Tag Archive for cannabis

Morning Links: Millions driving while high, Sullivan Canyon closing for five weeks, and the war on bikes goes on

Something else to look forward to.

A new AAA report says millions of Americans are driving while high.

In fact, an estimated 15 million people got behind the wheel within an hour of getting stoned on weed.

Never mind that driving while high is just as illegal as driving drunk, if harder to prove.

And just as deadly, too.

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If you want to ride Sullivan Canyon this summer, you might want to get there quick.

Or you’ll have a long wait until August.

Off-road advocacy group CORBA reports SoCal Gas will shut down the popular mountain biking trail for the next five weeks on Monday for gas line work.

Click to expand.

Speaking of CORBA, aka the Concerned Off Road Bicyclists Association, they do a great job working with SoCal governments and businesses to maintain and expand your access to some of America’s best mountain biking trails.

If you ride off-road, you owe it to yourself to support them the way they support you.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on — teen skateboard edition.

A San Francisco bike rider was the victim of an apparent random, unprovoked assault when a pair of teenage kids whacked him with a skateboard for no apparent reason, then simply ran off.

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Local

Melissa McCarthy is one of us, donning her military jacket and polka dot helmet for an adult tricycle ride through the streets of LA. And she signals her turns, too.

The Pico Rivera city council will meet next Tuesday to discuss proposals for the city’s first protected bike lane and a new pedestrian bridge across the San Gabriel River.

The Press-Telegram says the next Long Beach street fight will be over reduced capacity and limiting turns on the only way out of the Peninsula neighborhood.

State

A new report shows California pedestrians are at serious risk on the mean streets of the Golden State.

The San Diego Union-Tribune examines both sides of the debate over a recently approved plan to remove parking in favor of installing protected bike lanes on 30th Street, with one side saying they’re right for businesses, climate and community, and the other saying the loss of parking will hurt it. Because as we all know, communities are all about cars, and we’re just here to move them around from time to time.

After a Madera bike rider laid his bike down in a failed attempt to avoid crashing into the side of an SUV, police say bicyclists using the crosswalk are required to get off their bikes and walk it across the street. That’s only true where sidewalk riding is banned, though, so your results may vary. And no one is prohibited from riding in the traffic lane through any surface street intersection anywhere in California. 

Bad news from San Jose, where a 69-year old Italian man has died following a solo bike crash.

More bad news from the Bay Area, where a Discovery Bay man was found dead in the road next to his bicycle, from what authorities describe as a medical event.

 

National

City Lab says Fear of Missing Out — aka FOMO — does not make for good urban mobility policy.

Bike accessory maker Planet Bike puts its money where its mouth is, donating over $25,000 to bike advocacy organizations.

A truck website offers advice on bike tools you should keep in your vehicle. And for a change, they actually make sense.

Outside looks at what’s next for Zwift.

Oregon’s senate passes a modified version of the Idaho Stop Law, allowing bicyclists to treat stop signs as yields, while still having to stop for red lights.

A Spokane woman learns the hard way that leaving a vintage bike unlocked is just an invitation for someone to steal it — even though she was just inside applying for a job.

Residents of a Chicago suburb are resisting plans to place a bike path extension along an existing nature trail, suggesting it should go under the massive power lines on a nearby abandoned rail line instead.

A Minnesota man prepares to ride the North Star Bicycle Race, a 629.4-mile unsupported endurance race.

Cincinnati has applied for grant to build a shared-use path along a major boulevard, completing a one-mile gap in an unfinished on-street bike lane. Even if you don’t read the story, it’s worth a click for the sweet steel frame Pinarello illustrating it.

Tragic news from Euclid, Ohio, where a man was killed in a rare fatal traffic collision between two people on bicycles.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a bike from an Ohio Easter Seals office.

In an incredibly boneheaded decision, New York’s new ebike law specifically bans parents from taking their kids along with them, even if the bike is designed for exactly that.

Now you, too, can win your very own Dunkin’ bicycle. But only if you live in New York.

A new study shows a “disturbing” number of Gotham bicyclists are riding distracted by their electronic devices. Just wait until someone tells them about all those distracted drivers, who pose a much greater risk to everyone around them. Let alone car makers who are building text readers, TV screens and game consoles into their dashboards.

A DC jury has found a white bicyclist guilty in a road rage assault on a black motorist, but deadlocked on the hate crime enhancement for repeatedly using the n-word; he was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon and felony assault while armed for using his U-lock to repeatedly hit the victim and his car.

 

International

Many Vancouver residents are riding sans-skid lids, despite a law mandating bike helmet use.

British Columbia unveils a new active transportation policy, including an $850 incentive for ebike buyers.

An Ontario, Canada bike rider is calling for better bike infrastructure after getting hit by drivers four times in three years.

London’s mayor pens a nasty letter to the Kensington and Chelsea council over cancelled plans for a much-needed bikeway, demanding to know how many more residents need to be maimed or killed before they do something.

 

Competitive Cycling

A young racer competing in Spain’s Basque Country suffered a nasty gash all the way across his chest when he crashed into a race barrier.

Cycling Tips puts all the bizarre conspiracy theories about Chris Froome’s serious bike crash into context.

VeloNews says 19-year old Belgian cyclist Remco Evenepoel is living up to the hype.

 

Finally…

No, that tree didn’t eat a doughboy’s bike. Reflections on riding up the Left Coast and all that jazz.

And probably not the best idea to swear at the cop who tried to pull you over and lead them on a bike chase when you already have an outstanding warrant.

Unless you can totally get away, of course.

 

Morning Links: Higher crash rates in states with legal cannabis, and driver gets life for killing LAPD officer

This is who we share the roads with.

A new study shows that crash rates are up six percent in the four states where cannabis is legal, compared to neighboring states.

Which is a good reminder that it can take a full 24 hours or more to metabolize marijuana. And driving under the influence of cannabis is just as illegal as alcohol, if harder to quantify.

Meanwhile, Wednesday marked the first day cannabis was legal in Canada.

And it only took one hour before the first ticket was issued for toking behind the wheel.

Photo by Michael Fisher from Pexels.com.

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A 25-year old driver got life behind bars for intentionally ramming an LAPD patrol car and killing the officer inside, in an attempt to help his friend in another car escape a police chase.

Which couldn’t be more deserved.

But remember that the next time a driver gets a slap on the wrist for deliberately running down someone on a bicycle.

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And combining the last two themes, Jeffrey Fylling forwards a press release from the Orange County DA’s office announcing that a 24-year old woman will face up to 10 years in prison for killing an 81-year old man while allegedly driving high on cannabis.

Which gives a whole new meaning to the term weed killer.

It would be nice to see prosecutors take it that seriously the next time a California driver kills someone on foot or on a bicycle.

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CD6 Councilmember Nury Martinez is asking for your input in designing a Safe Routes to School program to improve walking and bicycling to Van Nuys Elementary and Panorama City Elementary schools.

A public meeting will be held at each school next Thursday to discuss a Walking Safety Assessment.

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Local

Curbed talks with East Side Rider’s founder John Jones III about the club’s efforts to inspire change in the local South LA community through bicycling. Although I had no idea they had chapters in other cities across the US. And thanks to whoever sent this to me; my apologies for losing track of it. 

CiclaValley previews Monday’s Donut Ride on Reseda Blvd.

Forget the candy this Halloween. Metro Bike is offering a bulk discount on single ride bikeshare passes. Although that doesn’t guarantee you won’t get egged or TPed by kids who’d rather have a sugar high than a free ride.

Helen’s Cycles is hiring a part-time cashier for their Santa Monica store.

 

State

Over 1,000 bicyclists are expected to turn out for the annual Tour of Upland next month.

About 40 veterans and first responders are making their way down the California coast as part of the eleventh annual Project Hero United Healthcare California Coastal Challenge to highlight the health issues they face, including PTSD.

Chico is updating its bike plan after just five years. So naturally, the local TV station quotes a driver complaining about scofflaw bicyclists. I wonder if they also bring up lawbreaking drivers whenever someone wants to build a new overpass.

 

National

They get it. AARP suggests ten ways bicycle friendly streets are good for people who don’t ride bikes, while offering a reminder that people of all ages like to ride bicycles. Print this one out before your next public meeting, and leave a copy on every seat. Especially since older people tend to be more resistant to bike-friendly changes.

A writer for a travel site says you can participate in adventure travel, even with a hidden disability.

Forbes suggests what you can do in your own neighborhood to slow climate change. Hint: It has pedals and two wheels, and maybe a battery.

Motherboard says e-scooters reveal America’s urban transportation crisis, adding they’re fun, but nobody knows what to do with them yet.

Portland experiments with raised, floating bus platforms to reduce crashes with bike riders. For once, Los Angeles got there first with raised platforms on Los Angeles and Figueroa.

Nebraska tourism officials are told they can bicycle their way to prosperity by hitching a ride on the bike tourism boom.

No bias here. A Chicago writer complains about an “abundance of rude (maybe even psychotic) bicyclists” who ride on the sidewalk, instead of in the “bike lanes that have disrupted and uglified” downtown streets, while adding that police should ticket downtown bike riders instead of sidewalk riders in black neighborhoods. Nothing opposing bike lanes, as well as people who don’t feel safe using them.

Chicago’s Bike Lane Uprising is a crowdsourced civic tech platform designed to make it easier to report drivers blocking bike lanes or other obstructions.

St. Paul MN discovers they can trick drivers into stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks.

New Orleans bike riders will no longer face a $150 fine for failing to failing to register their bikes; the city revoked its mandatory registration after one rider received nearly $1,000 in tickets for a single traffic stop, including one for failing to register his bike.

The police chief in Tampa FL says his cops stop bike riders mostly because they don’t have lights, run stop signs or ride salmon. It’s just a total coincidence that 80% of the bike riders they stop are black.

A Tampa TV station says a three-foot wide curb bike lane is dangerous by design, putting bicyclists too close to passing cars. Especially since that three feet appears to include the gutter.

 

International

Treehugger says it’s time to face the dangers cement trucks pose to the people around them, and put safer trucks on the roads.

Road.cc lists 18 things they “reckon” every bike rider hates. I hate the word reckon, but I reckon that’s my problem.

A new urban bike promises to be weatherproof and maintenance-free, with airless, puncture-proof tires, a carbon belt drive, and seven speed internal hub. Although the nearly $2,000 price tag could put a dent in your wallet.

Your next bike helmet could be printed, not made.

Drivers in the UK could be required to give bicyclists and pedestrians the right-of-way in every situation under a proposed revision to the country’s Highway Code.

A trio of bighearted British kids raised the equivalent of over $6,500 for a hospice for terminally-ill children and adults; two rode 300 miles across England, while the third, who suffers from Cardio Facio Cutaneous Syndrome, rode 30 miles on his adaptive bike.

It’s official. Scottish cyclist Jenny Graham has shattered the women’s record for bicycling around the world in just 124 days, beating the existing record by 20 days.

France considers a mandatory bicycle registration program to fight bike theft as part of a 25-point, $401 million plan to boost bicycling — including a proposal to pay people up to $458 a year to bike to work.

Volkswagen’s new smart headlights promise to recognize and highlight people walking or riding bikes in low light. Which the drivers probably won’t notice because they’ll be too busy with their phones.

An Israeli soccer player is expected to be charged with hit-and-run and DUI for a crash that killed a teenage boy illegally sharing a friend’s ebike; the other boy could also face charges for carrying a passenger, swerving into the driver’s path and riding without a helmet.

A legendary Aussie firefighter wants to thank the stranger who tossed his bicycle in the back of his SUV and drove him home after he took a bad fall in traffic, injuring his shoulder.

A Manilla legislator proposes a nearly five-foot passing distance to improve safety for people on bicycles.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews looks at the complicated case of newly crowned women’s masters champ Dr. Rachel McKinnon, saying the debate over the first transgender world champ can’t be solved, but it can be better understood.

Former Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins says like it or not, Lance is iconic, and was singled out for doping when he wasn’t the only one doing it.

Surprisingly, the winner of last year’s Zwift indoor cycling competition has thrived in the pro peloton, signing with pro team Canyon-SRAM for a second season.

 

Finally…

When you really want to go retro with your water bottle. If you don’t think drivers hear your warnings, get a grip.

And when your marriage goes downhill as soon as you say your vows.