Explore the Venice Corridor with LADOT and CicLAvia Sunday, and East Side Riders expands to Huntington Park

July 21, 2023 / / Comments Off on Explore the Venice Corridor with LADOT and CicLAvia Sunday, and East Side Riders expands to Huntington Park

CicLAvia offers more details on Sunday’s event to celebrate and explore the new dedicated bus lanes and protected bike lane extensions on Venice Blvd.

And since I’m worn out after a too long, too hard and too busy week, I’ll let them tell you about it.

WHAT:

On Sunday, July 23, from 2-6 p.m., Venice Boulevard: Explore the Corridor presented by Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) and powered by CicLAvia, celebrates the recent transportation safety improvements along Venice Boulevard.

This free public event will feature a series of guided group bike rides and walks along the new protected bike lanes and safety features on Venice Boulevard, between National and Sepulveda, as well as routes through the surrounding neighborhoods. Venice Boulevard will remain open to cars, and we encourage participants to explore the area safely. Bicycles, roller skates, skateboards, scooters, strollers, walkers, and runners are all welcome.

WHERE:

There will be a Hub at Venice and Bagley (9390 Venice Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232) with music, street games and other activities for all ages and abilities.

WHEN:

Sunday, July 23, 2023; 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Illustration shows the new Venice Blvd bus/bike corridor. 

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The Watts-based East Side Riders Bike Club made a handful of announcements, starting with news of a second location in Huntington Park serving the Southeast LA communities.

Huntington Park Community News.

We recently secured a location in the city of Huntington Park to help is serve the Southeast (SELA) communities.

We’re looking forward to launching our summer Tuesday and Thursday community bike rides, teaching bicycle safety and education and lunching our SELA E-Bike loan program in HP.

Our Friday Night Rides (FNR) and Sunday Rides will now start and finish in Huntington Park.

Friday Night Rides

Every other Friday @ 6:00 pm

Sunday Rides

Weekly at 10:00 am

6013 State Street, Huntington Park CA 90255

The group also issued a Save the Date notice for the Watts Non-Profit Day.

Save The Date!!

Join East Side Riders and you the community as we host our first Nonprofit Day in Watts.

National Nonprofit Day is commemorated on August 17 each year to recognize nonprofit organizations’ ongoing efforts to serve the local community. If you’ve ever volunteered, you’re well aware of the significance of these charitable organizations.

This is a day to bring NPO’s in Watts together along with our elected officials so we can all get to know one another and share resources with the community.

Our Nonprofit Day will be held on

Sunday August 20th, 2023

11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Located on 103rd Street between Success and Compton in Watts.

For more information or to RSVP email Monica Sanchez, monica.sanchez@esrbc.org

 

Finally, the East Side Riders announced their free, all-ages after school activities program.

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Gravel Bike California looks forward to California’s Gravel Event Calendar as the fall / winter season picks up.

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Mountain bike brand Forbidden says quit your job, and ride a bike.

Works for me.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

The Conservative Party’s candidate for London mayor threatens to undo years of progress for active travel, in sharp contrast with other European mayors; she insists she’s not insists she’s not anti-bike, despite describing bike riders as lawless and dangerous, while calling for mandatory registration for bicyclists, and claiming bike lanes cause congestion. Makes you wonder whether she’d consider anything short of calling for the death and dismemberment of people on two wheels as being anti-bike.

Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A Utah bike rider was captured on live TV lifting his bicycle over a barricade closing a bike trail, after a woman was killed when a tree fell on her during a storm (see story under National news).

There’s a special place in hell for the Pennsylvania man who stole a 15-year old boy’s bicycle, then used it to chase the boy’s teenaged sisters on their bikes, until an adult couple confronted the man.

Police in Singapore are looking for a Caucasian hit-and-run bicyclist who crashed into a woman and her toddler daughter, leaving them both banged up and shaken. Yet another reminder that you have the same obligation to remain after a crash as drivers do, even if too many of them don’t.

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Local 

LA’s experiment with placing cool paint on Pacoima streets is paying off, as the newest surface coatings are reducing ambient temperatures by three degrees throughout the ten-block test area.

 

State

Velo’s Urbanist Update argues that San Raphael state Assemblyman Damon Connolly is wrong when he cites the bike lanes on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge for causing pollution, because removing the bike lane would only move the bottleneck to the other end of the bridge. Besides, the real problem is the 80,000 drivers who insist on using it every day, not the people on bikes.

 

National

PeopleForBikes latest bikeability ratings of American cities continues to make waves, as EcoWatch looks at eight of the top-rated cities, including my Colorado hometown.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission warned people to immediately stop using SQM bicycle helmets because they don’t comply with positional stability and certification requirements, and can fail to protect riders in a crash.

Inmates at a Las Vegas correctional institution are fixing up abandoned bicycles collected from police around Nevada to donate to veterans, kids and the homeless.

For the second time this week, a bike rider had been killed by a falling tree branch, after a 68-year old Utah woman was killed when a tree fell on her as she rode on a bike trail during a thunderstorm.

Chicago Streetsblog calls PeopleForBikes’ low ranking for the city silly, but applauds the push for lower speed limits and a citywide protected bike network.

That’s more like it. A 32-year old Michigan man faces up to 15 years behind bars after he was convicted for the high-speed hit-and-run that killed a man riding a bicycle, while driving at over three times the legal alcohol limit — although prosecutors had asked for a second-degree murder conviction, with a possible life sentence.

Life is cheap in Pennsylvania, where a 39-year old woman got a whole 30 days behind bars for the hit-and-run collision that left a bike-riding man with a broken neck. But at least she’ll have to wear a monitoring anklet for another three months.

A grieving Georgia mother kicked off a traffic safety campaign after her ten-year old son was killed just trying to cross a street on his bike to get home.

 

International

Momentum Magazine offers a beginner’s guide to choosing the right ‘bent.

A writer for Condé Nast Traveler says her favorite Airbnb experience was riding an ebike on a 19-mile trail through Brazil’s Tijuca National Park, in the rainforests outside Rio de Janeiro.

Frightening video from Toronto, where dashcam captured a driver attempting to pass a bike rider on the right before running over him; fortunately, the victim pops back up after the crash. Be sure you really want to see it before you click on the clink, because you can’t unsee the image.

 

Competitive Cycling

Danish cyclist Kasper Asgreen foiled what was supposed to be a sprinter’s stage in yesterday’s stage 18 of the Tour de France, winning the stage with a lengthy four-man breakaway as multiple teams tried to chase them down at the finish.

American Sepp Kuss looks back at his role as a key lieutenant for Tour leader Jonas Vingegaard, saying the team knew what they had to do to break two-time winner Tadej Pogačar on the Col de la Loze.

Pogačar aims to finish the Tour on his terms, as his UAE Team Emirates looks towards two spots on the final podium, even if he’ll be denied a third yellow jersey.

Belgian Wout van Aert has what may be the best excuse for dropping out of the Tour, after leaving to be with his wife for the birth of their second child.

Canadian cyclists will be able to compete under their chosen gender in non-UCI sanctioned events for the rest of this year, after the governing body for bike racing banned trans athletes from competing in women’s races.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can prevent close passes with your very own inflatable spiky bikepack. That feeling when authorities give you a shuttle bus instead of a bike lane.

And when a self-deprecating f-bomb wins you more fans for keeping it real.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

LBPD blames elderly tandem victim, learn about LA River path extension, and Metro chooses option 2 for bike/ped bridge

July 20, 2023 / / Comments Off on LBPD blames elderly tandem victim, learn about LA River path extension, and Metro chooses option 2 for bike/ped bridge

In case you missed it last night, Long Beach police were quick to blame the victim after a 76-year old Long Beach woman died when she was apparently knocked off a tandem bike by a hit-and-run driver.

Although they certainly didn’t see it that way.

Gaylin Reese was riding with her husband when police say they sideswiped a stopped car while riding in the bike lane on 2nd Street near Marina Drive.

A more likely explanation, however, is that an impatient driver tried to cut into the bike lane to go around stopped traffic, and hit the pair’s bicycle — something we’ve all seen drivers do before.

LBPD investigators also handed the driver’s lawyer a perfect excuse, assuming they ever find them, by saying the driver may not have even known about the impact.

Which seems pretty damned unlikely.

Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels.

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Metro invites you to come to the LA River Fest this Sunday to learn more about the planned eight-mile shared use path extension from Elysian Valley, through downtown Los Angeles to Vernon and Maywood.  

The free arts, film and community resource festival celebrating the LA River, hosted by the Friends of the L.A. River, aka FoLAR, takes place from 5 pm to 9 pm at LA State Historic Park in downtown Los Angeles.

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Speaking of Metro, Numble reports the county transportation agency has apparently chosen what’s behind Option Number Two.

The plan for the bridge over US-101 would connect bicyclists from Union Station to LA River Bike Path, using a switchback and long span connecting the bike path to the southwest walkway at Patsaouras Plaza.

Click through to go to Twitter to examine the slides, but you may need a Twitter account to actually see them. 

Twitter post

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Join Bike Long Beach for Bikes and Coffee this Saturday.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

No surprise here, as police in New York disproportionately ticketed Black and other nonwhite bicyclists last year, joining other cities across the US, including Los Angeles, in targeting bike-riding people of color.

Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Police in San Antonio, Texas are looking for the brutal, bike-riding executioner who rode up and put six bullets in the head of a homeless man sleeping outside the backdoor of a Little Caesar’s Pizza shop.

An English man says he’s lucky to be alive after he was struck by an ebike rider while walking, and had to be resuscitated at the hospital.

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Local 

Streetsblog visits the new, bike-friendly roundabout popup on Maine Avenue in Baldwin Park.

Glendale leaders joined with California Assembly Transportation Chair and Congressional candidate Laura Friedman to rally support for a proposed sped cam pilot program in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale, as well as three NorCal cities.

 

State

The X Games are coming to the Ventura County Fairgrounds this Friday through Sunday.

Two men were rushed to the hospital after a crash between an e-scooter rider and a bike rider on San Francisco’s Market Street.

A Stockton man in his 60s was killed by a heartless hit-and-run driver while riding his bike Tuesday night.

 

National

The journal of the American Bar Association talks with bike lawyer Bob Mionske about the long journey from two-time Olympic cyclist to a leading authority on bike law.

Ten college-age women are riding 1,700 miles down the Left Coast from Seattle to San Diego for the annual Pedal the Pacific ride to end human trafficking.

An op-ed from the president of a nonprofit, nonpartisan Utah public policy research organization says he’s gone from a fearless bike rider to merely confident since he was struck by a driver, and that better infrastructure could keep everyone safer.

A Minneapolis op-ed says a rolling stop law, aka Stop As Yield or Idaho Stop Law, can smooth relations between bicyclists and drivers, while helping everyone get where they’re going more quickly. Never mind that California bike riders will go at least another year without one, after the bill was pulled by its author on the verge of passing out of committee. 

A 20-year old Tennessee man faces an attempted murder charge after stabbing a bike rider with a box cutter, allegedly telling police that he was “just done with people.”

Friends and customers remember longtime Lansing, Michigan bike shop owner Denny Vandecar, who died of a ruptured brain aneurysm at age 82, after more than six decades in the bike industry.

Boston’s bike-friendly mayor announced a new bike training program for children ages four to 13 at sites around the city.

A 67-year old former Johnston PA hockey player and coach was rushed to the hospital following a collision while riding his bike; Steve Carlson was on the team that inspired the Paul Newman movie Slap Shot, and played one of the bespectacled Hanson brothers in the film.

Baltimore Magazine talks with the co-founder of Baltimore-based advocacy group Black People Ride Bikes.

Tragic news from North Carolina, where a 17-year-old boy was found dead hours after he was knocked off a bridge and into the river below by a pickup driver while riding his bike; police investigators absolved the driver of blame after he blamed the victim for not wearing reflective gear.

 

International

Momentum Magazine lists five benefits of living in a bicycle city, including reduced traffic congestion and healthier lifestyles.

This is who we share the road with. A 22-year old British man will spend the next 12 years behind bars for the violent, high-speed crash that killed a 38-year old woman who was 17 weeks pregnant; he filmed himself driving at speeds up to 123 mph before slamming into her disabled car at 93 mph. Three other children in the victim’s car somehow survived the crash.

UK ebike maker Mate Bikes is following VanMoof into bankruptcy, with an asset auction scheduled for next month.

An Indian bike program is credited with having a revolutionary effect on the lives of young girls there and in Zambia, where school attendance went up 45%.

Israeli e-scooter and ebike injuries have jumped a “staggering” 440% since 2018. But despite the panicky headline, that increase likely just reflects an increase in ridership.

 

Competitive Cycling

Defending champ Jonas Vingegaard virtually sealed a repeat victory in the Tour de France with a dominating performance on the stage-crowning Col de la Loze, resulting in a virtually unassailable 7:35 lead in the general classification; 23-year old Austrian Tour de France rookie Felix Gall won the stage.

Rouleur says Vingegaard displayed an implacable show of dominance, while psychologically crushing Pogačar.

Two-time Tour de France champ Pogačar said yesterday was one of his worst days on a bike as he lost over five minutes to Vingegaard, telling his teammates “I’m gone. I’m dead.”

Road.cc looks at the “weird, wonderful (and just plain wrong)” team kits, bikes and components at the Tour.

Velo writes that Peter Sagan is flaming out at the race he helped reconfigure through years of dominance.

You may have to cross a picket line to attend the UCI World Cycling Championships in Glasgow, Scotland next month, after two unions have voted to strike during the event.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can build your very own airless bike tires, without a 3D printer. At least we don’t have to worry about having to flee by bike when a herd of elephants interrupts a wedding party (although in this case, the bikes were probably motor scooters).

And who says bicycling shoes have to look like, well, bicycling shoes?

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

76-year old Long Beach woman killed in hit-and-run while riding tandem bike; police quick to blame the victim

July 20, 2023 / / 3 comments

A 76-year old woman riding a tandem bike with her husband was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Long Beach Sunday afternoon.

And police investigators apparently couldn’t hesitate to display their windshield bias.

According to a press release from the Long Beach Police Department, 76-year-old Long Beach resident Gaylin Reese and her husband were riding their tandem in the bike lane on eastbound on 2nd Street near Marina Drive when they allegedly sideswiped a car around 12:24 pm Sunday.

Police report there was heavy traffic at the time, and all the cars were stopped when they somehow a) left the bike lane, and b) hit the side of the car with enough force to knock both riders off their bike.

Sure, that seems likely.

Both victims were taken to the hospital, where Reese died on or before Tuesday; her husband, who hasn’t been named, was treated for minor injuries.

Investigators are also quick to absolve the driver of any responsibility for the collision, observing that they may not have even been aware of the crash. Which is certainly what their lawyer will claim now, even if the driver is found.

Police also note that both victims were wearing helmets, which clearly didn’t do any good in this case. There’s no word on whether Reese even suffered a head injury, or if she died from other causes.

What seems far more likely than the official police version is that Reese and her husband were riding in the bike lane when the driver became impatient, and tried to pull into the bike lane to get around stalled traffic.

Something we’ve all seen countless times before.

They then hit the Reese’s bike with enough force to knock them both off, resulting in significant injuries to Mrs. Reese.

And unless the suspect vehicle was a large truck, it strains credibility to think the driver would have been unaware of the impact.

Yes, it’s possible that the collision occurred exactly as the LBPD investigators describe it.

It just seems pretty damn unlikely.

Anyone with information is urged to call LBPD Collision Investigation Detail Detective Joseph Johnson at 562/570-7355, or call anonymously at 1-800/222-TIPS (8477).

This is at least the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, the ninth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County, and the year’s second fatal hit-and-run involving someone on a bicycle in Long Beach.

It’s also at least the ninth fatal hit-and-run involving a SoCal bike rider this year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Gaylin Reese and all her family and loved ones. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Hero fallen mountain biker ID’d, killing of CA Stop As Yield bill explained, and blocking bike lanes for road safety

July 19, 2023 / / Comments Off on Hero fallen mountain biker ID’d, killing of CA Stop As Yield bill explained, and blocking bike lanes for road safety

The hero mountain biker who apparently sacrificed his own life to help save stranded hikers from the intense heat east of San Diego has been identified.

Twenty-four-year old Kai Torres Bronson was with three other riders when they encountered four hikers who had run out of food and water, and were suffering the effects of temperatures up to 110 degrees in the Carrizo Gorge east of San Diego.

He then succumbed himself as he rode to the trailhead with a companion following their rescue, after the group had separated to guide the Cal fire rescue crew.

A crowdfunding campaign to pay for his funeral expenses has raised over $14,000 of the $35,000 goal.

Services for Torres Bronson will be held from 4 pm to 8 pm on July 29th at the Community Mortuary in Chula Vista.

Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels.

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Seems like we’ve been talking a lot about 77th District Assemblymember Tasha Boerner from Encinitas lately.

Then again, it’s only been every day this week, and part of last week.

Most of the conversation has been about her apparently well-intentioned, if misguided bill to create a working group with a goal of establishing an ebike licensing program.

Which I might support if it’s amended to exempt ped-assist ebikes, and only apply to high speed throttle-controlled bicycles, which could be included under motorcycle licensing rather than create another expensive and unsustainable state program.

The law would also require anyone riding any type of ebike to carry some form of photo ID, and ban anyone under 12 from riding one, period.

But today’s topic is the other subject we’ve been mentioning, about her previously unexplained decision to pull AB 73, the Safety Stop or Stop As Yield bill, as she somehow snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

At least now we have an explanation.

But as the late, great Dale Carnegie once wrote, there are two reasons for anything a person does. A reason that sounds good, and the real reason.

I’m not sure we’ve heard that last one yet.

Maybe another state legislator can do what she did with the ebike licensing bill, and cannibalize another bill that’s already been introduced and replace it with a Stop As Yield law.

Because it’s been repeatedly shown to improve safety in cities and states across the US in recent years.

And quite frankly, we’ve waited long enough.

Meanwhile, Momentum Magazine says Stop As Yield is now law in Minnesota, and asks why it isn’t everywhere else.

Good question.

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No bias here. God forbid they should inconvenience drivers a tiny bit when there’s a nice bike lane to put the sign in.

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If Zachary Rynew, aka the force behind Gravel Bike California, recommends it, that’s good enough for me.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

An angry Vail, Colorado bike rider addresses an open letter to the bike-riding man who forced him off a local trail.

No bias here. A Michigan country music DJ says Kalamazoo residents are livid over plans for an advisory bike lane, citing comments from just 92 of the city’s nearly 80,000 residents. Never mind that the city is trying to improve safety after five bike riders were killed, and four injured, by an extremely stoned driver in 2016.

Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A British woman was repeatedly punched in the head by male bike rider while riding her bike on a local tow path; no reason was given for the violent assault.

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Local 

Authorities have named the suspect who brutally attacked a 67-year old woman as she was working in her East Los Angeles garden; 21-year-old Sergio Andrew Garcia allegedly punched the victim repeatedly in the face before pulling down her pants and underwear. He fled on foot before riding off on a fixie he’d apparently left nearby.

 

State

Stacker ranks all the counties in California for the worst commutes; shockingly, Los Angeles County was only number 12 on the list, while bucolic Calaveras County came in number one for leaving drivers feeling like number two.

An Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy gave a 12-year old boy a customized bike helmet after the boy crashed his ebike, noting that he’d seen the kid following the rules when he rides.

A Montecito op-ed explains why Strong Towns Santa Barbara supports the “Flat and Flexible” plan for Santa Barbara’s State Street, which they say is the option that is “most focused on the comfort and safety of pedestrians and cyclists.”

Even the trees are out to get us. A 65-year old Gilroy woman was killed when she was struck by a large tree branch while riding her bike.

Police in San Jose released video of a hit-and-run driver who killed bike riding woman last month; Hoodline gets it right by calling the driver a heartless hit-and-run menace.

Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick calls out the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition for supporting the Valencia Street centerline protected bike lane, arguing the organization’s “credibility is on the line along with the lives and limbs of people walking and biking.”

A Sacramento TV station talks with the Executive Director of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates about how the city and local groups are “catering” to bicyclists. Although something tells she might dispute that the city caters to anyone on two wheels.

 

National

A Florida car dealer polled over 3,000 people to find the most feared roads in America; New Mexico’s US Route 285 came in first, while California’s Death Valley Road was number two, in more ways than one.

Bend, Oregon teamed with a local state representative to host a discussion of ebike safety, prompted by the death of a 15-year old boy killed in a collision while riding one last month.

A Durango, Colorado bike shop worker offers tips on bike commuting on roads clogged with highway construction and summer tourists.

The Detroit man who allegedly pushed a young kid off his bike to steal it has been charged with unarmed robbery; he was being held on $50,000 bond after turning himself in.

A Michigan man is making the first known attempt to trace the state’s borders on a bicycle, with a 22-day, 2,400-mile ride to benefit a nonprofit helping formerly incarcerated people readjust to life outside prison walls.

A 32-year old hit-and-run driver is being tried for second-degree murder for killing a Wyoming, Michigan bike rider while driving under the influence at speeds up to 90 mph.

A 61-year old Florida man urges everyone who operates a motor vehicle to carry insurance, after he suffered life-altering injuries when he was struck by an uninsured motorcyclist while riding his bicycle; the Insurance Information Institute estimates that as many as 25% of the state’s drivers are uninsured.

This is who we share the road with. A three-year old driving a golf cart on private property in Florida struck and killed a seven-year old kid standing in the yard. Unbelievably, three-year olds driving golf carts is perfectly legal in the state; a bill banning anyone under 18 from driving one without a license or learner’s permit won’t go into effect until October.

 

International

Seriously? The US edition of Britain’s Sun tabloid considers what to do if a bike rider crashes into your car. Because evidently, that’s the real problem, not the other way around. And hint to The Sun — in this country, it’s 911, not 999.

A travel website ranks the “ten toughest mountain biking destinations that will make your stomach drop.”

There’s a special place in hell for the Niagara, Ontario hit-and-run driver who left an 82-year old bike rider fighting for his life in a drainage ditch. Seriously, anyone who can ride a bike at that age deserves better. Then again, so do the rest of us. 

High-flying Dutch ebike maker VanMoof is officially belly-up, after the Amsterdam District Court declared the company bankrupt; administrators will explore whether the brand can be saved in another form.

Turkish bike riders told police they got the wrong man, after police arrested someone for fleeing on foot following the crash that killed a man taking part in a group ride; his fellow bicyclists accused the hit-and-run driver of murder after finding drug paraphernalia in his car.

 

Competitive Cycling

Barring any major disasters, defending Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard should be able to cruise into Paris wearing the yellow jersey, after putting nearly two minutes between himself and his nearest competitors during yesterday’s time trial.

Rouleur questions whether there’s any way back for two-time tour champ Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates, after losing over a minute and a half in yesterday’s time trial.

Cycling Weekly calls out 18 things you didn’t know about Nielsen Powless, who is fighting to hold onto his polka dot jersey and become the first American to be crowned the Tour’s King of the Mountain.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can tow your every own electric catamaran with your very now electric bicycle. That feeling when transportation officials engage in a little turd polishing.

And when Twitter users second guess the courts, the law and bike safety.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

Proposed ebike bill won’t require a license to ride ebikes — for now, and recent deaths offer extreme heat warning

July 18, 2023 / / Comments Off on Proposed ebike bill won’t require a license to ride ebikes — for now, and recent deaths offer extreme heat warning

Let’s start with a quick update on AB 530, the new ebike bill sponsored by Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner.

Yesterday I received clarification that the bill doesn’t currently call for ebike licenses, but rather requires that anyone over 16 carry some form of photo ID whenever they ride an ebike.

Which means that anyone without a valid driver’s license will need to have a state ID, or a student or work ID with a photo. Or maybe start carrying a passport when you ride an ebike, even if you’re not planning to cross any international borders.

However, it does call for establishing a working group with a goal of creating a license for ebike riders.

So no ebike licenses for now. But no guarantees down the road, either.

And despite my misreading of the bill, it doesn’t require a bike helmet for Class 3 ebikes capable of speeds up to 28 mph, since that’s already state law.

Image by Maxfoot from Pixabay.

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Yesterday, we learned that a 24-year old mountain biker died after apparently succumbing to extreme heat in the desert east of San Diego, shortly after helping rescue hikers who had become stranded without food or water.

That comes just a day after we mentioned that an Arizona man in his 70s had died of heat-related causes after his bike suffered a flat, and he attempted to walk to a nearby fire station to wait for his wife.

Both serve as tragic reminders of the dangers of the current extreme heat wave gripping the Southwest, which is only predicted to get worse over the coming weekend.

So if you can, try to avoid riding in the heat of the day. Schedule your rides for early in the morning before the heat of the day, or in the evening after the relentless pounding of the sun lets up.

If you do have to ride during the day, try to choose a route closer to the coast, where the air is cooler, or seek out shaded areas as much as possible.

If you have to ride in the city, remember that concrete buildings and dark road surfaces radiate heat far in excess of the already high ambient temperatures.

Wherever you ride, take more water than you think you’ll need, and take frequent breaks in shaded areas.

And remember that a simple mechanical can ruin even the most cautious plans, and keep you out in the sun far longer than intended.

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Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A bike rider in Queens, New York managed to evade pursuing cops in a patrol car, as players and spectators at a local baseball game all stopped to watch.

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Local 

The NoHo Arts District asks if LA’s Mobility Plan 2035 will increase bike and pedestrian safety in Los Angeles, after the plan was approved by the city council eight years ago. Short answer — not unless it’s actually implemented, which seems pretty damn unlikely at this point.

Westside Today examines Culver City’s newly enhanced Higuera Street Bridge, which they say prioritizes bicyclists and pedestrians. If they really want to prioritize people walking and riding bikes, get rid of the damn cars.

 

State

Sheriff’s deputies in Hesperia will conduct a bike and pedestrian safety operation on Wednesday. So ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit line, so you’re not the one who gets ticketed.

Once again, a bike rider is a hero, as a passing bicyclist warned Fresno residents that their home was on fire, and helped one person evacuate the burning home.

A temporary bike path opening this week will restore a bicycling route between Novato and Petaluma closed by a landslide due to storm damage.

A Bay Area television station argues that the bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge remains severely underutilized as it nears the end of a four year pilot program; officials bizarrely claim the bike lane is causing pollution, instead of all those people in the big, smelly machines. Once again mistaking the solution for the problem. 

San Francisco public radio station KQED California talks with bike and transportation leaders about how the state can become safer for bicyclists.

 

National

Bicycling looks at the health benefits of riding a bicycle for older people. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

The family of fallen masters champ Gwen Inglis won’t oppose a request from Lakewood, Colorado officials to remove her ghost bike, after a single complaint from someone who said it made them feel uncomfortable. Because God knows, we wouldn’t want to do that. 

A St. Paul, Minnesota columnist calls the city’s new bike plan “relentlessly ambitious,” while revealing the tension between more expensive protected bike lanes and cheaper quick-build projects.

A St. Paul teenager completed an around the world bike tour, riding through 20 countries in 22 months.

Arkansas officials unveiled plans for a $278 million, 200-mile bikeway connecting four counties in the central part of the state.

More fallout from PeopleForBikes latest ranking of urban bikeability, as Chicago ranked among the nation’s most dangerous cities for people on two wheels, coming in at a pitiful 161st out of 163 big cities.

Heartbreaking news from Indiana, where a Roman Catholic priest who was killed while riding his bicycle last year was credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.

Sad news from New York State, where a man participating in the eight-day Erie Canal Bike Tour was found dead in his tent Sunday morning.

Friends and fellow bicyclists remember 27-year-old Dzhoy Zuckerman, after the purple-clad fixture of the DC bicycling community was murdered just blocks from his home.

 

International

Inside EVs asks if ebike digital drives could mark the end of sprockets and chains.

Spain’s upcoming national elections put bike lanes and low-emission zones in the crosshairs of rightist-run cities, with the most likely outcome a coalition government that could reverse the county’s progress on climate goals.

 

Competitive Cycling

Velo examines how Tour de France leader Jonas Vingegaard shelved the race-ruining anxiety that made him the “worst guy in the peloton to become the “silent assassin” known as the Iceman in just five years.

Five Americans remain in the Tour de France peloton as the race enters its last week, with Sepp Kuss nearing a top ten finish as Vingegaard’s right handlebar man, and Neilson Powless in position to become the first US rider to win the King of the Mountains jersey.

Cyclists participating in the Tour asked fans to behave better, after a selfie-taking spectator hit Sepp Kuss’ handlebars on Sunday, causing a massive pileup.

Road.cc examines what makes a time trial bike so fast. Nothing, if I’m riding it. 

Former pro cyclists weigh in on whether the Netflix Tour de France documentary Unchained can grow bicycling in the US.

Transgender women’s cycling champ Austin Killips accused UCI of caving to a cabal of right-wingers, after the international governing body for cycling banned transgender women who transitioned after puberty from participating in women’s races.

 

Finally…

Why rough it when you can go bike glamping by pulling your own camper behind your bike? That feeling when the annual mountain bike race gets cancelled because of snow — in July.

And you might be able to buy a Tesla ebike one day.

But then you’d have to ride it.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Update: Mountain biker dies in desert heat, shortly after helping rescue stranded hikers in Carrizo Gorge in east San Diego County

July 17, 2023 / / Comments Off on Update: Mountain biker dies in desert heat, shortly after helping rescue stranded hikers in Carrizo Gorge in east San Diego County

Heartbreaking news from San Diego County, where a 24-year old mountain biker died in extreme heat, shortly after helping to rescue a group of stranded hikers.

According to multiple sources, the victim was with a group of mountain bikers who encountered the hikers in the Carrizo Gorge area of the Jacumba Mountains, in the desert east of San Diego, around 2:45 pm on Saturday.

Two of the bikers rode down to the trailhead to guide rescue workers, while the victim and another rider remained with the hikers, who had run out of food and water in temperatures up to 110° Fahrenheit.

After Cal Fire crews arrived to rescue the hikers, the two remaining mountain bikers rode back down the trail to meet their companions.

However, this is where the stories diverge slightly.

According to one report, the two mountain bikers became separated, and when only one reached the trailhead, Cal fire personnel went back up the trail about a quarter mile, where they found the victim unresponsive.

According to another, the victim complained about feeling tired, and stayed behind while his friend rode to get water for him. Then as they rode back together, he collapsed several times before becoming unresponsive.

Cal Fire personnel carried him to an air-conditioned pickup truck, then transferred him to an air ambulance where paramedics attempted to revive hime, before he was pronounced dead at 5:45 pm.

The victim has not been publicly identified, and no cause of death has been given.

However, the tragedy would be compounded if one of his final acts was giving water to the stranded hikers, then not having enough to get himself to safety.

This is at least the 24th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in San Diego County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 24-year old Kai Torres Bronson. The story says a crowdfunding campaign Torres Bronson has raised over $12,000, but bizarrely doesn’t include a link to it. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kai Torres Bronson and all his loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,
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