required to pull over until it’s safe to do so.

You also don’t have to move over for speeding drivers if you’re riding at or near the speed limit.

The problem is most of the news stories fail to give adequate context or explain the limitations of the law, or point out that nothing has changed other than adding bicycles to the wording.

Which means we’re likely to see a jump in angry drivers demanding that bike riders get the hell out of their way, regardless of how many lanes there are or whether they can actually go around.

Correction: Serge Issakov, board member and secretary for the California Association of Bicycling Organizations, writes to correct the information about bicycle’s being added to the turnout law. 

According to Serge, not only has the story been blown out of proportion, it isn’t even a story to begin with. And he should know, since he provided the wording that was adopted, without changes, by the legislature.

See if you can spot it anywhere in the revised law. 

21656.

On a two-lane highway where passing is unsafe because of traffic in the opposite direction or other conditions, any vehicle proceeding upon the highway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time,  behind which five or more vehicles are formed in line, shall turn off the roadway at the nearest place designated as a turnout by signs erected by the authority having jurisdiction over the highway, or wherever sufficient area for a safe turnout exists, in order to permit the vehicles following it to proceed.

I apologize for my error. Unfortunately, with all the madness over the holidays, personal and otherwise, I’m not sure where I got the information I used; regardless, it’s my fault for relying on a single source rather than verifying what I was told. 

But a better question might be why the CHP is blatantly misrepresenting the the law.

Thanks to Serge for the correction. 

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In other law changes, e-bikes are officially legal and allowed on bike paths; so are hoverboards.

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A Hermosa Beach bike rider is looking for the hit-and-run driver who left him with a broken arm in Rolling Hills Estates on Christmas Eve; unfortunately, there’s not much of a description to go on.

Then again, not even ghost bikes are safe from hit-and-run drivers; this one was at the site where Reynaldo Barajas was killed in Oxnard.

Photo courtesy of Danny Gamboa

Photos courtesy of Danny Gamboa

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While we were gone, the Internet blew up over this video of bicyclists behaving badly on the popular Nichols Canyon Ride.

Cycling in the South Bay says behavior like this has to change because it’s better to attend post-ride coffee than a post-ride funeral. And Bike Newport Beach says this isn’t what we should be teaching young riders.

If you want my take, just don’t ride like a jerk. Ever.

Period.

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Ride faster. A new British study shows that slower bicyclists are more likely to be in a collision; people who ride at eight mph or less are three times more likely to get hit by a car than those who ride 12 mph or faster.

And in what may be the most important cycling study ever, German researchers have determined that saffron supplements can help prevent sperm damage caused by bicycling.

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A powerful Australian ad uses a purposely misaligned bicycle as a metaphor to demonstrate what it’s like to have MS.

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Local

The LA Times’ Christopher Hawkins calls for converting the end of the 2 Freeway into an elevated park and solar arrays, along with a bikeway offering spectacular views. Meanwhile, an OpEd in the Times calls for closing a stretch of Hollywood Blvd at Hollywood and Highland to cars to create a much needed pedestrian plaza. Yes, to both.

Boyonabike looks at the best of bike and alternative transit news in 2015 and his hopes for the year to come, while CiclaValley looks back at the year in pictures.

There’s still one day left to vote for this year’s Streetsie Awards, including Advocacy Group, Advocate, Journalist/Writer, Civil Servant, and Livable Streets-Friendly Business of the year. Evidently, I’m a nominee emeritus.

Local residents pitch in to buy gifts and a new bicycle for a Redondo Beach family that lost their home in a fire just before Christmas.

 

State

Caltrans issues design guidelines for cycle tracks, while Calbike reports on their accomplishments for the past year.

A San Diego man had his bike stolen when he was beaten by a half dozen men at a trolley station.

A San Antonio website offers an in-depth analysis of the road conditions that led to a $5.8 million judgment the death of an Indian Wells bicyclist, concluding that 94% of traffic fatalities in the city are due to poor road design. And says the solution is slower speeds resulting from narrowing lanes and building more intersections.

The Jewish Journal takes an “epic” 29-mile bike ride from Ventura to Santa Barbara. Epic being a relative term; your epic ride might be someone else’s easy day. Or vice versa.

Sad news from San Jose, as a man became the state’s first bicycling fatality of 2016 in a collision between two cars on Saturday.

Also from San Jose, a man calls for bikes to be banned on a local highway; cyclists say they aren’t the problem, while a columnist fails to grasp that we all pay for the roads, whether or not we drive a car.

A Sacramento cyclist gets his stolen cargo bike back a week after it disappeared, after another rider spotted the distinctive bicycle across the river.

A bighearted Napa man sets out “karma kits” with tubes, air pump, energy bars and trash bags along popular riding trails for cyclists in need.

 

National

City Lab lists 10 traffic myths that should have gone away in 2015, but didn’t, including that bikeways slow traffic and drivers pay for the roads. See San Jose above.

The NFL is discovering what we already know. If you really want to get in shape, ride a bike; evidently, it works for the other kind of football, too.

Okay, it’s a little late for New Year’s, but it still helps to know how to ride with a hangover. Which is one of those key cycling skills every imbibing bike rider should master.

A noncom officer with the Oregon National Guard during the week, rising pro cyclist on the weekend.

A new protected bike lane in Lincoln NE is popular with bike riders, as well as the drivers it’s supposed to keep out.

Bicycling talks with former New York DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan on how she transformed Gotham into a bike and pedestrian friendly city, even if not every driver gets it. Let’s hope LADOT gets it; we’re all still waiting to see similar changes on our own streets.

Massachusetts is considering a series of bike friendly bills, including a ban on parking in bike lanes and requiring side guards on trucks.

A historian puts the dispute over DC bike lanes in the context of the gentrification of a traditionally African American neighborhood.

North Carolina considers a series of anti-bike regulations, including forbidding cyclists from taking the lane, and requiring permits for large informal group rides.

Florida considers requiring solar-powered lights on any new bike paths.

 

International

Evidently, streets are no-fun zones limited to transport only, so bicyclists need to ride sedately. And after a whopping 125 London cyclists are convicted of blowing stops — in a city of 8.5 million — the same paper calls it a crackdown on “bully boys on bikes.” No, seriously.

A woman from the UK sets out to set a new women’s year record.

Caught on video: A London paper is inspired by a dog clinging to his bike-riding owner’s back. Of course, if that was a child they’d be after the cyclist’s head.

The BBC traces the British bike boom back to the 2005 London subway bombing; over two million people in the country ride at least once a week.

Once again, someone has sabotaged an English bike path; a man riding with his toddler in a trailer was nearly garroted by a wire strung at neck height across the trail. Acts like this aren’t pranks — they’re deliberate attempts to seriously injure or intimidate riders to frighten them off trails they’re legally entitled to use.

Now that’s a bicycling superhighway. Germany has approved plans for a 62 mile bikeway connecting ten cities and four universities; the first five kilometer stretch has already opened.

Cycling is more popular than soccer among Spaniards.

Cyclists in Malta say drivers have to be held accountable, and call for adoption of a presumed liability law; the tiny island nation is one of just five countries in the European Union that hasn’t adopted some form of the law.

The best way to promote bicycling in Abu Dhabi — or anywhere else, for that matter — is to teach it in schools and instill a passion for riding in families.

Try not to fall off your bike while riding Down Under when you’re four sheets to the wind, or over six times the legal limit. And try to keep breathing, while you’re at it.

A Thai nurse gave up her vacation to save the life of a German bike tourist who suffered a heart attack.

 

Finally…

Who needs an e-bike when your car’s rear wheel can convert to an electric unicycle? If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em; if someone steals your bike for the third time, just go out and steal a replacement.

And despite what the press says, having an erection in public while wearing spandex makes you an exhibitionist, not a cyclist. But maybe he really did have a banana in his pocket.

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Thanks to Mark Jones for making 2015’s last donation to BikinginLA. While the Holiday Fund Drive is over, you can still contribute anytime.

 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Cyclist injured in apparent non-hit-and-run, and LA bicyclists appear to be fair game

December 24, 2015 / / 2 comments

It looked like a hit-and-run.

But for a change, there doesn’t seem to be anyone else involved.

Police spent Tuesday night searching for a driver who fled the scene after a passerby found a man lying critically injured in a Van Nuys crosswalk, still wrapped around his BMX bike. After further investigation, however, they concluded that he fell and hit his head while riding under the influence.

Of course, as always, the question is why he fell; whether he was simply too drunk to stay upright or if there was some other factor that caused him to lose control of his bike.

Regardless, let’s hope he makes a full and fast recovery.

Thanks to Richard Risemberg for the heads-up.

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The Times reports on the bike-riding Long Beach man who was fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies after one deputy accidently shot his partner in the leg during a scuffle.

The recently released video shows Noel Aguilar struggling with the officers, who had apparently disarmed him before opening fire, despite Aguilar’s insistence that he didn’t shoot anyone.

And once again, the DA’s office declined to press charges against police officers, despite the video evidence. Just like the case of Ricardo Diaz-Zeferino in 2013.

Or the Milt Olin case, for that matter, where a deputy plowed into Olin’s bike from behind as her was distracted by the car’s onboard computer just after texting with his wife.

Which raises the question of whether the DA refuses to prosecute cops. Or just doesn’t give a damn about people on bikes.

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Apparently, I’m the mixed metaphor minion-master Obi-Wan Kenobi of LA bicycling.

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‘Tis the season.

Donations now total over $16,000 for the bike-riding Colorado busboy who turned in $3,000 in cash a customer had left behind; make that $22,000. Evidently, honesty really does pay.

Texas police collect over 100 bicycles to distribute to children.

An Oklahoma police officer repaired a girl’s damaged therapy tricycle after it was stolen and thrown over a fence; her parents couldn’t afford the $5000 it would take to replace the bike for their daughter, who suffers up to 60 epileptic seizures a day.

Pennsylvania police give a new adaptive bicycle to a six-year old special needs boy.

An anonymous donor gave the equivalent of $150 to replace a British girl’s bike for Christmas after hers was stolen.

Around 150 Brits dressed up like Santa for a bike ride to raise funds for a children’s hospice.

After a paralyzed Welsh stunt biker tried to sell his bike to raise money for his rehabilitation, over £50,000 — roughly $74,000 — in donations poured in from fans.

And a Santa Rosa cyclist uses Strava to wish you a Merry Christmas.

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Local

CiclaValley is justifiably angry about the death of pedestrian on Riverside Drive, where the city installed new bike lanes while simultaneously making the street more dangerous. Kind of like Vision Zero in reverse.

Richard Risemberg says Burbank made the right decision in requiring riders to walk their bikes across a dirt-covered bridge used by equestrians; although he notes that if horses could be trained to charge into battle for the past 7,000 years, they should be able to tolerate someone on a bicycle.

Reseda Blvd receives a nomination from Streetsblog for the nation’s Best Urban Street Transformation of 2015. While it’s a huge step for auto-centric LA, it doesn’t begin to compare with the best work elsewhere. Or where we need to be, for that matter.

LA Weekly ranks the city’s new Mobility Plan number one on its list of why this was a banner year for new ways to get around in LA. Although they screw up the timeline; the plan has already been approved by the city council, first with, then without amendments, with more under consideration.

The jerk who stole a bicycle out of the hands of a boy who had just won it in a Halloween raffle makes LAist’s list of Southern California’s biggest jerks for 2015.

A Santa Monica man was severely beaten by a bystander after dropping the bike he was walking onto his own dog, accidently or otherwise.

Long Beach’s Danny Gamboa writes about the ghost bike movement for Bicycling Magazine. Danny is one of the heroes of the local bike movement, even if he prefers to give the recognition to others.

 

State

As of the 1st, it will be legal to ride your e-bike on California bike paths.

After the father of two Santa Ana teens were hit by a car while riding his bike, they responded by forming the Bike It! Santa Ana campaign, which was recently awarded a $2.7 million grant for three projects, including two protected bikeways. Makes you wonder why adults have so much trouble getting things done.

A Santa Barbara man invents a new dog carrier for his bike — bicycle or motorcycle — which allows your dog to ride safely tethered inside. Now I know what to get the Corgi for Christmas.

A proposal to cut back on street sweeping in Davis would mean more flat tires for bike riders.

 

National

As she nears retirement, the founder of Trips for Kids reflects on the group she founded 27 years ago; the national organization works to get kids out on mountain bikes.

After a five-year old Idaho boy was seriously injured in a collision while riding his bike, the state agrees to put more bicycling questions on their driving test.

A Los Angeles man keeps fighting for a bikeway in Grand Teton National Park, where his 13-year old daughter was killed by a distracted driver 16 years ago. Somehow, a roadway doesn’t harm the environment, but putting a protected bike lane on or next to it would.

The Department of DIY strikes in Rhode Island, as city officials move to quickly rip out a BMX track secretly built in the woods.

Baltimore residents can’t seem to figure out the city’s new parking protected bike lane.

Fort Lauderdale becomes the latest US city to embrace Vision Zero, and the first in Florida.

A Florida cyclist films the hit-and-run driver who ran him down from behind, without slowing, while he was riding on sharrows. The video is hard to watch, leading right up to the point of impact. And if you’ve ever wondered why I’m no fan of sharrows, this is a damn good reason.

 

International

A Canadian website says investing in bicycle infrastructure is one of the smartest investments a city can make. Meanwhile, Toronto is leading the way with a year-round network of protected bikeways.

Brit rider Mark Cavendish wants to cap his riding career with a medal in track cycling at the Rio Olympics.

In an usual case, a 13-year old British boy is charged with causing the death of a motorcyclist by intentionally riding his bicycle into the path of a car; the driver stopped in time to avoid him, but the victim hit the car.

Now that’s more like it. A Swedish university suggests paying people to ride bikes in the most congested part of Stockholm by using congestion charges from motorists.

A writer looks at the recent Tour of Rwanda, where police beatings and the country’s recovery from genocide overshadow the action in the peloton.

An Aussie writer says the government must stop its war on cyclists, and stop actively discouraging people from riding.

 

Finally…

If you want to spot the trendy new neighborhoods, just follow the fixies. Don’t bust out a car window, even if the jerk driver honks and nearly hits you for riding in the traffic lane.

And if you’re going to burglarize a shed and steal a mountain bike, it’s probably best if you don’t leave your mobile phone behind.

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It’s the last day of the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive. Thanks to David Wolfberg, Christian Hesch, Calla Weimer and Carmen Tellez for their generous support, along with everyone who has so generously contributed this past month.

Seriously, thank you.

Who could turn down a face like that?

The Corgi thanks you for your support. And she’s glad it’s the last day of the Holiday Fund Drive so she can attempt to reclaim her dignity.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: LA cyclist dies from heart attack, Finish the Ride comes to the Valley, and I talk bikes on Bike Talk

December 22, 2015 / / 2 comments

Just a quick update today, due to too many other obligations. We’ll have a full Morning Links tomorrow.

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Sad news today, as an LA cyclist has passed away after suffering a heart attack while riding his bike.

According to Breitbart.com, conservative activist Avi Davis passed away peacefully at the UCLA Medical Center on Monday, after he was placed into a induced coma following his December 10th coronary.

He leaves behind two sons, as well as his parents and three siblings.

A memorial will be held at 11:00 am today at Home of Peace Cemetery, 4334 Whittier Blvd in Los Angeles.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Avi Davis and his loved ones. Thanks to Asher for the heads-up.

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FTR_HH_email11-22-2015The first two Finish the Rides were huge hits, bringing hundreds of riders, walkers and rollers together for a fun day supporting the fight for safer streets and an end to hit-and-run.

Now the event comes to the San Fernando Valley for the first time with a ride and festival this Sunday — the perfect way to end the year on a high note.

Spokeswoman Dayna Galbreath sends this information.

Finish The Ride, Run, Walk ‘N Roll Across The Valley 2015

Brought To You By Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE)

Support safe city streets and help end hit and run crimes by taking part in Finish the Ride, Run, Walk ‘N Roll Across The Valley!! All proceeds will benefit Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE) and Happy House.

Join us on Sunday, December 27th, 2015 for an awesome event to end the year!  Registration is open RIGHT NOW so register TODAY at www.FinishTheRide.org/register.

Plans for FTR Across The Valley 2015 include:

  • Ride= Two routes including a 25 Mile Finish The Ride and a Metric Century
  • Run =  5K, 10K and Half Marathon
  • Roll= 10K
  • FREE 2K Walk/Roll for the kids!
  • Timing and medals awarded for selected events
  • Cool goodie bag and free t-shirt with registration
  • Great live music and dancing
  • Free festival and safety expo with giveaways, raffles, prizes and activities for kids and adults alike and much more!  Feel free to bring the whole family!

For details on the FTR Across The Valley 2015 event, click here.

To join the FTR volunteer team, click here.

Join FTR Across The Valley 2015 not only for yourself, but for those who survived, those who didn’t and the safety of ALL!

#FTRValley #EndHitandRuns

For more information on the event itself, registration questions or other customer service inquiries, e-mail us at register@FinishTheRide.org or call (844) 884-7233 Ext. 801.

Meanwhile, CiclaValley interviews FTR founder Damian Kevitt.

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I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet, so check out last week’s Bike Talk, wherein I was one of the guests, to see — or rather, hear — once again why I’m a writer instead of a radio pundit.

Here’s how the website describes the show.

TJ Flexer, Zachary Rynew, Nick Richert

TJ puts together this show with bloggers Zachary Rynew of Ciclavalley.org and Ted Rogers of bikinginla.com. With Steve Messer, President of the Concerned Off Road Bicyclists Association, Jim Cadenhead, founding co-host of Bike Talk and Orange 20 bikes, and Neil Shirley, Bike racer, journalist, and fundraiser for World Bicycle Relief.

This past Saturday’s show sounds interesting, too.

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Just a few more quick notes.

Frightening stat, as LA leads the nation in traffic fatalities among major cities, with 6.27 deaths per 100,000 people in 2012. San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco also make the top ten.

Bicycles are now specifically included in the law requiring slow moving vehicles to pull over to let traffic pass. However, that only applies on two lane roadways when five or more vehicles are backed up and unable to pass; it does not give police cart blanche to ticket someone riding in the traffic lane, or impatient drivers the right to harass anyone in front of them.

Ventura police bust a high-end bike thief.

That bike-riding Colorado bus boy who returned $3,000 in cash that a customer left behind will now get even more than that, as a gofundme account set up for him has raised over $5,100.

Now that’s love. A British man rides 12,000 miles to Australia just to spend the holidays with his girlfriend.

Evidently convinced that bikes are just as dangerous as cars, Australia’s New South Wales introduces draconian fines for law-breaking bicyclists, quadrupling the amount in some cases. Riders will now pay over $300 for not wearing a helmet, $425 for going through a red light, and will be subject to a $105 fine if they’re caught without ID — even though licenses aren’t required to ride a bike. The one bit of good news is they’re also experimenting with the equivalent of a three-foot passing law.

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Finally…

If you’re going to get Tased for riding salmon while carrying meth and wanted on an outstanding warrant, at least make sure you’re wearing a heavy down jacket.

Then there’s this.

And let’s end with a heartwarming video from Foster City CA. After a little girl was hit by a car while riding her bike, bystanders lifted the car off her, and police pitched in to buy her a new bicycle.

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Just three more days to support the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive; thanks to Karen Karabell, John P. Lynch and Mark Ganzer for their generous contributions.

Don't make her beg. Support the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive.

Don’t make her dress up like this for nothing. Support the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive.

Category: Bike Events, Bikes & the Law, Injuries and Fatalities, Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Weekend Links: South Bay 3-foot enforcement, bike safety is actually up not down, and more ‘Tis the season

December 12, 2015 / / 4 comments

Guess how many tickets have been written in LA’s South Bay cities for violating the state’s three-foot passing law in its first year.

No, seriously, take a guess.

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

That suggests drivers aren’t even being ticketed for driving too close if they actually hit someone.

Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the heads-up.

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Despite an incredibly misleading headline, more pedestrians and cyclists aren’t actually being killed on US streets.

According to a recent GAO study, the rate of bicycling fatalities has increased only slightly, while ridership has gone up; in fact, bike commuting is up over 60% since 2005. As a result, the actual risk to riders has decreased significantly.

The same report adds that bad street design may explain why bike and pedestrian deaths haven’t dropped, even though motor vehicle deaths have.

………

‘Tis the season.

A Sacramento charity is raising funds to give homeless people patch kits, tools and air pumps to keep their bikes on the road.

An Illinois group raises funds and collects bicycles for a rescue mission. Although they probably don’t have much competition as “North America’s premiere professional fur-covered bicycle cycling team.”

Alabama third and fourth graders get bikes as a reward for being responsible, respectful and/or safe.

Belfast police dig into their own pockets to replace a bike stolen from a boy with Asperger’s syndrome.

………

Help keep the Corgi in kibble this holiday season.

………

A top amateur cyclocross racer was banned for one year for using coke, although presumably there’s no way to tell if was recreational or performance enhancing.

Speaking of ‘cross, a transgender racer who was born male has been barred from competing with the men this year because she identifies as female, even though she has been one of the top men’s finishers in previous years.

Forty-five-year old American cyclist Chris Horner has contracted an antibiotic-resistant superbug that could end his unusually long racing career.

And Ivan Basso looks back on a great career that ended with his successful treatment for testicular cancer

………

Local

Streetsblog asks for your tax-deductible donation to support LA’s most important site covering transportation and livability issues.

The LA Weekly lists the city’s most dangerous intersections, all but one of which are in the Valley or the Southside, and mostly in low-income areas. Not surprisingly, two of the most dangerous intersections for pedestrians are just a block apart on Hollywood Blvd; nothing like inviting tourists to visit LA, then throwing them to the wolves on our deadly streets.

Culver City installed bike Fixit stations along the “bike path” at Sepulveda and Culver Blvds and adjacent to Syd Kronenthal Park near Jefferson and National Blvds. It would be nice if they said which bike path, though; presumably, the first is on the bike path along Culver, while the other appears to be at the east end of the Ballona Creek path.

If you read this early, there may still be time to clean up trash on Mulholland with pro cyclist Phil Gaimon, and get a free cookie.

 

State

The OC Register talks with San Clemente bike/ped advocate Brenda Miller, who says things are looking up.

A San Diego cyclist suffered a serious leg injury when he was the victim of a hit-and-run; he allegedly ran a red light while riding downhill.

The madness continues in Coronado, where a letter writer complains about bikes and skateboards on the sidewalks. A problem that could have be solved if residents hadn’t risen up with torches and pitchforks to fight proposed “vertigo inducing” bike lanes.

The Santa Barbara planning commission approves a plan for bike lanes that will require the removal of 85 parking spaces on a busy street , over the vociferous objections of local residents.

Something’s seriously wrong in Mountain View, where bike collisions spiked 480% over the summer.

Caught on video: A driver appears to deliberately attack a San Francisco cyclist. Unfortunately, the beginning of the incident is cut off, so it’s hard to determine exactly what happened.

 

National

Bicycling looks at the history of what may be cycling’s hardest and coldest competition. Which runs along the same route where my soon-to-be formerly Alaska-based brother used to race sled dogs.

Seattle police are looking for a bike rider who left an 85-year old man with serious injuries in an October collision as he was walking for a flu shot. Like the recent case in Echo Park, the rider stayed to talk to paramedics, but left without giving her contact information; and despite the tone of the article, it’s entirely possible that it may not have been her fault.

Atlanta kills plans for bike lanes on the city’s iconic Peachtree Road in the face of heavy opposition, even though the planned road diet will go forward.

Now that’s more like it. DC dramatically increases fines for traffic offenses, including a ten-fold boost in the penalty for hitting a bicyclist; naturally, AAA calls the increases draconian and promises to fight them. Then again, it was only a fifty buck fine to hit a cyclist before, which some drivers probably considered worth it.

 

International

An Aussie cyclist plans to ride non-stop across Cuba in less than 55 hours. Lengthwise, I assume; crossing the width of the island would be little more than a century, at best.

The rich get richer. Bike-friendly Vancouver approves another 12 new bike lanes, mostly in the downtown area, even though that will mean the loss of up to 50% of parking spaces on some streets. However, Vancouver bike lanes aren’t just for bikes anymore.

Just five months after opening, ridership has doubled on Calgary’s network of protected bike lanes.

Evidently, bike riders are under attack in the UK. Welsh police are looking for the jerks who grabbed a teenage bike rider from a moving car and pulled him off his bike, while another rider crashed into a tree after being pushed from behind.

A 20-year old Indian track cyclist is the first woman from her country to be ranked fourth in the world, just eleven years after she survived the Indonesian tsunami by hiding in a tree.

 

Finally…

Make your own DIY bike-powered menorah, just in time for the last few days of Hanukkah. Challenge an auto-centric writer to bike commute for a week, and he may actually enjoy it.

And kids, don’t try this at home; it’s probably not the best idea to hold onto a truck with one hand with a full-size dog slung over your shoulder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlqXBNKHHA4

 

Category: Law Enforcement, Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: LAPD still looking for hit-and-run cyclist, and a bike rider critically injured in SoLA hit-and-run

November 24, 2015 / / One comment

The hunt is still on for the bicyclist who left the scene after colliding with an elderly man on Glendale Blvd last month.

That’s the gist of the following email I received from LAPD Det. Felix Padilla on Monday.

On October 15, 2015, around 8:20 am, Levon Avetisyan, 77 years old and a resident of Los Angeles, was crossing Glendale Blvd just north of 1st Street when he was struck by a bicyclist riding northbound on Glendale Blvd.  Mr. Avetisyan suffered severe head trauma and was taken to LAC+USC Medical Center by paramedics from LAFD.  He was later transported to Kaiser Permanente Medical Center.  Despite lifesaving efforts, Mr. Avetisyan succumbed to his injuries on November 1, 2015. The unknown bicyclist left the area before he was identified by police.  The investigation is being conducted as a hit and run, however, I believe the bicyclist had no other option other than to leave once the scene was cleared by the paramedics.

The bicyclist was described as a male, White, in his 40’s and was attired with a cycling jersey and shorts. Anyone with information concerning the bicyclist is asked to contact the LAPD Central Traffic Division Detectives at (213) 833-3713 or Central Traffic Division Watch Commander at (213) 833-3746.  During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247).

Padilla notes that the collision appears to be an unfortunate accident, and the rider involved is not likely to face charges.

However, the police still need to talk to him, and the family of the victim is asking the bicyclist involved to come forward.

So if you’re the rider in question, contact the police. Or if you know who it was, urge him to come forward so this case can be resolved, and Avetisyan’s family get the peace and closure they need.

It’s the right thing to do.

………

Yet another bicyclist has been critically injured by a heartless hit-and-run driver.

According to KNBC-4, the victim, described only as a man in his 30s, suffered severe head trauma when he was struck by an unidentified vehicle around 3 am Monday at Vernon Avenue and Broadway in South LA.

Bystanders reportedly moved construction barricades to protect him until help arrived.

………

Bicyclists aren’t the only two-wheeled riders endangered by road raging drivers, as a San Diego-area woman is charged with second degree murder for running down a motorcyclist she’d argued with while driving on a freeway.

………

If we can build self-driving cars, it shouldn’t be that hard to develop a system to detect cyclists and keep car doors from opening until the rider has passed to prevent doorings.

At least, that’s what a new German study suggests.

………

Local

No one really wanted those buffered bike lanes on Vineland, which were supposed to give riders safe alternative route on a quiet street, instead of the long-promised bike lanes on Lankershim that were killed by former Councilmember Tom LaBonge. Well, so much for that.

Writing on LinkedIn, urban planner Nathan S. Holmes says we’ve allowed the media to frame the LA Mobility Plan incorrectly; it’s not bikes vs. cars, but rather, all about choices.

A former LA city planner says every LA street should be a Great Street, not just one little pocket in each council district.

Santa Monica’s Breeze bikeshare reaches 1,000 members in just two weeks.

SoCalCycling reports on last Sunday’s UCI pro cyclocross race in Long Beach.

LA Bike Trains is trying out a new route from Koreatown to UCLA tomorrow.

Celebrate Small Business Saturday this weekend with pop-up protected bike lanes, bike rides led by the LACBC and Calbike’s Charlie Gandy, and all-day events along Venice Blvd in Mar Vista. Unlike some of his fellow councilmembers, the Westside’s Mike Bonin clearly takes the mayor’s Great Streets program seriously.

Join the LACBC and pro cyclist Phil Gaimon in cleaning up Mulholland Drive between Runyon Canyon and the 101 Freeway on December 12th; there’s a free cookie from Sweetsalt Food Shop in it for you.

 

State

Irvine residents remember Kevin Jiang, the nine-year old boy killed while riding his bike Friday afternoon; they urge drivers to slow down.

San Francisco will transform half of a busy four-lane street into bike lanes and pedestrians pathways. The mere suggestion of which would undoubtedly cause rioting and lawsuits down here.

A Berkeley cyclist became collateral damage when two women fled from police following an earlier collision; fortunately, he doesn’t seem to be too badly banged up.

 

National

The new federal transportation budget not only keeps the popular TIGER grants that have helped build bike and pedestrian projects across the US, but expands it by $100 million.

This could come in handy. A handlebar-mounted external battery will recharge your USB headlight, cam or other electronic devices if they go dead while you ride.

After Grand Junction CO officials cited costs in turning down hosting a stage of next year’s USA Pro Challenge, local residents pitch in $63,000, and counting, out of their own pockets. Speaking of which, my formerly sled dog-running Alaskan brother will be moving to Grand Junction next month, for reasons that escape me.

Chicago’s Deaf Velo Alliance shows hearing loss doesn’t have to be a hindrance to bicycling.

An Atlanta coalition opposes plans to add bike lanes to the city’s iconic Peachtree Blvd for now because not enough Millennials live there yet. No, seriously, that’s what it says.

 

International

Bike collisions and fatalities have gone up in Mexico City, even as it works to become friendlier for cyclists. It’s possible that increased ridership could have something to do with it, however.

A Windsor, Ontario letter writer complains about “useless” bike lanes, since he thinks bicycles belong on the sidewalk. Although I’m sure most pedestrians would beg to differ.

A British delivery driver gets 44 months in prison for hiding his diabetes from his employer; he killed a bicyclist when he blacked out after his blood sugar crashed.

Caught on video: A London rider gets left hooked — the equivalent of a right hook on this side of the Atlantic — when he undertakes a cab. If you’re looking to assign blame, I vote for both; the cab driver should have checked his blind spot before turning, but the rider should have held up until he knew what the driver was going to do.

Brompton wants your 15-second videos of unexplored parts of your city, to be judged by Brit filmmaker Guy Ritchie, among others.

Alberto Contador says he gets that his signature gun gesture might not be appropriate at next year’s Tour de France in light of the Paris attacks. Meanwhile, the manager of the women’s Canyon/SRAM team says women’s cycling is stronger than ever.

A new Italian e-bike comes with built-in GPS anti-theft system so you always know where your bike is, even if it rides off without you.

It’s a good problem to have. Amsterdam is building 40,000 new bicycle parking spaces to relieve overcrowded bike lots.

An Aussie writer considers the effect of topography on bicycle mode share, suggesting that bicycling is successful in Copenhagen because it’s so flat.

 

Finally…

Evidently, if you choose to ride in a traffic lane at the same speed as the relatively light traffic around you, you’re a cockroach on wheels. That’s one way to compete with the internet — an LBS that serves a good beer while you wait.

And it’s hard for a bike lane to protect cyclists from large trucks when they use it for garbage collection.

 

Fund-Drive-With-Type-2

Category: Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Serious sentence for a serious crime, memorial for 9-year old victim, and blame drivers, not bikes

November 23, 2015 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Serious sentence for a serious crime, memorial for 9-year old victim, and blame drivers, not bikes

They continue to take traffic crime seriously in Orange County.

An unlicensed drunk driver got 18 years — yes, years, not months — for fleeing the scene after killing an elderly woman and injuring her blind grandson as they stood in a Santa Ana bike lane to observe fireworks on the 4th of July in 2013.

When she was arrested two hours later, Kelly Michele Wolfe had a blood alcohol level of .31, nearly four times the legal limit.

Now she’s going to have a very long time to sober up.

Maybe someone should tell the LA DA this is what can happen when you don’t bargain away all the serious charges.

Thanks to Jeffrey Fylling for the heads-up.

………

Hundreds of mourners turned out on Sunday to remember the nine-year old boy killed while riding his bike in Irvine on Sunday.

He was a recent Chinese immigrant whose parents had come here looking for a better life.

Instead, they lost a son to this country’s deadly streets.

………

Great piece from Boyonabike, who says we should “tell car companies to take cynical marketing gimmicks like ‘Volvo Life Paint’ and shove it where the sun don’t shine.”

Because, he says, the real problem is dangerous and distracted drivers, a lack of safe infrastructure, and a “car culture that sells cars on TV by overt appeals to fantasies of speed and danger”

Seriously, read it, already.

………

Local

The LACBC’s Eric Bruins examines the investment priorities for a proposed transportation ballet measure.

The editor of USC’s Daily Trojan says bikeshare has the potential to revolutionize transit in Los Angeles if anyone actually uses it, while a writer for the Los Angeles News Group questions if people will pay $3.50 a trip to ride a bike.

Western Avenue in Palos Verdes could trade street parking for buffered bike lanes; for a change, the primary concern of local residents isn’t over the loss of parking spaces.

Writing for Orange 20 Bikes, Rick Risemberg offers advice on how to winterize your riding to prepare for El Niño and what passes for winter in the City of Angels.

Santa Clarita wants your opinion on the city’s off-street biking trails.

People for Bikes looks at Burbank’s own Pure Fix Cycles.

 

State

A San Jose cyclist is killed in a collision after allegedly bicycling under the influence; no word on why police think he’d been drinking.

San Francisco completes its 24th Vision Zero bike and pedestrian safety project three months ahead of schedule. Which puts it about 23 ahead of LA.

 

National

Great news from Arizona, as former US Representative Gabby Giffords takes her recumbent on a 40 mile ride less than five years after her near-fatal shooting.

Evidently, a Colorado letter writer really hates bike lanes; he condemns any government official who puts more than 20 cents into bike lane construction to suffer an eternity of spilling hot coffee in their laps while driving.

A Colorado mountain biker relates the frightening story of how he got lost for nearly two days after falling into a river during a recent Costa Rican race.

A discussion of installing crosstown bike lanes in New York’s Upper East Side draws little opposition, even if one community board member says bicyclists’ lawlessness has resulted in a “complete and total Armageddon.” Not to exaggerate or anything.

A Philadelphia magazine explores the challenges of being African American in white suburbia, including a troubling story of black teenagers just out for a bike ride.

The World Championships didn’t turn out to be the financial windfall for the Richmond area that had been promised.

 

International

London’s Cycling Commissioner says banning large trucks during rush hour won’t save as many lives as making trucks safer and building protected bike lanes. He also called a reporter a liar over claims bike riders weren’t using one of the city’s new cycle superhighways.

London plans to close a busy and dangerous junction in the heart of the city to motor vehicles for at least five years to improve safety and “all round congeniality,” while making more room for bikes and pedestrians.

A UK publication says leave the car at home if you don’t want to die young.

Two Brit bike thieves have been jailed for a long running con; they’d leave a laptop bag as security for taking a bike for a test ride, which turned out to hold nothing but books when they didn’t return. They’d gotten away with 23 bikes worth $93,000 before they were caught.

A British woman is left with a broken hip after a collision with a sidewalk-riding bicyclist. But if he just rode off without stopping, how do they know he had a foreign accent?

Forty Americans biked the length of Israel to show support for the Israeli military.

An 18-year old South African man designed and built his own very cool custom bike from scratch.

An Aussie website says it may be time to rethink the country’s bike helmet requirement.

A Kiwi earthmoving company has installed cameras with a dashboard monitor in their trucks to eliminate blind spots that put cyclists and pedestrians at risk.

A five-year old Chinese boy is able to ride his bike again after getting a 3D-printed hand.

Japanese police are looking for a man who smacked a woman in the head with a blunt object after her clothes somehow got caught in his bike when he rode up behind her.

 

Finally…

Evidently, it’s okay to steal a bike from a celebrity restaurant as long as you’re a hunk with washboard abs. If you’re going to use a bike as your getaway vehicle after robbing a bank, wearing a cycling cap sets the right stylistic tone.

And who says beautiful bikes don’t grow on trees?

………

Thanks to Wes High and Matthew Robertson for their donations to support this site. Thanks to their generosity, the first ever Biking in LA Holiday Fund Drive is now up to, uh, three contributions!

Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Sentence in Fiesta Island crash, red light-running SaMo driver, and a long list of bike events

November 20, 2015 / / 3 comments

Nineteen years.

That’s the sentence given to Teresa Owens in San Diego on Thursday, for the meth-fueled wrong way collision that injured a dozen cyclists on Fiesta Island last year, leaving one paralyzed from the chest down.

According to the Union-Tribune,

Owens, 50, was at Fiesta Island to try to catch her boyfriend cheating on her. She admitted doing “a small line of methamphetamine” 12 hours beforehand. She was also driving on a suspended license, and she was fresh off a previous DUI arrest.

She drove the wrong way on the one-way road around the island and slammed into a group of cyclists on a training ride coming around a corner. Several flew onto her car or smashed into her windshield.

After her arrest, she was also found with a bag of meth hidden in her snatch.

………

While making a legal left turn on the yellow, bike rider Wes High was nearly hit by a Santa Monica driver who swerved into the bike lane to get around a stopped car and blow through the light long after it had turned red.

………

A new study is quick to blame the victims after 40% of teenagers report being hit or nearly hit by cars while walking. Never mind that careless or distracted drivers may have had something to do with it. And no, walking after dark is not an unsafe habit; that’s what human beings have done since we first stood upright.

………

Nice project from CicLAvia, as they want to give back to the community — as if they don’t already give enough — by donating 30 new bikes, helmets and lights to LA County kids who can’t afford them. They want your help to nominate a kid who deserves one; nominations close on December 2nd.

………

We’ve got a long list of bike events coming up in the next few weeks.

Today: If you can still make it, Caltrans District 7 Bicycle Advisory Committee is meeting at 9:30 this morning at Caltrans headquarters in DTLA; they want your input on two separate closures on the LA River Bike Path (see below under Local for more information on one of the closures). Thanks to LADOT Bike Program for the heads-up.

Today: Walk Bike Burbank will offer free bike valet at the annual Holiday in the Park festival sponsored by the Magnolia Park Merchants Association.

Saturday: The LACBC will participate in Path Hack at the Spoke Café on the Elysian Valley Pedestrian and Bike Path, a series of free art workshops designed to create a slow zone on the pathway.

CICLE MacArthur Park rideSaturday: Join CICLE and Equitas Academy for a family friendly Bikes and Batidos Ride around the MacArthur Park neighborhood, sponsored by Metro’s Safe Routes to Schools Pilot Program.

Saturday & Sunday: Professional cyclocross comes to El Dorado Park in Long Beach this Saturday and Sunday with the UCI CXLA Weekend.

Sunday: Celebrate the UCI CXLA cyclocross race by joining the Palms to Pines Ride along the San Gabriel River Trail, or take a shorter ride along the beach; proceeds benefit the LACBC and Bike SGV.

Some of the biggest names in international, national, and local cyclocross racing are coming to Long Beach’s El Dorado Park on November 21st and 22nd. As part of this weekend of racing, SoCalCross is offering a Palms to Pines community ride (Ride with GPS route is can be found here.) The ride, along the San Gabriel River Trail, will take riders from the palm trees and sand in Seal Beach all the way north to the pine trees at Azusa River Wilderness Park at the start of the San Gabriel Mountains, before returning to El Dorado Park in plenty of time to watch an afternoon of exciting racing action, enjoy food and beverages at the races, and visit the event’s sponsor Expo. The ride is 77 miles long, but you can ride as much or as little as you like. A shorter Ocean Breeze ride goes to the beach and back. Both are 100 percent on protected bike paths with no car traffic (only 3 street crossings). Registration is $45 ($55 day-of), less for the short ride, and includes an event t-shirt, lunch, pit stops, and a donation to LACBC and other local bicycle advocacy groups.

For more information and to register, go to SoCalCross.com

November 29th: The Encino Velodrome hosts the Encino Omnium track cycling race, sponsored by Burbank’s own Pure Fix Cycles.

November 29th: The SoCalCross Prestige Series: Turkey Trot Cross comes to Glendale’s Verdugo Park.

December 3rd: The LACBC hosts their annual open house, with drinks from Angel City Brewery; admission is free for LACBC members, so consider joining at the door.

December 3rd: Stan’s Bike Shop invites you to dress up in a holiday theme and join them as they ride in the Monrovia Christmas Parade.

December 3rd – 15th: Metro will be holding a second round of workshops to discuss their Active Transportation Strategic Plan, starting with North Hollywood and ending in Santa Clarita.

December 4th: The highly praised documentary Bikes vs Cars opens at the Laemmle NoHo 7.

December 5th: Ride your bike down to Long Beach for the Belmont Shore Christmas Parade, featuring hundreds of festively dressed marching Corgis.

December 12th: Calbike is hosting a special Bikeways to Everywhere donor party in Los Angeles.

December 27th: Finish the Ride comes to the San Fernando Valley for the first time to combat hit-and-run and help create safer streets for everyone.

………

Local

A USC student marketing group conducts guerilla marketing campaigns to promote bike safety and security, along with alcohol awareness and combating sexual assault.

The Eastsider reports a one-mile stretch of the LA River bike path along Griffith Park has temporarily reopened after being closed for three days in advance of a projected year-long closure; Zoo Drive and Western Heritage Way are reportedly being “enhanced” in anticipation of the detour.

Santa Monica gets a $300,000 grant to improve traffic safety and help make “streets a more pleasant experience for everyone.” Meanwhile, Seal Beach gets a $140,000 traffic safety grant of their own.

The BBC looks at the Venice Beach Electric Light Parade, as bicyclists light their rides with hundreds of LED lights.

Santa Clarita celebrates its Bronze level Bicycle Friendly Communities award.

 

State

A memorial will be held today for John Pavlisin, Sr., the 89-year old owner of the Orange Cycle bike shops in Orange and Santa Ana.

A Saratoga driver is being sought by police for intentionally swerving into a bike lane in an attempt to hit a bicyclist. Somehow, that doesn’t merit more than a couple lines in the police blotter, though.

Menlo Park plans to add buffers to an existing bike lane, along with pedestrian-activated crossing lights, to improve safety along a preferred school route.

Palo Alto plans to extend the nation’s first bike boulevard three decades after it was first installed.

Napa police arrest a man claiming to be a wolf who speaks 13 languages for stealing a bike at knifepoint. No word on whether one of the languages is Lupine.

 

National

Bicycling offers a cute look at eight ways having a baby changes your cycling.

No bikes involved, just another example of the mass insanity on our roads, as an allegedly drunk driver killed 38 sheep in a Colorado hit-and-run.

There’s a special place in hell for someone who would steal a custom–made bike from a Texas girl with cerebral palsy; fortunately, a kindhearted stranger has offered to replace it.

The Guardian looks at how Oklahoma City has overturned car culture and what can happen when cities kick the car habit.

A South Dakota business owner and bike advocate says forcing everyone into cars isn’t the solution to bike safety.

A New York radio station explores six things they’ve learned about biking in the city by studying over 3,000 photos of blocked bike lanes.

Forget all those cars, evidently the greatest danger New york bicyclists face comes from other riders. Seriously, that’s what she said; you can stop laughing now.

Not only is Pennsylvania’s Genesis Bicycles planning to close for Black Friday, the shop’s employees will donate that day’s salaries to a local charity.

Evidently, it’s legal to kill a cyclist in your sleep in Maryland, as a dozing Bethesda driver got off with just $690 in fines for negligent driving.

 

International

Toronto cyclists says just because a bike looks old or unmaintained, that doesn’t mean it’s been abandoned.

Caught on video: London’s mayor Boris is greeted with angry words and gestures as he opens the city’s first segregated cycle superhighway. The best part is his friendly wave in response to a one-fingered salute from a bike rider. Thanks to Sam Kurutz for the tip.

A London exhibition will display nine of the Cannibal’s racing jerseys; the jerseys, worn by five-time Tour de France winner and multiple world champion Eddy Merckx, are worth an estimated $304,000.

The Guardian looks at a dozen designs that revolutionized bicycling, from Brooks Saddles to fixies and 3D printing.

A coldhearted Brit writer says he only feels sympathy for the “poor car driver who will have the death of the blithering idiot on their conscience” if a ninja cyclist is killed.

Caught on video: A British bike rider stands his ground while demanding that a driver who violated his right-of-way back up instead of going around him.

A new UK company has developed a circular bike parking garage that stores bikes vertically, above or below ground. Can we have a few of those here? Or maybe a few dozen?

A Jewish woman rides a Vélib’ bike across Paris to visit a friend just days after the terrorist attacks.

Emirates and Dubai royalty join in the mourning the death of a champion cyclist and triathlete just a week before his wedding.

Islamic State, the group behind last week’s Paris terrorist attacks, has claimed responsibility for shooting a bike-riding Italian priest in Bangladesh.

A 20-year old South African student gets 13 years for fatally stabbing a man to steal his bicycle.

An Aussie driver with a provisional license apologizes on social media after the cyclist she nearly killed leaves a very polite note saying she looks too nice for prison.

 

Finally…

Evidently, doping predates the invention of the bicycle by a few millennia.

If you’ve been very good, maybe Santa or Hanukkah Harry will bring you a $75,000, platinum and diamond encrusted racing bike for your next club ride. Or you could sell it and by the world’s first bicycle/scooter hybrid for 115 of your closest friends.

And caught on video: Chinese cyclists crash head-on at the end of a Gran Fondo when the lead group somehow takes a wrong turn and sprints to the finish from the wrong direction.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bike Cam Video, Bike Events, Bikes & the Law, Car vs Bike, Legal Cases, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

BOLO ALERT: Driver of blue car fled the scene after dooring woman near Fairfax and La Cienega Thursday night

November 13, 2015 / / 6 comments
Thursday's dooring victim; I'm not identifying the victim at this time since I have not been in direct contact with her family.

The victim of Thursday’s dooring in the hospital; she is not being identified at this time since I have not been in direct contact with her family.

A woman was seriously injured in a hit-and-run dooring while riding on the western edge of the West Adams district.

According to reports, the collision occurred near the intersection of La Cienega Blvd and Fairfax Ave, between West Jefferson and Washington Blvds around 10 pm Thursday night.

The driver stayed long enough to pull the victim out of the street, but took off after nearby valets called 911.

Her husband arrived on the scene while the suspects were still there, but they lied to him by saying the driver had already left the scene. He identifies the car only as a blue sedan with a license plate starting with H20.

I’m not sure if the police have been contacted yet. So if you may have seen the incident or have any information, email me at the address on the About page, and I’ll forward it to the appropriate people.

Dooring is always the fault of the driver or passenger; CVC 22517 requires anyone opening a door into traffic to wait until it’s safe to do so and can be done without interfering with traffic.

Let’s spread the news and see if we can catch these guys.

Update: I’m told the victim suffered a partially collapsed lung, broken clavicle and required multiple staples for a head wound; she was in surgery as this is being written. 

A gofundme account established to help defray medical expenses has raised $6,000 of a requested $10,000 in just three hours; she’ll need a lot more than that to pay for hospitalization and surgery.

Thanks to Kyle Murray for providing information in this case.

 

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

Bellflower bike rider killed in August hit-and-run; one-third of LA County bicycling deaths are hit-and-runs

November 10, 2015 / / One comment

Sometimes bad news takes a long time to surface.

That’s what happened Tuesday, as word finally broke that a bike rider was killed in a Bellflower hit-and-run last August.

According to the Press-Telegram, 60-year old Bradley Miller was riding on Lakewood Blvd north of Rosecrans Ave a little after 11 pm on August 18th when he was struck by an unidentified vehicle.

Sheriff’s deputies have little information on the car or the driver, and no details were released on how the wreck occurred.

Anyone with information is urged asked to call the Lakewood Station’s Traffic Office at 562/623-3500.

This is the 67th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 27th in Los Angeles County. Twelve of those have been victims of hit-and-runs, as have nine of the deaths in LA County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Bradley Miller and his family.

 

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