Morning Links: Flooded waterway bike paths, sampling new lighted bike safety backpack, and #peaceontheroad

January 23, 2017 / / One comment

As you may know, this site has long been a supporter of local bike shops.

So starting today, we’re putting a dollar figure on that support, with our first-ever sale on ad space.

Through the end of this month, BikinginLA will be offering deep discounts on our usual advertising rates just for local bike shops, or other small businesses in the bike industry. For more information, or to find out if your business qualifies, email the address on the Support and Advertising page.

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Mike Wilkinson forwards a reminder of the primary purpose of the popular Coyote Creek bike path.

Similar views can be found today on the Ballona Creek and the LA River pathways, as well as virtually any bike path along one of Southern California’s usually arid riverbeds.

Just in case you need a reminder of why local authorities sometimes seem to overreact by closing the paths whenever rain seems imminent.

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Look what came from India last week.

As the Onion once put it, “Visibility is crucial when biking. Ride with a lit highway flare in each hand.”

Since that’s not always practical, the Aster backpack from Lumos comes complete with built-in reflectors, front lights, tail lights, turn signals and brake lights.

I’m not normally a fan of the visibility arms race — any driver actually paying attention to the road should be able to see a cyclist without making us dress up like brilliantly lit dystopian clowns — it does promise to combine practicality with safety.

And while I’m more of a messenger bag guy, I’ll look forward trying this out and letting you know what I think.

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Nice piece from the Racers Who Ride Foundation, as pro racer Ozz Negri, Jr. discusses his love of bicycling and what #peaceontheroad is all about.

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Sad news from the world of cyclocross, as a Belgian coach apparently committed suicide after one of his junior cyclists failed a dope test, and a 15-year old British U-16 national champ unexpectedly died in his sleep Friday night.

World Champion Peter Sagan discusses the loss of anonymity that come with his cycling success.

Irish cycling great Sean Kelly says a chance encounter with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor on their South African honeymoon helped launch his pro career.

An Aussie paper talks with retired pro Cadel Evans, crediting him with sparking a Lycra revolution in the country.

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Local

Metro is holding a meeting this Thursday to discuss the first segment of the planned Rail to River trail through South LA.

Bike-friendly Santa Monica doubles down on plans for a sustainable future. Meanwhile, the city council will vote to approve a contract to study bicycle intersection treatments, including bike boxes and detection devices to help traffic signals identify bike riders.

 

State

Organizers of Saturday’s Tour de Palm Springs had to work through the night to plan an alternate route after several streets were flooded by Friday’s rain.

Marin County officials use speed guns to measure how fast mountain bikes ride on county trails. And learn the overwhelming majority of riders obey regulations.

Stockton’s interim police chief started on the road to becoming a cop when a pair of bullies stole his Schwinn back in sixth grade.

 

National

This year’s RAGBRAI will take an easier route across northern Iowa.

Winter bicycling is spiking in popularity in the Chicago area, despite the cold.

An Illinois family has given up their car and taken to their bikes as their primary form of transportation, and are documenting the experience to help others understand how to be less reliant on cars.

I want to be like him when I grow up. An 80-year old New Hampshire man still rides 1,000 miles a year.

A Staten Island website says bicyclists and pedestrians bear responsibility for avoiding crashes under Vision Zero, too.

DC area planners are measuring cycling level of stress to plan lower stress routes that would encourage more people to ride bikes. Although now stress is good for you.

A Norfolk VA paper asks if the city council is crazy for going forward with a 10 mile, $62 million bike path. They have a point; according to a road builders association, they could build a four lane highway for the same price. However, the price tag also includes prep work for future high speed transit, even though voters recently killed plans for light rail.

 

International

Bikeshare is credited with getting more women on bikes.

The executive director of a Winnipeg, Canada bike advocacy group calls on the city to adopt Vision Zero, for reason that should be obvious.

North London police get it, saying bicyclists will no longer be fined for riding on the sidewalk, and they’ll look into the reasons why people would feel the need to choose sidewalks over riding on the road.

A British councilor gets it, too, saying “Cyclists should not be expected to take their lives in their hands every time they set out on the roads.”

A new survey shows a fifth of Brits haven’t ridden a bike in over ten years, and one and ten can’t even remember how. Evidently, not even riding a bike is just like riding a bike.

This is the cost of traffic violence. After a UK musician was killed in crash while riding his bike, his band mates release the final recording he made just days before his death as a free download in his honor.

Way to kill a burgeoning bike movement. Sales for pedal-assist ebikes have plummeted in Malta after the country required helmets and registration. That should serve as fair warning for those of us here in the US.

A Malaysian city councilor calls for making Penang the cycling capital of the island nation.

A team of self-appointed bike vigilantes hunt through the streets and alleys of Guangzhou, China for bikeshare bikes that have been appropriated for private use.

Chinese-made bikes are taking over the world; 93.5% of bikes sold in the US last year were made in China.

 

Finally…

It takes a major scumbag to drag a dog behind his bike. And anyone can ride a bike, but how many can say they’ve been felicitated?

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On a personal note, it was six years ago today we took a chance on a very pissed off adult dog with major abandonment issues. 

Which turned out to be one of smartest decisions I’ve ever made.

Rescue dogs are the best.

Category: Morning Links, Product Reviews / Tags: , , , , ,

Weekend Links: LA election debates, reforming CA Trans Commission, hi-viz skin, and better libidos through biking

January 21, 2017 / / Comments Off on Weekend Links: LA election debates, reforming CA Trans Commission, hi-viz skin, and better libidos through biking

Please forgive yesterday’s unexcused absence.

The sudden failure of a hard drive cable took my laptop down without warning, wiping out all the links I’d been saving, and leaving me without access to this site.

The good news it, it was a quick, easy and relatively affordable fix. So we’re back in business, and serving up a virtual smorgasbord of fresh, hot bike links.

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Local

Bike the Vote LA provides a list of upcoming candidate debates before the March city elections.

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton talks with Bike SGV Executive Director Wes Reutimann about better bike parking for the Gold Line.

In case you wondered, this is why many bike paths shut down before heavy rains. And if you were planning to use the protected bike lanes on the California Incline this weekend, you might want to plan another route.

Santa Monica is conducting yet another of their frequent bike and pedestrian safety enforcement days this Monday. You know the drill; follow the letter of the law until you cross back into the scofflaw loving arms of LA.

A Long Beach city councilmember says people are free to push for changes to the number and color of the green bollards on Studebaker Road, but they were put there to slow traffic and improve safety.

 

State

A bill to restructure California’s Transportation Commission would require at least one of the six members to have expertise in bicycle and pedestrian safety; two would have a background in sustainable transportation, one in mass transit, and two working with disadvantaged communities.

Calbike is looking for an administrative manager.

After starting out with ambitious plans for a Complete Street makeover of San Diego’s El Cajon Blvd, the city settles on a watered-down approach with buffered bike lanes instead of protected lanes.

Bring your rain gear. Today’s Tour de Palm Springs will roll rain or shine. Or 40 mph winds.

This is the cost of traffic violence. Thirty-three years later, a writer in Half Moon Bay still struggles with the hit-and-run death of his bike-riding father two days before his dad’s 38th birthday.

A Redding man is facing a murder charge for calmly riding away on his bike after setting a gas station clerk on fire; authorities still don’t know why, though.

 

National

Lawsuits are flying back and forth at the new company formed by America’s last remaining Tour de France winner to make low-cost carbon fiber, but not for bikes.

Bicycling explains why you should keep riding outside all winter, and how to organize a bike pub crawl.

Men’s Journal offers commuter gear every cyclist needs. None of which anyone really needs, but most of which seems pretty good for a change.

Who needs hi-viz when your skin can glow in the dark?

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Oregon will build a bike path to fill a gap in a bike lane where a man was killed last year.

A Colorado man beat depression by bicycling across the US with just $600 to his name; now he’s preparing to race 5,770 miles across Russia.

The war on bikes continues, as a Montana legislator introduces a bill that would ban bikes from virtually every two lane road in the state. Which is most of the highways in the state, as I recall.

If you build it, they will come. Nearly one million people used the bike trail system in Sioux Falls SD last year, in a city of just 165,000.

Caught on video: A road raging Wisconsin driver rolls a stop sign, then repeatedly attempts to cut off a bike rider before getting out of his car to confront him, and complaining that the cyclist is taking up too much of the road. Even though the sharrows indicate he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.

The bike-born coffee and bread deliveries must go through, even in a Minnesota winter.

When a local hotel is razed, an Indiana woman asks for, and receives, the 600 pound boulder she used to sit on to watch her late husband, a county sheriff, ride off to DC every year to honor officers killed in the line of duty.

A Michigan TV station lists three surprising benefits of bicycling, including boosting your libido. Which probably isn’t much of a surprise for those of us who do.

Amsterdam’s bike mayor is taking her act on the road in an attempt to remake the former New Amsterdam into a bike riding city.

Philadelphia police are getting serious about ticketing people who park in bike lanes.

Now that’s more like it. A Pennsylvania man gets five to twelve years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a motorized bike rider who was on his way to see his dying father.

Life is cheap in Louisiana, where a hit-and-run driver walks after killing a cyclist; his victim wasn’t killed in the crash, but drowned in a ditch because the jerk who hit him didn’t bother to stop. Something’s seriously wrong with the prosecutors who made this deal; instead of being released on probation, he should be doing hard time on a 2nd murder conviction.

New Orleans is launching a fleet of 700 custom-designed bikeshare bikes at 70 stations around the city.

 

International

Cycling News asks if sexual abuse will be cycling’s next big scandal.

A British Columbia snow biker wants his cliff-hanging ski-bike back.

Bad British roads killed or injured 99 bike riders over a recent two year period. Meanwhile, in a totally unrelated story, the BBC asks if sidewalk riding should be legal in the country.

A Belfast woman is looking for the hit-and-run cyclist who killed her dog. I’ve had to dodge a number of dogs whose irresponsible owners let them wander across pathways on a loose leash. But, if you can’t avoid hitting a dog, human or any other animal, just stop already.

Caught on video too: Aussie police are looking for a sidewalk raging pedestrian who grabbed a 62-year old woman’s bike by the rear wheel and flipped her over the handlebars, tossing her face-first into the pavement.

A Santa Barbara couple spends three weeks riding 600 miles around Taiwan.

 

Finally…

No, bikeshare bikes don’t grow on trees. Helmets have been around almost forever.

And your next bike could actually fly. But only if you define “bike” very loosely.

 

Category: General / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: SMMC benefits Milt Olin #HandsOff, Draft meet-up tonight, and LACBC Climate Ride diversity program

January 19, 2017 / / One comment

Late last year, David Kooi, the owner of Santa Monica Mountains Cyclery in Woodland Hills penned a great guest post for this site about the importance of supporting your local bike shop.

Now they’re showing their support for others, with a fundraiser for the Milt Olin Foundation’s #HandsOff Movement to celebrate the shop’s sixth anniversary. Donations of just five or ten dollars will enter you to win prizes ranging from lights and helmets, to a new $2,500 ebike.

I can’t think of a better cause.

The Milt Olin Foundation was born from the tragic death of entertainment executive Milt Olin, who was run down by a sheriff’s deputy as he was riding on Mulholland Highway; the deputy was distracted by his cellphone and onboard computer, and never saw Olin riding in the bike lane. Remarkably, no charges were ever filed.

His family channeled their grief into forming the foundation, which unveiled the #HandsOff app and program last year, urging drivers to pledge to keep their hands off their phones while driving and encouraging others to join them.

By supporting them, you can help save lives. And maybe even get some great bike gear while you’re at it.

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Tonight marks the second LA edition of Draft: A PeopleForBikes meet-up at Pure Cycles in Burbank, 713 N. Victory Blvd.

The free event, which runs from 7 to 9 pm, will feature several luminaries of the local bicycling community, along with food and craft beer from Golden Road Brewing.

  • Michelle Mowery, senior project coordinator for LA RiverWorks
  • Don Ward, founder of Wolfpack Hustle
  • Dorothy Wong, director of SoCalCross PRESTIGE SERIES
  • Naomi Iwasaki, director of neighborhood services at the Office of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Great Street Initiative
  • Members of the Zwift team.

The beer alone is worth the price of admission. Even though there isn’t any.

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Here’s what CiclaValley had to say about the Draft meet-up, as well as the SMMC anniversary celebration.

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The LACBC is looking for applicants for its Team LACBC Diversity Program, which is designed to help riders who might not have the resources to participate in a multi-day ride take part in this year’s Climate Ride.

Team LACBC participates annually in Climate Ride California (June 9-13), providing LA cyclists with an opportunity to support the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and raise awareness of sustainability, active transportation, and environmental causes. The annual group charity ride features an all-new route this year, exploring the stunning California Central Coast, departing from San Francisco on June 9 and winding up 300 miles later in San Luis Obispo on June 13.

Riders chosen as a result of the nominating process will receive $2500 toward the minimum Climate Ride fundraising requirement of $2800. In addition, they will receive:

• Free Climate Ride registration ($100 value)

• Equipment support of up to $1000 (cycling and camping gear, as needed)

• Transportation assistance to and from the Ride (as needed)

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Pro cyclist Mikel Landa gets it, saying that the decision by Australia’s Tour Down Under not to have podium girls sets an example other pro tours should follow/

Now that’s a crash. Spanish pro Joaquim Rodríguez goes over a guard rail on a training ride and flies down a steep ditch. Then just gets back on his bike and rides off.

A women’s pro cyclist explains what it’s like to go to boarding school with your cycling heroes.

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Local

The student government at traditionally bike-unfriendly USC discusses making the campus even more unfriendly to bicyclists by banishing bike riders to the periphery of the campus. Oddly, their rivals across town at bike-friendly UCLA don’t seem to have any problem welcoming bike-riding students and faculty on campus.

A Long Beach columnist writes a tongue-in-cheek piece about first-world problems, like bollards on a protected bike lane.

 

State

The Guardian looks at fat biking in California, as more ski areas take up the sport.

Placentia is asking for input on plans to revitalize the downtown area, which could include curb-protected bike lanes, judging by the drawing.

Costa Mesa will study the impact of a possible bike trail through Talbert Regional Park.

An Irvine police lieutenant is honored as one of America’s 40 under 40; he got started on his career path in high school when he was ticketed for riding his bike while wearing headphones.

Advisory groups in exclusive La Jolla continue fighting to keep bikeshare from besmirching their fair city, preferring one car parking space over a handful of bikes, and insisting the town’s “topography is not conducive to more bicycles.” Oddly, I didn’t have any problem with the topography when I lived and rode down that way.

Sad news from Bakersfield, as a woman has died after the bike she was riding was struck by a drunken hit-and-run driver; the driver may be the senior VP of a vineyards operation.

San Francisco’s supervisors vote to disrupt the disruptors, as writer for Forbes considers what the city’s backlash against a Chinese app-based bikeshare company says about East-West cultural differences.

America’s first protected bike lane was built 50 years ago in Davis.

A Davis columnist complains that killing a cyclist doesn’t seem to be against the law in California, as a woman walks when the DA decides there’s not enough evidence to get a conviction in the death of a cyclist competing in a time trial — even though she may have been on her phone at the time of the crash. And even though no one bothered to test her for drugs or alcohol.

 

National

Bike Biz worries that forcing American bike makers to actually build bicycles in the US will make them more expensive, both here and overseas, resulting in lower value as the price goes up.

Police recover a bicycle stolen in a Washington bike shop break-in, but it will cost more to repair the damage to the shop than the bike is worth.

Adventure Cycling Association is hiring a Digital Production Specialist for their Missoula MT headquarters.

Bicycling picks up the story of proposed North Dakota legislation that would legalize running over bicyclists and pedestrians.

Austin TX will install bicycle traffic signals; meanwhile, the six county region around the Texas capital is working on its first long range regional active transportation plan.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A Michigan woman discovers she’s pregnant weeks after her bike-riding boyfriend was killed in a hit-and-run.

Life is cheap in Ohio, where a 76-year old driver walks with a $500 fine for killing a bicyclist. But at least he won’t have a driver’s license until he’s 81.

A Greenwich Village website says bikes will save the community when New York shuts down a major subway line for a year and a half for maintenance work.

Incoming Vice President Mike Pence says he’s not planning to leave his bicycle at home when he takes office in DC.

 

International

London appoints it’s first full-time Walking and Cycling Commissioner.

Caught on video: A speeding, wrong way British driver nearly hits a cyclist after he mounted emergency lights and a siren on his car to avoid traffic jams.

A cyclist in the UK was forced to crawl off a busy highway when he fell off his bike and broke his hip — then had to wait two hours to be flown to a hospital.

An Indian TV network asks if riding a bike is worth the risk, and concludes that the country’s bad roads and lack of protections for vulnerable road users don’t help.

A pair of cyclists are riding over 1,300 miles across India to raise funds for a school that teaches differently abled children.

A Dubai developer will build 65 miles of cycle tracks around the emirate.

Cape Town, South Africa is working on transforming itself to become a “bicycling super city,” as it seeks to boost cycling by a whopping 800%.

An Australian cyclist writes about the five worst habits too many drivers have.

Add this to your bucket list. A Kiwi newspaper lists five of the world’s best bike trips, from skirting the North Sea to riding from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh on Vietnam’s Highway 1.

 

Finally…

If you fall off your bike, they may not ask you who the president is. Who needs a bike lane when you can ride down a vertical wall?

And Lamar Odom gets just six months for plowing into a group of bike riders; no, not that Lamar Odom.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bike Events, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Update: Bike rider killed in early morning Stanton hit-and-run

January 18, 2017 / / 3 comments

And then it happened again.

Just three months and four days after Deborah Gresham was killed in a Stanton hit-and-run, another person riding a bicycle has lost his life to another fleeing driver, just two and a half miles away.

According to the Orange County Register, the victim, who has not been publicly identified, was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Chapman Avenue and Beach Blvd in Stanton around 2:40 this morning by a driver who fled the scene.

He was transported to UCI Medical Center in Orange 17 minutes later, where he died shortly after arrival.

No word on how the collision occurred, if the victim had lights on his bike, or who may have been at fault. However, judging by the taco’ed rear wheel on the victim’s badly mangled beach cruiser, it appears he may have been struck from behind with considerable force.

Garden Grove police stopped a 44-year old man whose car matched the description of the suspect vehicle at 3:15 am. KCBS-2 reports he was arrested for an alleged probation violation, but as of midday, had not been charged with the hit-and-run, though an OC sheriff’s spokesperson said no other suspects were thought to be at large.

A satellite view shows a eight lane road with double left turn lanes on Beach Blvd, and four to five lanes with turn lanes on Chapman, depending on direction; the Register ranks it as one of the ten busiest intersections in Orange County.

This is the third confirmed bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the first in Orange County. It’s also the third in Stanton in less than 18 months, and the second on busy Beach Blvd.

To learn more about Deborah Gresham’s tragic death, read this heartbreaking piece by former Bicycling Magazine editor-in-chief Peter Flax.

Update: The Orange County Coroner has identified the victim as 38-year old Paul Hurst.

Update 2: The Orange County Register says Hurst was a transient; the area in which he was killed has a heavy homeless population, and a number of low cost hotels frequented by people with no fixed address.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Paul Hurst and all his loved ones.

Thanks to Mike Wilkinson and Robert Peppey for the heads-up.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Bike the Vote endorses Creed, possible SaMo heartbreak, and San Fran fights Chinese bikeshare

January 18, 2017 / / 5 comments

The first shoe has dropped in the race for city council in CD5.

Typical of LA’s gerrymandered council districts, the sprawling Westside district stretches east from Sepulveda to nearly encircle Beverly Hills, before reaching north to the San Fernando Valley west of Sepulveda.

For the past eight years it’s been represented by career politician Paul Koretz, who moved into the district once he was termed out of the state assembly, after serving on the West Hollywood city council.

It was Koretz who single-handedly killed the fully funded and shovel ready bike lanes on Westwood Blvd at the behest of a small group of wealthy homeowners, followed by inciting a council vote to remove the lanes from the city’s mobility plan. And stating there would be no bike lanes as part of the Great Streets program in Westwood Village.

Yet he oddly still claims to support bicycling.

His reasoning is that Westwood, which is included in LA’s High Injury Network under the Vision Zero plan, is too dangerous for bike riders. So his solution is to keep it dangerous, and shunt all those riders who currently use it as the most direct route between the Expo Line and the UCLA campus onto other less practical alternatives.

And with the exception of Motor Blvd, he has failed to implement any of the major bike lanes called for in the city’s Mobility Plan.

So it should come as no surprise that Bike the Vote LA has endorsed his challenger, Jesse Creed, in the March election over the incumbent Koretz.

You can read Creed’s responses to Bike the Vote’s candidate survey at the above link, and find Koretz’ responses here, along with that of a third candidate, Mark Herd.

Streetsblog’s Damien Newtown offers a good analysis of both the candidates, and Bike the Vote’s endorsement.

But the bottom line is that Koretz has had eight years to prove his support for bicycling is more than just talk. But his actions, particularly on Westwood Blvd, have proven otherwise.

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Heartbreaking news, as there’s an unconfirmed report that the owner of Santa Monica’s Bicycle Ambulance shop was killed while riding to work recently. I’m working on getting official confirmation; if anyone has any information, please let me know.

Update: A comment from Chris, along with an email from Brian Nilsen, confirms that a GoFundMe page raising funds to defray funeral expenses has been set up by the son of Tony Barnes, the owner of Bicycle Ambulance. There is also a ghost bike in Barnes honor at South Centinela Ave and Jefferson Blvd in Playa Vista. I’ve reached to the LAPD for more information.

Thanks to Stanley E. Goldich for the heads-up.

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San Francisco is threatening legal action to stop a Chinese app-based bikeshare provider from “dumping” thousands of rental bikes on the city’s streets without the proper planning or permits.

In other words, doing exactly what Uber did in moving into new markets, by establishing their ride hailing service first and dealing with the paperwork later.

But then, Uber was cars. And wasn’t Chinese.

And wasn’t threatening to disrupt the city’s existing dock-based bikeshare.

On the other hand, the problem with China’s app-based bikeshare model is that people are abandoning the bikes, resulting in a 500-bike pile in the city of Shenzhen.

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Calbike will host a webinar at 11 am today to discuss a grant program which could expand the use of ebikes to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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An LGBT website says trans cyclist Jillian Bearden is receiving both praise and uninformed criticism as she continues to break barriers.

Cycling Weekly says fewer, but bigger races could save cycling in France.

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Local

The LA Rams may need some help, but at least the new head coach rides his bike to work. Thanks to Josh for the link.

The LACBC is calling for bike riders to submit comments on a proposed redesign of Ventura Blvd in Woodland Hills by this Friday; the section under consideration currently has painted bike lanes, which the coalition would like to see upgraded to parking protected lanes.

Speaking of the LACBC, they’re in the market for a new Planning & Policy Director.

The latest Bike Talk features former bike shop owners Josef Bray-Ali and TJ Flexer discussing the demise of the local bike shop.

 

State

Westminster police are on the lookout for a bike-riding burglar.

A San Diego Navy vet got a new $3,000 bike for Christmas after his was totaled when he did a face plant last September. Then someone stole off his car it after his first ride.

San Diego has secured funding to begin design work on a crucial link between the Chollas Creek bike path and the planned 24-mile Bayshore Bikeway; the path would allow residents of lower-income areas to safely cross the I-5 and I-15 interchange and get to jobs in the downtown area.

No bias here. A Bakersfield bike rider gets hit by a drunk driver who flees the scene. Yet police still blame the victim for wearing dark clothing and not riding in a crosswalk — even though there was no reason for her to even be in crosswalk.

A Menlo Park cyclist says a new bike project would only benefit a small number of bike riders at the expense of most bicyclists and the rest of the city.

Caught on video: An East Bay cyclist leaves his bike cam going when he stops for mid-ride coffee, and catches a high-end bike thief red-handed.

 

National

Bicycling says riding inside doesn’t have to suck anymore. But it’s still inside, and the bikes still don’t move.

A Seattle website says the city owes residents an apology and their $1.4 million back after buying the city’s troubled bikeshare program, then unceremoniously killing it just before the long weekend. But there’s still a desire for bikeshare if it’s done right.

A French company rode their 3D-printed bike over 600 miles from Las Vegas to San Francisco to prove it works.

The war on bikes continues, as an Arizona bicyclist was shot repeatedly with BB guns by a man and woman in a passing car, with the couple’s child in the backseat. Seriously, there’s not a pit in hell deep enough for people like that.

A homeless man says refurbishing bikes at a Utah collective to give to others has given purpose to his life.

A Colorado letter writer says “stupid is as stupid does” in deciding whether to ride on the roadways with motor vehicle traffic, suggesting — or rather, outright stating — that bikes don’t belong on public streets. I’d apply that same aphorism to people who can’t resist the urge to share their particular anti-bike bias with the rest of the world; saying it’s not safe to share the roads with motor vehicles is really just saying that people are incapable of driving safely, which I refuse to believe.

Wisconsin police bust a pair of bike thieves and reclaim a stolen bike that was being sold on Craigslist; the victim had been given the bike by her grandmother.

Chicago bike riders continue to ride through the winter as part of a two-week challenge. Oddly, no one seem to consider doing something like that here in Southern California, where the weather is much more conducive to year-round riding.

Blocked bike lanes remain a big problem in Brooklyn and Manhattan. And pretty much everywhere else.

President-elect Trump’s traditional inaugural walk will be on a DC bike path.

 

International

Now that a Canadian reporter has recovered from a near-fatal bike crash, she says it was one of the best experiences of her life, because it changed her for the better. And yes, she plans to ride again.

Toronto is studying near-miss incidents, as well as actual collisions, before and after bike lanes were installed on a major street, in order to get a more complete look at how safety has changed.

London cabbies bring traffic to a standstill to protest plans to close a key junction to motor vehicles; cyclists argue that taxis are one of the biggest causes of congestion and drivers are just supporting “the right to poison Londoners.”

A self-described bike lane-skeptic member of the British parliament questions whether bike lanes are the reason London traffic congestion has gotten worse, and if they are causing an increase in pollution as a result.

Scotland promises a more ambitious and innovative approach to cycling, as council leaders promise to play a huge role in encouraging ridership; the country plans to have 10% of journeys made by bike by 2020.

 

Finally…

Filming yourself riding a bike on a Buddhist temple is probably not the best way to win friends in a foreign country. And not even wheelie-popping former Super Bowl winners are safe on a bike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz8ZMEi9ThU

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Bikeshare, Injuries and Fatalities, Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Update: NoHo bike rider killed after falling in front of car last week

January 17, 2017 / / 2 comments

Sadly, some crashes never make the news.

That was the case in North Hollywood last week, when a bike rider was killed after falling in front of a car that had changed lanes to go around him.

According to an officer with the LAPD’s Valley Traffic Division, the 50-year old victim was riding south on Coldwater Canyon Ave near Saticoy Street last Tuesday, riding with one hand while holding a cup of coffee in the other. When he moved left to go around a parked car, he clipped the car’s mirror and fell into the left lane, where he was hit by the car.

Tragically, the driver had seen him, and had already moved left to give him a safe passing distance.

No word yet on the victim’s identification, what time the crash occurred or whether he died at the scene.

This should be a reminder to stay out of the door zone, and hold onto your handlebars as if your life depends on it. Because sometimes, it does.

This is the second bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Los Angeles County. It’s also the first in the city of Los Angeles since the first of the year.

Update: The victim has been identified as 52-year old Efrain Molina; the crash occurred at 5:55 am on Coldwater between Elwood and Saticoy.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Efrain Molina and his loved ones. 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: BMUFL protest in PVE, Ottowa rider say au contraire, and Chinese cyclist says go full Superman

January 17, 2017 / / 2 comments

Welcome back from what was a three-day weekend for some, and just another Monday for others. Either way, I hope you took advantage of the weather, maybe took in the parade, and spent a little time on your bike.

Or maybe a lot.

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Local

KPCC reports on plans for a protected bike lane in Culver City; there will be a meeting to discuss the plan at 8 pm Thursday in the City Hall Patacchia Conference Room, 9770 Culver Blvd.

The LAPD is looking for whoever who rode a bike up to a man in a Panorama City parking lot and shot him multiple times.

Cycling in the South Bay reports on the weekend protest in Palos Verdes Estates where bicyclists held the same Bikes May Use Full Lane signs the city refuses to post.

 

State

Work starts today on improvements to the I-5 corridor through Solano Beach, including ten miles of new bike and pedestrians trails.

A man in Antelope is known for riding his motorized bike with Russian music booming from the speakers mounted on his handlebars.

 

National

Yes, Dr. Martin Luther King was one of us.

Bicycling Magazine tells you how to make a left turn.

Maui’s mayor demonstrates he sort of understands bike law, explaining that there are exemptions to the law requiring bicyclists to ride to the right, but leaving out the right to take the lane on streets too narrow to safely share with a motor vehicle, even if you do have to ride single file there.

Volunteers pitch in to bring an Oklahoma mountain bike trail back to life after it had fallen into disrepair.

A Minnesota man competed in the 200-mile Fat Pursuit fat bike race through Eastern Idaho, in whiteout conditions with temperatures down to 39 degrees below zero.

The head of Detroit’s Planning Department wants to make bicycling an important consideration in the Motor City’s infrastructure.

An Ohio woman rode 1,000 miles around Oahu to honor twelve Marines who were killed in a helicopter crash off last year, despite being born with just one hand.

The wife of a New Jersey chef has filed suit after he was killed riding his bike into a sewer excavation trench that was left unmarked and uncovered by workers.

It’s now illegal to park in a Massachusetts bike lane, although stopping in one is still legal. So the question is when does stopping becomes parking?

A Philly writer says bike lanes are key to the city’s plans for safer streets, even if some residents don’t like them. Although a spokesman for a motorist group says people are going to drive at whatever speeds they feel comfortable with, regardless of any efforts to slow them down.

A Baton Rouge LA bike rider says he feels like an urban archeologist as he sifts through the litter on the side of the road, saying “what is deplorable is countered by what is captivating.”

A Florida county has to decide whether to cancel plans for a $100 million, 75 miles bike path from Naples to Miami.

 

International

The Biking Expert website lists their ranking of the 75 most bike friendly cities in the world; San Francisco and Davis are the only California cities on the list.

Why settle for three must-have cycling apps, like we linked to yesterday, when you could have ten? And not just for iPhones, either.

Yesterday we linked to video of an Ottawa bike rider blocking a driver who kept lurching into him; the rider says the incident started when the driver kept tailgating him. And yes, he wants the driver prosecuted, despite what the police said.

You’ve got to be kidding. Police in England’s South Yorkshire say it’s not worth the effort to enforce the law against passing bicyclists too closely because not enough riders get killed to justify the cost.

The girlfriend of the bike rider doored by Britain’s transportation minister says yes, cyclists do count as road users.

Starting in March, you’ll have to wear a helmet when you ride in France — if you’re under 12, anyway.

Mannheim, Germany is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the forerunner to the bicycle.

A Chinese cyclist wants to get you out of the saddle and go full Superman on a frame-mounted fitness ball instead.

The 62-year old chief information officer of a global electronics firm is working to make Singapore more bikeable; he says the island nation needs another five years to catch up to Japan’s bicycling culture.

 

Finally…

Post-EPO Lance is still pretty good on a bike. Don’t bother riding your bike to Friday’s presidential inauguration.

And yes, we may have to deal with too many red lights and stop signs, but we hardly ever have to stop to help a pregnant cow deliver a calf.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: The joys of winter riding, no jail for French motor dopers, and a $150 Bluetooth bike coffee cup

January 16, 2017 / / 3 comments

It was a slow weekend on the local front, but there’s plenty of bike news from around the world for your entertainment and edification.

But before we start, let’s take a moment to remember the wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, with words as appropriate now as they were fifty years ago.

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.

A message as meaningful for our streets as for our nation, and our world.

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Local

Once again, no news is good news. Right?

 

State

High desert cities are working to keep up with road repair on their crumbling streets; a new project in Victorville will add bike lanes along with pavement improvements — whatever that means — on La Mesa Road.

Santa Rosa lost its battle to allow people to ride their bikes on a popular pathway through a private subdivision.

 

National

Vogue discusses the joys of wintertime riding and the problems of dressing for it.

Bicycling introduces you to the only female mechanic on the US pro cycling tour.

An app website lists the three best cycling apps all cyclists must have on their iPhones. Assuming they have iPhones. And for some reason, they filed it under “Hobby.”

In an update to the story of the homeless man who rode his bike from California to Wichita to build planes, because he said God told him to, a local bike shop talked him into letting them fix his bike and gave him new tires so he can ride on ice this winter.

A Madison WI columnist is surprised that motorists accept pedestrian-crossing improvements, but get mad about improvements for bike riders.

Florida’s Space Coast is working to encourage bicycle tourism through the area.

 

International

How to throw a rooster dirt spray for the camera.

A former Canadian pro cyclist is lucky to be alive after suffering sudden paralysis from the neck down when a blood vessel burst between two vertebrae; he was able to drag himself to his phone using only his chin, then had Siri call 911.

A Vancouver letter writer says there’s no need for business owners to worry about the loss of parking spaces to make room for bike lanes, because people on bikes will more than make up for it.

Caught on video: Ottawa police say no charges will be filed after video surfaces of a bike rider using his bicycle as a shield to block the path of a driver, who continually lurches into it. No word on what triggered the confrontation.

London’s mayor clarifies his recent remarks, saying he didn’t mean cycle superhighways cause pollution, but that badly planned construction of them causes congestion, which does cause pollution. That clears up everything, right?

A London cyclist discovers the joys of track cycling.

Cardiff, Wales releases a plan to double the number of bike riders on the city’s streets.

Motor doping may get you disqualified, but it won’t get you thrown into a French jail.

Donations are pouring in to buy new hearing aids for 105-year old, age-group hour record holder Robert Marchand.

A group of 21 male and female randonneurs ride 900 miles across India in five days in a spirit of junoon, which translates to an all immersive passion. Which should be something most bike riders can relate to.

The state of South Australia will pick up the tab for medical expenses after a 15-year old cyclist hits a pothole caused by a leaky fire hydrant.

A Singapore cyclist says he actually wants to pay registration and display a set of license plates just so he can get a little respect on the roads — and so they’ll know who his is when he gets run over by a truck.

China’s ongoing app-based bikeshare boom may result in oversupply, as two leading companies battle for dominance. Not to mention the bikes are getting in the way.

 

Finally…

No, seriously. If you’re carrying a loaded handgun in your waistband, don’t ride recklessly — and put some damn lights on your bike. Don’t be surprised when a road bike website chooses a road bike as their commuter bike of the year.

And honestly, who doesn’t need a $150 Bluetooth-enabled coffee cup for your bike?

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Weekend Links: North Dakota could legalize killing peds, kid antichrist from The Omen convicted of road rage

January 14, 2017 / / Comments Off on Weekend Links: North Dakota could legalize killing peds, kid antichrist from The Omen convicted of road rage

Unbelievable.

In response to the ongoing pipeline protests, a North Dakota lawmaker introduces legislation making it legal for drivers to injure or kill a pedestrian blocking the roadway.

Yes, you read that right.

The bill would create an exemption under state law for drivers who crash into people in the roadway, whether they’re holding protest signs or, presumably, standing in a deserted roadway after their car breaks down.

It’s not hard to imagine the law being applied to bike riders who have the audacity to take the lane or ride two abreast, if someone concludes they were in the way.

Hopefully, the rest of the legislators will have a little more sense.

Credit Gary Kavanagh with the link.

………

Maybe the Devil made him do it.

The road-raging former child star of The Omen walked on a charge of assaulting cyclists. And on Friday the 13th, no less.

A British court sentenced Harvey Spencer Stephens, now 46, to a suspended 12-month sentence for getting out of his car and repeatedly punching two cyclists; he was also fined the equivalent of $2,500.

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That’s one way to guarantee a legendary bike race — make it part of the name.

Singapore forms its first-ever road cycling team.

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Local

The LA County Coroner ruled that mountain biker Evan Bruce Sisson died of heart disease, rather than crashing, after being found with injuries consistent with a fall above Altadena last January; results of the autopsy were delayed nearly a full year for additional forensic testing.

If you hurry, you may still have time to join Walk Bike Burbank’s New Year’s Ride today. Or you could join the LACBC Team at next month’s Chinatown Firecracker Ride and Run.

Santa Monica votes to convert unused tarmac at the Santa Monica Airport into a six-acre park suitable for bicycling, among other uses.

 

State

San Diego’s latest plan for bike lanes in the popular Hillcrest nightclub district will actually result in more parking, not the loss of parking business owners had feared, although the lanes will now be unprotected.

An apparent ninja cyclist was hit by a car shortly after dark in San Jacinto Friday.

Ventura will install bike lanes and other traffic calming measures to improve safety on dangerous Ventura Avenue, where most collisions involve a bicyclist or pedestrian.

San Francisco police are looking for a bike-riding mugger who attacked a 79-year old man.

Here’s another reason to do your riding outside. Patrons of a Marin County SoulCycle were placed on antibiotics after one of the regular customers died of meningitis.

It’s more like bad karma, as Willow Glen’s Good Karma Bikes suffers two break-ins in just two hours, losing at least $3,000 worth of merchandise.

 

National

Seattle drives a stake through the heart of its troubled bikeshare system, reallocating the last $3 million budgeted for the program to pay for other bike and pedestrian safety improvements.

The Fort Wayne IN newspaper says drivers need to stop for red lights. Clearly, it’s not just bike riders who go through traffic signals, despite what some drivers seem to think.

Ohio’s Bike Lady has raised over $600,000 to buy nearly 8,200 bicycles for at-risk kids across the state; last year, every kid who asked for a bike got one.

 

International

Three London teenagers face prison terms up to 13 years for fatally stabbing an aspiring rapper in a dispute over a stolen bicycle.

After BBC presenter Jeremy Vine recorded a road-raging driver attempting to run her down, her lawyer claims he exaggerated the whole thing to boost his online presence; she reportedly made a gun gesture pointed at his head.

Welsh ambulance authorities were forced to apologize after leaving an injured bike rider lying in the street for two hours; they blamed people needlessly calling the UK’s equivalent of 911.

A British radio station says the Dutch reach is the one thing we can all do to save cyclists lives. Other than slowing down and driving safely, of course.

Britain’s Cyclist magazine offers fifty tips to make you a better one. A cyclist, that is, not a magazine.

A study in a Malta medical journal calls for mandatory bike helmets for kids under 18, but not for adults, in order to avoid discouraging potential cyclists.

An Aussie writer goes on a half-day ride through Johannesburg’s Soweto district.

 

Finally…

No pandas for Peter Sagan in Australia. If you try to assault an elderly man, at least keep your wheels under you.

And seriously, don’t throw volleyballs at bike cops.

 

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

Morning Links: Protected bike lanes in Culver City, DIY BMUFL signs in PVE, and strategically placed cycling caps

January 13, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Protected bike lanes in Culver City, DIY BMUFL signs in PVE, and strategically placed cycling caps

Happy Friday the 13th.

You could be one of those unlikely people trapped in their cars today. Or you can improve your day just by getting out on your bike.

Seems like that makes this a lucky day for all of us.

………

Local

Los Feliz Neighborhood Council President Luke Klipp explains why neighborhood councils matter if you care about walkability, bikeability and safer streets.

Culver City considers building protected bike lanes to link the Expo station with the city’s downtown half a mile away, as well as connecting the Helms District with Culver Blvd.

The Downey Bicycle Coalition will hold a Family Bike ride tomorrow.

The Department of DIY is ready to strike in Palos Verdes Estates, as South Bay cyclists buy their own Bikes May Use Full Lane signs, and will hold them up at entrances and exits to the city this weekend.

 

State

San Diego’s CCSD is hosting two women-only cycling training camps this March in Solana Beach, and April in Temecula.

Once again a bike rider is a hero, rescuing another rider from the rushing waters of rain-swelled Los Gatos Creek, even if he couldn’t save the man’s bike.

A determined San Ramon detective tracks down a stolen bicycle that was a woman’s only means of transportation, and returns it to her in less than a week.

Richmond is asking for public input on plans to build a tiny .3 mile bike path that would connect to a planned 500 mile network of bikeways around the San Francisco Bay.

San Francisco is the latest California city to increase enforcement of traffic violations that can put bicyclists and pedestrians at risk. The question is whether they will actually enforce the laws equally, or if it’s just an excuse for yet another crackdown on the people on two wheels.

A 71-year old Anderson Valley cyclist questions whether he should stop riding on the roads and stick to bike trails — not because he’s aging, but because of the carelessness and ineptitude of many drivers.

 

National

In a victory for alternative transportation, new federal transportation rules will measure people instead of cars.

A new study shows that the availability of bikeways encourages people to ride their bikes; it also shows that women prefer low stress routes, suggesting one way to reduce cycling’s gender gap is to build more bicycle boulevards.

Maine cyclists says the state’s three-foot passing law is an effective deterrent, even if enforcement is a challenge; unlike California, riders there can use bike cam video as proof of a violation.

New York traffic fatalities hit a historic low, even as bicycling and pedestrian deaths increase.

Great idea. Charlottesville VA bicyclists will deliver scones by bike on Valentines Day as a fundraiser for a local bike advocacy group.

North Carolina drivers can’t seem to figure out what sharrows mean.

A hit-and-run driver who ran down a Florida bicyclist on New Year’s Day drank for eight hours before the crash and still smelled of alcohol when he was arrested, but hasn’t been charged with DUI.

Federal marshals seize the property of a Florida deputy, including his clothing, golf clubs and fishing poles, to satisfy a fraction of the $22.4 million judgment against him for shooting an unarmed bike rider, who is now permanently paralyzed.

A Florida bike club makes its own video to promote the state’s new three-foot passing law. Although they could have shown someone who wasn’t wrapped in spandex or riding in a paceline.

 

International

A unique new foldie raising funds on Kickstarter claims to fold small enough to fit in a carry-on bag.

A London writer explains plans to ban cars from a busy junction in the heart of the city’s financial district to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians; cyclists already make up half of all traffic at the intersection during peak hours. Needless to say, taxi drivers are against it, though advocates call their protests misguided.

New raised bike lanes in Cambridge, England resulted in a doubling of ridership.

Talk about not getting it. The British Transport Minister who failed to give his contact info after dooring a cyclist now says bike riders are not road users; former Olympian and Tour de France cyclist Chris Boardman says his “comments demonstrate an astonishing lack of knowledge.”

The UK’s Cyclist website offers the good cyclist’s guide to riding in bad weather. Although the advice would seem to apply to bad riders, as well.

Very moving piece from the Guardian, as a physician thanks all those who came to her daughter’s aid after bad fall while riding on a bike path, from the strangers who stopped to help and offered her what little money they had, to the surgeon who saved her and the nurses who cared for her afterwards.

Just days after authorities said all Russian athletes should be banned from international competition for systematic doping, a Russian website attempts a little deflection with accusations that cycling continues to scrape the bottom of the barrel.

 

Finally…

Today’s lesson: Mess with a cyclist, even a former one, and you could get shot in the scrotum. And if you’re going to pose naked to raise money for a new kit, remember, it’s caps, not hats.

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Thanks to John Hall for his generous donation to help support this site. Even though the holiday fund drive is over, donations are always welcome and appreciated.

 

 

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