Tag Archive for bicycling

Morning Links: Donald Trump the bike-riding bully; Bike Night at Union Station, and new bike stuff

May 26, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Donald Trump the bike-riding bully; Bike Night at Union Station, and new bike stuff

We finally have proof that Donald Trump used to be one of us, as reporters for the Washington Post talk to people who knew him as a child.

Steven Nachtigall, now a 66-year-old doctor, recalled the time Trump, the “loudmouth bully,” jumped off his bike and pummeled another boy.

As long as we’re on the subject bike-riding celebrities, Cindy Crawford is one of us, as she goes for a ride in the ‘Bu with her fat bike-riding husband.

Gerard Butler is one of us, too, looking none too pleased to be stalked by paparazzi as he rides and dines in New York.

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Metro wraps up the official Bike Month activities with tonight’s Bike Night at Union Station.

Meanwhile, Santa Monica Spoke closes out the month next Wednesday with a presentation by Chris Morfas on his work in Bogota, Columbia, home to 600,000 daily bike trips. Tickets are available here.

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Today’s common theme is new bike stuff.

A new bike bell promises to make itself heard inside nearby motor vehicles. And not necessarily politely.

Your next ebike could fit in a backpack, right next to your collapsible folding helmet.

Wired says a new bike from California-based Yuba means we should all ditch our cars and start riding cargo bikes.

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Cycling Weekly offers five talking points from stage 18 of the Giro.

Thursday’s stage could have relieved the pressure on Teejay van Garderen, or increased it.

And the Wall Street Journal asks if Tom Dumoulin can stay No. 1 after the No. 2 heard ‘round the world.

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Local

Part of the money Metro saves by not finishing the 710 Freeway could go to street improvements, including bike lanes.

LA is testing low-cost pedestrian safety improvements in South LA, but may be complicating matters for people on bikes.

The attn: website picks up the story the LAPD’s tone-deaf Vision Zero tweet encouraging bike riders to use lights and helmets in response to a possibly homicidal driver.

Time Out LA looks forward to the coming bike, foot and horse bridge over the LA River connecting Griffith Park to Atwater Village.

Taking time out from an increasingly busy advocacy schedule, LA Bike Dad bikes the kids to the La Brea Tar Pits.

A Burbank letter writer says the city’s bike lanes don’t really inconvenience anyone, and could save lives.

The La Verne Bicycle Coalition is using GoFundMe to raise money for bicycling improvements. Thanks to Lester Walters for the heads-up.

A Malibu paper talks with a man who’s bicycling an estimated 11,729.17 miles to visit every major league baseball stadium in the US this summer.

 

State

A homeless Orange County man swears he’s not running a bike chop shop, and all the bikes he sells were collected from sidewalks, trash bins and junk yards; local authorities — and people who’ve had bikes stolen — aren’t so sure.

A Newport Beach elementary school paused to remember Brock McCann, the eight-year old third grader killed by a garbage truck while riding his bike home from school one year ago.

No surprise here. The Fallbrook teenager accused of killing a bike rider while under the influence of a controlled substance has pled not guilty. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe account has been set up to benefit the victim’s family.

A Santa Barbara writer describes how he cracked his pelvis falling off his bike on wet cobblestones on an underpass maintained by Caltrans — and met another rider who was injured at the exact same spot. Caltrans’ warning sign telling cyclists to walk their bikes is probably not sufficient for the agency to avoid liability.

A Sacramento writer says the city may finally be becoming more bike-friendly, but it needs to pedal faster towards that future.

 

National

People For Bikes wants you to just say no to the Trump budget, which says no to bicycling.

A physically disabled eight-year old will be able to ride a bike with his family for the first time, thanks to the efforts of volunteers from Utah State University.

There could soon by a protected bike lane on Nashville’s famed Music Row.

A Florida woman rejects a call for bicyclists to pay their fair share, saying we already do. In more ways than one.

 

International

Bicycling is helping a Syrian refugee adapt to his new home in Canada. This is the kind of scary person our government wants to bar from the country.

Toronto discovers the hard way that a bike path with no barriers separating it from the roadway doesn’t pass the 8 to 80 test; a regular bike commuter says nothing prepared him for the crash he witnessed.

A London writer says “smug” cyclists are the key to a fume-free future. And bike riders might not be so paranoid if drivers would stop knocking them over.

The Guardian considers which British political party will do the most for bicycling in the country; not looking good for the major parties.

A new survey from the UK shows exactly what you probably already knew. Most drivers don’t understand the law when it comes to bicycling.

 

Finally…

Every cyclist needs mom to coach them up the hard parts. If you’re going to make a run for it on your bike after stealing tools, try not to carry so many purses with you.

And if you’re going to ride drunk, try to pee facing away from traffic.

Then again, that holds true for taking a dump while leading a Grand Tour, as well.

   

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

What You Need to Know about Police Reports

May 25, 2017 / / 4 comments
Bikes Have Rights™
By James L. Pocrass, Esq.
Pocrass & De Los Reyes LLP

 

A close up view of a traffic collision report form.

I settled a Malibu bike collision case in which the driver of a motor vehicle made a left turn into the cyclist. The accident happened at dusk; it was not dark out yet. The police report states that the cyclist was cited for “unsafe speed conditions” because the cyclist was wearing all black.

When I was taking the sheriff’s deposition, I asked him why he cited the cyclist for wearing all black. He told me he asked another officer at the station who told him that because the cyclist was wearing all black, he was going too fast for the conditions.

The cyclist was going 15 – 20 mph! This conclusion is absolutely wrong. What the cyclist was wearing had nothing to with “unsafe speed conditions” (VC 22350).

More recently I represented a woman who suffered serious personal injuries in a pedestrian collision. My client was crossing in the crosswalk, with the light, when she was struck by a motor vehicle. When I took the deposition of the police officer I asked him why he didn’t take a witness statement from the friend who was walking next to her at the time of the collision. His answer was that as a friend of the victim he figured the witness would be biased and would just back up whatever the victim said. Regardless, it was the officer’s responsibility to take statements from all witnesses.

I have represented hundreds of cyclists. The one constant in all of these cases is the police report. I’d estimate that 60 percent of the time, the police reports I see blame the cyclist for the collision.

So is it worth getting a police report? Simply, yes.

Though police officers are often biased against cyclists, they usually get the facts of a bike collision correct. Such details as: the time, place, weather, what direction each participant was going and where they were located when the accident happened, contact information for witnesses, confirmation of insurance, and any physical evidence at the scene, is usually recorded correctly.

It is the police officer’s conclusion that is typically wrong. Though I would much rather police officers would lose their cyclist bias, filing a police report is still beneficial to your legal case and to your insurance claim because it sets out in writing the basic facts.

If the police refuse to come to the scene or they come to the scene but refuse to take a police report, I suggest you go to the nearest police station and file a report yourself.

Police reports with tainted conclusions or incorrect facts also need to be addressed. You can go to the police station and file a Supplemental Statement. This allows you to correct the facts and is attached to the original report. Though the police won’t change their police report, at least your version or the correct facts will be in the report.

The filing of a biased or incorrect police report will make the handling of your case or insurance claim more difficult, but the police report and the opinions and conclusions of the police officer are not admissible in court since in most instances the officer did not see the accident themselves. This makes most police reports hearsay and not admitted into evidence.

Where police reports have an effect is on the insurance company. When the insurance company reads the police report and accepts the officer’s conclusions, it may refuse to settle your case or offer you much less compensation than which you are entitled.

The result is that we have to file a lawsuit, gather evidence, and take the police officer’s deposition to prove the officer was wrong. Frequently it is during or after the deposition stage that the insurance company will offer to settle the case to avoid going to court.

Now a days a number of cities – including the City of Los Angeles – will not send an officer to the scene of the collision if there are no injuries (and you should NEVER comment on injuries or guilt to ANYONE, including a police officer).

If you are in a collision and the police refuse to come to the scene, but you want a police report taken, you will need to go to the nearest police department to file a report as I mention above. Getting the facts on the record is always helpful.

Remember, filing a police report does not mean you have to file a legal case. It can assist you in collecting compensation for damages you incurred in the bike collision and, should you decide to take legal action later, a police report will be of value to your bike collision lawyer as he is pursuing your case.

 

*California Vehicle Code 21200: A person riding a bicycle or operating a pedicab upon a highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions applicable to the driver of a vehicle. . .

Jim Pocrass, Pocrass & De Los Reyes LLP

For more than 25 years, Jim Pocrass has represented people who were seriously injured, or families who lost a loved one in a wrongful death, due to the carelessness or negligence of another. Jim is repeatedly named to Best Lawyers in America and to Southern California Super Lawyers lists for the outstanding results he consistently achieves for his clients. Having represented hundreds of cyclists during his career, and Jim’s own interest in cycling, have resulted in him becoming a bicycle advocate. He is a board member of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. For a free, no-obligation consultation, contact Jim Pocrass at 310.550.9050 or at info@pocrass.com.

 
Category: Bikes Have Rights / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Culver City TOD study, putting immigration before injuries, and a comprehensive look at bike locks

May 25, 2017 / / 5 comments

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Jim Pocrass. So come back later this morning, when he’ll be back with a new guest post discussing the problems with police reports after a crash.

………

Things are changing in Culver City.

What used to be a bike-unfriendly city where the police would line up to turn back nighttime group rides has made great strides in recent years to become a safer and more inviting place to ride.

And that focus continues with a Transit Oriented District (TOD) Visioning Study to establish “an innovative Transit Oriented Development framework that could become a model for the larger Los Angeles region,” according to an email I received from David Alpaugh of Johnson Fain urban design and planning.

According to Alpaugh, Culver City’s planning efforts have already resulted in a higher-density, transit-served neighborhood that is improving both regional mobility and air quality. The goal of the study is to understand how to evolve the City into a “Transit Oriented Community” where people continue to drive less and walk, bike, and take transit more.

From now until August 2017, the Culver City TOD Visioning Study team is helping stakeholders collaborate through a series of workshops and an interactive website. Our aim is to explore measures and interventions that would lead to sustained alternative transit and mobility improvements. The primary study area is defined as the area within the half-mile walk and 3-mile biking radiuses from the Culver City Expo Station.

As of this writing, there are three more public workshops left:

  1. Thursday,May 25 – Workshop VI: Design Charrette (6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) – Rotunda Room, Veterans Memorial Building – 4117 Overland Ave, Culver City, CA 9023
  2. Thursday,June 15 – Workshop VII: Review of Preliminary Recommendations (7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.) – Multipurpose Room, VeteransMemorial Building – 4117 Overland Ave, Culver City, CA 90230
  3. Thursday,July 6 – Workshop VIII: Presentation of Final Recommendations (6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.) – Location TBA

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In a horrifying example of just how bad things have gotten in this country, a Honduran immigrant was struck by a pickup while riding his bike to work in Key West FL.

But instead of calling for help or asking if he was okay, the first words out of the responding cop’s mouth were to question his immigration status.

So much for only going after the bad guys.

Basic police work, let alone common human decency, would dictate that investigating the crash and tending to the victim’s injuries should take precedence over any questions of immigration status.

It’s not a question of right or left.

Just right and wrong.

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Mike Wilkinson forwards a lengthy bike lock review from The Sweethome, in which they tried break to 27 locks using every method they could come up with.

And come up with this conclusion.

So why bother to lock a bike? That’s the question most people ask once they realize the general disregard most pedestrians show toward a bike being stolen and what modern cordless power tools have done to bicycle security. Why bother securing your bike with a better lock if it means only an extra minute at most, maybe even mere seconds, to a thief? It unfortunately comes down to beating the people around you—after all, you don’t need to outrun a bear, only the person next to you. If you can ride a less expensive bike and lock it up properly with a better lock in a safer location, you can remove the temptation for a thief to pick your bike over an easier target.

In some situations even the cheapest lock can provide this amount of security, but we believe that a small upgrade to the Kryptonite Evolution Mini-7 allows you to eliminate more methods of attack over the competition at this price—and as a result, in most cities your bike will be targeted only by very determined thieves. Most thieves don’t want to steal your bike, they want only to steal a bike. If one is easier to steal and valued more, that’s the one they want. If you can persuade them to pick another target, that’s all you need, but if they still decide to target your bike, we think you should at least give yourself a chance of catching them, by using a lock that needs to be cut with a grinder.

It’s worth a read if you’re concerned about protecting your bike from thieves.

And if you’re not, you should be.

As Wilkinson points out, it’s also a good reminder to register your bike, particularly since they were able to eventually defeat every lock they tested.

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And while we’re on the subject —

Culver City police uncovered a bicycle chop shop at a homeless encampment under a bridge over Ballona Creek. On the other hand, about the only reason police wouldn’t find a bike chop shop at a homeless camp is if they’re not looking.

Santa Cruz police bust a bike thief after he stole a $5,000 mountain bike and was photographed and chased by a witness; police suspect he also stole a $3,000 bicycle they found hidden in some bushes nearby.

A Dallas TV station sets out their own bait bikes to see how fast they’d get stolen, and where they’d end up. Neither of which should surprise anyone.

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Wednesday’s spoiler-free mountain stage of the Giro ended in a solo breakaway, while a Danish rider won 100 bottles of beer for being the heaviest cyclist to make it over the Stelvia pass in Tuesday’s stage of the Giro. Which should make him even heavier next time.

Teams were announced for the new four-stage Colorado Classic bike race, including four WorldTour teams.

Good thing the doping era is over. A pair of Russian and Azerbaijan cyclists have been banned for using prohibited substances. And a Brazilian cycling team has been suspended for the second time due to doping violations.

Speaking of which, Lance just got engaged to his live-in girlfriend of ten years.

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Local

After one bike rider was killed and another injured in what a witness described as a deliberate attack, the LAPD offered a tone-deaf suggestion to use helmets and lights.

 

State

Newport Beach considers restricting ebikes on the boardwalk.

Ride without a light in Sacramento, and you could get ticketed by a state Alcohol Beverage Control agent. Even if you haven’t been drinking.

The Whiskeytown National Recreation Area has been a popular site for mountain biking and MTB racing for decades — never mind that it happens to be illegal. National Park officials are trying to change that.

 

National

Streetsblog says Trump’s proposed budget would be a disaster for transit, walking and bicycling.

The brother of a Seattle bicyclist files suit against the city and the transit agency, claiming streetcar tracks were responsible for her death.

A Montana man got a well-deserved 15 to 25 years behind bars for deliberately running down a man on a bicycle with his car so he could rifle through the man’s backpack and steal his wallet; his victim is still recovering from his injuries.

Denver Streetsblog suggests that maybe the Colorado Department of Transportation should focus on building safe streets instead of looking for exotic safety concepts.

An Oklahoma paper talks with a man who’s been riding across the US for 26 years to raise funds and attention for multiple sclerosis, covering 287,000 miles and raising $148,740, inspired by a fellow cyclist who died of the disease.

Michigan offers more bike trails than any other state, with over 12,500 miles of state–designated trails and 2,600 miles of rail trails.

A Boston columnist says bike crashes are down, so what are all these enraged cyclists — and politicians who cater to them — complaining about? Meanwhile, a writer for the Globe says it’s up to everyone to learn how to share the streets safely, and pitting one side against the other doesn’t help anyone.

Caught on video: A handcuffed bike thief performs a pretty impressive flying faceplant fleeing from police in Florida.

 

International

How about a fat bike ride along the Northwest Passage, 500 miles above the Arctic Circle?

A Montreal parking enforcement officer has taken to posting photos on Twitter of trucks that park in bike lanes.

The war on bikes continues, as a British driver followed a pair of bicyclists onto the grass to run one down before fleeing the scene.

Tired of hearing there’s no room for bike lanes on the streets of the Latvian capital, Riga bike advocates paint their own to prove city officials wrong.

A BBC TV host discusses her participation in Tour d’Afrique, the world’s longest bike race, which runs nearly 7,500 miles from Cairo to Capetown. And getting chased by elephants and pelted with rocks and a whip along the way.

A new Myanmar bike tour follows the route of a 16th Century king, while showing off the countryside, and the people.

 

Finally…

Evidently, summer cyclists are edible. It takes a village to make a kid wear his bike helmet.

And seriously, if you’re carrying meth, marijuana, syringes and other drug paraphernalia on your bike, just put a damn light on it, already.

 

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

Morning Links: LAPD cop walks on bike rider beating, get paid to ride a bike, and how not to wash one

May 24, 2017 / / One comment

I’m not a fan of jailing cops.

As far as I’m concerned, police officers should be disciplined, retrained or fired. Except in the most egregious cases, where their actions go far beyond a mistake in judgment or failing to follow policy.

Like this one, for instance.

Because there’s something seriously wrong when an LAPD cop can kick a black bike rider in the head like he was lining up a field goal, and get away without spending a single day behind bars.

Despite a video recording of the beating Clinton Alford received after he fled from the cops, first on his bike, then on foot, Officer Richard Garcia got off with far less than a slap on the wrist.

Garcia pled no contest to felony assault in exchange for a sentence of 300 hours of community service and a paltry $500 fine to be paid an unnamed charity, along with two years probation. After which time he could have his conviction reduced to a misdemeanor.

Which is exactly what happened on Wednesday.

According to the LA Times, Garcia is on unpaid leave pending a disciplinary hearing that could result in a well-deserved firing.

However, that also means he could end up keeping his job. Which would just compound the incredible injustice in this case.

And disgrace all the officers who struggle to do the job right and win the trust of the people they serve.

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The free Biko app is now available in Los Angeles, as well as San Diego and San Francisco; the app allows riders to collect credits for each kilometer they ride, which can be redeemed at participating businesses and charities.

So where the hell was this when I was still riding a few hundred miles a week?

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A reminder to always pull over when you have five or more vehicles backed up behind you and unable to pass.

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Apparently, there’s a never-ending supply of sexist stupidity within the bike industry.

Never mind that women ride bikes, as well as fix them. And damn few dress like that to do it.

Thanks to Peter Flax for the image.

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Local

Nutcase Helmets features a ghost bike art display as part of LA’s Vision Zero Roscoe.

Eater looks at the newly re-opened Spoke Bicycle Café along the LA River bike path, offering an expanded menu including local craft beers and California wines.

USC’s popular Lil Bill’s bike repair shop has officially been given the boot despite a widespread student outcry to save it, thanks to a non-compete clause with a new bike shop opening in the soon-to-be-completed USC Village.

Pasadena wants developers to pay more to fund transportation improvements, including bike and pedestrian infrastructure.

Brea invites you to check out the new Tracks at Brea shared use path this Saturday, complete with bike rodeo courtesy of Walk ‘n Rollers.

 

State

Republican legislators are complaining that Governor Brown is diverting gas tax funds for non-transportation projects, which fails to recognize that bike paths and public transportation are transportation projects.

Caltrans has adopted the California’s first statewide active transportation plan, calling for people of all ages to be able to comfortably walk and bike safely and conveniently by 2040. Now the question is whether they’ll actually follow through, or if it will sit on the shelf like most bike/ped plans do.

Bay Area bike riders are pushing back after Caltrans proposes improving safety at a dangerous intersection by banning bikes from one of the primary bike routes connecting the Pacific Coast side of San Francisco with the peninsula. Maybe that’s what Caltrans means by being able to walk and bike safely and comfortably — somewhere else.

The annual AIDS/LifeCycle will depart from San Francisco a week from Sunday, arriving in Los Angeles the following Saturday to raise funds for the fight against HIV/AIDS.

An Oakland bike rider gets a surprise bill for rear-ending a cop car nine months later, even though he was not ticketed and there was no apparent damage to the bike or patrol car at the time.

Sacramento is beginning a $1.7 million project to fix a deadly intersection, including better bike lanes and bike boxes.

 

National

A Seattle bicyclist says he’s okay, but it’s all those other bike riders who piss drivers off; a pair of anti-bike talk radio jocks use his letter to try to stir up a little controversy.

Salt Lake City will move forward with more bike lanes, but no more curb-protected lanes after complaints from merchants.

A Colorado woman says she learned about business by riding her mountain bike. Evidently, she failed to gain any major insights. Or stock tips, for that matter.

Colorado will try out a trio of tech concepts submitted in response to a competition to come up with safety solutions for bicyclists and pedestrians, including lighted bike lanes and an LED light that follows as a rider approaches an intersection.

The founder of both Colorado’s Oskar Blues craft brewery and a handmade bike maker offers his tips on mountain biking.

Houston is just the latest city where police have set up safe bike passing stings using an ultrasound device that measures an exact three-foot passing distance. Now if only we could get the LAPD, LASD and CHP to give it a try.

This is the cost of traffic violence. Relatives of a San Antonio TX bike rider are struggling to find answers after he was left to die in the street by a pair of hit-and-run drivers, one of whom stopped just long enough to remove his bike from the car’s bumper. Thanks to Steve Katz for the heads-up.

A New York woman is out of work for eight weeks and facing $25,000 in medical expenses after she was run down by a cyclist who blew through a red light, claiming he couldn’t stop in time. She says law-breaking cyclists should be treated like drivers; unfortunately, that’s exactly how the NYPD usually treats drivers who kill or injure bike riders and pedestrians.

 

International

Cycling Weekly explains how to deal with wrist pain when you ride.

London’s Independent considers the tragic irony in the bicycling death of pro cyclist Nicky Hayden.

An English county’s chief constable plans to tour the county on two wheels after his retirement, stopping at every police station along the way.

About damn time. Sydney, Australia is backing a plan that would require student drivers to learn how to ride a bike safely before qualifying for a driver’s license. Now if we can only convince the rest of the world to go along.

A user white paper from China’s Mobike bikeshare company offers insights to the country’s emerging cycling demographic; the company says it’s taken the emissions equivalent of 170,000 cars off the roads and out of the air.

 

Finally…

How to do #2 when you’re trying to stay #1. If you’re going to promote Bike Month, try to do it before the events are over.

And David Wolfberg forwards video of how not to wash your bike.

http://imgur.com/5c8yOc0

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On a personal note, the Corgi was once again a hit at Amoeba Music.

Category: Bikes & the Law, Law Enforcement, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Auto-centric Cal Poly becoming bike friendly, and more events to wrap up LA Bike Month

May 23, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Auto-centric Cal Poly becoming bike friendly, and more events to wrap up LA Bike Month

Good news from Cal Poly Pomona, for a change.

CPP professor Boyonabike! provides a wrap-up of Bike Week at the traditionally auto-centric and bike-unfriendly university. And reports that things are finally beginning to change.

The university’s new President, Dr. Soraya Coley, has been supportive of efforts to encourage alternative transportation (the previous campus president once threatened to ban bikes from campus). The campus installed new bus shelters last summer and this year we’ll be getting new bike racks and bike repair stands at several locations on campus.  Even bigger changes may be just around the corner, however.

This year the president created a new campus Transportation Advisory Committee that will take a more holistic approach to mobility, and next year’s update of the Campus Master Plan could provide a blueprint for a more bike- and transit-friendly campus.  Better transit connectivity to campus and discount student transit passes will be a priority, but it is in bike infrastructure that we may see some of the most sweeping changes.  I still can’t believe I’m writing these words, but the President recently approved installation of protected bike lanes on a stretch of Kellogg Drive that is being realigned to accommodate new student housing. Yes, you read that right.  By September 2017 there should be protected bike lanes and improved intersections on a roadway where a cyclist was killed by a distracted driver a few years ago.

That would be the best possible memorial to fallen cyclist Ivan Aguilar, to transform the university he never got to graduate from into one where no one else needs to fear for their lives, however they choose to travel.

My apologies to John Lloyd and everyone at Cal Poly; I meant to include this one last night, but lost it as I struggled to get yesterday’s post online despite a balky, and since replaced, trackpad.

………

These are the people we share the roads with.

A drunk, speeding Corvette driver gets six years for running down a 77-year old Oregon man as he rode his bicycle in a bike lane; a lawsuit is proceeding against the six bars that allowed him to achieve a BAC three and a half times the legal limit. A previous DUI (or DUII in Oregon) was dismissed after he completed a diversion program, which obviously didn’t take.

A Michigan woman faces up to five years behind bars for doing coke before running down a bike rider.

And Michigan driver was high on heroin when he fled the scene after killing a 61-year old man riding his bike on the shoulder of the roadway.

Clearly, more has to be done to keep drunk and drugged drivers off the roads. Especially if they’ve already been arrested — not merely convicted — for driving under the influence.

………

Pasadena Now recaps the hometown finish of America’s only WorldTour race.

After finishing second in her first road race, a Roseville cyclist serves as a “human shield” — otherwise known as a domestique — in the women’s tour of California.

Cycling Weekly looks at the Cima Coppi, the intense climb up the famed Stelvio — the highest point of the Giro d’Italia — named after one of the greatest cyclists of all time.

Estonian cyclist Tanel Kangert is out for the season after breaking his arm and shoulder after falling in the Giro; he was the leader of the Astana team, which lost Michele Scarponi earlier this year when he was killed in a collision while training.

………

Local

The Spoke Bicycle Café along the LA River bike path in Frogtown has re-opened, after re-imagining itself as a full service restaurant.

Make your plans for the final event of LA’s Bike Month, with Metro’s Bike Night at Union Station this Friday.

Black Kids on Bikes will host the BKOB Memorial Ride 2017 this Sunday

Mark your calendar for the LA Mural Ride in Northeast LA on June 3rd.

 

State

Three hundred chefs rode three hundred miles in three days to raise funds for No Kids Hungry.

An Orange County church has built 100 bicycles for needy families.

Coronado will reduce fines for bike riders in hopes of encouraging police to write more tickets; officers sometime are reluctant to ticket bicyclists if they think the high fines aren’t justified by the offense.

An apparent road-raging driver pleads not guilty to murdering a Barstow bike rider after exchanging words with him.

Watsonville holds its first open streets event, hopefully pointing the way to a more bike friendly future.

Sacramento held an open streets event Sunday on what would normally be one of the city’s busiest streets.

 

National

People For Bikes says that connecting bikeway networks is going to be harder now that cities have built the easy “low-hanging fruit,” but worth it. Or you could do it the Los Angeles way and give up, calling the difficult ones merely “aspirational.”

A business website considers how Trek became a $1 billion global business.

Once again, the cops just don’t get it, blaming the victim of a right hook for trying undertake a right-turning driver during a Tennessee Ironman race.

The Department of DIY strikes again, as Boston bike advocates take safety messaging into their own hands, with an assist from former LA resident Bikeyface — and Matt Damon. Needless to say, the city took the signs down within hours.

A Syracuse NY cycling and speed skating coach has been arrested for allegedly having sexual contact with girl under 15 years old. There’s a special place in hell for people like that. And hopefully, a place behind bars for a very long time.

A DC cycling instructor offers advice on how to navigate city streets with confidence.

The war on bikes continues, as two cyclists participating in an Alabama Gran Fondo were shot at with a pellet gun, injuring one. Meanwhile, the mythical war on cars remains just that.

Once again, kind-hearted cops replace a bicycle for kid after his was stolen, this time in Georgia.

A drunk Florida driver was busted for barreling 62 mph down the road while weaving in and out of a bike path.

 

International

Mexico City becomes the latest city to elect a bike mayor. Meanwhile, Los Angeles doesn’t even have an official bike neighborhood councilmember.

Winnipeg is importing the Netherlands bike culture along with 140 single speed Dutch bikes.

Bike advocates question whether Montreal is doing enough to remain one of North America’s most bike-friendly cities.

A Conservative candidate for Parliament says she wouldn’t feel safe riding in Birmingham, England either.

Riding a bikeshare bike home from the local pub after downing a few pints in Bristol, England could get you a fine up to £2,500 — the equivalent of over $3,200.

City Lab looks at bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid’s efforts to revive Britain’s forgotten bikeway network.

Not surprisingly, a new French study shows drivers who bike are more likely to spot a bicyclist on the roadway — and less likely to run into one.

Both the cycling and motor racing worlds were in mourning today, as word broke that former MotoGP champ Nicky Hayden passed away five days after he was hit by a driver as he rode his bike in Italy. There’s something seriously wrong when a man can race a motorcycle at over 200 mph, but isn’t safe riding a bicycle.

A Philippine graduate student finds deeper meaning in learning to ride a bike for the first time.

 

Finally…

Honestly, who among us hasn’t ridden through the Tuscan countryside with a full security detail?Even Mafiosos ride bikes, though they don’t always make it home, either.

And a Brazilian cyclist gives a whole new meaning to rescuing a kittie.

 

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

Morning Links: Newspapers across the US get it, and the spoiler-free Tour of California wraps in Pasadena

May 22, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Newspapers across the US get it, and the spoiler-free Tour of California wraps in Pasadena

It was a relatively light news weekend, so let’s get right to it.

………

For a change, a number of newspapers actually seem to get it.

The Ventura County Star says use the state’s increased gas tax to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The San Luis Obispo newspaper says fear is what’s keeping people from riding to work. And protected bike lanes are the answer.

The Denver Post says they support the idea of bicycling, and are keeping an open mind on a new two-way cycle track, even if they hate the ugly bollards.

And a writer for the Boston Globe says the city is too focused on the needs of drivers, and not enough on the people around them.

But then there’s this North Carolina newspaper, which insists on calling it an accident after the driver is charged in the death of a bicyclist.

………

By now, you probably know who won the Amgen Tour of California in Pasadena on Saturday. And what a surprise it was, becoming the first person from his country to win a WorldTour event. How’s that for a spoiler free wrap-up?

Once again, a rider has been injured in a crash caused by a race motorcycle, and Britain’s Geraint Thomas is forced to withdraw from the Giro. Here’s where the race stands after Sunday’s stage.

Former pros Alexander Vinokourov and Alexander Kolobnev will stand trial in Belgium on charges of corruption after Vinokourov was accused of paying Kolobnev 150,000 euros to let him win the 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

One of Ireland’s top amateur cyclists says the country is making races easier because riders aren’t “hard” enough to handle hard training or racing.

………

Local

The LA Times says newly re-elected CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo’s close call should send a message to City Hall that Angelenos are tired of business as usual. They focus on the city’s broken planning process, but the same message holds true for our dangerous streets.

The Source takes stock of the state of bicycling in the LA area, suggesting we have a good future ahead.

Streetsblog’s Joe offers images from LA’s Bike Week 2017.

A letter to the Burbank Leader explains how bike corrals will benefit the entire community.

A Long Beach bike rider was rammed by a car in what may have been a gang-related attack.

 

State

Caught on video: A tutor at Santa Ana College catches a bike thief in the act, who apparently doesn’t care.

Around 100 cyclists turned out for Saturday’s Tour de OC to raise funds for abused and neglected children in the county.

A group of 40 special needs kids in San Diego learned to ride a bike in a five-day “I Can Bike” camp.

NFL running back Marshawn Lynch is one of us, taking an impromptu BMX bike ride from Oakland to Berkeley and back with a few hundred friends. And a police escort.

Community members pull together to replace a Vallejo boy’s bicycle after it was stolen for the second time.

 

National

Adam Samberg is taking on the world of doping, uh, cycling, in an upcoming mockumentary for HBO.

City Lab asks not if, but when bicycles will rule the city.

A writer for Glamour proves that you actually can forget how to ride a bicycle, as she relearns how to ride at age 30.

An intern will be riding all 600 miles of Central Iowa’s off-road bike paths with a bike specially equipped to detect potholes and other problems with the pavement.

An Ohio driver gets two years behind bars and loses his license for five years for brake-checking a cyclist after an obscenity-filled punishment pass.

The rich get richer. New York plans six miles of protected bike lanes to connect bikeways in Eastern Queens. Which is how you make an actual bike network. And actually encourage more people to ride.

Treehugger says it’s time to stop traffic terrorism in the wake of the deadly drug-fueled attack in Times Square. Thanks to Fred Davis for the heads-up.

The war on bike riders goes on. A Florida man was shot in the ass multiple times from a passing car as he was riding his bike.

 

International

Bike Radar tells you how to get your bike project crowdfunded.

A Canadian doctor asks how can he recommend bicycling to his patients when the streets are still dangerous.

Now this is taking Vision Zero seriously. London banning all motor vehicle traffic in a crowded junction in the financial district during daylight hours in response to the death of a woman riding her bike.

An Irish bike rider says she thinks cyclists are a death wish on wheels.

A Japanese prefecture opens a nearly 700 mile bikeway around Shikoku island in an attempt to make it a “holy land for cyclists.”

Myanmar has a thriving BMX culture, with riders saving up to pay as much as $2,500 for a bike, despite a minimum wage of just $2.65 a day.

 

Finally…

Dumping raw sewage from the team van is a crappy move. Seriously, don’t punch people in cars, even if they are driving on a bike path.

And why wait for the driver to stop when you can just steal a bike off a moving car?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7V45ZbiY6E

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: LA Council revives Vision Zero funding, New York and Chicago show what can be done

May 19, 2017 / / 2 comments

Maybe they care after all.

Or maybe they were just stunned by the outrage.

Just days after the LA City Council’s Budget Committee zeroed out funding for Vision Zero in the city’s proposed budget — while saying they had no intention of doing exactly that — the full council passed a final budget allotting $27.2 million for Vision Zero over the next year.

Which is still nearly $53 million less than LADOT GM Seleta Reynolds says is needed to meet the mayor’s goal of reducing traffic fatalities 20% by the end of the year.

Let alone eliminating traffic fatalities entirely by 2025.

Surprisingly — and not surprising — the vote was unanimous to adopt the budget; not surprising, since the council usually votes in lockstep, but surprising that safety curmudgeon Councilmembers Koretz, Cedillo and Ryu went along.

It’s just a fraction of the amount New York spends on Vision Zero each year — let alone the additional $400 million in Vision Zero funding the city will spend over the next six years.

But it’s a start.

Only a start.

………

Demonstrating what Los Angeles could — and should — be doing, New York’s infamous Boulevard of Death has gone two years without a traffic fatality after being selected by the city as a Vision Zero Priority Corridor.

NYC added bike lanes, increased space for pedestrians and slowed traffic on Queens Boulevard, choosing to save lives at the risk of slightly inconveniencing drivers.

Meanwhile, as Chicago increased bike infrastructure 135% over the past decade, crashes dropped 54%, deaths and serious injuries fell 60%, and ridership jumped 167%.

Now that’s how Vision Zero is supposed to work.

………

Just in time for Bike Week, the Bike League announces two new Bicycle Friendly Businesses in California, including one in Los Angeles.

And strangely, the Coronado City Hall, where residents complained that bike lanes make them dizzy and compared them to desecrating their daughters.

………

The Sacramento Bee celebrates local rider Evan Huffman’s breakaway victory in Wednesday’s 4th stage of the Amgen Tour of California, while Thursday’s Big Bear stage ended in a surprising sprint finish after nearly four hours of climbing.

Bicycling looks at how Toms Skujins’ Cannondale team reacted to his crash in the Tour of California.

………

Local

After surviving this year’s election, CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo thanks voters and touts his accomplishments, barely hinting at the raging discontent that nearly cost him his seat. Meanwhile, defeated challenger Joe Bray-Ali swears to hold his nemesis accountable “…for every misstep, every false move, every idiotic proposal…”

The Daily News looks at Wednesday’s North Hollywood Ride of Silence.

LA’s Fox 11 discovers it’s Bike Month after nearly three weeks.

Burbank residents took to their bikes for Thursday’s Bike and Walk to Work Day in the city; no word on whether more people strapped on their sneakers.

Nothing like inciting a little panic about Pasadena traffic due to a confluence of events in the city, including the finale of the Tour of California; the Pasadena Star-News shows it’s possible to take a more measured tone.

Long Beach is collecting unloved and unwanted bicycles this Saturday to help find them a new forever home.

 

State

Bike Month puts the spotlight on bicycling in Solano Beach, thanks to the local advocacy group.

Thousands of San Diego residents took advantage of the 100 Bike to Work Day pit stops in the county.

An arrest has been made in the hit-and-run murder of a Barstow bike rider, who was deliberately run down after an argument with a pickup driver.

A Santa Barbara chiropractor says wear your darn helmet, already.

A candidate for the Olympic track team was injured in a collision with a trash truck in Santa Barbara while he was riding his bicycle; he was riding, rather than running, due to an ankle injury.

San Francisco’s Ride of Silence was longer this year to remember the too many people killed while riding their bikes in the city.

The Sacramento Bee maps where you’re most likely to get hit by a car while riding your bike in the capital city, just in time for the start of the city’s bikeshare system.

 

National

Clean Technica says no, 80% of private cars will not disappear from American roads in the next 13 years.

Bicycling talks with long distance cyclist Brody Levin about how to have the ultimate bikepacking adventure.

Pro wrestler Dean Ambrose is one of us, as he talks about crashing his mountain bike a week before Wrestle Mania.

A Portland man is suing the police department claiming that he was just trying to ride his bike home from work when a cop stopped him, knocked him to the ground and arrested him, apparently for the crime of riding while black.

Seattle has the right idea. Instead of Bike to Work Day, they celebrate Bike Everywhere Day. Meanwhile, a Seattle bike rider writes a thank you note to everyone who came to her aid following a collision on Monday.

Forget toilet plunger protected bike lanes. A Texas bike club designed and built their own four-ton steel truss bike and pedestrian bridge.

An Arkansas newspaper looks at the annual Remember the Removal Bike Ride, a 950-mile bike tour following the route of the 1830s Trail of Tears that devastated the Cherokee Nation.

A Chicago woman is suing the police department, claiming that she was struck by an unmarked police SUV while riding her bike, and the officer falsified the report to blame her for the crash.

Caught on video: Columbus, Ohio drivers are using an off-road bike path to bypass heavy traffic.

That’s more like it. A Pennsylvania man gets five to ten years behind bars for causing the chain reaction crash that led to the death of a woman on her bike; he was driving despite a suspended sentence and had synthetic marijuana in his system.

The war on bikes continues, as four Virginia bicyclists were attacked with a paintball gun from a passing car.

A Florida doctor somehow feels the need to point out that pro cycling is dangerous before offering safety tips for bike riders. Just like you should always point out how dangerous F1, NASCAR and IndyCar racing is before telling drivers to buckle their seatbelts.

 

International

Caught on video too: This is how quickly a dooring happens. And how close it can come to disaster.

Bike Radar offers six reasons you should leave your headphones at home on your next ride.

Political campaigning was suspended in Wales after former First Minister Rhodri Morgan collapsed and died while riding his bicycle.

Once again, a bike rider is the hero, as a Scottish man riding his bike home from work rescued a fawn drowning in a canal.

Former MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden remains in extremely critical condition in a Milan, Italy hospital with severe brain damage.

 

Finally…

Yes, your Ganesha bike shorts are offensive. Why teach people how to bike around cars when you can teach people how to safely drive around bikes?

And this is what happens when you get your bike too close to a crossing gate.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Morning Links, Vision Zero / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Petition to ban bikes on Mandeville, Mowery moves on, and LA leaders keep our streets dangerous

May 18, 2017 / / 6 comments

They just don’t get it.

Todd Munson forwards news of an online petition calling for a ban on bicycles on Mandeville Canyon and Westridge Roads in West LA.

Which as of early Thursday morning, had managed to collect a whopping 70 signatures — 44 of them anonymous.

Maybe someone should point out that an anonymous signature is the same as no signature at all. Which leaves just 26 people brave, and mistaken, enough to put their name where their mouth is.

Mistaken, because California law allows bicycles on any public roadway where motor vehicles are allowed, with the exception of some limited access highways.

Which means that the only ways to ban bicycles from those roads is to —

A) Change the state law;

B) Start a crowdsourcing campaign to raise the several million dollars it would take to buy the roadways from the city, and convert them into private streets; or

C) Ban all motor vehicles from the streets, requiring residents to walk up the steep hillsides to get to their homes.

Personally, I’m all in favor of the last option; if they want to get rid of bikes, they can give up their expensive cars and massive SUVs. At which point they’d complain about all the damn hikers clogging the streets.

Then again, there is one other option.

They could accept that the public roadways belong to the public, and that anyone who wants to use them is entitled to do so, for any reason, using any form of street legal conveyance. And then slow the hell down and learn to drive safely.

But that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.

Which is not to say the people on bikes aren’t part of the problem.

We can all make a point to be more courteous and ride safely, and make room for others on the road to get by when it’s safe to do so.

Even if we’re the only ones who do it.

………

Congratulations to Michelle Mowery on her new job with the City of Long Beach.

It was under her leadership as Senior Bicycle Coordinator for LADOT that Los Angeles was named a Bicycle Friendly Community in 2012.

She spent years struggling with LADOT’s notoriously auto-centric senior engineers — and often, the city’s more vocal bike advocates. But showed what she could do when she finally got the chance under former Mayor Villaraigosa.

Too bad the progress they made has come to a screeching halt since then.

………

Here’s a must read from Curbed’s Alissa Walker, who asks why city leaders want to keep LA streets dangerous.

Meanwhile, LA transportation advocates call on Mayor Garcetti to keep his promise to use Measure M funds to improve safety on LA streets, accusing the city of backpedalling on Vision Zero.

………

Bring a bike — or a helmet — and ride free on Metro buses and trains today.

And don’t forget tonight’s Bike from Work Handlebar Happy Hours, in Claremont, Downtown LA and Santa Monica, just to name a few. Just try not to be like the beer-toting guy at the bottom of this post.

………

The highlight of the Giro so far: Belgian cyclist Victor Campenaerts asked out the woman of his dreams by writing a message on his chest before competing in Wednesday’s time trial; fortunately, she said yes, especially since he was fined the equivalent of $87 for “damaging the image of the sport.”

Cycling Weekly asks if Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin can hold the leader’s pink jersey all the way to the Giro’s finish in Milan.

Wednesday’s fourth stage of the Amgen Tour of California finished with a five man breakaway in Santa Clarita. The Daily News says today’s fifth stage Mt. Baldy finish will be a contest to see who has the best legs.

Heartbreaking news from San Jose, where a cyclist was killed just hours after posting a video from the Tour of California as he was riding on the same descent where Toms Skujins crashed during Monday’s stage 2; he went over his handlebars trying to stop when he encountered a fire truck coming uphill as he was descending on a narrow road.

Bicycling says pro cycling has to address the risk of concussion, like pro football is just beginning to do.

………

Local

The LACBC offers advice on what to do if you get a ticket riding your bike. Which is timely advice, since the tone-deaf LA County Sheriff’s Department celebrated Bike Week by cracking down on bike riders in Malibu yesterday.

This is all it takes to commute to UCLA from Santa Monica by bicycle.

Damien Newton talks with Bike SGV education director Jose Jimenez about the county’s first bike traffic school.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever robbed a 72-year old Irwindale man at gunpoint as he rode his bicycle home from a doctor’s appointment, after cutting him off with their car.

Writing for the International Journal of Transportation Innovation, the LACBC’s Tamika Butler asks uneasy questions about the role of Vision Zero in a racist society, and whether the engineers and policy makers responsible for implementing it have the skills to rectify inequity in city planning.

 

State

Thousands are expected to take part in San Diego’s Bike to Work Day.

Two dozen riders turn out for the Ride of Silence in Riverside, joining riders from around the world.

KTLA-5 talks Bike Week with Jenson USA in Riverside.

Bike-friendly Redlands ups the ante by making plans for another 26 miles of bike lanes.

Caltrans plans to install green bike lanes on both sides of the exceptionally wide five lane main street through Joshua Tree. Not just to improve safety for bike riders, but to save the lives of pedestrians.

Bad news from Turlock, where a man on a bike was run down from behind by a pickup driver. Note to Turlock Journal: When someone is hit by a truck doing nearly 60 mph, it really doesn’t matter if he was wearing a helmet. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

 

National

A real estate website says yes, it is possible to live in the suburbs without a car.

A new nationwide insurance policy promises to provide liability coverage for bike riders anywhere in the US. Although here in California, your car insurance should cover you on your bike.

Blind Paralympic cyclist and Iditarod musher Rachael Scdoris-Salerno announces plans to run for Congress as an Oregon Democrat.

In yet another example of allowing dangerous drivers to remain on the road until they kill someone, an Oregon driver gets three and a half years for killing a bike rider, by driving with bald tires that caused his truck to fishtail in wet weather. He admitted to receiving somewhere between 30 to 40 tickets for driving with a suspended license, but would just buy another cheap used car when his got impounded.

Colorado passes a bill that will allow the state to suspend driver’s licenses drivers who flee the scene of an injury collision, regardless of whether they’re convicted. Which is something I’ve been advocating for years.

Slap, meet wrist. A Wisconsin woman was sentenced to 11 months behind bars for killing a bicyclist while texting — to be served one week a year on the anniversary of his death, apparently for the next 50 years.

Revenge is a dish best served cold when a squirrel makes you do a faceplant off your bike, as long as you’re a Chicago alderman.

Surprising no one, the NTSB concludes that the Kalamazoo crash that resulted in the death of five cyclists was due to a drugged driver, as a judge rules the driver’s prior DUI arrest can’t be used as evidence. The victims were remembered during Wednesday’s Ride of Silence.

Boston’s mayor says cyclists and pedestrians need to take more responsibility to avoid crashes, and “be more cognizant that a car is a car.” Because so many people who walk or ride bikes have no idea that getting hit by a car can hurt, apparently.

A Florida writer tells drivers to thank a cyclist. Or if they can’t manage that, at least put down their phones.

 

International

We missed Global Bike to Work Day by one week; riders logged 276,818 commutes on Strava, breaking the previous record by nearly 200,000.

Maybe there’s a forgotten network of 1930s separated bikeways here in the US, too.

Volvo’s LifePaint ad has been banned in the UK for misleading imagery; the reflective spray, which the company said works on any surface, was designed to work on dry textiles and fibrous materials, not bike frames, as the ad suggests.

Caught on video: Evidently, things are no different on the Emerald Isle than anywhere else, as an Irish cyclist records a 52-second highlight reel of punishment passes.

It took a bike thief just three seconds to make off with a Dublin bikeshare bike using a technique posted online.

Motorcycle legend Nicky Hayden was seriously injured in a bicycling collision in Italy on Wednesday, reportedly suffering severe head and chest trauma.

Adding insult to injury, a road-raging Kiwi driver tried to punch a bike rider and spit in his face after trying to ram him into a fence.

 

Finally…

If you have to get run down by an 80-something hit-and-run driver, at least make it a Rolls Royce. If you’re riding drunk and carrying a beer on your bike, try to avoid people driving at nearly four times the legal alcohol limit.

And our own Phil Gaimon reaches new heights in his Clif Bar commercial debut on Kimmel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDt05qM345A&feature=youtu.be

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

Morning Links: Ride of Silence tonight, Finish the Ride on Sunday, and Cedillo wins re-election in CD1 fight

May 17, 2017 / / One comment

Don’t forget tonight’s Ride of Silence in Pasadena and North Hollywood.

There are also rides in a number of other cities throughout Southern California.

………

One event I missed in Monday’s seeming exhaustive listing of Bike Week events was this Sunday’s Finish the Ride: Ride, Run, Walk and Roll Challenge at Griffith Park.

………

Jezebel asks what happens when a bike-friendly LA city council candidate turns out to be an internet troll?

Sadly, this is what happens, as Joe Bray-Ali went from a likely upset winner to losing to anti-bike incumbent “Roadkill” Gil Cedillo in a landslide, ending what may have been the dirtiest LA city election in memory.

It shows just how much damage was done by the revelations of Bray-Ali’s online history trolling a racist website when he couldn’t muster more than 30% against the single most unpopular member of the city council.

And now we, and the residents of CD1, have to live with him for the next 5-1/2 years.

………

Italians are tanking the Giro, which now has a new leader wearing the pink jersey.

In today’s spoiler-free update on the Amgen Tour of California, Tuesday’s third stage was won by that famous guy who rides a bike.

Latvian rider Toms Skujins has been put in a concussion protocol following his dramatic solo fall in Monday’s Tour of California, while last year’s Best Young Rider is just this year’s spectator.

Never mind that some people might actually enjoy watching a bike race, just frighten them with scares of a traffic nightmare. Forget the bike race, let’s talk about what cyclists eat.

And something tells me LA ex-pro Phil Gaimon is having more fun now chasing racers than when he was one of them.

………

Local

Los Angeles Magazine looks at five ways biking is getting easier in LA, from Metro’s Bike Hubs to new infrastructure.

Stan’s Bike shop posted video from yesterday’s Blessing of the Bicycles.

Culver CityBus will give you free fare with your bike or bike helmet for Thursday’s Bike to Work Day.

Burbank will celebrate Bike and Walk to Work Day on Thursday. Because setting aside just one lousy day to encourage and celebrate bike commuting just isn’t good enough.

Pasadena will hold a public meeting next Thursday to discuss the city’s Traffic Reduction and Transportation Improvement Fee.

Seriously? Unable to come up with the $1 million bail, a Long Beach man has been behind bars for nearly a year awaiting trial on felony charges of assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon and resisting an officer — all for throwing his bike at the cop who tried to stop him for riding without a headlight.

 

State

Encinitas officials are working to make the city safer for bicyclists.

Talk about not getting it. Apparently, the solution to traffic deaths in Palm Springs isn’t taming dangerous drivers, it’s making people — and their dogs — wear reflective hi-viz vests just to take a damn walk.

A teenager is donating the money he’s raised for the Tour of Novato to his high school robotics club.

Sad news from Lake Tahoe, where a bike rider was killed in a collision.

 

National

It turns out your bicycle is faster than your car. Mathematically speaking, anyway.

How to get your dream job working for Trek Bikes. I was once recruited to write advertising for Trek, but couldn’t convince my wife to move to Minnesota.

Kendal Jenner is one of us. Just not very good at it, apparently.

The founder of PayPal is one of us, too, and says his obsession with cycling makes him a better entrepreneur.

Always wear a helmet when you ride a Denver bike path to protect yourself from flying cars.

It takes a real jerk to steal a three-year old Rhode Island girl’s birthday bicycle before she even gets it.

The annual Police Unity Ride takes bike-riding cops from around the country on a 300 mile journey from New Jersey to DC to honor fallen officers.

Caught on video: Surveillance video captured the moment an NYPD patrol car smashed into a bike rider who appeared to be crossing the street mid-block. Which is just as horrible to see as it sounds.

Just days after a New Orleans cyclist was shot in the back with a pellet gun, a Mobile, Alabama woman was shot repeatedly with a pellet gun from a passing pickup while riding her bike; fortunately, she wasn’t seriously hurt and was able to get the truck’s plate number.

Caught on video too: A Florida 7th grader somehow managed to walk away after he was run down by a fishtailing hit-and-run driver. Warning: The video is very hard to watch, even knowing the kid came out okay.

 

International

A new high-tech fiber promises to make carbon frames lighter, stronger and less brittle than ever before. And they float, too.

Britain’s EconoTimes lists ten reasons we should all love cyclists. This should be required reading for everyone who drives a car. Or serves in government, at any level.

A British cyclist learns what it’s like when an airline breaks his bike in half, then refuses to do anything about it.

Israeli and Italian bicyclists rode 118 miles from Florence to Assisi to honor legendary cyclist Gino Bartali, recognized as a Righteous Gentile for his work saving Jews in WWII. Why he isn’t a candidate for sainthood, I will never understand.

 

Finally…

Face it, you’re not really a cyclist until you can speak the language. Just call him the bike lock whisperer.

And why ride your bike when you can dance with it?

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bike Events, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Zero vision instead of Vision Zero in Los Angeles, and bike riders really do make better lovers

May 16, 2017 / / 2 comments

So much for Vision Zero being a priority in Los Angeles anytime soon.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports that the new budget the city council will vote on later this week won’t include dedicated funding for the campaign to end traffic deaths in Los Angeles.

Even though the council’s Transportation Committee had voted to devote 60% of Measure M return funds to stop killing bicyclists and pedestrians.

And even though LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds estimated it would take $80 million to meet the mayor’s goal of reducing traffic fatalities 20% this year. Let alone ending them by 2025.

And even though the mayor’s own budget had included a woefully inadequate $16.7 million for Vision Zero.

Instead, the council’s Budget Committee voted to zero out funding for Vision Zero, while saying it was no one’s intention to zero out funding for Vision Zero. They promised to circle back at a later date to consider giving some unspecified piece of the pie to improve safety, while channeling much of the funding to repaving streets.

And we’ve learned from experience what their promises are worth.

As Linton wrote,

Despite LADOT having submitted a Vision Zero work plan with costs (see budget memos 130 and 131), Krekorian and Englander both asserted that directing monies to LADOT for Vision Zero was – in Krekorian’s words “buying a pig in a poke” – paying for an unknown quantity lacking “specific expenditures.” The Bureau of Street Services has not submitted an expenditure plan, but can pour money into its perpetually backlogged repaving programs, which divide expenditures by 15 for the 15 council districts….

In an interview with Streetsblog this morning, Bonin expressed frustration that his colleagues were praising the city budget for its no-kill animal shelters, while not yet dedicating any money to no-kill sidewalks. Bonin said that it didn’t make any sense for the council to put off Vision Zero funding that would prevent deaths and save lives. Bonin further stated that he is continuing to push for a genuine city commitment to Vision Zero.

So for now, at least, it’s exactly what so many of us have feared.

LA may have a Vision Zero plan. But zero commitment to follow through.

………

Forget those reports from a few years ago that bicycling can cause erectile dysfunction or other sexual problems.

Because a new study shows no significant negative impacts for men or women; in fact, cyclists scored higher in sexual function than non-riders.

But we already knew that, right? And so did our undoubtedly very pleased significant others.

And you can stop riding those cut-out and cutoff saddles, because bike seats didn’t matter, either.

………

Metrolink will be hosting a Bike Week Twitter Party this evening.

………

As a public service, no more news about today’s elections in CD7, and especially, CD1 until we have actual results, and can kiss this seemingly endless election cycle goodbye.

You’re welcome.

………

Cycling Weekly takes advantage of a rest day at the Giro to catch up with who’s out of the race. America’s best hope took a hit as Tejay van Garderen cracked on Sunday’s stage, dropping four minutes behind the leader.

Monday’s stage 2 of the Amgen Tour of California featured a long breakaway, a dramatic finish, and snakes. And Kiwis.

Latvia’s Toms Skujins was pulled from the race by his Cannondale-Drapac team despite somehow managing to get back on his bike following a particularly nasty solo fall during Monday’s race.

Team Sky’s Ian Bosewell wants to rebuild fans’ trust in American cycling by showing the new generation of riders can succeed without doping; he’s going to participate in a bike giveaway at the Hollywood Boys and Girls Club the day after the race’s Pasadena finish.

The AToC will roll along the Central Coast in today’s stage 3, finishing in Morro Bay.

………

Local

KNBC-4 wishes you a happy Bike Week.

The Daily News says business owners are struggling to deal with the increasing homeless encampment along the Orange Line bike path in Van Nuys, with open drug dealing and prostitution, as well as people turning the bikeway in an open air toilet. I’ve heard from several riders who no longer feel safe riding the bikeway, and asked an LAPD officer to look into it; he reported that they couldn’t be legally removed because they’re on private property.

The LACBC reports Culver City will get a Metro Bike Hub next year.

The County Board of Supervisors will consider a proposal to proceed with the San Gabriel Valley Greenway Network at today’s meeting.

 

State

Coronado suffered a rash of bike thefts, averaging nearly one stolen bike a day over an 11 day period.

The long-planned CV-Link multi-use pathway around the Coachella Valley gets final approval, after excluding Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells from the route. Which they will regret once it’s built and the bizarre resistance to the pathway fades away.

Nearly 300 chefs from around the US will depart from Santa Barbara on their bikes today, riding 300 miles to raise $2 million to help end child hunger; you can donate or sponsor a rider here.

It’s time for the four-day Great Western Bicycle Rally in Paso Robles next week.

Santa Paula police bust the bike-riding suspect who allegedly set a man on fire as he slept on a bench; the victim is being treated Los Angeles with burns over 50% of his body.

Writing in the Fresno Bee, a conservation advocate seems to believe the prospect of allowing bicycles in American wilderness areas will crack the final seal holding back the two-wheeled apocalypse.

Sad news from the Bay Area, where a bike rider was killed in a crash on Mount Hamilton near San Jose. And a 15-year old boy was killed by a train while crossing a bridge in Manteca in the Central Valley.

Once again, San Francisco bike advocates form a human barrier to create a temporary protected bike lane.

 

National

Police departments across the US are going undercover to catch drivers texting behind the wheel. Except in Southern California, of course.

A Oregon paper asks readers whether there should be a tax on bicycles. And gets a response saying bicycles take up more room than cars do. No, really.

A 62-year old legally blind Idaho man has regained his freedom now that he can safely ride a bike on a Boise bikeway.

A Colorado man has been cited for careless driving after the tandem bike he was piloting veered onto the wrong side of the road and sideswiped an SUV, injuring two children on the bike.

The DIY toilet plunger protected bike lane movement has now spread to Omaha NE.

The former Governator took advantage of Houston’s bikeshare system while he was in town to give a commencement address.

A Michigan woman gets six months in jail for a fatal collision with a bicyclist because she had THC in her blood, even though she had the right-of-way and, according to her lawyer, police concluded there was nothing she could have done to avoid the crash.

Heartbreaking news from Indiana, where a driver lost control swerving to avoid a bike rider who had fallen while crossing the roadway and collided with a truck, killing an 11-year old girl in the passenger seat.

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from Ohio Bike Lawyer Steve Magas, who talks about Bike Week and the challenges facing Cincinnati’s growing bicycling community.

Once again, a bike rider has been struck by a cop responding to a call, this time in New York.

The LACBC’s Tamika Butler delivered the keynote address at last week’s Transportation Alternatives’ Vision Zero Cities conference, asking if Vision Zero can work in a racist society.

Eight hundred riders turned out for a South Carolina bike race — including some of NASCAR’s top drivers.

Caught on video: The moment a New Orleans cyclist was shot with a pellet gun was captured on bike cam by one of his fellow riders; fortunately, he’s now out of the hospital.

 

International

Cycling Weekly takes a look at knee pain and what to do about it.

Brit bike scribe Carlton Reid’s effort to resurrect Great Britain’s forgotten bike highways of the 1930s continues to gain traction. Thanks to Tim Rutt for the heads-up.

A British army vet with early onset Alzheimer’s is riding across the country to raise funds to fight the disease that killed his father and grandfather in their 40s.

An Irish advocacy group says horses are treated better on the country’s highways than cyclists are.

In a terrifying, yet ultimately harmless crash, a South African cyclist was dragged behind a semi-truck after a hook from the truck got caught on his jacket.

A New Zealand bike advocate is concerned by a plan to let children, as well as older and disabled cyclists, ride on the sidewalk, saying it would put kids at greater risk from cars backing out of driveways. But evidently, running over older bike riders is perfectly okay.

One thousand riders from a dozen countries around the world turned out for a two day Chinese Gran Fondo.

 

Finally…

As long as they’re removing statues of Confederate leaders, New Orleans might want to rename a bikeway or two. Red Bull says tall bikes will save the world.

And don’t steal bikes, dude. Especially from America’s biggest bike race.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Morning Links, Vision Zero / Tags: , , , , , , ,
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