Before we start, let’s take a moment to thank Cohen Law Partners for renewing their sponsorship of this site for another year.
It’s thanks to them, and our other sponsors, that I can to do this full-time, and keep bringing you all the best bike news and advocacy every day.
Hopefully, you never need a good bike lawyer. But I’d trust any one of the people over there on the right if it was my life and rights on the line.
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BikeLA invites you to kick off your CicLAvia weekend festivities with their Earth Month edition of the Cruise & Connect ride series this Saturday.
The advocacy nonprofit, formerly knows as the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, aka LACBC, promises a 15-mile “relaxed and fun-filled ride along the scenic LA River Bike Path.”
That’s followed the next day by the Mid-City meets Pico Union CicLAvia, the second of eight planned open streets events presented by CicLAvia and Metro this year, including two new CicLAminis.
Best of all, California’s seemingly endless series of atmospheric rivers resulted in a disaster declaration for most of the state, including Los Angeles County.
Which means you have an extra six months to do your taxes. So you can enjoy a bike-filled weekend without worrying about getting them done.
Thanks to Atticuz for the heads-up.
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Speaking of BikeLA, the advocacy group is helping bicycle researchers at Portland State University conduct a survey for ebike owners.
Do you own a e-bike? Help researchers learn more about how people use their e-bikes. Take this survey for a chance to win one of 20 $50 Visa gift cards & 3 Topo Designs backpacks. @LEVresearch @peopleforbikes https://t.co/nwtra9aZlD
— BikeLA (@heybikela) April 10, 2023
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Former Culver City Councilmember Alex Fisch continues to fight for the Complete Streets makeover of downtown Culver City, despite the conservative NIMBY takeover of the council that ousted him.
https://twitter.com/AlexFischCC/status/1645634068363759616
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New York resurrects early rock and roll legend Chubby Checker to rebrand the Dutch Reach as the New York Twist in an effort to prevent doorings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEEqUud8YaI
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on rolling.
A Las Vegas writer explores a “spectacular” 34-mile trail through the foothills of Boulder City. But has to dodge a lost motorist blissfully traveling along the paved pathway.
No bias here. NIMBYs in New York’s wealthy Upper West Side are getting out the torches and pitchforks to fight a plan to convert an abandoned newsstand into an ebike charging stand and rest space for low income delivery workers, calling it a “horrendously inappropriate location” and a “very, very dangerous thing to do.”
But sometimes it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A San Antonio bike rider apparently faked a crash to rob a Good Samaritan who stopped to help. Although the story is hidden behind a paywall, so it’s hard to say for sure.
A Chinese man learns the hard way that when you’re smuggling 6,000 microSD cards hidden inside your bicycle, try not to look so guilty when you go through customs.
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Local
Streetsblog offers more information about the new Westwood Connected campaign announced by Streets For All last week to improve safety and connectivity for people who choose to travel the car-choked Westwood streets by some other means.
Metro is offering free Earth Day rides on Saturday, April 22 in recognition of “transit’s role in improving our environment and public health…and fighting climate change.” And yes, that includes the full Metro Bike system.
State
Bad news from San Jose, where police are investigating a hit-and-run that left a woman riding a bicycle with life-threatening injuries.
A Sacramento school is investing $6,000 in bicycles and helmets to teach every kindergarten student how to ride a bike.
National
Momentum Magazine says bicycling in a dress or skirt is not as difficult as you might think. Unless you live in Tennessee, where you may be subjected to a physical inspection to verify you have the right to wear one.
Lebanese-American author Nassim Taleb is one of us, returning to bicycling after discovering that weightlifting alone isn’t good for your heart.
A handful of Portland riders ignored the rain, and donned their finest wool garments for the city’s annual Tweed Ride. Which is actually the kind of weather tweed is made for, anyway.
They get it. A university student newspaper says Tacoma, Washington needs a Vision Zero program to make traffic fatalities a completely avoidable tragedy. Although with a few notable exceptions — hello Hoboken — American Vision Zero programs have had decidedly mixed results. And that’s if they actually get funded, unlike a certain SoCal megalopolis we could name.
A Denver website profiles bike shop owner Scott Baker, saying he turns bicycles into an art form.
Upscale Colorado resort town Vail is joining Denver and nearby Avon in offering an ebike rebate program, with residents who buy one from a local bike shop eligible for rebates up to $500.
New York is on pace to have its deadliest year ever for bicyclists, with ten people killed riding bikes already this year, despite the city’s rapid expansion of protected bike lanes. As usual, read the second link on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.
More tragic news from New York, where two children became the latest victims of defective ebike batteries; their father and three other children were able to jump out of a window to escape the fast-moving flames, but they were unable to escape.
A Philadelphia woman is launching the free Black Girl Joy Bike Rides to promote joy, self-care and a sense of community for Black women.
International
Forbes goes beyond the usual suspects to “vet” the seven best gravel bikes, three of which are actually retail for less than four grand.
The UK’s rapid prime minister churn has resulted in the latest Conservative government’s scrapping of the Zero Emission Transport City project, putting plans for 1,000 bike hangers and 250 electric buses in Bristol at risk.
A European website explains why you should consider Türkiye, the country formerly known as Turkey, for your next bicycle tourism trip.
Competitive Cycling
Steamboat, Colorado gravel race SBT GRVL is teaming with nonprofit organization Ride for Racial Justice to increase equity in gravel racing.
A participant in a Belize cross-country race says he’s “еmоtіоnаllу brоkеn іntо а thоuѕаnd ріесеѕ lіkе а рuzzlе” after crashing into a traffic control cop while trying to gain time at a roundabout.
Finally…
Vienna considers requiring bike parking in multi-family housing — no, the other Vienna. Put your money into bike helmet stocks.
And who needs tires when you can have square treads, instead?
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Chag Pesach Sameach to all observing Passover.
And Ramadan Mubarak to all observing the Islamic holy month.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
