Once again, there’s just too much bike racing in the news.
In a huge upset, Aussie journeyman domestique Mathew Hayman claims a surprise victory in Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix classic; the 37-year old rider says he’s proof dreams can come true. And that he’s sorry he won.
Britain’s Ian Stannard becomes the first rider from his country to podium at Paris-Roubaix, while Cycloscross Magazine looks at how cross riders fared in the race. Deadspin calls it a day in hell, but Vavel says it was one of the best Roubaix races in modern times.
And you have to see Peter Sagan put those bike skills to work by simply riding over another rider’s bike after a mass crash.
On the other hand, another bike race, another cyclist injured by a race moto.
Meanwhile, Alberto Contador says not so fast on those retirement plans after winning his fourth Tour of the Basque Country title.
British Olympic cycling gold medalist Laura Trott says the growth in women’s cycling is incredible.
Speaking of which, 41-year old Kristin Armstrong won the women’s title in the Redlands Classic, finishing 33 seconds ahead of defending champ Mara Abbott, who was riding with a broken collarbone; Matteo Dal-Cin wins for the men.
The pros weren’t the only ones competing, as over 600 children got their chance to ride across the finish line. As part of the Classic, people with disabilities learned how to ride adaptive bicycles.
And hundreds of local families have to say goodbye to the riders they’ve been hosting for the last week.
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Local
An OpEd for the Times suggests four easy fixes for LA Traffic, including biking or walking to school. Which is now illegal at one Texas school.
New Echo Park Adult Literacy Coordinator Richard Risemberg complains about LA’s disconnected bike network, noting that bike riders have to keep going even when the bike lane ends. Which it usually does. And congrats to Rick on the new gig.
As if there wasn’t enough drama on the streets, a Beverly Hills play centers on the death of a London cyclist in 1958.
Metro CEO Phil Washington makes a surprise appearance at an El Monte workshop to explain plans for the new transportation tax.
Long Beach will hold an open house to discuss their new bike master plan on Thursday.
State
In a seriously cringe-worthy incident, a San Clement BMX rider was impaled in the abdomen when the seat came off his bike.
The Desert Sun says a planned Palm Springs road diet is likely to annoy the local anti-bike contingent, but isn’t likely to affect many drivers. And really, isn’t annoying the bike haters what it’s all about?
A local charity gives a 13-year old Cathedral City boy with cerebral palsy a new adaptive bicycle.
A San Francisco orthopedist says love your bike, but leave it more often, because crosstraining is vital for cyclists.
National
When his bike lock won’t open, a Spokane man learns you can use bolt cutters to free your bike with patrons from a crowded restaurant looking on, and no one will care. Somehow, this is not comforting.
No bias here. A Montana letter writer says the tiny minority of thrill seeking cyclists shouldn’t be allowed in wilderness areas, because mountain bikers are incapable of riding safely.
A New Hampshire driver is fined just $2,000 and loses her license for a whole 90 days for killing an 83-year old bike rider. And she can get that back if she just makes an equal donation to Safe Routes to Schools. Evidently, the life of an old man isn’t worth much in the Granite State. At least not if he rides a bike.
Gun control advocates are riding from Newtown to DC to honor the children and teachers killed in the Sandy Hook shooting; the governor of Delaware will join them on the ride to help deliver a petition to Congress.
Philadelphia will invest $300,000 in a network of protected bike lanes.
A Columbia University student learns it can be challenging to review a bikeshare system if you don’t know how to ride a bike
Now that’s more like it. Florida establishes a $25 million annual fund for building bicycle trails, financed by vehicle registration fees; the money will be used to complete a coast-to-coast trail across the state, possibly followed by twin 800 mile trails from Pensacola to Key West on either coast.
International
Next time you’re in Tijuana, be sure to show up at a bike delivery-based vegan taco shop by bicycle to get a 15% discount.
Caught on video: An English woman lets it rip on YouTube about being treated like a second-class citizen just because she rides a bike.
The leader of Britain’s Labour Party is captured riding his bike on Google Street View.
Brit bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid explains to motorists that the reason bike riders don’t always use bike paths is because they’re usually terrible. Which is often the case here, as well.
Local residents threaten disruption and possible violence in response to a bike event in the UK next weekend. The best way to tell you’re dealing with NIMBYs is when they assure you they’re not NIMBYs. And violence? Seriously?
An Irish mother refuses to ride a bike and won’t let her children ride on the streets after she was knocked off hers by an aggressive cyclist; maybe she should talk to some Aussie women about overcoming their fears.
An Indian randonneur says cycling is an addiction for him; he owns a world record for riding across eleven Himalayan passes. Meanwhile, a small but growing group of women take up recreational riding in Mumbai.
Finally…
Practice is good, even if it means a bike cop face plant. If you’re going to run down a cyclist and chase him with a metal bar, try not to do it directly in front of the cops.
And don’t you dare take your hands off the handlebars in Cyprus.
