Stop whatever you’re doing — like reading this, for instance — and sign this petition in support of AB 2197.
You’ll find my signature there among the 800 plus current signees.
The bill, currently before the state assembly, would require every car sold in California to leave the dealership with some form of license plates.
Currently, drivers have up to 90 days to license their cars. But some never do, as you may have noticed; if not, try counting all the unlicensed cars, trucks and SUVs you see the next time you ride.
And imagine how the police would find them if one were to hit you and take off, even if witnesses were able to give a description of the vehicle.
Without a plate number, hit-and-run drivers too often get away with it.
And too often, we pay the price.
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I’m told Burbank equestrians are attempting a land grab by demanding that bikes be banned entirely from the Mariposa bridge over the LA River.
The bridge was originally built to provide bike riders, pedestrians and horse riders access to both sides of the river near Griffith Park. The proposal would prevent cyclists from even walking their bikes across the bridge, as most do now.
The City Council will take up the matter on Tuesday, May 6th at pm, Burbank City Hall, 275 E. Olive.
Thanks to Mike Kim for the heads-up.
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LocalA real estate developer proposes putting a 9-mile extension of the LA River bike path directly on the concrete riverbed through Downtown LA. Sounds good in theory, but wouldn’t that adversely affect plans to restore the river to a more natural state?
The next Spoke(n) Art Ride rolls this Saturday, while the USC Bicycle Coalition invites you to join them in biking to the beach the same day.
Mark your calendar for the first bike-in movie of the year on April 26th at Reseda Park on the LA River.
Pasadena gets a brief open streets, aka ciclovia, event of their own on Saturday, May 17th, while Glendale offers the Jewel City Fun and Fitness Ride the next day.
CICLE’s next bike Traffic Basics Class will be held at Caltech on June 7th.
A double-amputee Marine will arrive in Long Beach on Friday after a 5,200 mile cross country bike trip driven by prosthetic legs.
State
In a remarkable display of common sense, Redlands builds a new bike trail after a dispute over whether riders are allowed on an access road.
NACTO brings their Cities for Cycling Road Show to Oakland; maybe they’ll make it down here eventually. Meanwhile, Caltrans has finally joined the 21st Century by endorsing the NACTO guide in a surprise announcement.
A three-year old San Francisco boy is hit by a truck, even though he was riding his bike in a crosswalk with the walk signal and family members nearby.
Yo, Sacramento Bee — what’s wrong with this sentence? “Many drivers similarly are discourteous toward the rare cyclists who do obey rules of the road.”
Rare my ass.
National
A Muncie IN man is arrested for intentionally running down a bike rider, telling police that drivers have the right-of-way and cyclists were taking up the whole road. He also claimed he hit the rider because the cyclist somehow struck his driver’s side mirror — even though the rider was on his right.
A Boston writer explains why he rides a bike, and why you should, too.
Two Iraq veterans are biking from Boston to Seattle in memory of a fallen fellow Marine.
A New York Community Board bars on-street bike corrals to protest the imaginary war on cars.
An Alexandria VA writer says becoming friendlier to bikes shouldn’t come at the expense of pedestrians, something I’d have to agree with.
A Tennessee town anticipates up to 500 cyclists for the fourth annual Pedal for Paws event to raise money for spaying and neutering. So who wants to bring something like that to LA?
International
In tragic examples of what not to do, a London cyclist is killed jumping a red light, while another celebrated his 21st birthday by getting drunk — then riding into the path of an oncoming bus.
British Cycling says it’s succeeding in getting more women on the saddle.
A 25-year old rider gives up on pro cycling in protest of his 15-month doping suspension.
An Aussie paper gets its knickers in a serious twist over bike riding young women taking a selfie.
Finally…
Police in my hometown find a fleeing driver locked in the restroom of a nearby auto parts store after she runs away from a collision with a bike rider, leaving her car behind.
And would you ride a big wheel bike with hind legs instead of wheels?
