The good news is my eye infection has cleared up.
The bad news is, I’m still sick as a dog.
I was hoping to be fully back at work today, but it turns out the eye infection was just a symptom, rather than the illness. There’s something else going on that’s kept me flat on my back for the past week, and doesn’t appear to be letting up anytime soon.
Hopefully something will break, and we’ll be back with our usual Morning Links soon.
As I said the other day, if it’s not one damn thing, it’s another.
My blood sugar levels are still unacceptably high. And now you can add an eye infection that’s made my right eye virtually useless the past couple days, and makes it almost impossible to use for more than couple minutes at a time.
Hopefully, the antibiotics will kick in soon, and we’ll be back in a day or two.
Although the way things have gone lately, I wouldn’t hold your breath.
That sudden chill you feel is hell freezing over.
Surprisingly, CD13 Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell has taken up support for the Sunset4All Complete Streets makeover of Sunset Boulevard through Echo Park, Silver Lake and East Hollywood.
According to Urbanize Los Angeles,
In a motion introduced on September 14, 13th District Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell requests a report back from the Department of Transportation, the Bureau of Engineering, the Bureau of Street Services, and the City Administrative Officer on recommendations for implementing the scope of improvements proposed in the Sunset4All plan, including a budget, funding opportunities, and a timeline for delivery.
The proposed concept, according to O’Farrell’s motion, would serve an area that is home to more than 100,000 residents, and impact corridors which have been recognized as part of the City’s High Injury Network. The overall project area includes the stretch of Sunset between Fountain Avenue and Dodger Stadium, as well as Santa Monica Boulevard between the Vermont/Santa Monica subway station and Sunset Junction. The Sunset4All plan proposes to restripe the existing right-of-way, adding up to:
- 3.2 miles of protected bike lanes;
- enhanced crosswalks and bus stops;
- new safe routes to schools; and
- several pocket parks.
Although the strength of O’Farrell’s support is up for debate.
It’s possible that his sudden support stems from his uphill battle for re-election against challenger Hugo Soto-Martinez, who had a nine point lead over O’Farrell in the primary election.
Let’s hope he’s had a late career Damascus moment, and now realizes the error of his ways after cancelling the shovel-ready Temple Street road diet five years ago, as well as other bike projects in the district.
And that his support will last past the November election.
Assuming he wins, of course, which is questionable at this point.
Today’s image is a rendering of the Sunset4All project through the Sunset Junction district.
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Longtime Los Alamitos City Council member Ronald R. “Ron” Bates died unexpectedly of an apparent medical emergency on September 6th while on a bike ride with friends.
Bates was 76-years old, and survived by his wife, two daughters and two grandchildren.
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A half mile of parking protected bike lanes are coming to 3rd Street in DTLA.
3rd Street bike lanes like a good project – for bikeway network connections downtown. Overall it's a half-mile – with about half of that new protected bike lane, and half upgrading an existing unprotected bike lane https://t.co/5NkxOsyWLu
— StreetsblogLA (@StreetsblogLA) September 15, 2022
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Before we go any further, let’s pause for a moment to thank Oceanside bike attorney Richard Duquette for renewing his sponsorship of this site for another year.
His support, and that of our other sponsors over there on the right, help keep this site going.
But more importantly, I can personally vouch for Duquette, and our other sponsors, if you ever need someone to fight for you after a crash or some other incident.
I would trust any one of them to handle my own case if someone ran me down on the streets. Which is the best reference I can give.
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Speaking of Duquette, he’s offering a sponsorship for next year for people and nonprofits engaged in bicycling and triathlons.
Here’s what he had to say.
Only a few more days to apply 2023 sponsorship. My law firm will sponsor the best partners, and the best people who come together to support and encourage bicycling & triathlon around the U.S.
If you are considering racing in 2023, like fun in these sports, then we encourage you to apply. Applications close on October 1st 2022. Tell us how YOU or your NON PROFIT 501(C)(3)(4) genuinely plan to improve the world (ESPECIALLY SAN DIEGO & SO CAL) by or through the sports of Bicycling & Triathlon. Send us your contact information!
If you are a nonprofit in good standing we want to help you! Below is a link to one of 3 links (with podcasts) that discuss “Corporate culture: Law & Ethics of Non Profits” in CA.(Subjects include conflicts of interest, self dealing, fiduciary duties of directors/officers and more.)
https://www.911law.com/blog/2017/may/corporate-culture-and-bicyclists-part-2-of-3-non/
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CNBC examines the seemingly endless size creep in motor vehicles, as they continue to get more dangerous to anyone unfortunate enough to be outside one.
We all know Americans love big vehicles. But there are other factors at work too that contribute to the neverending size creep we have seen in vehicles over the last few decades. I talked to @CNBC in this video piece about this automotive phenomenon. https://t.co/vaOSxjc2y8
— Ed Kim (@ekimap) September 13, 2022
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New Orleans City Council voted unanimously to rip out protected bike lanes in the underserved Algiers neighborhood, after residents complained about the removal of traffic lanes and parking spaces. Once again choosing convenience over human lives and equity. And making the city fully liable for anyone who gets hurt there afterwards.
Horrifying story from the UK, where a 29-year old man was sentenced to 16 months behind bars for physically attacking a disabled driver, who had the temerity to honk at him as he rode his bicycle; he ripped out the driver’s tracheotomy tube after the driver got out of his car, then knocked off his glasses and hearing aid, kicking the latter down the road. He also jumped on the car’s hood and stomped the windshield when the driver got back in his car and drove at him. Yes, the driver was in the wrong, too. But seriously, there’s no excuse for physical violence, especially against someone with an obvious disability.
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Streets For All founder Michael Schneider says switching to electric cars isn’t enough; it’s time to think bigger by encouraging more ebike use.
LA Laker’s legend Kobe Bryant was one of us, taking Team USA on early morning 40-mile bike rides through the desert to motivate them, before returning to the gym to practice at 7:30 am.
The LAPD is hosting the 2nd Annual Val Martinez Memorial Bike Ride on September 24th; the 25-mile ride will raise funds for the Martinez’ twin sons, who were born after he died of Covid.
Pasadena adopted a Roadside Memorial Sign Program to honor the victims of traffic violence.
Palmdale introduced four street projects, including pedestrian and bicycle improvements intended to revitalize the downtown civic center area.
Only In Your State recommends riding or walking the Old Sea World Drive Bay Trail in San Diego to get from the bay to the beach and back.
San Diego is jumpstarting the ebike revolution with a $10 million loan-to-own ebike program for people making below $49,000 a year.
A traffic tech site makes the case for why jaywalking laws should be abolished. Someone send the article to Governor Newsom, who has a nasty habit of vetoing traffic reforms that make sense, like this one.
Proponents are still fighting for an ebike rebate in the halls of Congress, after a proposed rebate ended up on the cutting room floor when the Inflation Reduction Act was passed.
CNN talks with bicycling activist Marley Blonsky, the Seattle-based co-founder of All Bodies on Bikes and a trailblazer of the body-size inclusion movement.
New Mexico sheriff’s officials consider bringing fraud charges against framebuilder Dillen Maurer, who raised $18,000 through a crowdfunding page after saying he lost a foot in a collision with an ATV rider while riding his bike near his Taos home; investigators claim he cut his own foot off in a chainsaw accident.
No excuse. A Denver man was seriously injured when he was run down by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike, just one month and a few miles away from where his friend was killed by another driver, who also fled the scene.
A Kansas City woman practices radical forgiveness for the alleged stoned and distracted hit-and-run driver who killed her husband, a teacher and father of ten children, as he rode his bike.
Once again, transportation officials wait until someone dies to make needed safety improvements, as Kentucky officials approve plans for protected bike lanes on the oddly named Licking Valley Girl Scout Bridge, where a woman was killed in a collision while riding her bike earlier this month.
Country singer Vince Gill says his wife, Christian singer Amy Grant, is doing great, despite being confined to their Tennessee home after falling off her bike in July.
In news that shouldn’t surprise anyone, ebike riders tend to go further, and rid more often, than other bike riders.
Interesting Engineering picks the seven-best ebike conversion kits, while Cycling Weekly reviews the new and improved Swytch ebike conversion.
This Saturday is World Cleanup Day, which is a perfect opportunity to do some good on your bike.
The annual Fancy Women Bike Ride rolls this Sunday; the women-only ride was born in Turkey in 2013, and quickly spread around the world. Surprisingly, however, there don’t appear to be any fancy women planning rides anywhere in Southern California.
New Zealand’s Stuff website examines what’s stopping Christchurch residents from riding their bikes. Which is the same problems we face in Los Angeles, and just about everywhere else.
Julian Alaphilippe is back from the injuries he suffered during April’s Liege-Bastogne-Liege, as well as a bout of Covid, and ready to defend his two-time World Championship in Australia.
British pro Alex Dowsett is staring down retirement in his last few months as a pro cyclist
To be honest, we’ve all been there. Now you, too, can have a 3D-printed bike helmet custom tailored to the contours of your own head.
And forget helicabs. Now you can have your very own flying hoverbike, for the low, low price of just $777,000.
This is the world's first flying bike. The XTURISMO hoverbike is capable of flying for 40 minutes and can reach speeds of up to 62 mph pic.twitter.com/ZPZSHJsmZm
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 16, 2022
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
My apologies.
I’ve been struggling with my blood sugar all day, and haven’t been able to get it back under control to get to work tonight.
As usual, we’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we missed today.
Another reminder to get yourself checked if you’re at risk of diabetes, and do whatever it takes to avoid it. Because you don’t want this crap.
Seriously, if it’s not one damn thing, it’s another.
Yet another bike rider has been killed, this time in Fontana.
And just three miles away and two days after another man was killed in Rancho Cucamonga on Sunday.
But at least this time, there wasn’t a driver involved.
The Fontana Herald News reports a man riding an ebike was killed in a solo crash when he hit a raised curb Sunday evening.
The crash apparently occurred on Foothill Boulevard, near where it passes underneath the Pacific Electric Trail, around 7:52 pm Sunday.
According to the Fontana police, the victim was found lying unconscious in the center lane of eastbound Foothill, with no pulse and suffering from serious head trauma.
He was revived and taken to the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, where he died several hours later.
He has not been publicly identified yet.
A witness reports he hit the curb, then was thrown into the south wall of the Pacific Electric Trail bridge.
There’s no word on whether he was wearing a helmet, which might have made a difference in this case, depending on the speed of his ebike and the force with which he hit the wall.
This is at least the 61st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in San Bernardo County.
He is also the 10th bike rider killed in Southern California just this month.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his family and loved ones.
My apologies. A sick migraine knocked me on my ass tonight; I haven’t been able to look at my computer screen all night.
I’ll be back tomorrow with anything we’ve missed, unless my head explodes. Which could happen.
Despite my best efforts to get back to work, I’m still struggling with my health this week.
So I’m throwing in the towel, and taking the next few days to rest and try to feel better.
I’ll see you bright and early on July 5th.
My apologies. I’m significantly under the weather tonight. I’ll try to be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we’ve missed.
My apologies.
I’ve been struggling to cope with a sick migraine — or rather, a migraine swarm — every day since last week, despite a complete diet change over the past month in an effort to prevent them.
Which was a hell of a way to celebrate my wife’s and my 25th anniversary yesterday.
So I’m giving up and putting my pain-filled head to bed before it explodes.
As usual, I’ll do my best to be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we missed.
Then again, I did my best to be here today. And you can see how that turned out.
Photo by SHVETS production from Pexels.
Please forgive me.
I did my best to write today’s Morning Links, despite battling a killer headache. But it looks like the headache has won.
So I’m going to bed, and hoping it’s gone by morning. As usual, we’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we missed.
But before we go, let me share this comment from Rob X, followed by my response. Because it is a conversation worth having, and one that continues to come up from time to time, in one form or another.
I’m a cyclist who’s way past tired of the “SO DANGEROUS!” whining. Bicycling seems to be the ONLY activity whose fans actively discourage others by claiming their favorite activity is dangerous. Or by claiming that it can’t be safe until all territory is redesigned with them in mind.
So you beg for bike lanes. Those bike lanes fill with gravel, glass and junk because car tires never sweep them clean. You demand sweepers, then you demand posts or other barriers that prevent sweepers from fitting. You demand parked cars to hide the bikers from drivers then you complain when a turning car runs over an unseen biker – a biker who doesn’t bother to check for cars because, hey, she’s “protected!”
Look, there are fewer than 1000 bike deaths in the U.S. every year. That’s not “dangerous.” Biking is way safer than even walking, whether you figure total deaths or deaths per mile. Biking is way safer than swimming or motorcycling. It’s safer than walking down stairs! But where are the calls stair walking helmets and elevators at all stairways?
Half of biker deaths are the fault of the biker. Those people are too confused or ignorant to follow simple rules of the road. Complicating those rules things with special lanes, opposite-direction bike lanes, “mixing zones,” blind intersections and more won’t help.
Bicycling is literally safer than NOT bicycling. It has health benefits WAY bigger than its risks. Quit scaring people into their noisy, polluting cars!
Here’s my response:
“Evidently, you haven’t spent much time on this site. Right up there, under Facts & Stats, it says this:
How safe is bicycling? Cyclists suffered in an estimated 52,000 injuries in 2009; making your odds of returning home safely from any given ride nearly 77,000 to one; the chances of surviving any given ride were over 6.3 million to one in your favor.
Sounds pretty safe to me.
On the other hand, statically, an average of 2 – 3 people are killed riding bicycles in the US every day. So while your risk on any given ride is infinitesimal, it’s going to happen to someone, somewhere. And every one of those “less than 1000” deaths you cite is someone’s son or daughter, mother or father, friend or loved one.
I often hear from the relatives of people killed while riding their bikes. And I can assure you it’s no small matter to them. I also hear from riders all levels, from beginning bike riders to experienced cyclists, who have been frightened off their bikes by one too many close calls, or one trip too many to the emergency room.
I’ve made four trips there myself, as I enter my 40th year of riding a bike as an adult.
So should we just tell everyone bike riding is safe, so get out there and just enjoy the ride, when their own experience tells them otherwise? Should we just say “oh well” when yet another innocent person gets sacrificed on the altar of the almighty automobile? Or should we fight like hell to make our streets safer for everyone?
I know what my answer is, because I’ve been doing this for 14 years now.
But remember this. Bike infrastructure isn’t there for experienced vehicular cyclists who have no fear of mixing it up with traffic. It’s for all the little kids and older folks, all the timid riders who won’t bike without it, and all the people like my wife, who are tired of picking their loved ones up at the hospital.
I’m glad you feel safe on your bike. But I hope you open your heart a little more to those who don’t, and those who haven’t been.”
So what do you thinK?
Personally, I think an average of nearly 1,000 people killed riding their bikes is about 1,000 too many.
But I’m willing to listen if you disagree.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to put my head to bed before it explodes.
