Tag Archive for bicycling fatalities

SD bike riders protest deadly streets, former WY senator dies from bike crash, and LA Times says slow speeding drivers

July 27, 2021 / / One comment

It looks like San Diego bike riders have finally had enough.

After a horrifying 12 bicycling deaths in San Diego County so far this year — roughly double what the county might experience in a typical year — dozens of local residents held a protest ride and press conference to demand safer streets.

That bloody toll includes five people who were killed on their bikes in just the past month.

“Grief makes you angry,” San Diego Bicycle Coalition executive director Andy Hanshaw said. “If there’s not a dedicated path that’s seperate from the road, then we need a safer bike lane on the street, and your typical white stripe is not safe enough.”

Beloved bicyclist and San Diego State University administrator Laura Shinn was killed on Pershing Drive last Tuesday. Police said she was in the bike lane, wearing a helmet, when a driver hit her from behind.

Graphics by tomexploresla

“A lot of people are feeling hesitant,” bicyclist Elizabeth Mayer said. “They don’t want this freedom option of transportation taken from them because they’re afraid of cars.”

Although someone might want to tell NBC-7 that not everyone who rides a bicycle is an “athlete.”

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Sad news from Wyoming, where former US Senator Mike Enzi has died following some sort of bicycling crash.

According to the local Gillette, Wyoming newspaper, the 77-year old politician was transported to a medical center near my Colorado hometown after he was involved in a “serious bicycle accident” Friday night.

He died of his injuries on Monday.

Newsweek reports that Enzi was found lying in the roadway next to his bicycle, about the same time his Apple Watch sent a distress call indicating a bad fall.

The magazine reports he had suffered a broken neck and broken ribs; there’s no word on whether he fell off his bike, or may have been the victim of a hit-and-run.

Regardless of whether or not you agreed with his politics, he devoted his life to serving his state and his country.

And he was one of us.

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They get it.

The Los Angeles Times says it’s time to stop letting drivers set speed limits with their right foot.

The Los Angeles City Council was recently forced to raise speed limits on sections of Olympic and Overland boulevards in West L.A. — where a woman was killed this year by a recklessly speeding driver.

Why? Because an outdated and absurd law essentially requires cities to set street limits based on how fast people are already driving on a stretch of road — not whether that speed is safe.

This law is based on a flawed methodology, according to a report released last year. It relies on the overly optimistic assumption that most drivers will drive at a safe and reasonable speed, and that it’s safer to set speed limits that reflect the “natural” flow of traffic.

The paper calls for passage of AB 43, which would modify the deadly 85th Percentile Law to allow cities and counties to lower speed limits by a modest 5 mph on streets with injury high rates of injuries, or heavy bike and pedestrian use.

What we really need is to repeal the 85th Percentile Law entirely.

But until we can get there, this is a start.

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This is what it looks like to ride the new bike lane on New York’s iconic Brooklyn Bridge.

Just don’t count on riding it yourself for the next few months.

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Local

Bird is rolling out their next generation e-scooters in Long Beach this week.

 

State

Clean Technica says California’s new ebike rebate program is a done deal. But securing the funding is not the same as approving the program.

Former San Luis Obispo councilmember Robert “Red” Davis passed away peacefully in his home over the weekend. The 76-year old bike advocate had served as president of the SLO Bike Club, as well as chairing the Morro Bay Citizens Bike Committee and the County Bicycle Advisory Committee; a local bikeway is named in his honor.

A San Francisco TV station tries out a $5,500 ebike intended to replace a car, and capable of carrying two passengers and up to 400 pounds at 30 mph. However, that top speed means you’d be required to wear a helmet, and prohibited from using bike paths and protected bike lanes.

San Francisco Streetsblog says a pilot speed cam program may be exactly what the city needs to meet its Vision Zero goals in the next three years. On the other hand, Los Angeles has virtually zero chance of meeting its goal of ending traffic deaths by 2025, by which time the mayor who committed to it will likely be serving as ambassador to India, anyway. 

Sacramento officials identify the 76-year old man who died a month after he was run down by a drunk motorist illegally driving on a bike path.

 

National

TikTok’s Mr. Barricade discusses the benefits and practicality of quick-build bike lanes.

The New Republic says car sales and usage are on the rise, crushing hopes of reclaiming streets for bike riders and pedestrians.

A pair of Navy vets discuss their 1,300-mile bike ride to visit sites marking the 9/11 attacks to honor those who died that day.

The kindhearted staff of a Wyoming co-op dug into their own pockets to buy a new bike for a young girl, after someone stole her bicycle and tried to fix its flat tire at their shop.

Someone please tell San Antonio, Texas that a 35 mph speed limit does not a Slow Street make.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 75-year old Kansas man is planning to ride 75 miles to celebrate his birthday, while raising funds to help former inmates reenter society.

There’s a special place in hell for the person who jumped out of a car and shot a 12-year old St. Louis boy, just missing his 11-year old companion; fortunately, the boy is expected to survive.

Olympic silver medalist Brent Emery now devotes his efforts to building custom adaptive bicycles for kids with disabilities; Emery won his medal for team pursuit in the ’84 Los Angeles games.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A legend in local television was killed when a driver ran down a 77-year old former Florida TV executive in the fog on Saturday morning; Stephen McKenney Steck had ridden his bike every day for the last seven years.

Speaking of a special place in hell, that goes double for whoever viciously beat and robbed a 68-year old New York grandfather as he rode a bikeshare bike.

 

International

Raleigh wants to replace your car, too, for the low, low price of just $6,000. Apparently, “replace your car” is code for a cargo bike that costs as much as a used car.

Toronto bike riders are complaining after police ticketed dozens of bicyclists for speeding and blowing a stop sign in a local park, setting up a speed trap on a street where the limit was 20 mph for everyone. Although, as another story that was hidden behind a paywall wondered, is it really fair to ticket bike riders who don’t have a speedometer?

The world’s longest solar power-generating bike path is now open in the Netherlands, stretching over 1,000 feet.

Hats off to Mohammad Ashraf, who is completing a 2,300-mile ride across India, despite having to ride with just one leg after the other was paralyzed in a 2017 bicycling crash, which also limited use of his right hand.

 

Competitive Cycling

Britain’s Tom Pidcock took gold in men’s Olympic mountain biking in his first Olympics, after barely qualifying as U-23 rider.

Mathieu van der Poel blames a missing wooden ramp for crashing out of the mountain bike race, saying it had been there during his practice rides.

Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten says she’s “gutted” after falsely claiming victory in the road race after losing track of Anna Kiesenhofer, who finished over a minute ahead of her to claim the gold.

 

Finally…

That feeling when a cross-state group ride crosses paths with a police chase. Nothing like being 300 miles into a 1,200 cross-country bike ride because you lost a bet.

And don’t count on riding BMW’s compact, folding ped-assist e-cargo bike anytime soon.

Or maybe ever.

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

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

Unconfirmed report of West LA bicycling death, fighting for racial justice and equity in bicycling, and Metro Bike turns 5

July 2, 2021 / / One comment

One quick note —

Get out on your bike and enjoy the summer weather with the three-day Independence Day holiday coming up this weekend.

But remember drivers are likely to be distracted, and possibly under the influence after outdoor barbecues and picnics. 

So have fun. But remember to ride safely and defensively. 

I expect to see you back here safe and sound on Tuesday. 

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Once again, we have a credible report of a fatal bicycling collision, but still have to wait for confirmation.

KNX 1070 helicopter pilot Scott Burt tweeted that traffic had been halted on a dangerous stretch of Sunset Blvd between the 405 Freeway and Veteran Ave in West Los Angeles, due to what he termed a deadly vehicle versus bicycle incident.

The photo appears to line up with the intersection of Sunset and North Lenroy Ave. Although it’s hard to tell just what we’re looking at in the photo, beyond the officers and patrol cars securing the scene and investigating the crash.

Hopefully, we’ll learn more soon.

I can’t begin to tell you how tired I am of this crap.

Is it really too much to ask for the right to ride a damn bike and expect to return home in one piece afterwards?

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Bike equity and racial justice advocate Tamika Butler has penned another powerful piece for Bicycling, arguing that we’re still not seeing the inclusivity promised by the bike industry in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis.

Never mind that people of color don’t experience the same level of safety on our streets as white riders.

Or rather, the lack of it.

We ride bikes, we get how dangerous this can be. Yet, white advocates didn’t realize that the color of someone’s skin meant that they were more likely not to be seen by a driver while at the very same time exponentially more visible to police. For bicycle advocates of color, especially Black advocates, the goal was never to make streets safe-er. Instead, we are fighting for the same baseline level of safety that white cyclists enjoy.

We worry about being doored or hit by a careless and distracted driver just like all cyclists. But we also carry the burden of knowing that our risks are amplified because we can’t ride around with the protection of whiteness. We too want the experience of riding our bikes without worrying whether people think they look too expensive for us to own, or living in a neighborhood that isn’t deemed too poor or too Black to deserve infrastructure.

Seriously, read it.

And yes, you can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you, apparently forgetting their commitment to widely share stories about racial equity.

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Happy birthday to Metro Bike, which is celebrating five years since the bikeshare system was introduced in DTLA.

To mark the occasion, they’re offering free 30 minute Metro Bike rides and the sticker below, or half off an annual membership.

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Now that’s more like it.

Amazon announced a new program to reimburse employees up to $400 a month for using a bicycle to commute to work instead of driving.

The exact amount will vary by city — it’s just $175 a month for workers in Nashville. However, it’s unclear if it just applies to the company’s five regional centers, or if the benefit will be available to workers at Amazon’s distribution centers and warehouses, as well local delivery drivers.

Now we just need to convince other employees that it’s in their benefit to pay workers not to drive instead of paying for employee parking.

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A London bike rider was lucky to walk away from a head-on crash, as a driver suddenly swerved onto the wrong side of the street before continuing on to crash into a pole on the sidewalk.

https://twitter.com/standardnews/status/1410646692416925697

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

There’s not a pit in hell deep enough for a 25-year old Detroit man, who can expect to spend the next 14 to 25 years behind bars after admitting to breaking into a woman’s home and raping her, then fleeing by bike.

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Local

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s detectives busted a pair of men accused of mercilessly shooting two other men as they rode past the victims on a bicycle and skateboard; they also arrested three other people, and seized a number of ghost guns.

 

State

Encinitas will hold a meeting to talk ebikes at some underdetermined date, to address fears from residents freaking out over the ped-assist bikes in the coastal San Diego County town.

Oakland bike riders will have one last chance next Tuesday to fight to keep the highly successful protected bike lane on Telegraph Ave.

 

National

The US House approved a $715 billion transportation infrastructure plan, with $920 million specifically marked for projects throughout California, including a bicycle garden in Antioch. San Diego County would get $97 million, but much of that would be wasted on demand-inducing freeway projects.

PeopleForBikes wants you to Ride For Freedom this month, offering patches to riders who complete 7, 14 or 21 rides of at least for miles before the end of the month.

Bicycling lists some of the best 4th of July sales on bike gear. Here’s the Yahoo link if the magazine blocks you.

The bike boom goes on, especially for ped-assist bikes, with someone in the US buying an ebike an average of every 52 seconds.

This is the cost of traffic violence. Thirty-eight-year old Boryana Straubel, a philanthropist and founder of sustainable jewelry maker Generation Collection, was killed in a head-on collision while riding her bike in Nevada’s Washoe County, outside of Reno. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

A Texas court decides to lock up a deadly driver and throw away the key, sentencing him to life without parole for intentionally slamming his truck into a group of riders participating in a bike race, killing a man and a woman, and injuring three others.

A Black-owned startup benefitted from a Milwaukee business incubator program to bring their next-gen, IoT-enabled ebike to market.

A new Ohio law prohibits the use of eminent domain to take land for a planned bike path for the next five years, delivering a victory for property owners but a significant delay, if not defeat, for anyone hoping to ride it.

 

International

An English man has set out on a 3,100 mile ride up the UK’s steepest ascents to raise money to fight homelessness, after being told he’d never ride a bike again following a major high-speed collision.

You’ve got to be kidding. More proof that life is cheap in the UK, where a truck driver was sentenced to a lousy 12 weeks behind bars for killing a 71-year old man out for a bike ride. And even that was suspended for 18 months.

Portuguese bike riders are planning a 30-minute sit in and vigil to call attention to too many people being killed and injured while riding their bikes, in the wake of a bike-riding expectant mother who was killed by a driver.

An engineering website takes a look at South Korea’s 20-mile solar panel-covered, electricity-generating bike path. Which has the misfortune of being located in the center of a freeway, exposing riders to noise and smog from passing cars.

 

Competitive Cycling

Make that 32 stage wins in the Tour de France, as Mark Cavendish closes in on the once-unreachable record of 34 set by the legendary Eddy Merckx.

At least some members of the peloton think arresting a fan is a step too far, even if the 30-year old sign-carrying Frenchwoman did cause a massive crash in first stage of the Tour while giving a shoutout to her grandparents. Meanwhile, the operators of the Tour backed off a threat to sue the woman when she was caught. Which she was.

He may not wear the yellow jersey, but 29-year old Australian cyclist Lachlan Morton intends to be the first rider to reach Paris, as he rides the entire route of this year’s Tour de France — plus an extra 1,302 miles — on a self-supported bikepacking tour to raise funds for World Bicycle Relief; so far he’s raised enough money to donate over 1,400 bicycles to help change lives in need. Once again, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

We all admire cyclists who get up from a major crash and keep riding to the finish. But a writer for Cycling Tips says racing with broken bones isn’t something to admire.

The world’s biggest women’s stage race, the Giro d’Italia Donne, kicks off today, with rising American star Katie Clouse making a surprise debut in the 19-year old cyclist’s first year on the world stage.

US mountain bike champ Chloe Woodruff withdrew from the US Olympic team, citing personal reasons; she was replaced by Erin Huck.

 

Finally…

Who says you can’t move your entire apartment by bicycle?

And here’s your vertigo-inducing mountain bike ride of the day.

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

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

Justice grinds slowly in SoCal bike cases, reward in previously unknown hit-and-run, and DUI driver injures man on bike path

June 30, 2021 / / Comments Off on Justice grinds slowly in SoCal bike cases, reward in previously unknown hit-and-run, and DUI driver injures man on bike path

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from our anonymous legal correspondent.

She’s back today with a long list of cases that are slowly working their way through the court system.

Along with a few killer drivers scheduled to get out from behind bars too damn soon.

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Mariah Kandise Banks, charged in the hit-and-run death of Frederick “Woon” Frazier, has yet another prelim reset date coming up on July 13th. This case is just so long and drawn out, and meanwhile, Banks continues to drive and has not ceased her harassment of Woon’s family, in violation of Judge Hobbs’ repeated reminders,

On April 10th, I attended a group march from Woon’s mama’s house to the site of his slaughter, where a new ghost bike was installed. It is really horrible to have to see his mama right there at the scene where a stranger held her son as he died.

In speaking to our group, she told us all she was thankful that so many people showed up and are still fighting to make things safer.

The DA’s office has not been very communicative. I feel that the DA’s office is in violation Marsy’s Law. My understanding is that the clerk has even outright hung up on Miz Beverly. I spoke with Edin (Chief Lunes) at the event, and suggested that perhaps a calm, independent liaison would be helpful in exchanging information. Naturally he volunteered. I spoke to Miz Beverly about this and I think it is a relief to her that she doesn’t have to pick up that phone herself to harangue the prosecutor, who’s really dropping the ball.

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On the subject of long, drawn-out cases, Justin Scott German has his next appearance date on August 18th for the alleged drunken hit-and-run death of 41-year-old Binh Ngo in Huntington Beach.

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Scuzzy Andrea Dorothy Chan Reyes, who told the mechanics who cleaned the blood off her dented car that she’d hit a dog, and subsequently fled to another continent, is eligible for parole in October. Yes, October 2021.

(Chan Reyes was sentenced to seven years just three months ago for the 2017 hit-and-run death of Agustin Rodriguez, after dragging Rodriguez the length of two football fields under her car as she sped away — then fleeing to Hong Kong and Australia in an ultimately vain attempt to avoid prosecution. Evidently, seven years doesn’t last as long as it used to.)

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I remain furious that Brandon James Lindsley only got 7 goddamn years for the hit-and-run death of Carla Becerra while illegally riding a motorcycle on the San Gabriel River Trail, but at least he’s not eligible for parole until… February 2023.

Becerra’s ghost bike is still there next to the river trail, so I added some flowers for her birthday a couple weeks ago.

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Unrelated to bikes, repeat drunk driver Maritza Joana Lara, who killed a dad on Father’s Day and critically injured four other people, then fled the scene on foot before her arrest in Mexico, will be eligible for parole in 2033.

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Stephen Taylor Scarpa, who left Costa Mesa Fire Captain Mike Kreza’s three little girls fatherless, is still set for a jury trial in August. Scarpa is charged with murder for allegedly driving while stoned when he killed Kreza as the popular firefighter was training for a triathlon while riding in Mission Viejo.

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Richard David Lavalle, charged with murder in the death of a 12-year-old autistic boy as he rode bikes with his dad in a Costa Mesa crosswalk, wants to fire his public defender. If this doesn’t happen, his prelim will likely proceed as scheduled September 21st.

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Robert Calvin Mata, who killed John Crouch at PCH & 1st in downtown Huntington Beach late last month, remains under investigation for DUI (drugs, not alcohol).

A commenter on your blog said that the crosswalk on the south side of that intersection had been removed, but I remember being surprised that one wasn’t intstalled after the new development went in, given the great increase in pedestrian activity it’s brought to that location.

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Ronald Earl Kenebrew, Jr., who was already locked up awaiting a court date on charges of robbery & indecent exposure, was arraigned yesterday on charges of murder, carjacking, and hit & run in the death of Branden Finley as he rode to the Ride For Black Lives in Downtown Los Angeles last year. The court website hasn’t been updated, so I dunno the outcome of his hearing.

LA Superior Court opens back up this week, and I’ll be there to do some digging into a backlog of cases.

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School teacher Molly Jane Hoene had a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 21st, and no further hearings scheduled as yet, but her bail still stands, so I don’t think the charges were dropped. Hoene was arrested for the 2019 hit-and-run death of a homeless bike rider in Silver Lake that was caught on security cam.

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Moises Iscaya, who fled the scene after killing South LA father Jorge Guerra on July 8th as he rode bikes home with his two kids last fall, is likely to be declared mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Investigators found Iscaya three months later, already in custody on multiple unrelated charges, including murder.

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Jared Walter Anderson, who allegedly squished the life out of scooter rider Evan Dyer Faram at Sunset & Vine in 2019, faces the judge again on July 15th.

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On a separate not, last month, on Friday, May 14th, I was waiting for the bus at Fig & Pico about 11am, and a ride rolled by… and rolled and rolled and rolled… I thought the river of bikes was never going to end. I honestly started wondering whether they had just looped a few blocks and were going around in a circle. A young man yelled an invitation, so I jumped in and followed a guy riding backwards for at least a half mile. To this day I still don’t know what this ride was!!!!! All ages. Guys, gals. Fixie trash. Insta-girls. Geezers on trikes. BMX kids. Dogs in backpacks, dogs in baskets. Spandex, cargo shorts, hot pants, and a skirt or two… everybody and all their neighbors. Just an amazing encounter. Los Angeles, 2021. Wow.

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The LAPD announced a $50,000 reward for the hit-and-run driver who killed Leo Dimeglio as he was riding his bicycle on eastbound Jefferson Blvd around 11:41 p.m on June 10th.

Unfortunately, this is the first we’ve heard of the fatal crash. It shouldn’t take nearly three weeks for the police to inform the public that an innocent person has been killed. Let alone ask for our help in apprehending a heartless, cowardly, killer driver.

I’ll have a more detailed story later today.

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Once again, a driver has gotten onto a supposedly carfree bike trail — this time with tragic results.

An alleged drunk driver somehow got onto Sacramento’s popular American River Parkway and slammed into the Sacramento Wheelmen group ride, leaving one rider in critical condition with severe injuries.

Let’s hope the victim makes a fast and full recovery, and that they secure the trail to keep it from ever happening again.

And that the driver is never again allowed behind the wheel.

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

A Boston man is under arrest for slashing a food delivery rider on the arm with an “industrial-style pocket knife” in an apparent random attack. The victim was treated at the scene but refused further medical attention.

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

San Francisco police are offering a $25,000 reward for the 2016 fatal shooting of a man in the Tenderloin District; a security cam captured an image of the suspect riding on the handlebars of another man’s bike; the bike rider has been cleared, but the shooter is still at large.

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Local

For the first time since the 1980s, Los Angeles doesn’t has the worst traffic in the US. The Los Angeles/Long Beach/Anaheim region was number two last year, behind the New York-Newark area. Which, oddly, is exactly what it feels like to ride a bike here.

Progressive news site Knock LA looks at the fight to form a union representing Metro Bike workers, who don’t actually work for Metro.

The new state budget includes $4.3 million in funding for a proposed walking path along the San Gabriel River.

 

State

Streetsblog offers an update on key issues that passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee yesterday, including a bill allowing bike riders to treat stop signs as yields, a bill legalizing jaywalking, and a third allowing cameras on buses to capture bus lane violations. So we can have cameras on buses, but no speed cams in school zones. Got it.

San Diego safety advocates are calling for drivers to pay attention after the recent rash of bike deaths in the county.

A San Luis Obispo paper say the transportation bill currently taking shape in the US House — as opposed to the recently announced bipartisan bill — contains $20 million for transportation projects in SLO and Santa Barbara counties, including a bike path connecting Morro Bay and Cayucos.

San Francisco Streetsblog calls out a deadly combination of reckless driving and unsafe street design for the needless death of a man riding his bike home from work in Hayworth last week.

 

National

Bike lawyer Bob Mionske examines the safety and legalities of modern roundabouts.

The Christian Science Monitor questions whether America even knows how to do infrastructure anymore.

They get it. The county surrounding Boise, Idaho is suddenly a national leader in protecting bike riders, committing to install protected bike lanes whenever they resurface any of the most dangerous multilane roadways in the region. Maybe the newly bike-friendly Caltrans can follow their lead. Let alone the ostensibly progressive LADOT.

Visions of cowboys on scooters, as e-scooters hit the streets of Cheyenne, Wyoming just in time for the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota is expanding its 35-mile network of bike trails to serve the area’s one million annual users.

A Minnesota bike rider calls on drivers to look out for people on bicycles after he was nearly run down while riding in a crosswalk with his girlfriend while crossing with the walk signal.

The carnage continues in New York, where a 71-year old man was killed when he was stuck by a postal truck in an apparent right hook.

A New York county approves its own three-foot passing law after concluding bike riders need more protection than the state’s “safe distance” passing rule.

That’s more like it. A University of Pennsylvania cop goes viral for her friendly interaction with an Instagram star, as she and her partner join him in passing out sandwiches after initially responding to a call of bike riders blocking the sidewalk.

The DC bike community is in mourning after 61-year-old Jay Moglia died of a massive heart attack while leading a group ride last Saturday; the former bike messenger, racer and cycling trainer was a renowned figure in the Washington area.

 

International

Treehugger rates the year’s best ebike conversion kits.

Pink Bike takes a spin on Earthbound’s high pivot bamboo-frame enduro bike. And likes it.

A British Columbia man questions whether the motorcyclist who ran down his bicycle-riding mother caught a break because authorities thought he was a “nice” and “decent” man.

A Clinton, Ontario website looks back to the “Victorian age of muscular Christianity,” when a group of itinerant American clergymen rode into town on their Penny Farthings under the banner of the newly formed American Wheelmen.

He gets it, too. A Montreal writer questions whether an accident waiting to happen that puts children, bike riders and pedestrians at risk is still an accident.

A British transport minister says no, there is no chance bike riders will be required to wear license numbers, regardless of the demands of “Mr. Loophole,” a lawyer who specializes in getting wealthy drivers off the hook.

Okay, so they weren’t on a bicycle. It’s still worth mentioning two Indian men sharing a motorcycle who escaped a charging leopard by feeding him cake. Although something tells me the big cat will be waiting to blow to the candles when they come back.

A new Australian study hopes to determine whether “excessive” recreational riding leads to heart problems in non-elite bicyclists.

 

Competitive Cycling

Spoiler alert: Skip this section if you still have yesterday’s stage of the Tour de France in your viewing queue. Still here? The news that aging Mark Cavendish won his first stage of the Tour de France in six years is just to big to hide behind a spoiler-free link; the win leaves the sprinter just three victories behind The Cannibal’s record of 34 Tour stage wins.

The entire peloton stepped off their bikes for a silent protest at the start of yesterday’s stage to call attention to the dangerous conditions that have led to a rash of crashes in this year’s Tour, arguing that someone could be killed next time.

The woman who caused a massive crash with her sign in the first stage of the Tour has disappeared after fleeing France to parts unknown.

Now you, too, can wear the same kit as LA’s own L39ION of Los Angeles cycling team.

 

Finally…

A driver cuts out the middleman and runs down bikes before they even leave the shop. Nothing will test your relationship like riding 3,700 miles on a tandem.

And that’s one way to do a multimodal commute.

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

Category: Legal Cases, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bicyclists call for safety improvements after fatal La Jolla crash, and hundreds turn out for Culver City Pride Ride

June 28, 2021 / / One comment

San Diego area bicyclists call for better education and safety improvements on La Jolla’s deadly Torrey Pines Road, in the wake of Wednesday’s crash that took the life of scientist and mother Swati Tyagi.

However, advocates are split on the benefits of installing a protected bike lane on the busy roadway, with some fearing it could do more harm than good on the steep downhill grade.

It’s been too long since I’ve ridden that area to recall specific details of the roadway. However, in many cases, it’s safer to have a separated lane with a wide buffer to give riders room to maneuver if need be, rather than trapping riders in a protected bike lane.

Which is exactly the opposite of what’s called for on the uphill side, or virtually any other situation.

It also doesn’t help that bicyclists haven’t even been consulted about planned improvements to the street.

(La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board) Chairman Dave Abrams asked (bicyclist Kurt) Hoffman and others to confer with a La Jolla Community Planning Association subcommittee, which LJCPA President Diane Kane said was looking into pedestrian and car access in and out of The Village, including via Torrey Pines Road.

On June 24, Kane told the La Jolla Light that the subcommittee, called the Village Visioning Committee, has “been working diligently on streetscapes in The Village and on entrances into La Jolla,” such as Pearl and Nautilus streets.

She said she hasn’t seen anything yet for Torrey Pines Road. “So far, bicyclists haven’t been part of the committee’s conversation on traffic calming and streetscape enhancements but will be welcome once the initial concepts are melded into a coherent whole,” Kane said.

Unfortunately, that’s how planning too often works.

And why it too often fails us.

Meanwhile, the Salk Institute issued a statement mourning the death of their colleague Swati Tyagi.

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A Redditor catches Sunday’s Culver City Pride Ride on his dashcam, featuring what appears to be hundreds of riders.

Although we could do without the idiotas y pendejos popping wheelies while they play chicken with drivers on the wrong side of the road.

Just saw this huge bicycle group ride through Culver City, where are they from?
byu/MechaHitler_ inBikeLA

Thanks to Keith Johnson for the heads-up. 

Correction: That wasn’t the Pride Ride. This is the Pride Ride. 

Thanks to Joni for setting the record straight. 

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Alabama Representative Mo Brooks is one of us, unlocking his bicycle from a rack outside the nation’s capitol as the Big Lie backer refuses to talk to a reporter from CNN, saying he doesn’t trust the network to be honest.

Which is a great way to duck the hard questions.

Meanwhile, Uber’s CEO is one of us, too, spending a day working as one of his own Uber Eats delivery riders in San Francisco, even as Twitter users decry it as a publicity stunt.

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No bias here.

Apparently, in Hamilton, Ontario, you’re supposed to wait patiently at a stop sign until drivers in each direction wave you through the intersection.

Which will never, ever happen in real life.

And never wear headphones on a bike, even though you can usually still hear traffic noise, unless you’ve got the volume cranked up to ridiculous levels.

Unlike, say, drivers in their hermetically sealed vehicles, with the sound up so high they can’t even hear a fire truck bearing down on them.

………

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

A man was caught on video leaning far out of a car’s passenger window in an attempt to push a British man off his bicycle. However, the jerk’s failure to succeed in his terroristic attack against an innocent bike rider shouldn’t affect any possible charges one damn whit.

………

Local

A preliminary Metro study suggests congestion pricing really would reduce driving in several areas around Los Angeles.

 

State

The popular Belgian Waffle Ride is back in San Diego’s North County after last year’s cancellation, including a two-day Expo and beer garden. Let’s hope the riders visit the beer garden after the race, though.

Officials in Encinitas are scaling back plans to remake the North Coast Highway 101 corridor, settling for modest re-striping in one section instead of the original plans to change the entire corridor at once.

Sad news from San Luis Obispo, where a 61-year old man was killed by a truck driver in a right hook crash.

A Napa Valley paper calls for repealing California’s jaywalking laws.

 

National

Streetsblog explains why slower speeds are better for “affordable, healthy, equitable, accessible and resource-efficient communities.”

US cities are pushing to make pandemic-era street changes permanent, despite the inevitable auto-centric pushback.

Once again, all it takes to convert a city official to a bike advocate is getting hit by a driver, as a Moline, Illinois alderman becomes a strong voice for better bikeways.

A Nashville bike rider wisely gave up his bicycle when he was threatened by a man with a machete; police later busted the thief, finding meth and drug paraphernalia on him, as well as the hot bike.

A 76-year old New Jersey man faces three counts of hit-and-run for the April crash that left three bike riders seriously injured.

A writer from Lafayette, Louisiana says her bicycle joy went full circle as she rediscovered her love of riding a bike during the pandemic.

A Florida man has just 1,500 miles to go on an 11,500-mile ride crisscrossing the US to raise funds to fight cancer; he’s raised nearly $93,000 of his $100,000 goal for cancer nonprofit Chemo Noir.

The husband of a bike-riding Florida woman who was run down by a hit-and-run driver is worried that the 89-year old woman is still driving while out on bail, even though she somehow couldn’t see two adult people on bicycles directly in front of her. Or cared enough to stick around after getting out of her car to look at the crumpled riders she’d nearly killed. Yet another example of authorities not taking the keys from an elderly driver until it’s too late.

 

International

A Toronto columnist goes all in on bicycling after buying an ebike.

Nat Geo recommends the five best bike day trips starting from London, for your next trip to the UK.

That’s more like it. Britain’s Bicycle Association issued new standards for bike parking, calling for safe, easy-to-use bike racks accessible by all bike riders, including disabled riders.

A former Scottish cycling champ now spends his days traveling the country to support renal failure patients and their families, five years after receiving a life-saving kidney transplant.

India’s Hero Bicycles takes on Chinese ebike manufacturers by cracking the European market for the first time.

A whopping 1,500 bike riders turned out for a mass bicycle parade in Budapest, after it was delayed a year and a half by the pandemic.

An Indian anthropologist says the answer to the country’s choking smog is to bicycle or perish.

A Philippine columnist says yes, the country’s new bike lanes really work.

 

Competitive Cycling

Who says women can’t compete with men? A 52-year old woman won the brutal Race Across America, aka RAAM, for the first time, as Leah Goldstein crossed the finish line in 11 days, 3 hours and 3 minutes.

The Dutch dominated the one-day women’s La Course race which preceded the Tour, taking three of the top four spots as Demi Vollering out-sprinted Denmark’s Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and former champion Marianne Vos.

Eighteen-year old Sebastopol CA resident Luke Lamperti recounts his surprise win in the crash-marred US national road championship.

The big news from the Tour de France is a first stage crash that took out nearly half the peloton in one fell swoop. What appeared to be an over-enthusiastic fan giving a shoutout to her grandparents knocked down Tony Martin with her sign, causing the others to fall like dominoes, although only Germany’s Jasha Sutterlin was knocked out of the race. Thanks to David Drexler for the link.

Tour officials threatened to sue the woman, even though they have no idea who she is after she slipped away during the chaos; French police are looking for her, too. However, the director of the Dutch Jumbo-Visma cycling team blames Tour de France officials for the massive crash.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the day’s only massive crash, though.

Bodycam video shows a mechanic for Team Jumbo-Visma leap out of the team car and sprint through the peloton with a fresh bike for one of the downed riders.

https://twitter.com/JumboVismaRoad/status/1408897951984979969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1408897951984979969%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fteam-mechanic-sprints-through-crash-help-his-team-284443

Since the race is being televised in the US, we’ll go back to our usual mostly spoiler updates for the next three weeks. Hence this blind teaser that the yellow jersey changed hands yesterday; you’ll have to click the link to learn who’s wearing it now. Or why it fulfills his famed grandfather’s dream.

 

Finally…

Your next bike could be extremely extremely cool looking and made of wood. And here’s your chance to own a DeLorean of your very own.

Flux capacitor optional.

https://twitter.com/dorfman_baruch/status/1409359704271245314

………

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

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

Donation match for LA’s 1st private/public bike lane partnership, and unconfirmed bicycling death in Solano Beach

June 25, 2021 / / Comments Off on Donation match for LA’s 1st private/public bike lane partnership, and unconfirmed bicycling death in Solano Beach

Back in my blissfully misspent youth, there was a popular cartoon that showed a couple buzzards sitting on a fence.

One turns to the other, and says “Patience my ass. I’m going to kill something.”

It seemed funny at the time.

But that’s kind of where some LA bike advocates are right now.

Rather than wait endlessly for the city to finally get around to improving safety for bike riders and pedestrians on Sunset and Santa Monica Blvds, they’re trying to speed things up by helping pay for it through a private/public sponsorship.

And they need your help.

Here’s how Terence Heuston, the former author of LA Bike Dad, describes it.

Sunset4All, in partnership with the LACBC, is launching a crowdfunding “match” campaign to fund the initial engineering plans for protected bike lanes and pedestrian improvements on Sunset and Santa Monica Boulevards through East Hollywood, Silver Lake, and Echo Park.

If the community reaches our $25,000 goal, angel donors will MATCH THEIR DONATION. Every dollar of their tax-deductible donation will be DOUBLED if we reach our goal! Declare your independence from traffic by donating before 4th of July!

The NUMBER of donors is as important as the number of dollars. The city of LA installs safe street projects where there is broad community support. Every individual donor is an individual VOTE for this project. Even a small donation is tangible PROOF that Angelenos support safer streets and protected bike lanes.

The private/public partnership model has been used successfully in other regions to accelerate the installation of the Arapahoe bike lanes in Denver and the Indianapolis Cultural Trail. We want to transfer this innovative model to Los Angeles and release a flood of protected bike lanes region wide. It all starts with Sunset4All reaching its fundraising goal.

You can learn more — and contribute — here.

And yes, I just opened my wallet and put my money where my mouth is. If every else gives the same amount, we just need another 999 people to follow suit.

………

I’m still waiting on official confirmation. But sadly, it looks like another bike rider has been killed in San Diego County.

This comes follows on the heels of another tragic death just a few miles south in La Jolla, where a young mother from India was killed when she was run down by a 74-year old driver while making a lane change on her bike on Tuesday.

Assuming the victim’s death is confirmed, that will mean nine people have been killed riding their bikes on the suddenly mean streets of San Diego County in just the first six months of this year.

………

Calbike calls on everyone to write your California state senator to urge their support — or in one case, opposition — for a trio of bills.

AB 371: This measure will place a large and unprecedented insurance requirement on shared mobility systems. It won’t make our streets safer but it will put every bike-share system in California, public and private, out of business. Email your senator to vote NO on AB 371 to save bike-share.

AB 122 (Boerner Horvath): The bicycle safety stop (first introduced in Idaho in 1982) makes biking safer and easier, but some California groups don’t want this commonsense, pro-bike measure to become law. Tell your senator to vote YES on AB 122, the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill.

AB 1238 (Ting): The Freedom to Walk Act puts an end to unjust jaywalking laws advanced by the auto industry a century ago.  these laws prevent people from enjoying their streets on foot safely, in the interest of making them the exclusive domain of cars. Today, jaywalking laws serve as a sometimes tragic pretext for biased policing, as a hugely disproportionate share of jaywalking tickets are issued to Black Californians.  Tell your senator to support the Freedom to Walk Act, AB 1238.

………

After several years covering the transportation beat, the LA Times Laura J. Nelson is taking on a new role as a rapid-response enterprise/investigative reporter.

Over the years, Nelson developed an encyclopedic knowledge of Los Angeles transportation issues, and her insights and in-depth reporting will be missed.

On the other hand, that means that her old job is now available.

https://twitter.com/laura_nelson/status/1408110659166822405

………

Ride in solidarity with the Metro Bikeshare and Donut Friend Unions tomorrow.

As the son of a union man, I only wish my slowly healing hands would let me join in on the ride.

………

We’ll have to see how it ends up when they flesh out the details. But right now, it looks like active transportation may have lost out in the bipartisan compromise on the transportation bill.

https://twitter.com/KostelecPlan/status/1408264284996571136

………

Pink Bike wants to teach you how to actually learn new bike skills.

Evidently, there’s a lot to learn, since this is just episode one of a ten part series.

………

This is who we share the road with.

Apparently, bear spray has become the weapon of choice for aggrieved motorists and insurrectionists.

………

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

No bias here. A Laguna Beach paper compares teenage ebike riders to the Lord of the Flies. No, really.

A nine-year old English boy was the victim of anti-bike sabotage, suffering a serious neck injury when he rode his bike into a rope someone had strung across a trail at neck level. Let’s hope whoever did this faces serious charges when they catch the jerk.

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

A woman made her escape by bicycle after robbing a San Diego nail salon at gunpoint.

Prosecutors threw the book at the San Francisco thief who was recorded riding his bicycle out of a Walgreens after dumping a pharmacy shelf into a bag, filing 15 charges for robbing the same store four days in a row.

Authorities near my Colorado hometown are looking for a man who apparently took offense when a woman nearly backed over his fellow bike rider, and punched her in the face. Seriously, don’t do that. It’s only natural to feel anger and fear when someone nearly hits you or a riding companion, but violence is never the answer.

A New Jersey man faces weapons charges after he dropped a stolen handgun when he was struck by a driver while riding his bike in Atlantic City.

………

Local

Los Angeles is finally getting around to connecting the county’s disconnected rail system to the airport, with a new station that also promises to improve bicycling connections to LAX. Meanwhile, bike advocate Michael Schneider says why wait, when you can ride to LAX right now? Thanks to Keith Johnson for the heads-up.

LA County received $32 million in grants from the California Transportation Commission, including $5.6 million for a two way, 1.5-mile protected cycle track on Union Street in Pasadena.

Streets for All is hosting a Culver City Pride Ride this Sunday.

Santa Monica-based Bird is getting into the e-bikeshare business.

California’s Clean Mobility Options program, funded by the state’s cap-and-trade system, will fund a $1 million e-bikeshare system for residents of the Rancho San Pedro affordable housing community, near the Port of Los Angeles; 19 other clean energy projects around the state will receive grants up to $1 million.

 

State

Enjoy a 10-mile, no one left behind, kickoff ride for the new Over the Hump mountain bike season in Laguna Niguel on July 8th.

The manager of Costa Mesa’s Specialized bike shop shares his favorite Orange County trails.

Despite years of outreach, some businesses and residents in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood still seem to be surprised, if not angry, over the loss of 450 parking spaces to makes room for new protected bike lanes on 30th Street.

Speaking of parking, San Diego is moving forward with a proposal to remove parking minimums for many businesses. Hopefully Los Angeles will follow suit.

San Jose removed traffic lanes on two downtown streets to give bike riders new concrete barrier-protected bike lanes, replacing the previous painted bike lanes.

 

National

City Lab says open streets aren’t always open to everyone, including people with disabilities, for whom they can be closed.

Gear Junkie offers tips on how to buy a used bicycle.

All seven victims of last weekend’s Show Low AZ vehicular attack remain hospitalized, with six in Arizona and one in New Mexico; the driver who deliberately ran them over with his pickup is also hospitalized in stable condition after being shot by police.

Heartbreaking news from Denver, where an 11-year old boy in suburban Aurora has now undergone five operations in two weeks since he was run down by an alleged drunk driver while riding his bicycle, and dragged 50 feet beneath the driver’s car.

Not all Austin, Texas bike riders are thrilled about sharing their bike lanes with pizza delivery robots.

After an Oklahoma group gave a young man a new bike when they learned he had to walk 17 miles roundtrip to work and back, a crowdfunding campaign raised nearly $50,000 to buy him a new car. Which just goes to show that kind gestures can take an unexpected bad turn.

While Los Angeles continues its over-reliance on motor vehicles, Cleveland — yes, Rest Belt Cleveland — is reimagining itself as a denser, more walkable city effectively served by transit. Although it’s accused of backpedaling on plans for a sidewalk-level, two-way cycle track.

New York mayoral frontrunner Eric Adams promises that if he wins, he’ll ride his bike around town, take the subway and walk through neighborhoods like former Mayor John Lindsey in the ’60s. Which would be a big change from outgoing Mayor de Blasio, who’s infamous for being driven to the gym in a massive SUV.

A Florida man got ten years for stabbing a woman as she rode her bike in West Palm Beach, in an apparently unprovoked attack.

 

International

Yes, your ebike can get wet. But don’t try riding it through the pool.

Pink Bike questions whether mixed-wheel bikes, aka mullet bikes, with one wheel larger than the other, are here to stay.

Momentum Magazine rolls with Welsh DJ Dom Whiting and his mobile cargo bike party.

Ebikes far outsold electric cars in the UK last year, despite a government subsidy for the latter, as one ebike was sold in the country every three minutes. Meanwhile, British bicycling deaths jumped 40% last year, due at least in part to an increase in dangerous driving during the pandemic.

A stoned English driver got a well-deserved 11 years behind bars for killing two bike-riding men while speeding 30 miles over the speed limit in a stolen car.

An Indian writer says bicycling is back in vogue in the country.

People in Lebanon are taking to their bikes as the country runs out of gas. Literally.

Ebike sales have doubled in Singapore, driven by demand from food delivery workers.

 

Competitive Cycling

After a near-absence from the Tour de France in recent years, North Americans are making a strong comeback to the peloton, with four riders from the US, along with another three from Canada.

A writer for Bicycling offers a lengthy dissertation on what happens when she meets her idol, Primož Roglič. And yes, you can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

A writer for the AP says the Tour de France could come down to a rematch between fellow Slovenian’s Roglič and Tadej Pogačar.

French cyclist Audrey Cordon-Ragot says it’s about damn time there was a women’s Tour de France once again, as this year’s final La Course becomes the stepping stone to next year’s women’s Tour. Although she may not have put it quite that way.

Thirty-eight-year old Dutch cyclist Koen de Kort may have seen his cycling career come to an end after three fingers on his right hand were amputated following a crash in an off-road vehicle. And fellow Dutch cycling star Maurits Lammertink will miss the Tour de France after he was rushed into surgery for a brain injury caused by a collision with a scooter rider.

The director of the women’s Doltcini-Van Eyck-Proximus cycling team was banned for three-years after several riders accused him of sexual misconduct and harassment.

Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel is proof that sometimes, greatness runs in the family.

https://twitter.com/AlpecinFenix/status/1408123568714665994

 

Finally…

Your next Mercedes Benz could have just two wheels, and a battery. Proof you can be a billionaire fashion mogul and still bike to work.

And former pro Fabian Cancellara is selling…something.

https://twitter.com/cyclingtips/status/1407734786236375044

………

Thanks to David E for an unexpected donation to help support this site, and keep SoCal’s best bike news coming your way every day.

Okay, almost every day. 

Donations of any amount, at any time and for any reason, are always appreciated. 

………

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

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

Aluminum foil foils traffic light sensor fails, unconfirmed report of Newport Beach bike death, and new Downey bike lane

June 23, 2021 / / 2 comments

Phillip Young writes today with a brilliant DIY workaround for the problem of carbon wheels not being recognized by traffic signal sensors.

Would you please pass this traffic light safety tip along to your readers with carbon rim wheels?

Carbon rim bicycle wheels usually do not trigger traffic signal light sensor coils buried in the pavement and can be a safety issue. The non-conducting carbon rims do not change the magnet field around sensor coils, so the traffic light doesn’t change for you.

If the traffic signal light doesn’t trip in your travel direction and you have waited for 2 or 3 minutes, you may be inclined to run the red traffic signal light dodging traffic at your peril.

My carbon rim bicycle wheels would not trigger traffic light sensor coils buried in the pavement until aluminum foil tape was applied to the rim circumference with some foil tape overlap.

I added 3M adhesive backed aluminum foil tape cut about the width of rim tape where the normal cloth rim tape goes. The adhesive backed aluminum foil tape sticks well to the carbon rim material and weighs almost nothing. This should work on all carbon rims using inner tubes.

Push the aluminum foil tape down against the rim to get full contact and adhesion. Install the normal cloth rim tape on top of the aluminum foil tape. The foil tape also offers additional support to the rim tape over the rim spoke holes.

The rim with aluminum foil tape now reliably triggers traffic light sensor coils. The bicycle wheel rim with aluminum foil should be positioned parallel to and directly over the sensor coils buried in the pavement rewarding you with a green light.

May your travels be safe and green lights will always be with you,

Phil

PS: Aluminum rim bicycle wheels usually work triggering traffic signal lights if the wheel is positioned parallel to and directly over the pavement sensor coils.

For those looking for a more detailed explanation of why this works, Young followed up with this post from Cyclelicious.

………

Nextdoor users have been reporting a possible bicycling fatality Monday morning on Dover Drive near PCH in Newport Beach.

So far, though, I’ve been unable to find any confirmation. So let’s hope that Nextdoor, which is not exactly known for its veracity, is wrong this time.

Thanks to David Huntsman and Lois for the heads-up.

………

Downey has a new painted bike lane on Old River School Road.

………

A crowdfunding campaign to help the victims of Saturday’s vehicular attack at a master’s bike race in Show Low, Arizona has raised nearly $60,000 of the $100,000 goal.

Which works out to just $10,000 for each of the critically injured victims.

………

For anyone who needs a little something to entertain yourself on the rare moments you’re not riding your bike, how about coloring a few LA landmarks?

………

This is who the anti-bike crowd are really opposing when they stand up against bike paths and protected bikeways.

https://twitter.com/tomflood1/status/1406600413026127875

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Nothing like heading out for a McDonald’s run with a tandem bike-powered car.

………

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

No bias here. After a California man was killed when he struck a chain blocking a Carson City, Nevada trail, the local sheriff warns against riders over-extending their confidence levels, instead of warning about dangerous chains strung across pathways that can kill unsuspecting people on bicycles.

Pennsylvania police are looking for the hit-and-run driver who sideswiped at least five bike riders with his passenger side mirror; the victims believe it was a deliberate attempt to buzz, if not injure, the riders.

………

Local

Los Angeles received an $18 million grant for safety improvements to the Broadway corridor in South Los Angeles, rather than the $64 million the city asked for, on the condition that they limit the project to the safe street infrastructure component of the application for the deadly street, and guarantee completion; the street is one of LA’s most dangerous streets for bike riders and pedestrians.

LAist examines how Van Nuys’ Retro Xpress Bicycles navigated the pandemic as an essential business.

NoHo ‘bent dealer Bent Up Cycles is now the proud owner of Florida recumbent maker Bacchetta Bicycles.

 

State

San Diego drivers are complaining about a lack of parking in certain parts of town. Which is a pretty good argument to not drive if you don’t have to.

That’s more like it. A TV reporter tries out San Francisco’s Lyft bikeshare ebikes, and swears she’ll never drive again.

 

National

NBC News examines whether removing freeways built on a legacy of inequity can heal historic wounds.

VeloNews offers tips on how to avoid cyclist’s palsy, the painful numbness and tingling in your hands and arms from gripping the handlebars.

A new report shows that the jump in traffic deaths during the pandemic was more likely to affect Black people, who were killed at a rate 25% higher than white people.

Tragic news from Texas, where a man drowned in a North Texas lake when he rode his bike into the side of a bridge and fell over the guardrail.

The New Yorker takes a stab at humor by suggesting that riding a bicycle isn’t just like riding a bike, after all.

 

International

Yet another new study shows that ebike riders can complete a trip faster and with less effort than on a conventional bike, but still gain significant health benefits.

Vancouver has honored fallen mountain biker Jordie Lunn by naming a new bike park after him, two years after the famed stunt cyclist was killed trail riding with friends in Mexico.

An Ontario, Canada man begged a judge for mercy after he was convicted of the hit-and-run death of a bike-riding woman, insisting he just “panicked and made a mistake.” Never mind that the prosecutor is only asking for a “stiff sentence” of only two years behind bars. Then again, how much mercy did he show his victim, who was sentenced to death at his hands?

A British filmmaker stayed relatively close to home during the pandemic by filming a challenging 450-mile ride around Wales.

Over 85% of readers of the UK’s Courier newspaper think bike helmets should be made mandatory. Which only shows just how wrong 85% of readers can be.

Berlin is expanding the city’s bike network by making 15 miles of popup bike lanes installed during the pandemic permanent. Unlike a certain Southern California megalopolis we could name, which missed out on a once-in-a-generation opportunity by failing to install any to begin with.

 

Competitive Cycling

Defending Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar may be one of the few people who can claim to have pedaled a path from village unicyclist to winner of the world’s greatest bike race.

Cycling News considers the unique mystique of Mont Ventoux in Tour de France history; competitors in this year’s race will have to surmount the mountain twice in a single stage.

Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome lowers his sights, insisting he’ll be happy just winning a stage in this year’s Tour.

Cycling Tips examines the eternal question of what team sponsors actually do on the men’s WorldTour.

Reuters looks at five women’s cyclists to watch at the Tokyo Olympics, including pink sock-wearing American speedster Chloe Dygert.

Cyclist considers the top rivalries in pro cycling, dating back to 1940s cycling legends Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali.

 

Finally…

Not every Olympic cyclist has her very own Chipotle bowl. That feeling when your epic bike ride from Moscow to California only takes a few hours.

And probably not the best idea to growl at the bear you just startled.

Just saying.

………

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

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

Free Juneteenth bikeshare, unconfirmed bike death in Downey, and not-so-safe self-driving cars in your future

June 18, 2021 / / 8 comments

Never have heroes unless you can accept that they’re just as screwed up as the rest of us. 

………

They didn’t waste any time observing Juneteenth this week.

Just a day after Joe Biden signed a rare bipartisan bill making the day Texas slaves belatedly learned they had been freed two years earlier a national holiday, federal government offices will close today, since the 19th falls on a Saturday.

Metro was prepared, however.

LA County’s transportation authority was ready with a map of Black-Owned Businesses within walking distance of Metro stations. Along with free half-hour Metro Bike rides to help you ride there to commemorate the holiday.

Meanwhile, Pride Month is still going strong, and you can use that free bike ride as a down payment on a self-guided ride through Silver Lake and Los Feliz to visit LGBTQ+ landmarks.

Highlights include the original home of the groundbreaking gay magazine The Advocate, and the Black Cat Tavern, home to what may have been the nation’s first gay rights protest, two years before Stonewall.

………

Let’s hope this one is wrong.

A Redditor drove by a possible fatal bike crash in Downey on Wednesday. However, I haven’t been able to find confirmation of the death at this time.

I drove by on Firestone and Downey Avenue today and saw a crushed pink bicycle next to a white Jeep. Also looked like they had someone on a gurney covered in a white sheet. I’m wondering what exactly happened? I walk on Firestone often to go to the gym and it really shook me to my core. Especially the pink bike. How scary and extremely sad.

Thanks to Joe Linton for the heads-up.

………

You may not want to walk your bike in the coming autonomous future.

Or bend over, for that matter.

Correction: A series of comments from Eban points out that these warnings come from the current Toyota owner’s manual. So despite what the tweet says, it doesn’t refer to future autonomous vehicles, but rather, current automotive safety systems. 

However, as near as I can tell, the only practical difference that makes is that you might get run down by car that can’t detect you and its inattentive and/or distracted driver now, as opposed to getting run down by the car alone at some point in the future. 

………

If you build it, they will come.

https://twitter.com/lastnotlost/status/1404921162979753984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1404921162979753984%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-17-june-2021-284145

………

Today’s musical interlude comes courtesy of Denver-based three-piece band The Yawpers, whose lead singer is preparing to ride cross-country from New York to Los Angeles, into the wind, to raise money for the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund.

He raised $17,000 for Sweet Relief with a 700-mile ride from Denver to Tulsa last year. And caught Covid in the process.

………

We posted this Danish bike helmet PSA last week. But people keep sending it to me, and it’s more that worth sharing again.

Thanks to Tim Rutt and Martin Rose for the link.

………

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

It takes a major schmuck to punch a teenage English boy in the head after crashing into his bicycle, then get back in his car and just drive away.

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

A Chicago man was surrounded and attacked by a group of bikeshare riders, who pulled him off his bike and kicked him when he was down to steal his bicycle in a strong-arm robbery; police arrested one suspect, but the rest got away.

………

Local

LAist wants to know how the pandemic affected your personal experience on the streets, as bicycling and walking were up 22% last year, but too many people who couldn’t work from home fell through the cracks. A 22% jump is nice, but ridership doubled in a number of cities that implemented popup bike lanes during the pandemic. And many of those were made permanent after proving their worth.

Voice of America says the pandemic inspired Kellie Hart’s passion for bicycling, which the founder of RideWitUs-LA is passing on to others.

UFC fighter Connor McGregor is one of us, boldly taking the lane in LA traffic on an underdressed ten-mile ride to the boxing gym.

 

State

Caltrans is looking for feedback from people who’ve used the bike and pedestrian path on the Bay Area’s Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

Hats off to the Mammoth Lakes Police Department, who mostly get it right with their Rules of the Road for bicyclists, thankfully not starting with the usual recommendation to wear a helmet. The only place they miss the mark is on the many exceptions to the requirement to ride to the right, which few cops don’t seem to get. Before anyone comments, yes, I always wear a helmet when I ride. But they’re not magic hats that somehow ward off Mack trucks. Or keep you safe if they don’t. Your best protection is to avoid the need for one in the first place. 

 

National

Four people discuss what anti-Asian racism looks like in the wonderful world of bicycling. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

A nine-year old boy and his father are halfway through a coast-to-coast bike ride to visit the Statue of Liberty, two years after they had to abandon their first attempt when the son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

A writer for Bicycling says the real problem with “wheelie kids” is that too many people see Black and Brown kids on bikes as a threat. Although to be fair, the weaving in and out of traffic, popping wheelies and playing chicken with oncoming drivers typical of Bike Life rides could have something to do with it. Once again, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

Bike Portland talks with the founder of the city’s annual Black Liberation Ride.

Seattle’s King County Board of Health is reconsidering the county’s mandatory bike helmet law, after statistics show that it has been primarily used to target people of color for riding their bikes without one.

Phoenix drivers can’t seem to figure out the city’s first and only two-way bike lane, resulting in several crashes of possibly impaired drivers in the first ten days.

An autistic Phoenix-area man was happy to get his stolen bike back after it was recovered, even as kindhearted community members were working to get him a new one.

The local country station considers the best bike trails in my hometown. None of which even existed when I lived there.

Colorado-based bicycle reseller The Pro’s Closet will donate bikes to The Cycle Effect, a nonprofit dedicated to giving Latinas and girls from low-income families on mountain bikes.

Gun violence continues to harm people on bikes. A Chicago man is in critical condition with bullet wounds to his head and body after getting caught in a crossfire as he was riding his bike. Just more collateral damage in America’s gun wars.

A retired Connecticut bike cop offers reasonable advice on how to stay safe riding your bike. Although the newspaper’s editor should go to journalist jail for trotting out the tired “safety is a two-way street” cliche.

Chicago ultracyclist Phil Fox is attempting to set a world record with a 920-mile ride around Lake Michigan this weekend; he hopes to finish in 72 hours or less, which works out to over 300 miles a day. Fox is riding to raise funds to fight MS, already bringing in nearly $18,000 of his $20,000 goal.

Construction starts today on a road diet on New York’s iconic Brooklyn Bridge, as the city prepares to convert a traffic lane into a two-way protected bike lane. Although the planned eight foot wide bikeway sounds pretty damn narrow for two way traffic.

 

International

Cycling Weekly takes you inside an ebike motor.

PC Magazine oddly reviews the $2,200 pc-free VanMoof X3 ebike, while bizarrely knocking the Dutch commuter bike for lacking off-road capabilities in an otherwise positive review.

No surprise here. A paper from an Alberta, Canada university suggests giving more road space to bicycles could encourage more people to leave their cars at home.

Britain’s leading bike retailer says the acute shortage of bikes and parts caused by the pandemic bike boom is likely to continue well into the future, with bike sales up over 54% and ebike sales nearly double over the previous year.

The leading bike shop chain in France is reporting a 50% increase in ebike sales last year compared to the year before.

 

Competitive Cycling

Lawson Craddock will represent the US at the Tokyo Olympics after winning the US national time trial championships; sadly, though, Tejay Van Garderen will hang up his cleats after finishing third in his final race.

Longtime American pro Brent Bookwalter is calling it a career, hanging up his cleats following this week’s USA Cycling Pro Road Championships after 16 years in the pro peloton.

Now that’s a real bicyclist. Hours after winning the Belgian national time trial title, Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider Yves Lampaert hopped on his pannier-laden townie to ride back home.

Cycling News looks at the most controversial Tour de France snubs of the last seven decades.

VeloNews looks at the “lionesses of L39ion,” after Skylar Schneider and Kendall Ryan finished 1st and 2nd in last weekend’s Tulsa Tough while riding for Cory and Justin Williams’ L39ion of Los Angeles cycling team.

The date is set for a long overdue return of women’s cycling to the Tour de France, with the Tour de France Femmes set to roll July 22nd of next year; they promise not to go easy on them.

https://twitter.com/LeTourFemmes/status/1405540740973817859

 

Finally…

Now we have to deal with pizza robots in the bike lane. Get the shaft with this $1,800 e-foldie.

And if you want a long, successful career as a Hollywood writer and director, start by riding a bike to the library.

And everywhere else.

………

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

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

Killer meth-fueled Vegas driver gets 16-40 years, misguided recall for CD4’s Raman, and $20 million for LAC transport projects

June 10, 2021 / / Comments Off on Killer meth-fueled Vegas driver gets 16-40 years, misguided recall for CD4’s Raman, and $20 million for LAC transport projects

That was fast.

Almost seven months to the day after five Las Vegas bicyclists were killed by a truck driver, their killer copped a plea to two counts of DUI causing death.

DUI is right.

Arizona resident Jordan Barson had nine times the amount of meth in his system required to be considered legally impaired.

He now faces anywhere from 16 to 40 years behind bars, along with a paltry $58,000 in restitution.

Once he gets out, whenever that may be, Barson will be required to have an interlock device on his car for anywhere from one to three years.

Which, it should be noted, detects alcohol, not meth.

Meanwhile, a killer truck driver in Flagstaff AZ didn’t have to play the universal Get Out Of Jail Free card after local police played it for him, claiming the sun was in his eyes when he ran a red light and slammed into a group of bicyclists.

Fifty-eight-year old California resident Normand Cloutier is accused of killing a 29-year old woman and injuring five other riders in the crash.

Of course, as several people pointed out on Twitter, the correct course of action when you can’t see what the hell is directly in front of you is to pull over to the side of the road until you can.

Photo by Cameron Casey from Pexels.

Let’s hope Barson’s cell is slightly better than this one.

………

Another day, another recall by people who can’t get over the fact that their candidate lost.

This time the intended target is CD4 Councilmember Nithya Raman, who hasn’t been in office long enough to actually do anything that would call for one.

Not that that matters in today’s political environment.

Let’s hope this one doesn’t get any further than the idiotic attempt to recall Mike Bonin a few years, driven by conservative KFI anger meisters Jon and Ken.

Who will probably be happy to get behind this one, too.

………

The new transportation bill under consideration in the US Congress includes $20 million for LA-area projects, according to Burbank Rep. Adam Schiff’s office.

In addition to traffic and pedestrian projects, the list also includes sharrows in Glendale, and pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements on Melrose in West Hollywood.

That last one could have connected with a Complete Streets makeover of Melrose in Los Angeles, if it hadn’t been summarily and singlehandedly killed by CD5 Councilmember and pseudo-environmentalist Paul Koretz.

………

The Bike League announced their latest list of Bicycle Friendly Businesses, with 33 new or renewing firms honored.

None of which are in Southern California, although the LA office of the Morrison & Foerster LLP law firm got an honorable mention.

Maybe someone should tell them that MoFo may not be the positive nickname they seem to think it is.

………

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems there are few things more sexist than women’s fashion magazines.

Especially when it comes to bicycles.

Because apparently, women just want to look cute on a bike, and would never want to put on spandex and get all sweaty or anything.

………

Don’t miss this one if you’re in the Bay Area this weekend.

………

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

Clearly, he doesn’t get it, either After a community board in New York’s Upper West Side calls for banning ebikes from protected bike lanes, the city’s outgoing mayor quickly refused — because he doesn’t think they belong in traffic lanes.

Drivers in Auckland, New Zealand, are plotting to invade the city’s bike lanes on a busy Saturday morning — this Saturday, in fact — and drive on the bike lanes when they’re likely to be full of people on bicycles. Which seems to be the point. One hundred drivers have confirmed so far, so if it’s like very other Facebook event, maybe three might actually show up.

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

A Boston bike rider got off with a warning for riding through a busy highway tunnel, after state police officers told him it was both illegal and dangerous, as evidenced by the sudden braking as drivers spotted him in the right lane.

What the hell is wrong with some people? An 18-year old Delaware man faces charges for shooting an 11-year old girl with a BB gun in a dispute over the girl riding his bicycle.

A bike-riding Singapore man got off with a $5,600 fine for punching a truck driver who had tried to run him down during a mutual road rage incident; the driver had already been sentenced to a week behind bars.

………

Local

KTLA-5’s Rich DeMuro visits Venice Beach’s Bike Attack to learn about electric bicycles, then test rides the VanMoof S3, calling it the Tesla of ebikes. Then again, that’s not necessarily a compliment.

Departing Metro CEO Phil Washington pens a letter to the community in support of the 18-mile NoHo to Pasadena bus rapid transit line, which includes the proposed Beautiful Boulevard plan through Eagle Rock.

Caltrans recommends a $3.532 million plan to fix the twin intersections of Rambla Pacifico and Las Flores Canyon at PCH in Malibu, which saw three traffic deaths and 81 injuries in just a three year period. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to include any bicycle safety measures on the deadly highway.

 

State

It takes a major league schmuck to steal a three-wheeled adaptive bike used by a special needs girl to help with her balance issues.

Bay Area bike advocacy group Bike East Bay wants your help to save the protected bike lanes on Oakland’s iconic Telegraph Avenue.

 

National

Seriously? Consumer Reports discovers the “hidden danger” of big pickup trucks, which are increasing in size with virtually every model year. Never mind that the risk to others should be pretty damn obvious to anyone who has ever walked, ridden or just stood next to one.

USA Cycling announced their new Let’s Ride program to teach bicycle safety and basic bike skills to elementary school children throughout the US.

A new ebike from Civilized Cycles is designed to carry up to two passengers and four loaded grocery bags in comfort, with an automated air ride system that adjusts to the weight the bike is carrying for a smoother ride.

In Style shows women what to wear to look cute on four types of bike rides. Because as we all know, looking cute is what really matters, and no woman would ever want to put on spandex and get all sweaty or anything. Right?

Marketplace examines why Phoenix-based fixie maker State Bicycles is struggling to meet the increased demand brought on by the pandemic-induced bike boom; co-founder Mehdi Farsi blames supply chain issues for an inability to ramp up to meet a two to three-times jump in sales.

Speaking of Phoenix, the downtown area just got its first two-way protected bike lane.

After a Davenport, Iowa man was killed by a red light-running hit-and-run driver while riding his bike back home, the victim’s wife says it never should have happened.

St. Louis is installing zebra lane delineators to separate bicycles and motor vehicles along a protected bike lane; the small bumps — often called armadillos in other cities — promise to be more effective at keeping drivers out than the usual thin plastic car ticklers. Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.

A study conducted by Maine’s Bowdoin College shows that cities that adopt a Complete Streets policy also see improvements in how crashes between drivers and pedestrians are covered by the media.

Long Island’s Suffolk County is cracking down on scofflaw riders from the Bike Life movement, by creating a new crime of reckless bike riding complete with a $250 fine and possible confiscation of their bicycles.

Curbed’s Alissa Walker, who always gets it, says helmet laws are not what New York bike riders need right now.

 

International

USA Today offers a modestly covered-up view of naked bike rides — and riders — around the world.

The Barbados transportation minister says bike riders have an equal right to the road, and calls on drivers to help create a more equitable environment for everyone.

Cycling Tips features the hilarious Danish helmet PSA we linked to yesterday, while calling for more “bike-adjacent” ads to feature Vikings.

A new project from the mayor of Hyderabad, India aims to address bad air quality by giving “pre-loved” bicycles to people who will use them as an every day form of transportation.

 

Competitive Cycling

Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner Tadej Pogačar is gearing up to defend his pandemic-year Tour de France win by competing in his hometown Tour of Slovenia.

 

Finally…

Go back to the wide stripe jerseys and hairnet helmets of the 1970s. Your next bike helmet might kinda see around corners.

And who hasn’t taken on a national hillclimb champ on a series of increasingly inappropriate bicycles?

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask. 

And get vaccinated, already.

Category: Bike Cam Video, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

School of Rock drummer killed in Chicago bike crash, support urged for CA ebike rebate bill, and San Diego bike path opens

May 27, 2021 / / One comment

Before we start, a special thanks to Bicycle Attorney Thomas Forsyth for renewing his ad on this site for the coming year. 

Remarkably, despite the pandemic, all three of our sponsors have renewed their ads for another year. 

Which matters because it’s their support, along with yours, that makes BikinginLA possible. 

………

More heartbreaking news about another needless loss.

Keven Clark, who played drummer Freddy “Spazzy McGee” Jones in 2003’s School of Rock, was killed when he was struck by a driver while riding his bike yesterday.

The 32-year old musician was just 12 years old when he costarred with Jack Black and Joan Cusack in the hit movie, despite a lack of acting experience.

He had just formed a new band that performed live for the first time over the weekend.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times,

Clark was riding a bicycle early Wednesday when he was struck and killed at a notoriously dangerous intersection on the Northwest Side. He was hit by a Hyundai Sonata around 1:20 a.m. in the 2600 block of North Western Avenue, Chicago police said.

Paramedics found him on Logan Boulevard and took him to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:04 a.m., according to the Chicago Fire Department and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The driver of the Hyundai, a 20-year-old woman, was issued several citations, police said.

A report in the Chicago Tribune alleges Clark was hit after running a red light.

Maybe someday, we’ll decide that too many people have died because of motor vehicles and the people who drive them, and actually do something about it.

But like gun violence, we seem to just talk about it, and look the other way.

School of Rock poster from Wikipedia.org.

Thanks to Tim Rutt and Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

………

Calbike is calling on everyone to contact your state assemblymember to support AB 117, the E-Bike Affordability Bill.

The bill would provide purchase incentives to increase the affordability of ebikes by through subsidies for up to 10,000 people, similar to the $7,000 subsidies the state provides to buyers of electric cars.

Combined with a proposed federal tax rebate for ebike buyers, it could dramatically cut the cost of ebikes to replace motor vehicle use.

Maybe a jump in ebikes would finally push more California cities to provide safe spaces to ride them.

And yes, I’m talking to you, Los Angeles.

Thanks to Keith Johnson for the tip.

………

San Diego cut the ribbon on the barrier-protected Rose Creek bike path, adding another two miles to the 44 mile Coastal Rail Trail.

I definitely could have used that when I lived down there years ago.

Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.

………

A new video from Streets For All examines the true cost of LA’s freeway obsession.

………

This is who we share the road with.

A road raging Maserati driver in DC got out of his car and opened fire on a woman with her two kids in the car, then apparently turned and shot at witnesses in another car.

………

A bike rider was injured during a New York bicycle protest to mark the first anniversary of George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police, after he jumped on the hood of a Volkswagen as the driver tried to push through the crowd of protesters.

Meanwhile, a second bike rider was injured by the driver as they tried to speed away.

New York police followed that up by “inadvertently” sideswiping another bike rider while pursuing the Volkswagen driver.

But at least it’s nice to know the cops didn’t do it on purpose, anyway.

………

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

Bike riders get just 22% of a Brooklyn street space, even though they more than equal the number of motor vehicles that use it.

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

A Catholic bishop in Oakland was robbed at gunpoint by a man who demanded his money and bishop’s ring before speeding off on a bicycle.

A Mad City woman was busted for throwing a bicycle at another person during a large disturbance. No word on whether she was actually riding it or if she just grabbed the nearest thing she could throw.

………

Local

The Source offers a preview of today’s Metro Board meeting, which would finalize the route for the NoHo to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit line along Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock, as well as consider highway funding and free bus and train fares for students and low income people.

Child soap star Scarlett Fernandez is one of us, although she may regret that right now; the 11-year old General Hospital actor had surgery on both arms after crashing her bike, as well as getting stitches on her chin and suffering four broken teeth.

 

State

A Half Moon Bay rancher and city councilmember alleges he was racially profiled as “a dirty Mexican” by a sheriff’s deputy as he rode his bike into the city; the sheriff claims the deputy knew who he was and was merely concerned that he was riding recklessly.

Sacramento may require e-scooter users to scan their driver’s licenses in an attempt to stop underage users. Although that would also block any adult without one.

Nice story from Redding, where the community got together to raise funds to buy a new ebike for a school security guard and coach who suffers from a hereditary form of neuropathy; after the fundraiser surpassed the $2,500 goal, a local organization said they would pay for the bike, and use the funds to customize it for his disability.

 

National

Writing for The Hill, a trio of top-level advocates make the case for sidewalks, trails and bike lanes are essential transportation infrastructure belonging in the new transportation bill currently being written in Congress; the bill was later amended to include $7.2 billion for infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrians, as well as setting aside another $1.6 billion for vulnerable road users.

A new report from the Brookings Institute says we can’t beat climate change without rethinking land use, calling for a return to “traditional people-centered neighborhood designs” that will reduce the need to drive.

Trek is recalling over 340,00 Bontrager pedals in the US and Canada that can fall off if they’re not properly installed.

Seattle Bike Blog says the bike shortage induced by the coronavirus bike boom will probably continue into next year.

An Idaho mountain bike park finally opened after being delayed a year by wildfires that raged through the West.

An army vet stopped in Idaho to inspire students at a school for the deaf and blind; the totally blind woman is bicycling across the US, aided by sighted guides in front and behind her.

An associate professor at Ohio’s Bowling Green State University will ride across the US this summer to raise funds for public education; Dr. Chris Willis will take the Adventure Cyclists Association’s northern tier route, passing through 51 school districts he hopes to help fund at the end of the trip. You can donate to his trip here. Thanks again to Tim Rutt.

A Streetsblog op-ed calls on the State of New York to pass a bill allowing for wider e-cargo bikes; current law limits them to 36 inches, while a proposed bill would legalize cargo trikes up to 55 inches — far more than the standard 48″ width.

A Pennsylvania school built a school bike shop in honor of a 17-year old former student, who found himself through the school’s mountain biking program, but was killed in a collision while coming home from his dream job at Trek.

 

International

A new anti-theft device can set off an alarm if anyone moves your bike, and provide GPS and WiFi tracking to help recover it if it’s stolen.

Police in Victoria, British Columbia recovered a custom-built bicycle donated to a special needs kid by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, hours after putting out a call for the public’s help in finding the stolen bike.

Montreal has more Stanley Cups than Toronto. And more bike lanes, too.

Queen guitarist Brian May credits riding his bicycle with saving his life following a heart attack he believes was caused by Covid-19.

Unbelievable. A Scottish hit-and-run driver walks without a single day behind bars for killing a bike rider, then taking his car to two repair shops in an effort to cover up the crime.

Italian bike maker Colnago sold a digital NFT of one of its bike frames for $8,600, which is $2,300 more than the frame itself sells for. And you can’t ride it, either.

 

Competitive Cycling

Giro GC leader Egan Bernal cracked in Wednesday’s stage 17, but ended up losing just three seconds.

Rouleur profiles today’s stage 18 of the Giro, the longest stage in the three week race at 143 miles.

History looks at nine doping scandals that changed sports; fortunately, only three involved cyclists, including our old buddy Lance.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to steal a cellphone from a woman while riding your bike, try to avoid projectile vomiting on a parked car when the cops stop you. That feeling when being chased by chainsaw-wielding cycling fans may have inspired you to victory.

And your next bike could magically transform from a tall bike to a chopper.

But you have to build it yourself.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask. 

And get vaccinated, already.

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

National masters road champ killed in DUI crash, CA still dangerous place to ride, and Bike Index helps recover SaMo bike

May 18, 2021 / / Comments Off on National masters road champ killed in DUI crash, CA still dangerous place to ride, and Bike Index helps recover SaMo bike

Just devastating.

Sunday night, I debated linking to a story about the death of an unidentified woman killed by an alleged stoned driver while riding in a bike lane in a Denver suburb.

I decided against it, in part because it happens every day in this motor-addled country.

Today we that woman was identified as the reigning national master’s road champ in her age category.

Forty-six-year old Gwen Inglis was riding in the foothills west of Denver, most likely headed home after an early morning ride, when a 29-year old driver drifted into the bike lane and slammed into her from behind.

This quote comes from the Denver Post.

The Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado, part of USA Cycling, released a statement mourning the loss of Inglis.

“Colorado cycling lost one of their best yesterday,” the organization said. “There are few words that can express the feeling of loss for any of our cycling community, and Gwen was a particularly special person. She was a multiple National and State Champion on the bike and very well known across the cycling community in Colorado. Even more impressive was her character off the bike. Knowing Gwen, you would immediately be aware of her strongest qualities. She consistently brought joy into all her relationships, and she openly accepted everyone.”

Inglis was the reigning road race national champion for women in the 45-49 age group. Her husband, Mike Inglis, is also a standout cyclist. The two won their classifications on the same day in an August 2019 race in Boulder.

The paper reported that her killer had previously been arrested on multiple drug-related offenses, including DUI.

Just one more example of officials keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late. Every one of whom should be held responsible for her death.

Meanwhile, VeloNews is collecting heartbreaking remembrances from the friends and competitors — usually both — who knew her best.

………

However you measure it, California is a dangerous place to ride a bike.

According to Bicycling, a new report from StreetLight Data ranks states by the risk to bicyclists per miles traveled, rather than the per capita basis used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

When comparing the old list from NHTSA, that use per capita data, to the revised list from StreetLight Data, the top 10 most dangerous states have been mostly shuffled around—particularly the top four, which list the same states in both but in a different order. New Mexico ranks the same in both, in fifth place. And California makes both the old NHTSA list and the new StreetLight Data list, but it ranks sixth on the former and tenth on the latter.

Delaware, South Carolina and Florida top the list of dangerous states, followed by Louisiana and New Mexico, while Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Utah rank as the safest.

As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you. 

………

Streetsblog California’s Melanie Curry picks up last week’s bizarre story about respected bike safety advocate Pat Hines’ opposition to California’s AB 122, the proposed Stop As Yield law.

And the personal tragedy she relates about the death of her friend Sue Latham, who she claims was killed in a hit-and-run when they both blew through a stop sign, and she made it, while Latham didn’t.

Except it probably didn’t happen.

At least not that way.

As recently as a few weeks ago, Race Across America posted the supposed origin story on Facebook, writing that Hines and her friend, Sue Latham, were “riding together when Latham was struck by a car and killed. They were training for the 1984 Olympics. This heartbreaking event propelled Hines into public service. She became one of the nation’s most vocal and best-recognized activists in the area of traffic and bicycle safety.”

But Latham was not training for the Olympics. The two women were members of a swim club that had planned a bike ride that day, according to press reports at the time, but there is no indication that they were riding together.

And there’s no mention of a stop sign.

………

More proof that free lifetime registration with Bike Index really works.

………

It’s Bike It! Walk It! Week for Santa Monica school kids.

………

Yes, you can recharge your bike through the kickstand while you’re parked. But unless it offers a lot more security, it’ll never fly on this side of the pond.

https://twitter.com/menorman/status/1394329390054404098

Thanks to Stormin’ Norman for the link.

………

As long as we’re in the Netherlands, let’s go to a live news remote.

From the bike path.

https://twitter.com/annaholligan/status/1392864907889152001

Thanks to Schroedinger for the tip.

………

Anyone see a problem here?

………

Local

Metro continues their Bike Week celebration with 15% off Metro Bike merch, with promo code bike2021. I’m thinking about this one.

Nick Jonas is painfully one of us, somehow cracking a rib falling off his bike while filming an undisclosed project.

 

State

Encinitas residents will soon be able to enjoy e-bikeshare as they ride around the coastal town.

Bakersfield is celebrating an extended Bike Month with a virtual scavenger hunt.

No bias here. A San Jose letter writer complains that road diets are inconveniencing drivers for the sake of bicyclists, while a columnist explains that they’re installed to improve safety on dangerous streets, and bicyclists and pedestrians benefit from the improvements. Just like drivers who want to get home in one piece.

The New York Times considers the debate over whether cars should be allowed back in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

A Marin writer says it may be legal to ride with your dog on a leash beside you, but it’s never a good idea.

 

National

Bicycling tells you everything you need to know about bike tire sizes, but were afraid to ask. Once again, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

A Washington state paper says ebikes are coming, ready or not.

A San Antonio councilmember is accused of inappropriate conduct by attempting to influence the judge and DA, sending a letter asking them to refuse any plea deal that doesn’t include a meaningful prison sentence for an accused drunk driver who killed a popular bike rider.

A Detroit website considers the role bike clubs play in the social fabric of the community. And have since the 1870s.

A Manhattan man was unexpectedly stabbed in both arms after getting off his bike in an apparent random attack.

 

International

They get it. The World Health Organization says streets are for people, and it’s time to give them back.

New UK press guidelines say it’s crash, not accident.

According to a British Parliament member, arguing that too many cars cause traffic congestion, and not bike lanes, is “bourgeoisie and woke.”

An op-ed from a Scottish bike lawyer says bicycling isn’t just for during the pandemic, and both new riders and the popup bike lanes installed for them should stick around.

Young bike riders in Madrid will now be required to wear a helmet to ride a bike or a scooter.

Unbelievable. An Aussie driver walks free following the hit-and-run death of a man riding a bicycle, after playing the universal Get Out Of Jail Free card by claiming she was unaware of the crash because the sun was in her eyes. Which doesn’t explain why she couldn’t feel or hear the impact, or notice the victim on her hood.

 

Competitive Cycling

Peter Sagan won the tenth stage of the Giro for the second year in a row, while Egan Bernal, Aleksandr Vlasov and Remco Evenepoel are bunched for the overall lead.

A writer for VeloNews argues that we’re in a golden age of cycling — maybe the best ever — as exemplified by this year’s Giro. Although it’s hard to argue against the age of Coppi and Bartali.

Amazing save by a cyclist in a U-23 race, who swerves to avoid a dog and narrowly avoids crashing by grabbing the rider ahead of him, surfing his frame to a safe dismount on the side of the road. Although his rescuer is none too happy about it, as shown below.

Marin school officials back off a decision to cut high school mountain bike teams loose after thousands of parents and students rise up in anger.

 

Finally…

It may be more aero, but probably not the best idea to ride naked from the waist down.

And don’t try taking a selfie while riding. Especially on live TV.

Thanks to Erik Griswold and Keith Johnson for the heads-up.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask. 

And get vaccinated, already.

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