Move along, nothing to see here

September 28, 2010 / / 2 comments

To be honest, I expected it.

I’d planned on a long ride yesterday, but once the temperature hit 100 degrees by 9:30 am, I thought better of it. And as I watched it climb up to 115 on my balcony — in the shade — it was clear that the Westside’s unfamiliarity with extreme heat and addiction to air conditioning meant the power grid would be going down.

The only question was when and where.

As it turned out, the answer was 3:23 pm and right here.

It wasn’t all bad. By keeping the windows closed and the blinds drawn, I was able to keep the temperature in our apartment down to a stuffy, but relatively comfortable 84 degrees. And after a mad scramble to secure ice to keep our food from going bad, we spent a pleasant evening dining al fresco at a nearby food court with the neighbors we never seem to spend time with.

By the time we got back home around 10, we had power again, which puts us far ahead of several other areas that are still without power.

On the other hand, a defective laptop battery that recently gave up the ghost meant that I had just enough time to shut my computer down, losing a day’s worth of links and keeping me from writing last night.

And while I could write something this morning, it’s a bit cooler today, with a tropical cloud cover keeping it down to a humid but tolerable 90, and my bike is making me feel guilty since it didn’t get out yesterday.

So for now, you’re on your own. I promise to be back later today, or by morning at least.

Assuming the power stays on, of course.

Category: General / Tags:

Monday morning links: Calling all lawyers, bike plan hearings, share the road — or not

September 27, 2010 / / 2 comments

When I was injured in a road rage incident, I had a hard time finding a lawyer to represent me.

I needed an attorney who understood bicycling, but had no idea how to find one. The lawyers I called either had no experience in bike cases, or had no interest in taking a small case with no serious injuries — and no hope of a large settlement.

And no one I called was willing to challenge the LAPD over a flawed investigation that let a violent assault go unpunished, and left a dangerous driver free to do it again.

Of course, that was over 10 years ago.

Now we have a more responsive police department, taking the hard steps to change their culture and be more protective of bike riders. We also have a more activist bike community, ready and willing to step up to defend our rights.

And we have more lawyers who’ve handled bike cases — or who ride themselves and understand how bikes work and collisions happen.

In the next few days, I’ll be adding a section of links to lawyers who represent cyclists in civil, criminal and/or traffic cases. I know a few personally, and have already received their permission to include them.

But if you’re a lawyer with experience in bike cases who wants to be included — at no charge — or you know someone who fits that description, email me at bikinginla at hotmail dot com.

………

KPCC reports on the hearings for the L.A. bike plan; upcoming sessions will be held on the Westside on Wednesday, South L.A. on Thursday and in the Valley on Saturday, with an online session at 11:30 am Wednesday.

………

Famed framebuilder Dave Moulton says we need to share the road, too, citing weekend stories about embarrassing bicyclist behavior. Meanwhile, an Ohio lawyer says if you have the right of way, you don’t have to share, period; link courtesy of Baltimore Spokes.

Note: one of the articles Moulton cites discusses bike riders who blow through red lights when pedestrians are in the crosswalk. For anyone still unclear on the concept, people on foot are the only road users more vulnerable than cyclists. And they should always, always, always get the right of way — even when they’re wrong.

………

Will finds a source for those hard-to-find cable clamps, as well as a builder for his next fixie. Glendale counts cyclists and pedestrians over the weekend. After a year-long experiment, opinion on Santa Rosa’s bicycle boulevard is evenly split. San Francisco’s Critical Mass reaches legal age. Bicycling takes a ride on the rare Pederson bike. A cyclist is killed in a hit-and-run in Tulare County while walking his bike on the shoulder of the road. Nearly 5,000 cyclists take part in the semi-annual Rosarito to Ensenada bike ride.

Only one segment remains to be completed in an off-road bikeway along I-70 through the Colorado Rockies. Lance joins in on a charity ride in Aspen. On Friday, Maryland will become a lot more bike-friendly. Boston letter writers say enough with the bike bashing. Over 3,000 cyclists converge for Tour de Troit, “just like Amsterdam, with helmets.” A Tulsa-based convenience store chain finds humor in angry drivers trapped behind a slow cyclist; or at least, they think it’s funny.

The Vancouver Sun jumps into the debate over whether cyclists pay for their fair share of the road, finding that bike riders subsidize drivers, not the other way around; readers offer their take, as well. A Vancouver cab driver says late night lightless riders put themselves at risk. One of Toronto’s anti-bike lane mayoral candidates suddenly supports ‘em after all. Despite the high number of biking deaths in London, cycling deaths in the UK dropped 10% in 2009. A woman gets off with probation for intentionally running her biking boyfriend off the road. Turns out London cyclists are honest, after all, but authorities predict a 41% increase in bike thefts for one British city. Two Scotch riders with nearly identical names suffer identical injuries just days apart. Bikes for Bush provides free bikes for children in the Australian Bush; three carbon bikes hand-painted by indigenous artists will be auctioned to raise funds for the program Friday. An Australian report claims cyclists face a 34 times greater risk of being injured than people in cars, based on average distance traveled. Over 6,000 cyclists join in on the India Cyclothon. Friends and fellow riders remember the 17-year old Belize rider killed while training on Thursday. A cyclist is in police custody after a collision kills an elderly pedestrian in Beverly Hills; no, not that Beverly Hills, this one.

Finally, the mystery deepens in the death of the bicycling British MI6 intelligence analyst — who also had high-level clearance with the U.S. National Security Agency — as the FBI joins in the investigation.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Fear mongering at its finest, events & weekend links

September 25, 2010 / / 10 comments

Seriously, they should know better.

On KABC Channel-7’s 5 pm Friday news broadcast, they teased a report on the then-upcoming L.A. Critical Mass by urging viewers to find out “what police are doing to keep it from becoming violent.”

So let me get this straight.

After a week of police and cycling community leader’s efforts to get CM riders to stay on the right side of road, not block intersections and stop for stop signals, the take away for one of the city’s leading news stations was that the LAPD was concerned about the ride becoming violent.

And with one 5 second tease, they managed to plant the suggestion that L.A. cyclists are aggressive thugs hell bent on rioting and/or assaulting innocent motorists.

So the next time a motorist cuts you off or runs you off the road, just remember he’s only acting in pre-emptive self-defense.

And you have KABC to thank for that.

The actual news report — which wasn’t available online as of midnight — was only slightly less biased, focusing on asking drivers if it was okay for cyclists to block intersections. And goading them into a negative response when most didn’t seem too concerned about it.

I have no idea what they said after the ride, or if they even covered it at all on the 11 pm news, since I decided to opt for a little less fear mongering with my nightly news. And switched to KNBC Channel 4, who said it turned out to be a smooth ride, after all.

And evidently, one without violence.

Despite what some other channels might have implied.

Update: Thanks to Aaron for providing a link to KABC’s 11 pm story on Critical Mass; to their credit, it was a much better report than their earlier efforts to frighten the driving public.

………

LADOT Bike Blog interviews two of the driving — or in this case, non-driving — forces behind the upcoming CicLAvia on 10/10/10.

And the L.A. Weekly makes clear that their days as a credible alternative publication are long past, as they demonstrate a surprising windshield bias against the upcoming CicLAvia. As a number of the comments point out, an event held on secondary streets — on a Sunday, no less — is highly unlikely to contribute to the city’s gridlock, despite the Weekly’s exceptionally negative take on it.

Maybe fear mongering is contagious.

………

Jure Robič, five-time winner of the ultra-endurance Race Across America, was killed in a collision with a car on Friday while on a training ride in his native Slovenia. The 45-year old rider was the winner of this year’s RAAM, as well as other ultra-endurance events and a holder of the world 24-hour endurance record. Thanks to Zeke for the heads-up.

Meanwhile, Riverside County officials released the name of the rider killed in Wildomar on Wednesday; 53-year old Lake Elsinore resident Peter Anthony Zupan died at the scene after being hit by a pickup while crossing Mission Trail.

And still no official confirmation on the rider who died after a collision on Mulholland Highway and Cornell Road in Agoura Hills last weekend.

………

In upcoming events:

Bike Talk airs Saturday at 10 am; listen to it live or download the podcast from KPFK.

Volunteers are needed for the Glendale bike count on Saturday the 25th.

The annual Abbot Kinney Festival takes place on Abbot Kinney Blvd between Venice Blvd and Main Street this Sunday; expect massive crowds and scarce parking, so take advantage of the bike valet.

Hearings for the proposed bike plan are scheduled for September 25, 29, 30 and October 2, with a noontime Webinar scheduled for Wednesday the 29th.

The second Folk Art Bike Ride rolls on Sunday, October 3rd at 12:30 pm, starting and ending at the Craft and Folk Art Museum at 5814 Wilshire Blvd. The easy, 6.5 mile route stops at several restaurants, galleries and cultural centers along the way; the first one got rave reviews, so don’t miss this one.

The Long Beach Green Port Fest takes place on Saturday, October 2, with bike valet and guided rides to the event departing every 45 minutes, as well as a guided pre-event bike tour beginning at 9 am.

Visit the Events page for more upcoming happenings, including CicLAvia and Santa Monica’s ciclovía on 10/10/10 and Tour da Fat on Oct. 23rd.

………

Gary says ridership is up 11% in Santa Monica, but bike collisions are up 78% — even though other cities tend to show a corresponding decrease as more people ride bikes. Tim Robbins bikes through Venice. Must be some kind of trend — Berkeley police crack down on stop sign running cyclists, Boston cracks down on rule breakers and Park City police let a stop-sign running rider off with a warning. Forgiving distracted drivers won’t keep anyone safe. Bike Snob says it’s okay to keep riding in the off-season. Salem OR removes a traffic lane to improve congestion. Independence MO bans harassment of cyclists, runners, pedestrians and roadway wheelchair users. It’s not the press who oppose the first Critical Mass in Aurora IL, it’s other riders. Kentucky authorities are looking for a driver intentionally targeting cyclists with his pickup truck. A Flying Pigeon spotting in Boston. An arrest has been made in the murder of a DC cyclist last month; the shooter — just 16-years old at the time — shot Eric Foreman as he rode by, then walked over and shot him twice more after he fell from his bike. Five reasons why your neighborhood cyclist hates you. A Google contest donates $1 million for a recumbent operated monorail system; Reuters says there must have been 149,996 stupid ideas if that was one of the five winning suggestions. The Department of DIY Toronto branch strikes again, graphically asking where’s our bike lane? Fixie-riding cyclists introduce polo vélo to Parisiens. Evidently, Barclay’s isn’t winning many friends for sponsoring London’s bike share program. Cycling England, the agency behind the Bikeability program to teach British children to ride safely, is rumored to be on the chopping block; instead of cutting it, how about exporting it? A promising young Belize cyclist is killed in an apparent hit-from-behind collision.

Finally, courtesy of our Kiwi correspondent the Trickster, comes a two part video tour of Australia’s World Championships course hosted by Robbie McEwen. And Aussie police tell cyclists not to run red lights or ride four abreast — even if they are training for next week’s World Championships.

Think they’ll enforce that during the race, too?

………

In case you were wondering what was in that big box last week...

Category: General / Tags: , , , ,

LAPD warns riders to kick it or ticket at tonight’s Critical Mass

September 24, 2010 / / 4 comments

Lately, Critical Mass has become the face of L.A. cycling for many Angelenos.

And like so many L.A. faces, it’s time to have a little work done.

Following the incident earlier this year in which an LAPD officer appeared to kick a passing cyclist, a ride that had largely passed under the radar has been front and center, as the LAPD has worked with cyclists to avoid any similar incidents.

But even with a police escort, some riders have still taken the concept of organized anarchy to the extreme, including swarming drivers on the wrong side of the street. And causing local residents to complain to the LAPD and other government officials.

And while it wasn’t a CM ride, last week’s incident at the Ralphs on Lincoln Blvd — with cyclists riding through the aisles of the market — didn’t help.

As a result, police and leaders of the cycling community are calling on Critical Mass riders to cool it. And obey the minimal rules they expect riders to observe on tonight’s ride, such as:

  • Don’t run red lights or stop signs
  • Don’t ride on the wrong side of the yellow line
  • Don’t block intersections so that cross traffic can’t pass

That’s it.

No mass crackdown, no hard rules to enforce rigid regulations.

Just three simple don’ts. But riders who don’t observe them risk getting a ticket — or even face arrest if the police feel the violation warrants it.

Of course, the LAPD does have a few other simple requests, like avoiding various violations big and small that they’ve addressed in the past — and which should go without saying — including:

  • Vandalism
  • Thefts
  • Assaults
  • Criminal Threats
  • Drinking in Public
  • Smoking/using illicit substances
  • Driving/Riding under the influence
  • Participants under the age of 18 must wear a helmet
  • Participants should have necessary lighting equipment
  • All bikes must have brakes or otherwise comply with the braking requirements

Now go out and have fun.

But just remember, as Carlos Morales, founder of the Eastside Bike Club said, we need to police ourselves, or the police will do it for us.

………

More on Thursday’s press conference to formally announce CicLAvia from blogdowntown and KABC-7. The Daily News says streets may close for on 10/10/10; what part of closing streets for CicLAvia don’t they get? This is what ciclovía looks like in Bogotá, Colombia.

………

Councilmember Greig Smith revises his anti-bike resolution to allow neighborhood councils to review all street projects. No more need to lock your bike to City Hall’s front railing; oh, and the Mayor took some serious bike action at Metro, as well. Bike plan hearings begin this weekend. Photos from last weekend’s Vuelta de la BiciDigna. Why can’t some bike shops tell their Presta from their Schrader? Ride bikes, do good and drink beer at Tour de Fat, coming to L.A. next month. A San Rafael driver is charged after critically injuring a cyclist in a hit-and-run and driving off with the rider still on his hood. A Florida cyclist watches from behind the wheel as a rider gets hit by a car. In a truly tragic event, a Pennsylvania man paralyzed in a 1993 cycling accident is killed riding a hand bike he was given just last weekend when he veered into the path of an ambulance. Sag Harbor NY students organize a bike train for a safe route to school. An NYC paper supports separated bike lanes, but calls on fast cyclists to slow down, while a writer says more bikes means slower bikes. Upright riders have an anti-Critical Mass attitude. A Jacksonville FL man pleads guilty to stabbing two cyclists in a Memorial Day road rage attack. The death of a Maryland Senate candidate brings attention to a loophole in local traffic laws. The epitome of jerk-hood, as a Kansas City police dash cam catches three men stealing a bike, as police, paramedics and firemen tend to its wounded owner laying in the street after being hit by a car. Three cyclists have now pulled out of India’s Commonwealth Games because of health concerns and worries over accommodations. A preview of next month’s World Championships, while an Aussie academic says let Landis speak. More on the antique tricycle stolen from an English bike charity over the weekend along with more modern bikes and computer equipment. Brits say cycling is cool, but those who do it are miserable and lazy; well, only when we’re not on our bikes. London Mayor BoJo wants helmets for the city’s new bike share program after two riders are hospitalized with injuries. Excerpts from the new Cyclopedia. Former pro racer Mario Cipollini unveils his new bike; very sexy looking, but comfortable? Not so much.

Finally, the view from China suggests L.A. is going to become a bike-friendly city, saying “the city of Los Angeles will try every means possible to encourage its residents to ride bikes instead of driving cars.”

The view from L.A. says we’re — finally — off to a nice start, but we’ve got a very long way to go.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Breaking news: Cyclists killed in Wildomar and Agoura Hills

September 23, 2010 / / One comment

This is turning out to be a very bad week for Southern California bicyclists.

In addition to news of recent deaths in Redondo Beach and Carlsbad, comes word of a confirmed cycling fatality in Wildomar, south of Lake Elsinore, as well as a report of a bicyclist killed as a result of a collision in Agoura Hills.

According to the Southwest Riverside News Service, the Wildomar incident occurred at 8:07 pm at the intersection of Mission Trail and Elberta Road.  The unidentified 53-year old cyclist was crossing Mission Trail when he apparently rode in front of a pickup traveling north on Mission Trail. Skid marks indicate the driver tried to brake and swerve to avoid the rider, but was unable to stop in time.

Details are still sketchy in the Agoura Hills collision; reportedly, a lone cyclist was critically injured at the intersection of Mulholland Hwy and Cornell Rd/Lake Vista Drive in Agoura Hills over the weekend when he allegedly ran a stop sign and collided with a car. Reports are that he died yesterday as a result of his injuries.

More information on both cases as it becomes available.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Cyclist killed in collision with pedestrian in Redondo Beach

September 23, 2010 / / 2 comments

News broke yesterday that a 73-year old bicyclist has died of injuries following a collision with a pedestrian earlier this month.

According to the Daily Breeze, Eldon Johansen was riding at the intersection of Avenue F and The Esplanade in Redondo Beach on September 10th when he crashed with a woman walking a dog, and fell into the street.

The Pasadena Star-News reports that the woman and dog were not seriously hurt, but Johansen, a retired Palos Verdes firefighter living in Manhattan Beach, fell into the street and suffered head injuries; he died three days later without regaining consciousness.

Falling into the street suggest that Johansen was riding on the sidewalk, legal in Redondo Beach unless a prohibition is posted, which does not appear to be the case here. However, a cyclist familiar with the area says that it’s unlikely he would have been on the sidewalk, due to the wide bike lanes on the street.

He suspects it’s more likely that either the pedestrian was walking in the bike lane or that Johansen may have been riding on the wrong side of the street, both of which are common in the area.

Both articles note that Johansen was not wearing a helmet. While cyclists may debate the need for helmets, this would appear exactly the sort of slow-speed impact for which they are designed to be most effective in preventing injuries.

Police note that there were many people in the area at the time of the 7:45 am collision, and ask that anyone with information call Traffic Investigator Jeff Mendence at 310/379-2477, ext. 2721.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,
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