Tag Archive for Altadena

Collecting bikes for Altadena fire victims, 12 years since crash inspired Finish the Ride, and NY congestion pricing works

February 19, 2025 / / No comments
Day 50 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Hats off to my old friend and former longtime LACBC staffer and volunteer Colin Bogart, who has organized a bike donation program for victims of the Eaton Fire for Pasadena nonprofit Day One.

According to the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition, the nonprofit is working with the Bicycle Kitchen, the Bike Oven, the Bikerowave, and the Long Beach Bicycle Co-op to collect and repair the bikes, along with local bike shops including Around the Cycle, Pasadena Cyclery, and Trek Pasadena.

The organization has received requests for over 300 bicycles.

So if you have a bike you don’t need, or can help in some other way, drop it off at Day One’s Pasadena office at 175. N. Euclid Ave from 9:30am to 5:30pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays, or by special arrangement 626/657.8744 or colin@godayone.org.

Photo by Olya Kobruseva from Pexels.

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It’s been a dozen years since a hit-and-run driver crashed into Damian Kevitt on Zoo Drive, and dragged him under his van onto the nearby 5 Freeway as he fled the crash.

Remarkably, Damian channeled the trauma of the crash that cost him a leg, and nearly his life, into the creation of Finish The Ride and Streets Are For Everyone to fight for safer streets and an end to hit-and-run.

And no, the driver was never found.

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More proof New York’s congestion pricing is working, even as Trump vows to kill it.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Police in Detroit are looking for the woman who used her car as a weapon to intentionally ran down a man riding a bicycle after an argument, along with her male passenger who got out of the car and hit the victim with a baseball bat.

Seriously? A writer for the Boston Globe investigates who has the right to public space on the streets, after a mayoral candidate calls for hitting pause on building bike lanes, and can only manage to conclude that bike lanes are the third rail of Boston politics. Even though the law is clear that bike riders have a right to the road, and well-designed bike lanes improve safety for all road users.

No bias here. Residents of Suffolk, England are up in arms because a car-shaped bike corral replaced a single parking space. Yes, one.

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Local  

The annual LA Chinatown Firecracker run, walk and bike ride has been rescheduled for March 8th and 9th, after it was postponed due to the January firestorms.

Streets For All says the long-sought extension to the Ballona Creek bike path is moving forward, despite missing out on ATP funding, after Metro recommended it for regional funding.

Streets Are For Everyone is teaming with the Pico Union Neighborhood Council to clean up MacArthur Park on Saturday morning, including the 7th Street bike lanes.

As we noted the other day, some people are criticizing a new demonstration bike lane in Santa Clarita, complaining that the flexible plastic bollards separating it from motor vehicles are a form of visual blight, but even the president of the Santa Clarita Valley Bicycle Coalition sympathized with the outcry over the “aesthetic unattractiveness.”

 

State

Calbike is hosting a webinar this Thursday to discuss creative approaches to funding active transportation infrastructure, as the usual sources threaten to dry up.

Apparently, former baseball star Barry Bonds is killing it on Strava, saying bicycling is his second passion. Although no one tests for steroids on the bike app.

A San Francisco website says anarchy has ensued on Valencia Street, as work begins to remove the contentious centerline bike lane and move it curbside, with people riding bikes forced to choose their own route on the street.

A Yuba City bike co-op is refurbishing bicycles and donating nearly 20 a month to homeless people.

 

National

Bicycling recommends ten expert-approved road bike upgrades for under a hundred bucks apiece. But you’ll have to fork out for a subscription if the magazine blocks you, because this one is limited to members only. 

It looks like bicycles, ebikes and bike components won’t be subject to Trump’s new 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, but will be affected by other tariff increases.

The mayor of Honolulu signed a new law requiring helmets for bike riders under 18, while limiting the power of ebikes and providing guidelines to prevent reckless riding.

A Las Vegas writer wisely observes that sometimes, the best bike ride is the one you don’t take.

A Park City, Utah website says riding a fat bike through the snow could be the cure for the winter blues.

The Illinois legislature is considering legislation that would fix a bad court ruling that said bike riders aren’t intended road users unless a street or highway is designated for bicycle use.

 

International

Momentum recommends the top six routes for solo bike tourism. And for once, the Los Angeles area is included, as part of the 800-mile California Coast ride.

Bike Radar recommends nine bikes that give you the best bang for your bucks.

A London food delivery rider says he’s been knocked off his bike by drivers eight times already, arguing that bike couriers are people too, and deserve safer streets.

A retired English man has earned the moniker “Dr. Bike” for fixing bikes for community members or to donate to people in need, while raising the equivalent of over $11,000 for local charities.

A British writer took part in an study riding around York measuring air quality with a small device on his handlebars, and found the air was even dirtier than expected — even on quiet country lanes.

Ebike makers in the UK are worried about whether they can rsurvive after the government scrapped anti-dumping tariffs on China earlier this month, with one calling it the final nail in their coffin.

 

Competitive Cycling

Former pro cyclist Jérôme Pineau called out the World Anti-Doping Agency, aka WADA, for giving top-ranked tennis pro Jannik Sinner a three-month slap on the wrist for testing positive for a banned substance twice last year, saying a cyclist would have been banned for at least a couple years.

 

Finally….

2 Chainz may be a rapper, but two chains could be coming soon to a bike near you. If the city won’t clear snow from the bike lanes, just put a plow on an ebike and do it yourself.

And what could be more humiliating than getting busted for bike theft in front of your mom?

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

LA’s repeated Winter Bike to Work fail, Specialized donates to fire relief, and Handlebar Happy Hour in Culver City

February 17, 2025 / / 2 comments
Day 48 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Happy President’s Day!

Or as most non-government workers call it, Monday. 

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Colorado marked Winter Bike to Work Day on Friday, including in my frosty, bike-friendly hometown.

Yet for some unexplained reason, we can’t manage to encourage people to commute by bicycle here in Southern California in any month with more than three letters. Even though our weather is a helluva lot more conducive to it.

Then again, we barely manage to mark May’s Bike to Work Day any more. Or Bike Anywhere Day, or whatever the hell you want to call it.

Maybe because getting more non-regular riders out on bikes only calls attention to our appalling lack of safe, connected bikeways, aside from a handful of cities like Long Beach and Santa Monica.

Which, by coincidence, just happen to be among the few cities that still make more than a token effort at marking the May Bike to Work Day.

So maybe I should stop complaining about not doing it twice a year, and just hope someone will get back to putting a little effort into just doing it once.

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Buy a new bike directly from California-based Specialized this week, and they’ll donate $100 to fire relief efforts in the LA area.

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Bike Culver City hosts a Handlebar Happy Hour this Thursday. Which isn’t exactly a Winter Bike to Work Day, but it’s a start.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Velo considers why cities are ripping out bike lanes, and what you can do about. Besides moving to another city with leadership that doesn’t have its collective head up its collective…well, you get it. Read it on MSN if the magazine blocks you. 

No surprise here. A new survey shows most British drivers falsely believe bicyclists are required to ride single file, next to the curb — and a third think they shouldn’t have equal rights on the road.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A blind London man complains, justifiably, about bicyclists and ebike riders who zoom past on the streets and sidewalks with no warning. Seriously, if you see a cane or service dog, slow the eff down already. 

A 22-year old Irish man walked without a day behind bars for an “appalling” road rage attack on a motorist, after he picked up his bicycle and threw it at the other man as they argued over who had the right-of-way; the judge gave him a three-month suspended sentence. And no, he’s no relation, as far as I know. Although that Irish temper sounds familiar. 

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Local  

UCLA campus cops busted a man riding a bicycle in an early morning traffic stop several blocks off campus, arresting him as a felon in possession of pepper spray, as well as meth, Xanax and drug paraphernalia.

A Valencia letter writer who apparently has an exceptionally low car says the city’s new bike lane “paddles” — an apparent reference to plastic bollards — impairs sightlines at the intersection, making it difficult to see other cars. Even though most cars are big and kinda hard to miss, and bollards are usually small and far below eye level from the driver’s seat.

 

State

Sunnyvale’s plan to build protected bike lanes has stalled because the city can’t figure out how to keep them clean or pay for a street cleaner to do the job.

A new safety feature on Tesla’s Model Y and 3 vehicles — which are still built in Palo Alto, despite the HQ’s move to Texas — prevents anyone from opening a door if something is too close, like someone on a bicycle, for instance. Thanks to Bernard Bogard for the heads-up. 

Megan Lynch forwards news that a mudslide has shut down the Solano Bikeway above eastbound Interstate 80 outside of Vallejo.

 

National

Singletracks wants to know if you’ve ever bought counterfeit bicycle components.

An Oregon man got his “one-of-a-kind” bicycle back because he had installed an AirTag on it, after police traced it to a home where they could see it and another bike through the front window, arresting two men illegally squatting inside.

In a bizarre case, a Washington state man died from sepsis in jail on New Years Eve, after suffering an abdominal injury in a bicycle crash two days before his arrest.

The husband of a bike-riding Washington woman killed by a DEA agent who ran a stop sign, with no emergency or exigent circumstances, says that’s like playing Russian roulette with the public’s safety.

New Mexico lawmakers are working to improve safety for bike riders by advancing a bill allowing them to treat stop signs as yields; Nevada is considering a similar bill, too. Something our current governor has vetoed twice. 

Speaking of New Mexico, a reformed road cyclist considers the local state of bicycling, and suggests that everyone should get an ebike.

That’s more like it. An Illinois man was sentenced to 17 years behind bars for killing a man riding a bicycle while stoned on drugs. All of which could have been avoided by just not getting behind the wheel after taking controlled substances. 

Bicycling relates a bikepacking trip along America’s longest multiuse trail network, New York’s Empire State Trail. But you’ll have to subscribe to read this one if you don’t have any freebies left.

 

International

Bike Radar says if you really want the best bike for your money, build it yourself.

Fun. The same high-vis you wear to make yourself more visible to human drivers can make you invisible to their car’s automatic braking systems.

Momentum marked Valentines Day by highlighting the five most romantic bicycling cities. None of which is Los Angeles, needless to say.

Tragic news from Mexico, where a 27-year old bicycling influencer fell to his death while trying to mountain bike down a volcano, after hitting his head and losing consciousness at over 16,000 feet.

A British Columbia police watchdog concluded that a Canadian Mountie did nothing wrong when a man riding a bicycle was killed when he fled from a traffic stop and was struck by a semi-driver moments later.

That’s more like it. A bikeshare firm in Waterloo, Ontario will be adding on-demand handcycles and adult tricycles to their offerings this year. Thanks again to Megan Lynch. 

India’s sports minister urges everyone, but especially young people, to commute by bicycle by listing six ways it improves health.

A new Chinese study examines “the spatial heterogeneity effects of street environmental factors on the preference for sports and leisure cycling paths across different street types,” as the abstract offers a similar word salad to conclude that the factors that influence where bicyclists ride are exactly what you would have guessed. `

Legislators in Australia’s New South Wales are considering allowing ebikes and e-scooters on sidewalks, but limiting speeds to 18 mph.

 

Competitive Cycling

Evidently, birds of a feather really do stick together, as fellow former dopers Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich will ride together in Germany at Ullrich’s May bicycling festival.

Finally…

That feeling when you’re mistaken for being homeless while riding your $5,000 bicycle not far from your multi-million dollar home. Or when a real Hollywood star inspires an iconic fictional bike ride.

And no, you shouldn’t just wrap your broken carbon frame in duct tape and ride it anyway.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Altadena gets post-fire Bicycle Friendly Community mention, CA car-dependency, and a bizarre anti-bike blvd rant

January 29, 2025 / / 4 comments
Day 29 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Well, that was fun. 

We ended up taking the corgi to the vet yesterday for emergency treatment, after we pulled a grape stem out of her mouth Monday night.

That’s because grapes are highly toxic for dogs; even a single grape can be fatal a dog many times her size.

Five hours, $1200 and a shit ton of fluids later, she came back home with a clean bill of health, aside from a little inflammation that should resolve in a few days.  

Good times. 

So you’ll excuse me if I’m a little distracted and emotionally frazzled while I work on this tonight. 

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Great timing. No, really.

The League of American Bicyclists, aka the Bike League, announced their latest list of new and renewing Bicycle Friendly Communities yesterday, along with eight Honorable Mentions.

And only one of those was in Southern California.

Altadena.

Yes, that Altadena. The one that was left devastated and largely destroyed by the Eaton Fire earlier this month.

The city earned an Honorable Mention citation in their first attempt, in recognition of its efforts to improve safety and bikeability on their streets.

Of course, an honorable mention is like a pat on the head saying nice try, but keep working at it, even as much of the city will need to be rebuild from the ground up.

Meanwhile, Cheyenne, Wyoming was named a Bronze Level Bicycle Friendly Community, something that would have been unthinkable back in the day, when I feared for my life dodging pickups and cowboy Cadillacs the few times I had the temerity to even try riding north from my Colorado hometown.

Then again, Los Angeles has been a Bronze Level BFC for over a dozen years, so that may not be saying much.

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No surprise here. Okay, maybe a little.

A new report from auto-parts retailer Motointegrator finds that California is the most car-dependent state, and New Jersey the least, based on the number of motor vehicles compared to how many could be expected given the relative population.

Santa Ana was the most car-dependent city, not just in California but nationwide, followed by ostensibly bike-friendly Long Beach and Chula Vista in San Diego County, with Riverside and Anaheim coming in at 5th and 6th, respectively.

Although the only real surprise is that Los Angeles somehow didn’t make the top ten.

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Um, okay.

A writer from Redwood City, California went on a rant against bicycle boulevards and taking the lane.

And, um, fire trucks. Or something.

He somehow conflates bicycle boulevards, aka neighborhood greenways, with bike routes and sharrows, insisting that actual bike lanes are always preferable.

“Bicycle Boulevards” are one big part of the Big Bikeway Bluff. That is what city managers do when they update the marketing material about “Transportation, Children, and Youth” but accidentally forget to do the real thing. As far as bicycle con-jobs go, “Bicycle Boulevards” play one league above “Bike Routes”, “Slow Streets”, and “Sharrows”. And mainly because the name has a nicer ring to it. “Boulevard” sounds like a quiet, tree-lined street without air pollution. Portland calls the same thing “Neighborhood Greenway” to play with the tree theme as well. I have to admit, it is a very clever and sophisticated con, and it runs very deep. It is running for over 40 years now and counting.

But in the end, all these different names stand for the exact same result: no bike lanes for children, no space for older citizens, and no safety for people with disabilities. Instead, they are just mixed in with 4,000 lbs. vehicles on 30 mph, car-lined streets. So the big question still remains: could “sharing the road” ever be made safe?

Except bicycle boulevards are usually considered a big step above bike lanes, and a key component in a low-stress bike network by giving bicycle priority over motor vehicles.

Yes, the streets are shared, but they are usually designed to physically slow drivers, and often include diverters to prevent drivers from going more than a few blocks without turning, while allowing bicyclists to pass through.

He goes on to accuse the Bike League of offering a false promise of safety by advising bicyclists to take the lane and dress like a clown.

No, literally.

And yet it’s US bicycle advocacy groups – like The League of American Bicyclists(LAB) – that will tell people on bicycles that they are safe as long as they follow these rules:

  • Ride like a vehicle
  • “Take The Lane”
  • Dress like a Clown
  • Always wear a bicycle helmet

Statistically, this kind of advice is killing several hundred Americans each year. And since any real bicycle advocacy group will recognize this as bad advice, we can say something seems very off with LAB. Organizations like these have money, people and resources to develop better policies. In fact, much better information is available for free through many research projects done by different universities.

Granted, it’s been a minute since I’ve been involved with the Bike League, but my understanding from their Bicycle Friendly Communities program is that they are big proponents of bike lanes, and especially protected bike lanes, as well as other safe bicycle infrastructure.

And yes, that includes bike boulevards.

Taking the lane is a strategy for when that bike infrastructure isn’t available, and riders are forced to mix it up with motor vehicles.

That’s opposed to riding in the door zone or hugging the curb like a gutter bunny, encouraging drivers to squeeze by in an unsafe manner. Taking the lane simply forces them to move left to go around you.

Never mind that the number of bicyclists killed while taking the lane pales compared to riders killed at intersections.

Then there’s this.

In case of emergencies, fire departments would use their fire trucks as a way to block off the street. Basically, the fire trucks are “Taking the Lane” to secure the firefighters and others. In the transportation world there is nothing bigger, brighter, and more visible than a bright yellow or red fire truck with its flashing lights on. And yet, in 2019, an estimated 2,500 vehicles crashed into these “blockers” that are “taking the lane” to protect fire crews. That is 6.8 crashes daily or 16% of all fire truck collisions. Tesla’s vehicles seem to have an especially bad relationship with fire engines. They constantly run into them. Who would want children riding in front of such technology?…

So if “Taking the Lane” and “Sharing The Road” are demolishing 2,500 parked fire trucks and countless more emergency vehicles, why would any city manager in San Mateo County assume this to be safe for children? Why would any respectable bicycle coalition recommend “sharing the road” experiments?

Well, if you put it that way.

No, there’s nothing to guarantee that drivers will see you in the road directly in front of them, no matter how garish your outfit. And yes, too many drivers can’t manage to avoid people, objects and vehicles in the roadway.

But the point of taking the lane and wearing bright or reflective clothing — or using ultra-bright lights — is to improve your chances of being seen, and force drivers to go around you.

It’s not preferable to having safe bike infrastructure, however, and only the most passionate John Forester disciples would argue otherwise.

And no, sharrows and bike routes are not safe infrastructure, and can actually increase the risk for riders, while too many painted bike lanes offer little better protection.

And don’t get me started on LADOT’s favored little white plastic car-tickler bendie posts.

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Caltrans announced they are postponing the release of the PCH Master Plan Feasibility Study due to the recent fires along the highway.

In light of the recent fires and the ongoing recovery efforts, we have temporarily postponed the release of the draft Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Master Plan Feasibility Study and the 45-day public comment period. The Round Three Community Workshop to present the draft Study’s key findings will also be postponed.

Our hearts are with the residents of Malibu and all those affected during this challenging time. Please be assured that our District is actively collaborating with the City of Malibu to determine the most appropriate time to restart the Study’s engagement activities. We encourage you to continue providing comments through the project’s portal site, as we will monitor it closely. Your input is invaluable to us.

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Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette is co-sponsoring next month’s Tri Club San Diego February Duathlon, and urging people with better legs than me to sign up for the trail run sandwiched around a 10.5-mile bike race.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going. 

A Phoenix, Arizona man says he was intentionally run down by a road-raging driver after he slapped the man’s truck to alert him to his presence following an overly close pass. Too many drivers somehow consider touching any part of their car, for any reason, as akin to spitting in their face. Just another example of Driver Derangement Syndrome.

A Toronto website examines how a few miles of bike lanes on the city’s deadly Bloor Street turned into a battlefield in the war against bikes; one local pub even distributed t-shirts reading “Fuck Bike Lanes.” Because evidently, people who ride bikes in bike lanes prefer pubs that go out of their way to make them feel unwelcome. 

England’s Norfolk County scrapped plans for a short bikeway connecting two quiet, bikeable streets over complaints about “anti-social” bicycling behavior, forcing riders onto a dangerous, traffic-choked street in an apparent attempt to thin the herd.

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Local  

No shock here, as traffic fatalities exceed murders in the City of Angels for the second consecutive year; the sort-of-good news is that traffic deaths last year dropped 12.5% over 2023, to a still obscene 302 people killed on the mean streets of LA.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports that newly released documents show Forest Lawn Cemetery argued against safety improvements on deadly Forest Lawn Drive because they “have not observed substantial bicycle use” on it. Because people will usually rush out to ride streets where they don’t feel safe. And where they aren’t. Right?

Streetsblog looks at the progress for the coming Sixth Street PARC (Park, Arts, River & Connectivity) Project under the monumental — and somewhat lightless — Sixth Street Viaduct over the Los Angeles River.

The Santa Monica Daily Press announced the voting categories for their Most Loved competition, including the city’s best bike shop; you can find the rules and how to vote here.

 

State

It will now cost you twice as much to park at a meter in San Diego. Unless you ride a bicycle, in which case you can park for free.

Danville is looking for two new members for the city’s Bicycle Advisory Commission, after councilmembers tossed a couple well-known bicycle advocates out on their asses over “personality differences,” which appears to translate to getting on a councilmember’s nerves for advocating a little too strongly.

 

National

Now you, too, can be a bike influencer.

Bike Mag recommends ten gifts your mountain-biking Valentine will love more than chocolate.

Chicago Streetsblog remembers a local artist and bike advocate who literally flipped his way through life on his handmade chopped bicycle with a circular roll bar attached, allowing him to roll over on the roadway; Arthur Travis Duffey, better known as “Flip Bike Travis,” was 54 when he died in San Diego last year after a long battle with cancer.

A Pittsburgh news site examines the Dirty Dozen bike race, featuring a baker’s dozen of the city’s steepest hills, even though this year’s race isn’t scheduled until October.

 

International

Road.cc’s ebiketips rates the year’s best e-cargo bikes, from kid-hauling bucket bikes to an e-longtail.

If you build it, they will come. A new report says a ten-month old protected bikeway through the heart of Edinburgh, Scotland has increased bike riding rates, while making people feel safer, cutting pollution and boosting local businesses

The British government finally followed through on threats promises to pass a law against dangerous bicyclists by adding ten new laws concerning bike riders, including “cycling on a road dangerously” and “cycling on a road without due care and attention,” as well as belatedly requiring bike lights after dark.

Momentum looks at Bergen, Norway’s new Fyllingsdalen, the world’s longest bicycle tunnel actually built for bikes, which runs under a mountain dividing the city.

A Polish adventurer is making plans to ride a fat bike across Mongolia’s frigid Gobi Desert next month, covering 870 miles from the Altai region in Western Mongolia to Sainshand in the East, in temperatures that can exceed -20° Fahrenheit.

 

Competitive Cycling

American Marco “Randy” Osborne and Scotland’s Ella Conolly won the Pro Men’s and Women’s categories in the four day Andes Pacifico enduro race through the Nuble region of Chile; the race is a blind event, meaning the competitors see the course for the first time as it unfolds in front of them.

Ireland’s 28-year old Megan Armitage proved it’s possible to go from beginner to Olympic cyclist in just three years, after her partner, Australian pro rider Cyrus Monk, challenged her while watching the road cycling in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

 

Finally…

Your next bicycle could be made entirely of recycled ocean plastic. Your next bike bell could be an AirTag-equivalent anti-theft bike tracker.

And these bike race fans are really getting out of control.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Permanent memorial for young Valley bicyclist, Aussie distracted driving cams, and more NY anti-bike bias

September 3, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Permanent memorial for young Valley bicyclist, Aussie distracted driving cams, and more NY anti-bike bias

One tragic note before we get started.

I’m told that a man from Altadena has been gravely injured in an apparent solo fall while riding with a friend in the Northern California backcountry.

The victim is currently being treated in a Bay Area hospital for severe neck, spine and brain injuries.

I’m withholding his name and other details for now out of respect for his family and their privacy.

But prayers or best wishes are definitely in order.

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He gets it.

Bike advocates rededicated the ghost bike for 15-year old Sebastian Montero, who was killed by a speeding driver while riding his bike in Woodland Hills on Easter Sunday last year.

The ceremony also saw the installation of the city’s first permanent marker honoring a fallen bicyclist, one of up to 20 per year the city will install with a reminder to drive safely.

Photo from Councilmember Bob Blumenfield’s Twitter account

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield struck the right tone, reminding the small audience about the big hole Montero’s death left in the lives of everyone around him.

And that a simple sign wasn’t going to fix anything.

“The signs themselves are wonderful,” said Blumenfield. “[But] they’re not going to solve our problems with people dying on the roads.”

It will take a renewed commitment to Vision Zero by the people elected to serve all of us — not just the people in the big, dangerous machines.

And a willingness on their part to stand up to NIMBYs and angry drivers that has been sorely lacking in the city in recent years.

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Great idea.

Inspired by the death of his friend James Rapley, the Australian bike rider killed on Temescal Canyon while on a layover at LAX six years ago, an Aussie entrepreneur has developed an automated camera system designed to capture drivers illegally using a handheld cellphone.

The automated cameras from Acusensus are designed to work like red light or speed cameras to provide photographic proof of the driver breaking the law, along with the license of the car.

Presumably, tickets would follow in the mail.

It would likely require a change in the law to use them in California, where red light cameras are allowed at local discretion, but speed cameras are currently prohibited.

However, it should withstand privacy concerns, since there is no legal expectation of privacy for anything that is readily visible in public.

Although the state’s overly entitled drivers would likely rise up to complain, just like too many do over any attempt to hold motorists accountable and keep them from breaking the law.

But there are few things the state could do virtually overnight that would have a greater impact on safety and do more to save lives.

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No bias here.

The bike-hating New York Post says bike riders are killing pedestrians, and accuses the city of not doing anything to stop it.

Then they go on to explain there were seven pedestrian deaths in the last nine years — something works out to less than one a year, along with another 250 injured each year.

While one death is one too many, the paper doesn’t bother to mention how many bike riders were injured or killed in crashes with pedestrians.

Never mind who was actually at fault in those crashes.

And as anyone who has ever had a pedestrian step out into bike lane without looking, or turn suddenly in front of your bike can tell you, it ain’t necessarily the person on two wheels.

Nor do they bother to put it all in perspective by citing the 100-plus pedestrians killed by motorists each year.

Which only works out to a margin of slightly 100 to one, anyway. Making it pretty damn clear who represents the real danger to people walking.

But who cares about facts if it sells newspapers.

Right?

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Speaking of which, a New York study shows zombie pedtextrians isn’t really a thing after all.

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Go for a Monday mountain bike ride with the great Peter Sagan.

But maybe drop a little dramamine first.

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Thanks to Sgt. Helper for forwarding video of a bike-riding nun who could probably drop most of us.

Well, me anyway.

https://twitter.com/TrumpPatriotPL/status/1167874990810648577

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Local

Hats off to LAPD officer Andrew Gonzalez, who rode his bike 300 miles from LA to Stanislaus County to deliver a flag to the family of a fallen Newman police officer who was killed during a traffic stop last year.

Katherine Schwarzenegger and Chris Pratt are two of us, as they enjoy married life on a mountain bike ride in Los Angeles.

NoHo’s Chandler Bikeway is set to get $1.2 million in improvements. None of which is apparently aimed at improving safety for bike riders.

E-scooters are officially banned in the ‘Bu.

The Daily Breeze recounts the story of deadly Vista Del Mar, including the failed 2017 attempt to install a road diet, which was ripped out when drivers insisted on their God-given right to go zoom zoom even if it keeps killing people.

 

State

A San Diego woman suffered severe head trauma when a driver leaving a parking lot smashed into her bike as she rode on the sidewalk. Yet another example of why riding a bicycle on the sidewalk isn’t as safe as most people think.

After a Murrietta boy was hit by a car while riding his bike, the kindhearted people at Target gave him a new one.

Sad news from Bakersfield, where a 56-year old bike rider died after allegedly making an abrupt left turn into the path of a pickup driver.

San Jose police bust ten suspects in a series of burglaries targeting bike shops, as well as construction sites and school districts in the Bay Area.

A San Jose columnist goes for the jugular, arguing that a bike rider killed in a head-on collision on popular Mount Diablo would be alive today if parks officials hadn’t ignored a judge’s 27-year old order to improve the roadway. Thanks to Robert Leone for the link.

Officials identified the victim in last week’s fatal hit-and-run in East San Jose as a 44-year old San Jose man. Thanks to Ralph Durham and Robert Leone for the heads-up.

Indicating a total misunderstanding of what speed limits are for, a Santa Rosa-area letter writer says drivers should be required to drive the speed limit, and bike riders should get the hell out of the way so they don’t slow down the more important people in cars. Just like drivers, bicyclists are required to pull over when safe to do so if there are five or more vehicles stuck behind them and unable to pass; the law does not apply if there are two or more lanes in each direction, or if the people can safely pass them.

Three new members were named to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in Davis; the trio will be inducted November 2nd.

A Eureka woman was busted for trying to pass a phony $100 bill at a bike shop to buy a bicycle for…wait for it…$5.46. Sound like maybe she was getting a fake bike for her fake money, anyway.

 

National

New rules for the national parks system would allow ebikes on any trails other bicycles are allowed on, providing new access to the wilderness for older or less able-bodied riders.

Buzzfeed says Amazon’s next day delivery is bringing chaos and carnage to America’s streets, while the company avoids responsibility for the harm they’re causing.

New street design guidelines from the American Society for Landscape Architecture show why inclusive cities start with safe streets.

Guarantee your kid wins playtime at the park with his or her very own Harley-Davidson e-balance bike.

Portland police finally busted the bike thief who stole a 69-year old man’s $11,000 bicycle in a strong-arm robbery in July; a friend of the victim had filmed the thief riding it shortly after the theft.

A hit-and-run bike rider rode over the hind leg of an eight-month old Labradoodle puppy on an Idaho greenbelt, snapping it in two, then simply rode off. Which makes him no less of a cowardly a-hole than any heartless hit-and-run driver. Schmuck.

Kansas City MO develops the usual factions in the fight over bike lanes, as advocates argue for improving safety and boosting local businesses, while opponents fear harm to businesses and want to keep their dangerous streets just the way they are.

A Texas man refuses to take no for an answer after doctors told him he’d never ride a bike again when he lost his leg in a horseback riding accident, completing a 168-mile ride on a prosthetic leg he designed and built himself.

An 18-year old girl rode 550 miles on a tandem bike with her father from Chicago to Toronto for her first day of college, while a Flint MI bike shop owner saved the day when they developed a crack in their tandem’s steering tube.

More proof hit-and-run isn’t just a California thing, as Chicago police are looking for the heartless coward who slammed into a mountain bike rider, and left him to die on the side of the road. Thanks to Art S for the tip.

After a legally blind Indiana man’s bike was stolen, a friend spotted it on someone else’s porch and stole it back.

Congratulations to Ohio officials for keeping a dangerous driver on the roads until he killed someone. The alleged drunk driver who killed a bicyclist on Saturday had been charged with driving while impaired seven years ago, but prosecutors pled it down to a single count of reckless driving with a small fine; the victim was chief counsel to a former Ohio governor. Which means his blood is on their hands.

A driveway vigilante is under arrest after a New York driver took the law into his own hands, deliberately slamming his SUV into the screwdriver-toting bike rider he suspected of breaking into his vehicle, and killing him.

New York’s former parks commissioner says bike and pedestrian traffic in Central Park has become so chaotic and dangerous due to its growing popularity and lack of pedestrian and cycling safety infrastructure that he won’t ride his bike there anymore.

An op-ed in the New York Daily News says sure, bikes are all fine and good, but the city’s Belmont neighborhood needs its parking. Unlike, say, every other neighborhood that says the same thing, until they find out they’re actually better off with more bikes and fewer cars.

Need a haircut? A bike-riding New York barber says he’ll go anywhere to cut hair, traveling from Machu Picchu to Tokyo.

Now that’s more like it. A Philadelphia man is suing a delivery company for repeatedly blocking a bike lane, as well as the city’s parking authority for failing to enforce it.

A Delaware man who is “hardly a bike-phobe” says they’ve already had several bike riders killed in the area, and its totally the fault of those careless, lawbreaking vacationers on bicycles.

An op-ed in the Washington Post says we can have an enormous impact on improving our cities by making it easier to ride a bike and harder to drive a car.

Life is cheap in Virginia, where a woman walks without a single day behind bars despite a conviction for reckless driving in the death of a man riding his bicycle.

A new Clemson University study confirms that daytime taillights can significantly improve your safety. Speaking strictly for myself, I’ve had far fewer close calls since I’ve started riding with multiple taillights and an ultrabright headlight during the day. As much as it really pisses me off to have to do it. 

 

International

London is changing building design rules for skyscrapers to reduce the wind tunnel effect for bicyclists.

A British writer calls for taming the automotive hegemony on our streets by banning all car advertising.

Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden is one of us, too, going for a casual ride with her two daughters.

A new study shows cargo bikes are more efficient than delivery vans in urban areas, so the UK government put its money on…flying taxis.

It’s a long, long way to Tipperary, and an Irish columnist just wishes you’d show a little respect and use your bike bell on the way there.

Yet another study confirms the safety in numbers effect, as a new Belgian study shows motorists will adjust how they drive in relation to the number of bicyclists on the street.

South African police ended a nearly two-year reign of terror when they arrested a Zimbabwean man for murdering a bike rider and a hiker in a national park, as well as eight other nonfatal stabbings and muggings.

A New Zealand charity refurbishes bicycles to give to refugees, and teaches the recipients how to ride them, giving them new hope in the process.

An Aussie op-ed says just painting bike lanes on a street and assuming bicyclists will be safe and motivated to use them is delusional, and does nothing to encourage more people to give bike riding a try.

The Philippines considers a bill that would require elected officials to use public transport. We need something like that here, like requiring officials — elected and otherwise — to walk, bike or use transit at least once a week.

 

Competitive Cycling

A “crazy week” ends at the Vuelta with yet another leader change.

Cyclist looks at the winners and losers in the Vuelta’s first week, while Cycling Weekly confines itself to five talking points from stage 9.

One of those losers was Tejay van Garderen, who was forced to drop out with a broken finger following a crash on Thursday.

Rouleur considers how tiny Slovenia rose to the top of the cycling world.

A Mexican cyclist got a two-year ban after getting busted for doping. But the doping era is completely and totally over, right?

Once again, a bike rider is a hero, as a bicyclist competing in a Russian bike race loses control and veers off the course, but grabs a little girl to protect her as he falls.

Finally…

Yes, a bike lane can save your life the next time you inhale a wasp while riding. If you’re going to take your loaded shotgun into Home Depot, at least get off your bike first.

And don’t toss trash out the window of your chrome-covered Lambo.

Especially if there’s a bicyclist around.

………

One final note. 

This is exactly how I feel when I post most mornings. Now if I could only figure out how to include a decent bottle of booze as a downloadable attachment.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Update: Mountain biker found dead after search in Angeles National Forest

January 31, 2016 / / 3 comments

An overnight ground and air search for a missing mountain biker led to bad news in the hills above Altadena.

According to KCBS-2, a Torrance man was found dead in the Angeles National Forrest around 10:30 Saturday morning, after going missing while riding on Friday.

The victim, whose name has been withheld pending notification of next of kin, was pronounced dead after his body was discovered on the Brown Mountain Truck Trail.

There were no apparent signs of trauma, which suggests he may have died of natural causes, or perhaps succumbed to exposure from being lost on the mountainside overnight.

This is the 10th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the second in Los Angeles County.

Update: The Pasadena Star News reports that, contrary to the earlier report, the victim did show trauma consistent with a fall. His body was discovered a short distance from his bike, which had been spotted by a hiker around 10 am about three miles up the trail. 

He had gone for a ride Friday morning; a search was initiated at 9 pm Friday when his cellphone was traced to an SUV parked at the trailhead.

Update 2: SFV Media identifies the victim as 49-year old Torrance resident Evan Bruce Sisson. The site reports he was discovered partway down a cliff, with his bike at the base.

Update 3: The LA County Coroner confirmed that Sission died from ischemic heart disease and atherosclerotic coronary artery disease, rather than a fall.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Evan Bruce Sisson and his loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Update / Tags: , , , , ,
 
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