Day 287 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025.
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It looks like lots of people loved Sunday’s Heart of LA CicLAvia.
One that I missed out on, since neither my wife or corgi were up to it — one because still recovering from a heart attack, and the other after getting a bunch of shots at the vet.
I’ll leave it up to you to decide which was which.
Regardless, Joe Linton offers an open thread and his usual great photos at Streetsblog, making it appear a good time was had by all.
And a trio of videos capture the fun.
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To the surprise of no one, former LA schools superintendent, LA Times publisher and Karen Bass supporter Austin Beutner announced he’s running against Bass for mayor, arguing that Los Angeles needs change.
Beutner was a big supporter of bicycling when he first ran for mayor a little over a decade ago, following a bike crash led him to change careers from building a successful business to serving as Antonio Villaraigosa’s deputy mayor.
We’ll have to see if that’s still a priority for him this time around.
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The Pasadena City Council’s Municipal Services Committee will consider a Local Roadway Safety Action Plan at today’s meeting, focusing on fixing the city’s most dangerous streets with a goal of ending traffic deaths by 2035.
The proposal is then scheduled to go to the full council on October 27th.
Meanwhile, a survey of residents lists driver behavior as their top concern, followed by biking and rolling safety, then crossing safety.
Something we can probably all agree with.
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Streets Are For Everyone reminds you that time is running out to register for the Santa Clarita Finish The Ride, which helps fund the group’s statewide fight for safer streets.
This is shaping up to be our best Santa Clarita event ever, and we can’t wait to see you there.
As a reminder, advance registration prices end at midnight on October 25—register now to lock in the best rate!
Whether you’re riding or running, you’ll be supporting Streets Are For Everyone’s mission to make our roads safer—and we couldn’t be more grateful for your help.
As usual, there will be an amazing raffle at the event! You can pre-purchase tickets, pick them up at packet pickup, or at our merchandise table during the event!
Thank you for being part of this important cause. We can’t wait to see you at the starting line!
Date: Sunday, October 26th, 2025
Location: West Creek Park, Santa Clarita
Event Options (Routes are subject to change):
Ride:
Run/Walk:
Get all the event details!
♂️♂️ Costumes are encouraged, but optional for participation! ♂️
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
It’s happened once again, again. A day after we discussed a Massachusetts driver who used his car as a weapon to run down someone on a bike, we learn that police in the UK are looking for a hit-and-run van driver who ran over a 49-year old man’s bicycle after first “racially abusing” the victim, then deliberately trying to run him over.
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Local
Say hi to Hollywood Blvd’s new bike lane “Sweeping Beauty.”
State
Fullerton residents called for protected bike lanes and better street lighting at last week’s city council meeting, after two Cal State Fullerton students were critically injured when they were struck by a truck driver while sharing an e-scooter. Although someone should tell the CSUF student newspaper that most trucks still usually have drivers.
National
NBC News offers video of Portland’s rain-soaked emergency naked bike ride to protest Trump’s militarization of the city; the reported thousands of riders were also confronted by a few dozen counterprotestors. But if the riders are wearing clear rain ponchos, are they really naked?
A college senior in my bicycle-friendly Colorado hometown credits a free bike helmet she got as a freshman with saving her life when she went headfirst over her handlebars, returning to the same event as a volunteer four years later to hand them out herself. And yes, that’s exactly the kind of relatively slow speed crash bike helmets are designed for, not protecting riders from massive SUVs as most drivers seem to assume.
Syracuse, New York has struggled to pass Vision Zero for a full decade, despite a fatality rate 40% above the state average — and could lose out on federal safety funds as a result.
A new bike rider in upstate New York tries to fix her own brakes, finding that she may not need a bike mechanic, but she does need her dad.
A bicyclist in Key Biscayne, Florida shares his perspective on the risks riders face on the roads, explaining that what may look like dangerous “pack mentality” from the outside is just the safest way for large groups to ride
International
The Toronto Star examines how bikeshare went from death’s door to one of the city’s fastest-growing means of transportation, but says Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s fight to rip out the city’s bike lanes could decide whether it survives.
A British TV show re-examines the collision that killed a 52-year old triathlete competing in a time trial, finding the victim was in the driver’s field of view for 18-seconds before he rear-ended her bike in a “catastrophic misjudgement;” the driver was sentenced to four years behind bars after being convicted of causing death by dangerous driving.
Britain’s busking piano bike player had to cancel a planned tour when someone stole her dad’s van, which held her personal possessions, costumes and spare piano parts.
A new Irish report finds a distressing 262% jump in single-bicyclist collisions over a ten-year period, especially in the Dublin area. Although it’s possible that at least part of that is due to an increase in the country’s bicycling rates over the same period.
Paris set a new record in its transformation to a bicycling city, with counters clocking 1,817 bicycle trips on a single route in just one day.
Roughly a hundred people turned out for a bike ride sponsored by the Danish Embassy in Guangzhou, China to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Competitive Cycling
The Guardian looks back on Tadej Pogačar’s total domination of the cycling season, despite battling a bout of mid-season depression, while Tour de France Femmes champ Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s extreme weight loss proves almost as divisive as trans women in amateur bike races.
Pogačar doesn’t like all the comparison’s to the great Eddy Merckx, even if he keeps writing them with his own legs.
Spanish cyclist Francisco ‘Paco’ Mancebo finally called it a career after a remarkable 27 years cycling career that predated social media.
The University of Colorado highlights the return of paracyclist Jason Macom, whose track cycling career ended with a severe knee injury that eventually resulted in an amputation, then a second career as a paracyclist ended when his prothesis irritated his knee; a new procedure that grafted a prothesis directly onto the bone has allowed him to make a comeback, qualifying for this week’s 2025 Para-cycling Track World Championships in Rio de Janeiro.
Finally…
Now you, too, could own Strava — or a piece of it, anyway. Leave your helmet out on your bike too long, and you could be a baby bird’s new mom or dad; thanks to Megan for the link.
And seriously, we get the hint, already.
good morning to the bike lane big finish designers
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
