Archive for General

Suicidal cyclists, lawyer-beating bicyclists, killer jerk drivers. In other words, a typical Tuesday.

September 27, 2011 / / 5 comments

A few quick notes before I jump into a busy couple of days —

……..

An Auburn, Alabama letter writer wants to know why those suicidal cyclists insist on riding in the roadway when there’s a perfectly good bike path nearby.

Bicyclists that ride on roadways with a speed limit of more than 25 mph know that they are taking an exceptional risk, much like skydiving. If cyclists choose to get their exercise by cycling on the highway, that risk should not be put on motorists who are mostly just trying to get to and from work.

Never mind that cyclists have every bit as much right to the road as the motorists who seem to endlessly complain about us. And that “exceptional risk” wouldn’t exist if everyone — drivers and cyclists — would operate their vehicles safely and legally.

But what the writer is really saying is that he is incapable of driving safely around bikes, so anyone in his way is in danger.

As with most such complaints, all cyclists are seen as recreational dilettantes, while all drivers are just hard-working folks who only use their vehicles to earn a decent living.

Of course.

And we all have endless free time to attend council meetings and ride our bikes, unlike most decent people who have better things to do.

I know the bicyclists’ “union” comes on strong when lobbying the city council, but please consider the vast, silent majority who do not have the time to lobby the council or play in the street.

I smell a road rage waiting to happen.

If it hasn’t already.

……..

Proof that cyclists aren’t always the good guys.

After an attorney challenged a then-teenaged London cyclist for riding illegally on the sidewalk — they call it the pavement over there — the cyclist kicked the other man in the back and threw a beer can at him.

Then as the lawyer’s wife called police, the rider tackled him, taking him down so hard the police operator could hear sound of his head cracking on the sidewalk, leaving the helpless lawyer “a whisker from death.”

The rider, now 20, has spent the last three years in jail awaiting trial. Hopefully, he’ll spend quite a few more before he is once again inflicted on society.

Meanwhile, his victim says he’d probably let it go next time he faces a similar situation.

……..

Then again, sometimes drivers are just murderous jerks.

A British driver is on trial for running down and killing a cyclist – without even braking — then coming back to scream at the victim’s friend.

Blood tests show the driver was drunk and had cocaine in his system when he hit the 18-year old who was riding across the roadway to join his friends.

Witnesses also report he was speeding when he plowed into the rider, who had crossed after making sure the way was clear — or would have been if the driver had observed the speed limit; the lack of skid marks prevented the police from determining the actual speed of the driver’s SUV at the time of the collision.

Then after he stopped over 300 feet away, he walked back to yell at one of the victim’s companions — absurdly assuming the was the one who had been hit, while the real victim lay dying in the street.

And of course, he blamed the victim for a lack of lights, rather than his own intoxicated state and excess speed.

Because, you know, drivers like that are never responsible for their own actions.

……..

In California bike crime news, a Sacramento mother confronts an armed robber who had stolen her son’s bike at gunpoint. And gets it back when the teenage thief throws it down and runs away.

And a Stockton man somehow fights off an armed robber with his bike helmet (5th item).

……..

Bikeside President Alex Thompson questions why a pair of transportation experts — including the consultant who designed Long Beach’s bike facilities — were excluded from the recent invitation-only ThinkBike LA workshops.

It’s a fair question.  But somehow, I have a feeling the answer might be more mundane than his article suggests.

Meanwhile, Bikeside’s Mihai Peteu offers updates on a couple of Santa Monica traffic cases, and directs your attention to an important SaMo City Council meeting on Tuesday evening that will address bike boxes at Ocean Park and Main, as well as other bike-related issues.

……..

You could be sucking down more soot than you think. Or at least, more than the non-biking people around you.

On the other hand, a new bicycle sensor could keep you from riding into cars. I have a similar system that helps me avoid objects in the road; I call them “eyes.”

However, there are some things you definitely should get when you buy a bike.

……..

Finally, the Times makes just a slight boo-boo, as they drop a decimal point in a recent article. Turns out that surprisingly affordable $69 bike trailer you rushed out to buy over the weekend will cost $630 more than you thought.

But at least they’ve corrected their mistake.

Category: General / Tags: , ,

Successful ThinkBike with the Dutch, a touch of racing news and lots of links to start your week

September 26, 2011 / / 6 comments

The ThinkBike LA workshops presented by the Dutch consulate reached a successful conclusion last Friday, with stunning suggestions to remake key sections of the city to be more like the bike-friendly Netherlands.

By all — or nearly all — accounts, it was an unqualified success. Unfortunately, I was unable to participate because the Dutch neglected to check with my wife’s plans for my birthday before scheduling the event.

And speaking of the Netherlands, experience in some Dutch cities shows that removing traffic signals from intersections can actually make them safer.

……..

Italian Giorgia Bronzini successfully defends her women’s world road championship, while Marianne Vos of The Netherlands finished second for the fifth  — yes, fifth — year in a row, cementing her status as the Susan Lucci of pro cycling; the UK’s Mark Cavendish tops the podium for the men. Alexandre Vinokourov unretires for the second time. As professional bike racing has become more popular, it has also become more dangerous; thanks to Georg Wolfberg for the heads-up.

Meanwhile, a little closer to home, Cameron Dye and Lisa Norden win their respective divisions in the L.A. Triathlon.

And a 93-year old San Diego cyclist sets an age record in the 90+ category that didn’t even exist until he created it; I swear, I want to be just like him when I grow up.

……..

A Chicago cyclist, who claims riding an average of less than 40 miles a week makes him an expert on urban cycling, is highly critical of Critical Mass while plugging his book at least three times on a single web page.

Unless you count plugging his book’s Facebook page, which makes it five.

Personally, I’ve known more than a few bike commuters who do over 40 miles a day. Not a week.

……..

Work is starting on rehabilitating a five-mile stretch of the Marvin Braude Bike Trail in the Southbay. The top eight bike commuting major cities please raise your hand; not so fast Los Angeles. The Eastside is about to get the city’s first green bike lane. Santa Monica Spoke writes about Tuesday’s successful vote by the Venice Neighborhood Council to support the Main Street road diet. Bikeside’s Mihai Peteu says he supports the road diet, but it could — and should — be a lot better, and criticizes the LACBC for calling for better cyclist education instead of fighting for better infrastructure. Santa Monica prepares to observe Bike It! Day on October 5th, as participation continues to grow. Bike Beverly Hills updates the limited progress on making that city safer and more inviting for cyclists. The Source asks if getting around L.A. without a car is easier than it was 10 years ago; I can say that cycling is significantly better than it was just a few years ago, while bus transit is worse. Tourists — and local residents — can now enjoy a one-day bike tour of L.A. Bike theft is up nearly 80% at Cal State Northridge.

The second annual OC Gran Fondo rolls October 8th. An Orange County pedestrian says she was injured by a distracted hit-and-run Huntington Beach cop; not surprisingly, the police claim it never happened. Cool new bike racks sprout in Escondido. Two cyclists are injured after being hit by a car on San Diego’s Mission Bay; just how hard is it to negotiate a simple curve along the beach? The new state Attorney General rejects the San Diego Association of Government’s proposed transportation plan as inadequate. A San Francisco bus driver is accused of rolling over a cyclist’s arm after passing her too close, then just driving away. A Chico teenager is in a coma after he’s deliberately hit by a truck while trying to stab the driver’s friend following a failed bike-jacking. An SF neighborhood group with a history of prevarication targets a three block link in a cross city bikeway. An Oakland cyclist is killed after losing control of his bike and hitting an oncoming car head-on. Once again, state law fails to support the victim in a fatal DUI case; thank God we’re protecting the rights of dangerous drivers to go out and do it again. And again.

In case you missed it, this is what dooring looks like — and why it’s so dangerous. How to bike in heels; not normally a problem I have to deal with, though now that I shave my legs, who knows? A new rear-view camera projects the images behind you onto a handlebar-mounted LCD screen so you can watch in real time as a driver runs you over. Hawaii cyclists push for a vulnerable user law. A cyclist in my home town witnesses a fatal hit-and-run; the victim this time was a female bear cub. That New York study showing 1,000 pedestrians are injured by cyclists every year is called “pretty thin” by a colleague of the authors, while an NYC woman asks the cyclist who hit her to contact her to pay for a new pair of pants and a doctor’s visit; good luck with that, unfortunately. An all-night bike ride by hundreds of cyclists is part of a Columbia class on the history of New York City. Reports are that D.C. police are being urged to fight crime by stopping cyclists in largely minority areas and impounding their bikes if they can’t prove ownership. Nine DC council members introduce a proposed anti-assault law based on L.A.’s new bicyclist anti-harassment ordinance. NPR reports that biking infrastructure has hit some speed bumps on Capital Hill.

Ottawa police charge the victim for not having rear reflectors after an 18-year old rider is hit by a car. A British Columbia rider wants to thank the cyclist who cared for him and his young son after he blacked out following a bad fall in an off-road park. A British cop is killed while riding drunk after downing a few pints with his fellow officers.

Finally, ever feel like flying when you ride? No, I mean really flying; thanks to KCRW’s always charming and elucidating Kajon Cermak for the link. Though I don’t know if these DIY kitty liter panniers would work with that bike.

And a Downey reporter follows a cyclist being recorded riding naked in Long Beach; though if the rider was in fact wearing a cape and helmet, I don’t think he was technically naked.

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

Selling bamboo bikes in America to make a real difference in Africa

September 19, 2011 / / Comments Off on Selling bamboo bikes in America to make a real difference in Africa

A couple weeks ago, Judy Bergstresser wrote to ask if I was familiar with Zambikes, a California/Zambia company with a unique business model.

I’ll let Judy explain it to you.

Zambikes builds bamboo frame bicycles in Zambia and sells them worldwide ($1250 for a complete roadbike) to provide jobs and skills for Zambians.
They use their profits to build and provide four models of steel frame working bikes to African citizens – a mountain bike, the Zamcart heavy load carrying trailer, a long cargo bike that can seat 4 plus, and the “Zambulance” bicycle ambulance trailer. You can imagine the profound value of the socialized income, the factory training and the bikes themselves in a country with deep unemployment, high illiteracy and terrible roads.

After looking into it a little, it sounds like a great program. And an innovative way to serve two markets at once — providing a unique handmade road or mountain bike to U.S. cyclists, while creating jobs and vital transportation in an area that desperately need both.

So I reached out to Vaughn Spethmann, one of the two American directors of the company for more information.

Here’s his response:

Ted,

I have attached a small pdf that will give your viewers a nice look at what we do. Zambikes is a Zambian company that has distributed over 10,000 bikes to teachers, pastors, nurses and other service people. With a bike these service people are 3 to 5 times more able to serve their community.

We have also distributed over 1200 bicycle cargo trailers for entrepreneurs and bicycle ambulances for rural health clinics. The entrepreneurs are able to make an income where opportunity and employment is hard to come by. Unemployment is over 60% there. With one of the cargo trailers we have seen individuals make over $20 a day bringing goods from rural areas to markets.

The bicycle ambulances we have distributed have had a even larger impact. They get pregnant women from homes, sometimes more then 20 miles away, to clinics. When birthing complications, dehydration and other factors come into play walking or being brought to a clinic in a wheel barrel is not a viable option. The bicycle ambulances are saving lives on a weekly basis.

Zambikes employs more then 40 men and women and they also make bamboo bikes. Each frame takes months to cut, treat, sand, paint and shape. These bamboo bikes are stiff, light and strong. Each frame is unique and is compatible with most parts. We sell road bikes, mountain and everything in between and any geometry or size.

To donate a bicycle ambulance to a rural health clinic go to abikes.org and do that through this great tax exempt non profit.

To get a bamboo bike straight from Zambia go to Zambikes.com and place your order today!

Thanks for the opportunity to share, Judy and Ted!

Seems to me that $1250 is a pretty low price for a custom frame bike — let alone one that will be the talk of everyone who sees it. And a chance to make a real difference for people to whom the average American struggling to pay his or her bills in a down economy still seems rich beyond all imagination.

As far as good causes go, this one seems like a no brainer.

Category: General, Guest Columns / Tags: , , , , ,

Major road rage chutzpah, Jeannie Longo breaks my heart & LA’s anti-harassment ordinance spreads east

September 18, 2011 / / 4 comments

In an unbelievable display of chutzpah, the driver accused of running down a Highland Park cyclist in a road rage assault has spoken out against bikes lanes on North Figueroa.

According to the Highland Park-Mount Washington Patch, Louis Mraz used a recent meeting of the Mt. Washington Homeowners’ Alliance to warn that efforts by the recently formed Figueroa for All initiative could return the street to a single lane for cars and one for bikes, like it was in the ‘40s when the Red Cars reduced vehicular traffic to one lane in each direction.

Like that would be a bad thing.

Except for impatient road raging drivers, of course.

He went on to suggest that cyclists should be routed to less-traveled streets, warning that North Fig could soon become “jammed with bikes.”

Then again, he seems to take offense if there’s just one bike in his way. Or at least, that’s what he currently stands accused of.

Maybe it’s just me.

But I’d think that when you’re facing charges for a vehicular assault against a cyclist, it might be wise to keep any obvious anti-bike bias to yourself.

Especially if it’s not the first time you’ve been accused of a road rage attack.

……..

Tell me it ain’t so, Jeannie.

The legendary Jeannie Longo is under investigation for dodging dope tests, while her husband stands accused of buying EPO on her behalf.

This one just breaks my heart.

Longo is — or was — one of the greatest cyclists of all time, and certainly stands as one of the best I’ve ever had the privilege watching ride to victory. If she’s cheating, it raising the question of just how long and when she started. And casts pall on a career that’s lasted through parts of five decades.

And if one of the greatest riders of our time is cheating, then who isn’t?

Maybe Greg LeMond is right, and just about everyone except him is dirty. Or everyone after him, anyway.

Even teams famously dedicated to riding clean face problems, as HTC-Highroad rider Alex Rasmussen is fired from the team and suspended by Denmark’s cycling federation after missing three drug tests in 18 months.

It’s starting to look like a clean pro cyclist is about as rare a clean college football program.

……..

L.A.’s groundbreaking bicyclist anti-harassment could soon spread east as Washington DC considers a similar ordinance in the wake of a deliberate assault on a rider.

……..

Seattle’s bike-friendly mayor says it’s time to stop finding fault and start finding solutions to the city’s recent rash of bike deaths — including a rider who may have been killed by a bad bikeway design. And The Stranger says as long as cyclists are dying, if people want to think there’s a war against cars, then maybe there should be.

Meanwhile, a Seattle author takes cyclists to task for failing to share the road.

She’s got a point. But seriously, if a cyclist is pounding on your car when you’re busy taking on the phone — hands-free or otherwise — there’s a reasonable chance you may have done something to deserve it.

Just saying.

……..

A very positive year for L.A. cyclists — though the notoriously anti-bike L.A. Weekly bizarrely calls it ass-kissing — leads to an honorable mention from the League of American Bicyclists. New LADOT General Manager Jaime de la Vega says L.A. is committed to becoming a more bike-friendly city. L.A. will soon get its first green bike lanes on 1st Street, and the Reseda Blvd bike lanes are now complete from Roscoe to Parthenia. Joe Linton explores the new Cahuenga Blvd bike lanes, the first to reach Hollywood. The BPIT agenda for October is officially unveiled. Bikerowave will host a swap meet on Sunday, October 2nd. Check out the shiny new CicLAvia website. Long Beach gets a new bike station. Thousand Oaks passes on hosting next year’s Amgen Tour of California. A mountain biker is killed by a train while riding on the tracks in Redding. A bike-riding Santa Cruz bank robber faces sentencing after pleading no contest; something tells me he’ll serve a lot more time for stealing money on a bike than most drivers get for killing someone on one. In a case that didn’t smell right from the beginning, CHP reverses itself to rule that a Los Altos Hills cyclist wasn’t responsible for the collision that killed her after all.

After beating back a challenge to bike funding in the federal transportation bill, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid says biking facilities are absolutely important. Defending Olympic time trial champion Kristin Armstrong is replaced by Amber Neben on the U.S squad for the World Championships. A Dutch student becomes the world’s second fastest cyclist at 82.81 miles per hour in a Nevada desert. Cyclists take to Boulder CO’s new 40-acre off-road bike park. The New York Times says don’t forget to pack your folding bike when you travel, while the bike wars continue in the letters to the Times; heads-up courtesy of George Wolfberg. NYC chooses Alta to run its bike share program. A Maryland woman becomes an unintended bike activist after a motorist is fined $507.50 for killing her bike-riding husband.

Mexico City cyclists ride to reclaim their streets following threats from a journalist. Brazil plans to devote 15% of all traffic fines to promote cycling. A Canadian writer concludes that law-flouting kamikaze bikers have declared war on pedestrians. A UK cyclist suffers a broken collarbone after being intentionally rammed in a road rage incident, while Sussex cyclists are being pelted with eggs. Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour has to tear down his beachfront bike hut. Surrey police target inconsiderate cyclists with a possible £1000 fine; link courtesy of Bob Davis. Bikes will soon be allowed on a Yorkshire pathway for the first time in 150 years. Hugh Jackman rides a Brompton. Sleek, sturdy wooden bikes that actually ride like, well, bikes. The NY Times swears Copenhagen pedestrians feel squeezed out by the city’s cyclists. Cyclists and drivers fight for supremacy on German roadways; Dave Moulton asks when cyclists in bike-friendly countries cross the line to become unfriendly to everyone else on the road. A Queensland cyclist remains unidentified after a fatal cycling collision — which is why you should always carry ID when you ride. China is falling back in love with the bicycle.

Finally, in case you missed it, an Orange County driver takes a short cut directly through Mission Viejo’s Rock N’ Road Cyclery. And Der Spiegel says L.A., here I come. No idea what it says, but the pictures are nice; thanks to Dr. Michael Cahn for the link.

Category: Bikes & the Law, General, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Los Angeles, Orange County named Honorable Mention Bike Friendly Cities(?)

September 14, 2011 / / 9 comments

We’ll ignore the fact the Orange County is, well, a county. Not a city.

Or if you prefer, a lot of cities, even if they do tend to blend into one another at times.

But O.C. and L.A. have made the League of American Bicyclists list of Bike Friendly Cities, if only just barely. Both were named Honorable Mention, a step below the Bronze designation, in recognition of the steps each has made.

And just how far they have to go.

Los Angeles makes its claim on the basis of the new-found support from City Hall that has resulted in a widely praised new bike plan — which is just starting to result in new paint on the street — as well as the groundbreaking bicyclists’ anti-harassment ordinance.

But as Bikeside’s recent survey suggests, local cyclists face far too many unfriendly streets and drivers to deserve a higher ranking; I would read this more as recognition of the possibilities, rather than what’s already been accomplished.

Sort of like Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize. And I’ll let you decide how that’s turned out.

If — and it’s a big if — the city manages to stay on course, it may legitimately deserve a bronze designation next year.

Meanwhile, someone else who actually rides there will have to address whether the collection of cities and towns behind the Orange Curtain deserves its designation.

There seems to be an unfortunate tendency to blame rude and scofflaw cyclists for the county’s unacceptably high fatality rate, including a crackdown on the victims — even though the overwhelming majority of Orange County fatalities have been the result of careless, drunk or distracted drivers, rather than lawbreaking riders.

And at least one OC city seem to have an inexplicable fear of sharrows.

But there must be progress being made; Irvine and Huntington Beach have already made the list as Bronze level cities, joining northern neighbors Long Beach and Santa Monica.

And even though SaMo’s designation was widely derided at the time — including by yours truly — they seem to be making every effort to live up to it now.

So maybe there’s real hope for L.A. and O.C., after all.

We’ll just have to wait a few years and see.

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

Four years ago today, a swarm of bees tried to kill me

September 12, 2011 / / 4 comments

I’ve told the story before, so I won’t waste your time getting into it again.

But it was four years ago today that I left for an easy ride along the beach on a beautiful late summer day, and woke up to a lifeguard placing an oxygen mask over my face.

And just my luck, after a lifetime of Baywatch fantasies, I got a David Hassalhoff-equivalent instead of a Pamela Anderson.

Four years later, I still have a few lingering health and fitness problems stemming from that solo collision that started with a massive swarm of bees and ended with a trip through the ER and ICU. Although anytime I make a mistake, I’ve got a built-in excuse thanks to the moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI) I received that day.

And no, I didn’t get stung. And no, I still don’t remember what happened in between.

But it wasn’t the concussion that threatened my life. It was the internal bleeding from a massive hematoma that nearly sent me into shock three times, and could have bled out or lead to a heart attack if I’d followed my instincts and tried to ride home.

But I’m here, I’m alive and I’m healthy. And on days like this, I’m reminded just how lucky I am.

And after all these years, my wife is finally starting to find the humor in the phone call she made to my cell phone that afternoon. The one that was answered by a paramedic saying “Now don’t worry, your husband is going to be fine, but right now he’s in an ambulance on the way to the emergency room…”

So let me take a moment to thank the L.A. County Lifeguards, the fire fighters and paramedics of LAFD Station 69, and the ER and ICU staff at St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica. The care I got from each and all of them was truly exemplary, and kept a handful of moderate injuries from becoming something more.

And thanks to Trek for making — and replacing — the helmet that limited my head injury to a moderate concussion; it’s exactly this kind of relatively slow speed impacts that helmets are designed to protect against.

You can read about the Infamous Beachfront Bee Encounter here. And if you haven’t already, you can still catch up on last weekend’s long list of links and upcoming events.

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s a beautiful day, and I have to ride.

And hopefully, I won’t run into any bees along the way.

Category: Bicycle Safety, General, Health / Tags: , , , ,

Haute couture cycling, Gov. Brown vetoes distracted driving/biking bill, GOP tried to gut bike spending

September 9, 2011 / / One comment

Biking goes haute couture; I discovered this bike in the Fendi store on Rodeo Drive during Thursday's Fashion's Night Out.

……..

Go ahead and text while you ride.

Remarkably, Governor Brown vetoes a measure that would have increased fines for the nearly universally ignored law banning the use of handheld cell phones, as well as banning handheld use while biking.

According to the North County Times,

Brown explained his decision to kill the bill on Wednesday in a brief letter: “I am returning Senate Bill 28 without my signature. I certainly support discouraging cell phone use while driving a car, but not ratcheting up the penalties as prescribed by this bill.

“For ordinary people, current fines and penalty assessments should be sufficient deterrent.”

I think the governor needs to get out of the office more. By my count — and yes, I have counted — anywhere from 25% to 50% of drivers appear to be using a handheld phone at any given time.

Brown vetoed a very good and very needed, law. Which doesn’t give me a lot of confidence regarding his support of the newly passed three-foot passing law.

However, it seems the legislature may try to override his veto. Maybe that’s something the GOP members can get behind, if only to embarrass our Democratic governor.

……..

The League of American Bicyclists begins the I Bike I Vote campaign to save federal funding for cycling projects from a GOP-led effort to eliminate all Transportation Enhancements. You’re urged to contact your Senator today; you can download your own IBIV graphic here.

Hopefully they can resist the right’s mad dash rush to return to the transportation policies of the 1950s.

……..

Another two bike thieves are behind bars; the Santa Monica Mirror shows a little levity in describing the situation police found when they were called to the Santa Monica Place mall.

When they arrived at the scene the officers spoke with the security personnel who told them that they had observed two men who had been using bolt cutters to cut bicycle locks.

This sparked the interest of the security personnel because they evidently knew that typically owners of bicycles do not do this.

Then again, make that three bike thieves.

……..

This is why you always see a doctor after a cycling collision.

A Memphis cyclist dies after riding home following a collision and telling his girlfriend not to call for medical help; charges won’t be filed against the driver who tried to render aid but was chased off by the rider.

If someone ever asks if you want an ambulance following a collision, the answer is yes. Insurance should pay for it — yours or the drivers; regardless, your life is worth it.

If I’d followed my instincts and ridden home after the Infamous Beachfront Bee Encounter, I probably wouldn’t be here today. Fortunately, the EMTs insisted I go to the ER, where they found a massive hematoma on my hip that could have bled out if I’d tried to ride home.

And yes, I’m grateful as hell.

……..

Streetsblog says the 7th Street bike lanes are now officially open; LACBC offers photos of the press conference. The Times seems amazed that a car lane on 7th is removed in favor of bikes, while KPCC asks if the city is doing what it should to support cyclists and bikeways. And Dave Moulton uses the road diet as an example to ask if more lanes really move more traffic.

……..

The L.A. firefighters biking across the country to honor victims of 9/11 should have arrived Friday. How about Safe Routes to Universities, too? Nate Baird clarifies LADOT’s confusing stats on bikeway installation. L.A. Eastside visits the new bike lanes on 1st Street in Boyle Heights. Bike friendly City Council President Eric Garcetti announces his candidacy for mayor. The Times looks at the Bicycle Film Festival on now; Flying Pigeon will be there with select children’s and cargo bikes available at a discount. Rick Risemberg says it’s time for Beverly Hills to reach beyond the low-hanging fruit. Beverly Hills Patch looks at last week’s meeting to make the city more bike friendly, which could start with bike parking if they’d stop saying no. Why the beachfront bike path is named after Marvin Braude. Slow progress for cyclists and pedestrians in Malibu. Santa Monica lays out an ambitious implementation plan to become a bike friendly city. Streetsblog examines the unique arrangement that resulted in Glendale’s Safe and Healthy Streets program, including the planned Riverdale-Maple Greenway. A bike-riding gunman robs  a Glendale woman. A Glendora cyclist suffers life-threatening injuries when he’s hit by a car; no other details are currently available. KPCC offers a great video of cycling the Angeles Crest Highway. Long Beach’s biking expats discuss trading Long Haul Truckers to tour by Brompton.

Thousand Oaks cyclists ride to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. A Santa Maria cyclist is stabbed in a robbery attempt. Santa Paula cyclists are about to get a new three-mile bike trail. Chico State students protest police citations for illegal bike parking at the same time bike racks are being removed. A Bakersfield teenager is critically injured after being hit by two cars while riding in the wrong direction. Tahoe cyclists are identified as a “major problem” because they’re the victims of a large part of injury collisions; next, South Tahoe police will target local deer because they keep getting shot by hunters. The cyclist nearly killed in a collision during last year’s Sonoma County Gran Fondo is nearly ready to ride again, almost a year later.

Help Kickstart A Day in the Life with Vegan Athletes. Urbana’s industrial-strength rear rack is now available for all cyclists. A writer for the New York Times considers the lessons learned riding across the West; thanks to George Wolfberg for the heads-up. Thanks to an article in the Economist, a spotlight shines on Seattle’s hazardous conditions for cyclists. Durango CO cyclists need to observe the law; you know, so they don’t offend all those drivers who don’t, either. An Idaho driver is scared to death after hitting a cyclist who must have been right in front of him; just imagine how the rider must have felt. The Missoula cyclist found dead on the sidewalk apparently died of internal bleeding after crashing his bike and hitting his chest on the handlebars. The widow of a cyclist is forced to pay court costs as a jury blames her husband for the driver’s left cross that killed him. A Milwaukee driver claims he blacked out before his car drifted across the road to hit a salmon cyclist riding in the same direction in the wrong side of the road; police say a search warrant for cell phone use is standard procedure in such cases, which should be the case everywhere. A ghost bike is reinstalled after residents complain about its removal. Using GPS data to fill in the blanks following a crash.

Courtesy of Carlton Reid, British researchers say if you want to grow cycling, ignore existing riders and focus on people who don’t ride; interesting advice, but isn’t that how we got the crappy infrastructure we have now? A UK cyclist dies when a fly flew into his eye while riding at high speed; a tragic reminder to always wear shatter-proof glasses when you ride. A minor lapse in judgment, another dead cyclist. The problem in Copenhagen is too many cyclists. Magnesium frames make a comeback; hopefully these will withstand exposure to oxygen, which seems to be almost everywhere these days. Say it ain’t so, Jeannie — one of the greatest cyclists of all time faces a ban for dodging doping tests. The Leopard-Trek – Team RadioShack merger doesn’t seem  to be going so well. Hong Kong police start an educational campaign prior to a crackdown on scofflaw cyclists. An Indian cyclist dies in a freak collision with two motorcycles.

Finally, a UK cyclist is beaten with a hammer by a motorist for riding too slowly up a hill into the wind; a police spokesman calls it a “massive over-reaction.” And a DC cyclist is intentionally hit by a driver for the crime of riding in the street.

Evidently, human compassion sometimes skips a generation.

And I notice the L.A. Weekly’s blatant misrepresentation of the new bicycle anti-harassment ordinance is still online, and still hasn’t been corrected despite a number of people repeatedly pointing out their error. I guess journalistic integrity skips a generation, too.

Category: Bikes & the Law, General, Stolen Bikes and Bike Crime, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

Serious bike threatening idiocity in Texas, cyclists under assault & a Labor Day load of non-snarky links

September 3, 2011 / / One comment

Let’s take a break from this week’s discussion of legal matters, and catch up on a long list of links I’ve been saving just for you.

Yes, you.

And yes, these will be on the test.

I’ll pick up with still more court cases next week. And try to catch up on this week’s events before the weekend is out.

And please excuse the general lack of snarkiness in today’s post; I seem to have lost my sense of sarcasm somewhere along today’s cool and cloudy early-onset winter ride along the coast.

I’m sure with a little rest and liberal application of New Belgium’s 1554, I’ll be back to my same old obnoxious self in no time.

……..

A Texas driver threatens cyclists on his own Facebook page, since removed, and apparently under his own name. And yes, the authorities have been notified; the question is whether being an idiot is against the law down there, or if drivers can get away with making terrorist threats.

Just a brief excerpt of his insanity tweeted by Bike Denton:

“I’m going to turn you and your hip fixed-gear into a bloody mess of human entrails” — Gregory Ryan Butler

Nice.

Thanks to Witch on a Bicycle for the tip.

……..

Cyclists seem to be under assault around the world, as Brooklyn cyclists dodge bricks thrown by teenagers, four boys knock a Chicago rider off his bike in a robbery attempt, and a London cyclist is fatally shot by mistake just seconds from his destination. Thanks to Rex Reese for the Chicago link.

……..

No winners in the case of an Elizabethton TN mother threatened with arrest for letting her daughter ride a bike to school, even after police capitulate compromise and let her ride another route. The mother in question accuses police of changing their story.

……..

Nothing says Labor Day like bike sales; this weekends sales include markdowns at I. Martin and Cynergy Cycles. Chances are your neighborhood LBS has a few deals waiting for you, as well.

……..

My favorite blog post of the week, as a Carolina bike lawyer complains that almost anyone can be somewhat fast on a bike, but few learn to be elegant, graceful cyclists; I’ve long said that anyone can learn to ride fast, but it takes years to learn to ride well.

A must read for anyone who participates in group rides, or wonders why the hell some people ride the way they do.

……..

Yes, the 20 miles of sharrows LADOT recently promised will count towards the mayor’s commitment for 40 miles of bikeways this year; Bicycle Fixation approves of the 7th Street road diet. Flying Pigeon holds their monthly brewery ride on Saturday. Damien Newton confesses to being an occasional sidewalk rider. You now have until September 8th to apply for a $500 mini-grant for the next CicLAvia in October. South Pas cyclists could have protected bike lanes on Monterey Road, but probably not. Popular Claremont mayor Sam Pedroza was seriously injured when his handlebars clipped a parked car. Unanimous support for the draft South Bay Bicycle Master Plan from the Manhattan Beach commissioners. Valet your bike at this weekend’s Fiesta Hermosa, courtesy of Hermosa Cyclery. 90210 star AnnaLynne McCord bikes in a bikini. Cyclicious says Keanu rode a bike back in the 80s and apparently had a Coke habit. The Feds give California the green light for green paint on the street; is LADOT listening? The state Assembly declines to vote on SB 910, the 3 feet 2 pass bill, until next week. The driver who killed a Danville cyclist flees to China; authorities had allowed her to surrender an old passport. A Petaluma cyclist is seriously injured after hitting a giant pothole.

Biking is booming in cities, but not so much in the suburbs and rural areas. David Suzuki says biking infrastructure pays dividends, even if some people think bike lanes expressways to gentrification. Bloomberg says dump the Porsche for a carbon-fiber Cannondale. Advice on how to ride slower. An Oregon woman writes about how she learned to stop worrying and claim the lane. An off-duty Boise police officer is seriously injured in a hit-and-run while training for an upcoming bike race. Milwaukee cycling fatalities already equal the total for 2009; unfortunately, SoCal isn’t far behind. Our own former national crit champ Rahsaan Bahati motivates Cub Scouts in Wilmette IL. Breezee One’s Bike Chase video is blowing through the bike world. Where Gotham bicycles go to die. Hurricane debris from a construction site is blamed for a New York cyclist’s death. A New York bike cop says his fellow officers don’t hate cyclists per se. Bike parking becomes a key amenity in the Big Apple; thanks to George Wolfberg for the heads-up. A Delaware police chief is seriously injured in a collision with another cyclist; link courtesy of Witch on a Bicycle. Maryland gets it right with their new driver’s manual; our own DMV could take a page out of their book, literally. Evidently, life is cheap in South Carolina — $113 for killing a cyclist, to be exact; thanks to Zeke’s brother Dave for the heads-up. Florida police find the car that killed a cyclist and slightly injured his dog.

Toronto cyclists defend riding on the sidewalk illegally, just days after a pedestrian was struck and killed by a cyclist. The Cycling Embassy of Great Britain officially launches on Saturday; they’re eight hours ahead, so chances are by the time you read this, it already has, but you can still check out the results of their poster contest. This is what it looks like to get hit by a car. A UK father is convicted of carrying his child on a bike, even though that’s not against the law. The Guardian asks about wheel sucker etiquette, while the Evening Standard offers the girl’s guide to cycling in London. Cycling can add five years to your life if you pedal hard and don’t crash. David Hembrow looks at the Magic Roundabout in York and finds it not so magical for cyclists. Better bike lanes will encourage more cycling on the Emerald Isle. Introducing a nearly $10,000 Pashley roadie; or you could settle for a $12,750 Cinelli. If people can learn to pick up dog poop, they can learn to pass a cyclist safely. A Delhi judge says recklessly driven vehicles are like live bombs ready to explode anywhere.

Finally, you think Johnny Hoogerland is tough? Tom Boonen may have just set the bar for the worst cycling injury ever. And driving my ass, imagine riding on roads like this or just descending on these.

……..

A three day holiday means more drunk, careless and distracted drivers out on the streets; I nearly got hit myself when a cell phone using driver lurched into the bike lane to bypass a long line of stopped cars. But at least he apologized, although he didn’t hang up his phone.

So let’s be careful out there.

I expect to see everyone back here next week.

Category: General / Tags: , ,

Ever have one of those days?

August 31, 2011 / / 2 comments

My apologies.

Yesterday was just one of those days that started bad, and continued a downhill slide until I finally made it to bed, nearly two hours later — and in a much worse mood — than usual.

From the sleepus interuptus of the previous night, to hardware and software issues that had me rebooting my computer and internet service multiple times throughout the day. And not only cost me two days worth of links I’d been saving, but finally made me give up on any hope of writing anything at all last night.

Not to mention a small 2nd degree burn acquired while preparing dinner last night. And a spam attack that had me deleting comments that slipped through the spam filter throughout the day.

So those legal updates I promised you will have to wait another day. Which is okay, because I’m still trying to get a little more information on some of them.

Fortunately, one of the most brilliant features of this world we live in, whether by design or coincidence, is an opportunity to start fresh with every rising sun.

Each dawn is an opportunity to put the previous day’s problems behind you. And a reminder to take your life one day at time, without agonizing about yesterday or worrying about tomorrow.

It’s a concept that goes back at least 2,000 years. And one that the late, great — and sadly forgotten — Dale Carnegie suggested, stressing the need to live in what he called day-tight compartments, without allowing the past or future to leak into the present.

Easier said than done.

Still, those of us who travel on two wheels have an opportunity that others miss, to climb onto our bikes and, for at least that amount of time, to put all of life’s worries and aggravations on a shelf. And just enjoy the ride, whether we’re training, running errands or riding to work or school.

Or just riding.

And as so often happens, by the time we’re done, the world looks a little different. We may come up with the solution to our problems while we’re navigating the streets, or just forget about them for awhile.

Either way, I seldom end a ride without finding myself in a better mood than I started. Even if I started on top of the world.

So I’m going to spend the morning on my bike, and ride the route I didn’t get to ride yesterday. Maybe adding another 20 miles or so to make up for lost time.

I promise to get back to work a little later, and deliver the news I hinted at yesterday.

No, really. Cross my heart.

And in the meantime, here are the links that survived the day to keep you going until we meet again.

……..

The 7th Street bike lanes and road diet make it all the way to the edge of Downtown — yet for some reason, the cyclists in the picture prefer to ride in the buffer zone. The LookOut News asks if cycling in safe in SaMo. Streetsblog looks at best practices by examining Santa Monica’s Bike It! Day. A Lynwood cyclist is seriously injured in yet another hit-and-run. The Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills has a golden opportunity to create a linear town square connecting the Golden Triangle with Century City. When cities don’t make room for cyclists, drivers wonder why they should. Following the death of a cyclist killed a collision with a police car in a classic SWSS, Bakersfield cyclists become more vigilant — not surprising when even the cops are running them down. A Sausalito cyclist rear-ends a stopped car. A Ukiah driver reports cyclists for hogging the road (scroll down). An Alameda writer asks if cycling can ever be cool. Not surprisingly, the bike wins yet again in a race through San Francisco traffic. A law-abiding Marin cyclist asks why some people act like idiots when they get on a bike; why indeed?

Boulder CO follows Portland’s lead and goes Danish, not Dutch. New ghost bikes cause Memphis merchants to reconsider bike lanes; yes, it’s hard to turn a profit when your potential clients keep getting killed. Ambassadors for better bike behavior in the Big Apple. The New York Times profiles the Cannibal — one of the greatest bike racers of all time; no offense to Lance, but I’d put my money on Merckx. Virginia Beach VA plans a bike lane along a dangerous stretch of roadway.

The Urban Country offers an insightful look at that unique form of harassment that equates cycling with being gay. Scot cycling champ Graeme Obree tells athletes to stay in the closet. Bike scribe Carlton Reid offers a free download of his newly expanded Bike to Work eBook. If cyclists demanded it, the UK could have the backbone of a Dutch-style cycling network in 10 years. Alberto Contador’s arbitration hearing will finally be heard this November, barring yet another delay or more Spanish beef.

Finally, a Santa Clara cyclist threatens to cut a stranger in half with a sword. And a teenaged Placerville cyclist intentionally crashes into a parked car — possibly separating his shoulder — and files a false hit-and-run report to hide the fact that he’d ditched school to smoke dope with his friends.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Streetsblog benefit in SaMo, Walk It or Lock It in Long Beach, better biking in Beverly Hills & outrage in TN

August 30, 2011 / / 2 comments

I’ve got a long list of legal matters to catch up on — including reader insights into last week’s road rage assault in Santa Monica, first reported by Mihai Peteu on Bikeside.

As well as a letter written by the underage, allegedly drunk driver who nearly killed cyclist Adam Rybicki in Torrance earlier this year. And the driver who called police pretending to be a witness to the collision that killed cyclist Hung Do before being arrested for the crime himself.

But in the meantime, as I rush from riding to meetings to work and back again — let alone trying to squeeze in a little sleep into to process — let me offer a reminder about today’s Streetsblog benefit at Santa Monica’s Library Alehouse.

As it turns out, I won’t be able to make it this time. But if you can make it, I strongly recommended heading to 2911 Main Street for some New Belgium beer, raffle, auctions and a cargo bike worth of fun. Along with a lot of good people having a good time for a good cause.

And yes, there will be a bike valet.

……..

Long Beach is kicking off the Walk It or Lock It campaign to remind cyclists that it’s against the law to ride bikes on the sidewalk in the city’s business districts.

Police will be handing out safety cards to instruct riders to either walk their bikes or lock them up in areas including Broadway and Pine Avenue in Downtown Long Beach, Atlantic Avenue in Bixby Knolls, Second Street in Belmont Shore, “Retro Row” on Fourth Street, and Cambodia Town on Anaheim Street.

And if you haven’t already, Long Beach residents are encouraged to take five minutes to complete the city’s 2011 Bike Safety Survey.

……..

Hats off to what — hopefully — will soon be the former Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills.

Along with a number of other bike advocates and local residents and business people, I attended last night’s meeting of the city’s Ad-Hoc Bike Plan Update Committee.

For a town that currently lacks a single inch of biking infrastructure, the representatives from Beverly Hills were surprisingly committed to changing the situation and getting test projects off the ground — or rather, on the ground — as quickly as possible. And remarkably open to suggestions, including innovative ideas that are just starting to gain acceptance elsewhere.

Make no mistake. They have a very long way to go, and still have to sell the idea of biking infrastructure to a city government and populace likely to cast a wary eye on two-wheeled interlopers in their city.

And the toughest challenge, recreating Santa Monica Boulevard in a format that will be inviting to cyclists — or at least less likely to risk our lives — still awaits discussion down the road.

But they’re off to a good start. And with a far more positive and approachable attitude than many other cities I could name.

If you live or ride through Beverly Hills — or would like to if it was a little safer and more inviting — sign up with LACBC affiliate Better Bike to get involved and stay abreast of the latest happenings.

……..

Finally, allow me a moment of sheer outrage, as a Tennessee woman is threatened with arrest for the crime of allowing her 10-year old daughter to ride her bike to school.

According to Bike Walk Tennessee, Teresa Tyron of Elizabethton thought her daughter had a reasonably safe 7 – 9 minute ride to school in the tiny town near the border with North Carolina.

Evidently, the authorities disagreed.

Teresa Tryon said, “On August 25th my 10 year daughter arrived home via police officer, requested to speak to me on the front porch of my home. The officer informed me that in his ‘judgment’ it was unsafe for my daughter to ride her bike to school.”

She followed up by contacting the mayor and chief of police. But instead of getting the apology any rational person would have expected, she was told that the officer would be contacting Child Protective Services — and that she could be arrested for child neglect if she allowed her daughter to ride to school in the meantime.

So let me get this straight.

A town of just 13,000 people is so dangerous that children can’t safely ride their bikes on the streets.

Of course, they don’t say whether the danger stems from the horrible traffic conditions, which surely must be far worse than those of the Los Angeles area, where children are encouraged to ride to class, though few actually do.

Then again, maybe the town is so overwhelmed with child molesters and other criminal sorts that it is unsafe for anyone to ever be outside of their homes day or night. Let alone a child.

Or maybe city officials have their collective heads so far up their own collective asses that the entire collective city government would have to visit a proctologist just to get their glasses cleaned.

If the problem is the condition of the streets, it’s up to the mayor and other city officials to make them safe — not parents to keep their children off them. If it’s a fear of criminal activity, the police should stop harassing parents and start arresting criminals until families don’t have to be afraid to let their children go out alone for less than 10 minutes on the way to and from school.

But if it’s the latter problem — which I would highly suspect — local residents should seriously consider riding the police chief, mayor and anyone else involved in this idiotic process out of town on a rail.

And replace them with far more rational people who understand that riding a bike to school isn’t a crime, and should in fact be encouraged in this day of rampant childhood obesity. And willing to do their damn jobs to make the streets safe for everyone.

Maybe they could use a little gentle encouragement to see the light.

Category: Bike Events, Bikes & the Law, General, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »
Wordpress Theme by ThemeZee