Archive for General

A look at tonight’s Critical Mass

June 25, 2010 / / 9 comments

I confess. I’ve never ridden a single Critical Mass.

It’s not that I’m against it. Although personally, I don’t think we win friends by reinforcing the motoring public’s perception that bikes never stop for red lights or that we inconvenience drivers needlessly.

And it would be fun to celebrate our right to ride with a few hundred — or in tonight’s case, more likely a few thousand — like-minded riders. Especially when there’s a point to be made following last month’s Critical Mass Takedown.

If I was still single, I’d probably be a regular at rides like this.

Then again, if I was single, there’s a lot of things I’d do that I don’t do now.

However, as a married man, I have other obligations. Which means that events that take place on nights and weekends are usually out for me, as much as I might like to join in on the fun.

But in my book, family comes first.

Then again, it’s not like anyone is likely to miss me. Tonight’s CM promises to be one of the largest the city has ever seen, including a number of the local biking community’s more prominent members who don’t normally participate on a regular basis.

Representatives from the LACBC will be there. Bikeside will undoubtedly be there, along with the Ridazz. And the rapidly growing Eastside Bicycle Club — which celebrates its second anniversary at Lincoln Park on Saturday — will no doubt be represented.

Even the LAPD’s point man for bike issues, Sgt. David Krumer, will be there — in fact, he’s hoping to have his picture taken with Plebis Power, author of the popular CM poster parody.

And he won’t be alone.

The Los Angeles Police Department will not only be attending the ride, they expect to participate in some way. While they readily acknowledge that this is an experiment, they’re committed to finding a way to more effectively police and support the ride, without the heavy-handed problems of last month.

Police cruisers, they promise, will be kept in the background unless needed. And there won’t be a crackdown on “ticky tacky” violations as some riders have feared — such as bikes without side reflectors, for instance.

But cyclists will be expected to have lights and brakes — defined as being able to skid on dry pavement, for you fixie aficionados. And anyone under 18 needs a helmet, as required by state law.

The department is encouraging leaders within the ride to step — or maybe roll — forward to help self-police the ride to keep officers from feeling the need to step in themselves.

And they offer three key points to remember as you ride tonight —

  • People are encouraged to follow the rules of the road
  • The police will not be corking intersections — though they reserve the right to change their mind if it becomes necessary
  • Riders will be expected to stop at all red lights unless instructed otherwise

I’d also like to add a little advice that Sgt. Krumer offered earlier this month, not just for Critical Mass, but anytime you find yourself dealing with the police —

  • Stop if a police officer instructs you to
  • Be polite and respectful, even if you don’t think you did anything wrong — “No sir” or “Yes ma’am” will go a long way towards avoiding any problems
  • Don’t try to correct the officer, even if you know the law better than he or she does — some officers may see that as being combative, which could cause things to escalate unpleasantly
  • If the officer writes a ticket, just accept it quietly and fight it in court later

Finally, if you think you’ve been treated unfairly, contact the watch commander at the officer’s precinct. Or contact anyone involved with the department’s Bike Task Force — such as myself, the LACBC, Bikeside, Carlos Morales or bike activist extraordinaire Stephen Box, just to name a few, and we’ll contact the department on your behalf.

And yes, you do have a right to film or photograph any police officer in the performance of his or her duties — despite what you might have seen — as field officers were recently reminded.

But you might not want to push the point, especially if you value your iPhone.

Now have fun.

And stay out of the news.

………

The teenage suspects in the car racing death of pro cyclist Jorge Alvarado plead not guilty. The LACBC calls on LADOT to do sharrows right, and endorses the Wilshire Bus (and bike) Only Lane along with the Green LA Transportation Working Group. Council Member Tom LaBonge’s police-accompanied group ride along the new 4th Street sharrows was “like Critical Mass, but with gray hair and guns.” Your tentative route for CicLAvia is unveiled. A Bay Area cyclist is killed after broad-siding a truck, possibly while trying to set a downhill speed record. A Folsom man dies shortly after falling from his bike on a local bike path. Bike Attorney Bob Mionske looks at the Black Hawk bike ban and not surprisingly, finds it violates Colorado law. A leadership vacuum on bike issues in Chicago; sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Ikea tries to veto bike lanes in Brooklyn.­ Even in Missouri, you can have a ride from hell — although that loud long horn could be a friend trying to say hi. A student riding across country to raise money for charity is killed by a car in New Mexico. The new Oklahoma law that allows cyclists to run red lights that don’t change doesn’t actually allow cyclist to go through red lights after all. FedEx says call the police if one of their trucks blocks a bike lane because their not going to do anything about it. A Pittsburgh area cemetery — final resting place of perhaps the greatest player in baseball history — opens its gates to cyclists. Who needs bike parking when you’ve got a good fence? UK cycling rates are up, while deaths are down. If you’re planning a bike ride, it helps to know where the keys are. A driver loses her license for killing a cyclist while trying to toss a spider out of her car. A woman barely survives a brush with a massive truck as horrified bystanders look on.

Finally, I dare anyone to run you off the road on this bike.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Friday’s Critical Mass — making a point through parody

June 23, 2010 / / 5 comments

It seems like everyone is anticipating this Friday’s L.A. Critical Mass  — whether with excitement or trepidation — especially in light of the recent announcement that the LAPD intends to participate.

Some cyclists are planning to respond by observing the letter of the law and stopping for all red lights, regardless of the effect that may have on traffic. Or on the department’s ability to manage countless groups of riders converging on a single spot.

Meanwhile, a rider going by the name of Plebis Power — loosely translated, Power of the People — left a comment on a recent post that featured the department’s poster announcing their plans to attend the next CM, as well as on the LACBC’s blog. And in it, offered a link to a tongue-in-cheek response to the LAPD.

It’s pretty damn funny — and effectively makes a good point, while demonstrating that there are two sides to this story.

And I’m told that even the officer who created the department’s original poster found it pretty amusing.

………

Sharrows began hitting the streets on the Valley’s Reseda Blvd, making it the third of six locations scheduled to get them; bike lanes are still planned from Devonshire to Parthenia and Parthenia to Valerio. As for the others, I rode both Westholme Ave and Abbot Kinney over the past few days; no sign of sharrows yet.

………

Long Beach’s biking expats offer images from Music City. Good Samaritans save a cyclist who suffers a heart attack in Silicon Valley. How to safely navigate your way around trucks, and how drivers can safely navigate their way around you. A road-raging writer says he hates bike riders more than serial killers and TV pitchmen. U.S. Representative Earl Blemenauer and DOT Secretary Ray LaHood write about the new bike lane on one of the world’s most famous streets; now maybe our bike riding president can use his to get to the next State of the Union address. A Portland cyclist beats a ticket for carrying a passenger on his bike. Seattle gets its first buffered bike lanes. The RAAM rider critically injured in a Kansas collision still has no feeling from the waist down; still no word on charges against the driver. Oklahoma cyclists can now legally run red lights that don’t change. New York neighborhoods start to fight back against more bike lanes, while the city’s Sanitation Department revokes a misguided plan to remove ghost bikes. A bike riding first grader hit on the last day of classes shines a light on Safe Routes to School. New Florida road signs say “Ride Right, Drive Right.” Using lights to see and be seen. Lance Armstrong’s Radioshack team names its roster for the Tour de France; after his second place finish in the Tour of Switzerland, Lance may be competitive this year after all. Guerilla tactics to protect your bike. New Zealand authorities seek a teenage BMX riding groper. A cyclist wins in court after slipping in oil spilled by a farmer.

Evidently, it’s open season on cyclists in the Windy City. In a truly bizarre case, a Chicago judge celebrates their Bike to Work Day by giving two drunk drivers who intentionally sought out and hit two cyclists — actually changing seats so both would have a chance — to less than a slap on the wrist. One driver got 7 to 10 days in jail; the other was sentenced to two years probation.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

When my lips move, who’s doing the talking?

June 22, 2010 / / 4 comments

But it’s all right now, I learned my lesson well. You see, you can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself. — Rick Nelson, Garden Party

I really didn’t think I needed to explain this.

I mean, it seems pretty obvious. And I always assumed my readers have sufficient intelligence to grasp the concept.

Then again, you’re not the problem.

So let me make this as clear as possible. I am not a journalist.

I have never worked for a newspaper, magazine, TV or radio station. At least, not since I edited my high school newspaper back in the Dark Ages.

And when I attend a meeting, I’m there to participate, because I think I have something to add to the conversation. Not to sit there silently taking notes.

Don’t get me wrong. I admire journalists. I don’t believe our society or system of government could survive without their under-appreciated and under-paid efforts.

But that’s not what I do.

So anyone who accuses me of violating journalistic ethics might as well accuse me of violating the Hippocratic Oath. Because I’m not a physician, either. Or a hippo, for that matter.

And this is not a news site, even though I link to a few.

What it is, is my opinion.

I may relay news that other people have reported if I think it’s important. Or I may relate something from my own experience, or a story someone has sent me or that I found online to illustrate a larger point. I may even break a story every now and then, as I did last summer.

But always from my own perspective.

That’s not to say that I don’t have my own standards. I always strive to be honest on here and tell you the truth the best I can, as I understand it. I try never to indulge in personal attacks, tempting though it may be at times. I try to be objective, and give you both sides of an argument when I can. And I’ll often link to or write about pieces that challenge my own assumptions, even if I don’t necessarily agree with them.

And I try always, above all, to be fair.

Do I always succeed?

Of course not.

I count on my readers to keep me honest. Just like Chewie did when I had the not-so-brilliant idea of creating the Idiot A**hole of the Month Award. And for which I’m still grateful.

Just like I count on you to catch my mistakes. Show me where I got something wrong, and I’ll fix it. If we disagree, I’ll usually present your argument as well as mine. But never forget that what you’re reading here is my opinion.

Which brings up the other point I want to make today.

I recently became a board member for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. However, that does not mean that I speak for the members and staff of the LACBC, or for the board. Or that they dictate what I say on here.

No one put words in my mouth in the 19 months I wrote this blog before I joined the LACBC, though some tried. And no one has in the months since.

Then again, they don’t need to. The LACBC has a highly competent and effective staff, more than capable of speaking for themselves. So if I support something the group says or does — or that anyone else says or does, for that matter — it’s because it has value.

No more, no less.

And just to clarify, when I wrote about John Fisher recently, for which I was so viciously attacked, not one person within the LACBC contributed a single word or thought to the piece, or reviewed it before it went online. Neither the LACBC nor anyone else vets what I write on here in any way.

If you like it, I get the credit. If you don’t, the blame is mine and mine alone.

As for the other side of the coin, I am just one of several board members. I do not lead the board and I don’t speak for it. Nor do I want to — on either count — whether I’m writing on here or speaking in public.

Anyone who tries to say otherwise has absolutely no idea what they’re talking about, and not one iota of fact to base it on.

One more thing.

When I was first approached about joining the LACBC board, I was flattered. And not interested.

While I was impressed with the work Aurisha Smolarski, Allison Mannos and Dorothy Le were doing in fighting for the rights of cyclists in front of the City Council, I had been a semi-regular critic of the organization. And my overall impression of it wasn’t always that favorable.

I was wrong.

As I investigated further, I found an organization committed to meeting the needs of a widely diverse community of cyclists, and making the streets safer for riders of all types. As well as one of the most dedicated and talented staffs, both employees and volunteers, that I’ve encountered in any organization.

And trust me, I’ve encountered a lot of organizations.

But what won me over was when board president Chet Kostrzewa said he considered critics such as myself to be the LACBC’s best friends, because they point out areas that need improvement. He also insisted that, board member or not, I continue to speak my own mind and push them to be a better and more effective organization.

And that I should continue to criticize the LACBC anytime I think it’s necessary.

So far, it hasn’t been.

If and when it is, I’ll let you know.

………

Interesting stats from London, where over 3,200 people were killed or seriously injured in traffic collisions in 2009 — and that’s an improvement. On the other hand, overall cyclist casualties were up 15%, and 76% of fatalities involved people outside of vehicles, such as cyclists, pedestrians and moped, scooter and motorcycle riders. And the city’s planned bike superhighways will get convex mirrors at intersections to help truck drivers spot cyclists.

Meanwhile, bike deaths in Scotland dropped by nearly half last year.

………

The Times uncovers the mystery behind the shrine to a dead father on the L.A. River Bike Path. Cyclist Joe Borfo calls for Project Civil Obedience at Friday’s LAPD accompanied Critical Mass. Council Member Tom LaBonge rides the new 4th Street sharrows Wednesday night — your chance to help LACBC lobby for the 4th Street Bike Boulevard. CicLAvia makes it into the latest draft of the city’s proposed bike plan; speaking of which, Oakland hosts Oaklavia this weekend. LADOT Bike Blog offers a great look at the LACBC’s City of Lights program. Texting while biking could soon be illegal. Cordova Street in Pasadena is going on a road diet. A proposed Santa Clara County ordinance threatens to end large group rides entirely. Caution: flying cyclists. Seattle gets its first buffered bike lanes; San Francisco is up next. An alleged drunk driver drags a Chicago bike cop over 30 feet during an attempted stop. A Cincinnati cyclist is killed by a driver who backs up and hits him again. One of the joys of biking is catching the jerks at the next red light. The good news is Tucson police were ticketing speeders; the bad news is, they were stopping them in the bike lane. Good reason to wear a helmet — that could have been his head. Two cyclists save a stranger from armed robbery. Pro cyclist Kim Kirchen emerges from his coma following his heart attack during the Tour of Switzerland, while Bike Radar looks at the upcoming Tour de France. A five-time British Olympic rower is seriously injured in a fall near the end of RAAM. A cyclist dies on Europe’s largest charity bike ride; evidently, so does a marriage. After getting hit by a car, a Canadian cyclist faces a fine for riding on the sidewalk. Your next bike could be a carbon/bamboo singlespeed fixie.

Finally, hats off to former LAPD Officer Kristina Ripatti-Pearce, paralyzed from the chest down in an on-duty shooting in 2006, who finished the RAAM ultra-endurance race on Monday along with the other members of her relay team.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

A friendly greeting, a nearby death, another bike-hating DJ

June 21, 2010 / / 2 comments

It was one of those things that just wouldn’t happen if I’d been driving a car.

Last week, I was on my way back home from a long ride when I stopped at a red light across from Roosevelt Elementary School in Santa Monica. Next to me was a frozen yogurt store than had opened recently in what had been an empty space.

The tables outside were filled with an eclectic assortment of people enjoying the sunny afternoon. At the one closest to me, a couple of well-dressed children sat enjoying their desserts.

“Excuse me sir,” said the young African American gentleman at the table, waving as his female companion concentrated on her yogurt. “Nice day, isn’t?”

I nodded in agreement.

“I just graduated from 5th grade,” he continued. “It was hard work, but I made it.”

“Well, congratulations. You should be very proud,” I said. “That’s quite an accomplishment.”

“I am!” he answered cheerfully. “Thank you!”

Just then the light changed, so I wished him well as I clipped back into my pedal and started up the road.

“You too,” shouted the voice from behind. “Enjoy your ride!”

………

A wrong-way cyclist was killed in Palm Springs Saturday night.

The rider, identified as 46-year old Indio resident Eric Mendoza, was headed north in the southbound lanes of North Indian Canyon Drive in Palm Springs when he was struck by an unidentified driver at about 11:24 PM.

Riding facing traffic greatly raises your risk of a collision while increasing the potential severity of injuries due to higher relative speeds. In fact, LAPD statistics show that 30% of cyclists killed in Los Angeles in 2008, and 20% of those severely injured, were riding on the wrong side of the road.

………

A Pittsburgh cyclist responds to the latest bike-hating DJ, who admits to being tempted to run down those “arrogant little dorks” on their bicycles.

“They’ve got to stop being so arrogant about what they’re doing. They’ve got to obey the rules. They have to do the right thing or else they’re going to get killed.”

Funny how the people who hate bicyclists profess to be so concerned about our safety while simultaneously professing their desire to frighten, injure, maim and/or kill us for the heinous crime of riding a bike in the street. Or maybe just being in their way.

And maybe it’s just me, but it seems that the real arrogant ones are the people who insist that the roads belong to them, rather than acknowledging that others have a right to be there, too.

………

Bike Advisory Committee Chair Glenn Bailey reports that LADOT has taken the initial steps to install 2.3 miles of bike lanes on Winnetka Ave between Gault and Nordhoff Streets, 14 years after they were included in the 1996 bike plan — and after another 1.75 miles included in the plan were replaced with curb-to-curb traffic lanes without consulting the bike community.

Bailey urges LADOT to extend the bike lanes two miles to the south, which is also called for in the bike plan, allowing riders to connect with the Orange Line and Pierce College.

Update: LADOT Bike Blog offered clarification in the comments that the bike lane only needs to be extended .8 mile to connect to the Orange Line and the Pierce College Station. He also notes that a couple of road narrowings, including a crossing over the L.A. River, would have to be addressed before the bike lanes can be extended to their planned terminus at Ventura Blvd — something Glenn Bailey had mentioned as well, but which I left out.

Meanwhile, Stephen Box takes LADOT to task for failing to attend last weekend’s Caltrans workshops on Understanding Bicycle Transportation, where they could have learned how to install sharrows correctly.

And speaking of Box, he will be honored, along with Sgt. David Krumer of the LAPD’s Bike Task Force, as the winners of the Eastside Bike Club’s 1st Annual Golden Crank Award for their outstanding contributions to the cycling community in Los Angeles over the past year. The awards will be given at the bike club’s second anniversary celebration this Saturday, June 26.

We will be making the presentation at the EASTSIDE BIKE CLUB 2nd Gear Anniversary Celebration which will be held at

LINCOLN PARK
3501 Valley Blvd, LA CA 90031
PARK PHONE #  213/847.1726

We will begin our day at 2pm to gather, meet and relax at Lincoln Park.  Our presentation will begin at 5pm  followed by a community bike ride   We will contain our ride to the LAPD Hollenbeck Division.  We are asking everyone to decorate your bikes in RED WHITE AND BLUE and wear clothing of the same colors if possible.  Bring Bells, Whistles and Horns!

………

Lance Armstrong almost — but not quite — pulled off a big upset by jumping up from seventh place in the final stage of the Tour of Switzerland to finish 2nd, 12 seconds behind winner Frank Schleck; the previous day’s leader, Robert Gesink, dropped back to 5th.

However, the race was overshadowed by the heart attack suffered by 31-year old former Luxembourg national champion Kim Kirchen, who had been in 48th place after the seventh stage. Kirchen was reportedly in stable condition after being placed in medically induced coma.

………

Bike Girl advises women riders how to gracefully dismount. Adult drivers are every bit as distracted as their teenage counterparts, which should come as no surprise to those who share the road with them. Into every bike commuter’s life a little rain must fall — along with hail and hurricane force winds, at times. Preview the upcoming movie about America’s first black bike hero. A Chicago man reminisces about his father walking the walk and biking the bike. CNN discovers naked bicycling in St. Louis; Pittsburgh rides naked while DC dons seersucker. In Colorado, even ski towns strive to be bike-friendly. Three to eight years in prison for an Idaho drunk driver convicted of killing a cyclist. Pylon-protected bike lanes on DC’s Pennsylvania Avenue. BMX racers from around the world will be headed to Allegany County, PA for the Stars-N-Stripes Nationals this weekend. Interview with a cam-wearing car-dodging cyclist in Annapolis. A Huntsville, AL bicyclist provides inspiration for Complete Streets in her hometown following her death while riding in another state. A triathlete gives up riding the roads of Israel after the latest of 12 fellow triathletes, the son of a former Israel Supreme Court justice, is killed in a hit-and-run collision. Cyclists in India may soon be required to paint their black bikes bright orange for the sake of safety. A UK cyclist has his new custom-made bike stolen just minutes into his first ride. A distracted Brit bus driver who killed a cyclist walks free.

Finally, an injured non-car-owning cyclist is banned from driving — but not riding — after running a red light and colliding with a car. And Missouri unveils bicycling commemorative license plates, so you can show your support for cyclists while you run them off the road.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Charges finally filed in the death of Jorge Alvarado; revised bike plan released

June 19, 2010 / / One comment

Bahati rider Jorge Alvarado, from the VeloNews forum

Two months after pro cyclist Jorge Alvarado was killed by a street racing teenager, two of the three drivers involved have been charged with gross vehicular manslaughter.

According to the Press-Enterprise, 18-year old high school seniors Brett Morin and Patrick Roraff were racing when Roraff lost control of his car and hit the cyclist.

“Individually, their driving behavior may not have resulted in the tragedy that occurred,” Supervising Deputy District Attorney Vic Stull said Friday, “but combined, it was just almost vehicular Russian roulette — way beyond what anybody would see as reasonable conduct.”

The Contra Costa Times — which lists Morin’s age as 20, rather than 18 — says that Roraff was travelling in excess of 70 mph at the time of the collision.

“You can call it street racing, you can call it negligent driving – what they were doing depends on your point of view,” prosecutor Vic Stull said Friday. “We don’t have to prove they were racing to have a jury find them liable for the death. They were driving very fast, they were driving very dangerously. For us, that’s sufficient.”

A story in the Highland Community News — which describes the events in more detail than you may want — says three cars were involved after the drivers and passengers skipped school to go “hang out.” According to the paper, the events leading to Alvarado’s death began when Morin moved left to keep Roraff from passing, causing the second car to swerve right, lose control and skid across the left shoulder where Alvarado was riding.

The Community News reports that Roraff apologized to the victim’s family, and told investigators:

“I feel so stupid for even doing that, like trying to show off and trying to be – just stupid. I don’t know why I would do that. It’s just like – I wish I could go back and just change everything, but I can’t. I feel so – I just want to say sorry to the family. I can’t believe I took away a life.” Roraff had a promising soccer (sic) and was hoping to go to college on a soccer scholarship.

At the scene, he was reported saying, “There goes my life. There goes my soccer career.”

No reason was given why there were no charges against the third driver, or why prosecutors did not charge the drivers with murder, which the Contra Costa Times suggests the Sheriff’s Department had recommended. However, they note that investigators are still looking into whether others may have contributed to Alvarado’s death in some way.

………

KCBS Channel 2/KCAL 9 reports on the bicyclist injured in a collision with a Sheriff’s Department vehicle in the aftermath of the Lakers’ victory Thursday night. Evidently, the rider was going east on 11th at an estimated 11 mph, with the police cruiser headed north on Flower at slow speed when the cyclist hit car and was thrown into air. (Unfortunately, coverage of the collision is merged with the other reports from Downtown; it should be the third story after you push play. Thanks to David for the link.)

The Times indicates the collision occurred at 9:18 pm as the Sheriff’s vehicle was stationary, while L.A. Rider questions whether it was the same cyclist he witnessed riding the wrong way on 9th while talking on a cell phone.

And somehow, this one missed the radar, as L.A. Creek Freak discovers a shrine to a dead father along the L.A. River Bike Path in Cudahy; no mention of whether he was walking or biking, or if it actually occurred on the bike path; there are no news reports that I can find.

………

It’s almost summer, and infrastructure seems to be in full bloom.

Eco-Village reports that the rare painted bike lane has taken root on San Pedro Street adjacent to the 105 Freeway in South L.A. LADOT Bike Blog confirms the sighting, as well as confirming that we weren’t hallucinating and there really are new sharrows on Fourth Street.

And as promised, the revised bike plan was released on Friday; I’ve already downloaded my copy. Bikeside’s Alex Thompson notes that the new draft marks a 180° reversal from the much reviled previous draft.

As he wisely points out, we’re under no obligation to accept or support this or any other plan. If LADOT delivers a great new bike plan, we should back it; if not, then we can and should reject it. We should also take full advantage of the comment period make sure we end up with the best possible plan for the streets of L.A.

………

In weekend riding news, unfortunately, it’s too late to join in on Streetsblog’s Friday fundraising ride through NELA; though I’m sure Damien wouldn’t mind if you still wanted to send in a few bucks.

Click to enlarge

Saturday marks the long awaited Folk Art Is Everywhere Bike Tour, offering an easy 3.5 mile art ride with several stops at shops and galleries in Echo Park and historic Filipinotown — perfect for beginning or occasional riders, or anyone who just enjoys art and good company.

Sunday, Dorothy Le of the LACBC hosts a Los Angeles Bike Tour through the bridges of L.A.

………

Slovenian rider Jure Robic won this year’s Race Across America on Friday for a record 5th time, covering the course from coast to coast in nine days, 61 minutes.

Robert Gesink holds onto the leader’s jersey in the Tour of Switzerland, with Lance Armstrong in striking distance less than one minute back. Bicycling looks at the real reasons Lance’s new team was snubbed by the Vuelta.

………

Gary reports that Santa Monica has set aside $25,000 for bicycle education, what form it will take is still to be determined; if you’re not familiar with Gary Rides Bikes, check it out for intelligent insights on bicycle issues. Biking cross country on the Yellowstone Trail. Dave Moulton offers his objections to Critical Mass. Yet another radio jock spews a violent anti-bike rant, while cyclists call for his firing; maybe he just wants Lance to appear on his show. Tips on how to trigger a traffic light sensor. A Tucson man removes graffiti by bike. A Baltimore columnist calls for adopting the Idaho stop and says bicyclists to wear helmets and slow down in the door zone. The first London bike share station goes up. The Guardian looks at the Black Hawk bike ban, as well as the joys of night riding — something I rediscovered myself just the other night. An Aussie cyclist plans a ghost bike for his fallen friend, only to discover one already on the site.

Finally, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry as the International Cycling Union (UCI) announces that all bikes used in this year’s Tour de France will be scanned for illegal motors.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Breaking news: Cyclist injured by Sheriff’s Department vehicle in Downtown L.A.

June 17, 2010 / / One comment

According to the L.A. Times, a bicyclist was injured in Downtown L.A. in a collision with a Sheriffs Department vehicle near 11th and Flower in the aftermath of the Lakers’ victory at Staples Center this evening. No other details were available as of 11:30 pm Thursday.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

L.A. gets sharrows, and the newly revised bike plan is released. No, really.

June 17, 2010 / / 4 comments

Big news in the L.A. bike world.

Just days after L.A. got its first — and second — sharrows, LADOT Bike Blog announces that the long-awaited revision to the city’s proposed bike plan will be released on Friday.

What, is it February already?

In what is, for L.A. at least, a seemingly ambitious plan, LADOT is proposing 200 miles of new infrastructure — in addition to what’s already funded or in progress — at a rate of 40 miles a year for the next 5 years.

Not quite New York’s 50 miles a year, let alone their recent 200 miles of new bikeways in just three years. But it’s a start, assuming it’s not the biking equivalent of vaporware. And that the city actually funds it and follows through, which is far from a given.

The blog — which has become surprisingly good at providing the department’s perspective — says the new plan will go well beyond the traditional Class 1 Bike Path, Class 2 Bike Lane and Class 3 Bike Routes by introducing a number of new-to-L.A. innovations:

Bicycle Friendly Streets – Bicycle Friendly Streets are a bit of a catch-all for streets where we don’t have the room to install bicycle lanes, but we still want to make the street as safe and useful for bicyclists as possible.  Treatments for Bicycle Friendly Streets could include Sharrows, traffic circles, bulbouts, choker entrances, bicycle loop detectors, traffic diverters, lane striping, and other traffic calming devices – depending on the type of street and volume of traffic.  This coves a lot of streets in the mid-Wilshire area, where the streets are already pretty tight and there’s no way to fit in more infrastructure.  If you’ve seen the Bicycle Boulevards in Berkeley, you’ve got a good idea of what we’re aiming for.

Pilot Streets – These are streets that may be good candidates for the California Traffic Control Devices Committee (CTCDC) and federal (FHWA) Department of Transportation experimental project studies.  By arranging to do a CTCDC or federal project, the City can experiment with new infrastructure methods that normally aren’t allowed by Caltrans’ Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices(CA MUTCD).  As part of the federal experimental project, the federal government assumes legal liability for the project and offers technical and advisory assistance to the City in implementation.  The City, in turn, would be responsible for filing regular progress reports to the federal government.  For those who are fans of what Long Beach is doing for bike infrastructure, a lot of their projects were made possible through federal pilot projects.

Enhanced Bicycle Routes – Enhanced Bicycle Routes are current Bike Routes that the city would like to beef up.  These Bike Routes are usually on high-volume arterial streets that cannot fit a bike lane.  While these streets are too much of a thoroughfare to qualify for the treatments prescribed for “Bicycle Friendly Streets”, Enhanced Bicycle Routes may be eligible for Sharrows installation and enhanced signage.  The 2010 LA Bike Plan hopes to use Enhanced Bicycle Routes as a tool for “gap closure”, connecting the gaps between existing bike lanes on streets where a bike lane would not fit.

Transit Bike Lane – A Transit Bike Lane is a dedicated bus lane that also allows bicycle traffic.  You’ve probably seen signs on Figueroa Street near downtown to that effect.  City Planning hopes to implement similar Transit Bike Lanes in all places where dedicated bus lanes are going in, Wilshire Blvd. being an example.

Meanwhile, the LACBC notes that while some cyclists have complained about the placement of the sharrows on Fountain, others are excited to finally have a defined place on the road.

We understand the community’s concerns about proper placement of sharrows and we agree that in addition to getting sharrows on our streets the goal is to ensure that best practices are achieved. After contacting multiple bicycle advocacy organizations from different cities that have painted sharrows, LACBC has found that many place their sharrows at 11 or 12 feet and have reported positive reactions from local cyclists. We have also found that some cities paint them in the center of the lane or at 13 to 14 feet from the curb depending on lane width with very positive reactions from the community as well. Most of these cities reported following the guidelines as recommended from the San Francisco study and CAMUTCD code which states that the sharrow marking should be placed at a minimum of 11 ft, but optionally, the distance from the curb may be increased.

Moving forward, LACBC recommends that LADOT carefully consider alternate placement locations for sharrows depending on the lane width, traffic volume, size of parking lane, and other important factors that determine where they should be placed in order that sharrows are used effectively and appropriately when installed in the future. We also request that LADOT make it clear what the goals of the study are and maintain as much transparency as possible in order to build more trust within the community.

I rode the new 4th Street sharrows myself on Wednesday night, as I enjoyed an exceptionally pleasant rush hour ride to Downtown with a friend who knew all the back routes that I didn’t.

And while I didn’t measure them myself, they certainly seemed far enough from the curb. In fact, they were actually a little too far out in the lane for my taste.

But maybe I’ve just gotten a little too comfortable skirting the edge of the door zone over the years.

………

Speaking of the LACBC, they want to know what you think about the LAPD’s plans to crash next week’s Critical Mass; I’ve only been suggesting that the police join the ride for a couple years already.

And CicLAvia asks if a police-accompanied CM will really be a rolling ciclovía, and requests your help to kickstart the city’s first real ciclovía this fall.

………

RAAM continues as riders tweet from the Midwest. Spanish competitor Diego Ballesteros was hit by a car just east of Wichita when a driver drifted off the road and struck him from behind. He was airlifted to a local hospital in extremely critical condition, though reports indicate that his prospects for full recovery are good following surgery.

Mark Cavendish finds himself shaken, but not stirred, following his major crash in Tuesday’s sprint to the finish in the Tour of Switzerland, as other competitors protest his tactics and road rash takes him out of the competition. In non-Cavendish news, Rabobank’s Robert Gesink takes stage 6 and the overall lead. Meanwhile, the fallout from Landisgate continues.

Normally I’d be watching, but there’s this little sporting event in South Africa that has my attention right now, as Mexico reenacts Cinco de Mayo.

………

Thursday is Dump the Pump Day, as The Source reminds us.  And this is what L.A. may look like if we don’t dump our cars soon.

………

Cyclelicious reports that Gil Garcetti signed copies of his new book Paris, Women & Bikes — with forward by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition’s Jen Klausner — Thursday night at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica. I flipped through the book at the River Ride earlier this month, and it’s a beautiful collection of photos on the subject; if you’re a fan of cycle chic, it’s worth checking out. The LACBC may have copies for sale soon.

If that name doesn’t quite ring a bell, Garcetti was L.A.’s District Attorney for eight tumultuous years, including the O.J. Simpson Trial; Thursday marked the 16th anniversary of the infamous slow speed chase. And rumor has it that Gil’s kid has a pretty good political career going himself, as well.

………

Here’s your chance to run L.A.’s other leading biking organization, as C.I.C.L.E. looks for a new executive director. Following the other day’s SMIDSY report, L.A.’s most entertaining bike blogger asks if an attractive woman in a pink dress riding a cargo bike with a huge potted plant can’t be seen by a driver, who can? Gary grows impatient with impatient drivers. LA Weekly reports on last week’s L.A. edition of the World Naked Bike Ride; not safe for work, as the Weekly notes; thanks to George Wolfberg for the link. Travelin’ Local looks at Los Angeles and Cities for Cycling. Dave Moulton offers a contrarian look at the recent Critical Mass Takedown. San Diego’s killer bike lane finally gets repaved. The bike-riding hit-and-run driver charged with intentionally attacking four cyclists in San Francisco pleads not guilty. The Reno paper looks at bike lawyer Bob Mionske prior to a speaking engagement in the other Nevada gambling town. New York police officers are in hot water for failing to report hitting a bike rider while driving on the wrong side of the street. A Phoenix rider is glad to have his bike lane, even if it is one just .117 of the time. The Obama administration is spending $1.2 billion to promote walking and cycling in the U.S.; thanks to Dr. Michael Cahn for the link. A federal study shows that biking and walking now account for 11.9% of all trips, while fatalities are down 12% and 22.3% respectively. Rock hopping and other stunts on a carbon Raleigh roadie. Scofflaws are scofflaws, regardless of vehicle. How to avoid big trouble with big trucks. How to stay cool in the long hot summer. Trek kills Gary Fisher, sort of. Bikes belong everywhere says Bikes Belong. The former Ugly Betty looks pretty good on her bike. A New England cyclist frightens drivers without even trying. Two St. Louis riders are shot by bike riding robbers. Brit train operators are trying to be more bike-friendly. A Prague tram driver chases down his runaway train by bike after it leaves the station without him.

Finally, five men have been found guilty for causing the death of a London cyclist who was inadvertently caught up in a two-vehicle dispute over a puppy. Yes, an innocent man died because fight over the price of a puppy.

And am I the only one who thinks Texas Rep. Joe Barton nominated himself for biggest political twit of the year Thursday morning?

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Semi-bike-friendly Santa Monica FedEx fail; LAPD ride-along for Critical Mass

June 16, 2010 / / 6 comments

Notice how it's parked directly in the bike lane, despite a row of empty meters.

Tuesday afternoon found me riding along 7th Street in Santa Monica.

I was on my way home from a quick jaunt to the South Bay, and stopped at a bike shop in SoCal’s city by the bay — or one of them, anyway — to pick up a new light.

So afterwards, I decided to take the bike lane along 7th Street that turns into a bike route above Wilshire to get back to San Vicente and home. It’s not a great bike lane, positioning riders directly in the door zone, but in my book it’s better than nothing and usually a decent street to ride.

It may be a crappy bike lane, but it's a bike lane — not a loading zone.

At least, when it’s not blocked by a needlessly double parked FedEx truck.

As you can see from the photos, there are no cars at the curb — and clearly hadn’t been when the truck parked, since there’s not enough room between the truck and the curb for anything bigger than a clown car. And it’s been a while since I’ve seen one of those around here.

Instead, the diver intentionally blocked the bike lane, as well as two parking spaces, for no apparent reason, forcing me to take the lane to get around a multi-ton example of why Santa Monica continues to merely aspire to bike-friendliness — despite what the League of American Bicyclists insists.

When service drivers like this start getting tickets, or city officials contact delivery services to insist that they leave bike lanes clear for the people they were intended for, then Santa Monica may finally begin to earn its award.

You can just make out the license if any city or company officials care; click on the photo to enlarge.

………

In response to the now infamous Critical Mass Takedown, the LAPD announced that they will attend the next Critical Mass. While acknowledging cyclists right to ride, as well as a “1st Amendment Right to call attention to issues affecting their community” — and hopefully, to document what happens on the street without getting your iPhone smashed — they make clear they will also be enforcing the law.

So fair warning. You have a right to ride in Critical Mass.

But you also have a right to be ticketed or arrested if you don’t ride right.

Click to enlarge.

………

RAAM riders have reached the hallucination zone, as exertion and sleep depravation have some riders seeing things; I once spoke with a top RAAM finisher who described seeing dinosaurs along the roadway through Missouri at 4 am.

In other racing news, Tony Martin of Team HTC – Columbia leads the Tour of Switzerland after four stages, with Fabian Cancellara one second back, as Mark Cavendish takes down several top riders in a sprint to the finish. And Lance’s Team Radioshack is disinvited to this year’s Spanish Vuelta, despite their current 8th ranking; Team Director Johan Bruyneel calls BS.

………

The hit-and-run trail for the woman who severely injured Louis “Birdman” Deliz is delayed again. More from Stephen Box about the new sharrows on Fountain Ave; Streetsblog notes that they’re now starting to appear on 4th St — hopefully his one will make people happier. Plans for bus-only lanes on Wilshire Blvd move forward; these could easily be shared with bikes as other cities have done. Proposed cuts to the Safe Routes to School Program have been postponed for now; Santa Monica Spoke encourages you to contact your representative, which is a damn good idea anyway. The Spoke also invites one and all to tonight’s meeting, and offers a schedule for the upcoming meetings for the city’s proposed Land Use and Circulation Element. Green LA Girl forwards your invitation to the Squirt! Bike Race and Scavenger Hunt. Biking the path of least resistance from Burbank to Glendale; Silverlake, not so much. The Claremont Cyclist — who has one of the best headers in blogdom — notes a big problem with local infrastructure and offers alternative, long and short term. Long Beach’s biking expats cycle through the historic Natchez Trace. More Americans are traveling sans motor. Zeke survives to prove the point of yesterday’s post, that drivers don’t see bikes unless they care enough to look — and does it while riding at 55 mph, at least according to his bike computer. Dottie survives, barely, a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad commute from hell; the Chicago Tribune says she could use a little help. Traffic meister Tom Vanderbilt looks at the curious economics of bike parking. Scientific American says American cities are moving away from car-only thoroughfares; thanks to Metro’s Transportation Library for the link. A Portland bus forces a bicyclist into a parked car. A Hartford cyclist scares a kid biking past a supposedly haunted hospital. Six ways to boost your city’s bike mojo. EcoVelo confesses to being a bike clothing agnostic. Colorado cyclists try to derail the Black Hawk bike ban. Another bike bear attack, this time in Anchorage. Thirty days is not enough for recklessly killing a bike rider. Maybe you’re better off with a cow’s eye than a bike reflector; well at least the drivers would notice you. More on labeling riders as cyclists rather than just people who ride bikes; another non-cyclist agrees. London could take a hint from Bogotá’s Ciclovía. A teenage hit-and-run driver curls up and cries after his conviction. Another London bike death offers fair warning to L.A. against trying to squeeze bikes in with substandard infrastructure.

Finally, starting next month, you could be at just a little less risk from drunk drivers — like this guy, allegedly — on the streets of L.A.

Category: General /

Bikes aren’t hard to see if drivers pay attention

June 14, 2010 / / 13 comments

When my father had his heart attack, one of the last things he said was that if he didn’t make it, he wanted me to have his car.

He didn’t.

So about a week later, I found myself driving back home from Colorado in a 1983 Olds Delta 88. Not exactly my kind of car; but when your Dad’s dying wish is for you to have something, you take it. And you treasure it.

Whenever I got behind the wheel, I felt a little closer to him, and that awful pain eased up just a bit. Until finally after a few years, I was able to let the sadness, and the car, go.

Maybe my old man knew what he was doing after all.

It was huge car, seemingly the size of a small tuna boat, with a curb weight of over three-and-a-half tons. And with its baby blue paint job and white vinyl top, it was kind of hard to miss.

Yet somehow, the woman who rear-ended it while I was stopped at a red light did just that, saying she just didn’t see my car sitting directly in front of her, despite two working brake lights. Or at least, they were working before she hit me.

So how can we expect drivers to see something nearly 20 times smaller?

Like a cyclist, for instance.

Oddly, though, I never seem to have any trouble spotting riders on the road, whether I’m on my bike or behind the wheel.

Yet drivers are constantly told to watch carefully for bikes and pedestrians, because we’re so hard to see. And frankly, I’m getting pretty fed up with it.

Because the simple fact is, bikes aren’t hard to see. In fact, we’re everywhere. You just have to look.

All drivers have to do is stay sober, put down their phones, stop texting or fixing their makeup. And pay attention to the road in front of them as if their life — or someone else’s — depends on it.

Because it does.

We get that. As bicyclists, we know that we have to pay attention to every person and vehicle on the road, and it’s long past time that we started holding drivers to that same standard.

Drivers must be held accountable for failure to see something or someone directly in front of them. Or failing to use their mirrors or check their blind spots to see riders off to the side or behind them.

A reader recently emailed a story of barely avoiding a collision as he rode in the bike lane on Venice, when the driver of a pickup nearly turned into him without bothering to check his mirrors before suddenly lurching to the right.

The part that really bothers me is, why is the refrain “I didn’t see you” so easily accepted as a legitimate excuse, not only by the drivers involved, but by the cops and other outsiders.  The subtext of this statement is, “I didn’t bother looking, you are just some person on a bike, and I really don’t owe you anything.”  Would these following excuses fly? “I didn’t know the gun was loaded.”  “I didn’t realize the four cocktails made me too drunk to drive.”  All of these indicate a lack of any responsibility on the part of the person making the excuse.   That’s all they are, excuses.  Being a driver and saying “I didn’t see you” means you didn’t do what you should have done, which is to look, to pay attention.  I was driving down the freeway the other day and was about to change lanes into another car because, although I checked my mirrors, I didn’t check my blind spot.  If I had hit the car, would “I didn’t see you” work to absolve me of any fault?  Probably not.

This morning, if this guy driving the truck would have glanced in his big truck mirrors, he would have seen me coming down the bike bath for hundreds of feet behind him, easily.  You will never see a thing when you aren’t looking.  It’s a very simple request, always be looking, with eyes open for all possibilities.

The Brits call it SMIDSY — Sorry Mate, I Didn’t See You. We need to start calling it what it is.

An admission of guilt.

And stop telling drivers that bikes are hard to see, because we’re not.

They just have to care enough to look.

………

Flying Pigeon looks forward to next weekend’s Streetsblog fundraising ride. Neon Tommy offers a great look at the Bicycle Kitchen. LAist looks at the new Fountain Ave sharrows, while Damien Newton offers a great summation of the celebration and controversy. KPCC says it’s time for Critical Mass riders to Harden The F*** Up, ‘cause things could have been a lot worse. Streetsblog looks at Saturday’s Bike and Pedestrian Workshop in Culver City. Taking a M*A*S*H ride through the sets at Malibu Creek State Park. A San Diego pedestrian suffers a fractured skull when she’s struck by a hit-and-run bicyclist. Why Modesto should not be part of next year’s Tour of California. The RAAM riders contend with wicked weather through the West. The sky’s the limit for a 14-year old Arizona bike racer. Tucson Bike Lawyer discovers the joys of a separated bike path, while his Chicago counterpart looks at the joys and risks of alleycat racing. Should police crack down on illegal cyclist behavior or focus on the big machines that can kill people? Slow riding on separated bikeways means sucking in less smog. Michigan may follow California’s lead and ban texting while biking. Pondering empathy for everyone on the road. Slovenian rider Janez Brajkovic breaks through to win the Dauphine for Lance’s Team Radioshack. A British rider is killed during a time trail when he’s struck from behind by a car. A Paralympian’s perspective on riding the length of Great Britain. English soccer fans ride 8,000 miles to support the Three Lions in the World Cup; that’s a long way to go to watch a draw, not that I’m rubbing it in or anything. Irish riders may get numbered license plates even though the law doesn’t require it. Ottawa businesses say parking is preferable to bike lanes. A Canadian cyclist says bike paths are for bikes, period; I dare him to say that on the beachfront bike path through Santa Monica. Arabs, Jews and Bedouins bike for peace in the Mid East. Maybe you should be snacking on cherries after your next ride.

Finally, three Florida cyclists are injured when a driver swerves into a group of riders, then throws a beer out his window. There are no words that even begin to address the sheer needless stupidity.

Seriously.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Today’s post, in which I’m blindsided by a former friend

June 14, 2010 / / 27 comments

Alex Thompson makes his feelings clear.

Wow.

You’ll have to excuse me, but for once, I don’t even know what to say. Until recently, I considered Alex Thompson a friend and an ally in making the city’s streets safer for cyclists.

I say until recently, because he’s made it clear that’s no longer the case.

His choice, not mine.

I respect Alex. I liked Alex. I’ve supported his efforts at Bikeside and linked to his commentary; even when on those rare occasions when I’ve personally disagreed with his comments, I felt they were worth wider consideration.

And I’m linking to him today, as he unveils the first in what he promises will be a five part attack on some of the things I’ve written, as well as on me personally.

I don’t intend to get into an online flame war; that’s one of the things I hate most about the internet. And while I disagree with much of what he has to say this morning, I don’t think you’re interested in a point-by-point rebuttal.

So I wish Alex well.

If he really wants to attack me, then fire away.

………

Stephen Box criticizes LADOT’s new sharrows for placing cyclists in the door zone, and allowing drivers to pass too closely; oddly, he seems to hold the LACBC somehow accountable for LADOT’s engineering. Meanwhile, BAC Chair Glenn Bailey notes in an email that LADOT didn’t bother to inform the city’s own Bicycle Advisory Committee about the sharrows, and that, for now at least, they only stretch for about half a mile and on just one side of Fountain.

Oh, and watch out for those potholes.

………

Graduation cycle chic at Caltech. New York cyclists envy our newfound relationship with the LAPD. The RAAM leaders hit Trinidad CO three days into the race, one-third of the way across the country. Instead of just fighting a new law, some Florida cyclists want to ban bike lanes all together. Two thousand riders will spend the next week riding the Rockies. $2.4 million settlement for cyclist killed after hitting a lane divider that shouldn’t have been used. After a cyclist is killed, local residents demand that the speed limit be cut in half — even though her death had nothing to do with cars or speed. Riding in style in Savannah. A mother questions whether bicycling is too dangerous for her kids. Dave Moulton looks at the bicycling, reiki practicing road-rage driver who intentionally struck four cyclists in San Francisco. Alberto Contador studies Lance and Pantani to see how it’s done, then rides out to conquer Alpe d’Huez in the Dauphine. While other cities get parking protected bike lanes, Copenhagen gets bike-parking protected bike lanes. After a Swedish cyclist is intentionally struck by a driver, the rider faces charges for riding in the roadway. A law-abiding Critical Mass comes to Moose Jaw. Dubai plans to empty the roads of inattentive and unsafe drivers.

Finally, a look at World Naked Bike Ride around the globe, including London, Ottawa, Toronto and Halifax.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,
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