Morning Links: Mobility Plan back to Transpo Comm, and Caltrans hosts bike/ped plan meeting few can attend

May 10, 2016 / / 2 comments

Our first ever May BikinginLA LACBC Membership Drive stalled yesterday at 11 new or renewing members of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, which means we still have 89 to go to reach our goal of 100 new members before the end of this month.

So drop what you’re doing and sign up now, because the LACBC may be Southern California’s leading voice bicycle advocacy organizations, but it’s only as strong as its membership. And they need your support.

Not to mention you’ll get free bike swag when you sign up, with special discounted memberships starting at just $20.

………

LA’s Mobility Plan 2035 comes back before the city council’s Transportation Committee on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the city Planning Commission unanimously rejected proposed anti-bike amendments to the plan, including proposals to remove Westwood Blvd and Central Ave from the plan.

Now those amendments will be discussed by the committee, which includes Paul Koretz, who unilaterally stopped implementation of the Westwood bike lanes, and is the author of the amendment to remove them from the plan.

Opponents of the plan are likely to be out in force, so your voice needs to be heard, as well.

If you can’t make it, you can email the committee members at the addresses below.

You can find contact information for the rest of the city council here.

………

If you’re not doing anything this afternoon, Caltrans is hosting a public forum to discuss the first California State Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, immediately followed by a stakeholder’s meeting.

Hats off to Caltrans for their brilliant strategy to avoid overcrowding by holding the meeting at a time when most people can’t attend.

………

In Bike Month news, Santa Monica will formally proclaim May as National Bike Month at tonight’s council meeting.

Multicultural Communities for Mobility will host an Eastside Mural Ride this Saturday, which should help you get in the mood for Sunday’s CicLAvia.

CICLE hosts the 10th Annual Bike Week Pasadena next week, including a Pasadena Restaurant Tour, Women’s Bike Night and a Bike-In Movie Night.

A Santa Clarita hospital will work with the city to co-sponsor five pit stops for Bike to Work Day on the 19th.

The Orange County Transportation Authority officially kicks off bike month with a morning bike rally this Thursday; OC’s Blessing of the Bicycles will be held on the 16th, followed by the annual Ride of Silence on the 18th.

And evidently, it’s National Protected Bike Lane Week.

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Giro d’Italia riders and fans pause to remember Belgian rider Wouter Weyland five years after he lost his life during the third stage of the 2011 race.

Meanwhile, teams are gearing up for the Amgen Tour of California, which kicks off at San Diego’s Mission Bay on Sunday; CiclaValley provides a preview of the race.

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Local

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton offers a visual look at Sunday’s Los Angeles Bike Festival at Grand Park in DTLA.

The LACBC profiles former pro mountain biker Neil Shirley, editor of Road Bike Action Magazine.

A man rode his bike up to a South El Monte business Monday and fatally shot a 22-year old co-worker; he was wrestled to the ground by his fellow employees and held until sheriff’s deputies arrived.

 

State

Not even motorcyclists are safe in San Diego bike lanes. Not that he should have been riding there to begin with.

San Bernardino opens a bike co-op operated by the Inland Empire Biking Alliance.

That didn’t take long. An automated San Francisco bike counter was vandalized less than a week after it was installed.

A San Francisco cyclist suffered a shattered clavicle in a hit-and-run when a motorcyclist tried, and failed, to pass him on the right while traveling with a group of four other motorcycle riders, none of whom stopped.

SFist offers advice on bike etiquette the City by the Bay. And surprisingly, gets it right for the most part.

 

National

Nevada officials approve the first steps in a planned three-mile bike and pedestrian path on Lake Tahoe’s east shore.

A writer for the LA Times visits Moab UT for a little mountain biking, finding even the beginner trails tougher than advertised.

A Wisconsin town embraces an ex-con, despite a life of crime that began with stealing a bicycle and a candy bar when he was just eleven years old; he spent all but six months of the last five decades either on the run or behind bars.

A Massachusetts professor says it’s time to stop treating bicyclists and pedestrians like second class citizens. Amen.

Around 2,000 bicyclists ride down a deadly upstate NY highway in the Slow Roll Buffalo to call attention to plans to convert the road to a parkway.

A New York news site lists the things they hate about bike riders in the city. Most of which you’ve got to be pretty damn cranky to object to.

Hundreds of police officers are riding from the 9/11 Memorial to DC to honor fallen officers.

A Charleston SC bike lawyer says bicycling is a civil rights issue, and as important as any in its ability to positively change lives and communities. As much as I believe in biking’s ability to bring about positive change, I’d suggest voting rights, fighting poverty and equal rights for all minorities ranks a hell of a lot higher.

 

International

In a case of locking the barn after the horses escape, a judge orders the closure of the elevated Rio bikeway that collapsed last month, killing three people. Meanwhile, a Brazilian soccer player advises anyone thinking about attending the Rio Olympics to just stay home.

Toronto plans to invest $200 million dollars over the next ten years to build over 325 miles of bikeways.

London’s new mayor promises to accelerate the bicycling progress the city has already made.

Britain’s 51-year old Countess of Wessex joins with members of the Royal Military Academy to train for a ride from Edinburg to Buckingham Palace. In case you’re wondering, she’s the wife of Prince Charles’ baby brother. And yes, I had to look that up.

A gay Glasgow bike rider gets a round of applause for shutting down a homophobic street preacher.

The Limerick, Ireland man who rode his bike on a body armored shotgun shooting rampage gets a well-deserved five and a half years.

 

Finally…

As if drivers weren’t happy to do it, now your bike jacket can tell you where to go, too. Seriously, if a road raging driver slams into a car on purpose, it’s not an accident.

And congrats to LA, the unofficial road rage capital of America.

But we already knew that, right?

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: LAPD looks for fatal shooters in January fight over bicycle, and ‘roos get the blame Down Under

May 8, 2016 / / One comment

We’re now up to 11 new or renewing members of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition who’ve signed up as part of the May BikinginLA LACBC Membership Drive. But we still have a long way to go to reach our goal of 100 new members before the end of this month.

So take a moment to sign up now to add your voice to Southern California’s leading bicycle advocacy organization, dedicated to making LA County a safer and more inviting place to ride a bike, whoever you are and however you ride.

And thanks to a special arrangement with the LACBC, you’ll get free bike swag when you sign up at any level. Which is just the beginning of the many benefits to you and your community.

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Somehow this didn’t make the news at the time.

Police are looking for the men who killed 24-year old Fabian Garcia at 62nd and Grand in Los Angeles last January following a dispute over the bicycle he was riding.

He fought with two men who claimed the bike was stolen; as he rode away after the fight, the men came back and shot him, leaving the bike with his body.

There’s a $50,000 reward in the case. Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD Newton Division Detectives at 323/846-6556.

………

Marcel Kittel wears the pink leader’s jersey in the Giro d’Italia after dominating the opening weekend.

Yet another pro cyclist is injured by motorcycle on the course, this time at the Four Days of Dunkirk race in France.

Peter Sagan is back to defend his title in the Amgen Tour of California starting on Sunday.

And Wolfpack Hustle offers results from Saturday’s Short Line Crit in Long Beach.

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Local

The Daily News lists the six most deadly intersections for pedestrians in the San Fernando Valley; chances are, they’re not going to be all that great for bike riders, either.

The UCLA Bicycle Academy says physicians and healthcare systems should embrace bicycling for its health and environmental benefits.

Richard Risemberg says cool, rainy weather like we had over the weekend is perfect riding weather.

KPCC talks with Edward Humes, author of Door to Door: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation, who says crashes — not accidents, please — don’t have to kill 100 people a day in the US. And notes that in any collision involving a bicyclist or pedestrian, we’re the ones who inevitably get the blame.

KPCC also talks with a former Long Beach resident who prefers riding his bike with just one leg rather than driving; he says the key is to avoid hills and just keep moving.

 

State

Palm Desert uses funds from the Go Human campaign for a pop-up demonstration of what San Pablo Ave could look like as a Complete Street, including bike lanes and more walkable sidewalks.

Work is set to begin on a project to widen the 5 Freeway in North San Diego County, including bike and pedestrian bridges and trails.

A San Bernardino man will ride across the US to give hugs and high fives in cities affected by gun violence.

Santa Barbara planners vote to move a planned bikeway from a busy commercial street to a side street, shifting riders away from the business they might otherwise frequent.

A Clovis man apparently made his getaway on a stolen mountain bike after murdering his estranged wife and her mother.

The bikeway to Treasure Island on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge is now scheduled to be finished by September, two years late and $1.4 million over budget.

 

National

NPR looks at how cities are using data from runners and cyclists, including Strava, to help build safer streets. The question is whether they’re measuring where average people on bikes really ride.

Utah mountain bikers take a breathless ride at the edge of a cliff.

An Illinois woman is in serious condition after she was hit by a bicyclist who was riding on the sidewalk.

A former Michigan lawmaker is riding 2,900 miles across the US just two years after a near-fatal bicycling collision.

A New Hampshire man publishes his first book of poetry, six years after surviving a serious bicycling collision.

Boston is investing $9.3 million to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians on four deadly corridors as part of their Vision Zero program.

Call it confirmation bias. Two Boston Globe reporters piss off other drivers by setting out to see if people in the city will tolerate a 20 mph speed limit, by driving 20 mph in a 30 mph zone. Which doesn’t mean everyone would be as angry if that was the speed limit.

Great idea. Over 1,000 New Yorkers take a bike tour of Brooklyn Public Library branches; one rider made it to 51 library branches.

A handful of Cherokee Indians will ride from Georgia to Oklahoma next month to remember the Trail of Tears, when the Cherokee were brutally forced from their lands in the 1830s.

A New Orleans author looks at the bicycle as a tool for women’s empowerment.

 

International

Bike advocates say London’s outgoing mayor was good for bikes, but new mayor Sadik Khan will be even better.

Once again, a bike rider is a hero, as a man in the UK pulls a woman to safety after her car catches on fire.

A Zimbabwe man is riding, swimming and running in a non-stop, 4,300 mile triathlon around the entire coast of Great Britain.

Paris shuts down the famed Champs-Élysées for the first of a series of open streets events.

Chinese-made ebikes appear to be taking North Korea by storm.

A Cambodian man got out of prison, got drunk with a friend, then beat him to death with a brick because he tried to steal the man’s bicycle once. Then again, that’s no worse than shooting your own brother in a dispute over a hamburger.

 

Finally…

No, seriously. Don’t slap Uber passengers, bro. If you’re going to steal over $250,000 from ID theft victims, at least spend more than $800 of it on a bike.

And kangaroos only cause the most crashes in one Aussie state if you ignore all the crashes caused by humans.

 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Morning Links, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: Another killer driver gets a sore wrist, and the Flying Scotsman compares himself to Pluto

May 7, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Another killer driver gets a sore wrist, and the Flying Scotsman compares himself to Pluto

A special thank you to the ten new or renewing members of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition who’ve signed up as part of the May BikinginLA LACBC Membership drive. That means we just have 90 to go to reach our goal of 100 new members before I step down from the LACBC board next month.

So take a moment to sign up now to add your voice to one of the nation’s leading bicycle advocacy organizations. And tell all your bike riding friends, family, coworkers to join up, too.

………

Add one more driver getting off with a tiny slap on the wrist for fatally running down a bike rider.

After discussing two similar cases yesterday, one more was added to the list after 25-year old Luis Aranda Llamas was convicted of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence for the death of Matthew Carp as he rode in a Menifee bike lane.

Llamas received just three years probation, along with 90 days work release for the 2014 collision.

Prosecutors somehow concluded there was no gross negligence that would have warranted a felony charge, even though Llamas was speeding when ran Carp down from behind, and barely missed Carp’s riding companion.

Evidently, killing someone while driving in a bike lane at a speed well above the posted limit is just one of those things.

………

Patrick Lynch forwards news of a horrifying crash that nearly took the life of a Chicago man as he was riding home with his two sons earlier this week.

An SUV driver struck Scott Jacobson after making a U-turn, dragging him hundreds of feet before witnesses and firemen from a nearby fire station managed to stop the driver.

Yet even though the driver was clearly trying to flee the scene, not to mention driving with a revoked license and no insurance, he was not charged with hit-and-run. And isn’t facing a single felony count.

As Lynch puts it,

While Matt Willens from the Streetsblog article is right when he says “In general, society — including legislators, judges, and jurors — is quick to identify with a driver who injures a cyclist, rather than with the injured cyclist. People feel bad about punishing someone they can relate to.”

I don’t think a jury will have a hard time convicting an uninsured, unlicensed motorist who dragged a man 300 feet trying to flee. Let’s hope I’m not wrong.

A gofundme account in Jacobson’s name has raised over $27,500 out of the $50,000 goal in a single day.

………

Multiple record holder Graeme Obree, aka the Flying Scotsman, feels ignored by the racing world these days, saying his relationship to cycling is like Pluto’s relationship to Earth.

And they’re off on the Giro, with Dutch favorite Tom Dumoulin taking the early lead, while Aussie cyclist Adam Hansen is attempting to finish his 14th Grand Tour in a row, dating back to 2011.

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Local

Caught on video: A friend of CiclaValley is nearly taken out by a speeding driver who used a bike lane to pass a car on the right while he was riding in it.

If you hurry, you may still be able to make the LACBC’s free bike commuter workshop this morning. Meanwhile, they profile Pitzer College cyclist Cade Maldonado, who grew up in the Pico Union neighborhood.

Car crashes are up in Long Beach, as low gas prices encourage more driving — along with more distracted driving.

The third annual Long Beach Bike Festival takes place today, with bicycle themed events throughout the Downtown area.

 

State

Laguna Beach police will hold a bike rodeo and road safety expo on the 15th.

Community leaders are calling for the reopening of a bike crossing between the US and Mexico that was closed after 9/11.

Over 200 mountain bikers kicked off bike month with a 44-mile dirt trail ride across San Diego County to raise funds for the San Diego Mountain Biking Association.

A 91-year old Santa Barbara man turned himself in for the hit-and-run that injured a 14-year old boy riding his bike. Seriously, anyone who doesn’t know you have to stick around after a crash shouldn’t be driving.

Great story from Sports Illustrated about a Salinas teenager who competes for his high school mountain bike team on one leg, after losing his right leg to cancer in junior high.

A San Francisco cyclist remembers the terrifying assault he somehow survived a year ago when a road raging driver repeatedly attempted to run him down. The driver confessed to his actions, bizarrely thinking the police would agree he did the right thing; he was eventually convicted of misdemeanor assault with a deadly weapon.

Prince was one of us; so apparently is the Marin rehab specialist who was supposed to save him from his addiction to painkillers.

 

National

The Feds make it easier to narrow wide traffic lanes and put protected bike lanes on street projects funded with government money.

Bicycling says it’s never too late to learn how to ride a bike, while a business website says folding bicycles are taking over the commuting world.

An Arizona newspaper congratulates the Department of Transportation for reconsidering plans to remove roadside memorials, such as ghost bikes.

An Iowa driver faces 25 years for killing a cyclist while under the influence — and with a suspended license after a previous DUI conviction; the victim’s parents justifiably decry the “catch-and-release” system that puts dangerous drivers back on the streets.

Chicago Magazine offers a nervous cyclist’s guide to riding more.

It takes a real schmuck to steal a customized tricycle from a special needs kid; hats off to Rockland MA police for getting it back.

A New York man wonders if he did anything wrong when he doored a scofflaw cyclist; the short answer is yes.

New York residential buildings are getting bike friendly, with bike parking, storage and repair rooms and high-end loaner bikes; one building is even giving away $450 bikes to the first 25 buyers. Although with prices starting at over half a million, I’d expect a Cervelo, at least.

A New Orleans man gets 25 years for fatally shooting a man who was stealing his bicycle.

 

International

KCRW’s Madeline Brand talks with the author of The Coyote’s Bicycle, about a Mexican man who used bicycles to smuggle immigrants across the border to avoid detection by sophisticated American ground sensors.

Outgoing London Mayor Boris Johnson leaves a legacy of a bicycling city, even if one rider calls him a prick on his last day in office. Meanwhile, newly elected mayor Sadiq Khan promises to make the city a byword for cycling around the world — which only makes sense since his sister-in-law is former New York DOT maven Janette Sadik-Khan.

A British man got 200 hours of community service for running down his bike-riding FedEx coworker just minutes after they both got off work.

There once was a bike-riding, body armored, shotgun toting man from Limerick, who rode through the streets shooting people at random, and got five and a half years for his crimes. No, it doesn’t rhyme, has no meter and it’s not funny, either.

An Irish cycling group warns young riders not to take caffeine supplements after two teenage cyclists fall ill.

Norway will spend nearly $1 billion in bicycling infrastructure as it aims for zero growth in car use by 2030.

Indian studies show bicycling really is better for you than walking.

A pair of South African women blame a cyclist for causing their car to skid across a freeway and summersault into a ditch in their attempt to avoid them. But if they were really driving slowly enough for a bike rider to pass them, as they claim, how is it they were going fast enough to have a crash like that?

 

Finally…

How could anyone oppose a freaking sidewalk? When Woody hates on bike lanes, New Yorkers fall out of love with Woody.

And I may not be able to read Chinese, but I know a beautiful and utterly amazing kite when I see one. Link courtesy of Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases, Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: Life is cheap, as killer Palm Desert and Paso Roble drivers get off with gently slapped wrists

May 6, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Life is cheap, as killer Palm Desert and Paso Roble drivers get off with gently slapped wrists

The May BikinginLA LACBC Membership drive is up to nine new members of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. But we really need to pick up the pace if we’re going to reach 100 new or renewing members before the end of this month. So sign up now and let’s get this into double figures today.

Even if you’re already a member, you can renew to extend your membership to support biking in the City of Angeles, and get some great bike swag courtesy of the LACBC.

And a huge thank you to everyone who’s joined so far.

………

Once again, the universal Get Out of Jail Free Card worked its magic, as an 81-year old Palm Desert woman walked after admitting to killing a 73-year old handcyclist last year.

Judy Mae Purcell pled guilty plea to a single misdemeanor count of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence in the January, 2015 death of Rose Peters, just as her trial was set to begin.

And as usual, she got off on probation by claiming she just didn’t see Peters before she left-crossed her, even though Peters, who was in a bike lane, was riding with the right-of-way.

Purcell received three years probation, and may lose her driver’s license; she also says it’s had a big impact on her life.

Purcell elected to speak at her sentencing, tearfully telling Lee and Peters (Peter’s daughters), “There’s nothing I can really say, I’m just so sorry.” She said the crash was “truly an accident. I just didn’t see her. I’ve lost a lot of friends over this,” Purcell told them. “I relive that minute every day of my life. Every night, you’re in my prayers.”

At least she’s been held accountable in other ways. Oceanside lawyer Richard Duquette, a cyclist himself, forwards word that Peters’ family has reached a substantial, but undisclosed, settlement in the case.

………

A 20-year old Paso Robles driver got off almost as easy, as he’s sentenced to just 75 days in jail and 50 hours of community service for killing an LA cyclist and severely injuring a second rider in a 2014 collision.

That’s despite a long history of traffic violations, and being on probation for a speeding conviction at the time of the crash.

Joseph Mondo was driving a massive GMC Yukon when his phone slipped off his lap, where it shouldn’t have been to begin with. When he looked down to retrieve it, he nearly struck a vehicle stopped to make a left turn, barely avoiding it by swerving onto the right shoulder at 60 mph.

Then, in an astounding display of carelessness and stupidity, he once again took his eyes off the road to find his phone, this time killing 62-year old Los Angeles resident Lee Hekyung Craig, as well as leaving her riding companion, 59-year old Newport Beach surgeon Lawrence Chong, with life-changing injuries.

As Chong said,

“What hurts the most is that I lost (Craig) because of the negligence on the part of someone else,” Chong said, according to the report. “All he had to do was pull over after he nearly rear-ended a car while reaching for his phone. If he had done so, my life would still be good and I would still have Lee. Instead my life is now a mess.”

Granted, Mondo seems to get it.

When he was interviewed by a probation officer following his no-contest pleas, Mondo reportedly said: “What happened has happened. If I could change places, I would. It has changed my life. Someone’s life was lost. I do not need to argue my innocence. I am guilty. I want to move on with my life. I will deal with the repercussions as they come.”

Then again, Craig will never get to move on with her life and Chong may never regain the life he had, while Mondo may have a sore wrist for a few days from the slap the judge gave it.

This is what happens when traffic crimes and prior tickets aren’t taken seriously.

………

Grand Rapids MI unveils a new $600,000 bike safety campaign, urging motorists and bicyclists to obey the law and look out for one another.

Although the TV spot does look kind of familiar.

………

Local

A 0.8-mile stretch of Van Nuys Blvd in Pacoima will get a road diet, with a buffered bike lane on one side and a parking-protected lane on the other, connecting to the San Fernando Road rail-with-trail bike path on the north end. Part of the city’s Great Streets Initiative, the Complete Streets makeover is intended to reduce speeding and improve safety on one of the city’s most dangerous streets.

LA City Councilmember Joe Buscaino argues that part of the Metro R2 transportation funds should be used to repair LA’s crumbing streets since they form the foundation for all other elements of the transportation system, including bicycles. One of the city’s most bike friendly elected officials, Buscaino will be honored with the Golden Spoke Award at this year’s Blessing of the Bicycles at Good Samaritan Hospital.

Speaking of Good Samaritan, Downtown News profiles Good Sam CEO and dedicated bike commuter Andy Leeka. And a pretty nice guy too, if I say so myself; thanks to Richard Risemberg for the link.

The LA Weekly lists Sunday’s semi-inaugural Los Angeles Bicycle Festival at Grand Park as one of their 21 things to do this week. Although it’s not on Metro’s list of Bike Month events.

Bicycling recommends the annual 30-mile Stan’s Bike Shop/Eastside Bike Club’s Tour de Tacos as one of the 27 best places to find tacos in the US. But they somehow failed to include the Trump Towers taco bowl.

Ride with Metro and Bike SGV to the Huntington Library and Gardens this afternoon.

Wolfpack Hustle’s annual Shortline Crit rolls tomorrow in Long Beach.

Also on Saturday, Finish the Ride and Velo Studio will host a free Tour de Griffith Park: An Introduction to Safe and Fun Riding.

Team LACBC will host a training ride for this year’s Climate Ride tomorrow, heading up Glendora Mountain Road before visiting The Donut Man on the return leg.

 

State

Laguna Beach mountain bikers get to ride with their heroes.

Fortunately, an Apple Valley bike rider was sitting upright and talking after being hit by a pickup Wednesday night.

As if dodging dangerous drivers isn’t bad enough, Turlock police are looking for a man who stabbed a bike rider in the chest in an apparently random and unprovoked attack.

The Menlo Park city council votes to keep El Camino Real dangerous by sending plans for bike lanes back for further study until neighboring cities agree on a common design. “Sending plans back for further studies” usually means they don’t want to piss off motorists by approving it, but don’t want to piss off bike riders by saying no, either.

Sacramento police are looking for the owners of 60 stolen bikes that were recovered when a bike thief was busted.

 

National

Bike riders may be the only ones enjoying the closure of a Seattle viaduct. Meanwhile, you know Seattle’s bikeshare program is in trouble when the people responsible for running it aren’t even members, despite a discount for city employees.

After a cyclist competing in New Mexico’s Tour of Gila broke his bike crashing into a pile of riders who collided with a dog, he traded bikes with a fan and finished the race on an ‘80s era Specialized stump jumper. No word on how the dog made out, though.

Des Moines IA police are looking for two men who attacked a 65-year old bike rider for no apparent reason.

A new report says bicycling is booming in New York City, up a whopping 320% since 1990, even though advocates say the city isn’t doing enough to protect cyclists and keep up with demand. Which just goes to show what can happen when you build an actual bicycling network rather than a few nice lanes here and there.

Count Woody Allen, who used to be funny, among those who think New York has done too much to accommodate bike riders and that bike lanes don’t belong anywhere in his upscale Upper East Side neighborhood. But he’s likely to get them whether he likes it or not.

A Pennsylvania bike rider is charged with stabbing a man who he claims stole his bike.

 

International

A new international study confirms that the health benefits of bicycling and walking far outweigh the risks from pollution. Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the heads-up.

A British man gets seven years for the drunken hit-and-run death of a cyclist; he initially told police his car had been stolen and someone else was driving it, leading to the false arrest of an innocent man.

If you build it, they will come. This tweet really says it all about a new London bikeway in the shadow of Big Ben.

Researchers hope da Vinci’s DNA can explain his genius, which included sketching out a bicycle centuries before they were invented.

Bikes are the star of a planned Oslo office building.

An Indian man got a bizarre 10-petaled flower-shaped cataract in one eye following a helmetless collision with a car.

A Taiwan proposal would classify ebikes as scooters, requiring riders to have a helmet and a license.

 

Finally…

Nothing like a $341 40-mile ride in the rain. I don’t care what they say, it’s not a bike friendly town if kids are barred from riding bikes to school.

And luxury hotels may be fascinating, but you’re better off watching the road.

 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Introducing LA’s Peace Bicycles, Giro starts today, and don’t ride with a pellet gun in your pants

May 5, 2016 / / 4 comments

The May BikinginLA LACBC Membership drive is now up to eight new members of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, with just 92 more to go before the end of this month. So sign up now and let’s get this into double figures today.

………

I’m a firm believer in supporting SoCal bike businesses.

Which is why I want to take a moment to introduce you to LA-based Peace Bicycles, makers of some pretty good looking seven-speed Dutch-style city bikes, in both step through and straight bar models.

The step through is available in your choice of colors, while the non-step through version, like the Model T, appears to come in any color you want, as long as it’s black.

Although I particularly like the fact that you can get it in a fully loaded commuter package, complete with panniers, lights and a cup holder.

european-commuter-bikes-1

peace-bicycles-buy-bikes-4-

And a portion of every sale goes towards buying a bike for someone in need.

………

Sad news, as 21-year old Dutch cyclist Gijs Verdick suffered a pair of heart attacks while in Poland for a race, leading to brain damage from a lack of oxygen.

Bleacher Report previews the Giro d’Italia, which starts today with a time trial, while a Canadian sportswriter calls it bike racing’s ultimate test. Unfortunately, the Amgen Tour of California starts just one week later, weakening the field for both races.

Bicycling Magazine highlights six tour packages to see the Tour de France.

Ironman will now start checking triathletes’ bikes for signs of motor doping. When they find hidden motors in their Speedos, it will really be time to worry.

A German Paralympic cyclist hopes to compete in Rio using a 3D-printed prosthetic leg.

And maybe race motos have a purpose after all; a new study shows three of them following ten inches off your wheel cuts drag as much as 14 per cent.

………

Local

Caught on video: CiclaValley and friends get buzzed on Nichols Canyon.

Richard Risemberg says LA doesn’t need a bike month when we can ride the other eleven months as well, but as long as we have one, you might as well enjoy it.

Evidently, it’s a crime to ride your bike in Sherman Oaks with a pellet gun stuffed in your pants. Or maybe just really stupid.

Culver City Walk ‘n Rollers will host a Kidical Mass Fun Ride on May 15th. Isn’t there something else happening that day?

Pasadena police bust a thief after reports of a suspicious person stealing a bicycle, catching him with the stolen bike in a stolen car filled with stolen property.

More than 50 Glendale elementary school students rode their bikes on Bike to School Day, accompanied by members of Bike Walk Glendale.

 

State

Like Santa Monica’s recent crackdowns, Newport Beach police will be on the lookout for traffic violations that threaten the safety of cyclists and pedestrians on Saturday and Wednesday.

It takes a real schmuck to flee the scene after running down a Goleta teenager riding his bike to school — on Bike to School Day, no less; fortunately, he only suffered minor injuries.

San Francisco installs a new bike barometer to count cyclists on Valencia Street, to go with one already installed on Market Street, and two more on the way.

Oakland drivers can’t seem to figure out the new parking protected bike lanes on Telegraph Avenue. Then again, Cincinnati drivers still haven’t caught on after two years.

UC Davis students vote bicycling as the best form of transportation.

Oroville police are able to bust a bike thief off Craigslist because the victim’s parents had recorded the serial number. You can register your bike for free with Bike Index right here, including serial number and photos.

 

National

No surprise here. A new study shows bike riders absorb up to twice as much pollutants when riding in urban traffic than in low traffic or off-street routes.

Lifehacker offers a practical guide to biking in the city, while saying being too cautious on the road can be dangerous.

People for Bikes says the overly graphic Phoenix bike safety novels and Playmobil bike crash play set send the wrong message to kids. Gee, you think?

A much smaller Livestrong adjusts to life without Lance.

Forget riding across the US; an Ohio man ended his 8,300 mile ride around the perimeter of the US in Portland on Tuesday, raising over $16,500 for Habitat for Humanity.

Equestrians often blame bike riders for damaging trails; a group of Oregon horse riders prove it goes both ways.

No charges in the Boulder CO crash that seriously injured former pro cyclist Phil Zajicek this past March, as police determine the driver wasn’t at fault and decline to ticket Zajicek for crossing onto the wrong side of the road while descending. Evidently, they think the loss of his arm is punishment enough.

Denver will get new bike lanes and upgrades to existing ones, including a three-mile buffered bike lane and a green wave to keep riders from having to stop at red lights. Meanwhile, a Denver bike rider’s helmet is crushed when a bus door closes on it; he’s just grateful his head wasn’t in it.

A Cincinnati civil rights attorney rides his bike as a way of life.

Caught on video: A Tennessee bike rider can thank a 911 caller for saving his life; the caller was already on the phone with the 911 operator to report a near miss when a jerk in a pickup plowed into the rider and just kept going.

Things are getting better for Atlanta bike riders, though the city still has a long way to go.

 

International

If you build it, they will come. Vancouver has already exceeded it’s goal of a 7% mode share for bicycling by 2020 after building a network of protected bike lanes. Which shows what could happen here if LA ever gets serious about building a safe, connected network to get riders where they need to go.

After much debate, Toronto votes to install physically separated cycle tracks on a major street on a trial basis.

The head of Great Britain’s cycling organization resigns following accusations of sexism. Meanwhile, a writer for the Telegraph says without greater transparency, the scandal risks spreading to the country’s cycling team. Thanks to David Wolfberg for the heads-up.

A new theft-resistant bike light currently raising funds on Kickstarter is built into the handlebars, requiring someone to dismantle your bike to steal it. Which never stopped any committed thief before.

A London writer says ditch the Lycra because it’s bad for the soul and almost no one looks good in it. No one says you have to wear spandex, just as no one should tell you not to; what works for one rider and one type of riding doesn’t make it right or wrong for anyone else. So get over it, already.

Evidently not satisfied with merely running bike riders over, the head of Britain’s Ryanair says cyclists should be taken out and shot because bike lane construction interferes with parking his car. No, really. And at a conference sponsored by the US Embassy, no less. I’d say more, but I can’t figure out how to react to his comments without using words like “f***ing,” “twit” and “jackass.” Thanks to Erik Griswold for the link.

 

Finally…

Seriously, no matter how pissed off you get, don’t beat a driver and his car with your U-lock. Evidently, you can forget how to ride a bike, after all.

And if you’re going to steal a bike, make sure you wear shoes that will stay on — and leave the cocaine at home.

 

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

Update: Cyclist killed riding wrong way in Lincoln Heights collision

May 4, 2016 / / 13 comments

Once again, riding on the wrong side of the road has claimed the life of a Los Angeles bike rider.

The Eastsider reports a bike rider identified only as a Latino man in his early thirties was hit and killed in Lincoln Heights early this morning.

The victim was riding south on Humboldt Street on the wrong side of the road when he was struck by a driver traveling north on Avenue 26 at 1:30 am. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

No other information is available at this time. The site notes the investigation is ongoing.

A street view shows an intersection with four lanes on 26th, with an offset crossing at Humboldt controlled by a stop sign.

While some people believe riding against traffic is safer because they can see cars coming, it’s actually one of the most dangerous things you can do. According to the LAPD, riding salmon is leading cause of serious bicycling collisions in many parts of Los Angeles.

In this case, the victim would have been hidden from view by the upholstery shop on the right side of the street, as well as any cars parked on the lot until the last moment — particularly if the vehicle was traveling at speed, which is likely given the hour. And the vehicle would have been hidden from his sight, as well.

This is the 36th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 12th in Los Angeles County; it’s also the third in the City of Los Angeles.

Update: The Eastsider has updated its story to identify the victim as 22-year old Los Angeles resident Giovanni Cali.

He was riding with a companion who saw the car and was able to avoid it; unfortunately, Cali did not see it in time. The driver remained at the scene, and was not under the influence.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Giovanni Cali and his loved ones.

Thanks to Patrick Pascal for the heads-up.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , , ,
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