Tag Archive for California

CA ebike rebate program now set to launch this fall, and more details on fallen bicyclists Bruce Elliott and Roy Wiegand

August 3, 2023 / / One comment

The California Air Resources Board reports that the state’s ebike incentive program is now expected to finally go live statewide sometime this fall, as the launch date keeps getting pushed back.

But don’t hold your breath.

The program was set to launch at the beginning of this year, then pushed back to the second quarter of the year, before now being set for fall.

Hopefully, they mean it this time.

You can learn more about the program here.

Ebike Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels.

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More details are finally available about fallen Redding bicyclist Bruce Elliott, who was killed by a driver during a group ride in Mentone on Saturday.

A memorial service will be held at 2 pm this Sunday at The University of Redlands Memorial Chapel for the well-loved phys ed teacher, who was also captain of Don’s Bikes Race Team, and mentor to bicyclists with Big Wheel Coaching.

Elliott’s family requests contributions to a crowdfunding campaign in lieu of flowers, with the funds to be split between the nonprofit Bikes for Kids Foundation and Grand Teton National Park. At this writing, it has raised over $9,400 of the modest $12,500 goal.

You can read more here.

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While we’re on the subject, SF Gate has more details on the crash that killed popular Burbank musician and long-distance bicyclist Roy Wiegand in Monterey County Saturday afternoon, in what was a very bad weekend for SoCal bike riders.

Wiegand was riding alone after his riding partner had turned back, when he was right hooked by a 25-year old pickup driver while riding in the designated bike lane in the same direction.

He was on the last leg of his 2,500-mile Roy’s Ride fundraising ride to benefit the Navaho Nation, and bring clean, running water to impoverished households on the reservation.

The campaign has currently raised more than $35,000, easily topping what had originally been a $25,000 goal.

There’s no word on any charges for the driver, even though the CHP said the driver made an “unsafe” turn.

Which is putting it mildly.

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Don’t hold your breath waiting for congestion pricing on Los Angeles roadways, as numble reports we still have four years to go before we’re likely to see anything.

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Calbike has completed a year-long search by hiring active transportation and land use professional Kendra Ramsey as the group’s new executive director.

A member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, Ramsey comes to the organization from Sacramento civil engineering firm GHD, where she served as Active Transportation Project Manager, “developing innovative mobility options, Complete Streets plans, and corridor studies for local and regional agencies throughout the state.”

Let’s hope she finds her footing fast, because we definitely need help.

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The New York Times continues their anti-ebike campaign, asking if California should regulate the bikes because teenagers are dying on them.

Unfortunately, though, teenagers get killed on regular bikes, too.

The question left unasked by the Times and other news outlets — let alone unanswered — is whether they’re getting killed or seriously injured at a higher rate on ebikes than on regular bikes.

Until the Times can answer that question, it’s all just noise.

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

It’s finally happened. A 16-year old Las Vegas boy was killed when he struck a wire booby trap, possibly set by a homeless man, while riding with his older brother and friends. Various booby traps have been set on roadways and trails around the world, but to the best of my knowledge, none have been fatal — until now. Let’s hope that whoever set the trap faces a murder count, if not terrorism charges. 

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Local 

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a $60 million contract with Metro for the design and construction of the Los Angeles River Valley Bike Path Project, including a new 13-mile segment of the LA River bike path connecting to the existing path in Griffith Park.

Streetsblog reports a new SGV Greenway project is under construction along the Big Dalton Wash in the unincorporated community of Vincent, between Covina and Irwindale; the 3-mile Vincent Community Bikeway is expected to open next year.

NHL referee Dan O’Rourke is scheduled to set off today on a 2,400-mile bike ride from Santa Monica to Chicago along old Route 66, to raise money and awareness for the National Federation of the Blind. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the tip.

The Manhattan Beach city council is urging the police to crack down on scofflaw ebike riders.

 

State

The Los Angeles Times reports that communities around the state are launching ebike and other green transit programs, as Long Beach prepares to open a 40-bike ebike lending library.

Calbike offers advice on how to talk back to the seemingly inevitable bikelash to virtually any bicycling proposal or news story.

Patch says a Temecula bike advocacy group is leading the way in creating harmony on city streets.

Sad news from Modesto, where a 79-year old man was killed in a hit-and-run while riding his bike; police booked the driver on charges of felony hit-and-run causing death and vehicular manslaughter, after she originally stayed at the scene before denying any involvement and driving off.

No surprise here, as San Francisco lowers the speed limit on several streets to 20 mph to improve safety, but drivers keep speeding, anyway.

 

National

Vice considers the best bike bags for your next ride.

Streetsblog says a new book explores America’s revenue-focused approach to traffic policing, including that traffic fines have “no discernible relationship to public safety,” while harming people of color and other vulnerable people.

Arizona bike riders remembered fallen bicyclist Karen Malisa on what would have been her 62nd birthday; she was one of two people killed, and 19 others injured, when a pickup driver plowed into a group ride in Goodyear, Arizona in February. Meanwhile, the driver still hasn’t been charged six months later.

A 22-year old New Mexico man will spend the next 20 years behind bars for fatally shooting another man after trying to steal his bike at a bus stop, and the 43-year old victim tried to fight back.

Colorado’s governor responds to the death of rising 17-year old cyclist Magnus White by reminding everyone to drive safely and yield to people on bicycles. Good advice, regardless of the circumstances. 

The New York Times examines the practical effects of the VanMoof bankruptcy filing, after the company ceased to exist virtually overnight, leaving owners of the Dutch ebikes unable to get repairs and unsure if the bike’s app-based software will continue to work.

A New York program is training formerly incarcerated people to work as bike mechanics for the city’s Citi Bike bikeshare, working with the Brooklyn DA’s office to recruit members of marginalized communities; the bikeshare program is experiencing record breaking ridership despite rumors of a sale.

Former President Trump is being arraigned today on conspiracy charges, but all Fox News seems to care about is President Biden going for a leisurely Delaware bike ride instead of hanging his head in shame over his son’s alleged misdeeds.

Robert Pattinson is one of us, as the Twilight actor goes for a bike ride around his New York neighborhood. But would it kill him to look like he’s actually enjoying it?

 

International

Three young British men face murder charges in the hit-and-run death of an ebike rider, even though police are still looking for their car.

Three people were hospitalized and several others treated at the scene after seven bike riders collided during the World Police and Fire Games in Winnipeg, Canada.

 

Competitive Cycling

In yet another tragic reminder of the dangers of race motos, four people were hospitalized after TV motorcycle crashed into fans with just over three miles to go Wednesday’s fifth stage at the Tour of Poland.

Australian road cyclist Rob Stannard will miss this week’s world championships in Glasgow, after he was provisionally suspended for an alleged doping violation from five years earlier.

Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay was reportedly denied a visa to travel to Scotland for the cycling world championships, but it didn’t matter because he withdrew from the race after crashing in last weekend’s Clasica San Sebastian.

Bicycling offers an update on the condition of Dutch cyclist Amy Pieters, who suffered a severe brain injury on a training ride with the Dutch national team two years ago, and still faces a very long road to recovery. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Pro basketball star Kevin Durant is now a part owner of the new National Cycling League, joining a number of current and former NBA and NFL players.

 

Finally…

Who needs shift levers when your bike could respond to voice commands? No, you don’t owe a reward to the person who stole your bike.

And yes, Tour de France bikes are different from what you ride.

And cleaner, too.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

LBPD ignores Yellow Alert after deliberate fatal hit-and-run, and bike lanes — and sharrows — coming to Doheny Drive

July 28, 2023 / / 2 comments

Let’s start with the frightening news that a Long Beach bike rider was deliberately murdered by a hit-and-run driver earlier this month.

According to the Long Beach Police Department, 29-year old Long Beach resident Leobardo Cervantes died this past Saturday, after he was intentionally run down by a driver on Sunday, July 9th.

Unfortunately, there’s no description of the driver, and the suspect vehicle is described only as a dark-colored sedan that fled east on Harding Street, after the crash near Harding and California Ave.

Shockingly, Cervantes is the third bike rider killed in a Long Beach hit-and-run this year, and the second just this month.

In fact, over a third of the year’s fatal bike crashes in Southern California have been hit-and-runs, and a full third of those have taken place in Long Beach.

Long Beach police could have alerted the public within minutes of the crash using California’s Yellow Alert hit-and-run notification system, rather than waiting two weeks until the victim died and the trail went cold.

You’d think prompt public notification would be helpful in solving any crime, but apparently, they would disagree.

Even though a similar Colorado program has been successful in bringing a number of fleeing drivers to justice.

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

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Beverly Hills is installing bike lanes on a sizable portion of Doheny Drive south of Burton Way — although part of that will be sharrows, instead of a painted lane.

And as we all should know by now, sharrows have been shown to be literally worse than nothing.

It’s also just a tad concerning that they have to explain to Beverly Hills drivers what the hell a bike lane is in the first place.

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Mark your calendar for November’s World Day of Remembrance for the victims of traffic violence.

Click through for the thread, but you may need a Twitter account to read it.

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

No bias here. Police in Ontario — no, the one in Canada — added a jet engine sound effect to video of a bike rider going through a stop sign, and gave the rider a $180 ticket even though there was no conflicting traffic. The ticket might have been justified; the sound effects, not so much. 

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

An NYPD traffic agent was hospitalized with minor injuries after being attacked by a bike rider, who repeatedly punched the victim for refusing to get the hell out of their way.

A woman walking on a Newmarket, Ontario pathway was seriously injured when she was struck by someone riding a bicycle; people quoted in the story complained about bicyclists speeding along the trail, even though there was no suggestion the bike rider was going too fast in this case.

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Local 

Work began two weeks ago to convert a a 10-foot-wide, 450-foot stretch of alley in Redondo Beach into a bike path, after Torrance pulled out of the project.

 

State

Uber is headed to court after a San Francisco bike rider refused a $1 million settlement to keep quiet about getting doored by a passenger leaving one of their drivers’ vehicles. You could buy a lot of my silence for a million bucks.

Bay Area bike riders were urged to use caution after a yet another East Bay bikejacking, when a pair of men boxed in a teenaged bike rider with their car, before jumping out and stealing his bike.

A Sacramento bike advocacy group is using a massive citywide bike valet program to fund its operations while getting people out of their cars; they hope to park more than 10,000 bikes this year.

 

National

There’s a special place in hell for the thief who stole over a dozen adaptive bikes worth more than $100,000 from an Anchorage, Alaska disability nonprofit on Saturday; police charged a man with the theft after spotting a wanted woman on outstanding warrants, who was in possession of some of the bikes. Seriously, what kind of schmuck steals bikes from people who need them for disabilities?

The 50,000 or more bike riders participating in this year’s RAGBRAI are finding small-town economies driven by local microbreweries.

A columnist for the New York Times looks back on the case of the alleged Citi Bike Karen, who says her life has been turned upside down after a recorded conflict with a young Black man over who had rightfully checked out a bikeshare bike. Never mind that both appeared to have a claim to the bike. Meanwhile, a website says the column is “like ‘Inception’ but for unmitigated white woman entitlement.”

Several people were injured on New York’s Manhattan Bridge bike path when four or five moped riders and bicyclists collided on the span, at least some of them were delivery riders illegally using ebikes or mopeds on the bridge; one victim was reportedly at risk of bleeding out from severe leg cuts before another rider used a sweatshirt to put pressure on his wounds.

Some New York delivery riders are turning back to gas-powered mopeds because of a lack of ebike charging stations.

New York’s fire commissioner testified before the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday, calling for new safety standards for lithium-ion ebike batteries.

A Georgia man was convicted in the controversial hit-and-run that killed a bike rider four years ago, after he called his buddy the local state representative following the crash instead of dialing 911, and the politician called the local police chief; the victim clung to life in a ditch for over an hour after the crash, and might have survived if he’d gotten help sooner. The driver faces a maximum of five years for hit-and-run. Even though it should be life for 2nd degree murder.

 

International

English bike riders complain about a “dreadful” new contraflow bike lane, calling it “an accident waiting to happen,” but the local government insists the green paint will magically protect them.

Britain’s Daily Mail once again played the game of who’s at fault, after a bike rider was sideswiped by a motorist when they both made a left turn at the same time. Okay, the driver should have checked his mirror before turning, but the bike rider was a damn fool for not holding back until the driver had finished his turn. So there.

The Turkish Cycling Federation is calling for stronger deterrent penalties after three people were killed riding bicycles in the country over the last two weeks.

 

Competitive Cycling

German cyclist Ricarda Bauernfeind soloed to victory in Thursday’s stage five of the Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift, aka women’s Tour de France, after opening up a 90 second lead over the peloton.

Dutch cyclist Demi Vollering received a 20-second penalty for briefly drafting behind a team vehicle following a puncture, dropping her to 7th in the general classification standings, 12 seconds behind primary rival Annemiek van Vleuten.

Nine cyclists barely made the cut after they were delayed by a train with just one and a quarter miles to go during Thursday’s stage, clearing the stage by just 17 seconds.

Cycling News says Britain’s Hope x Lotus track bike for the 2024 Paris Olympics is even wilder than ever.

 

Finally…

Always tow a small catamaran behind your bike in case of climate change-induced flash floods or thousand-year rain events. That feeling when you illustrate a story about ebike licenses with an antique single speed bike, because your editors apparently have no idea what an ebike looks like.

And probably not the best idea to buy a bike using counterfeit money.

Unless maybe it’s a really good counterfeit.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

News conference drums up support for LA-area speed cam pilot program, and Spanish mayor nails parking debate

July 26, 2023 / / Comments Off on News conference drums up support for LA-area speed cam pilot program, and Spanish mayor nails parking debate

Speed cams could soon be coming your way.

At a press conference in Studio City Tuesday morning, city and state officials explained the reasoning behind AB 645, which would establish a speed cam pilot program in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale, along with three NorCal cities.

According to LADOT’s Makenzi Rasey,

“Too many people are dying on our streets and these crashes disproportionately impact low-income communities, people walking, people biking, our seniors, and our children.”

Like the 4,379 Californians killed in traffic collisions in 2021 alone, including 1,275 people walking and riding bikes.

Every one of them someone’s mother or father, son or daughter, sister or brother, leaving massive holes that can never be filled in the lives of their loved ones.

Rasey went on to add that LADOT is fighting the speeding crisis with “every street design tool available,” including lower speed limits on nearly 200 miles of streets, speed humps, signals and redesigned streets, along with more bike lanes.

Although as we can all testify, not nearly enough of those.

And the city still hasn’t moved forward with shovel-ready lane reductions planned for North Figueroa and Temple Street, which were blocked by councilmembers who are no longer in office.

Never mind the Westwood Blvd bike lanes blocked by then-Councilmember Paul Koretz, who has been replaced by the ostensibly more bike-friendly Katy Yaroslavsky.

The bill is also tailored to inflict minimal financial impact on, well, anyone, as Assembly Transportation Chair and congressional candidate Laura Friedman explained.

“Under our bill, unlike with getting a traditional speeding ticket, there’s no points on your license … Under this program, your first ticket, assuming that you aren’t egregiously speeding, is a warning. and after that, if you get a second ticket, that ticket starts at just $50. Now if you’re low-income that $50 is cut in half to just $25. And there’s a small escalator for every 10 mph over the limit you are going,” said Friedman.

Which doesn’t seem like nearly enough to get drivers to take their damn foot off the gas.

But that’s the compromise needed to get the bill through the legislature in a state where driving — and exceeding the speed limit — is considered a God-given right.

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This may be the best answer to the incessant parking demands of drivers I’ve seen.

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

A Portland city commissioner is calling for rolling back requirements to install bike parking facilities in new residential buildings to increase affordability. Even though the costs are pretty damn negligible, especially compared to installing car parking. 

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

Seriously, don’t be a dick when riding your ebike at Burning Man.

A New Jersey teenager repeatedly punched a Target employee in the mouth when he was instructed to stop riding his bike. No, in the store.

A “thrill-seeking cyclist” was captured on video riding his bicycle on a busy Toronto freeway.

A middle-aged man in the UK, who should certainly know better, is accused of swearing at and threatening a young girl, and throwing her phone to the ground, after they collided while riding their bicycles. Schmuck.

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Local 

ActiveSGV is hosting a family-friendly community bike ride this Saturday to demonstrate the Santa Anita Ave Complete Streets Project.

An LA-based writer for Velo is excited to encounter a man riding a custom Holland Cycles Titanium road bike on PCH in the ‘Bu.

 

State

Tragic news from San Diego, where a woman suffered life-threatening injuries when she was sideswiped by the driver of a massive pickup while riding her bike in the downtown Gaslamp District. Which should have at least been a prima facie violation of California’s three-foot passing law, but apparently wasn’t.

San Diego bike thieves are targeting ebikes as their popularity continues to grow. Ebikes, that is, not bike thieves, who continue to be unpopular in San Diego, and most everywhere else.

Bicycles — electric and otherwise — will now be banned from a five-block carfree section of downtown Ventura, along with skateboards and scooters. That would be illegal under state law if cars were allowed on the street, but apparently allowed since cars are banned.

SFist says San Francisco’s contentious Valencia Street centerline protected bike lane is causing confusion and chaos, with some people calling it the “Valencia Meatgrinder.”

Streetsblog talks with a 32-year old San Francisco man, seven years after he was severely injured by an inattentive driver while riding his bike, who argues that it would be easy to protect people on bicycles but the city won’t.

 

National

Apparently, rock and metal music tops the Spotify playlists for American bicyclists.

Bicycling offers tips on how to test-ride a bicycle before you buy. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Public comments submitted to the Consumer Product and Safety Commission calls for eliminating the requirement that kid’s bikes have coaster brakes, arguing the it keeps them from learning how to use handbrakes.

A lawsuit from the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) argues that the National Park Service was wrong to allow ebikes into national parks, saying the NPS hadn’t adequately addressed their potential to disturb wildlife and create conflicts with other people on the trail. Because evidently, the wilderness is only for fit people who don’t need a little help riding a bike. 

Seriously? Alaska’s governor vetoed a bill regulating ebikes, arguing ”…it creates unnecessary bureaucracy by regulating recreational activity,” even though all it does is establish the same three-tiered classifications pioneered in California, and passed in many, if not most, other states. The sponsor says the legislature will override the veto of the bill, which passed with overwhelming support.

In a clear demonstration of bent-up demand for ebike rebates, Denver’s latest round of ebike rebate vouchers was completely snapped up just three minutes after they became available. Which does not bode well for California’s vastly underfunded program, whenever it finally goes online.

Even rural ski resort town Jackson, Wyoming could soon require bike parking in all future developments.

An AP sportswriter is one of the roughly 80,000 people riding across Iowa in this year’s 50th RAGBRAI, writing that the mantra of the participants is “The ride will provide.”

Um, okay. An Illinois man reportedly threw a kid’s bike into a pond because he thought the boys were fishing too close to some ducks.

A panicking Michigan father threw a bicycle at a second story window to wake his kids and alert them that their home was on fire; firefighters arrived shortly afterwards to pull the kids to safety.

Who needs a car to attend the legendary Rhode Island Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals when you have a bicycle?

Florida man strikes again — literally — after a 37-year old man whacked another man over the head with a bicycle kickstand, because the victim apparently refused to play a country song. Although it’s not clear if he refused to play a particular country song, or just country songs in general.

 

International

Police threw the book at a 17-year old Toronto girl after she crashed a stolen car into a female bike cop.

Oxford, England merchants are accusing the city council of being “hyper-woke” — whatever the hell that means — after refusing to close a bike lane for the city’s annual Christmas market. Because obviously, the lives and safety of bike riders are of no importance compared to selling holiday treats and trinkets.

A 55-year old Oxford, England man faces a charge of “‘wanton or furious cycling” for crashing into an 81-year old woman walking on a pathway, who died 12 days later.

Litium-ion ebike battery fires could eventually be a thing of the past, as Swiss bikemaker Stromer introduced the first solid-state ebike battery, which promises to cut charging times down to just 20 minutes or less, even for the largest batteries.

 

Competitive Cycling

Outside talks with trans cyclist Austin Killips, who says she just wants to ride her bike, after becoming the poster child for excluding trans athletes from women’s sports.

Bicycling says Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky continues to hold the yellow jersey in the women’s Tour de France, but expects a shake-up in today’s mountainous stage four. The story doesn’t appear to be locked behind their usual paywall, but here’s the Yahoo link just in case.

The Guardian says the pay parity gulf between men’s and women’s cycling is continuing to widen, as all three Grand Tours now have women’s versions, but with significantly less prize money.

Colombian national time trial champ and former Tour de Suisse and Volta a Catalunya winner Miguel Angel Lopez has been provisionally suspended for a suspected doping violation. But bicycling is clean now, right?

 

Finally…

What bikes of the future could look like, if it wasn’t for rules and stuff. Your next e-mountain bike could be made of bamboo, other than, you know, the battery and all that metal and rubber stuff.

And this is what happens when you give an ebike to a Slopestyle cyclist.

https://www.tiktok.com/@canyon_bicycles/video/7254580546742045979?embed_source=%3Bnull%3Bembed_blank&refer=embed&referer_url=www.bikemag.com%2Fnews%2Fgravel-bike-slopestyle&referer_video_id=7254580546742045979

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Ebikes aren’t motor vehicles under CA law, despite legislator’s call to license riders; and update on CA ebike rebate program

July 11, 2023 / / 2 comments

Yesterday we wrote that Encinitas State Assemblymember Tasha Boerner plans to introduce a bill in the state legislature to require a license to ride an ebike.

The restriction would apparently apply to any kind of ebike, whether ped-assist or throttle-controlled, or any combination thereof.

She announced her intention in an email directed to various people in her district, in response to the Encinitas ebike state of emergency aimed at reducing bicycling injuries, electric and otherwise, in the Northern San Diego County city.

In response, Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette forwards a quick state law cheat sheet explaining whether an ebike can legally be considered a motor vehicle requiring a license.

Is an E bike a Motor Vehicle? No.

See CVC  24016(a) discusses “an electric bicycle described in CVC 312.5(a) “equipped w operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts”. i.e., class 1 through 3 types.

See CVC 24016(b) “A person operating an electric bicycle is NOT subject to the provisions of this code relating to financial responsibility, drivers’ licenses, registration and license plate requirements and an electric bicycle is not a Motor vehicle.”

See CVC 415, which says a motor vehicle is a vehicle that is self-propelled (versus propelled by human power).

So, there’s an argument to be made that a strictly throttle-controlled ebike without operable pedals can be considered a motor vehicle, subject to licensing.

Then again, they already are under California law and require a valid driver’s license to use, though the law is inadequately enforced.

Anything else isn’t. Period.

Then again, all that has already been legislated. California was the first state to develop a classification structure for ebikes and e-scooters, which has been copied and implemented by a significant number of US states.

Click to enlarge

So consider Boerner’s proposed legislation a solution in search of a problem.

One that would create far more problems than it solves, especially at a time when we urgently need to reduce the number of motor vehicles on our streets in response to the climate emergency.

Never mind preventing our streets from grinding to a gridlocked halt due to too many, too large, vehicles.

If she wants to solve that problem, we should talk.

Ebike battery photo by Alex from Pexels.

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We finally have an update on California’s ebike rebate program, which is still is failure to launch mode, despite earlier estimates that it would go live before this month.

San Diego’s Pedal Ahead ebike loan-to-own program, statewide administrator for the California ebike rebate program, posted this announcement yesterday, backdated to the end of last month.

Click to enlarge

So we’re still waiting, though it sounds like we’re getting closer, and still have no idea when or where the soft launches will take place.

Hopefully we’ll all learn more soon.

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Streets For All points the finger at Metro’s wasteful highway spending under Measure M, which imposed a half-cent sales tax in Los Angeles County to fund transportation projects.

As they point out, the $10 billion allotted to the highway projects — only a handful of which would accomplish anything other than inducing creating more gridlock through induced demand — would be much better spent on providing safe and efficient alternatives to driving, considering that even so-called green cars are harmful to the environment.

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Let’s face it.

You could buy a pretty nice bike or two for twelve grand. And you wouldn’t be stuck with an expensive, smelly and inefficient car anymore.

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Works for me.

I mean, if you have to go, you might as well go in style.

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

No bias here. A writer for conservative website Reason says buy your own damn ebike, arguing that there’s nothing to show that ebike rebates increase the number of ebike riders on the streets. Even though Denver’s ebike voucher program has done exactly that. 

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

A bike-riding burglar broke into Bibi’s Boutique on Pico Blvd and made off with the contents of the cash register early yesterday. But at least he was wearing a hi-vis helmet.

A 42-year old Houston man was arrested two weeks after he was charged with felony criminal mischief for smashing a driver’s windshield with a bike lock during a confrontation involving a groups of bicyclists who swarmed the car; the driver has not been charged, despite repeatedly honking and driving through the group ride, as well as pulling a knife because “he felt threatened.”

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Local 

No news is good news, right?

 

State

A San Diego bike shop owner offers advice on the best kind of bike for every type of bike rider.

A San Francisco website looks at San Francisco’s widely detested Valencia Street centerline protected bike lane pilot project, calling it a compromise that grew from behind the scenes talks, with hope for more radical change down the road.

San Francisco public radio station KQED talks with a mother and educator about the joy of biking with her two young children.

A Sacramento woman talks in depth about quitting her car dependency and going down an anti-car rabbit hole after nearly getting run down by a driver while riding her bike.

 

National

A Streetsblog op-ed from the advocacy manager for America Walks offers five ways you can stand up to demand safer cars and trucks to address the increasing bloodshed on our streets.

The new 2024 Ford Mustang will come with an exit warning device to prevent doorings.

Bicycling highlights the best bike deals from today’s Amazon Prime Day, while Business Wire points out the best ebike buys.

PinkBike conducts their annual field test of “value” mountain bikes. Although they clearly define value a lot differently than I do.

AARP offers seven tips for touring on an ebike, saying don’t get on a battery-powered bicycle before reading it. Most of which you really don’t need to if you have a modicum of experience or common sense. But at least they wait until the penultimate tip before insisting you wear a helmet.

Rad Power Bikes is pulling out of Europe to focus on US sales, in the wake of ongoing problems at the Seattle-based bikemaker, financial and otherwise.

Police in Salem, Oregon sat on video evidence in the March collision that killed a 53-year old woman riding a bicycle in an apparent coverup, failing to turn it over to outside investigators for nearly three months, after earlier failing to disclose that the driver was an off-duty DEA agent.

This is who we share the road with. A 21-year old Yakima, Washington man faces charges for running down a bike rider, snapping his bike in half, before plowing through a chainlink fence and continuing on without stopping; the crash left the victim with broken bones in his thigh, shin, shoulder, arm, wrist and face.

The downside of Denver’s highly successful ebike voucher program is that it hasn’t been successful in spurring sales at local bike shops, with most of the vouchers used with out-of-state companies.

Good news from Michigan, where a 13-year old boy has made a “miraculous” recovery after a hit-and-run driver left him with a fractured neck and critical traumatic brain injury; the driver charged with hitting him remains in jail on $25,000 bond.

Kindhearted Ohio sheriff’s deputies gave a boy a new bike for his 11th birthday, just days after someone stole his bicycle.

There’s a special place in hell for the Memphis bike thief who stole a boy’s bike, then shot the kid several times in the foot after the victim spotted him riding his bike.

 

International

A British man was hospitalized with a brain bleed and two broken ribs after he was severely beaten by a gang of teenagers, who hit him with his own bicycle before making off with it.

Shocking news from the Netherlands, where high-flying Dutch ebike maker VanMoof called it quits, at least for now, after apparently burning through more than $200 million in venture capital funding; the company has halted sales and all operations as it tries to secure bridge funding to keep going.

An Indian newspaper says a “tribe” of bicycling tutors, including a successful urologist, is teaching older adults to pedal a path to freedom.

Speaking of India, Conde Nast Traveller directs you to eight guided bicycling tours to travel the subcontinent during the monsoon season.

Singapore ebike riders complain about dangerous drivers, as well as increasingly stringent regulations have increased their risk.

 

Competitive Cycling

The US will send a team of battle-tested Tour de France vets to the world championships next month, with a lineup including includes king of the mountain leader Neilson Powless, near-stage winner Matteo Jorgenson, as well as Lawson Craddock and US road race champion Quinn Simmons.

Road.cc examines the bicycles that have won each stage of the Tour de France so far.

The Belgian Waffle Ride gravel races are changing their entry categories after a transgender woman dominated her competitors last month; classifications will now be limited according to birth sex, with a third Open category open to anyone, regardless of sexual identification.

Cyclist talks with trans cyclist Pippa York, who was the first Brit to win a stage at the Tour de France before she transitioned.

 

Finally…

Who says your bike needs round wheels? Probably not the best idea to flee from the cops while riding under the influence, then tell them to tase you.

And that feeling when your wind tunnel graphic looks more like a bike rider with a massive farting problem.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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

Still no word on launch of CA ebike rebate program, and active transportation bills face Tuesday state senate committee vote

July 7, 2023 / / Comments Off on Still no word on launch of CA ebike rebate program, and active transportation bills face Tuesday state senate committee vote

Like the song says, waiting is the hardest part.

Because there’s still no word on when the California ebike tax rebate program will begin.

At last word, they were expected to launch in the second quarter of this year, which ended last Friday.

The program has already spent a quarter of the allotted $10 million for administration and overhead, leaving just $7.5 million available for ebike vouchers.

It’s being administered by San Diego’s Pedal Ahead, which operates an ebike loan-to-own program for San Diego residents.

Meanwhile, Calbike offers a slightly different version, saying the program was scheduled to have a soft opening in four undisclosed regions last month, before opening statewide in a few months.

They cite a $13 million budget, anticipating it will fund between 4,000 and 7,000 ebike vouchers.

So if the soft openings do happen and exceed anticipated demand, it’s possible there might not be anything left by the time it gets to you.

………

Calbike reports five active transportation-ish bills will come up before the state Senate Transportation Committee this Tuesday.

The bills include another attempt to get the Stop as Yield bill past Governor Newsom’s veto pen, as well as bills mandating daylighting at intersections, requiring climate-first transportation planning, and legalizing sidewalk bike riding statewide.

The fifth bill would establish a pilot program for free youth transit.

The link above includes a form to contact your state legislature to voice your support for any or all of the bills.

………

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

No bias here. After a little kid was struck by a driver in Wales, Britain’s Sky News reports the ten-year old “cyclist” suffered life-changing injuries. I believe the word they were looking for there was child. 

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

No bias here, either. New Jersey letter writers say a bike rider who is suing a councilmember for the hit-and-run crash that reportedly left him with serious injuries doesn’t deserve a red cent because he ran the red light, regardless of whether the councilwoman fled the scene. And, uh, because he was wearing flip flops.

Bike riders in Barrie, Ontario were fined $180 each for running a stop sign in a community safety zone, as officials stressed “Stop signs are for everyone, including cyclists.” While bike riders should observe the law, they have a much better view of the road and pose significantly less danger to others around them, which should be reflected in any fine, but usually isn’t. Thanks to How The West Was Saved for the heads-up. 

………

Local 

Metro has received over half of the $80 million in grants distributed across six SoCal counties by the Southern California Association of Governments Regional Council, aka SCAG; the funding represents the first local distribution of a $237 million state Regional Early Action Planning, or REAP, grant for transportation and housing efforts.

Streetsblog says the new curb-protected bike lanes on Santa Monica’s 17th Street are “amazing;” the bike/ped improvements include Southern California’s first European-style curb-protected intersections.

 

State

The California legislature restored full funding for the state’s active transportation programs, after Governor Newsom had attempted to cut it by half a billion dollars.

CleanTechnica reports fossil fuel companies are spending millions to defeat a pair of climate reporting bills in the state legislature.

Fullerton celebrated the 4th of July with their annual bike parade.

Orange County has received $13.3 million in SCAG grants to fund innovative transportation projects designed to reduce motor vehicle use, including a number of bike-friendly projects around the county.

A built-in tracker on a stolen ebike led San Diego police to a parolee illegally in possession of a stolen shotgun, illegal drugs and the purloined bicycle. Although I’m not sure you can legally posses a stolen weapon. 

A San Francisco woman who has been hit by drivers twice while riding her bike reflects on the differences between biking in the Bay Area and in Belgium, where she is visiting. Like not getting hit by motorists, for instance.

Sacramento is investing $16 million in building more protected bike lanes in the downtown area.

A Rancho Cordova bike shop is asking for the public’s help to bounce back from the challenges of the pandemic, by attempting to crowdfund a quarter of a million dollars to keep it alive until their business can stabilize.

 

National

Bloomberg’s CityLab writes that businesses are learning to love bike lanes as downtown areas continue to struggle, saying the need to rethink urban cores is encouraging business improvement districts to reconsider the wisdom of prioritizing motor vehicles.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission is recalling 84,000 woom ORIGINAL balance and pedal bikes due to a problem with the stem and handlebars, which can detach and cause a fall.

Washington US Congressman Rick Larsen is one of us, riding his bike as part of a bicycle town hall for a local community.

A Colorado man is recovering after two weeks in the hospital with a broken collarbone, shoulder and damaged skull, as well as “really bad road rash all over his body” after falling off his bike during a fundraising ride to fight human trafficking.

A Minnesota man faces charges for running over and dragging a bike-riding bystander, following a drunken road rage argument with another driver at a Wisconsin riverfront boat launch, while his own young kids were in the car.

Disappointing ruling from a Minnesota appeals court, which dismissed a lawsuit from the father of a 13-year old boy who was killed by a driver while riding his bike to school, ruling that the city, county and school district can’t be held accountable for dangerous conditions on the roadway.

A Youngstown, Ohio company donated 120 bicycles to kids during National Bike Month, part of a promotion promising to donated a bike to a child in need for every sale.

Columbus, Ohio is the latest city to offer residents ebike rebates, with up to 150 vouchers ranging from $500 to $1,200, depending on household income. Meanwhile, Californians continue to wait for what was the nation’s first ebike rebate program when it was originally approved 19 months ago. 

A 47-year old Burlington, Vermont man faces charges after chasing bike riders and pedestrians on a waterfront bike path, and threatening them with a box cutter.

A New Jersey man learns the hard way not to snatch an unattended kid’s bike.

Community members in Covington, Louisiana are asking for prayers for a 17-year old boy who collapsed while riding his bike, and was found unconscious in the roadway.

 

International

More proof life is cheap in the UK, where a speeding, distracted student driver who ran down a Manchester, England milkman riding his bike to work got a lousy 14 months behind bars; the victim was just weeks from retirement when he was killed by the driver, who couldn’t be bothered to slow down or hang up his phone, and shouldn’t have been driving alone in the first place.

A Scottish man has set a new record for riding 250 miles coast-to-coast across the country in 23 hours and 8 minutes.

Thousands of people lined the funeral route for a pair of Welsh teenagers who were laid to rest together, after they were killed in an ebike crash while being closely followed, if not pursued, by the cops.

A new documentary follows the inner and outer journeys of a pair of Indian women as they take part in the London-Edinburgh-London endurance cycling race.

 

Competitive Cycling

After getting dropped yesterday, Tadej Pogacar bounced back to win Thursday’s stage 6, putting himself back in contention at 25 seconds behind the leader.

Like Adam Yates before him, 2022 Giro champ Jai Hindley’s time in yellow lasted just a single day, as last year’s Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard slipped it on at the end of stage 6.

American Neilson Powless is back in polka dots as the Tour’s best climber.

Velo explains the Tour’s confusing team tactics.

USA Cycling has announced their team for the track cycling worlds before they even held the US track championships at Carson’s Velo Sports Center this weekend. Which means whoever wins the nationals risks being left off the worlds team entirely, despite being crowned as the US track champ. Thanks to Steve Fujinaka for calling out what’s been bugging me since learning about the US worlds team.

A Vancouver paper says questions are being raised about safety and oversight in the wake of a teenage mountain biker’s death during a downhill race in British Columbia last weekend.

Bicycling reports that track and gravel champ Ashton Lambie’s latest challenge is taking on sailing’s iconic America’s Cup. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

 

Finally…

Don’t wink at a woman while riding a bike in Ottumwa, Iowa. Now you, too, can join a pot-smoking bicycle club.

And your bike may soon be able to talk to cars.

Although I’m sure many of us would prefer to share a few choice words with their drivers, instead.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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

Pasadena ebike rebates start tomorrow, Americans know wider highways won’t fix traffic, and LADOT wants your input

June 30, 2023 / / Comments Off on Pasadena ebike rebates start tomorrow, Americans know wider highways won’t fix traffic, and LADOT wants your input

Today marks the start of a four-day holiday weekend for many people, myself included. 

Which means the drinking and driving is likely to start early today, and continue through Tuesday.

While riding a bike remains the best way to get to the fireworks and other festivities, you’ll want to watch out for distracted and drunk drivers, because chances are, they won’t be looking for you. 

So ride defensively, stay safe, and come back here bright and early on Wednesday to catch up on anything we may have missed over the weekend. I’ll be around if there’s any breaking news in the meantime, so make sure you’ve signed up for email alerts near the end of that long, long blue column on the right if you haven’t already. 

And have a great 4th of July!

As for the photo up above, it’s a sad day when even clowns aren’t safe on the streets, judging by the residue by the curb near my apartment.

………

Pasadena will begin its ebike rebate program for city residents tomorrow.

Meanwhile, California’s nascent program, which was supposed to be launched by today, remains nowhere to be seen.

………

A new study of registered voters across the US shows that two-thirds of Americans know widening highways doesn’t solve traffic problems.

Even if government officials and transportation agencies — like Metro — don’t seem to get it.

………

Good question.

The Highland Ave survey considers the section from Franklin to Santa Monica, so it doesn’t go up to the Hollywood Bowl, or down to the subway on Wilshire.

The survey for Culver Blvd covers the street from Berryman Ave to Centinela west of the 405.

https://twitter.com/streetsforall/status/1674463066866561037

………

A brief thread from Richard Masoner of Cyclicious fame effectively frame the problem of shared responsibility in a world of distracted drivers.

https://twitter.com/cyclelicious/status/1674470650331926529

https://twitter.com/cyclelicious/status/1674472139620225024

………

Gravel Bike California’s latest epic takes you riding on Mendenhall Ridge in the Angeles National Forest, by way of Metrolink.

………

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

A New Orleans advocacy group is teaming with the local bikeshare to give away bike helmets to promote bike safety in the city with the country’s highest per capita bicycling death rate. Except that’s just more victim blaming in the guise of safety, because it doesn’t do a damn thing to get the people in the big dangerous machines to sober up or pay attention to the road and people ahead of them.

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

Yes, Fox News was right about naked men participating in annual Body Pride Ride as part of an all-ages Seattle Pride parade, but a photo of children walking past naked bike riders comes from the London World Naked Bike Ride in 2017, instead. But they wouldn’t want to mention that since the Naked Bike Ride is a protest about climate change, not gay pride. 

A pair of British ebike riders shot up a number of parked cars, for no apparent reason.

Awful news from Germany, where a former Olympic gold medalist cyclist was convicted of sexually abusing a child.

………

Local 

BikeLA, nee Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, is looking for auction items for their upcoming LA Bike Fest, in case you or your company has anything of value you can donate. Maybe I can give them an autographed copy of this blog.

 

State

The California Transportation Commission — not Caltrans — announced the latest round of 134 active transportation projects for the Active Transportation Program’s (ATP) Cycle 6, including projects in LA’s Boyle Heights, National City and Tehachapi.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department will now offer bicycle safety classes in lieu of citations for scofflaw ebike riders. Once again putting the onus for safety on the potential victims, rather than the people in the big, dangerous machines.  

While the San Diego media has fanned the flames of driver anger over the new bike lanes on Park Blvd, bicyclists complain that the painted lines on one block don’t offer any protection.

A San Luis Obispo weekly looks at the effort to build a bike path along the California coast, which has been ongoing since the ’70s.

Caltrans plans to improve safety along El Camino Real in Redwood City, including adding bike lanes, by 2028. And just hope no one gets killed in the next five years, apparently.

No surprise here, as vandals and bike thieves have targeted Stockton’s nonprofit bikeshare fleet.

 

National

A new movie tells the story of a 12-year old bike thief who is none too happy when her estranged dad re-enters the picture. Although it might be pushing it to expect the bike community to have sympathy for a bicycle rustling waif.

GearJunkie offers a primer on the carbon fiber found in bike frames and other assorted parts.

Bicycling says the US Bicycle Route System is now even cooler with the addition of new routes, including its first ferry ride. Although you may be out of luck if the magazine blocks you, since it doesn’t appear to be available anywhere else. 

A 69-year old California man has spent the last two years riding back and forth across the US to raise funds for the Challenged Athletes Foundation to provide prosthetics for Paralympic athletes. And has high praise for Nebraska drivers.

Heartbreaking story from Detroit, where a man was found not guilty after his three dogs attacked and killed a nine-year old girl as she rode her bike, then began eating her leg; the law requires a person to know their dogs were dangerous before they can be held responsible. Maybe he didn’t know they were dangerous, but he may have starved them.

An artist in Lansing, Michigan has designed a series of artistic leaf-shaped bike racks. Which aren’t likely to be used, because a) they don’t look like bike racks, and b) they appear to be just bolted to the sidewalks, meaning they could be unbolted, too.

Boston plans to build a bike lane on the city’s Boylston Street, and parts of Beacon and Berkeley, to address safety concerns for bicyclists in the Back Bay, although some residents bicker about losing parking spaces. Meanwhile, Back Bay NIMBYs bizarrely warn someone is likely to die because of the protected bike lanes, even though protected lanes have been shown to improve safety for all road users. This story has been brought to you by the letter B.

Maybe there’s hope yet, as teams of architects and designers reimagine what New York streets could be without cars.

New York’s fire department is cracking down on ebike shops selling and storing unsafe lithium-ion batteries.

 

International

A new interactive game invites you to ride a ghost bike to the afterlife to save lost souls. Although in this case, the ghost bikes are magical couriers who ride between the world of the living and the world of the dead. It still sounds like it’s in very poor taste, though, given what ghost bikes represent in the real world. 

Downtown Vancouver has introduced a summer-long free bike valet. Which is a service that every city should offer. 

A British Columbia family ditched their SUV for an environmentally responsible e-cargo bike, and haven’t looked back.

Transgender comedian Suzy Eddie Izzard is one of us, taking to the streets of London wearing a miniskirt on a bikeshare bike.

British bike riders raise understandable concerns after discovering that the bike racks at a new Aldi store can simply be lifted out of the pavement.

The Connexion examines the French love of all things bicycle, dating back to the nineteenth century.

Parisian Mayor Anne Hidalgo enters the emerging conflict between ebike and e-scooter users and people on foot, not by cracking down on electric micromobility, but with what Streetsblog calls a common-sense plan that includes taking still more space from drivers.

An unlicensed Scottish driver was arrested for the hit-and-run that killed a noted local bicyclist in Ibiza, Spain; police found his abandoned Jeep three miles from the crash scene.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay calls Belgium’s Wout Van Aert the Bo Jackson of the Tour de France, but the paper insists on hiding the story behind its draconian paywall. Am I the only one who is less likely to subscribe to any publication after being confronted by their paywall?

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling previews the competition for the Tour de France’s green sprinter’s jersey sponsored by the car brand.

Velo says riders preparing for the Tour de France are pushing for more safety measures in the wake of Gino Mãder’s death in the Tour de Suisse, arguing that “the worst-case scenario is really scary.”

 

Finally…

Who could have imagined that a wheel-less, tread-operated bicycle could be horribly inefficient? That feeling when the first ebike with built-in AI is as weird as it sounds.

And this looks like my pre-4th beer run.

Thanks to Jon for the heads-up.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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

CA ebike rebate becoming reality, teen bike riders beat driver in DTLA, and Bixby bike path opens on Long Beach bridge

May 22, 2023 / / 3 comments

Let’s start with a little good news.

It looks like the California E-bike Incentive Program is finally happening, and on the verge of moving from its long-delayed vaporware status into something that could actually put a new ebike in your garage.

Or not.

Because the program is limited to low income households with gross incomes 300% or less of the federal poverty level.

And that’s just for the first $2.5 million.

Once that’s gone, the remaining $5 million will be reserved for people with a gross income of 225% of the federal poverty level, or who live in a disadvantaged or low-income community, or participate in at least one of these public assistance programs.

Which adds up to just $7.5 million, because the first $2.5 million of the $10 million budgeted by the state legislature is going to administration, and just getting us to this place.

So let’s hope the legislature listens to Calbike’s call to increase the rebate budget by another $50 million to meet the anticipated demand.

As we’ve discussed before, the rebates will be for $1000, with another $250 for low income applicants, and an additional $750 for buyers of e-cargo bikes or e-adaptive bicycles.

You’ll be able apply through an online portal which is projected to launch in the second quarter of this year, which means by the end of next month, though that could change.

If you’re approved, you’ll receive a voucher good for 30 days on the purchase of an ebike that meets the following requirements. The voucher will be applied towards the full purchase price, including taxes, up to but not exceeding the total amount.

One more bit of good news — besides the fact that it looks like I may qualify, if I can get my application in fast enough.

The program will be administered by people who actually know what they’re doing.

The state has selected San Diego’s Pedal Ahead to run the program. That’s good news because they’ve managed San Diego’s loan-to-own ebike program for the last three years.

So they should, hopefully, be able to assume management of this one.

Although there are no guarantees when the state is involved.

You can read more about the California E-bike Incentive Program on Pedal Ahead’s FAQs page.

Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels.

………

Horrifying video emerged over the weekend showing a group of what looked to be five teenage bike riders attacking a pickup driver in DTLA’s Jewelry District on Thursday, which was Bike Day in LA County.

The driver exited the vehicle after one of the boys smashed his windshield with a bicycle before they set upon him; the attack continued until bystanders intervened.

It’s unclear what precipitated the assault.

Witness reports alternately said the driver honked at the bike riders as they were weaving across the roadway, or that the driver had fled the scene after striking one of the boys with his truck.

Either way, the violent assault was wrong. And a crime.

………

Frequent contributor David Drexler went to the grand opening of the Mark Bixby Memorial Bicycle-Pedestrian Path on the new Long Beach International Gateway Bridge on Saturday, and forwarded a few notes.

Thank you for letting me know about the Ceremony and bike ride yesterday in Long Beach. If I did not read about it on your report—I would not have known.

It was a well organized, unique and extraordinary bike event.

A Congresswoman from that area, DOT, Caltrans, and Bixby family were all there and spoke.

I went back to the bridge at 3 PM and road it again alone with hardly anyone else there.

Highly recommend a bridge path visit ride or walk if in the area—the climbs are great and so is the downhill—easy 25 mph with no pedaling.

Three observation areas on the bridge to stop and hang out.

Note: Does not go all the way to San Pedro—dead ends at the base of the North side of the bridge with the gate locked closed.

All photos by David Drexler

………

Alhambra is considering a proposal to put more cars and speeding drivers directly in front of an elementary school.

You have until 6 pm today to tell them where they can put that offramp.

Politely, of course.

………

Nice to see my councilmember sharing the progress that’s been made to improve bike infrastructure in her district.

Even if there’s still a lot of work to do.

………

Mark your calendar for this year’s celebration of all things bike from BikeLA, the former Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.

………

Go Safely wants to know what you think are the problems on our streets. Unfortunately, hit-and-run isn’t one of the options.

https://twitter.com/GoSafelyCA/status/1658155280503275520

………

This is who we share the road with.

A 27-year old man was sentenced to 30 years behind bars for the drunken Irvine crash that killed two passengers in his car, while driving at speeds up to 138 mph moments before the collision; however, there are questions about his mental competency, despite being examined by psychological experts nine times. This link would have gone to the Orange County Register, but they’d rather block access with a paywall than drive internet traffic. 

A 24-year old Kern County man faces a 1st degree murder charge for intentionally slamming his car into another vehicle while driving under the influence, killing a beloved 79-year old former educator.

There’s not a pit in hell deep enough for a convicted pedophile who faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and hate crime enhancements after repeatedly shouting racist epithets and attempting to swerve his car into another car with at least one Black passenger; in 2001 he was convicted of committing lewd or lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, and investigated for making obscene phone calls to a 19-year old woman.

A British woman decided she wasn’t going to be inconvenienced by a marathon race, and simply moved the orange cones blocking the road, and drove right through the runners. Then tried to justify it to the people trying to stop her.

………

Bizarre shoving match at the Cannes Film Festival, where the head of the festival, who was eschewing limos and riding a bike to cut his carbon footprint, got into a shoving match with a cop, apparently for riding on the sidewalk.

https://twitter.com/EricMorillot/status/1659881550966562817

Here’s a Google translation of the tweet.

A policeman asked you twice to stop. When he catches up with you in front of the Carlton you accuse him of assaulting you. I tell you again here, Thierry Frémaux, you were wrong and you are not above the law! We are several witnesses of what happened. This municipal police officer has our full support.

Thanks to J. Steve Mayo for the tweet.

………

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

Residents of Santa Monica’s 17th Street got out the torches and pitchforks over the new curb-protected bike lanes, saying they were caught off guard by the construction. Which is strange, since I saw the notifications months ago.

A Houston man participating in the city’s Bike to Work Day was flipped off and nearly struck by a driver cutting into a parking garage, who became angry after police held up traffic to let people on bikes pass.

An Irish woman was subjected to a torrent of abuse when she calmly told a driver he was blocking the bike lane and she couldn’t get past him.

………

Local 

Tragic news from South Los Angeles, where a 62-year old man was shot and killed in a drive-by as he was getting on his bike for a ride yesterday morning.

Culver City has reopened the Higuera Street Bridge after a year of reconstruction, along with a new ramp leading to the Ballona Creek bike path.

 

State

Governor Gavin Newsom called for a series of laws to speed construction of transportation, environmental and other infrastructure projects by reducing the time for lawsuits alleging CEQA violations.

Huntington Beach has installed a pair of radar-activated traffic signs that display the speed of bike riders on the path paralleling PCH to encourage bicyclists to obey the 10 mph speed limit.

After a 17-year old San Diego ebike rider suffered a broken pelvis when he was run down by a hit-and-run driver, his family sprung into action as citizen detectives to track down the 32-year old driver, who now faces charges. But even if he’s convicted, he’ll be out in less than two years, thanks to California’s lenient hit-and-run laws. 

A pair of Simi Valley kids sharing an ebike suffered significant injuries when they were struck a driver after allegedly running a stop sign; thankfully, they’re expected to recover.

Sad news from Oakland, where a 50-year old man was killed riding a bike.

 

National

Once again, a bike rider is a hero, as a passing bicyclist ran to the rescue and pulled a man out of his burning home, then left before firefighters arrived without giving his name.

They get it. Seattle students say better bike parking could remove a major barrier to biking to school.

A Las Vegas website recommends riding through the soaring rock wall of Zion National Park.

Experts in Utah call for using bike helmets after the state experienced its deadliest year for bike crashes. Although that only matters if the victims weren’t wearing helmets, and their injuries to other parts of their bodies were survivable.

No more free ride for EV owners in the Lone Star State, after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill that will charge owners of electric vehicles $400 for the first year, and $200 for each subsequent year to make up for not paying gas taxes, although critics say the charges don’t add up. Just one more argument for buying an ebike, instead. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

A crowdfunding campaign has raised nearly $100,000 for the pregnant hospital worker captured on a viral video trying to wrest a bikeshare bike from a Black teenager, who insisted he’d paid for it; the founder of the campaign says she been unfairly painted as a “racist Karen.” Although we still haven’t heard from the man she was trying to take the bike from.

A new study from New Jersey shows that fatal crashes involving pedestrians or bike riders are more likely to occur in low income neighborhoods and communities of color, which are less likely to have adequate sidewalks, crosswalks or bicycle infrastructure.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown was nearly hit by a driver while broadcasting live on Instagram as he took part in a fundraising ride — even if his tumbling phone makes it appear like he was.

Sign me up for the next one. A Mobile, Alabama bike ride took participants on a tour of Underground Railroad sites in the city.

 

International

Your next bike helmet could be a partial full-face helmet with a built-in taillight.

Cities around the world want the millions of people who rode their bikes during the pandemic to keep pedaling.

Protesters turned out to object to the removal of a bike lane through a Vancouver park, so drivers could have another lane to cut through on their way to work. Cars don’t belong in parks. Period. 

More on the Vancouver, British Columbia man who crashed his bike into a black bear that darted across the roadway, saying he “pretty much kissed him’ before flying through the air.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 92-year old retired Ontario, Canada legislator plans to take part in a 46-mile fundraising ride next month.

An Edinburgh city counselor called for raising parking rates to fund secure bike hangers, but opponents said it would just pit drivers against bicyclists.

In just 20 years, Spain cut serious traffic crashes by 80%, now ranking as one of the safest places to drive in the European Union — even if they still have work to do.

An estimated 50,000 people took part in Russia’s annual Moscow Spring Bicycle Festival.

Tragic news from Kolkata, where a 29-year old actress was killed when she fell off e bikeshare bike, and was run over by a truck drive. Although Indian media use the same terms for bicycles, motor scooters and mo-peds, so it’s hard to say for certain exactly what she was riding. 

Japanese cops cut bike theft by 80% simply by placing tags on bike handlebars reading “subject to theft tracking,” “theft prevention verification in progress” and other phrases; inside, they had a message saying locking your bike will bring very good luck.

Australia’s New South Wales is giving suburbs of Sydney $39 million in an effort to turn drivers into bike riders.

An Australian motorcyclist has been sentenced to nine years behind bars for the crash that killed an 89-year old man who was standing next to his bicycle, as he illegally rode his motorcycle on a bike path.

 

Competitive Cycling

Surprising outcome in the Giro, where 24-year old American Brandon McNulty won Sunday’s stage 15 in a breakaway; France’s Bruno Armirail retained the pink leader’s jersey.

Australia’s Michael Matthews unexpectedly rose from the figurative ashes to win the 3rd stage go the Giro earlier this month, just a month after suffering quadriceps tear, torn knee and sprained ankle that forced him into a wheelchair, and saw him collapse in front of his wife.

Less than a week after withdrawing from the Giro due to Covid, it was announced the Remco Evenepoel won’t race in the Tour de France or the Vuelta as he recuperates from the illness. Which sounds like BS, since it should only take a few days to recover unless he suffered major health problems. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you. 

American actor Ben Stiller is a big fan of Welsh cyclist Geraint Thomas.

 

Finally…

Ignore that old advice about reinventing the wheel, and you could end up with triangular ones. Your next Colnago could be diamond studded and coated in gold leaf.

And the late, great Jim Brown was one of us.

……….

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Newsom kills funding for CA ebike rebates beyond 1st year, and Bixby bike-ped path opens on Gateway bridge this weekend

May 17, 2023 / / Comments Off on Newsom kills funding for CA ebike rebates beyond 1st year, and Bixby bike-ped path opens on Gateway bridge this weekend

It was nice while it lasted.

California’s long-delayed ebike rebate program, which hasn’t even begun yet, is already at risk after Governor Newsom failed to extend funding for the program beyond this year in his revised budget.

Calbike reports that over 17,000 people have expressed interest in the program, which only has $7.5 million left for actual rebates after the state has blown through $2.5 million of the original $10 million budget on outreach and overhead.

Which is kind of what happens when you spend a couple years dithering about what it should look like, instead of just getting the money out to people who need it.

The remaining funds should be good for just 3,000 to 7,000 vouchers, meaning at least 10,000 people are likely to walk away empty handed and out of luck.

And most will probably keep driving, instead of switching to a far cleaner, cheaper and more efficient form of transportation.

The revised budget also includes cuts to Complete Streets and investments in disadvantaged communities. Which is exactly the opposite of what we should be doing in the midst of a climate crisis, when the state is literally burning and people are suffering.

And the opposite of Newsom’s campaign promises to confront the crisis.

Photo by Alex from Pexels.

………

The long-delayed Mark Bixby Memorial Bicycle Pedestrian Path is offically opening this weekend, along with the Ocean Boulevard Connector leading to it.

The bikeway on the new Long Beach International Gateway Bridge is named for Long Beach bike advocate Mark Bixby, scion of the city’s influential Bixby family, who was killed with four other people in a private plane crash a dozen years ago.

………

San Diego will now close Fifth Avenue in the city’s Gaslamp district to cars every afternoon and evening.

Because, apparently, they don’t do mornings down there.

Thanks to Glenn Crider for the heads-up.

………

More proof you can carry pretty much anything on a bicycle — despite the constant chorus of naysayers who insist you need a massive SUV to carry anything bigger than a coffee cup.

https://twitter.com/rendermack/status/1657509136614199297

………

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

We’re constantly reminded about stop sign-running bike riders as the reason we can’t have anything nice. But when someone on a bike runs a stop sign, they usually don’t kill anyone, unlike an on-duty DEA agent who was caught on video running a stop sign just before killing a Salem, Oregon man riding a bicycle.

No bias here. A Cambridge, Massachusetts letter writer says being bike friendly is a good thing, but the city is taking this whole bike safety thing too far, because some people might be inconvenienced, and stuff. Although getting killed or maimed by a driver is pretty damn inconvenient, too.

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

Five teenage bike riders were caught on security cams illegally riding through a Boston freeway tunnel, splitting traffic lanes and popping wheelies, to the chagrin of drivers behind them.

………

Local 

Burbank is hosting a pair of pit stops today for the city’s annual “Bike and Walk to Work Day.”

They get it. Alhambra residents stood up to object to the city’s proposed widening of Fremont Ave, along with the on and off ramps to the 10 Freeway, calling it a waste of the city’s share of Metro funds for the abandoned plans to extend the 710 Freeway.

 

State

Laguna Beach will host a bike safety expo this Sunday.

A 14-year old French Valley girl was airlifted to a hospital after suffering serious injuries when she was struck by a pickup driver while riding her bike in unincorporated Murrieta.

Even Bakersfield is hosting a series of bike events to mark Bike Month. Although closing the bike path to conduct “bug maintenance” probably wasn’t on their bike bingo card.

A 31-year old Fresno man was hospitalized with cuts and a broken leg after getting hit by a truck driver while allegedly riding salmon and running a red light.

A 4th generation San Franciscan, developer evangelist and substitute tennis coach writes glowingly about her first SF Bike Party, which is like Critical Mass, but more fun.

Writing for a nonprofit architecture and design site, a San Francisco architect says it’s time to consider the benefits of a 15 mph city.

 

National

The US Bureau of Statistics confirms that the pandemic bike boom was real, as spending on bikes and accessories jumped a whopping 640% over the past three years. And suggests this could be another banner year.

The Cherokee Nation announced the six women who will participate in this year’s Remember the Removal Bike Ride, ranging in age from 18 to 40; the ride follows the route of the horrific Trail of Tears, when tribal members were forcibly removed from their ancestral homes in the south, and made to march hundred of miles to new reservations.

A craniofacial trauma surgeon considers whether it’s worth spending a little more to get a MIPS bike helmet, and ends with a resounding yes.

After he was paralyzed in a snowboarding accident, a self-described adrenaline junkie finds the cure for his depression in riding an adaptive bicycle with a Washington state bike club.

A group of Houston bike riders will hold a ride and dine in support of a historic restaurant threatened by the real estate developer next door, who is blocking access to parking long used by restaurant patrons.

Authorities in Fargo, North Dakota are looking for a man who drove through a local bike race while leading a police chase last weekend; fortunately, no one appears to have been seriously injured.

A Congressional bill named for a fallen Wisconsin bicyclist would make it easier to use federal funds to build protected bike lanes; Sarah Debbink Langenkamp’s hometown officially endorsed the bill named for her.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever murdered a 56-year old Dayton, Ohio man, just 12 hours after he was bike-jacked at gunpoint and forced to walk ten blocks to report the crime.

CBS has picked up the story of the white hospital worker who tried to wrestle and whine a New York bikeshare bike out of the hands of the Black teenager who had rented it, saying the hospital she works for is looking into the incident. Which is probably bureaucratese for she can kiss her job goodbye.

They get it, too. DC bike advocates continue to fight for safer streets, despite the city’s backpedaling on a pair of planned protected bikeways, saying there can be no compromise on making biking and walking safer.

Speaking of DC, hats off to the lone bike rider who shouted down a group of white supremacists gathered for a march to the capital.

Forget tweed rides. Roanoke, Virginia is hosting a fancy dress bike ride this weekend, encouraging participants to don their finest and fanciest attire.

Kindhearted Georgia sheriff’s deputies replaced a 12-year old boy’s BMX bike after his was stolen.

Former NFL star Jimmy Graham is one of us, as he gets back on his bike after suffering cuts and bruises when a driver smashed into him in a SMIDSY* crash. *Sorry Mate, I Didn’t See You.

 

International

Canadian Cycling Magazine considers five goofy things non-bicycling people ask bicyclists, including “doesn’t your butt hurt,” and the ever-popular “why do you shave your legs.”

After a London van driver told bike-riding BBC presenter Jeremy Vine to fuck off, Vine responded by telling nearby pedestrians “He seems like the kind of guy who might not come to my birthday party.”

Bicycling considers what the bicycling mecca can teach the world — and the writer’s hometown — about bike infrastructure, reminding us that the Netherlands wasn’t always the bike-friendly paradise we see now. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Foldie maker Dahon wowed visitors to a Chinese bike show with they’re latest bikes and tech, including a new frame cable that reportedly makes single-bar folding bikes “more rigid, stronger and faster than some large-wheeled mountain bikes.”

 

Competitive Cycling

Denmark’s Magnus Cort Nielsen overcame the cold and wet weather to win Tuesday’s 10th stage of the Giro, as former Tour de France champ Geraint Thomas kept a tight grip on the pink leader’s jersey.

Movistar cyclist Will Barta managed to escape serious injury crashing on a wet descent in Tuesday’s 10th stage, but he can’t say the same for his bike, which snapped in two during a brush with a retaining wall.

Bicycling applauds 21-year old Dutch cyclist Puck Pieterse’s podium vibes, which she displays with increasing frequency competing in ‘cross, mountain biking and road racing. Read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you.

 

Finally…

Telling bike riders not to do something they wouldn’t do driving a car probably doesn’t have the intended impact, in a world where people do whatever the hell they want behind the wheel. Your next bike could have magnets instead of gears, or maybe not.

And if you get chased out the home you’re burglarizing, try not to leave your bike behind. And if you do, don’t go back for it.

……….

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Family looks for answers in Newport Beach crash, CicLAvia rolls at tax time, and share your thoughts on CA bicycling

March 28, 2023 / / Comments Off on Family looks for answers in Newport Beach crash, CicLAvia rolls at tax time, and share your thoughts on CA bicycling

Let’s start with an update on Sunday’s Newport Beach crash that appeared to leave a bike rider seriously injured.

The crash, which occurred on on the west side of Newport Coast Drive just south of San Joaquin Hills Rd, resulted in an hours long road closure as police investigated.

Yesterday I heard from a lawyer for the victim’s family, who shared that he survived the impact, but remains very seriously injured and unable to communicate.

As a result, they are desperate for any information to understand what happened to their loved one.

So if you saw the crash, or have any information about it, call Pajman Jassim of Jassim Law at 619/395-2668.

And be sure to keep the victim of this crash in your thoughts or prayers, or whatever you’re comfortable with.

………

Mark your calendar for the next CicLAvia in less than three weeks.

CicLAvia — Mid City meets Pico Union rolls on Sunday, April 16th, on a four-mile route along Venice and Washington boulevards between Hoover and La Brea.

California’s multiple disaster designations means the deadline to file your federal and state taxes has been extended until October 15th, so you won’t have to rush home to get your taxes forms in order for the next day.

Let’s just hope the seemingly endless series of atmospheric rivers is over by then, so we can count on a typically sunny SoCal spring morning.

………

UC Berkeley’s SafeTREK program is conducting a survey about conditions facing bicyclists in the state of California.

You are invited to participate in a UC Berkeley study about the factors that make roads more or less bicycle friendly. The survey involves answering some questions about your cycling experience and then viewing and responding to short videos of bicycling on road segments. The survey takes 15-20 minutes to complete. The closing date for the survey is Friday, April 14, 2023.

Those who complete the online survey at the link below may enter a drawing to receive one of six gift cards. One $150 card, two $75 cards, and three $50 cards are available. Please encourage your peers and colleagues to complete this survey as well. Download our flyer: English | Spanish.

Click here to take the survey in English.

………

Santa Monica wants to know what you think about a proposal to allow pedicabs on the beachfront bike path through the city.

https://twitter.com/santamonicacity/status/1640422227001655308

My take is the path is just too crowded as it is, particularly on weekends and summer afternoons and evenings, and adding commercial activity would just make a bad situation worse.

But maybe they could consider offering it during off-peak hours.

………

Go ahead. Make my day.

………

Disconnected bike lanes that don’t go anywhere don’t really help anyone, and clearly demonstrate just how little city and state officials actually care.

………

Portland officials are moving quickly to address a decline in ridership by introducing a purple cartoon frog.

Yeah, that should fix everything.

………

A new scientific journal will focus on research into bicycling and micromobility.

………

Lady Gaga is one of us.

Although we may not want to admit it until she loses that weird whale hat.

Or maybe it’s a dolphin. Or a shark.

………

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

No bias here. A Toledo, Ohio bike path already under construction is on hold in a dispute over property rights next to a local country club, as the club argues it would be unsafe because an errant shot might hit a car, and the driver could crash into people on the bike path. Or maybe a unicorn might dart out of the 7th hole and stampede into bike riders on the path, which seems almost as probable. 

The bizarre war on 15-minute cities and the UK’s Low Traffic Neighborhoods — the equivalent of Slow Streets in the US — continues, as a successful petition drive results in an independent investigation into LTNs, and calls for a referendum on implementing 15-minute cities in the country.

A writer for Bicycling describes getting buzzed by a driver while riding two abreast in Spain, and reacting by flipping the driver off and exchanging obscenities — resulting in a road rage chase as they rode uphill, followed by threats with a tire iron, folding chair and razor blade before the driver and his passenger finally calmed down. Read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you.

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

A Florida home health aide learned the hard way that if you’re going to steal a gun from your 76-year old patient, maybe don’t ride home with the gun in plain site in your bike basket.

………

Local 

Streetsblog rides the newly extended parking-protected bike lanes on eastbound Venice Blvd between McLaughlin and Overland avenues. Which at least use chunkier plastic bollards that won’t actually stop a car, but look like they might.

An op-ed by former Santa Monica city manager and Los Angeles assistant mayor Rick Cole considers a historic opportunity to reunify the heart of Pasadena by reclaiming the scars left by Caltrans for the abandoned 710 Freeway stub.

We’ve mention Long Beach teenager Liam Garner’s bike ride from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina before, but didn’t know the 17-year old didn’t even tell his dad he was going until he was already on the road.

 

State

San Diego residents took advantage of a rare opportunity to ride their bikes on the closed SR-15 Freeway.

Santa Barbara continues to extend its bike network, building a series of bike paths and bicycle friendly streets that will connect the east and west sides of the city. And unlike LA’s flimsy plastic car-ticklers, they are using actual steel bollards to protect bike riders from motorists.

This is who we share the road with. Police in San Jose arrested a suspect who allegedly fled the scene after running down a woman and her daughter as they were walking their dog; the mother and dog died at the scene, while the little girl is hospitalized.

SF Gate explains everything you need to know about the Wiggle, San Francisco’s two-mile long zig-zagging bike route that avoids the city’s infamous hills.

A Yuba County woman will spend the next ten years behind bars after accepting a plea deal in the DUI death of a 37-year old neighbor as he was riding his bike; she was trying to drive home at twice the legal limit after having multiple drinks at a local bar.

 

National

He gets it. A writer for Jalopnik says it’s not the bike lane’s fault that you’re a bad driver, and maybe people should pay attention when they drive instead of complaining about them.

Bicycling lists nine Subreddits you should follow to connect with other riders and get answers to all your bike questions. However, the article is an exclusive for Bicycling members, which doesn’t explain why it’s also available on Yahoo, as well as AOL.

The popular Colorado certified pre-owned bicycle dealership The Pro’s Closet will henceforth be known simply as TPC.

It’s a sad commentary when neighbors say crashes happen all the time at a Texas intersection where drivers ignore stop signs, leading to a motorist crashing into the bike trailer carrying a six-year old girl; fortunately, both she and her father, who was riding the bike pulling the trailer, will be okay.

A Florida man and his small dog were both killed when they were struck by a pickup driver while he was walking the dog alongside his bicycle; the dog suddenly darted into the road, pulling his bike into the traffic lane.

 

International

A Canadian website explain why mandatory bike registration and requiring bike riders to pay for our own infrastructure probably isn’t a good idea.

A Nova Scotia newspaper offers decent advice on how drivers can safely share the road with people on bicycles, although they fail to mention passing at a safe distance. But then spoil it by framing the story as “How to drive with cyclists at your bumper,” as if we all tailgate en masse.

A writer for The Guardian insists on seeing the death of a 77-year old English woman who was knocked off her bike by an angry pedestrian as nothing more than a tragic oopsie, rather than the result of a sidewalk vigilante attempting to enforce the law against sidewalk riding herself.

New bicycles, children’s bikes and ebikes are selling at discounts up to 80% in a massive online auction after a British bike distributor went belly up. But you have to live in the UK to get it.

Your next trip to Paris could feature on-demand, chauffeur-driven, covered e-pedicab service.

French composer Ernest Chausson was one of us, dying in a bicycling crash at the height of his career when he lost control of his bike on a steep hill and crashed into a brick wall in 1899.

Sad news from Italy, where famed framebuilder Ugo De Rosa passed away at the ripe old age of 89; the company will continue under his sons. Once again, read it on AOL if Bicycling blocks you. 

Tragic news from Bangladesh, where a man took his six-year old daughter to the hospital, and was beaten to death by ambulance drivers and Islamic militia members after he was mistaken for a bicycle thief.

A new Australian study says women just want to ride their bikes without fear or harassment, which can be addressed by building more separated bikeways.

 

Competitive Cycling

Over 1,000 high school and middle school mountain bikers will compete in the annual Granite Bay Grinder this weekend at the Folsom Lake State Recreation Area; the race returns following a three-year pandemic hiatus.

 

Finally…

It’s a lot like riding a bike on a high wire line, but a lot closer to the ground. Your next fully functional bicycle could be less than a foot high.

And that feeling when an AI bot writes a better anti-bike screed than the famed bike hater it’s imitating.

………

Ramadan Mubarak to all observing the Islamic holy month. 

……….

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

California ebike rebate plan takes shape, sentencing for killer San Diego driver, and 15-minute city conspiracy theories

February 21, 2023 / / One comment

This is who we share the road with.

A nice three day weekend with my wife was, if not ruined, at least darkened by a road raging woman who nearly ran us down making a left turn as we crossed the street, less than a block from our home.

She somehow took offense when I objected to the way my wife, dog and I nearly became roadkill, screaming that it was our fault because we hadn’t been paying attention.

Which was true for the dog, anyway.

Never mind that a) we had the right-of-way, b) she started her turn after we were already crossing the street, and c) she neglected to use her turn signal, which might have tipped us off.

But in her mind, we were 100% at fault.

Just another reminder that cars can turn people into monsters.

And that we’ll never have safe streets until our elected leaders have the courage and political will to actually do something about it. 

Ebike photo by Alex from Pexels.

………

Calbike updated the latest outlines of California’s long-delayed ebike rebate program, which is currently slated to begin sometime in the second quarter of this year.

Which means no sooner than April.

  • To qualify, participants can make no more than 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL).
  • The base incentive will be $1,000.
  • Participants can get an additional $750 toward the purchase of a cargo bike or adaptive bike.
  • People whose income is below 225% of FPL or who live in a disadvantaged community can qualify for an additional $250, so the maximum incentive amount is $2,000.
  • Incentives can be applied toward sales tax, as well as the purchase price.
  • Incentives will be applied at the point of sale.
  • All three classes of e-bikes can qualify for incentives.
  • Used bikes will not be eligible.
  • Incentives can be used to buy e-bikes from local bike shops or online retailers with a business location in California.
  • Adaptive bikes can include tricycles. CARB plans to keep the definition of adaptive e-bikes as broad as possible.

As far as I can tell, it looks like the Federal Poverty Limits are calculated using the adjusted gross income on your latest tax return, with certain items added back in.

………

The San Diego Bike Coalition is calling for bike riders to turn out for Friday’s sentencing of the wrong-way driver who killed Matt Keenan in September, 2021.

Keenan was riding his bike to the movies in Mission Valley when the driver, who hasn’t been publicly named, let alone shamed, rounded a corner on the wrong side of the road and hit him head-on.

His confessed killer is copping a plea to misdemeanor Vehicular Manslaughter with Gross Negligence, with a three-year license suspension and not one day behind bars.

Let me repeat.

A lousy license suspension — not even revocation — and no jail time at all. For needlessly killing another human being, while likely driving distracted.

According to the organization, Keenan’s wife Laura has become one of the leading voices for safer streets in the nearly year and a half since his death, and deserves the support of the entire bicycling community in calling for the judge to add additional penalties, like community service and probation, at the sentencing hearing.

If you can’t attend the hearing, they recommend emailing the judge.

Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.

………

Thousands of apparently very confused yet virulent protesters turned out in Oxford, England to protest Low Traffic Neighborhoods, aka LTNs, as well as plans for 15-minute cities.

According to the BBC, the protestors based their LTN complaints on the difficulties they could pose for motorists who could be unable to drive directly through the city. Not to mention some major climate change denial, as well as baseless claims that it would result in a “climate lockdown,” with residents required to stay at home to protect the environment.

Meanwhile, 15-minute city proposals were bizarrely accused of being a front for a dystopian concentration camp-like lockdown, with gates locking residents inside their zone, allowed to leave just 100 days a year. Along with the creation of an Orwellian surveillance state to enforce climate goals.

Not to mention that Neo-Nazis turned out in support of the protests. Or maybe were behind it.

Consider, for instance, this speech by a 12-year old anti-Greta Thuneburg, which has been circulating in rightwing circles for the past few days. Even if it, like the rest of the opposition, is based almost entirely on baseless conspiracy theories.

https://twitter.com/ChildrensHD/status/1627050833706905600

And none of which actually have a damn thing to do with it, of course.

A 15-minute city simply means that everything you need for daily life should be located within 15 minutes of your home — preferably by walking, biking or taking transit.

Meanwhile, LTNs are simply designed to discourage driving through a neighborhood, to increase the safety and livability of the community.

Neither one is intended to force anyone out of their cars. And they certainly have nothing to do with a dystopian surveillance state.

Here’s how British bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid debunks the conspiracies in under a minute.

………

Call this ad the anti-anti-15-minute city ad, asking if we can put a man on the moon, why can’t a kid safely ride a bike?

Then again, we haven’t set foot on the moon in over 50 years, either.

………

A new French traffic safety campaign calls out the dangers of toxic masculinity behind the wheel.

Unfortunately for us monolingual types, though, it’s in French.

………

The legendary Nina Simone was one of us.

………

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

No bias here. A 79-year old Missouri man is dead because a driver’s van struck the victim’s bike. Not, say, the driver. Because apparently, the van somehow did it all on its own. 

No bias here, either. A Florida letter writer says bicyclists are a danger to themselves and others on the road because it’s a fact that we can’t keep up with traffic flow, and it’s our fault drivers get mad about it because we shouldn’t be there into first place. Then again, it’s also a fact that people on bikes are often faster than congested traffic. And we’re not responsible for how drivers, or anyone else, reacts. 

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

Life is cheap in the UK, where the courts let a 25-year old man walk with a 12-month sentence for wanton and furious biking, with all 12 months suspended; he was skitching and popping wheelies just moments before running down a 13-year old kid while blowing through a red light. Thanks to Marcello Calicchio for the link.

………

Local 

Streets For All is asking for your support for a motion at today’s City Council PLUM Committee meeting to end automatic street widening when new construction takes place, which results in those odd mid-block wide spots that too often get blamed on us.

Speaking of Streets For All, the street safety PAC is participating in the annual Climate Ride for the first time, and is looking for volunteers to ride with them, as well as sponsors for the riders.

SoCal Cycling discusses how to get back into bicycling after a long layoff. Kind of like the one I’ve gone through with one diabetes-related health problem after another, which has resulted in a bike that’s virtually unrideable at this point. And a rider who can’t either.

Unbelievable. Metro’s board Planning and Programming Committee rejected calls for pedestrian crosswalk improvements in Pasadena, as part of a package of multimodal projects using leftover funds from the cancelled 710 Freeway extension; advocates hope the full board will overturn the decision this week. Apparently they’ve forgotten the urgent need to improve walkability and bikeability in the face of a climate emergency.

This is who we share the road with. A group of pedestrians waiting for lunch outside a Sawtelle Blvd restaurant became collateral damage when two drivers collided and one careened into the crowd, sending four people to the hospital, including a 23-year old woman in critical condition.

 

State

Streets For All calls out Caltrans for misrepresenting 1,600 miles of Complete Streets, most of which are anything but. And asks you to comment on it.

San Diego’s Park Blvd will be getting dedicated bus lanes and buffered bike lanes through Balboa Park, which has proven deadly for bike and e-scooter riders in recent years. Thanks again to Phillip Young.

Woodland Hills Magazine highlights the area’s best bike riding views.

A San Francisco TV station reports East Bay bike riders are showing solidarity in the face of violent dooring attacks by teenagers in an apparent stolen car; shamefully, Oakland cops say they’re too busy to do anything about it.

Apparently having nothing better to do, the CHP is investigating several instances of juvenile bike riders on the Bay Bridge.

 

National

A Utah man pled guilty to reduced charges for killing one man and injuring another when he crashed into their bikes last July; he was on parole for multiple felonies and had amphetamine, meth, codeine and morphine in his system at the time of the crash. Not to mention belonging to a Nazi criminal gang.

Life is cheap in Texas, where a bus driver walked without a day behind bars for killing a bike rider on the UT campus in 2019; the 44-year old woman got seven years probation and 250 hours of community service, while her victim got death.

Minneapolis is staring down a more than a quarter of a million settlement for the forcible arrest of a man riding a bicycle during the 2020 protests over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, even though the bike rider “was peacefully and lawfully exercising his constitutional right to protest.”

No bias here, either. The Ohio legislature is proposing a ban on center lane bike lanes in cities of 300,000 population, after Cleveland business owners complained they wouldn’t be able to make left turns or unload their trucks.

Tragic news from Pennsylvania, where a 75-year old man was killed when a cop responding to a traffic call rammed his bicycle from behind, while traveling without his lights or siren on; meanwhile, a woman standing in a New York bike lane was killed when she was collateral damage in a crash between a cop and another driver.

Bizarre story from South Carolina, where a John Doe was finally identified as a South Carolina man after his family reported him missing, three months after he was killed riding his bike without ID. Yet another reminder to always carry ID with you when you ride. 

A New Orleans TV station says the city’s bikeshare system is the best way to get around during today’s Mardi Gras celebrations.

 

International

National Geographic says gravel cycling is the next big trend.

CNN highlights ten of the world’s best cities to explore by bicycle; unfortunately, San Francisco is the only US city on the list. And needless to say, Los Angeles isn’t. Thanks to Steve Fujinaka for the tip. 

Canadian F1 driver Lance Stoll is one of us; the driver for Aston Martin will miss next month’s Bahrain Grand Prix after suffering an injury in a “minor” bike crash.

You’ve got to be kidding. Bath, England NIMBYs argue that new green bike parking hangers will threaten the city’s Unesco World Heritage status. Because evidently, all those cars and their parking lots must have been there since Roman times.

Police in the UK are facing justified criticism for advising a pair of bike riders  “be aware,” “keep space” and “expect to wait” after they were struck by drivers, with no suggestions for drivers to not hit people, on bikes or otherwise.

British Channel 5 news anchor Dan Walker is one of us, after he had to miss his broadcast after he was struck by a driver while riding his bike to the strain station.

Hit-and-run drivers in the UK could soon face of fines up to the equivalent of $1,200 for not stopping after hitting a cat. Which is more than many drivers get for killing someone on a bicycle.

Cycling Weekly says bicycling is growing in some parts of the Middle East, despite poor infrastructure and police harassment, while being banned in other places.

Things are looking up for bike shops in Vietnam, as more Vietnamese commuters are opting for riding a bicycle.

He gets it. A Philippine professor says riding a bike is a basic human right, and he intends to keep doing it for the rest of his life.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist looks at the hard road ridden by newly crowned Esteban Chaves, who became Colombia’s national champ for the first time at the ripe old age of 33.

A 20-year old British bike rider says forget hi-viz, after his back and bike were both broken when he was struck by a driver, despite wearing a kit he says couldn’t have been brighter.

British cyclist Tom Pidcock shows off his bike handling skills at the Volta ao Algarve’s time trial on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/writebikerepeat/status/1627332215435657216

Sad news from the Netherlands, where Dutch cyclist Amy Pieters suffered a setback in her recovery from a near fatal 2021 bike crash, although she continues to ride an adaptive bike, despite suffering epileptic seizures.

Hear, hear! Kenyan-born Chris Froome says he has high hopes for African cycling.

 

Finally…

Foster a pet, get a discount on your next bike. Probably not the best idea to hit a cop who stops you for riding without a light.

And no more free bikes for Indian school kids.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

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