Morning Links: Photos from Saturday’s Beach Streets in Long Beach, LA bike thefts, and BMUFL wars in PVE

November 14, 2016 / / 4 comments

Mike Wilkinson and his wife Angela took in Saturday’s Beach Streets event in Long Beach.

This past Saturday Metro and the City of Long Beach presented Beach Streets Midtown, a 2.5 mile open streets event along Anaheim Street from PCH to Orange Avenue. My wife and I put the doggies in their trailer, saddled up on our tandem bike and hit the road at the eastern end of the route. The four of us were quite a sight, but we were just one among many unique conveyances along the way.

Whether they were on foot, bike, skateboard or something almost indescribable, the participants were relaxed and friendly. We said “hi” to a wider variety of people in two hours than we have in the past year. Everyone seemed to be having fun, and riding right down the middle of what is usually a big, busy street was liberating and almost joyful.

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All photos by Angela Wilkinson

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You can download these photos, and a few others, from his Google Drive account.

The Cal State Long Beach paper took in the day, as well.

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LA bike thieves strike again, this time snatching a beautiful Geekhouse Woodville touring bike from one of the authors of the Radavist. Thanks to Bryan Hance of Bike Index for the heads-up.

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Meanwhile, David Drexler noticed the aftermath of another semi-successful bike theft at the Bundy station on the Expo Line, which was stripped after the thieves were able to cut through one U-lock, but not the other.

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And no, to answer the question we’re all asking, he didn’t get the make of the yellow lock.

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Local

The Daily Breeze looks at the nasty battle over the proposed installation of Bikes May Use Full Lane signs in Palos Verdes Estates, which has refused to post the signs despite the recommendation of their own Traffic Safety Committee, at least for now. Although you’d think three cyclists killed on the peninsula in the last year, and another critically injured, would create some sense of urgency. But apparently, you’d be wrong.

 

State

An OC man was stabbed and his bicycle stolen after two men challenged him over gang affiliations in the parking lot of the Santa Ana zoo.

Laguna Beach is improving access to the Top of the World singletrack trail from the Top of the World Drive in the Top of the World neighborhood to make it accessible to a wider range of non-Top of the World people.

Sunnyvale police are looking for witnesses to a wreck that sent a bike rider to the hospital with multiple skull fractures.

 

National

Road.cc says Donald Trump’s promise to rebuild America’s infrastructure could be an opportunity to convince him to support building more bikeways.

Nearly one thousand Las Vegas cyclists took part in Sunday’s ride to benefit Ride 2 Recovery.

Gary Johnson, New Mexico resident and distant third place finisher in last week’s election, will now dedicate himself to health and fitness, riding the 2,768 Great Divide Mountain from Banff to Antelope Wells NM next June.

The Guardian looks at a proposal for a floating bike path along the Chicago River.

Can we vote for him here? The vice mayor of Cambridge MA says the city’s bicycle safety efforts are the difference between life and death, even if that means drivers will be inconvenienced and parking will be lost.

The operator of a New Orleans bike tour company wants to know why a woman wasn’t given a sobriety test after doing a slow roll over several bikes being ridden by his patrons. Which is a damn good question.

 

International

Canadian traffic safety advocates are focusing on distracted driving and lowering speed limits as public health issues.

A British bike rider died after he was kicked off his bike by a group of youths, not long after he was released from prison after 24 years behind bars.

A jazz musician in the UK performed seven shows in a single day, towing his keyboard behind his bike between gigs as he rode to each one.

A Belfast councilor was kicked off his bike by a group of young men after he tried to stop one from taking a dump on a memorial to a Northern Irish politician while the others filmed it.

Call it a reverse dooring. A Dublin councilor was knocked out by a hit-and-run salmon cyclist who ran into his car door as he was getting out.

Pakistani cyclists ride to raise awareness of breast cancer, while Islamabad restores a network of cycle tracks that had fallen into disrepair.

Cyclists from around India turn out for a nationwide event to promote bicycling.

A new Australian study shows biking or walking can improve artery health in people with Type-2 diabetes.

A Malaysian cyclist returns home after spending the last 16 months riding through 22 countries, losing 22 pounds in the process.

A Jakarta paper asks if wooden bikes can prevent global warming.

 

Finally…

Nothing like auctioning a cow to raise funds for bicycling. Crash your mountain bike, and wake up to a new career as a competitive beard growing champion.

And if you’re going to ride drunk, try not to run into any police cars.

 

Category: Bike Events, Morning Links, Stolen Bikes and Bike Crime / Tags: , , , ,

Weekend Links: Protected bike lanes improve safety and increase ridership, and LAPD cops buy girl a new bike

November 12, 2016 / / 2 comments

Better bikeways really do improve safety.

In an editorial in the American Journal of Better Health, authors John Pucher and Ralph Buehler argue that bike lanes encourage more people to ride while improving safety, as the following chart shows.

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Even auto-centric Los Angeles, with its disconnected non-network of mostly door zone bike lanes, has shown a significant improvement in safety while more than doubling ridership.

However, the point of the article is that it’s the type of bikeway that matters.

The safest kind of facility, by far, were cycle tracks, which are on-street bicycle lanes that are physically separated from motor vehicles by raised curbs, bollards, or concrete barriers.

The authors note that riding in a cycle track is 89% safer than riding on a major street with parking and no bike infrastructure; regular painted bike lanes on streets without parking were 53% safer.

Note the key words “without parking.”

Thus, removing car parking and replacing it with cycle tracks is an ideal way to improve cycling safety on major streets.

They also observe that lightly trafficked residential streets with no infrastructure were 56% safer, suggesting that you’re right to seek out back ways that allow you to avoid major streets. And that traffic calming is key to improving safety on local neighborhood streets.

They conclude,

It is crucial to provide physical separation from fast-moving, high-volume motor vehicle traffic and better intersection design to avoid conflicts between cyclists and motor vehicles. More and better bicycle infrastructure and safer cycling would encourage Americans to make more of their daily trips by bicycle and, thus, help raise the currently low physical activity levels of the US population.

Which is pretty much what we’ve been saying all along.

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Local

Bighearted LAPD officers pitch in to buy a new bicycle for a teenage girl whose bike was stolen on her birthday; oddly, while the LA press hasn’t picked up the story, a station in Atlanta did. Thanks to Sgt. Helper for the heads-up.

The Santa Monica Police Department received a $300,000 grant to help prevent traffic injuries and deaths.

 

State

A San Diego seminary student thinks it was divine intervention that saved her cell phone from thieves, although those same divine forces didn’t seem to care so much about her bikes.

A two day radiothon raised enough money to buy 400 bicycles and helmets for fourth grade kids in the Coachella Valley.

 

National

Bicycling offers the warning signs of hypothermia. Which isn’t normally something you have to worry about it Southern California, unless you ride in the mountains or get soaked by rain.

Corvallis OR and Oregon State University team up to tell bike riders and pedestrians to “Be bright, Be seen.” Because there’s no point in expecting drivers to actually pay attention, evidently.

Denver TV viewers pitch in give a college student their own pickup and mountain bike after his car and bicycle were stolen two days apart.

A San Antonio bike rider is caught in the middle of a legal dispute after her bike was mangled in a crash while on the front rack of a city bus; the bus company refused to pay for damages, blaming the other driver.

The four Kalamazoo cyclists struck by a hit-and-run driver Thursday night had lights on their bikes and reportedly were doing everything right.

At least one cyclist was seriously injured when anti-bike terrorists struck again, this time tossing tacks into the path of a Florida triathlon; over a dozen riders were treated for abrasions and impact injuries.

 

International

A pro cyclist and entrepreneur is starting a new insurance company for cyclists and other people with active lifestyles in the US and Canada.

Toronto’s Globe and Mail looks at the new Complete Streets promising to end the reign of car as king in the city, while giving unprecedented respect to pedestrians, cyclists and transit users.

Get your resume ready. British Cycling is looking for a new CEO.

Cycling Weekly says Barcelona should be your next cycling destination.

An Israeli father is on a crusade to ban ebikes from the country, calling them a menace to children.

Another day, another Aussie cyclist attacked by a magpie.

Pro cyclist Rebecca Rusch will lead an eight-day, 340 mile ride along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos to raise awareness and funds to remove unexploded ordnance that remain from the Vietnam War.

 

Finally…

Nothing like getting dropped by a koala. If you really want to be seen, maybe you need a brighter bike.

Or maybe you just need to ride with a soccer ball on your head.

 

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Villaraigosa announces 2018 gubernatorial run, and pro cyclists stunned by election results

November 11, 2016 / / 2 comments

Former LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa formally announced his long-expected candidacy for governor of California in 2018 when Jerry Brown’s term ends.

It was under Villaraigosa’s watch that CicLAvia began and the comprehensive 2010 bike plan was adopted, with his now forgotten commitment to build 40 miles of bike lanes a year.

And yes, it all started when he fell off his bicycle.

Let’s hope he makes support for bicycling a key part of his campaign platform.

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Not surprisingly, the pro cycling world is horrified over the results of this week’s election. Except for Russian former team owner Oleg Tinkov.

An excerpt from a new book looks at the early career of America’s only remaining Tour de France winner.

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Local

The victim’s wife — and the only witness — in Sunday’s road rage carjacking describes the fight with the bike rider who killed her husband and stole their car. A GoFundMe account to pay funeral expenses has raised $19,000 of the $30,000 goal.

The LACBC says there were lots of questions but few answers at the Army Corps of Engineer’s workshop this week to discuss the sudden closure of the LA River bike path. Which isn’t surprising, given the Corps tight-lipped, we-know-best reputation.

The CHP will increase traffic safety education efforts and step up enforcement of bike and pedestrian safety violations in Santa Clarita, regardless of whether they’re committed by drivers, pedestrians or bicyclists.

If you’re in need of a good ciclovía to raise your spirits after a stressful week, Long Beach’s Beach Streets open streets event comes to the city’s Midtown neighborhood this Saturday.

In ten years the Long Beach Coastal Coaster bike group has grown from a few friends to several hundred coaster bike riders flooding the city on the first Sunday of every month.

 

State

A law firm ranks the most dangerous intersections in California, almost all of which are in the Los Angeles area; eight of the top ten are in the San Fernando Valley.

A USC graduate just passed into Mexico on a ride from Alaska to Argentina to raise awareness about spinal chord injuries after a friend was paralyzed in a drunk driving crash.

San Luis Obispo’s proposed transportation sales tax increase falls to a narrow defeat; Sacramento’s plan also went down in a photo finish, as well. Which is ridiculous when California’s two-thirds requirement to increase taxes means the will of the overwhelming majority of voters is ignored. And don’t get me started on the electoral college.

 

National

American voters approved $170 billion in transportation funding, including public transit, and bicycle and pedestrian projects to make up for a shortfall in federal funding, which is likely to get much worse under the incoming administration. Although Strong Towns says let’s not waste any of it on sharrows.

Forbes discusses how HED Cycling’s Anne Hed picked up the pieces after the death of her husband, and co-founder of the company.

A local Eugene OR weekly discusses how local advocates are working to remove the barriers to bicycling.

A Houston radio station talks with one of the authors of a new study from the Urban Land Institute that shows real estate developers can see big returns by including facilities for walking and bicycling.

An Iowa driver is under arrest for intentionally running down a bike rider while high on drugs; unfortunately, no reason for the attack was given.

What the hell is going on in Michigan these days? Four bicyclists were struck in a hit-and-run, once again in Kalamazoo County; fortunately, only two of the riders were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

A new North Carolina law requires cyclists to have a red rear light on their bike or wear reflective clothing at night.

 

International

Police in the UK are looking for a bike rider — not to arrest him, but to thank him for loaning his bike to an officer to chase after a suspect.

The parents of an Irish boy killed in crash while riding his bike channeled their grief into donating ten defibrillators to the local police department.

The mayor of Islamabad, Pakistan will inaugurate new segregated bike lanes.

The new Chinese LeEco Super Bike comes complete with virtually everything built-in, except e-power.

 

Finally…

Evidently, there’s an illegal motorized bicycle scene here in Southern California. Most nine-year olds are content to ride their bikes in the playground.

And wheelie-popping kids terrorize Philadelphia.

No, wheelie.

 

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

Morning Links: Pro bike forces carry the day in LA area; Trump presidency could mean end to federal funding

November 10, 2016 / / One comment

The good news in Tuesday’s election was the victory of most bike-friendly proposals and candidates in the LA area.

Metro’s Measure M passed with overwhelming support, increasing the sale tax by ½ cent indefinitely to fund transportation projects throughout the county; the measure is expected to raise roughly $120 billion over the next 40 years, including at least $4 billion for walking and biking. The measure promises to help reshape the city into what LA Times Architecture Critic Christopher Hawthorne calls the Third Los Angeles.

LA County’s Measure A also passed with far more than the required 2/3 majority to provide funds for parks, open space and recreational facilities; hopefully, some of that will go towards completing the missing links in the LA River bike path through DTLA and points south.

In addition, nine of the ten candidates endorsed by Bike the Vote LA were on their way to victory, including Laura Friedman and Stephen Bradford, both of whom were endorsed here.

The good news extended to Santa Monica, where all three of the city council candidates endorsed by the group won, while the city’s draconian anti-growth Measure LV failed.

Meanwhile, the LACBC’s Tamika Butler writes about the organization’s success with the passage of the measures they supported, while movingly noting the fear among the LACBC’s highly diverse staff over the outcome of the national vote.

Further south, San Diego’s transportation issue Measure A failed, and Republican Rep. Darrel Issa, the richest man in Congress, barely survived his Democratic challenger after campaigning by bicycle.

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Nationally, the news is good for drivers, not so much for everyone else.

Our soon to be president Donald Trump promises to rebuild America’s roads to make them second-to-none; however, the GOP platform calls for eliminating funding for rail, mass transit and bicycling.

Meanwhile, an industry site looks at how a Trump presidency will affect the bike trade.

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Bike Radar takes a ride along the route of the iconic Paris-Roubaix classic.

Cycling News talks with former cycling great Jan Ullrich, who retired before he could be banned for doping.

A pair of North Carolina twins born one minute apart both podiumed at the recent Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships, their first and third place finishes separated by just 120 seconds.

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Local

No bias here. The Pasadena Star-News reports on the city’s decision to move forward with the Union Street road diet and protected bike lanes. But instead of discussing how the project will improve safety for everyone on the street, they focus on the possible loss of parking and fears of business owners. And illustrate the story with a photo of a salmon cyclist using the new Marengo Ave bike lane.

 

State

La Jolla officials propose a road diet on Gilman Drive to make room for a separated bike lane connecting segments of the San Diego Coastal Rail Trail; naturally, members of a local planning association fear massive traffic backups.

Sad news from Los Banos, as a bike rider was killed in a collision with two other vehicles.

Palo Alto officials support a less expensive design for a bike and pedestrian bridge; the city scrapped a previous design over rising costs.

 

National

Cycling Weekly asks what lessons can be learned from president-elect Donald Trump’s ill-fated attempt at starting a bike race to rival the Tour d France back in the ‘80s.

Tragic news as a 71-year old Phoenix man was collateral damage in the city’s drug wars, after a group of teenagers fatally shot him in the eye while trying to hit another man in a drive-by shooting.

A creepy mystery in Arizona, as skeletal remains were found near clothing and a bicycle close to a freeway interchange in the desert north of Lake Havasu City.

A Colorado Springs CO letter writer is shocked to learn the city has a bicycle planner and demands the removal of a new bike lane, saying city officials couldn’t care less what area residents want. Because people who live in the city and prefer not to drive don’t qualify as residents, evidently.

Chicago Streetsblog approves of a new Illinois bike park, even though it’s hard to get to by bicycle.

A new Indiana bike park was built to honor a soldier killed in Afghanistan; the park features 300 acres of bike trails, including some that float on water.

Dayton, Ohio bicyclists will ride for respect this Saturday to educate motorists and raise awareness of cyclists’ rights on the roadway.

Three Florida cyclists finish a cross country ride, even though one started the ride while still recovering from a crash earlier this year.

 

International

As we’ve mentioned before, an environmental philosopher will travel the length of South America on a bamboo bike she built herself to study the effects of biodiversity loss starting this December.

Caught on video: An Ottawa, Canada bicyclist is hit in a left hook while riding in a new cycle track, at least the third collision involving a cyclist since the lane opened.

The board governing British cycling proposes giving bike commuters a £250 annual tax break — the equivalent of $310. Something like that should be done here to encourage more people to leave their cars behind. 

This has got to stop. A bike rider in the UK pleads guilty to manslaughter after pushing a pedestrian to the ground in a road rage dispute. Never resort to violence, no matter how justified you may feel at the time; the unintended consequences could haunt you for life.

An English town is pioneering a project using cargo bikes to collect rotting food and turn it into green energy.

Scotland’s tourism board hopes Danny MacAskill’s latest stunt video will translate into more people visiting the Scottish Highlands.

A French cyclist is gearing up for his 400th climb up famed Mont Ventoux.

An Indian man has been riding around the world for the last 12 years to call attention to HIV/AIDS, traveling over 80,000 miles through 126 countries, and being held captive by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

An Asian travel website helps you plan your next bicycle tour of scenic, bike-friendly Taiwan.

 

Finally…

You can’t play Pokémon Go while driving anymore. You may soon be able to take your bicycle to the mobile bike wash.

And if you want to ride harder, chomp down on that Hershey bar.

 

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

Morning Links: Westwood Great Street needs bike lanes, and Pasadena approves Union Street cycle track

November 9, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Westwood Great Street needs bike lanes, and Pasadena approves Union Street cycle track

It’s a light news day, thanks to yesterday’s election. So give this a quick read, then get out on your bike and keep riding until you work all the stress and anger out.

Which in my case, may take months.

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A pair of UCLA deans team up to explain why Westwood Blvd should be a Great Street with bike lanes.

They make a great case.

Unfortunately, it comes several months too late to keep the lanes in the city’s mobility plan.

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Pasadena approves funding for the Union Street road diet and cycle track, despite concerns over outreach and the effect it will have on the disabled.

Although it’s hard to imagine that disabled people are better off negotiating a wide, high speed street than one that’s narrower and easy to cross.

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The French are taking UCI to court over changes to the WorldTour calendar.

A British amateur cyclist banned for doping last year finally admits his guilt and regrets.

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Local

Police identify the victim of Sunday’s bizarre Van Nuys road rage carjacking and murder, which started as an apparent road rage dispute between the driver and a man on a bike.

CiclaValley says Sunday’s Phil’s Fondo was phun. Phonetic pun not my phault.

Santa Monica’s Breeze bikeshare celebrates its first anniversary on Saturday with an open house and free rides.

A writer for the Press-Telegram says car crashes run in the family. Actually, that seems to be true for most families these days.

 

State

California voted on eleven transportation measures yesterday, with $8.3 billion earmarked for bicycling projects.

The body of Menifee man who appeared to have been dead for some time was found in the bushes along a roadway, with a bicycle nearby; it could be a local man who disappeared 13 days ago. However, there’s no confirmation at this time that the bike was his, or that he was riding at the time of his death.

Clovis proposes adding bike lanes and pedestrian walkways to the city’s Old Town area.

 

National

A media writer says Donald Trump needs to get back into the bike race business, while Vice President-elect Mike Pence bikes the vote. Although it looks like Trump will be otherwise occupied for the next four years.

A writer for a Wisconsin paper urges mothers not to ride a bike with a baby on board, and wear a damn helmet while you’re at it. Better yet, just wrap the kid in bubble wrap, and don’t let them out of the house until they’re 18.

The four survivors of the Kalamazoo massacre are expected to testify in the trial of the allegedly stoned driver who hit them and killed five others.

Volunteers clear debris left over from Hurricane Matthew from Savannah bike lanes.

 

International

Caught on video: Mountain biking through the challenging streets of Taxco, Mexico.

A Canadian paper fills in the backstory on an Ontario man popularly known as The Bike Man, who passed away at 90 recently.

Hundreds of London bicyclists stage a die-in outside the mayor’s office to demand safer streets.

A UK bike site asks if ‘cross is the future of cycling.

Caught on video too: A fan filming the action nearly gets taken out by a Belgian cyclocross crash.

It turns out Amsterdam has the slowest bike paths in the Netherlands, while Utrecht has the fastest.

Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor is one of us, as he takes fans on a musical ride to promote his new film.

A photographer captures Hanoi’s bike-born street vendors from above, turning their massive loads into art.

 

Finally…

Now you can virtually ride across Canada on a stationary bike, which could be good practice if we all decide to move there. Your next bike could be a functional synthesizer.

And if you’re not racing, you don’t need to be aero.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: Van Nuys bike rage leads to murder and car theft, Guidroz gets ten years, and a sidesaddle Sagan

November 8, 2016 / / 3 comments

Horrifying story of an apparent road rage murder in Van Nuys.

According to the Daily News, the whole thing started when a bike rider hit a car’s windshield after the driver honked at him Sunday night. The driver responded by getting out of his car, only to get punched by the bicyclist, who then got into the other man’s car and drove off, as a passenger bailed out the right side.

When the driver tried to grab the door of the car as the bike rider was driving away, the rider responded by ramming the driver’s side of the car into parked cars, forcing him to let go.

The victim was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

The suspect was last seen driving away on Sepulveda Blvd in the victim’s car. He’s described as a Hispanic male approximately 20 to 30 years old, around 5’11” and between 140 and 160 pounds, wearing a dark-hooded sweatshirt and dark pants.

Anyone with information is urged to call Valley Bureau Homicide Detective Steve Castro at 818/374-1925.

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As expected, Lucas James Guidroz was sentenced to ten years after pleading guilty to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and hit-and-run resulting in death in the May death of math teacher, music director and musician Rod Bennett as he rode his bike on Placerita Canyon in Santa Clarita.

Guidroz apologized before the sentence was announced, saying he’d take it back in a heartbeat if he could.

The problem with remorse is it always comes too damn late.

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Caught on video: Peter Sagan rides sidesaddle.

I used to do that all the time to make my patented flying dismount, before switching to cleats made sticking the landing a tad problematic; the real trick is to pedal from that position.

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Local

UCLA is gearing up for the sixth annual Bike (Re)cycling Day this Sunday, when students, staff and faculty can claim abandoned bikes and parts.

The Pasadena Chamber of Commerce calls for moving the planned Union Street two-way cycle track to the north side of the street to avoid conflicts with businesses on the south side.

The Santa Monica Bike Center is offering 20% rentals to help you cast your vote this election day.

A member of the Big Orange Cycling club suffered head, rib and back injuries when she was rear-ended in Rancho Palos Verdes on Sunday; witnesses report her shoes were still clipped into her pedals following the crash.

 

State

A Laguna Beach newspaper remembers surfer and sailor Jack Meehan, a local resident killed while riding his bike in Santa Cruz last month.

A competitive cyclist is calling for safety improvements, including narrowing the 14-foot wide traffic lanes, after he was the victim of a hit-and-run while riding in an Encinitas bike lane last August.

A lightless San Diego bicyclist suffered a broken leg when he allegedly rode through a stop sign and into the path of an oncoming car.

Someone at UC Santa Barbara is apparently going after a Masters in sarcasm, reporting that the university has decided to turn the entire campus into a bike lane.

Authorities are looking for the bicycle a young man was riding before he was found buried in a shallow grave on the Sonoma State University campus.

 

National

Bloomberg notes that bike lane networks can even improve the health of people who don’t ride, and are more cost-effective than the majority of preventive health measures. However, that’s actual networks, not a few disconnected lanes like we have in Los Angeles.

Seattle dropped speed limits on over 2,400 miles of city streets in order to improve safety. Which is exactly what LA needs to do, but probably can’t due to the outdated and deadly 85% law.

Denver’s bikeshare system is free today only to encourage people to ride to their polling place.

A Minnesota writer says a ghost bike is a beautiful sentiment, but the best way to honor fallen riders would be to actually improve safety.

The driver responsible for the Kalamazoo massacre last June has been ordered to stand trial for the allegedly drug-fueled crash that killed five cyclists and injured four more; he faces up to life in prison if convicted on any of the five second-degree murder counts.

Durham NC installs green bike lanes through an intersection in a continuing effort to improve safety on a notoriously dangerous street.

A non-driving Atlanta writer tells drivers to just calm down, while noting the irrational anger many motorists exhibit when a bicyclist breaks the law, even though they don’t obey traffic laws, either.

An Alabama letter writer complains about “unsightly” Share the Road signs that he insists are for the benefit of outsiders, since no one he knows rides a bike.

 

International

The victims of a British Columbia crash were all members of a club that raises funds for the local Parkinson’s Society; one rider was killed and two others seriously injured when a driver plowed into the six riders.

Nice piece from London Cyclist discussing five things cyclists should learn to love, from Bromptons and ebikes to airbag helmets and yes, drivers.

A UK cycling magazine discusses the need to look after your heart, noting that heart disease can affect anyone, even if you’re great shape. Seriously, take a few minutes to read this one; it could save your life some day. But remember, the symptoms of a heart attack can be different for women.

Caught on video too: The Sun insists hundreds of wheelie-popping London teens caused mayhem by riding through red lights and weaving through cars while on a ride to raise awareness for a cancer victim. Yes, they rode recklessly, but it’s quire a reach to describe the minimal disruption they appear to have caused as mayhem.

For the first time, there are more bikes than cars in Copenhagen’s city center.

Bicycling is once again becoming cool in China.

 

Finally…

Seriously, if another rider stops to help you after a fall, don’t repay him by whacking him with your bike. When is a bike lane not a bike lane? When it’s a park.

And we should know later today if Donald Trump’s candidacy will grab the yellow jersey or go the way of his ill-fated bike race, while the one he tried to sue to stop is still going strong.

Now go vote already.

Category: Morning Links, Road Rage, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , , ,
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