My apologies.
I’m down for the count after a too busy day and an extended blood sugar crash. I’ll get some rest, and we’ll be back bright and early tomorrow.
And yes, diabetes sucks.
Morning Links: Bike commuting Op-Ed video from LA Times, and another attack on bikes and urban planning
Sometimes it’s better just to show what bike commuting is really like, rather than try to explain.
That’s what LA Times reporter Matthew Fleischer did Monday, accompanying an Op-Ed with 360° video of his three-mile commute to work at the paper.
Come join me on my morning bike commute. Ride three miles in my shoes. Maybe you’ll be outraged enough by what you see to write your city councilperson, demanding safer streets. Maybe you’ll decide cycling in L.A. isn’t so bad after all and go for a ride. Or maybe, just maybe, you’ll decide not to froth at the mouth in protest when road safety improvements to keep cyclists safe add a couple of minutes to your morning commute.
If nothing else, you’ll get to see what it looks like from the other side when you honk your horn as you blow past a cyclist who momentarily inconveniences you — and, I hope, decide never to do that again.
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One of LA’s most questionable urban planning writers is at it again.
In his latest post for City Watch, Richard Lee Abrams a) confuses light rail with trolleys, b) blames bike lanes, not all those people in single occupancy vehicles, for all that traffic congestion, and c) says the quote below proves the city has an anti-car policy, when it does nothing of the sort.
Bicycles are such a slow means of locomotion that they impede faster vehicles. As a result, bicycles cause increased traffic congestion. The City admits that its policy of adding Bike Lanes to city streets is a part of an anti-car policy. Director of Planning, Vince Bertoni stated in a July 13, 2017 LA Magazine interview:
“…[We want streets that don’t] just revolve around the automobile. We’re looking at what it’s like to walk, bicycle, even skateboard down these streets and all the other ways we’ll get around. We’re going to be putting in wider sidewalks, trees, bicycle lanes that people feel protected in.”
That’s before blaming corruption for LA’s Transit Oriented Development policies, and prescribing solutions to LA traffic that would only make the problem worse and degrade the quality of life he claims to be trying to save.
And after claiming Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti could face criminal prosecution for placing bike lanes on busy streets where children would be exposed to pollution from passing cars.
Never mind that, despite presenting himself as a Los Angeles attorney, he does not appear to be a member of the California Bar Association, and a Google search does not show a practicing attorney by that name in Los Angeles.
Though it does turn up some of the lengthy public comments he’s submitted.
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The head of Team Sky took advantage of Monday’s rest day in the Tour de France to launch an attack on a writer for Cyclingnews; Sir Dave Brailsford disinvited him from an interview session with Chris Froome because he’d been “writing shit” about Brailsford.
Peter Sagan echoes the sentiments of most cycling fans, saying booting him out of the Tour was a mistake. Nairo Quintana defends his Movistar team after his father trashed it in the press.
An Irish writer says cycling has been vilified for doping, but other sports haven’t faced the same scrutiny — especially since the doctor in Spain’s Operation Puerto doping scandal also had clients in soccer, athletics, tennis and boxing, none of whom have been named.
The Bahrain Merida cycling team competing in the Tour is accused of being part of an effort by Bahrain’s ruling family to whitewash a history of torture and human rights abuses.
And a young Dutch cyclist shows that crossing the finish line first isn’t always the most important thing.
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Local
The Venice Neighborhood Council will consider a motion at tonight’s meeting to host a town hall with Councilmember Mike Bonin, where he’s sure to get an earful from the anti-bike lane/lane reduction contingent.
CiclaValley looks forward to this Thursday’s Draft Meetup at Pure Cycles in Burbank.
State
Orange County has evicted a number of homeless people from a nearly half-mile long section of the Santa Ana riverbed near the Honda Center, following complaints from bicyclists and hikers along the Santa Ana River trail. But apparently only managed to move them onto the trail, instead.
An Ocean Beach man writes an open letter to the thief who stole his bicycle but didn’t ruin his day.
Despite earlier reports that he might not be charged, a member of a prominent Kern County farming family was pled not guilty to felony hit-and-run and DUI charges for the January death of a rider. His lawyer claimed the empty vodka bottle found in his back seat just happened to fall out of a box or backpack.
San Francisco celebrated their equivalent of a CicLAvia in the Mission District on Sunday.
Cal Berkeley’s Daily Californian complains that Ford’s Bay Area goBike doesn’t serve underserved communities in Oakland, while one underserved community in San Francisco says they don’t want to be served.
In a preview of what US cities have to look forward to with dockless bikeshare, the Google Bikes the company provides for the free use of its employees are ending up unceremoniously dumped in a Mountain View creek.
A Santa Rosa man is under arrest for teeing-off with a golf club on a man riding a bicycle, knocking the victim into the windshield of a parked car, following an argument between the two men.
National
Studies show bicycling is a social affair for many Latinos.
It’s not often that bike advocates find themselves on the same side as the anti-tax wing of the GOP, but that’s the case in Oregon where the governor is expected to sign a $5.3 billion budget that incudes a $15 excise tax on new bicycles over $200. Thanks to Ed Ryder for the heads-up.
A seven-year old boy completed a 203-mile, two-day ride from Seattle to Portland, and still sped up when a group of riders tried to pass him after 170 miles.
Boise police are looking for a bike rider who ripped off the side mirror of a car, causing $1,000 damage to the vehicle. Needless to say, the driver disavows any knowledge of what he could have possibly done to make the rider so angry. We’ve said it before — no matter what a driver might do, violence is never the answer. It only makes things worse in the long run.
Plastic dividers have gone up to separate a three-mile long section of bike lane from motor vehicle traffic on the popular South Padre Island vacation resort in Texas, after a woman was killed and four other bicyclists injured by an alleged DUI hit-and-run driver.
Bicycling crashes have dropped dramatically in Austin TX following construction of new bikeways in 2014.
NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson rides with Detroit’s famed Slow Roll crew.
Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo is one of us, riding a Lousiville KY bikeshare bike on stage to finish out their set at the end of a three-day music festival.
A Vermont psychotherapist and bike advocate wants to cure the world of “automobilism” through bicycling and “automobile reduction therapy.”
International
A new Canadian study shows bicycling is the least stressful way to commute to work.
The driver who hit a red light-running Ottawa bike rider in the dash cam video we linked to yesterday says he’s still shook up by the crash; the rider was ticketed for running a red light.
Caught on video: A British driver has been fined the equivalent of $196 after speeding up to crash into a bicyclist, because police say they can’t prove who was behind the wheel of the rental car.
An English town councilor wants to separate bike lanes with pink armadillos he designed himself. Which should be enough to convince any number of drivers it’s time to quit drinking.
Finally…
This is why you want to be careful riding around storm grates. Who says you can’t carry a big load on a bike?
And don’t wear underwear under your spandex.
Or over it, for that matter.
Category: General / Tags: bicycling, bike commuting, City Watch, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Times, Matthew Fleischer, urban planning
Morning Links: Fletcher Drive and Venice Blvd meetings this week; Vision Zero improvements for Temple St
It’s a busy week for the LA bike world.
From Vision Zero and Great Streets, to the grand re-opening of a popular bikeway.
There’s a follow-up meeting to discuss the proposed Vision Zero improvements for Fletcher Drive this Wednesday, as local business groups post misleading information to oppose it. And count KTLA traffic reporter Ginger Chan in the anti camp, evidently.
The battle over the Venice Blvd Great Streets project goes on, with the next skirmish scheduled for an open house in Mar Vista this Saturday. And yes, the folks opposed to the changes are calling for a big turnout. Thanks to Lynn Ingram for the heads-up.
The LACBC posted photos of the proposed Vision Zero improvements for Temple Street, including bike lanes and a 2.3 mile lane reduction.
And the Coyote Creek bikeway is finally reopening tonight in Los Alamitos.
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The yellow jersey comes and goes, and comes back again, though Chris Froome nearly lost the day to a broken spoke on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Guardian features notes from the past week at the Tour de France.
Good question. A Cycling News Op-Ed offers a nuanced take on cycling’s hypocritical and uneven handling of past dopers, questioning why we pillory Tom Simpson, Lance or Jan Ullrich, while giving other riders from the doping era a pass.
A Scottish newspaper addresses the rampant sexism in pro cycling, where podium girls are more visible than women cyclists.
A 21-year old Zimbabwean cyclist has risen to become the nation’s road and mountain bike champ, despite not even owning his own bicycle. Someone get this man a sponsor, stat.
Nice gesture from the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team, which gave a new bike, helmet and an autographed pro cycling team jersey to a six-year old Idaho girl suffering from hearing loss.
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Local
Bike riders continue to complain about homeless encampments encroaching on the Orange Line bike path between Sepulveda and Hazeltine, although local businesses say they’re beginning to see improvement as the city steps up enforcement efforts. Part of the problem is that the encampments are on private property, limiting what authorities can do to remove them.
Santa Monica police bust a thief who stole a $1,250 bike when the owner left it unlocked outside a restaurant. Which is sort of like leaving your laptop or smartphone on the sidewalk, and trusting it will be there when you get back.
State
Bad news from Laguna Nigel, where a man suffered severe head trauma after losing control of his bike and hitting a tree face first. Let’s hope he makes a full and fast recovery.
A letter writer calls for a walkable, bikeable Mariner’s Mile that will serve as a Main Street for Newport Beach, not a freeway that slashes across the community.
Tragic news from Vallejo, as the 16-year old boy who was hit by a pickup while riding with his father on Thursday has died three days after the crash. Something is seriously wrong when a boy can’t safely go for a ride with his dad.
A Chico letter writer calls on bike advocates to clean up the mess made by homeless camps on a bike path. You know, just like drivers pitch in to clean up the roads they use.
National
NASCAR champ Dale Earnhardt Jr. rides his bike to earn more beers.
A Nebraska judge tossed a case against an alleged meth dealer after a cop stopped him for riding in a crosswalk — which isn’t illegal in the state — making everything they found on him inadmissible.
The Nashville Tennessean says yes, cyclists and pedestrians need to pay attention, but if drivers aren’t willing to watch the road, they shouldn’t be on it. Meanwhile, the widow of a fallen rider says to pass bicyclists like you love them. Which is good advice for anyone, no matter who you’re passing or how.
A Central New York bike ride appears to have set a new record for the largest classic bicycle parade, with 158 people riding bikes built as far back as 1923.
International
Combine your love of bikes and food with eight culinary bike tours for from around the world. Or maybe you’d prefer a beautiful tour mixing bikes and trains.
This is why you don’t run red lights. Dash cam video captures a Ottawa, Canada bike rider going through a red light and riding directly into the path of an oncoming car; fortunately, the rider was not seriously injured.
A Canadian writer says there’s not a number on your back in a group ride, so don’t treat it like a race.
Not surprisingly, Manchester, England is having the same problems with dockless bikeshare bikes nearly every other city has. Including a London borough that ordered them removed.
After someone stole a British woman’s bicycle, she just stole it back. Even though this turned out okay, it’s always best to let the police handle it; there have been several cases that didn’t end as well.
Now that’s more like it. A British judge sentences a drunk hit-and-run driver who seriously injured a 16-year old bike rider to three years in jail, and revokes his license for more than eleven years, while calling for stiffer penalties for hit-and-run drivers.
A Scottish model is riding the length of the UK to raise funds for children in Cape Verde, but describes the ride as “horrific.”
New stamps from Germany, Switzerland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina commemorate the 200th anniversary of the bicycle, while French stamps honor the invention of concrete.
An Indian man rides his bike over 1,200 miles through the Sahara Desert in 28 days.
An editorial in an Aussie paper says the government should come to its senses and reverse oppressive fines on cycling and the removal of bikeways.
Finally…
How many people can say their bike lights are literally out of this world. If you’re going to use your smartphone while you ride, try to look up before crashing into a police car.
And if you think bicyclists are lunatics waging an idiotic war with anyone normal, while riding one yourself, what does that make you?
Just asking.
Category: Morning Links / Tags: bicycling, Coyote Creek Bike Trail, Fletcher Drive, Great Streets, Los Angeles, Temple Street, Venice Blvd, Vision Zero
Update: Hit-and-run driver kills bike rider in Newport Beach, injures another
This time the killer didn’t have a chance to sober up first.
The Orange County Register is reporting that a bike rider was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Newport Beach last night.
The driver, identified as 23-year-old Taylor Evans, fled the scene after striking two people riding their bikes on northbound Newport Boulevard near Industrial Way at 1:19 am.
One of the two victims apparently died at the scene. The other suffered undisclosed injuries.
Neither has been publicly identified at this time.
No word on how the collision occurred.
Evans was arrested a few blocks away at Newport Boulevard near E. 16th Street as he tried to push his damaged SUV out of the roadway. He was booked on suspicion of felony DUI with bodily injury, hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter.
A street view shows a six lane, high speed arterial roadway with a painted shoulder on the northbound side below Industrial Way, and a wide parking lane above it.
This is the 31st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fifth in Orange County. This is also at least the 13th bicycling death in Newport Beach since 2010, an average of nearly two a year.
Update: The City News Service has identified the victim as 41-year old Costa Mesa resident Jose Vasquez-Perez. The story also places the location as Costa Mesa, though the crash is being investigated by the Newport Beach Police Department.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jose Vasquez-Perez and his loved ones.
Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: bicycling fatality, DUI, hit-and-run, Jose Vasquez-Perez, Newport Beach, Orange County
Weekend Links: Lawsuit madness in Playa del Rey, walking a bike through G20 riots, and Saturday bike videos
Amidst all the madness, we’re starting to see a few glimmers of sanity.
And more madness.
Wealthy Playa del Rey townhouse owners have filed the first of what may be the first of many lawsuits over the safety improvements in the area, claiming the city failed to file an Environmental Impact Report because they knew it would be unpopular.
Although their lawyer seems a tad confused, claiming the changes on Vista del Mar were made to benefit a handful recreational bike riders. Even though there are no bike lanes on Vista del Mar.
And the changes have made it worse, not better, for cyclists using the roadway.
Meanwhile, Manhattan Beach continues to threaten to sue, while apparently laboring under the same misconception that a bike lane was added on Vista del Mar.
The irony is that the city alleges the lack of advance notice before implementing the road reconfigurations violated the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. But no one seems to consider the environmental damage done by the unsustainable commutes of countless solo drivers who insist on living in the wealthy beach community while working miles away in LA and Santa Monica.
And expect the people of Los Angeles to put up with it without complaint. Or concerns for their own safety.
Surprisingly, the sanity comes in two pieces written for City Watch, which is more often a home for the bike-hating trolls, or just the very strange.
A member of the Mar Vista Community Council says, despite his personal opposition to the Venice Great Streets Project, the uproar means they have to do their jobs, and find a solution that works for everyone.
And the former president of the East Hollywood Neighborhood Council says it’s time for everyone to just calm down, and if you can’t abide the presence of another human being on the roadway, move to South Dakota already.
Although I suspect the people in South Dakota might just send them back.
Meanwhile, a Santa Monica writer belatedly discovers the Venice Great Streets project while somehow blaming CicLAvia for it, and suggests that its members can show up for meetings because they don’t have jobs.
Never mind that CicLAvia had absolutely nothing to do with the project other than hosting a pop-up demonstration, and bike riders who supported the project have jobs, too. Just like real people.
Seriously, though, you have to admire someone who’s not afraid to show he doesn’t have the slightest clue what he’s writing about.
Do you see a bike lane here? Both photos by Joni Yung.
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Megan Lynch forwards an extraordinary series of photos taken by photographer Thomas Lohnes, which appear to show 60-year old historian Martin Bühler calmly walking his bike through the recent G20 protests in Hamburg, Germany as police fire water canons around him.
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CiclaValley shares a look at a driver who insisted on passing, even after being warned there was no room to do it safely. Which is something most of us have experienced far too often.
Although his choice of language is much milder than mine has been in similar situations.
However, no such language is needed in this video depicting a day in the life of an LA Brompton rider. My apologies are in order, though, since I’ve lost track of who sent this one to me. But thank you, anyway.
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The Tour de France is starting to get interesting, as Chris Froome is no longer looking invincible. America’s last remaining Tour de France winner says all is not well at Team Sky.
Alberto Contador overcame injuries to attack on Friday.
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Local
The Southern California Association of Governments, aka SCAG, was awarded the 2017 Transportation Planning Excellence Award for its Go Human campaign.
The next Draft: LA Meetup, sponsored by People For Bikes, will be held this Thursday at Pure Cycles in Burbank. But no, it will not last for 27 hours.
A Burbank letter writer says he always rides his bike as far to the right as safely possible, and gets irritated at bike riders who don’t when he’s behind the wheel. In other words, he turns into an angry driver when he sees bicyclists riding safely in the center of the lane, just like they’re supposed to, because that’s not the way he does it.
You can now use your Metro Bike membership in the Rose City, as Metro’s bikeshare system officially opens in Pasadena. Boyonabike welcomes the program to his hometown.
Santa Monica is now considering installing more physical barriers to create protected bike lanes.
This Sunday marks the Whittier Walk & Roll Open Streets event, a four hour, six mile carfree festival.
State
Irvine plans to close a 1.2 mile gap in the Jeffrey Open Space Trail, including a new bridge over the 5 Freeway.
An Op-Ed in the San Diego Union-Tribune says the city’s bike commuting plan faces a bumpy road from reluctant commuters, and people who prefer parking to bike lanes. And seemingly expect bike traffic to somehow appear overnight when lanes are built.
A San Diego judge orders a competency hearing for a homeless man accused of striking several people in the back of the head while riding his bike, killing an 83-year old woman.
San Francisco is installing parking-protected bike lanes on two streets to provide a quick safety fix.
Oakland will celebrate bikes this weekend with the Jack London Square Pedalfest, including amphibious bike races.
Bad news from Vallejo, where a father and son were run down from behind by the driver of a pickup, leaving the teenager fighting for his life.
A Sacramento athlete is overcoming his cerebral palsy to compete in a triathlon this weekend.
National
NASCAR’s Ryan Newman doesn’t get the whole race driver cycling craze, preferring to work on his farm when he’s not driving.
Milwaukee moves forward with its first bike boulevards. Too bad you can’t say the same about Los Angeles.
Police are looking for a bike raging Chicago rider who put a rock through the window of a BMW after the driver accused him of scratching his car. As tempting as it can be sometimes, just don’t. Period.
A New York man makes his escape on a Citi Bike bikeshare bike after fatally shooting a man.
Residents of an Atlanta neighborhood are angry after the city ripped up a one-year old bike path for no apparent reason, after they’d fought for it for eight years.
A Florida letter writer gets it, telling drivers to calm down, put their phones down and pay attention when they see someone on a bike.
International
You think? Gizmodo says maybe dockless bikeshare isn’t a good idea, as abandoned bikes turn up everywhere.
Modacity looks at the insanity of licensing bicyclists, especially when it comes to kids.
Spend your next bike vacation touring Cuba.
The Calgary mountain biker who claimed to have been clotheslined by barbed wire strung over a trail says people have turned on him, questioning the legitimacy of his story — and his now-closed crowdfunding campaign.
Probably wasn’t the best idea. A British headmaster is looking for a new job after calling in sick so he could go on a charity bike ride in Cuba.
A Welsh cyclist got a medal for finishing a charity ride, despite getting lost and ending up riding with the pro cyclists. And so did his dog.
A South African cyclist is on trial for an alleged bike rage attack on two motorists; he claims the driver had “been impatient” with other bicyclists and made him fall off his bike. This is what happens when you can’t control your temper; instead of holding an impatient driver accountable, it’s the guy on the bike who’s facing jail time.
The New York Times examines why people on bicycles inspire such animosity in Australia. And pretty much anywhere else. Thanks to Victor Bank for the heads-up.
Finally…
Your next bike could be a fire truck. Or maybe a $10,000 eco-friendly wooden bike made with no-so-eco-friendly carbon fiber. Or just effing weird.
And new anti-lock bike brakes could promise an end to the endo.
Category: Morning Links / Tags: lawsuits, Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach, Mar Vista, Playa del Rey, Stupid Driver Tricks, Venice Blvd, Vista del Mar
Bike rider pulling shopping cart killed in San Bernardino hit-and-run
Sometimes the stories don’t add up.
The San Bernardino Sun reported this morning that a 37-year old man had been killed in a hit-and-run while riding his bike in San Bernardino.
According to the paper, he was riding on southbound Arrowhead Ave at 13th Street when he was struck from behind at 11:04 pm.
However, a press release from the San Bernardino County coroner said he was pushing a shopping cart, instead.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was taken to St. Bernardine Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:47 pm.
The driver fled scene, but was arrested sometime later. No word on his or her ID, or if drugs or alcohol was involved.
The discrepancy was explained by KABC-7, which said the victim was towing the shopping cart behind his bike. However, the report does not appear to be online at this time.
This is the 30th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth in San Bernardino County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: bicycling fatality, San Bernardino, San Bernardino County
