Want to fight climate change?
Build more and better bikeways.
According to a new British study, the single most cost-effective way to reduce the CO2 emissions causing climate change is to build more bicycle infrastructure.
In fact, if bicycling rose to just 7.5% of urban bike trips globally, it would keep 2.3 gigatons of CO2 emissions out of the atmosphere.
Increase bike modal share to 10%, and that rises to a savings of 11 gigatons of CO2.
And the cost of all that new climate change fighting infrastructure?
Just over $2 billion worldwide. Minus $2 billion, that is.
Which means that bike infrastructure more than pays for itself.
Tell that to the traffic safety deniers. And to LA city councilmembers like Paul Koretz, who profess to fighting climate change while blocking bike lanes in their districts.
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Another way to cut carbon emissions is to buy a steel frame bike, instead of ti, carbon or aluminum. And patch your tubes instead of throwing them away.
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My former Iditarod Sled Dog-driving brother Eric is off on another unsupported solo bike tour.
This time he’s following a route that will take him 2,400 miles from Portland Oregon to Grand Junction, Colorado, hitting five national parks along the way.
And likely riding through some serious winter weather before he makes it home late next month.
Then again, after mushing through the wilderness on the way to Nome in the middle of winter, he should be used to it.
And yes, I’m jealous as hell.
I’ll try to provide updates along the way.
Eric’s bike loaded down with his kitty litter panniers as he sets out on the first day.
Not a bad view for the first night of the tour, as he settles in for the night at Tillamook Bay.
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Local
CiclaValley catches a driver continually weaving in and out of a bike lane to bypass backed up traffic.
State
Bad news from Escondido, where a 14-year old boy suffered life-threatening burns when he was hit by a driver while riding his bike, and was trapped underneath the car; police were quick to blame the victim for not having lights on his bike or wearing “safety gear.” Bike riders in California are required to have lights and reflectors after dark, and riders under 18 must wear helmets — even though that would have done nothing to prevent the victim’s burns in this case.
Police in San Luis Obispo are stopping bicyclists and pedestrians for traffic violations, and asking them to post to social media why they were stopped in lieu of receiving a ticket. Although it would be nice if they did the same for drivers, instead of just blaming and shaming potential victims.
National
City Lab offers an explainer on how induced demand works. Someone tried to argue last week that induced demand was a myth, based solely on the fact that he chose not to believe it.
Writing for a tech website, an “avid cyclist” calls e-scooters one of the season’s most ridiculous and unnecessary fads, and hopes they die before they kill someone. He seems to see the streets from a windshield perspective, despite having spent a “not-so-small fortune” on bicycles, kits, helmets and gloves.
Life is cheap in Arizona, where a driver was acquitted of murder charges for fatally shooting drunken bike rider following a fight that began because the victim was weaving in and out of traffic.
Heavy rains have forced Madison WI bike riders to find alternative routes, as bike paths in the bike-friendly city have been taken over by ducks and kayaks.
Chicago Streetsblog says buffered bike lanes offer an inexpensive way to prevent doorings.
A Columbus, Ohio writer says the current panic over scooters is nothing new; the arrival of bicycles sparked the same fears over 120 years ago.
A beginning Ohio bike commuter offers advice based on what’s he’s learned.
Four hundred fifty bicyclists are making their way 325 miles across the state of Maine in the sixth annual BikeMaine tour.
An Op-Ed from a Boston bike rider describes the day he was assaulted by a road raging driver while riding in a bike lane — which wouldn’t have happened if the city had built the protected bike lane bicyclists had asked for
A real estate website has identified New York’s most blocked bike lane. LA’s would probably be the new MyFig bike lane across from Staples Center, with nearby 7th Street a close second. But that’s just a guess.
The New York Post’s bike-hating columnist gets exactly what he was after when his latest screed stirs up an angry response, concluding that the people who called him racist for ignoring anyone other than young, white bicyclists are the real racists. Sure, let’s go with that. Nothing like tossing a molotov cocktail into a crowd, then acting innocent when people get upset.
An Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun says it’s time to stop caving into the bike lobby, citing the $850 million in federal TAP funds, and the paltry $3 million spent by the Bike League and People for Bikes to lobby the federal government. Even though TAP funds go for a lot more than just bike lanes. And wait until he finds out how much the feds, states and local governments spend to subsidize motor vehicle traffic. Let alone how much car makers, oil companies and construction firms pay to lobby them.
A Virginia letter writer says expecting bike riders to give a verbal warning is outdated, and they should be required to use a bike bell, instead.
International
Bike Radar discusses the “essential pieces of cycling clothing and kit you need” to ride a bike. I can’t begin to say how much I hate stories like this; all you need to ride a bike is pants or shorts, and some sort of shoes. Everything else is optional to a greater or lesser degree.
A Toronto physician’s group calling itself Doctors for Safe Cycling says lowering speed limits and building more protected bike lanes is the prescription for road safety.
Now that’s something to be proud of. A 20-year old British woman became the first blind rider to independently ride a 30-mile trail.
The Guardian says Great Britain needs a boost from ebikes.
An English driver will spend nearly four years behind bars after smashing into a group of randonneurs a year ago, leaving one rider paralyzed and two others injured — then simply driving home despite acknowledging he’d hit “something.”
Do we really want to get into the great bike helmet debate again? Not when it’s as lightweight as this piece from the UK.
Even in the Netherlands, school drop-off points are dangerous places, as a government minister urges parents not to drive, and to walk or bike their kids to school instead.
A century old Kiev, Ukraine velodrome might be the coolest cycling track in Europe.
You’ve got to be kidding. An Australian city puts a series of bike safety signs on hold over fears they could increase liability by acknowledging the streets are dangerous. So apparently, the solution is just to keep them that way.
Competitive Cycling
Heartbreaking news, as 27-year old German Olympic and world track sprint cycling champion Kristina Vogel announced her legs are paralyzed, following a crash with another cyclist while training earlier this year that resulted in a severed spinal chord. Yet another reminder that bicycling is a dangerous sport, especially at the highest levels.
Ending a 17-year drought, 22-year old Kate Courtney became the first American since 2001 to win the mountain bike world championship; Denmark’s Annika Langvad finished second, followed by Canadian Emily Batty.
The leader’s jersey change hands once again at the Vuelta a España, where the top four riders are separated by just 47 seconds.
Twenty-three-year old American former mountain biker Sepp Kuss is making an impact at the Vuelta in his first year on the WorldTour, after winning this year’s Tour of Utah.
We probably don’t need to worry about spoilers with the Tour of Britain, where France’s Julian Alaphilippe won the title.
The Dimension Data pro cycling team will reduce the number of African riders as it struggles to maintain its WorldTour status; the team has focused on developing black African riders.
Sad news from Canada, where a 20-year old Edmonton track cyclist is in intensive care after crashing at around 40 mph in a Mexican velodrome.
Finally…
Most people usually don’t drink while they’re on their bike. It’s not a tandem bike, it’s an argument machine.
And once again, an Aussie rider is the victim of a rude ‘roo. Or two.
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Join the Militant Angeleno and BikinginLA for the first-ever Militant Angeleno’s Epic CicLAvia Tour at the Celebrate LA! LA Phil 100 CicLAvia on September 30th!
Just RSVP to MilitantAngeleno@gmail.com. We want to guarantee a relatively small group to make sure we can keep the group together, and everyone can hear.
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L’Shana Tova to all marking Rosh Hashanah today!
