Hit-and-run driver busted behind bars for killing South LA father, LA considers civilian traffic cops, and Bike the Vote!

October 23, 2020 / / Comments Off on Hit-and-run driver busted behind bars for killing South LA father, LA considers civilian traffic cops, and Bike the Vote!

They didn’t have to look far to find one hit-and-run driver.

After three full months of searching, investigators identified the driver who killed a 37-year old father as he was riding with his two children in South LA.

Police identified 26-year old Los Angeles resident Moises Iscaya on October 6th as the driver who — allegedly — fled the scene after running down Jorge Guerra on July 8th; Guerra died after spending eight days in a coma.

Fortunately, his two children were uninjured, aside from the trauma of seeing their father killed in front of their eyes.

When LAPD officers searched for Iscaya, however, they found he was already being held by sheriff’s deputies on $2.2 million bail, charged with multiple counts including murder.

Maybe they should just add another murder count while they’re at it.

Unfortunately, felony hit-and-run resulting in death would only add a maximum of four years to whatever he gets if he’s convicted on the other charges.

Something that has to be changed if we ever want to stop the epidemic of hit-and-runs in this state.

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The Los Angeles City Council will consider using unarmed civilians and speed cams for traffic enforcement and collision investigations this morning.

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Calbike offers a reminder to Bike the Vote this year.

In every sense.

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Congratulations to Davis on their award-winning bike safety musical. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

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New York bike cops continue to use their bicycles as shields and weapons against protesters.

And bust protestors because their bikes fall over.

https://twitter.com/itsa_talia/status/1319035324488687616

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

A Boston suburb rips out a new bike lane after just six days, after vocal residents choose parking spaces over people’s lives.

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Local

Los Angeles could soon be the home of the nation’s largest ebike factory; privately owed ROKiT MADE plans to open next year to build “best-in-class e-Bike models across all price points in each market segment,” in a plant designed to accommodate up to 2,000 workers.

Santa Monica is planning to add a two-way separated bike lane protected by thin plastic bollards on Ocean Ave, replacing the current painted lane.

 

State

Santa Barbara’s new e-bikeshare system continues the transformation of the city’s main street, as State Street has been reclaimed from cars to provide space for outdoor shopping and dining.

Sad news from Porterville, where a 15-year old boy was killed riding his bike in a crosswalk.

A Fresno man faces charges after he was caught on video threatening a bike rider at knifepoint to steal his backpack.

San Francisco isn’t on track to meet the Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths in the next four years. But at least they’re trying, unlike a certain megalopolis to the south.

Davis is asking residents to take the Bike League’s Bicycle Friendly Community survey.

The City of Angels is building new bike lanes. No, the other City of Angels.

 

National

Urban planners from across the US consider repurposing traffic lanes for other uses in a post-pandemic world.

A writer for The Verge says driving the massively oversized Cadillac Escalade was one of the most stressful experiences of his life, while Outside says the new electric Hummer is the awesome pickup we’ve all been waiting for. Um, no.

A Colorado mountain biker rides the trail pioneered centuries ago by the Ute tribe.

Texas is launching a Drive Smart, Walk Smart, Bike Smart public safety campaign to combat a jump in bike and pedestrian crashes. Because everyone knows it’s better to air a few ads than do something about dangerous drivers and fix the damn streets.

A Kansas driver had his wrist slap sentence tossed out on appeal, after the court ruled the judge has exceeded her discretion by reducing his ten-year sentence for second-degree murder by over eight years; the court ordered him resentenced for running down a man with his car following a dispute.

A St. Louis nonprofit devoted to refurbishing bikes to donate to kids in need is slowly trying to rebuild after a building collapse destroyed hundreds of stored bicycles; the head of the group didn’t know the building they used for storage had been condemned seven years ago.

Good question. A Vermont paper asks if anyone can do anything about bike theft, while a bicyclist offers a tragic reminder to put your damn phone down while you ride.

Manhattan officials killed a proposal for a cargo bike corral to accommodate the bikes used for Whole Foods deliveries because it would have meant the loss of five lousy parking spaces.

DC’s Metro built bike corrals at three park and ride locations — and somehow spent $20,000 per space doing it.

Residents of a Maryland city are up in arms over groups of ill-mannered kids on bicycles swarming the streets.

Yet another example of keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, as a South Carolina man was sentenced to 20 years for the hit-and-run death of a bike rider after four previous DUI convictions.

A New Orleans bike group cancels their weekly light-up bike parade after it proves too popular during the pandemic.

 

International

Travel & Leisure lists the world’s top bicycling cities. Needless to say, Los Angeles didn’t make the list; Portland, Seattle and Minneapolis did.

Add these to your mountain bike bucket list. Bicycling recommends a handful of bikepacking singletrack trails across the US and around the world. Read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

They get it. A Bogotá, Colombia website says it’s time to protect vulnerable bike riders, because riding a bicycle shouldn’t be a capital crime.

Mexico’s Merida will build a 45-mile bike lane network circling the Yucatan town.

The bighearted owner of a Toronto bike shop gave a new bike to a frontline hospital worker whose bike was stolen as he worked a 28 hour shift.

Conservative councilors in the London borough of Hackney called for removing Low Traffic Neighborhoods — the country’s Slow Streets equivalent — despite their popularity with the city’s residents.

UK car insurance claims involving bike riders have doubled this year, as more people took to two wheels during the coronavirus lockdown.

Life is cheap in Great Britain, where a careless driver who killed a bike rider got just 30 months behind bars — which included time for also stealing 16 cars worth over $250,000.

Spain plans to reduce the standard speed limit in cities from the equivalent of 31 mph to 18 mph to improve safety for people who aren’t in cars.

Forget helmet laws; an Iranian woman was busted for riding a bicycle without a hijab.

 

Competitive Cycling

English cyclist Dan Martin took the third stage of the Vuelta, while the Giro got a new leader after Thursday’s stage as João Almeida cracked climbing the iconic Stelvio.

Apparently, Colombia cyclist Fernando Gaviria thought Covid-19 was so nice, he caught it twice.

VeloNews examines Anna van der Breggen’s successful strategy to win Sunday’s Tour of Flanders.

Highland could serve as a substitute if the annual Redlands Classic stage race isn’t able to roll next year.

The Cedar City, Utah edition of the Belgian Waffle Ride was the first gravel race to roll as the nation slowly continues a premature wakeup from Covid-19; VeloNews looks at the precautions that were taken to help keep everyone safe.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to ride your bike to commit a burglary, maybe the fireplace isn’t the best place to hide. Your next ride could result in glowing reviews. No, literally.

And someone must think roadkill looks better in stripes.

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

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

Update: Woman riding bike killed by semi driver in Long Beach hit-and-run; 2nd fatal Long Beach bicycling hit-and-run in 3 months

October 22, 2020 / / One comment

A woman has been killed while riding a bike in yet another SoCal hit-and-run.

And once again, it happened in Long Beach.

According to the Long Beach Post, the victim was struck by the driver of a semi-truck at Artesia Blvd and Downey Ave around 9 pm Wednesday.

The driver continued without stopping, leaving his victim, identified only as a 56-year old Bellflower resident, to die at the scene.

Unfortunately, there’s no word on which direction she was riding, or how the crash happened. And no information on which way the driver fled.

The truck is described only as a semi with a white cab and large white trailer. It may or may not have any visible damage.

Anyone with information is urged to call Long Beach Police investigators at 562/570-7355.

This is at least the 51st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 14th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

It’s also the second fatal bicycling hit-and-run in Long Beach in the last three months.

Update: The victim has been identified as 56-year old Lisa Termin of Bellflower.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Lisa Termin and all her loved ones.

Thanks to John McBrearty for the heads-up. 

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

Streetsblog honors BikinginLA sponsor; cars get bigger, stronger & deadlier; and Paris to eliminate half of parking spaces

October 21, 2020 / / Comments Off on Streetsblog honors BikinginLA sponsor; cars get bigger, stronger & deadlier; and Paris to eliminate half of parking spaces

Streetsblog LA is planning a week of virtual celebrations to honor this year’s Streetsie winners, including BikinginLA sponsors Jim Pocrass of Pocrass & De Los Reyes and Josh Cohen of Cohen Law Partners.

The festivities kick off this evening with a free Game Show on Zoom hosted by Streetsblog LA founder Damien Newton and Jim Pocrass, who is being honored with the 2020 Streetsie Patron’s Award.

That’s followed on Saturday with Ask Me Anything with LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl; Streetsblog wants to know what you’d like to ask her when she appears on the website’s Zoom party.

It all culminates next Tuesday with the 2020 Streetsie Award Dinner on Zoom.

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This is who we share the road with.

The next driver to run you off the road could be doing a whopping 316.11 miles per hour.

And this is what you have to look forward to in the not-too-distant future.

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SoCal drivers go ballistic if anyone suggests removing a handful of parking spaces.

Yet Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo is moving forward with plans to remove half the city’s parking spaces to reduce vehicular traffic and create more space for bike riders and pedestrians.

Maybe someone should tell LA Mayor Eric Garcetti that this is what real climate mayors do.

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This is the cost of traffic violence.

John Clary forwards news that popular NHRA drag racing crew chief Eric Lane was killed in a collision while walking back from a Texas restaurant Monday night.

He was reportedly lying in the roadway when he was struck, which suggests that the driver who killed him may not have been the first one to hit him.

Just the first one to stick around afterwards.

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Nothing like going for a little bike ride in San Diego.

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Local

Kindhearted members of the Santa Clarita Rotary Club teamed with two other organizations to buy or refurbish nearly two dozen bicycles for five local veterans and their families.

A suspected drunk driver fled the scene after crashing into a Long Beach bike rider. And was arrested for DUI after returning to the crash site.

 

State

Santa Barbara approves plans for an e-bikeshare system on the city’s State Street.

A former Vallejo police officer describes the shooting that killed bike rider Ronell Foster two years ago, and the seemingly lax investigation that followed.

Carmel sportscaster Jeff Rickard is finally back on his bike, a year after coding twice following a massive heart attack.

A San Jose mother pens a powerful op-ed calling for better safety for bike riders and pedestrians, four years after her teenage son was killed by a driver while walking.

A Gold Country bike rider says sometimes the people on two wheels are the problem.

 

National

Business Insider explains how the bike industry kept up with a 121% jump in bicycle sales during the pandemic lockdown. Hint: they didn’t.

It’s not your imagination. Bike theft is up across the US, as much as 68% according to Bike Index. Yet another reminder to register your bike for free before anything happens.

VeloNews talks with ultra-cyclist Jack Thomson, who set a world record earlier this month by riding over 2,100 miles in just seven days.

Fashion and lifestyle magazine Flux considers five things drivers do that can cause a bike crash, along with one bike riders are famous for — even though drivers do it, too.

Bike and running clubs are going to court to force an Iowa city to reopen a gate blocking access between two bike paths.

A massive fire destroyed a nearly 70-year old bike shop in the Bronx, leaving rows of melted bicycles.

A Georgia nonprofit is hoping to launch a mountain bike program for people with disabilities to get them out of their wheelchairs and onto trails using adaptive bicycles.

Life is cheap in Florida, where a Pinellas County sheriff’s deputy walked with a less than three-week suspension for colliding with a bike rider while on duty, despite violating “multiple rules, regulations and operating policies.”

 

International

Road.cc explains how to make your bike new again, and lists twelve of the newest ped-assist ebikes. Meanwhile, a writer for the magazine celebrates the joys of weird bike tech.

An Ontario, Canada city has ripped out a riverfront bike path with no word on when they’ll replace it. Or if.

Nothing like walking out after a 28-hour shift as a frontline Toronto hospital worker only to find someone stole your bike.

Apparently, Halifax, Nova Scotia residents are all for bicycling, as long as it doesn’t mean sacrificing trees or parking.

Britain’s Parliament will hear a bizarrely skewed windshield perspective on traffic safety from a climate science-denying driver’s group that calls for higher speed limits and ripping out bike lanes.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Giro limps to a finish as Colombian sprinter Fernando Gaviria becomes the latest cyclist to test positive for coronavirus.

The Giro and Vuelta overlap in this pandemic-shortened year, with former Tour de France winner Chris Froome falling a whopping eleven minutes behind in the opening stage.

British Olympic track cycling hero Sir Chris Hoy insists he didn’t have any natural ability as a cyclist.

Women’s cycling seems to be an afterthought this year, as the Women’s WorldTour continues with the Three Days Brugge De Panne. Sort of like every other year, unfortunately.

 

Finally…

That feeling when a bike thief returns your bike with an apology. We may have to cope with angry LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to deal with aggressive turkeys.

And seriously, who hasn’t ridden a bicycle dressed as a guitar-playing headless horseman?

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

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

Ped superhero Peatónito studies LA Vision Zero fail; Slow Streets win at LA Council, and bike rider busted for Metro murder

October 20, 2020 / / Comments Off on Ped superhero Peatónito studies LA Vision Zero fail; Slow Streets win at LA Council, and bike rider busted for Metro murder

I’ve never been one for the whole superhero genre, preferring to find heroes in real life.

But I make an exception for Mexico City’s caped protector of pedestrians, the legendary Peatónito.

So I was pleased when he popped up in my inbox today, courtesy of an email from pedestrian advocacy group Los Angeles Walks.

Nowadays it feels like we can all use a hero or shero. So we’re happy to introduce Peatónito! He comes to us from Mexico City, where he began his masked work saving lives and slowing traffic. And Peatónito has traveled beyond, from NYC to Los Angeles, fighting against the crime of poorly designed streets & sidewalks and reckless driving through creative public demonstrations and street theater.

This summer, Los Angeles Walks partnered with the crime fighter as we trained future generations of peatónitos and organized for safe street changes. He finished his training at UCLA’s Institute of Transportaiton Studies, where he penned a pedestrian manifesto (or his graduate capstone paper) titled The Pedestrian Battle of Los Angeles: How to Empower Communities to Plan and Implement Pedestrian Road Safety Infrastructure.

And what a manifesto it is.

Even a brief summary nails the city’s gaping equity gap, as well as the experience most of us have had in fighting for a safer city, for people on two feet or two wheels.

• Walking in a non-white census tract increases the probability of being killed or severely injured by a motor vehicle in Los Angeles (Figure 1). Black people are only 8% of the population, but 20% of all pedestrian fatalities. Meanwhile, median income, vulnerable age (children and older adults), and the number of cars in a household do not have a statistically significant relationship with pedestrian road safety.

• City council members are responsive to residents’ demands and threats opposing pedestrian-focused traffic safety. Even when other city agencies and LADOT support these improvements, the city council has more power over deciding the outcome of road safety infrastructure plans. Consequently, there is a need to balance this power dynamic.

• Affluent, car-oriented residents tend to have stronger influence over council members, who prioritize their concerns over those of underserved people. This power dynamic in LA permits small groups of noisy stakeholders to hijack a conversation; they manipulate the narrative to make it seem convenient for everyone. It is vital to give more power to the people that fight for safe streets, whose voices

“The pedestrian is nobody in this city, he has been forgotten by authorities and our own citizenry. The curious and paradoxical thing is that we are all pedestrians at some moment. As such, we have forgotten ourselves.” – Peatónito

 

Here’s how Los Angeles Walks succinctly sums up Peatónito’s recommendations.

• The City must recommit and strengthen the Vision Zero program, a city-wide initiative to reduce traffic fatalities to ZERO by 2025.

• The City budget should adequately fund and staff all of Vision Zero’s goals, including the Dignity Infused Community Engagement (DICE) project.

• The state should get rid of the 85th percentile rule, a state rule that requires speed to be set at the average of ongoing traffic, which has led to what many call “speed creep.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Let’s hope he sticks around. LA pedestrians — and bike riders — could really use our own superhero.

Photos and quotes courtesy of Los AngelesWalks. 

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Speaking of which, it looks like people won out over cars in the City of Angels for a change.

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They got her.

Twenty-five-year old Los Angeles resident Irma Monroy was busted for the murder of a Metro employee at DTLA’s 7th Street train station, after she allegedly stabbed the victim in the chest following a heated dispute.

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There’s truly a special place in hell for the Arkansas driver who — allegedly — rammed a woman jogging on the side of the road with his pickup, then carried her off and sexually assaulted her before burying her beside a rural road.

Let’s hope he ends up in a very deep, dark pit for a very long time. Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.

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The bike swap meet scheduled for this weekend by the Mid City West Community Council has been postposed until the following weekend.

Which could come in handy now that the bike boom has cleaned out many bike shops.

MCW Neighborhood Bike Swap
Sat. Oct. 31st, 2020 Halloween!!
7765 Melrose Ave, (Sportie LA parking lot across from Fairfax High)
9 am  to 1 pm. 

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This is why you need to register your bike.

Now.

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Here’s your biennial reminder to get out and bike the vote.

https://twitter.com/starryflo/status/1317571256456159234

And yes, I want to be like him when I grow up.

Meanwhile, it’s nice to see a community organization pressing the candidates for LA’s 10th Council District about their stands on active transportation.

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Looks like The New Yorker is catching up on the city’s coronavirus bike boom.

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

Business owners in Bristol, England are calling for the removal of a new bike lane, claiming it’s killing their business. Because evidently, ripping it out makes far more sense than trying to entice the passing bike riders into their shops.

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

A bike-riding San Bernardino County man has been busted for a series of peeping, burglary and indecent exposure incidents.

Heartbreaking news, as a dog died five days after a bike rider allegedly kicked it in the head for no apparent reason as his owners were running with him on a Minnesota trail. Although something tells me there may be more to the story; bicyclists usually don’t kick at a dog unless it’s attacking them.

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Local

Another paper from UCLA’s Luskin Center documents a century of failed efforts to reign in LA traffic.

 

State

Sad news from San Diego, where a man apparently died of natural causes while mountain biking on a canyon trail near the Miramar National Cemetery.

Santa Barbara considers installing a docked ebike bikeshare system on the city’s main street.

More sad news, this time from Porterville, after a hit-and-run driver was arrested for killing a 15-year old boy as he rode his bike Friday night.

Cities Today asks if San Jose’s new bike plan can boost bicycling rates. Only if they actually build it, as LA bike riders can attest.

The family of an fallen teenage bike rider in Elk Grove calls for changes at the dangerous intersection where he was killed; the speed limit there was recently boosted from 35 mph to 45 mph — no doubt thanks to the deadly 85th Percentile Law.

An Oakland construction site is the safest block in the city for bike riders, after workers installed a Jersey barrier on the left side of the bike lane for a change.

 

National

Actually, that new soft, squishy bike helmet looks pretty damn cool. If it actually works, that is.

Bicycling staff and readers share their spookiest bike rides ever, just in time for Halloween. For a change, there’s no Yahoo mirror site for this one, but try opening it in a private window if the site blocks you out.

A new crowdfunded grant program is designed to help BIPOC filmmakers — Black, Indigenous and People of Color — tell their stories.

C|net offers their picks for the best ebikes.

They get it. A Texas magazine says Houston’s Vision Zero program won’t succeed if it’s done one intersection at a time, and that it calls for a “reckoning that the car-heavy city does not appear ready to make.” They could write the same story about Los Angeles.

New York has completed work on a road diet and two-way cycle track on 5th Avenue through Harlem.

Another pedestrian has been injured in a crash involving New York’s Citi Bike. Except this time, a 72-year old woman was hit by a van driver servicing the bikeshare system.

Actress Famke Janssen is one of us, as she rides her bike with a massive plastic bin on the front through New York to pick up some trash bags. And looks pretty damn stylish doing it.

 

International

Cycling News recommends the best saddles for when your ride hits the rocks.

A Toronto letter writer complains that few of the city’s bike riders wear helmets, despite a mandatory helmet law. Although the headline writer deserves to get their knuckles rapped for saying “Bike lanes are only good if cyclists wear a helmet,” which is factually incorrect, and has nothing to do with what the writer wrote.

Belfast, Northern Ireland has been named the most dangerous city in the UK for people on bicycles, with a whopping 71% of people surveyed saying they’d been involved in some sort of crash in the city.

The EuroNews website wonders why Europe’s largest bike-producing country has been so slow to ride them.

This one is going on my bike bucket list. Italy is opening an 86-mile paved bike trail around the country’s largest lake. Or maybe you’d prefer a 260-mile bike path from Paris to the Normandy coast.

How Spain’s fourth largest city became a leading bike city in just 15 years by building out an entire connected bike network all at once. As LA bicyclists have learned the hard way, we’ll never get there with a disconnected, piecemeal approach. 

Now that’s scary. A Singapore driver records himself swerving at the last moment after coming up way too fast on a bike rider taking the lane.

 

Competitive Cycling

The race moto rider Julian Alaphilippe crashed into in the Tour of Flanders says he can’t help feeling guilty about the crash. Although the people who really deserve the blame are the ones who allow motorcycles near cyclists in the peloton to begin with.

Meanwhile, Alaphilippe had surgery on his hand to repair two bones that were broken in the crash.

Cycling Weekly explains what to look for in the final week of the Giro.

VeloNews looks forward to the Vuelta, with five ways this year’s race will be unlike any other. Race organizers hope to emulate the Tour de France, which went off without a single Covid-19 infection, as opposed to the Giro, which didn’t.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you take social distancing just a little too far. And maybe naming your saddle after the #1 enema maker isn’t the best idea.

Or is it #2?

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

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

Driver busted for Hawthorne hit-and-run, 16 LA-area bike riders shot by police, and bike-riding woman murders Metro worker

October 19, 2020 / / Comments Off on Driver busted for Hawthorne hit-and-run, 16 LA-area bike riders shot by police, and bike-riding woman murders Metro worker

A couple quick notes before we start. 

Today is the last day to register to vote before next month’s presidential and city council elections, along with a number of other important federal, state and local offices. Not to mention a massive number of California state propositions. 

So take a few minutes to make sure your voice is heard.

Also, my apologies to everyone who tipped me to news stories over the weekend; with a few exceptions, I’ve somehow managed to lose track of who sent what. 

But please accept my thanks anyway. I always appreciate the help, even if my feeble brain fails me from time to time. 

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Hawthorne police have busted the driver who fled the scene after running a red light and slamming into a 14-year old boy as he rode his bike in a crosswalk on Rosecrans Avenue earlier this month.

Twenty-eight-year old Darlene Delgadillo confessed to driving the car after police traced it to a home in Gardena.

Meanwhile, the now-15 year old victim remains in a coma with major head trauma, as well as a broken leg, arm and feet, more than two weeks after the crash.

Yet despite the horrific harm she allegedly caused, Delgadillo will face a maximum of just four years behind bars for felony hit-and-run under California law.

Maybe someday we’ll get our elected leaders to take this crime seriously.

Because they sure as hell aren’t doing it now.

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Apparently, Dijon Kizzee was just the tip of the iceberg.

An investigative report from the LA Times reveals that 16 bike riders have been shot by police or sheriff’s deputies in LA County over the past 15 years for what started out as simple traffic violations.

Eleven of those were killed.

The Times identified 16 cases since 2005 where a stop for bike violations in Los Angeles County resulted in a police shooting, according to interviews and a review of public records from the district attorney, coroner and various court cases. Most of the stops occurred in communities made up largely of Black and Latino residents. In 11 incidents, including Kizzee’s, the bicyclists — all male and Black or Latino — were killed.

Among those 16 cases, violations ranged from riding on the sidewalk to biking without a light or on the wrong side of the road. In 11 cases, authorities said they found a firearm. In one shooting, deputies found an airsoft gun they said looked like a semiautomatic handgun.

It’s an important read, because constantly having to worry about getting stopped by the cops for biking while Black or brown is bad enough.

But something is seriously wrong when people of color also have to worry about getting the death penalty for a simple traffic violation.

Thanks to everyone who sent this one to my attention.

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Police are on the lookout for a bike-riding woman who fatally stabbed an 18-year Metro employee Friday night following a dispute at the 7th and Metro station in DTLA.

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The city council’s Transportation Committee will consider the fate of the city’s current Slow Streets at 1 pm today, with options ranging from making them more permanent, to removing them entirely.

Here’s how to join in.

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Public radio station KPFK is in deep financial danger, and could take the popular Bike Talk program down with it without your help.

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Bicycling and SRAM will examine the issues facing people who have been swept under the rug for far too long.

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This is who we share the road with.

There’s a special place in hell for a Montana man who was charged with a sex crime involving an 11-year old girl, after he was previously charged with intentionally running down a man on a bicycle, claiming it was his bike. Although you’d think if it was really his bike, he wouldn’t want to run it over with his car.

You don’t need to speak Spanish to get that maybe this driver should pay attention to the road instead of complaining about people on two wheels.

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Thanks to Erik Griswold for the tip.

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This will restore your faith in humanity.

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Now this is art.

The newest Banksy that popped up on a Nottingham, England street incorporates an actual beat-up bicycle chained to a pole in front of wall art of a girl using the missing bike tire as a hula hoop.

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Seriously, he can paint that on my wall anytime.

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Speaking of art, the annual Bicycle Film Festival is back on this weekend, after going virtual due to the coronavirus crisis.

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

Police in Chico, California are looking for a woman who fled the scene after flooring her car and slamming into a woman on a bicycle in an apparently intentional attack, before continuing on to run over an employee at a gas station; police have recovered her car, but the driver is still on the run.

Someone ripped out the plastic bollards marking a popup bike lane in Glasgow, Scotland, and tossed them into a canal.

A New Zealand bike rider was the victim of a road raging driver who repeatedly honked and rammed the back of his bike, before finally knocking him off; the 65-year old driver faces a charge of dangerous driving causing injury.

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

A 19-year old New York man could face a murder charge after a group of bike-riding teens argued with a 79-year man before pushing him to the ground; the victim died later after being rushed to a hospital. There’s not a pit in hell deep enough.

Police in Edinburgh are looking for the masked bike-riding man who stole a woman’s watch and diamond rings as she was walking on a bike path.

A Belfast, Northern Ireland bike rider says he’s really, really sorry for stabbing two women and punching two others in a one-day assault spree, for no apparent reason; fortunately, none of the women suffered life-threatening injuries.

A 67-year old Australian man recovering from open heart surgery was left bloodied and banged up after he was hit from behind by a bike rider while walking on a pedestrian bridge. Yet another reminder to alway ride with extra caution around pedestrians. Not only are people unpredictable, but they’re the only ones out there more vulnerable than we are.

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Local

A local paper profiles 26-year old Alexandria Contreras as she runs for a seat on the Downey city council; the bike-riding candidate is a big supporter of community involvement, housing, urban safety and the environment.

Kindhearted members of the Rotary Club of Santa Clarita donated 17 bicycles to veterans in need. Although those little kids don’t look like veterans to me. But what do I know?

 

State

A 49-year old San Diego man suffered a broken leg and broken ribs when a motorcyclist slammed into a group of bike riders in the city’s Pacific Beach neighborhood; the motorcyclist walked away with road rash.

The Los Angeles Times offers more information about the 14-year old boy facing a possible hate crime charge for punching a San Diego rabbi.

More bad new from Northern California, where a 14-year old boy was killed in a crash while riding his bike in Elk Grove.

 

National

Here’s your chance to buy that really cool, but really strange hubless ebike for under two grand; the bikemaker promises it’s virtually theft proof.

Despite last spring’s lighter traffic, the rate of traffic deaths jumped nearly twenty percent, mostly because of who was driving, and how. Or rather, how fast.

A new AARP survey examines bicycling among the over 50 set, concluding that many older American’s can’t imagine not being able to ride a bike.

Cycling Savvy offers a discussion of what to look for in rear view bike mirrors. Besides cars, that is.

Apparently, soap star Susan Lucci is one of us; Katie Holmes is one of us, too.

The kindhearted members of a Utah Masonic lodge gave new bicycles to 68 elementary school students as a reward for reading.

Tragic news from Texas, where a longtime scout for the NBA’s Houston Rockets was killed after he hit an open culvert in a construction zone with his bike.

A New York bus driver who killed a bikeshare user in 2017 isn’t content with the slap on the wrist he received, going to court in an attempt to have the city’s failure to yield law invalidated — even though he only got a paltry 30 days behind bars.

The partner of a New York man has filed a lawsuit alleging that he was critically injured by falling off a defective VanMoof ebike during a test ride, because missing screws allegedly allowed the fender to come in contact with the rear wheel; the victim remains in a coma over two weeks after the crash.

Speaking of New York, the bike boom means increasing numbers of bike riders are using the city’s bridges — but avoiding the iconic, if cramped and crowded, Brooklyn Bridge.

 

International

If you’re looking for speed, roll on latex in your tires.

I want to be like her when I grow up. An 80-year old English woman celebrated her birthday with an 80-mile bike ride.

A British man set a new record for riding a bike without getting anywhere, riding a stationary bike for more than 11 days.

Seriously? Police in Dubai seized 370 bicycles in a single week because their owners violated traffic laws, in a bizarre campaign to improve traffic safety. If they were serious about improving safety, they’d seize cars from scofflaw drivers, instead.

A South African writer talks with Black and white bike riders, and concludes it’s the feeling of freedom that keeps us riding year after year.

Aussies are warned that the worldwide bike shortage means you need to do something now if you want to get a new bicycle by Christmas.

 

Competitive Cycling

An American cyclist is an unexpected hair’s breadth from the Giro podium. Twenty-two-year old Phoenix resident and former world junior time trial champ Brandon McNulty of UAE Team Emirates rode to a third place finish in the individual time trial on Saturday, leaping from 12th to 4th, with another brief time trial in the final stage.

VeloNews offers a recap of who did well, and who cracked in Saturday’s time trial.

Thirty-nine-year old Aussie Adam Hansen is throwing in the towel after 13 years and 29 grand tours, saying he’s “kind of done with it now,” and looks forward to switching to triathlons next year.

Congratulations if you had Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel in your Tour of Flanders pool.

Great French hope Julian Alaphilippe broke his hand in two places when he became just the latest cyclist to crash into a race moto in the Tour of Flanders. Once again, there is no excuse for allowing motorcycles in the peloton. Keep them in front of the cyclists or well behind, for everyone sake.

Hats off to Swiss cyclist Camille Balanche, who became the first out and proud gay woman to win the world Downhill Mountain Biking World Championship.

 

Finally…

When is a bike path not a bike path? When there’s a big frigging utility pole in the middle of it. Your next bike helmet could be soft and squishy.

And maybe people don’t really love their cars after all.

Twitter post

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

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

Mid-City bike swap meet next weekend, new Westchester bollard-protected bike lane, and Culver City Slow Streets

October 16, 2020 / / Comments Off on Mid-City bike swap meet next weekend, new Westchester bollard-protected bike lane, and Culver City Slow Streets

Clear your calendar for a Mid-City bike swap next Saturday, sponsored by the neighborhood  community council.

The Mid City West Community Council is sponsoring a Neighborhood Bike Swap on Saturday Oct. 24th from 9:00am to 1:00pm in the Sportie LA parking lot at 7765 Melrose Ave. (across from Fairfax High School).

As more people are taking to bicycles for local transportation and exercise the MCWCC is sponsoring a Bike Swap as an opportunity to get rid of an old bike or get a new (used) one. The Swap is open to anyone who wants to buy, sell or trade a bike, Kids bikes are especially in demand.

We will have a professional, certified mechanic on hand to help with minor adjustments and repairs as well as a League Certified Bicycle instructor to offer safety tips and hand out safety material.

Thanks to Taylor Nichols for the heads-up.

Photo by Valeria Boltneva from Pexels.

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As we mentioned last week, you’ll now find a new protected bike lane on Manchester Ave in Westchester.

If you can call plastic bollards protection from multi-ton vehicles, that is.

But still.

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Let’s all welcome Culver City to the Slow Streets club.

https://twitter.com/BikeCulverCity/status/1316585788935729152

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This is who we share the road with.

Petaluma police took the rare step of impounding a driver’s car for doing doughnuts at a sideshow, based strictly on video evidence. So much for the rule that officers have to see a violation themselves before taking action.

An Indiana driver is proud to share his homicidal intentions. Although it would be more helpful if it was in front, so you could see it before they run you over. Thanks to Melissa McCurley for the link.

A Melbourne, Australian man is out on bail after four police officers were killed when they were hit by a truck, after pulling him over for speeding and possible drug use; the heartless jerk recorded at least one of the officers dying, then just got back in his car and drove away.

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

A curb-hugging Kentucky bike rider pens an open letter to the angry driver who blared on the horn while nearly running him off the road.

Then there’s this.

Twitter post

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Local

It turns out the sister of former national crit champ Rahsaan Bahati is a top Hollywood makeup artist.

Put your damn mask on when you ride in Burbank, or face a fine up to $500 for repeated violations.

Streets for All endorses Michelle Hammond for South Pasadena City Council.

The rich get richer. Santa Monica approved a plan to expand the city’s protected bike lane network. And unlike the megalopolis nextdoor, they actually build out their bike plans. Thanks to Sindy for the tip. 

They get it. An op-ed in Santa Monica’s Argonaut says the urban future is carless, with bikes and e-scooters paving the way to navigate post-Covid cities.

 

State

You have until next Thursday to offer your input on the proposed California Transportation Plan. Hint: Tell ’em to stop wasting money on expanding freeways to create more induced demand.

Last week’s 270-mile Golden State Tour from Paso Robles to Manhattan Beach raised $140,000 to help people with paralysis.

Newport Beach quadruples the fine for violating the speed limit on the city’s boardwalk; you’ll now face a $200 fine for riding faster than 8 mph.

This should be interesting. BikeSD is hosting a ride tomorrow to explore the history of Black, indigenous and people of color in the city.

A San Luis Obispo weekly says the annual Tour of Paso bike race, which was delayed by the coronavirus crisis, will finally roll on Saturday, November 1st. Except the 1st is actually a Sunday, and it’s a charity ride, not a race. 

 

National

No surprise here, as a new insurance study finds most e-scooter injuries happen on sidewalks, not in the street.

If you have an older Peloton, your pedals could be about to let you down.

A Las Vegas paper says bicycling provides an intimate look at the region’s scenic Red Rock Canyon.

Great idea. A new Colorado program is providing free ebikes for low-income essential workers to study the effect it has on traffic.

A Colorado woman may have been the first Black woman to ride the 5,000-mile TransAmerica Trail. As usual, you can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you out.

Houston finally gets around to banning parking in bike lanes.

This is the cost of traffic violence. An Illinois bike rider who was run down by a semi-truck driver was a doctor at a local hospital; he died at a hospital in the chain he helped manage.

Bike thefts are booming in New York, too. And locks don’t seem to make any difference.

More proof bike lanes pay. A new study shows Baltimore’s proposed 35-mile protected bike lane network would jumpstart the local economy, resulting in $113 million in new business activity each year, while boosting property values $314 million and reducing miles driven by 8.6 million per year.

 

International

Strava has taken a step to protect user privacy by making the fly-by feature opt-in, rather than the default setting; the option allows users to see the full route of people they pass, possibly resulting in safety and security risks.

A new study from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy rates the world’s most walkable cities. Bogota, Colombia came out on top; American cities, not so much.

London’s Independent picks eight bicycling tops to get you through the fall, while MSN ranks the best bike jackets.

Horrible story from the UK, where a woman froze to death after falling off her bike while riding through a cemetery last winter; tragically, a passerby called police after finding her, but they only spent nine minutes looking for her, without ever getting out of their car.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 74-year old Scottish man living in Colorado raised the equivalent of over $51,000 for Scotland’s National Trust by riding 3,000 miles across the US.

European bike advocacy groups protest a proposed European Union review that could put the legal status of the booming ebike market at risk.

Indian bike riders protest when a driver was fined for mounting a bike rack on the back of his car; apparently, the law bans anything extending past the rear of a vehicle.

An Aussie university lecturer says people are more likely to ride their bikes if they can carry more stuff on them.

 

Competitive Cycling

At least one team has called for cancelling this year’s Giro d’Italia, two weeks into the three-week stage race.

The latest Giro Covid-19 toll includes 17 motorcycle cops guarding a parallel ebike race running ahead of the pro race each day. So they can manage to run a second race, the same day, on the same route for ebikes, but they can’t manage to stage a parallel women’s race?

Everything is up in the air for next April’s scheduled Redlands Classic due to Covid-19.

 

Finally…

Your next bike could be inflatable. When a goose is your bicycle wingman.

And apropos to the season, maybe your next ride should be to a haunted forrest.

Or even through one, if you’re brave enough.

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

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