Tag Archive for Bike Metro

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

June 18, 2021 / / 8 comments

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

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

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

Metro was prepared, however.

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

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

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

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Let’s hope this one is wrong.

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

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

Thanks to Joe Linton for the heads-up.

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

Or bend over, for that matter.

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

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

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If you build it, they will come.

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

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

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

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

Thanks to Tim Rutt and Martin Rose for the link.

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

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

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

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

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Local

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

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

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

 

State

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

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

 

National

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

International

Cycling Weekly takes you inside an ebike motor.

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

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

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

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

 

Competitive Cycling

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Finally…

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

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

And everywhere else.

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

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

Weekend Links: Deplorable Gold Line bike locker, distracted beach biking, and a 17-mile non-CicLAvia ciclovía

December 7, 2015 / / Comments Off on Weekend Links: Deplorable Gold Line bike locker, distracted beach biking, and a 17-mile non-CicLAvia ciclovía

Del Mar 1What good is a bike room if it’s not clean, not maintained and not secure?

Sean B forwards these photos of the bike locker at the Pasadena Del Mar Metro Station, noting that the floor is filthy, half the racks are broken and one appears to have been sawed through to steal the bike that was presumably in it.

I’m told this isn’t actually part of Metro’s bike locker program, but rather, just a set of racks with walls and a roof, where a sign tells riders to lock up there at your own risk.

Del Mar 2Seriously?

If Metro really wants to encourage people to use their own bikes to solve the first mile/last mile problem, they’ve got to do a lot better than this.

Deplorable conditions like this only serve to encourage bike thieves, making it clear that no one is paying attention and they aren’t likely to be interrupted.

Del Mar 3Sean also notes that he’s tried contacting Metro about these conditions on numerous occasions, with no luck.

Let’s hope someone there sees this and makes fixing this room a priority. Or better yet, does whatever it takes to replace it with a secure bike locker.

Because bike riders deserve a hell of a lot better than this.

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Clearly, distracted drivers aren’t the only ones we have to worry about.

Thanks to David Wolfberg and Tony K. for the heads-up.

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Now that’s what I call a ciclovía — seventeen miles through seven San Gabriel cities.

626 Golden Streets

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Maybe the solution to hit-and-run is more cars that turn their drivers in. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

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Pro cyclist Peter Sagan and wife light up the holidays in this Euro commercial, no translation necessary.

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Local

Richard Risemberg says the new bus and bike only lanes on Wilshire Blvd seem to have increased ridership, though dangerous gaps remain on the Westside thanks to wealthy, short-sighted residents.

Boyonabike says driverless cars aren’t the answer; transit and walkable, bikeable communities are.

Santa Monica approves a pilot program to place three parklets on Main Street.

A Santa Monica letter writer says public officials have a duty to cater to car users, who apparently have a God-given right to free parking.

Bike SGV offers an analysis of the new Duarte draft bike plan.

 

State

A mountain biker was rescued after getting lost in Beaumont; she called a friend to say she was cold, exhausted and thought she was going to die.

Be careful riding in Napa, which now officially the most inebriated city in California.

 

National

A Honolulu man faces up to 15 years for killing a bike rider while high on meth.

Caught on video: A Portland thief shows how easy it is to snatch a bike off the front of a bus. Always lock or disable your bike in some way before you put it on a bus rack to discourage potential thieves.

A bighearted Washington cop buys a stolen tandem from a homeless man, and fixes it up before returning it to its owners, who met while riding bikes 66 years earlier.

Not surprisingly, a Flagstaff crackdown on scofflaw cyclists does nothing to improve safety.

A Denver driver gets six years in a halfway house for seriously injuring a bike cop after lying about having a seizure-inducing medical condition. Although you have to wonder how long that sentence would be if his victim hadn’t been a cop.

Austin TX considers removing a bike lane to provide more parking, while local residents fight to keep it. Meanwhile, police in Austin bust a bike thief responsible for stealing 97 bikes, valued up to $12,000.

After an Ohio cyclist is rear-ended, he gets yelled at by the driver and lectured by a cop for riding in the traffic lane. Until he points out the sharrows he was riding on.

A Maine writer offers seven ways to improve bicycling in the state, most of which would make sense anywhere. Let’s face it, there are very few politicians I’d want to see naked, on a bike or otherwise. Even if the idea of voting for someone who has nothing to hide is appealing.

Turns out it’s legal for a woman to ride a bike topless in Philadelphia, even if it is a challenge to get the local police on board.

 

International

This is how you get more women on bikes. After Calgary builds out an entire network of protected bike lanes seemingly overnight, the percentage of female riders jumps.

A Toronto woman has started a petition to require cyclists to be licensed, even though the city has rejected that four times in the last 30 years. Although riders may not have to worry too much; the petition had just 15 supporters so far.

Brit pro cyclist Bradley Wiggins was bullied growing up and called a gay slur for having the audacity to wear spandex in public.

If your headphones are so loud you can’t even hear a London train coming, maybe you should turn them down a little. And don’t ride around the damn crossing barriers.

London police are treating an apparent road rage hit-and-run as attempted murder; the same driver who ran down a cyclist may have tried to crash into a cop who responded to the incident.

A Glasgow taxi driver suffered a broken nose and cheekbone when he was punched by a bike rider, after the rider had fought with the cab’s passenger. Violence is never the answer, no matter how angry you are or how much you think they deserve it. It only makes a bad situation worse.

A trio of British cyclists riding a single bike made for three survive a collision on US Route 66 when the sun gets in a driver’s eye; needless to say, he wasn’t charged.

Probably not the best idea to punch a Dubai cop for trying to stop a cyclist from riding on a jogging path.

A pair of apparent German tourists came to the aid of a Kiwi bike rider when she was assaulted by a man who punched her several times before throwing her to the ground.

 

Finally…

Help keep the Corgi in kibble this holiday season.

Help keep the Corgi in kibble this holiday season.

If you’re riding a bike while carrying burglary tools and stolen car radios, put a light on it already — and stay off the damn sidewalk. We may have to deal with LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to dodge invisible turkeys.

And hopefully, we don’t have to deal with drivers who kill bike riders while getting a blowjob behind the wheel.

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Thanks to Erik Griswold for contributing to the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

An ancient Norse tradition I just made up says giving to an underfunded bike website ensures the wind will always be at your back in the coming year, and your tires will be impervious to thorns.

Category: Bike Cam Video, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Money for bikes in Universal plan, bikeway blocking bus layover to be fixed, 4 new LAPD bike liaisons

September 28, 2012 / / 6 comments

Lots of news to catch up today after yesterday’s unplanned day off.

There are days I feel like a rodeo clown, getting up one more time than life can knock me down.

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In an apparent victory for L.A. cyclists, the massive new Universal Studios project is approved by the L.A. Planning Commission after the company promises to find room for bikes along the L.A. River. Universal promises to contribute $3 million for an extension of the L.A. River bike path along the property, as well as $500,000 for bike lane improvements and $375,000 for bike path planning.

Hopefully, that means they get that a bike path along an improved L.A. River could be a tremendous asset for them, as well as the city. And that encouraging people to ride to the studio could provide a low cost bike boost for their business.

Then again, they could just be throwing money at us in hopes we’ll go away.

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I’ve gotten an update from Lynne Goldsmith at Bike Metro about the bus layover on Rinaldi Street in Porter Ranch that we discussed last week.

According to Goldsmith, the layover for Line 243 had existed long before the bike lanes were striped, and were not taken into consideration when the lanes were striped. And no one apparently noticed until Michael Eisenberg brought them to our attention.

As a result, we can expect the segment will be restriped soon.

With luck, they’ll narrow the traffic lanes and stripe around the bus layover to maintain the bike lanes through the layover; more likely, the area around the layover will stay as it is, and the city will simply create a break in the bike lanes.

Hopefully they can come up with a creative solution that works for everyone.

And much thanks to Goldsmith for being so responsive.

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As you may know, LAPD Sgt. David Krumer has been reassigned, and is no longer the department’s bike liaison — much to the regret of anyone who had the pleasure of working with him over the past few years.

With his departure, the department is unveiling a new plan that will place a bike liaison at each of the LAPD’s four traffic divisions. In theory, that should provide greater responsiveness, as you’ll now be able to call someone who knows the local streets and the officers who patrol them.

Whether that works out in practice depends a lot on the officers who will be picking up his load.

And it remains to be seen whether the department will still maintain a central bike liaison at LAPD headquarters to deal with issues that affect the entire city, or riders who have issues that the local liaison can’t or won’t solve.

Or whether the very successful Bike Task Force that has worked to help the LAPD transform itself into one of the nation’s most progressive and bike-friendly departments will continue to exist.

Some of those questions may be answered at 4 pm next Thursday when LAPD invites L.A. cyclists to meet the department’s new bike liaisons in room 374 of the new LAPD headquarters Downtown.

According to the LADOT Bike Blog, the new liaison’s are:

  • Sgt. Thomas Tavares, Central Bureau Traffic Division, 213/972-1864
  • Sgt. Jon Aufdemberg, South Bureau Traffic Division, 323/421-2588
  • Sgt. Emalee Baptiste, Valley Bureau Traffic Division, 818/644-8030
  • Sgt. Chris Kunz, West Bureau Traffic Division, 213/473-0125

You’d be smart to program those four numbers into your phone before your next crosstown ride.

And speaking of the LAPD, they’re partnering with two Downtown bike shops to offer a $5 discount on Kryptonite U-locks.

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Governor Jerry Brown has just four more days to sign or reject SB1464, the recently passed three-foot passing bill, to make up for the one he vetoed last year.

If he does nothing, the bill becomes law by the end of day Sunday, or maybe Monday, depending on your source. And does nothing to redeem the low opinion many cyclists have of him as a result.

Or maybe that’s just me.

Calbike also notes that we’re also waiting for Brown’s signature on a bill to allow Caltrans to experiment on new bikeway designs.

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The Splinster peer-to-peer bike rental program has now gone nationwide, allowing you to rent an unused bike directly from the owner anywhere in the U.S. Or rent yours to someone else if you don’t need it for awhile.

Then again, bike rental seems to be a booming business everywhere.

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Taggers shoot a bike rider in North Hollywood; the victim is expected to be okay. A study of the York Blvd road diet and bike lanes shows fears that it would kill business were off base. KNBC-4 says this weekend’s Carmageddon is cause for cyclists to celebrate; Streetsblog notes lots of car-free bike activities over the auto-cataclysmic weekend, or check out ARTmageddon with Flying Pigeon on Saturday. The LACBC’s Tall Bike Bobby is back from his tour of the West Coast. Bike Nation will be offering free bike rentals for next weekend’s CicLAvia. LADOT wants your help to pick a new east-west route through the Valley. Richard Risemberg is shocked to find scofflaws on two wheels — and four. The Elite Track National Championships take place in Carson this weekend. An Oregon cyclist was seriously injured in a hit-from-behind collision on Angeles Crest Highway; or make that two, as another rider is severely injured the same night in La Cañada Flintridge.

Did they really have to do a study to prove Caltrans still doesn’t get bikes and pedestrians? A public service will be held October 6th for Newport Beach bike victim Dr. Catherine Campion Ritz. Newport Beach will sponsor a memorial ride to honor the two cyclists killed there two weeks ago; more importantly, they’re raising funds for bike safety — and the city will match donations on a three-to-one basis. When cyclists are dying, there’s no such thing as a bad idea if it could lead to a good one. A new video looks at salmon cyclists riding into trouble in Newport Beach. San Clemente considers a Dutch-style bike plan. San Diego’s airport goes bike-friendly; thanks to @bikeSD for the heads-up — and for giving the airport a good prod. A bike film fest is coming up in Redlands next month. California college cyclists complain about inconsiderate and inexperienced cyclists. For a change, there’s justice for cyclists in Northern California. A Sacramento writer asks why we tolerate the carnage on our streets; why indeed.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood blames 80% of dead pedestrians for their own deaths. Bicycling offers up 25 upgrades for 25 bucks or less. If you’re going to ride with an open bottle of booze in your hand, don’t crash into a police cruiser. Defusing tensions between cyclists and drivers in Colorado. An Idaho woman is dragged behind a bus when the driver pulls out as she’s removing her bike from a rear rack. A hit-and-run Kansas driver is accused of intentionally running down a cyclist he mistakenly thought was a pedophile. New York City urges taxi passengers to look to prevent dooring bike riders. Despite the city’s vast increase in bike lanes, cyclist and pedestrian fatalities are up in New York; a new study shows most are the fault of lawbreaking drivers. A bike riding Gotham father loses his life on the Boulevard of Death. A Texas father is shocked that GEICO would be despicable enough to deny the claim after a driver hits a student cyclist on a Safe Route to School; clearly, he hasn’t dealt with many insurance companies when it comes to bikes. A teenage Texas driver screams at the cyclist he just killed for coming into his lane; witnesses report he was driving recklessly.

Turns out bike lanes don’t create costs for Vancouver drivers. Riding brakeless is blamed in the death of a young Montreal fixie rider. British stats show drivers were at fault in most collisions last year, while just 1% of bike collisions were due to the cyclists’ failure to stop or yield. Britain sees a 9% increase in bicycling fatalities and serious injuries. UK drug users are almost twice as likely to drive under the influence. A bleeding UK cyclist is saved by a baby diaper. A road raging Brit rider punches out a car’s windshield. In a long-held dream for many riders, some British truck drivers will spend half a day riding bikes. Yom Kippur gives Israeli cyclists a chance to ride car-free, but the nation needs to do more to support increasing ridership levels. A former Aussie cycling champion stabs the coach who sexually abused her.

Finally, Bikeyface considers whether bike marketers really do have women figured out.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikes & the Law, General, Law Enforcement, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
 
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