Tag Archive for Burbank

Injured Encinitas bike advocate wins $11 million settlement, SaMo crashes drop 50%, and boring street racers into quitting

March 10, 2021 / / 2 comments

It’s the very definition of tragic irony.

In December of 2018, the executive director of advocacy group Cardiff 101 Main Street was run down by a driver while riding her bike on the sharrows on the North Coast Highway in the Leucadia neighborhood of Encinitas.

Exactly where she had long fought for safety improvements, including a road diet and bike lanes.

Roberta Walker, a longtime bike and pedestrian advocate, and former professional snowboarder, suffered multiple catastrophic injuries that left her survival in doubt for some time after she was placed in a medically induced coma.

This week, she settled a lawsuit with Encinitas for a whopping $11 million to cover past and future medical expenses, as well as what will likely be years, if not a lifetime, of rehab.

Although something tells me she’d gladly give up every penny to avoid those injuries and have her old life back.

Her lawyer argued that the sharrows were a dangerous condition of public property and a direct cause of the crash, in which she was run down from behind by a pickup driver.

Which, sadly, is about as good a description as any for far too many sharrows.

Thankfully, that won’t be a problem much longer.

The long-awaited project began preliminary construction activities last month and features traffic calming measures, buffered bike lanes, raised medians, roundabouts and enhanced crosswalks.

“One profound irony of this accident is that Ms. Walker herself had advocated for a dedicated bike lane in multiple City Council meetings,” (plaintiffs’ attorney Ed) Susolik said.

There’s no word on whether the driver ever faced charges.

Or even got a ticket for nearly killing someone riding legally, exactly where she was supposed to be.

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Santa Monica saw a 50% drop in traffic collisions over the last year as more people stayed home during the pandemic, and a 70% reduction in drunk driving due to the closure of restaurants and bars.

The city also repurposed street parking for al fresco restaurant dining, and built another 18 miles of protected bike lanes — which equals half of all the bike lanes built in Los Angeles in the 2019/2020 fiscal year, despite being just a tiny fraction of LA’s size.

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Apparently, the Burbank Police Department plans to bore street racers into giving it up.

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Today’s common theme is a host of new bikes, e- and otherwise.

Who wouldn’t want an ebike inspired by the legendary Caroll Shelby?

When you need your powerful ebike camouflaged for hunting.

A 24-year old Irishman created a new ebike designed to replace your car, and turned to Vietnam for manufacturing.

Or maybe you’d rather have a cross between a teeny tiny car and a throttle controlled adult e-tricycle.

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

After London cop carelessly cut off a bike rider, the officer made a U-turn and came back — to lecture the guy on the bike.

It’s a sad commentary when even carfree British streets aren’t.

https://twitter.com/drewsonix/status/1368659207424258049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1368659207424258049%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-9-march-2021-281561

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

Tragic news from the UK, where a bike rider is on trial for allegedly jumping a red light and slamming into a 73-year old man walking home from work; the victim died days later as a result of severe brain injuries suffered in the crash; bicyclist turned himself in after initially fleeing the scene. Yet another reminder that pedestrians are the only people on the street who are more vulnerable than we are. So ride carefully around them, dammit. And stick around after a crash. 

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Local

LADOT is planning safety improvements to a 1.2 mile segment of San Vicente Blvd east of Beverly Hills when the street is scheduled to be repaved this June; options include a separated or parking protected bike lane.

Metro is hosting a virtual bike repair and flat fixing class this Saturday.

 

State

A San Diego bike rider was lucky to survive when he swerved suddenly to avoid a garbage truck in a parking lot, and was impaled through the neck and jaw by a hook hanging from the front of a pickup.

UC Santa Barbara talks with geography professor Trisalyn Nelson, who created BikeMaps to allow bike riders to report trouble spots after yet another too-close call on her bike.

Authorities identified the victim of Saturday’s Turlock hit-and-run as a 44-year old Turlock man; police are looking for the driver of a charcoal gray Mercedes sedan with visible damage to the front and/or side.

Streetsblog is looking for freelance help in San Francisco.

A Gold Country bike columnist says unless you make a living on it, your bike is a toy, so have fun on it. Evidently, he’s never heard of bike commuting or transportation riding. Which doesn’t mean he’s not right about the fun part.

 

National

The Verge looks at the growing DIY ebike movement, citing the birth of Rad Power Bikes as a prime example.

Tragic news from Phoenix, where a 22-year old man was collateral damage when a shootout erupted between a group of people standing in a field as he was riding by on his bike.

It may be illegal to park in a Houston bike lane now, but that doesn’t mean it actually stops anyone.

Chicago’s Goose Island beer is marking the release of their new 312 Lemonade Shandy by giving away new bicycles to anyone who can find one of 50 giant lemons hidden throughout the city on — you guessed it — March 12th, aka 3-12. And they make damn good beer, too.

The bike shortage induced by the bike boom induced by the pandemic has made its way to Bowling Green KY, home to the fighting WKU Hilltoppers.

Armed robbers are targeting New York delivery riders to steal the expensive ebikes they need to do their jobs.

 

International

The family of British motorcyclist Harry Dunn say they’re offended by an offer from American spy Anne Sacoolas to do community service for the wrong way hit-and-run that took his life, after she claimed diplomatic immunity to flee the country. Although you have to wonder about American intelligence services if they can’t figure out that Brits drive on the other side of the road.

A bike chain in the UK is facing well-deserved criticism for laying off 300 workers and shifting the rest to zero guaranteed hour contracts in an effort to slash costs, despite booming business from the bike boom.

 

Competitive Cycling

Vincenzo Nibali, who should know, says turn off those bike computers and power meters during a race and ride on instinct, like Strade Bianche winner Mathieu van der Poel.

Rouleur previews the upcoming Giro, the first of the three Grand Tours.

 

Finally…

Business up front, party in the back — a DIY mountain bike with a mullet. That feeling when the cops have you dead to rights for stealing a bike from a disabled person, and you somehow think you can do better in front of a jury.

And when you want to learn how to make a bicycle, among other things.

In Japanese.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a damn mask, already. 

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

Low bike goals in new LADOT strategic plan, proposed retail bike registration requirement, and new Burbank bike path

February 5, 2021 / / One comment

LADOT has released their updated Strategic Plan for 2021.

I haven’t had a chance to dig into it yet. But at first glance, the section on bike planning and implementation could use some major improvement.

While it’s good news that the city is finally getting around to working on the Neighborhood Enhanced Network — one of three comprehensive bike networks in the city’s mobility plan — completing just one major active transportation project per year sets an extremely low and unambitious bar for the city.

Click to enlarge

 

At that rate, it could be decades before we’ll finally have a safe route across the city. Or through your own neighborhood, even.

And that vague term doesn’t even guarantee that the “major active transportation project” will include bikes at all.

To be fair, Los Angeles Department of Transportation continues to be dramatically understaffed and underfunded, a situation that’s not likely to improve anytime soon, given the city’s precarious financial state.

Meanwhile, biking and walking continues to take a backseat to funneling ever larger amounts of motor vehicles through our already overstrained streets.

And don’t even get me started on the largely forgotten Vision Zero program, which has been pushed so far back on the list of priorities it risks falling off entirely.

While the commitment to major active transportation projects vaguely resembles the long-promised Backbone Network of bikeways on major streets, there’s no mention of the Green Network promised in the 2010 Bike Plan, which was subsumed into the mobility plan.

The idea was to have one network leading into another, giving riders the ability to travel in their own neighborhood, through the local community, and across the city.

Instead we’re left with vague promises, as LADOT continues to set the bar so low they have to be careful not to trip over it on the way out every night.

Thanks to Kent Strumpell for the heads-up.

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Saturday’s virtual meeting of the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Coalition will include discussion of a proposal to require retail sellers of new and used bikes to register them for the buyer with Bike Index.

Although that would be difficult, if not impossible, to enforce.

A better option would be to offer some sort of tax benefit to encourage bike shops to do what some are already doing — register their bikes when they take them into inventory, then transfer the registration to the buyer if the customer wants.

Thanks to Joe Linton for the tip.

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Okay, so you may not get much of a workout. But who wants to be the first to ride it today?

Thanks to Chris Buonomo for the heads-up.

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Nice.

Pastor William S. Epps of South LA’s Second Baptist Church joined with over 50 bicyclists representing the Inner City Cycling Connection on Martin Luther King Day to pray for “healing in African American communities throughout Los Angeles.”

According to a statement issued by ICCC, the group’s members “cycle through a city where the neighborhoods have changed just like the terrain, we push and pedal towards the mountain top…we have our eyes set on the promise land and every muscle we burn, we are assured and filled with hope [that] the day of equality and justice are not just a dream. We pray for the courage to continue to stand up for justice, reconciliation and truth.”

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This is the cost of traffic violence.

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

No bias here. A British city councilor says segregated bike lanes are shortsighted because they’ll get too crowded and put residents at risk, and e-scooters are dangerous to cars. No, really.

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

West Virginia police bust a bike-riding shoplifter after a circuitous chase. It seems like a straighter route would have made for a more efficient getaway. But that’s just me.

What a jerk. A bike rider in Brussels is accused of intentionally kneeing a five-year old little girl because she didn’t get the eff out of his way fast enough. And it looks even worse than it sounds.

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Local

Congratulations to Arlo Day; the five-year old daughter of actors Leighton Meester and Adam Brody is one of us now, after her mother taught her to ride a bike.

 

State

Calbike is asking you to sign a petition calling for biking and walking to get a fair share of the federal transportation budget.

Bad news from San Diego County, where man riding in an El Cajon bike lane suffered a severe head injury when he was struck by a motorist turning into a driveway; no word yet on whether his injuries are life-threatening. Although someone should tell the San Diego Union-Tribune that it was the driver, rather than the car, who was responsible for the crash; it took them until the last paragraph to even mention that the car had one.

There’s something seriously wrong when a 14-year old Fresno boy can’t ride his bike with a friend without getting accosted and shot; fortunately, he’s expected to survive.

They get it. Pedestrian advocacy group Walk San Francisco says Slow Streets should be made permanent. And not just in San Francisco, please.

Some Modesto parents are complaining about what they consider a heavy handed response by police in crackdown on unruly teens participating in last weekend’s Ride Out.

 

National

Make your own DIY vibration-detecting bike wheel lights.

Who needs winter bike gloves when you have USB-chargeable, heated handlebar plugs?

Bicycling says hold off on that hot shower after a freezing bike ride. Read it on Yahoo if the magazine’s paywall locks you out.

A Portland bike club was honored by USA Cycling as the nation’s Best Community Builder for 2020.

Utah’s version of the Idaho Stop law sailed through the state House, which voted overwhelming to allow bike riders to treat stop signs as yields; the bill’s sponsor said allowing riders to treat red lights as stop signs was too controversial to include it in the bill.

Bike riding has become a favored family activity in pandemic era Houston.

America’s first Bike City, joining cities like Paris and Copenhagen in receiving the designation from international cycling’s governing body, is…Fayetteville, Arkansas?

Streetsblog wants to know how New York plans to install 10,000 bike racks in two years, when they haven’t been able to consistently meet the previous goal of just 1,500 a year.

 

International

Welcome to Vancouver, the bike theft capitol of Canada.

No surprise here. The American hit-and-run driver who fled the country after killing 19-year old London motorcyclist Harry Dunn, claiming diplomatic immunity, was working for an American intelligence agency at the time of the crash.

The British government sets a goal of half of all trips in cities and towns to be done by walking or bicycling by the end of this decade.

Someone please get these people some bikes. Despite the massive increase in bicycling driven by the coronavirus bike boom, Derry residents have the lowest access to a bicycle of anywhere in Northern Ireland.

If you build it, they will come. New figures from the Paris government show that six out of every ten people using the city’s popup bike lanes are new to bicycling. Yet another example of exactly what Los Angeles is missing out on by failing to install a single popup lane during the pandemic.

Ped-assist ebike fires doubled in Singapore last year, even as the overall rate of fires declined.

That’s more like it. An Aussie truck driver got four years behind bars for killing a bike rider after he was convicted of causing death by dangerous driving and leaving the scene of a collision; the judge rejected the driver’s claim that that he didn’t know he’d hit anyone, finding it “totally lacking in credibility.”

 

Competitive Cycling

The iconic, seven-day mountain bike BC Bike Race is launching a new five-day gravel race; the inaugural race of The Gravel Explorer, or BCBR Gravel, is set to roll at the end of September.

Cycling Weekly offers a comprehensive overview of the bikes being ridden on this year men’s and women’s WorldTour.

UCI will attempt to improve safety by requiring better finish line barriers, and assessing the safety of “super tuck” descents.

 

Finally…

That is one seriously funky looking ebike. Your next ebike could have a hydraulic drive instead of a chain.

And is that enough notice for you?

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a damn mask, already. 

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

Socialite kills brothers in alleged drunken street racing crash, more endorsements, and Burbank bike/ped overpass opens

October 1, 2020 / / Comments Off on Socialite kills brothers in alleged drunken street racing crash, more endorsements, and Burbank bike/ped overpass opens

This is who we share the roads with.

Two young boys were killed when they were struck by a driver in Westlake Village while crossing the street in a crosswalk.

KCBS-2 reports the victims were brothers, who were just eleven and nine years old.

The hit-and-run driver had apparently been drinking, and may have engaged in street racing at the time of the crash.

According to KCBS-2, she was identified as a 57-year old socialite and humanitarian, who should have known better.

Rebecca Grossman, 57, was arrested on two counts of vehicular manslaughter and is being held on $2 million bail. She did not stay on the scene, and her white Mercedes with front-end damage was towed away about a half-mile from where the boys were struck.

Grossman is the founder and chair of the Grossman Burn Foundation, and has also been recognized for her humanitarian work across the world.

Now two little boys will never grow up.

And if there’s any justice, it will be a long time before she sees the light of day again.

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Bike the Vote LA urges you to vote yes on Measure J, and offers their endorsements on council races in Santa Monica and South Pasadena.

Meanwhile, California Streetsblog offers their endorsements on this year’s extensive list of ballot propositions, as well as local issues in LA County and the Bay Area.

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Chris Buonomo reports a new Burbank bicycle/pedestrian bridge is finally open, complete with nifty curved fencing to keep anyone from throwing things over the side. Or jumping.

https://twitter.com/cbuonomo2/status/1311531265556803585

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More people are needed to sign up for California’s proposed bike-themed license plates; it will take 7,500 orders before the state will begin production.

Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.

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This is why you need to register your bike.

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This is definitely not the bike rider’s fault.

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GCN offers advice on riding roadies in wet weather.

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

No bias here. The Daily Mail says proposed media guidelines for UK newspapers would ban the use of terms like Lycra Louts to describe bike riders, as well as the term “accident.” The Guardian’s Laura Laker responds that the Daily Mail’s story is “so riddled with errors, it’s hard to know where to start.

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

Pennsylvania police are looking for a pair of bike-riding jerks who defaced a memorial to a fallen officer.

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Local

No bias here, either. A new study shows 61% of low-level traffic tickets issued by the LAPD went to Black people, despite making up just seven percent of LA’s population.

The new replacement for the Gerald Desmond Bridge is scheduled to open to motor vehicle traffic next week, but the bridge’s walk and bike path could be delayed for another two years to allow time to build a connector bridge.

 

State

A major ruling from a California appeals court, which overturned one of the biggest limitations on damage awards for injured bike riders, ruling that encountering a giant pothole is not an inherent risk of long-distance bicycling. That could open the way for all kinds of damage awards for bike riders — especially if the people responsible for the roadway already knew about the problem. Thanks to Phillip Young and Richard Duquette for the heads-up.

Sad news from Davis, where a 77-year old woman was killed riding her bike on a private road.

 

National

Ebike prices continue to fall. You can now buy an entry level Pedego bike for less than $1,500.

Portland bicyclists will ride sans culottes — or anything else — to protest the rush to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.

More on the Idaho Stop Law’s new home in Washington State.

A Missouri bike advocate calls for more defensive driving. And defensive walking and bicycling, too.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole an adaptive bike from a ten-year old Illinois boy with epilepsy. And one right next to it for the jerk who stole a handcycle from a disabled Ohio man.

Sad news from Michigan, where BMX legend Ronald McDonald — no, not that one — passed away from pancreatic cancer last week, just five weeks after he was diagnosed.

City Limits examines how to make New York’s open streets permanent and equitable, improving the quality of life while setting a world-class example.

No surprise here, as a New Jersey town rolls out new sharrows to underwhelming acclaim.

Kindhearted community members pitch in to buy a new three-wheeled ebike for a Virginia man after his bike was destroyed in a collision.

Miami Beach gets its first parking protected bike lane.

 

International

He gets it. A Vancouver-area writer says children need to be taken into account on any discussion of bike lanes, saying it’s even more important to separate inexperienced riders from traffic.

A new study shows new Toronto bike lanes have the potential to drastically prevent injuries and fatalities.

A Montreal website discovers that not all business owners oppose a new bike lane, and some actually get that it could be good for them.

An English letter writer says new plastic bollards on a protected bike lane look more like a slalom course. Which is probably exactly what I’d use them for.

The annual Eurobike trade show will take place in person this year, but with less than a third of the exhibitors and attendance limited to more people than actually attended last year.

South Korea eases restrictions on e-scooters, despite fears it could lead to more injuries.

A bike-riding Aussie family says not owning a car is worth it, even if it’s not easy.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews runs down the teams that will be competing in this year’s Giro d’Italia, which kicks off this weekend.

This year’s long-delayed Amstel Gold race has been officially canceled due to coronavirus restrictions in the Netherlands.

Trek-Segafredo cyclist Quinn Simmons may have committed career suicide with online comments suggesting his support fo President Trump, with the white rider using a black hand emoji to wave goodbye; the bike team was none too pleased, calling the comments “divisive, incendiary, and detrimental.”

 

Finally…

Maybe someone should tell them there are clothes that are actually made for riding bikes. These days, Daisy would probably prefer an electric bicycle built for two.

And forget U-locks, just put a little fake bird poop on your bike to deter thieves.

No, really.

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A special thanks to Matthew R for his very generous ongoing support for this site.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Covid-19 halts bike world, bicycle parking that comes to you, and Burbank Complete Streets plan moves to council

March 13, 2020 / / Comments Off on Covid-19 halts bike world, bicycle parking that comes to you, and Burbank Complete Streets plan moves to council

It’s a light day on the bike news front, as the Covid-19 coronavirus sucked all the air out of the room on Thursday.

CD3 Councilmember Bob Blumenfield has indefinitely postponed his annual Blumenfield Bike Ride scheduled for next weekend.

San Francisco Streetsblog considers how the pandemic affects Bay Area bike and pedestrian advocacy and events.

San Francisco bike riders will have to keep their clothes on for another year, as organizers pull the plug on the city’s edition of the World Naked Bike Ride scheduled for tomorrow.

Bike Portland’s Jonathan Maus considers cycling in the age of Covid-19.

Stats from New York’s Citi Bike bikeshare show the city really is experiencing a bike boom as commuters turn from crowded trains to riding a bike.

The annual London Bike Show originally scheduled for this month has been postponed until July.

British physicians offer advice on bike riding and self-isolation in the age of coronavirus.

Britain’s Cyclist offers a running account of pro teams pulling out and races canceled., while Cycling News provides a dispiriting timeline.

Road.cc considers how Italian bicyclists and bike brands are coping in the locked down country, in what could be a taste of things to come for the rest of us.

Japan’s prime minister — an Olympic medalist himself — immediately shot down Donald Trump’s suggestion of postponing the Olympic Games for a year.

And cancel those plans to check out track cycling at the Carson velodrome this month. Thanks to David Huntsman for the heads-up.

Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels.

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That’s more like it. Secure bike parking that comes to you.

https://twitter.com/alexhern/status/1238116022743433216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1238116022743433216&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2F271883-driver-almost-hits-cyclist-then-crashes-car-paris-nice-highlights-cav-and-g

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Professional mountain biker Thomas Vanderham finds the balance between riding and being a dad.

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Local

Burbank’s draft Complete Streets plan is headed to the city council on Tuesday for review, before moving on to the city’s Infrastructure Oversight Board on March 26th.

 

State

Need a job? The CHP is looking for a pedestrian and bicycle safety grant coordinator in their Sacramento office. Thanks to Robert Leone for the tip.

 

National

AutoBlog considers whether the MonkeyLetric LED wheel lights are worth the price, and concludes with a resounding yes. As the proud owner of an early pre-graphics version of the lights, I concur.

A New Mexico county judge somehow avoided charges for killing a bike rider, even though she was seen driving erratically and investigators say she made no attempt to stop prior to the impact. She also failed to inform the police she had a second cellphone with her at the time of the crash, in addition to the one she handed over to the police.

A number of organizations in my home state are working to get more girls and young women on bikes.

Four different kinds of Dallas bike riders you’ll meet on the road.

Gravel grinding has moved down to the high school level in Walmart’s hometown, with the country’s first high school gravel racing team in Bentonville AR.

This is why people continue to die on our streets. An off-duty Pittsburgh police officer cops a plea to hit-and-run involving a bike rider while falling down drunk. And gets sentenced to a whopping two to four days behind bars. Yes, days.

No bias here. A Maryland letter writer says it’s no surprise a bike rider got killed and two others injured on a local roadway, since “hordes” of “strident ‘bicycle rights’ activists” seem to enjoy holding up traffic. Even though the victims were riding single file on the right edge of the roadway, and were hit by an SUV driver on the wrong side of the road.

 

International

Bike Radar explains how to measure a bike frame to determine sizing, which is nowhere near as easy as it sounds.

A British Columbia city is expanding its bike network, including closing a roadway to turn it into a greenway.

An English bike rider captures the moment she broadsided a car when the driver cut across a roadway without checking if anyone was in the bike lane.

Yesterday’s panicked headlines all focused on the greater risk facing bike commuters in a British study, but New Scientist says the real story is confirmation that the health benefits of bike commuting outweigh the risks.

Hacking an ebike to boost the speed beyond legal limits in France will now cost you the equivalent of $34,000, and up to one year in jail.

It takes a special kind of schmuck to rip out native trees in a critically endangered New Zealand snail habitat to make way for an illegal mountain biking trail.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Paris-Nice bike race goes on, as Italian Niccolo Bonifazio calls his victory in stage five a gift to his country, which is on lockdown due to the coronavirus.

With at least the early cycling season likely to be cancelled, Canadian Michael Woods should have plenty of time to recover from a broken leg suffered in a stage five crash at Paris-Nice.

American Tejay van Garderen quit the race rather than being separated from his family because of the new European travel restrictions (scroll up).

 

Finally

If someone steals your lover’s heart, don’t respond by stealing their bike. And who says you can’t bike to school with your kid?

https://twitter.com/AwesomeCycling/status/1238042227068358659?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1238042227068358659&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2F271883-driver-almost-hits-cyclist-then-crashes-car-paris-nice-highlights-cav-and-g

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Trinh ghost bike ceremony, Lance settles with the feds, and the golden age of cycling this ain’t

April 20, 2018 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Trinh ghost bike ceremony, Lance settles with the feds, and the golden age of cycling this ain’t

My apologies again for yesterday’s unexcused absence. 

Let it serve as yet another reminder that on a scale of one to ten, diabetes sucks. If you’re at risk, do everything you can to avoid getting it — ride your bike, stay active, lose weight, eat better. 

Whatever it takes. Because you don’t want this crap. 

Trust me.

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Let’s start with Wednesday’s ghost bike ceremony for Lenny Trinh, the Burbank postal worker and father killed in a dooring on Monday.

Steve S sent moving photos from the installation ceremony, which appeared to draw over 100 people.

Meanwhile. CiclaValley agonizes over the recent rash of bicycling deaths as he helped organize the ghost bike ceremony for Trinh. 

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In today’s most surprising news, Lance Armstrong has settled the $100 fraud lawsuit against him for a relatively paltry $5 million.

A quarter of that could go to former teammate and fellow doper Floyd Landis, with the balance going to the federal government.

Meanwhile, Business Insider catches up with where the members of Lance Armstrong’s US Postal Team are now, most of whom have also admitted to doping.

Although Landis appears to be the only one who went from doping while pedaling to pedaling dope.

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Bike Snob asks if this is the golden age of cycling, before concluding probably not. For reasons that should be obvious.

On the other hand, you’ve got the cars. Some call them “freedom machines,” others call them destroyers of cities and harbingers of impending environmental apocalypse. But no matter how you feel about the automobile, there’s no getting around the fact that cars and bikes have an intensely symbiotic yet ultimately disastrous relationship. They’re like George and Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, or that couple at the party who are always one more cocktail away from either hurling crockery at each other or having hate sex on the dining room table, and you never know which until it happens.

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Local

In addition to the $91 million in Vision Zero funding announced earlier this week, Mayor Eric Garcetti’s new budget for the City of Los Angeles includes increased funding for street safety, repairing LA’s crumbling streets, and fixing broken sidewalks.

Curbed examines the rash of hit-and-runs in South LA.

Retired UCLA parking meister Donald Shoup has a new book. ‘Nuff said.

KCRW wants to know what it’s like for you to ride a bike in Los Angeles. Go ahead, don’t hold back.

Speaking of KCRW, the station’s Madeleine Brand talks hit-and-run with with Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman in a short seven-minute segment.

If you’re headed to Sunday’s Heart of the Foothills CicLAvia, MetroLink is offering additional bike cars, while Metro is providing free bus and train service for Earth Day.

A columnist for the Daily Bulletin attempts to learn how to ride a bike to before Sunday’s CicLAvia. And fails.

 

State

Sunset ranks the top ten bicycling towns in the west, with Davis coming in fourth and San Francisco tenth; not surprisingly, Portland took the top spot. Needless to say, Los Angeles was not on the list.

Not only did the driver who killed Grossmont College professor Brian Jennings as he rode near El Cajon in East San Diego County tell police she fell asleep at the wheel, she also had four children under the age of ten in her minivan at the time of the crash.

Two bicyclists suffered minor injuries when they apparently were collateral damage in a crash between two cars in Thousand Palms; the wreck occurred on the same road where Mark Kristofferson was killed by an alleged speeding DUI driver during the Tour of Palm Springs. Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up.

Bakersfield is in the process of adopting new wider standards for bike lanes, though they won’t apply to existing lanes.

An 18-year old Los Osos woman has been sentenced to seven years behind bars for the drunken hit-and-run death of a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo student as he was riding to class last year.

San Francisco is extending the carfree pilot program for the Twin Peaks road by another two years.

Sad news from Shasta County, where a bicyclist was killed in a head-on crash with a motorcycle rider; the victim was a grad student at UC Davis.

Chico is experimenting with a pilot bike lane project for the next few weeks, using electrical tape to mark off buffered bike lanes instead of paint.

 

National

Bicycling says it has the facts on concussions and what to do if you think you have one. But in talking about helmets, they fail to mention that only MIPS helmets are designed to prevent concussions, and cite the long-discredited study claiming bike helmets reduce the risk of injury by 85%.

Great news, as The Inertia website says cycling only ranks fifth on the list of sports most likely to kill you, behind things like BASE jumping and extreme skiing.

The Wall Street Journal discovers the nationwide bikelash, with motorists fighting for their convenience over everyone’s safety. As Treehugger’s Lloyd Alper put it, anywhere there’s a bike lane, it seems there’s a backlash.

Arizona becomes the ninth state to follow California’s lead in passing regulations for ebikes.

Colorado’s legislature passed a bill allowing local jurisdictions to decide whether to allow bicyclists to treat stop signs as yields and red lights as stop signs, aka the Idaho Stop.

Houston’s mayor continues his efforts to make the auto-centric city safer and friendlier for people on bikes, committing another $10 million to the effort. Anyone who’s spent any time in the Texas city can attest that if they can do it, so can Los Angeles.

An Ohio man has gotten the death sentence for abducting and killing a 20-year old woman as she was riding her bike last year; he had committed an almost identical crime nearly 30 years earlier.

A bicyclist was killed by a hit-and-run driver at New York’s La Guardia Airport back in February. So naturally, they respond by restricting bikes, not cars.

A Charlotte SC writer concludes that dockless bikeshare bikes don’t suck after all.

A New Orleans man faces up to 10 years behind bars after being convicted of the hit-and-run death of a 65-year old bike rider.

A new report says Florida’s 1984 Complete Streets law saved as many as 4,000 lives over a 30-year period, even though the state remains one of the most dangerous for bicyclists and pedestrians. And it didn’t end auto-centric design.

 

International

The UN’s Share the Road program released their 2017 Annual Report. Although it would help if the link actually worked.

If you’ve questioned whether World Bicycle Relief is worth supporting, consider that they gave out nearly 55,000 bicycles to change lives in nine nations.

Bike Radar considers the all-time worst bike tech.

If the price of that new bike seems too good to be true, it probably is.

A Vancouver bike nonprofit says riding a bike to work may be the key to happiness.

A new study says swapping cars for European bikeshares could save 73 lives a year.

The UK’s largest grocery chain is now experimenting with delivery by e-cargo bike.

If you build it, they will come. Aukland, New Zealand experiences its busiest bike month ever, with 430,000 trips taken on the city’s bikeways.

A Kiwi columnist says people who stir up road rage against bicyclists are dangerous. Someone please tell that to KFI’s John and Ken.

An Australian professor says forcing bicyclists to register to prevent bad behavior would cause more problems than it would solve.

A Korean physician says the dangers of bicycling under the influence is underestimated, but has no figures to back that up.

 

Competitive Cycling

Swiss businessman and BMC cycling team owner Andy Rhis passed away Wednesday at age 75; he was also behind the Phonak team that disbanded after team member Floyd Landis was stripped of his Tour de France title.

Austrian cyclist Marco Haller will miss this year’s Tour de France after suffering multiple fractures in his left knee when he was struck by a driver who ran a stop sign, while on a training ride.

More bad news, as New Zealand cyclist Alexander Ray faces facial reconstruction surgery after he was left crossed by driver, leaving him fighting for his life.

A 25-year old Belgian cyclist died in his sleep, the second rider from that country to die under questionable circumstances, after Michael Goolaerts died of a heart attack during the Paris-Roubaix classic.

Heartbreaking news, as a 21-year old Palestinian cyclist lost his leg to an Israeli bullet after joining what he thought would be a peaceful rally in Gaza, ending his hopes of competing in the Asian Games.

Perhaps overstating the obvious, world champ and Paris-Roubaix winner Peter Sagan says being the pope is much harder than being a cyclist. Although you do get to wear more interesting hats.

 

Finally…

A new study from the University of Duh shows bike crashes happen for exactly the reasons we already thought. We may have to deal with angry drivers, but at least we don’t have to worry about road raging elephants. Or bison, for that matter.

And get those applications in; you have just five more days to become the bicycle mayor of Bengaluru.

 

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

Bicyclist killed in crash after getting doored in Burbank

April 17, 2018 / / 17 comments

Sadly, last night’s breaking news has been confirmed.

As we noted earlier, KNBC-4 reported last night that a bike rider had been killed after getting doored at Alameda Avenue and Mariposa Street in Burbank.

Unfortunately, however, they failed to post the story online.

Now the Burbank Leader has confirmed that 53-year old Burbank resident Lenny Trinh died after the driver of a parked car opened door as Trinh rode in a bike lane on Alameda, knocking him off his bike and into the path of an oncoming pickup.

Trinh was taken to a nearby hospital where he died of his injuries.

The paper places the time of the crash at around 5 pm Monday, between Mariposa Street and Griffith Park Drive.

For a change, both drivers remained at the scene.

According to California law, the driver is always at fault in a dooring, as long as the victim is riding legally in the direction of traffic.

CVC 22517 clearly requires drivers to check for traffic before opening a car door and ensure that it does not interfere with traffic.

And yes, bike riders are considered traffic, in or out of a bike lane.

While dooring is one of the most common types of bicycle crashes, deaths are rare, averaging less than one per year in the entire SoCal region.

And they can be eliminated entirely if drivers are trained to use the Dutch Reach, opening the car door with their right hand so it forces them to look left over their shoulder.

This is at least the 18th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 10th in LA County; it’s also the fifth bicycling fatality in the LA area in just the past two weeks.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Lenny Trinh and all his family and loved ones.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , ,

74-year old man killed in Burbank collision Friday afternoon

April 10, 2017 / / 5 comments

Bad news doesn’t always make the news right away. And sometimes, the police point the finger the wrong way.

That appears to be the case here, where a bike rider was killed in Burbank Friday afternoon.

According to the Burbank Leader, 74-year old Jin Soo Oh was riding east on Empire Ave around 2:35 pm when he was hit by a car turning right onto Westbound Empire from southbound Frederick Street.

He was taken to County-USC Medical Center, where he died a short time later.

The driver, who remained at the scene, was not cited.

Based on the extremely limited description, it appears Oh may have been riding against traffic on the wrong side of the street. It’s also possible that he was actually on the sidewalk and attempting to cross Frederick.

However, instead of blaming the victim for riding the wrong way, or the driver for not seeing him, Burbank police appear to be placing the blame on Oh’s lack of a helmet. Which wouldn’t matter if he hadn’t been hit by a car.

And whether it matters at all depends on whether Oh’s injuries would have been survivable, with or without one.

This is the 12th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth in Los Angeles County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jin Soo Oh and all his family. 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Weekend Links: Bike rider critically injured in solo Burbank crash, and LACBC’s Tamika Butler honored

August 27, 2016 / / 2 comments

A 74-year old Bell Gardens man was critically injured after somehow slamming his bike into the back of a parked commercial truck in Burbank early Friday morning.

The victim suffered severe head injuries despite wearing a helmet; he reportedly had his head down and didn’t notice the parked truck ahead of him.

Which should be a reminder to all of us to always watch the road in front of you.

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Congratulations to LACBC Executive Director Tamika Butler, who will be honored as the 2016 Professional of the Year ­– Nonprofit Sector by the Association of Pedestrian & Bicycle Professionals.

As a former member of the LACBC board, I can honestly say this honor is richly deserved. No one does more on a daily basis to make this city safer and more equitable for everyone who rides a bike.

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A Charlotte NC bike lawyer comments on the road raging Charlotte driver we mentioned here yesterday, who buzzed and brake checked a group of 30 cyclists, then screamed and flipped them off when they tried to calmly talk to her.

And she notes that even though bicyclists have been highly critical of her, online comments when cyclists are killed or injured are far more hateful. Even though the local press is desperately trying to turn her into the victim.

Meanwhile, a columnist for the Charlotte paper says he doesn’t feel sorry for the driver, and the whole thing could have been avoided if she just hadn’t acted like an idiot. And adds that the TV station that interviewed her was irresponsible in painting her as the victim.

Amen, brother.

………

Virgin CEO Sir Richard Branson says he’s lucky to be alive after hitting a speed bump and going over his handlebars while descending a hill in the British Virgin Islands — which were not named after his company — and watching his bike go off a cliff.

Fortunately, he wasn’t badly injured, despite the photos, though his bike did not survive.

Thanks to Ed Ryder for the heads-up.

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Hats off to 16-year old Inglewood cyclist Rafael Solorzano, who won two gold medals in the Junior Track Cycling National Championships in Trexlertown PA this month, for team sprint and team pursuit.

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It’s happened once again. An Estonian cyclist was forced to withdraw from the Vuelta after he was hit from behind by a car for another team; his team director stressed that it was a complete accident, rather than the result of careless driving. Which doesn’t make it better; motor vehicles don’t belong on course during bike races.

Alberto Contador went down hard after touching wheels with another rider in the Vuelta, which could ruin his plans for the race.

An 86-year old Catholic nun owns the triathlon record for her age group.

And sad news from Michigan, as seven time world champion triathlete Karen McKeachie was killed in a collision with a motor vehicle.

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Local

Streetsblog discusses the future of bikeshare with the project manager of the North American Bikeshare Association.

Beverly Hills encourages everyone to walk or bike to tonight’s free Next Night celebration on South Beverly Drive. Never mind that there are no bike lanes to get you there, and nowhere to park your bike if you do.

Burbank police will be holding a free bike registration event from 8 am to 2 pm today, with Bike Walk Burbank on hand to provide bike safety inspections and minor repairs. Or you can just click here to register your bike for free with Bike Index.

Santa Monica police will conduct another of their periodic bike and pedestrian safety enforcement operations this Monday. You know the drill; ride to the letter of the law until you leave the SaMo city limits so you’re not the one who gets a ticket.

Just Ride LA is hosting a ride Tuesday night in honor of Michael Jackson, on what would have been the self-proclaimed King of Pop’s 58th birthday.

 

State

A Carlsbad woman will attempt to set a new bicycle land speed record this September.

A Redlands boy passes it forward after police recover his stolen bicycle, donating the bike police offers gave him to replace it to another child.

Just one day after San Francisco Streetsblog wrote about a vital bike bridge that was blocked with homeless encampments, the city cleared them out, while denying any connection to the story.

 

National

The Institute of Transportation Engineers tells the US Department of Transportation it should focus less on moving cars and more on moving people, regardless of how they travel.

Based on stats for the first six months of 2016, this is shaping up to be the deadliest year on American roads since 2007.

People for Bikes is looking for a project manager for their PlacesForBikes program.

Bicycling offers ten things cyclists wish drivers knew, including we’re just people, too.

Not surprisingly, Portland residents have embraced bikeshare, as usage has exceeded expectations since the system’s launch last July.

Who says you can’t make things in the US? The world’s best bike pump is made in Minneapolis, even if it does cost $450.

Despite being required to avoid drugs as a condition of his measly $5,000 bond for killing a bike rider while driving salmon and apparently under the influence, a Wisconsin man was sent back to jail for using heroin and faking a drug test with a bottle of freshly purchased urine.

A writer for the New York Times says everyone remembers their first bike, even if it gets killed by a defective roof rack.

Fox News commentator and prospective New York mayoral candidate Bo Dietl becomes just the latest politician to pander to bike haters by promising to rip out the city’s bike lanes his first day in office.

An arrest has finally been made in the fatal shooting of an Atlanta teenager who confronted two men over the theft of his sister’s bicycle.

 

International

In a series of tweets, a conservative and sadly misguided Toronto senator blames bike lanes for turning the city into the equivalent of a third-world country, comparing it unfavorably to New York, London and Paris. All of which have bike lanes, and none of which are third world.

The Toronto cab driver caught knocking a delivery bike rider off the road in a viral video has finally been arrested on an assault charge.

The mayor of Montreal calls for changes to the highway safety code following a series of collisions involving bicyclists, while the opposition accuses him of not doing enough to protect riders.

Who says bike helmets don’t improve safety? A British bike rider credits his with saving his skull when he was beaten over the head with a bottle by a notorious thug and drug addict.

A Brit bicyclist thanks the mean hearted git who stole his bike’s wheel, even though it was locked up in front of the police station overnight, since it kept him from riding when he started suffering dizzy spells.

Caught on video: A cyclist recorded himself covered by swarms of biting midges on a ride through the Scottish countryside.

 

Finally…

Who needs a cargo bike when you can just carry your refrigerator on your shoulders while you ride?

If you’re riding your bike while high on drugs and carrying meth and an illegal handgun, put a damn light on it — and don’t struggle with the cops when they try to stop you; on the other hand, if you’re carrying a sawed-off shotgun on your bike and have an outstanding warrant, don’t ride on the sidewalk.

And no, you can’t get compensation from her parents if you crash your car while staring at a woman riding a bike in a bikini and short skirt.

Though I must confess to riding my bike into a parked car under similar circumstances.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Rio Hondo bike path closed, Glendale matches LA’s hit-and-run rewards, and way better wayfinding

February 26, 2016 / / 4 comments

The LA River Bike Path isn’t the only major local bikeway closed right now.

Mateusz Suska of Bike LA County tweeted Thursday that the Rio Hondo Bike Path is closed between San Gabriel Blvd and Rush Street through the Whittier Narrows due to construction work.

The county bikeways map shows the closure is due to last through March 10th.

However, I keep getting an internal server error when I try to access the bike path closures page; maybe you’ll have better luck.

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Glendale votes to match Los Angeles in offering rewards up to $50,000 for information leading to the conviction of a hit-and-run driver.

Hopefully, the idea will spread; drivers shouldn’t get away with it just because they ran away on the wrong side of the city limits.

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The Burbank city council votes once again to ban bikes from the formerly bike, pedestrian and equestrian Mariposa Street Bridge over the LA River.

But in nearly the same breath, they voted to move forward with a separate bike and pedestrian bridge at Bob Hope Drive. Although one that won’t be ready until at least 2020, while the bike ban on the Mariposa Street Bridge goes into effect right away.

So you’re only screwed for the next four years.

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Now this is a wayfinding sign, as my platinum-level bike friendly hometown installs detailed signage along a key bike corridor.

I’d like to say we could use signs like this here in LA. But first we’d have to get a key bike corridor to put them on.

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Local

Bikeshare is coming to Venice, as LA and Santa Monica approve plans for five Breeze bikeshare stations, with up to 15 more to come. The story adds that LA, Long Beach, West Hollywood and yes, the Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills are scheduled to get bikeshare systems of their own before the year is over.

Los Angeles Magazine looks at Caltrans’ plans to destroy yet another neighborhood with a flyover HOV lane exit ramp that would go right next to the historic St. John’s Cathedral, and dump drivers in the middle of LA’s first Complete Street on South Figueroa.

One percent of West Hollywood residents bike to work, compared to two percent of the people who work there; 85% of residents prefer to drive by themselves.

Long Beach’s Empact is hosting a free bike safety class this Saturday; everyone who participates will get a free helmet and bike lights.

The Times looks at the soon-to-be bike-friendly makeover of Huntington Park’s Pacific Boulevard.

Bike SGV is bringing the Cycling Without Age program to El Monte next month.

 

State

Coronado police bust a bike thief using a remotely monitored bicycle with a tracking device in it. Or as anyone else would call it, a bait bike.

The head of a San Diego non-profit says it’s great that the city has adopted Vision Zero, but now it’s time to pay for it.

San Diego is investing $750,000 in hosting the first stage of the Amgen Tour of California, while expecting a return of $2.5 million to the local economy.

Cathedral City moves forward with a 2.5 mile segment of the inexplicably controversial CV Link, a planned 50-mile multi-use path circling the Coachella Valley that has faced intense opposition in some cities along the route.

Palo Alto’s new bike-riding mayor says traffic won’t improve until more people get out of their cars. Which is pretty much the answer just about anywhere.

 

National

A Portland writer suggests five ways Vision Zero should address race and income injustice.

Oregon is becoming the next state to phase out Share the Road signs.

Las Vegas will take a year to complete the city’s first Complete Street, replacing two traffic lanes with wider sidewalks, buffered bike lanes, narrower lanes and a raised center median.

A Texas doctor raises funds to give nearly 4,000 bike helmets to local kids.

After a Cleveland man is acquitted for fatally left crossing a group of cyclists, a local bike advocacy group says being sorry for his actions should not excuse him from being accountable to them.

New bamboo bike maker Pedal Forward will employ the homeless to build bikes in New York, while 10% of sales will help fund bicycles for people in Tanzania and Uganda.

Like some creature from a horror film, the lawsuit to rip out NYC’s highly successful, five-year old Prospect Park West bike lanes refuses to die, even after all the major players have moved on.

Now that’s taking traffic crime seriously. An Alabama man gets one year for criminally negligent homicide for running down two cyclists in 2014, and 10 years for assault.

 

International

People for Bikes goes bike riding through Cuba.

A Vancouver website asks if British Columbia’s mandatory bike helmet law will kill the city’s coming bikeshare system. It certainly won’t help; Seattle’s helmet law is often blamed for the failure of that city’s program.

Not surprisingly, 42% of Brits surveyed say they live too far away to bike to work, while 20% cited the country’s notorious weather as their reason not to ride; nine percent don’t let either excuse get in the way.

Evidently, LA isn’t the only place where the streets are crumbling. A British cyclist complains that potholes are a disgrace after flatting both tires and narrowly avoiding the truck behind him. Maybe what he needs is a bike light that tells bicyclists where to expect them.

As bicycling booms in Israel, Tel Aviv plans to spend 30 million shekels — about $7.5 million — to expand and connect their existing network of dead-end bikeways.

Evidently having solved all other traffic and crime problems, Brisbane, Australia police crack down on bicyclists who don’t have a bike bell. Because apparently, just using your voice just isn’t good enough Down Under.

 

Finally…

For anyone unclear on the concept, getting drunk and throwing your bike at passing cars is not the correct way to use it. Your next bike could shoot lasers and run on the Android OS.

And the South Pole is about to become bike friendly. Sort of.

 

Category: Hit-and-Run, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Prize winner’s new bike, Burbank considers bike/ped bridge, and Ventura tow truck driver ID’d

February 23, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Prize winner’s new bike, Burbank considers bike/ped bridge, and Ventura tow truck driver ID’d

Just a quick follow-up to our recent contest to give away a new bicycle courtesy of Torrance-based Beachbikes.net.

John sends a photo of his daughter on the custom bike that she won, noting that not only was she able to get the bike made to her specifications, but the store also assembled the bike, fit it to her and made all the adjustments.

It looks great. And I think we can all agree she looks good on it.

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CiclaValley reports the Burbank city council will meet tonight to consider a proposed bike and pedestrian bridge over the LA River to connect with a future bike path extension.

Considering the city’s recent decision to ban bikes from a long-shared pedestrian, equestrian and formerly, bike bridge, it can use all the support it can get, whether in person or by email; CiclaValley provides full details in the above link.

And hopefully, Councilwoman Emily Gabel-Luddy won’t vote against this one because a cyclist flipped her off once.

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Ventura police have identified the driver of the tow truck that killed a 14-year old bike rider in a hit-and-run caught on surveillance video early Friday morning. However, no arrest appears to have been made.

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Just what every parent needs. A cargo bike that converts to a stroller once you reach your destination.

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Local

The LA chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are hosting a La Loteria and charity Mexican drag bingo night tonight at Redline DTLA to raise funds for the LACBC.

Beverly Hills begins testing its two-station pilot bikeshare system this week, in preparation for throwing bike riding tourists to the wolves in the historically bike unfriendly city.

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton talks murals and bicycle education in El Monte in the latest Damien Talks podcast.

Long Beach announces the entertainment and activities planned for Beach Streets Downtown, the city’s second ciclovía, scheduled for March 19th.

 

State

A man riding a bike was the victim of a drive-by shooting in Santa Ana early Monday; fortunately, his injuries were not expected to be life-threatening. Police say the shooting does not appear to be gang related.

San Diego will be hosting an ebike expo this weekend.

Next City reports San Diego plans to remake its city core with over nine miles of protected bike lanes and 5.5 miles of pedestrian greenways. Meanwhile, the city’s DecoBike bikeshare program is reportedly struggling after its first year, with only 88 of a projected 180 stations installed.

Ventura County will open a new campground for bike tourists in Foster Park, at the trailhead for the Ojai Valley Trail.

Santa Barbara bicyclists speak out in favor of the city’s new Bicycle Master Plan, which goes before the city council for approval tonight. And the Riverside County community of Eastvale considers its new bike master plan on Wednesday.

San Francisco installs a green bike lane next to the center line, rather than the curb, on one street to formalize the practice of cyclists passing cars on the left as they line up to make a right turn; the city also replaces a former freeway with a new condo complex that has no car parking, but offers bicycle parking for every resident.

 

National

An Arkansas cyclist needed 17 stiches after being attacked by a pit bull while training for a race; the dog’s owner insists he must have done something to provoke it. Like riding his bike, for instance.

A Chattanooga man is under arrest for allegedly pushing an eight-year old boy off his bike and climbing on top of him, then throwing his nine-year old brother off of his bike when he tried to intervene. Maybe we can lock him up with the Arkansas pit bull.

You know hit-and-run has become a major problem everywhere when an off-duty Massachusetts cop is accused of fleeing the scene after hitting a cyclist; his punishment so far amounts to a paid vacation while police investigate.

WaPo says riding too hard won’t kill you after all. More or less.

New Orleans police are looking for four men who severely beat bicycle pizza delivery man just because he refused to sell them a slice.

 

International

Orangetheory Fitness expands its orange-colored ghost bike-rip-off marketing campaign to British Columbia; the local manager claims no one would confuse them with actual ghost bikes, even though the issue has come up in virtually every city they’ve used it in.

London bicycle funding is scheduled to be cut in half at the same time the city encouraging more people to ride their bikes.

British bike writer and historian Carlton Reid takes a stroll through the comment section of a bikelash petition to block a London bike superhighway, including a signed comment by actor Tom Conti insisting that bicycles cause pollution.

Scottish transportation and environmental advocates join in calling on the country to spend less money on roads and more on biking and walking.

A UK parish councilor who flipped off a group of cyclists after running them off the road — leaving one rider hanging upside down in a tree — has resigned his position after being charged with careless driving. Never mind that his actions appeared to be intentional, and not the least bit careless.

A new book looks at bike racing in the time of five-time Tour de France winner Jacques Anquetil, the Lance Armstrong of his day — in more ways than one.

A French senator calls for a mandatory helmet law for all bike riders.

Even in the blockaded Gaza Strip, Muslim women are defying conservative traditions and cultural disapproval by riding their bikes, noting that nothing in their religion prohibits it.

A New Zealand writer says reimagining our streets isn’t about cycling or being anti-car, it’s about making cities for people the top priority.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to steal a bike, taking one honoring a fallen cop from the local police headquarters probably isn’t your best choice. What do porn and mountain bike racing have in common? More than you might think.

And with apologies to Snoop and Dre, this rider’s attire ain’t nothin but a G-string.

 

Category: Contests, Hit-and-Run, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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