Tag Archive for bike theft

Morning Links: Stolen bike recovered through Bike Index, LA bike safety sucks less, and new tax bill screws bikes

December 5, 2017 / / One comment

Another stolen bike has been returned to its owner thanks to Bike Index and the LAPD.

How the bike was recovered: A Good Samaritan searching for a used road bike saw a Craigslist posting for my bike for a suspiciously low price and thought to check for stolen postings online. He came across my posting on Bike Index, contacted me to confirm it was mine, and set up a meeting with the seller. I approached seller with the Los Angeles Police Department and had my bike returned! It was a very good day.

Let this be a reminder to register your bike. It doesn’t cost a dime, but could be the best investment you could make if your bike is ever stolen.

Although it never hurts to make a tax-deductible donation to Bike Index to help support their efforts to bring bikes back home to their owners.

………

Good news for LA bike riders, as Forbes Magazine reveals we’re only the tenth most dangerous city in America for people on bikes.

So we may suck, but not as much as San Jose and San Francisco, which came in fifth and seventh, respectively, or Albuquerque, which claimed the prize for the most dangerous city in the US for bicyclists.

And who knows, the way the city’s Vision Zero plan is going, one day we may move all the way down to eleven. Or maybe even twelve.

That’s something to celebrate, right?

Right?

………

People for Bikes wonders what the US Senate could have been thinking, as the new tax bill eliminates a small monthly benefit for biking to work, while maintaining much larger tax breaks for driving and using transit.

Here’s what they had to say.

Today, the Senate voted to eliminate the $20 per-month tax benefit available for those who bike to work while maintaining both the $255 per-month parking and transit benefit.

“What is the Senate thinking? Why single out a modest incentive that encourages people to bike to work, increasing community health and reducing congestion, while maintaining a significantly larger and more expensive incentive for people to drive?” said Tim Blumenthal, President of PeopleForBikes. “We encourage the conference committee to include this popular and common sense bike tax benefit as the House did in its version of the bill.”

PeopleForBikes spearheaded a letter from bike industry leaders calling on both the Senate and House to maintain the bike tax benefit. You can read the full letter here.

PeopleForBikes also joined a coalition 20 national organizations in support of the tax benefit. You can see the full text of the letter here.

………

‘Tis the season.

Four hundred Portland kids got their first bicycles, thanks to an organization that has given away over 10,000 bikes to lower income families since 1995.

Another 400 kids are expected to get new bicycles from a Boise ID nonprofit.

Employees of a New Jersey insurance company built 26 bicycles for a local toy drive.

On the other hand, the Salvation Army in Akron, Ohio turned Scrooge for the holidays, refusing to accept bikes as gifts for their Angel Tree program because they don’t have any room to store them.

………

This is day twelve of the 3rd Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive.

You can help keep SoCal’s best bike news coming your way with just a few clicks by using PayPal. Or by using the Zelle app that is probably already in the banking app on your smartphone; send your contribution to ted @ bikinginla dot com (remove the spaces and format as a standard email address).

Any donation, in any amount, is truly and deeply appreciated.

As an added bonus, frequent contributor Megan Lynch will provide a free download of her CD Songs the Brothers Warner Taught Me to anyone who makes a contribution during the fund drive. If you’ve already contributed and would like a copy, just email me at the address above and I’ll forward it to her.

Thanks to Christopher M, Tyrone C and Robert K for their generous donations to help support this site.

………

Local

LA Magazine suggests the best ways to experience LA without a car, including taking a bike tour.

CiclaValley celebrates a new, if somewhat bee barricaded, drinking fountain in Griffith Park.

 

State

San Diego may be left behind when it comes to dockless bikeshare, thanks to the city’s exclusive contract with docked bikeshare provider DecoBike. Although a little inconvenience like may not stop some of the dockless providers from flooding the city’s streets with their bikes, by following the Uber model of coming in first and asking for permission later.

The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition announced the winners of their 2017 Golden Gear Awards.

Caught on video: San Francisco advocates once again form a human protected bike lane to call for protected lanes on upper Market Street.

Sad news from Oakland, where a West Oakland bike rider was killed in a hit-and-run collision.

Chico police are looking for a bike-riding transient who may have started a fire that destroyed a local business.

 

National

Bicycling offers advice on how to avoid injuries common to people over 40. And no, staying 39 is not one of the options.

Honolulu joins Orange County and San Francisco in evicting homeless encampments from a separated bike path.

The upscale Robb Report looks at how Denver’s Alchemy Bicycle Company hand builds their bespoke carbon, steel and titanium bikes.

Now that’s more like it. A Colorado man faces charges of DUI, vehicular assault, hit-and-run, careless driving causing bodily injury and driving without a valid license for fleeing the scene after hitting a bike rider.

A Michigan man will spend somewhere between 18 months and 15 years in prison for the hit-and-run death of a popular nun as she was riding her bike; he tried to claim he’d hit a deer instead. So he could end up with a slap on the wrist, or some serious time. Or anything in between.

A New York cruiser bike rider complains that he can’t obey the requirement to ride to the right when the bike lanes are on the left side of a service road.

 

International

Treehugger says almost all successful cities are clamping down on private cars and promoting bikes. Which would suggest — or maybe confirm — that Los Angeles isn’t one.

Ontario, Canada is investing $93 million to expand bike infrastructure across the province.

A new report delivered to London’s mayor says the way to improve safety is to reduce speeds to 20 mph, fix potholes and give bike riders priority at intersections.

A London bike rider describes what it was like to be attacked by three muggers who punched him in the face and stole his Brompton, part of a trend of violent bike-jackings in the city.

Maybe there is a war on cars after all. Someone left large bricks and rocks on a UK highway, damaging dozens of cars.

A report from the British transportation agency says meeting the country’s goals for bicycling and walking could prevent 13,000 pollution deaths over the next ten years, and save the equivalent of over $12 billion.

Relatives of a fallen Belfast bike rider were angry that someone stole a bicycle painted in his club colors, which had been installed as a memorial; the bike was recovered after they made an appeal on Facebook.

Speaking of stolen Belfast bikes, a student who posted a noted asking the person who “borrowed” her bicycle to please return it didn’t get it back, but she did get a used bike from a kindhearted stranger.

Caught on video: An Aussie cyclist barely avoids sliding out into traffic after slipping on a wet sidewalk.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A new Australian campaign examines the ripple effect roadway trauma has on the victim’s families and communities.

Who needs a bike car on a train, when you can have an entire Japanese bike train?

 

Finally…

This is why you don’t blow through red lights. Please don’t throw dockless bikeshare bike in front of an oncoming train.

And how can drivers to avoid bike riders when they can’t even avoid a rock?

Thanks to Megan Lynch and Norm Bradwell for the last link.

 

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

Morning Links: Blaming pedestrians in the name of safety, and free bike for helping catch Burbank bike thief

September 5, 2017 / / One comment

If you’re reading this, I assume you survived the three-day weekend in one piece.

So welcome back, and lets get started.

………

A column by Steve Scauzillo in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune correctly notes that roads aren’t just for cars, and that pedestrians are paying too high a price just to cross the street.

And he describes the dangers of speeding traffic, and having to wave his arms to alert drivers who speed through intersections or aren’t paying attention.

But instead of urging drivers to slow down, or reminding them of the dangers their vehicles pose to others, he offers four suggestions to improve safety — three of which are aimed at people on foot.

1. Put down the cell phone when crossing a street.

2. It goes without saying that drivers should never be looking at or talking into a cellphone (except with the aid of a hands-free device).

3. Pedestrians should stop jaywalking.

4. Be alert in crosswalks — they are not impenetrable.

Like bicyclists, pedestrians have to look out for their own safety, because too many drivers aren’t looking out for either of us.

But the problems on our streets aren’t caused by careless pedestrians. Or bike riders.

They’re caused by a driving public that has forgotten that they’re operating big, dangerous machines that can kill in a moment of carelessness.

Or just don’t care.

………

Burbank’s H&S Bicycles is offering a free bike worth up to $1000 for anyone who can help find the burglar who has robbed the store three times this year.

The latest theft involved the 2018 Rocky Mountain Altitude A50 Large seen below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXKk5t60E0Q

My apologies to whoever sent this to me; I’m afraid I lost track of it over the weekend. But thank you anyway.

………

Speaking of careless drivers, a Jimmy Johns bike delivery rider was hit by a distracted Miami cop while he was riding in a crosswalk.

And he was the one who went to jail.

The rider was so angry when he was struck by the woman driver as she spoke on her handheld cellphone that he failed to notice it was an unmarked police vehicle. And threw his bike against the car, causing $500 damage.

He was arrested for criminal mischief and ticketed for failing to yield. Even though it was at least the third time the same officer had been seen using her phone behind the wheel.

………

Irish UFC fighter Connor McGregor is one of us, riding his bike to train for his recent bout with Floyd Mayweather.

Then again, so is the Philadelphia bike cop with the Nazi tattoo. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

………

Thirty-year old Canadian cyclist Michael Woods is turning heads in the Vuelta in just his second Grand Tour, starting today’s stage in eighth place. Meanwhile, Russian cyclist Ilnur Zakarin has slowly worked himself up to a podium position.

Cycling Pub offers a wrap-up of the second week of the Vuelta.

Caught on video: Once again, a race vehicle has knocked down a cyclist, this time a team car in the Tour of Britain; fortunately, Polish rider Karol Domagalski was not seriously injured. More proof that motorized race vehicles don’t belong in the peloton, whether two-wheeled or four.

CNN profiles the great Miguel Indurain, the only cyclist to win the Tour de France in five consecutive years who hasn’t been stripped of his title.

Two-time Tour de France winner Alberto Contador calls for a salary cap for pro cycling teams to help keep teams afloat and competitive.

A new report says current tests can’t discover the latest generation of hidden motors used for motor doping; naturally, cycling’s governing body begs to differ.

Aussie rider Carol Cooke has successfully defended her titles in the road race and time trial at the world Para-Cycling championships; she’s a three-time winner in road cycling, and four-time in the time trial.

Former race car driver Alex Zanardi successfully defended his world Para-Cycling time trial championship, and finished half a wheel behind the winner in the road race; he lost his legs in a horrific IndyCar crash in 2001.

……….

Local

A 43-year old bike rider was lucky to escape with minor injuries when he was the victim of a drive-by shooting in Rosemead just after midnight Sunday.

Santa Monica is installing a state-of-the-art sensor system on some of its buses to detect bicyclists and pedestrians in time to avoid a collision.

Metro Bike comes to Venice this Thursday, with 165 bikeshare bikes at 15 docking stations.

 

State

An Op-Ed in the Orange County Register says the Santa Ana River Trail belongs to the taxpayers, and the homeless camps alongside it have to go.

Two hundred San Diego bicyclists rode to honor fallen cyclist Paul Cornish; the 70-year old bike rider, who once set a record for riding from LA to New York, was killed last week by a driver with a suspended license in a stolen car.

A 16-year old Hemet pedestrian is in critical condition, and his salmon cycling companion injured, because a driver had a sneezing fit.

A Los Banos burglar learns the hard way that if he’s going to carry two loaded guns, a meth pipe, $137 in cash and several coins on the bike he just stole, to put a damn light on it.

A Bakersfield writer says the city has wide streets that can accommodate everyone, and needs to build safe infrastructure to improve bikeability and walkability.

The San Jose Mercury News takes an ebike trip to Big Sur.

Not surprisingly, bicyclists support a new lane reduction project in San Jose.

A local paper profiles the policy and planning director for the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, who’s working to make Petaluma more bikeable.

 

National

City Lab looks at the nationwide trend of using human bollards to create protected bike lanes and call attention to the need to improve safety for bicyclists.

Scottish cyclist Mark Beaumont is three-quarters the way around the world as he attempts to circumnavigate the world by bike in just 80 days; he’s currently riding through the US.

A Santa Fe truck driver got ten and a half years behind bars for the meth-fueled crash that killed two people when he plowed into a group of five bike riders.

A Boulder CO couple has spent the last 14 months driving around the US to ride their bikes all over the country.

A San Antonio TX bike non-profit is fighting childhood obesity by allowing children to earn bicycles, requiring 12 hours of work to get the bike they want.

The mayor of an Iowa town says building bike trails is good public policy.

Minneapolis police remind bike riders that we need to stop for stop signs for our own safety, but get it wrong when a rider takes the lane. I couldn’t care less if you decide to roll a stop when there’s no one else around. But in the name of all that’s holy, observe the damn right-of-way and stop for stop signs if there’s conflicting traffic.

Authorities say changing the design of a bike trail on a massive DC area highway widening project could jeopardize the entire thing; bike advocates want the trail moved from next to the highway to the other side of a sound wall, which would violate an agreement with homeowners.

Coral Gables FL is planning to use planters and green space to create protected bike lanes.

 

International

Now that’s a ciclovía. Bolivia banned cars from city streets throughout the entire country for one day, dropping pollution levels up to 70%.

Manchester, England police are accused of victim shaming after tweeting that cyclists shouldn’t weave in and out of traffic, after two young women are killed in separate bike crashes that had absolutely nothing to do with that.

The Guardian looks at the maker of The Laserlight, which projects an image of a bicycle onto the street 16 feet ahead of your bike.

Britain’s Cycling Weekly is facing a boycott from women after labeling a woman in a photo of a racing club as a “token attractive woman.”

A British sports site offers their ten favorite inspirational quotes about bicycling.

An Irish father is riding through all 32 Irish counties in just eight days to raise funds in honor of his 16-year old daughter, who died of a brain tumor.

An 18-year old Saudi Arabian woman is using social media to get other young woman riding.

Nigerian soldiers ambushed a group of suspected bike-riding Boko Haram terrorists, recovering 18 bicycles, seven swords and a pair of slippers.

A Malawi cyclist plans to raise funds to send two needy students to school by riding over six miles uphill while standing up on his bike.

A New Zealand coroner blames the death of a woman bicyclist on brakes that were too large for her small hands, recommending that every bike rider should have a properly fitted bicycle.

Perth, Australia will invest $129 million to fill in the gaps and dead ends in the city’s network of bike paths.

The war on bikes continues, as a road raging Aussie driver intentionally rammed a bike rider; no word on the condition of the victim.

When an ebike rider flees the scene after running down an elderly Shanghai woman, it sparks a debate over whether riders of electric bikes should carry liability insurance.

 

Finally…

No, seriously. If you ride your girlfriend’s bike to break into an office, try not to steal any cremated remains. If you’re going to steal a $2,000 bicycle from an unlocked garage, leave your $100 beater bike in its place.

And proof that you can ride a bike in a skirt.

Even if you’re a man.

 

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

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

August 18, 2017 / / 6 comments

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

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

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

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

………

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

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

………

Let’s catch up with some upcoming events.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

……….

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

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

………

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

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

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

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

……….

Local

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

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

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

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

 

State

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

National

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

International

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Finally…

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

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

Thanks to swrve for the link.

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

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

August 15, 2017 / / 2 comments

Talk about getting the story wrong.

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

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

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

Thankfully, he missed.

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

No word on the condition of his victim.

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

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

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

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

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

………

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

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

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

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

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

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

………

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

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

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

………

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

……….

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

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

……….

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

……….

Local

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

State

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

National

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New York tells dockless bikeshare companies to get lost.

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

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

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

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

 

International

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Finally…

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

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

 

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

Morning Links: Stolen bicycle recovered, raw video of Koreatown incident, and bikeshare news

August 9, 2017 / / 5 comments

Let’s start with good news, for a change.

Last night I received word that the bicycle stolen at gunpoint from Ulises Melgar, which we discussed yesterday, has been recovered after being spotted in Hollenbeck Park.

The only things missing were the lights and a Garmin.

As a result, the crowdfunding campaign to replace Melgar’s bicycle has been frozen, and anyone who gave will be contacted about their donation.

No word on whether any progress has been made in apprehending the violent jerks who stole it.

………

News service LoudLabs posted raw video of the recent Koreatown incident.

As you may recall, several people pulled an aggressive driver out of his car after he hit a bike rider while plowing through a group ride that was corking an intersection, and held him down until police arrived.

The additional footage includes the full interview with a witness, as well as showing extensive damage to the car.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

……….

Today’s common theme is bikeshare.

The Bay Area’s Ford GoBike bikeshare took a beating in its first month, with bikes stolen, tires slashed and a bike dumped in a lake.

Dueling dockless bikeshare companies are spreading throughout the Bay Area, Sacramento and Santa Cruz.

A Seattle writer watches as a homeless person tries, and fails, to steal one of the city’s dockless bikeshare bikes.

Baltimore’s bikeshare is contending with the problem of stolen bikes; the Baltimore Sun reported less than a third of the 200 bikes were available for use when they checked.

And a real estate writer says developers now consider proximity to a bikeshare dock an amenity.

………

A new short movie examines the effects of Australia’s mandatory bike helmet law, while stressing that being against forcing people to wear helmets isn’t the same as being opposed to them.

………

Welsh cyclist Luke Rowe will be out of action for awhile, since it’s hard to ride with a broken leg; he was injured while whitewater rafting during his brother’s bachelor party.

An Aussie new site asks if Alberto Contador is a cycling legend, flawed genius or forever tainted. Short answer, yes.

……….

Local

The Washington Post looks at the overwhelming success of the Expo Line, while noting that opposition to building the line centered on race and class, as well as cost. I recall someone from the Westside’s upscale Rancho Park, who said no one from that neighborhood would ever take the train, which would only be used by maids and gardeners. And that same opposition was successful in derailing plans for the Expo Line bike path through the neighborhood, resulting in the infamous Trousdale gap.

The latest edition of Bike Talk discusses Vision Zero, Road Diets, and the Backlash Against Safe Streets.

A free three-mile ride sponsored by CICLE and Metro will take you on a tour of LA’s best Filipino restaurants along Temple Street in Historic Filipinotown on the 24th; reservations are required.

Several Santa Clarita firefighters are competing bicycling events in this week’s World Police and Fire Games.

 

State

If you ride the San Juan Creek Trail in San Juan Capistrano, prepare for some extensive detours over the next few years.

The annual Bike the Bay is your chance to ride San Diego’s Coronado Bay Bridge at the end of the month, even without a $210 million bike tube.

A San Diego man is posting satirical YouTube videos exposing the mythical war on cars.

This is who we share the roads with. After a Jurupa Valley motorcycle rider is nearly sideswiped by a driver, he records the man plowing into two stopped cars, then fleeing the scene — and follows him to Moreno Valley at speeds up to 90 mph.

 

National

Now you, too, can make your very own scraper bike with a “badass” sound system.

A Hawaii man says it felt like he was hit by a truck when he was struck by a bicyclist, after spending three nights in the ICU with two broken ribs, a lacerated spleen and internal bleeding.

Alaska Air is now officially the cheapest airline to fly with your bike.

No overreaction here. Police in Evanston IL arrested two 12-year old kids for the crime of running a red light while riding on the handlebars and rear pegs of a BMX bike while someone else pedaled. Yes, they were arrested for a traffic infraction. Or maybe just riding while black.

In a field where women are seriously under represented, a Michigan woman has been repairing bicycles for 33 years; she started a mobile bike repair business after closing her bike shop in 2004.

Bighearted New Jersey cops buy a ten-year old boy a new bike after they were impressed with his positive attitude when he was injured in a collision.

Former Delaware Governor Jack Markell is one of us; Markell just finished a 3,600-mile ride across the US to raise money for kids in the state.

A Pittsburgh-area cyclist finally gets his day in court, after spending the last year in jail awaiting trial on charges of riding his bicycle in the middle of the lane, just like riders are taught to do. Apparently able to read minds, the ADA handling the case alleges David Smith’s intent was to disrupt traffic, rather than ride safely.

A Louisiana engineer makes a persuasive argument over why and how bikes should be included in the traffic plan for the state capital.

A Good Samaritan alerts Florida officials to a reckless, and likely stoned, driver, allowing deputies to arrive less than a minute after he struck a bike rider.

 

International

The UK’s version of HuffPo lists the best apps for bicycling. Not all apply for US riders, however.

Road rage is on the rise, even among those obsessively polite Canadian drivers.

A 17-year old British man was apparently sprayed with acid while riding his bike near London’s Kensington Palace. Authorities referred to it as “an unknown substance;” however, the attack follows a spate of acid attacks on the city’s streets in recent weeks.

Good idea. The father of a fallen British bicyclist says children should be taught the Dutch Reach in school.

Caught on video: An English van driver intentionally swerves into a bike rider to keep him from passing. Skip ahead to the 2:50 mark; evidently, they don’t have video editing software in the UK.

The Guardian imagines what the perfect bicycling city would look like if it could be built from the ground up for bikes.

A Portuguese company shows how a relatively flat bike network can be designed, even for a hilly city.

The 14th and final stage of the Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme race finishes in Vladivostok, Russia today; organizers are working on how to get more women to enter the 5,700-mile race across Russia, and how to keep them in the race longer.

 

Finally…

Your next ebike could have the lines of a 1920s motorcycle. Ten irredeemably uncool bike things guaranteed to piss off just about everyone.

And these guys give bike cops a whole new meaning.

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

Morning Links: Beating and bike theft at gunpoint in Little Tokyo, and Peloton profiles SoCal pro cyclist Coryn Rivera

August 8, 2017 / / One comment

Bike theft is nothing new in Los Angeles.

A sound beating and bike theft at the point of a gun is.

This morning I received the following email from Jane Voodikon, who wrote to warn LA bicyclists about the robbers who stole a bicycle from her friend Ulises Melgar Saturday night.

Today I’m writing to report to you an incident that happened to one of my biking friends this past weekend, hoping that you can help spread the word to the bicycling community. He was riding home Saturday night at around 11:30 p.m. coming out of the Little Tokyo area across the First Street Bridge eastbound toward Mariachi Plaza when a green four-door Chevrolet pickup cut him off and the passenger in the front seat pointed a gun at him and then tried to hit him with the gun. At this point he got off his bike, and then one of the men in the truck (there were five men total, wearing hats and sweatshirts around their faces) punched him, enabling the hijackers to take his bike, throw it in the truck bed, and drive off. 

It seemed they had planned this out because they had covered up the license plate with a trash bag. Unfortunately there was nobody else around to witness the crime, and at that location there would be no surveillance cameras. Understandably my friend didn’t react by taking a photo of the truck so there are really not many other identifying details. He reported it to the police, and they said they searched the area for a truck matching the description but found nothing.

He said the truck bed was empty save for a construction toolbox. 

His bike is a 2012 silver Cinelli Mash frame, 52cm, with two noticeable dents on each side of the top tube. Fizik saddle, riser bars, platform pedals with Wellgo straps. Photos are attached. 

This is especially tough (apart from it being a terrifying and traumatic incident) because he has been getting back on his feet after being laid off last year. Since January he has been delivering food by bike for Simply Salad, UberEats, and Caviar. A friend has lent him a bike temporarily so he can continue to work but his bike is not only his property but also his transportation and most importantly his lifeline to income. 

We’re hoping you can help at least alert the cycling public to the fact that there are people driving around hijacking bikes at gunpoint, and that is downright scary.

She also reports that a friend saw someone riding the bicycle the night after the bike theft around Olympic and Normandie. You can contact Melgar directly through Facebook if you see the bike or have any information about the theft.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign has been started in an effort to raise $800 to get him a new bike and gear so he can get rolling again and get back to work, but hadn’t received any donations as of this writing.

As causes go, you could do a lot worse. Maybe we can help him get that first donation.

Or maybe even put him over the top.

Update: Good news! Ulises Melgar’s bike was recovered after being spotted in Hollenbeck Park; all he ended up losing were the lights and a Garmin. 

As a result, donations have been disabled on the GoFundMe page, and any who gave will be contacted about their donations. 

………

Peloton profiles SoCal’s own Coryn Rivera, who became the first American to win the Tour of Flanders earlier this year.

Former Tour de France, Giro and Vuelta champ Alberto Contador announced his plans to retire after this year’s Vuelta.

Next year’s Giro d’Italia will start just a tad outside the country, in Jerusalem’s Old City.

Jillian Bearden will become the first transgendered woman to ride in a pro peloton when she takes part in Thursday’s Colorado Classic, setting a standard for trans athletes around the world; she credits bike racing with saving her life.

The last two days of the Colorado Classic will be part bike race, and part music and lifestyle festival.

……….

Local

A man riding a bicycle was the victim of a drive-by shooting in South LA early Monday; he was hospitalized in stable condition with bullet wound to one leg.

The Daily Breeze looks forward to Sunday’s CicLAvia in San Pedro and Wilmington, though not all the local businesses seem to be on board. They may get a pleasant surprise if they reach out to participants, instead of closing their shops or turning their backs on the event.

Competition kicked off in the 2017 World Police and Fire Games with a crit in Santa Clarita on Sunday, won by a 35-year old Cat 1 rider from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

 

State

Up to 1,000 people turned out for Santa Barbara’s annual unsanctioned Fiesta Cruiser Ride to Isla Vista and back. If the ride has been taking place every year since the 1970s, resulting in traffic citations and safety concerns, why not just make it official and control — if not close down — the route?

Sad news from Kern County, where a man was killed in a collision while riding his bike on Edwards Air Force Base early Monday morning.

The Hayward-based maker of Abba-Zaba, Big Hunk, Look, Rocky Road and U-No candy bars is one of us.

San Francisco installs concrete K rails to upgrade an existing protected bike lane, which was previously marked with paint and plastic bollards, but does nothing to improve safety at dangerous intersections.

Calbike released the schedule for October’s California Bike Summit in Sacramento.

 

National

A new CyclingTips podcast tackles the question of whether ebikes belong on singletrack trails.

The Department of DIY strikes in Spokane WA, as someone reinstalled a bike lane the city had moved to the opposite side of the street.

An Idaho man is training to compete in the Hawaii Iron Man triathlon, 23 years after he was paralyzed from the neck down.

A small Denver composting company is using a bicycle and trailer to collect food waste from restaurants and apartment buildings.

Thirty bicyclists take a ride through Dallas in their underwear. Next year, they should be able to do it on their choice of three dockless bikeshare providers.

Kindhearted Ohio sheriff’s deputies pitch in to buy a new bicycle for a young man, after the bike he used to ride to work couldn’t be repaired.

Caught on video: A compilation of footage from a Tennessee security cam clearly illustrates the dangers of riding across railroad tracks, even when there aren’t any trains around.

The battle over lane reductions and parking-protected bike lanes moves east, as residents and business owner in Cambridge, Massachusetts respond the same way they did here in LA.

New York removes a parking lane to provide space for a protected bike lane and a wider sidewalk. But only for one block.

Philadelphia is installing its first parking-protected bike lane, while bike cam video shows why the city’s unprotected two-way cycle track is a bad idea.

Eva Longoria is one of us, as she goes for a bike ride with her husband in Miami, dressed in casual clothes. Even if the press does freak out about her lack of a helmet.

 

International

Submitted without comment from the Toronto Globe and Mail: “Bike licensing fixes traffic problems about as well as mercury cures syphilis.”

A pair of Walmart heirs just bought British bikewear maker Rapha for the equivalent of $260 million.

No irony here. A London town council promotes a car-sharing program that allows drivers to drop off the cars anywhere, just days after impounding bikeshare bikes for doing exactly the same thing.

The world’s biggest bike parking garage just opened in the Netherlands; when finished, it will provide parking for up to 12,500 bicycles.

Let the Cycling Yogis be your guide the next time you’re riding in Madras, India.

The new government in India’s Uttar Pradesh is trying to rip out cycle tracks installed by the previous administration, blaming them for increasing traffic congestion. Although it doesn’t help that a bicycle is the ballot symbol of the outgoing political party.

 

Finally…

Maybe not the best time to go for a bike ride after you just escaped from prison a few days earlier. If you have to steal a package off a woman’s porch while walking your bicycle, try not to take the cremated ashes of her dead Yorkie.

And lots of people flip over pro cycling.

Just not literally.

 

Category: Morning Links, Stolen Bikes and Bike Crime, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Bike Index partners with VerifiR embedded chip maker; theft victim buys his own bike back

June 7, 2017 / / 6 comments

Let’s digress for a moment.

Although whether you can digress before you start might be questionable.

Veterinarians and animal rescue groups have long recommended having a small microchip embedded under the skin of your pet to identify it if it ever gets lost of stolen.

And there’s no shortage of stories about dogs and cats who’ve found their way back home after months, or even years, when a simple scan by a vet or shelter revealed where they belonged.

The Corgi has one.

As a rescue, she came with a chip in her shoulder, courtesy of her original owners. As well as one on her shoulder, after being unceremoniously booted from the only home she’d ever known.

Now your bike can have one, too.

Because Bike Index announced yesterday that they are partnering with VerifiR to add an extra level of security to their free bike registration program.

According to their press release,

VerifiR’s groundbreaking security tags let anyone with a smart phone quickly ‘scan’ a bike to check origin and verify ownership. Once molded into a bike’s frame or concealed under paint during manufacture, VerifiR’s technology is nearly impossible to remove or deface and much easier to scan than a traditional bicycle serial number.

Bike Index – the world’s largest and most successful bike registration and recovery system – will add VerifiR-protected bikes into its database of over 115,000 bicycles when the purchaser of a participating brand registers the bike through a scan. Stolen bikes embedded with VerifiR tags will also cross-list into the Bike Index upon theft, making the bike’s information immediately available to the thousands of partners who identify and recover stolen bikes every day.

Which means that your next bike could come with a VerifiR tag embedded in it. Or maybe you already have one, if you’ve purchased a new bike recently.

And you can add that information to any new or existing Bike Index registration to help ensure that your bike, like a lost puppy, can find its way back home.

Now let’s hope they’ll develop an aftermarket tag we can all add to our current bikes.

Full disclosure: While this site hosts the Bike Index bike registration and stolen bike reports, as well as a listing of bikes reported stolen in the LA area, neither it or its operators receive any form of compensation from Bike Index. Bicycle registration and reporting is offered as a free service to BikinginLA readers because we effing hate bike thieves, and look forward to the day when they have to find another line of work.

………

Speaking of Bike Index, I was forwarded this good news/bad news online posting.

Good news, because they helped the owner get his bike back. Bad news, because the owner couldn’t get the time of day from the LAPD.

And frankly, we all deserve better than that.*

(Note: I’ve remove the name of the person who posted this since I haven’t been able to contact him.)

*Pro tip: When you report a stolen bike, include the value of everything you’ve added to it, including wheels, tires, racks, locks or bike computers. The higher the value, the more likely the police are to take it seriously — especially if the total exceeds the $1,000 threshold for felony theft.

………

A new book remembers British cyclist Tom Simpson, who died on the slopes of Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France.

Love strikes out, as the Belgian cyclist who asked his dream date out by writing it on his chest at the start of this year’s Giro d’Italia time trial ends up in the dreaded friend zone.

A nationally ranked junior cyclist from Philadelphia is fighting back after surviving a rare form of bone cancer, discovered when he walked with a limp after finishing 18th at last year’s junior nationals.

………

Local

KNBC-4 looks forward to this Sunday’s Glendale Meets Atwater Village CicLAvia. But it wouldn’t be a CicLAvia without the Militant’s guide.

If there’s more pressure on Long Beach bike thieves these days, it’s because they stole a city councilwoman’s bike.

A Long Beach letter writer says forget the bollards, because she seldom sees anyone using the green bike lanes they protect. Which is kind of like saying stop building sidewalks because there’s no one walking on them when you drive by.

 

State

A California bike rider waiting for X-rays describes being harassed and chased by a driver, while the driver ends up getting arrested.

A 69-year old Laguna Woods resident rode across the US this spring as part of a group ride, because he finds it relaxing. Bicycling has always been a form of moving meditation for me. Except when bad drivers intrude.

Santa Ana’s Bicycle Tree bike co-op will reopen in a new location this weekend.

Santa Barbara bicyclists can look forward to smoother riding in a couple weeks.

A San Francisco reporter says no, bikes aren’t express lanes for drivers trying to get around backed-up traffic — even if you’re driving a bus.

San Francisco approves parking protected bike lanes on upper Market Street.

Sad news from Siskiyou County, where a 61-year old woman died after she lost control of her bike on a descent and crashed into a tree.

 

National

Mobility Lab says businesses can’t afford to ignore customers on two wheels.

Curbed writes that ebikes could be the key to getting drivers out of their cars.

Streetsblog suggests male cyclists need to stop the “macho nonsense” directed at female riders.

Plan your vacation around where to ride through this summer’s total solar eclipse. And no, we won’t see it here in LA, dammit.

Bicycling offers quotes about cycling they think every rider should know. Although there’s a lot more where that came from.

For the second time this week, a woman riding a bike in Chicago’s South Loop district has been attacked by someone trying to steal her bag.

A memorial mass and ride will be held today to honor the victims of the Kalamazoo crash, a year after an alleged drugged driver killed five cyclists and injured four others. The woman who led that ride says she can’t let evil take her joy away.

Five Cleveland bike riders were injured when they were struck by a car this past weekend; the driver was arrested on the scene for aggravated vehicular assault and operating a vehicle under the influence.

A Boston survey says there are racial and cultural differences in how people see bikeways that should be taken into account in designing them.

A Connecticut town threatens to confiscate the bikes of scofflaw middle school students who have been terrorizing — or perhaps just infuriating — the populace.

 

International

An Op-Ed in the Toronto paper says unlike other disasters, traffic deaths have become normalized, with grave consequences.

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour candidate for British prime minister in this week’s election, says owning more than one bicycle is extravagant.

Once again, a bike rider is hero. A London doctor was riding his bike home from work when he saw emergency vehicles rushing towards London Bridge, so he turned around and rode back to the Royal London Hospital, where he operated through the night trying to save 12 victims.

Statistically speaking, Britain’s roads are as safe today as they were a decade ago, despite a 23% increase in miles traveled by bicycle.

A writer for the Guardian says there’s something to be said for taking your time riding around the world.

 

Finally…

If you’re riding with coke and a concealed gun on your bike, stay off the damn sidewalk, and don’t make any illegal turns. Nothing like stealing own daughter’s bicycle, then recording her frantic search for it.

And was he blocked because he criticized the president, or because he rides a bike?

 

Category: Morning Links, Stolen Bikes and Bike Crime / 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

………

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.

………

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.

………

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.

………

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.

………

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: More on Vision Zero funding, bike theft goes unpunished, and Merced driver topples nine riders

April 24, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: More on Vision Zero funding, bike theft goes unpunished, and Merced driver topples nine riders

There’s more reaction to LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s call to increase funding for Vision Zero, as advocates say it’s not enough.

The mayor’s proposal instead calls for using Measure M return funds to repave 60 lane miles of streets — just 30 actual miles — in the High Injury Network, while making safety improvements at the same time.

Meanwhile, his proposal to boost Vision Zero spending to $16.6 million would still represent just a small fraction of what New York spends each year to reduce traffic fatalities. Even though Los Angeles leads the nation in pedestrian deaths.

The LACBC’s Tamika Butler suggests tapping police and fire departments budgets to make up the difference.

Tamika Butler, executive director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, said the city could find other ways of securing more money for Vision Zero. One option, she said, would be to tap police and fire department funding.

“When you’re looking at the important work these departments do, it’s all about saving lives,” Butler said. “Vision Zero is about saving lives, too.”

The LAPD is chronically understaffed, with the smallest police force per capita of any major American city, while struggling to protect one of the largest patrol areas. As it is now, police have more cases than they can handle, and relatively minor crimes — like stolen bikes — often don’t get investigated.

And the fire department is just recovering from the drastic staffing cuts during the last economic downturn that increased response times to unacceptable levels, putting traffic victims and others in need of emergency care at needless risk.

Yes, we need to find the money to fix our streets somewhere, as well as dramatically increasing spending on Vision Zero to eliminate traffic deaths.

But taking funding from the police and fire departments is the wrong way to go about it.

………

Speaking of bicycle theft, an Op-Ed in the LA Times asks why cities are allowing bike theft to go virtually unpunished.

A big part of the problem has been changes in the law a few year back that reclassified any theft below $1,000 as a misdemeanor, while preventing people convicted of misdemeanors from receiving any real jail time.

And since most bikes fall under that threshold, police put less effort into investigating those thefts, since they know the thief will be back on the street in a few days even if they manage to get a conviction.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t still try to return bikes to their rightful owners when they can. In fact, a detective in the West LA division reported at last week’s meeting of the department’s bike liaison program that they had recovered three bikes in recent months using Bike Index.

Which is just one more reason to register your bike.

………

An 81-year old Merced driver struck four cyclists with his mirror as he tried to slip past a group of riders without crossing the center line, taking down all nine riders in a chain reaction crash, while sending three to the hospital.

Investigators said the riders did nothing wrong, and the driver would likely be ticketed for unsafe passing. Although the CHP suggests being old may be the new Get Out of Jail Free card.

You can put this one directly on Governor Brown’s doorstep.

Unlike some other states, California’s three-foot passing law does not allow drivers to briefly cross the center line when safe to do so to pass people on bicycles, because Brown vetoed an earlier version of the bill that would have permitted it.

The result is drivers who try to squeeze by bicyclists unsafely rather than risk a ticket for briefly having two wheels over the yellow line.

So it’s the people on bikes who pay the price, instead.

………

Thanks to Megan Lynch for forwarding this newsreel view of Nazi occupied Paris in 1944, filmed in part using a camera hidden in a bike basket.

………

The fourth of the five Monuments rolled on Sunday with the Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic, the ending of which should not shock anyone. Meanwhile, the first women’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège ended in a solo breakaway.

The peloton paused before the race to pay tribute to Italian cyclist Michele Scarponi, who was killed in a collision with a van while on a training ride on Saturday. Vincenzo Nibali dedicated his victory in the Tour of Croatia to Scarponi, who he said was like a brother to him. And an Aussie rider wonders if it could be him next time.

………

Local

The new Los Angeles State Historic Park finally opens after 14 years, offering walkways and bike paths in the shadow of Downtown LA and Chinatown.

KABC-7 talks with the architect working on a 12-mile long bike path along the LA River in the San Fernando Valley, part of plans to extend the existing bikeway the entire length of the river.

The Wave newspaper offers an even-handed look at last week’s CD1 debate between Gil Cedillo and Joe Bray-Ali. Speaking of Bray-Ali, the Times has reconsidered their endorsement of him, and concluded that yes, he is the right person for the job.

Burbank approves plans for two-way separated bike lanes on a 1/3 mile section of Leland Way.

Long Beach held a tricycle race at the city’s Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital to raise funds for pediatric cancer research and call attention to next month’s annual Tour of Long Beach.

 

State

Newport Beach pulls back on plans to widen the Coast Highway at Mariner’s Mile to three lanes in each direction, as residents call for revitalizing the street to make it more attractive to bike riders and pedestrians, instead.

They’re onto us, comrades. A San Diego letter writer insists the nefarious bike lobby is running the city government, indoctrinating fourth graders, and forcing poor, put-upon drivers to plod through potholes while we luxuriate in bike lanes. Although he doesn’t begin to compare with the Michigan woman who thinks having to obtain a license to park on the street is just as bad as the Holocaust.

San Franciscans are questioning why bicycles are banned from the city’s light rail trains after an injured woman is denied a ride to the hospital after falling on the tracks.

 

National

Twenty-two mountain bikers have been mauled by bears in the last 17 years, a surprisingly low rate given the number of riders in bear country and the speed they travel.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A skilled reconstructive hand surgeon and medical professor riding in a bike lane was killed in a collision with a bus in Las Vegas, while his wife is undergoing chemotherapy.

Denver police bust a serial bike burglar.

A Montana compromise will create an 80,000-acre wilderness area, in exchange for allowing mountain biking on 3,800 acres.

You’ve got to be kidding. A Texas cop is acquitted of criminally negligent homicide after running over and killing a man who was fleeing on his bicycle. Even though he moved his car and the victim, lied about what happened, and waited over eight minutes to call the paramedics while the man died.

A trio of Peoria IL priests are riding their bicycles 350 miles across the diocese to encourage more vocations to the priesthood.

After years of decreases, doorings increased fifty percent in Chicago in 2015.

Hundreds of people turn out to call for more bike lanes in Boston.

A North Carolina woman suffering from Multiple Sclerosis wins her fight to ride a bicycle.

New Orleans passes ordinances that will require a safer passing distance, as well as prohibiting motorists from driving in bike lanes; the law also bans harassing bike riders or throwing anything at them.

 

International

A group of students is following the monarch butterfly migration on their 9,000 mile journey from Mexico to the US.

Ottawa, Canada residents are up in arms over plans to remove 97 parking spaces to make room for bike lanes. After all, who cares about improving safety if you have to walk a few steps from your parking space?

An artist depicts bicycling through London in a series of illustrations.

A man returns home to his English hometown seven years after he left on a 43,000-mile around the world bike tour that raised the equivalent of nearly $13,000 for charity.

As many as 10,000 people may have turned out in for this year’s Pedal on Parliament calling for safer streets for Scottish bike riders.

Caught on video: An Irish cyclist was nearly hit head-on by a speeding truck that crossed the center line.

An Irish government minister says he’s lucky to be alive after he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle with his wife.

The Danes do know how to combine bikes and beer.

A new Australian bikeway will be built like a limited access freeway, making it difficult for local residents to use it.

Caught on video too: An Aussie cyclist sticks the landing when he’s hit by a driver, flipping in the air and coming to rest sitting on the roof of the car.

A local newspaper talks with the founder of Singapore’s only cycling instruction school, who says over half his students are adults.

Dockless bikeshare may still have a few kinks to work out, after a Chinese man was charged the equivalent of $60,000 for a 20-minute ride. And the founder of one of the bikeshare companies says yes, there’s a bikeshare bubble, but his company will survive.

Bicycling is growing in popularity in South Korea, where beautiful mountains and lakes are just a short ride from Seoul, and the roads have bike lanes.

 

Finally…

Your next bike could have an inflatable frame and fit in the trunk of a Ford. Probably not the best idea to push a baby carriage with a foldie.

And admit it. You’ve spent years perfecting your imitation of Charlie Chaplin hammering a sprint finish.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links, Stolen Bikes and Bike Crime, Vision Zero / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: #BikeLA on TV, the value of bicycling, and an early morning bike theft caught on video

March 27, 2017 / / One comment

Wednesday’s episode of Major Crimes on TNT is about someone intentionally running down bike riders on the streets of Los Angeles, including one stereotypical rider with a GoPro fastened firmly to his helmet.

Evidently, it’s a documentary.

Thanks to Gil Solomon for the heads-up.

………

As long as we’re talking TV programs, don’t worry if you missed Monday’s airing of the Ovarian Psychos documentary on the PBS series Independent Lens.

You can download it from their website, or via Roku or Apple TV.

………

If you need to put a dollar sign on bicycling, consider this from a new Minnesota study.

…the state’s bike industry produces $780 million in annual economic activity, 5,519 jobs and millions of dollars in health care savings because of reduced obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Just imagine what a bike friendly California could do, with better weather and over seven times the population.

………

This is why you don’t trust bike parking area’s in your building’s garage, even if it seems like a great idea.

Ashley Grohosky forwards video of a bike thief casually shopping the bike racks in her Culver City building at 4 am until he gets out the bolt cutters after selecting the one he wants.

Hers.

………

Sad news from Germany, where a cyclist is reportedly fighting for his life after a driver strayed into the middle of bike race, in the crash we mentioned yesterday. Another rider is in critical condition, while a third competitor and a race marshal were also injured.

Good thing the doping era is over. A Brazilian cycling team faces a one year suspension after five riders have been caught cheating since July.

Fixing the cobbles for next month’s Paris – Roubaix, aka the Hell of the North.

………

Local

Santa Monica’s Montana Ave is getting new smart traffic signals that can extend a green light to give bike riders more time to cross.

Streetsblog considers Sunday’s Culver City to Venice CicLAvia; next up is a Glendale to Atwater Village route in June, along with a handful of other open streets events.

Speaking of which, if you read this early enough, you may still have time for a brief open streets tour of the Long Beach Grand Prix course from 11:30 am to 1 pm today.

The LACBC’s next Sunday Funday ride will explore Downtown LA this Sunday with The Crafty Pedal.

You may have already noticed the new ad for my favorite Bike Week event over there on the right. After all, a little divine intervention couldn’t hurt.

 

State

A San Diego bike rider is angry that she was given a ticket for running a stop sign. That’s the chance you take when you break the law, whatever the reason — at least until the proposed Idaho Stop law passes. And the unlikely event that Governor Brown actually signs it.

An Op-Ed in the San Jose Mercury News considers how to get more people riding bikes in Silicon Valley.

Caltrans is looking for input on where to put separated bikeways in the Bay Area, which is one way to get more people riding.

 

National

Realtor.com com ranks Salt Lake City as the #1 American city for Millennials, in part because of its bikeway network; Los Angeles ranks #6 despite its lack of one.

For the next four weeks, bike riders will have the roads of Yellowstone to themselves. It’s sort of like CicLAvia, but with geysers. And bears.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a bicycle from a homeless man in Lubbock TX, just a week after local cops gave it to him so he could get to his two jobs, in an attempt to get him and his wife off the streets.

Streetsblog describes how a Toledo OH mom led a grassroots campaign to stop a road widening. But why is it always assumed that mom’s are somehow less capable or involved than other women? Or men, for that matter?

A newly rebuilt bridge will provide a key connection in a shared-use pathway linking New Jersey’s two largest cities.

 

International

The worldwide bike industry is expected to be worth over $70 billion by 2026.

Now that’s more like it. Canadian prosecutors are asking for twelve years behind bars and a 15 to 18-year driving ban for a drunk driver who killed two bicyclists, as well as the passenger in his own car.

A London writer travels all of the city’s blue cycle superhighways, concluding that some are better than others, depending on how much the local borough supports bicycling. On the other hand, London has somehow managed to squeeze seven onto the city’s crowded, narrow and curving streets, with plans for three more. Yet LA can’t manage to build one on our wide, straight streets.

Welcome to England, where assaulting a bicyclist in a fit of bus-driving road rage is only worth the equivalent of a $500 fine.

A British panel rules that a bike courier deserves holiday pay even though he is technically self-employed.

Britain’s Cyclist offers 23 “free and easy cycling hacks” to improve your rides. For a change, most of the ideas aren’t bad. Even if they aren’t actually all free.

Caught on video: A Brit man uses his own bike to smash the windshield of a driver who he blamed for cutting him off in the bike lane, even though the driver denied doing it. Seriously, just ride away; now he’s the one police are looking for.

A German cyclist offers four lessons he learned riding through every nation on earth over the past decade.

This is why people continue to die on the streets. A drunk driver walks in Malta even though the judge ruled he was mostly responsible for a wreck that killed a cyclist, because the victim was riding in the street without lights on his bike. So blame the victim, don’t punish the killer, and set him loose to do it again.

Former Tour de France stage winner David Millar is working to turn flat, sandy, 100 degree-plus Dubai into a cycling destination.

The flood of Chinese app-based bikeshare systems have claimed it’s first victim, as Singapore cancels plans for a nationwide dock-based bikeshare.

One of those Chinese bikeshare companies will now pay you to ride their bikes if you find one in an outlying area.

So far, though, Chinese bike makers have managed to handle the boom in business.

 

Finally…

We only have to avoid LA drivers; cyclists in the Scottish Highlands have to dodge sheep. And if you get stranded on your bamboo bike while riding your kilt, at least you can eat it.

The bike that is, not the kilt.

Okay, maybe the kilt.

 

Category: Bike Events, Morning Links, The business of bikes / Tags: , , , , , , ,
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