Warner Bros actively discourages bike riding, 5 SoCal cities make bike friendly list, and UFO close encounter on an ebike

December 9, 2021 / / One comment

It’s Day 14 of the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Anne F for her generous donation to help keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

Right now, we’re running a full week ahead of last year’s record pace! So let’s keep it going! 

Any amount, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated. And very needed after a difficult couple years. 

So give now via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com. 

Go ahead. We’ll wait. 

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You’ve got to hand it to Warner Bros, who couldn’t have done a better job of discouraging people from riding their bikes to work, let alone on the studio lot, if they tried.

And from the looks of it, they probably did.

https://twitter.com/EntitledCycling/status/1468680922186727427

But sure. Let’s just keep Burbank smoggy, congested and deadly.

And we can credit D. Jones with pointing out that WB probably stands for War on Bikes.

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Congratulations are due to the latest round of cities to make the League of American Bicyclist’s list of Bicycle Friendly Communities, as well as cities renewing their membership or moving up a level.

SoCal cities to make the list are —

  • Oceanside (Silver)
  • Santa Barbara (Silver)
  • Encinitas (Bronze)
  • Riverside (Bronze)
  • Temecula (Bronze)

Other California cities on the list are —

  • Alameda (Silver)
  • Roseville (Bronze)
  • San Ramon (Bronze)
  • Watsonville (Bronze)

Meanwhile, my Colorado hometown continues to prove its bike bona fides, pulling down the only Platinum rating.

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You see a lot of things while riding your bike. But an up-close encounter with UFOs usually isn’t one of them.

A British woman claims to have had a close encounter of the second kind while riding her ebike, saying she was approached by a fleet of UFOs, with one coming as close as eight feet away, albeit on the other side of a hedge.

Being the friendly sort, she waved at her otherworldly visitors, causing some to instantly vanish, while others came right up to her.

She says they examined her with lasers, before vanishing with a burst of infrared light. Which is a little odd, since infrared isn’t usually visible to the human eye.

But still.

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Just a few months after reviving his moribund racing career with four stage wins at this year’s Tour de France, British sprinter Mark Cavendish was the victim of a terrifying home invasion robbery, along with his entire family.

Twitter post

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Streetsblog’s Streetfilms examines a successful New York bike boulevard.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.   

An English man had to wait three hours for an ambulance in sub-40F degree weather after he was struck by a driver, lying flat on the cold ground after being told not to move due to a possible spinal injury; fortunately, he escaped with just a broken wrist.

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

The infamous Western Bandit was sentenced to life without parole for a three-year string of bike-born armed robberies along LA’s Western Ave; he murdered two people and shot at several others during the crime spree.

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Local

A trio of state-funded programs to improve recreation equity in the Los Angeles area will help low-income people of color access state parks; one program will bus people to state and county parks and beaches, then show them how to use transit and bike paths to get there on their own.

You can now buy the new ebikes and e-scooters from Santa Monica-based Bird at Target. But you can’t read the article about it from the LA Business Journal without paying for a subscription.

A cast member on The Real World Homecoming: Los Angeles opened up about his recent collision when he was struck by a truck driver while riding his bike in DTLA just before filming started, leaving him with a serious head injury, a broken clavicle, wrist and possibly broken ribs; on a possibly related subject, other cast members had to remove all the alcohol from the set because of his excessive drinking.

 

State

The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition recognized local leaders for their work in the bicycling community at the organization’s virtual Golden Gear Awards.

Speaking of the SDCBC, bike riders of all ages are invited to join the group’s 4-mile, holiday-themed ride through Balboa Park tonight; participants will receive a set of bike lights courtesy of Lyft.

Finishing our San Diego trifecta, the city is considering banning fast food restaurants near transit stations, in part to protect bike riders and pedestrians; naturally, some people don’t approve.

Fresno police are looking for the heartless coward who fled the scene after seriously injuring a man walking his bike across a bridge; fortunately, the victim is expected to recover.

 

National

The Bike League has teamed with autonomous vehicle artificial intelligence provider Argo AI to develop a detailed set of guidelines for makers of self-driving cars to protect bike riders on the roadways, including mapping local infrastructure and laws, and expecting typical bicyclist behavior while being prepared for uncertain situations.

City Lab reminds business owners that not all holiday shoppers drive, and that studies show bike lanes are good for business. Meanwhile, the site also examines why infrastructure costs more in the US than virtually anywhere else.

New research shows you should exercise more as you grow older, rather than less, as most people assume. And bicycling is one of the best ways to do it.

Don’t plan on using your new federal tax rebate on one of the new ebikes from Harley-Davidson, since only one of the company’s Serial 1 bikes comes in under the $4,000 cap. And that’s if the bill can pass the Senate, which is far from a sure thing.

The Seattle bike cop caught on video rolling his bicycle over a protester’s head during last year’s protests was suspended for a whole seven days without pay, after the city’s police watchdog found he used excessive force, and acted without reasonable discretion and professionalism.

Denver residents want some temporary roundabouts removed after several bike riders have been injured by drivers; they were installed as part of the Slow Streets program, but never removed when roads were reopened to cars.

New signs along Colorado roads will remind drivers about the state’s three-foot passing law. We could use a few of those here in California, too. And by a few, I mean a few hundred thousand.

Kansas City newspaper readers share their thoughts on bike lanes. And in a pleasant change, the paper didn’t share the bike-haters point of view.

A Texas man will spend the next five years behind bars after repeatedly violating his probation for the hit-and-run death of a bike rider in 2008; the judge said she only wished she could sentence him to more.

Lake Wobegon, where “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average,” may have been a mythical creation of folk humorist Garrison Keillor, but the Minnesota bikeway named after it may soon be part of the US Bicycle Route system.

Nice story from Indiana, where a couple has biked through all 50 states in their 57 years of marriage; they got married just eight months after meeting on a blind date.

The dark side of the bike boom reared its ugly head in Virginia, where bicycling fatalities are up over 75% this year.

‘Tis the season. Members of a St. Petersburg, Florida organization donated 117  bicycles for police to distribute to kids in need.

Florida sheriff’s deputies didn’t have to look far to find a hit-and-run driver, busting one of the department’s own dispatchers for the crime that left a bike rider seriously injured. And yes, it was captured on security cam.

 

International

Bicycling offers their recommendations for the best bike trips in 27 categories from around the world. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

Cycling News explains the difference between road and touring bikes. That’s easy. I ride the former, and my adventureneering brother rides the latter.

Toronto finally removed construction fencing blocking a bike lane and forcing riders into unforgiving traffic, which had remained in place for months after work was stopped.

A former Spanish monk built a sprawling cathedral almost singlehandedly, using recycled bricks, car tires and bicycle wheels as his materials; he died at age 96, in his modest quarters in the building he built by hand.

The bike boom is threatening to go bust in Bengaluru, India, where all the parking is dedicated to cars and motorcycles, and none for bicycles.

Bangladeshi students across the country staged a bicycle protest on Wednesday to demand safer streets and justice for the victims of traffic violence.

 

Competitive Cycling

British cyclist Tom Pidcock has set his sights high, with plans to win world titles in cyclocross, mountain biking and road cycling next year, after just two years on the World Tour and elite levels. Although some of the other riders may have something to say about that.

Cycling Tips says October’s Into The Lion’s Den has gone from the year’s richest crit to a PR disaster, after none of the winners have received their share of the promised $100,000 prize money; race founder Justin Williams of the L39ion of Los Angeles cycling team is urging patience, promising that everyone will get paid.

 

Finally…

If it doesn’t have pedals, it’s just an e-scooter — no matter how cute and tiny it is. Building your own gravity bike out of scraps.

And raise your hand if you want a bike-based mobile donut shop in your own town.

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

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

31-year old woman killed riding bike in San Jacinto; CHP appears to blame the victim and dark roadway

December 8, 2021 / / Comments Off on 31-year old woman killed riding bike in San Jacinto; CHP appears to blame the victim and dark roadway

Another day, another innocent person killed riding a bike.

That’s the sad reality on Southern California streets, where a woman was killed riding a bicycle in San Jacinto, just a day after a 15-year old boy was killed in a drunken Victorville hit-and-run.

According to MyNewsLA, 31-year old San Jacinto resident Katlyn Braley was riding her bike north on State Street, just north of Record Road, when she was run down from behind by a driver just after midnight Wednesday.

A CHP spokesperson placed blame for the 12:05 am crash on a lack of lights on the dark roadway. He added that the 58-year old driver continued north, claiming he didn’t know he’d struck anyone, before turning around and calling 911 after seeing Braley’s body sprawled in the roadway.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver, who has not been publicly identified, is not suspected of being under the influence.

However, it appears investigators are already attempting to blame the victim.

“The fault here is still under investigation,” he told CNS. “It could have had something to do with what the rider was wearing, whether she was in the roadway or off to the side. It may take a little time to make a determination.”

So let’s be clear.

The victim’s clothing was not the cause of the collision. She also had every right to ride in the roadway — and to use the full lane on what appears to be a substandard lane.

And she was in no way obligated to use the broken, intermittent and largely unrideable shoulder. Nor should there be any expectation that she would.

The driver should have had his lights on — and most likely, his bright lights — which, if they were functioning properly, should have clearly illuminated Braley on her bicycle in plenty of time to avoid her.

It’s also highly questionable how anyone could hit someone with enough force to kill her, without being away they’d hit someone.

There’s no word on whether Braley had lights and reflectors on her bike, as required by California law after dark. However, given the apparent bias in the CHP spokesperson’s statement, it seems likely they would have mentioned it if she didn’t.

This is at least the 62nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the eighth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Katlyn Braley and all her family and loved ones.

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Vegas driver gets up to 26 years for pushover death, bikes are good for the world’s health, and more ’tis the season

December 8, 2021 / / Comments Off on Vegas driver gets up to 26 years for pushover death, bikes are good for the world’s health, and more ’tis the season

My apologies for the earlier proofreading errors to this post. Server problems combined with an internet outage to keep me making any corrections. Hopefully I’ve caught everything now. 

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It’s the 13th day of the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Bryan B for his generous donation to help keep everything you need to know about the wild, wonderful and wacky world of bikes coming your way every day.

Any amount, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated, far more than I could ever put into words. 

So donate today, and let’s make this a lucky 13 for both of us!

Give now via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com. 

Go ahead. We’ll wait. 

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That’s more like it.

In the conclusion to a tragic story we’ve been following for the past year, a Las Vegas man will spend a well-deserved 10 to 26 years behind bars for the death of a 56-year old woman as she was riding her bike.

Rodrigo Cruz was driving the van when he swerved close to the victim, Michelle “Shelli” Weissman, as his friend leaned out the passenger window to push Weissman off her bike, killing her.

In the ultimate tragic irony, the passenger, Giovanni Medina Barajas, fell out the window and died at the scene, as well.

Cruz’s attorney tried to write the whole thing off as a “some sort of dumb, childish prank.”

Now two lives have been needlessly snuffed out, and another irreparably damaged, all because two people thought harming an innocent person was funny.

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A new study from my hometown university shows that bicycling is good for the world’s health, too.

According to the study, as many as 205,000 premature deaths could be prevented every year worldwide if cities encouraged people to use a bicycle instead of a car. Although that figure depends on replacing all car trips with bikes by the year 2050.

Which ain’t gonna happen.

In what the authors describe as a more realistic scenario, 18,589 annual deaths could be prevented worldwide if just eight percent of people switched from cars to bikes.

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‘Tis the season.

A Waco, Texas builders association donated 87 bikes to Toys for Tots, while complaining that the pandemic-driven bike shortage kept them from giving more.

The county engineers office in Ohio’s Wayne County built 21 bikes to be given away to kids, including three for a domestic abuse treatment center.

A trio of Georgia bike clubs teamed up to deliver 88 bicycles that will be donated to kids in need by a local church.

After spending four days living atop a scissor lift, a Florida DJ collected 450 bicycles, as well as helmets and toys, for local kids.

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This is what a Slow Street can bring to life.

Twitter post

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.   

No surprise here, as San Diego’s bike-hating OB Rag lives down to its name by taking glee in a very unscientific DIY study showing hardly anyone is using the city’s new 30th Street protected bike lanes.

Prepare to dodge even more distracted drivers, now that Teslas allow drivers to play video games on the in-dash video screen while the car is in motion.

The city council in Cambridge, Massachusetts condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the sabotage of a protected bike lane with tacks and bricks.

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Local

Typical. Even though there’s an approved plan for bike lanes on Rosecrans Avenue, Metro will only make room for them in an overhaul of the street in anticipation of high speed rail, rather than actually building them. Evidently, a few bucks worth of paint would just add too much to the $156 million project.

 

State

San Diego’s bicycle-powered Coffee Cycle coffee cart now is now a brick and mortar coffee roaster in Pacific Beach.

This is who we share the road with. When a couple teenagers hit his pickup with water balloons, a 63-year old Ridgecrest man responded by shooting their truck with a 12-gauge shotgun; to make matters worse, he’s an ex-con who’s legally barred from owning a weapon, let alone using it.

The rich get richer, as San Francisco approves funding for another protected bike lane, this time in the city’s Panhandle neighborhood.

 

National

This is what the bike boom really means, as half of today’s bike riders either started riding in the last two years, or came back to their bikes after an extended layoff.

A former Aston Martin engineer has designed what looks like the first practical folding helmet.

A writer for Bike Portland says she’s obsessed with ebikes, even choosing to get drenched in pouring rain instead of hailing an Uber because they’re so much fun to ride.

Seattle’s Cascade Bicycle Club is teaching third, fourth and fifth graders how to safely ride their bikes to school.

There’s a special place in hell for anyone who could hit a 13-year old kid in the Bronx with their car, and just keep going; fortunately, the kid wasn’t seriously hurt.

 

International

Bike riders from 195 countries around the world uploaded 10 billion riding miles to Strava over the past year. Speaking of which, you could devote all your working hours to managing Strava’s social media.

A writer for Cycling Tips hopes every bikemaker imitate’s Britain’s Brompton’s bike rental program, which allows people to rent a bike for up to 30 days for the equivalent of just $6.61 a day.

A serial bike thief who targeted an English train station walked with the equivalent of probation, but was ordered to repay his victims.

After conservative politicians ripped out a bike lane in the UK, a petition calling for its reinstatement collected three times the signatures as one demanding its removal.

Traffic speed matters more than traffic volume in deciding where to ride, according to a new British study, which showed most people prefer to ride their bikes on streets with a speed limit of 20 mph or less.

A new study from the UK shows we’re losing the youngest generation, as a full 36% of primary school kids haven’t ridden a bike in the last year. And one in 20 has never ridden one.

This is who we share the road with, part 2. French authorities accuse a British expat of murdering his wife by flooring his car and running over her as she stood in front of it. Naturally, he says it was just a tragic accident.

When you donate to World Bicycle Relief, this is the bike you’re helping deliver to people in Africa.

 

Competitive Cycling

New Zealand pro Olivia Ray says she’s still waiting for her $15,000 check for winning the inaugural Into The Lion’s Den crit, founded by L39ion of Los Angeles’ Williams brothers.

 

Finally…

The science of how your bicycling shoes work. It doesn’t do any good to catch a bike thief if you can’t keep him in your rusty jail.

And making cities more dog friendly, one bike ride at a time.

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

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

Update: Alleged drunk driver kills 15-year old boy riding bike in Victorville hit-and-run

December 7, 2021 / / One comment

Some stories just break your heart.

A Victorville boy is dead, all because someone had to get drunk and get behind the wheel in the middle of the day.

Allegedly, of course.

According to the Victorville Daily Press, a 15-year old boy was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in downtown Victorville Monday afternoon.

The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was headed west on C Street at Fifth Street, when he was run down by a driver traveling south on Fifth around 2:01 pm.

He was taken to a local hospital, where he died at 3:19 pm.

A photo from the scene shows what appears to be a mangled mountain bike resting on the curb.

The driver apparently continued without stopping. Sheriff’s deputies arrested 29-year old Victorville resident Hector Castro Loaeza later that night.

Loaeza was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence causing death, hit and run resulting in death, and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. He’s currently being held on $150,000 bond.

There’s no word on what led investigators to Loaeza, or how they know he was drunk at the time of the crash, when he wasn’t arrested until hours earlier.

C Street is a narrow residential street controlled by a stop sign, while Fifth is the sort of straight, uncontrolled roadway that encourages excessive speeds.

Anyone with information is urged to call Deputies C. Bennington or M. Lee at the Victorville Sheriff’s Station at 760/241-2911.

This is at least the 61st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.

Update: The victim has been identified as 15-year old Ricardo Serrano, who was killed less than a mile from his school. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and all his family and loved ones.

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

Drunk driver plows into 13 bike riders, ride with a CD5 council candidate, and someone’s great grandfather wins a bike

December 7, 2021 / / Comments Off on Drunk driver plows into 13 bike riders, ride with a CD5 council candidate, and someone’s great grandfather wins a bike

It’s Day 12 of the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to James VZ and Michael C for their generous donations to keep all the best bike news and advocacy keeps coming your way today and every day. Any amount, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated — and needed!

So what are you waiting for, already?

Give now via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com. 

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Yet another horrifying mass casualty crash, as a drunk driver in Mexico City slammed into 13 bike riders in a collision caught on security cam.

The Daily Mail reports 12 people were injured after the driver lost control of his car while changing lanes; injuries ranged from bruises to broken bones, with four of the victims hospitalized with head trauma.

They were on a 19-mile pilgrimage to the city’s Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a week before the feast day honoring Mexico’s patron saint.

And yes, you can see video of the crash, although the paper bizarrely blurs images of the car, so the victims look like pins being scattered by an invisible bowling ball.

As always, though, be sure you really want to see the video before you click play. Because you can’t unsee it.

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Here’s your chance to meet — and ride with — another of the candidates to replace termed-out CD5 Councilmember Paul Koretz.

And it’s about damn time someone did.

Twitter post

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This could have been your grandfather, or great grandfather.

Or maybe even your great, great grandfather.

Twitter post

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.   

Massachusetts bike riders tell whoever has been sabotaging a Cambridge bike lane to cut the crap. Let’s hope the cops take it seriously, and treat it like the potentially deadly crime it is instead of a mere prank.

No surprise here, as a Pensacola, Florida bike rider discovers that the local police don’t understand the law allowing bicyclists to take the lane on substandard lanes. And has to argue it with a cop driving a foot from his handlebars.

People on a Brazilian group ride were pepper sprayed by a passing motorcyclist who wasn’t even in the same lane, for no apparent reason.

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

Someone on a bicycle apparently torched the public Christmas tree in Oakland’s Jack London Square; the suspect was captured on security cam fleeing on his bike.

Federal marshalls busted an Ohio bank robber, despite his successful getaway on a bicycle.

You’ve got to be kidding. A Pittsburgh man walked with probation and time served, despite riding his bike to plant a bomb-filled backpack near a protest over the killing of George Floyd last year, although it’s unclear whether he was participating in the protest or targeting it. Because evidently, building and planting bombs that don’t go off is just no big deal.

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Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton provides photos from Sunday’s South LA CicLAvia, along with an open thread. Although as we’ve learned here, open threads only work if people actually comment.

 

State

Santa Barbara kindergarten kids will get lessons in how to ride a bicycle as part of the All Kids Bike program, funded by a grant from Yamaha. Which is something that should take place at every school in the US.

San Luis Obispo bike riders got an early Christmas gift — or maybe late Chanukah gift — when the city opened new curb-protected bike lanes on a pair of downtown streets.

Sad news from Oakland, where a 41-year old man was killed in an apparent solo crash on Sunday, after evidently losing control of his bike.

 

National

CleanTechnica offers advice on how to choose an e-mountain bike, while Parade — yes, Parade — suggests their picks for the best ebikes.

Livestrong recommends the best racks for hauling cargo on your bike.

They get it. An Oregon TV station makes the case for fighting bike theft by registering your bicycle with Bike Index. Which you can do right here and now with free lifetime bike registration. Just one more service we provide at no cost to you. And yet another reason to donate today. 

The Denver Post profiles a 67-year old Colorado Penny Farthing rider, who wants people to wave instead of just staring as they go by.

Shattering story in Outside, as a Colorado man describes how the hit-and-run driver who nearly killed him as he was riding his bike got a lousy two years behind bars, while the driver sentenced him to a lifetime of pain and partial paralysis.

A 38-year old Ohio man has been busted for being the hit-and-run driver who left a 13-year old bike-riding kid to die alone in the street. Seriously, there’s not a pit in hell deep enough.

An appeals court rules that Amazon is not liable for injuries caused by a defective ebike that was sold on the site by a Chinese company, and assembled by a New York firm.

This is the cost of traffic violence. New Jersey bicyclists responded with an outpouring of grief to the death of a beloved 62-year old woman, after she was run down from behind by a driver while on a group ride, in what was described as a “reckless,” “senseless” crash caused by someone who wanted to get where he was going a minute sooner. Then again, isn’t every crash reckless and senseless?

‘Tis the season. Pennsylvania volunteers built over 100 bicycles to donate to kids in need.

Yet another reminder that bikeways more than pay for themselves. The 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage rail-to-trail pathway connecting Pittsburgh PA and Cumberland MD is described as an economic highway that generated a whopping $121 million in 2019 — or more than $800,000 per mile.

Speaking of Pittsburgh, the city is finally getting around to banning parking in bike lanes. But they’re not planning to tell anyone about it by posting No Parking signs or painting curbs red, apparently assuming everyone will obey a law they don’t know about.

Old school country star Stonewall Jackson got his start in music when he traded his bicycle for a guitar as a ten-year old in Georgia; he died last weekend at 89. And yes, that was his real name. In retrospect, it’s hard to argue he made the wrong move, but still. 

Congratulations to Florida, which retains its title as the nation’s most dangerous state for bike riders and pedestrians. And yes, that’s sarcasm, folks.

 

International

Treehugger’s Lloyd Alter accuses politicians and planners of missing the ebike revolution, arguing that electric cars are not the only way to cut carbon emissions. Or even the best way, for that matter.

Road.cc’s Ebike Tips is clearly not a fan of Terranet’s new ebike safety system that promises to warn riders when a driver is about to plow into them, taking issue with positioning for the product that places the onus the bike rider not to get killed, rather than on drivers not to kill someone.

Cycling News explains the difference between road bikes and hybrids, so you know what to ask Santa for this year. Pro tip: If you’re not sure whether an article comes from the US or Europe, look for the currency products are priced in, or whether common words have weird spelling, like tire with a y. 

Who needs a truck when the London symphony orchestra has a cargo bike?

A UK bikemaker says shop early if you want to put a new bike in your kid’s stocking this year. Even though it may already be too late.

An urbanist Bay Area expat discovers how quickly a progressive city can change from car-centric to people-focused, after moving to Berlin.

Police in India recovered 13 purloined bicycles when they busted a 27-year old bike thief, who was reselling them at cut-rate prices. Note to The Tribune — A 27-year old man is not a “youth,” in India or anywhere else

There’s no lower form of walking human scum than whoever stole a Kiwi teenager’s bicycle while he was being treated in an ambulance after he was seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Guardian offers a photo review of the 2021 World Master’s ‘Cross Championships.

Former pro and Ph.D Christina Birch discovers how it feels to go from 11-time national track cycling champ to rookie NASA astronaut.

Rouleur takes a deep dive into the personality of American cyclist Chloé Dygert, calling her the unicorn of professional cycling.

Los Angeles-based women’s cycling team LA Sweat has signed Belize’s Kaya Cattouse, called the most recognized cyclist in the country.

 

Finally…

When someone parks in the bike lane, block ’em in with k-rails. Who needs a limo when you can just pedal your blushing bride on your bike’s handlebars.

And if you’re going to post a “comic” film about bicycling, maybe make sure it’s funny first.

Twitter post

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

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

CicLAvia and other mass bike rides near and far, ’tis the season for bike giveaways, and rescuing kitties in Azerbaijan

December 6, 2021 / / Comments Off on CicLAvia and other mass bike rides near and far, ’tis the season for bike giveaways, and rescuing kitties in Azerbaijan

It’s the second full week of the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to S H, Samer S, Robert H, John H, Glen S, Scott G and Ezequiel C for their generous donations this weekend! And it was great to hear from some old friends, and new. 

So take a moment to show your support for this site, and to help ensure that all the best bike news and advocacy keeps coming your way every day. Any amount, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated — and needed!

Give now via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com. 

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Apparently, CicLAvia wasn’t the only mass bicycling event in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Even if it’s not just for bike riders.

https://twitter.com/kennethmejiaLA/status/1467672286069096450?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

https://twitter.com/bRuc14/status/1467661708361564160

And even if the other one wasn’t on closed streets. Or even permitted.

Twitter post

Then again, Los Angeles didn’t have mass bike rides to itself this weekend.

https://twitter.com/GayPatriotFL/status/1466951281222856709

Although you can see the same thing in Venice every Sunday, as long as you’re willing to give up the Hemingway vibes.

Thanks to Tim Rutt for the Key West video.

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‘Tis the season.

It’s that time of year again, when holiday bike giveaways start making the news.

This time, it starts close to home, where Los Angeles Lakers legend and Dodgers co-owner Magic Johnson hosted a holiday event that brought the two teams together with the LA Rams to provide 400 underserved kids with new bikes, as well as helmets and toys.

Twitter post

An Idaho landfill is reclaiming bicycles people toss in the trash to donate to local kids, to ensure every kid can have a bike.

A bighearted Michigan girl collects cans to buy bicycles for a local nonprofit dedicated to providing kids with their first bikes, starting with just two bikes in 2018, and increasing to 217 this year.

A pair of bike clubs in America’s largest retirement community teamed up to donate over 300 bicycles for Florida kids in need.

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Forget a BB gun. This is the real Christmas story.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.   

Someone has been sabotaging a new protected bike lane in Cambridge, Massachusetts by sprinkling it with tacks and bricks, causing at least one crash.

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

A Redwood City man learns the hard way not to run a stop sign at 3 am with meth and drug paraphernalia on his bike — because they might use a CHP helicopter to track him down.

An Oklahoma man faces hit-and-run and assault with a deadly weapon charges after running down a bike thief with his car and reclaiming his bicycle, leaving his victim bleeding in the roadway.

A Singapore bike rider makes an unintended safety video by crashing into the back of a car while distracted by his phone.

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Local

It came too late to make our Friday Morning Links, but you can still check out the Militant Angeleno’s guide to yesterday’s South LA CicLAvia to see what you saw.

 

State

Oceanside has approved a route for the final link missing from San Diego County’s 44-mile Coastal Rail Trail, which will eventually connect the city with San Diego.

Business owners and residents along San Diego’s 30th Street continue to aim shots at their own feet, filing an appeal to a recently dismissed lawsuit over the new protected bike lanes along the corridor, apparently unaware that protected bike lanes result in increased retail sales and property values, despite any loss of parking. Or maybe because of it.

An alleged bike thief is on trial for murder in Oakland after shooting the victim as he chased after his stolen bicycle. Allegedly.

Emeryville has a shiny new $21.4 million bike and pedestrian bridge.

No bias here. A Marin newspaper says a 15 mph speed limit for bike riders on the Golden Gate Bridge makes sense, especially in light of ebikes capable of doing up to 28 mph. Except ebikes that fast are already prohibited from using separated cycle tracks like the one on the bridge.

 

National

A Cycling Tips forum debates whether paywalls blocking internet access to bicycling publications will will eventually hurt the bicycling community and bike industry. It’s hard to argue that it won’t hurt them, as well as the magazines themselves, in the long run. But websites and magazines also need to make profit to stay in business. So until someone comes up with a better business model, we may be stuck with them. 

Bloomberg looks at the proposed $900 ebike tax credit contained in the current draft of the Build Back Better bill, which limits it to 30% of the first $3,000 of bicycles costing up to just four grand. Never mind that drivers can claim up to $7,500 on electric cars, no matter how much they cost.

New Mexico residents are battling over whether to close trails in the environmentally fragile badlands in the northern part of the state, where the increasing popularity of mountain biking risks eroding hillsides and destroying plant life. Mountain bikes belong almost everywhere, except where they can do irreparable harm to people, plants, animals or the environment.

A Colorado man will spend the next three years behind bars for killing German pro mountain biker Benjamin Sonntag, after he was convicted of vehicular homicide; sentences on two lesser charges will be served concurrently.

Record-setting Scottish bicyclist Josh Quigley returned to a Texas medical center to thank the trauma team that saved his life two years ago, after he suffered near-fatal injuries when he was run down by a truck driver while attempting to ride around the world.

There has to be a special place in hell for any driver who could leave a 13-year old bike-riding Ohio kid to die alone in the street.

A Grubhub rider in DC doesn’t let the lack of a front wheel delay his food deliveries.

 

International

No surprise that the global ebike market is expected to exceed $120 million by 2030. More surprising is that e-mountain bikes are the fastest growing segment.

Momentum offers a guide to bicycle snow tires. Which we usually don’t get a lot of call for here in sunny Southern California.

A 70-year old Winnipeg, Manitoba woman got her missing bike back 16 years after it was stolen, thanks to registering her serial number with the police before it was taken. Which is a good reminder to register your bike now.

Damned if you do, really damned if you don’t. A London bike rider gets fined the equivalent of $99 for riding in a bike-free zone outside a tube station — which is about $66,202 less than the fine for parking it there.

Scotland’s minister for active travel caught flack for posing with bicycling school kids on his own bicycle without wearing a helmet or hi-viz, even though neither is required for adults.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a truck driver walked without a day behind bars for killing a bike rider in an unsafe pass; the driver pulled in too soon because his wing mirror had been knocked out of place, denying him a view of the side of his truck. Evidently, it was just asking too much to pull over to the side of the road and fix it before he killed someone.

When you actually care about people on bicycles, you build thing like this three-way bike bridge over a highway roundabout in Naaldwijk, Netherlands. Thanks to Rich Flanagan for the tip.

A Dutch taxi passenger will face charges for fatally dooring a little girl riding with her parents, which forced her to swerve and fall in front of a bus.

A poultry farmer in Accra, Ghana won a sprayer and a new bicycle after being named the area’s best farmer.

Your next Chinese ebike could have five shock absorbers and carry two people. And cost just $700.

The World Naked Bike Ride follows the sun to Melbourne, Australia, where spring is just coming to an end.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Weekly ranks the best road cyclists of 2021. And no, my name isn’t in there. And probably not yours, either.

 

Finally…

Your next bike helmet could be made from mushrooms and hay, and keep growing even if your head doesn’t. If your friend kills you and burns your body over a motorcycle, maybe he wasn’t really your friend.

And that feeling when you pick up a hitchhiker while riding across Azerbaijan.

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

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