Morning Links: More on Wednesday Vision Zero win, and LA cops ride from H’wood to DC to honor fallen officers

March 31, 2017 / / 4 comments

More reaction to Wednesday’s meeting of the city council Transportation Committee, which voted to devote 60% of Measure M local return funds to the city’s Vision Zero plan.

According to the LACBC, the remaining funds will be split with 10% going to bike infrastructure, 10% to sidewalk repair and reconstruction, and 20% to median island and curb extension improvements.

A Los Feliz paper looks at Wednesday’s meeting that resulted in prioritizing Vision Zero work over repairing potholes with Measure M return funds.

But evidently, saving human lives is a “pet project,” according to a community activist who spoke to KABC-7.

The anger is understandable. Measure M was pushed in large part with promises that it would fix our crumbling streets. Although I’d like to think we could all agree that improving safety for everyone on the road is more important than patching potholes.

But I could be wrong on that.

The proposal goes before the Public Works and Gang Reduction committee next week.

Whether this comes under the heading of public works or gang reduction remains to be seen.

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Hats off to a group of LA police officers, who will be riding from Hollywood to DC to honor fallen police officers in the first-ever Hollywood Memorial Ride.

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World road champ Peter Sagan denies he intentionally hip-checked another rider during Sunday’s Ghent-Wevelgem classic.

An unsupported Aussie ultra-endurance race was cancelled midrace when British ultracyclist Mike Hall was killed in a collision near Canberra; another rider was nearly scalped when he was hit by a car earlier in the 3,400 mile race. The race, which started March 18th, had been expected to finish today.

New Zealand cyclist Keagan Girdlestone completes a near-miraculous recovery after severing his carotid artery and jugular vein when he crashed into a team vehicle during a race last year, as he prepares for his first race since the crash.

Cycling Weekly looks at LA cyclist Phil Gaimon’s series of Worst Retirement Ever videos, as he documents his efforts to claim KOMs throughout California.

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Local

CiclaValley describes a major bike lane fail on Moorpark Street in Sherman Oaks.

From sponsored BMX racer to SoCal’s in-demand DJ.

A new mixed-use project in Larchmont will offer nearly as many bike parking spaces as spaces for cars.

Model CJ Franco is one of us, as she rides a WeHo Pedals bikeshare bike to Bristol Farms in Beverly Hills for a little shopping. But if the Daily Mail doesn’t stop drooling over her, it’s going to short out my keyboard.

 

State

Streetsblog interviews BikeSD executive director Sam Ollinger, who has risen to become one of the nation’s leading bike advocates.

A San Bernardino cop was cleared in the shooting of an unarmed man after he tried to escape on his bike.

Ventura advocacy groups are working for more and better bikeways to ensure people can ride safely.

A Salinas writer looks at the bipartisan effort to pass the Idaho Stop law.

App-based, dockless bikeshare provider Bluegogo is off to an awkward start in San Francisco, pulling their bikes off the street after several were left on a sidewalk in the Castro district.

 

National

No surprise here, as Trump’s proposed budget would gut funding for transit expansion and TIGER grants.

Outside magazine asks why mountain bikers keep running into bears on the trail. Probably because they’re the ones that live in the wildeness, and we’re trespassing on their territory.

It takes a special kind of jerk to punch a 10-year old Phoenix boy and steal his bicycle.

Sad news from Montana, where the executive editor of Adventure Cyclist magazine died unexpectedly of natural causes.

A Nebraska college student may have a self-described vendetta against cyclists, but at least he gets it, calling for an Idaho Stop law and better bike facilities to improve safety for everyone.

An Austin TX bike advocacy group says two recent bicycling fatalities could have been avoided if the roads were more accommodating for people on bicycles.

A judge rules the driver who killed five Kalamazoo cyclists and injured four more in a drug fueled crash last June will face multiple counts of second degree murder, as well as a DUI charge.

New York plans to install a protected bike lane on the iconic 5th Avenue as part of the city’s Vision Zero plan, removing 38 parking spaces to protect human lives.

The Wall Street Journal says you should trade your regular bike for a gravel bike that can do almost everything, while Road.cc just happens to have a few suggestions for you.

Georgia state police are looking for a road raging driver who deliberately sideswiped a cyclist leading a group ride; police may be aided by bike cam video recorded by the victim. Just one more reminder why it’s so important to put a camera on your bike or helmet. Or both.

Savannah GA rejects plans for a road diet and bikes lanes to calm traffic on two streets leading in and out of downtown.

Miami considers adopting a Vision Zero plan to reduce bicyclist and pedestrian fatalities; the city ranks third in the US for pedestrian deaths, after Los Angeles and New York.

 

International

A new app will identify when you’re riding your bike, so your boss can pay you for riding to work. Because he or she will totally do that, right?

Two months after Ottawa, Canada police said the victim didn’t want to press charges — which he quickly denied — the driver caught on video repeatedly nudging a cyclist blocking his path pled guilty to assault and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle.

A London writer questions whether riding a bicycle through the city makes him a better architect, while looking forward to Rapha’s Unlocking the City program in Los Angeles this July.

Manchester, England is finally beginning to embrace the cycling revolution.

Paris is leading the fight to reclaim our streets from motor vehicles.

Kiwi advocates call for scrapping the country’s mandatory helmet law.

 

Finally…

Rail to trail to roadway. No, bike riders aren’t required to wear stretchy pants, but should be on their best behavior.

And apparently, the all-powerful bike lobby is running a shadow government in NYC.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure, Vision Zero / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Vision Zero funding carries the day, cyclist-killing pedophile sentenced, and bad bike marketing

March 30, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Vision Zero funding carries the day, cyclist-killing pedophile sentenced, and bad bike marketing

Safer streets won the day at yesterday’s meeting of the LA City Council’s Transportation Committee.

According to Curbed LA, a motion passed to allocate 60% of the city’s Measure M local return funds to Vision Zero projects, as opposed to a city plan to allocate two-thirds to fixing the city’s crumbling streets.

The motion sponsored by CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin passed by a slim 3 – 2 margin, with CD5’s Paul Koretz and CD4’s David Ryu voting to fix potholes while keeping the city’s streets dangerous.

As Bonin put it,

“We can fill a bunch of potholes, or we can save a bunch of lives.”

However, comments from Koretz blamed jaywalking pedestrians and poor pavement quality in bike lanes, not high speeds, poor street design or dangerous drivers, for the city’s unacceptably high rate of fatalities.

Never mind that he’s the one responsible for blocking planned bike lanes on Westwood Blvd and on other streets in his mostly Westside district.

And Ryu is the one standing in the way of a desperately needed road diet on 6th Street that’s overwhelmingly supported by the neighborhood councils in the area.

But sure, let’s go with potholes over human lives.

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Sometimes, I don’t even know what to say.

An Agoura Hills man was sentenced to the maximum term of nearly six years behind bars for committing lewd acts with a 14-year old boy, 29 years after he was convicted on felony counts of hit-and-run and conspiracy for killing a bike rider in Laguna Hills.

Gary Haw, who owned a string of tanning salons in the early 2000s, is also suspected, but wasn’t charged, with molesting other boys who worked for his company.

He was driving his father’s $80,000 Porsche when he slammed into his 17-year old victim in 1988. Despite throwing the boy’s body the length of a football field, he was somehow acquitted of vehicular manslaughter in the case, and received just two years in prison.

His father was convicted of obstruction and lying to a police officer for attempting to cover for Haw by claiming he was the one driving, even though he was at his Culver City home at the time of the crash.

Haw was also convicted of molesting a child in Santa Monica that same year.

Yet his attorney in the current case argued that Haw was a “pillar of the community” who was unlikely to re-offend.

Which seems highly unlikely, given his track record.

And which makes the five year, eight month sentence seem a few decades too short.

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Once again, a bicycle company badly misses the mark by assuming their market is made up solely of immature straight males.

As Bicycling points out, the sexist and homophobic ad Wolf Tooth Components and another company shared on social media over the weekend was quickly pulled when wiser heads prevailed following an intense backlash.

The question is why anyone would approve it in the first place. And why does the bike industry just not get it?

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Patrick Lynch forwards video of an airport bike cop photobombing a Today Show news report on TSA pat-downs.

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A professional mountain biker describes his addiction to Tramadol, the painkiller used — legally — by many cyclists in the pro peloton.

Women’s races have been added to two of the four stages of the new Colorado Classic bike race, with an unrelated women’s crit the third day.

A German website profiles American cyclist Leah Thorvilson, who went from marathon runner to winning a pro cycling contract at age 38 by coming in first in a Zwift virtual cycling competition.

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Local

CiclaValley calls tonight’s People For Bikes Draft Meetup at Pure Cycles a must.

LA-based Smart Bikes is accepting pre-order sales for their new Hexagon light, combining a rear-view camera with a taillight, brake light and turn signals, and allowing you to use your smartphone to see what’s coming behind you. But probably not the “ultimate safety device,” as the company describes it.

The LACBC’s annual River Ride will once again feature a Long Beach start, as well as the traditional starting line in Griffith Park; the Long Beach start was discontinued last year due to construction work.

 

State

There seems to be a common theme to our first three stories. I just can’t seem to put my finger on it.

  • Health rankings of California counties indicate where you live has an impact on how healthy you are and how long you’ll live, with Orange County near the top of the list, and Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties not so much. Safe, walkable and bikeable neighborhoods with access to fresh fruits and vegetables made a positive difference.
  • Calbike says a good state transportation bill was poisoned at the last minute by an ill-advised compromise allowing the trucking industry to keep polluting neighborhoods near ports and trucking routes.
  • A white paper from the California Air Resources Board says physical activity is good for you, just try not to breath the air.

Long delayed plans for a bikeway on San Diego’s Coronado bridge could cost as much as $210 million for a 15-foot tube suspended beneath the bridge, and could require a toll to fund it — either on the bicyclists and pedestrians using it, or the drivers on the bridge above them.

A Santa Cruz letter writer says “smug weekend cyclists” should be banned from a large number of mountain roads. Does that mean modest weekday riders are okay?

A Sacramento magazine says it’s time for the city to stop spinning its wheels and build its first protected bike lane, noting that Sacramento and Las Vegas are the only two of America’s 40 largest cities without at least imminent plans for one.

A Folsom newspaper says cyclists and motorists need to work together for safety, and drivers shouldn’t squeeze cyclists off the road.

 

National

A new study questions why girls lose interest in bicycling when they reach their teens; not surprisingly, traffic is a major factor.

A writer for Forbes calls the new $5,000, 33 mph Stromer ebike a people magnet and a thing of sheer beauty. Although here in California, any motorized bicycle that goes that fast requires a helmet and a motorcycle license.

It was a big night out for a Denton TX man, who was arrested after allegedly crashing his car into three separate vehicles before hitting a woman on a bicycle, then running away and attacking a woman getting out of her car, insisting he needed it to get something to drink.

Chicago bike riders are cheering plans for extending a bike trail and building a riverwalk bike path on both sides of the river through a gentrifying industrial corridor.

A Cleveland letter writer says don’t be a jerk by riding in the middle of the lane and slowing down traffic just to prove you have a right to the road. Never mind that riders are taught to take the lane to avoid the door zone, increase visibility and make drivers go around them to pass.

Next City examines how Massachusetts is updating its statewide bike plan to shift focus from recreational riding to riding for transportation.

 

International

The international bicycle industry is finally getting onboard with bike advocacy.

Peru’s Agricultural Minister was fired for sunbathing and riding her bicycle while half the country was being devastated by the worst flooding in two decades.

Plans are underway to install segregated bike lanes on London’s Westminster bridge, site of last week’s terrorist attack. However, work has been postponed for the foreseeable future, as one British lord inexplicably blames the current painted lanes for contributing to the carnage.

A British rider is close to finishing his goal of riding 107 kilometers (66 miles) every day for 107 days, despite working full time, and overcoming food poisoning and a major storm.

The head of Ireland’s Green Party calls for improving safety for cyclists on the country’s roads, comparing riding in Dublin to a Ben-Hur chariot race.

CNN takes a 12-day, 602-mile ride around Taiwan on a route that is rapidly becoming one of Asia’s greatest adventures.

Singapore is trying to encourage bicycling by installing bike racks and bike parking zones throughout the island.

 

Finally…

Caught on video: Going full Superman downhill on a fixie doesn’t look as hard as getting back on the spinning pedals. Evidently, bike racers get fined for riding where bike riders are supposed to.

And nothing like riding your fat bike past a long line of cars stalled in an Alaskan blizzard.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Bike Events: Storm city hall today, Draft Meetup and Finish the Ride poker night tomorrow

March 29, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Bike Events: Storm city hall today, Draft Meetup and Finish the Ride poker night tomorrow

Several upcoming items and events need your attention in the next few days.

To wit — 

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The LACBC is urging you to attend today’s meeting of the City Council Transportation Committee, starting at 12:45 pm, to demand that Measure M return funds be spent to ensure safer and more equitable streets in the City of Angels.

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People For Bikes is joining with Pure Cycles to host another Draft Meetup in Burbank tomorrow night, complete with beer from Golden Road Brewing.

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It’s a Golden Road doubleheader on Thursday, as Finish the Ride invites you to join them for a benefit poker tournament at Golden Road Brewing tomorrow night. It will be going late into the evening if you want to stop in on your way home from the Draft Meetup.

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Santa Monica wants your input on plans to improve the oceanfront bike path north of the pier, including a much needed proposal to separate bicyclists and pedestrians on the often overcrowded pathway.

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Bike SGV is looking for help with bike park weeding this Sunday.

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The schedule has been announced for this year’s edition of the Redlands Bicycle Classic; the May stage race is one of just two California stops for the USA Cycling Pro Road Tour this year.

Former Italian cycling great Mario Cipollini disses his fellow countrymen, including Vuelta winner Fabio Aru, calling Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali Italy’s only talented rider.

A sidewalk-riding kid does what we’ve all been tempted to do by shadowing pro cyclist Philippe Gilbert, if only for a few moments.

A bike-hating Brit writer gloats over the scandal-plagued British Cycling, while inadvertently making the case for better infrastructure.

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Local

More great photos and video from Sunday’s CicLAvia.

LA parking meister Donald Shoup says the best way to encourage commuters to use alternative transportation is enforcing the state law requiring employers to offer a parking cash out if they provide their employees with subsidized parking.

The Press-Telegram reports on yesterday’s all-too-brief mini-ciclovía on the course of this weekend’s Long Beach Grand Prix.

Parks and bike paths are included in the mitigation guidelines to offset the environmental damage caused by the Port of Long Beach. Which does not, of course, mean they will actually be built.

 

State

Calbike wants you to nominate someone who has “worked to advance equitable transportation policy or infrastructure changes” for their 2017 Transportation Equity Award; the deadline is this Friday.

California climate officials says state residents will have to reduce driving by 1.6 miles a day to meet the state’s climate goals, through a combination of denser housing and alternative transportation, including bicycling.

A San Diego attorney says his bike-riding client won a nearly $5 million judgment against the city because of its failure to promptly fix damaged sidewalks.

A Stanford golfer withdrew from a tournament after she was hit by a car while riding her bike on campus.

The penalty for riding salmon on an Hanford street while allegedly on meth may have been blindness in one eye. A lawsuit alleges the rider lost his eye when he was cut off, then punched by a cop; needless to say, the officer tells a different story.

 

National

It’s the end of the road for Seattle’s Pronto bikeshare, done in by the city’s hills and mandatory bike helmet law.

Denver residents are using a $75,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente to jumpstart the process to get a new bike lane installed.

Colorado bicyclists rally to support a cyclist who was attacked and strangled by a trail-raging runner.

Wichita KS officials reposition posts to keep drivers from cutting into a bike lane to make right turns; the posts replaced the toilet plungers used by DIY activists to shame the city into action

The homeless Texas man whose bike was stolen just a week after it had been given to him by Lubbock police officers was given a replacement, by a man who could relate to his struggles because he’d also been homeless.

The Chicago Tribune calls for equal enforcement the laws in every section of the city, after a recent report showed that bike riders in minority districts were far more likely to be ticketed than riders in mostly white neighborhoods.

A Cleveland website examines the state’s laws governing bicycling, including the right to take the full lane.

Don’t swing bikes, dude. The Philadelphia bike cop who was filmed swinging his bicycle at an anti-Trump protester is now being investigated by Internal Affairs.

In a truly bizarre case from Virginia, police shoot a suspected bike thief who suddenly lunged at an officer with a knife, even though the suspect was the one who called police to report the theft.

A Savannah GA writer says bike lanes are not just about cyclists, but form a vital link for people “who use wheelchairs, scooters, walkers, and other mobility aids.” Although judging from the picture, that one looks woefully substandard.

Cape Coral FL is considering a $63 million plan to add 200 miles of bike paths and sidewalks, after recently being named the most dangerous city for pedestrians in the US.

 

International

A cyclist in the UK accuses his town council of waiting until someone gets killed before fixing a dangerous junction. Which is exactly what happened in Atlanta, where a father says a road diet could have saved his daughter’s life. Sadly, that seems to be what it takes before things get fixed, just about anywhere. And sometimes, not even then.

Police are looking for a road raging British driver who followed a driver home after a dispute, and threw a brick through the car’s window.

It’s been a rough year for Irish bicyclists, and it’s only getting started.

The Guardian says bikes are good for more than moving people, suggesting that carrying freight by bicycle could free up roads and transform cities and towns. Although Dutch bicyclists are complaining that the boom in cargo bikes is crowding them out of the bike lanes.

An Indian driver claims his brakes failed when he crashed into two cyclists, a cycle van, a motorcyclist, a pair of pedestrians, a car and a bus, injuring ten people in the process, including the passengers in his car. And swears he only fled the scene because he was afraid of being lynched by angry bystanders. Which could be true, given the county’s track record.

A Canadian cyclist riding through India is being held by Maoist soldiers.

 

Finally…

Nothing like riding nearly 2,000 miles in just five days without leaving the house. If you’re going to ride your bike with heroin in your pocket, put a damn light on it — and try not to hit the curb when you try to ditch the smack.

And seriously, don’t ride your bike in the supermarket.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bike Events, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: #BikeLA on TV, the value of bicycling, and an early morning bike theft caught on video

March 27, 2017 / / One comment

Wednesday’s episode of Major Crimes on TNT is about someone intentionally running down bike riders on the streets of Los Angeles, including one stereotypical rider with a GoPro fastened firmly to his helmet.

Evidently, it’s a documentary.

Thanks to Gil Solomon for the heads-up.

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As long as we’re talking TV programs, don’t worry if you missed Monday’s airing of the Ovarian Psychos documentary on the PBS series Independent Lens.

You can download it from their website, or via Roku or Apple TV.

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If you need to put a dollar sign on bicycling, consider this from a new Minnesota study.

…the state’s bike industry produces $780 million in annual economic activity, 5,519 jobs and millions of dollars in health care savings because of reduced obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Just imagine what a bike friendly California could do, with better weather and over seven times the population.

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This is why you don’t trust bike parking area’s in your building’s garage, even if it seems like a great idea.

Ashley Grohosky forwards video of a bike thief casually shopping the bike racks in her Culver City building at 4 am until he gets out the bolt cutters after selecting the one he wants.

Hers.

Twitter post

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Sad news from Germany, where a cyclist is reportedly fighting for his life after a driver strayed into the middle of bike race, in the crash we mentioned yesterday. Another rider is in critical condition, while a third competitor and a race marshal were also injured.

Good thing the doping era is over. A Brazilian cycling team faces a one year suspension after five riders have been caught cheating since July.

Fixing the cobbles for next month’s Paris – Roubaix, aka the Hell of the North.

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Local

Santa Monica’s Montana Ave is getting new smart traffic signals that can extend a green light to give bike riders more time to cross.

Streetsblog considers Sunday’s Culver City to Venice CicLAvia; next up is a Glendale to Atwater Village route in June, along with a handful of other open streets events.

Speaking of which, if you read this early enough, you may still have time for a brief open streets tour of the Long Beach Grand Prix course from 11:30 am to 1 pm today.

The LACBC’s next Sunday Funday ride will explore Downtown LA this Sunday with The Crafty Pedal.

You may have already noticed the new ad for my favorite Bike Week event over there on the right. After all, a little divine intervention couldn’t hurt.

 

State

A San Diego bike rider is angry that she was given a ticket for running a stop sign. That’s the chance you take when you break the law, whatever the reason — at least until the proposed Idaho Stop law passes. And the unlikely event that Governor Brown actually signs it.

An Op-Ed in the San Jose Mercury News considers how to get more people riding bikes in Silicon Valley.

Caltrans is looking for input on where to put separated bikeways in the Bay Area, which is one way to get more people riding.

 

National

Realtor.com com ranks Salt Lake City as the #1 American city for Millennials, in part because of its bikeway network; Los Angeles ranks #6 despite its lack of one.

For the next four weeks, bike riders will have the roads of Yellowstone to themselves. It’s sort of like CicLAvia, but with geysers. And bears.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a bicycle from a homeless man in Lubbock TX, just a week after local cops gave it to him so he could get to his two jobs, in an attempt to get him and his wife off the streets.

Streetsblog describes how a Toledo OH mom led a grassroots campaign to stop a road widening. But why is it always assumed that mom’s are somehow less capable or involved than other women? Or men, for that matter?

A newly rebuilt bridge will provide a key connection in a shared-use pathway linking New Jersey’s two largest cities.

 

International

The worldwide bike industry is expected to be worth over $70 billion by 2026.

Now that’s more like it. Canadian prosecutors are asking for twelve years behind bars and a 15 to 18-year driving ban for a drunk driver who killed two bicyclists, as well as the passenger in his own car.

A London writer travels all of the city’s blue cycle superhighways, concluding that some are better than others, depending on how much the local borough supports bicycling. On the other hand, London has somehow managed to squeeze seven onto the city’s crowded, narrow and curving streets, with plans for three more. Yet LA can’t manage to build one on our wide, straight streets.

Welcome to England, where assaulting a bicyclist in a fit of bus-driving road rage is only worth the equivalent of a $500 fine.

A British panel rules that a bike courier deserves holiday pay even though he is technically self-employed.

Britain’s Cyclist offers 23 “free and easy cycling hacks” to improve your rides. For a change, most of the ideas aren’t bad. Even if they aren’t actually all free.

Caught on video: A Brit man uses his own bike to smash the windshield of a driver who he blamed for cutting him off in the bike lane, even though the driver denied doing it. Seriously, just ride away; now he’s the one police are looking for.

A German cyclist offers four lessons he learned riding through every nation on earth over the past decade.

This is why people continue to die on the streets. A drunk driver walks in Malta even though the judge ruled he was mostly responsible for a wreck that killed a cyclist, because the victim was riding in the street without lights on his bike. So blame the victim, don’t punish the killer, and set him loose to do it again.

Former Tour de France stage winner David Millar is working to turn flat, sandy, 100 degree-plus Dubai into a cycling destination.

The flood of Chinese app-based bikeshare systems have claimed it’s first victim, as Singapore cancels plans for a nationwide dock-based bikeshare.

One of those Chinese bikeshare companies will now pay you to ride their bikes if you find one in an outlying area.

So far, though, Chinese bike makers have managed to handle the boom in business.

 

Finally…

We only have to avoid LA drivers; cyclists in the Scottish Highlands have to dodge sheep. And if you get stranded on your bamboo bike while riding your kilt, at least you can eat it.

The bike that is, not the kilt.

Okay, maybe the kilt.

 

Category: Bike Events, Morning Links, The business of bikes / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Another successful CicLAvia, riding the KY Bourbon Country, and all the bike news that fits

March 27, 2017 / / 2 comments

LA hosted another successful CicLAvia on Sunday, where a good time was reportedly had by all, or nearly all, anyway, at the 20th edition of what is arguably the country’s most successful open streets festival.

According to a report on KNBC-4 that doesn’t appear to be online yet, the crowd was estimated at 50,000 people. Which sounds like yet another in a long line of chronic attendance undercounts, as people come and go throughout the day.

But does anyone really believe San Antonio drew more people to their ciclovía than LA did?

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What could be better than a three day ride through the Kentucky Bourbon Country — complete with samples at the end of the day?

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Three cyclists and a race marshal were injured, two seriously, when a car stopped around a blind curve during a German bike race and the riders reportedly slammed into the back of it. Thanks to Erik Griswold for the tip.

The cobbles belong to Belgian Olympic champ Greg Van Avermaet this year. Cycling Weekly offers five things they learned from his victory in Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem, while Finland’s Lotta Lepistö was two for two on the women’s side this week.

Spain’s Alejandro Valverde won his second Tour of Catalonia on Sunday, as countryman Alberto Contador took second.

Former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins says his testimony in a British doping investigation will shock a few people. At this point, the only that that would really shock anyone would be if there wasn’t any.

That’s one way to keep your kid home. Italian cycling great Mario Cipollini’s mom cut his bike in half to keep him from riding off when he was six years old. Apparently, it didn’t stop him.

Team Rwanda Cycling technical director Jock Boyer says his goal is to make the country an elite cycling nation. Boyer was the first American to ride in the Tour de France; he also convicted of molesting an eleven-year old girl for three years.

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Local

Metro is asking for comments on their newly released guidelines on how to spend Measure M money; Streetsblog says cities are already jockeying for funding. My suggestion: Invest in transit and Complete Streets, and don’t waste a dime on demand-inducing highway projects, like the failed widening of the 405 through the Sepulveda Pass.

Speaking of Measure M and Complete Streets, you’re urged to attend Wednesday’s meeting of the city council Transportation Committee to call for LA to spend its share of the funds to make the streets safer for everyone.

Venice-based Solé Bicycles is opening a new bike shop near USC, intending it to be a gathering place for students. But that means a small on-campus bike shop will get the boot.

 

State

This is why you didn’t want to ride in Bolsa Chico State Park on Saturday.

The Tour de Palm Springs will stay in Palm Springs after Palm Desert agrees to host the ride, but not the name.

Cyclocross Magazine looks back at last year’s classic bicycle L’Eroica California in Los Robles; this year’s ride rolls April 8th and 9th.

The San Jose Mercury News says ebikes are catching on with the public; a 79-year old Aussie e-trike rider would agree.

Who says cyclists aren’t tough? A Stockton man continued riding home after hearing a loud pop, not realizing he’d been shot.

A Lake Tahoe advocacy group says it’s great that there are more bikeways in the area, but a map so they could actually find them might help.

 

National

Wired says the way to get commuters out of their cars is to pay them not to park them.

If bicycling isn’t enough fun, you can always turn it into an augmented reality game and deduct points for scofflaw cyclists.

Riding across the US is one thing; riding from San Diego to San Francisco the long way is another. A Kansas City man plans to ride 7,000 miles on a route that will take him to the Bay Area by way of Georgia, the Great Lakes and Oregon, to raise funds for victims and survivors of sex trafficking.

Seattle is finally getting around to cleaning up a homeless encampment encroaching on a bike path after a woman is attacked.

The president of USA Cycling writes to rebut the Montana senator who wants to ban cyclists from state roads.

It takes a special kind of asshole to steal a 13-year old autistic Albuquerque kid’s therapy bike.

Country singer Clay Walker is sort of one of us, hosting a Houston TX bike ride to fight MS.

A Houston Op-Ed says to function efficiently, roads must work for all users.

A horrifying story from Texas, as a San Antonio driver is under arrest for fleeing on foot after fatally running down a bike rider participating in an MS fundraising ride, then hitting and killing another rider just 80 yards down the road; as a third rider had to dive into a ditch to get away from him. Thanks to Steve Katz for the heads-up.

A Chicago study shows red light cameras really do improve safety. They were removed in Los Angeles when motorists argued they caused wrecks by making drivers actually stop for red lights.

A New York man was finally arrested nine months after he allegedly ran down a cyclist and fled the scene, then claimed his car had been stolen.

For some bizarre reason, ebikes are banned under New York state law, and NYC cops seem more than happy to confiscate them.

Caught on video: A bike cop throws his bicycle at an anti-Trump protester in Philadelphia.

An Op-Ed in the Washington Post says if car drivers made cyclists feel safer, we’d all be better off.

In a bizarre case, a Virginia man was convicted of pulling a gun off his bike frame and shooting a little twelve-pound terrier he claimed was viscously attacking him and left him in fear for his life. Because so many little ankle-biters have been known to leap up and rip the lungs out of passing cyclists, evidently.

 

International

Bike Radar offers advice on how to care for your next cut or road rash, while a Canadian cycling site offers advice on how to keep riding when you’re expecting.

David Beckham is a proud father, as his 5-1/2-year old daughter is now one of us, too.

The release of a British strategy to double biking and walking rates has been delayed due to last week’s London terrorist attack.

English police are looking for a bike-riding purse snatcher who left a woman in her seventies with two black eyes and a broken arm.

An Indian woman quit her job to ride across the country calling for gender equality.

A New Zealand study shows bicycling is no more dangerous than many other recreational activities, and safer than many. But fear of the perceived danger still keeps many people from riding.

Yes, cyclists are welcome on a Kiwi walkway. Not so fast, you mountain bike riders.

A Hong Kong clean air group says it’s time for the island to stop paying lip service to bicycling projects and get serious. The same could be said for Los Angeles — and most other American cities.

 

Finally…

First step as a secret KGB agent embedded in America — become a bike messenger. If you have to crash your car, always blame Bigfoot.

And maybe you need an overdose of cuteness to get you out of your post-CicLAvia Monday morning funk.

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

Update: Pico Rivera bike rider left to die by hit-and-run driver in early morning crash

March 24, 2017 / / 6 comments

Yet another bike rider has been murdered by a heartless cowardly driver in Los Angeles County.

According to KABC-7, the victim, who the coroner said appeared to be a woman in her 30s, was found by someone passing by the Pico Rivera crime scene shortly after 2 am this morning.

The Whittier Daily News places the wreck on Rosemead Blvd south of Rex Road; photos from the scene show a retaining wall, which would appear to put it at or near the railroad overpass between Rex and Slauson.

She was taken to a local hospital, where she died.

KTLA-5 reports that evidence from the scene suggests she may have been riding on the sidewalk when the car jumped the curb and struck her.

Sheriff’s investigators say there are no apparent witnesses. However, based on debris from the crash site, they’re looking for a dark green Honda Accord, 2003 to 2007, with significant front end damage.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Pico Rivera Sheriff’s Station at 562/949-2421.

This is the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California, and the seventh in Los Angeles County; nearly half of the deaths in the county have been hit-and-runs.

Given the hour, the driver should be assumed to have been under the influence at the time of the wreck.

Once found, he or she should face a second degree murder charge for making a conscious decision to leave the victim to die in the street, rather than call for the prompt medical attention that might have saved her life.

Of course, since hit-and-runs are seldom taken seriously in LA County, that’s not likely to happen.

Update: The LA Times reports a suspect was arrested after deputies pulled over a 2005 Honda Accord for several vehicle violations two miles from the crash site, and saw extensive damage to the front end that matched the suspect vehicle. 

Twenty-one-year old Berta Ramirez of Pico Rivera was arrested, and was being held on $50,000 bond.

Update 2: The victim has been identified as 45-year old Pico Rivera resident Suzanne Corona. Her accused killer was released on bail a day after the crash. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Suzanne Corona and her loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , , , , ,
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