Good news from Cal Poly Pomona, for a change.
CPP professor Boyonabike! provides a wrap-up of Bike Week at the traditionally auto-centric and bike-unfriendly university. And reports that things are finally beginning to change.
The university’s new President, Dr. Soraya Coley, has been supportive of efforts to encourage alternative transportation (the previous campus president once threatened to ban bikes from campus). The campus installed new bus shelters last summer and this year we’ll be getting new bike racks and bike repair stands at several locations on campus. Even bigger changes may be just around the corner, however.
This year the president created a new campus Transportation Advisory Committee that will take a more holistic approach to mobility, and next year’s update of the Campus Master Plan could provide a blueprint for a more bike- and transit-friendly campus. Better transit connectivity to campus and discount student transit passes will be a priority, but it is in bike infrastructure that we may see some of the most sweeping changes. I still can’t believe I’m writing these words, but the President recently approved installation of protected bike lanes on a stretch of Kellogg Drive that is being realigned to accommodate new student housing. Yes, you read that right. By September 2017 there should be protected bike lanes and improved intersections on a roadway where a cyclist was killed by a distracted driver a few years ago.
That would be the best possible memorial to fallen cyclist Ivan Aguilar, to transform the university he never got to graduate from into one where no one else needs to fear for their lives, however they choose to travel.
My apologies to John Lloyd and everyone at Cal Poly; I meant to include this one last night, but lost it as I struggled to get yesterday’s post online despite a balky, and since replaced, trackpad.
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These are the people we share the roads with.
A drunk, speeding Corvette driver gets six years for running down a 77-year old Oregon man as he rode his bicycle in a bike lane; a lawsuit is proceeding against the six bars that allowed him to achieve a BAC three and a half times the legal limit. A previous DUI (or DUII in Oregon) was dismissed after he completed a diversion program, which obviously didn’t take.
A Michigan woman faces up to five years behind bars for doing coke before running down a bike rider.
And Michigan driver was high on heroin when he fled the scene after killing a 61-year old man riding his bike on the shoulder of the roadway.
Clearly, more has to be done to keep drunk and drugged drivers off the roads. Especially if they’ve already been arrested — not merely convicted — for driving under the influence.
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Pasadena Now recaps the hometown finish of America’s only WorldTour race.
After finishing second in her first road race, a Roseville cyclist serves as a “human shield” — otherwise known as a domestique — in the women’s tour of California.
Cycling Weekly looks at the Cima Coppi, the intense climb up the famed Stelvio — the highest point of the Giro d’Italia — named after one of the greatest cyclists of all time.
Estonian cyclist Tanel Kangert is out for the season after breaking his arm and shoulder after falling in the Giro; he was the leader of the Astana team, which lost Michele Scarponi earlier this year when he was killed in a collision while training.
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Local
The Spoke Bicycle Café along the LA River bike path in Frogtown has re-opened, after re-imagining itself as a full service restaurant.
Make your plans for the final event of LA’s Bike Month, with Metro’s Bike Night at Union Station this Friday.
Black Kids on Bikes will host the BKOB Memorial Ride 2017 this Sunday
Mark your calendar for the LA Mural Ride in Northeast LA on June 3rd.
State
Three hundred chefs rode three hundred miles in three days to raise funds for No Kids Hungry.
An Orange County church has built 100 bicycles for needy families.
Coronado will reduce fines for bike riders in hopes of encouraging police to write more tickets; officers sometime are reluctant to ticket bicyclists if they think the high fines aren’t justified by the offense.
An apparent road-raging driver pleads not guilty to murdering a Barstow bike rider after exchanging words with him.
Watsonville holds its first open streets event, hopefully pointing the way to a more bike friendly future.
Sacramento held an open streets event Sunday on what would normally be one of the city’s busiest streets.
National
People For Bikes says that connecting bikeway networks is going to be harder now that cities have built the easy “low-hanging fruit,” but worth it. Or you could do it the Los Angeles way and give up, calling the difficult ones merely “aspirational.”
A business website considers how Trek became a $1 billion global business.
Once again, the cops just don’t get it, blaming the victim of a right hook for trying undertake a right-turning driver during a Tennessee Ironman race.
The Department of DIY strikes again, as Boston bike advocates take safety messaging into their own hands, with an assist from former LA resident Bikeyface — and Matt Damon. Needless to say, the city took the signs down within hours.
A Syracuse NY cycling and speed skating coach has been arrested for allegedly having sexual contact with girl under 15 years old. There’s a special place in hell for people like that. And hopefully, a place behind bars for a very long time.
A DC cycling instructor offers advice on how to navigate city streets with confidence.
The war on bikes continues, as two cyclists participating in an Alabama Gran Fondo were shot at with a pellet gun, injuring one. Meanwhile, the mythical war on cars remains just that.
Once again, kind-hearted cops replace a bicycle for kid after his was stolen, this time in Georgia.
A drunk Florida driver was busted for barreling 62 mph down the road while weaving in and out of a bike path.
International
Mexico City becomes the latest city to elect a bike mayor. Meanwhile, Los Angeles doesn’t even have an official bike neighborhood councilmember.
Winnipeg is importing the Netherlands bike culture along with 140 single speed Dutch bikes.
Bike advocates question whether Montreal is doing enough to remain one of North America’s most bike-friendly cities.
A Conservative candidate for Parliament says she wouldn’t feel safe riding in Birmingham, England either.
Riding a bikeshare bike home from the local pub after downing a few pints in Bristol, England could get you a fine up to £2,500 — the equivalent of over $3,200.
City Lab looks at bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid’s efforts to revive Britain’s forgotten bikeway network.
Not surprisingly, a new French study shows drivers who bike are more likely to spot a bicyclist on the roadway — and less likely to run into one.
Both the cycling and motor racing worlds were in mourning today, as word broke that former MotoGP champ Nicky Hayden passed away five days after he was hit by a driver as he rode his bike in Italy. There’s something seriously wrong when a man can race a motorcycle at over 200 mph, but isn’t safe riding a bicycle.
A Philippine graduate student finds deeper meaning in learning to ride a bike for the first time.
Finally…
Honestly, who among us hasn’t ridden through the Tuscan countryside with a full security detail?Even Mafiosos ride bikes, though they don’t always make it home, either.
And a Brazilian cyclist gives a whole new meaning to rescuing a kittie.
