Tag Archive for bike to work

Melrose CicLAvia visits the Upside Down, BikeLA hosts Bike Fest Happy Hour, and it pays to pay people to bike to work

October 22, 2025 / / No comments
Day 295 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

You’re invited to the Upside Down next month, after Netflix purchased full sponsorship of the year’s last CicLAvia for a Stranger Things themed open streets event.

Los Angeles, do you copy?

On Sunday, November 23, fans are invited to join the Netflix x CicLAvia—Melrose Ave: Stranger Things 5 One Last Ride – an epic event bringing fans together to bike, skate, or stroll along a car-free stretch of Melrose Ave in celebration of the cultural phenomenon’s fifth and final season.

For one day only, fans will step into the world of Stranger Things with immersive photo ops, pedal-powered activations, live entertainment, merch, giveaways, and an exclusive content drop – all taking place just days before Volume 1 hits Netflix on November 26th at 5pm PT.

We’re going full 1980s, and you’re invited to join the fun: show up as your favorite Hawkins character or monster of the Upside Down, or channel peak ‘80s vibes with neon, leg warmers, windbreakers, or any retro fit.

If that’s not enough for you, fans can also choose to take part in a special quest along the route. Rack up pins by completing various activities on our quest map to unlock additional surprises.

The event is open to all and no RSVP will be needed. Just grab your bike, board, skates, sneakers… even your stroller, and head on out to Melrose Avenue for a day of fun, community, and adventure.

Meanwhile, Active Streets will beat CicLAvia to the punch with the five-mile Corazón de Valle on November 2nd, which is the perfect opportunity to bust out your best Dia de Los Muertos outfit.

………

BikeLA, the former Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, will hold their annual Bike Fest fundraiser at Highland Park Brewery on Saturday, November 2nd.

………

Apparently, it pays to encourage people to ride a bike.

According to a new report, the UK’s bike to work program contributes the equivalent of $766 million to the British economy.

According to ebike website Cycling Electric,

Work commissioned by the Cycle to Work Alliance has found the economic benefit of the cycle to work scheme to be worth £573 million ‘across retail, productivity, health, and household savings.’

The research found that participants in the scheme saved £1,262 per year by switching out their commute from a car to a cycle, or e-bike and the incentive results in 38% of participants commuting by bike for the very first time.

That works out to $1,689 per person per year, just by ditching their car for a bicycle.

The way it works is you pick out the bicycle and safety gear you want, and your employer buys it for you. Then you pay it back through a monthly salary deduction.

So depending on the price of the bicycle and the payment period, you could turn a profit in the first year. Or pay it off quicker, and turn a profit every year after that.

Cycling Electric calls the program imperfect, because anyone who is unemployed or self-employed is left out, among other issues.

But it still beats the hell out of any bike to work program I know of in this country.

………

Streetsblog takes a look at the new Toronto barrier on the 3rd Street bike lane in DTLA.

What do you think of LADOT’s #TorontoBarrier bike lane pilot in #DTLA? Located on 3rd between Spring and Main

— Streetsblog L.A. (@streetsblogla.bsky.social) 2025-10-20T21:15:15.680Z

………

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

The mean streets of America are getting meaner.

A Portland driver was caught on video repeatedly ramming his SUV into a bike rider protecting a “No Kings” protest rally, yet the cops refused to even cite the driver because they said the victim shouldn’t have been blocking the street in the first place. Which is kinda like saying you can punch someone in the face if they’re jaywalking.

An Arlington, Virginia driver was arrested for intentionally ramming his car into a man on a bicycle, after the two men argued in a parking lot.

A Florida university professor faces an assault charge for knocking a teenager’s bike helmet off, after yelling at him to “slow down” while riding on a sidewalk; meanwhile, another Florida driver was busted for swerving towards a couple kids on ebikes for the crime of riding too fast.

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

An 18-year old ebike rider received a formal trespassing warning after knocking a woman over — while riding inside a Folsom, CA Walmart.

………

Local 

Streets For All wants you to back their proposed Los Angeles City Charter reforms at today’s 4 pm Planning and Infrastructure Committee meeting.

Downtown Los Angeles News profiles LA’s Roadrunner Bags, which are handmade in DTLA “by cyclists, for cyclists.”

Culver City will hold a ribbon cutting today for the new Robertson Blvd bus/bike lanes.

Sheriff’s deputies are looking for a 20-year old at-risk man who went missing on a bike ride in Rosemead on Sunday.

 

State

Irvine-based e-truck maker Rivian continues to tease its new ebike — if you can call showing a full photo “teasing.”

A travel website says Stockton is America’s most dangerous city for bicyclists, with a jaw-dropping fatality rate six times the US average.

Berkeley-based travel company Backroads took its staff to Spain’s Costa Blanca to ride bikes just to get a taste of what the area has to offer.

A San Francisco bike ride next month will honor the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, or Ghoton, in the Tibetan language.

The bike lanes on the Bay Area’s Richmond-San Rafael bridge will now only be open to bicycles on Thursday evenings through Sunday, serving as a breakdown lane for cars the rest of the week. Because apparently, cars only break down on weekdays, and people only bike on weekends.

Calbike will host the next California Bike Summit in Sacramento next April.

 

National

Rapha is partnering with USA Cycling in hopes of reversing its eighth consecutive year of red ink. Sure, they may be losing money on every sale, but they make it up in volume.

A Las Vegas letter writer says the driver who killed a 12-year old riding a bike was at fault for not giving her a safe passing distance, but so was the person who illegally parked their SUV in the bike lane, forcing her out into traffic.

Um, okay. A Salt Lake City TV station says a pedestrian was killed in a collision while riding his bicycle across a street. Aside from the obvious tragedy, isn’t that like saying a pedestrian was killed while driving his car?

Horrible news from Colorado, where a man was found guilty of fatally shooting a 10-year old girl in the back after her father mistakenly confronted him about the girl’s stolen bike, firing several shots at the family’s car as they tried to drive away.

A Minnesota man is hoping to get his collection of rare BMX bikes back after someone stole four bikes valued at ten grand from his garage, though he says the sentimental value is worth more than the price tag.

Tragic news from upstate New York, where a 62-year old man was killed when he crashed his bicycle into someone he was riding with. Unfortunately, most of the story is hidden behind a paywall. 

They get it. New York Streetsblog says the problem with ebikes isn’t the relatively sedate ped-assist bikes, it’s the super-fast illegal ones.

A 71-year old North Carolina man was critically injured when he was struck by a driver after swerving into the car’s path — which actually seems to be the case for a change, since the crash was caught on a doorbell cam. The usual warning applies, so be sure you want to see it before you click on the link, because you can’t unsee it afterwards. 

 

International

Cycling Electric considers the year’s best long-range ebikes.

Bike Radar looks at the ten most controversial changes in road-cycling tech from the past century. I mean, who knew that derailleurs were controversial?

A pair of English teenagers were sentenced to three-and-a-half and four years, respectively, for a series of “well-planned,” violent attacks targeting people attempting to buy bicycles through Facebook Marketplace.

British Parliament members published a report calling for lifetime driving bans and stricter mobile phone laws to address a justice system they say is failing families of people killed by drivers.

An inquest ruled that a popular parish priest on the Isle of Wight died of injuries from a bike crash, a full 14 years after he was paralyzed falling off his bicycle.

A group of Dutch tourists learned the hard way to avoid local protests, when their bike tour took them into Valencia, Spain’s Old Town and they were surrounded by angry anti-tourism demonstrators yelling “Fuera, fuera!” (“Out, out”).

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist looks at the winners and losers in pro cycling’s new relegation system, as two French teams got the heave-ho.

The 2028 Tour de France has been bumped up to June to avoid a conflict with the ’28 Los Angeles Olympics, as Luxembourg and Prague contendi for the early Grand Départ.

 

Finally…

Surely, you joust. Now you, too, can give your bike a Diwali glow-up. If you’re going to dare the cops to come get you, try not to fall off your bicycle as you ride away.

And just another sumo wrestler on a bikeshare bike.

……… 

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

US traffic deaths soar, LA Times picks Pynoos over O’Farrell, and Friedman fights for bike safety on Burbank bridge

May 18, 2022 / / Comments Off on US traffic deaths soar, LA Times picks Pynoos over O’Farrell, and Friedman fights for bike safety on Burbank bridge

If you thought our roads are getting more dangerous, you’re right.

According to figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 42,915 people were killed on American streets last year — the highest total since 2005, and an increase of 10.5 percent over 2020.

Bicycling fatalities rose five percent, to 985 — an average of five deaths every two days — while pedestrian deaths jumped 13 percent to 7,342.

Not surprisingly, nearly two-thirds of US traffic fatalities occurred in urban areas, where there are more people, and more cars.

Artwork by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

Thanks to Ted Faber for the heads-up.

……….

In political news, Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer dropped out of the race for mayor, swinging his support to Karen Bass.

And the LA Times made a surprising endorsement of former Mike Biden staffer Karen Pynoos over incumbent Mitch O’Farrell in CD13 — without mentioning O’Farrell’s role in tanking the shovel-ready Temple Street lane reduction in the wake of the Playa del Rey fiasco.

………

California Assembly Transportation Chair Laura Friedman jumped into the road safety fight to push for steps to improve bike and pedestrian safety on the new Burbank Blvd Bridge.

………

Still more Bike to Work Week news.

Or bike anywhere, for that matter.

Tonight marks the annual Ride of Silence, with rides throughout California; a ride will be held in Los Angeles at 7 pm tonight, starting at 3554 W. First St .

Metro is celebrating tomorrow’s Bike to Work Day by offering free rides for everyone on all Metro Bus and Rail lines, as well as free half-hour Metro Bike rides.

Bike Metro is teaming with the LACBC to host a lunchtime ride through Chinatown on Thursday’s Bike to Work Day.

Culver City Bus is offering free rides for bike riders on tomorrow’s Bike to Work Day.

The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition and Day One are hosting a Handlebar Happy Hour at the Dog Haus tomorrow night.

And make plans for a Spoke and Art Ride this Saturday.

https://twitter.com/BikeLAredditors/status/1526757480918700032

………

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

There’s a special place in hell for the bike thieves who rammed an 81-year old British man with their car, knocking him into a ditch and stealing his new mountain bike.

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

A 35-year old ex-con will stand trial for the unprovoked murder of a San Diego man in a Pacific Beach restroom, before the killer fled on a bicycle; Martin Alvarez, Jr. has entered a not guilty plea to the fatal stabbing.

………

Local

The proposed LA River Master Plan has been posted online, along with public comments about the plan.

A massive Puente Hills landfill could soon become the new Puente Hills Regional Park, including plans for a bike skills park.

 

State 

Plans for a two-way bikeway down the middle of Palo Alto’s California Street hit the skids, failing on a tie vote at the city council.

 

National

No surprise here. A new study from the Urban Institute shows that tax rebates are a better solution to soaring prices than cutting gas taxes, while policies that discourage driving — like high gas prices, for instance — would have the greatest longterm impact on inflation.

Advisory bike lanes, which give bike riders priority and force drivers to share the roadway, are coming to a pair of short Portland streets. Advisory streets have bike lanes on either side, with a single car lane shared by drivers traveling in both directions; drivers are expected to move into the bike lanes to pass one another, before returning to their lane. Let’s hope they have a better rollout than they did in San Diego. 

A crowdfunding account has raised over $91,000 for the family of a young Las Vegas father who was killed by a speeding driver while riding his bike on Sunday.

A Minneapolis man pulled himself out of depression and got his life on track with an apprenticeship at a nonprofit bike shop dedicated to providing mentorship and training for young people dealing with housing instability.

Miami bike riders demanded safety improvements to the city’s Rickenbacker Causeway following the death of a couple riding in the bridge’s green bike lane.

 

International

Cycling Weekly considers what makes a good beginner bicycle.

After bike riders complained about a 22 mph speed limit, organizers of the 20,000 person Ride London backed off and removed the speed cap.

Someone cut the locks off a semi-truck in the UK, and made off with 133 Merida bikes as the truck was stopped at a truck stop, while leaving 73 bikes behind.

The co-owner of the Israel Cycling Academy WorldTour cycling team has donated one million dollars to complete a bike trail in Elad.

A Kiwi driver was captured on video ramming a woman riding a bike directly in front of her car, but will only get a lousy $150 fine because she “wasn’t injured enough.” But at least the driver apologized and offered to fix her bike.

 

Competitive Cycling

History was made Tuesday when 22-year old Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay outsprinted Mathieu van der Poel to win stage 10 of the Giro, becoming the first Black African to win a Grand Tour stage.

Ayesha McGowan, the only Black rider on the women’s pro tour, called it a victory for all of us.

Even van der Poel showed his support for Girmay in defeat, with a thumbs up gesture as the African rider crossed the finish line.

https://twitter.com/nealrogers/status/1526757824440766465

 

Finally…

Your next e-cargo bike could be self-charging with solar panels. And Giro podium today, followed by a Prosecco cork in the eye.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Two year sentence in Dotson case, Brown yields his veto pen in support of hit-and-run, dooring caught on video

September 26, 2014 / / 4 comments

Just a quick update today, since I’m having some major computer problems. Assuming I get things straightened out, I should be back Saturday night with some Weekend Links. If not, you may not hear from me for awhile until I can get my laptop fixed.

Keep your fingers crossed. 

Update: The jury is still out. Reinstalling the OS may have solved the problem. Or not.

……..

First up, in case you missed it, the driver who killed postal worker Jesse Dotson as he rode his bike to work in Gardena last year has been officially sentenced to two years in prison.

Twenty-four year old Vanessa Yanez, the daughter of a veteran LAPD sergeant, was behind the wheel when she struck Dotson’s bike and fled the scene, leaving him lying on the street; he died in a hospital three days later.

After running Dotson down, Yanez drove to a nightclub to meet a friend before reporting her car stolen the next day in an attempt to cover-up the crime.

The sentence was a given, having been worked out in a plea deal last month.

It’s not enough. The meagre sentence reflects the lack of seriousness with which our society takes traffic crimes, even when they kill.

And even when drivers try to cover up their crimes.

She should have faced a murder charge on the assumption that Dotson might have been saved if he’d gotten emergency care sooner.

But given the lax hit-and-run laws and weak penalties currently on the books, it’s probably the best we could have hoped for.

……..

Speaking of lax hit-and-run laws, there is one person who doesn’t seem to think it’s a problem.

And unfortunately for all of us, he’s the governor of our state.

Three-term Governor Jerry Brown vetoed AB 2337 on Thursday; the bill would have ensured that a hit-and-run driver would lose his or her license for two years if they injured someone.

The only governor in the US to veto a three-foot passing two times, before finally signing it last year, Brown wrote in his veto message (pdf) that penalties for hit-and-run are already stiff enough.

Evidently, he’s the only person in the state who still has no idea hit-and-run has reached epidemic proportions. If the penalties really were strict enough, most drivers would stop at the scene and render aid to their victims, as the law requires.

And quite frankly, a two year suspension for leaving another human being bleeding in the streets isn’t nearly strong enough. Anyone who lacks the basic human decency to obey the most basic requirement of the law has shown that they are undeserving of the privilege — not the right — to drive.

Our governor clearly doesn’t get that.

Instead of a mere two-year suspension, a hit-and-run driver should face lifetime revocation of their license.

Instead, Brown is fighting to keep the most dangerous and callous drivers on the streets.

Thanks, Jerry. No, really, we owe you one.

Meanwhile, Calbike is calling for everyone to contact the governor to demand that he sign AB 1532, which would increase the fines for hit-and-run — though not the prison sentences — to match those for drunk driving, in order to reduce the incentive for drivers who have ben drinking to flee the scene.

And it would ensure that hit-and-run drivers would lose their licenses for a minimum of six months — regardless of whether anyone was injured.

Given that Brown has already expressed his opinion that penalties for the crime are high enough, it’s very questionable whether he’ll sign this one.

If not, the blood of every future hit-and-run victim will be on his hands.

……..

One of the best jobs in bike advocacy just became available.

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is looking for a new Executive Director to replace Jen Klausner, who is stepping down after nearly a decade of successfully leading the organization.

Under her stewardship, the LACBC has grown to become a leading voice for Southern California bicyclists, and one of the most influential bike advocacy groups in the US.

The organization has had an exceptional track record in recent years, from nurturing CicLAvia in its earliest stages to developing award-winning programs like City of Lights. They were a driving force behind the initial Give Me 3 efforts that recently became California’s new three-foot passing law, and the key backer of the cyclist anti-harassment ordinance that is being copied across the nation.

In just a few short years, they’ve helped turn one of the nation’s most car-centric cities into a certified bike-friendly community. And they were one of the first organizations to reach out to underserved ethnic and economic communities, and to push for cycling infrastructure in less affluent areas — not because that’s where their members are, but simply because it was the right thing to do.

Now they’re looking for a superstar capable of leading the LACBC to the next level and building it into one of the nation’s pre-eminent bicycle advocacy organizations.

Maybe it’s you. Or someone you know, anyway.

……..

Recently we mentioned that the Santa Monica Bike Center had been named the area’s only Platinum level Bicycle Friendly Business by the League of American Bicyclists.

But dig a little deeper into the list of honored businesses (pdf), and you’ll find Santa Monica marketing communications agency Phelps.

The agency was honored by the Bike League for amenities including on-site showers, secure bike parking and financial incentives for bike commuters.

It’s also home to WesHigh, whose YouTube videos from his 15-mile commute from Silver Lake to Santa Monica have often been featured here.

In celebration of the honor, the agency created this infographic encouraging their employees to ride.

And maybe even you.

Phelps-Bike-InfoGraphic

……..

Might as well buy a used bike off Craigslist. After all, it’s probably your bike, anyway.

……..

Finally, I was forwarded this security cam footage showing a dooring that occurred in Burbank recently.

The shocking thing is just how quickly it happens, and how little time the rider has to react.

Fortunately, I’m told the rider was okay; his bike, maybe not so much.

And just to be clear, drivers are required to ensure that it’s safe to open their car door without interfering with the operation of other road users (CVC 22517).

So unless you’re doing something stupid, like riding the wrong way or without lights after dark, the driver is almost always at fault.

……..

Don’t miss this weekend’s most exciting bike action — the Lucha Libre-themed HP Gran Prix from 5 to 9 pm tonight in Huntington Beach.

HPimage004

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikes & the Law, Hit-and-Run, Legal Cases / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
 
Wordpress Theme by ThemeZee