My apologies.
I had a serious problem with my diabetes Monday night, and wasn’t able to work on today’s post as a result. Come back tomorrow, and we’ll be back bright and early with all the day’s bike news.
Diabetes sucks. Seriously.
Morning Links: Former pro Steve Tilford seriously injured, Mercedes decides who to save, and retracing a rare bike
Hopefully we’ve finally got the problem with email notifications fixed. Let me know if you’re still not getting them.
………
Former pro cyclist Steve Tilford, one of the first wave of American cyclists to enter the top levels of the sport, suffered a severe head injury in a fall last week.
Tilford was participating in a regular group ride when his bike struck a dog that had run into the street and he went over his handlebars, striking his head on the pavement; he was not wearing a helmet.
While the prognosis is positive, he is expected to take a year of intensive therapy to make a full recovery.
Another rider who crashed into him suffered a collapsed lung and four broken ribs.
And no, there’s no word on the dog.
For Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson, it brings up the debate over whether or not to wear a helmet.
Meanwhile, BMX pro Scotty Cranmer is in critical condition in a Las Vegas hospital after falling face-first when his front wheel got stuck in a hole; as of Sunday night, a crowdfunding site had raised over $25,000 for his medical expenses.
………
In the ongoing debate over self-driving cars, Mercedes Benz decides the lives of its occupants are more important than the lives of others.
After all, they’re the ones paying for it, right?
Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the heads-up.
………
Nice piece from Peter Flax about tracking down the history of a rare Richard Sachs racing bike that won the collegiate cyclocross championship for Adam Myerson in 1997, after it found its way back to its original owner.
………
Twenty-year old Dutch rider Amalie Dideriksen outsprints the favorites to take the women’s world championship. Meanwhile Peter Sagan repeats as the men’s champ and Mark Cavendish settles for second, while John Degenkolb gives another rider a squirt.
The head of UCI praises Qatar for developing a cycling culture, while saying with a straight face that there hasn’t been any cases of heat exhaustion in the extreme desert temperatures, despite the many riders who collapsed along the course.
Aussie cycling champ Anna Meares calls it a career after winning six Olympic medals.
The cycling community wants to ban the narcotic painkiller Tramadol, which is popular in the pro peloton to help riders bounce back from the pain of racing. Meanwhile, former world champ David Millar explains how the therapeutic use exemption allows riders to get away with doping; thanks to Ralph Durham and George Wolfberg for the link.
………
Local
A homeless Santa Monica man was found with bike parts and a nine-inch bolt cutter, admitted to being a meth addict, and told investigators how to bust a U-lock by twisting the bike frame. And was let go with a citation, along with his companion, for medical reasons. Homeless people need help, not jail. But writing a damn ticket to a confessed bike thief isn’t going to stop anyone.
Santa Monica will host a Kiddical Mass Halloween costume ride on the 29th.
Santa Clarita is the site of a Gran Fondo next Saturday to benefit the fight against Parkinson’s disease.
Long Beach is looking for volunteers for their annual bike count this Thursday.
There’s a special place in hell for anyone who’d steal a bike from a Long Beach man who had passed out from a diabetic incident.
State
A 15-mile stretch of bike path along the Santa Ana River due to be completed by 2019 would bring long-standing plans for a continuous 100-mile bike and equestrian trail reaching from the San Bernardino Mountains to Huntington Beach one step closer to completion.
A San Diego bicyclist was injured Sunday when her bike hit a steel plate in the road covering repair work. Which is a reminder that raised plates can knock you off your bike, while the plates themselves can provide little or no traction, especially if there’s moisture present.
A Santa Cruz letter writer says it’s your own damn fault if you get hit by a car if you don’t come to a complete, foot-on-the-ground stop at stop signs. Actually, there’s no requirement that bike riders have to put a foot down when coming to a stop. And it can actually increase the risk, while being guaranteed to piss off the drivers around you if you insist on putting a foot down at every stop.
National
The Feds have finally concluded that bike boxes really do reduce conflicts between bike riders and motorists at intersections.
A writer looks at why cyclists and drivers don’t get along, explaining that insurance is a better option than trying to get even with someone. Although it’s a false premise; the overwhelming majority bicyclists and drivers do get along; it’s the exceptions that are the problem.
A former Hawaii police officer has been indicted for negligent homicide, tampering with evidence and filing a false report in the hit-and-run death of a vacationing bike rider; he was fired from the force as a result of his actions.
Life is cheap in Illinois, where the death of a mother of five who was riding in a crosswalk marked with flashers merits a lousy $150 fine. Although it will result in a change in the state’s driver’s manual requiring motorists to stop for a crosswalk warning signal until pedestrians and bicyclists have safely crossed the road. Because evidently common sense is not a requirement for a license, there or anywhere else.
A Chattanooga writer says bike riders shouldn’t be licensed and aren’t the real problem, but bike lanes don’t belong on busy streets. But what the hell is a “California-type politician”?
A 15-year old Pennsylvania boy was sentenced to spend the next 35 years behind bars for shooting another teenager while attempting to steal his bicycle.
Most drunk drivers get off with a slap on the wrist. A Delaware bicyclist busted for biking under the influence following a crash got 32 days in county jail, plus 90 days house arrest, a $1,500 fine and lost her driver’s license for 18 months. In California, that would merit just a $250 fine, with no points on your license.
NPR takes a look at sidewalk cycling in DC, making the point that, legal or not, you’re usually safer on the street — which is exactly where pedestrians want you. Thanks to Joni Yung for the tip.
International
Bike Radar offers 11 ways to be a greener cyclist. Like don’t drop your damn trash on the side of the road — and that includes gel packs and CO2 cartridges.
Canadian cyclists are outraged at Orange Theory Fitness for co-opting ghost bikes for their marketing campaign. Apparently, the chain gets enough benefit from the publicity that they don’t care about offending bike riders, since they keep doing it, despite the complaints.
A front page editorial in the Times of London blames segregated bike lanes for helping to increase traffic congestion, but hides most of the story behind a pay wall. Bike Biz points out just .02% of London roads even have them, never mind that the real cause of increased congestion is the millions of additional cars on the road.
Once again, bike riders are heroes, as a group of passing bicyclists save the life of a British woman who drove into a lake.
An Irish writer complains about the moral ambiguity of inviting Lance Armstrong to speak at a public event in Dublin, while imagining him being wheeled out in a mask like Hannibal Lector.
Two Indian cyclists rode 2,700 miles to raise awareness of the need for girls’ education.
A group of 30 cyclists plowed into a 95-year old Aussie man, then just left him lying on the side of the road. Although, despite what the article initially says, one rider identifying himself as a doctor did stop briefly to check the victim out before rejoining the other riders. Regardless, there’s simply no excuse to leave an injured person like that, young or old.
Finally…
No, you can’t peddle ice cream while pedaling in Victoria, BC. If you’re going to ride your bike over the roof of a car, make sure it’s your car.
And it’s no surprise that drivers who accidently run down cyclists just get a slap on the wrist when doing it on purpose only gets a year in jail.
Category: Morning Links / Tags: bicycling, bicycling injuries, Los Angeles, Mercedes Benz, Peter Flax, Richard Sachs, self-driving cars, Steve Tilford
Update: Woman killed riding her bicycle in Stanton collision; driver arrested
The Orange County Register is reporting that a 44-year old Stanton woman was killed in a collision Friday night.
According to the paper, Deborah Gresham was riding her bike on Cerritos Ave east of Knott Ave at 7:35 pm when she was stuck by a vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The male driver, who has not been identified, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide.
Unfortunately, no other information is available at this time. No word on how the crash occurred, or why OC sheriff’s deputies appear to have taken the unusual step of arresting the driver at the scene.
A street view shows a five lane roadway with two lanes in each direction and a center turn lane, with a wide right lane where parking is prohibited.
Given the location east of the intersection, it’s possible that she was rear-ended, or could have been struck by someone entering or leaving a driveway..
This is the 63rd bicycling fatality in Southern California, and the 10th in Orange County; it’s also the third in Stanton in the past four years. That compares with 62 in SoCal this time last year, and 16 in Orange County.
Update: City News Service identifies the driver as Ricardo Hernandez Sandoval, who is being held on $100,000 bond on suspicion of felony hit and run, felony DUI and vehicular manslaughter.
A source in Orange County reports he was followed to his home by horrified witnesses, where he was arrested less than an hour after the crash.
Gresham was in the westbound lanes when she was struck, literally within sight of her home.
Meanwhile, the Orange County Register identifies her as the founder of a Walking Dead fan site on Facebook with 20,000 followers worldwide.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Deborah Gresham and all her loved ones.
Morning Links: Slow start for Metro Bike Share, and a call for banning bikes from LA River Bike Path
My apologies for the continued lack of email notifications for subscribers. Painfully slow response times from the service techs doesn’t help.
………
According to the LA Times, bikeshare is off to a slow start in Los Angeles.
The paper reports that the Metro Bike system, currently limited to DTLA, averaged 73 trips per bicycle in the first three months of operation, less than one-sixth that of New York’s Citi Bike bikeshare.
However, it’s doing better than Santa Monica’s Breeze, which averaged just 58 trips per bike in its first three months.
The paper also reports that Metro Bike plans to expand to Pasadena, Venice and the Port of Los Angeles next year, continuing its policy of developing isolated systems, rather than building an interconnected network throughout the city.
………
As we noted earlier this week, it’s tragic that an Elysian Valley woman was struck from behind by cyclist while walking on the LA River Bike Path.
But it’s irresponsible to assume the rider was at fault without knowing any details of how it happened, or even if he or she stopped afterwards. And even more irresponsible to call for banning all bikes from the bike path as a result, as members of the Elysian Valley Neighborhood Watch are demanding.
Particularly if this is just the second such collision in three years, as the story suggests. Which would be an enviable record for any shared path.
Shared pathways inevitably pose risks to both bike riders and walkers. Yes, those of us on two wheels have a greater responsibility to watch out for others, since we pose the greater risk.
But we can be the victims of careless pedestrians, just as they can be the victims of careless bicyclists.
And some of us have the scars to prove it.
………
Don’t forget Sunday’s CicLAvia, which returns to the traditional Heart of Downtown course; you’ll find feeder rides from all over town.
Although my feeder ride is likely to be the Red Line.
………
The Guardian looks at the 110th edition of the season-ending Giro Di Lombardia.
The inventor of hidden motors in racing bicycles accuses UCI, bike racing’s governing body, of blocking tests for motor doping at this year’s Tour de France.
………
Local
CiclaValley asks if saving a few seconds behind the wheel really matters.
People often quit cycling because of a wreck with a car; a 76-year old Santa Monica man got into bicycling because of one; he took up master’s bike racing after he was hit by a car while walking, ending his career as a power lifter.
Malibu is asking for public input on what to do with Trancas Field above PCH, including a possible skate park and bike pump track.
State
Newport Beach police are looking for the owners of eight stolen bicycles recovered in a recent raid, along with a shitload of drugs.
The Wall Street Journal highlights some of the 87 bicycles from the collection of the late Marin County resident Robin Williams that are being auctioned this week; VeloNews lists their five favorite bikes from the collection. I’ll take the Soviet team bike, thank you; thanks to George Wolfberg for the heads-up.
Soap opera star Bryan Craig will star in Ride, a new movie about BMX racing to be filmed around Napa and Petaluma.
How to plan a weekend getaway pedaling Napa’s wine country bike trail.
National
Bicycling Magazine continues its newfound commitment to clickbait, offering 12 ways bikes make American cities more awesome.
Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is leading a 70 mile bike ride from Taos to Santa Fe NM to promote health and fitness. And no doubt, to prove he has the “stamina” for the job.
Every summer thousands of cyclists spend a week pedaling across Iowa; each fall, a handful of riders do it in a single day.
The best museum in Pittsburgh may be a five year old bike shop with a collection of 3,500 vintage and modern bikes.
A Florida driver got four to seven years for the hit-and-run death of a 10-year old girl who paused to talk with a friend as she rode her bike.
International
A new study says male bike riders are less likely to be involved in conflicts with vehicles at intersections than women. Which could be another reason why women are less likely to ride than men.
An Ontario letter writer blames those darn bike lanes for making bike riders lazy and drivers dangerous. Because it was paradise on the roads before they were striped, evidently.
Tragic news from Toronto, where an 84-year old woman was killed in a collision with a cyclist as she was crossing the street; police are looking for the hit-and-run rider who left the scene before officers arrived. For anyone unclear on the concept, you have an obligation to stop, render aid and exchange ID and insurance information following a collision, just like any driver.
One in three Toronto bicyclists are female, but a lack of safe infrastructure keeps more women from riding.
London business leaders say the solution to managing traffic is to rip out the bike lanes, drop the congestion charge, and let motor vehicles run amok. In other words, continue the same outdated policies that got them into this mess.
A San Francisco man rides 400-miles through Israel with wounded Israeli vets.
A group of Muslim women in Australia ride each week to overcome fear caused by “negative Islamic rhetoric” and show that they’re the same as any other women.
Bloomberg says China’s bikesharing programs could lead the world back to the bicycle.
Finally…
It takes a special kind of jerk to cut off a little girl on a bicycle, then swear at her because she scratched your car trying to avoid a wreck. No, it’s not the “left turn of death” if no one has been killed there and hardly anyone injured. But nice try.
And who needs a car when you can skitch?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWrgt5RZvkY
Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikeshare, Morning Links / Tags: bicycling, Elysian Valley, L.A. River bike path, Los Angeles, Metro Bike Share, pedestrian safety, shared paths
Morning Links: An honor from the South Bay, People for Bikes endorses LA measures, and Lompoc shames LA
My apologies for the continued lack of email notifications for subscribers. We’re still working on it.
………
Look what came in the mail.
As honored as I am, it’s just this side of impossible for me to make it to the South Bay on a Saturday night.
On the other hand, Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson has been killing this year in advocating for bike safety on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
I’m just saying.
………
People for Bikes made a couple of endorsements in November’s LA County election.
………
Mike Wilkinson forwards photos from Lompoc, showing a complete, built-out, actual bikeway network connecting every part of town.
This is what he had to say.
Lompoc is a simple town of about 42,000 near Vandenberg Air Force Base on the California Central Coast. My wife and I were there on business a few weeks ago, and we stopped to admire the welcome sign near the city limits. I noticed there was a smaller sign to the left that had a map of the city’s bike routes.
The map was impressive not because Lompoc has a vast array of bike paths, but because the paths they have make a lot of sense. There is a bike route every few blocks, and most of the routes are continuous, instead of the stop-and-starts routes I see near my home. They are elegant in their simplicity.
It amazes me that a small, somewhat rural town has managed to do a better job with bike routes than many of the big, busy cities in southern California. They may have been motivated by a steady stream of bike tourists traveling through their town on the way up or down the coast. Tourists and their dollars are a legitimate motivation, and the town has responded well. Nice!
………
This sign from Brisbane, Australia comes courtesy of B2 H, spelling out how to share a shared path, for those who can’t seem to figure it our for themselves.
………
German pro Tony Martin tied a record by winning his fourth world time-trial championship in Qatar. Twenty-two-year old Irishman Ryan Mullen finished fifth in his first worlds by preparing for the heat on a turbo-trainer in a sauna.
The 2019 road cycling world championships will be held in the Yorkshire region of by then non-European Britain.
The Giro is finalizing routes for what should be an epic 100th edition.
………
Local
Actress Lea Michele is one of us, keeping a bike on the set to ride around the Paramount lot during breaks in the filming of Scream Queens.
Richard Risemberg cites the unreasonable lack of bike lanes on Westwood Blvd as a key reason to support Jesse Creed in his bid to unseat anti-bike lane incumbent Paul Koretz.
Is this the bike rider who was injured in WeHo Tuesday? Seventeen-year old actress Joey King writes on Instagram that her older sister was injured in a collision with semi-truck while riding to work that morning, but thankfully is on the road to recovery.
A Pasadena city council committee voted unanimously to approve funding for the Union Street cycle track, while asking if the long timeline for construction could be speeded up.
The San Gabriel Valley Tribune asks if the 17-mile Emerald Necklace bike trail connecting the San Gabriel and Rio Hondo rivers can ever be built, as plans move slowly forward.
BikeSGV invites everyone to their Spooky Train night ride through some of San Gabriel Valley’s historic districts this Saturday.
A SaMo documentary maker credits a chance meeting with actor Eddie Albert while on a bike ride for his decision to become a filmmaker.
State
San Diego’s Bikes for Boobs rolls this weekend to raise funds to help fight breast cancer before it starts.
San Francisco’s DIY bike advocacy group continues to install their own bike lane bollards under the cover of darkness.
National
Apparently, sidewalks, parks and bike lanes are the keys to happiness in big cities. Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the link.
An Arizona man builds his own DIY sidecar for his dog. Which is exactly what I need to take the Corgi to CicLAvia this Sunday.
People for Bikes is seeking a marketing coordinator to work in their Boulder CO office.
An Oklahoma man who fixes up bikes to donate to kids every Christmas needs fixing himself after he was rear-ended while riding his own bike.
After a New York truck driver injured a bike rider, the NYPD naturally responded by ticketing cyclists; the driver wasn’t ticketed, even though the truck appeared to be too large to legally use on the streets of the city.
International
A Canadian writer says it’s depressing to come home from bike-friendly Seville to a poorly thought-out bike lane non-network.
The Alberta, Canada health department has wisely taken down a webpage urging parents not to let their kids ride bicycles, even when they ride with them in a bike lane.
A Toronto report says the city’s cycling strategies must focus on women, who make up less than 30% of current riders. Meanwhile, a female bike shop employee says sexism is part of Toronto’s bike scene, saying bike shop workers didn’t take her seriously, and customers often don’t either. Like pretty much everywhere else, unfortunately.
A writer for the Guardian says London’s new mayor must avoid the mistakes made by former mayor Boris Johnson in building bikeways, and try harder to build a consensus to accommodate pedestrians and other road users, as well.
British TV personality Jeremy Vine records a driver cutting around another car at an intersection, then zooming around the corner directly in front of him. Yet people still justify the driver’s actions and accuse Vine of overreacting.
An Irish writer says cyclists have to be mindful of others, like all road users. Then cites the example of a reckless bike rider who only put himself at risk
Be grateful you live in semi-bike friendly LA, or wherever you may be, as a Critical Mass rider in Minsk is sentenced to two years behind bars on seemingly trumped-up charges.
Once again, Indian authorities humiliate a medal-winning paracyclist by forcing him to remove his leg before being allowed to board a flight.
Bicycles take over Tel Aviv as people leave their cars at home in observance of the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
An Aussie writer celebrates National Ride2Work Day by insisting bicycles don’t belong on the roads, and should be registered if they are, while deflecting legitimate criticism by dismissing it in advance.
Finally…
A badly injured bike rider gets the blame for a wreck — with a rabbit. This GoPro-equipped helmet looks oddly familiar.
And if you’re going to flee the scene after a collision, maybe you shouldn’t leave your license plate imprinted on the other car.
Morning Links: Woman injured by cyclist in Elysian Valley, and sidewalk cyclist injured in WeHo right hook
My apologies for the continued lack of email notifications for subscribers. We’re still working on it.
………
This is why you always have to ride carefully around pedestrians.
According to the Elysian Valley Neighborhood Watch, a woman was critically injured in a collision with a cyclist this past weekend.
This past Saturday, a senior citizen, a mother, grandmother, active member of the Jardin del Rio Community Garden and a beautiful EV neighbor sustained life threatening injuries while on her morning exercise walk on the Elysian Valley Pedestrian/Bike path. She is said to have been struck from behind by a speeding cyclist at or around 8:00 AM, near the Riverdale Ave. street access to the path. Minutes ago, I visited her at the USC Medical Center with her son, where she is in ICU (intensive care unit) with head injuries that have her intubated and with a “no bone flap on right side” of her skull.
The Elysian Valley Neighborhood watch has called for safety on the path and necessary City correction from the inception of the bike path, a flawed design that neglected area historical pedestrian use and that today has a beloved neighbor battling for her life. The decision by City officials to favor the cycling community and to respond to area calls for safety improvements with bandaid approaches makes the city complicit in this injuries and grossly negligent.
Unfortunately, there’s no word on whether the rider stopped following the collision, or just fast he or she was actually traveling.
It’s always possible the victim may have stepped into the path of the rider without looking, something familiar to many of us who have used shared pathways.
But regardless, it’s up to all of us to ride in a safe and careful manner around pedestrians, to slow down and give them as much passing room as we’d expect from a motor vehicle. And give some kind of audible warning before passing to avoid tragedies like this, whether it’s “passing on your left” or a cheerful “good morning.”
Because this is what can happen if we don’t.
However, the writer goes on to call for immediately closing the bike path to cyclists until improvements are made — even though no one would ever demand all cars be banned from a street if a driver hit someone.
Let’s hope this woman pulls through, and makes a full and fast recovery.
And that the local community will work with bicyclists to find solutions that will benefit everyone.
Thanks to Patrick Pascal and Colin Bogart for the heads-up.
………
A woman was injured in an apparent right hook collision with a big rig truck while riding her bike in a West Hollywood crosswalk yesterday morning; unfortunately, there’s no word on her condition.
This should be a reminder to always use extreme caution when entering an intersection if you’re riding on the sidewalk. Or better yet, ride in the street; statistics show you’re actually safer on the roadway where you’re more visible to everyone.
………
You’d think for $12,000, the wheels would stay on.
Specialized is recalling 1,000 of their high-end Venge bicycles because the rear wheel can come out of the dropouts, fracturing the rear triangle and causing the rider to lose control and fall.
Which is a bad thing.
Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the tip.
………
Stunt rider Danny MacAskill is out with his latest video; Red Bull discusses the making of a Wee Day Out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCmXzq-iWNc
………
Local
A new “cycling lifestyle” shop is scheduled to open in Echo Park this Saturday; Banker Supply Co. is the second outlet of a Pittsburgh store designed to appeal to a wide range of non-spandex clad riders, including women.
The leader of rising band Warpaint goes for a bikeshare ride through DTLA.
DTLA’s Metro Bike Share will expand to Pasadena next summer with at least 400 bikes in 34 stations; however, most of those stations will be south of the 210 Freeway, potentially underserving the poorer communities to the north.
The Daily Breeze reports on Palos Verdes Estates’ decision to overrule the PVE Traffic Safety Committee and not place “Bikes May Use Full Lane” signs on the city’s streets, saying it would cause confusion since they aren’t posted in other cities on the peninsula. Even though those signs only clarify to drivers what bicyclists are already allowed to do under state law.
A Long Beach student paper says it pays to bike to work, as an Aussie study shows bike commuters saved an average of nearly $7.70 per day compared to motorists.
State
San Francisco cyclists get nifty new wayfinding signs.
Construction has been completed on the fully separated bike path on the east span of San Francisco’s Bay Bridge, although it won’t open for another few weeks. And even though it only goes halfway across the bay.
Santa Rosa nears the opening of a new pump track bike park, thanks to the unrelenting efforts of a local cyclist.
National
Keep your cool out there. A new study from the American Heart Association says exercising while angry triples your risk of a heart attack.
Colorado authorities file hate crime charges against a pair of men caught on video attacking another man, allegedly because he was gay, as he tried to ride away on his bicycle.
Texas police and fire departments surprise a Wataburger employee with a new bicycle after hers was stolen from behind the shop on Monday.
A Chicago fire lieutenant is the latest rider to lose his life in the Windy City; the city has already exceeded its average yearly total for bicycling fatalities.
The Minneapolis Bike Coalition questions whether bicyclists are being stopped for biking while black, after stats show nearly half of the tickets written to cyclists went to black riders in the overwhelming white city.
Once again, a Michigan driver has killed multiple cyclists, as a 76-year old man drifted across the fog line and rear-ended two women riding on the shoulder; that comes just four months after five riders were killed in the drug fueled Kalamazoo massacre.
International
Unbelievable. Police blame a Canadian cyclist after he’s hit by a city road patching truck, even though he was walking his bike in a crosswalk after suffering a double flat.
Caught on video: A London cyclist directs a driver out of a protected bike lane.
An Irish writer says she nearly killed three cyclists in just the last week because they were dressed in black and riding dark bikes, insisting it’s a disgrace that helmets and reflective vests aren’t mandatory. She’s got a point about riding with lights, although if she’s had that many close calls in a single week, the problem may not be with the people on the bicycles.
The head of Ireland’s no-frills Ryanair goes off on cyclists once again, ranting that Dublin’s city council had destroyed the city center through “nonsensical pandering to bloody cyclists;” it was only five months ago he said cyclists should be shot.
Britain’s Duchess of Cambridge visits an American-style bike co-op in the Netherlands, helping kids work on a bike wheel despite her haute couture outfit.
As bicycling booms in cities around the world, bikes are being crowded off the streets of Vietnam, where bike riders are seen as poor or low class.
Finally…
Evidently, doping is one thing, motor doping another — especially if it hadn’t been invented yet. It looks like sabotaging bikeways is nothing new.
And when the water’s over your wheels, maybe you should find an alternate route.
I’m just saying.
………
Thanks to Samuel Kuruts for his generous donation to support this site. If everyone who visits this site today donated just $10, it would fund BikinginLA for a full year.
Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Morning Links / Tags: bicycling, Elysian Valley, Los Angeles, right hook, West Hollywood
Morning Links: Bike collection stolen in burglary, Bike the Vote LA endorses, and new AZ bike safety PSAs
My continued apologies for the lack of email notifications for subscribers. None of the suggested fixes have solved the problem yet.
Which may be why I once again failed to win the Nobel Prize for bike blogging.
Maybe next year.
………
Keep your eyes peeled for a collection of Cicli Devotion team kits and bikes, parts tools and other gear stolen from a Calabasas storage unit, along with a number of other personal items.
Which should serve as yet another reminder to register your bikes for free with Bike Index before anything like this happens to you.
Thanks to Bryan Hance for the heads-up.
………
Bike the Vote LA has been busy in the weeks leading up to the November election, including an endorsement of US Representative Janice Hahn for LA County Supervisor in the 4th District.
They also voice their support for LA County Measure A to build and rehabilitate parks, beaches, natural areas, and multi-use trails used by bike riders. As well as Metro’s Measure M sales tax increase to build out the county’s transit system, and provide funding for bicycling and walking projects.
Thanks to Michael MacDonald for the tip.
………
Tucson-based Look Save A Life — founded by a cyclist and former firefighter who was nearly killed by a distracted driver — has introduced a series of public safety videos made in conjunction with local law enforcement.
………
Sadly, the bike rider who died of a heart attack during the Long Beach Marathon on Sunday was a well-known member of the South Bay cycling community, and a board member of Lightening Velo.
………
Pro cyclist Tom Dumoulin is no dummy, but his stand-in is.
Irish cyclist Daniel Stewart talks about stepping away from international cycling to battle his depression.
A new Israeli cycling team becomes the first to compete in the World Championships, let alone in an Arab country; meanwhile, an Iranian woman becomes the first from her country to finish the Kona Ironman Triathlon.
The New York Times dives into the world of bike messengers and last weekend’s North American Cycle Courier Championship.
………
Local
CiclaValley discusses the conflict between bicyclists needing a safe place to ride on Forest Lawn Drive and people parking in the bike lane near the Mount Sinai cemetery for the High Holidays.
A German filmmaker offers a documentary about the battle over the Burbank Mariposa bridge and the ongoing efforts of equestrians to keep bike riders the hell off it. Thanks to Doug Weiskopf for the link.
BikeSGV reports the Pasadena city council will vote on the Union Ave protected bikeway at their 4pm meeting today. So if you live, work or ride in the area, be sure to attend the meeting to support safer bikeways.
Speaking of BikeSGV, mark your calendar for their annual Noche de las Luminarias awards night on Thursday, November 10th.
Cycling in the South Bay reports the Palos Verdes Estates city council bizarrely voted not to install Bikes May Use Full Lane signs. Even though that remains the law, with or without the signs.
State
KPCC asks if California’s roads are ready for recreational marijuana, which appears likely to be approved by California voters next month. There shouldn’t be any major issues beyond what we already face; afterall, anyone who wants dope can get it now by claiming some sort of physical problem. Like nausea caused by the presidential campaign, for instance.
A Santa Maria credit union uses their Columbus Day holiday to build 200 bicycles to donate to abused and neglected children.
With LA’s CicLAvia coming this Sunday, Salinas hosts a 1.5 mile ciclovía of their own.
Sad news from Sacramento, as a man was killed in a collision with a bus while he was riding his bike.
National
You can find a lot of things when you ride, including some you really don’t want to. Like a human body in a Washington retaining pond.
Seattle opts to replace their failing bikeshare system with a city-wide fleet of ebikes.
Nice gesture from the Oklahoma State University marching band, as they pay tribute to a member of the Baylor marching band who was killed in a hit-and-run while riding his bike last week.
A Missouri columnist writes about the dangers of right hooks and dooring, suggesting cyclists should always ride in the traffic lane. Whether or not PVR posts signs saying you can.
Country singer Luke Bryan explains his solo bike crash at the end of a 28-mile ride last week; he had surgery to repair a broken clavicle over the weekend.
A Rochester NY pastor could soon be jumping through flames again; his prayers were answered when someone returned the 80 pound, custom-made bicycle he lost when it fell off his rack as he drove home from an August performance. On the other hand, riding through flames without divine intervention probably isn’t the best idea.
A man riding a Citi Bike bikeshare bicycle was beaten and robbed by five teens in New York’s Central Park.
Philadelphia police are looking for a bike-riding man suspected of attacking two prostitutes in recent days; he is believed to be the same man who killed one woman and attacked another earlier this year.
Kindhearted Philly police buy a new bike for a kid riding a beat-up borrowed chopper during the city’s Peace Ride.
International
Despite the efforts of Toronto’s former mayor to rip out the city’s bike lanes, it’s now a bicycling role model for other cities.
Caught on camera: A London bus driver clips a bike rider, apparently intentionally, for the crime of not getting the hell out of his way.
A Brit bicyclist is crowdfunding a motion-sensor theft alarm that emits an ear-piercing shriek as loud as a jumbo jet focused directly at anyone on the bike.
The creepy clown phenomenon has spread to the UK, as a bike rider gets harassed by masked occupants of a car.
A little windshield bias from Romania, where cyclists are blamed for causing 630 collisions since the first of the year. However, they fail to mention what percentage of bike crashes that represents, implying that the people on two wheels caused all of them, which is highly unlikely.
IKEA unveils their new belt-drive, car-replacement bicycle Down Under.
Life is cheap in New Zealand, where a truck driver gets community service and a curfew — yes, a curfew — while losing his license for a whole year for killing a bike-riding Chinese tourist.
Finally…
Why use an expensive parking lot to store cars for your dealership when you can just park them in the bike lane? You can thank a cyclist for every Ford that runs you off the road.
And this time of year, everyone needs to know what beer to pair with Halloween candy after a long ride.
………
Thanks to Vincent Malgren and John P. Lynch for their generous donations to support this site. If everyone who visits this site today donated just $10, it would fund BikinginLA for a full year.
………
On a personal note, thanks to everyone who expressed concern for the Corgi; she’s doing a little better, and seems to be on the road to recovery after a full weekend on the extreme weight loss plan.
Although she is in mourning right now.
Thanks to Erik Griswold for that last link.
No Morning Links today due to illness
No, not mine.
I’ve been up all night nursing a very sick Corgi, and haven’t had a chance to keep up with today’s news, let alone write about it, with the exception of the sad news from Sunday’s Long Beach Marathon.
So please accept my apology for today’s absence. And we’ll be back bright and early tomorrow.
Category: General /
Update: Bike rider dies of heart attack during Long Beach Marathon; was board member of Lightening Velo
The Long Beach Press-Telegram is reporting that a man apparently died as a result of what was described as a major medical emergency during the bicycle segment of today’s Long Beach Marathon.
According to the paper, the man, who has not been publicly identified, suffered a cardiac arrest while riding near the intersection of Ocean Blvd and Prospect Ave in Belmont Shore at 6:30 am Sunday.
Despite the effort of paramedics, he was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital.
No other information is available at this time.
This is the 62nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 25th in Los Angeles County.
Update: News like this is always tragic; it somehow seems even worse when it’s someone who’s well known in the cycling community.
While the victim still has not been publicly identified, I received the following email from Richard Rosenthal Monday evening.
I was on the ride with my girlfriend, and we both witnessed the paramedics giving CPR to a cyclist on ground. It really shook my up, as he was a older man in full kit, much as I am. It was on my mind the remainder of the ride, and when I found out Monday morning that the cyclist had died I was even more shaken.The news just got worse for me personally. I found out that the deceased was my friend Steve Hernandez. We both served together on the Board of Directors of Lightning Velo in Long Beach. Steve was one of the kindest people I have ever met….an imposing bear of a man with long hair and beard, but his personality couldn’t have been more opposite. Always quick with a smile and a laugh, he was one of the most beloved members of our club, and he will be missed sorely.
Update: The LA County coroner’s office confirms his identity as 59-year old Steven Hernandez.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Steve Hernandez and his family.
Thanks to Danny Gamboa and Richard Rosenthal for the heads-up.
Morning Links: Bike/ped deaths up in US, LA area bike events, and four-year dope ban for fan favorite Danielson
Still working on fixing the problem with email notifications for subscribers to this site. My sincere apologies to everyone who may be inconvenienced.
………
It’s getting rough out there, especially if you’re not protected by a couple tons of glass and steel.
Capital Weekly reports overall traffic fatalities were up 7.2% last year. However, bicycling fatalities spiked 12.2%, while pedestrian deaths climbed 9.5%; advocates blame a perfect storm of distracted drivers and inadequate infrastructure.
On the other hand, SoCal bike deaths are defying the national trend by running just slightly ahead of last year at this time, which ended with a total of 73 bicycling fatalities, down significantly from 89 deaths in 2014.
A Philadelphia writer says people are giving up on bicycling as the city’s streets are becoming more congested.
Meanwhile, London is taking a step in the right direction by rating trucks on a five point scale for the danger they pose to vulnerable road users; low scoring trucks will be banned from the city’s roads.
………
Let’s catch up with some upcoming events.
Celebrate the second anniversary of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument tomorrow.
The Pomona Valley Bike Coalition hosts the Pomona Pumpkin Patch Pedal on Saturday, and teams with Women on Wheels to present the Mamas and Me Pumpkin Patch Ride this Sunday.
Go bike camping with Milestone Rides from Ventura to Santa Paula and Ojai this weekend.
Combine bikes and beer when you tour some of Torrance’s newer breweries with a casual ride on Saturday the 15th.
The LACBC is offering a Basic Bike Skills Class on Tuesday the 18th.
The next LACBC Sunday Funday Ride explores NELA and DTLA, with a stop at The Wheelhouse for coffee on November 6th.
And of course, CicLAvia returns to the Heart of Downtown, with a spur to Mariachi Plaza, a week from Sunday, on October 15th.
………
Popular 38-year old US pro Tom Danielson accepts a four-year ban for doping after claiming he inadvertently ingested DHEA from a supplement containing Maca root. The two-time Tour of Utah champ could have faced a lifetime ban for a second offense, although a four-year ban effectively ends his career.
A 14-time British Paralympic champ says she won’t risk her life racing on open roads.
………
Local
Metro wants to know about your experience sharing the road with buses. In my case, I’d say surprisingly good with a few glaring exceptions.
You only have until the end of this month to order the colorful new LACBC team kit.
Santa Monica is encouraging everyone to go carfree today and walk, bike, skate or use transit.
SoCal Cycling interviews LA-based pro cyclist Phil Gaimon about his upcoming Malibu Gran Cookie Dough, which combines a challenging Gran Fondo along the coast with his penchant for cookies.
State
A Laguna Beach writer envisions a Coast Highway where parking has been removed, lanes reduced, and people walk and bike along a newly pleasant street.
Pedal-assist ebikes bring an Irvine couple back together on the way to better health.
A homeless man rides his bike through Orange County cleaning up streets, bridges and railroad tracks on a volunteer basis.
That Canadian ebike rider finally made it to Indio for the Desert Trip music festival, 2,000 miles later — not the 1,500 he expected — and 20 pounds lighter.
A San Francisco man wisely decides discretion is the better part of valor when a woman armed with a hammer exits a car and demands his bicycle.
DIY San Francisco cyclists get tired of waiting for the city to do something, and install their own bollards to create a separated bike lane.
A San Francisco man suffered life-threatening injuries when he was chased and stabbed by a bike-riding assailant.
National
A globetrotting Spokane cyclist would never have discovered a rail-to-trail conversion in his figurative backyard without a traffic-shy rescue dog.
Bighearted Indiana firefighters buy a new bicycle for a boy after his was stolen off his porch last month.
A Cincinnati bike rider was hit by a car during a rally urging drivers to slow down and watch out for pedestrians; he was rear-ended four weeks after his friend was killed on the same street.
Country star Luke Bryan is one of us, as he suffers a broken clavicle in a solo fall while riding to his concert, but performs anyway.
As New York faces the shutdown of a subway line, the mayor suggests closing a major street to all traffic except buses and bicycles.
Long Island police arrest a bike-riding purse snatcher.
Vibe talks to a black bike messenger about this weekend’s North American Cycle Courier Championship in New York City.
International
A Montreal bicyclist learns that video of a dangerously close pass isn’t enough to issue a ticket if the driver can’t be identified on the recording. Which is exactly the problem we have using bike cam video as evidence down here.
A Quebec cop will face manslaughter charges after allegedly running down a salmon cyclist at high speed, then backing over him.
A London cop goes undercover as a bike commuter to catch drivers passing too closely.
Talk about blaming the victim. British police threaten to prosecute a bike rider for swearing after showing them video of a driver nearly knocking him off his bike in a close pass.
A Scottish city will spend the equivalent of $118,000 to rip out a cycle track that angered residents, even though it didn’t reduce any traffic capacity, after a man rowed in the lane in protest.
Hold on to this list of the city’s best bike shops for your next trip to Dubai.
South Africa’s Democratic Alliance is against bike lanes in Johannesburg, but for them in Cape Town.
A Kiwi website talks with the national cycling director about plans to convert New Zealand into a bicycling nation
Finally…
If your “acquaintance” tries to kill you with a tree stake and steals your bike, maybe you need better friends. Now you can get a $4,000 ebike to match your extravagantly high-end BMW e-car.
And what do you do after stealing $10 million in jewels from a reality TV celebrity? Make your getaway by bicycle, of course.
………
Thanks to John Hall for his generous donation to support this site.
If everyone who visits this site today donated just $10, it would fund BikinginLA for a full year.
Category: Bicycle Safety, Bike Events, Car vs Bike, Injuries and Fatalities, Morning Links / Tags: bicycling, bicycling fatalities, bike events, bike safety, Los Angeles
