April 10, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on That viral Covid-19 exercise study isn’t, LA approves Avalon Blvd Complete Street, and current Camp Pendleton closures
It’s super easy to get freaked out when you’re now learning that you need to stay upwards of 32 feet away from a runner and 65 feet away from a cyclist in front of you. In some areas, this is not even possible. But take a deep, socially-distanced breath. This paper is not a vetted study nor a study on disease transmission. And it’s important to take both of those factors seriously right now before potentially spreading what could be misinformation.
She goes on to explain that it’s just a white paper, rather than a peer-reviewed study, based on the computer simulations like the ones used to explore wind resistance and drafting.
And while airborne transmission of Covid-19 is theoretically possible, a Chinese study of more than 75,000 cases did not find a single instance of the virus spreading that way.
So while group rides are out for now, it should still be okay to take a quick solo ride. With the proper precautions, of course.
In the end, the advice still stands: Stay home as much as you can. Wash your hands often. Ride and run solo, striving for as much physical distance as you can from others—but definitely at least six feet. Wear a buff or bandana if you’re going to be in highly trafficked areas. If you feel at all sick stay home.
Thanks to Robert Leone for forwarding news of the latest road closures in Camp Pendleton.
Please see the following closure updates as of April 9, 2020:
Stuart Mesa Road – Northbound and Southbound lanes CLOSED from Las Flores (41 Area) to Las Pulgas Road. *Open for Emergency Traffic only. Bike route remains closed.
Beach Club Road – Closed. *No Emergency traffic.
Vandegrift Blvd – OPEN to the public in both directions. *Right-hand eastbound lane CLOSED in Box Canyon.
Del Mar Gate – CLOSED inbound and outbound until further. *No Emergency Traffic. CLOSURE DUE TO COVID-19
Gear Patrol says this could be the ideal time to buy a new bike, while some shops and bike brands are offering coronavirus deals. Just be sure to check with your local bike shop before buying anything online; they need the business, and may match or beat whatever deals you might find.
Talk about a bad week. An Illinois woman was fired from both of her jobs because of the coronavirus shutdown, then had her bike and purse stolen when she went to apply for another one. But her luck turned when a cop recovered her bike and bag, and a kindhearted stranger gave her a check for $1,000.
One of the first American cyclists to ride in Europe looks back at the cancelled Paris-Roubaix race, calling it “brutal and magical and the stuff of myth,” and insisting you can’t really understand it until you ride it.
April 9, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Guest commentary from the South Bay, LA and OC closed this weekend, and give a lot more distance when you walk or ride
Our anonymous South Bay correspondent has a lot on her mind today.
And all of it worth reading, which is why I’m reposting her email. There’s a lot to unpack here, so I hope you’ll give it a good read.
Including a couple reminders of the problems women face on their bikes that men don’t, especially at night.
Yesterday afternoon I rode to Carla Becerra’s ghost bike, with the intention of posting a little sign to remind the world that she was a registered nurse who we should have on the front lines right now, and also with a little P.S. (piece of smacktalk) addressed to the skunk who stole her jewelry.
There was a necklace hanging on the ghost bike. Just a piece of costume jewelry that the rain hasn’t been kind to. It was the bike’s only ornamentation.
It appears to have an olive green beveled stone pendant in a bronze setting, and several smaller, opaque chartreuse stones, clear glass beads, and pale blue gems on a tarnished silver or bronze alloy chain. I took it.
Can you contact the family and ask if it might be hers? If it is, they should have it. If not, I have to return it to the ghost bike.
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I am cranky not knowing how court cases are proceeding, especially the Banks and Lindsley cases.
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The speeding drivers lately are less worrisome than the speeding drivers in the rightmost lane. I swear, close calls lately have been a lot closer.
Why the f are drivers with two completely free lanes to their left still trying to share my lane, a substandard width lane that’s already occupied, at 45mph???
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On Saturday night, on a stretch of my commute through an area between the freeway and a commercial/business park, a car slowed wayyy down as it came up from behind. It had barely passed as I hit the brakes and did a track stand at its 5 o’clock. Its driver yelled, “WANT SOME CASH?”
Are.you.fucking.kidding.me.jpeg.
I bellowed my standard response, which is a loud, stern, unambiguous, “Get away from me and stay away from me.” And then swerved behind him to flood his rearview with 1100 lumens. He took off.
For the record, since it’s pertinent information, I was wearing knee-high Dr Martens with cargo pants tucked in, a long-sleeved t-shirt, a reflective jacket, and a provocatively sexy giant lump of a 45L-capacity Chrome bag. And no make-up.
The bars are closed. The strip clubs are closed. The corners & bus stops are empty of trafficked girls.
The lonely and the predatory are still out there, though.
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Much closer to home, I’ve taken to cutting through the empty parking lots of another commercial park in the past few weeks, mainly because there are cameras that can be accessed if I turn up missing.
Two nights ago, a couple of guys were vaping in front of a business, door open, lights on inside. One of them yelled at me, “Stay safe!” Last night, they were out there, so I stopped to say hi and ask them not to yell at me. The one guy is the business owner. He and his friend are sleeping inside the office with guns, just in case. They’re worried about their fledgling business and looters (and possibly saving on residential rent.) Anyway, I told them I’d alert them if I saw anything suspicious while passing through, and I expect they’ll continue to have their smoke break right about my commute time. This area is usually a ghost town but now I feel a little safer with my own personal armed bodyguards.
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Some nights I would catch a northbound bus to cut a few miles off my commute (especially if, for example, it rained), but that particular transit agency has cut its service hours to 6am-9pm. Us schlubby little wage slaves who man the warehouses & run the mini-marts & stock the shelves & bake the factory bread aren’t the ones who benefit from such operating hours. And the 9-to-5ers who could commute exclusively during these hours are now working remotely. So fuck you if you’re off swing shift at 11pm, or if you work graveyards. Just stop bein’ essential, lol.
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Last Friday shortly before 11pm, a rider was hit and left for dead on El Segundo Blvd, just a half mile west of a corner where a house was hit by a drunk driver on March 29th. And Monday about 7:45pm, a driver with a previous DUI hit a cyclist in East LA. Nothing in the news. And I wonder if these drivers are simply released, despite the violent nature of their crimes.
This is why people keep dying on the streets. An Alberta judge acquitted the driver who killed an off-duty Mountie as he rode his bike on the shoulder of a highway, blaming the sun and shadows for making the victim hard to see. Even though the driver shouldn’t have been driving on the shoulder in the first place. Never mind that he refused to take an alcohol test after an officer smelled it on his breath.
Piers Morgan, host of Good Morning Britain, apologized to a Member of Parliament for the “complete moron” on a bike who kept riding through the background of their TV interview. He also blamed the bike rider for violating the county’s three-foot social distancing requirement, even though he doesn’t appear to come that close.
A London woman with cystic fibrosis will ride the equivalent of 62 miles in her garden this weekend to celebrate the third anniversary of the lung transplant that saved her life, after the country’s lockdown forced her off the streets. And despite the fact her new lungs are failing.
An image created by San Diego’s Serge Issakov makes the problem of group rides in the age of coronavirus pretty damn clear.
Right now, we’re all better off staying home.
But if you have to ride, ride alone or with members of your own household. Also stick close to home, and save the epic and group rides for when this is finally over, whenever that may be.
Individuals are encouraged to get out and ride their bikes for up to two hours in an area where they can practice social distancing at a minimum of 6-feet 11-inches in honor of Walton’s true height (at least the last time he was measured). Current CDC guidelines recommend a minimum of six feet of social distancing in an effort to stem the pandemic.
It is critical to note that Bike for Humanity is not a group ride and riding clusters are prohibited due to the coronavirus. Interested participants can ride anywhere in the galaxy as long as they are in a location where they can practice social distancing.
Hopefully the current restrictions encouraging people to remain in or near their homes will be lifted by then.
Otherwise, this may be all about maintaining social distancing while riding with Zwift.
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No surprise here.
Beach bike paths are officially closed in LA County as part of the social distancing restrictions due to the coronavirus shutdown.
But David Drexler reports that closed appears to be a relative thing where bike paths are concerned.
In front of Casa del Mar on Saturday. The path was still closed, but you would hardly know.
Looking north from Casa del Mar toward the pier. Path is closed but you would not know it.
Santa Monica spent a lot of money fencing now closed Palisades Park. Almost looked like they were getting ready for the finish of some sort of race on Ocean Avenue. Top photo is section next to California Incline.
However, they left open the protected bike lane on the California Incline that leads down to the new widened path section on the beach. New this weekend were dozens of signs indicating temporary closure placed in the middle of the beach path.
Looking south towards the Venice Boardwalk from the Venice – Santa Monica border. A lineup of homeless encampments as far as the eye could see where you usually see tables of people selling things. No closure signs here.
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A new webinar explains how to train in the age of coronavirus this evening.
No surprise here, as velodromes in San Jose and San Diego are closed for the foreseeable future. Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.
Sad news from Tulare County, where a 76-year old man was killed in a collision while riding his bike, although the CHP was quick to absolve the driver of any responsibility by blaming the victim for wearing dark clothes on a dark bike in poor lighting conditions. However, no mention is made of whether the victim had the legally required lights and reflectors on his bike. Or if the driver had any lights at all on his car, which would theoretically allow him to see a bike rider directly ahead of him, unless he was violating the Basic Speed Law by driving too fast for conditions.
Paris has imposed a daytime curfew on all outdoor sports from 10 am to 7 pm. Although it’s not clear whether that only includes recreational riding, or bicycling for transportation, too.
April 7, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Bike riders encouraged to stay in your neighborhood or just stay home, and interactive map shows open bike shops
Maybe you should rethink that long ride right now.
For weeks now, we’ve followed the advice from healthcare officials, and recommended getting out and exercising, while maintaining social distancing.
The Santa Monica Mirror investigates the infamous Zoom video conference used to fire over 400 employees of SaMo-based Bird. Although to its credit, the company did provide laid-off employees with four weeks’ pay, three months of health insurance and 12 months to exercise stock options. Which does not make up for the callousness of the way they handled it.
Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court rules a high-speed, reckless driver who killed a seven-year old boy riding his bike while fleeing from police over 20 years ago will have to finish his 28½ to 57-year prison term behind bars.
Tampa advocates are urging the mayor to “rebalance” a street where speeding motorcyclist and a bike rider in a crosswalk were both killed in a collision, after the coronavirus shutdown cut motor vehicle traffic by 40%; almost needless to say, the mayor said no.
A Florida paper seems to leave out a key detail, reporting that a bike rider was seriously injured when the front of his southbound bike was somehow struck by the side of the driver’s northbound SUV. And of course, the driver fled.
April 6, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Biking responsibly in the age of Covid-19, returning streets to the people, and 1,000 days of biking to (now closed) school
Today, we’re reposting a letter sent out to members by Executive Director Eli Akira Kaufman, as he addresses both the state of the organization, and advice on whether to ride your bike for the time being.
Because this matters. All of it.
As the COVID-19 crisis continues to worsen, we have been listening closely to our public health officials and our community leaders about what we can do to help flatten the curve and reduce the spread of the virus. The health of the bicycling community and our pedestrian and transit riding friends is our top priority. So we are asking you to do your part by exercising an abundance of caution in everything you do, especially when you take to the street on your bicycle for an essential ride.
What qualifies as essential? We are hearing a range of opinions on this topic, from staying in your neighborhood within a reasonable distance from your home, to avoiding more challenging and/or longer rides with increased exposure to risk of injury, to riding in smaller groups of fewer than 5 or just with members of your household to maintain recommended social (physical) distancing of at least 6 feet. Of course, each of us is different in terms of our level of comfort and fitness on a bike so it really comes down to using common sense and following the very clear guidelines that our civic leaders and public health officials have been sharing for weeks now. At the end of the day, the last thing we want is to end up needing medical attention when our first-responders and healthcare providers are working overtime to handle the pandemic which has been made all the more challenging by the fact that medical resources they need are in such short supply. Once again we believe that all of us need to do our part for the safety of our families and our communities. The more we can avoid non-essential trips, the more we can limit the spread of the disease.
I recognize that hearing this from your Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition may feel off message from our normal advocacy in support bicycle culture and improved infrastructure but that is precisely the point. The COVID-19 pandemic is a new normal that we must adjust to by responsibly advocating for biking as one of the best ways to maintain our physical, mental and community health within our new reality.
In fact we are looking beyond the current surge in COVID-19 cases to the period of months, if not longer, when the virus is still with us but under control enough for Los Angeles County to reopen. How our region reopens is an important question, but we anticipate there will be guidelines for Angelinos to maintain the practice of social (physical) distancing. We also anticipate that during this time non-essential workers and those who can use alternative modes of transportation will be asked to help lessen the crowds on our buses and subways by walking and bicycling. Which is why we anticipate an even greater need for everyone to join us in advocating for safer, healthy, more sustainable and equitable streets for a more livable Los Angeles for everyone.
One more note about our streets during this crisis: many of our fellow riders have jobs that are at essential businesses and many more are still riding as a part of their daily commutes. To support those riders, we ask that everyone take extra care when you are out and about, especially if you are driving. Due to the reduced traffic, many drivers are finding the empty streets a temptation to speed. As many of our fellow riders are still making essential trips, including people commuting and also traveling around their own neighborhoods, we ask all of you to exercise extra caution while you are outside your homes. Whether you are in the saddle or behind the wheel, please make sure to be extra aware of your surroundings, put away the distractions, and travel at safe speeds for your own safety and the safety of others. Again the last thing we need now is more people further burdening our increasingly already strained healthcare system.
Finally, I am sure some of you have heard that LACBC has had to make the difficult decision to reduce our staff for the second year in a row and permanently close down our offices in DTLA to work remotely. The current COVID-19 crisis has resulted in a significant loss of revenue for us this year, especially as spring is one of our most important seasons for our events and education programs. I want to close with a special note of gratitude to the two staffers who we had to let go last week. Colin Bogart and Kevin Claxton have been key members of the LACBC community and larger transportation justice movement for years and in Colin’s case for decades. It has been my privilege to work alongside and learn from Kevin and Colin. They will be deeply missed.
While the current situation is among the hardest we’ve had to endure at LACBC, I firmly believe that we will make it through this crisis and come back stronger than ever. We ask you for your positive thoughts as we prepare LACBC for its next chapter.
And if you are in a position to assist financially, please take a moment to send us a donation.
I’m not exactly rolling in money these days, especially after my wife was let go when her company shut down, perhaps permanently, because of LA County’s stay at home order.
Like far too many others out there.
But I’m going to find the money to renew my membership in the LACBC in the next few weeks.
It’s not going to lift them out of their current financial difficulties.
But we all need to do what can to save an organization that does so much for us.
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One of the few positives to come out of all this whole pandemic mess is that cities across the US are taking entire streets away from cars and giving them to people to get outside and exercise.
On the other hand, Los Angeles, which has closed virtually all popular parks and trails, still insists on reserving every inch of asphalt reserved for the cars and drivers that often aren’t there right now.
Rather than giving a little of it back to the people to get outside for awhile.
But like schools everywhere, his Rapid City, South Dakota shut down due to the Covid-19 outbreak — just as he was approaching his 1,000th straight day.
So he kept riding the 2.1 miles to school every day anyway. Then turned around and rode back home to take his classes online.
And yes, he hit the mark.
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Heartless bike thieves continue to plague medical workers in the UK, despite the current coronavirus crisis. Or maybe because of it.
Don’t get me started on the need for elderly drivers to give up their keys when they can’t drive safely anymore.
Instead of driving them everywhere, hop in the passenger seat and let your older relatives drive. And see if they’re still the safe drivers you remember.
April 3, 2020 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Funds pour in to aid cargo bike mugging victim, ebike maker donates medical masks, and bikes are bliss on two wheels
Let’s start with a little good news for a change.
Because there are still a lot of very kind and generous people in this world.
Speaking of generous people, I was happy to find this announcement in my inbox yesterday.
Luis Razo, Manager of Operations at Aventon Bicycles, an Ontario, California-based E-bike manufacturer & retailer, says the community has supported the company, so now it’s time to give back four thousand surgical masks and one thousand N95 masks to Loma Linda University Medical Center and Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, where supplies are running short.
The company will also donate two E-bikes to Loma Linda University Medical Center. It’s a personal mission for Luis Razo. His wife Gracie is an RN at Loma Linda Hospital, on the front lines of this pandemic.
Nice to see so many members of the bike industry pitching in to help when our entire world is in crisis.
Of all avocations, riding a bike is, almost beyond dispute, the finest. With endorphins and all, it is as much exercise for the brain as the heart, lungs or legs, a way to solve all the world’s problems while seeing the world.
Which is about as good a description as I’ve ever come up with.
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Phil Gaimon remembers what it was like to ride with other people.
A San Jose man writes in to complain that Millennials and their dogs are ruining bike trails for everyone else. Seriously? There are just as many jerk and jackass Baby Boomer and GenXers as there are Millennials — and just as many kind and considerate people, too. It’s no more fair or accurate to blame every member of any generation for the actions of a few than it is any other social, ethnic or religious group.
After the country went into a coronavirus lockdown, New Zealand’s Health Minister stirred up controversy by bending, if not breaking, the rules by driving to get out for a mountain bike ride.
