New CA law threatens to kill bikeshare, new protected bike lane in South LA, and little protection on 6th Street Bridge

October 27, 2022 / / Comments Off on New CA law threatens to kill bikeshare, new protected bike lane in South LA, and little protection on 6th Street Bridge

Somehow, we missed this story.

Lost in the recent flurry of bill signings by California Governor Gavin Newsom was AB 371, known by advocates as the Kill Bikeshare Bill.

The new law imposes a draconian requirement on providers of shared micromobility devices — like bikes, ebikes and e-scooters — to provide liability insurance covering the behavior of their users.

The requirement could force existing providers like Bird and Lyft to shut down their operations in the state. Or at the very least, raise their rates to unaffordable levels to cover the added insurance costs.

Exactly the opposite of what’s needed right now to shift people to cleaner forms of transportation in order to confront the rising climate emergency.

Let alone get people out of their cars to reduce crushing traffic congestion.

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Nice to see LADOT continuing to build new bike lanes in South LA.

Although as this photo shows, parking protected bike lanes aren’t very protected when no one is parking there.

Because those plastic posts aren’t going to stop anyone.

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A reminder that Los Angeles officials didn’t think it was worth protecting bike riders on the new 6th Street Bridge, choosing to protect pedestrians with a concrete barrier while leaving bike riders at risk.

We’ll leave it up to you to decide whether you could have survived this crash riding in the bike lane.

Because those plastic bollards and low rubber curbs clearly didn’t prevent it.

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Clear your schedule for December 3rd, when Walk ‘n Rollers will host a fundraising Donut Ride to mark my sister’s birthday.

What do you mean that’s not why they’re doing it?

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

No bias here. Ottawa, Canada’s new mayor rode to victory by opposing plans for bike lanes in the downtown area, successfully painting the popular incumbent as out of touch with the larger community because of them.

Three “thrill-seeking” children face charges for intentionally dooring a woman using a stolen car, one of at least three similar incidents targeting bike riders this week; the attacks called attention to the need for more protected bike lanes.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A 28-year old man was convicted of manslaughter for riding off on his bicycle after stabbing another man to death outside the Boston Medical Center following a dispute.

A 34-year old woman was critically injured when she was hit from behind by a man on a bicycle in New York’s Central Park. However, despite what the comments say, the bike rider isn’t necessarily at fault, though we all have an obligation to ride safely around pedestrians.

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Local

The LA Times invites you to mark Día de Muertos by making a digital ofrenda to remember loved ones — or bicyclists — who have passed away.

Pasadena Now complains that the bikeways included in the city’s 2015 Bicycle Transportation Action Plan still haven’t been built. Kind of like a nearby megalopolis we could name.

Metro funding has been approved for a 5.3 mile on-street bikeway through Rosemead, unincorporated South San Gabriel, Montebello and Monterey Park, although at least some of it will be just a class 3 bike route. In other words, sharrows. 

LA Taco recommends 13 haunted hikes to cheap you out in Los Angeles and Orange counties, many of which you should be able to do on a bike.

 

State 

The green bike lane markings on Santa Barbara’s State Street Promenade have been consigned to the dustbin of history; the city now hopes bike riders and pedestrians can somehow share the street, after walkers refused to stay out of the bikeway.

The sheriff’s department in San Luis Obispo County is asking for donations of new bicycles, new helmets, or money for replacement parts for their annual bike giveaway for kids in need.

San Francisco Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick says it’s important to remember how far the city has come in terms of bike access and street safety, as residents prepare to vote on whether to keep JFK Drive closed to motor vehicles.

The Sonoma County coroner has confirmed the cause of death for a popular chef who died from hitting a bollard in the middle of a bike path while riding with friends.

Sad news from Humboldt County, where a 51-year old man riding a bicycle was killed in a collision with a pickup driver.

 

National

The New York Times Wirecutter recommends some surprisingly affordable gear for bike commuting. Although something tells me REI sells that Chrome rolltop backpack for just a tad more than $5. Or would if it was still available, anyway.

Bicycling profiles former pro cyclist turned professional chef Jess Cerra, whose homegrown gravel ride raises money to fund scholarships to provide post-secondary education for young women in her native Whitefish, Montana. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

New York bicyclists can now legally ride across the Cross Bay and Henry Hudson bridges, in response to a new law requiring bicycle access on all of the city’s seven bridges.

The New York Times examines California’s new Freedom to Walk act decriminalizing jaywalking, which follows the lead of similar laws in Nevada, Virginia and Kansas City.

Great idea. A New Orleans organization is hosting a “Bike N Vote” initiative, providing free bikes to help get young people of color to the polls for early voting.

 

International

Riding your bike could help protect you from the coronavirus this winter. But get your shot anyway, since a study shows regular exercise helps improve the vaccine’s effectiveness.

With shorter days and the upcoming time change, effective lighting becomes even more important. Road.cc recommends eight bike lights to fit the four most common rider requirements.

An Irish writer sings the praise of cargo bikes, but argues that we need to end the love affair between men and their cars if they’re going to catch on. I broke up with my car a couple years back after a nearly 20 year relationship. But like most relationships, it went on long after the love was gone.

Irish authorities still haven’t explained why a hit-and-run driver was behind the wheel when he killed a 23-year old bike rider 11 years ago; the man was was supposed to be behind bars serving three concurrent prison sentences, yet was never taken into custody.

Sadly, shootings, fatal and otherwise, occur on American bike paths so often I don’t even link to them in most cases; in Sweden, not so much, where a 16-year old boy died after he was shot on a bike path in the town of Sandviken. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. 

Finnish F1 star Valtteri Bottas is one of us, racing on a gravel bike when he’s not in the cockpit of a high-powered race car.

Australian Geographic lists the top three bike rides in each of the country’s states and territories for your next trip Down Under.

 

Competitive Cycling

Current Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard says nothing is set in stone yet, but he’s looking forward to defending his title in 2023.

Cycling Weekly examines whether you’re better off competing on a team or on your own in gravel racing.

Like our own L39ion of Los Angeles, a Miami cycling team is out to cultivate a new generation of cyclists while calling attention to issues plaguing Black and brown communities, even though team members are more interested in getting podiums.

Sad news from the UK, where the first British cyclist to win a stage in the Tour de France has died; 91-year old Brian Robinson won stages in ’58 and ’59.

 

Finally…

When you’re a parolee carrying meth on your bike — and probably selling it — follow the damn traffic laws, already. Seriously, don’t do donuts in a graveyard on your ebike.

And that feeling when you’re accused of cheating in chess, and maybe weren’t the cycling prodigy you claim, either.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Metro simplifies — and jacks up — fares, Pasadena unveils bike action plan update, and Halloween rides roll on Friday

October 26, 2022 / / 3 comments

Let’s start with a little non-bike news, although it could affect anyone with a multimodal commute.

Metro is hosting a virtual public hearing on November 14th to get community input on a proposed rate change to “simplify” transit rates.

Although it looks more like a rate increase from here.

The LA County transportation authority promises to eliminate daily, weekly and monthly passes, as well as transfers, replacing them with stored-value cards and fare caps.

Under the proposal, Metro’s basic fare will increase from the current $1.75 to $2, with a daily max of $6, and a weekly cap of $20.

While that will benefit people who make multiple trips in a single day, or over 12 trips each week, it will nearly double the cost for a typical two-way commute with a transfer in each direction, from the current $3.50 roundtrip fare to $6.

Which is exactly how I use Metro in most cases.

A single roundtrip with no transfers will increase slightly, from $3.50 to $4. Meanwhile, weekly costs will jump from the current $12.50 for a weekly pass to a max of $20, while the current $50 monthly pass will be replaced with a max of $80 for four weeks.

That doesn’t exactly sound like a good deal to me, but your mileage may vary.

And it’s definitely not the no-fare transit system Metro promised to study and report back on.

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ActiveSGV shares the update to Pasadena’s 2015 Bicycle Transportation Action Plan we discussed yesterday, which was rolled out at last night’s Municipal Services Committee meeting.

https://twitter.com/ActiveSGV/status/1585063774792601601

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It looks like an early kickoff to Halloween weekend, with a pair of spooky rides set to roll this Friday.

First up is ActiveSGV’s Halloween-themed ebike tour of Pasadena.

https://twitter.com/ActiveSGV/status/1584968380817473536

Meanwhile, the monthly LA Critical Mass rolls just an hour later for their annual Halloween ride.

https://twitter.com/LACriticalMass/status/1585002814618890240

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Now that’s more like it.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

No bias here. A San Diego TV station insists a bike counter on a North Park bike lane is double-counting some bike riders, even though the city insists it’s been double-checked for accuracy while explaining that ridership naturally decreases in the fall when weather cools and school is back in session.

No bias here, either. In a story hidden behind a paywall, the Bay Area’s East Bay Times reports that the bike lane on the Richmond-San Raphael Bridge exacerbates pollution and congestion, directly contradicting a new study showing protected bike lanes have the opposite effect.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Police throw the book at an Ohio man, who was arrested for obstructing official business, failure to disclose personal information and lack of bicycle signal devices after refusing to give his name when cops stopped him for riding without lights on his bike.

There’s a special place in hell for the New York man who rode his bicycle up to an 18-year old Hasidic man and punched the Jewish teen in the back of the head without warning.

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Local

Jennifer Hudson is one of us, riding her bicycle on the Warner Brothers lot, as the EGOT-winning actress, singer and talks how host is named Glamour’s Woman of the Year.

Long Beach is looking for volunteers for the city’s annual two-day bike count, scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday.

Los Angeles and Orange Counties are slated to share $295 million dollars in new state active transportation funding, including projects on Western Ave in South LA, Osbourne Street in Pacoima, and the LA River Greenway in the East San Fernando Valley.

 

State 

A Goleta incumbent says he hasn’t decided about plans for a lane reduction and bike lanes on the city’s Hollister Ave, while his challenger for a seat on the city council is strongly in favor of it, as well as expanding bike and pedestrian access throughout the city.

Tragic news from Kern County, where a 14-year old Tehachapi boy was killed as he was riding his bike on the sidewalk when a pickup driver failed to see him while exiting a driveway; a crowdfunding page has raised over $14,000 of the $20,000 goal to help pay his funeral expenses.

A San Francisco district supervisor was criticized for rolling back the area’s Slow Streets program after one senior citizen was killed and another injured by a speeding driver as they walked in the Sunset District.

 

National

A new four-part documentary series looks back to a ragtag cross-country bike ride, when a group of inexperienced teenagers set out to ride across the US on whatever bikes they could get their hands on.

US Transportation Secretary Pete says Elon Musk’s Hyperloop idea sounds “super interesting,” but Musk can pay for the damn thing himself. Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up.

Flying Magazine recommends taking your bike with you if you’re flying your private plane into an airport near a rail trail, especially if you own a foldie.

Bellingham, Washington is removing parking spaces and installing bike lanes in a cynical effort to run off homeless people living in their vehicles.

Denver pauses its popular ebike rebate program for the remainder of the year, after burning through three years worth of the vouchers in the first six months.

After a Kansas City bike mechanic was injured in a hit-and-run, a crowdfunding campaign raised over $20,000 in just 24 hours to help him get back on his feet, easily topping the low $5,000 goal.

A weekly Houston Pride Ride returned to the streets for the first time since a 45-year-old father was killed by a hit-and-run driver after falling into the street two weeks ago.

A Boston TV station rushes to the aid of a woman who was charged for failing to return a bikeshare bike that wouldn’t register when she tried to dock it.

New York residents are taking out their anger over losing parking spaces for a new Forest Hills protected bike lane by blaming the K-rail dividers.

A 35-year old Florida woman was arrested on charges of hit-and-run causing death and tampering with physical evidence, four months after she allegedly crashed into the 56-year old victim as he was riding his bike home, knocking him off a bridge and into a river.

 

International

Road.cc looks at a handful of new products, including what they say may be the year’s best looking bike helmet, while Bike Biz offers a guide to the latest new bikes and accessories.

Audi claims their new vehicle-to-vehicle system is the secret to improving safety for people on bicycles — even if their massive SUVs are designed to kill anyone outside of a vehicle.

Horrible news from Wales, where a man claiming to be the area’s “the most accomplished car thief” faces an attempted murder charge for deliberately running down a man riding a bicycle, leaving the victim paralyzed from the waste down, in what appears to have started as some sort of grievance between the two,

A new funky looking Dutch ebike claims to be the world’s safest.

 

Competitive Cycling

Gear Junkie offers a brief tutorial on breakaways, pace lines and how to draft.

 

Finally…

A college writer suggests “No Bike Wednesdays” to give campus bike thieves a day off. Who says you can’t do a backflip on a cargo bike?

And that feeling when the city’s brilliant solution to a tree root breaking through a bike lane is…spray paint.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,

The cost of Hollywood traffic violence, protected bike lanes lower CO2 emissions, and Pasadena presents bike action plan

October 25, 2022 / / 2 comments

It’s a strange feeling when someone famous gets killed in your own neighborhood.

News broke late yesterday morning that diminutive comic actor and gay icon Leslie Jordan was killed in a single car crash into a building, just walking distance from my Hollywood home.

Okay, a long walk.

The 67-year old Will & Grace and American Horror Story star was reportedly on his way to film scenes for Call Me Kat on the Warner Brothers lot when he lost control of his BMW, and slammed into a building at Cahuenga and Romaine around 9:30 am Monday.

There is speculation that he may have suffered a medical emergency behind the wheel, although it’s also possible that he may have swerved into the building attempting to avoid someone or something in the roadway.

Either way, we’ve lost yet another shining light to the high cost of traffic violence.

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We already know protected bike lanes improve safety for all road users.

Now a new study of middle-income cities around the world offers the “first empirical evidence directly linking bicycle infrastructure to cutting carbon in middle-income cities.”

The report, from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, shows protected bike lane networks “reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower transport costs, and prevent premature fatalities in a highly cost-effective way.”

One highlight of the report is the conclusion that Bogota’s 368-mile protected bike lane network eliminates roughly 22,000 metric tons of CO2 every year, equivalent to the carbon capture potential of planting 300,000 to 400,000 new trees.

The ITDP will host a free webinar tomorrow morning to discuss the results.

Unfortunately, though, it’s at 6 am here in Los Angeles.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

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The update to Pasadena’s 2015 Bicycle Transportation Action Plan is scheduled to go before the city council’s Municipal Services Committee today.

However, it’s just a presentation at this point, with no action expected by the committee during the virtual meeting.

According to Pasadena Now,

As outlined in 2015, the Bicycle Transportation Action Plan includes the designation of nine dedicated bicycle facilities along with several Roseways, which is a network of low-speed, low-traffic neighborhood streets that are ideal for comfortable bicycling.

The plan includes a pair of projects that are currently underway, the Union Street Cycletrack from Hill Ave to Arroyo Parkway, slated for completion in late spring, and the Cordova Street Enhancements, expected to begin construction  winter of 2023.

Proposed dedicated bicycle facilities and Roseways are:

  • Roadway reconfiguration and Class II bike lanes on Cordova Street from Arroyo Parkway to Hill Street
  • Roadway reconfiguration and Class II buffered bike lanes on Colorado Blvd East from Holliston Ave to the east city limit
  • Roadway reconfiguration and Class II bike lanes on Orange Grove Blvd
  • A two-way cycle track on Union Street from Arroyo Parkway to Hill Street
  • Bike boulevards with traffic calming enhancements on:
    • Wilson Ave Greenway
    • El Molino Ave Greenway
    • Craig Ave Greenway
    • Sierra Bonita Ave Greenway
    • Villa Street Greenway
  • Roseways are planned for:
    • Howard Street
    • Mountain Street
    • Villa Street
    • San Pasqual Street
    • Bellefontaine Street
    • Fillmore Street
    • Arden Road
    • Lombardy Road
    • Arroyo Blvd
    • Raymond Ave

However, just like in Los Angeles, where we quickly learned the unanimously approved bike plan was merely “aspirational,” inclusion in the plan doesn’t mean any planning or design has been done, or that anything will actually get built.

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Culver City continues to show Los Angeles how its done by eliminating parking minimums everywhere in the city.

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In not so breaking news, disgraced Los Angeles Councilmember Kevin de León is still insisting he won’t step down, despite rising opposition.

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Love this one.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

The owner of a Berkeley organic deli says the city has declared war on “cars, street parking and small businesses” by planning for a two-way barrier and parking protected bike lane on the street in front of the business, apparently unaware that such projects usually result in higher retail sales. Or maybe they just prefer parking spaces to money.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Denver is reminding ebike riders that they can get a ticket for exceeding the 15 mph speed limit in city parks. Although it’s not that hard to do on a regular bike, either. 

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Local

The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Cal State Northridge held its inaugural BikeFest on Sunday, bookended by a pair of bike rides; no word on turnout for the free event.

Santa Monica students biked, walked and bused to school last week, as part of a district-wide Bike it! Walk it! Bus it! day.

 

State 

Construction starts this month on the new Santa Ana Gardens Channel Bikeway Extension Project. Which was apparently named after local officials learned there was no additional charge for extra words.

Sounds like fun. San Diego’s Rouleur Brewing North Park taproom is hosting its 2nd Annual Halloween Costume Bike Ride this Thursday. And no, your usual riding kit isn’t a costume.

The San Diego company behind the crowdfunded Babymaker ebike is back with a new carbon framed, ped-assist mountain bike.

A San Francisco park ranger ran a group of bike mechanics out of Golden Gate Park because they didn’t have a permit to offer free bike repairas a fundraiser for abortion rights, though he didn’t seem concerned about other groups in the park; the leader of the group was ticketed for refusing to show his ID, though it’s questionable whether park rangers actually have the authority to do that.

 

National

A new kind of non-flammable, graphene-based lithium-ion batteries promises to eliminate the risk of ebike battery fires.

VeloNews suggests a handful of tools to make working on your bike easier, while Men’s Health recommends the best early Black Friday bike sales.

Next City examines the rise of bicycle libraries in the US, reducing the barriers to begin bicycling or explore other types of riding.

A Portland volunteer group calling themselves the Sith Lord Vader Squadron Timberwolves are taking the search and recovery of stolen bikes into their own hands. The story says there’s a Los Angeles chapter; I’d like to hear from them if anyone wants to reach out to me.

A Tucson, Arizona group is giving out free first bikes to a racially diverse group of 500 underserved kids.

An Oklahoma man credits a worker at the local Carls Jr. with saving his life after the bikeshare bike he was riding apparently hit a curb a few blocks away.

Manhattan’s Borough president suggests parking online delivery trucks in garages or on piers, and making last-mile deliveries by e-cargo bikes.

An Alabama assistant DA is recovering after suffering life-threatening injuries when he was run down by a semi driver while participating in a fundraising ride — even though the intersection where he was hit was crawling with cops directing traffic.

Life is cheap in Florida, where loved ones of a Missouri doctor and National Guard captain decry the lack of justice, after the speeding driver who killed him as he took part in a bike race walks with a lousy traffic ticket.

An estimated 6,500 costumed people turned out for Key West’s annual zombie bike ride over the weekend.

 

International

A Toronto bike shop lost three bikes worth over $28,000 in a weekend burglary caught on security cam.

Two people were detained after the discovery of a possible bicycle bomb at a Toronto airport; the good news is the police detonated the suspected explosive device, but were apparently able to save the bike.

A second bike rider has been killed after a bollards were removed from a protected bike lane in Bolton, England for an Ironman race last year, and never replaced. No word on whether the driver was charged, but the officials responsible should be.

Apparently unable to learn from the above example, another British city recently ripped out a “substandard” bike lane, rather than fix it, enabling drivers to start parking on the sidewalk.

A kindhearted English man asked the court not to punish a homeless man for stealing his bicycle.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a killer hit-and-run driver walked without a day behind bars for leaving an innocent bike rider to die on the side of the road — on Christmas Day, no less — after playing the universal Get Out of Jail Free card by saying he just didn’t see the victim.

Three months after bike-riding Boris Johnson was forced out of office, new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak inside without going anywhere, so he can eat more cookies.

Stokholm, Sweden is pioneering a low-cost ebike-based bikeshare service that charges the equivalent of just 98¢ a day — and doing it without public subsidies.

A United Methodist church in Florida donated 50 new bikes and bibles to help local ministers spread the word in Congo’s Tunda District.

 

Competitive Cycling

Britain was the top winner in last week’s world paracycling track championship.

It was a cyclist’s worst nightmare, as a Canadian track cyclist got back from the recent world championships in Paris to discover that the airline had completely trashed her bike on the flight home.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you have to run across the finish line because your tire keeps falling off. A bikeshare app promises to help you fall in love with more than bikes.

And a ten-year old cargo bike passenger’s take on the new Taylor Swift album.

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May your celebrations be filled with peace and light.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

No CA ebike rebates until next year, demand protected bike lanes on Fountain Ave, and Montebello bike master plan

October 24, 2022 / / One comment

Hope you weren’t counting on that California ebike rebate this year.

Calbike reports the program should launch sometime in 2023. Although we were told to expect it this year, too.

So maybe don’t hold your breath.

And the rebates, which are expected to be between $750 and $1,250 for a standard e-bike, and $1,500 or more for a cargo or adaptive bike, will be limited to Californians earning up to 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

Which is currently $18,755 for someone living alone, $25,268 for two people, and $38,295 for a family of four.

So I’m good, anyway.

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You still have time to demand protected bike lanes on Fountain Ave, which is stirring up a lot of opposition among drivers in West Hollywood — and at least some of the city council candidates.

Okay, maybe request is a better word.

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Montebello is presenting their new bike master plan at Wednesday’s city council meeting, which starts at 5 pm.

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The Port of Los Angeles wants to give your group funding to help get people out of cars, presumably to offset the harm they cause to the environment.

Although it’s unclear whether it applies to organizations outside of Long Beach.

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Santa Barbara officials will conduct a living experiment in what works, after removing green bike lanes separating bike riders from pedestrians on the city’s pedestrianized main street.

Meanwhile, a local newspaper complains about Complete Streets changes planned for the city’s streets, saying the original street grid laid out by a sea captain 170 years ago works just fine, dammit. And that no one can predict what changes will come in the coming years.

Sort of like bicycles, cars, trucks and SUVs did since 1850, which the  farsighted the captain must have planned for, evidently.

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VanMoof meets Peter Max. Style-wise, anyway.

https://twitter.com/CoolBikeArt1/status/1583529431456358401

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Mission Viejo city council candidates discuss ebike safety, with several going out of their way to demonstrate they aren’t familiar with California’s ebike regulations. Or bike law in general, for that matter.

Something is seriously wrong when a road raging Dublin, Ireland cabbie walks with a suspended sentence for deliberately brake checking, then crashing into a man on a bicycle, who wasn’t doing a damn thing wrong. As if anything could justify that, anyway.

In a brilliant display of windshield bias, a road raging Aussie tradesman gets out of his car and screams at a couple bicyclists for riding below the speed limit on a roundabout, apparently mistaking the maximum speed for cars with an imagined minimum speed for people on bicycles.

And nothing fits the category like a 37-second compilation of dooring’s greatest hits.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

We Love Cycling lists 14 bicycling faux pas to avoid, including littering, wearing threadbare shorts, and spitting into the wind. Although the item about wearing your glasses outside over your helmet straps so they fly off in a crash is BS; unless you’re wearing cheap breakable lenses, you want them to stay on to protect your eyes.

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Local

LACBC is hosting their annual LA Bike Fest fundraiser at The Bike Shed Moto Co. in the Arts District this Saturday afternoon. General admission starts at $100, or get in free by raising $250 in donations.

 

State 

San Diego bike advocates complain about plans for painted, door zone bike lanes through downtown La Jolla, saying it retains too much parking and little that would actually improve safety.

Maybe logic isn’t their strong suit. Three months after San Diego officials pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035, they approved spending $22.5 million to widen the freeway through Carmel Valley, apparently concluding that massive highways don’t contribute to climate change.

The state has awarded the Coachella Valley Association of Governments over $36 million in active transportation funds to extend the CV Link bike and pedestrian path through the cities of La Quinta, Indio and Coachella; the completed pathway will run nearly 50 miles through the Coachella Valley.

A Modesto man was lucky to escape with a graze wound after he was shot by a man who then made off with his bicycle.

An op-ed from a pair of Santa Rosa advocates makes the case for reducing car traffic up to 25% by building protected bike lanes. Even a fraction of that would virtually eliminate congestion in Los Angeles.

UC grad student Megan Lynch has kept us informed about the lack of bike safety on the ostensibly bike-friendly UC Davis campus; she should be happy to learn the campus police with shift their focus to traffic safety after 22 crashes involving bikes or e-scooters so far this fall. Meanwhile, university police still haven’t released the results of their investigation into a 19-year old student killed in a collision by a campus employee five months ago.

 

National

The founder and CEO of EV truck maker Rivian says expects to see increasing reliance on ebikes in the years to come.

Good advice, as Cycling Savvy offers tips on how to maneuver your way out of a panic situation.

BestLife recommends the top ten US cities to visit on a bicycle, leading off with surprising choices in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Gulf Shores, Alabama. Although their #10 choice Seattle should move up soon, now that former LA Bureau of Streets Services head Greg Spotts is heading the city’s department of transportation.

Nearly 300 Arizona bicyclists turned out to honor a man who was killed by a 19-year old DUI driver as he rode down a local mountain five years ago; the woman who killed him was sentenced to three years earlier this month.

Awful news from Utah, where a five-year old boy was attacked by a husky while riding his bike to a friend’s home, requiring 2,000 to 3,000 stitches on his face and ear, as well as a skin graft; a crowdfunding page has raised over $11,000 of the $15,000 goal for his medical care.

An OKC paper says the city’s low bicycling death rate is deceptive, masking an unacceptably high rate of injuries.

After years of advocating for safer streets, a Cleveland bike shop owner was himself the victim of a hit-and-run; fortunately, he wasn’t seriously injured.

Joe Jonas is one of us, as he goes for a bikeshare ride in New York, sans his famous brothers.

New York Magazine recommends everything you need to go bikepacking, except a bike. Although that would seem to be kind of important, too.

Tragic news from Florida, where friends say they can’t understand why a kindhearted 49-year old man was murdered in a random attack with a tire iron, by a man who admitted the killing without showing any remorse.

A Florida sheriff called for prayers for a bike rider — and the deputy who killed him in what he termed an “unfortunate accident.”

 

International

A Winnipeg survey shows fewer people ride bikes compared to four years ago, but do it more often.

Maybe their moms were watching. A group of young men surrounded an English man on a bike and attempted to punch him before stealing his bicycle — then turned around and returned it ten minutes later. Because when a mom says “put that bike back,” you do. 

No good deed goes unpunished, as a British man was mugged and his bike stolen while he was helping a family of Ukrainian refugees find a new home.

The UK driver who absurdly claimed his infant son was using his phone when he killed a 42-year old man on a bike was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving, after the jury quickly rejected his argument.

A Dublin research scholar looks to realistic group conflict theory to explain why nearly everyone hates bicyclists.

Ireland is attempting to encourage families to replace cars and SUVs with cargo bikes by increasing the amount allowed under the country’s Bike to Work program to 3,000 euros, equivalent to roughly $2,950.

About time. Spain is eliminating longstanding impunity for drivers who kill; any crash resulting in death or serious injury will now be considered a criminal offense.

A cat rescued in the mountains between Bosnia and Montenegro has traveled through 18 countries, accompanying a Scottish man bicycling around the world.

Cape Town, South Africa’s bicycle mayor wants to boost bike commuting from a lowly one percent to eight percent by 2030. Los Angeles isn’t much higher, but we still don’t have a bicycle mayor — or a goal for boosting ridership.

After a second model from Hong Kong ebike maker Fiido started having problems with broken frames, the company responded with a new five-year extended warranty and a $10,000 guarantee against breakage under normal use. Although that last phrase can be bent a long damn way to avoid paying claims, if they want. 

An Aussie paper considers the push to replace second cars with ebikes.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews looks at the season-end cycling team directeur sportif merry-go-round.

Maybe pro cycling isn’t so green after all. Bicycling reports the recent five-day Tour of Luxembourg resulted in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to around 226,000 miles in a passenger car, or nine trips around the world. Now imagine what it would be for one of the much larger and longer three-week Grand Tours. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

It’s a sad commentary when we have to turn to Wikipedia just to get the results of the Paracycling Worlds. Thanks to the aforementioned Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

https://twitter.com/TeamUSA/status/1584206678580289537

 

Finally…

Why settle for a mere tandem, when you could have a three-seater, complete with a nifty fringed canopy. Now you, too, can electrify your very own velomobile.

And chances are, this is a book we can all relate to.

Thanks to Ted Faber for the link.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Still no Koreatown traffic signal after 3 years, Huizar rides 6th Street Bridge, and NHTSA boss calls for Idaho Stop

October 21, 2022 / / Comments Off on Still no Koreatown traffic signal after 3 years, Huizar rides 6th Street Bridge, and NHTSA boss calls for Idaho Stop

Good question.

It’s been three full years since a four-year old girl was killed by a left-turning driver while holding her mother’s hand in a Koreatown crosswalk.

Now LAist wants to know why nothing has been done to install the new traffic signal Koreatown residents were promised in response to Alessa Fajardo’s death as she was walking to school.

Alessa’s death highlighted a series of failures: by the driver who killed her and — more significantly — by the city of L.A., which long knew of dangerous conditions at the intersection where she was killed, but did not add (some) safety improvements until after her death…

But three years after Alessa was killed — and more than 30 months since LADOT recommended the signals be upgraded (with 4-way left turn signals) to make the intersection safer — the improvements have not yet been made.

Adding insult to literal injury, the driver apparently skipped town after initially stopping. There’s been an outstanding warrant for Indira Marrero since she failed to appear in court two years ago — despite the relative slap on the wrist of a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge.

Photo by Pixabay.

………

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from disgraced CD14 Councilmember Jose Huizar, who left office under the cloud of racketeering and bribery charges.

Apparently emboldened by the controversy swirling around successor Kevin De León, Huizar popped up yesterday to subtly remind everyone of one of his more popular accomplishments, even though it wasn’t completed until long after he was gone.

Like Huizar, De León refuses to resign despite repeated calls to step down.

Although as shameful as De León’s conduct has been, at least he doesn’t face decades behind bars for his actions, or the lack thereof.

………

She gets it.

The acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, aka NHTSA, is calling for approving the Idaho Stop Law.

She argues that data shows the law, which allows bicyclists to treat stop signs as yields and red lights as stops signs, provides additional safety benefits to people on bicycles.

It’s already in effect in a handful of cities and states, while a modified version known as Stop as Yield — which does not allow for treating red lights as stop signs — is law in several others.

Although not California, where Governor Newsom vetoed it — twice.

………

Today’s common theme is cops behaving badly.

A Canadian mountie faces charges for hitting a bike-riding suspect with his patrol car, after two men on a bicycles were seen making off with a large metal safe on a dolly.

And a 22-year old Aukland, New Zealand cop pled guilty to the off-duty death of a bike-riding man, while driving at well over twice the legal alcohol limit.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A white Illinois woman walked with probation after being allowed to plead down a felony hate crime charge to a single count of misdemeanor battery, for confronting three Black men riding their bikes along Lake Michigan, insisting their skin color meant they couldn’t be there without a permit.

Anger is growing in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a road raging driver was caught on security cam driving up on a sidewalk to hit a bike rider; both the driver and the victim left the scene afterwards. Always stick around to talk to the police after any assault, vehicular or otherwise.

A Toronto bike rider was lucky to escape from a road raging driver who swerved into him, before getting out of his truck to attack him. Laws may be different in Canada, but LAPD officers have told me that simply exiting a vehicle to confront someone is enough to subject a driver to assault charges.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Police in Springfield, Missouri are looking for a bike-riding woman and her companion, after they ignored No Trespassing signs to steal an 80 to 100-pound bench.

………

Local

Pasadena has received a $36,500 site grant to improve bike and pedestrian safety.

 

State 

Orange County sheriff’s deputies will host a pair of free, all-ages ebike safety classes in Rancho Santa Margarita over the next two months.

Santa Barbara is removing the green bike lane markings from the center of the State Street Promenade. The bike lanes were intended to separate bike riders and pedestrians, but were ignored by people walking; now bicyclists and pedestrians will be expected to share the carfree street.

Tragic news from Fresno, where someone riding a bicycle was killed in a collision near the Fresno State University campus.

Apparently missing the point of a quick-build bike lane, San Francisco business owners are calling for more study and complaining about a loss of parking, even though the idea behind quick-build lanes is to try them out to see if they work.

Great idea. A resident-led rapid response group is working to call attention to traffic violence in Oakland, quickly organizing protests following deadly collisions.

 

National

Lifehacker offers advice on how to ride your bike in the rain.

Thrillist talks to the “experts” for a list of 16 bicycling essentials every new rider should own. None of which are actually essential.

A Tacoma, Washington bike drive bought in 370 bicycles to be refurbished and donated to people in need.

Fast Company looks at Denver’s wildly successful and popular $4.1 million ebike rebate program.

An Oklahoma man was sentenced to life in prison for the random drive-by shooting that killed a man riding a bicycle; he reportedly killed a stranger just to impress members of a street gang.

An Ohio man wants his coke possession charge separated from charges for the hit-and-run death of a 13-year old boy riding a bicycle, arguing that the drug bust came the next day — even though he was on his way to buy it when he killed the kid.

A Martha’s Vineyard letter writer complains about the two-week closure of a bike path for a three-day music festival, arguing that families and children are routed onto deadly roadways instead.

Lonely Planet says yes, it is possible to be a tourist in New York on a bicycle.

New York is offering a paltry $5,000 reward for the hit-and-run driver who killed a 13-year old boy, who leaped in front of his sister to push her out of the way as they walked in a bike lane.

 

International

Road.cc’s Near Miss of the Day isn’t, after a bike rider’s bikecam catches a van driver actually sideswiping him.

In a major setback for Vancouver bike riders, the city plans to rip out a contentious bike lane through a city park, so cut-through drivers can resume zooming through after being banned during the pandemic.

The conservative Times of London makes a dramatic U-turn by concluding that two-wheels are good, just nine months after demanding licenses and liability insurance for people on bikes. Although they still think cargo bikes annoy drivers.

American Anne Sacoolas pled guilty to a reduced charge of causing death by careless driving in the 2019 head-on, wrong-way driving death of a 19-year old British motorcyclist outside an RAF airbase known to house American spies, where her husband had worked. Sacoolas was able to use her husband’s diplomatic immunity to flee the country; it’s unlikely she will return to the UK for sentencing.

Brussels, Belgium now bans motorists from driving through the city center if that’s not their final destination.

We Love Cycling offers advice on how to cross European borders on a bicycle.

 

Competitive Cycling

Ireland is making a bid to host the start of the Tour de France, possibly as early as 2026.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your new ebike could literally explode. Or when The Cannibal spent twice as long wearing yellow as Britain’s latest prime minister spent in office.

And why tote a bulky tent and sleeping bag on your next bike tour, when you can peddle your very own solar-powered ebike camper van for the low, low price of ten grand?

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

De León: hell no, he won’t go; advocacy groups call for ebike libraries; and what happens when officials give a damn

October 20, 2022 / / Comments Off on De León: hell no, he won’t go; advocacy groups call for ebike libraries; and what happens when officials give a damn
Talk about misreading the room.

In an announcement that was almost universally condemned, CD14 City Councilmember Kevin de León says hell no, he won’t go.

De León is refusing to resign in the wake of a racist and otherwise offensive recording in which he was heard actively participating, along with outgoing CD1 Councilmember “Roadkill” Gil Cedillo, former Council President Nury Martinez and ex-LA County Federation of Labor Ron Herrera, the latter two of whom at least had the decency to resign.

His announcement was immediately condemned by newly elected Council President Paul Krekorian.

Yes, the same Krekorian who singlehandedly killed the fully funded and shovel ready lane reductions and protected bike lanes planned for Lankershim Blvd in one of his first official acts on the council.

Apparently thinking he can somehow survive this, de León said “I’m not going to mince words. I’m not going to deflect blame. I’m not going to defend the defenseless,” before attempting to do exactly that, adding he’ll be “spending the coming weeks and months personally asking for your forgiveness.”

Forgiveness that is not likely to be given, after failing to condemn Martinez’ open racism, while himself comparing fellow Councilmember Mike Bonin’s toddler son to the Luis Vuitton purse favored by Martinez.

Bonin is clearly in no mood for de León’s weakass mea culpa.

As we’ve noted before, this whole city hall soap opera matters, because we’re never going to get action on safer streets with dysfunctional city leadership, particularly with the council’s draft of the Healthy Streets LA initiative due back at the council in a few weeks.

Speaking of which, the LA Times has opened a web portal to help you find how to contact the right city agencies and officials to address various issues.

You know, in case you want to advocate for safer streets. Or complain about corrupt city officials.

Photo from Wikipedia. 

………

And speaking of Bonin, Streets For All has posted video of Wednesday’s virtual Happy Hour with the outgoing councilmember.

………

Yesterday we mentioned Metro’s confusing proposal to reform management of the Metro Bike bikeshare system.

The leaders of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, ActiveSGV and People for Mobility Justice teamed to release an open letter to the Metro board, suggesting that opening ebike libraries and investing in safer infrastructure might be a better approach.

………

It looks like LADOT is finally getting serious about counting bikes, at least on 7th Street.

https://twitter.com/subwayray/status/1582956512519286785

………

This is what happens when city officials actually give a damn.

………

CNN recognizes the Dutch city of Utrecht for the world bicycling capital it is.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

An Ottawa, Canada mayoral candidate is politely taken to task after declaring he won’t declare a war on cars by investing bike lanes, preferring a “balanced approach” that’s balanced heavily in favor of motor vehicles.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A 70-year old Fresno man insists he’s the real victim after he lay in wait and repeatedly shot and stabbed a man he accused of stealing his bicycle; Edmundo Martinez faces 50 to life if he’s convicted of killing Jose Palafox, Jr. Once again, no bike is worth a human life.

A Phoenix man faces charges after he was captured on video circling a convenience store parking lot on his bike while aiming a gun at bystanders; the man bizarrely claimed there was someone hiding in a cooler at the store to justify his actions.

………

Local

The next driver who tries to run you off the road may not be one, after Google’s Waymo announced plans to bring driverless taxis to the City of Angels.

Streets For All is calling for canvassing volunteers to help elect transit advocate — and corgi dad — Kenneth Mejia as Los Angeles City Controller.

Cycling Tips reviews the second-gen Cero One cycle truck-style e-cargo bike from Los Angeles-based Cero. And likes it. I’d get one myself, with the perfect upfront corgi carrier, if I had an extra three grand laying around.

 

State 

California is offering $50,000 rewards for each of four unsolved murders, including a 16-year old boy who was shot and killed while riding his bike in Alameda County.

Great idea. The League of Women Voters is hosting a Bike Out the Vote bike caravan in Albany this weekend. Although someone should tell them that Bike the Vote is a lot less confusing.

 

National

Momentum examines bike storage solutions to help keep your bikes safe and out of the way.

Bicycling wants to know what’s the weirdest animal you’ve ever had to dodge on a bike, after a video of two angry moose charging down an Alaska bike path goes viral. In my case, it was an alligator sunning itself on a Louisiana roadway. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

Bike Portland profiles an adventurous leather goods peddler, who pedals a bike trailer with his merchandise to a local outdoor market every weekend.

Life is cheap in Houston, where an eight-year old boy riding a bike is dead because a driver insisted on distractedly making a left turn while she was “messing with her sandwich;” a month later, charges still have not been filed.

Kindhearted Michigan sheriff’s deputies dipped into their own funds to buy a 13-year old boy a new bike after he was struck by a driver, trashing his bike and leaving him with 100 stitches in his leg.

Travel site Condé Nast recommends the best bike routes to explore New York’s five boroughs.

A Virginia woman tells drivers that rushing is never worth the risk, after her daughter was killed and another woman seriously injured by an 18-year old drunk driver as they rode their bikes.

 

International

A British Columbia letter writer offers a brief tutorial on the differences between pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists, stressing that the latter might kill the first two, but the first two never kill the latter, and that separate infrastructure is the only solution to keep everyone safe.

An Indian college student faces charges for the high speed crash that killed one bike rider, before swerving onto the other side of the road and killing another.

A handmade Namibian bike brand made its international debut at the recent Bespoke bike show in London; the steel-frame Onguza bikes made by Dan Craven, a two-time Olympic road cyclist and Namibia’s only professional cyclist to ride a Grand Tour, retail for four grand for a frame, and double that for a complete bike.

 

Competitive Cycling

Former Vuelta and world champ Alejandro Valverde called it a career after rolling across the Il Lombardia finish line one last time.

 

Finally…

No, no seat tube doesn’t mean you have to ride standing up. Introducing an ebike roadie for weight weenies.

And can you really say you ride a bike if you don’t know how to pop a proper wheelie?

https://twitter.com/BicyclingMag/status/1582793704775077895

 

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Flawed Metro bike map & bikeshare changes, parking reform house party, and odd non-endorsement of Newsom foe

October 19, 2022 / / One comment

We should be so past this crap by now.

A couple stories popped up this week that expose the sort of needless problems that shouldn’t even exist after decades of advocacy.

Not to mention Metro’s repeated lip service to supporting active transportation.

First up, Streets For All sent out a notice about proposed changes to the Metro Bike bikeshare program. Changes that have virtually everyone scratching their heads, trying to figure out what the hell it all means.

Here’s what Streets For All had to say on the subject.

THIS THURSDAY, Metro’s Operations, Safety, and Customer Experience Committee has an item on its agenda to consider a staff recommendation to mostly privatize Metro Bike Share.

While we’re not against this in principle, the fact is that Metro has treated its own bike share program as the odd man out, and not like a real transportation mode.

Regardless of which model the bike share program ultimately becomes, the next phase must include:

  1. A major expansion, based on equity, starting in our most underinvested neighborhoods
  2. The ability to put bike share stations at Metro train and bus stations (right now, Metro’s employee union blocks this)
  3. Treating bike share like a real transportation mode part of Metro’s bus/rail system, not an afterthought. This means real funding and integration into the rest of the system.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

CALL INTO METRO’S COMMITTEE MEETING THURDAY AT 12:30PM

EMAIL THE COMMITTEE IN ADVANCE

The second issue came up when Metro released the interactive map we linked to yesterday showing the agency’s Draft Prioritized Active Transportation Network, which purports to show bikeways, pedestrian districts and first-last-mile station improvements prioritized by the agency.

The problem is, they can’t even get the existing infrastructure right.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton was the first to call out the problem, noting a number of errors in the following Twitter thread.

It raises obvious questions of how we can count on Metro to plan future bikeway and pedestrian improvements when they don’t even know what the hell we already have.

And combined with the Metro Bike changes, makes it clear active transportation continues to be an afterthought at the county transportation agency, and the lack of seriousness with which they consider it.

Let alone address it.

And by extension, the local governments that make up the Metro board, who certainly should know better by now.

Then again, why bother with a million dollar bikeway when they can keep flushing billions down the toilet with more induced demand-inducing highway projects in the midst of a climate emergency?

………

Another notice that popped up in my email yesterday was a reminder from Bike Talk’s Nick Richert about tomorrow’s parking reform house party, with special guest UCLA parking meister and The High Cost of Free Parking author Donald Shoup.

I’m reaching out to invite you to a fundraising house party for an organization that I believe is doing important work on an issue that doesn’t get enough attention … parking reform!

We’ll be gathering at the home of Lindsay Sturman, in Larchmont Village, LA on Thursday, October 20th. Drinks and Socializing at 7:00PM, with a short program at 7:30 PM

Car parking can be enormously  expensive – often costing upwards of $40K per stall to construct – and takes up so much space – an average parking space, including aisles, is 300 square feet. Because of outdated rules that ensure we’ll continue to over-build parking whether we need it or not, these costs are baked into our cities … and we are just beginning to pay the full tab.

The Parking Reform Network is a 501(c)3 non profit organization with a mission to accelerate the adoption of critical parking reforms through research, coalition-building, and direct advocacy.

Over the last two years, PRN has released a widely cited map of US cities that eliminated parking mandates, produced a how-to guide for advocates working to create new  parking benefit districts, worked with Congressman Blumenauer’s office to introduce federal legislation introducing a parking cash-out benefit (HR 8555), and built a membership of nearly 300 practitioners, activists, and academics worldwide.

This fundraiser will support:

  • Grants and organizational support to local reform campaigns
  • Developing presentations and training speakers to educate policymakers and stakeholders about parking reforms.
  • Creating materials to advise government agencies who are in the thick of parking reforms, and need technical and/or communication support to get their plans across the finish line.

Please RSVP via this web page, or email la-party@parkingreform.org, and also let us know if you’re planning to bring a +1.

On behalf of all our party co-hosts: Lindsay Sturman, Tony Gittelson, Terence Heuston, Jennifer Levin, Eduardo Mendoza, Gerhard Mayer, Thomas Small, Abundant Housing LA, Livable Communities Initiative, Hang Out Do Good, Culver City Forward, Bike Talk, Sunset4All, and Culver City Forward …

We hope to see you there!

………

Um, okay.

An editorial from the Southern California News Group says nothing will change as long as Gavin Newsom is governor, citing among his many perceived flaws “diverting” funds collected for road maintenance to “perceived climate-friendlier projects such as bike lanes.”

Yet oddly, they don’t endorse the other guy running against him.

Never mind that anyone who doesn’t recognize that bike lanes are better for the climate than highway projects probably shouldn’t be writing editorials in the first place.

………

Enough said.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A Denver bike rider was intentionally run down by a road raging driver, for the crime of accidentally brushing the maniac’s mirror.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

An apparent homeless man riding a baby blue beach cruiser was arrested for attacking a Catholic priest in La Jolla with a box cutter and half a pair of scissors when the pastor asked him to leave the Catholic school parking lot.

………

Local

Northridge-Chatsworth Patch reminds us that Cal State Northridge is hosting its first BikeFest this Sunday.

An op-ed in the Loyola Marymount University student newspaper says forget more parking, and build safe infrastructure to encourage more students to bike to campus, instead.

A Long Beach man pled not guilty in the September murder of a man outside a gay bar in the city, and the stabbing of his partner; 56-year old Michael Smalls allegedly rode up on a bicycle as the couple was trying to disarm a man with a Taser, and stabbed them both. He’s being held on $3 million bond.

 

State 

An op-ed in the San Diego Union-Tribune says closing the successful Diamond Street Slow Street in Pacific Beach would be a mistake, despite the calls from some residents.

San Diego and Caltrans are preparing to flush $39 million down the toilet by widening State Route 56 from four to six lanes, promising it will reduce congestion, even though both science and experience show it will just result in more induced demand. But at least the project includes a new bike bridge and extending an existing bike path.

A kindhearted Mountain View cop bought a new bicycle for a toddler who was struck by a driver, along with his father, outside the local library; fortunately, both father and son escaped with minor injuries.

A Streetsblog op-ed calls for a dedicated political action committee, aka PAC, for safe streets in San Francisco. They’ve got a point. Los Angeles street safety PAC Streets For All has made a huge difference in just a few short years.

 

National

Apparently, it’s not just the flesh and blood drivers you have to worry about.

Consumer Reports recommends their picks for the best foldies. But you’ll have to be a member if you want to see it.

A San Francisco site argues that while the city dithers on street design, Seattle is demonstrating that bikes drive local business. Meanwhile, Seattle is committing just $8.3 million to fund its Vision Zero program, despite the deadliest year for traffic deaths since 2006.

Nice move from my platinum level Bicycle Friendly Community hometown, which is raising funds to provide a free bicycle for every 2nd grade student in the local school system.

Speaking of Colorado, the state has renamed a classic bikeway as the Mestaa’Ėhehe Pass ride, replacing a racial slur for indigenous women.

Once again, a bike rider is a hero, after a man on a ebike led a moose away from a Wyoming soccer pitch after it crashed a kids match.

The 67-year old person of interest in the gruesome murder and dismemberment of four Oklahoma friends who disappeared on a bike ride was arrested 1,200 miles away in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida; Joseph Kennedy is being held without bail on an unrelated charge pending extradition.

More on the white Milwaukee man seen on video grabbing a Black man by the neck while accusing the victim’s friends of stealing a bicycle from the white man’s friend; despite initial reports that the victim was a boy, he’s actually a 24-year old man.

In another tragic reminder to always carry ID when you ride, a missing Tennessee man’s family finally learned of his death two weeks after he was killed in a collision while riding his bike.

A compact-framed 1890’s direct-drive safety bicycle sold at auction in New York for $52,800, vastly exceeding initial estimates of $4,000 to $6,000.

A travel site highlights three “amazing” bike rides along the Great Allegheny Passage.

A Georgia teenager will spend the rest of his life behind bars for fatally shooting a 60-year old man at a bus stop, just to steal his bicycle. As we’ve said before, no bike is worth a human life.

 

International

Road.cc review’s Knog’s new bike alarm and tracker, designed to fit beneath your water bottle holder.

Cycling Weekly considers the difference between gravel and road bikes. Maybe I should start my own magazine for people who ride like I do these days; we could call it Cycling Weakly.

So much for that. A campaign by London’s mayor to keep drivers out of bike lanes has resulted in just 12 citations in three months.

A giant hedgehog on a bicycle, built with the help of local children, was crowned the winner of the national Tour of Britain’s land art competition.

Introducing a new French-made ebike apparently designed for people who really want to pretend they’re riding a motorcycle, instead. No word on whether it makes vroom! vroom! noises, or if you have to provide those yourself. 

Globalization in action, as Ukrainian ebike brand Delfast introduces their new U-frame Delfast California model; the bikemaker has managed to remain active despite the Russian invasion.

 

Competitive Cycling

A 78-year old former Santa Monica resident describes setting a record as the oldest person to complete the Kona Ironman competition.

A Welsh triathlete is being remembered as a “warrior princess” after she was killed in a crash while riding her bike last weekend.

 

Finally…

Maybe he should stick to driving spaceships. No one has ever had to draw from the strategic oil reserve to support bicycling.

And seriously, who doesn’t need pumpkin spiced, uh…chain lube?

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Video highlights LA Vision Zero fail, missing OK bike riders murdered, and Times endorses Soto-Martínez in DC13

October 18, 2022 / / One comment

It’s been seven years since Eric Garcetti signed the Vision Zero declaration, which committed Los Angeles to ending traffic deaths by 2025.

Okay, you can stop laughing now.

It wasn’t long before the city realized just how hard that would be, and how much change it would require, before quickly shoving it far back on the shelf where they hoped no one would notice.

Funny thing is, though, we told them that. The city held a series of public meetings and solicited comments from the public — without bothering to enlist the advocates who had fought for it.

But we showed up anyway.

One of the biggest things people stressed in these meetings was that it would require wholesale changes in how we get around. Something that somehow didn’t make it into the final Vision Zero Action Plan, which instead proposed a policy of nibbling at the edges of the city’s most dangerous corridors, in hopes the combined incremental changes might somehow make a difference.

You can see how well that worked out.

Another thing we stressed was the need for a change in attitude among LA drivers, assuring the city the program would fail unless there was a large scale reeducation campaign informing motorists that they don’t, in fact, own the road, and that even the best drivers are capable of killing and maiming innocent people unless they learned to drive carefully around vulnerable road users.

And to use the long-abused and misused term, to share the road with people on bikes and on foot, making room and giving them a wide berth, rather than running them off the road.

That, too, was ignored.

I mention this because of this video posted by father and Streets For All founder Michael Schneider, as a driver on what should have been a quiet side street threatened to call the police because Schneider had the audacity to ride a cargo bike in the street with his four-year old kid.

I share it, not because it’s uncommon, but because this sort of crap is all too common.

There are few of us brave enough to mix it up with motor vehicles that haven’t run into drivers like this at one time or another. Sometime literally.

The attitude persists among too many drivers that streets are for cars, and too dangerous for people walking or on bicycles, without grasping the irony that they are the very people who keep that way.

Until that changes — or rather, until our elected leaders care enough about saving human lives to actually do something to make it change — Vision Zero will continue to fail.

And people will keep dying needlessly on our streets.

Photo from LA Streetsblog. 

………

Speaking of Vision Zero, a pair of NACTO executives argue that cities urgently need to fix dangerous arterial streets, which make up just 15 percent of all roads but are responsible for a whopping 67 percent of pedestrian deaths.

And Streets For All is urging you to support a proposal for a pedestrian plaza on deadly Sawtelle Blvd at tonight’s Zoom meeting of the West LA Sawtelle Neighborhood Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

Because clearly, it’s up to us to keep pushing for a safer, more livable city for all Angelenos.

………

It never seemed like the story of the missing Okmulgee, Oklahoma bike riders was going to end well.

But the real story is so much worse than anything we imagined.

The four friends inexplicably disappeared after setting out for a bike ride Sunday evening. A massive search turned up nothing, until their bodies were found Friday — shot, dismembered and dumped in a local river.

To complicate matters, it turns out the men were killed while committing, or at least planning, a crime. Although just what that crime might have been is unknown at this time.

Cellphone records show they traveled to a pair of salvage yards, five and eleven miles from where their bodies were found. One of which showed “evidence of a violent event” nearby.

Police are looking for a person of interest in the case, who also disappeared Sunday night, and reportedly may be suicidal.

………

No, it’s not.

………

This effectively makes the case for why slower speeds save lives, showing the difference between roughly 50 mph and 20 mph.

………

Inspiring video demonstrating that bikes aren’t just for the able-bodied, as British pro mountain biker James Anderson competes despite suffering from Monoplegia, an acute form of Cerebral Palsy.

………

Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Police in New York are looking for the bike-riding man accused of two sexual assaults in the East Side and West Village neighborhoods. There’s not a pit in hell deep enough. 

A British mother of four claims she was forced to sell drugs after failing in debt to a drug gang, after she was busted for peddling heroin and coke by bike.

………

Local

The Los Angeles Times makes a surprising endorsement, picking challenger Hugo Soto-Martínez over incumbent CD13 Councilmember and acting council president Mitch O’Farrell.

Councilmembers Kevin de León and “Roadkill” Gil Cedillo have been stripped of their committee assignments, as pressure mounts for them to resign in the wake of a racist taped conversation that was leaked last week.

People for Mobility Justice is teaming with Metro to host a free bike tour of East LA taco vendors and bike infrastructure this evening, starting at Mariachi Plaza.

WeHoVille gets the candidates for West Hollywood City Council — or most of them, anyway — on the record for their support, or the lack thereof, for proposed protected bike lanes on deadly Fountain Ave. Too many of whom insist on seeing it from a windshield perspective, preferring to protect parking and high-speed traffic over human lives. 

Metro is hosting a webinar meeting tonight to discuss bike and pedestrian improvements near the planned Sepulveda Blvd G Line — aka Orange Line — station.

Metro has released an interactive map of its Draft Prioritized Active Transportation Network, showing where in LA County the agency thinks it should make multimodal improvements

 

State 

No surprise here, as pedestrians made up 25% of all traffic traffic fatalities in California in 2020, with pedestrian deaths climbing 4% over the previous year.

Carlsbad’s Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream is hosting a fundraiser today for a local firefighter and his 16-month old daughter, after their wife and mother were killed by a driver while riding her ebike with the girl in August.

Sad news from Kern County, where a Bakersfield man was killed riding a bicycle in the city early Saturday morning.

San Francisco is headed for its worst year for traffic deaths and injuries in 15 years, making its goal of zero traffic deaths by 2024 increasingly unlikely; researchers blame inadequate and misdirected police enforcement.

More sad news, as the CHP is searching for the hit-and-run driver who killed a man who was riding a bike in Sacramento just after midnight Sunday; the victim wasn’t carrying ID and hasn’t been identified. Meanwhile, a CHP officer is in critical condition after he was struck by a drunk driver while investigating the crash.

 

National

He gets it. CNN’s Chris Cillizza uses Black Panther’s African utopia of Wakanda as a model to illustrate why it’s time to move our cities beyond the failed and destructive age of car culture.

A mom of twins offers a rave review of her first thousand miles on an e-cargo bike.

Cycling Weekly shares some of the best custom and yet-to-be-released handmade bikes from Portland’s seventh annual Chris King Open House, while Cycling News highlights five bikes from London’s recent Bespoked custom bike show.

The Las Vegas Raiders are adding additional bike racks and planning to stripe bike lanes outside their stadium, in response to demand from fans riding bikes to the games.

Horrible story from Michigan, where a bike rider was killed when he was dragged several blocks underneath a car by a hit-and-run driver.

The New York Civil Liberties Union is arguing a case before the state Supreme Court, demanding that cops and courts treat search and seizure of people on bicycles the same as they do people in cars.

 

International

A new international study shows a bike rider in New York is 25 times more likely to be killed than a similar rider in Vancouver, and faces roughly the same risk as a bicyclist in Auckland or Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, Los Angeles wasn’t included in the study.

This is who we share the road with. A Welsh driver was allegedly using Facebook and Instagram behind the wheel, moments before killing an off-duty police sergeant as she was riding a bicycle; he claims it was his 13-month old son using his phone at the time of the crash.  Sure, let’s go with that.

 

Competitive Cycling

An Irish columnist marks the 10th anniversary of Lance Armstrong’s downfall by arguing that his punishment was “draconian and probably excessive,” but caused by the same “bloody-mindedness” that led to his seven Tour de France wins.

Former Italian great Mario Cipollini was sentenced to three years and a fine of 85,000 euros — the equivalent of nearly $83,750 — after being convicted of domestic abuse and threats against his ex-wife and her current partner.

US national road race champ Kyle Murphy has signed with L39ion of Los Angeles, as the LA-based cycling team apparently looks to compete as a Continental team next year, after dominating the American crit scene.

Zwift is sponsoring the first physical location for the LA Bicycle Academy, a cycling team founded and led by people of color to help young people from underserved communities enter the sport.

 

Finally…

That feeling when the internet has misses the point entirely. Or when your only race fan is a monkey. No, a real one.

And apparently, bicycling fashion has changed just a tad over the years.

https://twitter.com/may_gun/status/1582184306453061633

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Northvale Gap can kicked down the road, missing OK bike riders possibly found, and hope for safety once Roadkill Gil resigns

October 17, 2022 / / One comment

LADOT appears to be kicking the Northvale Gap can down the road once again.

Writing for Streetsblog, Jonathan Weiss reports the city transportation agency says construction on closing the gap along the E Line, nee Expo Line, through Cheviot Hills will now begin in 2024, after most recently promising to start this year.

This comes a full decade after the Westside train line, and the rest of the bikeway accompanying it, opened.

The city decided to skip the section along Northvale Road after litigious residents rose up in arms over fears that bike-riding burglars would utilize the path to make off with their big screen TVs and other valuables.

So instead of riding safely and comfortably in a channel behind their homes, bicyclists riding the Expo path are forced to take the steep hill in front of them, while the city forks out tens of millions more over what it would have cost to have closed the gap when the train line opened.

How that improves security, or anything else, for the handful of overly entitled homeowners along the street is beyond me.

Rendering of Northvale Gap Expo Line path from LADOT, courtesy of LA Streetsblog. 

………

Heartbreaking news from Oklahoma, where four unidentified male bodies were pulled out of a river outside of the small town of Okmulgee on Friday, five days after four friends disappeared shortly after setting out on a bike ride Sunday evening.

Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the heads-up. 

………

The sooner “Roadkill” Gil resigns, the sooner we can start seeing the safety improvements he’s blocked for the past nine years.

Although he seems to be dragging his feet.

Speaking of Eunisses Hernandez, it couldn’t hurt to get some bus, bike and pedestrian supporters on her staff, if you’re looking for work.

https://twitter.com/EunissesH/status/1581382822778273792

………

A reminder that LADOT wants to talk bikeways in Del Rey tomorrow.

………

Today’s common theme is ebikes.

Bicycling offers a guide to everything you need to know to start commuting by ebike, but were afraid to ask. Short version: Get an ebike, start commuting. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

The magazine also offers tips on riding an ebike in the rain, insisting you can do it safely with a few simple precautions. Once again, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you. 

Marketplace says the popularity of ebikes is soaring, but not everyone is convinced — including host Kai Ryssdal.

And a government technology site says ebikes are gaining momentum as a solution for climate change and traffic congestion.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A teenage driver was arrested for ramming a bike rider outside Dublin, Ireland, apparently intentionally, in an assault that was stupidly recorded and posted online.

A British driver was fined a total of 451 pounds — the equivalent of $506 — for a breathtakingly close call after he ran a red light and nearly slammed into a boy crossing on his bike.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A Michigan man faces charges for robbing a business before making his escape by bicycle; police tracked the suspect to his home a few hours later.

Police in Ithaca NY are looking for a bike-riding man who pointed a gun at a motorist, for no apparent reason.

………

Local

KTLA-5’s Sam Rubin and Eric Spillman completed last week’s Bike MS: Bay to Bay charity ride from Irvine to San Diego Bay. Although I’m not sure just what Bay they’re referring to in landlocked Irvine.

The Pasadena City Council voted unanimously to include the Arroyo Link in a request for Metro funding after the cancellation of a planned grade separation for the Metro L Line, aka Gold Line; it would create a multi-use path for walking, biking and jogging from Old Pasadena to the Arroyo Seco along the route of the partially built, 1899 elevated bikeway.

 

State 

San Diego’s bicycle-themed Rouleur Brewing Company won gold in Denver’s annual Great American Beer Festival for their Domestique Blonde Ale in the “Belgian-style Ale or French-style Ale” category; 11 other San Diego-area breweries were also honored.

San Francisco follows New York’s lead in exploring bounties to report drivers blocking bike lanes. If they’d do that here in LA, we could all retire comfortably.

 

National

Even Car & Driver questions whether it’s time to reverse the national “Right on Red” trend of the 1970s, as DC bans the procedure to protect bike riders and pedestrians.

Outside reviews ten plus-sized mountain bike shorts for men and women.

Milwaukee residents were outraged by video of a white man grabbing a Black teen by the throat while holding his bicycle to prevent him from leaving, accusing the kid’s friends of stealing a bike from the man’s friend’s yard. No word on how he knew they were the right kids, or that the teen had anything to do with it.

Over a hundred New Yorkers turned out for a bike tour of Harlem to demand a protected bike lane on Adam Clayton Powell Blvd to provide “Black and Brown people…safe passage to Central Park.”

A nonprofit and a local distributing company teamed up to give new bicycles to the entire first grade class at a Baltimore elementary school.

A South Carolina Uber driver faces a lawsuit for killing a man on a bicycle while he was checking the company’s app on his phone; he faces a charge of careless driving for somehow failing to see the rider decked out in a reflective vest, with front and rear lights on his bike, as he rode right in front of him.

A Florida man faces an attempted murder charge for shooting at, but apparently not hitting, another man in a dispute over bike parts outside a convenience store. As we’ve said before, no bike is worth a life. And especially not bike parts.

 

International

Road.cc examines the differences between gravel and endurance bikes.

Cycling Weekly explains everything you need to know before buying your first gravel bike, followed by five gravel bike upgrades to help you go faster and/or farther.

A delivery rider was attacked with a knife by a teen bike rider in a dispute that began when their bikes collided on a London bike path.

The Peak highlights six of the world’s most scenic bike trails, including the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route through the US and Canada, although they rank a Vietnamese trail as number one.

Olivia Williams is one of us, as the British actor rides her bike in London while she prepares to portray the new Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles in new season of The Crown.

An 82-year old English man says he’d rather go to prison than pay a £100 fine — the equivalent of $112 — after he was ticketed for riding a bike through the town center, just as he has for over 40 years.

She gets it. A Belfast, Northern Ireland columnist says vilifying bike riders is dangerous and irresponsible, and it’s selfish for drivers to complain about someone on a bicycle slowing them down. I like her already.

Irish families are reportedly distraught over plans to put a bike lane through a Dublin cemetery. Although something tells me the residents won’t object.

Bloomberg examines the decades-long campaign to reclaim the streets of Amsterdam for people on two wheels. Thanks to Victor Bale for the link.

Brussels’ Minister of Mobility, Public Works and Road Safety says death threats won’t stop her from implementing the city’s plan to reduce motor vehicle traffic by nearly 25%, while improving streets for people on two wheels or on foot.

The Associated Press of Pakistan offers a great photo of a man with his bicycle loaded down with a massive bundle of sticks.

 

Competitive Cycling

Road.cc talks with French road race and time trial champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot, who’s looking forward to next year after suffering a stroke on the eve of last month’s world championships.

American Nielson Powless got his first win of the year in his final race of the year, as his EF Education-EasyPost team took the top two spots at the Japan Cup.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can buy a brand new Porsche for just $11,750. Your next GMC could be a VanMoof. Or maybe vice versa.

And more proof you can carry — or tow — anything on a bike.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Nury Martinez resigns while de León doesn’t, ebike sexism from Sports Illustrated, and murder over bikes

October 14, 2022 / / 2 comments

My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence. 

I’d like to say I’m feeling much better today, but I promised a long time ago I’d never lie to you. 

So I won’t. 

………

Continuing with the week’s theme, former LA City Council President Nury Martinez finally did the right thing and resigned from the council, in the wake of a racist rant in a secretly recorded meeting that managed to do what many thought was impossible.

She almost single-handedly united the entire city.

If only in anger over managing to offend virtually everyone.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times says it’s time for Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, her fellow councilmembers who participated in the redistricting meeting, to hit the road, as well.

Word is that Cedillo is taking some time to consider his options, but de León currently has no intention of resigning, bizarrely thinking he can somehow weather the storm.

Hint: He can’t.

The loss of Martinez and de León is likely to hurt efforts to build bikeways and safer streets, but it’s necessary if the city is going to move forward.

“Roadkill” Gil Cedillo, who already lost his run for re-election, not so much.

………

Talk about not getting it.

Apparently Sports Illustrated is still stuck firmly in the last century.

The magazine followed the lead of countless other publications in recent weeks, making their picks for the best ebikes for all kinds of riders, from roadies, to seniors, to mountain bikers.

But their pick for the best women’s bike is — wait for it — a cruiser bike, apparently missing the memo that women can be serious bicyclists, too, and like to ride all kinds of bikes.

And often better, and faster, than the guys can.

………

Talk about not getting the memo.

We’ve said many times before that no bike is worth a human life.

But now two men are dead, and two other men face murder charges in disputes over bicycles.

A 70-year old Parlier, California man was arrested on suspicion of murder after confronting the man he accused of stealing the bicycle he used as his only form of transportation, shooting him multiple times.

Meanwhile, a Mississippi man faces a first degree murder charge for killing his own uncle with a single shotgun blast following an argument over a bicycle; he told police he returned to the victim’s home armed with the gun to get his bike gear.

And police in Missouri are looking a pair of homeless men who got into a shootout after arguing over a bicycle; fortunately, they both appear to be bad shots.

………

LADOT is holding a virtual workshop on Tuesday to discuss the 2.5-mile Connect Del Rey Corridor connecting the Ballona Creek Bike Path to the Culver Blvd Bike Path along surface streets.

………

With all the crap going on in LA these days, taking an evening to celebrate UCLA parking meister Donald Shoup sounds like a great idea.

………

A new video from the Israel-Premier Tech cycling tech shows the first ride of a group of Afghan women’s cyclists they helped evacuate the country.

………

Be honest. You know you want one.

And that passenger jet on the front fairing is a nice touch, too.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Bicycling says abuse of bike lanes by drivers is killing us, and it’s getting worse. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

A road raging Houston driver nearly ran down a man on a bicycle, then chased him over a mile while honking her horn — with her phone in her hand.

A car full of young men filmed themselves running down a Dublin, Ireland bike rider, apparently intentionally, as one urges the driver to flee the scene afterwards.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A 20-year old Philadelphia man is fighting for his life after he was shot several times by a man who fled on a bicycle.

………

Local

Streetsblog rides the new, nearly complete bike lanes on San Vicente Blvd.

Burbank has put the brakes on new fast food restaurant drive-thrus in the city, even while local residents say it’s too little, too late.

 

State 

Half of the half-dozen candidates for Anaheim City Council who responded to a Voice of OC candidate survey call for better bike infrastructure to deal with traffic congestion. The rest either didn’t respond, or didn’t mention bikes.

Aliso Viejo has adopted a set of draconian ebike regulations, limiting ebike riders to 5 mph on sidewalks and 10 mph on bike paths, as well as banning ebikes from city owned or operated parking lots. Although it will be interesting to see if that conflicts with newly passed state legislation allowing ebikes on trails at speeds up to 20 mph.

Great idea. A new Palo Alto app will pay you $5 a day to commute by bike or ebike; scooters and skateboards qualify, too.

After a bike rider was killed crashing into a bollard on a Sonoma County bike path, the county responded by merely repainting them, rather than removing them.

 

National

A new study presented to the American Academy of Pediatrics purports to show that fractures suffered by children riding bicycles have steadily declined for the last 20 years; the authors credit the decline to teaching road safety and promoting helmet use. Although it’s just as likely that the decline stems from fewer kids riding bikes in recent years.

A triathlon site offers advice on how to remove rust from your bike. Although in my case, removing rust from the rider is more of a problem.

If you wonder why Portland is so much better to ride in than Los Angeles, the sheer size of this turnout for a people-protected bike lane to protest a deadly intersection should give you a clue.

A writer for Strong Towns looks at the bicycling death of a 13-year old boy in Tacoma, Washington, questioning whose child will be the next to be killed on a stroad, a dangerous mix of a local street and road.

Utah has seen the highest number of people killed in collisions with drivers while riding bicycles in more that 30 years.

There’s now a sparkling new advisory bike lane next to what used to be my alma mater in my very bike friendly Colorado hometown, which didn’t get that way until long after I left.

Bloomberg says Denver’s ebike rebate program is so hot, all the available certificates are gone within minutes, while cities like Boston are taking note.  Los Angeles, not so much. Never mind that California’s failure to get its ebike rebate program off the ground is making NASA’s new moon rocket look good.

A Kansas City street is getting a three-mile lane reduction and protected bike lanes.

Police in Oklahoma are looking for four close male friends who haven’t been seen or heard from since they left for a bike ride this past Sunday.

A lawmaker discovers the limitations of the Oklahoma City bicycle network when he starts commuting to the state capital by ebike.

Life is cheap in Chicago, where a judge is up for re-election five years after he gave a drunk driver who killed a man a a bicycle a lousy ten days behind bars, even though he was driving twice the legal speed limit with twice the legal BAC — and even though it was his third DUI arrest. Let’s hope they send his honor to an early retirement.

Still no justice for a Pittsburgh man who died after he was repeatedly tased by police a year ago, for the crime of taking what he thought was an abandoned bicycle around the block for a joy ride.

Heartbreaking news from Long Island, where a 13-year old boy was killed after he pushed his sister out of the way of a hit-and-run driver as they walked in a bike lane.

 

International

Up to 82% of Toronto area residents want more bike lanes.

A pair of European studies show that switching just one trip each week from cars to bikes or or trains can lead to significant reductions in emissions.

The New York Times examines whether Dutch ebike brand VanMoof can help reshape urban transportation.

A new German study contradicts earlier studies showing the health benefits of ebikes is comparable to regular bicycles, revealing ebike users are 44% less likely to hit fitness goals. Although Cycling Weekly says the self-selecting study may not be as valid as it purports to be.

Chinese made Ancheer ebikes are being recalled in the US because their lithium-ion batteries “can ignite, explode or spark.” Which is probably a bad thing, especially if you’re riding one at the time.

 

Competitive Cycling

Remco Evenepoel topped Wout van Aert for the Kristallen Fiets, aka Crystal Bicycle, award for the year’s best male Belgian rider.

Now you, too, can own your very own gently used, secondhand pro bike. Or maybe not so gently used.

 

Finally…

Who says your bike needs a chain? If you’re riding your bike carrying meth and enough fentanyl to kill 4,000 people, don’t ride salmon — and put a damn light on it.

And this is who we share the road with.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjQnLeHpQMo/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=0ab771fe-8b6d-49e6-985c-d6b3f6aa7616

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,
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