My apologies, once again.
Wednesday was a slow news day in the world of bikes, with barely enough to fill out the most meagre of posts.
And since I’m still dealing with a balky and badly banged up arm, I’ll take this as a sign to take the night off and ice up, before I make things any worse.
I’ll see you back here bright and early on Friday.
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Let me get this straight.
San Diego’s CBS-8 revisited the city’s new “protected” bike lanes on busy Convoy Street to see how they’re fairing, several weeks after they were opened.
What they found were white car-tickler plastic posts that were already broken and bent, commercial trucks parked in the bike lanes, and shopping carts and other debris blocking them.
Then they wondered why they only saw five people using them in the two midday, mid-week hours they happened to be watching.
Of course, they also heard the usual complaints from drivers who couldn’t figure out the new streetscape, or where they could possibly park if they can’t store their cars on the street directly in front of their destination.
Never mind that the bike lanes were built in anticipation of new apartment buildings currently under construction, which will add hundreds of housing units and the people who will live in them, and who will have to get around somehow.
Preferably not by driving.
Hence the bike lanes.
But it’s true that few people will bother to use them if they’re not safe, or safely rideable. Which is pretty much what the station saw.
Now maybe they can come back at rush hour or on the weekend, after they’re cleaned up and the trucks are gone.
Then they could do a far better story about why flimsy plastic bollards don’t protect anyone.
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A 23-year old San Marcos man was arrested after turning himself into sheriff’s deputies for last week’s hit-and-run that left a teenage boy with serious injuries.
Never mind that deputies had already found his massive 2021 GMC Sierra pickup, which matched the debris found following the crash — and showed signs he had attempted to conceal the damage.
Not to mention that the nearly one-week delay in turning himself in gave him plenty of time to sober up after hitting the boy’s ebike.
If he’d been under the influence at the time of the crash, of course.
The driver, Alan Edmundo Reyes, is being held on $80,000 bond on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and reckless driving resulting in injury.
He’s likely looking at a maximum of 30 months behind bars for the two counts, though that will probably be bargained down to a slap on the wrist if he accepts a plea.
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Unlike the foot-dragging we’ve seen from the City of Los Angeles, LA County passed a new Measure HLA-type law to speed up building the county bike plan as streets get resurfaced.
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If you think you’re being squeezed out on the streets, you’re probably right.
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Just in case you still wonder why traffic deaths for people outside of motor vehicles keep going up.
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“Chim, chimney, chim, chimney, chim, chim, cher-ee…”
https://twitter.com/CoolBikeArt1/status/1838643621609804108
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It’s now 280 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 39 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.
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A Conservative member of the British Parliament proposes re-introducing legislation to let bicyclists know they’re not above the law, and let the “small minority” of dangerous bike riders know there are responsibilities they can be prosecuted for. At least he recognizes that it’s just a few people who need to be held accountable.
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The candidates for West Hollywood City Council sound off about e-scooters and protected bike lanes, particularly the proposal for a lane reduction and removing parking on Fountain to install them. And not everyone is in favor.
Santa Monica’s MANGo bikeway is now officially open.
A California Streetsblog board member pledges to go a week without driving, and tell us all about it. Just wait until she learns some people do that every day.
We’re still waiting for Gavin Newsom to sign SB 961, which would require all passenger vehicles to give an audible warning if the drivers go more than 10 mph over the speed limit. Or not.
Calbike is celebrating its 30th birthday, and inviting you to become a dues paying member.
A 28-year old Chula Vista woman has made a miraculous recovery from a near fatal blood clot, suffered days after she got stitches when she crashed her ebike.
San Francisco unveils a plan for a new curbside bike lane on Valencia Street, replacing the current contentious centerline bike lane, although the new parking protected bike lane has to swerve around existing parklets.
The Executive Director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition says the city’s new Biking and Rolling Plan must apply to the entire city, and not carve out Chinatown for exemptions.
A Tucson, Arizona TV station says the return of the annual El Tour De Tucson means big business for local bike shops. Then again, bike events usually mean big business for just about everyone.
An Aspen, Colorado writer takes obvious pride in not falling for the ebike “hype,” saying there’s nothing cool about them and comparing ebikes to…wait for it…pickleball.
A Colorado woman wonders about a strange “very short” mile-long bike lane. Even if that’s a lot longer than a lot of the bike lanes here in Los Angeles, and just as disconnected.
Police in Oklahoma City busted two men for a twenty grand bike heist, and are looking for another man who’s still on the lam.
The New York Times talks with the city’s Blue Angels who found a way to game the bikeshare system to score thousands of dollars a month.
It turns out that Matt Damon, Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Jackman, Pink, Sheryl Crow, Reggie Miller, Rush drummer Neil Peart, Zac Efron, J-Lo and Arnold are all one of us, too.
The co-founder of All Bodies on Bikes and co-host of the All Bodies on Bikes podcast shares her non-racing bike heroes, including a Paralympian physical therapist and the founder of Black Girl Joy Ride.
Momentum examines Canada’s top new cities for urban bicycling, starting with the top urban cycling city on the prairie.
The CBC fact checks Ontario Premier Doug Ford recent comments opposing bike lanes, including the common myth that they slow emergency vehicles. Yes, he’s the brother of notorious crack-smoking, bike-hating former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford.
London is seizing ebikes illegally modified to exceed speed limitations, with most belonging to delivery riders who use them for their work.
Unsurprisingly, Sheffield, England’s new Dutch-style bikeways and roundabouts are drawing mixed reviews, largely depending on whether the reviewer bikes or drives.
A new study from Lyon, France shows that allowing bike riders to travel through red lights could improve traffic efficiency.
A Manilla bicycling brigade is fighting to cut the Philippine city’s endless traffic and pollution.
Velo looks forward to this weekend’s men’s road world championships, framing it as Tadej Pogačar versus the world, while Cyclist looks at the favorites for the women’s road worlds.
Velo also recaps last weekend’s men’s and women’s time trial worlds.
Thrice Tour de France winner Tadej Pogačar admits he used to shit his pants after every race, the result of too many energy gels and drinks.
You can’t sail a modern America’s Cup boat anymore without us. Now you, too, can bike in the glowing footsteps of Oppenheimer and Teller.
And it’s not every day you see a pedaling cow.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin
Photo of protected bike lane in Redondo Beach by Ted Faber.
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Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will make building bike lanes near the coast faster and easier by removing a requirement for a Coastal Commission study.
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The state also stepped in where Los Angeles tried and failed, as Newsom signed a bill banning cities from requiring automatic road widening with new building projects.
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The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition is launching a new campaign to “demand a visionary Biking and Rolling Plan from our city officials, that helps us achieve our transportation, climate, and congestion goals — and makes our streets safer and more joyful. ”
Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.
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Demi Moore is one of us — or was, anyway — riding her bike 60 miles roundtrip from her Malibu home to the Hollywood studio where she was filming Indecent Proposal back in the ’90s, to lose weight after the birth of her second child. Then again, the Boss was one of us back in the day, too.
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Add this one to the pantheon bad headlines.
Because of course it was the woman on the bicycle who hit the car, and not the other way around. And yes, there might have been a driver involved, too.
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It’s now 279 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 39 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.
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An English bike rider narrowly avoided serious injury when copper thieves failed to replace a manhole cover on a narrow bike path, leaving a large, gaping hole.
A group of bike-riding Stockton, California teens caused a couple thousand dollars damage by throwing terracotta pots at passing cars. Although it’s questionable what their bicycles had to do with it.
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There will be a public meeting in El Monte tomorrow evening to discuss dedicated bus lanes and class IV physically separated bike lanes on Rosemead Blvd in South El Monte.
Streets For All endorsed Santa Monica’s Measure K increasing the city’s Parking Facility Tax to improve traffic safety and safe routes to schools, while rejecting Measure PSK to divert half of that new revenue to the cops and other public safety departments.
Residents of San Diego’s Pacific Beach neighborhood are just the latest to complain about teenaged kids recklessly riding ebikes, although the ones shown are better classified as low-powered electric motorcycles.
Police in Santa Barbara busted a trio of suspected knife-wielding bike thieves after tracking them with an AirTag.
Ouch. A Fresno bicyclist was rushed to surgery with multiple stab wounds after his bike was stolen by a man armed with a garden rake.
Speaking of Fresno, the local cops wrote 206 citations during the city’s latest bicycle and pedestrian safety operation on Saturday, including 41 bicyclists and pedestrians.
Bicycling offers budget-friendly upgrades to improve your bike rides. But reading the article isn’t one of them, because you’ll need a subscription to do it.
NPR’s Code Switch podcast considers the question of whether bike lanes cause gentrification, as UCLA researcher Adonia Lugo says says that’s the kind of question you have to ask to be part of the mobility justice movement.
Now you, too, can ride you bike to the 14,115-foot summit of Colorado’s iconic Pikes Peak — home to the iconic Pikes Peak Hill Climb auto race — covering 19 miles and more than 6,500 feet of vertical gain.
Houston’s Metro transportation agency pulled the plug on the city’s $10.5 million bikeshare program.
The Illinois State University student newspaper asks if bicycling is a form of civic engagement. Short answer, yes. Longer answer is the same.
Sad news from Massachusetts, where Parlee Cycles founder Bob Parlee died at age 70 after a four-year battle with cancer; Cycling Weekly credits Parlee with “revolutionizing the handmade bicycle industry with his expertise in composite materials.”
A handful of New York bicyclists found a way to game the Citi Bike bikeshare algorithm, earning thousands of dollars a month by bike flipping — moving bikes from one station to another, then moving them back 15 minutes late. Thanks again to Megan Lynch.
BMX pro Nigel Sylvester introduced a new version of his Nike Bike Air shoes at the Sneaker Con convention in New York, but no word on whether they will be released to the public.
A Baltimore program teaches kids how to fix their own bicycles, repairing their perspectives in the process.
A strategist for a London ad agency says bicycle brands need to reduce the cost of bikes before they lose the next generation of bicyclists.
A Chinese website looks back to consider how Shanghai became the country’s city of bicycles, producing China’s first bicycle in the 19th Century, before becoming home to the Phoenix and Forever brands after the communist revolution.
L39ion of Los Angeles crit specialist Skylar Schneider is making her way back to the WorldTour, rejoining the SD Worx-Protime team three years after leaving to race in the US.
The African cycling movement continues to grow, as Tanzanian cyclist Richard Laizer became the first rider from the country to compete in the worlds.
Belgian pro Thomas De Gendt called it a career after 16 years with the pro tour, including stage wins in Tour de France, Giro and Vuelta.
No, your ebike isn’t supposed to go 70 mph — especially on city streets. Your new ebike could be just one letter from a real schmuck.
And it’s never too early for a skeletal pedicab driver.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin
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The LAPD is on the lookout for a killer hit-and-run driver.
But in this case, she was driving an e-scooter.
The victim was walking down a Koreatown sidewalk with his wife around 4:50 this past Thursday when the woman came barreling down the sidewalk, along with a man on a second scooter, knocking him down.
Sixty-five-year old Donny Kim fell backwards, striking his head. He refused treatment, but his condition worsened after going home; two days later, he was dead.
After stopping briefly, the woman rode off on her scooter, despite the efforts of Kim’s wife to get her to stay.
And yes, it’s illegal to ride an electric scooter on the sidewalk in Los Angeles — just like the sticker on every e-scooter in the city says.
And e-scooter riders are legally required to stick around and exchange personal information following a crash, just like bike riders, drivers or anyone else.
Thanks to Christian for the heads-up.
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The LAPD is also on the lookout for the hit-and-run driver who left a 63-year old man lying in the street suffering from severe injuries, after crashing into his bike in LA’s Vermont Knolls neighborhood.
And speaking of the LAPD, the cops are trying to identify a group of around 50 teenagers who swarmed a West LA 7-11, looting the store within minutes.
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While we were gone, West Hollywood narrowly reaffirmed plans for a lane reduction and protected bike lanes on busy Fountain Ave, accepting an $8.2 million grant from the California Air Resources Board to remake the roadway by a 3-to-2 vote in a contentious city council meeting.
On a related note, WeHo Online recaps the recent Streets For All mobility forum for the candidates running for WeHo city council — not all of whom approve of the decision.
And the city could lower the speed limit on a number of streets, while WeHo Online whines it could make driving in the city even slower. Which someone should tell them is actually a good thing.
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North OC Bikes will host their monthly family friendly bike ride in Fullerton this Friday.
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Now you, too, can own one of the vintage Colnago road bikes belonging to Steve Tesich, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of Breaking Away, who died in 1996.
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It’s now 278 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 39 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.
Meanwhile, San Gabriel Valley residents will soon be eligible for vouchers for up to $3,000 off on the purchase of a ped-assist ebike or cargo bikes, courtesy of ActiveSGV and the SGV Council of Governments.
They’re onto us, comrades. A Washington state letter writer argues that the area’s new bike lanes are nothing more than a commie plot. “Bicycles are tools of commies and socialists. These paths and lanes are for only one thing: to usher in their left wing, ‘green energy,’ fossil fuel-hating, automobile-loathing, bird-killing wind farm, solar power loving agenda.”
No bias here. A Colorado woman confronted a pair of hungry bike riders who made the mistake of stopping for a snack while riding on a path near her home in Summit County, eventually shoving one of their bikes to the ground; she later told police she doesn’t like tourists.
Business owners in an industrial section of Queens complain that gentrification is going too far, with plans for a new bike lane that they insist will put the people who use it at risk, along with their truckers.
A Gloucestershire, England police official is deservedly under fire after arguing that a lot of people who ride bikes “don’t realize that…a close pass itself isn’t an offense,” despite reminding drivers that they’re required to give bicyclists at least a 1.5 meter passing distance, the equivalent of nearly five feet.
Authorities in Edinburg, Scotland are on the hunt for a man who was caught on security cam getting out of a car and throttling a bike rider who was arguing with the woman driving the car, throwing him to the ground.
A 30-year old Hoboken NJ man could face charges after he was arrested for deliberately ramming a goose with his ebike at a waterfront park; no word on the condition of the goose.
The NYPD is on the hunt for a bikeshare rider who maced a 17-year old boy for reasons known only to him after their bikes collided in Central Park.
No bias here, either. A 24-year old man in Northern Ireland walked with the equivalent of a lousy $465 fine for riding a bike at twice the legal alcohol limit, while carrying coke and failing to stop until the cops knocked him off his bike; meanwhile, his defense attorney joked that riding a bicycle or wearing Lycra while overweight should be a crime.
A woman in Singapore will spend the next four weeks behind bars for riding a bicycle she knew had faulty brakes, after killing a 63-year old woman when she crashed into her.
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NBC Los Angeles talks with the esteemed Jimmy Lizama, the founder of LA’s Bicycle Kitchen.
Streetsblog visits the new extension to Santa Monica’s MANGo bikeway, as well as bike lanes being installed on Reseda Boulevard, Mason Ave, Avenue 51 and Townsend Ave. And yes, that’s Avenue 51, not Area 51.
Caltrans is looking for input on a proposed reconfiguration of busy Rosemead Blvd between Rosemead and Temple City.
About damn time. Caltrans also proposed plans to improve safety on PCH through Malibu include bike lanes and wider sidewalks, with 90% of commenters calling for better protecting bicyclists and pedestrians, as well as landscaping the center median, and adding more parking on the beach side of the highway so people won’t have to cross it.
Manhattan Beach approved plans to give the city’s Sand Dune Park a $3.5 million makeover, but removed a planned bike path at the urging of local residents.
Long Beach received a $25 million federal grant for protected bike lanes along Pacific Ave.
Fountain Valley followed the lead of other Orange County cities by tightening regulations for ebike riders; however, it’s questionable whether any changes that conflict with the California vehicle code will withstand judicial review.
A college student in Orange used an AirTag to get her stolen bike back, as cops tracked down and arrested the suspected thief.
Police in San Marcos have yet to arrest the hit-and-run driver who left a teenaged boy riding an ebike in critical condition suffering from major injuries, after impounding the driver’s massive GMC pickup, which showed signs of an attempted coverup.
Sad news from Newark, where a 60-year old man was killed by a driver in a left-cross crash while riding in a painted bike lane. Another reminder that pain’t ain’t protection.
More sad news, this time from Ukiah, where a man was killed after crashing his ebike at an “extremely high-rate of speed” on a local trail.
Portland bicyclists rode naked through the city to protest Big Oil, months after the city’s “official” World Naked Bike Ride was cancelled.
A bighearted little girl in Colorado will forward the new bicycle a cop gave her to another kid in need, after police recovered her stolen bike.
Austin Monthly questions whether the capital city of auto-centric Texas can truly become a bicycling utopia by investing millions in new infrastructure.
What do you do after shattering the old record for riding around the world? Go for a family bike ride near your Chicago home, of course.
New York bicyclists raced across the city’s Williamsburg Bridge for a $1,000 prize — on bikeshare bikes.
After a DC driver was sentenced to eight years behind bars for killing a 45-year old man riding a bicycle, his survivors complain that his sentence was just a slap on the wrist. Just wait until they learn what most drivers get for killing one of us.
Now even the weather is out to get us. A Florida teenager was killed when he was apparently struck by lightening while riding his bike; local residents pointed to a hole in the pavement that wasn’t there before he was hit.
A Road.cc reader is on a campaign to design a new type of road cycling cleat, so bike riders no longer have to “walk like ducks.”
Momentum highlights ten “stunning and unique bike routes” around the world they say you have to see to believe — but the only one in North America is the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route through the US and Canada.
Speaking of Momentum, the magazine argues that Ontario, Canada is playing petty politics, as the provincial premier calls for banning any new bike lane that would replace a traffic lane.
No real surprise here, as a study from a London college shows that price has no bearing on bike helmet protection.
British bike advocates warn that plans for remaking an “incredibly popular” multi-use path are too narrow and will lead to safety issues, with bats — yes, bats — given twice as much space as bicycles.
A “heartless hit-and-run driver” will spend the next six years behind bars, on his return to the UK after fleeing the country for four years.
A Brussels, Belgium newspaper examines what’s holding bicycling back in the city, arguing that it isn’t productive to frame it as just bikes versus cars.
A carfree man finds himself called the “Bicycle-Karen” upon moving back to Iceland after years in more bike-friendly European cities, because of his complaints about the way bike riders are treated in the country.
Belgian cycling star Wout van Aert signed sport’s first-ever lifetime contract, committing to ride for Team Visma – Lease a Bike until he quits professional cycling.
Who needs a lawnmower when you have a bicycle? Your next ebike could come from the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team.
And maybe bike shops could stop shaming people with poorly maintained bikes.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin
Enough, already.
For the third time in just the last five days, someone has been killed riding a bicycle in Southern California.
And this time, it’s clear there was nothing victim could have done to avoid it.
San Diego’s Fox 5 is reporting that a 70-year old man was killed when he was left-crossed by a 92-year old driver in the city’s Roseville/Fleet Ridge neighborhood Saturday afternoon.
The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding east on Evergreen Street at Cañon Street around 2:38 pm, when the woman turned left into his path. He hit her right rear door, and died after being taken to a local hospital.
The driver remained at the scene and was not injured.
A crash like this should raise the issue of how old is too old to drive. But sadly, it probably won’t.
Anyone with more information is urged to call the San Diego Police Department at 888/580-8477.
This is at least the 39th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the tenth that I’m aware of in San Diego County.
That’s more than one every month.
More bad news while I was out of commission this week.
Multiple sources are reporting that a 93-year old man was killed by a driver while riding his bike in Westminster.
Or maybe he was 92, and from Fountain Valley.
The victim was struck around 4:15 pm while riding at Newland Street and Bolsa Ave.
The man, who has not been publicly identified, was pronounced dead at the scene, despite the efforts of paramedics.
For once, the driver stuck around afterwards. Westminster police said drugs or alcohol didn’t appear to play a role in the crash.
There’s no word on how the crash occurred, or who may have been at fault. Except that anyone who can still ride a bicycle at that age deserved better.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Westminster Police watch commander at 714/548-3767.
This is at least the 38th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and ninth that I’m aware of in Orange County — a rate of one every month.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.
Thanks to Arthur W. Bauer for the heads-up.