Morning Links: Camarillo hit-and-run driver, more on Governors’ bike safety study, and a bicycle bike workstand

August 25, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Camarillo hit-and-run driver, more on Governors’ bike safety study, and a bicycle bike workstand

Another day, another heartless hit-and-run coward.

Camarillo police are searching for the driver who fled the scene after rear-ending a man riding his bike on Lewis Road near Dawson Drive early Sunday morning, leaving the victim with major injuries.

Unfortunately, there’s no description of the hit-and-run driver or suspect vehicle.

Anyone with information is urged to call Senior Deputy Sam Dominguez at 805/388-5146.

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More on the new study we mentioned yesterday from the Governors Highway Safety Association.

The report called for better infrastructure, enforcement and education, along with better training for in state and local bike laws for police.

The study was also just the latest to name Florida as the most dangerous state to ride a bike.

Meanwhile, the next time someone criticizes Vision Zero without understanding what they’re talking about, you can point them to this newly updated Policy Platform from the Los Angeles Vision Zero Alliance.

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Now this is a creative solution.

A British bike mechanic adapted his bicycle into a mobile workstand to create the ultimate fully mobile bike repair shop.

 

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Mark your calendar for the 2017 South Bay Cycling Awards, aka Wanky Awards, at the Strand Brewing Company in Torrance on October 14th.

Cycling in the South Bay has a list of this year’s nominees, as well as past winners.

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Cycling Weekly offers highlights of Thursday’s stage 6 of the Vuelta, where American Tejay van Garderen remained in the GC hunt, despite suffering a pair of crashes.

An Aussie Olympic track cyclist was arrested and charged with six counts of selling ecstacy; Jack Bobridge had retired from racing last year after winning silver in team pursuit in the 2012 and 2016 games.

Russia’s anti-doping agency has banned marathon cyclist Alexei Medvedev for two years for using performance enhancing drugs. But seriously, the doping era is over, right?

And a special congratulations to eight-year old Taylor Rungaitis; the Simi Valley 3rd grader is now a world champion after winning her age group at the UCI 2017 BMX World Challenge in Rock Hill SC.

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Local

CiclaValley looks forward to those promised bicycling improvements to 7th Street in DTLA. As does pretty much anyone else who has the misfortune of riding it.

If you’re going to have a heart attack while riding your bike, do it in front of a Pasadena fire station.

Hermosa Beach approved its first comprehensive planning document in 36 years, calling for a citywide network of bike lanes and mixed-use development in the downtown area.

Sad to see Long Beach’s Seafarer chapel go; it will be torn down next week to make way for an off-ramp and bike path for the new bridge being built to replace the aging Gerald Desmond bridge.

The Downey Bicycle Coalition is hosting an Art Party Ride this Saturday.

 

State

A bicyclist and a motorcyclist were both critically injured in San Diego yesterday morning when the bike rider reportedly crossed over the path of the motorcyclist to make a left against the light.

A 38-year old San Bernardino man was arrested as the so-called “Bicycle Bandit,” accused of riding his bicycle to set eight fires in an Bernardino and Highland, including a brush fire that burned 700 acres.

Ventura County officials are drawing plans for a three-mile bike lane on a stretch of Potrero Road through Hidden Valley that’s popular with cyclists.

A recovering addict says he’ll never get the chance to thank the officer who arrested him in 2014 for changing his life by treating him like a human being, after the off-duty Modesto police sergeant was killed riding his bicycle Tuesday evening.

San Francisco bicyclists threaten to boycott businesses who demanded that a new bikeshare station be removed because the businesses weren’t consulted before it was installed.

San Francisco riders criticize plans for a protected bike lane that ignores the mixing zones at intersections.

Volunteers with the Petaluma Police Department fix up unclaimed bicycles and donate them to local nonprofit organizations.

 

National

A coming bike industry report says ebikes are the industry’s fasted growing category, older Americans account for 1/3 of all new bicyclists, Latinos ride more than any other racial group and low-income people ride more than anyone else. So much for the myth of the rich, elite cyclists.

Portland completes a 9-mile, $4.5 million bikeway through the city, although it frequently jogs to side streets to preserve street parking in commercial districts. So even in bike friendly Portland, they prefer parking spaces to customers on bicycles. Even though the former can be converted to much better uses.

Oregon police arrested the woman who fled the scene after demanding the bike rider she hit pay for the damages to her car. But not until she returned to the scene of the crime, crashed into a tree and ran over her passenger.

The kickers for the Oregon State University football team are two of us, riding the streets of Corvallis on their new tandem bicycle. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

How to explore Chicago on a bikeshare bike.

Heartwarming story from Minnesota, where a five-year old girl born with no arms rides a bicycle for the first time thanks to a custom-made prosthetic device.

Michigan police have identified the hit-and-run driver who killed a bike-riding nun, but no charges have been filed yet. The suspect was found after filing a false police report that he had hit a deer.

NIMBY Massachusetts homeowners literally say Not In My Back Yard to a proposed bike path.

An 84-year old man recalls winning a 1949 boy’s bike race in Valdosta GA after a picture of his victory unexpectedly appears in the local paper.

 

International

A Canadian bike rider has his journey across the country halted when someone stole his locked bike and all his gear in front of a Winnipeg Walmart; however, local residents have been contributing to replace it.

The husband of the London woman killed by a brakeless fixie rider calls for changes in the law to treat bike riders like motorists when someone is killed or injured by a cyclist. Someone should tell him most killer drivers walk away with just a light caress on the wrist.

A London bike courier explains why he rides brakeless. And why he’ll probably put one on his bike now.

The co-host of the Good Morning Britain TV show blew up at a bicycling advocate on yesterday’s show when he wasn’t satisfied with the answers to his questions. Meanwhile, a man on another show blasted a bicycle advocate for saying only a minority of riders break the law, while calling for all bicyclists to be registered.

An Australian driver claimed he was blinded by the sun when he plowed into a dozen cyclists while making a U-turn, injuring five riders, one critically. So why couldn’t he see the riders before he made his turn? Or if he was already blinded, why the hell would he make a U-turn when he can’t see where he was going?

 

Finally…

Probably not the best idea to steal a police bike minutes after being released on a shoplifting charge. Seriously, don’t stab your bike-riding former partner in crime in the butt just because he wants to go straight.

And that’s one sketchy DIY ebike.

But this one looks like a blast.

Literally.

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

Morning Links: Bike deaths up in US, lawsuit filed in death of Newport Beach boy, and bike lanes coming to Cal Poly

August 24, 2017 / / One comment

A new study from the Governors Highway Safety Association shows bicycling fatalities rose 12.2% in 2015, climbing faster than the overall increase in traffic deaths.

However, that could be due to the continuing rise in bike ridership.

Without placing the figures in context, it’s impossible to know if bicycling is actually becoming more dangerous, or if overall safety is improving as the rate of deaths per million cyclists or miles traveled may be decreasing.

Your guess is as good as theirs.

In other findings from the study, which was funded by State Farm insurance —

  • One-third of Americans surveyed reported riding a bicycle in the last year.
  • Drivers had been drinking in 12% of fatal bike crashes, while 22% of the victims had alcohol in their systems. Which is not the same as saying they were intoxicated.
  • Distracted driving was blamed for just 76 out of the 818 bicyclists killed nationwide. However, that’s likely to be a dramatic undercount, since police need a warrant to check phones after a crash. And seldom ask for one.
  • More than half of the victims weren’t wearing a helmet. Although there’s no information on whether those victims suffered a fatal head injury, or if their injuries could have been survivable with or without a helmet.
  • Intersections are no longer the most dangerous place to ride; 72% of deaths occurred on the roadway, rather than at an intersection.
  • Roughly half of all bicycling deaths occurred at night, even though 80% of all bike rides take place during daylight hours.
  • The average age of bicycling victims was 45.

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The parents of eight-year old Brock McCann have filed a lawsuit in the death of their son.

The third grade student was killed by the driver of a garbage truck as he rode his bike home from school in Newport Beach last year.

Video allegedly shows the driver never looked to his right as he turned from a cul-de-sac, and that he rolled through a crosswalk without stopping.

McCann’s parents are suing the driver, as well as the city trash hauler he worked for.

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Boyonabike’s John Lloyd sends photographic proof that the formerly auto-centric Cal Poly Pomona really is installing the promised protected bike lanes on Kellogg Drive.

Photo by John Lloyd

The school received a lot a well-deserved criticism for failing to improve safety following the death of Ivan Aguilar four years ago.

It’s nice to see that this year’s students will finally find the campus more welcoming for those who don’t come by car.

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In today’s spoiler-free Vuelta report, someone won his first Grand Tour stage, while someone else wore the leader’s jersey. No word on whether either was kissed by a podium boy.

Italian olive oil maker Colavita is pulling out of bike racing after 15 year of team sponsorship.

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Local

A ride will be held this Saturday to explore the new protected bike lanes on Venice Blvd in Mar Vista, which have been only slightly less controversial than the lane reductions in Playa del Rey.

Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s deputies patrolling on bicycles made four drug busts Tuesday evening, as the bikes allowed them to ride in undetected.

Santa Monica’s two-mile COAST ciclovía will return on October 1st.

 

State

A new report shows overall emissions of toxic and greenhouse gasses are going down in California, while transportation emissions are going up. Which means the state and local governments need to do more to encourage people to leave their cars at home.

The Watsonville driver sentenced to eleven years behind bars for the death of a bicyclist was high on Valium and methadone at the time of the crash, and fell asleep during the investigation.

A new bicycle master plan promises to improve safety in Stockton, where 70% of streets are rated high stress. Of course, even the best plan is nothing more than lines on a map until they actually put paint on the ground, which seems to be a step too far for most cities.

More details on the off-duty Modesto police officer who was killed riding his bicycle on Tuesday. The driver was arrested for DUI, and could face a murder charge after a previous conviction for drunk driving in 2014.

 

National

A Seattle weekly says safety in numbers resulting from an increase in bikeshare riders could do more than bike helmets to improve safety. Meanwhile, a sports website tries out Seattle’s new Ofo dockless bikeshare, which could be coming to SoCal soon.

After an Oregon woman sideswiped a bike rider, she demanded $200 to pay for the damage to her car, then fled when the rider, who is traveling cross country to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s, suggested calling the police.

A Chicago letter writer urges bicyclists to follow the rules like she does when she drives. Because apparently, she’s the only driver who never speeds, always comes to a full stop at stop signs, and never makes an unsafe lane change or drives distracted.

Illinois becomes the sixth state to follow California’s lead and adopt a three-tiered system to classify ebikes.

Life is cheap in Michigan, where a stoned driver walked with one year of probation after killing a bike rider, who reportedly “came out of nowhere” to crash into her car.

A Maine court rules that authorities don’t have to prove what a distracted driver was doing at the time of a crash, saying they can presume distraction based on the driver’s behavior.

Tolls could double on a Miami causeway to pay for a fully separated bike lane and other improvements on one of the city’s most popular and scenic cycling routes. Which might improve safety, but won’t win any friends with drivers.

 

International

Los Angeles isn’t the only city facing an angry bikelash. A Vancouver man has started a petition to rip out protected bike lanes on a bridge eight years after they were installed, arguing that the 7,000 riders who use them each day during the summer months aren’t enough to justify the impact on traffic.

Caught on video: Dozens of young British bike riders swarm the streets, pulling wheelies and circling around the roadway in front of drivers, in the latest fad sweeping that’s been sweeping America’s East Coast as well as the UK.

Caught on video too: A London man uses his bikeshare bike to defend himself after a man lunges at him with a knife when he was asked to move aside so they could pass.

A British fixie rider faces up to two years behind bars after he was acquitted of manslaughter in the death of a mother of two kids when he crashed his brakeless bike into her, but was convicted under an obscure 1861 law that forbids “causing bodily harm by wanton and furious driving.” And yes, it’s illegal to ride brakeless in the UK.

Nice story from Wales, where an eleven-year old boy rode a bicycle for the first time after being fitted with two mechanical hands.

Wednesday marked the 104th anniversary of a Russian bicyclist completing his round-the-world ride in Harbin, China; sadly, he died three years later in World War I.

An Indian man has ridden over 11,000 miles through 12 Indian states to fight gender-based violence and injustice.

An Aussie website asks if cyclists are fair game in Australia. It’s a hard-hitting piece, and very difficult to read in places. But well worth the effort — especially since you’ll see exactly the same attitudes expressed by LA drivers.

 

Finally…

Next time, try to time your breakaway so the drawbridge rises after you go past. Who needs tires when you’ve got soles?

And riding to the right is right, except when it’s wrong.

 

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

Morning Links: Dockless bikeshare may be coming to LA, and a video warning to watch where you’re riding

August 23, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Dockless bikeshare may be coming to LA, and a video warning to watch where you’re riding

Metro Bike may be saying “oh no” soon.

China’s Ofo dockless bikeshare hints that it may be coming to Los Angeles, as well as the Bay Area.

Which means we could soon be seeing abandoned yellow bicycles all over the city, like other cities where they’ve set up shop.

The question is whether they’ll start out in parts of town currently not served by the city’s bikeshare providers, or if they’ll attempt to go head-to-head with Metro Bike, WeHo Pedals and Santa Monica Breeze, among others.

Of course, where the bikes will end up is anyone’s guess.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

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Speaking of Griswold, he forwards this reminder to put down your phone and watch the road ahead of you.

And no, that’s not a bicycle. But the point remains.

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London’s Telegraph offers a podcast from stage four of the Vuelta, while Bleacher Report gives a brief recap of the day’s race. Just curious whether the lipstick kiss mark on the winner’s cheek came from one of the podium girls, or the new podium boys.

Cycling News provides quotes from riders at the finish line, most of which you could have written yourself. And takes a look at cycling’s best, worst and strangest victory salutes.

Alberto Contador is struggling with a stomach virus on what is likely to be his last grand tour.

A pro cyclist says he’s ashamed airline Aer Lingus has the Irish flag on it’s planes, after it loses his $9,400 bike, ignores him for a month, then offers the equivalent of $1,600 to make up for it.

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Local

In anticipation of Rapha Rides coming to Los Angeles in October, Bicycling writes about what makes the city a top cycling destination. But all they can come up with is a chef near Mt. Baldy, Nelson Vails’ victory in the ’84 Olympics, and a section about architecture and design that doesn’t even mention the City of Angels.

I. Martin Bicycles is hosting their Shut Up Legs ride this Saturday, with a trip to a bakery overlooking Westwood.

The LACBC is holding a Twilight Twirl ride in conjunction with Just Ride LA next Thursday.

An October ride in Santa Clarita will benefit The Painted Turtle camp for children with serious medical conditions.

 

State

Now that San Diego is building a dense, walkable and bikeable urban village near downtown, they naturally want to run a freeway connector right through the middle of it.

The 10th annual Bike the Bay will take riders over the iconic San Diego – Coronado Bay Bridge this Sunday.

Now that’s more like it. A Watsonville woman was sentenced to eleven years in prison for the DUI hit-and-run death of man riding his bike home last December.

Sad news from Modesto, where a police officer was killed in an off-duty collision while riding his bicycle.

Four San Francisco brothers were busted for stealing high-end mountain bikes in the Truckee – Lake Tahoe area, valued at over $125,000.

Police have arrested the 19-year old alleged hit-and-run driver who ran down a 15-year old Natomas boy as he rode his bike on Thursday; the victim’s grandmother feels sorry for the driver’s family, as well as her own.

Sacramento residents are worried about a proposed rest stop on a bike trail that would overlook an elementary school playground, fearing it would attract homeless people.

 

National

Trek wins a court case overturning a 10% import duty on bicycle cassettes.

Marketplace examines the new $15 Oregon bike tax. Even though the tax will go exclusively to bike infrastructure projects, it’s still largely symbolic; it’s unlikely to raise enough to make a significant difference, and mostly exists to address the mistaken complaint that bike riders don’t pay their fair share for the roads.

A pair of bicyclists on a cross-country journey across the US ride through the Colorado Rockies, and up through Wyoming to the Grand Tetons. That was my backyard growing up. And the Peak to Peak Highway leading into Estes Park was one of my favorite rides before I moved away.

A Montana bike rider was the victim of a strong arm robbery; he was reportedly beaten so badly police couldn’t interview him later.

A Good Samaritan buys a new bicycle for a 9-year old Oklahoma girl after hers was stolen from her yard.

A planned Wisconsin bike path could threaten an endangered local turtle species; it’s feared the ornate box turtles could be killed or injured by people using the pathway.

A Chicago panel discusses what’s needed to take cycling in the city to the next level.

Caught on video: New York police are looking for the hit-and-run driver who literally ran over a 16-year old girl. It’s a distant and grainy security cam view, but ask yourself if you really want to see that before you click on the link.

A former player for the New York Giants say bicycling helped ease the transition after his retirement, and provides the intense physical workout he was missing from football.

A Philadelphia Op-Ed says city council members shouldn’t have the power to block bike lanes, and should leave street planning to the experts. To which Los Angeles sighed a collective “Tell me about it.”

No bias here. The Washington Post says a bicyclist tried to abduct a woman walking on a roadway. Except what they really meant was it was a 13-year old boy who happened to be riding one.

Tampa FL considers a Vision Zero plan for one of the deadliest counties in the US.

 

International

Add these to your biking bucket list: The top ten Canadian national parks to ride in.

A man from the UK is riding the length of Ireland to raise funds for the mountain rescue team that saved him and a companion from hazardous conditions.

It takes a real jerk to push a 12-year old bike-riding girl off the sidewalk and into the street in front of oncoming traffic, whether or not she should have been riding there in the first place.

Even in the bike-friendly Netherlands, people aren’t getting enough exercise.

An Aussie writer says the bike ride doesn’t hurt, but the sudden stop after hitting a pothole does.

Singapore police arrest a hit-and-run ebike rider following a collision that killed a 78-year old man.

 

Finally…

Now you don’t have to choose whether to walk or ride a bike. Go ahead and skip the exorcism, but don’t transport your violent mentally ill patients by bicycle.

And no matter how mad you get, don’t slam your bike onto the hood of a parked car.

The car doesn’t deserve it.

And your bike sure as hell doesn’t.

 

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

Morning Links: Pico-Union hit-and-run, butt darts game threatens OC bicyclists, and dodging traffic — literally

August 22, 2017 / / 4 comments

The LAPD is looking for the heartless hit-and-run coward — my words, not theirs — who fled the scene after running down a bike rider in Pico-Union neighborhood last Tuesday.

The department reports the victim was riding west on Venice Blvd at Magnolia Ave when he was sideswiped by a passing driver and knocked into a parked car, suffering severe head injuries.

The driver kept going without stopping, or apparently even slowing down.

The suspect vehicle is described only as a tan-colored minivan; no description on the driver.

The city offers an automatic reward ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for any hit-and-run resulting in serious injuries depending on whether the injuries are permanent. Or $50,000 for a fatal hit-and-run.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD West Traffic Division Officer Juan Velasco at 213/473-0234. Anonymous tips can be given by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800/222-TIPS (800/222-8477) or at lacrimestoppers.org

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The OC Register examines the asinine butt dart stunts in Orange County, in which moronic assholes in cars swerve at people on bicycles, point their fingers like guns, and yell “butt dart!”

The paper reports a law firm is considering filing a lawsuit against the Orange County Instagram star who started the dangerous fad.

“What we want is for him to denounce this,” said Gven Sariol, a cycling safety advocate at the Sariol Legal firm in Santa Ana….

(He) said he’s actually performing the stunt, and recording it, as a way to promote safe bicycling: “Please ride safe and obey the rules of the road — That is all we ask,” he wrote in a caption for an Instagram post.

Of course. Harassing, intimidating and assaulting people on bicycles — let alone scaring the crap out of them — is being done in the name of bike safety.

Bullshit.

All we have here is yet another jackass looking for more online hits at the expense of innocent people.

Never mind that startling or frightening people on bicycles can have disastrous consequences, as the riders can overreact and swerve into traffic, or off the roadway or into parked cars. Or lose control and fall off their bikes and into the path of oncoming traffic.

And what happens in the seemingly inevitable instance when one of these so-called pranksters pulls the stunt on bike rider who happens to be armed — and yes, there are people who carry weapons when they ride.

Would the same law enforcement officials who wrongly insist that harassing bicyclists isn’t a crime be willing to turn the same blind eye to someone who reacted in self-defense when they thought they were being attacked?

This crap will stop when authorities actually care enough to find a way to prosecute these jerks.

Hopefully before someone gets killed.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

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Speaking of jerks — or any of the other epithets from the previous section — consider the driver who nearly made CiclaValley Eclipse Day roadkill.

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The first Indian woman to qualify for Paris-Brest-Paris says foreigners will soon be drawn to the country’s ultra-distance cycling events.

CNN looks at the Vuelta’s decision to combine male and female podium hosts, rather than just eliminating podium girls. Note to CNN: When your headline refers to “podium girls — and men,” you’re still getting it wrong.

Outside offers advice on how to prepare for your first bike race.

A Santa Rosa woman won the prestigious Leadville 100 mountain bike race after she was given a late push by a piece of pizza.

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Local

LA Magazine offers a good look at the city’s Vision Zero program, which should be required reading for anyone opposed to road diets or other traffic safety programs.

Great piece from Curbed’s Alissa Walker, who says residents of Jefferson Blvd are fed up with dangerous drivers, so they’re embracing road diets and implementing traffic safety improvements themselves, armed with a $6.3 million grant from Caltrans.

A Good Samaritan chased down the hit-and-run driver who fled after striking a woman as she was directing traffic on Los Feliz Blvd Saturday night.

Former LADOT artist-in-residence Alan Nakagawa will lead a bike tour of his Street Haiku project, including the scent of Hollywood in Springtime, from Mariachi Plaza on September 10th. Having smelled the actual Hollywood in springtime, it’s not a scent I would recommend.

Skid Row’s Union Rescue Mission has seen a 23% drop in charitable giving last year, despite a 23% increase in homelessness in LA County; it had faced a $5 million deficit last year until the head of the rescue mission rode his bike to Sacramento with his wife to raise funds.

 

State

The Guardian examines how bikeshare became a symbol of gentrification in San Francisco, seen as something for affluent white professionals, not locals.

Sad news from Stockton, where a 19-year old bike rider was killed in a hit-and-run Sunday night.

The Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association has spent the summer shoring up area trails and going after grants for more involved projects.

 

National

A writer for Strong Towns says narrow roads are better than crosswalks, and that road diets are “a far cheaper and more effective way to allow for safe pedestrian crossing.”

The Seattle Times says yes, drivers get ticketed for parking in bike lanes, even if it doesn’t seem like it.

An alternative weekly in Seattle says the consequences of the city’s mandatory bike helmet law falls disproportionately on black youths on the city’s south side, who have taken to using the new dockless bikeshare systems without them.

A Florida driver faces life in prison for killing a bike rider, after driving two miles with the man stuck in the rear window of his car, then dumping him still alive next to a dumpster.

 

International

Clean Technica says bicycles and autonomous vehicles are on a collision course, suggesting that getting the cars to recognize and respond to bicyclists is an unsolvable problem. Of course, every problem is unsolvable until someone does it; creating working car radios was considered unsolvable 90 years ago.

A London teenager suffered life-changing injuries in a horrific attack when he was sprayed in the face with acid by moped-riding thieves who stole his bicycle.

London’s Evening Standard offers the best bike shoes for autumn, apparently in case you don’t want to wear white on your bike after Labor Day.

Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily Rose is one of us, as the 18-year old model works on her bicycling skills in France with her mom, Vanessa Paradis.

A Singaporean appeals court affirmed the record $8.65 million awarded to a then-pregnant woman who was hit by falling cables at a construction site while riding past on her bicycle; even though she wasn’t badly injured, she developed what one of her doctors called one of the worst cases of PTSD he’d ever seen.

 

Finally…

When they say “Don’t try this at home,” this is exactly the sort of thing they’re talking about. Evidently, scofflaw cyclists are nothing new; thanks to Ted Faber for the link from his hometown.

And Kathy Kurutz forwards a little brighter note to end on today.

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

Morning Links: Playa del Rey task force unveiled, a call to block Long beach road diet, and new Crypto Cycles film

August 21, 2017 / / One comment

Councilmember Mike Bonin has followed up on his promise to create a task force to study the Playa del Rey road diets.

He named a panel of 20 people to the Playa del Rey Safer Streets Task Force, charged with determining if the lane reductions should stay in place. And what other changes, if any, should be made to improve safety in the beachfront community.

The panel is made up of local residents and business people, including those for and against the recent changes.

Although it’s notable that only Peter Flax is identified by his means of transportation; evidently, it’s just assumed that everyone else drives.

You know, like normal people.

Meanwhile, the Easy Reader News offers one of the most in-depth examinations of the controversy to date, as South Bay residents continue to expect everyone else to pay the price for their unsustainable single-occupant commutes.

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A “longtime Long Beach resident” appears to have taken the wrong lesson from the Vista del Mar fiasco, saying LA’s portside neighbor should learn from LA and cancel the planned Broadway bike lanes.

Long Beach really wants to be Amsterdam, where bicycles rule. But we live in Southern California, where distances between home and work are often great, good public transportation is essentially non-existent, and temperatures are often in the 80s and 90s (and it’s getting hotter every year).

Apparently, our council imagines if we destroy our main traffic arteries, those streets will just go “poof,” cars will disappear and lanes will magically fill up with air-conditioned, long-distance commuter bicycles.

Yes, because those moderate temperatures are just too hot for humans to endure. Especially with those cool sea breezes and coastal clouds to cool things off.

And never mind that most car trips in the LA area are three miles or less. Which hardly requires a long-distance commuter bicycle.

Or bicyclist, for that matter.

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Last week we showed you a trailer for Décryptø, the experimental short film from Scott Nichols looking at the custom hand-made carbon fiber bikes from SoCal’s Cryptic Cycles.

Now you can see the whole six-minute film, which dropped yesterday.

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Security footage shows a Walmart security guard intentionally run down a bike rider in a parking lot.

Twice.

The Albuquerque Walmart guard then claimed the rider simply fell over on his own when he hit the curb with his bike.

Sure. Let’s go with that.

According to the guard, the whole thing started when the man on the bike hit her car with a soda. Which even if true, does not justify assault with a deadly weapon once.

Let alone twice.

The bicyclist’s version is that he was just taking a drink, and accidently splashed water on the car.

Fortunately, he was not seriously injured.

Nor, apparently, was the driver by the soda or water that somehow splashed her vehicle.

Police seem to believe the guy on the bike — and the video — arresting the security guard on a charge of aggravated battery.

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Here’s the spoiler-free standings of the Vuelta after two stages, with a recap of Sunday’s second stage, which was too fast for successful breakaways.

Britain’s twin Yates brothers will ride twin bikes in the Vuelta that are mirror images of each other.

After falling out with Australian cycling officials and getting left off the country’s cycling team last year, Aussie track cyclist Shane Perkins has received special permission from Russian President Vladimir Putin to ride for that country, which has a desperate need for cyclists who aren’t banned for doping.

Security is high in Spain for the Vuelta and the kickoff of the country’s soccer season following the terror attack in Barcelona, but won’t affect the route.

In non-Vuelta news, Peloton looks at LA’s own pro crit champ Justin Williams.

A Tour of Norway breakaway was reeled back in when a bridge unexpectedly opened, stopping the lead riders dead in their tracks until the rest of the field caught up.

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Local

Sad news from South LA, where a man was killed and two women wounded in a drive-by shooting while riding their bikes in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood. Note to KTLA-5: It’s not a shootout unless the victims shoot back.

Burbank’s new bike corrals are proving a hit with bicyclists, at times holding as many as 16 bikes in a space built for 14.

A writer for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune talks with two men who went carfree, and remarkably, their lives did not grind to a halt.

 

State

The legislator who authored California’s handheld cellphone ban says the reason it’s almost universally ignored by drivers is that the penalty is too low. He tried twice to increase the penalty slightly, but both times it was vetoed by a clueless Governor Brown.

A former BMX rider has started a BMX club for school kids in San Diego’s Barrio Logan to help teach bike safety and get the kids exercising.

A San Luis Obispo letter writer says no, the streets actually belong to all of us.

San Francisco parks officials have decided that protected bike lanes would detract from the beauty of Golden Gate Park. Because all those streets and cars are just so damn pretty.

A kindhearted South San Francisco cop passes along his own son’s bicycle to replace one stolen from a 10-year old boy.

A Sacramento mother says the hit-and-run driver who killed her 15-year old son as he rode his bike back home with a friend has changed her family’s lives forever.

The Chico Velo bicycle advocacy group is looking for a new executive director, as the woman who has run the group in the Gold-level bike-friendly city since 2012 is looking to retire.

Now that’s more like it. A Lake Tahoe man gets four years and eight months behind bars for running a stop sign and hitting a bicyclist while driving at three times the legal alcohol limit, then attempting to run down a witness that followed him; he’s also banned from driving for five years after his release. Make that a lifetime driving ban, and we’ve got a deal.

 

National

Germany’s Canyon bikes is coming to the US for the first time, available only through the internet.

Bicycling takes a short look at problems tall people don’t have.

As dockless bikeshare expands in Seattle, many riders are ignoring the local bike helmet requirement, while police focus on education over writing rickets. Meanwhile, a Libertarian who derided bikeshare as socialist has found the privately owned dockless bikeshare more to his liking.

No surprise here. The relatives of a fallen cyclist have filed suit against the organizers of the Kansas City Crit after he was killed falling into a steel crowd-control barrier in June.

Great idea. An Oklahoma city holds an annual Tour de Trykes to raise funds to give away 30 to 40 adaptive tricycles to special needs kids.

Forget motorists upset over the loss of parking or traffic lanes. A group of homeless people may sue to block plans for a Chicago bike path because it could force them out from the bridge they’ve been living under.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A Minnesota bioscience researcher was killed riding her bike, as she was on her way to mentor people at a homeless shelter.

A Michigan advocacy group collected donations to create a reward fund help solve serious crimes against bicyclists.

There’s a special place in hell for the hit-and-run driver who left a bike-riding nun dying in the street.

Detroit is planning to more than double the amount of protected bike lanes in the city.

A North Carolina community remembers a man who earned the name Bicycle Jonny by riding his bicycle everywhere, after he was killed by a speeding driver.

 

International

A British Columbia bicyclist was beaten with his own bike after being knocked off it by mentally disturbed man as he rode on a bike trail; the woman he was riding with escaped with minor injuries.

A 17-year old high school grad builds his portfolio with breathtaking photos taken on a summer bike tour across the Canadian Rockies.

A toddler was knocked out of his stroller by a sidewalk cyclist in Ottawa, Canada. Seriously, if you’re going to ride on the sidewalk, slow the hell down and ride carefully around pedestrians.

Employees at a Nova Scotia market rescue a bike rider after she suffers heat stroke on a trail ride.

A writer for the Guardian says that she’s lazy, but cycling with a pack of women through a London park changed that.

A letter writer in the UK says the correct answer to the question “Where are all the cyclists in the bike lanes?” is leave your car at home and bike in them yourself.

A mystery was solved after a British couple discovered a pool of blood and a backpack on their porch after hearing a knock on their door, and police conducted an unsuccessful search using dogs. It turned out to be a man who had fallen off his bike and suffered a head injury; his friends had taken him to a hotel for help after they found him knocking on the door of the house for help.

A Glasgow bike rider receives a round of applause for his response to an anti-gay street preacher.

The Jewish couple who created Curious George escaped the Nazi invasion on a makeshift tandem bike, riding from Paris to the south of France before fleeing to Brazil by train and boat.

Indian bike riders take a rain-soaked midnight ride through the streets of Mumbai.

Eight British Muslim men rode their bicycles 2,000 miles through eight countries to attend the Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

A 70-year old Australian woman describes what it’s like to be doored from a painful first-hand perspective.

WaPo says if you really want to see Kyoto, Japan, walk, bike or take a train.

 

Finally…

No, the best way to avoid wrecking your car during the eclipse is riding your bicycle, instead. If you’re going to run away from a crash with a bike rider, try not to leave your passenger behind.

And Lance’s Kiwi beer ad has been canned.

 

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

Morning Links: Search goes on for hit-and-run killer, alleged Camarillo bike thief caught, and upcoming events

August 18, 2017 / / 6 comments

The search goes on for the killer of Albert Arnold, who was run down by a hit-and-run driver last Saturday.

Arnold was walking his bike across the street at 87th and Broadway on his way to his sister’s house when he was fatally struck at 2:30 am.

Police are looking for a white newer-model sedan that was last seen speeding north on Broadway.

As usual, there is an automatic $50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the driver in any fatal hit-and-run in Los Angeles.

………

This is what an — alleged — bike thief looks like.

Authorities made an arrest in the case of the thief who walked out of the Camarillo location of the Newbury Park Bicycle Shop with a new bike last June. However, the bike wasn’t recovered.

………

Let’s catch up with some upcoming events.

Specialized is celebrating the grand opening of their new Costa Mesa store starting with a four hour cocktail hour tonight, along with an ice cream social, and taco and donut rides over the weekend.

Helen’s Cycles is hosting their Ladies Monthly Road Ride tomorrow morning. Sorry guys, but you’re not invited for this one.

The Ride On! Bike Co-op is hosting a Buffalo Soldiers youth bike skills workshop tomorrow.

The LACBC rides to a free outdoor movie in North Hollywood tomorrow evening.

Serious Cycling in Northridge is hosting the ASSOS Experience this Tuesday. Guest speaker Desi Maier, the daughter of ASSOS founder Toni Maier, will discuss ASSOS’ “rich history and current technical innovations.” The free event includes drinks and light appetizers.

The LACBC is hosting a discussion of the Blue Line First Mile/Last Mile Plan at the Compton Station Community Fair on the 24th from 3 – 5 pm.

Santa Monica Next is holding their annual cocktail party fundraiser on September 9th.

The unofficial but very popular annual Marathon Crash ride has been replaced with a very official Los Angeles Landmark Ride benefitting City of Hope before the LA Marathon next March.

……….

Great video of British boy scouts competing in a 1968 cyclocross to earn their Cycling merit badge.

Evidently, the world was still in black and white back then.

………

Cycling News looks forward to five key stages in the Vuelta a España, aka Tour of Spain, which begins tomorrow.

Chris Froome looks to become just the third cyclist in the modern era to win the Vuelta and Tour de France in the same year, after a string of second place finishes.

Spain’s Samuel Sanchez was suspended after a positive drug test, pending testing of his B sample. Which mean no Vuelta for him. But the doping era is over, right?

Britain’s former double world champ track cyclist and Olympic silver medalist Becky James retires at the ripe old age of 25.

……….

Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton examines the racist, anti-road diet manifesto that several bike advocates — and opponents — have received at their home addresses recently. As you may recall, we discussed the bizarre screed, and linked to a full copy, last week.

A Pasadena art exhibit will focus on the work of a lesbian artist who traveled the world on her bicycle in the early 20th Century, painting church interiors from Rhode Island to Missouri; additional works will be displayed in Sacramento and Monterey.

The Acorn suggests fallen mountain biker and reserve sheriff’s deputy Jacob Castroll died from a fall while competing in the World Police & Fire Games last week, rather than a heart attack as originally reported.

CiclaValley conquers the fourth-steepest in America, conveniently located in San Pedro.

 

State

The OC Register’s David Whiting says citizens want their Santa Ana River Trail back from the homeless people who’ve taken it over. Although most, if not all, of them are citizens, too.

A self-described avid cyclist blames San Luis Obispo bike lanes for an increase in bicycling injuries, and says enough is enough.

A new Complete Street will bring new bus and bike lanes to the edge of the UC Berkeley campus.

San Francisco plans to install speed humps to slow traffic in Golden Gate Park. As opposed to actually discouraging people from driving through a public park.

Stockton has a “radical shift in thinking,” and develops a networked bike plan based on the premise that everyone deserves a chance to bicycle safely.

Sad news from Sacramento, where a 15-year old boy was killed in a hit-and-run collision while riding his bike in the Natomas district.

A woman writes about how she overcame her fear of bicycling to learn how to mountain bike at Lake Tahoe.

 

National

The Bike League announces the latest Bicycle Friendly Businesses, including Giant Bicycle in Newbury Park and Ventura Bike Depot in Ventura.

Definition of a scumbag: A Seattle man got out of his car after drinking, and pointed his gun at an 11-year old boy riding his bicycle.

My hometown university spent $25 million to build an underpass along a key bike corridor so students biking and walking won’t have to cross a busy intersection.

The Denver Post says the inaugural Colorado Classic bike race may have gone well, but the associated music festival, not so much.

Chicago cops bust a trio of thieves who stole a triathlete’s $5,000 bike, after posing as a buyer willing to pay $600.

A proposal for half-mile long bike lane failed a city council vote in St. Paul MN, despite overwhelming support from the speakers.

Boston will hold a Game of Thrones themed bicycle ice cream tour. There’s got to be a great joke in there somewhere, but the best I can come up with is John Snow Cones. Anyone? Update: Best so far, A Song of Ice Cream and Fire, from J. Patrick Lynch.

A New York bicyclist alleges the NYPD refused to take his statement after he was run down by an angry tailgating driver who fled the scene.

Three weeks after a bike-riding thief stole a box containing a cremated Yorkie’s ashes off a Staten Island porch, he returned it with a note of apology. But what the hell did he do with a box of Yorkie cremains for three weeks?

 

International

Caught on video: A London rider is tailgated — and threatened — by an impatient driver.

Scotland’s free “anti-sportive” keeps riders coming back for hard riding in guaranteed miserable weather.

A pair of Dutch safety groups criticize traditional triangle frame bikes, saying the crossbar makes it harder to get on and off, and makes it more likely the rider will hit his or her head in a fall. I’ve long argued that one reason Dutch cyclists don’t need helmets is that Dutch-style bikes are easier to step off of if the rider starts to fall.

A New Zealand judge praises a driver for doing everything he could to make up for hitting a cyclist, after buying her a new bike and committing to taking driving lessons every year after he gets his license back.

An Aussie writer takes a deep dive into the question of reciprocity on the roads, saying bikes and cars aren’t equal, and that cyclists who think we have to earn drivers’ respect have the Lycra equivalent of Stockholm syndrome.

Seoul, Korea announces plans to increase bike mode share to 10% to fight climate change by building 128 miles of bike lanes. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

Is this ten thousand abandoned Chinese bikes, or a modern art installation?

 

Finally…

If you need to make a fast escape after exposing yourself in front of Hot Dog on a Stick, pay for your rental bike in advance. How can you give stand-up paddle boarders a bike lane-style lane of their own if there’s no door zone?

And let’s end with this one, ferda girls.

Thanks to swrve for the link.

Category: Bike Events, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,
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