Tag Archive for bicycling

Morning Links: Tagging bike lane blockers, who we share the roads with, and bad biking in the sand

October 17, 2018 / / 3 comments

Let’s catch up with a few recent emails.

Chris Buonomo suggests that Los Angeles needs a movement to start tagging cars belonging to drivers who block bike lanes, whether with an #iparkinbikelanes hashtag on social media, or attaching stickers reading the same thing directly on the cars.

Or maybe we just need to invite a few of LA’s more infamous taggers to spray the message on drivers’ cars and trucks who block bike lanes.

That might put a stop to it pretty fast.

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J. Patrick Lynch offers another example of who we share the roads with, as a big rig driver ignores restrictions against oversized trucks, contributing to a slow speed disaster.

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Who out there is old enough to remember the Shangri-Las, and their classic hit, Biking in the Sand?

For the rest of us, here’s the real original.

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This is who we share the roads with, too.

A road raging New York cab driver was caught on video beating an older Hasidic man in a crosswalk, before chasing after a Good Samaritan who tried to intervene.

The incident started when the driver became angry because the victim wasn’t crossing fast enough, and spiraled out of control when the Jewish man tapped on the driver’s window to confront him.

Or maybe it was an anti-semitic hate crime, as the victim alleged, but the police dismissed.

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Finally, Stephen Katz forwards news of a speeding truck driver on trial for the hit-and-run death of an Ottawa, Canada father as he was riding his bike; both the victim and his killer were captured on security cam video just seconds before the crash.

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Local

Turning its back on proven traffic engineering and best practices — as well as anyone who chooses not to drive — Pasadena officially pulls the plug on plans for a road diet and Complete Streets makeover of Orange Grove Blvd, caving in to the demands of an organized auto-centric pressure group modeled on, and organized by, Los Angeles traffic safety deniers Keep LA Moving.

Bike SGV is offering one of their infrequent Traffic Skills 101 bike safety courses this Saturday.

Westside bike co-op Bikerowave is holding a Halloween party on the 27th.

 

State

Sad news from Redlands, where a 48-year old scooter rider was killed in a hit-and-run; this is at least the fourth fatality involving e-scooters since their recent spread across the US. Update: A reporter for the Souther California News Group has clarified that the victim was on a moped, not an e-scooter.

Santa Maria is finally attempting to get bike friendly, ten years after adopting the city’s bikeway master plan. So maybe there’s hope for Los Angeles and its 2010 bike plan yet.

San Francisco shows what can happen when civic leaders aren’t terrified of angry drivers and business owners, committing to remove lanes from two major downtown arteries to improve safety for everyone. Unlike a few SoCal cities we could name.

Streetsblog questions whether enough scooters have been allowed to return to San Francisco to make it a useful transportation service.

A Dallas writer describes bike touring through the Sonoma wine country, while a self-described Indian Mamil visits nearby Napa Valley by bike.

 

National

Bloomberg says cities will have to find a way to safely accommodate e-scooters, because the “promise of cheap, easily available, motorized personal transportation is too alluring to be legislated out of existence.”

Life is cheap in Oregon, where a FedEx driver was acquitted of a lousy misdemeanor charge for failing to yield to a rider in a bike lane after fatally right-hooking a bike rider, when his lawyer successfully argued that the bike lane didn’t continue across the intersection if it wasn’t actually painted on the street.

According to a local TV station, Seattle says no to e-scooters because they’re too dangerous, while nearby Tacoma says “Wheeeeee!” Someone should give that headline writer a raise.

Streetsblog says New York is going backwards — “giving in to a backlash from the city’s car-owning minority” — while cities like Madrid move forward on traffic safety with a sub-20 mph speed limit. Sadly, they’re not the only ones.

New Orleans bicyclists face a long road to justice after being injured by hit-and-run drivers, thanks to a lack of police investigations and a court system that brushes them off. Unbelievably, the city refuses to get involved in hit-and-run cases as long as the driver has adequate insurance. That’s like saying it’s okay to rob a bank as long as you come back later to pay for any damages.

After a University of Alabama student was injured when his bike collided with a golf cart driven by a university employee, the student newspaper reminds everyone that the official policy is to walk your bike in pedestrian areas. Except the golf cart was traveling in a bike lane.

 

International

A 23-year old São Paulo woman is fighting to confront the supremacy of motor vehicles in Brazil’s largest city.

A Toronto paper asks if bike riders are next after drivers mow down the plastic bollards on a protected bike lane. Although it’s hard to call something protected when there’s nothing separating people on bikes from motor vehicles except a thin line of easily knocked down plastic posts.

A new Canadian study shows government subsidies for electric vehicles could actually increase greenhouse gas emissions at the public’s expense.

A study from King’s College London says children living in the first London borough to install a Mini-Holland bicycling network will live an average of six weeks longer as a result.

Heartbreaking news from London, where a 60-year old bike rider was killed in a hit-and-run on an unprotected street just hours after a tweet calling for more protected bike lanes.

An engineering website says this lightweight, flexible British bike lock — available through Kickstarter — is the world’s best bike lock. Although it may not be available on this side of the pond.

You’ve got to be kidding. A 17-year old English boy somehow avoids jail, despite being caught on video hitting and kicking a man to steal his bike, and dragging him across the pavement. The judge says they had to dig deep to find any good in him, while his lawyer argued it would be unfair to single him out. Unlike, say, the innocent victim who took a beating trying to hold onto his bike.

The BBC talks with a woman who forgot how to speak English after crashing into another bike rider and suffering a serious injury when she landed head-first on the street.

A Dutch report says ebikes are no more dangerous than other bikes, but that older riders are are greater risk using them.

The LA Times recommends a $6,400 bike tour of Turkey’s ancient sites. Or add another $1,200 if you’re traveling alone.

Another one to add to your bike bucket list, as a pair of Indian architects take a bike tour of the Kashmir region. Or maybe you’d rather ride around Hanoi’s largest lake.

A Kenyon banker quit his job to work as a wrench and open his own bike shop.

Yes, bike riders in Queensland, Australia can get a nearly $400 ticket for distracted bike riding. But no, they can’t get points taken off their driver’s licenses.

 

Competitive Cycling

Conservative websites continue to object to transgender cyclist Rachel McKinnon’s victory in the 35 to 44 bracket in the recent world masters track championship. A GOP website repeatedly calling her a man, while a Christian site implies it’s unfair for women to have to compete against the “opposite sex.” Even though the third place finisher in the race, who also complained, had beaten her in 11 of 13 previous races.

Phillippe Gilbert says he has no intention of hanging up his cleats, despite breaking his kneecap during the Tour de France.

A young Brit cyclist faces the possible end of his WorldTour career after breaking his collarbone during last weekend’s Il Lombardia; Rouleur says it shows the murky, cutthroat side of the sport.

 

Finally…

Is it a model of mountain bike or a strain of newly legal Canadian weed? Speaking of the latter, it might make you faster.

And honestly, who hasn’t taken a naked selfie next to a busy street in broad daylight?

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Morning Links: BOLO alert for stolen Cervélo S1, a handful of bike events this week, and a Bird in the hand

October 16, 2018 / / One comment

CBS2 news anchor Jeff Vaughn is asking everyone to be on the lookout for a bicycle that was stolen from a member of the station’s charity cycling team.

According to Vaughn, a Cervélo S1 belonging to Erez “Eric” Setty was stolen from outside the Woodland Hills Ralph’s market at 21909 Ventura Blvd on Tuesday, October 2nd at 2:49 pm.

He found security camera footage from inside the market that showed the thief making off with his bike.

The theft has been reported to the police. So if you happen to spot the bike on the street, or see a suspiciously low priced Cervélo S1 being sold on Craigslist or some other forum, contact the detectives at the LAPD’s West Valley Division.

If you’re not sure if a bike is hot, you can check Bike Index’s free nationwide stolen bike registry, which has helped return over 5,000 stolen bikes to their original owners.

I don’t know how the bike was secured in this particular case.

But let this be yet another reminder to never leave your bike unlocked and unattended even for a few moments; even a lightweight cable lock or chain could be enough to deter a thief while you run in for a quick errand.

If you need to lock your bike up for a longer period, use a heavy chain to secure the frame and both wheels, or remove the front wheel and secure it to the frame and back wheel with a heavy U-lock. Or a combination of both.

You can find more tips on how to lock your bike here.

It’s a pain in the ass to carry around a heavy lock with you everywhere you go. But it’s a lot better than coming back and finding your bike missing.

Even if it isn’t a Cervélo.

And if you haven’t already, stop what you’re doing and take a few moments to register your bike for free with Bike Index or some other service.

Before something like this happens to you.

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Streetsblog’s This Week in Livable Streets offers news of a trio of bike events.

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Local

Curbed looks at the new left-side, parking-protected bike lane on Spring Street in DTLA. And wishes drivers would just stop parking in it.

Long Beach is ranked as the 27th best bike city in the US, even if a pair of councilmembers are standing in the way.

CiclaValley takes a ride up Mount Gleason. Which probably wasn’t named for Jackie.

 

State

CityLab says San Francisco fought the e-scooters, and the scooters won.

Tragic news from Sacramento, where a bike rider was killed in a collision with the driver of a truck.

 

National

Bicycling names the year’s best bike gear.

NPR examines the safety concerns that are rolling into American cities along with the e-scooter rollouts. The best way to improve safety for scooter users is the same as with bike riders — build out an actual network of safe, protected bike lanes.

Life is cheap in Hawaii, where a former Honolulu cop faces a $2,000 fine and up to one year in prison after being found guilty of misdemeanor negligent homicide for the on-duty crash that killed a bike rider; he was acquitted on charges of evidence tampering and filing a false police report.

Curbed asks if New York is ready for the e-scooter revolution. Then illustrates it with a photo of Bird riders on the beachfront bike path in Venice, where they’re prohibited.

Huh? A Louisiana letter writer says Baton Rouge isn’t safe for bicyclists and doesn’t need a bikeshare program, then complains that certain areas were left out. And says he conducted his own survey of how many people ride in the city — while he was driving — then fails to share those undoubtedly accurate stats.

A Miami jury sided with Bell Sports in a $17.5 million lawsuit alleging that the company’s Giro Skyla bike helmet caused a triathlete to suffer brain damage when she fell during a competition; the company’s lawyers allege she failed to follow the instructions in fitting the helmet.

Even sleepy Key West, where many people get around on two wheels, can be deadly for people on bikes; two bike riders have been killed in the last two weeks, and another was airlifted after a crash on Friday.

 

International

Authors Melissa and Chris Brunlett discuss how to turn a car town into a cycling city.

Forget drones, cargo bikes are the future for urban deliveries.

A European website asks if the European Union should be doing more to promote ebikes. Short answer, yes. So should everyone else if we’re serious about fighting climate change.

This is who we share the roads with. A driver in Northern Ireland lost his license for just one year for cutting off a group of bicyclists, causing an experienced rider to fall and fracture his elbow — then telling the riders to fuck off and flashing the bird as he sped away. Sounds like a nice guy. No, really.

A Scottish woman is scheduled to arrive in Berlin on Thursday, shattering the women’s record for riding around the world by a full 20 days.

New York Magazine examines the plans of Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo to reduce the city’s reliance on motor vehicles, saying it could be a guide for Gotham. Not to mention Los Angeles.

Advocates in Switzerland, which recently added bicycling to the constitution, call for the equivalent of a nearly five-foot passing law; similar laws are already in effect in Germany, Ireland, Spain and Portugal.

Police in a town in the United Arab Emirates “improved safety” by confiscating 500 bicycles belong to allegedly reckless cyclists, as well as motorbikes used by unlicensed food delivery people. I think everyone in the city will rest easier know that they’ve removed a few hundred bicycles and their riders from the streets.

Lime’s e-scooters have established a beachhead in New Zealand.

 

Competitive Cycling

Trek-Segafredo team director Steven De Jongh was hospitalized with a concussion after police spotted him lying unconscious in a ravine; his wife had reported him missing for several hours when he failed to return from a training ride.

Cyclist ranks the top ten pro cyclists of the year. For a change, Peter Sagan only comes in third.

Cycling Tips offers photos from the recent Il Lombardia, calling it the neglected Monument.

Canadian university professor Rachel McKinnon became the first transgender woman to win a women’s world track cycling championship in Los Angeles on Sunday; needless to say, conservative news sites did not approve. Meanwhile, VeloNews talks with her about the win, and the objections to it.

At least three bike races have been cancelled by organizers in a Louisiana parish, after it passed an anti-bike ordinance requiring bicyclists to wear fluoro hi-viz and ride single file in groups of ten or fewer.

 

Finally…

One stolen bike is bad, 24 is about two dozen times worse. Nothing like banning hunting after it’s already too late.

And just a quick reminder that…

…is worth two in the bush.

 

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Morning Links: Open season on bike riders, false equivalency in the other LA, and Hollywood bike rider injured

October 15, 2018 / / No comments

It’s open season on bicyclists.

A French hunter shot and killed a Welsh mountain biker who was riding in the French Alps, claiming he thought the man was a wild boar — despite his brightly colored helmet.

And despite his colorful bicycle, which wild boars are seldom known to ride.

Thanks Adam Ginsberg and Stefan for the heads-up.

Today’s photo is another reminder of why you never just lock your bike’s wheel to the rack; the thieves not only took the bike, they stripped the tire off the wheel.

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Seriously, I hate crap like this.

A Louisiana newspaper insists that motorists and bicyclists need cooler heads, drawing a false equivalency after a parish near Baton Rouge passed a series of victim-blaming anti-bike laws.

The laws came in response to a crash that killed a man riding a bike and injured his riding partner. Which local drivers used as an excuse to crackdown on those annoying bike riders, even though the driver was clearly at fault.

The difference is, the motorists are fighting for their own convenience, while the people on the bikes just want to be able to ride without getting killed.

Which is basically the same argument you’ll hear in any public meeting to discuss bikes, anywhere.

Meanwhile, Carlton Reid explains that those annoying people on bikes take the lane because it’s safer, smarter, legal and yes, saves lives.

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A man appears to have been seriously injured when he was hit by a car while riding his bike in East Hollywood.

While no information has been released on the identity of the victim or his condition, later comments in the Twitter thread suggest he may have been a homeless man.

The fact that the entire street was closed for several hours suggests that the police conducted a full investigation, which usually only happens if the victim is killed or suffers life-threatening injuries.

So I hope you’ll join me in offering a prayer for the victim, good thoughts, or whatever you’re comfortable with.

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Pasadena public radio station KPCC picks up the story of LA’s recent designation as America’s worst bike city, as producer and bike commuter Leo Duran says it’s well-deserved.

And only in part because of all the cars parked in the new Spring Street bike lane.

The interview starts at 26:05. Thanks to LA ebike maker CERO Electric Cargo Bikes for the link. 

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Horrifying video, as a driver appears to intentionally run down a bicyclist; if you look closely, you can see him holding up his cellphone as if he’s recording the crash.

https://twitter.com/CyclingTodayEn/status/1050647261791674374

No word on where the crash occurred or whether the rider was injured, if the driver was charged, or anything else. And no guarantee this wasn’t staged.

Unfortunately, I lost who sent this to me, so I’ll just have to say thank you to whoever did.

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Local

Life is cheap in Los Angeles, where a hit-and-run driver got a whopping one year behind bars and a lousy $7,500 restitution for killing a five year old boy. And was released on time served.

LAist gives you all the information Angelenos need to Bike the Vote by mail.

Downtown News looks at the completion of the new Spring Street bike lane in DTLA, which will soon be joined by a similar project going the other way on Main Street.

A Calgary writer calls for tourists to spend a weekend relaxing in WeHo, including a celebrity bike tour with Bikes and Hikes LA. Or you could take a weekend bike getaway in Santa Monica.

A Burbank letter writer gives a big thumbs up to the city’s bike lanes.

Ofo continues its slow speed retraction in the US, as it’s accused of premature withdrawal from the Claremont Colleges.

Bird is pioneering a loophole around restrictions on the number of scooters it’s allowed in Santa Monica by introducing direct delivery and daily rentals, saying those shouldn’t count against its limit.

 

State

A 64-year old bike rider is suing a San Diego cop for allegedly using excessive force during a simple traffic stop for running a stop sign; the officer involved insists the other man was aggressive, bellicose and non-compliant, and was taken to a hospital for a psych evaluation after being taken into custody.

Bike advocates say San Francisco is hindering mobility and making streets less safe, hindering mobility and street safety.

A Sonoma paper suggests taking your bike on your next cruise. Or your first cruise, for that matter.

 

National

City planner, urban designer and author Jeff Speck calls for making cities more bike and pedestrian friendly for the good of all humanity.

In a video for Slate, a bike rider says yes, he wears headphones when he rides, and what of it?

Bicycling explains the differences between various types of bicycles.

An Oregon man gets a well-deserved 11 years behind bars for the drunken hit-and-run death of a bike rider; he was behind the wheel despite a blood alcohol level over three times the legal limit when he was arrested a short time later. He claimed he thought he hit an animal, though he never pulled over to check. And being that drunk, he probably wasn’t capable of conscious thought, anyway.

Former pro Scott Mercier says bikes change lives, citing the story of a 12-year old Mexican immigrant in Colorado whose life changed for the better when she was given a chance to earn a bicycle.

A Detroit writer defends the expanding network of bike lanes in the city, debunking arguments against them while saying the debate boils down to whether the streets are for moving cars from out-of-town commuters or creating livable spaces for the people who live there. Los Angeles clearly went with the former when it unceremoniously yanked out the road diets in Playa del Rey after commuters, many from Manhattan Beach, went ballistic.

A racist New York cop says yes, the city’s police are biased against people on bikes and go out of their way to protect deadly drivers.

Bicyclists in a Georgia town are getting clipped by drivers on a sate roadway. So naturally, their solution is to ban the people on bikes from the roadway.

 

International

The bike visibility arms race goes on with the introduction of a new set of front and rear bicycle turn signals. And virtually guaranteed to confuse any motorist.

Treehugger’s Lloyd Alter makes the argument that we should lose the words pedestrian and cyclist.

Hundreds of London bike riders stage a die-in in front of Parliament to demand funding for a protected bike lane network.

Caught on video: An angry British driver can’t manage to wait a few seconds for a bicyclist to pass another rider, even though he was traveling at 25 mph.

Life is cheap in Scotland, where a driver who killed a bicyclist while trying to pass another rider headed in the opposite direction walked without a single day behind bars. At least he’s banned from driving for ten years, though that doesn’t seem to stop some people.

A Scottish man has amassed a collection of over 400 derailleurs from all over the world, noting a bizarre relationship between the bicycle transmission system and repressive dictators.

A London student takes a humorous look at the people behind the handlebars in Florence, Italy.

The report island of Majorca, Spain has created a rating system to guide bike riders in choosing comfortable riding routes.

A South African veterinarian has shifted his focus to building bespoke bikes, reportedly crafting some of the best road and mountain bikes in the country.

A self-described “average bloke” in Australia says he’s going to help out frustrated drivers by riding to work, even if some people call for banning bikes at rush hour.

Japanese authorities have dropped all charges against a mother whose 16-month old son died when her umbrella got caught in the spokes of the ebike they were both riding. Authorities used the case to encourage parents with small children to ride safely.

A Singapore businessman rode over 4,000 mile across 10 countries on a solar power ebike made by his own Chinese factory.

Over 5,400 bicyclists turned out for a mass Hong Kong bike ride, while saying the city isn’t doing enough to improve traffic safety.

 

Competitive Cycling

An English triathlete bounces back from a near-fatal collision just days before last year’s Ironman to compete in this year’s race, despite spending three months in a halo brace to recover from a broken neck.

A Rwandan newspaper profiles the 21-year old rising star of the national cycling team.

 

Finally…

It takes a village to chase down bike thieves. If you can’t find a safe place to run or ride, just build a new island.

And once again, a bike rider is a hero, as a man rescues a woman who fell into a river trying to rescue her dog.

Naturally, the dog got out on his own.

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Morning Links: LACBC responds to LA worst bike city nod, Englander bails, and who we share the roads with

October 12, 2018 / / One comment

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition offered a response yesterday to Los Angeles being named the worst bike city in America by Bicycling magazine.

Worst Bike City in America Another Mandate to Make LA’s Streets Safer

Reading Peter Flax’s article “Los Angeles is the worst bike city in America” is not a wake up call for LACBC, but we hope it serves as one for some of our leaders. For those that work, partner, and volunteer alongside us, we’re highly aware of the dangers of biking and walking in LA, and care deeply about making our streets safer for all road users. Since 1998, LACBC has steadily grown our advocacy and education efforts around safe streets, with a re-focused commitment to equity and inclusion for the most vulnerable road users over the past three years. And while Los Angeles has seen some progress over our two decade history, having to see our friends and neighbors continue to die on our streets while walking and biking is not something we take lightly.

The October 10 article in Bicycling Magazine makes some excellent points, and speaks to the urgency regarding the state of our county’s streets and sidewalks. Working to advocate for livable streets in all 88 cities in LA County is a difficult task, but one from which LACBC does not shy away. Our team is proud of the framework our Interim Executive Director Janet Schulman and our Board of Directors are providing to the organization, and looks forward to ever-increasing our presence in making Los Angeles a better place to bike. During this time of transition, staff continues to focus on critical mobility justice issues.

As a 501(c)3, the LA County Bicycle Coalition is dedicated to helping our community identify and implement complete street changes that would make our streets safer for people walking and biking. Much of our non-profit’s time is focused on base-building and advocating for policies and practices that encourage safer street design and improve the community engagement process. This is work that takes years to develop and grow, and the programs are transforming Los Angeles’s landscape into one that supports a culture of complete streets.

Like you, we take great pride in being an Angeleno, and we’ll never tire in trying to make tomorrow better than today. We invite you to become a part of the movement for safer streets in Los Angeles, and to volunteer with us in making our streets safer for those traveling around LA County.

It’s not exactly the hard-hitting response we might have wanted. But it may be the best we can hope for as the coalition struggles without permanent leadership after losing two executive directors in the space of a year.

Meanwhile, there’s still no hint of a response from the mayor’s office, or any member of the city council.

Today’s photo, like yesterday, represents the massive fail of being named America’s worst bike city. And the repeated failures on behalf of city leaders that brought us to this point.

Maybe we’ll just keep using it every day until they finally do something about it.

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Speaking of the city council, the only Republican on the panel, CD12 Councilmember Mitch Englander, announced he’s leaving the city council at the end of the year.

He becomes the second councilmember in recent years to blow off the people who elected him in favor of a higher paying job in the private sector.

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This is who we share the roads with.

A Florida man was driving 100 mph in a 40 mph zone when he plowed into another car and sent it into a man walking his dogs on the sidewalk.

And was so drunk he didn’t even realize he’d suffered a compound wrist fracture, with the fractured bone breaking through the skin.

Blood tests afterward showed he had an alcohol level of .28, three and a half times the legal limit.

He had two previous arrests for DUI in Florida, as well as four DUI convictions in a ten year period in Virginia, along with another three for driving with a suspended license, earning him a whopping one year of probation.

He’s now facing charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, DUI causing serious bodily injury and reckless driving.

Just one more example of authorities going out of their way to keep a dangerous drunk driver on the roads until it’s too late.

And on the other side of the world, the passenger in a New Zealand contractor’s truck can be heard on video urging the driver to run over a bicyclist on the shoulder of the roadway.

The owner of the company responded by calling it “extremely embarrassing.”

Never mind how embarrassed he should be that his employees were stupid enough to post it online.

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Local

L.A. City Councilmember José Huizar officially opened the new left-side Spring Street parking protected bike lane with a ribbon cutting in DTLA.

The LA Daily News reports on the ghost bike installation for Roberto Perez, the victim in Sunday’s Sun Valley hit-and-run. Now if we can just find the heartless coward who left him to die in the street.

North Hollywood residents will have more time to weigh in on the planned widening of Magnolia Blvd through the NoHo Arts district after people questioned whether it meets LA’s Vision Zero goals; you now have until November 26th to comment.

CiclaValley looks back at the recent NACTO convention in Los Angeles.

 

State

Orange County rapper Innate followed up last year’s solo album with a 5,000-mile bike ride across the US.

The California Coastal Commission has given its blessing to plans for a lane reduction, bike lanes and Complete Streets makeover of the Coast Highway 101 through Leucadia.

San Francisco’s new mayor shows what can happen when the mayor isn’t running for president, moving to speed up work on a pair of safety projects on Market Street. Maybe LA’s mayor could take notes the next time he has a layover at LAX.

JUMP is looking to hire a Market Entry Project Manager in San Francisco.

 

National

Bicycling repeats what we’ve been talking about all week. If you want to fight climate change, leave your car in the garage and ride a bike.

Three bike riders tell Bicycling what Coming Out Day means to them, and why it matters. I’ve had a number of deeply closeted friends over the years, and have seen close up the damage living a double life can do. And the relief that comes with coming out.

Singletacks talks with the executive director of Little Bellas, an organization dedicated to mentoring young girls on mountain bikes.

Outside talks with the professional race car driver who helped Denise Mueller-Korenek shatter the land speed record for a human-powered bicycle.

An Oregon FedEx driver is going on trial for failing to yield in the death of a bike rider; the case hinges on whether a bike lane continues through an intersection. But it’s still just a traffic citation, rather than a criminal case.

A Seattle TV station questions whether it’s really the best bike city in the US. On the other hand, a Seattle weekly doesn’t mince words, saying Bicycling is dead wrong about the city’s first place finish.

My hometown is just one of four Colorado cities that made Bicycling’s list of the 50 best bike towns in the US.

A Denver TV reporter bikes to work live on camera, then learns from angry viewers that the state didn’t actually legalize the Idaho stop, they just made it so individual cities could if they want. And so far, Denver doesn’t.

Residents of an Ohio city are unhappy with plans to relocate a bike path in front of their homes. Even though studies show it will make their property values go up.

Akron, Ohio is right sizing the city’s streets by removing lanes and installing bike lanes. And without the near riots that accompanied LA’s attempts to do the same thing on the Westside.

Support is growing for a two-way protected bike lane on New York’s Central Park West.

The NYPD responds to Streetblog’s Freedom of Information request on its decision to “close critical Manhattan bike lanes” during last month’s United Nations General Assembly by telling them, in effect, to mind their own business.

He gets it. A Maryland university professor says the cities of the future should be built for people on two wheels.

 

International

A Canadian writer explains that there are good reasons why you don’t need a license to ride a bike.

European bike makers, bicycle tourism companies and nonprofit organizations have banded together to form an organization representing 650,000 workers to “unite all the private sector voices in cycling, behind one vision, in one structure.”

If you build it, they will come. London opened three new quiet ways across the city, as newly released figures show bicycling in the UK capital increased 8% last year. Los Angeles has no idea how much bicycling went up or down last year because they’ve never bothered to measure it.

Britain’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents says traffic planners should consider the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, children and older people to improve safety.

British bike hero Sir Chris Hoy says it’s time to end the “us versus them” attitude between drivers and bicyclists. No shit. Especially since most of the latter are also the former.

A writer from the UK suggests that the 30-mile Sellaronda in Italy’s Dolomites may be the most beautiful bike route in the world.

 

Finally…

Why mountain bikers should be glad summer is over. And the forgotten era of women’s bike racing in the ’90s.

No, the 1890s.

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Morning Links: LA wins best bike cities race to bottom, the beauty of bicycling, and update on SaMo bike crash

October 11, 2018 / / 5 comments

Bicycling is out with their bi-annual ranking of the best bike cities in America.

Needless to say, Los Angeles didn’t win.

Our bayside neighbor to the north is second, the same position San Francisco held last time.

My hometown slid up to third, while Seattle was a surprising choice for the top pick among America’s best bike cities after ranking fifth in 2016.

Then there’s LA.

The City of Angels, which ranked 24th on the best bike cities list last time around, didn’t come in quite so high this time.

In fact, LA didn’t make the list at all.

Then again, simply not making the list would have been an improvement for a city that was rated as the worst bike city in America.

That’s right, we’re number one on Bicycling’s list of America’s best bike cities. From the bottom.

An honor, if you want to use the term, that is well-deserved as city leaders have seriously backslid in their support for bicycling in Los Angeles.

Let alone safe streets.

This is what Peter Flax had to say on the subject, after he was asked to write the story for Bicycling.

Los Angeles should be heaven for cyclists. The weather is beyond dreamy—downtown L.A. has gotten less than four inches of rain so far this year. The city is an enormous, mostly flat grid of wide boulevards with plenty of room for smartly placed bike infrastructure. The traffic is literally the worst in the world, making it all the more reasonable to cover shorter trips by bike. The metro area boasts postcard-perfect oceanfront riding and spectacular climbing in legendary spots like the Malibu hills, Palos Verdes, and the San Gabriel Mountains. Every day, I see hundreds of people pedaling around town with smile on their faces, despite the challenges the city throws at them.

That’s the good news.

It all sounds quite lovely until you start to contemplate all of the cyclists who have been killed—and ask yourself why. In the past five years alone, more than 180 riders in the metropolitan area have been killed by people driving motor vehicles. During the last three years that national crash data has been compiled (2014-2016), only three U.S. states have seen more cyclist fatalities than just L.A. County—Florida, New York, and California as a whole.

The roads themselves are a disaster. The cruelest irony is that the city is spending money on them. But instead of investing in the quality infrastructure, millions of taxpayer dollars are being spent to pay out civil lawsuits brought by severely injured cyclists or the families of killed riders. The sad truth is that in L.A., it’s more politically expedient to pay seven-figure civil damages than to fix all the crappy roads and build the infrastructure that keeps people from getting hurt or killed.

 

There’s more, sadly. A lot more.

Looking to sustain L.A.’s broken and ineffective transportation system are a cadre of well-funded organizations like Keep L.A. Moving, who are fighting any safety project that might remove a single driving lane from the urban grid. In their minds, one or two cyclist fatalities a month are acceptable collateral damage to keep a big car-centric city properly lubricated…

This angry populist rebellion resonated far beyond the borders of Playa del Rey. L.A. City Council members saw the political might wielded by angry motorists. So did Mayor Garcetti, who has aspirations for national office and wants to shy away from unpopular controversies. And since the bike lanes in Playa del Rey got ripped out, the already glacial pace of making streets safer practically came to a stop in L.A.

It’s not exactly pleasant to read.

But it’s worth your time, because Flax nails it, accurately calling out the multitude of problems we face. And the shameful lack of political support for making the changes we so desperately need.

Maybe this will serve as a wake-up call for our bad publicity-shy public leaders. Or maybe embarrass them just enough to actually do something.

At least enough to get us back onto the list. Even if we have to settle for the 50th spot, as America’s worst best bike city.

Which would be a hell of an improvement over where we are now.

Meanwhile, Long Beach did make the list, checking in at 27th, up one from their previous ranking.

Here’s the methodology Bicycling used to determine the rankings.

Thanks to Al Williams for the heads-up.

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It was a busy day for Peter Flax; if the last story left you feeling down, take a few minutes to read his take on everything that’s beautiful about bicycling.

Trust me, you’ll feel better.

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Sort of good news.

In answer to yesterday’s request for more information about a bike crash at 23rd and Navy in Santa Monica, City Manager Rick Cole responded that the victim was “severely, but not critically injured.”

Not exactly good news, but better than we had feared.

Let’s keep out fingers crossed for a full and fast recovery.

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Speaking of bad news, I somehow missed the news that an unidentified bike rider was killed in Stanton on Monday. The driver initially fled the scene, but returned a short time later.

I’ll try to catch up with the story later today.

………

The Los Angeles Fire Department offers a video profile of LAFD’s bike-riding paramedics at LAX, who use their bicycles to respond to emergencies faster than they could by motor vehicle.

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Local

Curbed’s Alissa Walker says the best way Angelenos can support climate action is to stop driving so much. And support improved transportation and density.

Streetsblog says California needs more bike diversion programs, after Bike SGV’s Andrew Yip helped a poor immigrant get into one when he faced a choice between a $240 fine or jail for riding on the sidewalk.

 

State

A writer for Medium says today’s hipsters have a long way to go to match San Francisco’s mustachioed high wheeled cycling fanatics of the 1890s.

 

National

The good news is bicycling fatalities in the US declined 8.1% last year. The bad news is they’re still too damn high, with an average of over two deaths a day, every day.

Lucky us. A new study shows, on average, every 13th driver that passes you on your bike is driving distracted.

Forbes says shared mobility data offers an opportunity to reshape cities.

Cycling Industry News refutes ten bike fit myths. I can personally testify to #4; bicycling is the only thing that held my balky right knee together as long as it did. Even now that I’ll need to get it replaced in the coming weeks, I can still ride with minimal pain, which is more than I can say about walking. Or sitting.

Speaking of that best bike cities list, Portland received its worst ranking ever, coming in at number five. Which is still 19 spots higher than LA ever has.

A Grand Junction CO newspaper urges donations to a Colorado high school marching band that was stiffed by an annual bike tour. If you’ve got a few extra buck lying around, there are worse things you could do with it.

A Chicago bike rider and a pedestrian were injured when a teenage boy hopped behind the wheel of an unlocked car and speed off, crashing into several parked cars in the process.

Caught on video: A Chicago bike rider complains about private parks security racing down a multi-use path in an SUV to chase riders around tight corners — especially when the ones being chased can simply turn around to get away.

A Massachusetts city has removed their requirement for bicyclists to hug the curb, allowing bike riders full use of the lane, like other city’s in the state.

A long list of drivers are still allowed in New York’s Central Park, months after they were supposedly banished.

 

International

Cities around the world are facing the question of how to adapt to an aging population, and what an age-friendly city would look like — including safer streets, improved transit and making bicycling accessible to older people.

A new foam liner from Vittoria and Tannus promises to replace your tubes and make your tires puncture proof.

A “secret” cyclocross fondo through the British Columbia countryside is gaining in popularity, despite being unannounced and not having any maps.

Putting the “mounted” back in Mounted Police, Canada’s famed Mounties are learning that patrolling by bicycle helps officers improve community relations and stop street crime.

An annual London charity ride takes you up to 90 miles from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Castle to raise funds for The Prince’s Trust. The perfect royal ride for the Anglophile in your life.

File this under you’ve got to be kidding. Just riding a bicycle through a chain of outdoor malls in the UK could result in prison time, thanks to a recent court ruling.

Understanding your Emotional Quotient can improve your performance on your bike, according to a British lecturer.

CityLab says Paris could be a model for how cities can combat climate change, as the city works to reduce motor vehicle use.

Dutch phrases you need to know to ride a bike in the Netherlands.

No bias here. A Reuters story says Africa is locked in traffic as the “poor man’s transport,” aka the bicycle, is ignored. Which feeds into the narrative that people only ride bikes because they can’t afford to drive, which couldn’t be further from the truth.

 

Competitive Cycling

Nebraska resident and new US cycling team member Ashton Lambie has gone from riding Kansas backroads to setting a world record in the 4,000-meter individual pursuit.

French cyclist Sylvain Chavanel reveals what he learned in 19 years in the pro peloton.

 

Finally…

Who needs an SUV when you can have a Sports Utility (e)Bike? That feeling when the city steals your bike to replace the rack.

And keep an eye on Craigslist; someone stole Geraint Thomas’ Tour de France trophy.

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

Morning Links: Biking to fight climate change crisis, how to bike Spring Street, and a musical view of CicLAvia

October 10, 2018 / / 2 comments

A new report warns that the Earth only has another eleven years to reverse climate change before suffering irreversible and catastrophic damage.

Not surprisingly, bicycling and walking more were among the mitigating tactics the researchers recommended to help fight climate change and keep the planet habitable.

Then again, that news is nothing new.

Although it may come as a shock to some members of the LA city council, where self-proclaimed environmentalists continue to block bike lanes and keep Angelenos dependent on their cars, despite acknowledging a climate emergency.

Maybe now they’ll finally get the message. And actually do something about it.

Though something tells me we may all turn blue from waiting.

Unless we die first from the effects of all those cars idling in traffic.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s takeaway from that climate change report is that we need to all switch to solar powered e-cars.

It’s almost like he has a stake in it or something.

Thanks to Jason Islas for the Musk heads-up.

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LADOT has advice for bike riders on how to use the new left hand, parking protected bike lanes on Spring Street in DTLA.

Now if they could just come up with advice for drivers on how to avoid parking in it.

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LA County serves up a great video recap weaving a musical tapestry from last month’s Celebrate LA! CicLAvia.

Thanks to LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas for the link.

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Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss continues his ascent to being one of the country’s leading bike advocates, this time taking on the self-described “avid cyclists” who stand in the way of bike safety.

Sort of like the Kiwi driver and self-described cyclist who got upset when he had to follow two chatting bike riders, calling them entitled, rude and careless for delaying him for a whole 21 seconds.

Meanwhile, a bike advocate respond to his video by saying “Revving your engine, overtaking on a blind corner, and yelling at people on bikes is a dick move.”

Something tells me Weiss would agree.

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Anyone have more information about this crash near Santa Monica Airport? That totally trashed bicycle doesn’t look good.

However, there’s nothing in the news about it. And usually, no news is good news.

Update: I saw the following email from Benjamin S after I posted this last night. 

Meanwhile, a comment below says it took police 12 hours to clear the crash scene, and that forensics was called to investigate, which is never a good sign. 

Let’s all take a moment to offer a prayer or good thoughts for the victim of this crash, and hope for the best.

Update 2: According to Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole, the victim was “severely, but not critically injured.” 

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Pro cyclist Ted King was on the receiving end of a punishment pass from a road raging driver.

Twitter user RS recognizes the location as Petaluma Road in Point Reyes.

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Nothing like endangering a kid in a baby carriage with an ill-advised pass.

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Today’s common theme is ebikes.

Lifehacker considers whether you should buy an ebike. Unfortunately, the first — and often, last — consideration for many people is whether they can actually afford it.

The New York Times questions whether ebikes are about to take over the city, now that Gotham has eased restrictions on ped-assist bikes.

Business Times argues that ebikes can make you fitter than a regular bike. Which is probably true if the regular bike stays in your garage.

And Wired examines how dockless bikeshare provider Jump designed a global ebike capable of serving the most people, in the most urban environments.

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Local

A ghost bike will be placed tonight for the victim of Sunday’s bike crash in Sun Valley.

 

State

The Challenged Athlete’s Foundation is hosting a 600-mile Million Dollar Challenge ride down the left coast from Monterey to San Diego next week.

The Orange County Bike Bells program to distribute bike bells to mountain bikers was honored with a Savvy Award for the best use of a promotional item from the national City-County Communications & Marketing Association (3CMA).

A separated Class 1 bike path in Goleta has won the Bikeways and Trails Project of the Year Award from the Los Angeles chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Now this Oakland bikeway is what a protected bike lane — and a Complete Street — should look like.

Former pro Levi Leipheimer’s Levi’s GranFondo drew over 4,000 bicyclists to Sonoma County over the weekend.

Sacramento approved a change to the city’s food vending vehicles code to legalize food bikes, at the urging of a couple who found out their fresh Stroopwafel bike violated the city codes.

 

National

The author of the “safety in numbers” theory says that tiny vehicles, such as e-scooters, could be the best thing to happen to Vision Zero.

Bike Index talks with the owner of the 5,000th stolen bicycle recovered through the free bike registry.

Bicycling profiles what they call cycling’s cutest rider, a three-pound Schnoodle named Pippa.

It’s neighbor against neighbor on the streets of Denver, where residents are split on a series of mini traffic circles installed as part of a neighborhood bikeway giving priority to non-motorized users.

Cycling tackles one of Colorado’s most iconic passes.

A Colorado bike tour has left a trail of bounced checks and broken promises in its wake, including stiffing a high school marching band.

If drivers can’t even manage to avoid dooring the new Milwaukee street car, how the hell are they supposed to see us?

In a problem DTLA bike riders can relate to, a Chicago TV station reports that bike riders are being endangered by having to swerve around cars and buses parked in a bike lane.

Maine is trying to boost bike tourism by plotting a 320-mile extension to US Bike Route 1 through the northern part of the state.

New York is building a 750-mile escape route, uh, bike trail to Canada.

WaPo discovers ‘bents, saying today’s adult tricycles are low, sleek, speeding and growing in popularity.

 

International

In Vancouver, dooring isn’t considered a crash, because the car isn’t moving and bikes aren’t considered vehicles. And the fine is just $81.

Life is cheap in Manitoba, Canada, where an allegedly drunk hit-and-run driver got just two years for killing a bike riding father; he also lost his license for five years, but the court cut that in half to credit him with the time since the 2016 crash.

A candidate for the Windsor, Ontario city council is taking Bike the Vote seriously by doing his campaigning by bicycle.

A “radical” new proposal would pedestrianize half of the streets in London’s historic core, banning cars and trucks while lowering speed limits to just 15 mph.

A reporter follows BBC presenter Jeremy Vines as he rides his bike from his TV gig to his radio studio, and quotes Vines saying riding a bike is quicker than a Maserati in London.

Safety first. A British bike rider dressed all in black, including a balaclava, to murder a man in a bike-by shooting — but wore a hi-viz jacket over it. One paper suggests it could be an effort to hide in plain sight.

No surprise here. A new study from a British insurance company shows that bike riders make better drivers; bike riding drivers filed claims at less than half the rate of other motorists.

A UK city is posting “Share with Care” signs to remind bike riders and pedestrians to safely share formerly pedestrian streets that were recently opened to people on bicycles.

Police in a British city are stopping bicyclists for using a cellphone when they ride. Only problem is, that’s not illegal.

A Scottish woman is on track to shatter the record for the fastest women’s ride around the world.

Bicycling is booming in Russia, despite market conditions that limit the importation of better quality bikes.

International diplomats climb on their bikes to fight climate change in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Foreign workers in Dubai can’t get to their jobs after their bicycles were confiscated for violating the emirate’s law mandating bike helmets and hi-viz.

Kiwi bike riders say they’re sick of the anti-cyclist vitriol on social media.

The Korea Times takes a look back at the country’s first women bike riders, even though many of the first women’s bikes were ridden by men wearing traditional skirts.

Tragic news from Japan, where an 88-year old woman is in a coma after being knocked down by a 13-year old boy on a bike.

 

Competitive Cycling

An admittedly flawed Irish study shows a worrying increase in spinal injuries among competitive cyclists.

A writer for Outside says America’s most recent ex-Tour de France winner is seeking forgiveness by starting a new cycling team.

A new Chinese cycling team with a massive budget sets out to win the Tour de France by 2025.

 

Finally…

A cuter, fluffier way to sniff out dope cheats. Why change tires when you can just zip on a new tread?

And apparently, there’s nothing scarier than bike-riding teenagers in clown masks.

 

Category: Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: LADOT is working on bike lanes and bike paths after all, and a bike rider was killed in Sun Valley

October 8, 2018 / / One comment

Maybe the apparent lack of action on LA bike lanes isn’t as bad as it seems.

The list of active bike projects at LADOT contains a lot of surprises. Like the fact that the city is actually working on bike projects.

One that immediately jumps out is project 89 on Santa Monica Blvd, which is in the planning stages to close the gap between the existing LA bike lanes that end at Century City, and the new green bike lanes in Beverly Hills.

That will take some creative engineering, especially eastbound where bike riders have to make the jump to cross over the right lanes of traffic exiting onto Little Santa Monica without getting killed by impatient LA drivers.

Not to mention the westbound bike lane as it travels past the Waldorf Astoria and Hilton hotels in Beverly Hills, which is more often used as a parking and loading zone than an actual lane for bike travel.

Now we’ll have to get West Hollywood to close the gap on their side where the bike lanes are missing on last block or two east of Doheny.

Then there’s the fact that LADOT is finally working on a handful of Bicycle Friendly Streets, which appeared to have been all but forgotten. It’s not exactly the third-level bicycle network we were promised in the 2010 bike plan, but it’s a start.

It’s also interesting to see that 4th Street is once again considered a Bicycle Friendly Street, after former Councilmember Tom LaBonge bungled the initial rollout. And somehow got local residents to oppose a plan that would have significantly benefitted them.

So far it appears to be nothing but mini roundabouts, but again, it’s a start.

I’ll look forward to the Mid City Low Stress corridors, which may finally provide a comfortable north/south route in and out of Hollywood. Although I’m not sure how low stress it will be when you have to keep jumping from one street to another.

And I’m not thrilled that the only east/west project in Hollywood is currently considered inactive.

There are a number of other projects throughout the city, from bike paths to bike lanes, separate, protected or otherwise.

I don’t think anyone will look at this and think LA is finally justifying its status as a bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community.

But it’s good to finally see things moving forward again.

Click either photo to increase size. Thanks to Kent Strumpell for the heads-up. 

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Today’s photo is a reminder how not to lock your bike. This half-eaten bike along the bike lane on Santa Monica Blvd in Century City was locked with decent U-lock. But only through the frame, allowing the thief to take both wheels. We may never know why they left the rear tire — and an extra seat.

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KABC-7 reported last night that a bike rider was killed in an apparent hit-and-run in Sun Valley on Sunday. However, the story was not online as of this writing, and no details are currently available.

We’ll try to catch up on the story when there’s more information.

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Local

Downtown LA’s Spring Street has been upgraded to a left side, parking protected bike lane. Although not everyone seems to have gotten the memo.

National Public Radio profiles popular DTLA band Vignes Rooftop Revival, who bike, walk or skate to all their gigs, because they want to.

A Santa Monica architect, who is clearly no fan of e-scooters, says the city is conducting an uncontrolled experiment by foisting the “dangerous machines” on the public.

LA County is planning a bike and pedestrian bridge over La Cienega Blvd, the final link in the 13-mile Park to Playa Trail, which promises to connect Baldwin Hills to the beach by 2020.

SoCal Cycling talks with Dayna Galbreath of SAFE and Finish the Ride.

 

State

The CHP is starting a year-long campaign to improve bike and pedestrian safety. The question is whether they’ll focus on getting people to drive safely around bike riders and walkers, or continue their long tradition of victim blaming.

Twelve Wounded Warriors finished a month-long ride across the US when they pedaled into San Diego yesterday.

Moving story from San Francisco, where a bike rider tracked down the friends of a fallen bicyclist looking for closure, after coming on the scene moments after the crash and comforting the victim.

 

National

Bicycling provides an athlete’s guide to CDB, the portion of cannabis that won’t get you high. My personal experience is that CBD is great for stopping muscle cramps and soothing aching muscles, but not so good for pain control.

This is who we share the roads with. A Portland driver becomes just the latest the plow through a group of protesters, something conservative lawmakers have been pushing to make legal in several states. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

Bicyclists in Fargo ND don’t appear to have any objection the city quadrupling fines for some bicycle traffic violations — to a whopping $20; most will remain at $5.

Volunteers in Dubuque, Iowa prepare hot meals for the homeless, then deliver them by bicycle throughout the downtown area.

Even in bike friendly Madison WI, “undocumented and other minority residents” struggle to find safe routes to ride in areas unserved by the city’s extensive network of bike paths, trails and bike lanes.

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on. A Chicago bike rider was severely beaten by a road raging driver, after attempting to run the rider down when he yelled at the driver for cutting into a protected bike lane, nearly hitting him. On the other hand, the rider chased down the driver to confront him when he had several opportunities to defuse the situation and let the police deal with it.

Chicago finds it can’t fire a bike racing paramedic, despite two separate convictions for bike theft — including participating in a theft ring that stole $48,000 worth bikes and parts from a freight train.

A Minnesota girl credits her bike helmet with saving her life when she was hit by a semi. The truck jackknifed and ended up on top of her leg, breaking her femur, clavicle and pelvis; she also ended up with concussion and a collapsed lung.

A Minnesota bicyclist captures shocking video of a bike rider running a stop sign — after a long line of drivers do the same. But maybe that’s the point. Personally, I always stop, or at least slow to a crawl, for stop signs. But the most important thing is to always observe the right-of-way. 

A Boston public radio station attempts to untangle the science on bicycling and sexual dysfunction, as one San Diego doctor insists there’s a connection, despite several studies showing just the opposite.

The Boston Globe considers what to do about the advent of e-scooters, comparing them to the disruption caused by the introduction of bicycles in the late 1800s.

The New York Times promotes the Dutch Reach to prevent doorings.

Interesting idea. Philadelphia is considering plans for a prototype bike corral in front of fire hydrants to provide additional bike parking and keep drivers from parking in front of them.

The Baltimore bishop convicted of killing a bicyclist in a drunken hit-and-run three years ago could be released from prison as soon as next month, after asking a judge to change her consecutive sentences to concurrent terms instead.

No shit. Regional traffic planners take issue with Maryland’s plans to make bike riders share a lane with 50 mph traffic on a bridge over the Potomac.

 

International

Cycling Tips explains the value of a bespoke bike frame.

A new device makes it wheelie easy to ride on one wheel.

The European Union allows a quadrupling of power for ebikes, from 250 to 1,000 watts, but keeps maximum assist speeds capped at 15 mph.

Ed Ryder forwards this story of a London woman who found her stolen bike online, and stole it back when the police refused to help. 

New handlebar lights currently raising funds on Kickstarter promise to reduce unsafe passing with red and while lights that stay on all the time, then change to orange to signal turns. The lights were featured on a British show similar to Shark Tank.

A bike rider in the UK has an uncomfortably close encounter with a felled tree. Someone might want to teach the crew how to block a traffic lane before they bring a tree down in it. Just a suggestion.

Seriously? After he was caught on video driving through a bike lane and jumping a curb in an attempt to run down a bike rider on the sidewalk, a Dublin cab driver defends his actions by claiming he was simply trying to apprehend the bicyclist for reaching out to break his mirror as he rode by. Because apparently, people on bicycles are just randomly destructive for no apparent reason.

An Irish writer suggests taking a bike tour of Mallorca, Spain. And overcomes his aversion to spandex in the process.

Irish UFC fighter Conor McGregor is one of us, using his bike to train for last Saturday’s fight. Maybe he needs to train harder to fight in the ring, and less out of it.

Evidently, its against the law to ride a bicycle while under the influence in Ireland, after a man was fined the equivalent of $265 for riding into traffic while “highly intoxicated.”

More proof that we all face the same problems wherever we ride. A hit-and-run driver in Malta was sentenced to three years behind bars for driving off when he hit a bike rider, after telling his passenger to just calm down.

Police in India arrested 42 people for driving on cycle tracks. We could use some of that here. Or maybe a lot of it.

An Aussie rider discovers the social side of bicycling.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling says Canadian cyclist Michael Woods has arrived, after the 31-year old former running finished third at the worlds.

VeloNews talks with ex-Tour de France winner Floyd Landis about his plans to start a Continental level cycling team using the funds he got from the feds’ lawsuit against America’s other ex-Tour de France winner.

 

Finally…

Seriously, stop calling non-ebikes “analog.” Consider this a guide for your next spooky Halloween-themed LA bike ride.

And this is what happens when your NASCAR competitors know you’re a passionate bicyclist, and ask for a dozen road bikes.

 

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

Morning Links: People Protected LA recruiting, mistaking bike path for a freeway, and ducking a flying deer

October 5, 2018 / / No comments

People Protected LA — the group behind LA’s first people protected bike lane — is continuing to organize, and inviting everyone to sign up for future events.

If you’re as angry as I am about the failed state of bicycling and Vision Zero in Los Angeles, it’s definitely worth a few moments of your time to support a group that’s finally bringing bike activism back to the City of Angels.

Photo from People Protected LA Twitter account.

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This is who we share the roads with.

An Ohio semi driver somehow mistook a bike path for a freeway onramp.

https://twitter.com/ColumbusPolice/status/1047845350550241283

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I’ve been bitten by a deer fly, and it didn’t look anything like that. A North Carolina driver hit a deer, nearly knocking it into a group of bicyclists headed in the other direction.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

A Dublin cab driver chases down a bike rider, cutting into the bike lane and climbing a sidewalk trying to run him down.

Which led to this heartbreaking and infuriating statement from a local advocacy group.

That is absolutely outrageous. Driver needs to go to jail and should never be able to drive a public service vehicle again.

This is where the anti-cyclist media narrative is leading us. Many drivers now consider cyclists subhuman.

We’ve been dehumanized. We’re vermin.

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Local

The LACBC will take a haunting pre-Halloween Sunday Funday ride this weekend.

How to navigate LA’s ever-increasing transportation options.

The West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition is hosting a panel discussion on bike law with BikinginLA sponsor Jim Pocrass on October 18th.

Santa Monica-based Bird gets serious about advocacy, hiring the executive director of New York’s groundbreaking Transportation Alternatives to be its new director of safety policy and advocacy.

If you didn’t get enough open streets at last week’s CicLAvia — or just want a calmer experience — Santa Monica’s annual COAST open streets event will take place this Sunday, closing over two miles of city streets to motor vehicles. And opening them up for everyone else.

 

State

No surprise here. The CHP reports men are eight times more likely to die in a bicycling collision than women. In part simply because there are more men on bikes, and they’re more likely to ride riskier roads.

Plans for a road diet on the Coast Highway through Leucadia are headed to the Coastal Commission for approval, despite opposition from angry homeowners.

San Francisco bike advocates take a tour of safety improvements which promise to tame a deadly street.

A 20-year old Sonoma County man was sentenced to three-years probation and ordered to stay away from the bike path where he randomly punched a man riding his bike past a homeless camp.

Lodi officials decided not to buy an abandoned railroad bridge that could have served as the basis for a rail-to-trail conversion, saying there are better and cheaper options available.

Tragic news from Chico, where a man was killed in a collision while riding his bike after allegedly crossing traffic and failing to yield to an oncoming vehicle.

 

National

High priced titanium water bottle cages for weight weenies.

Bicycling explains how to ship your bike in three easy steps.

Outside looks at seven quirky, under-the-radar races worth the entry fee, including Folsom’s Rodeocross.

A writer from my hometown university says if you want to enjoy the benefits of a bike-friendly campus, you gotta obey the rules.

A candidate for Denver mayor blames the city’s traffic problems on bike lanes. Someone should tell him Denver’s traffic sucked when I lived their 30 years ago, before there were any.

A Colorado letter writer basically says, “I’m not biased against bikes. Just the people who ride them.”

Streetsblog says the reason Crain’s Business owner and anti-bike crank Ken Crane and others are so angry about Detroit’s new bike lanes is because they’re used to speeding through the city from their suburban commutes. Sort of like the angry Manhattan Beach commuters who forced the removal of the Playa del Rey road diets and bike lanes.

No, a New York court didn’t side with a fallen bicyclist, they convicted the driver. That’s not how criminal cases work.

A Philadelphia public radio station examines the bureaucratic nightmare of building a bike network.

It just gets worse and worse. An Op-Ed by the editor of a far-right Maryland website starts by calling the decision of the mayor of Annapolis to install a contraflow bike lane “reckless and an abuse of the authority bestowed upon him.” Then devolves into a diatribe against bike lanes and bicyclists in general.

 

International

A Calgary roundtable discusses why other people are jerks on the road.

A ten-year old English girl raised the equivalent of over $500 for a cancer charity by riding her bike 10 miles around town.

British bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid has left Bike Biz, the bike industry publication he founded 22 years ago; he’ll now be covering the transportation beat for Forbes.

Edinburgh is installing Quonset hut-style bike lockers throughout the city to provide secure bike parking, but charging users more than drivers pay to park in outlying areas. We could use some of those here in Los Angeles. Without the stiff user fees.

Now that’s more like it. Paris has installed over 900 security cameras to catch motorists who drive or park in bike lanes and paths. We could use some of those, too.

Talk about blaming the victim. After an Israeli ebike rider was killed in a hit-and-run, police try to shift the blame to the friend whose bike he was sharing — even though the driver, a professional soccer player, was five times over the legal alcohol limit when he was arrested a short time later.

A New Zealand study suggests the country should be more like the United States than the United Kingdom when it comes to setting speed limits for ebikes, setting speeds at 20 mph rather than the European limit of 15 mph.

New Zealand officials urge a hit-and-run bicyclist to turn himself in after crashing into a toddler while riding on the sidewalk, breaking the boy’s leg in two places. Seriously, bike riders who crash into someone have as much responsibility to stop as drivers do. Not to mention a moral obligation not to be a total schmuck.

A three-year old Japanese strider bike rider gives a lesson sportsmanship.

 

Competitive Cycling

From disgraced doper to legal dope dealer to team owner. America’s least well known ex-Tour de France winner is forming a new Continental-level cycling team with his share of the money he got from the fed’s settlement with the other one.

Apparently, retired pro Alberto Contador is giving Phil Gaimon a little competition for the worst retirement ever, taking the KOM for a legendary Vuelta climb.

Pro cyclists Tim Wellens and Thomas De Gendt will turn into bike tourists after Saturday’s Il Lombardia classic, bike packing 600 miles back home to Belgium.

VeloNews profiles lone wolf cyclist Justin Williams, who gave up on the traditional cycling model when his latest team folded last year, and now competes in whatever race and format he damn well pleases, while running a development squad for young black and Hispanic riders from South LA.

Former world champ Peter Sagan was called an idiot after writing that he had repeatedly bashed a competitor’s wheel during Paris-Roubaix in a failed attempt to straighten his handlebars.

 

Finally…

Call it gymnastics on two wheels. When you need a good cuppa joe, you can always head to your local bike shop. Or shoe shop, for that matter.

And a London bicyclist says drivers are right, we really are that bad.

 

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

Morning Links: Arrest in Valbuena hit-and-run, adaptive bikes in the news, and who we share the roads with

October 4, 2018 / / One comment

Police have arrested a suspect in the hit-and-run death of bike rider Jonathan Valbuena in Torrance last month.

Thirty-seven-year old Thomas Hudson was arrested at his home in Rancho Palos Verdes following a two week investigation.

He was being held on $50,000 bail.

Valbuena, who was described as homeless, was left to die in the street following the 5 am crash at Hawthorne Boulevard and 227th Street.

Let’s hope the DA’s office takes this case seriously, and don’t just write it off because the victim didn’t have a home. Or was on a bicycle.

And that our state legislators finally do something to stop this murderous epidemic.

………

Today’s common theme is adaptive riding.

Bicycling profiles handcycle mountain biker Jeremy McGhee, who has developed a rating system for mountain bike trails accessible to adaptive riders. But then they don’t bother to, you know, link to it.

After losing the use of his own legs, a Colorado framebuilder switched his focus to building one-of-a-kind adaptive mountain bikes to bring wheelchair-bound riders back to the trails.

A Pittsburgh paraplegic is preparing to make an attempt to set a new record for the most miles traveled by handcycle in 24 hours.

………

This is who we share the roads with.

An allegedly drunk, off-duty Lyft driver takes a wide, fast turn onto Sunset Blvd, and takes out a handful of people standing on the sidewalk outside the Whiskey a Go Go.

Then there’s this guy.

In yet another example of keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late, a British driver with eight previous convictions for distracted driving killed a bike rider moments after reading a text. And just weeks after magistrates agreed to let him keep his license.

Maybe those magistrates should be looking for a new line of work.

………

Get your zen on with mesmerizing drone footage of bicyclists rounding a roundabout in bike-friendly Davis.

………

Women on Wheels rides to brunch in the San Gabriel Valley on Sunday.

Maybe they’ll bring me back something from Donut Man. Not that I could actually eat it or anything.

………

Damn.

This punishment pass from the UK is about the closest I’ve ever seen without actually hitting someone.

………

Local

A motion by San Fernando Valley Councilmember Bob Blumenfield would revoke regulations that have officially taken 374 LA streets off the books, preventing some of them from getting repaved since 1934.

NIMBY pressure group Fix the City settled a lawsuit that had stopped plans for a Frank Geary designed complex on Sunset Blvd; the group had somehow sued to preserve a dangerous right turn slip lane at Sunset and Crescent Heights that puts pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers at needless risk.

Lyft is teaming with LADOT to sponsor a promotion to get you out of your car for 30 days. Shouldn’t be a problem; I haven’t driven mine for 285 days, give or take. Although if you’re just going to move to a ride hailing service, it doesn’t accomplish much.

Good news for South Bay bicyclists, as bike-friendly former Long Beach city councilmember Suja Lowenthal has taken over as city manager for Hermosa Beach.

 

State

The Folsom History Museum is offering new exhibits combining bicycles and beer. Or you could just ride your bike to your favorite microbrewery.

 

National

A City Lab Op-Ed proposes the concept of Universal Basic Mobility, based on the idea that everyone has a right to get around — for a price.

A business writer considers the inevitable conflicts between mountain bikers and trail runners as a metaphor for resolving business conflicts. Although from his description, I get the feeling he doesn’t know enough regular bike riders.

Gear Junkie looks at the latest ebikes on display at Reno’s recent Interbike show.

A Colorado letter writer makes the point that even when a bike lane is empty, it’s “reducing congestion and aggravation for transportation users of all kinds.”

Now that’s a ciclovía. Colorado Springs CO is closing the spectacularly beautiful Garden of the Gods Natural Landmark to motor vehicles this Sunday, replacing the usual bumper-to-bumper traffic with people on foot and bikes.

An Idaho man spends a late fall Sunday riding a little too fast past bears, elk and bison in Yellowstone Park.

Boston is working to improve its bike infrastructure, including a new two-way centerline bike lane, protected intersections and bicycle traffic signals.

No bias here. The NYPD continues to target immigrant delivery people riding banned throttle-controlled ebikes, rather than the restaurants they work for, despite the mayor’s promises and in violation of the city’s ordinance governing ebikes.

A bike-riding New York councilmember discusses her proposal to require crews to provide bike lane detours around construction sites. We could really use a similar law here in Los Angeles.

North Carolina bicyclists are warning each other to be careful after a bike rider was hit by an object thrown from a passing car.

A Louisiana parish responds to the collision that killed a bicycling Baton Rouge city councilmember by adopting an anti-bike “bike safety” law requiring bicyclists to wear flouro hi-viz and ride single file in groups of ten or less. None of which would have prevented the crash that killed him. Or likely the next one, for that matter.

 

International

Talk about not getting it. A Montreal letter writer says a ghost bike should be installed in front of city hall to remind politicians to “curb inappropriate cycling behavior to prevent hogging the road.” Which is not exactly what ghost bikes are for.

Bike riders and pedestrians will be included in a small class of vulnerable road users as Nova Scotia updates its traffic regulations for the first time since 1932.

No, removing bike parking from an English train station is not an “improvement.”

Scottish blogger Town Mouse gets a bad case of the speed wobbles.

Paris will now ban cars from the entire city center on the first Sunday of every month, starting this Sunday, to improve air quality and share public spaces.

The mayor of an Istanbul neighborhood is doing more than encouraging people to people get out of their cars and bike to work; he gave up his own official car and is using a bike to get to and from appointments.

An Indian cycling club will try to set a new record for the longest line of moving bicyclists; the current record of 1,186 bicyclists is held by Bangladesh.

A Sikh cyclist is challenging an Indian randonneuring ride’s requirement for all riders to wear a helmet, since that would mean removing the turban he’s required to wear by his faith.

Australian bicyclists are angry that two of the most popular riding routes have been bumped off plans for promised bike infrastructure, leaving thousands of bike riders on their own every day.

Australia’s eight-time world BMX champ Caroline Buchanan took time off from training in California to marry boyfriend Barry Nobles at Nevada’s Valley of Fire.

Japanese police explain how a wanted man was able to hide in plain sight by posing as a bike tourist in Osaka Prefecture for seven weeks.

 

Competitive Cycling

The barren dirt slopes of Afghanistan are witnessing the birth of an equal opportunity mountain biking movement; 40% of the cyclists in a recent race were women.

Women’s cycling will visit the UK’s north for the first time next year, with the three-day Tour of Scotland.

Hard-hitting piece from Canadian cyclist Devaney Collier, as she explains why she’s still afraid to leave her home for training rides, two years after her teammate Ellen Watters was killed in a collision.

 

Finally…

Why buy a bakfiets when you can just subscribe to one? Your wait for a gold-plated track bike is finally over.

And the best drink mix for every type of ride.

And no, margarita mix isn’t one of them.

 

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

Morning Links: LA’s first people protected bike lane protests Mayor Eric Garcetti’s ineffective Vision Zero

October 3, 2018 / / One comment

About damn time.

Bike activism finally returned to the mean streets of Los Angeles, with the city’s first people protected bike lane, courtesy of a new group calling itself People Protected LA.

Their message, “LA needs safe streets, not lip service.”

Which is exactly what they got in remarks from LA’s mayor, who took a break from his unannounced campaign for president to defend the city’s Vision Zero program at the annual convention of the National Association of City Transportation Officials, better known as NACTO.

According to LAist,

Speaking at the conference Tuesday, Garcetti said the city has implemented “over 1,200 Vision Zero improvements” but said he recognizes that not all of them will work out as planned…

“They’re like, ‘Oh, it’s not done yet, people are still dying’,” Garcetti said. “Well, we had a 7 percent reduction last year (and a) double-digit reduction in pedestrians this year — those are real people that are still living. You can’t quantify who they are, but that is worth it … because those are people who are going to be alive for decades from now because of those improvements. So our reach must always exceed our grasp.”

 

Which sounds great, if you ignore the 80% increase in pedestrian deaths over the last two years, or the six bicyclists who were killed in traffic collisions in just the first four months of this year.

Not to mention the continued failure to build the network of safe bikeways we were promised with the 2010 bike plan.

Or the cancellation of nearly every planned road diet project by frightened councilmembers, after LA Mayor Eric Garcetti pulled the rug out from under Westside Councilmember Mike Bonin by ordering the removal of the bike lanes and road diets he was fighting to protect in Playa del Rey.

Let alone Garcetti’s repeated failure to defend his own Vision Zero and Great Streets programs at any of the city’s countless contentious public meetings, leaving it to bike and pedestrian advocates to do his job for him.

Which makes a protest like yesterday’s people protected bike lane almost inevitable.

And necessary.

This is how a press release from the organizers of the people protected bike lane addressed the protest.

Mayor Eric Garcetti launched Vision Zero in 2015 and set a goal for 2017 of a 20% reduction in traffic deaths. Instead, Los Angeles has seen a 34% increase in traffic deaths. Last year, 245 Angelenos were tragically killed in traffic collisions. LADOT has determined that speed is the primary factor causing unnecessary loss of life, and that improvements to roadway infrastructure are critical in reducing deadly speeding, yet proposed projects like North Figueroa Street, 7th Street, Fletcher Drive, Manchester Boulevard, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Temple Street, and Venice Boulevard have languished or been cancelled outright.

Up to this point, LA’s Vision Zero program has been a major disappointment.

And to be perfectly honest, so has the mayor for the past few years.

Let’s hope he gets the message, and refocuses his attention on the people and the city that elected him.

And finally turns Vision Zero into the transformative, life saving program we were promised.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers more on Garcetti’s remarks and the protest, saying LA’s mayor doesn’t “appear to have used his considerable influence to help councilmembers to better embrace Vision Zero.”

No, he hasn’t.

All photos by Michael MacDonald.

………

Tragic news from Rialto, where the father of a three-year old girl remains in a medically induced coma after a heartless coward crashed into his bike, and left him bleeding and barely conscious in the street.

Andy Welch was riding his bike to the market when he was run down by a hit-and-run driver, laying crumpled in the street for nearly half an hour as more drivers sped by.

He was finally able to crawl to his cellphone and call for help.

This is yet another tragic reminder of California’s pervasive hit-and-run epidemic.

And the near total lack of action on the part of our elected officials, who have the power to stop it.

Yet don’t seem to recognize the problem.

………

Local

See above.

 

State

Caltrain develops a new bike plan to accommodate bicyclists, but bike riders say it doesn’t go far enough.

A San Diego writer traces the engineering mistakes and bad political decisions that turned busy Clairemont Blvd into a dangerous “stroad.” And questions whether it will be the next San Diego street to get a road diet and bike lanes, which some local residents consider a “conspiracy to make driving so difficult that we all will be forced to pedal bicycles.” They’re onto us, comrades.

A Santa Barbara bicyclist offers advice for motorists, like don’t door bike riders and signal your damn turns. Although he may not have actually said the d-word.

 

National

A writer on an automotive website says scooters are a menace, but it’s okay to feel conflicted about bikes as long as you don’t take it out on the riders.

Singletracks questions why e-mountain bikes are still fighting for acceptance in the US, despite their popularity in Europe.

A local newspaper talks with America’s other ex-Tour de France winner about his new Portland-area cannabis shop, and how he moved from illegal doping to legal dope.

They get it. The Denver Post says e-scooters may be a headache, but the solution is building more bike lanes to accommodate their users, while the city works on a pre-paid rental plan to get users to ditch their cars.

A bike-riding Colorado Springs CO city councilmember says the city must accommodate alternative forms of transportation.

According to a Nebraska planning professor, safe and efficient self-driving cars could block efforts to build walkable, bikeable and livable communities.

A pair of musicians stop in Ohio on their 4,300 mile tour of the US by bicycle.

The Brown University paper calls the arrival of Uber’s JUMP electric bikeshare program a giant leap for Providence RI.

A Connecticut public radio station spends an hour discussing the origins of bicycles, and how bikes helped inspire the women’s movement over century ago.

A cannabis website examines New York’s illegal bicycle weed delivery services.

 

International

A local writer describes how Bogotá’s ciclovía has become a part of life for an entire generation.

Lime scooters invade Canada.

New British government figures show the number of pedestrians injured in collisions with bicyclists reached an all-time high of 531 last year. However, despite the obvious implication, there’s no word on who was at fault in the crashes, or whether it was simply due to the increased number of people riding in the UK. That said, it’s a reminder to always use care around people on foot, who can be unpredictable and are the only ones more vulnerable than we are.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 75-year old man from the UK just finished a 4,000 mile bike ride across the US.

Maybe its a sign of progress that bicycles are seen as a sign of progress in Armenia, as the new Prime Minister makes waves by riding the “first official state bicycle of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.”

An Indian website says now is the best time to own a bicycle, and the country’s first homegrown ebike will help you burn more calories than cash.

Israeli government ministries appear to be arguing over the best way to kill the ebike boom.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list. Mountain biking ancient Moroccan Berber trails.

Australian drivers — and some bicyclists — have a meltdown after someone posted a photo of a group of riders using the traffic lane, rather than the bike lane next to them.

A wanted Japanese criminal hid in plain sight during seven weeks on the run, touring the country by bike and posing for Facebook photos.

An Air Force major rode 375 miles across Korea to honor fallen service members.

Mountain biking champ Rebecca Rusch won an Emmy for her documentary Blood Road, retracing the infamous Ho Chi Minh trail through Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to find the site of her pilot father’s death during the Vietnam war.

Two Chinese farmers are expanding their horizons by riding across the country one stage at a time; in the last five years their traveled over 12,400 miles.

 

Competitive Cycling

Former Olympian and cycling promoter David Chauner says the solution to cycling’s broken business model in the US is to develop a season long track cycling competition. Sort of like the World Cycling League he’s been trying to get off the ground, for instance.

 

Finally…

We may have to deal with angry drivers, but at least we don’t have to contend with road raging ‘roos.

And when dangerous streets mean saying goodbye like a fighter pilot going into war.

Which isn’t the least bit funny.

 

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