Clear your calendar for a Mid-City bike swap next Saturday, sponsored by the neighborhood community council.
The Mid City West Community Council is sponsoring a Neighborhood Bike Swap on Saturday Oct. 24th from 9:00am to 1:00pm in the Sportie LA parking lot at 7765 Melrose Ave. (across from Fairfax High School).
As more people are taking to bicycles for local transportation and exercise the MCWCC is sponsoring a Bike Swap as an opportunity to get rid of an old bike or get a new (used) one. The Swap is open to anyone who wants to buy, sell or trade a bike, Kids bikes are especially in demand.
We will have a professional, certified mechanic on hand to help with minor adjustments and repairs as well as a League Certified Bicycle instructor to offer safety tips and hand out safety material.
Thanks to Taylor Nichols for the heads-up.
Photo by Valeria Boltneva from Pexels.
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As we mentioned last week, you’ll now find a new protected bike lane on Manchester Ave in Westchester.
If you can call plastic bollards protection from multi-ton vehicles, that is.
But still.
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Let’s all welcome Culver City to the Slow Streets club.
https://twitter.com/BikeCulverCity/status/1316585788935729152
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This is who we share the road with.
Petaluma police took the rare step of impounding a driver’s car for doing doughnuts at a sideshow, based strictly on video evidence. So much for the rule that officers have to see a violation themselves before taking action.
An Indiana driver is proud to share his homicidal intentions. Although it would be more helpful if it was in front, so you could see it before they run you over. Thanks to Melissa McCurley for the link.
A Melbourne, Australian man is out on bail after four police officers were killed when they were hit by a truck, after pulling him over for speeding and possible drug use; the heartless jerk recorded at least one of the officers dying, then just got back in his car and drove away.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A curb-hugging Kentucky bike rider pens an open letter to the angry driver who blared on the horn while nearly running him off the road.
Then there’s this.
A man in an Audi intentionally drove into me and my 2 year old on our bike today in Hackney. She's traumatised and the back of our cargo bike is a mess. Why does driving make some people feel entitled to run cyclists off the road? @Hackneycyclist @MetCycleCops @jonburkeUK pic.twitter.com/9LcZPCxk0B
— Will Prochaska (@WillProchaska) October 14, 2020
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Local
It turns out the sister of former national crit champ Rahsaan Bahati is a top Hollywood makeup artist.
Put your damn mask on when you ride in Burbank, or face a fine up to $500 for repeated violations.
Streets for All endorses Michelle Hammond for South Pasadena City Council.
The rich get richer. Santa Monica approved a plan to expand the city’s protected bike lane network. And unlike the megalopolis nextdoor, they actually build out their bike plans. Thanks to Sindy for the tip.
They get it. An op-ed in Santa Monica’s Argonaut says the urban future is carless, with bikes and e-scooters paving the way to navigate post-Covid cities.
State
You have until next Thursday to offer your input on the proposed California Transportation Plan. Hint: Tell ’em to stop wasting money on expanding freeways to create more induced demand.
Last week’s 270-mile Golden State Tour from Paso Robles to Manhattan Beach raised $140,000 to help people with paralysis.
Newport Beach quadruples the fine for violating the speed limit on the city’s boardwalk; you’ll now face a $200 fine for riding faster than 8 mph.
This should be interesting. BikeSD is hosting a ride tomorrow to explore the history of Black, indigenous and people of color in the city.
A San Luis Obispo weekly says the annual Tour of Paso bike race, which was delayed by the coronavirus crisis, will finally roll on Saturday, November 1st. Except the 1st is actually a Sunday, and it’s a charity ride, not a race.
National
No surprise here, as a new insurance study finds most e-scooter injuries happen on sidewalks, not in the street.
If you have an older Peloton, your pedals could be about to let you down.
A Las Vegas paper says bicycling provides an intimate look at the region’s scenic Red Rock Canyon.
Great idea. A new Colorado program is providing free ebikes for low-income essential workers to study the effect it has on traffic.
A Colorado woman may have been the first Black woman to ride the 5,000-mile TransAmerica Trail. As usual, you can read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you out.
Houston finally gets around to banning parking in bike lanes.
This is the cost of traffic violence. An Illinois bike rider who was run down by a semi-truck driver was a doctor at a local hospital; he died at a hospital in the chain he helped manage.
Bike thefts are booming in New York, too. And locks don’t seem to make any difference.
More proof bike lanes pay. A new study shows Baltimore’s proposed 35-mile protected bike lane network would jumpstart the local economy, resulting in $113 million in new business activity each year, while boosting property values $314 million and reducing miles driven by 8.6 million per year.
International
Strava has taken a step to protect user privacy by making the fly-by feature opt-in, rather than the default setting; the option allows users to see the full route of people they pass, possibly resulting in safety and security risks.
A new study from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy rates the world’s most walkable cities. Bogota, Colombia came out on top; American cities, not so much.
London’s Independent picks eight bicycling tops to get you through the fall, while MSN ranks the best bike jackets.
Horrible story from the UK, where a woman froze to death after falling off her bike while riding through a cemetery last winter; tragically, a passerby called police after finding her, but they only spent nine minutes looking for her, without ever getting out of their car.
I want to be like him when I grow up. A 74-year old Scottish man living in Colorado raised the equivalent of over $51,000 for Scotland’s National Trust by riding 3,000 miles across the US.
European bike advocacy groups protest a proposed European Union review that could put the legal status of the booming ebike market at risk.
Indian bike riders protest when a driver was fined for mounting a bike rack on the back of his car; apparently, the law bans anything extending past the rear of a vehicle.
An Aussie university lecturer says people are more likely to ride their bikes if they can carry more stuff on them.
Competitive Cycling
At least one team has called for cancelling this year’s Giro d’Italia, two weeks into the three-week stage race.
The latest Giro Covid-19 toll includes 17 motorcycle cops guarding a parallel ebike race running ahead of the pro race each day. So they can manage to run a second race, the same day, on the same route for ebikes, but they can’t manage to stage a parallel women’s race?
Everything is up in the air for next April’s scheduled Redlands Classic due to Covid-19.
Finally…
Your next bike could be inflatable. When a goose is your bicycle wingman.
And apropos to the season, maybe your next ride should be to a haunted forrest.
Or even through one, if you’re brave enough.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
