Laguna Beach addresses recent cycling fatalities by voting to install a bike lane and bike routes marked by sharrows and signage, as well as a beefed up police education and enforcement campaign.
No surprise, sadly, as Palm Desert cyclists have to inform the local police investigator about the new three-foot passing law after one of their group members is hit by a car.
Motorists are seldom even injured in bicycling collisions. But in a rare and tragic case, a Sacramento cyclist is killed, along with the occupants of the SUV that hit her, when the vehicle hits a tree and bursts into flame after ramming the rider. Thanks to George Wolfberg for the heads-up.
National
HuffPo says bike cams are changing things for cyclists everywhere. And that the video really does hold up as evidence in court.
Caught on video: A Georgia cyclist wants a driver prosecuted for attempting to run him off the road; I’ll have to take his word for it since I couldn’t get the video to load.
International
That Brit cyclist shown on video getting kicked off his bike is being blamed for instigating the attack by boxing another rider in. But let’s be clear: Violence against another rider — or human — is seldom, if ever, justified, no matter how much you think they might deserve it at the time.
Ooh, scary. UK police are searching for a road raging bike rider who terrified a motorist by slapping the car’s window and shouting abuse at the driver. British drivers must frighten easily.
And talk about Sorry Mate I Didn’t See You. This is taking the standard excuse of “I just didn’t see him or her” to the extreme, as a Louisiana bike rider is hit by a legally blind driver with a suspended license.
Wait, who gave her a license to begin with?
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Scroll down — or click here — if you missed yesterday’s massive late morning link fest.
October 23, 2014 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: Rail-to-River comes up for a vote, and local universities go bike friendly — but once again, not USC
We have a lot to catch up on after yesterday’s unplanned absence, so let’s get right to it.
A Glendale letter writer says bike riders should be ticketed just like drivers, neglecting to consider that we already are. And most drivers who break the law aren’t ticketed, either.
Thirteen California universities make this year’s list of bike friendly colleges, including UCLA, UC Irvine, Cal State Long Beach, Pomona College and Santa Monica College. But to no one’s surprise, historically bike-unfriendly USC didn’t, despite the massive number of students who ride to and on campus.
New York is famous for ticketing cyclists for riding on the sidewalk. But it raises some serious questions when most of those tickets are issued in Black and Latino neighborhoods.
The driver who killed an Atlanta fireman training for an Ironman race in New Orleans gets a well-deserved 5-and-a-half years in prison; thanks to Chris Menjou for the heads-up.
Seriously, no matter how pissed off you are, there’s never an excuse for violence — especially when it dumps another rider in the path of oncoming traffic.
Not only does next year’s Amgen Tour of California finish with a stage from LA Live to Pasadena, it also feature three — count ‘em, three — women’s stage races in addition to a women’s time trial.
If all goes well — and it will — maybe women will finally be allowed to compete on equal terms with the men in a few years. Or at least have a full eight-stage tour of their own next to the men’s tour.
Now if we can just get rid of those anachronistic podium girls.
Note: The original story in the Daily News said the final stage would finish at the Rose Bowl, however that has since been changed to a more generic Pasadena finish. So I have revised this section to reflect that.
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Attention wannabe women wrenches.
And yes, that’s wrench, with an R, before anyone gets overly offended.
A collection of bicycling companies have teamed together to offer 10 full-ride scholarships for women to attend the United Bicycle Institute’s Professional Shop Repair and Operations Workshop.
The scholarships are open to both experienced and aspiring bike mechanics over the age of 18 who are US residents and employed by a bike shop, and will cover the full cost of tuition and lodging for the two-week course.
Better find a bike shop job quick before the November 20th deadline.
Seriously? The people in charge of the Golden Gate Bridge want to charge cyclists and pedestrians just to use the crosswalk.
The local Sonoma paper says goodbye to Michael Torckler, the Kiwi cyclist who was nearly killed while riding in the area two years ago, as he moves back home after losing his sponsorship.
What a waste. A British student is stabbed to death in a dispute over a bike worth the equivalent of just $145. Although I suppose it would be every bit as sad if the bike was worth ten times that amount.
A Brit bike rider comes within an inch of severing her femoral artery after she’s impaled by her brake lever.
Kiwi bike advocates protest as a driver walks free despite being convicted of killing a cyclist.
The mayor of Seoul, Korea calls for more bike-only roads after the city sees 13,000 bike collisions over a five-year period.
And a letter writer in Alexandria VA bizarrely compares a new city ordinance allowing bikes on the sidewalk to the infamous Reichstag fire that helped Hitler consolidate power in Nazi Germany.
We’ve got a lot of news to get to after a busy weekend.
But if you don’t like reading about the bad things that can happen when people on two wheels share the road with those on four, skip the next two sections.
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Too much bad news from San Diego this weekend.
No three-foot passing distance here, as a bike rider suffers a broken arm when he’s clipped by the foot peg of a passing motorcycle.
News for all you low riders, as BentRider reports on Recumbent Cycle-Con 2014; thanks to LA BAC member David Wolfberg for the tip.
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Scary news when it comes to painted bike lanes, as a recent UK study shows they don’t make any difference in drivers’ passing distance. If the drivers even notice them.
The LA Times says it will take strong leadership to put cyclists, pedestrians and transit users on an equal footing with drivers in order to avoid a war on motorists. Maybe it’s time we all dropped the phrase “war on cars/drivers/motorists,” since the only victims of this mythical war are the ones on foot or two wheels.
The LA Register correctly points out that cyclists aren’t legally required to carry ID — although it’s always a good idea to have something with you, just in case.
Bike the Vote LA offers a bike oriented voter’s guide, but wisely avoids endorsing our bike-unfriendl, and anti-hit-and-run reform governor.
State
I want to be just like him when I grow up. An 80-year old Mission Viejo man rides 80 miles on his 80th birthday — and one more for good measure.
Just a little bias here, as the San Francisco Chronicle claims a proposition in the city’s upcoming election will put buses, bikes and pedestrians on the fast track while moving cars to the slow lane.
Laramie WY, where I used to get run off the road by pickup driving cowboys on a regular basis, is now among the top 10 towns for bike commuting, with a nearly 7% mode share.
A fire hose came loose from a Toledo fire truck on an emergency run, and yanked off the rear wheel of a bike while it was being ridden down the street; fortunately, the rider escaped with scrapes and a broken leg.
Unbelievable. A UK milkman continued on his route after running down a bike rider. And gets a measly £3,000 fine — the equivalent of just $4,800.
Bicycling hits the mainstream as leading British fashion designer Ted Baker unveils his line of haute bikewear. Though I’ll pass on the hip-brushing sport coat paired with above-the-knee shorts.
Tragically, the New Zealand cyclist who rode into a pothole suffered a broken neck, but may owe his life to the dog who stayed with him and barked for help for seven hours. Now that’s a good dog.
Fall is tweed season, even in Jakarta, Indonesia, which hosted its first ever tweed ride — attracting even the Norwegian and Danish ambassadors.
And finally…
Maybe she’s got long ears. An Austrian cyclist warming up for a time trial is shot by a hunter who mistook her for a hare. ‘Tis the season, as zombies on bikes take over Key West.
As if you needed another incentive to ride a bike.
The LA Weekly says the city’s traffic congestion costs motorists $5,700 a year, compared to an average of just $1,700 nationwide. And that’s in addition to the estimated $2,458 LA drivers lose due to bad roads.
On the other hand, traffic congestion doesn’t cost bike riders a dime. Although those bad roads can bust wheels and frames.
And bones.
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Writing for Flying Pigeon, Richard Risemberg says as if anti-Fig4All City Councilmember Gil Cedillo isn’t bad enough, CD4 Councilmember Tom LaBonge manages to insert himself into bike photo ops while blocking much needed bike safety projects.
And now, Sixth Street in the Miracle Mile, a narrow four-lane that impatient scofflaws use as a fast alternative to Wilshire one block away, sometimes hitting speeds of 60 and 70 miles per hour…
Sixth Street was slated to receive a road diet, but—yes, you guessed right!—Tom LaBonge chose to “defer” it. His rationale? Road work on Wilshire might send more traffic onto Sixth. But his presumptions have led him into error: road diets, while they restrain top speeds, often smooth out traffic flow and result in quicker, if calmer, A to B transits of a street.
Something is seriously wrong when a single councilmember can derail already-approved road treatments designed by people actually qualified and paid to make those decisions.
If Mayor Garcetti really wants to do something about our dysfunctional city government, this would be a damn good place to start.
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In pro cycling news, the Astana cycling team risks losing its license for the pro tour after yet another rider is caught doping. Good thing the sport has cleaned itself up.
Meanwhile, VeloNews attempts to fit injured cycling scion Taylor Phinney for next year’s yellow jersey in the Tour de France, even though he’s still working on his comeback and has never ridden — let alone won — a single stage of the Tour.
The Guardian says bicycling is good for everyone; mass cycling could save the National Health Service £17 billion — the equivalent of $27 billion — over 20 years, and prevent 500 road deaths a year.
Britain’s Department for Transport calls for doubling cycling by 2025, but lacks the funding to do it.
And a road raging Kiwi cyclist goes off on the driver who rear–ended him following a roadside dispute; something tells me there are no innocent victims in this one.
A Hesperia mother seeks justice for the still unsolved hit-and-run death of her bike riding son; Daniel Sanchez was killed after positioning himself to protect his date from an approaching pickup.
Evidently, they take human life seriously in Hawaii, as a careless driver gets 10 years for drifting across a roadway and killing a bike rider. Note to West Hawaii Today: 66 years old is not elderly.
An Edmonton writer says city officials should give up on bike lanes because no one is going to ride during the winter. Ignoring the fact that people bike year-round in cold weather cities around the world.
Turn out Harrison Ford is one of us, as he dons spandex and yes, compression socks for a spin around London.
Big hearted Brits donate over £3000 — nearly $5000 — after a bike is stolen from a charity auction.
Just heartbreaking. A driver was holding the hand of a cyclist he’d just hit to comfort the man until help arrived when they were both struck by another car.
The car carrying Australia’s premier nearly hits a cyclist “riding dangerously down the middle of the road.” Or in other words, someone who was most likely riding safely by taking the lane.
Finally…
I want to ride it. A Glasgow artist creates a human-powered rollercoaster — in effect a multilevel figure-eight velodrome. Caught on video: A stunt rider pulls a major endo on landing after a forward flip 72 feet in the air; then again, just riding that knife edge before the jump is enough to give me nightmares.
My suggestion is to take photos of your bike and the serial number with your cell phone, then email them to your yourself. That way, you’ll have copies in multiple places so you won’t lose or accidently delete them. And having a photo eliminates any risk of transcribing errors.
Have experience leading a nonprofit? The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is looking for a skilled new Executive Director (pdf), as well as a part-time bookkeeper (pdf). A great opportunity to help build SoCal’s leading bike organization into one of the nation’s top bike advocacy groups.
Speaking of the LACBC, they’re hosting the first ever Firefly Ball at the end of this month to benefit the coalition and honor civic leaders who help make the city more bike friendly.
A bike rider was killed after being hit by several cars while riding salmon in the traffic lane on I-80 in Vacaville; no word on why he was on the highway, let alone riding the wrong way in traffic.
Shameful. An NYPD police investigation shows a bus driver failed to yield when he left crossed a cyclist, leaving a Swedish model brain dead. Yet he walks away without charges, while she doesn’t. And never will.
Take note LA: A New York Streetsblog report says implementing the city’s Vision Zero plan will require a major culture change, as the previous item makes painfully clear.
Ooh, scary. Philadelphia’s new bike vigilante is taking on scofflaw riders by posting posters.
International
A British cyclist is knocked off his bike with a piece of wood and punched repeatedly by two men before they ran off; no word on whether it was a robbery attempt, random violence or if they knew the victim.
No, seriously. If you’ve got a bag full of meth hidden in your bike’s handlebars, put a damn light on it already. Turns out New York’s bike riding Senator Schumer takes calls while he’s riding, but will only stop riding if it’s from the president.
A very tongue-in-cheek San Jose letter writer complains that thoughtless bike riders add as much as 20 seconds to his daily commute. And keep reading for a typical windshield perspective comment from a county deputy.
Bicycling offers advice on how to deal with aggressive dogs. In my experience, the best approach is to give them an order to sit or go home in a loud, firm voice. Dogs are trained to respond to commands, so they’ll usually obey at least long enough to make your getaway.
And if you’re planning to make your getaway by bike, wear glasses so a bystander can’t spray something into your eyes and you won’t ride into a police cruiser.
Here in LA, this video would be all the evidence needed to file — and win — a suit against the driver under the city’s cyclist anti-harassment ordinance.
Instead, the Kentucky cyclist, Cherokee Schill, was charged and convicted for the crime of riding a bike in the traffic lane. And the police look the other way when she’s threatened and harassed by angry motorists.
Which is a polite way of saying they don’t give a damn because they don’t think she belongs there to begin with.
Fortunately, she’s less than $200 away from the $10,000 needed to appeal her illegal conviction.
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Caught on video: Before Governor Brown signed the current three-foot passing law, he vetoed a much better version that would have allowed drivers to briefly cross the center line to pass cyclists when it was safe to do so, fearing endless carnage and lawsuits.
Even though the state is largely immune from being sued. But still.
Caught on video: An irate woman berates a Chicago cyclist for riding on the sidewalk, nearly getting herself arrested in the process. And being unclear on the concept, tells him to ride in the street before wishing he gets hit by a car, which is probably why he was on the sidewalk to begin with.
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Caught on video: I missed this one earlier this year, as three cyclists experience a viscous goathead attack on the San Gabriel River trail. Thanks to David Wolfberg for the link.
Great idea. UCLA is hosting Bike (Re)cycling Day on Sunday the 19th; the university’s police and transportation departments will give out free abandoned bikes and parts to UCLA students, staff and faculty members.
Okay, so it’s not bike related. But in an apparent case of induced demand, travel times on the 405 freeway have increased a full minute following the $1 billion —that’s billion with a b — project to add an HOV lane through the Sepulveda pass.
Turns out there will be three workshops to discuss the Las Virgenes Malibu Regional Bike Master Plan, in Malibu on the 21st, Westlake Village on the 22nd and Calabasas on the 23rd of this month.
The Pasadena Star-News calls out one of the San Gabriel Valley’s most bike unfriendly cities while endorsing Eric Sunada for Alhambra city council. Thanks to Wesley Reutimann for the tip.
A San Diego writer says the new three-foot law will increase tensions with drivers, but gets it right in calling for more protected bike lanes. Another writer on the same site calls cyclists “scourges of the road,” while decrying that bikes aren’t required to stay three feet from drivers; seriously, I could spend all day just pointing out the fallacies in this piece of bikelash drivel.
Caltrans did the right thing for a change, building a pedestrian bridge and off-road bike path connecting Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties as part of a six-mile carpool lane project; I’m told it has dramatically improved safety for riders along the coast highway. Thanks to Alan for the heads-up.
Too typical. Santa Cruz creates up a sandwich sign to warn drivers to give cyclists three feet. Then puts it in the bike lane.
In the latest attempt to thin the herd by enabling more distracted drivers, a new app promises to let drivers use all their apps behind the wheel.
Despite that, it looks like the Feds are finally taking bike safety seriously, as the Department of Transportation releases new guidelines to make the streets safer for you and me. Maybe they could ban the use of onboard computer systems by drivers next.
Yet another caught on video, but one that can’t be embedded: A cyclist accuses a Penn university cop of using excessive force in a confrontation partially caught on camera.
After a New York driver runs down a cyclist from behind — and is found at fault by her own insurance company — she sues the victim for damaging her car. No, really.
The Daily Mail freaks out when Kerri Russell rides a bike sans helmet and talking on a cell phone.
A former British soldier recalls liberating a Dutch town in World War II by bicycle 70 years ago.
Sad to see Andy Schleck retire from pro racing at 29, after a career that started with such promise.
Okay, so maybe bicycling isn’t really the fastest form of transportation in Perth. Then again, the results might be a little different coming from a less biased source, no?
Finally…
Probably not a good idea to ask your Twitter followers to shoot another bike journalist, even if you’re not serious. Or especially if you are. If you profess to be a psychic, don’t channel a recently fallen rider, all the details of which could probably be found by picking up the local paper.
You’ll find them listed under the LADOT heading, where you can opt to receive BAC agendas and minutes, as well as other LADOT groups including the Pedestrian Advisory Committee.
And just below, you’ll find reports from the police and fire commissions. Both of which have a lot to say about your ability to ride legally and safely.
Thanks to BAC members David Wolfberg and Glenn Bailey for the heads-up.
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The LAPD cracks down on salmon cyclists at USC, calling it a last resort in response to a rising number of bike collisions on and around the campus.
Actually, the last resort appears to be campus officials acknowledging the high level of bike commuting students, and working with city officials to accommodate bike riders so they don’t feel a need to break the law.
Flying Pigeon’s Richard Risemberg attends a glum Bicycle Plan Implementation meeting, which brightens considerably when he discovers new LADOT head Seleta Reynolds had been listening patiently for the whole meeting. Turns out she stopped by Tuesday’s BAC meeting, too.
Cyclists are invited to participate in a public workshop on October 22nd to develop a joint bike plan for Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Malibu and Westlake Village.
Inland riders are gearing up for Sunday’s Temecula Valley Century, with five rides ranging from 6.4 to 101.5 miles. None of which is a bike race, regardless of what the Press Enterprise might say.
The SF Gate talks with the Sonoma County Gran Fondo cyclist felled by a squirrel through the spokes; he was lucky to get away with a concussion and minor facial fracture. And you don’t want to miss that amazing photo of the squirrel jammed in his wheel; then again, maybe you do. Thanks to Kent D for the second link.
Now that’s more like it. A Texas driver gets 18 years — yes, years — in jail for killing a cyclist while under the influence. He was caught attempting to hide the victim’s body after driving away with his headlights off when the bike rider tumbled into the bed of his truck following the collision.
There’s a special place in hell for someone who’d shoot a seven-year old Detroit girl out riding her bike; she was collateral damage in a car-to-car shootout.
A Brit police and crime commissioner says cyclists should be forced to wear numbered plates big enough to be read at a distance so they can be identified and prosecuted when they break the law. After all, that’s worked so well to curb law-breaking by motorists, right?
Despite what the local authorities say, the jerks who stretched a cord across a British roadway at neck height aren’t morons, they’re terrorists attempting to injure or intimidate bicyclists and motorcyclists.
