Archive for General

It’s the weekend, and all links must go — CicLAvia, Spring Street and David Whiting, just to name a few

October 5, 2013 / / 2 comments
Experts say I need more photos on here. So here's a kitty sleeping in a donation bowl.

Experts say I need more photos on here. So here’s a kitty sleeping in a tip jar.

It’s been one of those weeks.

Which means a long list of bike news and links have been piling up.

And it’s the weekend, so everything must go.

Besides, it could take you until Sunday’s CicLAvia just to get through all of this.

………

You are going to be at CicLAvia this Sunday.

Right?

KPCC suggests where to go and what to do there, while Streetsblog’s Damien Newton says treat it like your first one and just go out and have fun. The Militant Angeleno offers yet another of his incredibly fascinating guides to sites along the route; seriously, download this to your smartphone and follow it along the way.

You can even have fun at CicLAvia without a bike, including dancing in the street for six hours straight.

But you might want to visit the Chinatown section first, just in case.

………

Photo of no-longer green Spring Street bike lane shamelessly stolen from Niall Huffman

Here’s one of a no-longer green Spring Street bike lane, shamelessly stolen from Niall Huffman

Meanwhile, Newton is frustrated over how long it’s taking to fix the no longer existent Spring Street bike lane along the Downtown leg of the route. LADOT promises it will be finished by Sunday’s CicLAvia; the Times says work is underway to change it from bright to dark.

And Flying Pigeon’s Josef Bray-Ali lays the blame for the whole fiasco at new Mayor Eric Garcetti’s feet.

Then there’s this comment from a rider who went through the unfinished work Friday morning.

I could cry.

So far, Spring’s got its green back… from Aliso Street to half-past Second Street. The FHWA standard “New York” Green hue leans toward blue, so I’m wondering about nighttime visibility. Even where the “green lanes” are in, the buffers aren’t painted down yet. The “cyclist” graphic that’s supposed to be centered in the lane at the approach to intersections isn’t in yet either. Discouragingly, for a stretch, the patched-over recent street work has left an unpleasant, visible lip into the bike lane. Some of the solid green areas had what looked like giant smudges, but a closer squint makes it clear that these areas only got a single slapdash layer of paint.

I wanted to kick over the stupid mocking “ROAD CLOSED SUNDAY” CicLAvia sign.

Heartbreakingly, in a few teeny spots, some of the former green peeks through like a feeble, grizzled old veteran trying desperately to hold onto glory and dignity. And failing.

………

The same rider, who prefers to remain anonymous, forwards news that I was quoted in the OC Register recently.

My coworker saved me yesterday’s paper, which includes an article by David Whiting about the new 3-foot passing law.

A brief excerpt:

Ted Rogers has a prominent voice about bicycle safety through his blog, BikingInLA.com. Despite his and other L.A. bloggers’ professed ability to figure me out because I criticize drivers and cyclists for dumb behavior, Rogers makes excellent points about weaknesses in the 3-feet law. 

“The problem is,” Rogers says, “unless a driver actually does make contact with a cyclist, the law is virtually enforceable.

“The bill includes a provision allowing drivers to pass at less than 3 feet if they slow down and pass only when it won’t endanger a cyclist’s safety. In other words, the same sort of vague, virtually unenforceable standard we have now.”

The article also references a guy who began advocate when a boy on a bike was hit in his Garden Grove neighborhood. Since Westminster is the neighboring city, my coworker and I both wondered if the boy was A.J. Brumbeck (this coworker’s brother’s neighbor’s kid), but I snooped a little and he’s not.

The giant photo that accompanied the article was of a single-file herd of MAMILs on Santiago Road. I wish the damn editor had chosen to go with a pic of anyother type of OC cyclist, maybe una pareja de invisibles riding in the gutter in Santa Ana, or a high school kid navigating her way to school on South County’s speedways, or even a beach cruiser with a wet-suited rider & a loaded surfboard rack flying down the bike lane on Golden West. Pictures are powerful, and casual readers aren’t even going to reach Whiting’s “Lance Armstrong wannabes” quote in the second column. Not to mention, Whiting says right there, “the dead aren’t just faceless road riders,” but that huge picture’s failure to show the riders’ faces knocks a big chunk of humanity out of the equation.

Editorial criticisms aside, the article itself is even, fair, and reasonable…. and hey, it quotes you!

Ride safe out there!

I’m linking back to the original column, but you know, draconian paywall and stuff.

Note to David Whiting: Thanks for the kind words, David, didn’t know you were reading. It’s not that I think I’ve got you figured out; I suspect you care about bike safety every bit as much as I do. We just disagree sometimes about who’s responsible and how to go about it.

Now, if you could just do something about that damn paywall, I’d love to get back to reading your column on a regular basis.

………

A carwash memorial will be held on Saturday in honor of Luis “Andy” Garcia, killed by a second car last month after being knocked off his bike by a hit-and-run driver.

………

LAPD is looking for the hit-and-run driver who critically injured a bike rider in Hollywood on August 6th.

Yes, August 6th.

Maybe it’s just me, but wouldn’t they have a better chance of catching the jerk if they got the word out just a little quicker?

………

Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious crunches the numbers and finds San Diego’s planned bike spending is half of what’s planned for the LA area.

………

Governor Jerry Brown approves a new law allowing undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses.

Regardless of what you might think about immigration issues, the new law means that there’s a much better chance the next driver who hits you might actually have insurance.

And might actually stick around afterwards.

……..

A petition calls on Caltrans to stop chip sealing routes where bicyclists ride; then again, they should assume cyclists will ride everywhere and stop chip sealing, period. Like we didn’t know this already; LA has the worst road conditions in the country. LA Times writer Nicholas Goldberg considers my suggestion that cyclists should be exempt from stop signs, and concludes, maybe not. A handful of readers respond to the Times’ Opinion page series on cycling, but why doesn’t the press ever refute the myth that we don’t pay for the roads we ride? The fate of the My Figueroa project could hinge on a hearing before the city council Transportation Committee next Wednesday. Richard Risemberg asks if LA is destroying the Glendale/Hyperion bridge in order to save it. A new DTLA development will have more bike parking than car spaces. SaMo students will participate in Bike It! Walk It! Week next week. Malibu letter writer says no to a PCH bike lane because cyclists are the spawn of Satan, more or less. An armed, off-duty Glendale PI stops a bike thief. Torrance bike thieves caught on camera. Turns out I’m not the only one to have a bee encounter, as Michael of CLR Effect feels a pinch between cheek and gum. SoCal’s Original Night Stalker was a bike rider; not to be confused with the other psycho who followed.

California’s new CEQA reform could mark the beginning of the end for auto-centric Level of Service requirements. Corona del Mar will invest in 50 new bike racks. San Diego hosts a ride to honor late local cycling legend Gordy Shields on October 25th. A cross-country cyclist has his bike stolen in San Diego. San Diego mayoral candidate rides for better bike safety, while a letter writer is critical of Critical Mass. Torrey Pines State Beach officials ban bicyclists from riding downhill; whether that’s legal depends on whether it’s considered a public or private road. Santa Barbara gets its own Open Streets — ie, ciclovia — event in November. In the wake of their non-investigation of a recent bicycling fatality, the SFPD is trying to improve relations with bicyclists, which evidently needs improving. Two-thirds of fatal SF bike and pedestrian collisions don’t result in charges. San Francisco cyclists are getting traffic signals timed so bikes get greens. Yes, it’s legal to ride a bike with your dog on a leash, but may not be smart. No bias here, as a Sacramento cyclist is fatally right hooked by a big rig truck, yet the press blames the victim for crashing into it. A Sonoma paper writes about the new three-foot law, but doesn’t seem to realize the 15 mph clause isn’t in this year’s bill.

Twenty years later, the gas tax is still stuck at 18.4 cents a gallon, which is just one reason our highways are crumbling. Smart infographic offering myths about women and cycling; on the other hand, here’s another reason women don’t ride, as femme bikes become the new push-up bra. Turns out protected bike lanes don’t have to be ugly. A Portland writer says if you get yourself killed by riding recklessly, the driver who hit you is going to feel really bad about it. A Oregon bike rider stabs the road raging driver who came after him; no word on whether he feels bad about it. One more reason not to get run down by motorists in Montana, where it just became legal to eat roadkill. At least we only have to deal with angry drivers; a Wyoming cyclist fends off a stalking cougar with bear spray. Very cool exhibit of bike photos in Denver gallery; if you’re trying to figure out what to get me for Christmas, I want the third one. Cyclists are packing guns in Houston. Do whiskey shots, run down a San Antonio cyclist and get six years in prison. St. Louis could get 100 miles of better bikeways. Michigan rider says its not if, but when you’ll kill a cyclist if you keep driving like that. A Minnesota writer questions whether bike lanes are enough. Tampa Bay pitcher David Price rides a bike share bike to Fenway Park. Goldie Hawn rides a bike in New York. The New York cabbie who took the leg of a British tourist after a road rage dispute with a cyclist is back on the streets without even a slap on the wrist. Biking across the Hudson River without benefit of a bridge. The federal government shutdown may be behind a jump in DC bike share use — including the shirtless Kiwi who followed Thursday’s fatal police pursuit. Severe bicycling injuries are up for the third year in a row at an Alabama Children’s hospital. After a Miami driver backs his SUV over a cyclist, the police do everything but pat him on the back and hang a medal around his neck.

Bike prices may fall north of the border as Canada considers scrapping an anti-dumping duty on imported bikes. A writer argues against use of the term cyclist, which I employ on a regular basis along with every other term I can think of for someone on a bike. Cyclists — there’s that word again — can commit fatal hit-and-runs, too, as a Canadian rider pleads guilty to killing a grandmother and fleeing the scene. Deliberately assault a group of Brit cyclists with your car, and walk away with no jail time. A UK cancer specialist is acquitted of killing a bike rider, despite driving on the wrong side of the road. The sister of a woman killed by a truck in London blames the victim, calling for testing of all cyclists. What happens when you buy a £137.90 — $222.89 — bike. Brit bike thief is cornered by basketball team. This is why you never go around train barricades, as a British woman is caught on video barely avoiding being crushed by a train. Wales votes to build a comprehensive network of bikeways connecting communities. The Giro could be in trouble, with up to $11 million missing from the race’s books. Call it a private bike share program — buy a $16 cup of Czech coffee, and get a free loaner bike. Sri Lankan paper says a cyclist wasn’t killed by a train, he was killed by stupidity. Despite fears, an Aussie bike lane over a bridge adds less than one minute to drivers’ commutes. A decent examination of Down Under bike rage. Road raging Kiwi driver chases down, then repeatedly attempts to run over a bike rider as he hides on the sidewalk.

Finally, when you get drunk and steal a bike, it may not be the wisest move to make your getaway by riding it down a flight of stairs. When you’re carrying pot and already wanted for violating probation, maybe riding without a light isn’t the best idea. And don’t throw your bike shoe at your wife.

Just don’t.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bike Events, Bikes & the Law, General, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

A brief list of must reads for a perfect LA day

September 23, 2013 / / One comment

Just a quick note on a quiet news day in the bike world, as only a handful of stories stand out as must-reads this gorgeous Monday morning.

Over the weekend, London’s Telegraph newspaper offered an exceptionally one-sided newspaper report of people in the UK countryside complaining about those damn Wiggo-wannabe Lycra Louts ruining their peaceful roadways — without bothering to speak to a single cyclist, suggesting there is only one side worth considering in this multi-sided story. Fortunately, their competition at the Guardian skillfully deconstructs the anti-bike bias in the story, in typically polite English fashion.

There have been countless stories in recent years looking at why and how the Dutch have set the world standard for designing streets around the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians. The Boston Globe offers one of the best examinations I’ve yet seen, with an eye on how we can do it here. And throws in a look at laws holding drivers automatically at fault in a collision with a vulnerable road user; the only way we’ll ever stop the careless carnage on our roads is to adopt a modified of that here.

The Times discovers LA’s ovary gang sign flashing, fem bike centric Ovarian Psycho Cycles Brigade. But as Streetsblog’s Damien Newton points out, can’t bring itself to use the word “clitoral,” as in the recent Clitoral Mass ride.

After months of saying there was nothing they could do to improve safety on campus following the death of bike riding student Ivan Aguilar, Cal Poly Pomona breaks down and does the right thing, re-striping a major campus artery to restrict the use of cars on campus.

Finally, in case you missed it, DTLA’s Spring Street green bike lane ceased to exist over the weekend, with predictable results, even though the now-colorless, rough-riding buffered bike lane remains. LADOT promises the new, less garish — and presumably, less noticeable — treatment will be down in time for CicLAvia in two weeks.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, General, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , ,

Two century riders killed in New Hampshire, be an LA ped superhero, and a little Sunday linkafying

September 22, 2013 / / 3 comments

In yet another horrifying case, a two New Hampshire bike riders are killed when a car crosses over the centerline during an annual century ride.

The riders were taking part in the Granite State Wheelmen’s 40th annual Tri-State Seacoast Century ride when they were hit head-on by a car driven by a 20-year old motorist. The car hit four cyclists, killing two and leaving the others with non-life-threatening injuries.

No word on why the car strayed onto the wrong side of the road, but I think we could all take a pretty good guess.

Note to drivers: Could you all just sober up, put the phone down and stop killing us now?

Please?

Thanks to Dan Weinberg for the heads-up.

Update: According to the husband of one of the victims, police are treating the collision as a criminal investigation and have seized the driver’s cell phone, as well as taking a blood sample. 

Update 2: The driver was stopped by police the night before for speeding. And even though police determined she was an unlicensed driver — not suspended or revoked — she was not arrested, nor was her car impounded. Now two innocent people are dead as a result. Something to think about now that the LAPD is no longer impounding cars belonging to unlicensed drivers.  Thanks to GVDub for the link. 

………

Our bipedalist peers invite you to the Walking Day of Action on October 1st to help take back the streets in emulation of Mexico City’s masked defender of pedestrians.

I honestly don’t know what LA drivers would make of a bike riding superhero.

Road kill, maybe.

……..

Santa Monica may get bike share before Los Angeles does. LA had a bikeway to the sea 113 years ago; hopefully, we won’t have to wait another 100 or so years before the Expo bikeway finally gives us another one. Then again, Downtown LA once had a bright green bike lane, or so the story is told. KPCC is mapping the most dangerous intersections in LA for cyclists and pedestrians. Eleven questions with, and more importantly, answers from, the president of the Loyola Marymount bike club. Bikes give Santa Monica paramedics greater flexibility while speeding response times.

No irony here, as the maker of banned bike doping supplement EPO re-ups for another three years sponsoring the Tour of California. A newly bike and pedestrian friendly coast highway reopens in Solana Beach. Riding with the coyotes in OC. A Thousand Oaks writer says no group has ever been more pampered in the city than bicyclists; I suspect most bicyclists would say drivers are just a tad more pampered, what with all those traffic lanes and parking spaces. San Francisco plans to cut bike theft by 50% within five years; let’s see a similar commitment from the LAPD. The SFPD cites a cyclist for driving without a license, or maybe not.

A North Seattle neighborhood says no way to bike lanes. Colorado driver kills a cyclist while under the influence of prescription drugs — while she was on her way to a court hearing on a previous DUI arrest, no less. Gang members as young as 10-years old are behind a string of Houston bike trail attacks. A motorcycle group fights Wisconsin’s proposed vulnerable user law, while the state’s cyclists are riding without protection. Political maneuvering results in Green Bay bike riders getting sharrows instead of promised bike lanes on a busy street. A Boston study shows relieving just 1% of traffic from just 15 census tracts would reduce traffic congestion 18% for everyone; bikes, anyone? An upstate New York letter writer complains about the rude cyclist who ran over their dog leashes, failing to consider that maybe a trio of women letting their dogs roam while they chat on a bike path may not be the best idea. Nine safety tips for bike riders. Tragic news from Florida, as the second tandem cyclist critically injured in a Labor day collision has died; her boyfriend died the day of the collision. Fort Lauderdale police have apparently been using the city’s bike registration law to stop riders for Biking While Black.

A look behind Twitter’s CycleHated account; if you think this site is depressing sometimes, try following that one for awhile. A British cyclist is charged in a bike-on-bike road rage assault that left a 70-year old deaf cyclist with a fractured cheekbone. Surrey residents are fed up with Lycra louts; funny how the press can write about bicyclists behaving badly without ever talking to one, not like there might be two sides to the story or anything. A local businessman calls a new UK contraflow bike lane a deathtrap; maybe he just wants his handicapped parking space back. A Scotsman gets his bike back after shaming the thief on Facebook. A leading Scottish cyclist fights for his life after being hit by a car. Welsh parents protest after a school bans bicycling and removes a student bike shed to expand teacher parking; God forbid they should encourage teachers to ride to work, instead. European cyclists can now protect their wheels with combination lock wheel skewers. A Norwegian bike rider faces charges after he knocked another cyclist off the sidewalk and into the street, where she was killed by a bus. After an Arab triathlete is killed, Dubai’s traffic police chief warns cyclists not to ride on the country’s roads because they weren’t designed for bikes; wait, where have we heard that before?

Finally, if you’re a convicted felon illegally carrying a semi-automatic weapon, put a damn light on your bike, already. Or better yet, don’t. And a new world human-powered vehicle speed record was set after all, just not by the guy we thought would do it.

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

New Santa Monica park, West Fork of the San Gabriel River ride, and good news on Dale Stetina

September 13, 2013 / / Comments Off on New Santa Monica park, West Fork of the San Gabriel River ride, and good news on Dale Stetina
I can think of worse places to take a break

I can think of worse places to take a break

Congratulations to Santa Monica on the beautiful new Tongva Park, which has quickly become one of my favorite places to stop for a peaceful riding break.

I’m not sure if bike riding is allowed in the park, since Santa Monica bans sidewalk riding. But it’s not prohibited on the park regulations sign.

And there’s secure bike parking near the entrance on Ocean Ave.

………

I haven’t had a chance to mention this weekend’s ride hosted by the authors of Where to Bike Los Angeles yet.

The ride, co-sponsored by the LACBC and authors Jon Riddle and Sarah Amelar, will take riders on a 40-mile tour of the West Fork of the San Gabriel River this Sunday. It features seven miles of single lane, paved roadway closed to automotive traffic, next to a swiftly flowing stream.

Sounds like paradise to me.

Meet at Veterans Freedom Park in Azusa at 8:30 am, rolling at 9.

Or you could take a far less strenuous ride down historic Hollywood Blvd to the popular Sunday Hollywood farmer’s market.

………

News broke on Twitter Thursday afternoon that Governor Brown had signed AB 1371, the three-foot passing bill.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t true. We’re still waiting to see if the bill will be a three-time loser at the governor’s hand.

……..

Undocumented immigrants could soon get California drivers licenses if Brown signs the newly passed bill.

Whatever you might think about immigration reform, making licenses available to everyone could dramatically reduce what the LAPD describes as one of the leading causes of hit-and-run, and help ensure the driver who hits you has insurance.

………

In a dramatic turnaround, Beverly Hills agrees pedestrian and bike safety are important considerations on the soon-to-be reconfigured Santa Monica Blvd. And that cyclists have a key place on the corridor.

Okay, so where is the real Biking Black Hole, and what have they done with it?

………

Good news from Colorado, as US cycling legend Dale Stetina is awake, off the ventilator, walking and talking after suffering a critical brain stem injury in a solo fall caused by an out-of-control driver two weeks ago.

………

A boring bike and pedestrian count in Watts. SoCal Cross season starts in DTLA in two weeks. So far, so good for the planned Virgil Ave road diet. KPBS looks at NELA bike shop Coco’s Variety Store. LA hotels embrace the car-free trend; sort of, anyway. Santa Monica approves plans for Bergamot Station, including 15 bike and pedestrian paths. You’re invited to ride around the Santa Monica Airport this Sunday to consider what it could be if it’s not an airport after 2015; I vote for building the region’s only closed-course road bike circuit around the perimeter. Santa Clarita invites artists to design bike racks for the community center.

Santa Maria cyclists get a new bridge bike path. The cost-plagued new Bay Bridge suffers expensive flaws on the bridge’s bike path, as well. Santa Rosa squabbles with homeowners in an exclusive development over access to a bike and pedestrian path. Prosecutors decline to file charges against a Truckee woman who allegedly killed a pedestrian while riding under the influence.

Wheel guards could save cyclists from large trucks, so why aren’t they required in the US? Bicycling Magazine solves your bike commuting dilemmas. The Wall Street Journal looks at office-friendly bike commuting attire; it’s about time women had cycling jeans, too. New bike lights promise to be unstealable and indestructible; on the other hand, Intel wants to light up your clothes. Elly Blue says salmon cycling is a sign something is wrong, and bicycling can make everyone happier. New GPS trackers could find your stolen bike. Greg LeMond is getting back in the bike business at next week’s Interbike in Las Vegas. Seattle’s City Attorney says it’s better not to write tickets at the scene when a vulnerable user is injured. A New Mexico driver is arrested for the hit-and-run death of a cyclist, seven years after he was convicted of vehicular homicide in another case; I’d politely suggest he should never be allowed behind the wheel again. After a Colorado driver hits a bike rider with his truck, he rushes the boy to a doctor — but drives off with his bike. Turns out Lance Armstrong’s lies are protected speech, but his Olympic medal isn’t; protected, that is. Ohio bike lawyer Steve Magas looks at the numbers behind last year’s bike crashes. A Pittsburgh cyclist tells the driver who hit him “I did you a huge favor by not dying.” Nicole Kidman is pressing charges against a NY paparazzo who crashed into her on his bike. Miami musician Carlos Bertonatti gets 12 years for the drunken hit-and-run death of a cyclist.

Women pro cyclists issue a manifesto demanding equal treatment starting with the Tour de France; about damn time if you ask me. Then again, it’s also time to stop making women’s gear so girly. Toronto mayor Rob Ford’s war on bikes needs to end. Mountain bike trials specialist Martyn Ashton suffers life-changing spinal injuries in a failed stunt. A Brit woman leaves a note asking for her bike back after it’s stolen, and gets it back with an apology. An English Premier League player is tracked down by Twitter users after challenging the cyclist he hit to find him despite the foreign license plates on his car. A British fundraiser for Jewish charities gets off for killing a bike riding great-grandmother with her Porsche. Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins nearly quit the 2012 Tour midway after an attack by teammate Chris Froome. A fallen Prague cyclist gets a unique memorial. Maybe things really are changing in Iran, as the country gets its first female triathlete. An Aussie cyclist wants to change his guilty plea for killing a 71-year old woman with a push during a road rage dispute. Chinese horse trainers do their best work by bike.

Finally, keep cool on those hot rides with your own handlebar mounted mister. A Florida man takes a pickaxe to his newly purchased bike because he doesn’t like all the Trek logos on it; call me crazy, but weren’t they there when he bought it? And Dear Abby says you really should know better.

Category: Bike Events, General / Tags: , , , ,

Rider on the swarm, the extended version — it’s been six years since the beachfront bees tried to kill me

September 12, 2013 / / 14 comments
This is what I looked like once I left the hospital — and trust me, you don't want to see the other side.

This is what I looked like once I left the hospital — and trust me, you don’t want to see the other side.

A bee flew across my path as I was riding Wednesday afternoon.

Normally, I wouldn’t give it a second thought. But it was just feet from where I encountered an enormous swarm of bees along the beach, leading to the worst wipeout of my riding career.

And today is the sixth anniversary of that crash.

I’ve told the story before. But as I read it again, I realize I left out a lot of details.

So if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to set the news aside for a day to tell it once more, with feeling.

………

It was one of those perfect L.A. days. The kind people back east think we have everyday, and we hardly ever get in real life. I was just relaxing with an easy spin along the coast, when something zipped past my face. Then another…and another.

It didn’t take long to realize I’d run into a swarm of bees.

I was riding along the beach north of Santa Monica, on the beachfront bike path approaching Temescal Canyon.

By the time I realized what was happening, I was deep inside the biggest swarm of bees I’ve ever seen, or ever want to. A living, swirling mass at least 30 feet wide, filled with more bees than I could begin to estimate.

I had no way of knowing if they were angry or docile, and to be honest, I have no idea if I’m allergic to bees or not. But I figured this wasn’t the time to find out. So I just put my head down and pedaled as if my life depended on it. Because for all I knew, it did.

There had been several news stories in the weeks prior about Africanized bees attacking people, stinging them hundreds of times — sometimes fatally. For all I knew, that was what I’d encountered.

Thank God, it wasn’t.

As it turned out, they were docile. But I had no way of knowing that at the time.

I rode as hard as I could, finally emerging on the other side of the swarm after what must have been a few seconds, but seemed like an eternity as I watched bees bounce off my riding glasses.

Then just as fast, I came out on the other side, thinking that I’d made it out okay, when I looked down and saw that I was literally crawling with bees everywhere I could see. And I could only imagine what there was where I couldn’t see.

And then, nothing.

That’s not entirely true.

I remember looking down and seeing hundreds of bees on my arms, legs and chest. I could feel them crawling across my face, and recall reaching up to brush them off as one walked along the lens of my glasses.

What came next wasn’t the nothing I described, but the most profoundly spiritual experience of my life.

To be honest, I’m not ready to discuss just what I saw as I lay unconscious on the bike path. Chances are, I never will. It’s far too personal, and you probably wouldn’t believe me anyway.

But let’s just say there was a bright light, and someone there to meet me.

Yeah, I know. But still.

I came to with the most remarkable feeling of absolute peace. And confident in the knowledge that I was going to be okay.

Because that’s what I’d been told while I was out like a light.

The next thing I knew, a lifeguard was placing an oxygen mask over my face and asking if I knew where I was.

Fortunately, I’d picked a good place to land, just a few feet from the new county lifeguard headquarters next to Will Rogers State Beach, right where they used to film Baywatch. They’d found me unconscious, off my bike and laying flat on my face, and said I’d been out at least a couple minutes.

Just my luck.

After all those years of watching Baywatch in my youth, I found myself passed out on their former set. But instead of Pamela Anderson or Brooke Burns giving me mouth to mouth, I found a burley David Hasselhoff equivalent with an oxygen mask staring back down at me.

And remember watching him absentmindedly brush a bee off my chest.

The swarm was gone; in its place was a dozen or so spectators crowded around watching the lifeguards resuscitate me.

He said I’d been out for several minutes; maybe five, perhaps as long as 10.

When I tried to sit up, he gently pushed me back down. I argued that I was fine, and just wanted to get back on my bike and ride home. I could see my bike leaning against the door to the headquarters, though I couldn’t tell what kind of shape it was in.

Better than me, as it turned out.

Instead I was told that the paramedics were on their way, and I couldn’t leave until they checked me out. And the paramedics insisted I was going to the ER, whether I wanted to or not.

Which, in retrospect, probably saved my life.

It’s a unique feeling to ride in the back of an ambulance, strapped down to the gurney, watching the ceiling as they haul ass to the nearest hospital with sirens blaring.

And that’s when my wife called.

We have a long-standing habit, going back to when we first started dating, that she calls me every day on her lunch break. On the days she knows I’m riding, she’ll call my cell phone.

Except this time, the voice on the other end wasn’t mine.

One of the paramedics answered the phone. “Now don’t worry,” he said. “Your husband is going to be fine. But he’s been in an accident, and we’re talking him to the Emergency Room at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica.”

Needless to say, she worried.

I vaguely recall a flurry of activity when they rolled me into the ER. There was none of the usual waiting around for someone to see me; a doctor and a handful of nurses met the ambulance at the door and took me right into a room to check me out.

They started off checking cognitive function, looking for signs of brain damage. And probably thought they’d found it from the jokes that I kept cracking as they examined me.

But like I said, I knew I was going to be fine. So I was the only one in the room who wasn’t worried.

After a few minutes, my wife got there and they ushered her directly into the room.

And trust me, I don’t ever want to see that look on her face again.

Then it was off for the first of several CAT scans looking for brain damage, and MRIs looking for broken bones and internal injuries. Although, as it turned out, they missed one of those.

They found a bulging disk in my neck, and diagnosed a moderate traumatic brain injury, placed my left wrist and thumb in a splint, and finally, cleaned and bandaged my many cuts and scrapes.

It was about 7 pm, roughly 6-plus hours after my crash, when the ER doctor came into the room to discuss my injuries, and said they were going to send me home soon.

That’s when he saw it.

As I moved out from the blanket I’d been under for the past several hours, he happened to look down at my spandex riding shorts, and asked if I had something in my pocket. His smile went away completely when I told him bike shorts don’t have pockets.

What he’d found was a massive hematoma on my right hip, slowly filling with blood from a broken vein under the skin.

So much for going home.

Within hours, it had grown to the size of a football. And I went into shock twice from the loss of blood, my blood pressure crashing to as low as 56 over 38 while the ER staff scrambled to stabilize me.

So if I had gotten back on my bike to ride home, chances are, I might not have survived the night. Even if, by some miracle, I actually managed to get there. And if I hadn’t been wearing a helmet, I wouldn’t be writing this now.

The doctors explained I probably would have bled out if I’d tried riding home. Or died of a heart attack along the way.

And that’s if I didn’t pass out and fall off my bike, possibly causing further harm to my already damaged head or falling out into traffic.

Still, I was the only one in the room who wasn’t worried. Or in my wife’s case, scared shitless.

Then she was sent home, and I was off to the ICU.

Let me give you one word of advice.

If anyone even mentions the term urethral catheter in your presence, tell them you’d rather have them cut that part of your anatomy off, instead.

I’m serious.

A sleepless, and extremely unpleasant, night was followed by more CAT Scans, MRIs and repeated neurological exams the following day.

They sent me home with firm instructions not to leave the house for next two weeks, and no exercise — at all — for the remainder of the year.

The two weeks of home confinement was due to my brain injury, while the remainder was to give my body a chance to re-absorb the blood packed into my hip in order to avoid a transfusion.

Six years later, I still have scars on both knees, as well as one on my upper lip in the shape of a Hitler mustache when the light catches it right. And I have pain and swelling on my right hip, and probably always will, for reasons that have thus far defied the efforts of countless doctors and numerous medical exams to find an answer.

Let alone do something about it.

And I still have no idea what happened.

My injuries suggest that I must have fallen hard to one side, flipped or rolled over to hit the other side, and somehow ended up doing a face plant on the asphalt. But hey, your guess is as good as mine.

For all I know, Godzilla could have risen up out of the blue Pacific and slammed me down, before slinking off to ravage Tokyo once again. Though you’d think something like that would have made the local news, at least.

I’ve ridden past there hundreds of times. Each time trying to remember what happened after I tried to brush off those bees.

But there’s just nothing there.

Meanwhile, my extended recovery led to the realization that I’m closer to the end of my days than I am to the beginning. And that end could come at any time, in any way.

Which means that if I want to leave this world better than I found it, I have to do it now, in whatever time I have left.

Whether that’s another 30 days, or 30 years.

Oh, and the bees? Not one sting.

Go figure, huh?

………

I know I’ve said it before. But let me once again thank the LA County Lifeguards, the paramedics of LAFD Station 69 in Pacific Palisades, and the doctors and nurses of St. John’s Hospital, without whom this story could have had a much different ending.

And a special thanks to the folks at Beverly Hills Bike Shop — especially Chris K, now with the Santa Monica Helens — for fixing my bike following the crash. And at no charge, I might add.

I hope this attitude of gratitude never goes away.

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

So what’s wrong with this picture?

September 9, 2013 / / 6 comments

Just a quick note.

I saw this bike locked to a post at Venice Beach Monday afternoon. Somehow, it doesn’t look all that secure to me.

Bad bike lock job

It took everything I had not to slide it off  that pole and put it back on the next one.

Wonder if the owner would have gotten the hint?

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Valley cyclist’s leg run over by road raging driver; check out Sweet Ride USA and UCLA Bicycle Academy

September 6, 2013 / / 14 comments

Let’s catch up on a couple items I haven’t had a chance to mention this week. As well as  frightening news from this week’s commute.

……….

I’ve just gotten word of a violent road rage attack against a cyclist in the Valley Wednesday night.

Road rage driver

The car’s license plate has been blurred to avoid interfering with the investigation

I’ll let the victim, John, tell his story; I’m withholding his last name to protect his privacy and help prevent possible retaliation.

I left my work on Owensmouth in Chatsworth around 5:20 pm Wednesday, riding north towards Lassen. It’s two lanes there; I take up the right lane, since there’s no room and the street is messed up on the shoulder.

A white car passed me very close and very fast. He had to almost immediately slam on his brakes because there were 10 stopped cars in both lanes in front of him. I passed him while he was stopped, then as traffic started moving I was now in front of him again. He started laying on his horn and yelling for me to get out of the road, so I stopped in front of him and asked him what his issue was.

He told me bikes can’t be in the road and I needed to be on the sidewalk. We argued back and forth, then he said he would call the police if I didn’t get out of his way.  I told him to please call the police. He then threatened to come move me himself, so I said go ahead (I’m 6’5” and 300 pounds).

After that, he got back in his car and honked awhile longer. I was trying to explain to him my rights as a cyclist but he would not listen to me. He then drove slowly forward, making contact and slightly pushing my bike. I yelled at him, then he just nailed the gas. He knocked me to the ground and ran over my bike and right leg, then had to stop because there were two cars in front of him at the light.

As I got up, he got out of his car and told me that I am an asshole and I’m the reason people hate cyclists. I took the pic of him and his car about that time.

2013-09-04 18.15.14He then got back in his car, made a left on Lassen and drove off.  I tried to get witnesses from the over 20 people there, but only got two to stop. Then I called 911. My leg looked like I had 2 tennis balls under my skin on my mid and lower shin, as well as a few cuts and both chain and tire marks; after a minute or two it was hard to walk.

They took me to Northridge Hospital. There is a possible fracture of one of the bones in my foot and crush injuries to my leg. I need to see another doctor in a couple days when the swelling goes down, but meanwhile, I can’t really walk because it hurts to put any pressure on my leg. The reporting officer said he went to the guy’s address but he was not answering the door and it appeared his car was in the garage.  Now I guess the case is in limbo between that officer and the detectives.

Hopefully, John will be okay. And hopefully, the police will take this case seriously and get a dangerous driver — one willing to use his car as a weapon — off the streets.

And that’s exactly what the charge should be, assault with a deadly weapon. It doesn’t matter that they were arguing before the impact, any more than it would matter if two men were arguing outside a bar when one took out a gun and shot the other.

But as this case clearly shows, it’s almost always a mistake to stop and argue with an angry driver, no matter how wrong or how much of a jerk he or she may be. Let alone stop in front of them.

I learned that lesson myself. The hard way.

Your best move is to get out of the way, and photograph — or better yet, video — the driver’s actions, and get the names and numbers of any witnesses.

Then let the police deal with it.

On the other hand, this could also be a good test case for LA’s bicyclist anti-harassment ordinance.

Correction: I originally wrote that this incident occurred on Thursday; it actually took place on Wednesday.

………

A few months back, I ran into a guy with a brilliant idea for a web-based video series.

Steve Isaacs told me about Sweet Ride USA, devoted to exploring the sweet side of life by bike.

If you ask me, the only thing that goes better with bikes than dessert is beer. And it’s a lot easier to ride home after a few pastries than it is a handful of beers.

He promised to send me more details. And then… nothing.

At least, until I went online the other day to dig through my email server’s spam filter looking for another message that didn’t get through. And found the one he’d sent me over two months earlier.

Sorry about that, Steve.

For the last few months I’ve been developing a new web series called Sweet Ride USA, about exploring a city by bicycle with friends, seeking out delicious desserts and ultimately burning off every calorie we consume on the ride. It’s a homemade effort, all done with a partner and a bunch of friends donating their time & talent, and we just launched our first episode!

WATCH EPISODE 1 http://bit.ly/srusaep1

The bike culture and its people have been very good to me, and I wanted create a show that would bring viewers into the unique thrill of checking out a city on two wheels and use the sampling of desserts as a universal hook, for the non-biking folks.

The long view for the show is to eventually travel the world and find out what their bike cultures have to teach us… while eating their donuts.

I’d love it if you’d check out the show – http://bit.ly/srusaep1 and if you like it – please subscribe, follow, like or share with your audience.

Steve Isaacs
Facebook Twitter
Check out our Teaser Trailer
http://bit.ly/srusateaser
Subscribe to the Sweet Ride USA YouTube Channel
http://youtube.com/sweetrideusa

………

Former LACBC board member, and UCLA and Cambridge lecturer Dr. Michael Cahn writes about the revival of an erstwhile bike group on the Westwood campus.

There used to be a little group called UCLA Bicycle Academy. We had a blog http://www.bicycleacademy.blogspot.com/ and a monthly lunch appointment, the first Friday every month.

This Friday, 6 September, we will resume this little routine. Donald “High-Price-of-Free-Parking” Shoup is joining us for a little update about campus developments and opportunities.  Do join us for a good start to the new term!  We meet at Lu Valle Commons on Friday 6 September at 12 noon.

………

Finally, Mark Goodley forwards a photo of the Ghost Bike for Debra Deem, killed in a collision while riding in Newport Beach last week.

Beautiful. And just too sad for words.

We can all look forward to the day when the last bike rider killed on our streets is the last bike rider killed on our streets.

Photo by Mark Goodley

Photo by Mark Goodley

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bike Events, Bikes & the Law, Car vs Bike, General, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , , ,

Teenage cyclist loses leg in collision, 3-foot passing law awaits Brown’s veto, and an 8-year old PCH bike reporter points a finger at Caltrans

September 4, 2013 / / 6 comments

We’ve got a lot of news to catch up on. So let’s not waste any time.

………

In still more tragic news, a teenage Long Beach girl loses a leg, and nearly both, when her bike is struck by a Lexus and she’s pushed through a plate glass store window Monday afternoon.

According to the Long Beach Post, the girl was riding to the beach with her adult nephew when the Lexus allegedly ran a red light and struck another vehicle. The collision caused the Lexus to veer into the riders, who were standing with their bikes waiting for the red light to change.

Both riders were struck, though the other rider suffered less serious injuries.

In a sign of just how trivially traffic laws and dangerous drivers are treated, the driver was cited and released.

Meanwhile, his or her victim has been sentenced to a lifetime on one leg.

………

AB 184, which would add one year to the statute of limitations for prosecutors to file charges once they identify a suspect in hit-and-run cases, moves forward in the state Senate.

Meanwhile, California’s third attempt at passing a three-foot passing law once again sits on Governor Jerry Brown’s desk, awaiting his signature — or perhaps a chance to veto it a third time. Texas Governor Rick Perry is the only other governor to veto a three-foot bill, and he only did it once.

There is simply no reason left to veto this watered down bill, after every objection Brown expressed to the previous versions has been addressed or removed.

So when if he vetoes it once again, I hope he’ll be honest with us and say he just doesn’t like bikes.

………

Opus the Poet’s Witch on a Bicycle has long been one of my favorite bike-related websites, tracking cycling collisions and other bike news from around the world — and offering advice on how to avoid them yourself.

The collisions, not the news.

What many readers may not realize, though, is that he himself was briefly a bicycling fatality, brought back to life only by the miracle of modern medicine.

And, as he movingly explains, as a different person than he was before. Not necessarily better or worse, but very different.

It can be a damn long road back from a devastating collision, and not everyone has the courage to do it. He did, and does.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I admire that guy.

………

Just heartbreaking.

Some despicable low life has stolen the bike that would been used by a San Pedro man in the cycling portion of last June’s Redondo Beach Triathlon — if he hadn’t died of a heart attack in the swimming leg that proceeded it. His adult son had been planning to ride the yellow Specialized Allez in next year’s race in his father’s honor.

If the schmuck who took it has any human decency left, he’ll put it back where he found it. If not, hopefully we can find some room for a lengthy stay behind bars for him.

………

First the good news about the news, then the bad.

In a must-watch news report, an eight-year old journalist reports on Caltrans’ dangerous installation of K-rail along the shoulder of north/westbound PCH above Malibu.

The concrete barrier, installed in response to a recent brush fire in the area, dangerously forces riders in front of high speed traffic on a bend in the roadway. Funny how a child has a better sense of bike safety than the state Highway Department charged with keeping us all safe.

That is their job, isn’t it?

Then again, a group of riders recently took the lane on PCH instead of hugging the shoulder. And declared it the best bike lane in the world.

………

Yellow journalism lives, as the anti-bike publisher of NELA’s Boulevard Sentinel accuses the LACBC of planning to pad the planned Eagle Rock bike count on September 14th.

Tom Topping, who has led a vociferous, if somewhat biased, opposition to planned road diet and bike lanes in Northeast LA, writes that a planned Sept. 14th bike safety class in Eagle Rock, as well as additional classes in Glendale and Pasadena, exist only so the Coalition can get unsuspecting participants to ride past the Eagle Rock bike count location scheduled for the same day.

Never mind that the two events are completely unrelated, or that the planned route for the Metro-sponsored safety classes go nowhere the bike count location. Or that the dates and times for the citywide bike count co-sponsored by the LACBC and Los Angeles Walks are the same for every neighborhood in the LA area, regardless of whether they face opposition from a local newspaper publisher intent on keeping bike lanes from besmirching his neighborhood.

Of course, by calling advance attention to this paranoid conspiracy theory, he’ll later be able to claim that he stopped the Coalition from cheating on the count when the class participants don’t go anywhere near where they never going to go in the first place.

Just like I can keep tigers away by snapping my fingers.

No, really. Haven’t seen one yet.

………

Somewhere in between those two journalistic efforts, the Los Angeles News Group’s Summer of Cycling comes to a disappointing end.

The parent group of the Daily News, Press-Telegram, Daily Breeze, et al, finishes its short examination of bicycling in the Los Angeles area with a positive look back at the last 20+ years. Along with unexamined — and unchallenged — readers comments, including a call for every bicyclist to ride facing traffic.

I kid you not.

And a “can’t we all just get along” summation of the lessons learned in their feeble efforts over the past few months. One that mistakenly says bike riders must dismount and walk at crosswalks, ignoring state law that, confusing though it may be, allows bicyclists to ride along crosswalks.

The LAPD’s current interpretation of that law is that bike riders can ride in the crosswalk as long as they go in the direction of traffic; ignoring the bi-directional nature of both crosswalks and the sidewalks of which they are an extension.

Los Angeles cyclists and drivers could have both benefitted from an in-depth examination of the issues facing local cyclists and the impact of bikes on our communities. Instead, we got a series that barely skimmed the surface, offering less depth than the investigative efforts of a typical high school newspaper.

They apparently didn’t even contact any of the many bicycling advocates and city officials fighting for greater safety, acceptance and improved infrastructure for bicyclists on SoCal streets. Any series on local cycling that doesn’t mention Long Beach’s Charlie Gandy, CICLE or the LACBC, or examine the progress in Long Beach or Santa Monica, just to name a few, is a failure from the outset.

If this is the face of LA journalism, count me out.

………

I’ve always wondered how any bike rider — or anyone else — could get hit by a train; a new Metro video dramatically drives it home. The Source talks with bike commuting LADOT employee Jon Overman, who helped the city score a grant for 43 miles of new bike lanes; when I started this blog, I don’t think most of the city’s traffic planners and engineers knew what a bike was, let alone actually rode one. LA’s city council takes a big step towards livability by voting to cap the 101 Freeway in Downtown LA with a park. A call for entries for Ghost Bikes of LA, a multi-media exhibition exploring the ghost bike phenomenon, hosted by red35 yellow#7. LAist offers tips for drivers and cyclists on how to survive around one another. Gary Kavanagh offers his input on the planned redesign of Santa Monica’s Michigan Avenue Neighborhood Greenway (MANGO); loss of parking is a concern. A September 15th ride around the Santa Monica Airport is planned to consider its future after the city’s agreement with the FAA expires in 2015. Ten reasons to complete the survey for the Malibu PCH Safety Study. Pasadena police arrest two suspects for knocking a cyclist off his bike in an attempted robbery. The Pomona Valley Bicycle Coalition is hosting a barbeque on Saturday, Sept. 21st to thank everyone for their support.

Cycling in the South Bay writes movingly about fallen Newport Beach rider Debra Deem. Four hundred competitors take part in the inaugural Temecula Grand Prix. A Cayucos CA driver is under arrest after allegedly running down two cyclists, killing one and critically injuring the other while under the influence; she already had an outstanding warrant for reckless driving, but apparently was allowed to remain on the road until she succeeded in killing someone. In a case that sounds like a surreal scene from a David Lynch movie, a Stockton man riding with his son is wacked eight times with a cane by a 20-something Asian man. Petaluma brothers repair bikes for the homeless. Bike riders go just partway on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge.

Twenty-nine riders have been named to the US World’s team. Family members say ‘70s cycling legend Dale Stetina is showing improvement. This is why you always carry ID with you on your bike, as an unidentified rider is killed in Wyoming. Eight months later, not a single citation has been issued under the new Dallas vulnerable road user law. A Lincoln NE bike rider ignores his injuries to aid the driver of the SUV that hit him. An Arkansas driver faces charges for the alleged distracted driving collision that took the life of a high school student on a cross country bike tour. Chicago’s bike friendly mayor shows just how friendly he is by aiding a rider who was injured in a collision. Evidently, she’s a Ramones fan, as an Ohio woman proceeds to beat on the brat with a baseball bat, oh yeah, after a 14-year old bike rider hits her in the face when she yelled an obscenity at him from her car; both were — deservedly — cited for assault. A New York state man is charged with hit-and-run after a road rider is found dead on the side of a street Sunday morning. New Jersey cracks down on New York bike riders. Boston wants to be the nation’s leading city for bicycling. If you think there’s been an increase in road raging drivers, you’re probably right. Florida confronts the state’s well-deserved killer reputation with protected and buffered bike lanes; it comes too late to help a tandem-riding couple critically injured by a hit-and-run driver.

A Vancouver area man is arrested in a fatal hit-and-run after his license plate is found next to the victim’s body; passersby tried heroically to save the victim’s life before paramedics arrived. Protesters surround the UK Parliament to protest cycling conditions; MPs respond by voting to Get Britain Cycling. Could a new London building be the ultimate weapon in the war on cars? Spandex — or rather, Lycra — clad thieves simply ride off on high-end bikes. A big hearted Liverpool cop teams with Walmart to replace a boy’s stolen bike. Clearly, hit-and-run is not just an LA problem. Tour de France riders live an average of 6.3 years longer than the general population; maybe because they get all the good drugs. Formula 1 star saves unpronounceable Spanish Euskaltel Euskadipro cycling team. New Varibike can be pedaled with feet or hands. A teenage Delhi boy is killed in a fight over bicycling courtesy; seems needlessly rude if you ask me. A young girl’s collarbone is broken in a collision with an Aussie cyclist on a shared pathway.

Finally, what it’s like to live in a town so bike friendly, even the chef at your soon to be ex-favorite restaurant can recognize a bike part in your food. You can now ride your bike up a tree. And if you’re going to walk off with the bike you just stole — complete with U-lock still attached to the rear wheel — don’t cross against the light.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Car vs Bike, General, Injuries and Fatalities, Stolen Bikes and Bike Crime / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Your end of week bike news clearance — all links and emails must go

August 30, 2013 / / One comment

I’ve got a long list of things to catch up on after a busy week filled with too much breaking news.

So let’s see if we can clear out the inbox, along with a long list of backed up links.

………

Last February, cyclist Damian Kevitt barely survived a horrifying hit-and-run in which he was dragged 600 feet onto the 5 Freeway under the van that hit him, losing a leg and suffering what a good Samaritan doctor described as the worst non-fatal injuries he’d ever seen.

Yet remarkably, Kevitt is back on his bike just seven months later.

I just hope I get the chance to shake his hand someday. That guy is amazing.

Meanwhile, the heartless coward who left him for dead is still walking free, presumably on two functional legs. Anyone with information is urged to call the CHP at (800) 835-5247; there’s a $25,000 reward for information that leads to a conviction in this case.

………

More details on the bike rider critically injured on OC’s Santa Margarita Drive.

Rancho Santa Margarita Patch reports the 34-year old rider remained in critical condition with life-threatening injuries after apparently bunny hopping the raised concrete median before darting into the path of an oncoming truck.

Patch notes that the rider wasn’t wearing a helmet. Not that it likely would have made a difference in a 45 mph collision with a delivery truck.

Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the link.

………

The LACBC and Los Angeles Walks are still looking for volunteers for next month’s bike and pedestrian count. Counters are especially needed in South LA, San Fernando Valley, Westwood and USC area.

………

Matthew Gomez writes that new bike lanes are hitting the street in Arcadia, in both directions of Colorado Blvd from Colorado Street to San Antonio Road, west of the newly remodeled bridge for the coming Gold Line extension.

Looks like they’re wisely getting ready for an increase in ridership once the trains start running.

………

Manhattan Beach will hold a meeting to discuss the city’s General Plan Mobility Plan update on September 24th from 6 pm to 8 pm.

The Mobility Plan update will provide goals and policies for a balanced, multi-modal transportation system for the movement of people and goods in Manhattan Beach. A balanced system uses multiple modes of travel to meet the needs of all users to include motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, children, persons with disabilities, seniors and users of public transportation.

Thanks to Paiwei Wei for the heads-up.

………

DCIM102GOPROI received an email from Craig Kobayashi complaining about the dangerous conditions that have resulted from the closure of the popular Coyote Creek Trail.

I’m writing to try and enlist help on focusing attention to a dangerous detour generously provided to us by our good friends at CalTrans. I posted a comment on one of your blog entries regarding the Coyote Creek Trail. It has been closed due to the I-5 widening project since mid-2012 and projected to be closed until 2015! The closure can be seen here: http://dpw.lacounty.gov/bikepathclosures  The bypass route they have provided includes the Carmenita Blvd bridge overpass, which is incredibly narrow with no provided shoulder. I’ve included a picture of the southbound portion of the bridge as taken from my GoPro. This is the detour CalTrans expects us to tolerate until 2015.

The Coyote Creek Trail was previously a staple on my daily commute route and I’ve simply grown fatigued of fighting this traffic.  I fear that being forced into traffic lanes will inevitably result in a collision and we know how well cyclists fare vs. cars.

He notes that he contacted Caltrans about the project, and got a typical canned response. Hopefully they can do better with his follow-up.

Update: Craig reports he’s received a response from a Caltrans representative saying they are working with the County of Los Angeles to create a safer detour while the construction work goes on. And he offers a video  of his commute through the work zone. For some reason, the video won’t embed, but you can click on the link to view it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aePC_W5-tI&hd=1

………

The first ever Rose Bowl Legacy Cycling Challenge is scheduled to roll on October 20th to celebrate the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium and the cities of the San Gabriel Valley, and benefitting City of Hope on its 100th anniversary.

The non-race rules-of-the-road ride will feature three routes ranging from 38 to 100 miles, with a $75 entry fee and a $350 fundraising commitment.

………

A new crowdsourcing website has been launched to express Angeleno’s concerns with the seemingly endless 405 expansion project.

The founder is especially concerned about the impact the project has had on city bicyclists and wants to hear from members of the bike riding community how the project has affected your life and safety, and what your concerns are going forward.

………

Maybe the reason LA is the nation’s leader for hit-and-runs is we’re also a world leader for massive SUVs and over-stressed drivers. LA has the second most collision — not accident — prone drivers in the US; turns out my hometown has the best. Great photos from last weekend’s inaugural Active Streets LA. Keep an eye on this proposed City Council ordinance which would require better workmanship on street repairs affecting crosswalks and bike lanes; it’s been continued for two more months. Streetsblog looks at last weekend’s second annual Clitoral Mass; men weren’t invited, but then, we probably wouldn’t have been able to find it anyway. Where to live car-free or car-lite in LA. Flying Pigeon hosts their next Brewery Ride on Saturday, Sept. 7th. Better Bike proposes a bike corral for the Biking Grey Hole of Beverly Hills; they’ve been upgraded to grey because they now have a great bike lane on Burton Way, even if you still have to risk your life just to get to it from either direction. Long Beach sharrows seem to show a drop in bicycle crashes.

Calbike offers their August update. Cynergy Cycles invites you to join in on the California Coast Classic Bicycle Tour next week. Bike Newport Beach looks at cycling’s invisible constituency, and says three deaths in the last year are three too many. You’re invited to San Diego’s Pedal for the Cause in October. A Fresno bike rider’s bike cam catches the hit-and-run van that knocked him over; needless to say, the owner’s wife blames the cyclist. Bike share officially begrimes the Bay Area. San Francisco’s bike progress leaves some neighborhoods behind. The chief of the SFPD says the driver who killed cyclist Amelie Le Moulac has been found at fault, after the city’s Bike Coalition uncovers security cam video the department didn’t care enough to find. Meanwhile, a local columnist says everyone needs to ease up a little. It takes a real schmuck to steal bicycles from Watsonville special ed students.

Seven tips for first time bike commuters. Bicycling looks at the state of bike commuting across the US. Modern American bike shops feature beer, coffee and wedding cake; sounds like our own Pedalers Fork fits right in. Unemployment doesn’t explain the nation’s drop in driving rates. A cyclist dies over a week after he’s apparently right-hooked by a Nevada judge. Portland dentist offers to fix a local cyclist’s teeth after they’re broken by traffic cone-wielding thugs. Sadly, a two-and-a-half pound Chihuahua survives a bike trip across the Rockies in his owner’s saddlebag, but succumbs to a collision with a Denver bicyclist. A Boulder CO bike shop calls on its customers to stop for stop signs. Tulsa OK considers a new law that would restrict cars from sharing a lane with bicycles. Columbus OH police shoot and kill an unarmed suspected bike thief after first knocking him off his bike with their patrol car, then it turns out it was his bike after all. New Hampshire police chief gets into videoed confrontation with racing cyclists. A second look at bicycle signal activation signs. Good things happen when towns put people ahead of cars. Bike share means more bike riders, more bike riders means more collisions, more collisions means more injuries, and more injures means more money for New York liability lawyers; did I get that right? If you’re going to run a stop sign, don’t do it in the path of a Virginia Tech campus cop. NASCAR racer Bobby Labonte breaks three ribs in a bicycling accident.

Your next helmet could be made of paper pulp, even if it looks like recycled paper salad bowl. Edinburgh drops speed limits to 20 mph to encourage bike riding; I’d be happy if we could keep LA drivers below 40 mph, or even 50, for that matter. Germany’s Chancellor Merkel calls bikes an important part of the mobility solution; I’ll be impressed when, and if, our bike-riding president ever says something like that. Check out these underground bike parking facilities in Japan; thanks to Phillip Young and Allyson Vought for the tip. Russian bike vs car collision caught on video; clearly, it’s the bike rider’s fault for like, being on the planet.

Finally, Bertrand Russell and George Bernard Shaw may have had history’s most intellectual bicycle crash. And new bike panties promise to protect women’s sensitive parts while you ride; wish I’d had the concession for the Clitoral Mass ride.

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