Tag Archive for bicycling

Morning Links: Bike deaths up in US, lawsuit filed in death of Newport Beach boy, and bike lanes coming to Cal Poly

August 24, 2017 / / One comment

A new study from the Governors Highway Safety Association shows bicycling fatalities rose 12.2% in 2015, climbing faster than the overall increase in traffic deaths.

However, that could be due to the continuing rise in bike ridership.

Without placing the figures in context, it’s impossible to know if bicycling is actually becoming more dangerous, or if overall safety is improving as the rate of deaths per million cyclists or miles traveled may be decreasing.

Your guess is as good as theirs.

In other findings from the study, which was funded by State Farm insurance —

  • One-third of Americans surveyed reported riding a bicycle in the last year.
  • Drivers had been drinking in 12% of fatal bike crashes, while 22% of the victims had alcohol in their systems. Which is not the same as saying they were intoxicated.
  • Distracted driving was blamed for just 76 out of the 818 bicyclists killed nationwide. However, that’s likely to be a dramatic undercount, since police need a warrant to check phones after a crash. And seldom ask for one.
  • More than half of the victims weren’t wearing a helmet. Although there’s no information on whether those victims suffered a fatal head injury, or if their injuries could have been survivable with or without a helmet.
  • Intersections are no longer the most dangerous place to ride; 72% of deaths occurred on the roadway, rather than at an intersection.
  • Roughly half of all bicycling deaths occurred at night, even though 80% of all bike rides take place during daylight hours.
  • The average age of bicycling victims was 45.

………

The parents of eight-year old Brock McCann have filed a lawsuit in the death of their son.

The third grade student was killed by the driver of a garbage truck as he rode his bike home from school in Newport Beach last year.

Video allegedly shows the driver never looked to his right as he turned from a cul-de-sac, and that he rolled through a crosswalk without stopping.

McCann’s parents are suing the driver, as well as the city trash hauler he worked for.

………

Boyonabike’s John Lloyd sends photographic proof that the formerly auto-centric Cal Poly Pomona really is installing the promised protected bike lanes on Kellogg Drive.

Photo by John Lloyd

The school received a lot a well-deserved criticism for failing to improve safety following the death of Ivan Aguilar four years ago.

It’s nice to see that this year’s students will finally find the campus more welcoming for those who don’t come by car.

………

In today’s spoiler-free Vuelta report, someone won his first Grand Tour stage, while someone else wore the leader’s jersey. No word on whether either was kissed by a podium boy.

Italian olive oil maker Colavita is pulling out of bike racing after 15 year of team sponsorship.

……….

Local

A ride will be held this Saturday to explore the new protected bike lanes on Venice Blvd in Mar Vista, which have been only slightly less controversial than the lane reductions in Playa del Rey.

Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s deputies patrolling on bicycles made four drug busts Tuesday evening, as the bikes allowed them to ride in undetected.

Santa Monica’s two-mile COAST ciclovía will return on October 1st.

 

State

A new report shows overall emissions of toxic and greenhouse gasses are going down in California, while transportation emissions are going up. Which means the state and local governments need to do more to encourage people to leave their cars at home.

The Watsonville driver sentenced to eleven years behind bars for the death of a bicyclist was high on Valium and methadone at the time of the crash, and fell asleep during the investigation.

A new bicycle master plan promises to improve safety in Stockton, where 70% of streets are rated high stress. Of course, even the best plan is nothing more than lines on a map until they actually put paint on the ground, which seems to be a step too far for most cities.

More details on the off-duty Modesto police officer who was killed riding his bicycle on Tuesday. The driver was arrested for DUI, and could face a murder charge after a previous conviction for drunk driving in 2014.

 

National

A Seattle weekly says safety in numbers resulting from an increase in bikeshare riders could do more than bike helmets to improve safety. Meanwhile, a sports website tries out Seattle’s new Ofo dockless bikeshare, which could be coming to SoCal soon.

After an Oregon woman sideswiped a bike rider, she demanded $200 to pay for the damage to her car, then fled when the rider, who is traveling cross country to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s, suggested calling the police.

A Chicago letter writer urges bicyclists to follow the rules like she does when she drives. Because apparently, she’s the only driver who never speeds, always comes to a full stop at stop signs, and never makes an unsafe lane change or drives distracted.

Illinois becomes the sixth state to follow California’s lead and adopt a three-tiered system to classify ebikes.

Life is cheap in Michigan, where a stoned driver walked with one year of probation after killing a bike rider, who reportedly “came out of nowhere” to crash into her car.

A Maine court rules that authorities don’t have to prove what a distracted driver was doing at the time of a crash, saying they can presume distraction based on the driver’s behavior.

Tolls could double on a Miami causeway to pay for a fully separated bike lane and other improvements on one of the city’s most popular and scenic cycling routes. Which might improve safety, but won’t win any friends with drivers.

 

International

Los Angeles isn’t the only city facing an angry bikelash. A Vancouver man has started a petition to rip out protected bike lanes on a bridge eight years after they were installed, arguing that the 7,000 riders who use them each day during the summer months aren’t enough to justify the impact on traffic.

Caught on video: Dozens of young British bike riders swarm the streets, pulling wheelies and circling around the roadway in front of drivers, in the latest fad sweeping that’s been sweeping America’s East Coast as well as the UK.

Caught on video too: A London man uses his bikeshare bike to defend himself after a man lunges at him with a knife when he was asked to move aside so they could pass.

A British fixie rider faces up to two years behind bars after he was acquitted of manslaughter in the death of a mother of two kids when he crashed his brakeless bike into her, but was convicted under an obscure 1861 law that forbids “causing bodily harm by wanton and furious driving.” And yes, it’s illegal to ride brakeless in the UK.

Nice story from Wales, where an eleven-year old boy rode a bicycle for the first time after being fitted with two mechanical hands.

Wednesday marked the 104th anniversary of a Russian bicyclist completing his round-the-world ride in Harbin, China; sadly, he died three years later in World War I.

An Indian man has ridden over 11,000 miles through 12 Indian states to fight gender-based violence and injustice.

An Aussie website asks if cyclists are fair game in Australia. It’s a hard-hitting piece, and very difficult to read in places. But well worth the effort — especially since you’ll see exactly the same attitudes expressed by LA drivers.

 

Finally…

Next time, try to time your breakaway so the drawbridge rises after you go past. Who needs tires when you’ve got soles?

And riding to the right is right, except when it’s wrong.

 

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

Morning Links: Dockless bikeshare may be coming to LA, and a video warning to watch where you’re riding

August 23, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Dockless bikeshare may be coming to LA, and a video warning to watch where you’re riding

Metro Bike may be saying “oh no” soon.

China’s Ofo dockless bikeshare hints that it may be coming to Los Angeles, as well as the Bay Area.

Which means we could soon be seeing abandoned yellow bicycles all over the city, like other cities where they’ve set up shop.

The question is whether they’ll start out in parts of town currently not served by the city’s bikeshare providers, or if they’ll attempt to go head-to-head with Metro Bike, WeHo Pedals and Santa Monica Breeze, among others.

Of course, where the bikes will end up is anyone’s guess.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

………

Speaking of Griswold, he forwards this reminder to put down your phone and watch the road ahead of you.

And no, that’s not a bicycle. But the point remains.

………

London’s Telegraph offers a podcast from stage four of the Vuelta, while Bleacher Report gives a brief recap of the day’s race. Just curious whether the lipstick kiss mark on the winner’s cheek came from one of the podium girls, or the new podium boys.

Cycling News provides quotes from riders at the finish line, most of which you could have written yourself. And takes a look at cycling’s best, worst and strangest victory salutes.

Alberto Contador is struggling with a stomach virus on what is likely to be his last grand tour.

A pro cyclist says he’s ashamed airline Aer Lingus has the Irish flag on it’s planes, after it loses his $9,400 bike, ignores him for a month, then offers the equivalent of $1,600 to make up for it.

……….

Local

In anticipation of Rapha Rides coming to Los Angeles in October, Bicycling writes about what makes the city a top cycling destination. But all they can come up with is a chef near Mt. Baldy, Nelson Vails’ victory in the ’84 Olympics, and a section about architecture and design that doesn’t even mention the City of Angels.

I. Martin Bicycles is hosting their Shut Up Legs ride this Saturday, with a trip to a bakery overlooking Westwood.

The LACBC is holding a Twilight Twirl ride in conjunction with Just Ride LA next Thursday.

An October ride in Santa Clarita will benefit The Painted Turtle camp for children with serious medical conditions.

 

State

Now that San Diego is building a dense, walkable and bikeable urban village near downtown, they naturally want to run a freeway connector right through the middle of it.

The 10th annual Bike the Bay will take riders over the iconic San Diego – Coronado Bay Bridge this Sunday.

Now that’s more like it. A Watsonville woman was sentenced to eleven years in prison for the DUI hit-and-run death of man riding his bike home last December.

Sad news from Modesto, where a police officer was killed in an off-duty collision while riding his bicycle.

Four San Francisco brothers were busted for stealing high-end mountain bikes in the Truckee – Lake Tahoe area, valued at over $125,000.

Police have arrested the 19-year old alleged hit-and-run driver who ran down a 15-year old Natomas boy as he rode his bike on Thursday; the victim’s grandmother feels sorry for the driver’s family, as well as her own.

Sacramento residents are worried about a proposed rest stop on a bike trail that would overlook an elementary school playground, fearing it would attract homeless people.

 

National

Trek wins a court case overturning a 10% import duty on bicycle cassettes.

Marketplace examines the new $15 Oregon bike tax. Even though the tax will go exclusively to bike infrastructure projects, it’s still largely symbolic; it’s unlikely to raise enough to make a significant difference, and mostly exists to address the mistaken complaint that bike riders don’t pay their fair share for the roads.

A pair of bicyclists on a cross-country journey across the US ride through the Colorado Rockies, and up through Wyoming to the Grand Tetons. That was my backyard growing up. And the Peak to Peak Highway leading into Estes Park was one of my favorite rides before I moved away.

A Montana bike rider was the victim of a strong arm robbery; he was reportedly beaten so badly police couldn’t interview him later.

A Good Samaritan buys a new bicycle for a 9-year old Oklahoma girl after hers was stolen from her yard.

A planned Wisconsin bike path could threaten an endangered local turtle species; it’s feared the ornate box turtles could be killed or injured by people using the pathway.

A Chicago panel discusses what’s needed to take cycling in the city to the next level.

Caught on video: New York police are looking for the hit-and-run driver who literally ran over a 16-year old girl. It’s a distant and grainy security cam view, but ask yourself if you really want to see that before you click on the link.

A former player for the New York Giants say bicycling helped ease the transition after his retirement, and provides the intense physical workout he was missing from football.

A Philadelphia Op-Ed says city council members shouldn’t have the power to block bike lanes, and should leave street planning to the experts. To which Los Angeles sighed a collective “Tell me about it.”

No bias here. The Washington Post says a bicyclist tried to abduct a woman walking on a roadway. Except what they really meant was it was a 13-year old boy who happened to be riding one.

Tampa FL considers a Vision Zero plan for one of the deadliest counties in the US.

 

International

Add these to your biking bucket list: The top ten Canadian national parks to ride in.

A man from the UK is riding the length of Ireland to raise funds for the mountain rescue team that saved him and a companion from hazardous conditions.

It takes a real jerk to push a 12-year old bike-riding girl off the sidewalk and into the street in front of oncoming traffic, whether or not she should have been riding there in the first place.

Even in the bike-friendly Netherlands, people aren’t getting enough exercise.

An Aussie writer says the bike ride doesn’t hurt, but the sudden stop after hitting a pothole does.

Singapore police arrest a hit-and-run ebike rider following a collision that killed a 78-year old man.

 

Finally…

Now you don’t have to choose whether to walk or ride a bike. Go ahead and skip the exorcism, but don’t transport your violent mentally ill patients by bicycle.

And no matter how mad you get, don’t slam your bike onto the hood of a parked car.

The car doesn’t deserve it.

And your bike sure as hell doesn’t.

 

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

Morning Links: Pico-Union hit-and-run, butt darts game threatens OC bicyclists, and dodging traffic — literally

August 22, 2017 / / 4 comments

The LAPD is looking for the heartless hit-and-run coward — my words, not theirs — who fled the scene after running down a bike rider in Pico-Union neighborhood last Tuesday.

The department reports the victim was riding west on Venice Blvd at Magnolia Ave when he was sideswiped by a passing driver and knocked into a parked car, suffering severe head injuries.

The driver kept going without stopping, or apparently even slowing down.

The suspect vehicle is described only as a tan-colored minivan; no description on the driver.

The city offers an automatic reward ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for any hit-and-run resulting in serious injuries depending on whether the injuries are permanent. Or $50,000 for a fatal hit-and-run.

Anyone with information is urged to call LAPD West Traffic Division Officer Juan Velasco at 213/473-0234. Anonymous tips can be given by calling LA Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800/222-TIPS (800/222-8477) or at lacrimestoppers.org

………

The OC Register examines the asinine butt dart stunts in Orange County, in which moronic assholes in cars swerve at people on bicycles, point their fingers like guns, and yell “butt dart!”

The paper reports a law firm is considering filing a lawsuit against the Orange County Instagram star who started the dangerous fad.

“What we want is for him to denounce this,” said Gven Sariol, a cycling safety advocate at the Sariol Legal firm in Santa Ana….

(He) said he’s actually performing the stunt, and recording it, as a way to promote safe bicycling: “Please ride safe and obey the rules of the road — That is all we ask,” he wrote in a caption for an Instagram post.

Of course. Harassing, intimidating and assaulting people on bicycles — let alone scaring the crap out of them — is being done in the name of bike safety.

Bullshit.

All we have here is yet another jackass looking for more online hits at the expense of innocent people.

Never mind that startling or frightening people on bicycles can have disastrous consequences, as the riders can overreact and swerve into traffic, or off the roadway or into parked cars. Or lose control and fall off their bikes and into the path of oncoming traffic.

And what happens in the seemingly inevitable instance when one of these so-called pranksters pulls the stunt on bike rider who happens to be armed — and yes, there are people who carry weapons when they ride.

Would the same law enforcement officials who wrongly insist that harassing bicyclists isn’t a crime be willing to turn the same blind eye to someone who reacted in self-defense when they thought they were being attacked?

This crap will stop when authorities actually care enough to find a way to prosecute these jerks.

Hopefully before someone gets killed.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

………

Speaking of jerks — or any of the other epithets from the previous section — consider the driver who nearly made CiclaValley Eclipse Day roadkill.

………

The first Indian woman to qualify for Paris-Brest-Paris says foreigners will soon be drawn to the country’s ultra-distance cycling events.

CNN looks at the Vuelta’s decision to combine male and female podium hosts, rather than just eliminating podium girls. Note to CNN: When your headline refers to “podium girls — and men,” you’re still getting it wrong.

Outside offers advice on how to prepare for your first bike race.

A Santa Rosa woman won the prestigious Leadville 100 mountain bike race after she was given a late push by a piece of pizza.

……….

Local

LA Magazine offers a good look at the city’s Vision Zero program, which should be required reading for anyone opposed to road diets or other traffic safety programs.

Great piece from Curbed’s Alissa Walker, who says residents of Jefferson Blvd are fed up with dangerous drivers, so they’re embracing road diets and implementing traffic safety improvements themselves, armed with a $6.3 million grant from Caltrans.

A Good Samaritan chased down the hit-and-run driver who fled after striking a woman as she was directing traffic on Los Feliz Blvd Saturday night.

Former LADOT artist-in-residence Alan Nakagawa will lead a bike tour of his Street Haiku project, including the scent of Hollywood in Springtime, from Mariachi Plaza on September 10th. Having smelled the actual Hollywood in springtime, it’s not a scent I would recommend.

Skid Row’s Union Rescue Mission has seen a 23% drop in charitable giving last year, despite a 23% increase in homelessness in LA County; it had faced a $5 million deficit last year until the head of the rescue mission rode his bike to Sacramento with his wife to raise funds.

 

State

The Guardian examines how bikeshare became a symbol of gentrification in San Francisco, seen as something for affluent white professionals, not locals.

Sad news from Stockton, where a 19-year old bike rider was killed in a hit-and-run Sunday night.

The Tahoe Area Mountain Bike Association has spent the summer shoring up area trails and going after grants for more involved projects.

 

National

A writer for Strong Towns says narrow roads are better than crosswalks, and that road diets are “a far cheaper and more effective way to allow for safe pedestrian crossing.”

The Seattle Times says yes, drivers get ticketed for parking in bike lanes, even if it doesn’t seem like it.

An alternative weekly in Seattle says the consequences of the city’s mandatory bike helmet law falls disproportionately on black youths on the city’s south side, who have taken to using the new dockless bikeshare systems without them.

A Florida driver faces life in prison for killing a bike rider, after driving two miles with the man stuck in the rear window of his car, then dumping him still alive next to a dumpster.

 

International

Clean Technica says bicycles and autonomous vehicles are on a collision course, suggesting that getting the cars to recognize and respond to bicyclists is an unsolvable problem. Of course, every problem is unsolvable until someone does it; creating working car radios was considered unsolvable 90 years ago.

A London teenager suffered life-changing injuries in a horrific attack when he was sprayed in the face with acid by moped-riding thieves who stole his bicycle.

London’s Evening Standard offers the best bike shoes for autumn, apparently in case you don’t want to wear white on your bike after Labor Day.

Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily Rose is one of us, as the 18-year old model works on her bicycling skills in France with her mom, Vanessa Paradis.

A Singaporean appeals court affirmed the record $8.65 million awarded to a then-pregnant woman who was hit by falling cables at a construction site while riding past on her bicycle; even though she wasn’t badly injured, she developed what one of her doctors called one of the worst cases of PTSD he’d ever seen.

 

Finally…

When they say “Don’t try this at home,” this is exactly the sort of thing they’re talking about. Evidently, scofflaw cyclists are nothing new; thanks to Ted Faber for the link from his hometown.

And Kathy Kurutz forwards a little brighter note to end on today.

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

Morning Links: Playa del Rey task force unveiled, a call to block Long beach road diet, and new Crypto Cycles film

August 21, 2017 / / One comment

Councilmember Mike Bonin has followed up on his promise to create a task force to study the Playa del Rey road diets.

He named a panel of 20 people to the Playa del Rey Safer Streets Task Force, charged with determining if the lane reductions should stay in place. And what other changes, if any, should be made to improve safety in the beachfront community.

The panel is made up of local residents and business people, including those for and against the recent changes.

Although it’s notable that only Peter Flax is identified by his means of transportation; evidently, it’s just assumed that everyone else drives.

You know, like normal people.

Meanwhile, the Easy Reader News offers one of the most in-depth examinations of the controversy to date, as South Bay residents continue to expect everyone else to pay the price for their unsustainable single-occupant commutes.

……….

A “longtime Long Beach resident” appears to have taken the wrong lesson from the Vista del Mar fiasco, saying LA’s portside neighbor should learn from LA and cancel the planned Broadway bike lanes.

Long Beach really wants to be Amsterdam, where bicycles rule. But we live in Southern California, where distances between home and work are often great, good public transportation is essentially non-existent, and temperatures are often in the 80s and 90s (and it’s getting hotter every year).

Apparently, our council imagines if we destroy our main traffic arteries, those streets will just go “poof,” cars will disappear and lanes will magically fill up with air-conditioned, long-distance commuter bicycles.

Yes, because those moderate temperatures are just too hot for humans to endure. Especially with those cool sea breezes and coastal clouds to cool things off.

And never mind that most car trips in the LA area are three miles or less. Which hardly requires a long-distance commuter bicycle.

Or bicyclist, for that matter.

………

Last week we showed you a trailer for Décryptø, the experimental short film from Scott Nichols looking at the custom hand-made carbon fiber bikes from SoCal’s Cryptic Cycles.

Now you can see the whole six-minute film, which dropped yesterday.

………

Security footage shows a Walmart security guard intentionally run down a bike rider in a parking lot.

Twice.

The Albuquerque Walmart guard then claimed the rider simply fell over on his own when he hit the curb with his bike.

Sure. Let’s go with that.

According to the guard, the whole thing started when the man on the bike hit her car with a soda. Which even if true, does not justify assault with a deadly weapon once.

Let alone twice.

The bicyclist’s version is that he was just taking a drink, and accidently splashed water on the car.

Fortunately, he was not seriously injured.

Nor, apparently, was the driver by the soda or water that somehow splashed her vehicle.

Police seem to believe the guy on the bike — and the video — arresting the security guard on a charge of aggravated battery.

………

Here’s the spoiler-free standings of the Vuelta after two stages, with a recap of Sunday’s second stage, which was too fast for successful breakaways.

Britain’s twin Yates brothers will ride twin bikes in the Vuelta that are mirror images of each other.

After falling out with Australian cycling officials and getting left off the country’s cycling team last year, Aussie track cyclist Shane Perkins has received special permission from Russian President Vladimir Putin to ride for that country, which has a desperate need for cyclists who aren’t banned for doping.

Security is high in Spain for the Vuelta and the kickoff of the country’s soccer season following the terror attack in Barcelona, but won’t affect the route.

In non-Vuelta news, Peloton looks at LA’s own pro crit champ Justin Williams.

A Tour of Norway breakaway was reeled back in when a bridge unexpectedly opened, stopping the lead riders dead in their tracks until the rest of the field caught up.

……….

Local

Sad news from South LA, where a man was killed and two women wounded in a drive-by shooting while riding their bikes in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood. Note to KTLA-5: It’s not a shootout unless the victims shoot back.

Burbank’s new bike corrals are proving a hit with bicyclists, at times holding as many as 16 bikes in a space built for 14.

A writer for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune talks with two men who went carfree, and remarkably, their lives did not grind to a halt.

 

State

The legislator who authored California’s handheld cellphone ban says the reason it’s almost universally ignored by drivers is that the penalty is too low. He tried twice to increase the penalty slightly, but both times it was vetoed by a clueless Governor Brown.

A former BMX rider has started a BMX club for school kids in San Diego’s Barrio Logan to help teach bike safety and get the kids exercising.

A San Luis Obispo letter writer says no, the streets actually belong to all of us.

San Francisco parks officials have decided that protected bike lanes would detract from the beauty of Golden Gate Park. Because all those streets and cars are just so damn pretty.

A kindhearted South San Francisco cop passes along his own son’s bicycle to replace one stolen from a 10-year old boy.

A Sacramento mother says the hit-and-run driver who killed her 15-year old son as he rode his bike back home with a friend has changed her family’s lives forever.

The Chico Velo bicycle advocacy group is looking for a new executive director, as the woman who has run the group in the Gold-level bike-friendly city since 2012 is looking to retire.

Now that’s more like it. A Lake Tahoe man gets four years and eight months behind bars for running a stop sign and hitting a bicyclist while driving at three times the legal alcohol limit, then attempting to run down a witness that followed him; he’s also banned from driving for five years after his release. Make that a lifetime driving ban, and we’ve got a deal.

 

National

Germany’s Canyon bikes is coming to the US for the first time, available only through the internet.

Bicycling takes a short look at problems tall people don’t have.

As dockless bikeshare expands in Seattle, many riders are ignoring the local bike helmet requirement, while police focus on education over writing rickets. Meanwhile, a Libertarian who derided bikeshare as socialist has found the privately owned dockless bikeshare more to his liking.

No surprise here. The relatives of a fallen cyclist have filed suit against the organizers of the Kansas City Crit after he was killed falling into a steel crowd-control barrier in June.

Great idea. An Oklahoma city holds an annual Tour de Trykes to raise funds to give away 30 to 40 adaptive tricycles to special needs kids.

Forget motorists upset over the loss of parking or traffic lanes. A group of homeless people may sue to block plans for a Chicago bike path because it could force them out from the bridge they’ve been living under.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A Minnesota bioscience researcher was killed riding her bike, as she was on her way to mentor people at a homeless shelter.

A Michigan advocacy group collected donations to create a reward fund help solve serious crimes against bicyclists.

There’s a special place in hell for the hit-and-run driver who left a bike-riding nun dying in the street.

Detroit is planning to more than double the amount of protected bike lanes in the city.

A North Carolina community remembers a man who earned the name Bicycle Jonny by riding his bicycle everywhere, after he was killed by a speeding driver.

 

International

A British Columbia bicyclist was beaten with his own bike after being knocked off it by mentally disturbed man as he rode on a bike trail; the woman he was riding with escaped with minor injuries.

A 17-year old high school grad builds his portfolio with breathtaking photos taken on a summer bike tour across the Canadian Rockies.

A toddler was knocked out of his stroller by a sidewalk cyclist in Ottawa, Canada. Seriously, if you’re going to ride on the sidewalk, slow the hell down and ride carefully around pedestrians.

Employees at a Nova Scotia market rescue a bike rider after she suffers heat stroke on a trail ride.

A writer for the Guardian says that she’s lazy, but cycling with a pack of women through a London park changed that.

A letter writer in the UK says the correct answer to the question “Where are all the cyclists in the bike lanes?” is leave your car at home and bike in them yourself.

A mystery was solved after a British couple discovered a pool of blood and a backpack on their porch after hearing a knock on their door, and police conducted an unsuccessful search using dogs. It turned out to be a man who had fallen off his bike and suffered a head injury; his friends had taken him to a hotel for help after they found him knocking on the door of the house for help.

A Glasgow bike rider receives a round of applause for his response to an anti-gay street preacher.

The Jewish couple who created Curious George escaped the Nazi invasion on a makeshift tandem bike, riding from Paris to the south of France before fleeing to Brazil by train and boat.

Indian bike riders take a rain-soaked midnight ride through the streets of Mumbai.

Eight British Muslim men rode their bicycles 2,000 miles through eight countries to attend the Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

A 70-year old Australian woman describes what it’s like to be doored from a painful first-hand perspective.

WaPo says if you really want to see Kyoto, Japan, walk, bike or take a train.

 

Finally…

No, the best way to avoid wrecking your car during the eclipse is riding your bicycle, instead. If you’re going to run away from a crash with a bike rider, try not to leave your passenger behind.

And Lance’s Kiwi beer ad has been canned.

 

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

Morning Links: Search goes on for hit-and-run killer, alleged Camarillo bike thief caught, and upcoming events

August 18, 2017 / / 6 comments

The search goes on for the killer of Albert Arnold, who was run down by a hit-and-run driver last Saturday.

Arnold was walking his bike across the street at 87th and Broadway on his way to his sister’s house when he was fatally struck at 2:30 am.

Police are looking for a white newer-model sedan that was last seen speeding north on Broadway.

As usual, there is an automatic $50,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the driver in any fatal hit-and-run in Los Angeles.

………

This is what an — alleged — bike thief looks like.

Authorities made an arrest in the case of the thief who walked out of the Camarillo location of the Newbury Park Bicycle Shop with a new bike last June. However, the bike wasn’t recovered.

………

Let’s catch up with some upcoming events.

Specialized is celebrating the grand opening of their new Costa Mesa store starting with a four hour cocktail hour tonight, along with an ice cream social, and taco and donut rides over the weekend.

Helen’s Cycles is hosting their Ladies Monthly Road Ride tomorrow morning. Sorry guys, but you’re not invited for this one.

The Ride On! Bike Co-op is hosting a Buffalo Soldiers youth bike skills workshop tomorrow.

The LACBC rides to a free outdoor movie in North Hollywood tomorrow evening.

Serious Cycling in Northridge is hosting the ASSOS Experience this Tuesday. Guest speaker Desi Maier, the daughter of ASSOS founder Toni Maier, will discuss ASSOS’ “rich history and current technical innovations.” The free event includes drinks and light appetizers.

The LACBC is hosting a discussion of the Blue Line First Mile/Last Mile Plan at the Compton Station Community Fair on the 24th from 3 – 5 pm.

Santa Monica Next is holding their annual cocktail party fundraiser on September 9th.

The unofficial but very popular annual Marathon Crash ride has been replaced with a very official Los Angeles Landmark Ride benefitting City of Hope before the LA Marathon next March.

……….

Great video of British boy scouts competing in a 1968 cyclocross to earn their Cycling merit badge.

Evidently, the world was still in black and white back then.

………

Cycling News looks forward to five key stages in the Vuelta a España, aka Tour of Spain, which begins tomorrow.

Chris Froome looks to become just the third cyclist in the modern era to win the Vuelta and Tour de France in the same year, after a string of second place finishes.

Spain’s Samuel Sanchez was suspended after a positive drug test, pending testing of his B sample. Which mean no Vuelta for him. But the doping era is over, right?

Britain’s former double world champ track cyclist and Olympic silver medalist Becky James retires at the ripe old age of 25.

……….

Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton examines the racist, anti-road diet manifesto that several bike advocates — and opponents — have received at their home addresses recently. As you may recall, we discussed the bizarre screed, and linked to a full copy, last week.

A Pasadena art exhibit will focus on the work of a lesbian artist who traveled the world on her bicycle in the early 20th Century, painting church interiors from Rhode Island to Missouri; additional works will be displayed in Sacramento and Monterey.

The Acorn suggests fallen mountain biker and reserve sheriff’s deputy Jacob Castroll died from a fall while competing in the World Police & Fire Games last week, rather than a heart attack as originally reported.

CiclaValley conquers the fourth-steepest in America, conveniently located in San Pedro.

 

State

The OC Register’s David Whiting says citizens want their Santa Ana River Trail back from the homeless people who’ve taken it over. Although most, if not all, of them are citizens, too.

A self-described avid cyclist blames San Luis Obispo bike lanes for an increase in bicycling injuries, and says enough is enough.

A new Complete Street will bring new bus and bike lanes to the edge of the UC Berkeley campus.

San Francisco plans to install speed humps to slow traffic in Golden Gate Park. As opposed to actually discouraging people from driving through a public park.

Stockton has a “radical shift in thinking,” and develops a networked bike plan based on the premise that everyone deserves a chance to bicycle safely.

Sad news from Sacramento, where a 15-year old boy was killed in a hit-and-run collision while riding his bike in the Natomas district.

A woman writes about how she overcame her fear of bicycling to learn how to mountain bike at Lake Tahoe.

 

National

The Bike League announces the latest Bicycle Friendly Businesses, including Giant Bicycle in Newbury Park and Ventura Bike Depot in Ventura.

Definition of a scumbag: A Seattle man got out of his car after drinking, and pointed his gun at an 11-year old boy riding his bicycle.

My hometown university spent $25 million to build an underpass along a key bike corridor so students biking and walking won’t have to cross a busy intersection.

The Denver Post says the inaugural Colorado Classic bike race may have gone well, but the associated music festival, not so much.

Chicago cops bust a trio of thieves who stole a triathlete’s $5,000 bike, after posing as a buyer willing to pay $600.

A proposal for half-mile long bike lane failed a city council vote in St. Paul MN, despite overwhelming support from the speakers.

Boston will hold a Game of Thrones themed bicycle ice cream tour. There’s got to be a great joke in there somewhere, but the best I can come up with is John Snow Cones. Anyone? Update: Best so far, A Song of Ice Cream and Fire, from J. Patrick Lynch.

A New York bicyclist alleges the NYPD refused to take his statement after he was run down by an angry tailgating driver who fled the scene.

Three weeks after a bike-riding thief stole a box containing a cremated Yorkie’s ashes off a Staten Island porch, he returned it with a note of apology. But what the hell did he do with a box of Yorkie cremains for three weeks?

 

International

Caught on video: A London rider is tailgated — and threatened — by an impatient driver.

Scotland’s free “anti-sportive” keeps riders coming back for hard riding in guaranteed miserable weather.

A pair of Dutch safety groups criticize traditional triangle frame bikes, saying the crossbar makes it harder to get on and off, and makes it more likely the rider will hit his or her head in a fall. I’ve long argued that one reason Dutch cyclists don’t need helmets is that Dutch-style bikes are easier to step off of if the rider starts to fall.

A New Zealand judge praises a driver for doing everything he could to make up for hitting a cyclist, after buying her a new bike and committing to taking driving lessons every year after he gets his license back.

An Aussie writer takes a deep dive into the question of reciprocity on the roads, saying bikes and cars aren’t equal, and that cyclists who think we have to earn drivers’ respect have the Lycra equivalent of Stockholm syndrome.

Seoul, Korea announces plans to increase bike mode share to 10% to fight climate change by building 128 miles of bike lanes. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

Is this ten thousand abandoned Chinese bikes, or a modern art installation?

 

Finally…

If you need to make a fast escape after exposing yourself in front of Hot Dog on a Stick, pay for your rental bike in advance. How can you give stand-up paddle boarders a bike lane-style lane of their own if there’s no door zone?

And let’s end with this one, ferda girls.

Thanks to swrve for the link.

Category: Bike Events, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Today’s burning bikeshare news, and Westchester/ Playa NC requests road diet removal

August 17, 2017 / / 2 comments

It’s our first light news day in awhile, so let’s get right to it.

……….

Today’s common theme is bikeshare.

Caught on video: Vandalism of the Bay Area’s Ford GoBike bikeshare continues, as someone set one of the bikes on fire as it was docked.

A new Rutgers University survey shows black and Latino respondents support bike lanes and bikeshare, but concerns over crime and racial profiling have to be addressed first.

Two more dockless bikeshare companies are taking to the streets of Seattle, starting with China’s Ofo.

It really shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Trump Administration had a bikeshare station removed from the White House grounds, after it had been installed at the request of the previous administration.

The battle for dominance in China’s crowded bikeshare market claimed another victim as Nanking’s Ding Ding went out of business without returning customer’s deposits.

……….

In a setback for safer streets, the Neighborhood Council of Westchester/Playa voted to send an advisory letter to CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin calling on him to “immediately reverse the lane reductions in Playa del Rey.”

The motion was approved after removing Pershing Drive from the resolution, which presumably means they want to keep that one.

……….

Local

KPCC looks at plans to revamp the area in front of Union Station to make it more inviting for people walking and biking. Even if that means eliminating some parking and reducing traffic lanes on nearby streets.

Volunteers are wanted to help clean up the Santa Clara River in Santa Clarita; free bike valet will be provided by local bike shop Performance Cyclery.

Manhattan Beach approves a 400 foot bikeway along Pollywog park to improve safety to middle school students going to and from school.

 

State

The LA Weekly asks if California’s strict DUI laws are tough enough. That’s easy. No.

San Diego authorities thought they caught a break when police detained a couple for the hit-and-run that left a bike-riding woman in a medically induced coma, but it turned out to be the wrong car. Thanks to Frank Lehnerz for the heads-up.

After dominating California high school mountain biking, recent Ramona High School graduate Gwendalyn Gibson will represent the US at the world championships in Australia next month.

Santa Barbara will get its first protected bike lane, connecting the Eastside to downtown. If you can call bendable bollards protection, that is.

No bias here. A San Luis Obispo paper says local residents aren’t happy about plans to create a bicycle boulevard. Except they’ve dropped plans for the bike boulevard, and are actually proposing a pair of protected bike lanes. And only “several” of the 60 speakers complained about the proposal.

San Francisco is planning a road diet, bike lanes and other safety improvements on one of the city’s most dangerous corridors as part of the city’s Vision Zero program.

A Sebastopol bike gear maker nearly became the victim of a patent troll.

West Sacramento is installing a road diet to improve safety for people biking and walking; as usual, some residents want it ripped out before the construction is even finished.

A Sacramento public radio station examines efforts to allow mountain biking in US wilderness areas.

Folsom will open the full 2.5 mile Johnny Cash trail this October, honoring the singer’s legendary 1968 performance at nearby Folsom Prison; artwork depicting the singer will follow in another five years.

 

National

Seattle’s police department politely suggests it has better things to do than enforce the county’s mandatory bike helmet law.

Caught on video too: Bighearted Texas paramedics make a four-year old girl’s day by giving her a bicycle one of their daughters had outgrown after they treated her for a fall.

It took a bike rider to find a pair of horses that threw their riders and ran off into a Missouri national battlefield after getting spooked by turkeys.

Nice story. When a father tweeted that he couldn’t take his little daughter to a Green Bay Packers event she’d been looking forward to, one of the Packers players volunteered to ride a bike with her to a team practice himself. Even though her father was a Vikings fan.

Kindhearted Michigan cops buy a new bicycle for a young girl after taking a report about her stolen bicycle.

A New York driver parked in a bike lane — then chased after a woman and called her a fucking bitch after she had the audacity to ride her bike around him. Apparently, she was supposed to sit there and wait until he moved his car. Or maybe she said something as she rode past.

 

International

A fan of the Nottingham soccer club is riding to all of the second-tier British team’s away games to raise money for a cancer charity; he expects to ride at least 2,249 miles before the season ends next May.

Caught on video: A Scottish van driver has to make a panic stop to avoid a bike rider who rode out directly in front of him at a rainy junction.

Self-described anarchists remove grocery store ads from Helsinki’s bikeshare bikes.

Life is cheap in Singapore, where a truck driver got a whopping four weeks for killing an ebike rider when he pulled out from an intersection without looking. But at least he was banned from driving for five years, which will likely force him to find another line of work.

 

Finally…

No, you don’t want to borrow an abandoned bike in Japan. There’s a lot of good ways to impress friends; stealing a bike isn’t one of them.

And no, those bike-shaped bike racks aren’t meant for riding.

 

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

Morning Links: NTSB report concludes speed kills, Press-Enterprise misses the mark, and a new SoCal bike film

August 16, 2017 / / 2 comments

Traffic safety advocates already know that speed kills.

One of the basic tenets behind Vision Zero states that a pedestrian — or bike rider — hit at a speed of 20 mph has a far greater chance of survival than one hit at 40 mph or higher.

A difference of a 10% chance of death at 20 mph versus 80% at 40, according to one federal government study.

Although a study by AAA cites a much lower risk of death at similar speeds.

Now the National Transportation Safety Board — the group that brought you air bags and graduated driver’s licenses for teens — says speeding is responsible for roughly as many deaths as both drunk driving and not wearing a seat belt.

And they say it’s long past time to do something about it.

That something ranges from automated speed cameras — currently illegal in California — and cars that alert drivers when they’re exceeding the speed limit, to a national anti-speeding campaign and changes in how speed limits are set.

And yes, it also includes the sort of lane reductions that have been much maligned in Playa del Rey and Mar Vista. Even though they’ve proven hugely successful in improving safety and revitalizing Santa Monica’s Main Street and York Blvd in Northeast LA.

So, increasingly, traffic engineers are trying to design roads that reflect the needs of all users, not just motorists. “The design of a facility can help send the message of what the proper speed is and encourage people to drive at that speed rather than a faster speed,” Lindley says.

The NTSB report did not explore the issue of road design, and that’s a missed opportunity, says Atherton, the director of the National Complete Streets Coalition. “You have to pair speed limits with physical traffic-calming measures for them to be effective,” she says. “Just lowering the speed limits is insufficient.”

One of the NTSB commissioners asked the agency’s researchers during their presentation why road design wasn’t emphasized in the report. One of the authors said that other publications, like street designs by the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and the Federal Highway Association already explained in great detail how to improve road design to improve safety.

The people fighting to have the lane reductions ripped out insist they’re not anti-safety.

In which case, they need to step up and work with those who have already been focused on improving traffic safety, rather than just standing in the way of community-driven improvements.

Because speed kills.

And it’s already taken far too many of us.

………

The Riverside Press-Enterprise tried to clarify California bike laws after getting the rules on sidewalk riding wrong.

Yet they still get it wrong when they say that bicyclists have to use bike lanes when they’re available, but fail to point out that bike riders can legally ride on any public street, with or without a bike lane or sharrows, with the exception of some limited access freeways.

Or that bicyclists are legally allowed to ride in the center of the lane on any right-hand lane that’s too narrow to safely share with a motor vehicle. Which is the case on most of the roadways in LA County, and many in the rest of Southern California.

Although nothing says riders have to take the lane if they’re not comfortable there. Even though riding to far right increases the risk of unsafe passing by motorists.

And if bicyclists are traveling with the speed of traffic, they can legally ride anywhere on the road they damn well want to, as long as they travel in the direction of traffic.

………

A new experimental film dropping this weekend paints a portrait of Southern California’s Cryptic Cycles, award winner at the 2016 North American Handmade Bicycle Show.

The trailer below offers a first look at what the filmmaker describes as “the unique handmade build process of crafting a one-of-a-kind carbon fiber bike frameset and the amazing feeling it gives you on your first ride.”

………

Ex-Tour de France winner Floyd Landis talks with Cycling News, saying nothing has really changed since he broke cycling’s omertà.

VeloNews says the Colorado Classic represents the future of bike racing, while the Denver Post offers some great photos from last weekend’s race.

Riders in the Tour of Britain could be breaking the law when one stage starts in a town where bicycling is banned in the city center.

Food & Wine examines the decidedly non-gourmet 7,000-calorie diet of a professional cyclist.

……….

Local

LA Downtown News explains what happened to the protected bike lane and other streetscape improvements that were promised as part of the Wilshire Grand construction project; city officials insist it’s still coming as part of a longer corridor improvement project leading into the Arts district.

Plans for safety improvements on North Figueroa are on hold, as Roadkill Gil Cedillo attempts to block any road diets in his district without his prior approval. Which would simply codify the virtual fiefdoms councilmembers currently enjoy in their districts, but for just him.

A smart essay on the Los Angeles Walks website says Vista del Mar offers a sad but instructive lesson for LA, and calls for more productive conversations to ensure pedestrians are protected.

 

State

The husband of an Encinitas hit-and-run victim calls for help in finding the coward who left his bike-riding wife lying injured in the street.

Great idea. The annual Victor Valley Bicycle Tour has donated 600 traffic signs promoting California’s three-foot passing law, to be posted in Apple Valley, Hesperia, Victorville and San Bernardino County.

A local TV station talks with the Atascadero man who won this year’s Tour Divide, despite being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes last year.

Tragic news from Fresno, where a 51-year old bike rider was killed after allegedly running a red light.

Streetsblog looks at last week’s pop-up protected bike lane in San Jose.

 

National

Bicycle Times offers advice on how to pack your bike for travel. Or better yet, you could just pack your panniers and ride it there.

Post-Charlottesville, conservative media sites are deciding that maybe it’s not a good idea to encourage people to drive through protesters. Although conservative lawmakers don’t seem to be getting the message. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

The Today Show profiles a DC doctor who only makes house calls — often by bicycle.

A Savannah GA weekly says widening roads can make them more dangerous, rather than the other way around. Which is putting it mildly.

A Florida business is raising funds to build a new custom bicycle, compete with speakers, for the town’s “bike man” after his was destroyed in a collision that left him hospitalized.

This is why so many people hate lawyers. A Florida attorney blames the hospital for a bicyclist’s death, even though the victim wouldn’t have been there if his client hadn’t dragged the man under his car for two miles following a collision, then dumped him into a trash bin.

 

International

Caught on video: A road raging Brazilian driver rams a bicyclist from behind, then repeatedly runs up onto his bicycle before the rider jumps up onto the hood of the car to keep him from fleeing. That last part’s not smart, as we saw in this week’s Long Beach crash.

A Vancouver cyclist is doing a double Everest — 58,058 feet of vertical climbing — to fight depression.

The war on bikes continues, as someone strung fishing line at neck height across a popular English biking trail. A particularly dangerous crime, since fishing line tends to be virtually invisible, even in daylight.

Caught on video too: A bike rider suffers a too close call in the British equivalent of a right hook.

Cyclists in South Africa’s Western Cape region complain about life-threatening drivers who run them off the road. More proof that you’ll find LA drivers everywhere.

Gold medal-winning Australian track cyclist Stephen Wooldridge died at age 39 after taking his own life; like many athletes, he struggled to cope after his cycling career ended.

The vice mayor of Brisbane, Australia calls for scrapping the country’s mandatory bike helmet law.

 

Finally…

Just because a bridge doesn’t have a bikeway doesn’t mean you can’t find a scary way across. Your next smart bike could cost 1999 yuan.

And it’s easy to go incognito on a bicycle.

Even if you’re dressed in spandex shorts and a hunting shirt.

 

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

Morning Links: Laguna driver runs down cyclist and tries to hit another, stolen bikes, and Vision Zero news

August 15, 2017 / / 2 comments

Talk about getting the story wrong.

The Daily Pilot reported yesterday that a Laguna Beach driver had attempted to crash his car into a bicyclist who tried to stop him after he’d hit another rider.

But what they failed to mention was that the first crash was intentional, as well.

The Laguna Beach Police Department reported on their Facebook page that the driver fled after intentionally crashing into a man riding his bicycle, then trying to run over the second rider as he attempted to confront him.

Thankfully, he missed.

Fifty-three-year old Laguna Beach resident Kevin O’Neill was arrested on Saturday, after witnesses and victims picked his photo out of a lineup following the twin attacks Thursday morning at Bluebird Canyon Road and South Coast Highway.

No word on the condition of his victim.

Fortunately, this took place in Orange County, where the DA takes traffic crime seriously. We should expect a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, at the very least.

But let this serve as yet another reminder that it’s not worth your life to confront an angry driver.

Gather whatever information you can, from the make, model, color and license of the vehicle to a description of the driver, as well as any photos or video, if possible.

Then get hell out of the way and let the police deal with it.

Mug shot of Kevin O’Neill from Laguna Beach Police Department Facebook page.

………

Let’s catch up with a couple of quick stolen bike announcements.

Bobby Close of LA’s popular Velo Club La Grange sent the following notice.

One of our members had his bike stolen recently in Ventura California, his name is Marc Thomas. His bike should be easy to spot as it’s a 66cm custom made Landshark bicycle YES Marc IS TALL!!! Marc is one of the great members we have in LaGrange as he is constantly teaching new and old cyclists in his world famous “ Drills for Skills” clinics. Along with being a key member of the club he was one of the many people instrumental in making the Brentwood Grand Prix happen for so many years.

Attached is a picture of the stolen bike. The bike should stand out as only NBA basketball players are tall enough to ride it.

I’ve asked for additional information on exactly when and where the bike was stolen, but haven’t heard back yet.

And Mina Moskol of the LACBC’s Santa Clarita Chapter forwards a flyer for a bicycle stolen from one of the competitors in the World Police and Fire Games staying at a Palmdale hotel last week.

………

In the never-ending battle over the Playa del Rey traffic safety improvements, the Neighborhood Council of Westchester/Playa will debate a motion to approve a letter calling for a reversal of the all the Playa del Rey lane reductions at tonight’s meeting.

Despite what opponents of the Venice Blvd Great Streets project are saying, Sweet Lucie’s Ice Cream in Mar Vista may be closing, but it has nothing to do with the lane reductions.

And a new online petition asks you to show your support for Vision Zero in the face of attacks from angry drivers and talk radio jocks.

………

Forget the worst retirement ever; LA’s own former pro Phil Gaimon ranks the top ten cookies in the United States.

……….

We’ll catch up with bike events later this week, but I can’t resist this one. Which could be the best idea for a kid’s bike safety workshop ever.

Correction: This event takes place on Saturday the 19th, not on the 21st. Thanks to the LACBC for the correction.

……….

Spoiler alert: If you haven’t the final stages of the Colorado Classic yet, skip this section.

And if you haven’t, what the hell are you waiting for?

Italy’s Manuel Senni and Romanian Serghei Tvetcov held off the peloton to win the inaugural Colorado Classic after a two-man breakaway in Saturday’s Stage 3, as Colorado’s Alex Howes lost the lead he gained on Stage 2.

Despite the accusations that her birth sex gave her an unfair advantage, trans cyclist Jillian Bearden finished in the middle of the women’s field, while 21-year old Canadian Sara Poidevin swept to victory.

The race introduced a number of young American cyclists to international competition. Or maybe the other way around.

Cycling Tips offers some great photos from the four stage race, as well as the women’s two-stage competition.

A Denver business site offers a look at the festival that accompanied, and helped pay for, the bike race.

Cycling News points out a number of problems with the race and accompanying festival, but the chairman of the Colorado Classic says based on feedback, the race will probably be back next year.

……….

Local

The Source offers photos from Sunday’s CicLAvia, while some local businesses in San Pedro complain about traffic and say they weren’t consulted. CicLAvia always puts a significant effort into outreach, for as long as a year prior to a new event; businesses that respond and cater to the people passing by are usually richly rewarded; those who don’t, aren’t.

The Expo Line bike path was abruptly closed for the next three months between Centinela and Stewart Street for undisclosed maintenance work on Monday; Santa Monica Next says the detour around the work zone could be made safer simply by moving a few parking spaces.

A new bike and pedestrian pathway and bridge along the Pacoima Wash should offer a significant cut in non-motorized travel times through the northern San Fernando Valley.

While LA is busy battling NIMBYs, Burbank is reinventing itself as a denser, more walkable and bikeable community.

The LACBC is offering a free indoor class on basic bicycling skills tonight.

CiclaValley offers video evidence that going down Mt. Baldy is a lot faster than going up.

 

State

San Diego sheriff’s deputies are looking for the hit-and-run scumbag who left a 29-year old woman in a medically induced coma after running her down in Encinitas on Friday.

A San Diego mountain biker was airlifted out of Sycamore Canyon suffering from head and neck pain.

In a horrific crime, San Francisco police are looking for a man on a bicycle who blinded a woman by pouring bleach on her after telling her to leave.

San Francisco bikeshare bikes are vandalized once again, as a local columnist says bikeshare is resented as a sign of gentrification.

A kindhearted San Francisco cop bought a new bike for a ten-year old boy after his was stolen.

Nineteen bicyclists with Type 1 diabetes finish a 4,248-mile from New York to Napa County.

Tragic news from Sacramento, where yet another hit-and-run coward killed a man riding his bike on the shoulder of a roadway.

 

National

The National Transportation Safety Board recommends reforming the deadly 85th Percentile Rule, which allows speeding drivers to dictate speed limits. Or better yet, just get rid of the damn thing entirely.

People for Bikes offers free photos and a detailed explanation of what makes an effective neighborhood greenway, formerly known as bicycle boulevards. AKA bicycle friendly streets here in LA, though no one seems to have any plans to actually build any anytime soon.

Bicycling offers advice on how to get police to take your bike cam video seriously. Which is a problem with most police departments — including here in LA.

Bike Snob says “on your left!” needs to die already, even though there’s no way to pass anyone on a trail without scaring the crap out of them. I’ve found that simply adding the word passing, as in “passing on your left,” in a polite, conversational tone solves the problem almost every time. But what the hell do I know?

Treehugger says cars really should wear hi-viz, their drivers should wear helmets, and car radios should be banned. The latter would have the added benefit of keeping radio shock jocks from fueling drivers’ anger and contributing to road rage.

A Washington bike rider was killed by a driver with a suspended license. Proving once again the difficulty of keeping dangerous drivers off the road unless their vehicles are impounded as well. Thanks to Erik Griswold for the link.

Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park invites you to bike the park on September 30th.

An Arkansas man finishes an extreme Alaska triathlon just within the cutoff time, despite losing a leg 32 years earlier.

The famed Cleveland Clinic offers advice on how to get back to riding a bicycle. And why.

Despite testifying that he was simply riding safely by taking the lane, the Pennsylvania cyclist on trial for obstructing traffic was convicted last week; sentencing is in three months, even though he’s already served a full year in jail awaiting trial. It sounds like the real problem was that he was too militant about his rights as a bicyclist, refusing to move over even when traffic backed up behind him.

New York tells dockless bikeshare companies to get lost.

The NY Daily News says only in New York could a truck driver leave the scene after running down a bike rider, and not be charged. Obviously, they’ve never been to Los Angeles.

Speaking of Bike Snob, as we were earlier, his alter ego offers 15 unwritten rules of bicycling in New York City you’re probably breaking. Or maybe would be, if you actually rode there.

Delaware state police blame a rider for wearing dark clothes in low light conditions and taking the lane after he’s rear-ended by a driver. Correction: I originally criticized the police for bending over backwards to blame the rider after noting that the crash occurred two hours before sunset. However, as Andy S pointed out, the crash actually took place before sunrise, not sunset. I apologize for the confusion.

A Louisiana astronomer has been riding across the US for the last 450 days to educate Americans about next week’s solar eclipse, covering over 9,000 miles before his planned finish in Nashville on Monday.

 

International

A fifth of all bicycling deaths in Montreal are caused by collisions with trucks, usually when riders are right hooked and dragged under the truck. Something that could be avoided by requiring sideguards.

A London court is told a fixie rider could have avoided a fatal collision with a pedestrian if he hadn’t been riding brakeless; he blamed the woman for walking distracted, instead.

Bicycle Dutch reviews the world’s biggest bicycle parking garage.

Cycling Weekly lists seven rides in Italy to add to your bicycling bucket list.

An Aussie parliament member who opposes same sex marriage says he loves the guys he bikes with, but he doesn’t want to marry them. And apparently doesn’t get it, either.

An Australian study shows men are more likely to commit acts of violence on the road, but women drivers tend to be angrier.

 

Finally…

The problem isn’t potholes, it’s the fairies. Most bike riders only have to worry about dog bites, not two-foot long iguanas — or bears.

And just what every single cyclist needs, bicycle speed dating.

 

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

Morning Links: Second lawsuit filed over Playa del Rey road diets, and bizarre racist traffic manifesto mailed

August 11, 2017 / / 25 comments

You knew it was coming.

In news that should surprise no one, a second lawsuit has been filed over the lane reductions on Vista del Mar and other streets in Playa del Rey.

This time, by the un-ironically named driver-activist group Keep LA Moving.

Which is fighting efforts to do just that in Playa del Rey and Mar Vista, by demanding a continuation of the failed auto-centric planning that has harmed so many parts of our city, at the expense of everyone who isn’t currently in a car.

What is only a little surprising is the paranoid, tinfoil-hat wearing extremes to which they’ve taken their case.

According to a story in the Daily Breeze,

City officials have “engaged in a campaign of misinformation, name calling and race baiting, claiming that the aforementioned changes were made for ‘safety’ reasons, while the changes have made the affected roadways exponentially unsafe,” the lawsuit states.

Race baiting? Seriously?

In response to backlash, the lawsuit says, Bonin misleadingly used the stories of victims who were killed on the streets, failing to mention details that show lane reductions wouldn’t have prevented their deaths.

“In none of these cases was the unfortunate death caused by too many lanes on the road, or the lack of dedicated bicycle lanes,” the suit states.

Never mind that the victims might have survived the crashes if the traffic had been moving at a less deadly pace. Which was the expressed purpose of removing those lanes.

But here’s the best one.

It also accuses the city of failing to conduct adequate public outreach for the Safe Streets for Playa del Rey Initiative, saying only 150 of Playa del Rey’s 12,000 residents were engaged in the process.

“LADOT thereafter populated neighborhood forums with outside, paid supporters to make it appear that local residents were overwhelmingly supporting the projects,” the suit states.

If you didn’t get your check, contact LADOT and demand payment. Because evidently, everyone else who supported the projects did.

And never mind that many, if not most, of those opposing the projects don’t even live in Los Angeles, let alone in Playa del Rey.

Keep L.A. Moving also alleges Bonin’s office has suppressed free speech by allegedly deleting critical comments and blocking users from his Facebook page.

Maybe they should give the 1st Amendment another read. Because I don’t think it means what they think it means.

Then finally, there’s this.

Keep L.A. Moving director Karla Mendelson said her group isn’t against safety, but wants to make elected officials think twice before implementing road diets.

No, they’re all for safety. As long as it doesn’t inconvenience them.

You can download a full copy of the lawsuit here.

………

Traffic safety advocates and neighborhood council members around Los Angeles have been receiving a very strange and offensive screed purporting to discuss traffic safety.

This bizarrely auto-centric piece, which is filled with bike hate and 180 degrees wrong on most traffic safety efforts, reads like the Unibomber’s manifesto, but without the intelligence.

Take this section on wide bike lanes. Please.

Even more frightening than the writer’s obvious glee at the fantasy of watching another human being die in the street, is the fact that these fliers have been mailed to people’s home addresses — an implied threat clearly saying “we know where you live.”

I’m told that at least one neighborhood council member has resigned as a result.

It’s horrifying to think that working to make this a more bikeable, walkable and livable city could put you in the crosshairs of people willing to threaten others to maintain their philosophy of autos über alles on the streets.

But that seems to be the world we live in.

……….

The self-proclaimed “LA’s #1 walking and biking advocacy group” we mentioned yesterday —which calls Vision Zero “population control,” and falsely claimed to be part of the non-existent group behind this website — says it will hold a public meeting at Intelligencia Coffee in Venice on Saturday.

If you live in the area, maybe you should drop in and see if they really exist.

And if they’re really there, give them a nice, big WTF for me.

And maybe a restraining order.

………

The Colorado Classic aims to reimagine bike racing; the Denver Post gives the details on all four stages.

Here’s your spoiler-free result of the first stage.

A Denver TV station says the presence of the Rwandan cycling team at the Colorado Classic sends a message of inspiration and hope, even if they’re not expected to win any stages.

Ex-Tour de France winner Floyd Landis says banning Lance’s podcast is just being petty, as he prepares to return to mountain bike racing at the Leadville 100 with his Floyd’s of Leadville medicinal dope partner Dave Zabriskie.

Cycling great Andre Greipel says he’s lost all his instincts on the bike.

The Guardian offers a beautiful photo essay examining the 2,400-mile Transcontinental bike race across Europe.

……….

Local

Maybe one day your summer bike rides could be a bit cooler, as Los Angeles experiments with changing the surface color of streets to reduce roadway temperatures.

Great profile of 16-year old Los Angeles public transit enthusiast Kenny Uong.

CiclaValley discovers the San Fernando Valley’s secret climb.

Helen’s Cycles is sponsoring a trio of rides throughout the LA area tomorrow.

Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson offers his own inimitable advice on commuting to work.

The South Bay’s Easy Reader News credits the removal of the Herondo wall on the Hermosa border and widening the bike path with opening the entrance to Redondo Beach, leading to a boom in business along Harbor Drive. So much for bike lanes killing business, as the above lawsuit asserts, as well as the “fat bike lanes” in the manifesto.

 

State

Residents insist that traffic congestion is a nightmare in Lytle Creek, even without any road diets or bike lanes. Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

Caught on video: A San Francisco bike rider is sent flying when he apparently hits a curb after swerving to avoid an SUV that left-crossed him.

A San Francisco website says there ain’t no party like an East Bay Bike Party.

A 74-year old Healdsburg man will face a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge for an unsafe pass that apparently caused a women to fall off her bike during a charity ride.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a specialized bicycle from a Navy vet who was using it to recover from paralysis, after he was shot in the head while serving in Afghanistan.

Violent crime is increasing on a Sacramento bike path with one of the region’s highest concentrations of chronically homeless people; one rider reported getting punched in the jaw just for being there.

 

National

Streetsblog asks why cities shouldn’t fund student bikeshare passes like they do transit passes.

No surprise here. A new study showed that adult-supervised bike trains to and from school increased physical activity for kids, providing 35% of their daily recommended exercise.

Seattle discovers the most effective way to cut solo car commutes is charging for parking by the day, rather than by the month. Just imagine if they combined that with safer streets to encourage more walking and biking at the same time.

Speaking of Seattle, the city’s limited experiment with dockless bikeshare doubled to a total of 2,000 bikes this week, and could double again when two more suppliers hit the streets. My apologies to whoever sent this; unfortunately, I’ve lost track of where I got this story. But thank you anyway.

Caught on video too: A safety conscious Spokane burglar straps on a helmet before riding off with a homeowner’s bike, while ghost riding another.

Good idea. A Kalamazoo MI bike club printed and distributed 100 lawn signs to promote the city’s five-foot passing law.

The Pennsylvania bicyclist on trial for obstructing traffic testified that he was simply riding in the center of the lane to avoid debris on the right and prevent unsafe passing.

A tone-deaf Atlantic City editorial says bicyclists have to ride responsibly to protect themselves from distracted drivers. Which is probably true. But wearing a bike helmet isn’t likely to prevent a collision. And even the brightest hi-viz and lights won’t help if someone is looking at his or her lap instead of the road.

Emmy nominee Keri Russell is one of us, as a fellow bike rider strikes up a conversation about her show The Americans as she waited at a Brooklyn stop light. A) Conversations like that never happen when you’re in a car, and B) it’s proof that bicyclists really do stop for red lights.

Leonardo DiCaprio is still one of us, and still riding bikeshare bikes across New York. No word on whether he stopped for stop lights or paused to speak with any other bike riders, however.

A New York lawyer goes looking for video of the hit-and-run that put a bike rider in the hospital, and finds a city-owned truck with damage matching the one that hit her.

 

International

A 16-year old Calgary boy has raised $8,000 to fight cancer as part of a 124-mile charity ride, four years after an eye exam lead to the discovery of a baseball-sized tumor in his brain.

Edmonton, Canada is testing side guards on trucks to protect cyclists and pedestrians.

Toronto developers are starting to build carfree, bike-only condos.

The sister of a fallen teenage bike rider lashes out at young Brit riders who put their lives at risk by pulling stunts in front of cars. Although you’d think she’d blame the stoned driver who killed him, instead.

Caught on video three: A Dublin bike mechanic tackles a bike thief who tried to make off with his bike after he leaned it against a wall for a few moments.

The mayor of Melbourne, Australia threatens to deal with the problem of abandoned dockless bikeshare bikes by banning them entirely.

 

Finally…

Why bother biking to work or slogging through traffic when you can just swim. You could do worse than the Sneaky Cyclist Robber, as far as bank robber epithets go.

And a mountain biker tries to take a $149 Walmart bike down some steep singletrack, with predictable results.

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

Morning Links: Vista del Mar timetable released, LADOT Active Transportation Staff grows, and a little good bike news

August 10, 2017 / / One comment

One important note before we get started.

A Twitter account recently came to my attention for an organization incorrectly claiming to be “LA’s #1 walking & biking advocacy group.”

This same group, Westside Walkers LA, also falsely claims to be sponsored by the city.

However, the only Westside Walkers group that appears to actually exist as anything other than a Twitter account is a mall walking group sponsored by UCLA Health.

Last night, they misrepresented themselves as being associated with, and one of the founders of, this website and/or the associated Twitter account @bikinginla.

Just to be clear, neither this group or its Twitter account, or any person(s) responsible for it, are associated with BikinginLA, or its Twitter account or Facebook page, in any way whatsoever. Nor are any other social media accounts or organizations, on any platform.

If you become aware of anyone falsely claiming to represent this site, whether online or in person, please contact me immediately at the address on the About BikinginLA page.

Thank you.

………

A timetable has been released for the restoration of two travel lanes on Vista del Mar in Playa del Rey, following the uproar from inconvenienced commuters after they were removed in an effort to improve safety.

The lanes, not the commuters.

Although that would probably improve safety, too.

The Daily News reports the work will begin on August 21st, and take two to three weeks to complete.

Never mind the misleading headline, which a) incorrectly implies there are bike lanes on Vista del Mar, and b) suggests that the other recent lane reductions in the area, which do have bike lanes, are also being removed.

They’re not.

Although not everyone is happy about the change back.

I’ve been copied on an email to a representative of the Coastal Commission from a rider named Gregory, who’s fighting a rearguard action to keep the changes in place.

Hello! I’m a resident of Los Angeles in Mike Bonin’s district. I just left you a voicemail. I’m concerned that Los Angeles is planning to remove the parking along Vista del Mar and thereby adversely affect beach access for Californians.

Recently a road diet was implemented on Vista Del Mar and Culver Blvds because of the dangerousness of the area and settlements paid to dead pedestrians.  The road diet created a bottleneck and caused a large amount of delays for commuters. However, after a recent reconfiguration and change to the light timing, any delays seem to have disappeared.

I drove the road three times on rush hour last Tuesday. I videoed one trip which I could share if needed. At 7:0 am it took about 7:30 to get from Imperial to Jefferson, at 830 am it took about 9:15, and at 930am it only took 6 minutes and I drove the speed limit the entire time and was first in line at the one light that caught me.

So once again, the problems with traffic really seem to have gone away and actually driving down Vista del Mar was pleasant! I didn’t have to worry about someone passing me at 60 mph and zooming from lane to lane. Hopefully that lane can remain gone. However, Mike Bonin’s office has recently come out and said that they will change the road back to two lanes and remove parking along Vista del Mar. This concerns me, as that would lead to a net loss of parking and loss of access to the beach for Californians, and would generally make the road less pleasant and less safe. Do we really want Vista del Mar to turn into a freeway?

Thank you for looking into this.

Update: You can find contact information for the Coastal Commission here.

He followed-up with an email to LADOT and Councilmember Mike Bonin’s office.

Hello! I would like to express my happiness at the current lane situations on Vista del Mar, Culver, and Pershing Blvds. With the recent changes to light timing and the lane tweaks the traffic situation seems to have been fully ameliorated. I feel safe driving on Vista del Mar for the first time now! It used to be a race track with cars weaving in and out at high speed, occasionally creating collisions that stopped traffic completely. Now traffic goes at a reasonable speed and even at rush hour there isn’t much of a delay. I recently travelled north at 930 am and drove the speed limit the entire way. Hopefully a few reactionaries won’t get the lanes removed without a study. This is LA, traffic is to be expected, and the current configuration on Vista del Mar, Culver, and Pershing is the best of both worlds.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, is done to ensure Vista del Mar doesn’t return to the deadly, high-speed raceway it used to be once the restoration is complete.

And if Bonin can resist the pressure to return the other streets to their original dangerous configurations.

……….

Vision Zero LA tweeted a photo of the new Active Transportation Team at LADOT; 21 people, by my count.

It was only a few years ago that the entire active transportation staff at the agency consisted of former Senior Bicycle Coordinator Michelle Mowery.

Let’s hope that the larger staff leads to a better job of communicating than they’ve done lately.

………

We could all use some good news these days. Like these stories gleaned from yesterday’s headlines.

A Willow Glen CA man joined with his brother, sister and brother-in-law to bike 300 miles through Minnesota, raising $10,000 for healthcare clinics in the Congo.

From Texas comes the story of a newly elected Dallas city councilwoman who led an 11-year fight to stop a planned $1.7 billion highway expansion that would have destroyed a local waterway, after scouting it out on her bicycle.

Austin TX honors three cops and four civilians who joined together to save the life of a woman whose bike was hit by a spinning car following a crash, lifting the 3,000 pound vehicle off her so she could be rescued. Thanks to Steve Katz for the heads-up.

Nice story from North Carolina, where locals knew a man who rode his bike everywhere as Bicycle Johnny. And the whole town came together to pay for his funeral when he died.

Also from North Carolina, the inspiring story of a bike rider who befriended the driver who ran him down and left him briefly paralyzed, as well as the doctor who saved his legs and his life; a year to the day after the crash, he’ll join that doctor in running in a half marathon.

………

Cycling Weekly lists the six most bizarre non-cycling injuries sustained by professional cyclists. Although they limit it to the modern era, starting with Greg LeMond’s turkey shoot in which he ended up being the turkey.

A pair of websites question the fairness of allowing transgender pro cyclist Jillian Bearden to compete as a woman in the new Colorado Classic bike race, which begins today in Colorado Springs.

Kiwi rider Jesse Sergent makes the difficult transition from pro cyclist to real estate agent.

……….

Local

Speaking of good news, the Militant Angeleno is back with his latest epic CicLAvia guide, just in time for Sunday’s San Pedro meets Wilmington event. Personal issues will keep me from attending this one, so feel free to send photos or stories from the event for Monday’s post.

Longbeachize says a proposal to stripe bike lanes on Junipero Ave in Long Beach is lacking in imagination, for both drivers and bicyclists.

 

State

One more in the “I’m a cyclist but…” category. A San Diego letter writer says he’s been commuting to work by bike for 20 years, but that city officials goal of an 18% bicycling mode share is just burdening the public unless they ride, too. But since when is getting people out on their bikes a burden?

San Jose gets a temporary pop-up protected bike lane, as representatives of the National Association of City Transportation Officials, aka NACTO, visit to advise the city on how to create a world-class bicycling network.

The Sacramento Bee offers a drone’s-eye view of 20 bicyclists with Type 1 diabetes who rode through the city on a 4,280-mile journey that began in New York.

 

National

The Adventure Cycling Association is planning to add 400 miles to the 2,700-mile Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, already the world’s longest mountain biking trail.

Ex-Tour de France winner Floyd Landis introduces a hemp-oil CBD supplement for athletic aches and pains.

Bicycling offers advice on how to extend the life of your drivetrain.

A representative of the Denver Department of Environmental Health says traffic fatalities are a public health crisis, and Vision Zero is the solution.

Paramedics in Jackson Hole WY may take to their bikes to get around during the solar eclipse later this month, concluding it could be the fastest way to reach people who need help.

Kindhearted Omaha NE paramedics give a girl a refurbished bicycle to replace the one a man stole from her in a strong-arm robbery. Although the TV station seems confused as to just how many girls there are in the story.

The prosecution has rested in the case of the Pennsylvania cyclist charged with deliberately obstructing traffic on multiple occasions; an off-duty cop testified the rider intentionally crashed into his car, then claimed the car hit him.

Cambridge, Mass pulls the plug on a protected bike lane in mid-construction after local businesses complain, putting the job on hold for 30 days.

Someone is riding his bicycle up to the windows of New York cab drivers, and stealing their cash.

A New Jersey bike group visits the castles of Muenster, Germany.

A DC advocacy group calls for sharing trails with ebike users.

A concerned Florida motorist was already on the phone with 911 to report a dangerously reckless driver when the allegedly stoned driver struck a bike rider; police found cocaine, marijuana, hash oil and drug paraphernalia in his car.

 

International

A new study from the University of Duh says middle-aged men, aka MAMILs, don’t take up riding because of a mid-life crisis, but because of the enjoyment they get from bicycling.

Good writes about those vaporware Chinese smog-eating bikes, saying prototypes should be on the streets of Beijing by the end of the year.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to drive drunk and scream racial slurs at the cop that pulls you over, always have a bike in your trunk to attempt a getaway.

And if you’re carrying a debit card and company ID belonging to someone else, as well as burglary tools, and have an outstanding warrant, maybe a train platform isn’t the best place to ride your bike.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »
Wordpress Theme by ThemeZee