My apologies once again.
I’ve been battling a sick migraine all week, which got exponentially worse Wednesday. After battling it all day, I’m giving up on working and will try to sleep it off.
Hopefully, we’ll be back on Friday to catch up on what we missed.
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Breaking news, as a man riding an ebike was fatally shot in LA’s Mid-Wilshire neighborhood Tuesday afternoon.
And that’s about all we know right now.
The victim was shot multiple times while riding in the 900 block of South Victoria Ave around 4:15 pm.
The shooters reportedly fled in a dark blue or purple sedan.
Police don’t yet know the identity of the victim, or any reason for the shooting. It’s also unknown if this was a case of road rage, or if the shooters may have known the victim.
Hopefully, we’ll learn more as the investigation moves forward.
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It’s now 314 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And a full 40 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.
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More fallout from Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s war on bike lanes, as one site says the bill to restrict them contradicts experience, science and safety, and another says it’s just taking the province backwards.
The owner of an Oxford, England “ultra-low emission courier company,” aka a cargo bike delivery firm, warns that bicyclists and drivers are “warring factions, shaking angry fists and hurling expletives at each other.”
Damn. A Japanese truck driver turns himself in after the “worst close pass ever,” as he’s shown on video nearly brushing a bike rider — and somehow, commenters still find a way to blame the guy on the bike.
Dockless Lime bikes are accused of being a “constant menace” to London cabbies due to the “totally selfish actions” of riders. Because we all know cab drivers go out of their way to share the road and show consideration for other road users.
A Singapore resident questions why bicyclists continue to ride on the city’s elevated bridges, despite clearly displayed signs telling them to dismount. That’s easy. Dismounting and walking is inconvenient, time-delaying and more difficult than riding, especially with cleats — even if it is rude.
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Streets For All offers their voter guide for Tuesday’s election.
Streetsblog takes a look at Westwood’s new Broxton pedestrian plaza.
The Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering will host a community meeting to discuss filling a gap on the LA River bike path through the San Fernando Valley tonight.
A Fresno bike rider was hospitalized with unknown injuries after they were struck by an undercover cop in an apparent unmarked vehicle.
No shit. San Francisco Streetsblog’s Roger Rudick says the local cops need to stop mindlessly exonerating killer drivers, arguing the hypocrisy shown in investigating two recent crashes is astounding.
Sad news from Oakland, where a 44-year old Emeryville man was killed when he apparently crashed his bike into a guardrail.
More sad news, this time from Cloverdale, where an 11-year old boy was killed in a freak accident when he fell off his bicycle, and his handlebars hit his stomach.
Inertia rates the year’s best e-cargo bikes.
A new study published in the journal of the American College of Sports Medicine shows that riding a bicycle over the course of your lifetime can result in a significant decrease in knee pain and osteoarthritis. It worked for me; I was told I needed a knee replacement nearly 30 years ago, and was able to put it off for another 25 years.
Tariffs on ebikes have almost always “raised consumer prices and hurt sales.”
Police in Texas are on the lookout for thieves who stole a U-Haul truck, and used it to make off with $60,000 worth of ebikes from a New Braunfels bike shop.
Momentum lists their top urban bikewear and bicycling gear finds for the fall season, along with the best upright commuter bikes.
Momentum also examines “amazing examples” of bicycling solutions from cities around the world. None of which can be found in Los Angeles, or anywhere else in North America.
Topping off our Momentum trifecta, or rather quadfecta, the magazine notes seven reasons bicycles are perfect for the 15-minute city.
The Alpecin Cycling WorldTour team says you really should try riding gravel.
A Norwegian master’s student attempts to quantify the impact large transportation infrastructure like railways or highways have on bicyclists, a phenomenon known as the barrier effect.
Velo highlights the best gravel bikes from the Bespoked Dresden show, including one with a frame made entirely of wood.
The stages were announced for next year’s Tour de France, including a stage up the “evil” Mont Ventoux; IDL Pro Cycling says the new route gives hope to cyclists not named Pogačar, Vingegaard or Evenepoel.
The longest ever edition of the modern Tour de France Femmes was also announced, featuring the Col de Joux-Plane and a “brutal” Col de la Madeleine summit finish.
Why just ride a bike when you can peddle your way to the America’s Cup? Your next golf cart could be a funky three-wheeled ebike.
And why trip over your bike when you can levitate it?
Thanks to Steven for the link.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin
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Good news for San Fernando Valley bike riders.
US Representative Tony Cárdenas presented Los Angeles officials with a ceremonial check for $650,000 to help close a 2.7-mile gap between the Chandler Bike Path and Orange Line Bike Path.
The federal grant will help create a continuous 20-mile-long combination of protected, separated and offroad bikeways between Chatsworth and Burbank.
Thanks to Lionel Mares for the heads-up.
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Yes, please.
An alliance of the five largest providers in the UK’s cycle to work program has issued a manifesto to advance the country’s bicycle community.
The Manifesto for Cycle Commuting outlines a series of strategic proposals based on exclusive data commissioned through YouGov, including:
Maybe we need to do the same thing over here.
Okay, no maybe about it.
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Last week, we mentioned a a ten-year old Irvine boy who was reportedly bitten by a coyote while riding his bicycle on the way to school.
Now comes word that no coyote DNA was found on his clothing, suggesting that he was probably bitten by your basic, garden variety stray dog.
Thanks to Don Sanders for the heads-up.
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We keep saying it. Bikes are good for business.
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So that’s where “war on cars” came from.
Figures.
Meanwhile, a Canadian news site suggests the Ontario premier’s attack on bike lanes could be a smokescreen for more highway building.
A Toronto writer accuses Premier Ford of making life more dangerous for the city’s delivery riders.
And a writer for Canada’s conservative — small C — National Post says the left is losing the battle over bike lanes, “as it should,” because traffic flow is what matters most. Bicycling is neither liberal or conservative, but should be a viable option for anyone, regardless of political leanings.
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Evidently, killing one of us just once isn’t enough for some drivers.
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It was man against machine Saturday, as Mathieu van der Poel defeated multiple world rally champion Sébastien Loeb in a head-to-head matchup.
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It’s now 313 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And a full 40 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.
While we can’t manage to get such a simple program off the ground, the UK’s Cycle to Work Program has helped over 2 million people buy bicycles to commute to their jobs, with much more to come.
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Talk about not taking a crime seriously. Three Portland men face charges of charges of fourth-degree assault and reckless endangering for boobytrapping a bike path by stringing a spiderweb of wires across it, injuring a woman who unknowingly rode her bike into it. Maybe someday, someone, somewhere will actually prosecute people like that on terrorism charges for deliberately attempting to harm innocent people simply because they don’t like bikes.
No bias here. A conservative — again, small C — New York councilmember instructs everyone to be civil at a public meeting to to discuss a proposed bike lane, before nearly igniting a brawl by standing on a chair and shouting that opponents of the greenway should pick up and leave because their opinions wouldn’t be counted, before storming out.
No bias here, either. A Conservative — capital C — English councilor was criticized for a “reprehensible” rant arguing that “Lycra louts” who ride in the roadway instead bike lanes, which are often blocked or somehow substandard, deserve to suffer the consequences.
It’s a well-deserved three years and eight months behind bars for “very enraged” British motorist who deliberately rammed a 67-year old man off his bicycle, resulting in “serious, severe and long-lasting” injuries; he will also be banned from driving for nine years. Let’s hope drivers take license suspensions more seriously over there than they are here.
A Vietnamese website asks whether the problem of people bicycling on prohibited roads can ever be solved, arguing that “people disregard the law and ride bicycles on prohibited roads is considered an act that poses a risk of serious traffic accidents.”
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This is who we share the road with. A boy riding a minibike was killed in a hit-and-run after laying down his motorbike in a Koreatown intersection and getting struck by a driver, who fled the scene.
Calbike celebrates their 30th anniversary, while acknowledging that their work for safety isn’t finished.
Sad news from Berkeley, where an unconfirmed comment reports a bike rider was killed in a solo crash. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.
An Amazon delivery driver was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run crash that left a 14-year old Castro Valley boy with minor injuries, and “demolished” the front wheel of the boy’s bike. However, the CHP didn’t seem very interested.
San Francisco unveiled a one-block long protected bike lane directly in front of city hall, while leaving the rest of the street what Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick calls a “shit show.” Which is pretty much the definition of putting lipstick on a pig. Unless you’re into that sort of thing, of course.
More sad news, as a 20-year old man was killed when he was run down by the driver of a semi while riding his bicycle in a Sacramento industrial neighborhood.
Megan Lynch also points to a Davis sidewalk to demonstrate how badly some sidewalk dining areas are done, leaving almost no room to get by — let alone walk a bike.
Turning old mountain bikes into new cargo bikes.
A writer for Cycling Savvy demonstrates how to tigger a vehicle detector embedded in the roadway. Which can be pretty damn complicated sometimes.
Bicycling offers the health benefits of riding an ebike. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else, so you’re on your own if the magazine blocks you.
In yet another Arizona bicycling mass casualty event, a 21-year old Tempe was busted for crashing into a group of bicyclists, sending three people to the hospital. Although the three misdemeanor counts will likely result in a slap on the wrist, if that.
A couple of Arizona universities are collaborating on creating a virtual dashcam for bicycles, replacing the handlebar plugs with a camera and sensors to detect any vehicle passing within three feet, offering an audio/visual warning for the rider, as well as recording a video to capture the license plate of the vehicle, with a time and location stamp.
Colorado Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert, the pistol-packing former bar owner kicked out of a “Beetlejuice” musical for getting too frisky with her date, is now taking aim at bicycling, inserting a provision in a GOP bill to remove the bicycling benefit for Dept. of the Interior staffers who bike to work.
A New York state judge put the brakes on a planned bike lane through an NYC industrial zone, after businesses along the route accused the city of bypassing a required environmental review.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. “If you design a city just for cars, you fail everyone, including the drivers.”
Oops. Evidently, the exact movements of world leaders — including Joe Biden, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris — can be tracked by the Strava apps of their bodyguards.
Momentum argues that bicycling delivers the freedom that cars can only promise.
Tragic news from Scotland, where a former rugby star died of a heart attack, just one day after completing a 1,000 mile fundraising ride; Ken MacAulay raised the equivalent of more than $18,000 for four different charities. He was 66.
She gets it. An Irish public health physician says we have to “wean ourselves off our love of large, fossil fuel-burning cars” if we’re going to meet climate and traffic safety goals.
Momentum says the Paris Olympics bicycle revolution offers lessons for Los Angeles, as well as other cities around the globe.
Even in the Netherlands, two out of five people are bothered by blinding bike lights. Which is why I angle mine down so they don’t shine in people’s eyes.
A star-struck Chinese man rode his bicycle over 8,000 miles from China to Saudi Arabia to meet soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for all of one minute.
Tragic news from British Columbia, where 41-year old two-time provincial cyclocross and national track champ Lindsay Burgess was killed in a collision with a pickup driver, who apparently strayed onto a poorly marked cycling race course.
A new documentary shows the reaction in the peloton when Mark Cavendish broke the record for most Tour de France stage wins.
Radio France questions the dominance of Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, implying something fishy is going on, since neither was outstanding as a junior cyclist.
A writer for Cycling Weekly questions where the country’s next generation of cyclists will come from if the Tour de France is no longer broadcast on free TV. Probably the same place they do on this side of the pond.
Velo offers the “ultimate” guide to this year’s gravel racing season.
Velo also says at 6’7″, NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller is breaking the cycling mold, which only motivates him to try harder.
If you’re going to steal a bicycle in broad daylight, always wear a bike helmet so people will think it could be yours. Now you, too, can be replaced by AI — even on your bicycle.
And no, there’s nothing new about road rage or fighting over bikeways.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin
Another day, another bicyclist killed in the Inland Empire.
According to KTLA-5, a man walking his bicycle in Rialto was collateral damage in a crash between two drivers — including one who was under the influence.
“Preliminary information indicates the female driver of the Dodge Caravan was driving southbound on Riverside Avenue and was turning left to go east on Etiwanda and failed to yield, [leading] the black Audi to collide with the Caravan,” Sgt. Smith confirmed to KTLA. “[The collision] caused the Caravan to go onto the northeast corner of the sidewalk, striking the pedestrian.”
The collision occurred around 6:26 pm Sunday at the intersection of Etiwanda Ave and Riverside Ave in Rialto.
The victim, identified only as a 50-year old man, died after being taken to a hospital.
A two-year old boy who was riding in the Audi with his father was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, as was the 32-year old driver of the other vehicle; police planned to arrest her for DUI upon her release.
The station oddly notes that the victim’s bicycle did not appear to have suffered significant damage.
Just the person who had been walking it.
This is at least the 45th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
My apologies. I’m not feeling well tonight, so no new post for Monday.
Hopefully, we’ll be back tomorrow.
Once again, someone riding a bicycle in Southern California has run down by a heartless coward, and left to die in the street.
This time in Riverside.
According to My News LA, the victim was struck while riding on Streeter Ave just north of Lantana Street around 7:55 pm Saturday.
The bike rider, who has not been publicly identified, died at the scene.
Unfortunately, that’s all we know right now. There’s no word on how the crash happened, or any description of the suspect vehicle or the person responsible.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Riverside Police Department at 951/826-8720, or email RMcHugh@RiversideCA.gov.
This is at least the 44th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in Riverside County; however, it appears the first one in the county since early May.
Sixteen of those SoCal deaths have been hit-and-runs.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and their loved ones.