The news coverage of Sunday’s CicLAvia continues to trickle in.
The LA Times offers video and a handful of photos. Curbed LA does the same while the Source serves up still more photos as well as tweets.
Orange 20 calls the new Echo Park to East LA route another great success. The CSUN Sundial says cyclists ruled the road for a day. And Takepart calls it the biggest public open space event in America.
Meanwhile, Streetsblog questions the relative lack of news stories about Sunday’s 10th CicLAvia since the first one rolled through Downtown on 10/10/10.
But maybe that’s a good thing.
CicLAvia may be huge in our world, but it’s not new anymore. It’s proven itself to be a huge success, and now has the funding and support to continue and grow beyond the confining limits of Los Angeles itself.
In a way, the lack of the breathless news stories we’ve seen in the past is a tacit acknowledgement that the event has become part of the fabric of the city.
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A Manhattan Beach bike rider suffered serious injuries when she was hit head-on by another cyclist where the Marvin Braude and Ballona Creek bike paths meet in Marina del Rey. To make matters worse, Ana Beatriz Cholo had no insurance since she was just starting a new job, so a fund has been created to help her pay her five-figure medical bills.
Let this be a reminder to never pass slower riders unless it’s safe to do so.
Which means never, ever passing if there’s a rider coming in the opposite direction. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve had to swerve suddenly — if not bail off the bike path entirely — to avoid someone who seemed to think he had a supreme right to the pathway.
Or maybe just lacked sufficient common sense to realize that the same safety rules that govern passing slower vehicles when driving apply on the bikeway, as well.
And if you’re ever involved in a collision with another cyclist, always give your name and contact information. Your car insurance should cover liability on your bike, as well.
It’s no less hit-and-run when a bike rider or pedestrian leaves the scene without identifying themselves after causing a collision than it is when a driver does it.
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A new study reconfirms the benefits of protected bike lanes. According to the study, ridership increased anywhere from 21% to 171% after protected lanes were installed, with 24% of the increase coming from other routes and a full 10% actually switching from other modes of transportation.
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The route for next year’s Giro d’Italia is unveiled, with an eye towards a possible rare sweep of the Giro and Tour de France.
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LocalBike riders are urged to attend tonight’s meeting of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Transportation Committee to help elect new bike friendly members.
Milestone Rides’ Johnny Lam explains why he volunteers with bike organizations, and why you should, too.
PV Bike hosts a perfectly alliterative Pomona Pumpkin Patch Pedal on October 19th.
A bike rider was seriously injured in a collision on PCH in Long Beach Sunday night.
State
A Santa Barbara cyclist says the Milt Olin case shows the dangers of distracted driving.
A San Luis Obispo woman charged in the hit-and-run death of a cyclist had three prior convictions for driving under the influence. Somehow, though, she was still allowed to remain on the road until she finally killed someone; too bad the judges and other authorities who helped keep her behind the wheel can’t be forced to serve some of her sentence with her.
National
City Lab makes the case for banning traffic lanes wider than 10 feet.
Bicycling’s Elly Blue says motherhood is one of the biggest obstacles preventing women from biking.
Different types of bike riding requires different muscle use. But you knew that, right?
Kansas City is just the latest municipality to prohibit the harassment of bicyclists and pedestrians.
A Chicago writer calls for banning bikes for a single day to give pedestrians a break. Not an entirely bad idea; maybe it would help the relatively few overly aggressive cyclists realize the risk they pose to others. But probably not.
How rare is this? A Pittsburgh cartoonist offers a mea culpa for an anti-bike diatribe after riders convince him he was wrong.
A Richmond VA writer says yes, cyclists break the law, but so does everyone else; and if bikes bug you, maybe you’re the problem.
International
Members of a cancer charity ride 800 km — roughly 500 miles — to deliver a custom made ebike to Pope Francis.
Be a more successful cyclist in just seven simple steps.
Yet another ridiculous pie-in-the-sky plan is floated — literally — for a London bikeway.
A New Zealand editorial writer says a visit to DC shows separating bikes and cars is the best way to go, while an email writer says the Kiwi equivalent of a three-foot passing law is ridiculous because cyclists do bad things.
Finally…
Caught on video: A first-person bike cam view of an Aussie cyclist attacked by a magpie. A daredevil squirrel tries to pass through the spokes of a Sonoma County Gran Fondo rider; not surprisingly, the rider doesn’t fare well, though the squirrel fares worse.
And after a six-year old bumps his head at CicLAvia, a big-hearted cop buys helmets for him and his three brothers. Let’s hope he gets a commendation for that.
