Once again, a bike rider needs your help.
Earlier in the week, we mentioned that a San Diego cyclist was seriously injured when a wrong way driver tried to enter a mall parking lot through the exit lane. However, the story didn’t identify the 61-year old victim.
Now it turns out he’s well-known in the San Diego area.
Paul Kroeger is a 40-year veteran of the bicycling industry, and the long-time Master Mechanic at Hi-Tech Bikes. According to the shop’s Facebook page, Kroeger is in stable condition despite suffering major injuries, and faces a long, hard recovery.
A fund has been established to help cover expenses; in the first 11 hours, it had raised nearly $6,000 of the $25,000 goal.
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California legislators reject a proposal for roadside testing of suspect drug-using drivers, evidently opting to keep dope-impaired motorists behind the wheel, where they can do more harm.
Smart.
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Love this idea.
Instead of a ciclovía, Winnipeg is closing some of the city’s streets on Sundays and holidays to turn them into designated bike routes.
Drivers who travel more than one block on any of the four streets face hefty fines for violating the closures.
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Bike lawyer Edward Rubinstein looks at the weather forecast for next week, and asks if the Amgen Tour of California is the cure for the state’s drought.
But lost in the excitement over Sunday’s start of the Amgen Tour of California is Saturday’s start of the Giro d’Italia.
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Local
Metro says give your car a break and take a bike instead. Although sell your damn car and use the proceeds to buy a few Pashleys for your family has a ring to it, too.
More on the unveiling of a new PCH safety video produced by the PCH Taskforce, along with the kids’ bike rodeo in Malibu on Friday. Full disclosure: I’ve helped represent the LACBC on said taskforce for several years, though I had nothing to do with the creation of the video.
New LA-made bike socks offer maps of some of the city’s iconic bike routes.
The LA Weekly looks at Long Beach’s young, gay, Latino and bike-friendly mayor.
State
A San Diego County Supervisor rides 25 miles along the coast to work, promising to promote safe cycling and demonstrate how much fun bike commuting can be. I dare any LA County Supervisors to do the same; hell, I double dog dare you. So there.
In a new podcast series, Streetsblog’s Damien Newton talks with BikeSD’s Sam Ollinger, who somehow managed to turn a bike blog into a powerhouse advocacy organization with 1,200 paying members. And counting.
Carlsbad police recover 35 stolen bicycles; if you lost a bike recently, call 760/931-2142 or email judy.thomas@carlsbadca.gov. And register your bike now so it can be identified if does ever happen to you.
The Great Western Bicycle Rally offers a four day bike fest in Paso Robles at the end of this month.
San Francisco plans to lower bicycling injuries by elevating bike lanes. The city is also testing triple bike racks on some of the hillier bus routes.
A Marin County cyclist collided with an 80-year old woman while riding on a multi-use pathway. Bike riders should always use extra care when riding near any pedestrians; on the other hand, the local paper never even considers the possibility that it might not have been the rider’s fault.
Nice story, as the victim of a fatal Chico hit-and-run is still having a positive effect on the world two years later. Note to ChicoER: A drunken hit-and-run — with a BAC four times the legal limit, no less — is a crime, not an accident.
National
The Travel Channel lists the nation’s top 10 cycling cities. LA must have come in at number 11, right?
A new bike helmet includes built-in front and rear lights. I just happened to see one of these on Sunset Blvd Monday evening; it wasn’t that bright at dusk, but should stand out after dark.
A road raging Portland bike rider is photographed throwing a U-lock at a teenage driver’s car. I’ve said it before — no matter how angry you are or how much you think the driver deserves it, never resort to violence. Period. Great photo, though.
A new Salt Lake City poll shows nearly everyone loves the city’s bike lanes. Except Republicans.
A French cyclist has his recumbent stolen from his Colorado campsite, just one week into a planned 18-month round-the-world tour.
The NYPD is decriminalizing sidewalk riding, opting to issue traffic tickets instead of criminal summons.
Tragically, a Louisiana bike rider is killed by a hit-and-run driver just one day before his 46th birthday.
Florida commits to installing buffered bike lanes when possible. Which wouldn’t have helped the rider who was intentionally run down, then shot at by a driver; the suspect faces multiple felony charges.
International
An Ottawa writer suggests kicking bikes off the bike paths.
London’s Telegraph expresses concern that the increase in bicycling is putting Britain’s economic recovery at risk, because a whopping 5% of people polled had taken out personal loans to buy either a car or a bike. No, really, I think they’re serious.
A pair of Scot students design a bike rack with a built-in lock, so you don’t have to tote a heavy U-lock everywhere you go. Or have one to throw at the driver behind you, for that matter (see above).
The great-grand-nephew of its founder is reviving a classic Latvian bike brand.
An unconscious Aussie man was found lying in the street wearing a bike helmet; police eventually found the bike the apparent hit-and-run victim was riding in the top of a tree.
The Thai hit-and-run driver who plowed into a group of cyclists, killing one, turns himself in four days later. But swears he wasn’t drunk and that he pulled over to talk on his cell phone. Honest.
Finally…
Here’s one problem we don’t have in LA, as a noted South African cyclist faces surgery after colliding with a water buffalo; sadly, the buffalo didn’t make it. The next time a truck runs you off the road, it may not have a driver to yell at.
And if you’re carrying a billiard ball wrapped in a bandana, put some damn lights on your bike…wait, what?
