I spent all day yesterday begging Spectrum cable to come fix the internet modem their massive outage broke on Sunday. The earliest appointment I could get was Sept. 18th, until they finally agreed to squeeze us in tomorrow.
Which was good news, until it wasn’t.
Because the corgi puppy did something really cute tonight, squeezing herself into a pillow case she’d previously chewed a hole in.
Only problem is, in trying to extricate her, I knocked over a glass of water, which landed on the laptop I thought was safely out of reach.
And even though it was closed, it’s now dead as hell.
Which is why I’m pecking this out on my phone.
So unless there’s some sort of MacBook Air miracle in the morning, it looks like we’ll be offline for the foreseeable future until I can get another one.
Which could be a long damn time since both my wife and I are out of work. Me because of the diabetes and neuropathy keeps me from holding a job, and Sandy because the company she worked for closed down permanently during the coronavirus shutdown.
Hopefully, Congress will get its collective head out of its collective ass and do something, because we’re hurting like everyone else out there.
And talks with former LACBC Executive Director Tamika Butler, who has become a national leader on the subject of racism and equity.
The lack of bike lanes, bike shops, and even bike racks is noticeable in communities of color across the country. Tamika Butler, former head of the LA county Bicycling Coalition, says there is a misperception that Black and brown people don’t ride as much as white people. But a 2012 report from the League of American Bicyclists found bicycling was increasing more in communities of color than it is in white communities. The report found that between 2001 and 2009 there was a 100% increase in African-Americans biking, and a 50% increase in Hispanics as compared to a 22% increase for whites.
“So, this idea that Black and brown folk aren’t biking and that’s why there’s not infrastructure there because they’re not using it, just isn’t factually true,” Butler said in a recent panel discussion GBH hosted on racism in cycling. “It’s because they’re there, and they’re Black and brown that resources aren’t being invested there.”
It’s worth taking a few minutes to read.
Because this is the issue confronting the entire country right now. As well as our own two-wheeled part of it.
One of those grants will be given to Long Beach to “help non-white and low-income business owners thrive through outdoor dining, shopping or commerce.”
The other grants will go to Denver, Philadelphia, Portland, Detroit, Alexandria VA, New York City, Atlanta and Minneapolis.
Whatever details the sheriffs leak or reveal over the coming days about why Dijon Kizzee was shot dead in Westmont, we know for a fact that a Black man stopped while riding his bicycle should not be dead today,” Waters, D-Los Angeles, said in a statement. “I stand with the community in condemning unaccountable rogue sheriffs and police officers who continue to hunt and murder unarmed people of color in our communities.
“It’s past time for the attorney general of CA, Xavier Becerra, to intervene and investigate the pattern of abuses at the L.A. (County) Sheriff’s Department,” she said. “The department is out of control and has lost the confidence of the community it is supposed to protect. There will be no peace in our streets until the LASD cleans house.
Kizzee’s family retained famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump — the lawyer representing Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Jacob Blake, among other victims of police shootings — who asserts Kizzee was shot 20 times in the back as he tried to run away.
Apparently, the proposed rapid bus line on Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock is not the only Metro project that could result in removing much needed bike lanes.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
An Illinois woman faces a hate charge after telling three Black bike riders they needed a permit to be on a public pier, then smacking one rider to stop him from filming her, and claiming she’d been attacked by them even though she was the aggressor throughout.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Ontario, Canada officials still haven’t identified the victim in the bike-on-bike crash we mentioned yesterday, posting photos of his bike and other personal items in hopes someone will recognize them. Yet another reminder to always carry some form of ID that won’t get lost or stolen following a crash; I wear a Road ID every time I leave my home, let alone ride my bike. Speaking of which, if you know anybody who works there, tell ’em they should sponsor this site, as often as I plug them on here.
A pair of Welsh drivers played the universal Get Out of Jail Free card, claiming they couldn’t see the bike rider they killed because the sun was in their eyes. Never mind that if you can’t see, the correct solution is to pull over to the side of the road until you can, not keep driving until you hit something. Or someone.
If you’re going to steal a bike, make sure no one sees you — when you take it, or when you ride it later. If you’re going for a drunken early morning bike ride while carrying meth and weed, put a damn taillight on it.
The bike, that is, not the weed.
And evidently, lions aren’t just king of the jungle.
September 2, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Sheriff’s deputies kill Black bike rider in South LA, driver rams LA bike protest, and Metro nixes Eagle Rock bike lanes
Biking While Black has long been treated like a crime.
They attempted to stop him for some unspecified traffic code violation, which could have been anything from riding the wrong way to riding a cruiser bike with raised handlebars.
Or it could have just been a pretext to stop and search, despite a lack of probable cause.
Sadly, I have no confidence in the Sheriff’s Department to conduct a full, fair and honest investigation of the shooting. Especially under the leadership of a sheriff who seems more interested in getting fired deputies back on the force than in protecting the people of LA County.
Metro proposes taking a big step backward by removing bike lanes on Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock, and replacing them with bus lanes that bike riders can use.
As long as they don’t mind having a speeding bus run up their ass.
Someone on a bicycle attacked a New York City judge, punching her in the jaw as she was walking to the courthouse Monday morning; it’s not clear whether she was the victim of a random attack, or if someone deliberately targeted her. Thanks to John Damman for the heads-up.
Apparently, LA bicycle advocates have gone “way beyond the pale of being pro-mobility” and are somehow tied to crooked developers. In that case, I want to know who’s getting my take, cause I’m sure as hell not getting it.
Yahoonames America’s most bike friendly cities, led by Portland and Minneapolis; California is represented by San Francisco and Oakland, ranking fifth and twelfth, respectively, as well as a surprising Irvine at 24th. Needless to say, Los Angeles is nowhere to be seen.
New York won’t be upgrading the bike network in the Bronx, despite four bicycling deaths in just three months; instead, the city will respond with heavier police enforcement, even though that didn’t help when they tried it earlier this summer.
This is what is looks like when photographers don’t get the hell out of the way.
Dangerous finish in CoppieBartali – riders nearly ride straight in to the photgraphers after the line, Aplecin Fenix rider gets a bump on the line from Astana rider, almost goes straight in to the barriers to the right of the photographers, looks to have just stopped on time https://t.co/ujtGmgpsR1
August 31, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Boing Boing doesn’t get bike helmets, California exempts bike lanes from CEQA, and racism on the South Bay bike path
Nobody thinks they’re going to get into an accident, which is half the reason why bicycle riders often sneer at wearing a helmet. The other half of the reason is obvious — helmets usually make you look incredibly dorky.
Who knows, the rest of the article may be brilliant.
But that’s where I stopped reading.
Because from my experience, most people are painfully aware of the risks we assume every time we get on a bike.
And I’ve never known anyone who made the very nuanced choice of whether or not to wear one based on how they make you look.
As I’ve noted before, I never ride my bike without a helmet. And I credit mine with potentially saving my life during the Infamous Beachfront Bee Incident.
But that’s the only time I’ve needed one in four decades of riding a bike.
The simple fact is, bike helmets are designed to protect against relatively low speed falls, not high speed impacts like car crashes.
They also do nothing to protect any other part of the body, which is why it’s often meaningless when police or the press report on whether or not a crash victim was wearing one, without indicating whether the crash would have been survivable either way.
And unless you spring for a MIPS or WaveCel model, they do absolutely nothing to prevent against traumatic brain injuries.
Which is why I got to spend a night in Intensive Care, and a couple more under observation, after getting my bell rung like a carillon in the aforementioned incident.
Especially since no one seems to call for helmets in the shower, when climbing ladders or riding in cars, all of which have a significant rate of head injuries.
I know where I come down in the debate — and yes, there is one, despite all the overly simplistic “no brainer” comments.
As far as I’m concerned, it’s a cheap form of insurance, on the off chance I ever need it. I’d much rather ride with one I’ll never need, than need one and not have it.
Besides, it gives me a good place to mount my bike cam without hogging handlebar space.
So use your own judgement.
But chances are, no one bases their decision on whether it makes them look dorky, or messes up their hair.
It’s not often that a story can be heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. A two-year old Polish boy rode a trike for the first time after losing both feet to sepsis when he was just an infant; he was initially given just a 0.1% chance of survival.
Since the Tour de France is available to nearly everyone on cable TV, we’re going back to our usual spoiler-free recaps, in case anyone is letting the race stagnate in their viewing queue.
And bike racing has been around longer than the talkies.
Seven years before the first Tour de France, bicycle racing was already popular in France. The Lumière brothers filmed this race in 1896 pic.twitter.com/25q5I4WV5c
The simple solution crimes like this is to keep people who cause serious injuries while driving drunk from ever getting behind the wheel again. Let alone within ten years.
There’s no question that everyone would be better off if she had been permanently barred from ever driving after her first DUI; her victim would still be alive, and she wouldn’t be looking at over a decade in state prison.
Driving is a privilege, not a right. And we need to start treating it that way.
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This is why people continue to die on our streets.
Los Feliz residents want to know why a driver who appeared to be falling down drunk wasn’t tested for DUI, despite crashing into three parked cars after failing to make a simple turn.
There are other things that could cause the behavior shown on the video, such as a head injury or extremely low blood sugar.
But there is simply no excuse for not testing him to find out. Which raises the question of why the officers just let him go, instead.
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Gravel Bike California says Point Magu may offer the best gravel riding in the Santa Monica Mountains.
Thanks to Zachary Rynew for the heads-up.
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Take a short mountain biking break in spectacular Jackson, Wyoming.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Just sickening. Bike tire maker Continental has confessed to actively supporting the Nazi party in the years leading up to, and during, World War II, including the use of concentration camp inmates, forced laborers and Russian POWs. Which really makes me reconsider my use of the company’s Gatorskins on my bike; I stopped wearing Hugo Boss decades ago for the same reason.
The city had the perfect opportunity to respond to community demands and build a pedestrian plaza around the All Black Lives Matter mural at Hollywood & Highland.
So yes, all Black lives will still matter on the streets of Hollywood.
They just seem to matter more if they’re in a car.
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This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work.
Boston suburb Cambridge, Massachusetts is installing a quick-build separated bike lane, just weeks after a man was killed in a collision with a semi driver while riding his bike.
Needless to say, this is the exact opposite of what usually happens in Los Angeles.
Over 100 New Yorkers are riding south to Washington DC to raise awareness about the dangers of Biking while Black, while advocating for “safer cycling opportunities for all people of color;” the group plans to arrive in time for Friday’s March on Washington.
Staffers for Britain’s Cyclist magazine offer their picks for the Tour de France, going well beyond the yellow jersey to categories like most stage wins and biggest surprise. Although I’d have to agree with the guy who doesn’t think the race will actually happen. Or finish, anyway.
August 26, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Clotheslining riders on new DTLA bike lane, public safety and Go Human town halls, and drawing Pacman by bike
Councilmember Bob Blumenfield is hosting a virtual town hall on Thursday to discuss how to reform policing in Los Angeles, which could have a major effect on traffic enforcement and criminal investigations affecting people on bicycles.
Please join me for a Virtual Town Hall on Reimagining Public Safety this Thurs 8/27 from 6-7:30pm. This is a major conversation that many Angelenos have waited to be part of their entire lives. Be part of the conversation and register: https://t.co/ZwkhDjZl0fpic.twitter.com/eT8gJbrFxN
Talk with the Southern California Association of Governments, aka SCAG, about their newly revived Go Human campaign tomorrow.
ANNOUNCEMENT: SCAG will be holding a Go Human #Twitterchat on 8/27 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.! During this virtual event, we invite communities, jurisdictions, and stakeholders to engage in conversation on safety. Join & follow w/ #GoHumanSocal See you Thursday!
Some people can’t see the traffic for the cars. A writer for London’s Daily Mail blames the city’s bike lanes for causing traffic congestion, while failing to recognize that it’s really just too many people like him in cars.
At last there has been a revolt against cycle super highways turning our towns and cities into polluted car parks. When will the war on motorists come to an end? https://t.co/QoyvV1fGX6
August 25, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on CA bill could effectively ban bikeshare and e-scooters, ride for Black and Indigenous mental health, and hot bikes on LetGo
The piece, written by Santa Monica Spoke director Cynthia Rose; Circulate San Diego ED Colin Parent, Finish the Ride and Streets Are For Everyone ED amian Kevitt, and Streets For All founder Michael Schneider, says that regardless of its intent, AB 1286 would “create new rules so onerous that micromobility operators may no longer be able to operate in California.”
Which doesn’t sound like the intended outcome.
Or the right one.
This bill doesn’t just impact newer micromobility like electric bikes and scooters, but extends to traditional, city-sponsored bike share programs as well, including the long running Bay Wheels system in the Bay Area and Metro Bike Share in Los Angeles. As our state grapples with so many pressing issues, including the economic and climate crisis, why is the legislature threatening our most sustainable and lowest cost transportation options?
First and foremost, this bill prohibits micromobility operators from using waivers of liability – the same waivers everyone signs when renting a car or taking a yoga class. No other industry is subject to a waiver provision such as the one proposed by this bill. By gratuitously singling out micromobility operators, the legislature is opening the door to unnecessary litigation, and operators have made clear they will likely have to leave California if they are not able use these waivers. Our cities will be harmed in the process, as waivers shield cities from frivolous lawsuits as well. California law already holds operators accountable and responsible for faulty devices to rightfully protect consumers, so there is simply no need to pursue these changes.
It’s understandable that legislators would want to improve liability laws regulating micromobility.
But this is like using a cannon to kill a mouse in your living room.
Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail, and the legislature will give itself a timeout to work with advocates and company representatives, and consider more carefully just how to improve safety without forcing users back into their cars.
The founder of Break the (Bi)Cycle, Bell-Holter will be leading a 1,500-mile ride from Bellingham, Washington to San Diego, stopping to speak with various tribes along the way.
Bell-Holter said he’d seen similar campaigns, but the topic is one he’s long held close, speaking and raising awareness of across Alaska and elsewhere. There’s a large gap in the availability and effectiveness of mental health care for Black and Indigenous men, especially in Alaska, Bell-Holter said, resulting in intergenerational trauma that can lead to some of the highest rates of death by suicide and substance misuse in the country.
“I’ve been bouncing my head off the wall about this for a few years. There’s so much violence and abuse in Alaska. What does prevention look like,” Bell-Holter said. “There’s a lot of trauma that outside people don’t understand. Non-Native and non-Indigenous people don’t understand there’s a lot of intergenerational trauma that’s not visible from the outside.”
The goal is to raise $100,000, which will be split 20 ways, resulting in just $5,000 each for the various tribes and communities.
Maybe we can all share this one, and get some support for a worthy cause.
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A bike theft victim calls attention to an online chop shop hawking hot bikes on LetGo. And the problem of stolen bikes being sold on the platform in general.
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
After an 18-year old Virginia man’s bike was hit by a pickup driver while riding with a group of other riders, he responded by breaking the driver’s mirror. And the driver responded by attacking him with a stick.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Once again, a dangerous driver managed to stay on the road until it was too late. A Chicago man was arrested for continuing to drive with his license suspended due to DUI, after killing an 83-year old man riding a bike, claiming he just didn’t see the man riding in front of him before stomping on the gas pedal. Unfortunately, he’ll likely walk away with a slap on the wrist, while his innocent victim paid with his life.
An Edinburgh woman calls for redesigning a floating bus stop, saying she was furious after she and her son were nearly hit by a bike rider “who came out of nowhere” as she stepped across a cycle track to get to her bus. She’s got a point. But no one ever comes out of nowhere. And nearly getting hit isn’t exactly news, especially after apparently failing to look both ways.
The victim was riding on the sharrows near the intersection of India and West Washington streets when he was apparently run down from behind, suffering a life-threatening head injury.
The vehicle is described as a blue or gray 2005 Dodge Caravan, with Georgia license plates, number RRJ7004.
Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.
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Show this one to everyone who insists bike lanes will keep emergency vehicles from getting through.
An ambulance in London today demonstrating that protected cycle infrastructure can be helpful for emergency services. Unlike cars sitting in a jam, people on bikes using the lane were able to easily move out of the way for it pic.twitter.com/XT2e5sSAH9
Then there’s this, from right here in the LA area.
Biking home yesterday, a white woman shouted at me and reached into her bag. She pulled out hash browns, ripped open the package and threw them one at a time at me. 2020 means wondering if she went after me for being Asian or riding a bike? Also relieved hash browns, not bullets
Streets LA — nee Bureau of Street Services — will host a virtual open house to discuss the proposed Uplift Melrose project this Wednesday; the plans include expanded sidewalks, better landscaping and LA’s first dutch-style curb level protected bike lane. Take a few minutes to attend if you can, because the usual NIMBYs and bike haters undoubtedly will.
A Sacramento bike rider was lucky to walk away after riding his bike out in front of oncoming traffic and getting drilled by a car traveling at an estimated 50 mph; remarkably, his bike appeared to be relatively okay, too.
Chicago police finally get around to returning dozens of bicycles that were confiscated during Black Lives Matter protests in July. Never mind that the seizures are of questionable legality; it’s unlikely they could confiscate a motor vehicle under the same circumstances.
A Tennessee columnist says wear your bike helmet, already, crediting a helmet for why one bike rider survived, and the lack of one for why another one died. He’s got a point. But let’s not forget that bike helmets should always be the last resort when all else fails — not the first.
Speaking of Tennessee, a man in the state lost 100 pounds riding an ebike; for readers in the UK, that’s over seven stone. Just one more reminder that ped-assist ebikes offer genuine exercise, just like regular bikes.
Um, no. Cycling Weekly tells you what to wear for year-round bike commutes. Spandex is fine if that’s what you want to wear. But despite what they show, bike riders around the world somehow manage to get to work and back without a stitch of bikewear.
