LA media belatedly reports death of 80-year old NB bike rider, fed rules favor cars over people, and ride for Woon this Sat.

April 6, 2021 / / Comments Off on LA media belatedly reports death of 80-year old NB bike rider, fed rules favor cars over people, and ride for Woon this Sat.

Maybe they should try reading BikinginLA first.

Or working weekends, anyway.

Last week, we reported on the tragic death of 80-year old Ernest Adams, who lost his life a day after he was run down by an allegedly intoxicated driver while riding his bike in Newport Beach.

No other media outlets reported his death at the time, other than a local Newport Beach blog.

That changed Monday, when a number of LA-area news outlets breathlessly reported that the Orange County Coroner had released the name of the 80-year old victim of the crash.

Except the coroner had posted Adam’s name online last Wednesday — the same day Tom Johnson’s Stu News Newport reported on his death, as well as the arrest of the 20-year old driver.

But maybe those other media outlets don’t have this site’s network of loyal readers to keep them on top of the latest news.

So we can do the same for you.

Thanks again to Bill Sellin and Lois for the heads-up, and giving us a nearly full week head start on nearly everyone else.

We’ll do our best to stay on top of the story, long after the rest have forgotten it.

And by we, I mean me.

And a year-old corgi who needs to start pulling her weight around here.

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Nice to see NACTO gets it.

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As their tweet suggests, current federal rules require 100 people per day to cross an intersection before a crossing signal can go in.

Except many people won’t cross dangerous intersections precisely because they don’t have signals.

Chicken, meet egg.

It’s long past time to rewrite the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, aka MUTCD, to eliminate such dangerously ridiculous requirements.

And the Federal Highway Administration needs to hear from us — all of us — that people matter more than cars.

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Streetsblog’s weekly listing of livable streets-related events includes this notation about a walk/ride to honor Frederick “Woon” Frazier this Saturday; Woon’s alleged killer has yet to face justice for the hit-and-run that took his life.

Saturday 4/10 – On this date in 2018, 22-year-old Frederick “Woon” Frazier was killed in a horrific hit-and-run at Manchester and Normandie. Though the driver was ultimately apprehended, the case is still making its way through the court system. In the meanwhile, little has changed in the way of safety in that area; cars seem to be driving faster than ever along both busy corridors. To continue to push for both justice and safer streets, friends and family ask you to join them on a bike/walk for justice in honor of his memory. Meet up at 51st and Harvard at 11 a.m.

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Sarcasm is a powerful tool.

Although there’s always a few tools who don’t get it.

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Although this is just a truncated version of the Onion’s cartoon. So be sure to click through to get the full effect.

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GCN wants you to take better care of your bike tools.

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

Nice guy. Portland, Oregon police busted a man who shot paintballs at a passing bike rider, then threatened park rangers with an ax.

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

Tallahassee police are looking for a would-be thief who rode his bike up to a bank patron using an ATM, then shot him in a botched robbery attempt; the victim was hospitalized in serious condition.

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Local

LA County Sheriff’s deputies report two men were killed in separate collisions around on PCH near Busch Drive in Malibu, at 10:35 pm Sunday. However, it’s possible that one or both of the victims may have been riding bikes.

 

State

Huntington Beach considers allowing ebikes on the beachfront bike path.

Sad news from San Jose, where a man was killed when he was run down by a motorist while riding his bike across the street; police stress that he was “outside of a marked crosswalk” when he was killed. Never mind that bike riders are neither required nor expected to use a crosswalk — and often blamed when they do.

 

National

Grist credits investments in bicycling infrastructure during the pandemic for the surge in ridership.

Forbes says ebikes are the growing choice for summer transportation.

No surprise here, as my bike-friendly hometown is one of Colorado’s top ebike adaptors.

A second-generation Vietnamese-American woman explains how bicycles are a tool for upward mobility, while addressing the anti-Asian racism she experiences riding in Denver.

The Houston Chronicle says the new bike plan for the city’s East End is every bicyclist’s dream, adding a total of 50 miles of bike lanes connecting the community.

Howard Hughes was one of us as a kid, building his own motorized bicycle as a 12-year old growing up in Texas.

A Chicago broadcaster looks back at the history of bicycling in the city, and the city’s role in it.

An op-ed in the New York Daily News makes the case for legalizing jaywalking; a bill under consideration in California would do exactly that.

A report from the New York mayor’s office says the pandemic was a disaster for Vision Zero.

A Pennsylvania man got a well-deserved one to nine years behind bars for a hit-and-run crash while driving with a suspended license, which critically injured a toddler being pulled behind her mother’s bicycle; the judge wisely added a request not to release him after serving the minimum sentence.

 

International

Mountain bikers in Windsor, Ontario are engaged in an ongoing battle with the city, which rudely insists on removing the DIY jump tracks they keep rebuilding.

An Ontario, Canada lawyer says the province needs to go back to the drawing board and clarify the new regulations for ped-assist cargo bikes, which are needlessly vague and confusing.

Cycling Weekly looks back over a hundred years to legendary Black cyclist Major Taylor’s journey to London; Taylor repeatedly won despite the racism and discrimination he faced.

Jason Statham is one of us, going for a London tandem ebike ride with his actress-model fiancé. And yes, the bike has pedals, even if it looks more like an e-motorcycle.

A British photographer spent his pandemic lockdown taking some remarkably evocative self-portraits riding through the English countryside.

Inspired by legendary bike-riding women, a woman from the UK defies convention by continuing to ride through France during her pregnancy.

Smart bikeshare is booming in Nigeria’s Oyo State.

Singapore bike riders will be required to pass a theory test before they’re allowed to ride a ped-assist bicycle, under proposed amendments being considered in the parliament.

 

Competitive Cycling

Native Frenchman and former French road cycling champion Nacer Bouhanni hits back against racist online comments since he was DQ’d for bodychecking British cyclist Jake Stewart in last week’s Cholet-Pays de Loire. Seriously, he may ride like a jerk, but there’s no excuse for that crap. Ever.

 

Finally…

A bicycle for people with far more dollars than sense. Don’t blame motorists for driving on a bike trail, they’re just confused and misunderstood.

And I love this, which translates to “Long live freedom on wheels.”

Amen to that.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask. 

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

Snopes says Pete really did ride, witness looks for victim in Venice hit-and-run, and NIMBYs gear up to fight 4th Street again

April 5, 2021 / / One comment

Yes, he really did ride to the cabinet meeting.

NBC reveals an ability to read the room, noting that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is winning fans just by riding a bicycle and talking with the public.

But needless to say, conservative media had a completely different take on the former Mayor Pete’s recent ride to a cabinet meeting.

However, even Snopes got involved to confirm it wasn’t staged, despite their accusations.

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Once again, we have a witness looking for the victim of a possible hit-and-run last week.

This time, on Abbot Kinney in Venice.

This is what the Reddit post has to say.

If you are the cyclist who was hit by a white BMW today at Abbot Kinney and Westminster, I have a photo of the plate.

You had just fallen off your bike when I approached the intersection so I didn’t see the incident, but based on the way you and a couple of other folks gestured towards the car, it seemed like that driver may have hit you and run.

The car turned in front of me from Westminster onto Abbot Kinney and I snapped a photo once we came to a stop down the road.

I can send it to you if you like.

Update: Thanks for the advice, I called it in to LAPD. They didn’t have an incident report for the time/location but they will share the information with the traffic cops in that area in case anything comes up with that vehicle description.

If you were the victim, or know someone who was, click on the link about and reply to the original post, since they didn’t leave contact information.

And always report a hit-and-run to the police, even if you aren’t seriously injured.

You never know who else they might do it to next time.

Thanks to Bean and David Wolfberg for the heads-up.

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Keith Johnson forwards news of what could be yet another contentious public meeting in Hancock Park, as local residents continue to fight changes that would improve safety for bike riders on 4th Street.

Even though the improvements would benefit their neighborhood, as well. Whether or not they ride a bike.

  • Neighborhood Traffic Changes!  Hancock Park and Windsor Sq. will host a Transportation Town Hall on April 14, at 6:00 PM. We expect the LA Department of Transportation to explain their reasoning behind their recently posted survey regarding Bike Lights and Restricted Turns on 4th Street at Highland and Rossmore.  Make your voice heard! AGAIN!  Join the meeting at this Zoom link.
    https://zoom.us/j/96677001434

Local residents have a long history of fighting what was once called the 4th Street Bike Boulevard, over mistaken fears of increased traffic and difficulty of emergency vehicles getting through.

The reality is that the changes would eliminate cut-through traffic, while allowing continued emergency access.

And likely increase property values, too.

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Pasadena is looking for input on safety improvements for the segment of North Lake Ave directly above the 210 Freeway, which can certainly use it.

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Thanks to Megan Lynch for the tip.

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Leimert Park talks electric mobility, including ebikes, on Thursday.

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Nice to see some overdue attention to a long marginalized segment of the bicycling community.

I’ve heard far too many tales of people size shamed at their local bike shop or by other riders.

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And here’s that short film in case you missed it.

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Here’s the video of a Vancouver man using his bicycle to attack an obnoxious anti-masker we mentioned last week.

Thanks to Tim Rutt for the tip.

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The aforementioned Megan Lynch forwards a photo of Burbank cops teaching bike safety from 1957.

https://twitter.com/may_gun/status/1378229991645712384

Check out that nifty mixte in the background, which would have been considered a girl’s bike back in the day. 

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Ebikes to the rescue!

No, literally.

But don’t bother clicking the link unless you can read Dutch.

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

A New York restaurant owner installed his own DIY speed bumps on the protected bike lane next to his in-street outdoor seating; fortunately, the city ordered them removed before he killed someone.

A Scottish woman was pelted with rocks, bottles and other items by a group of teen boys as she rode beneath the wall they were standing on, then was drenched with a soft drink when she stopped to call police.

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

Las Gatos police are looking for the racist bike rider who shoved a 40-year-old Filipina medical worker to the ground without warning as she walked along a sidewalk, then shouted “Go back to (expletive) China.” Seriously, there’s no excuse for that. Ever. And not just mistaking someone from the Philippines for a person from China. 

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Local

The Los Angeles City Council will consider resolutions in support of state legislation allowing bicyclists to treat stops as yields, and state and federal bills to provide up to $1,500 in ebike tax credits at Tuesday’s virtual council meeting.

Streetsblog recaps Metro’s presentation of current plans for a more walkable, bikeable and livable, transit-oriented Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock; as usual, opponents try to paint supporters as not having a real stake in the community.

Metro is hosting an online class on how to clean your bike Wednesday evening. Thanks to Keith Johnson for the link.

Singer Chris Brown’s seven-year old daughter is one of us, as she goes for an unsteady barefoot bike ride in Los Angeles.

 

State

A 71-year old man suffered serious injuries when he was struck by a cowardly hit-and-run driver while riding his bike in San Marcos Thursday evening.

Fresno police are looking for a bike thief who used a slingshot to bust out a car window, then reached inside to grab the garage remote and make off with a bicycle.

A new Santa Cruz county supervisor booted two members off the county Bicycle Advisory Committee, replacing them with his own candidates.

Speaking of Santa Cruz, a Texas letter writer makes a poignant plea for a proposed bike trail, noting his brother was killed crashing his ebike into a median, on a street he wouldn’t have been riding if that Santa Cruz trail had been built.

East Bay bicyclists are complaining about armed robbers who are lying in wait to steal bikes from unsuspecting riders in the hills around Oakland and Berkeley.

 

National

NPR takes a look at the bike theft epidemic and what you can do about it; the story also notes that over half a million bikes are now registered with Bike Index.

A writer for Wired is no fan of a three-wheeled e-cargo bike from Bunch, calling it awkward, graceless and uncomfortable, even though her husband insists on liking it.

A car website wonders if an ebike tax credit would be enough to get your out of your car.

This is who we share the road with. A Portland man faces a hate crime charge, as well as attempted assault, reckless driving and unlawful use of a weapon charges, for attempting to run down another driver after yelling a racist slur, in what may or may not have started as a road rage incident.

Now bike thieves aren’t even waiting for new bikes to hit the market before stealing them, as someone stole a one-of-a-kind pre-production Canfield mountain bike from the back of a vehicle in Salt Lake City.

Family and friends of a San Antonio, Texas man are still waiting for justice, two years after he was run down by a drunk driver while riding his bike.

Transgender cyclocross legend Molly Cameron says cyclists need to take a strong stand against recently passed anti-trans legislation in Arkansas; the state is slated to host a ‘cross World Cup event this October, and the cyclocross world championships the following year. As usual, you can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

Kindhearted community members in upstate New York pitched in to buy a 14-year old autistic boy a new, customized three-wheeled bike — complete with his name embossed on the rear basket — after his stolen bike was recovered in an unrideable condition.

A Maryland paper reports distracted drivers killed nine people every day in the US in 2019. Far too many of those victims are the ones who aren’t wrapped in a couple tons of glass and steel.

In Florida, drivers don’t even have to be alive to hurt a bike rider. A speeding driver was killed after losing control and smashing into a tree; the car then careened on to hit someone riding a bike, who had to be flown for emergency care.

 

International

Cycling Weekly suggests eleven ways to give your faithful bicycle that new bike feeling. Without, you know, re-adjusting it so nothing fits quite right.

Road.cc offers tips for Brits on how to buy a new bike this year, despite the bicycle shortage driven by the pandemic bike boom.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole an autistic English boy’s bicycle as he was delivering newspapers; the victim was dedicated enough to finish his route on foot.

It takes a major schmuck to steal a British man’s bike after he was rushed to the hospital after getting hit by a driver.

Irish thieves are using axel grinders, muggings and home break-ins to fuel a surge in stolen bikes; police warn people not to take matters into their own hands if they spot their stolen bike for sale online.

A Malaysian newspaper looks at the coming digital trends in bicycling.

 

Competitive Cycling

Danish cyclist Kasper Asgreen won his first Tour of Flanders on Sunday, with a perfectly timed attack to overtake leader Mathieu Van der Poel with about 800 feet to go.

Twenty-eight-year-old Annemiek van Vleuten won the women’s Tour of Flanders, ten years after the Dutch rider claimed her first Flanders title at 18.

Swiss cyclist Michael Schär became the first rider busted under UCI’s new prohibition on littering during Sunday’s Tour of Flanders. Which is an odd thing to call tossing a water bottle to fans lining the route.

Schär wasn’t the only rider to get the boot, though, as Astana’s Yevgeniy Fedorov and Alpecin-Fenix’s Otto Vergaerde were both DQ’d when Fedorov brake checked Vergaerde, who responded by slamming himself into Fedorov.

Cycling Weekly offers five talking points from the race.

French pro Nacer Bouhanni insists he’s not a thug after slamming Britain’s Jake Stewart into the barriers during a mad sprint to the finish at the one-day Cholet-Pays de la Loire last week, even though he faces a potential ban for dangerous sprinting. Is it just me, or does his “I’m not a thug!” sound a little too reminiscent of Nixon’s “I am not a crook!”?

 

Finally…

No, bike lanes aren’t supposed to be passing lanes, regardless of what some drivers seem to think; then again, bike trails aren’t for cars, either. Before sharing a bicycle ride with a fellow Bollywood star, make sure he knows how to ride one.

And that feeling when a headline typo cuts a little too close to the bone.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask. 

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

Metro considers shifting highway funds to active transportation, and LA Walks calls for saving Encino bike/ped bridge

April 2, 2021 / / 3 comments

Metro wants to know what you think.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is looking for public input on a proposal that would divert funding currently earmarked for highways to support active transportation and Complete Streets projects.

Here’s how The Source, Metro’s in-house blog, explains it.

In June 2020, Metro’s Board of Directors directed staff to explore ways to modernize the agency’s Highway Program to better align it with policy goals of reducing vehicle miles traveled while exploring the expansion of eligible projects to include active transportation and “complete streets” improvements that focus on all forms of mobility rather than just vehicles.

The changes, if implemented, would open certain Measure R and Measure M funding that is now reserved only for traditional highway or roadway projects to new types of improvements. Those improvements include bikeways, sidewalk and pedestrian safety improvements, bus prioritization and explicitly using reductions in vehicle miles traveled as a criterion for planning and designing projects.

The plan, which has already received input from local governments, has been split into two sections, here and here.

Email your comments to MMGuidelines@metro.net, or snail mail them to:

LA Metro
One Gateway Plaza, M/S 99-23-3
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Attention: MR MM Guidelines Revisions

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Last week we learned about Caltrans plans to tear down an existing bike and pedestrian bridge over the 101 Freeway in Encino, while breaking their promise to replace it with a new and improved version.

Now an email from Los Angeles Walks is calling on them to reverse a bad decision.

Last week, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) announced their intention to permanently remove and not replace a pedestrian bridge connecting communities divided by the 101 Freeway.

While Caltrans suggested other alternatives for pedestrians, such as traffic signals and crosswalks, the removal of this bridge significantly limits the mobility of those walking or rolling. Currently, the Encino Ave. Pedestrian Bridge is located in at the intersection of Encino Ave. and Killion St (see arrow).

If removed, this reduces the number of options for residents in the area to cross the 101 freeway and places at risk a similar bridge on Amestoy Ave. about half a mile to the east. With both bridges gone local Angenelos would need to walk up to 2 miles to cross the 101 at White Oak Ave. or Balboa Blvd. Or they’ll have to walk up Louise Ave., a four lane road with scant pedestrian signage and infrastructure.

This bridge provides easy and safe access for those walking or rolling to go between the neighborhood and Burbank Ave., where you’ll find grocery stores, a pre-school, businesses, and other important community assets.

In 2019 alone, these local roads (displayed on the map) saw nearly 50 collisions. That same year the community experienced a horrific street racing crash along Burbank Blvd. that killed a 19 and 25 year old. If LA City is dedicated to its #VisionZero commitment (to reach 0 traffic deaths by 2025), tearing down a community-connecting pedestrian bridge over one of City’s largest and busiest freeways is the wrong way to go.

Our call to Action! 🚨

Let Caltrans know that the community, our seniors, our students need their pedestrian bridge. And we’ve made it easy for you!

Email Caltrans Now!

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This is no April fools joke, as a new study shows popup bike lanes really do increase bicycling rates.

This is what the New York Times had to say.

The research, published online Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that in cities where bike infrastructure was added, cycling had increased up to 48 percent more than in cities that did not add bike lanes.

Dense cities where public transit was already popular generally saw the largest increases. In cities with lower density, more cars per capita and higher traffic speeds, the increase in cycling was more modest. Paris, which implemented its bike lane program early and had the largest pop-up bike lane program of any of the cities in the study, had one of the largest increases in riders.

“It almost seems like a natural law that the more infrastructure you have, the more cycling you will have,” said Sebastian Kraus, the study’s lead author.

The increases held up even after taking weather and changes in public transit supply and demand into account.

Then there was this.

Bicycles, unlike cars, do not emit greenhouse gases. Matthew Raifman, a doctoral student in environmental health at the Boston University School of Public Health, found in a separate study that investments in infrastructure for cycling and walking more than paid for themselves once the health benefits were taken into account.

“They increase our physical activity and reduce levels of greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, which all have impacts on health,” Mr. Raifman said.

Which is about as good an argument for transferring Metro highway funds to healthier and more efficient uses as you could make.

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The former Mayor Pete could have ridden in a chauffeured limo to his first cabinet meeting as US Transportation Secretary.

If he chose to ride a bike, it was to send a message.

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Thanks to Keith Johnson for the heads-up.

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Betty White was one of us.

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

Cycliq shared a pair of punishment passes, as a truck driver passes safely once, then dipped into a bike lane to apparently send a frightening message. And a driver on a country road can’t be bothered to slow down literally for a second or two so a car coming in the opposite direction can pass, and takes it out on the person on the bike, instead.

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

This one fits in both categories, as a Hermosa Beach letter writer calls on the city to remove the “silly” sharrows on Hermosa Ave, after someone on a bicycle hit his son while he was crossing the street. Seriously, slow the hell down and ride carefully around pedestrians, especially kids. But just wait until someone tells this guy about cars. And don’t get me started on sharrows, which exist primarily to help drivers improve their aim. 

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Local

Bike Talk posted the lengthy public comment portion of last night’s meeting to discuss remaking Eagle Rock’s Colorado Blvd to support the NoHo to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit line. And hopefully, make it a lot more livable and less car-centric.

Metro Bike’s ebikes will be free to unlock this month, although standard rates will apply after that.

 

State

The San Diego Bike Coalition is in the midst of a semi-virtual Pedal With Your Peeps scavenger hunt, including a self-guided tour with peep stops tomorrow. Thanks to Robert Leone for the link.

Berkeley bike riders are being victimized by armed robbers who steal their bicycles while riding in the East Bay Hills; at least three people have been bike-jacked in the last week.

 

National

A writer for Electrek goes offroad riding on the $1099 RadMission ebike, and rates it “great.”

A Honolulu woman was the victim of a strange strong arm robbery when another woman repeatedly whacked her with a skateboard before making off with her bike — then bizarrely brought it back and walked away.

The rich get richer. Oregon bike riders will soon enjoy the benefits of a new $11.3 million program to build offroad bikeways around the the state. Much missed former SCAG Active Transportation Planner Alan Thompson heads the ambitious project.

A ghost bike for the five Las Vegas bicyclists killed by a meth-using truck driver was moved to a public school in downtown Summerlin; the plan is to rotate the memorial to different locations in the city raise awareness.

Colorado’s Tourism Office explains how to build a route through the high country wilderness by threading together by a series of scenic and historic byways. All of which are even better by bicycle. And say hi to my old stomping grounds on the Cache la Poudre River while you’re at it.

An Ohio girl became a published author while still in kindergarten, penning Bug on a Bike after getting inspired while riding with her father.

Streetsblog says yes, it’s illegal to ride your bike after smoking weed in New York, which just passed a bill legalizing recreational use. But not that illegal, since the state doesn’t have a specific statute banning biking under the influence, unlike California.

A series of weekend popup shops will bring high-end bike brands to New York that aren’t normally available in the US, including brands from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Australia and Italy. Someone needs to do this in Los Angeles, too.

An unlicensed driver living in the country illegally will serve up to 12 years behind bars for killing a Pennsylvania bike rider, then face deportation once he gets out. Although he couldn’t legally get a license in Pennsylvania, because he was in the country illegally.

 

International

Pink Bike collects the highlights of yesterday’s bike-related April fools pranks. I did kinda like the homeopathic mountain bike first aid kit.

Popular Science offers advice on how to get a bike during the worldwide bike shortage brought on by the pandemic-driven bike boom.

Cyclist examines the inside story of the perfect storm that resulted in an industry wide bike shortage.

A new report from Britain’s largest bike retailer suggests the bike boom is poised to continue post-pandemic.

No bias here. A London paper freaks out over a reality star’s video message encouraging people to get outside, recorded as he rode his bike “in the middle of the road.” Although they do approve of his helmet and uh, “bulging muscles.”

A UK website offers a head-to-pavement guide to gear for bike touring.

This one’s going on my own bike bucket list. A trio of British groups has developed a 2,000-mile bicycling route connecting all 42 Church of England cathedrals in England and Wales.

India’s abrupt lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic forced millions of people to walk, bike or hitchhike back to their hometowns; for many, life may never be the same.

 

Competitive Cycling

Both the men’s and women’s Paris-Roubaix races have been postponed until October due to the pandemic.

VeloNews examines the technical aspects of how Irish cyclist Ronan McLaughlin became the latest in a long line of recent Everesting record holders, with a time of 6 hours, 40 minutes and 54 seconds, in part by focusing on shaving time on the descents; the solo attempt involves making multiple uphill climbs equivalent to the height of Mt. Everest.

 

Finally…

Fixing flats with a water bottle. Offroad Viking biking on an Alaskan glacier.

And striking a blow for bike equality by riding up to the drive-through window to rob a bank.

Although maybe he should have picked one where they didn’t already know him.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask. 

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

$20 billion for bikes in Biden Transpo bill, “Beautiful” Eagle Rock BRT meeting tonight, and comic artist on Bike Talk

April 1, 2021 / / Comments Off on $20 billion for bikes in Biden Transpo bill, “Beautiful” Eagle Rock BRT meeting tonight, and comic artist on Bike Talk

I’m doing my best to keep this an April fools-free zone today.

Which means I’m not going to play any tricks on you, and I’ll do my best not to link to any. So if anything slips through, let me know.

As always, I want you to be able to trust whatever you may see here. 

Photo by Skitterphoto from Pexels.

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Now that’s more like it.

The Guardian reports President Biden’s new $2 trillion infrastructure plan will include much needed funding for bikes.

Protect cyclists and pedestrians: Bikes, too, would get a share of the billions. The package includes $20 billion for safety – including funds to ‘reduce crashes and fatalities, especially for cyclists and pedestrians.’

That’s in addition to funding for transit to cut traffic congestion and reduce the number of cars on the road.

Let’s hope the bike funding — and the bill itself — survives what promises to be a brutal congressional process.

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Tonight is the last scheduled virtual public meeting to weigh in on the Beautiful Blvd plan for Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock.

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Now this should be a fun conversation.

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Here’s your chance to work in advocacy on the east side of the Bay Area.

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No bias here.

When a Pennsylvania buggy gets right hooked by a truck driver, the state police blame the buggy driver for somehow riding into the truck’s blind spot and crashing into the truck.

Sure, let’s go with that.

Evidently, those Amish buggies must really haul ass to undertake a truck driver.

Never mind that the horse, which somehow wasn’t involved in the crash, would have been the first thing to strike the truck in that bizarro scenario.

Thanks to Mike Bike for the heads-up.

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I couldn’t get the video to load, but maybe you’ll have better luck than I did.

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Hello, Wilshire Blvd? Hello?

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This is what we could be doing in Los Angeles.

And what we’ll have to do if we want to reduce the city’s crippling addiction to motor vehicles, let alone make a dent in our massive contribution to climate change.

But we’re not.

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

A Michigan man faces up to ten years behind bars after pleading guilty to beating a Black teenager with a chain bicycle lock, just because of his race. Seriously, there’s not a pit deep enough for someone like that. And no, there’s no guarantee that he rides a bike; he could have just used the chain lock for something else. But still. 

Teenage bike riders swarmed and pummeled a man to stop him from heckling people on Miami Beach; one boy was arrested and could face charges.

A Vancouver man faces charges for attacking a truck passenger participating in an anti-mask rally with his bicycle.

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Local

No news is good news, right?

 

State

San Jose-area drivers somehow find it impossible to believe that a distracted driver seriously injured a bike rider, concluding that the guy on the bike had to be at fault. Evidently, they’ve never watched someone try to drive while using a handheld phone. Other than themselves, of course.

 

National

Outside’s Joe Lindsey offers advice on how to ensure your bike is ready for riding this spring. Although for those of us in Southern California, the easiest way to make sure you’re ready for spring is to keep riding all winter.

Bicycling offers advice on how women riders can avoid seat pain and saddle sores, along with other common problems.

A reviewer for Gear Junkie discovers he’s become a bike snob, after doing his best to hate Cannondale’s new ebike, and failing.

Wired recommends everything you need for an epic bikepacking trip.

Call it a national park ciclovía. For the next two weeks, Yellowstone NP will be open to people on bicycles before it opens to drivers on the 16th.

The residents of a tiny Arkansas town remember a man they called Bicycle Charley, known by all after 50 years of selling the local paper from a trailer towed behind his bicycle.

Three kindhearted Oklahoma cops dug into their own pockets to replace a kid’s bike when it from stolen from an elementary school, taking car to replace it with the same make and model he had before.

A Cincinatti man copped a plea for the hit-and-run death of a prominent attorney as the lawyer rode his bike last year; he now faces up to 11 years behind bars after pleading to vehicular homicide and fleeing the scene of a crash.

A 25-year old Brooklyn woman eases her pandemic lockdown anxiety by learning to ride a bike for the first time.

A new video of New York’s First Avenue bike lane shows the people on two wheels are going to need more space, as cars barely outnumber bikes on the street.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, ER doctors were forced to confront the daily toll of traffic-related injuries and deaths; a New York physician says enough!

A Philadelphia man will face a murder charge after turning himself in for fatally shooting an 11-year old boy, and injuring the 14-year old boy he was riding with.

Tragic news from Florida where a man was killed just minutes after getting tossed out of a rail yard, when he tried to cross under a stopped train car with his bicycle.

 

International

Road.cc recommends their favorite bicycle wheels of 2021, with prices starting at the equivalent of a surprisingly low $344. Although prices are given British pounds, so cost and availability may vary.

If your main concern is looking cute on your bicycle, Yahoo has the bikes for you.

An 18-year old man was convicted of ramming an 18-year old London bike rider with his car, then getting out and repeatedly stabbing him in a brutal attack.

British motorists decide a spiral intersection design intended to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians by eliminating right-of-way is just too damn confusing.

An op-ed in an Irish paper says transportation is too often considered gender neutral, but active transportation plans must take differing needs of “women, children, the elderly, those with a disability and different ethnic minorities” into account.

The bike boom has hit the Philippines, as bike riders take to the streets while confronting government efforts to restrict riders.

Surprisingly, a British man got his bike back two years after it was stolen in an Australian town, when he was 102 days into a record-setting attempt to be the youngest person to ride solo across the world; he was literally left with just the clothes on his back after everything else was taken. A 46-year old man faces charges after being caught riding the stolen bike.

 

Competitive Cycling

A Paralympic cyclist is using her platform to be a voice for others, after discovering adaptive bicycles could be modified to meet the needs of differently abled bike riders. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

 

Finally…

Bad enough if you’re going to steal a bicycle, but don’t shoot a police dog when they come for you; thankfully, he’s recovering — the dog, not the jerk who shot him. That feeling when you suffer fatal injuries riding BMX, but just won’t die.

And a Houston man learns the hard way that riding a bike on the freeway is illegal — and the cop behind him wasn’t giving him a police escort.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CM5WjpMHbLZ/?utm_source=ig_embed

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Thanks to Matthew R for his generous donation to help keep SoCal’s best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day; donations of any size are always appreciated. 

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask. 

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

Bike riders come in all sizes, VOA visits Venice Electric Light Bike Parade, and LACBC cultivates microbial bike ride

March 31, 2021 / / Comments Off on Bike riders come in all sizes, VOA visits Venice Electric Light Bike Parade, and LACBC cultivates microbial bike ride

My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence. 

It probably won’t come as any surprise that my diabetes once again got the better of me. 

After struggling for weeks with high blood sugar after a new doctor — and new insurance — switched one of my medications, it took a sudden and unexpected nose dive Monday night, knocking me out for the rest of the night. 

And as you can see, when I finally came back to life, there was a dog sleeping on my head. 

………

They get it.

Thanks to Shimano for a rare sympathetic look at bike riders who don’t fit the typical skinny mold.

The film follows two women, who self-identify as fat, on a “two-day bikepacking trip along the Corvallis to Coast Trail, a 65-mile route through the gorgeous Oregon Coast Range.”

And demonstrates that the sheer joy of riding a bicycle has nothing to do with the size of your body.

Seriously, watch it.

Then the next time you’re tempted to indulge in a little fat shaming, on or off a bike, just…

Don’t.

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The Voice of America takes a joyful look at the weekly Electric Light Parade in Venice Beach.

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The LACBC pens a Twitter thread on their self-guided bike ride for the upcoming month. Just click on the tweet to open the thread.

Twitter post

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If this doesn’t make you want to ride a bike in Trinidad & Tobago, nothing will.

Or better yet, to Trinidad & Tobago. Although you might want to catch a lift for that last wet stage.

https://twitter.com/GreenEDGEteam/status/1376595009408016392

Thanks to Stormin’ Norman for forwarding the video.

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Not only is London’s equivalent of Slow Streets not slowing down emergency responses, they may actually be improving them.

https://twitter.com/citycyclists/status/1375443891474812931

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GCN explains how to keep your bike free from rust.

Because as any Neil Young fan knows, rust never sleeps.

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

No windshield bias here. A writer on a South Dakota talk radio site is shocked to learn that bicyclists are allowed to ride in the roadway — even when it’s raining!

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that a British police department’s campaign to prevent close passing of bicyclists is met with a barrage of anti-bike comments online. Then again, even the most innocuous pro-bike statements can bring the haters out.

Once again, someone has tried to sabotage a bikeway, as metal tacks were strewn along a popular New Zealand bike lane for the third time in four years.

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Local

It’s not your imagination. Passenger vehicle traffic is up to pre-pandemic levels in Los Angeles, and other cities around the US. Which is exactly what we’ve been warning would happen if the city didn’t invest in safe, efficient spaces for other forms of transportation during the pandemic down time.

Metro still doesn’t get it. The LA County transit agency continues to propose a watered-down alternative to the community-driven Beautiful Blvd plan for a Bus Rapid Transit line along Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock, omitting the expanded sidewalks, sidewalk-level protected bike lanes and more sidewalk trees residents have called for.

 

State

Chula Vista voted to rename the city’s portion of the Bayshore Bikeway for former mayor, county supervisor and bikeway booster Greg Cox.

A Santa Barbara bike rider suffered abdominal and torsal injuries in a collision with a hit-and-run driver; police are looking for the driver of a green pickup truck.

A Fresno man fondly remembers riding his bike to deliver the local paper in the early ’60s, when the Sunday paper was almost too much for the 90-pound, 12-year old boy.

After getting their Covid shots, a pair of San Francisco men decide to take Krispy Kreme up on its offer for free donuts by hitting up every Bay Area location in a single day. And would have succeeded if their ebike batteries hadn’t died.

 

National

Bloomberg rightly blames laws that lock in dangerous street designs and allow vehicles known to increase the risk to non-motorists for the shocking rise in US traffic fatalities during the pandemic.

Bicycling explains how to use a spoke wrench on your bike. And Yahoo explains it for those of us blocked by Bicycling.

Dutch ebike maker Van Moof says the US is ready to embrace ebikes in big ways.

The meth-fueled crash that killed five Las Vegas bike riders sped up a survivor’s plan to open his own bike shop. Which was just the second biggest decision he made as a result, after proposing to his girlfriend.

North Dakota joins Utah in becoming the latest US states to approve a modified Idaho Stop Law, aka Safety Stop, allowing bike riders to treat stop signs as yields; a similar bill has been introduced in the California legislature.

There’s something seriously wrong when the cops have to remind Ohio drivers that an offroad bike trail isn’t a traffic free shortcut for motor vehicles.

A kindhearted New York cop raised funds to replace the stolen ebike a teen boy living in a group home had just purchased, so he could start working for a food delivery service.

An Atlanta writer explains how to teach your kids to ride safely in a city built for cars. Good skills to have anywhere else, too.

Atlanta Magazine examines the Black bike clubs cranking the city’s two-wheeled revolution.

Family members speak out after a South Florida pastor was run down by a hit-and-run driver on a Miami causeway, leaving him in a coma. If the driver wanted to get away with it, maybe she shouldn’t have used valet parking right afterwards.

Horrifying crash in Miami, as the driver of a three-wheeled car plowed into a group of bicyclists standing on the sidewalk, injuring four people and leaving one woman with critical injuries.

Still more from the country’s most dangerous state for bike riders and pedestrians, as a 75-year old Florida man training for a 500-mile bike ride was killed by a 79-year old woman, who drove into him for “unknown reasons.” Maybe the reason was she shouldn’t have been driving in the first place.

A proposed law would require Florida drivers to move over to pass a bike rider or pedestrian, or at least give riders a three-foot passing distance.

 

International

London’s Independent looks at the best saddle bags for your bike.

There’s a special place in hell for the man who kicked a 13-year old English girl’s wheel to knock her off her bike, then repeatedly kicked her in the stomach before threatening her with a knife, in an apparent random assault.

A professor in the UK says bicycling is ten times more important than electric cars in fighting climate change.

A book excerpt takes a fascinating look at the role bikes, and the female arsonists who rode them, played in winning the vote for British women. And casually mentions Audrey Hepburn used her bicycle to deliver resistance leaflets in her Dutch hometown, and feminist icon Simone de Beauvoir rode a stolen bicycle with Jean-Paul Sartre in Nazi-occupied France.

Great idea. A woman in the UK has created a directory of businesses that deliver by bicycle.

It turns out the Russian consulate employee suspected of stealing hundreds of bikes from French riders was uncovered when the former deputy mayor of Strasbourg spotted his own stolen bike for sale online for half its original value.

 

Competitive Cycling

Italy’s Vini Zabù cycling team faces suspension for a second doping case in the same twelve-month period, after Matteo De Bonis tested positive for EPO following Matteo Spreafico’s positive in last October’s Giro d’Italia. If the finding is confirmed, the team could be barred from this year’s race, which returns to its traditional May start for 2021. But hey, the era of doping is over, though, right?

Team USA took four titles in this year’s Pan American cycling championships in Puerto Rico, which could bode well for the upcoming Olympics.

Former pro Phil Gaimon can kiss his KOM on Malibu’s Piuma Road goodbye, after ex-collegiate rower Drake Deuel took a six-month sabbatical from his job at Zwift to hunt Strava KOMs across the US.

New LED signs are warning cyclists about obstacles on race routes, inspired by Alberto Contador’s crash into a traffic island in the 2016 Tour de France.

 

Finally…

If you have to get run down by a hit-and-run driver, it might as well be a porn star. If you’re going to forage for parts in a bike shop dumpster, maybe pick one that’s not right behind a police station — and leave the marijuana, fentanyl and meth at home.

And riding tandem is always easier when your partner helps.

https://twitter.com/koan4u/status/1376523382733238274

Thanks to Keith Johnson for the link.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask. 

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

80-year old man riding bike killed by alleged stop sign-running DUI driver in Newport Beach Sunday afternoon

March 31, 2021 / / One comment

Sometimes the needless death of an innocent person doesn’t merit even a few inches in the local paper.

Let alone a passing comment on the nightly news.

On Monday, I started hearing reports of someone killed in a collision while riding a bicycle in Costa Mesa, based on posts from the notoriously unreliable Nextdoor app.

By Tuesday morning, the location had shifted to nearby Newport Beach, along with comments suggesting the driver had been arrested. But still no confirmation from the coroner’s office or any of the local news outlets.

Sadly, that changed with this cryptic press release from the OC Coroner.

The coroner reported that 80-year old Ernest Adams died at a Santa Ana medical center early Monday morning, following a collision somewhere in Newport Beach Sunday afternoon.

That was followed by a post on a Newport Beach news blog placing the 3:16 pm collision at 16th Street and Irvine Avenue in Newport Beach.

According to the site, multiple witnesses reported seeing the suspect blow through a stop sign before slamming into Adam’s bike; a street view shows a residential street controlled by a four-way stop, with bike lanes in three directions, next to Newport Harbor High School.

Twenty-year old Norwalk resident Alexis Garcialopez was reportedly arrested for DUI causing serious injury after failing a roadside sobriety test.

Hopefully, that will be upgraded to vehicular homicide in the wake of Adams’ death. Because after 80 years on this earth, he definitely deserved a better ending.

This is at least the 17th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second that I’m aware of in Orange County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ernest Adams and all his family and loved ones.

Thanks to Bill Sellin and Lois for the heads-up.

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