No major stories today, so let’s get right to the links.
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Local
Unbelievable. A driver runs a red light and slams into three teenage girls in a North Hollywood crosswalk, and walks away without charges. Evidently, traffic laws really are merely suggestions for California motorists.
Smart marketing. When tourists stay at the Farmer’s Daughter Hotel on Fairfax, they not only get free use of a bicycle to tour the area, but a free pair of sneakers to encourage walking, as well.
Something we left off yesterday’s long list of bike events — Malibu officially cuts the ribbon on the newly installed two-mile long PCH bike lanes at 10 am on Thursday, April 29th at the Zuma Beach Parking lot, PCH and Morning View Drive.
Calbike offers their monthly report; turns out that Caltrans shares, or maybe stole, their goal of tripling bicycling in the next five years. Does that mean I get to buy two more bikes?
No bias here, as a Tucson paper blames the victim of a right hook for crashing into the car. But at least he was wearing a helmet, right?
Caught on video: A Texas father tackles a man trying to ride off on his daughter’s bike after seeing the thief grab the bike on a security camera.
New York’s mayor says everyone has to yield to pedestrians and bike riders — even bus drivers, who apparently feel they have the right to run over either with impunity.
A Brit blogger provides his perspective on bicycling in New York, potholes and SUVs included; he says riding here explains why only .5% of American journeys are taken by bike. Thanks to Brian Myers for the link.
The great anti-bike conspiracy? Vested automotive interests are working to suppress cycling, according to a Swedish filmmaker.
Finally…
As usual, Bikeyface nails it, saying we don’t need glow in the dark spray for bike riders, we need attention boosting mist for motorists. Caught on video: Stunt cyclist Danny McAskill fixes a flat. And jumps a pair of cows, too.
And the founder of Rapha says bicycling is the most important thing in many customers lives. Which is silly, of course, because that implies there’s something in life other than riding a bike.
Pico Rivera will host a bike festival from 9 am to 1 pm this Saturday, including bike tune-ups, obstacle coarse and a group ride.
The LACBC is hosting a ride this Sunday as part of the Car Free SFV Earth Day Event as Valley residents are urged to go without a car from just one day. The ride assembles at 9:30 am along the LA River at Fulton and Valleyheart in Sherman Oaks.
The annual Bike Week LA runs May 10th through the 16th, with events every day from Sunday through Friday; Bike to Work Day — aka the adult equivalent of Trick or Treat for commuter cyclists — is on Thursday the 15th, with pit stops throughout the city.
One of the highlights of Bike Week every year is the non-denominational Blessing of the Bicycles at Good Samaritan Hospital on Tuesday, May 12th. A little divine intervention can’t hurt on the mean streets of LA.
Once again, Metro is hosting Bike Night at Union Station after work on Friday, May 15th to celebrate the end of LA Bike Week.
The Eastside Mural Ride will roll through Boyle Heights on May 16th to explore the area’s iconic public art.
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In honor of Earth Day, LA filmmaker Erica M. Hart unveils her new web series Mindful American.
The pilot episode focuses on Angelenos who are working to build community and reduce dependence on cars, from teenage cargo bike builders in Boyle Heights, to CicLAvia and a talk with Bicycle Kitchen founder Jimmy Lizama.
Hart used the insurance payment from when her car was totaled to fund the episode, and says she can’t imagine ever owning a car again after experiencing LA without one.
Lets hope she gets the funding to keep the series going. Without having to wreck another car.
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Local
CiclaValley explains why Thursday’s meeting of the Griffith Park Advisory Board matters; the answer is more than just the ill-advised opening of Mt. Hollywood Drive to cars. A mass ride to attend the meeting will set out from Sunset Triangle Plaza at 5:30 pm Thursday.
Santa Monica police will conduct another bike and pedestrian safety enforcement crackdown this coming Friday and Monday. Try to observe the letter of the law when riding in the city, so it’s only the dangerous drivers who get ticketed, not you.
Here’s your chance to work for a more bikeable LA, as the LACBC is hiring a new fulltime membership manager and a part-time volunteer and education coordinator.
State
In case you missed it, Sommer Nicole Gonzales was sentenced to 11 years in state prison after pleading guilty in the meth-fueled hit-and-run death of cyclist Joey Robinson in Orange last year.
Cyclelicious calls on members of underserved cycling communities to represent at Calbike’s street-level advocacy days in Sacramento on April 28th and 29th.
A Sacramento bike rider was killed when he was rear-ended while riding in a bike lane or on the shoulder of the roadway; the investigation is ongoing, but how the driver could not be at fault in that situation is beyond me.
A Belmont bike rider is injured when he’s left hooked by an elderly motorist, yet for some reason, the story focuses on his lack of a helmet and that he was talking on a cell phone while he rode. Both of which are legal, if not always smart, in California.
A close call with a red light-running truck that totaled a Portland bike rider’s bicycle sparked the movement to downgrade the city’s platinum bike-friendly status.
The Windsor, Ontario city council votes to put in bike lanes called for in the bike master plan over the objection of local residents, who will lose street parking.
Mazda is the latest car mark to get into the vapor ware concept bike business, unveiling a track bike in Milan featuring a frame forged from a single piece of metal.
A new Korean study says bike lanes should be at least 2 meters — or 6.5 feet — wide in each direction.
Finally…
A new wind-powered bike bell makes constant noise when you ride, for when you want to annoy the crap out of yourself and everyone around you. Now that’s a collapsible bike helmet, folding flat enough to stuff into a laptop bag.
And this is why you don’t want to retaliate against drivers. A Bridgeport CT driver is accused of chasing down a bike rider who threw a rock at her car during a roadway dispute, running over his bike and beating him with a baseball bat.
A source calling from the courthouse in Orange County has just reported that the driver who killed 21-year old Jax Bicycle Center employee Joseph Robinson has pleaded guilty to hit-and-run and drug charges, and will face significant jail time.
Sommer Niclole Gonzales, just 18 at the time of the collision, was sentenced to spend the next 11 years of her life behind bars after she admitted responsibility and waived her right to appeal.
Robinson was taking the long way to work on a sunny February morning last year when he was run down from behind while riding in the bike lane on Santiago Canyon Road.
He was hit with enough force to knock him and his bike completely off the roadway; his body was only discovered because an off-duty fire captain spotted a car with a shattered windshield speeding in the opposite direction, then saw a single shoe lying on the side of the roadway.
Gonzales was arrested in a parking lot a short time later as a friend helped her transfer her belongings into another car, in an apparent attempt to cover up her responsibility for the crime. She was found in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia at the time of her arrest.
No word on why her friend wasn’t charged for assisting in the attempted coverup.
The victim’s family was reportedly in tears following the sentencing.
According to the source, the judge’s final words to her were “What a tragedy. Just because you wanted to do meth.”
Update: I corrected the above quote from the judge, which was off slightly due to a bad phone connection.
Gonzales will get credit for 888 days served, reducing her sentence by nearly two-and-a-half years; she’ll also serve three years parole upon her release.
Felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated
Felony hit and run with death
Misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance
Misdemeanor use and under the influence of a controlled substance
Misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance paraphernalia
Along with a sentencing enhancement allegation for fleeing the scene of a vehicular manslaughter
Robinson’s family offered emotional impact statements, including this video from his mother showing him riding in happier days.
Then there’s this moving quote from his sister.
“My heart literally hurts when I think about my brother, I can’t think about him without crying. My drive to work takes me right past the accident site where his ghost bike is still hanging. Every morning and night as I pass that spot, I tell Joey aloud that I love him and cry.”
If you’ve ever wondered what harm driving under the influence can cause, that pretty much sums it up.
Thanks to Jeffrey Fylling for the press release.
Update 3: My News LA adds more details, including quotes from Robinson’s family members and his girlfriend.
The story also quotes Gonzales’ attorney explaining that she had first tried marijuana at age 12, and quickly moved on to meth, which she had been her drug of choice ever since.
According to the attorney, she knew she had hit something, and stopped to see what it was, but continued on when she didn’t see Robinson or his bike.
Twenty-two-year old Clinton Alford, Jr. fled from officers when they tried to stop him because he allegedly matched the description of a robbery suspect.
According to Alford, he ran when someone grabbed the back of his bike because the officers failed to identify themselves, and he only became aware of who they were when he was being held down and handcuffed with his hands behind his back.
After all, why would anyone look back to see who was chasing him as he fled for his life?
It was while he was face down trying to surrender that LAPD officer Richard Garcia allegedly kicked him in the head, repeatedly, in an attack that was captured on a nearby security camera. Police say they have no intention of releasing the video, despite the demands of Alford’s lawyer for it to be made public.
According to KTLA-5, he was kicked so hard he lost a filling from his teeth; other officers at the scene called the attack horrific, describing it as like someone kicking a field goal, with Alford’s head as the ball.
Garcia has entered a not guilty plea. He faces up to three years in jail if he’s convicted.
The LA Times reports three other officers and a sergeant have been relieved of duty and assigned to their homes while the investigation continues.
All charges against Alford, for possession and resisting arrest, have been dropped.
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Shameful.
Fifty years after Selma, people are still ticketed for Bicycling While Black, as eight out of ten of the 2,504 bike tickets written in Tampa FL in the last three years — more than Jacksonville, Miami, St. Petersburg and Orlando combined — went to African American residents.
Seriously, it’s long past time this country put this kind of crap behind us. No one should face fear for riding a bike, especially not from police.
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KCBS-2 offers a good report on Sunday’s Finish the Ride; for a change, someone in the media actually seems to get it.
Major Facebook drama, as an apparent cyclist fires back after Burbank racerTroy Templinposted a photo of a BMW that he says nearly ran him over because, as he claims the driver said, “you were in my way.”
Someone identifying himself as Peter Richardson professed to tell his version of what really happened, claiming Templin “committed multiple acts of violence” simply because the woman honked to let him know she was there, and he had to be run off by a security guard when he wouldn’t let her exit the car. He even includes stills from a security camera to support his claims.
However, the view in the photos is so distant it could show anyone, and it’s impossible to tell from them what may or may not be happening.
The Times belatedly catches up with the news that the proposed California helmet law has been converted to a study of helmet use by the CHP and the state Office of Traffic Safety; BikinginLA sponsor Michael Rubinstein offers his take on it.
Alhambra police bust a thief who tried to escape with one of their own bikes on Sunday; the apparently remorseful man wrote of letter of apology from his jail cell.
State
A 24-year old San Jose woman is under arrest for slamming into a Miltipas bike rider who was standing on the sidewalk, then crashing into a mini-golf course before fleeing in another car.
An elderly Palo Alto woman was seriously injured in a collision with a cyclist; the rider was coming around a blind curve at speed when he ran into the woman as she crossed the street.
A new study shows drivers are more likely to ignore crosswalks at speeds over 30 mph. I wonder what a similar study would have to say about bike lanes and sharrows.
An Anchorage cyclist says ride defensively, because your life may depend on it; good advice anywhere.
If cops in my hometown are reluctant to ticket cyclists because they feel bad about writing tickets that can reach $170 including fees, imagine how the riders feel about getting them.
Minnesota researchers determine that bike lane density — the measure of bike lanes within a given area — matters more than connectivity when it comes to encouraging ridership.
Just like countless bicyclists everywhere, Shreveport bike riders says motorists need to be more aware of cyclists and the laws governing bikes. Especially the requirement to ride in the street where sidewalk riding is illegal — and the right to do so everywhere else.
International
Vancouver’s Van City Buzz gets it right, saying the media’s focus on shiny new safety gadgets is no substitute for proven safety measures like traffic calming and an effective bicycle infrastructure network.
A soccer player is killed when a train smashes into on of those pedal-powered multi-passenger beer bikes in The Netherlands.
Turkey’s president rides through Istanbul to kick off the country’s 51st Presidential Tour of Turkey; he promised to make the city more bike friendly, while saying they “couldn’t manage to make people love the bicycle.”
A road raging Aussie driver hits a woman participating in a charity ride, then drives off with the mangled bike still trapped under her car.
Taking ciclovía to the next level, as one neighborhood in a Korean city bans cars from the streets for a full month.
April 19, 2015 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Hundreds turn out in Hollywood for Sunday’s Finish the Ride
Sometimes it’s better to let the pictures tell the story.
So here are a few images and random thoughts from the start of Sunday’s Finish the Ride.
Despite the early morning start, hundreds of people turned out in Hollywood to join the fight against the epidemic of hit-and-run.
People of every description came together to ride, roll, walk or run; two LAPD officers even ran the 10k route in full uniform.
State Assemblymember Richard Bloom: “You have a right to feel safe on the road.”
Nice to see new LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds and Executive Officer Bruce Gillman front row center, a sign that the city is finally taking hit-and-run seriously.
Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell: “Damien, you’re changing the world.”
Councilmembers Joe Buscaino and Mitch Englander worked together to pass a standing reward program for hit-and-runs, saying hit-and-run “is a huge moral problem.”
LADOT GM Seleta Reynolds: “We should not accept hit-and-run as a natural consequence of just trying to get around.”
Surrounded by a sea of bikes, two women waited for their chance to skate the route.
Not all the participants were human. Even a dog knows leaving someone lying injured and bleeding in the street — or worse — is inhuman.
The ride marshals gathered before the start to discuss the routes and how to keep the participants safe on streets that were shared with cars.
Finish the Ride founder Damian Kevitt joins the assembled riders for the start of the 50-mile ride; it was only two years ago that he lost his leg in a horrific hit-and-run.
Kevitt sets off to lead the ride, just as he has lead the fight against hit-and-run since recovering from his life-threatening injuries; the driver who fled the scene after dragging him onto a freeway onramp has never been found.
Sad news today, as a woman lost her life in an early morning collision.
According to the Press-Telegram, a woman was hit by a car while riding her bike on the 11700 block of Del Amo Blvd in Lakewood around 2 am Sunday morning.
The driver went on to hit a telephone pole, and was later arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.
No word on the identity of the victim or how the collision occurred, though a satellite view shows a bike lane on the street.
This is the 14th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth in Los Angeles County. That compares to 33 in SoCal this time last year and 14 in LA County.
She died at the scene. The driver was also injured, and taken to Long Beach Memorial Hospital for treatment.
Update 2: The suspect has been identified by KABC-7 as 24-year old Emmanuel Camacho. The station reports that he hit a telephone pole two blocks away from the collision that killed the bike rider, yet for some reason, sheriff’s deputies were not calling it a hit-and-run.
Update 3: The Press-Telegram has identified the victim as 33-year old Lakewood resident Crista Contreras; her Facebook page has turned into an online memorial.
The paper also reports Camacho has been released on $100,000 bond, and is due in court on Tuesday, April 21st.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Crista Contreras and her loved ones.
Thanks to Danny Gamboa for the link to her Facebook page.
April 18, 2015 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Weekend Links: Guilty in plea hit-and-run death of Anaheim mother, San Clemente rider 6th in Paris-Roubaix
That was after Junior Rigoberto Lopez received a promise from the judge that his sentence will not exceed three years. Because, evidently, leaving a mother to die in the street isn’t really that big a deal in the OC.
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Hats off to San Clemente resident Daniel Willett for his sixth-place finish in last weekend’s juniors’ Paris-Roubaix classic; he finished just 33 seconds off the winner’s time.
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My formerly sled-dog racing and now fat-tire riding brother sends word from the Great White North that biking and running the famed Iditarod Trail is no picnic, either. Especially this year.
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Local
Your new and improved Crenshaw Blvd could have protected bike lanes for a stretch before bikes are shunted off onto alternate streets, apparently to make more room for cars.
KCET looks at the Rio Hondo Confluence, one of the few places in the LA area where you have your choice of bike paths; a long promised park and bike rest stop is still in the works.
A former Intel exec broke his hip and dislocated his shoulder in a solo fall while descending at 32 mph east of San Diego; he and his teammates were just 700 miles into a planned 5,000 mile ride for heart disease and stroke awareness.
NIMBY-ism rears its ugly head in Rancho Mirage, as residents rise up against a planned 50-mile bike and pedestrian path because it might be bad for landscaping, and could make it harder for vehicles to turn on or off the highway. Seriously, where is a tiny violin when you need one?
A Salinas truck driver walks away without charges in a fatal bike collision despite right-hooking the victim, because the rider was high on meth and riding brakeless. Neither of which had anything to do with the driver’s illegal turn, of course.
Santa Clara County officials reject a proposal for an LA-style cyclist anti-harassment ordinance because they’re worried about foul-mouthed bike riders harassing motorists in their multi-ton, hermetically sealed vehicles.
So much for 41-year old two-time Olympic champ Kristin Armstrong’s comeback, as she’s bounced from the US team for the Pan Am Championships just days after she was named to the roster.
Caught on video: A Portland school bus driver gets a summons from the cops after buzzing a bike rider, then slamming the bus door on the rider’s hand when he confronts him.
Both the newly reborn Chicago Streetsblog and a local columnist explain what’s really going on with a proposal to permanently remove the city’s first protected bike lane. But with radically different perspectives.
Not only was the driver in a fatal Vermont cycling collision arrested for being under the influence, his drunken passenger was, too; the driver was also charged with driving with a suspended license — for the fifth time.
A 16-year old South Carolina driver has been charged with attempted murder for trying to run members of a local bike club off the road not once, not twice, but on seven separate occasions, because he blamed them for the collision that killed two of his friends; police say the cyclists weren’t responsible for the earlier wreck. You’ve got to be a pretty crappy driver if you can hit a bunch of bike riders in seven tries.
The truck driver who killed South African Olympic mountain biker Burry Stander has been found guilty of culpable homicide and running a stop sign.
After a nine-year old Philippine boy’s bike is commandeered by a police commando fleeing rebels, the regional governor gets him a new one.
Finally…
A San Francisco man volunteers himself to referee a popular cycling route, complete with yellow flags; no word on whether his call can be overturned upon further review. An amateur cyclist plans to ride the entire Tour de France route on a 1970’s kid’s chopper bike; no wait, maybe he’s a pro.
And here’s a great series of videos produced by high school students to raise awareness of distracted driving. And don’t feel any obligation to vote for the one titled The Distraction Game, even though it was produced by my nephew and his partners.
No, seriously. It’s okay.
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I’ll see you all bright and early Sunday morning at Finish the Right to help end the epidemic of hit-and-run once and for all.
Right?
If you haven’t registered yet, there’s still time to save $10 with discount code FTR10.
Security camera footage shows the April 6th assault, as five men beat and stabbed the 36-year old South El Monte man for a full 45 seconds before getting back in their car; one of the men can’t resist the temptation to turn back for one last kick.
Most disturbingly, there appears to be no reason for the attack.
Police report the victim, who remains hospitalized, was an innocent bystander who was simply riding his bike on Elliot Ave at 12:15 am when a car passed him in the opposite direction, and one of the passengers shouted at him. The driver then made a U-turn, following the rider before stopping alongside his bike to confront him.
He tried to run away, but his attackers caught up and repeatedly hit, kicked and stabbed him.
Anyone with information is urged to call the El Monte Police watch commander at 626/580-2109.
Witnesses providing information that leads to a conviction in a hit-and-run case will now be eligible for rewards ranging from $1,000 for a property damage collision up to $50,000 for a hit-and-run resulting in death.
However, as with the city’s anti-harassment ordinance, the new law only applies with the Los Angeles city limits.
So if a driver leaves you lying broken and bleeding on the street in Beverly Hills, East LA or Compton, or anywhere else outside the LA city limits, you’re on your own.
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If you’ve ever wondered why I think most sharrows aren’t worth the paint they’re made from, Michael Schinderling, aka Mykee Steen, provides graphic proof.
The video was taken on Fountain and Avenues in Hollywood and Los Feliz, which is my new bicycling territory. And clearly demonstrates the lack of comfortable riding routes in the area.
Schinderling notes that Hollywood Councilmember that Mitch O’Farrell told him that the sharrows were low-flow and safe, and that bike lanes are unnecessary.
Right.
Actually, I think the real purpose of those arrows with a bike symbol on such busy streets is just to help drivers improve their aim.
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Streetsblog’s Damien Newton offers a great interview with new LACBC Executive Director Tamika Butler, who explains her focus on equity and social justice.
Nice to see a growing commitment to the whole community from SoCal’s leading bike advocacy group.
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Great ad from Cycling Canada shows bikes riding themselves to urge potential riders to just hop on. An accompanying video explains how it was done.
The three-year old Kings County boy who was seriously injured when the bike trailer he was riding in was rear-ended by a driver doing at least 50 mph has died; no word on the condition of his father, who was riding the bike.
And a Humboldt County bridge has been renamed as a memorial for a cyclist who was killed in a February collision.
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Local
Bicycling offers a great interview with LA cycling legend Road Block, aka Don Ward. If you ask me what riders and bike advocates I admire most, local or otherwise, he’d be pretty near the top of the list.
Long Beach police bust two bike thieves after they fall for a bait bike; the suspects already had two other suspected stolen bicycles in their possession at the time of their arrest. And yes, LBPD recommends using a U-lock and registering your bike.
State
Cyclelicious discovers Calbike has lost sponsors as a result of its successful fight against the proposed mandatory helmet bill. Anyone would pull their support from the state’s leading advocacy group over that needs to seriously rethink their commitment to bicycling.
That triangle curb protruding into a new San Diego protected bike lane is being removed, after a new paint job failed to pass muster.
Caltrans installs barbed wire next to a San Mateo County bike path in an apparent effort to keep people and deer off a freeway — or possibly ensure painful injuries to anyone who falls or rides off the path.
A Sausalito councilwoman continues to push for a limit on rental bikes, evidently preferring that all those people drive and take up even more space instead. I guess creating space for those tourists to safely ride and park their bikes is out of the question.
National
The Federal Highway Administration finally gets serious about helping local transportation planners count bikes and pedestrians; needless to say, LA is left out of the first round of the pilot program.
Nice to have bike lawyer Bob Mionske back online; today’s advice is to stay out of the door zone. But you knew that already, right?
A Portland paper explains why cyclists are attempting to get the bike-friendly ranking for the former-bicycling paradise downgraded.
A Chicago alderman tries to force the city to move a protected bike lane from a busy street. Unlike LA, he apparently doesn’t have the near-dictatorial power to kill it all by himself.
Once again, a Florida-based gym co-opts the ghost bike movement by placing orange copies around Ann Arbor MI to promote their new location. Maybe they should place orange tombstones, instead; the message to cyclists would be about the same.
A suspected drunk driver is charged with the head-on collision that killed a popular Vermont cyclist after the driver drifted onto the wrong side of the road; in addition to the fatality, he’s charged with his fifth offense for driving with a suspended license. Once again, the system allowed a dangerous driver to remain on the road, legally or not, until he killed someone.
Writing for the Washington Post, New York’s Bike Snob says they’re trying to turn us into cars. And that mandatory helmet laws and glow-in-the-dark spray paint show who really owns the roads.
The Atlanta Braves encourage bike riding instead of driving to their new stadium, due to open in 2017. Maybe the Dodgers should demand safer cycling routes to encourage more people to leave their cars at home.
International
British cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins lines up to be the next in a long string of riders to attempt the hour record.
Two Arizona teenagers are arrested for trying to smuggle 3.5 pounds of marijuana across the border hidden in their bike tires; but how was the ride? Mazda is the latest car maker to design a bike, which appears to be a disc-wheeled single speed; I look forward to the day when the Cannibal introduces a new car model.
Antonio Magdaleno was present in court. He was wearing a suit with a pale blue shirt & blue tie, and accompanied by three worried people who I assume are his family. His unease made him come across as younger, and I think he was holding his breath in between his almost inaudible answers the judge’s few questions.
Members of Liechty’s family were there as well. Sitting a few rows behind, one snapped a cell phone picture of the defendant. The bailiff (this particular one is very competent and absolutely humorless) actually missed it, but a few minutes later he marched over to sternly inform the guy to turn the phone off or leave the court room.
Magdaleno and his entourage left the courtroom to confer in the hallway, followed a few seconds behind by Matt’s family; the Liechtys’ chain-reaction rear-end pile-up indicated that they noticed this instantly, and they retreated.
From what his lawyer said, it sounds like Magdaleno has been working really hard at sobriety, so they’re going to use this as an indicator that he doesn’t deserve the maximum penalty.
Twenty-nine-year old Antonio Magdaleno is accused of running down Liechty from behind as he rode in a Huntington Beach bike lane, then fleeing the scene on just three wheels after losing one in the collision.
He faces felony charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, fleeing the scene of a collision and hit-and-run with permanent and seriously injury.
So that maximum penalty, if applied, could add up to a very long time behind bars.
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All that work on PCH is about to pay off, as Malibu hosts a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the completion of the Pacific Coast Highway Bike Route Improvements Project and the first bike lane in the ‘Bu at 10 am on Wednesday, April 29th at PCH and Morning View Drive.
Which they will, since LA’s conflict-free city council seldom, if ever, votes down anything once it’s been approved by committee.
However, hit-and-run victims are still urged to attend to press their case before the council, and appear afterwards with Councilmember Joe Buscaino, who deserves a lot of credit for his efforts to end the hit-and-run epidemic.
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Local
CiclaValley offers up his origin story, and explains why he supports Finish the Ride, which rolls through the streets of Hollywood this Sunday. And thanks for the shout out.
Santa Monica’s California Incline closes on Monday, and will reopen next year in a new and improved version. With bike lanes.
It’s been awhile since we’ve checked in with Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson, who says instead of a study of bike helmet use, the state should study whether helmets could help prevent head injuries for everyone. And yes, he means everyone.
Cyclelicious looks at a superfluous proposal in the state legislature that would require bike riders to pull over on two-lane roads when there are five or more cars following and unable to pass, which we are already required to do, just like anyone else.
Two-time Olympic time trial champ Kristin Armstrong decides to un-retire for the 2015 Pan Am Continental Road Championships, and possibly the 2016 Olympics.
A cycling instructor in my hometown says cyclists everywhere run stops, but it’s not always dangerous. And maybe the law should be changed.
Houston bicyclists want drivers to know the city’s new protected bike lanes aren’t just green parking spaces.
Pro cyclists will be allowed to try out disc brakes for two months at the end of the summer; cycling scion Taylor Phinney’s long road back from a devastating racing injury may finally be complete just in time to try them out.
There’s something seriously wrong when Brit bike riders have to pair up to avoid being attacked.
Nice. Nearly 20 cyclists rode 55 miles from Auschwitz to Krakow last year to raise funds to send 30 elderly Jews, most survivors of the Holocaust, on a trip to Israel.
A former West Australian transport minister says cyclists are useless, and need to be taught the rules of the road to avoid being killed.
There seems to be an endless round of elections in the LA area these days.
While LA waits for the CD4 city council runoff next month, Pasadena prepares to elect a new mayor a week from today.
Boyonabike checks in with a detailed analysis of both candidates, concluding that current councilmember Terry Tornek is the best choice to bike the vote in the Rose City.
Anyone opposed to opening Mt. Hollywood Drive in Griffith Park to cars or trams is urged to attend Wednesday’s meeting of the Recreation and Parks Commissioners on Wednesday to speak on a public non-agenda item.
The meeting starts at 9:30 am at the Expo Center next to the LA Coliseum; you’re urged to arrive at 9 am to discuss strategy and ensure you’ll be allowed to speak at the meeting.
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Local
Ted Farber offers photographic proof that the long-discussed separated bike lanes near the Redondo Beach pier are about to become a reality.
Anthony Kennedy-Shriver will team up with the Beach City Cycling Club to promote the upcoming Special Olympics with four free rides in the South Bay this Saturday.
The two adults charged with mugging people on Santa Clarita bike paths last summer have been convicted after pleading no contest; three of the five youths arrested in the case have been placed in juvenile camps.
State
Cyclelicious asks if bike counts that only measure commuters undercount bike use. Short answer, yes.
The CHP is called out to investigate as someone tried to sabotage Sunday’s San Diego Gran Fondo by strewing hundreds of thumb tacks on the course. Let’s hope they take it seriously, since this sort of assault could result in serious injuries to a rider.
Phil Gaimon takes the men’s title in the Redlands Classic, while three-time runner-up Mara Abbott wins the women’s race; Gaimon also won in 2012.
A bike riding Hanford father and his three-year old son in a trailer behind him suffered major injuries when they were rear-ended by a driver doing an estimated 50 to 55 mph.
There’s a special place in hell for the jerk who stole a newly restored Stingray bike before it could even be given to an autistic Utah boy for his birthday.
Great story as a young Rwandan is inspired to take up bicycling after seeing the national team riding by. And now rides for it, as the country struggles to put the 1994 genocide behind it.
The president of the Australian Cyclists Party insists the new political party made a difference in the country’s recent elections, even if it didn’t make a dent in the vote.
Finally…
British university town Cambridge posts a No Bike Parking sign, but only if you can read Latin or pseudo ancient Greek; so do you fail your course in ancient languages if you park there? A trailer has been released for bike racing’s equivalent to the Fast and Furious franchise from a Hong Kong director, although the original title of Breaking Wind has been changed, for obvious reasons.
And London’s Guardian tells the history of cities around the world by examining fifty buildings. So naturally, they choose a freeway interchange to represent LA.
