Archive for General

Empowering L.A.’s invisible cyclists

March 5, 2010 / / Comments Off on Empowering L.A.’s invisible cyclists

There was a time when I described myself as a “serious” cyclist.

In my pedal-addled mind, that distinguished me as a spandex-clad, 50 mile a day rider who lived and breathed bikes. As opposed to someone who might pull the clunker out of the garage on the weekend for a leisurely roll through the park or along the beach, for instance.

Or someone who would ride in sneakers and street clothes.

It wasn’t that I looked down on the spandex-challenged. It’s just that, as I saw it at the time, they didn’t have the skills and commitment of a serious rider such as myself.

And clearly, I wasn’t the only one.

As another spandexed rider I know jokingly put it, “I don’t trust cyclists who don’t shave their legs.”

But slowly over the years, it penetrated my thick helmet-covered skull that other kinds of riders might be just as devoted to riding as I was, but just do it a little differently. And that there were equally valid reasons to ride that had nothing to do with improving speed, skills or fitness.

Maybe it was the first time a blue jean clad fixie rider dropped me, much to my shame. Or maybe when the bike lanes appeared on Santa Monica Boulevard, and I started seeing countless commuters roll past my home every day.

It could have been a growing awareness that all those women on Dutch bikes and beach cruisers were actually going places, even if they weren’t going as fast — or sweating as much — as spandex speedsters such as myself.

Then there was the humbling realization that there were people who rode, not because they chose to, or to stay in shape or because it was hip or fashionable. But because it was their most viable — or perhaps only — form of transportation.

And that the needs and safety of those riders were just as legitimate as mine.

Fortunately, not everyone is as slow on the uptake as I am. The local bike co-ops — Bicycle Kitchen, Bike Oven, Bikerowave and Valley Bikery — have long helped riders of all types repair their own bikes at little cost.

The LACBC has gone a step further, forming the City of Lights program to reach out to cyclists in the immigrant community; primarily — but not exclusively — Spanish speaking immigrants.

As relatively recent arrivals in the country, many of these cyclists may not know how and where to ride safely, or how to map out a route that can get them to and from various parts of the city. Or have the money to invest in the lights and reflectors that could help keep them safe on the streets of L.A.

So a small program to pass out lights, maps and safety information didn’t seem like a bad idea.

What few anticipated, however, was that it would grow to become a significant outreach to the immigrant community.

That initial free light program was followed by a study of how to increase bike parking facilities in low income areas, resulting in the city’s first ever guide to surmounting the countless technical and regulatory requirements to placing racks on the streets, available for download in English and Spanish.

Soon the program will be releasing a Spanish language resource guide — including information on safe riding techniques and equipment, basic maintenance, and advocacy and legal rights — which will be distributed for free and made available online.

In addition, I recently sat in on a report from the LACBC’s Allison Manos, in which she discussed a new program to train immigrants in bike repair, whether to maintain their own bikes or to give them the skills to find work in bicycle repair shops. And several program members have responded by becoming bike safety advocates themselves.

So in just a few short years, what started as a small safety outreach has turned into a program that empowers people to make changes in their own lives, and in their community.

You can’t ask for any more than that.

The Times’ Hector Tobar writes about it today — though he somehow neglects to mention City of Lights by name — focusing on one of the program’s participants, Jose Guzman, as well as Ramon Martinez of the LACBC and Bike Oven.

“In L.A. we have thousands, maybe tens of thousands of people on bikes that mainstream cyclists never see,” Martinez told me. He called them “invisible cyclists” but then corrected himself because really, if you pay attention, you’ll almost always see them on the streets.

I’ve seen the cyclists in the garment district, Koreatown and Pasadena, often in the uniforms of cooks or kitchen workers. They don’t wear spandex and they don’t bike to lower their cholesterol or to reduce their “carbon footprint.”

They don’t bike because it’s a cool lifestyle choice. Mostly they bike out of necessity.

“My bike is my salvation,” Guzman told me.

“I see it as part of me. It’s my vehicle. I carry bags, backpacks, groceries on it. Everything.”

It’s a good story. And a great program — one definitely worth supporting.

Maybe it will help keep a few more riders safe, change a few lives and make this city a better place for riders of all types.

And help make those invisible riders just a little easier to see.

……….

Austin’s Yellow Bike Project, in which abandoned bikes are fixed-up, painted yellow and donated to the needy, has spread east to Augusta, Georgia; evidently, Portland has a similar program. Maybe it’s time the project moved a little northwest.

It could be a great complement to the work being done by City of Lights.

……….

The schmuck Swedish Rapper who beat a Hollywood pedestrian senseless, then ran over him as an off-duty police officer begged him to stop — and had the audacity to claim self-defense — is sentenced to 15 years to life for 2nd degree murder.

Personally, I vote for the latter.

……….

I’ve got more links — too many, actually. So come back later tonight or over the weekend after you’ve had a chance to limber up your link-clicking finger.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , ,

An encounter with a red light-running Frogger-playing Ninja cyclist and other assorted items

March 4, 2010 / / 5 comments

I received this email yesterday from a rider who related his encounter with a lycra-clad, lightless red light-running roadie with an attitude.

Funny story from yesterday.

I was riding home from work along Venice Blvd. about 7:30pm.  As I was sitting at the stoplight at Sawtelle another cyclist pulled up on a road bike decked out in his race gear.  After pausing and looking around, he then goes through the red light just as the opposing side got the green arrow.  I immediately realized this was the same idiot I saw a few weeks ago run every ride light on Venice, including playing frogger as he crossed La Cienega on a red – I was absolutely sure he was going to be a hood ornament.

Now, some background on the last time I saw him is necessary.  Because I was getting so annoyed that he kept running red lights, in addition to wearing all black and I don’t think he had any lights (or maybe a tiny blinker in the back), I thought it was worthwhile to pass him on my mountain back as that always pisses the roadies off.  I clearly could have made a comment about it maybe not being smart to run all of those lights, but he probably already knew that.  So, I blew past him in my highest gear, pushing my heavy beast as fast it would go and I immediately hear him clicking away at his gears and he comes past me huffing and puffing with his head down.  I was topped out so he got ahead of me and disappeared as he continued to run red lights, including the aforementioned light at La Cienega.

Now, back to last night.  I caught up to him again a couple of blocks down, drafted off him for a second, he realized I was behind him and moved over.  We came to a red light and stopped.  He paused, looked around and took off, to which I yelled “yeah buddy, run it!”  He immediately slammed on his brakes, did a 180 skid and rode back through the red light toward me and said, “I wiped your ass last time I saw you out here and I’ll do it again smack mouth!”  I laughed at him, because he just said something about wiping my ass and he pulled off again.  I yelled “Awww, that’s not fair, you’re getting a head start…!”  He made some baby talking noises and rode off into the dark, running red lights the whole way.

I may not obey every law on the road (namely stop signs when there is no cross traffic), but I draw the line at running red lights at busy intersections, especially when there are cars everywhere, because it just gives drivers more ammo when they complain about how cyclists ride; and it’s really dangerous.  I bet good money, this guy is the same dip shit no matter what.  I guess the bottom line is, it doesn’t matter what your mode of transportation is, if you’re gonna be dumb, you’re gonna be dumb.  Although, I was slightly flattered he remembered me.

……….

Will Coley of Aquifermedia offers video look at a day in the life of Bicycle Kitchen volunteer and LACBC staffer Ramon Martinez.

……….

Interesting essay by a cyclist and urban planner on how to promote cycling and design cities to encourage biking and walking.

However, I disagree with his suggestion to downplay helmet use. He suggests that safety in numbers will do more to improve bicycle safety than helmet use, but that will only reduce the number of collisions with cars — for which helmets offer only minimal protection.

According to the Mortiz study, only 11% of cycling accidents involve moving motor vehicles, while 59% result from falls — exactly the sort of accident in which helmets are most effective in preventing injury.

Surely we can encourage people to ride while still promoting the only protective device cyclists have — and one that can actually save lives, as it did mine.

……….

Here’s your chance to help turn the Backbone Bikeway Network into a workable plan this Saturday. Paris Hilton gets busted for driving in a WeHo bike lane; thanks to George Wolfberg for the heads up.  Stephen Box offers another take on last week’s TranspoComm meeting with LAPD Chief Beck, and suggests that LA’s new sharrows pilot program has gone of track before it even starts. The Santa Monica Daily Press reports on efforts to re-open Westwood’s Los Angeles National Cemetery to bike access, including a quote from yours truly. According to USC’s student newspaper, students can now ride on campus sidewalks and crosswalks, as long as it’s done safely. Pasadena’s proposed bike master plan may do a lot, but LACBC says it could do more. Long Beach’s cycling expats sum up their visit to West Texas in their typically beautiful photos. Biking for a better booty? Colorado’s cycling governor, still in the hospital after Tuesday’s riding accident, endorses a mandatory helmet law for anyone under 18. The hit-and-run epidemic spreads north; this time, the driver of a SF Muni bus takes off as passengers beg him to stop. San Francisco’s Critical Mass could be in critical condition. Bike activists are concerned that the state’s new distracted driving bill includes cyclists; really, is it that hard to stop riding long enough to finish your call? Glass in a Portland bike lane takes out several tires, and raises questions about maintenance of the city’s vaunted bikeways. Evidently, LA isn’t the only regional city to host a ciclovía; Tucson is holding one, too. A two-year doping ban for former Rabobank and Silence-Lotto pro rider Thomas Dekker. British Waterways offers £1.7 to help ease conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians on canal towpaths. A Brit cyclist fined for injuring a child while riding on the sidewalk says the street was too dangerous. Evidently, it’s open season on Melbourne cyclists, as 11 — no, make that 14 — riders are injured in a single day. A UK cyclist replaces her stolen bike in what’s become an annual tradition, while another refuses to go to the Lycra Dark Side. Saskatoon cyclists criticize a revised licensing plan. Aussie police in Israel to investigate a reputed spy hit are involved in a cycling hit-and-run.

Finally, a British rider amazingly survives a hit-and-run collision in which he’s dragged over 3,000 feet — and left trapped underneath when the occupants abandon the vehicle.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Today’s post, in which an idiot self-hating cyclist truly pisses me off

March 3, 2010 / / 7 comments

A Seattle writer who claims to own two “fairly expensive 21 speed bicycles,” as well as six — yes six — cars (despite his odd distinction, a hybrid is a car) — takes “dedicated” cyclists to task for having the audacity to ride their bikes in the street, let alone actually take the lane.

Despite his self-described experience as a cyclist, he can envision no reason why anyone would ride a bike in a traffic lane other than… wait for it… “hubris.” After all, he is, by his own admission, afraid to ride in traffic, therefore the only reason anyone else would do so is to deliberately be a nuisance to the drivers who belong there.

Then there’s his unique ability, as a pedestrian, to tell when cyclists exceed the 25 mph speed limit on a popular bike and walking trail — a speed limit that seems to exist only in his own mind, according to the comments that follow. Or to somehow clock rollerbladers travelling at highway speeds.

And why is it that every indignorant idiot on the Internet feels the need to tell us that a cyclist will always come out on the losing end of a collision with a two-ton car? Yeah, like we didn’t know that.

Thanks for the edification, genius.

I’ll be more careful now.

By his estimation, that fact, combined with the greater maneuverability of bicycles, means that all cyclists should yield to motorized traffic. And evidently, in every situation. Never mind that cyclists are more vulnerable in traffic and that it’s motor vehicles that kill, not bikes.

In other words, blame the victim.

Screw the law; common sense — or the all-too-common form of illogic he mistakes for common sense — should rule the day, simply because he says so.

The sheer ignorance he demonstrates is astounding.

So I’m officially creating a new award.

Let’s call it the Ignorant A**hole of the Month Award, or IAMA. And even though it’s just two days into this month, I’m awarding it to the writer of the sadly misnamed “The Ethicist” blog, for which the Seattle Post-Intelligencer claims no responsibility whatsoever, for March, 2010.

Because I know I won’t see a more deserving example over the next 30 days.

Or ever, maybe.

And don’t get me started on a newspaper that would allow him to publish this sort of crap.

……….

Some people like Flying Pigeon’s Dim Sum rides; personally, I’d prefer the Eagle Rock Brewery Ride. The 2nd Annual ArtCycle, the intersection of art and bikes, rolls through the intersections of East Hollywood on the 13th. A San Diego-area rider contacts the city of Oceanside about inadequate bike signage during a road resurfacing, and actually gets a positive response. New Share the Road signs in the Coachella Valley. The Scottsdale cyclist hit by a passing garbage truck succumbs to her injuries; Rick Bernardi analyzes the legal aspects of the collision that took her life. More on the Colorado governor’s rib-cracking ride through the streets of Denver, and a possible collaboration with Lance on a new mile-high stage race. Zeke contemplates a nearly car-free existence, even in rural North Carolina. Bike corrals come to Cincinnati, and bike-borne billboards roll through Tucson. Thanks to Opus the Poet for the heads up that Yehuda Moon is taking the next two months off. Evidently, I’m not the only one who suspects a cover-up in the death of a British cyclist in Saudi Arabia.

Finally, this comment is so wrong in so many ways I don’t even know where to begin. I don’t know if I’m more offended by the kind of jackass shoots pictures up a woman’s skirt, or the kind who would intentionally door someone. Fortunately, in this case, it’s the same person, making him the obvious early leader as this month’s runner-up for IAMA.

And don’t miss the great Aussie PSA spot at the bottom.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

Create a car-free Sunday in the capital of car culture — without spending a dime.

March 2, 2010 / / 7 comments

Less than two months after City Council Transportation Committee Bill Rosendahl famously declared an end to car culture, the movement that brought 36 years of car-free Sundays to Colombia’s capital is preparing to make it’s way to SoCal’s erstwhile car culture capital.

And you can help bring it here.

For those who aren’t familiar with it, ciclovía had its birth with a small street closure in Bogotá in 1974. Now the city closes over 70 miles of city streets to car traffic every Sunday, allowing more than 30% of local residents to safely retake the city for a few hours each week.

The movement has slowly spread north, to cities as varied as New York, San Francisco and Guadalajara. And if everything goes according to plan, CicLAvia will make its official L.A. debut this September.

According to the CicLAvia organization,

CicLAvia proposes to temporarily open 7.5 miles of streets in Los Angeles on Sunday mornings to pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders, dog walkers, families, and anyone who can imagine a new way to use the street. This temporary park space will occur on Sunday mornings from 10am-1pm. The roads will be car-free, thus providing residents with a recreational space, and the opportunity to view their city from a whole new perspective. Our proposed route connects Los Angeles from East to West through some of the most densely populated neighborhoods. The route is easily accessible by transit so that residents from across LA County will be able to attend.

On September 12th, the city is scheduled to shut down a network of streets to vehicular traffic, stretching from the light rail station at 1st and Soto in Boyle Heights to the Bicycle Kitchen in the HelMel district of East Hollywood.

And yes, before anyone panics, the LAPD and LADOT will maintain key crossing points, allowing emergency access and keeping traffic flowing through the city.

Besides, the closure will only take place for a few hours — and on a Sunday, no less — when L.A. streets are virtually abandoned anyway, with much of the city still nursing a hangover. And it’s not like Los Angeles doesn’t shut down busier roads, and for longer periods.

The idea is to give the city back to the people, creating an impromptu street fest with artists, musicians and community members participating at various points along the way, while allowing Angelenos to experience their city in a way never before possible.

Assuming the first one goes well, there are plans for another CicLAvia later in the year, followed by more next year. Organizers hope a successful series of event will lead other local cities to hold their own, creating a network of ciclovias that could be linked by local bikeways.

And you can help.

Right now, without ever leaving the comfort of your own computer, laptop, iPhone or other assorted internet-enabled communication device.

Just click here, and you’ll be instantly transported to the CicLAvia page on the Pepsi Refresh Project, where you can vote to secure a $50,000 donation to help cover the cost of staging the event. That’s $50,000 for doing nothing more than clicking on a link and signing on using your Facebook account or signing up with Pepsi Refresh.

You’re urged to vote early and often — up to 10 times a day, every day, through the end of March.

Which means you can spread your vote around to help support other worthy causes. Or do what I’m doing, and come back throughout the day to concentrate your support for CicLAvia and help ensure it really, truly happens, unlike so many promising plans that have fallen by the wayside over the years.

And that it’s successful so we can look forward to many more.

Best of all, it won’t cost you a cent.

Even I can afford that.

……….

Looks like LA will finally get its first sharrows by summer. Bike Kitchen celebrates its fifth anniversary with a bike ride and potluck; meanwhile, Bike Kitchen founder Jimmy Lizama discovers first hand the LAPD’s new attitude hasn’t made it down to the street level just yet. Good luck finding designated bike parking at LA Live. Lose weight fast on the car-free diet. Drive a car and you might kill someone; ride a bike, not so much. A bike in a snowdrift, or a fossil frozen in time? For once, New York cyclists are jealous of L.A., thanks to our new bike-friendly chief. Portland offers a new right-side left turn lane for bikes, while National Geographic Traveler names Portland the best cycling city in America; well, duh. Colorado’s cycling governor breaks multiple ribs in a crash with other riders; meanwhile, the state considers a mandatory helmet law for children. Cycling through the frozen tundra on Alaska’s Iditarod Trail. Wired tours the home of the world’s best bike saddle. More bike lanes in a Lancashire town might have saved the life of an 83-year old woman. Britain’s John O’Groats to Land’s End celebrity ride gets off to a rough start when one of the celebs falls before the ride even begins. It might save your life someday — a new car airbag designed to protect a cyclist in a crash begins preliminary testing in Amsterdam. New Zealand’s nude cyclist gets the court’s official blessing.

Finally, the 10 best songs about bicycling. And a sad goodbye to Bobby Espinoza, master of the Hammond B3 for the groundbreaking East L.A band El Chicano.

So Tell Her She’s Lovely one last time.

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

In today’s news: the story of a devastating bike accident and a moving recovery

March 1, 2010 / / One comment

An upstate NY physician and hospital CEO sees the medical system from the other side after a paralyzing bike accident in which he diagnosed his own injury and directed the emergency response. And slowly comes back with a new attitude towards life, family and medical care.

On May 30, the lifelong cyclist was finishing a quick, 18-mile ride near his cottage on Canandaigua Lake. He enjoyed the view from a hilltop, looked down and saw nobody else on the road. He likes to go fast, and he leaned into a hairpin turn, like a motorcyclist, at about 23 mph. Suddenly an oncoming car appeared in Berk’s path. “Obviously he’d been parked behind the hill where I couldn’t see him,” he said.

Berk braked. He feared hitting the guard rail and falling down the steep bank. So he tried a mountain bike move on his road bike. He leaned back and intentionally skidded, successfully turning the bike to face uphill, trying to get out of the way of the car. But when he started to pedal, he flew over the handlebars.

His rear tire had blown.

He hit the ground and struck his head, awake.

“Oh, good news, the bicycle helmet worked,” he recalled thinking. “Then I realized I couldn’t feel my legs.”

His left arm didn’t feel like it was part of his body. Then he lost feeling in his right arm.

“Oh no, this is bad,” he thought. He correctly diagnosed a fracture of a vertebra high in his neck.

He was panting, which he identified as trouble breathing caused by the paralysis.

“I was worried I might die right there.”

Lying on the road, he remembered the late actor Christopher Reeve and thought, “If I get out of this not being on a ventilator, I’ll be happy.”

Definitely worth reading the full story.

……….

The Times offers a more detailed report on Chief Beck’s meeting with cyclists, along with an editorial response supporting cyclists — and a comment suggesting we’re the whole problem. Danceralamode learns from a passing motorist that her bike is an instrument of death; no wonder drivers are so afraid of us. Can you recycle a bike helmet? Livable streets don’t mean much without policies that free women to use them. Comparing utility cycling versus recreational riding; personally, I think the best way to defeat whatever progress we’ve made is to pit different types of cyclists against each other. A San Jacinto rider works out by aiming for 1,000 miles a month with an extra 100 pounds on his bike. New Jersey cyclists form their first state-wide biking organization. Talking brewing and bicycling with the sponsor of the Tour de Fat. Creating a bike map in 5-minute increments to eliminate excuses. USA Today examines the most dangerous state in the union for pedestrians and cyclists; surprisingly, it’s not California. . Brit cyclists are urged to press politicians for where they stand on biking issues. A British rider is deliberately struck and killed in Saudi Arabia — or maybe not, depending on your perspective A Toronto mayoral candidate supports bike lanes, except where they’re needed.

Finally, a Birmingham, AL writer complains about rude cyclists in their skintight clothes.

In 1891.

Category: General / Tags: , ,

Hot dry links for a cold wet day

February 27, 2010 / / 3 comments

Forecast says it’s going to be too wet to ride Saturday. So grab your beverage of choice and limber up your link-clicking finger.

……….

The hit-and-run epidemic continues, this time claiming the life of a 13-year old pedestrian in Brentwood. Deepest sympathies to her family and loved ones.

How many hit-and-runs before we say enough?

Update: Despite day-long reports that the driver had fled the scene and a police search for the missing Mercedes that killed the girl, followed by reports that two vehicles had been involved and only one had stopped and waited until the victim was taken away and then left without giving a statement to police, the LAPD now says it was all a big mistake.

According to the latest version of events, both drivers stopped at the scene and waited until the victim was taken away by ambulance, then apparently left without taking to police.

Odd that no one at the scene seemed to be aware of the presence of a vehicle that had just killed someone; you’d think someone might have noticed that. And also odd that, despite saying the victim was “grazed” by the mirror of the first car, which knocked her off balance and into the path of the second vehicle, resulting in her death, the LAPD does not consider that striking someone.

Evidently, a car must smack full on into someone before it’s even considered a collision.

No wonder we don’t feel safe out there.

……….

In a case reminiscent of the Mandeville Canyon case, an Oregon man is charged with intentionally driving into a cyclist last January. And in a state that has a three-foot passing law but fails to enforce it, a 57-year old Arizona cyclist struggles for her life after being struck by a passing garbage truck, despite riding on the “far right side of the road.”

……….

If the weather holds off — or you’re willing to risk it anyway — there may still be time to make Chinatown’s Firecracker 10k run/walk and bike ride, with rides of 20 and 42 miles, a bike valet courtesy of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, and door prizes from the LACBC, Jones Biycles II and Flying Pigeon.

And a party that goes on all weekend.

……….

Will Campbell goes to City Hall; when it’s raining Saturday, he may content himself with photos of the people he passed on the beachfront bikeway yesterday. The Salt Lake Tribune surprisingly endorses Utah’s proposed Idaho Stop law. The mayor of Columbus, Ohio, wants to turn the town into Bike City, USA, while Forth Worth’s mayor says car-centric planning was a mistake. Being for bikes and transit isn’t the same as being anti-car. Illinois considers three pro-bike measures, including an anti-harassment bill and an education campaign. 500 people turn out for a hearing on Austin’s first bike boulevard; despite loud opposition, over 300 were there to support it. Miami expands its bike safety PSA campaign — something desperately needed here in L.A. Longing for the recent past, when cycle teams had simple names and were sponsored by brothels. Bike sharing comes to Mumbai. A few simple pointers for your next long distance tour; like through Eurasia, for instance. A former railway is converted to a bike trail in Portsmouth, UK. The fiancé of a British soldier serving in Afghanistan will ride across the battlefields of Europe to honor the troops and raise money for charity. If you’re not doing anything on Monday, there a great sounding family ride that kicks off at 8 am — in Fiji. A group of Formula 1 engineers build what may be the world’s most expensive bike; $33,600 stripped, $40,000 fully loaded.

Finally, a great quote from the Director of Cycling South Africa, who won’t let his own children ride on the country’s roads:

It’s important to remember that cyclists are just as entitled to their space on the road as motorists, or donkey carts for that matter…. But this is telling: motorists bitch about cyclists riding abreast yet the cyclists who are killed are usually riding alone.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

A few choice comments, a hit-and-run update and a whole lotta links

February 26, 2010 / / 3 comments

But first, breaking news as I post this:

Condolences to our friends at the LAPD, who lost one of their own in an off-duty traffic accident tonight. My deepest sympathies to the officer’s family and loved ones, and the entire department.

Seriously guys, we may have our issues from time to time. But this city and its cyclists couldn’t exist without the men and women in blue.

You do an impossible job, and you do it well.

………

Some interesting comments posted online today.

First up is our own frequent commenter Danceralamode, responding to another comment on the Times story about Chief Beck’s appearance at yesterday’s Transportation Committee meeting:

With rights come responsibilities. Before the LAPD starts worrying about bicyclists’ rights I’d like to see some enforcement of the many traffic laws that MOST bicyclists break every time they take to the streets.

Posted by: James Sullivan | February 25, 2010 at 07:49 AM

Her response:

James Sullivan,

If that philosophy were used to determine the rights of every road user, there would be NOT ONE car on the road. Motorists make traffic violations more often than cyclists do and with more serious results, since a bike weighs 20lbs and a car weighs 4000lbs. If a drunk driver slammed into you then fled the scene while you were in your car, but you had rolled through a stop sign a few miles back, would you want the LAPD to say, well, since we have you rolling a right turn a few miles back, we’re not going to look for the person who almost killed you.

Also, you cannot group all cyclists together in this “they all break the law” discrimination. You have never seen me commute to work. How can you know if I violate any traffic codes? That’s the equivalent of me saying that all motorists are drunk drivers and should have their licenses revoked, just because a few people drive drunk.

Get a clue, Sullivan. You have to share the road; it’s the law. And you have to do it regardless of whether or not you like how the people around you use the road. Seeing a cyclist roll through a stop sign is no justification for passing them so quickly that you hit them and seriously injure them or for trying to run them down or for throwing objects out your window at them. And the LAPD do hand out citations to cyclists who break the law, but they have to see it to do so.

Before LAPD starts investigating any car on car DUIs or accidents, I want to see them fully enforce the cell phone ban. So no justice for you either, Sullivan, how do you like that?

Posted by: danceralamode | February 25, 2010 at 08:43 AM

That girl really should have her own blog. Oh wait, she already does.

Then there was this insightful comment from a cyclist named Jeff:

Anonymously posting information that generalizes bike riders with a broad swath is exactly why it takes the Chief of Police to address the issue personally. Everyone knows at least one incident of bicycle riders ignoring the “rules of the road”, but to paint all riders with the brush shows ignorance. Claiming that bicycle riders need insurance and registration before they use the roads shows the same ignorance. Take your bike to work just once and see what commuting riders put up with daily. The problem is not in the occasional roll-through, the problem is that automobile drivers have the mistaken belief that bicycles are not vehicles.

They are, and they are afforded the same rights as any other vehicle on the road. It’s about time.

Posted by: Jeff | February 25, 2010 at 08:55 AM

Finally, there was this comment from an Australian visitor, in response to Damien’s story about the same meeting on Streetsblog:

As an Australian visiing the United States and California who chose to use my bicycle as my prefered mode of transport for my short stay rather than use a car. I have several times questioned my decision after numerous near misses. Incidents that were totally avoidable. And I don’t mean by me not riding on the road. It is every cyclists right to ride on the road. What I mean is motorists blatant actions to threaten and attack me on the road with their car. Cement truck drivers, moms in unnecessarily large black pick ups, Metro Rapid bus drivers etc…. motorists who have chosen to be agressive toward me as a cyclist on the road.

Take just the case of the woman in the pick up. She drove past me, so she must have seen me on the shoulder of the road as she pulled around me to apparently over take me, only to make an immediate right hand turn at the lights as she is still paralell with me on the road. This was clearly more than accidental. This was aggressive driving intended to be an attack on me as a cyclist. At the speed I was riding at, she could have simply backed off the gas for just a matter of seconds, I would have continued straight ahead though the intersection ahead of her, and she could have turned right just behind me. Perfectly safe, and would have had no impact on the time of her journey.

As a visitor to Los Angeles and this country, I’ll be returning home and advising all that i know, to never consider using cycling as a viable mode of transport in LA. Sad indeed, considering that we are the ones who are doing the right thing by everyone else in this town and on the planet by reducing our carbon footprint. Sad indeed.

It’s bad enough that we have to deal with the riding conditions in L.A. on a daily basis. It’s a shame that this is the image visitors to our city will take home with them.

……….

A break in the investigation of last week’s Riverside hit-and-run death of Thomas Joseph Meeks, and the critical injury of his 15-year old stepbrother, reveals a possible motive for the driver’s failure to stop.

Motorcycle officers scouring the area found a white 1991 Camry that fit witness descriptions, with signs of recent repair work in the areas that would have been damaged in the hit-and-run collision. According to police, the same car may have been involved in a burglary in the parking lot of a Stater Bros. market just minutes before the impact.

Meek’s stepbrother remains in critical condition at Loma Linda University Medical Center; condolences and best wishes to him and his family.

……….

Thanks to the LACBC’s Dr. Michael Cahn for pointing us towards what maybe be the most sardonic cycling jerseys on the streets. Share the Damn Road, indeed.

……….

Make you plans for an urban cyclocross through the streets and stairways of Silverlake and Echo Park next month. The LAPD releases the full report on bike-involved collisions in 2008. Streetsblog discovers encouraging signs in Long Beach. The Long Beach Press-Telegram’s 77-year old Outdoor Columnist — and cyclist — urges drivers to share the road. USC’s Neon Tommy blog writes about the cycling community’s new relationship with Chief Beck. The Source covers the opening of the new bike stations in Claremont and Covina. Thanks to Curbed LA — one of my daily reads — Luckman Plaza now has bike parking. C.I.C.L.E.’s Joe Linton examines the new county bike plan, with a list of upcoming input meetings. Safety improvements on a busy San Francisco bike lane put the squeeze on cyclists. Rumors of its death evidently premature, the Idaho Stop law passes the Utah House. Evidently, the two drunk drivers who hit a Portland cyclist last year weren’t the ones who killed him. The 2012 Giro d’Italia kicks off in the sleepy little Italian village of… Washington DC? Car-Free Sundays, aka Via RecreActiva, aka Cyclovia, comes to Guadalajara. Swiss cycling deaths double in 2009. Complaining about cycle-pathic riders in Galway, Ireland, while contra-flow lanes may be coming to Dublin. The appropriately named 90-year old wife of a Bank of Scotland executive is allowed to keep driving, despite smashing into a high-vis clad cyclist. A Worcester UK cyclist and two pedestrians are shot with air rifles. How do you identify hit-and-run cyclists in Singapore?

Finally, in case you’ve fallen behind on your urology journals, the latest research clearly shows a connection between cycling and erectile disfunction in men, and related sexual disfunction in women.

But not (ahem) every cyclist.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

LAPD Chief Beck: Things have changed — we will do better

February 25, 2010 / / 9 comments

For the second time since Bill Rosendahl took over as chair, the City Council’s Transportation Committee offered cyclists a highly anticipated bike-oriented session.

And once again, actually he delivered.

Left to right: Paul Koretz, Asst. Chief Paysinger, Chief Beck, Bill Rosendahl, Bernard Parks and Tom LaBonge; later joined by Richard Alarcón.

A number of cyclists, many of whom took the day off to participate, rode to the meeting on the route city employee Ed Magos was taking recently when he was run down by a driver who got out of her car, saw him writhing in pain and begging for help, then left him laying in the street as she fled the scene.

Inexplicably, she was not arrested or charged with hit-and-run after she later turned herself in at a police station; the ride was intended as a protest to call attention to the injustice cyclists have too often received when we’ve turned to the LAPD for help.

New police Chief Charlie Beck assured the riders that those days are over, saying “your voices have been heard.”

He continued by saying cyclists are the city’s most vulnerable commuters, and need the department’s support and protection. “We know we need to do a better job for you,” he said. “We will do a better job for you.”

He said that he’s asked the City Attorney to take another look at the Magos case to see if any charges can be filed. Yet as Assistant Chief Earl Paysinger noted in answering a question from local cycling leader Roadblock about his own hit-and-run case, how a case gets handled is determined by whether prosecutors believe they can “prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Though how there could be any doubt when witnesses not only saw the collision, but observed the driver leave the scene, is beyond me.

The Chief said it was the department’s job to protect those who need protecting, and the LAPD intends to do just that. As proof, he turned to the man sitting next to him, telling the assembled riders and committee members that he’s named Paysinger, second only to the chief in the department hierarchy, as the LAPD’s direct liaison to the cycling community.

Beck promised better officer training regarding bicycling, as well as shifting responsibility for traffic accidents — including bike collisions — from patrol officers to the specialized Traffic Investigation Unit. And assured riders that bike thefts will receive increased scrutiny from the department, noting that it’s one of the few crimes that has increased in recent years, “and we take that seriously.”

He also asked for patience, noting that it will take time for these changes to filter down to the rank-and-file officers on the street level. And assured cyclists that he will stay involved in the process.

“Don’t just listen to what I say,” he said, “but watch what I do.”

That lead to comments from a long line of cyclists, many of whom addressed the problem of drivers who flee, and getting the police to take these crimes seriously.

Roadblock addresses the Transportation Committee.

“It’s difficult to get a license number and see the face of the driver,” said Danny Jimenez, “especially if you get hit from behind.”

Like a number of others, Will Campbell noted that he took the day off because he was outraged over the Magos case, while Stephen Box gave the chief a copy of the Cyclists’ Bill of Rights. The LACBC’s Aurisha Smolarski offered hard-hitting comments about the need to reform department policies, with Rosendahl allowing her to go well over the allotted one-minute time limit. Amanda Lipsey said that as a professional ballet dancer, she couldn’t afford to suffer an injury due to a careless driver who wouldn’t stick around to take responsibility.

L.A. cyclists also received surprising support from an entirely unexpected quarter, as Hamid Khan, spokesman for the Los Angeles Taxi Workers Alliance, voiced approval for the new bike plan and the need to protect cyclists.

When the Mayor and the head of LADOT, the police chief and cab drivers all support for cyclists, you know something has changed.

Meanwhile, I commented about the need to improve training for police accident investigators to give them a better understanding of bike accidents — something that’s been a problem for police departments around the country. And handed Beck a copy of two articles from the International Police Mountain Bike Association that explained how to investigate cycling accidents, which he promised to read.

Due to the late start of the meeting, Chief Beck had to leave during the comments, and turned the session over to Asst. Chief Paysinger, who quickly voiced his support for cyclists.

“Before my knees went bad, I was a rather avid cyclist myself,” he said.

He added that when he was a division chief — with Chief Beck serving beneath him — there were less than 100 bike officers on the force; now over 500 officers have received bike training. “Young cops love it,” he explained, since it gets them out of their cars, gives them a chance interact with people, and lets them exercise while working.

In other words, pretty much the same reasons the rest of us do.

CD5 Council Member Paul Koretz related a story of watching a hit-and-run incident in which a driver parked illegally in order to use an ATM. When a parking enforcement officer stopped to write a ticket, the driver jumped back in his car and took off, running over both of the parking officer’s legs in the process — but leaving his ATM card behind. Sure enough, the driver eventually came back for his card.

And wasn’t charged with hit-and-run since he returned to the scene.

He added that he doesn’t think bike and pedestrian incidents are taken seriously enough by the LAPD. To which Paysinger responded, “I can’t speak to the past. But we’re here today to show that things have changed.” Better investigations, he suggested, would lead to better prosecutions.

District 7 Councilmember Richard Alarcón told how he had been the first to arrive after a cycling accident, finding a rider laying unconscious in the road. After the cyclist had been taken away by ambulance, he asked the police officers what they were going to do with the bike, adding that they seemed confused, but took the bike — most likely because a councilman had asked them to.

Paysinger said the policy was to find someone on the scene who could take custody of the bike, or call a friend or relative of the victim to come get it. Failing that, the officers would impound the bike and release it later to the victim or someone the victim designates; the police should never leave the bike behind, he said.

There was one testy exchange when a rider complained about a recent incident when an officer stopped him for riding too slowly, telling him “If you want to ride like that, go to Culver City.” He said he had filed a complaint, but received a response denying that the incident had taken place. Paysinger said to give him a copy of the letter, and he would look into it personally.

As the meeting was winding down, Chief Paysinger responded to a comment from Roadblock by suggesting that state law may need to be changed to increase penalties for hit-and-run.

With that, I got up and asked that the council request the City Attorney to work with cyclists in drafting a bill that could be taken to the state legislature. And added that penalties should include automatic revocation of the drivers license for anyone who flees the scene of a collision, and seizure of the vehicle involved upon conviction.

After all, drivers can currently have their cars seized if they’re used for drug crimes, drunk driving or cruising for prostitutes. So why shouldn’t it be taken if the car is actually used in the commission of a crime, as in a hit-and-run?

Rosendahl responded by offering a resolution asking the City Attorney to look into drafting a bill, which Koretz quickly seconded.

So it’s a start.

A first step in drafting a new, tougher hit-and-run law.

And a new, and hopefully better, day in dealing with the LAPD.

My apologies to those who spoke at the meeting; I was drawn into other conversations during the comment period, and wasn’t able to write down everyone’s comments. However, you can read more about the ride and meeting, as well as comments from a number of riders, in stories from the L.A. Times, LA Streetsblog and the LACBC.

……….

On a related note, proof that it’s not just the Chief and Asst. Chief who support cycling on the LAPD.

The general public is invited to take part in the upcoming March 13 Ride to Arrest Cancer, benefitting the Los Angeles Police Cancer Support Group. The ride offers routes of 15, 25 and 50 miles, starting at the Valley Traffic Division at the Plant in Panorama City, and visiting various police stations throughout the Valley. Preregistration cost is just $25 for adults ($30 day of the ride) and $15 for kids under 12, and includes BBQ, a T-Shirt and official police escort.

The LAPCSG exists to benefit “members of the law enforcement community who are living with cancer, cancer survivors, family members, friends, or caregivers.” As someone who has lost friends and family to the disease, I can’t think of a better cause.

……….

I’ll have today’s links later in the day — it’s a nice day, and I’ve gotta ride.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , ,

Yesterday, I offered my heart to a stranger

February 24, 2010 / / 2 comments

Please don’t bury me in that cold cold ground; I’d rather have them cut me up and pass me all around. — John Prine, Please Don’t Bury Me

The other day I found myself at my bank, transferring a couple of accounts I never bothered to move from my old bank in San Diego, despite over 20 years of living in L.A.

Much to my surprise, when I handed them my drivers license to prove I really am who I say I am — yeah, like a lot of people want to pass themselves off as moderately broke, semi-self-unemployed bike writers these days — they handed it back.

“Do you have a valid ID instead?” the banker asked. And sure enough, when I looked at my license, it had expired.

Five months ago.

For some reason, I never received the automatic renewal form a clean driving record should have merited. And since I’m long past the age when bartenders ask for ID, and I seldom write checks, I’d never noticed the deadline had passed.

So yesterday I took the bus down to the DMV, and after a $31 check and a two-hour wait, I had my new temporary license in hand.

And I was, for the first time, a registered organ donor.

I don’t know why I never did it before. Partly squeamishness, partly a desire to meet my maker in as close to original condition as possible, I suppose.

But I’d been thinking about it ever since GT pointed me to the story of a local cyclist killed without warning in a freak accident.

Jeff Bayly’s death was such a heart-rending tragedy that it reminded me that anything can happen, anytime. And if it should ever happen to me, I want some good to come out of it.

Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that cycling is inherently dangerous. I probably face more risk slipping in the shower than I do even on the worst streets of L.A. And I’d certainly face a far greater health risk if I spent my time on the couch instead of in the saddle.

But things happen.

So while I plan to live a good, long life and annoy my loving wife for as long as possible, I want to make sure someone, somewhere, benefits in case I don’t.

Because even at the advanced age of 53, I still have a few good parts left.

………

Notice for anyone planning to attend today’s TranspoComm meeting with special guest star LAPD Chief Beck — the session has been moved from its usual site in Room 1010 to the City Council Chambers on the third floor.

………

Arnold joins the husband of the current Secretary of State for a Health, Nutrition and Obesity summit right here in Los Angeles; I wonder how many local cycling groups/advocates were invited to participate?

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Hey, HuffPo backs CicLAvia, just like me (more on that next week). Does a split between founding members threaten the new South Bay Bicycle Coalition? Cyclists confront bike-unfriendly Beverly Hills, and see a possible shift in attitude. Long Beach’s cycling expats explore Marfa, Texas. Cycling lawyer Bob Mionske cuts through the posturing to put Portland’s new 2030 in context — including Long Beach and yes, Los Angeles. Alta Design’s attempt to build a more bike-friendly Southern California spreads to San Diego. A San Diego area bike path poses a hazard to cyclists; so what else is new? Beautiful views of the Chicago skyline captured in the puddles left by melting snow. DC area governments respond to budget cuts by slashing bike plan funding. Despite numerous calls to ban them, one city explicitly allows fixed-gear bikes. Not surprisingly, NYC’s new law mandating bike access results in high bike parking charges. A cycling J.R.R. Tolkien of Lord of the Rings fame compared auto infrastructure in Oxford to the destructions of Saruman and the Dark Lord. The BBC offers a biased bashing of Brit cyclists. Two-time Formula 1 champ Fernando Alonzo considers forming a cycling team with buddy and two-time Tour de France champ Alberto Contador. Twenty-one months in jail for the driver who killed an army major taking part in a Cambridgeshire time trial last year. UK Grocery giant Tesco offers bike skills classes and considers adding bike departments to its stores — think bikes next to buns at your local Vons.

Finally, you don’t have to speak Hungarian to understand this great bike-to-work ad campaign. And if the last one doesn’t make you want to hop on a bike — if not your significant other — nothing will.

Category: Best of, General, Health / Tags: , ,

Last night’s missing bike links

February 23, 2010 / / Comments Off on Last night’s missing bike links

Didn’t have time to add links to last night’s rant; somehow, sleep seemed a little more important as the night wore on. But I’ve got lots of great stories for you, including bike chases, drunken homicidal pickup drivers and a dope smuggling cyclist. So limber up your link clicking finger, and start reading.

………

Doored cyclist and KCRW host Warren Olney returned to the airways after a two-week absence. In case you missed it, listen to the podcast of yesterday’s technically plagued bike-centric Patt Morrison show on KPCC; Mihai offers the comments he couldn’t make during the live broadcast. WestsideBikeside transforms into the city’s first bike-oriented 501c4. Flying Pigeon officially endorses CycLAvia. Anonymous Cyclist offers a suggestion for NY’s legally limited Critical Mass. A proposal to ban texting and hand-held cell phones while cycling.

In a truly horrifying tale, a Montana cyclist barely outruns a group of drunks trying to intentionally run him down with their pickup. A bicyclist gets busted at the border with a novel method of smuggling dope. Only a handful of TIGER grants went to cycling projects. Organized opposition arises to Austin’s planned bike boulevard. Cycling collisions increase in Las Vegas, as authorities search for a hot-and-run driver.

A new movement to make cyclo-cross an Olympic event. A South African cyclist loses his leg to a hit-and-run driver. British Cyling unveils its inaugural Hall of Fame class, including Tom Simpson, the cyclist who died of exhaustion climbing Mt. Ventoux in the ’67 Tour de France. The UK pledges to put bikes at the heart of public transit and health policies. After far too many left-hook — the equivalent of our right-hook — deaths, London revives its police heavy-truck safety unit. A Brit writer responds to a writer’s comments that bikes have become a favorite tool of muggers by suggesting we ban pants and shoes, since muggers use those, too — and notes that cars have long been a favored tool of bank robbers, serial killers and rapists.

Finally, no, they weren’t filming a scene from the latest action movie; two bike messengers really did chase down a bike thief in a wild high-speed two-wheeled pursuit through the crowded streets of Downtown.

………

One last note that has nothing to do with biking. Hats off to the alert Metro operator who helped rescue a kidnapped 6-year old girl over the weekend. If anyone from Metro is reading this today, nice work — and give that driver a full-time job already.

Category: General / Tags: ,
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