It’s the last day of the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive! Your last chance this year to support SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy!
Thanks to Nina M and Mark G for their generous donations to keep all the bike news you need to know coming to your way every day.
So what are you waiting for?
Stop what you’re doing and give now via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com.
Any amount, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated, more than I could begin to say.
And will help keep our spokesdog from suffering any further indignities.
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Please accept my best wishes for a joyful Christmas and healthy, happy and prosperous new year for you and your loved ones.
As usual, we’ll off the week between the holidays, unless there’s any breaking news.
So stay safe and enjoy the ride. We’ll see you back here bright and early January 3rd.
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Funny how it only took an investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to convince Tesla that allowing drivers to play in-dash video games while the car was in motion is a bad idea.
After all, it’s not like distracted driving poses a danger to anyone or anything.
Meanwhile, The New York Times examines how we’re all unwitting — if not unwilling — participants in the beta testing of autonomous cars.
None of which are ready for primetime. Let alone rush hour.
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Metro wants to give you unlimited free rides starting today through Jan. 2nd.
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If you need a booster shot for holiday spirit, this story should do the trick.
A New Jersey columnist writes about how his new bike was stolen out of his garage. And the rainy Christmas Eve last year, when he spotted it outside a convenience store, and confronted the person riding it.
A man emerged from the store, grizzled, disheveled, hooded and bundled in a soaked winter coat. Probably homeless. He got on my bike, but before he rode into the dark downpour, I called, “Hey, where’d you get the bike?”
A guy sold it to him, he said.
“You know where he got it?”
No, he said.
I was about to say, “My garage,” but didn’t. I looked at him. His face was creased and lined and his sneakers were battered. He looked like a man who just walked a thousand miles and had another thousand to go. I wasn’t sure what to do. Take it? Call the cops? Unleash the Kraken? It was Christmas Eve, the guy was cold and soaking.
Instead, he just let the man keep it, without saying a word about who the bike really belonged to. And even drove him to the bus station to go someplace warmer, taking the bike with him.
If it doesn’t touch your heart, you’re a stronger person than I am.
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This is who we share the road with.
https://twitter.com/JamesKPatterson/status/1474089696296906770
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Local
Metro has cancelled next month’s Design Lab and Tree Adoption workshop for stress-free connections in Central LA due to the rising Covid cases resulting from the Omicron variant. You’ve got your shots, right?
State
Petaluma is prepping for a road diet next month to convert a main street into a Complete Street that welcomes everyone.
National
CleanTechnica provides a long, long listing of all the ebike makers they could find. Meanwhile, Forbes offers tips on how to buy one.
Bicycling offers your bike-related resolutions for the coming year. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.
Pink Bike lists their nominees for mountain bike of the year.
Chicago bike riders complain that a new “protected” bike lane separated from traffic with car-tickler plastic bendy posts has made the street more dangerous than it was before.
Michigan lawmaker and bike advocate Dick Allen, founder of the multi-day Dick Allen Lansing to Mackinaw bike ride, passed away on Monday at age 88; the ride he founded just celebrated its 50th year.
New York Streetsblog gives the city a Streetsie Award for all the annoying things that didn’t get done.
‘Tis the season. A Mississippi 2nd grader went to a toy drive hoping for a new bike, but they were all gone before he could get one. So a kindhearted fire chief not only bought him one, he also made sure both the bike and matching helmet were green — the kid’s favorite color.
There’s not a hole deep enough for anyone who could run down a 13-year old Florida boy and just keep going; investigators have found the pickup, but need to determine who was driving it.
A Palm Beach, Florida magazine talks with the city’s famed Jack the Bike Man, whose nonprofit gives away over 2,000 bicycles every year.
International
A Toronto bike courier was acquitted of assaulting a driver after the judge ruled it was self-defense, following “loud and continuous” threats from the driver.
Record-setting Scottish cyclist Josh Quigley has finally finished his around-the-world tour, two years after he was nearly killed by a Texas pickup driver.
It’s six years behind bars for a British driver who texted friends about how drunk he was just before he killed a 15-year old kid out riding his bike. And fled the scene afterwards, of course. The boy was getting the half hour of exercise allowed under the country’s lockdown rules, while his killer was coming from slamming down beer and whiskey at an illegal lockdown party.
A Flanders man has a collection of classic bikes to lust after.
A mountain biker relates the lessons he learned riding a hardtail across the Alps.
Competitive Cycling
Bad news from Spain, where 30-year old Dutch national champion Amy Pieters was rushed into surgery for a head injury, after crashing while training with the Dutch track cycling team. SD Worx, the team she’s ridden with for the past six years, asked “everyone to respect the privacy of those involved,” which is not a good sign. Let’s all hope she bounces back.
Once again, a man and woman have ridden Zwift to pro contracts.
Finally…
Your next e-mountain bike could have three wheels — with two up front. Always give pedestrians plenty of notice.
And however you travel this holiday season, always carry a spare bike with you.
Just in case.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
