Tag Archive for BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive

Morning Links: Upper LA River draft plan released, an anti-ADA bike rack, and a cycling seat you don’t want to know about

December 17, 2019 / / 2 comments

Just seven days left in the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive! Donate today via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com.

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You’ll have to excuse me if today’s post lacks a little something. 

I’m still shaken by the needless death of Danny Martin, Whittier’s beloved Tricycle Man.

While I never knew him or saw him, or even been to Whittier, I’ve often heard and read about Martin. And even wrote about him on here a few times.

Every life lost to traffic violence hurts. But this one hurts just a little more.

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Advocacy group Bike Walk Glendale wants you to take a look at the draft plan to revitalize the Upper Los Angeles River and its tributaries, and get your comments in.

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Saw this at my neighborhood Ralph’s — Kroger for those of you in the rest of the country.

And wondered just how an older or disabled person was supposed to get through there, even though the bike rider used this rack exactly as intended.

Never mind that it’s almost as secure as tying your bike to a tree; it would take a thief with bolt cutters just a few seconds to snap that rack and make off with the bike.

Thanks to Meghan Lynch and my time on a cane earlier this year for the ADA consciousness raising, aka the Americans with Disabilities Act.

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Sometimes it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A bike-riding Modesto thief pedaled off with an entire Salvation Army kettle filled with hundreds of dollars in donations.

If you’re going to burglarize a Long Island restaurant, make sure you pump up the tires on your getaway bike.

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‘Tis the Season.

Hats off to the Pasadena Rotary Club for donating 200 bicycles to kids as part of their “Bikes for Christmas” program.

A Lansing, Michigan bike co-op refurbished 49 bikes to donate to kids for the holidays. But they’ll have one less protected bike lane to ride them on.

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Don’t make her suffer this indignity for nothing. Give to the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive today.

It’s not just the last full week of the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive, it’s also the last seven days of the late Corgi’s tenure as spokesdog.

Let me offer my sincere thanks to Todd R, Joel F, and Fred D Design for their generous donations to support this site. And help keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

Seriously, what are are you waiting for, already?

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Local

Three candidates running to replace CD14 Councilmember José Huizar debated in DTLA last week. But only one appeared to mention bike lanes.

Friends, family and supporters of fallen bicyclist Frederick “Woon” Frazier marched to demand justice and an end to hit-and-runs — including the young son Woon never knew, and who will never know him.

It’s getting easier to leave your car at home in Long Beach.

CiclaValley rides the new Nichols Canyon Ride. Which is like the old Nichols Canyon Ride, but different.

 

State

A new study from the University of Duh says Orange County mountain bikers who use the KOM feature on Strava say it makes them ride faster. The study also shows that water is wet, and bears really do poop in the woods.

The San Diego City Council voted to ban dockless e-scooters from the city’s beachfront boardwalks. Is there even such a thing as docked e-scooters? I didn’t think so.

A Santa Cruz cancer patient got his stolen bike back after police tracked him down when a local resident found it abandoned behind a building. Just one more reminder to register your bike for free right now.

 

National

The Bike League wants to to contact your Congressperson, and ask him or her to co-sponsor a bill that would increase federal spending for biking and walking networks.

Fox Business asks if kids bikes will now drop in price, thanks to promised tariff relief in the Trump administration’s apparent deal in the trade war with China.

Curbed’s Alissa Walker says US bikeshare is the decade’s biggest transportation success story. Which is good news and bad news, since so little progress has been made on other fronts.

Ride a bike indoors in February to fight Parkinson’s disease. Preferably without the special seat mentioned down there at the bottom of the page.

A speeding Montana driver capped off a night of drinking at his office Christmas by killing a woman on her bike, then blamed the victim for just appearing in front of his car. Yet another reminder of the dangers of sharing the road with drinking drivers this the holiday season, as if anyone really needed it.

A Michigan nonprofit bought a new bike for a 12-year old boy after his was stolen as he was buying flowers for his mother, who had just gotten out of the hospital.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a Michigan woman’s electric wheelchair and adaptive bike from her garage.

Another young girl has been attacked by a pit bull while riding her bike, this time in Charlotte, NC; a neighbor used a trashed can and a bicycle to beat it off her.

A New York councilmember says the city can legalize ebikes even if the governor allows a bill that would do it to die without his signature. Meanwhile, another councilmember from the Big Apple calls out politicians who ride in bigass SUVs instead of on bicycle seats. And deservedly so.

A Gotham website wants to know what’s behind New York’s mounting death toll for bicyclists. Start with massive SUVs and distracted drivers, and go from there.

A Florida woman plans to bike the route her grandfather marched across Europe in World War II, covering 1,000 miles in 70 days from Normandy, France to Oldenburg, Germany — ending on the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

 

International

The Verge says ebikes will be the top-selling form of electric vehicle sold in the US over the next decade.

Good question. A writer for Road.cc asks if you’re riding to enjoy it, or to prove yourself. Well?

Red Bull tells you what you need for your first cyclocross. And they’re right, you will need a bike. And tires. And yes, pedals would come in handy, too.

Montreal bicyclists protest plans to close a key bike path, calling for it be kept open all year.

Oops. After an English city councillor complained that a bicyclist riding at 30 mph was more alarming than a driver doing 50 mph, he was caught speeding by the traffic monitoring group he set up.

More proof life is cheap in the UK, where a driver walked with a suspended sentence for killing a bike rider despite reducing his speed to 30 mph, after playing the Universal Get Out of Jail Free card and claiming the sun was in his eyes. Even though another driver dropped his speed to 5 mph under the same circumstances, and somehow managed not to kill anyone.

A Dutch bike canal cruise is sort like any other river cruise. But instead to riding the boat to the next port, you’ll ride your bike.

Brussels, Belgium will be placing 3,000 bike racks next to pedestrian crossings over the next few years.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tragic news from Columbia, where national and Pan-Am cycling champ Miguel Londono died when he fell into rocks on a training ride in Medellín.

German cyclist Robert Forstemann made the news for his freakishly large nearly 30″ thighs.

 

Finally…

Don’t even try to drive your Tesla truck in the EU. Yes, a vibrating seat is one way to relieve the boredom of indoor cycling — and maybe why the Peloton Wife enjoys it so much.

And watch Belgian kids re-enact a recent bizarre road standoff, with words their mamas probably didn’t teach them.

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

Morning Links: Protected bike lanes save lives even where they aren’t, and New York kind-of goes after macho drivers

December 16, 2019 / / 5 comments

Just eight days left in the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive! Donate today via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com.

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Yet another benefit from protected bike lanes.

A new Toronto study shows that not only did protected bike lanes increase ridership 2.57 times on the streets they’re located on, they also reduced collisions between motorists and bike riders 38% on those streets.

But surprisingly, they reduced collisions between motorists and bike riders by 35% on nearby streets up to 1,800 feet away, as well.

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New York officials say macho men in SUVs and pickups are killing people on bikes and foot, so they’re introducing a new ad campaign to shame them.

Although most drivers probably won’t be.

Not to mention when I look at the ad, his expression and dress doesn’t exactly say “macho” to me.

Meanwhile, the SUV reference is so subtle, it’s barely there. And could be literally any other type of vehicle without changing anything.

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In what looks like a case of out-of-control cops, Seattle bike cops appear to ram pedestrians on a sidewalk from behind with their bikes, apparently without warning, then bust them for obstruction and resisting arrest.

Although remember, we’re not seeing what came before this, which may or may not be relevant.

Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for the heads-up.

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‘Tis the Season.

A pair of players for the San Diego Padres teamed with the Bikes for Kids nonprofit group to give 141 bikes to 2nd and 3rd graders at a local elementary school.

Over 300 Pleasanton CA volunteers turned out to build 800 bikes for East Bay kids. And recycle the boxes they came in.

Power company PG&E worked with the Bay Area Bike Project and a Chico CA sports store to provide 40 bicycles for kids affected by last year’s devastating Camp Fire.

A South Dakota bike charity built 171 bicycles for kids in need.

Ninety-two Missouri kids now have new bikes courtesy of the Boys and Girls Clubs.

Over 100 bike-borne Santas, elves and reindeer invaded Mad City, Wisconsin over the weekend.

Three hundred kids in upstate New York will get new bicycles thanks to the employees of the county garbage collector.

A Pennsylvania urgent care center donated 110 balance bikes to local schools to help kindergarten kids learn to ride a bike.

The owner of the New Orleans Saints gave 50 new bikes to needy kids belonging to a Louisiana Native American tribe.

A Mississippi bike club is teaming with the local sheriff’s department to give 120 bicycles to area kids.

Kindhearted cops in Orlando FL gave away 100 bike and helmets to area students.

But by far the best story comes from Scotland, where a kindhearted young boy asked Santa to bring him a new bicycle, and give the one he’d outgrown to a homeless shelter.

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It’s not just the last full week of the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive, it’s the last eight days of the late Corgi’s tenure as spokesdog.

Let me offer my sincere thanks to Beverly L and Harold and Karen K for their generous donations to support this site. And help keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

So what are are you waiting for, already?

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Local

A New York couple relates how they quit their jobs and moved to Southern California by bicycle, riding 2,500 miles in 44 days while looking for work and freelancing along the way.

 

State

An Irvine bike rider was hit by an apparent drunk driver shortly after midnight Sunday morning, despite having lights and reflectors, and riding in a crosswalk near a bike path.

San Francisco police have finally gotten around to responding to bicyclists’ complaints about drivers blocking the bike lanes on Valencia Street, where citations are up 41% over last year.

Inexcusable. The chair of the Oakland Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission was held at gunpoint by private security guards for the crime of taking pictures of yarn-bombed bike racks on a public sidewalk. But it couldn’t have anything to do with him being black, right?

An op-ed in a Marin newspaper says the new bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is part of efforts to remove obstacles to bicycling. Apparently, it’s working, since the bridge is averaging 660 bike trips every day in its first two weeks.

Santa Rosa police busted four homeless people for stealing a bait bike.

Sacramento is the latest California city to adopt a Complete Streets policy. Let’s hope they have more luck with it than a certain SoCal metropolis has.

 

National

Peloton isn’t the only game in town for stay at home bicyclists; the others range from less expensive to a lot less expensive. Although just getting outside can help you live longer.

DHL has been ordered to pay over $9 million to a Canadian couple who were run down while riding single file on on the shoulder an Oregon highway. The driver said it wasn’t his fault, claiming they were actually in the traffic lane and he couldn’t avoid them; one victim nearly lost his leg as a result of the crash.

Colorado bicyclists are making a last ditch effort to roundup investors to rescue a Northern Colorado velodrome before another buyer tears it down.

File this one under you’ve got to be kidding. An off-duty Michigan cop could walk with probation for the hit-and-run that left a bike rider with a broken elbow. Then coming back and directing traffic — without telling anyone he was the one who hit him.

New York councilmember tell the cops to knock off harassing and ticketing ebike delivery riders. Good luck with that. Harassing bike riders appears to be what the NYPD does best.

Louisiana State University, home to the new Heisman Trophy winner, will be getting new bike lanes to improve bike safety on campus. Which is a big change from when I lived in Baton Rouge, and could count on getting a beer or two thrown at me just for daring to ride past the campus.

 

International

Despite the complaints of some disgruntled drivers, over two-thirds of Vancouver residents like the city’s new network of protected bike lanes.

A Calgary letter writer says scofflaw bicyclists are getting with murder — and the editor of the local paper evidently agrees with him. Never mind that its the people on four wheels who are actually killing people, and disproportionately the ones on two wheels or feet getting killed.

Apparently, some drivers really can’t see us. After an English driver critically injured a woman on a bicycle, she failed an eye test the next day.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is one of us, through his election likely means his days as an everyday bike rider are probably numbered. But he should still be a friend to bicycling while in office.

A UK truck driver was convicted despite playing the universal Get Out of Jail Free card by claiming the sun was in his eye. Possibly because he was high on coke at the time of the crash.

An Irish court awarded an injured bike rider the equivalent of over $22,000 after a driver ran over his foot — even though he allegedly ran a red light, ruling he was 60% responsible for the crash.

A Danish website suggests ebikes are becoming the country’s new car.

An Indian city has asked municipal employees to walk or bike to work once a week to help curb pollution.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is one of us, touring the Red Sea city of Sharm el Shiekh before opening the World Youth Forum later that day.

 

Competitive Cycling

A mass crash in a Brisbane, Australia track cycling race took out 12 of the 21 World Cup cyclists competing in the Omnium.

Cycling Tips offers tips on how to design a bike race course.

Twenty-two-year old Gage Hecht is your new men’s US national ‘cross champ.

 

Finally…

Former Doors frontman Jim Morrison is still one of us, evidently. Who says you can’t ride on solid ice?

And that feeling when your loose dog is faster than most of the peloton.

https://twitter.com/FulSpeed/status/1206215964754432001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1206215964754432001&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cyclingweekly.com%2Fnews%2Fracing%2Fwatch-dog-causes-havoc-getting-course-cyclocross-race-445156

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

No Morning Links due to last night’s breaking news

December 12, 2019 / / Comments Off on No Morning Links due to last night’s breaking news

My apologies once again.

Unfortunately, last night’s bicycling fatalities in Bonsall and Calexico left me with far too little time to write today’s Morning Links.

But if you’re unsure whether to support this year’s BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive, consider this.

I’m committed to bringing you the news no one wants, even though it’s by far the hardest thing I have to do.

And probably the hardest things you have to read.

I write about the victims of these crashes both to remember and honor them, and provide a bike rider’s perspective that the police and press too often don’t — and the victims can’t.

Because if we don’t know what’s really going on out there, it’s impossible to fix it.

And that’s something you won’t find anywhere else in Southern California.

It’s up to you to decide what that’s worth to you, if anything.

No amount is too small — or too large, for that matter. All I ask is that you give if you want, and if you can.

And if you already have, thank you, sincerely, from the bottom of my heart.

Either way, I’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we missed today.

Because the most important thing you can do to support this site is to simply keep coming back every day.

Category: General / Tags:

Morning Links: Bike rider fatally shot in South LA, Peloton’s “awful” new ad, and why people keep dying on our streets

December 3, 2019 / / One comment

Today is Giving Tuesday.

So take a few moments, and a few dollars, to help make a difference in our world. Or more than a few dollars, even.

Give generously, wherever your heart leads, and to whatever inspires you.

Because Lord knows, this world could use the help.

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Sad news from South LA, where a man riding a bicycle was shot to death in an apparent drive-by.

The 20-something victim was found lying dead next to a bicycle, in the traffic lane near the intersection of Figueroa and 89th Streets around 9 pm Sunday.

According to a police spokesperson, there is a lot of gang activity in the area, which may or may not explain the motive for the shooting.

Seriously, the only thing more wasteful than unintentionally taking the life of another human being with a car is doing it on purpose with a gun.

Thanks to John Damman for the heads-up.

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This one just cracks me up.

Today’s best read comes from USA Today’s For The Win! website, begging someone to “please help the woman from Peloton’s awful new ad,” and saying it earns the indoor cycling brand “our collective wrath.”

For the second year in a row, no less.

The woman’s terrified face is so disconcerting, her distress so obvious that it’s impossible to focus on anything else happening in the ad. She’s already trim and gorgeous, and yes, even though exercise should be about more than self-image, it’s clear this woman is trying to compensate for something. Is it her crumbling marriage? Her husband’s not-so-subtle suggestion she drop a few pounds?

The zeal with which she attacks the Peloton clearly speaks to some deep, unfulfilled need somewhere in her life.  Here she is — young, beautiful, successful, with a child and financial security– and yet, something inside her is still so obviously and utterly broken that only an unhealthy fixation on indoor cycling can help mend it.

Meanwhile, the online world quickly jumped in to offer its own takes.

Like this one.

https://twitter.com/morninggloria/status/1201569872083378176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1201570411047276544&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fftw.usatoday.com%2F2019%2F12%2Fpeloton-bike-lady-needs-help-someone-please-help-her

The writer wraps it up this way.

It’s clear this woman doesn’t need a Peloton. She needs a good therapist and a divorce lawyer.

Maybe you won’t find it as funny as I did, after working most of my career in advertising and marketing.

But take the time to read it if you want a good laugh.

Unless maybe you work for Peloton, in which case it’s probably not funny at all.

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This is why people keep dying on the streets.

A Michigan man was convicted of driving a motorized bicycle without a headlight or a driver’s license, with a BAC over twice the legal alcohol limit.

Which is nothing new for him, though. He had 13 previous DUI convictions on his record, including four stints behind bars.

He’d had just finished adding the motor to his bike.

A Margaritaville-branded bike appropriately enough, given the circumstance.

Meanwhile, a distracted Canadian driver was still on the road despite being cited for cellphone use nine previous times.

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Metro and the LACBC want to help you learn to ride your bike safely.

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‘Tis the Season.

Yesterday we mentioned that Michigan volunteers built 240 bikes for Toys for Tots. Today we learn that 130 of those bikes were donated by a single bighearted nine-year old girl, who collected cans all year to pay for them.

Toledo, Ohio police and firefighter unions donated and built 52 kids bicycles for the county children’s service department.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.

A road raging Russian driver intentionally swerved into a bike rider after brake checking him, knocking him into another car.

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

A Texas woman lost her wallet to a bike-riding bandit, even after she managed to sink her teeth into him.

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Thanks to Theodore F, Mark J, Moore R, James L, Matthew R and Jack M for their generous donations to the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Your support helps keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. Or nearly every day, anyway.

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Local

Apparently misunderstanding the “new” in news, the LA Times gets scooped by a full five days on the arrest of the LAUSD teacher in the caught-on-security-cam Silver Lake hit-and-run that left a homeless bike rider critically injured.

CiclaValley’s Zachary Rynew throws down the gantlet for the Militant Angeleno with his preview of this Sunday’s West Valley CicLAvia. Meanwhile, CicLAvia clarifies whether ebikes are allowed. Short answer yes, as long as you have to pedal to make it work.

 

State

The San Diego Union-Tribune profiles the executive director of the I,400-member SD Mountain Biking Association

The less rural than it used to be Santa Ynez Valley could soon have a bike plan offering a network of new and enhanced bike lanes.

A Bakersfield professor has tossed his hat in the ring to replace a retiring congressman; the Republican former college teammate of Pat Tillman — the Army Ranger who walked away from a successful NFL career after 9/11 only to be killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan — once rode his bike 3,468 miles across the US.

Caltrans wants Sonoma bicyclists to help them identify to area’s worst roads.

 

National

Singletracks reviews eight hip packs for mountain biking. Because no one wants a fanny pack.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole the bicycle a Washington man with cerebral palsy used as his only form of transportation.

It could take up to two years to repair a 195-mile long Nebraska bike path, one of the longest in the US, following massive flooding last spring.

Minnesota police get the law wrong, merely ticketing the impatient driver who killed a woman on a bike by going around a car that was stopped to let her cross in a crosswalk, as well as the courteous and law-abiding driver who stopped for her.

Police in Detroit don’t hesitate to absolve a driver for the crash that seriously injured a bike rider — right up to the point he fled the scene.

Many college students survive on dorm vending machines, but University of Kentucky students can get their bike parts the same way.

A Pittsburgh letter writer blames bike lanes, and the accompanying loss of parking, for threatening the city’s commercial district. Even though all that parking apparently didn’t help the major department stores stay in business before the spaces were removed. And never mind that drivers “speed through listening to music and (ignore) the rules of the road, too.”

DC-area suburbs are adopting Vision Zero plans to protect bike riders and pedestrians on auto centric streets.

A North Carolina pickup driver turned himself in to police Monday afternoon for the Thanksgiving hit-and-run collision that killed a bike rider. Which probably gave him plenty of time to sober up before turning himself in.

A 15-year old Florida boy tragically demonstrated the dangers of skitching, losing control of his bike and slipping under the truck he was holding onto when the driver slowed for a right turn.

 

International

A Toronto writer says e-scooters may be dangerous and annoying, but the city needs them anyway — or anything else that provides an alternative to driving. No, scooter riders can be annoying, but cars and their drivers are dangerous.

Horrible story from China, where three people are missing after a giant sinkhole swallowed a truck and an ebike rider.

A South African writer makes a bike tour of Bangkok sound like a real adventure. Which is not necessarily a good thing.

 

Competitive Cycling

The famed Paris-Roubaix just got a little less rough. A nearly one-mile section of cobblestones near the end of the race was partially paved, allowing riders on either side to travel a smoother road than those in the middle.

That Congressional Gold Medal for America’s last remaining Tour de France winner isn’t a done deal yet, still needing approval from the Senate after it was approved by the House.

 

Finally…

Your next ped-assist delivery ebike could be a refrigerator, too. Your next BMX could steer from both ends.

And if you’re going to file a fraudulent insurance claim after a bike crash, turn off your Strava and stop posting to Facebook first.

 

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

Morning Links: Driver busted in Escondido hit-and-run, Bike Index saves ebike from Tijuana swap meet, and ET flies again

December 2, 2019 / / One comment

It’s the first full week of the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

I count on your support to help close the long and challenging gap after the sponsorship funds for this site run out, and before they start to renew again in the spring. 

So give today to help keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

And keep me from having to work the next few months for free. 

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Good news from San Diego’s North County, where Escondido police have arrested a suspect in last month’s fatal hit-and-run that took the life of a young father and former mountain bike racer.

Forty-one-year old Escondido resident Jamison Connor was identified as the driver who allegedly ran down 36-year old Vista resident Kevin Lentz, leaving him to die in the street, and forcing his one-year old son to grow up without a father.

Connor was initially taken into custody on unrelated parole violation allegations related to “various weapons charges, drug charges, and driving under the influence allegations,” according to a police spokesman.

Which matters, because unless Escondido authorities can come up with other charges, the most Connor could get for a fatal hit-and-run in California is just four years.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding page has raised over $101,000 for his wife and son.

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More proof of the power of bicycle registration, as Bike Index helps recover a $6,000 ebike stolen from San Diego’s Hotel Del Coronado at a Tijuana swap meet.

Seriously, if you haven’t already, stop what you’re doing and sign up for their free, international, lifetime bike registration.

Before it’s too late.

Speaking of Bike Index, Facebook will match any donations to the nonprofit organization on tomorrow’s Giving Tuesday.

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In case you missed it during Thursday’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, ET once again phoned home — and once again rode a flying bicycle with the children of now-grown Elliott, carrying on the family tradition.

But even if you saw it, you may have missed all the many hidden references to the original.

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Who needs a seat, anyway?

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No, you don’t need an SUV to carry your Christmas tree.

Or even a car.

https://twitter.com/BrooklynSpoke/status/1200457661059350528

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Keep your eyes peeled on the streets of Los Angeles for Princess Leia, the bike-riding bulldog.

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David Huntsman goes for a bike ride on the “organically evolved” bike paths of Paris.

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An Indian website asks if video of a Malaysian teen riding a 3 meter high bicycle — the equivalent of over nine feet — is the tallest bicycle ever.

Then answers the question themselves, suggesting they knew all along that the ridiculously tall, 6.15 meter — 20 feet 2.5 inch — STOOPIDTALLER™ bike from LA’s own Richie Trimble holds the record, making it more that twice as tall as the Malaysian bike.

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‘Tis the Season.

Michigan volunteers put together 240 bicycles to be given away through the local Toys for Tots program.

Apparently, Santa rides a bike in Portugal.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.

A road raging Aussie driver turned himself in after an attack that was caught on video, running up from behind to punch a bike rider in the head, knocking him off his bike and out cold, before throwing the bike at the victim. All because the bike rider complained about the driver encroaching on a bike lane.

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Local

An op-ed from a UCLA professor says e-scooters are a growing public health challenge, and users need mandatory helmets and training. Because evidently, all other modes of transportation are so much safer, and scooter users kill so many other people. Except they aren’t, and they don’t. 

New LA advocacy group Streets for All says you need to give your input on Beverly Hills’ surprisingly complete Complete Streets plan, saying your voice is needed to keep bike riders and pedestrians from being drowned out by the city’s wealthy NIMBYs.

Redondo Beach considers what’s basically the opposite of Vision Zero, concluding that it has fewer total crashes than the regional average in the northern reaches of the city, so no improvements are necessary — despite a recent rash of traffic deaths it blames on “incorrect behavior” and other “non-systemic issues.”

Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson takes issue with Peter Flax’ recent Bicycling piece about the real reason’s bike riders keep dying on our streets. And Flax takes issue with Davidson taking issue.

 

State

Bad news from San Diego, where a 46-year old man suffered life threatening injuries when he allegedly swerved his bike in front of a pickup driver in San Ysidro. As always, the question is whether there are any independent witnesses who saw him swerve. Besides the driver, that is.

San Diego bike rider Mike Cohen has finished his journey across the US, mostly by bicycle, to meet the family of the Navy flight surgeon whose donated heart allowed Cohen to make the trip.

Temecula has opened a new bike pump track. Which actually has very little to do with bicycle pumps.

Police have released security cam video of the suspect vehicle in last month’s hit-and-run that killed a San Jose bike rider.

The San Francisco Chronicle wonders how — and whether — bicycles can become a preferred means of transportation in the city.

The Sacramento Bee explains what the area will get if a proposed transportation sales tax passes, including a new bicycle bridge and enhancements to Vision Zero. Meanwhile, a Sacramento writer says the city’s goal of surpassing Portland as America’s most livable city is just a pipe dream unless city leaders actually do something.

 

National

Bicycling considers how society’s words are failing people on bicycles.

Fast Company says your next helmet could lose the foam in favor of a new squishy material that absorbs impacts up to 48% better than traditional insulation.

A Seattle weekly disagrees with the local paper, saying no, the city shouldn’t enforce its existing bike helmet law.

A group of indoor cyclists are riding to make the world safer for outdoor ones, attempting to set a record for Longest Static Indoor Cycling Class at a Denver cycling studio to raise funds for PeopleForBikes.

A Montana man calls the police because he fears a beanie-wearing man on a purple bike is going to go into a store grocery bathroom a shoot up drugs. Because he’d seen “those types of people in California.” No, really.

When a Texas surgeon was needed for an emergency operation while out on a long bike ride, a Good Samaritan picked him up and drove him back to town. And yes, the patient is doing well.

The decidedly bike-unfriendly New York Post complains that the city’s bikeshare provider keeps posting pictures of bike riders without helmets. Because they need to set an example, so everyone will always have one with them on the off chance they might decide to actually rent a bikeshare that day.

An attorney for the victim says the NYPD botched an investigation into a bike rider’s death, and that even a cursory examination of the evidence would have shown she wasn’t at fault.

Streetsblog says ticketing an unresponsive New York bike rider following a dooring is a new low for the city’s police. Evidently the department agrees, cancelling the ticket.

A New Jersey paper visits a bike shop founded by an Italian immigrant “right off the boat,” where four generations of the same family have served bike riders for 93-years.

Three Maryland counties are helping ex-cons get back on their feet by getting them on two wheels.

Call it broom protected bike lanes in DC.

Once again, a bike rider is the hero, as a young Miami man rescues a female construction worker from a hammer-wielding assailant.

 

International

We’re winning, comrades. An electric vehicle website says more carmakers are developing ebikes and scooters because they see the writing on the wall for traditional motor vehicles.

The UN says the quickest way to reduce emissions and climate change is to stop making massive SUVs.

A writer for Forbes asks if ebikes are the new delivery vans.

A Vancouver cab driver is caught on video driving in a bike lane across a busy bridge; local riders say it happens all the time.

Once again, a bicycle turns out to be the fastest way across a major city, this time in London as a bike rider beats the city’s famed Tube.

Life is cheap in the UK, as yet another motorist walks with community service and an 18-month ban on driving after rear-ending a bike rider. Meanwhile, an Aussie barrister — aka trial lawyer — considers whether community service and a fine is fair punishment for killing someone on a bicycle. Hint: regardless of what the law says, it’s not.

The Guardian examines which political party offers the best promises for British bicyclists.

If you’re going to suffer a heart attack, you could pick a worse place than a UK bike cafe where a nurse and her partner are dining.

A British county is attempting to improve safety by installing hi-tech signs warning drivers when bike riders are present.

Mumbai will get a junior bicycle mayor within the next three months to encourage more kids to get on their bikes.

Hundreds of Pakistani bike riders turned out to show their solidarity with the people of Palestine.

An Australian paper considers what it will take to break Sydney residents’ addiction to cars. If they figure it out, let us know.

Local governments around Japan are passing ordinances requiring bike riders to carry liability insurance, but without penalties for failing to comply.

 

Competitive Cycling

Five-time Tour de France champ Miguel Indurain is coming out of retirement at age 55 to compete in the six-stage Titan Desert mountain bike race from the Maghreb region of Northern Africa to the Sahara Desert.

Belgian pro cyclist Sofie De Vuyst was suspended by her team after testing positive for steroids, one of the few women’s cyclists to be busted for cheating. But the era of doping is over, right?

A 22-year old Danish pro learns the hard way about the dangers of dancing, breaking his leg while cutting a rug with his teammates; he’ll be off his bike for the next six weeks.

A bike rider discovers what pain is by finishing dead last in the 629.4-mile North Star Bicycle Race ultracycling race.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can have your own hi-tech police bike for a mere ten grand. Even turkeys are running interference for scofflaw drivers.

And forget the limo; nothing beats riding away from your wedding with your new bride riding sidesaddle on the top tube.

 

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

Give to the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive today!

November 28, 2019 / / Comments Off on Give to the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive today!
Donate today via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com.

It’s the first full week of the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive.

The one time of year I come right out and ask for your money.

Okay, beg.

Because operating this site is a more than full-time job, for far less than minimum wage. And while I truly appreciate each of the sponsors over there on the right, their support, as valuable as it is, doesn’t cover what I need to keep this site going.

Especially after a year like this, when the money that came in went out just as fast. Or faster, even.

But that’s where you come in.

Your support helps fill in that gaping gap, and allows me to devote all my working hours to bringing you the latest bike news on a daily basis, from around the corner or around the world.

And devote whatever time I have left in this life to helping make this a safer place for people on bicycles, and a more livable world for all of us.

Or call it the 1st Corgi Memorial Fund Drive in memory of our late, great spokesdog

It’s not an easy job. Especially when I have to bring you news that none of us want.

But it matters. Because we can’t fix problems if we don’t know they exist. And our leaders can’t hide the truths we shine a light on.

So give what you can, or give what you want.

But please, give something.

You can contribute with just a few clicks by using PayPal. Or by using the using the Zelle feature that came with the banking app that’s probably already on your smartphone; just send your contribution to ted @ bikinginla.com.

Any donation, in any amount, is truly and deeply appreciated. And will help keep all the best bike news coming your way every day.

If you can’t afford to give anything, or just prefer not to, that’s cool too. You’re more than welcome to keep coming back, and contributing to our online community.

But please give if you can, and what you can. Because we can really use the help.

This year especially.

Thank you to Felicia G and theMuirs for their generous contributions to this fund drive even before it officially began.

And as always, a special thanks to Todd Rowell, who came up with the idea for this fund drive in the first place.

Category: General / Tags: ,

Last chance to support SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy

December 22, 2018 / / One comment

Okay, that’s not true.

You’re more than welcome to make a donation to this site anytime.

But it’s the final weekend of the 4th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

The last two days to support SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy during our one and only fundraising campaign of the year.

And the only time we’ll come right out and ask for your support.

Or beg, even.

It’s easy to donate via PayPal, or through Zelle with the banking app that’s already on your phone using the email address you’ll find on this link.

Any amount is truly and deeply appreciated, no matter how large or small, to help keep this site coming your way every day. And ensure the Corgi has a little kibble under her tree Christmas morning.

So what are you waiting for, already?

Thanks to Evan B, Robert H and Karen K for their generous donations to the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive! 

Category: General / Tags: , , , , ,

It’s the 4th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

November 22, 2018 / / Comments Off on It’s the 4th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

It’s that time of year again.

No, not the season of incessant holiday music, ugly sweaters or bizarre Christmas flavors leaping out of your coffee cup.

Or even palm trees swaddled in red and green lights lining the sidewalk.

It’s time for the 4th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive.

The one time of year when, like your favorite public radio station, I ask you to open your wallets and dig deep to help keep Southern California’s leading source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.

Except unlike your favorite public radio station, we don’t block most of this site to make you pay up.

It started as a joke four years ago — hence that whole 4th Annual thing. But the funny thing was people actually took it seriously, and wanted to give their hard-earned money to support this site.

Which surprised the hell out of me.

Thanks to donations from people like you — along with the generosity of our sponsors, and a very understanding wife — I’ve been able to turn BikinginLA into a more than full-time job. And devote whatever time I have left in this world to doing whatever I can to make the streets safer for people on bicycles.

Which takes us back to that whole dig deep thing.

You can contribute with just a few clicks by using PayPal. Or by using the Zelle app that came with the banking app that’s probably already on your smartphone; just 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. And will help keep the Corgi in kibble while keeping this site up and running.

If you can’t afford to give anything, or just prefer not to, that’s cool too. You’re more than welcome to keep coming back, and contributing to our online community.

Either way, thanks for taking a moment to consider it. And thanks for visiting this site.

Because it doesn’t matter what I write if you’re not here to read it.

Thank you to Nina M, Betsy G, John L, View-Speed Inc. and an anonymous donor for their generous contributions to this fund drive even before it officially began.

And let me offer a special thanks to Todd Rowell, who came up with the idea for a holiday fund drive in the first place.

Category: General / Tags: ,
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