Tag Archive for carfree streets

Op-ed says put Metro in charge for carfree LA28, CHP vetoes noise cams, and reality show family victims of traffic violence

Day 274 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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An op-ed from a Los Angeles advocate says if LA really wants to hold a carfree Olympics, we need to give Metro more power.

Or rather, just put Metro in charge, and let ’em rip.

Joshua Seawell, head of policy at the Inclusive Abundance Initiative, says Metro showed what it could do during the pandemic, by closing Wilshire Blvd to traffic for two weeks to finish a leg of the D Line subway ahead of schedule.

That success tells us how to serve Angelenos, let alone the world: Let Metro cook. Empowering the agency — with its ever-increasing competence, guaranteed funding stream, mandate straight from voters, and accountability to a board of electeds — would be a smart way to resolve stasis and reduce regulatory headwinds.

Sure, a reform package from the state or county should generally obligate Metro by default to follow each city’s permitting standards and to make good-faith efforts to modify projects at the request of cities. But it should formalize an expectation that cities, in turn, move quickly and put up funds or match funds to the best of their ability (perhaps drawing on their own allocations under Measures M and R). Metro should also be allowed to judge when those standards and modifications are sufficiently specific, objective and cost-effective.

He clearly has more faith in Metro than I do — especially in light of the agency’s failure to include bike lanes required by Measure HLA on Vermont Ave, asserting that the measure doesn’t apply to it as a county agency.

But he has a point, in that no one — no person, department or agency — is fully responsible for streets and transportation in LA County.

We have far too many hands stirring the pot. Yet not one has the authority to cut through red tape to get things done, and no one is accountable.

Which is the best way to ensure that little or nothing ever gets done. And what does get done takes far too long, and costs too much.

We’ve already seen what happened with former Mayor Garcetti’s vaunted Twenty-Eight by ’28 plan, which was repeatedly watered down to the point of near meaninglessness.

So whether it’s Metro or someone else, someone needs to be in charge.

Or dreams of a carfree ’28 Los Angeles Olympics will remain just that. If not a nightmare.

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No surprise here, as the CHP studied noise cams and, like speed cams before them, said they just won’t do the job.

Even though they’re already doing the job other places.

According to the On The Road column from the Southern California News Group,

In a report to the Legislature in January 2025, the CHP said that of the three devices installed, only one generated data which the CHP could analyze on a web-based interface. All three devices were found to be “inadequate as a standalone enforcement tool and unsatisfactory in their ability to identify individual offending vehicles to the degree necessary for enforcement action,” the CHP concluded.

The devices had technical problems, location limitations, there were privacy concerns, and there also was the possibility that any revenue generated from tickets using these noise cameras would not cover maintenance and staffing costs for them, the CHP report said. Based on the study’s results, the CHP did not recommend using the cameras as a standalone enforcement tool for ticketing drivers suspected of exhaust noise violations.

So you can look forward to many more years of floor-shaking bass, blaring car horns and thundering muffler-free motorcycles, cars and trucks.

Because once again, the CHP said no, just like they do with everything else.

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This is the cost of traffic violence.

A truck driver faces charges following a Michigan crash that killed three members of the Putman family, known for the TLC reality show Meet the Putmans.

The family members known as Papa, Neenee and Aunt Megan all died at the scene, while five other members of the family were hospitalized, some in critical condition.

The Florida-based driver was charged with three counts of moving violation causing death, and five counts of moving violation causing serious impairment of a body function.

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Mark your calendar for next month’s Corazón del Valle Active Streets event.

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Pro cyclist Sean Green became just the second person known to climb and descend all of Scotland’s Munros, a group of 282 mountains topping 3,000 feet elevation, descending them all by mountain bike.

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

Someone clearly missed the irony of posting red and green colorblindness tests to remind London bike riders to stop for red lights, when studies show the people on four wheels are more likely to break the law than the people on two — and more likely to cause a near miss or crash when they do.

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

Police in Charlotte, North Carolina arrested and handcuffed a 12-year old boy for the crime of “recklessly riding a bicycle;” a video of the kid in cuffs has already viewed over 50,000 times. If that was a crime when I was a kid, I’d still be behind bars. 

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Local 

Pasadena police are urging drivers to slow down for National Pedestrian Safety Month, something that would improve safety for everyone, regardless of how we all get around.

Speaking of which, the Pasadena Department of Transportation is teaming with local nonprofit Day One and the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition to sponsor the city’s eighth annual Walkober.

 

State

Ultramarathoner Kilian Jornet is nearing the completion of his quest to climb every mountain over 14,000 feet elevation in the lower 48, while running and biking from one to another; he recently topped California’s Mt. Whitney and Mt. White, with only Mount Shasta and Washington’s Mount Rainier left.

Santa Barbara is rolling out a new citywide bike parking plan, pledging to replace traditional hitching post racks with something newer and more secure.

Sad news from Fresno, where authorities identified a 15-year old high school student who was killed by a driver while riding his bike on Monday; a woman passing by the next day prayed for drivers to slow down. Which is probably a prayer we can all share. 

A San Francisco group has opened the Big Art Loop, a walking and biking trail connecting 100 large sculptures around the city.

Sacramento is already removing and replacing pavement on the city’s two-year old Del Rio Trail biking and walking trail, after construction defects resulted in cracks in the pavement shortly after it opened.

 

National

Prevention considers whether bicycling or walking is better for weight loss, but just throws up their hands and calls it a tie.

DoorDash says their new delivery robot is designed to “travel seamlessly on bike lanes, roads, sidewalks and driveways.” So you’ll now have even more competition for what little road space we’ve got.

Great idea. A Colorado Rotary Club is sponsoring a fundraising ride to help eliminate malaria deaths by bringing healthcare to remote villages of east-central Africa.

A career criminal in Houston, Texas is suspected of breaking into homes and stealing bicycles — yet was somehow out on the streets despite a series of prison sentences totaling 99 years behind bars. And this in a state that’s supposed to be tough on crime. 

They get it. Officials in St. Louis says pedestrian safety will be improved by a new bike lane project, since studies show bike lanes — especially protected bike lanes — improve safety for everyone.

Members of the horrorcore rap group Insane Clown Posse stepped up to donate to a crowdfunding page for a 12-year old Indiana girl, who was killed when she was struck by the driver of a semi-truck while riding her bike across a roadway, after her family posted a photo of the girl wearing the group’s t-shirt.

Boston will test several different kinds of bike lane barriers in hopes of replacing the flimsy car-tickler flexposts currently in use — and too often favored by Los Angeles officials — with something more durable.

Authorities in New Jersey are continuing to investigate the hit-and-run crash that killed two high school girls sharing an ebike; the driver was arrested after literally running away from the collision. And even then, the radio station insists on saying the two best friends were somehow killed by a Jeep, rather than a driver in one.

Philadelphia residents fought it out in the endless battle of bike lanes versus parking during a contentious five-hour city council meeting, as drivers argued bike riders need to compromise, while bike riders said their lives are at stake. So, apparently, they just expect us to compromise our lives. Seems reasonable. 

Eighty-five-year old New Orleans bluesman Little Freddie King is one of us, as he recovers in the hospital after falling from his new ebike, explaining that his “two-wheel Cadillac let him down.”

 

International

Momentum ranks the top ten bike-friendly North American cities to visit this fall, none of which are in California. Or any closer than Oregon, for that matter.

A London father describes how a custom e-cargo bike replaced the family car and changed his life.

A team of 18 London firefighters will ride 370 miles over five days to raise funds for a firefighter’s charity, visiting every fire and rescue station in Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex.

No surprise here. A Russian court has extended the pre-trial detention of French ultracyclist Sofiane Sehili until November, after he was arrested last month for illegally entering the country while attempting to set a new record for crossing Eurasia by bike, despite holding a valid visa. Like others arrested in the authoritarian country, he will likely be used as a bargaining chip to gain concessions from other countries.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Rwandan world championship road race was “an utter sufferfest” even for the peloton’s best climbers, with Tom Pidcock describing it as “the most unenjoyable race of the year.”

Velo says Tadej Pogačar’s total domination of the men’s worlds has reignited debate over whether he is better than the legendary Eddy Merckx. Which is something that should only be considered when his career is over, because he might be one day. But today ain’t that day. 

 

Finally…

That feeling when a website maps and ranks the best bike routes in Sequoia National Park, just in time for the government shutdown. If your bike brakes malfunction and you have to roll through a red light, try to find something soft to crash into — like a police car, for instance.

And now you, too, can own Albert Einstein’s bicycle seat. So maybe you can solve the unified field theory by putting it on your own bike.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Broxton ped plaza soft opening this weekend, and promise of carfree LA Olympic plan short on time and money

Just 66 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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The bouncing baby pedestrian plaza on Westwood’s previously nearly useless Broxton Ave is having a soft opening this weekend, apparently ahead of the official opening at some undetermined date in the future.

Rendering from Westwood Village website

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Evidently, the Los Angeles Times doesn’t buy the city’s promise of a carfree 2028 Olympic any more than the rest of us, politely noting it’s running short of time and money.

Which is putting it mildly.

Local officials have a litany of projects they want to complete ahead of 2028, including adding charging infrastructure and improving Metro stations close to venues, but so far attempts to secure federal funds have been hit-and-miss.

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $3.3-billion list of projects needed to make the Games run smoothly is 5.2% funded. If the money doesn’t come through soon, transit planners predict some critical projects may be scuttled — making it tougher for visitors and commuters to get around town.

Los Angeles has just four years to build the bus lanes, bike lanes and sidewalks necessary to move the hundreds of thousands of tourists likely to arrive for the Games.

And doesn’t even have a final list of the venues where it will take place. Let alone a plan for how to get it done, or the funding to do it.

Which just adds to the city’s long and ever growing list of transportation promises made and not kept.

Or have you forgotten all about Vision Zero and Garcetti’s Transportation Green New Deal? Not to mention the 2010 bike plan, and every failed bike plan that proceeded it.

This city is great at making transportation promises.

But keeping them, not so much.

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Santa Monica bicyclists will now enjoy concrete protection from motor vehicles and the people driving them on 26th Street.

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It looks like Culver City’s shortsighted and auto-centric decision to rip out the MOVE Culver City protected bike lanes could cost it nearly half a million bucks.

Oops.

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A new short film explores how Taiwan’s Liv Cycling came to be the world’s leading women’s bicycling brand.

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It’s now 310 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And a full 40 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

A Seal Beach cop had to inform a “well intentioned” letter writer that California bike riders aren’t required to licensed and/or registered, which would take a significant change in state law. And requiring big black license numbers to be painted on little kids bike helmets would be just a tad problematic, for a number of reasons.

No bias here. A Tucson, Arizona woman was killed in a hit-and-run as she rode her bike at 3:30 am, yet the cops somehow decided it was her fault for making an unsafe turn, even though they haven’t talked to the driver because they don’t even know who the hell killed her. Then again, what else would they expect on a road named Speedway?

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Local  

Seriously? The Beverly Press reports in detail on last week’s Fountain Ave protest demanding a halt to the plans for a lane reduction and protected bike lanes on the West Hollywood street. But somehow apparently failed to notice the larger demonstration held at the same time supporting them.

 

State

Calbike considers the state of protected bikeways, ten years after the Protected Bikeway Act of 2014 was passed by the legislature.

A San Francisco woman was collateral damage when she was struck by a driver being chased by the cops while riding her bicycle; the driver abandoned the car after hitting her and fled as a passenger in another vehicle, while a third driver drove off in the abandoned car, and was arrested after crashing into a building. I’d say this is yet another example of an innocent person being injured as a direct result of a police chase, but I’m still trying to figure out what the hell happened.

A Streetsblog guest post considers how the San Francisco mayoral candidates stand on safe streets. Hopefully on the curb.

 

National

Bicycling unveils their Gear of the Year for 2024, offering over 100 of the best bicycling components, clothing, devices and tools. Read it on AOL this time if the magazine blocks you. 

A new Chicago report shows the city’s investment in traffic calming and bike/ped safety measures has resulted in a 27% drop in traffic deaths since 2021.

After police recovered a bicycle stolen from a Walmart in upstate New York, the store fixed it up and donated it to a local high school student instead of selling it.

Philadelphia has finally gotten around to making it illegal to stop in bike lanes, which had been allowed for up to 20 minutes. And somehow, the decision is bizarrely considered controversial.

A Miami man has been sentenced to life for the “cold-blooded murder” of a 48-year old man on the city’s Rickenbacker Causeway, shooting the victim to death after knocking him off his bike with a motorcycle, as he rode in a peloton with his cycling club.

 

International

A longtime British Columbia bike rider patiently explains why a bicyclist could be in the way of your car, from cars parked in the bike lane to roads designed to be shared, speed differential be damned.

They finally get it. The Toronto Star changed a headline that initially read “Residents, cyclists clash at Etobicoke bike lanes meeting” to reflect the fact that people who ride bicycles are residents of the city, too.

A British appeals court is allowing a lawsuit challenging cuts to bike funding in England to move forward, saying the case, which could establish sustained, longterm funding for bicycling in the country, has a real chance of success.

Disgruntled motorists are calling a new Cambridge, England roundabout an obscene, chaotic and distracting “birthday cake” marked by 36 traffic lights, colored panels and bike lanes, but bike riders say it’s finally safe to ride.

It takes a major lowlife to steal bikes from a UK children’s bicycling club.

The British government has launched a new campaign urging consumers to “Buy Safe, Be Safe” when it comes to purchasing an ebike, saying if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

The city of Fukuyama, Japan is urging the country to recognize a scenic 20-mile bike route through Hiroshima Prefecture as a new National Cycle Route, adding to the six currently running through the country.

 

Competitive Cycling

Both road cycling and mountain biking have been kicked out of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, held every four years between British Commonwealth countries, as a cost-cutting measure; fortunately, track cycling events will still be held since that’s presumably cheaper.

 

Finally…

Well, who hasn’t been hogtied to a quad bike by an angry farmer while trying to retrieve your ebike? Or attempted to make the jump from snooker champ to Ironman competitor?

And yes, it is possible to live carfree in San Diego for a whole year.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

Avalos charged with murder for South LA dragging hit-and-run, a successful Arroyo Fest, and Malibu’s killer highway

Go ahead and call it murder.

Prosecutors are.

Felipe Avalos pled not guilty Friday, after he was formerly charged with murder and hit-and-run driving resulting in death or serious injury in the gruesome death of 65-year old bike rider Francisco Gonzalez in Willowbrook last Tuesday.

The 66-year old driver fled the scene with Gonzalez still trapped under his van, as Avalos twisted and turned for nearly a mile in his efforts to escape, before Gonzalez’ body was finally dislodged in Compton.

The murder charge suggests investigators were able to confirm witness accusations that the crash was intentional. Or maybe the DA’s office just decided that dragging a man’s body for almost a mile demonstrated intent.

Avalos will be due back in court on November 9th to set a trial date, although that date is subject to change.

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Evidently, a good time was had by all.

Sunday’s Arroyo Fest gave LA County residents a rare chance to take to a local freeway without having to encase themselves in a couple tons of glass and steel. Or having to dodge the usual overly aggressive, speeding, distracted or otherwise generally reckless drivers.

That is, when the crush of cars doesn’t turn it into a parking lot.

In fact, it was the first time in 20 years that the II0 Freeway had been closed to cars, and open to everyone else for what the Los Angeles Times termed “four glorious hours.”

For four glorious hours, cyclists and pedestrians had a chance to safely explore six miles of the 110 Freeway between Los Angeles and Pasadena, a stretch of roadway that opened in 1940 and typically carries more 100,000 daily motorists who brave its winding turns and scary entrance ramps.

Aside from events such as Sunday’s 626 Golden Streets ArroyoFest and other bike celebrations, such as CicLAvia, cycling in L.A. County is not for the faint of heart. The road network was built for automobiles. Bicyclists are often left to vie for space alongside cars on congested, poorly maintained streets. Fatal bike crashes are an intractable problem in the county, and efforts to build dedicated bike lanes have been spotty

This was the reality for the cyclists who joined the crowd of thousands in Northeast L.A. on Sunday…

The paper goes on to talk to a number of bicyclists who participated in the event about what they love about bicycling in greater Los Angeles, and what they’d change about it.

Which might have been the wrong way to frame the question, since the freeway closure likely brought out a number of people who would normally be reluctant to ride on city streets.

Meanwhile, the Pasadena Star-News reported tens of thousands of people turned out to enjoy the all-too brief opportunity.

And Los Angeles Magazine says people “walked, ran, biked, skateboarded, and even rode on horseback to celebrate the second iteration of this rare community event.”

https://twitter.com/GlennC1/status/1718837817558839451

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She gets it.

Los Angeles Times culture columnist Mary McNamara extended her beat Sunday to what she termed “Blood Alley,” as Pacific Coast Highway winds, or maybe speeds, through 21 deadly miles of Malibu coastline.

And by extension, some of the other iconic LA-area roadways too many drivers seem to think were built for high-speed thrills.

In Los Angeles, it isn’t just PCH that’s treated like a cinematic backdrop with often fatal consequences. After being featured in “The Fast and Furious” franchise, streets in Angelino Heights roiled with the type of street racing that has plagued other parts of Los Angeles for years. Angeles Crest Highway remains a draw for reckless driving too; despite increased Highway Patrol presence, there are yearly incidents of motorists taking its curves too fast and driving over steep cliffs.

So yes, Malibu definitely needs speed cameras, sidewalks and more signs reminding motorists that they are entering a residential area. Perhaps, as some including Shane suggest, those 21 miles of PCH that cut through Malibu should be designated as a boulevard rather than a highway, with all the traffic-law changes it would require…

There is no reason on God’s green Earth for anyone who is not involved in a professional auto race or being chased by actual monsters to drive more than 80 miles an hour, never mind 100. “The Fast and the Furious” is a film franchise; James Bond is a fictional character; and PCH is, in many places, a treacherous road that should be driven with care even if the Beach Boys are playing.

If you need the exhilaration of speed, go on a roller coaster.

Take a few minutes to read the whole thing.

Then read the paper’s examination of why LA County’s killer highway continues to claim more victims.

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As if we haven’t had enough bad news lately, someone riding a bicycle in Palm Springs was critically injured when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver early Saturday.

Twenty-two-year old Mecca resident Diego Pacheco was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence for the 1 am crash.

No word on the current condition or identity of the victim.

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Jury selection was scheduled to begin today in the trial of Kaitlin Armstrong for the murder of 25-year old champion gravel cyclist Anna Moriah “Mo” Wilson in Austin, Texas earlier this year.

Armstrong was the subject of an international manhunt when she fled the country after allegedly shooting Wilson, who she saw as a romantic rival for the affections of professional cyclist Colin Strickland..

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

Police in Madrid are investigating what appeared to be an intentional attack, as a motorist accelerated into a Critical Mass-style protest ride in support of Palestinians, injuring five bike riders; however, the driver claimed he acted in self-defense after several riders assaulted his car.

News broke over the weekend that a New Zealand TV star erupted into a bizarre rant when a bike advocate approached him about allowing a bike path to pass through his estate earlier this year, calling her “the enemy” and saying she needed to “have her head cut off and brain replaced.”

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

A New Jersey man faces charges after a 70-year old man died two weeks after he punched the victim and knocked him off his bicycle; the incident allegedly began when the victim hit the man’s girlfriend with his handlebars, then called him a racial slur.

Police in Telford, England warned local residents about an “errant cyclist” riding an ebike who was abusing pedestrians and wheelchair users on a local trail.

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Local 

UCLA is bringing back a program allowing staff and graduate students to trade their parking permits for a free bicycle worth up to $900.

 

State

A writer for the UC Santa Barbara student newspaper puts tongue firmly in cheek, and suggests the Tour de France had been rerouted to the campus bike lanes for the second week of the fall semester, and all students were automatically entered.

Sad news from Fresno, where a man riding a bicycle was killed when he was struck by a train after apparently waiting for one train to pass, without realizing there was another coming from the opposite direction. One more reason why you should always wait for the crossing gates to go up before riding across the tracks. 

 

National

The Bike League is out with their latest list of the most Bicycle Friendly Universities, with Stanford, Colorado State University, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, the University of Wisconsin – Madison and Boise State University awarded platinum status. Only one of which is in my platinum-level bike friendly hometown.

Honolulu residents turned out to pick up trash and revitalize the bike path that runs along Pearl Harbor’s waterfront.

Velo talks with Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer about his career-long support for bike riding, as well as a possible national ebike rebate and how to advocate for bikes.

The driver who killed BMX champ Nathan “Nate” Miller in Las Vegas last month was somehow still on the road, despite receiving at least 19 tickets for driving without a license, registration or insurance. Just one more example of officials keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late; he should have been in jail, or had his car impounded, at the very least.

Chicago advocates are justifiably outraged after a hit-and-run driver who killed a man riding in a bike lane was released without charges, even though a Breathalyzer test showed she was two-and-a-half times the legal alcohol limit when the cops stopped her.

Hundreds of Pittsburgh bicyclists turned out for a 60-mile race around the city and up 13 of Pittsburgh’s steepest hills, as spectators offered participants a choice of water or beer.

Baltimore letter writers say no, bike riders belong on the streets, not in alleys.

 

International

Road.cc offers advice on choosing the right bicycle for commuting to work.

A new report from the UK shows that motorists fail to see a 22% of bicyclists, compared to just 4% of jaywalkers — and younger drivers miss seeing a whopping 31%.

A new German study concluded bicyclists are more caring and concerned with the “common good” than drivers, writing “the benefits of cycling over driving are more profound and sustainable than previously thought.” Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. 

An Ottawa, Canada website says more residents of the city are riding their bikes through the winter months, even as climate change increases the risk from winter storms.

A Montreal writer says he’s grateful for the “insta-super-treatment” he received at a Vermont hospital after an endo on a rented ebike, compared to the endless waits in a Montreal hospital, and didn’t even mind the $10,000 hospital bill since his union insurance should cover it.

An American man completed a 963-mile journey from Nagasaki to Yokohama, Japan on a Penny Farthing, recreating a 1886 trip on the high-wheeler the Japanese called a dharma bicycle.

A Singaporean website asks if a new bikeway network is the answer to going car-lite, concluding that most people won’t give up their cars for a bicycle, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Australian traffic safety experts are calling for an investigation after bicycling deaths have risen more than any other group over the past 12 months.

 

Competitive Cycling

Velo has reaction from the peloton to the newly announced routes for next year’s men’s and women’s Tour de France.

 

Finally…

Who needs to rough it when you can tow your own portable treehouse behind your bike? Your next bicycle could be the illegitimate offspring of a track bike and a cargo bike.

And who says you have to see to ride a bike?

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

Weigh in on whether to reopen Highway 39, ActiveSGV is hiring, and bike rider struck by driver during live Twitch session

Streetsblog’s Chris Greenspon reports you have until Monday to weigh in on how — or whether — to reopen Highway 39 in the San Gabriel Mountains.

The highway has been closed for the past 45 years following “massive mud and rock slides caused by heavy rains and floods.”

Greenspon writes that the closed roadway has long been a popular bucket list ride for many area bicyclists, and part of the more than 90-mile “Circle of Doom” loop.

The choices presented by Caltrans include a no build option, as well as options for emergency vehicles only, or active transportation use. Other choices include a full reopening, building a separate viaduct, or a single travel lane through the currently closed section.

Depending on the final decision, the rebuild could cost anywhere from $175-$325 million.

The question is why the road should be reopened at all, since the past nearly five decades have shown it isn’t really needed.

Do the absolute minimum to make it safer for hiking and biking, and leave it the hell alone.

I’m not sure where I found today’s generic mountain biking photo, but here it is anyway.

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Here’s your chance to make a real difference for active transportation in the San Gabriel Valley, with one of SoCal’s most effective advocacy groups.

https://twitter.com/ActiveSGV/status/1613294692162060290

I can balance a checkbook most of the time. Does that count?

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This is what it looks like when a Japanese influencer gets hit by a motorist while doing a live Twitch stream.

Fortunately, he wasn’t seriously injured, although it clearly hurt. A lot.

https://twitter.com/joshuinjapan/status/1613068137557282822?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1613068137557282822%7Ctwgr%5E74b3b24f0980c48ed10bd38f7e02d3a5bdb62e68%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dexerto.com%2Fentertainment%2Ftwitch-streamer-hit-by-car-while-riding-bike-during-japan-irl-stream-2030392%2F

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

Good question. The Guardian’s Peter Walker wonders why plans to reduce traffic attract so many conspiracy theorists, as a project in Oxford, England is attacked as a global plot to strip people of their fundamental rights and personal possessions in the name of the environment.

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

No bias here. A bike-riding Karen goes ballistic, apparently because a man was walking his dog in a bike lane. Then a New York councilmember displays her own ugly prejudice by painting all bike riders with the same brush. Thanks to Ravener for the heads-up. 

A Florida man faces charges for a months-long hate-filled tirade against his gay neighbors, repeatedly riding his bike in front of their home shouting anti-gay slurs, as well as violently resisting arrest when police finally came for him.

Britain’s Daily Mail plays their twisted game of “Who was at fault?” when a salmon bicyclist rounds a corner and hits another London bike rider head-on. Hint: The one riding on the wrong side of the road. 

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Local 

No news is good new, right?

 

State

California Governor Gavin Newsom is addressing an anticipated $22 billion budget shortfall by cutting costs, including clawing back funding for projects promised under the state’s Active Transportation Program.

A new land use plan for San Diego’s Casa de Oro neighborhood means residents can soon expect “roundabouts, bike lanes and pedestrian-friendly developments.”

Morgan Hill-based Specialized is joining the growing list of bike companies laying off workers; the company plans to let go of eight percent of workers worldwide, with around 120 US workers getting the axe.

Bad news from Modesto, where a man riding a BMX bike was killed in a head-on collision, after allegedly riding onto the wrong side of the road to pass a slow moving semi. The CHP naturally saw that as an opportunity to remind bike riders to wear a helmet, as if a thin plastic beanie could protect someone from a head-on crash with a motor vehicle. And yes, I believe in using a bike helmet, but they were designed to protect against slow speed falls, not crashes with cars. 

A San Francisco news site questions the effectiveness of the city’s Vision Zero program, in the wake of the city’s deadliest year in a decade.

SF Gate recommends a day trip pedaling to the Marin Museum of Bicycling in downtown Fairfax, as well as the US Bicycling Hall of Fame in Davis.

 

National

Bicycling says your Strava subscription is about to go up another four bucks a month, as the popular bicycling and endurance sports app lays off nearly 40 people. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Outside recommends gear to keep you riding through the winter, although the gear required to ride in usually sunny SoCal may be a tad different than what you’ll need in colder climes. After all, you don’t want to get a frostbitten “todger,” like a certain spare former prince says he did.

Habitat Magazine suggests building fireproof bike storage rooms as a possible solution to ebike battery fires.

This is what’s possible, Los Angeles. The company that operates the arena that’s home to Portland’s NBA team and dozens of other events is opposing a new offramp that could make a dangerous nearby intersection even worse, especially since half of their guests arrive by bicycle or on foot. There’s no reason The Crypt or the Coliseum couldn’t do the same with better infrastructure.

Security video shows a Colorado man get off an elevator and throw his bike at a light rail train from a snowy station, apparently because he missed the train. Although he didn’t miss it with his bike, causing $6,000 in damage.

Tragic news from Rhode Island, where a Brown University student was found dead from a broken back a day after he was reported missing; he was apparently riding in a construction zone closed to the public when he came off his bike.

New York is finally getting around to installing bike parking at the city’s subway stations, but only one in Manhattan.

The New York nonprofit behind the city’s extremely popular Five Boro Bike Tour is donating refurbished bicycles, helmets and locks to help refugees and other immigrants get settled in the Big Apple.

A pair of Argentine men describe how five of their friends were slaughtered in the 2017 vehicular terrorist attack on a Manhattan bike path; the group was celebrating the 30th anniversary of their high school graduation in New York when Sayfullo Saipov allegedly ran them down.

A 29-year old Florida woman is charged with hit-and-run and DUI manslaughter for killing a bike rider in November; investigators used geolocation data to show she’d been drinking, placing her at a number of bars in the hours prior to the crash.

 

International

CityLab examines the world’s most congested cities, where motor vehicle traffic grinds to a halt on a regular basis. Surprisingly, Los Angeles doesn’t even make the top ten, though Chicago, New York, Philly and Boston do. Neither does Mexico City, which consistently makes, if not tops, other similar lists. 

The New York Times says sales of electric vehicles are booming around the world. But you have to get down to the last paragraph before learning that Americans bought twice as many ebikes as e-cars in 2020 — and there are ten times as many electric scooters, mopeds and motorcycles on the world’s roads than there are electric cars.

Škoda’s We Love Cycling recommends six bicycling-inspired movies to watch when you’re too tired to ride. Although despite the picture, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid isn’t one of them, even if it should be.

Speaking of Prince Harry and his “todger,” Britain’s naked cross-country bicyclist says there’s no better place to lose your virginity than an open field, as the young prince says he did.

Road.cc offers a tutorial on hybrid bikes, the best-selling type of bike in the UK.

Honda unveils a trio of moped-style ebikes for sale in China, each of which does in fact have pedals; the bikes could eventually be sold in Europe and the rest of Asia.

This is why you shouldn’t try to reclaim a stolen bike yourself. A 15-year old Australian boy is on trial for fatally stabbing a 42-year old man who was trying to retrieve a bicycle stolen from a ten-year old boy.

 

Competitive Cycling

Australia’s Tour Down Under makes its return this weekend, with the women’s three-stage race kicking off on Sunday, and the men starting Tuesday.

 

Finally…

Pedaling vegan doughnuts to Texans. That feeling when your vintage bicycle turns out to be a 95-year old time trial bike.

And when is a planter-protected bike lane not a bike lane?

When some schmuck turns it into his own private motorway.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

San Diego woman on life support after ebike hits shopping cart, a carfree Embarcadero, and holiday bike rides

Just ten days left in the 8th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

We’re entering into the home stretch just slightly ahead of last year’s record-setting pace. But we’ll need to raise almost $1,000 over the next week and a half to make it happen.

So thanks to Miriam H and Phillip Y for their generous donations to help keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day, and ensure it will always be there, ready and waiting when you need it. 

So now it’s your turn.

Just stop whatever you’re doing, and donate today via PayPal or ZelleEvery donation, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated!

………

Tragic news from San Diego, where a 56-year old woman is on life support with a brain bleed after crashing her ebike into a shopping cart someone carelessly left in a bike lane Tuesday evening.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, was riding in the westbound bike lane on the 5100 block of Friars Road shortly after dark, which would have made the cart that much more difficult to see.

And no, she was not wearing a helmet.

Which matters in this case, since she suffered a head injury, and this is exactly the kind of low speed crash bike helmets are designed to protect against.

Let’s all hope she makes a full and fast recovery.

Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.

………

A small group of San Francisco community organizers is calling for kicking cars out of the city’s Embarcadero.

Advocates Stacey Randecker and Alex Soble suggest converting the waterfront into a vibrant, walkable Grand Embarcadero that “could match or surpass comparable destinations like Chicago’s Lakefront Trail, San Antonio’s Riverwalk and Paris’ Seine waterfront.”

Not to mention easily exceed anything found here in Southern California.

Which would be a big improvement from the Embarcadero’s current deadly and dangerous car-choked environment.

………

A pair of holiday rides are on tap this weekend, with rides on Saturday in Costa Mesa and Sunday in Glendale.

………

Good question.

Is it the scooter or the cars that are really blocking the sidewalk?

………

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

No surprise here, as San Diego’s bike hating Ocean Beach Rag jumps on yesterday’s anti-bike lane hit piece in the San Diego Union Tribune. If you missed it, you can read my takedown on the piece here

Its a sad commentary when a Chicago ghost bike isn’t even safe from traffic violence.

………

………

Local 

‘Tis the season. The San Diego Chargers of Los Angeles partnered with the Bikes for Kids Foundation and Pechanga Resort Casino to surprise about 150 Compton second and third-graders with a new bicycle.

 

State 

The Bike League announced their latest list of Bicycle Friendly Communities, with several NorCal cities renewed or promoted; the only city named in Southern California is Beverly Hills with an honorable mention.

CalBike looks back at the past year’s wins in the state legislature, including new bike laws, more funding for bikes and walking, and the state ebike rebates, which remain sadly theoretical at this point.

Streetsblog takes a very early look at the transportation bills expected to be considered in the next legislative session, including a requirement to consider the climate emergency in transportation funding, and another bite at the apple for Stop As Yield.

The Voice of OC says the death of 8-year-old Bradley Rofer as he rode his bike through an Orange County intersection this past September is “prompting a tough debate about whether civic leaders are doing enough to protect kids at dangerous intersections.” Short answer, no. Longer answer, oh hell no.

The Coast News Group looks forward to next month’s Cyclovia Encinitas open streets event.

Agoura Hills officially unveiled a new, wider bridge on Roadside Drive as the first project in implementing the city’s bicycle master plan — yet somehow, they don’t seem to have included any bike lanes in the project.

Heartbreaking news from San Francisco, where a 16-year old boy rode his bike halfway across the Golden Gate Bridge before jumping to his death, as a project to install mesh suicide barriers on both sides of the bridge has stalled amid soaring costs.

‘Tis the season. A Castro Valley man has fixed up and given away over 700 bicycles to people who can’t afford one for work, school or fun, calling the money-losing program Bad Business Model Bikes.

 

National

No surprise here, as researchers have concluded that 55% of people involved in serious or fatal crashes had drugs or alcohol in their systems — whether drivers, passengers or people outside the vehicle — with nearly 25% each testing positive for weed or alcohol.

Forbes recommends their picks for the best balance bikes for your favorite toddler — including a $1,000 carbon framed Specialized for your future pro. Junior doper kit sold separately.

House Digest recommends the five best American cities to live in if you don’t have a car. Shockingly, Los Angeles was not included among them. And yes, that’s sarcasm.

Bicycling considers the meaning of the massive, and completely unrecoverable, $353 million judgement against the drunk and stoned hit-and-run driver who killed master’s cyclist Gwen Inglis as she rode with her husband in Lakewood, Colorado — not Boulder, as the magazine says. For a change, read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you.

The owner of San Antonio’s oldest bike shop is asking for support from the community, as nearby construction could force it to close before it can reach its 103rd year.

Chicago drivers will now face a $250 fine for blocking a bike lane, as well as running the risk they could be towed; the move stems at least in part from the deaths of four little kids this past summer.

The Boston Globe says we need to make traffic jams a thing of the past if we’re going to curb emissions by 2030, calling for congestion pricing and better transit. And more biking and walking would help, too.

Grocery chain Safeway teamed with a local nonprofit to give a new adaptive bicycle to a young Baltimore girl suffering from a form of childhood dementia.

 

International

Bike Radar offers five reasons why you don’t need a new bicycle, including N+1 is dead. Which should come as a surprise to many of us.

Canadian Cycling Magazine is surprised to find Gwyneth Paltrow’s luxury Goop gift guide suggests a trio of relatively reasonably priced bikes.

Past and present English city officials protest the poor quality of a Hereford bike lane before it even opens to the public.

German manufacturer Bosch is pushing the US to adopt the tighter ebike regulations that allowed the company to dominate the European market.

An Aussie truck driver will have to spend four years behind bars for the drunken, distracted crash that killed a 21-year old man who was riding throughout the country to call attention to climate change.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling offers a photo essay from the recent ‘cross Nats. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

 

Finally…

That feeling when your new e-cargo bike is based on a Japanese bento box.

And bike touring down the East Coast on one wheel.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

WeHo merchant calls for licensing cyclists, racist Palo Alto road rage attack, and Hugo calls for carfree Hollywood Blvd

No bias here.

The owner of West Hollywood’s gay-forward novelty boutique Block Party says forget bike lanes and install EV chargers instead, while trotting out all the old cliches about licensing bike riders.

Fast forward to 2022, a debate about removing the parking lanes on Fountain and to install bike lanes in their place, eliminating two for cars to drive. Those bike lane people are ferocious in their arguments. If you had to drive a bike and cars whipped past you it might cause a sense of anger that you deserve a safe space too. But perhaps bike riders who choose to use the road should also be licensed. Maybe they should pass a written test to travel 40 miles down the road. Perhaps they can pay a license fee to help offset the cost of these installations. As a partially sighted part-time driver I can say that it is difficult to drive past the bikes who often show little respect for the road weaving in lanes. But that is another story.

Because apparently, our tax money doesn’t count — even though it pays for the roads he drives, whether we use them or not.

Never mind that studies have repeatedly shown that a licensing program for bicyclists would cost more than it would bring in, while dramatically reducing ridership exactly when we need more people on bikes. Or that bike riders pose a lot less risk to others than people in cars do.

Especially people with bad eyesight.

Besides, are you really going to tell a six-year old she can’t ride her bike because her license expired?

So maybe the next time you’re in WeHo, stop in and tell him why you’ll be spending your money somewhere else.

Besides, not many of us can really pull off the spangled banana hammock look.

Not that our significant others would actually want us to try.

………

Crap like this really pisses me off.

A Black Palo Alto man was the victim of a racist road rage attack and hit-and-run last week, for the crime of riding his bike in the traffic lane.

In other words, exactly where he should have been.

The victim had moved into the lane to pass a driver who was attempting to park. Yet when he stopped at the next stop light, he was accosted by a white pickup driver for “riding in the middle of the road.”

The two men began arguing, at which point the truck driver called the cyclist, who is Black, a racial epithet. The victim reported to police that the driver spat on him, reached out to grab his arm, and then drove the truck into the side of the bicycle. The cyclist fell to the ground.

The cyclist said the truck drove over his bicycle, and the driver turned north on Webster Street and then east on Lytton Avenue. The cyclist later saw the truck turn back onto University Avenue heading east and continue driving. The cyclist’s leg had a small laceration, which paramedics treated at the scene. His bicycle was damaged but remained rideable, police stated.

It’s possible that the victim could have moved into the lane suddenly, without signaling or checking behind him, and cut off the driver. Or not.

None of which justifies violence, let alone racism.

The local police are investigating it as a hate crime, as well as an assault with a deadly weapon and injury hit-and-run.

Which is good, because there’s just no excuse for this. Ever.

Period.

And no pit deep enough for someone who could do something like this.

………

Things could finally be looking up in Hollywood.

While CD13 Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell has called for a much needed Complete Streets makeover of Hollywood Blvd, challenger Hugo Soto-Martinez has raised the ante with a call for pedestrianizing sections of the iconic tourist attraction.

Meanwhile, Los Angeleno examines the race between O’Farrell and Soto-Martinez; while O’Farrell has been justly criticized for blocking bike and traffic safety plans until recently, Soto-Martinez is calling for more bike lanes in the district.

………

Finish the Ride and the LACBC hosted a Clean Air Ride over the weekend.

Speaking of which, Metro will offer free bus, train and bikeshare rides tomorrow for California Clean Air Day.

………

Someone did an impressive job trolling St. Louis officials by installing old bike helmets and an official looking public notice calling on pedestrians to use them crossing the street.

All to call attention to the city’s unacceptably high death rate.

………

Evidently, ebikes have been around a lot longer than you may think.

https://twitter.com/CoolBikeArt1/status/1565791573530509317

………

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

Horrible story from the UK, where police are looking for four men who chased down a 21-year old bike rider with their car, then got out and stabbed him to death, apparently because the driver had crashed into the victim.

No bias here, either. A victim-blaming road sign in England’s Hertfordshire county instructs bike riders to “Please consider other road users.” Because anti-social bike riders kill so many motorists, evidently.

………

Local

Streetsblog eyes the new bike lanes on 1st, 3rd and 7th Streets in DTLA.

Your next bike could have a “Los Angeles” frame with a camo finish. Although that color choice may not be the best option if you actually want drivers to see you.

Santa Monica announced a crackdown on scofflaw drivers who park on the city’s sidewalks and parkways starting next month, urging people to “stop parking like a jerk.” Now tell them to do bike lanes, where the city has allowed delivery drivers to park for decades with no repercussions.

 

State 

Streets For All offers a full recap on transportation-related bills signed or vetoed by Governor Newsom, as well as bills that died in the state legislature. Meanwhile, Streetsblog offers a similar roundup of active transportation, transit and climate bills.

LAist takes a deep dive into California’s new Freedom to Walk Act, which doesn’t actually legalize jaywalking after all; it’s still technically illegal to cross the street in the middle of a block, but police are now directed not to cite it unless crossing poses an imminent danger. However, California’s restriction against jaywalking only applies to blocks with a traffic signal on each end, so it’s already completely legal anywhere else.

The CHP has received a $1.2 million federal grant to “promote the importance of drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians looking out for one another so that everyone can safely share the road.” Maybe they could put the money to better use by giving their officers more training in bike law and bicycle crash investigations.

The victim in Sunday’s fatal head-on crash in Fresno County has been identified as a 51-year old Anthropology professor at Clovis Community College; the driver of the Acura supercar who needlessly took her life as she rode her bike has been identified as a 47-year old Clovis man. Thanks to Keith Johnson for the heads-up.

 

National

Streetsblog talks with Elizabeth Creely, of the San Francisco-based grassroots advocacy organization Safe Street Rebel, on how to start a grassroots safe streets movement in your city. Or you could ask Streets For All founder Michael Schneider, who’s done a helluva job in just a few short years.

Singletracks revisits their most popular mountain bike product reviews.

Great idea. Bentonville, Arkansas will host the first-ever bike festival for deaf bicyclists next week.

Eleven scenic Hudson Valley bike rides for your next trip to the Empire State.

Philadelphia is investing $23 million in the city’s Vision Zero budget for next year, $6 million more than originally proposed. That compares with $38.5 million in Los Angeles, which has a population 2.5 times higher; LA would have to spend another $20 million to match Philly’s per capita spending.

Mississippi’s Gulf Islands National Seashore has reopened with the first phase of a new bike and pedestrian pathway, with the second phase due in two years.

 

International

The fourth annual Ebike Future Conference will be held virtually next week, including a virtual expo that will run automatically for the next 22 days.

Bike Radar examines why people and businesses are swapping cars for bikes, transforming their lives and operations by taking to two wheels.

Forget micromobility. The latest trend is minimobility, with three and four wheeled vehicles designed to carry one or two people and fill the gap between bicycles and motor vehicles. Which is a pretty damn big gap, if you ask me.

While bicycling fatalities continue to climb in the US, British bike deaths dropped 21% last year.

Brussels is the latest major European city learning to love the bicycle; the Belgian capital has already come a long way from its car-centric past.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list, as two riders explore archeological relics and forested parks — and the local hospitality — by biking Jordan’s ancient trade route.

No, an Indonesian bike shop isn’t giving away free ebikes in response to a government gas price hike.

Former Italian pro Omar Di Felice announced plans for a record bike ride across Antarctica, riding to the South Pole and across the continent to the base of the Leverett Glacier and back.

 

Competitive Cycling

Once again, the pro peloton is justifiably complaining about race conditions, saying “UCI doesn’t care about our safety,” after complaints about dangerous conditions in the CRO Race were ignored by officials.

Pinarello unveiled the world’s fastest 3D-printed bike, allowing maximum customization for Filippo Ganna in his attempt to set a new hour record.

Red Bull looks at L39ion of Los Angeles founder and multiple national crit champ Justin Williams, and his mission to change bike racing for the better.

 

Finally…

Get a Covid shot, get a shot at winning a bicycle. Apparently, bike surfing is an effective way to make sure drivers see you at night.

And few people realize that sharrow is a portmanteau of arrow and sheep.

………

G’mar chatima tova to all observing Yom Kippur tonight. 

Thanks to Matthew Robertson for his latest monthly donation to help keep all the best bike news coming your way every day. Any donation, no matter how large or small, is always deeply appreciated. 

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Road-raging deputy brake checks group ride, LA Times calls for Griffith Park car bans, and advocates pan bridge bike lanes

A road-raging Houston deputy constable thought people in a group ride were riding dangerously.

So he apparently decided to make it exponentially less safe.

Makes sense.

The bike riders are now calling for the deputy to be fired for actions that included repeatedly brake-checking the group, which caused at least one rider to crash into his car.

According to Houston’s KHOU-11,

“You see him brake-check people,” one cyclist said. “You see him get out, taunt, intimidate people. You see him drive in oncoming traffic in the oncoming direction. You see him go over across two or three lanes of traffic in the right lane where bikers, by transportation code, are legally supposed to be and legally allowed to be.”

Several angry cyclists then rode past the patrol car, yelling at the deputy and asking for his badge number.

Another cyclist who posted a different video told KHOU 11 he’s pro-law enforcement but believes the deputy’s actions went too far.

“This deputy was definitely out of control,” that man said.

The bike riders say they never received a lawful command or the deputy’s identification, despite numerous requests for his badge number. And not surprising in the current environment, They’ve received a number of threats since posting the video online.

Meanwhile, the local constable — sort of like a sheriff, but with less authority and responsibility — took it upon himself to blame both sides.

Even though only one had threatened anyone’s safety.

Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen said the internal affairs department is conducting an investigation, but he believes there’s fault on both sides.

“After viewing the deputy’s dashcam video, which is now under investigation, it appears both parties, the deputy and cyclists on scene, were not conducting themselves in a safe manner,” Rosen said in a statement. “The cyclists were dangerously impacting other citizens, riding into oncoming traffic lanes and were taking over an entire intersection interrupting traffic.”

Sure, let’s go with that.

Never mind that the deputy appears to have committed a number of possible felony violations, starting with that brake-check, which could and should be charged as assault with a deadly weapon.

But probably won’t be. Because, you know, Texas.

Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up. Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay

………

They get it.

The LA Times notes that Los Angeles is finally catching up to other major cities in closing some streets to cars — okay, one — while musing whether that marks the start of a road revolution.

LA’s paper of record also calls for closing more Griffith Park roadways to motor vehicles.

The park’s roads are currently designed for the movement of cars, not the safety and enjoyment of cyclists, walkers and equestrians. Drivers treat Griffith Park Drive and Crystal Springs Drive as shortcuts to avoid traffic on Interstate 5 and the 134 Freeway. The speed limit on park roads is 25 mph, but it’s routinely ignored by motorists. The routes aren’t safe for pedestrians or cyclists. Crosswalks and bike lane stripes are faded. Key roads are missing sidewalks for pedestrians and barriers separating cyclists from cars.

It’s no wonder Griffith Park mostly attracts only “strong and fearless” bicyclists, according to a consultant’s report. Councilmember Nithya Raman, who represents the area, said she wants the roads redesigned so families and kids feel comfortable riding their bikes in the park.

Meanwhile, Streetsblog offers a lengthy Twitter thread on how to make the park safer and more convenient for people on bicycles.

………

Renderings of the Class IV protected bike lanes on the new $600 million 6th Street Viaduct, scheduled to open this weekend, haven’t exactly been winning rave reviews online.

Like this, for instance.

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LADOT announced a new bollard-protected bike lane on Grand Ave in South LA.

https://twitter.com/LADOTlivable/status/1544808420427063297

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Active SGV lists upcoming rides on San Gabriel Valley greenways, starting tomorrow with Glendora and San Dimas.

https://twitter.com/ActiveSGV/status/1545110738594775041

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Yes, recent bike convert and state Senator Anthony Portantino really is one of us now.

………

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

No bias here. Miami shop owners say new bike lanes that replaced curbside parking are killing their businesses, insisting their customers can’t afford to pay for parking. They don’t have money to park, yet somehow, still have money to spend at their stores. Sure, that makes sense.

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

Sadly, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar and his cyclist brother Roberto never got to live out their dream of fielding a winning team at the Tour de France.

………

Local

Los Angeles’ StreetsLA staff has completed the first inspection of pavement quality for the city’s entire 1,100-mile bike lane network. However, despite all the happy talk, there’s no mention that the inspection was inspired by the $6.5 million settlement for a bike rider injured by a Sherman Oaks pothole — vastly more than the $4 million the city spent fixing broken bike lane pavement last year.

Seriously? Ryan Seacrest’s radio co-host Sisanie questions whether you could manage to go carfree at Sunday’s South LA CicLAvia. Because walking or biking the short three-mile route is just so, so hard, evidently.

Streetsblog’s SGV Connect talks with Eastside Bike Club founder and Stan’s Bike Shop owner Carlos Morales, one of the nicest and most inspiring people you’ll ever meet; you can read a transcript here if you prefer that to listening.

The Malibu Times complains about Caltrans’ “chaotically staged” virtual meeting to present plans for bike lanes on the western section of PCH through the coastal city, while noting the lack of answers about the project.

 

State 

You can now buy California-based Aventon bikes at your local Best Buy.

A 25-year old Placer County man will spend the next 13 years behind bars for attacking and robbing a 69-year old man on a bicycle.

 

National

The Federal Highway Administration, aka FHWA, is proposing a new rule to measure and track transportation greenhouse gas emissions.

Wired says e-scooters aren’t as green as you think, either.

Several states are siphoning federal highway safety funds, despite the dramatic increase in traffic deaths; US regulations allow them the repurpose up to half the funding they receive.

Consumer Reports reviews the best bike locks, but won’t tell you without a subscription.

Salt Lake City is accused of violating its own Complete Streets requirement after rebuilding a street to the same incomplete format it was before.

A Joplin, Missouri bike rider was seriously injured when he or she was rear-ended by a sheriff’s deputy responding to a burglary call, who evidently somehow couldn’t see someone on a bicycle directly in front of the car. Yet they can’t even be bothered to recognize that the victim was a person, rather than a mere “subject.”

Proposed legislation in New York would require drunk drivers to pay child support for up to 18 years if they kill a custodial parent in a DUI crash.

A New York State mountain biker rides a 27-mile loop, hoping to find one the finest mountain-bike rides in the Adirondacks, but leaves complaining about poor maintenance and fallen trees.

This is why people keep dying on the streets. A pickup driver isn’t facing any charges for killing an 11-year old boy in the Hamptons, despite backing into the victim’s bike while leaving a worksite. Seriously, if you can’t see what’s behind you, don’t effing back up.

 

International

Cycling Weekly looks at ten standout handmade bikes from Enve Composites Bike Builder Round-Up, calling them rideable art.

An Irish man walked with a gentle caress on the wrist for the death of a 63-year old bike rider, after the man’s Yorkie escaped and ran out into the roadway; he was fined the equivalent of just $304 for letting the dog run loose, and a total of $329 for not licensing his three dogs. But not a dime for killing someone. Let’s at least hope the victim’s family has a damn good lawyer.

France is rolling out a new combination bike and pedestrian traffic signal for use when a bike lane runs next to a pedestrian path.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers his observations from a recent family vacation to Barcelona, calling it the “most walkable, most transit-oriented, and most bikeable place” he’s ever been. And yes, I’m only a lot jealous.

 

Competitive Cycling

Rouleur looks forward to today’s stage of the Tour de France, the year’s first mountain finish. On gravel, no less.

Slovenian Tadej Pogačar won Thursday’s sixth stage to become the third yellow jersey holder at this year’s Tour; Bicycling asks the pertinent question of who the hell is the new Slovenian race leader. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you

American TdF rookie Quinn Simmons made a good impression on Thursday’s stage, following the wheels of Wout Van Aert and Jakob Fuglsang on a lengthy breakaway before getting reeled in by the peloton as Van Aert sped off.

Italy’s Alberto Bettiol apologized to teammates Neilson Powless and Magnus Cort, after an ill-advised attack on the cobbles during Wednesday’s fifth stage may have helped keep the American out of the yellow jersey, trailing then leader Tadej Pogačar by just 13 seconds.

Juliette Labous won Thursday’s stage of Italy’s Giro Donne, as Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten added to her overall lead. Meanwhile, Dutch great Marianne Vos is withdrawing from the Giro Donne after her second stage win on Wednesday to focus on “other team goals,” most likely the new Tour de France Femmes.

Damn good question. VeloNews examines the hypocrisy in cycling, questioning why some dopers are forgiven while others are shunned.

Comfy bikes and Tour de France teams aren’t concepts that usually go together.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you set a new record for the oldest person to cross the US by bike. Once again, if you’re riding your bike with meth stuffed in your sock, put a damn light on it. The bike, that is, not the sock.

And yes, the late, great James Caan was one of us.

At least on the silver screen.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Create true multimodal networks for vibrant cities, Griffith Park Drive closes to cars next week, and ticketing speeding bicyclists

They get it.

The World Resources Institute says the secret to creating vibrant US cities — and meeting US climate goals — is to invest in true multimodal transportation.

The group calls for a coordinated system of various modes of transportation that work for the entire community.

Transportation emits more climate-warming greenhouse gases than any other sector in the United States, so cutting carbon from transport is also essential to achieving the ambitious goal of reducing emissions 50%-52% by 2030. Recent modeling from America Is All In, a coalition of state and local climate leaders, shows that emissions reductions in the transportation sector can contribute more than one-third of what’s needed to reach the 2030 U.S. climate goal.

The key is to go multi-modal: not just cars, buses, rail, bicycles or walking, but a coordinated system of various modes of transportation. States, tribes, cities, universities and businesses have vital roles to play in developing clean multi-modal transportation systems that work for the entire community while fostering health, safety and economic prosperity.

Photo by Blue Bird from Pexels.

………

About damn time.

Griffith Park Drive will be closed to cars between Travel Town and Mount Hollywood Drive starting next week, part of a pilot program to “reduce cut-through traffic and improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and wildlife.”

Now do the rest of the streets in Griffith Park. Because parks are for people, not cars.

………

Bicycling questions whether bicyclists should be subject to speeding tickets in Toronto’s High Park, where police are using speed guns to enforce a 13 mph speed limit. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t seem to be available on Yahoo, so you’re on your own if the magazine blocks you.

I’ve long questioned whether speed limits, like the 8 mph limit on the boardwalk in Hermosa Beach, are enforceable for people on bicycles without cycling computers or other forms of speedometers.

After all, how can you be punished for breaking a law if you have no viable way of knowing you’re breaking it?

………

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

Even a deaf cat knows ice cream trucks don’t belong in the bike lanes on London’s Westminster Bridge.

A Scottish national time trial champ said she wanted to quit the sport after men on motorcycles leered at her and tried to knock her off her bike on two separate occasions. Seriously, guys. Give that Neanderthal crap a rest.

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

A Jamaican truck driver refused to stop after a man rolled a bicycle into his path, in what may have been a robbery attempt.

A man in Donnybrook, Ireland was the victim of a real donnybrook when he was severely beaten by a man riding on a bike path, after reflexively putting out an elbow to protect himself from the distracted rider.

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Local

Streetsblog reports the long-promised bike lanes on the North Spring Street Bridge connecting Lincoln Heights and Chinatown should finally be striped in the coming months, after nearby street resurfacing is finished.

A woman and her dogs were killed by lightening while walking on the San Gabriel River bike trail in Pico Rivera yesterday. A tragic reminder to always seek shelter anytime you see lightening or hear thunder, and get away from your bike if it has a metal frame.

 

State 

The head of Caltrans District 7, which covers Los Angeles and Ventura counties, got a promotion to become the new leader of the state transportation agency.

Encinitas opened the newest segment of the North Coast Bike Trail, offering bike riders and pedestrians a view of the San Elijo Lagoon from a giant concrete jellyfish.

A UC Santa Barbara geography professor is crowdsourcing data for Bike Maps to identify the city’s best bike routes and worst hot spots.

The co-owners of Emeryville-based Clif Bar are now billionaires, after walking away from a $120 million buyout offer 22 years ago.

A Chico man faces seven years to life behind bars after pleading guilty to the random, senseless shooting of a man riding on a bike path two years ago, when he was just 17.

 

National

No, The Atlantic didn’t call Biden’s bike crash heroic.

Bike Hacks helps you plan what to bring on an overnight bikepacking trip. I’d add bug spray to that list. And a bike.

A Seattle man was been charged with assault and theft for stealing someone’s bicycle in a strong-arm robbery and illegally riding it onto a freeway; that came after he shattered a bus door when the driver wouldn’t let him on at an intersection.

My former home state of Colorado has the second-highest rate of bike commuters in the US, behind only Oregon, although it’s still a relatively paltry 1.1%.

Speaking of Colorado, the state held its Bike to Work Day yesterday, although most of the news stories are hidden behind paywalls; here’s one from Colorado Springs that isn’t. However, the day was marred when a bike rider was killed when he was run down by a pickup driver.

A 60-something Black stroke survivor is riding from Maine to Florida to call attention to stroke awareness, as well as her nonprofit Heels on Wheels; she’s already completed rides from Florida to California, and down the West Coast.

Local readers crowdsource the best places to ride a bike in Massachusetts.

A group of MIT students are riding across the US to conduct STEM workshops — science, technology, engineering and math  for students along the way.

A Pennsylvania driver faces DUI and drug charges for running down a woman on a bicycle while attempting to pass another car on the right.

 

International

Cycling News offers a guide to selling your old bike, while Road.cc goes deep on how to choose a bike helmet.

They get it, too. Toronto’s Globe and Mail calls for Vision Zero to end the 2,000 traffic deaths in the country each year, saying road deaths are never really accidents.

An 83-year old English man says he’s lucky to be alive after falling down a set of steps while attempting to walk his bike down a steep hill while wearing cycling cleats; the stairs were installed as an alternative for people unable, or unwilling, to ride the steep descent.

Credit British acting legend Dame Judy Dench with providing a full 10% — the equivalent of $2,334 — of the $24,333 goal for a man riding his bike across the US to raise funds to fight MS.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a driver high on ecstasy and coke got three years for killing a man riding a bicycle; he was five times over the legal limit for ecstasy and six times the limit for cocaine. Which bizarrely means there’s actually a legal amount of illegal drugs you can have in your system.

Police in Dubai have seized 400 bicycles and mopeds in a crackdown on scofflaw riders.

A Sydney, Australia paper says bike riders and pedestrians want separate trails, not shared paths.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews offers a preview of today’s men’s and women’s elite time trials at the US Professional Road National Championships.

Nineteen-year old Luke Lamperti wants to prove last year’s US crit title was no fluke, setting his sights on the national road race championship to improve his chances of making the World Tour next year.

 

Finally…

That feeling when Strava reveals the location of secret military installations. Or when you get a settlement for getting busted for twerking in a bike lane.

And something tells me there’s a story here.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

LA cuts speed limits on less than 3% of streets, and San Francisco’s JFK Drive to stay carfree — so where’s LA equivalent?

Ambassador to India Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has signed an ordinance lowering the speed limit on 177 miles of streets.

By a whopping 5 mph.

Which isn’t going to make any real difference on LA’s mean streets, where speed limits often reach 45 or 50 mph. Let alone the other 6,323 miles of streets in the city.

But at least it’s a step in the right direction, reducing speeds on streets where they had recently been raised, thanks to a new state law amending the deadly 85th Percentile Law.

What’s really needed is a cut to 20 mph in business and residential areas, as has already been done in other cities around the world to reduce crashes and improve survivability.

Because a drop from 45 mph to 40 just ain’t gonna do that.

Like just about everything else, though, that will take another change in state law. Which isn’t likely to be coming anytime soon.

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In a big win for bike riders and pedestrians — or just people in general — a new report from San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Department and the Municipal Transportation Agency recommends that JFK Drive through Golden Gate Park be kept carfree.

The street was shut down during the pandemic to provide a safe place for San Franciscans to walk and ride their bikes, and many residents like it that way.

And San Francisco’s mayor has come out strongly, if belatedly, in favor of it, apparently following when she should be leading.

Meanwhile, San Francisco filmmakers fight back against the false narrative that streets newly pedestrianized during the pandemic are for “elites.”

Just try to name any similar street in Los Angeles that has been pedestrianized in recent years — especially during the pandemic, when there was every opportunity and reason to do it.

Never mind banning private cars entirely from the city center, as Paris and other European cities are doing.

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A tweet from Entitled Cyclist shows a Maserati SUV driver demonstrating the equivalent of an Idaho Stop Law for overly entitled jerks drivers.

For some reason, this isn’t letting me embed tweets tonight, so you’ll have to click through to see this one, and the one below. But it’ll be worth it.

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In an example all too typical of Southern California bikeways, the Whittier Greenway Trail rail-to-trail conversion stops a frustrating half mile short of connecting to the Gabriel River Bike Trail — even though there appears to be abandoned rail right-of-way that could be used to extend the trail.

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

Most of us have experienced drivers who insisted on cutting in front of bikes, regardless of whether it’s safe. Like this British jerk, for instance.

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Local

Metro is marking Women’s History Month with a self-guided ride through DTLA highlighting important spaces for and by women.

Active SGV Programs Director Wesley Reutimann writes about the return of the 626 Golden Streets open streets event through historic San Gabriel and South Pasadena Mission Districts, and downtown Alhambra on May 1st.

A ten-year old boy was rushed to the hospital with traumatic injuries after a mountain bike fall while riding in Sylmar.

 

State 

California announces $296 million in state beautification grants, and evidently concludes that bike lanes and pedestrian projects are beautiful, too; the list includes dozens of projects in Southern California and the LA area.

Sad news from Idyllwild, where longtime bike shop owner David “Bud” Hunt Jr. passed away last month, surrounded by family; he was 93. Hunt had worked in the shop every day until he was 92.

Bad news from Bakersfield, where a woman was killed when her bike was rear-ended by a hit-and-run driver early Monday morning.

 

National

Singletracks recommends mountain bikes for every budget, from a $500 Schwinn to a Santa Cruz for ten grand.

A staffer with PeopleForBikes writes that companies should make it a priority to boost employee bike riding through programs like employer-sponsored bike leasing. Or the $4 he gets from the advocacy group for every ride, up to $100 a month.

The founder of LVSportsBiz relates how he started the Las Vegas sports site after a distracted driver ran him down while he was riding his bike, which effectively ended his career as a Florida sportswriter. And needless to say, the driver wasn’t even ticketed.

Kindhearted Texas cops dug into their own pockets to buy a new bike for a middle school student whose bicycle was totaled when he was struck by a driver on his way to school. But the local Trek dealer wouldn’t take their money, donating a $1,000 bike and helmet instead.

A kindhearted St. Louis cop used his downtime while recovering from serious injuries after getting hit by a driver on the job to help get a girl a new bicycle after hearing she needed one.

Massachusett’s Bob the Bike Man is shifting gears from providing bicycles for people in need to sending supplies for Ukrainian refugees.

They get it. A DC website says it’s time to stop blaming the victims of traffic violence.

Horrible news from Daytona, Florida, where a married couple were stabbed to death while riding their bicycles; they were found dead in a quiet residential neighborhood, suffering from multiple stab wounds.

 

International

A viral meme on Twitter tells people to Fight Putin, Ride A Bike.

Momentum highlights six e-cargo bikes it says are perfect for families.

In a story after my own heart, Road.cc offers 11 reasons why group rides suck and you’re better off riding on your own.

The husband of a fallen English bike rider says bicyclists in Oxford gamble with their lives every day.

Italian bikemaker 3T wants you to wear your support for Ukraine on your frame.

 

Competitive Cycling

Mark your calendar for an eight hour Netflix Tour de France docu-series focusing on the Jumbo-Visma cycling team, which is expected to stream in May of next year.

 

Finally…

Get your GPS directions projected directly in the street in front of your bike — if you have an extra thousand bucks laying around. If your bike gets a flat, just steal another one.

And your next e-roadie could be a Ducati.

………

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

CDC Bike Safety stats miss mark, Move Culver City adjusts lane markings, and Desmond Tutu was one of us

Thanks to everyone who helped make the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive such a big success, with new records for both the number of donations and the total amount — topping last year’s record-setting total by over $1,200!

So please join me in thanking William C, Lois R, Carol K, David D, Julie C, Erik G, Bryan H, Audrey K and Jennifer P for their generous donations to help keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.

And let me give a special thanks for the comments so many people made along with their donations, which touched me more than I can begin to say. 

So to everyone who contributed, please accept my undying gratitude. Or at least until next year’s holiday season, when we’ll do it all again. 

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File this one under the heading of you’ve got to be kidding.

The CDC’s Bicycle Safety page helpfully suggests the main risk factors for bike crashes.

Never mind that children and adults over 50 are among the largest bike-riding age groups. Or that the well-documented gender gap means three times as many men as women ride bikes.

Let’s not forget that more people ride bikes in urban areas, simply because there are more people there.

And does it really tell us anything that either the driver or bike rider had been drinking in 37% of bicycling fatalities, without breaking out whether the bike riders or drivers had been drinking, and whether they were actually under the influence or just had a trace amount of alcohol in their blood?

All of which makes this set of risk factors just this side of useless.

And just to be clear, the information on alcohol consumption comes from the 2015 Traffic Safety Fact Sheet Bicyclists & Other Cyclists, which shows that 22% of bike riders killed were legally drunk, compared to 12% of drivers; another 4% in each group had some amount of alcohol in their blood, without being legally drunk.

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Culver City is responding to complaints about the new Move Culver City bike and bus lanes by making adjustments to the lane designs.

Which is exactly how it’s supposed to work.

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Newport Beach’s century-old Balboa Island Ferry will be bikes and pedestrians only for the next month, with cars forced to take the long way around to avoid electrical work near the ferry terminal.

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Turns out even the late, great Bishop Desmond Tutu was one of us.

And yes, I looked it up. He really did say this.

https://twitter.com/_dmoser/status/1475186686816628759

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Literary great Henry Miller was one of us, too.

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So was 1930s Western matinee hero Buck Jones, featured here in a Schwinn brochure produced in the final year of his life.

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Who needs headphones when you ride a bike?

Which seems like an opportunity to remind everyone that it’s illegal under California law to ride a bike with earbuds in, or headphones over, each ear.

Even though someone on a bike would have to have their headphones cranked up pretty damn high before they’d hear as badly as someone in a car with the windows up and the music system on.

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Apparently, I wasn’t the only one struck by the number of bicycles in this year’s Rose Parade.

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

A San Diego grandmother is conducting her own search for the road-raging driver who ran down her 22-year old ebike-riding grandson, making a U-turn to chase down him down in what appears to be an intentional attack. The question is, why was she able to locate security video that the police didn’t?

Life is cheap in the UK, where a 49-year old woman got a lousy fine — the equivalent of just $1,100 — for pushing a 15-year old boy off his bike for the crime of riding on the sidewalk, then bragging about it on Facebook, saying he “wouldn’t be so lucky” the next time.

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

A British doctor is now afraid to walk alone after she was run down from behind by a hit-and-run bike rider descending at high speed; she now wonders if the crash was deliberate.

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Local

LA County sheriff’s deputies blame culture and training for aggressively policing bike riders — usually Latino — in unincorporated areas, despite finding illegal materials in less than 10% of their searches. And don’t forget, you are under no obligation to consent to a search of you or your bike.

Get two-thirds off the cost of a one-year Metro Bike Hub membership through the end of this month.

London’s Daily Mail oddly gets all hot and bothered over Harrison Ford riding the streets of Los Angeles swathed in spandex.

 

State

Electrek visits the sprawling new production facilities for Newport Beach’s Electric Bike Company, which sounds more like a kids show on PBS.

Encinitas will host a carfree Cyclovia for four hours this Sunday.

There’s no lower form of human scum than anyone who would steal an adaptive bike from an 18-year old disabled San Diego woman.

San Diego Trek locations are collecting used bicycles for the next month, hoping to net more than 1,000 bicycles for a bike giveaway in collaboration with the San Diego chapter of Free Bikes 4 Kidz and the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition.

A Highland newspaper complains about a $6.4 million demand from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to offset the environmental effects of a planned Class 1 bike path through the Upper Santa Ana River Wash, which is nearly 50% more than the cost of building the actual pathway.

This is who we share the road with. A two-time DUI loser now faces a murder charge for causing a chain-reaction Palm Springs crash that took the life of a 36-year old former Marine from Chula Vista; 41-year old driver Andrew Watson Hibbard had previous DUI arrests in Oregon and Palm Springs. Just one more example of keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late. Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up. 

Salinas cops and firefighters are competing for the affections of their favorite fan, a teenage boy who rides his bike to follow them around the city; they pitched in together to buy him a new bike after someone stole his.

An Oakland bike thief faces up to 40 years behind bars after he was convicted of fatally shooting a man who was trying to get his bike back as the thief was making off with it.

Sad news from Rancho Cordova, where a bike rider was killed in a collision just trying to cross a roadway Saturday evening.

 

National

Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss says with used car prices going through the roof, there may never be a better time to go carfree. And unlike his other recent columns, this one isn’t hidden behind a paywall.

Fast Company examines how cities across the US are making the temporary changes they’ve made to the streets during the pandemic permanent.

The US Public Interest Group warns about unfixable bikes that are only made to last a matter of months.

The Motley Fool says it’s time for Apple to spend some of its cash, and buy indoor cycling provider Peloton.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list. A 30-mile ride around Oregon’s Crater Lake, at 7,000 feet above sea level with 4,200 feet of elevation gain.

I want to be like him when I grow up. An 80-year old New Mexico man continues to ride his titanium bikes every other day, and has biked through France, the UK, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Scotland, Lichtenstein, Spain and New Zealand since he took up bicycling in his early 50s.

A bike pump ordered from Amazon gets the credit for saving a young family from the extreme fires outside Boulder, Colorado last week, after the Amazon driver gave them a lift to safety after trying to deliver their order.

Kansas woman was convicted of second-degree murder for downing several drinks, then running down a 16-year old girl riding a bicycle and leaving her to die in the street.

She gets it. Writing for The Atlantic, Cleveland-based planner Angie Schmitt says big cars are killing us, and the government can’t keep letting the auto industry treat people walking or on bikes as collateral damage.

Businesses in the Kentucky-Indiana area are collecting bicycles for victims of the recent Kentucky tornadoes.

An editorial from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the public deserves to know why a 51-year old Black man was killed by police, who tased him repeatedly for the crime of riding a discarded bicycle around the block; nine officers have been disciplined for his death, though what that means is still unclear.

Newly sworn-in New York Mayor Eric Adams is one of us, too, riding a Citi Bike bikeshare to his second day at work on Sunday. Thanks again to Victor Bale for the link.

Outgoing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio leaves office with the highest traffic fatality rates of his tenure, despite eight years of the city’s Vision Zero program, which showed promise in its first few years.

Newly released bodycam footage shows a Virginia cop tackling a Black bike rider for the crime of riding without a headlight.

When a Louisiana donut shop employee’s bicycle seat was stolen, kindhearted customers pitched in to buy him a used car. But did anyone bother to ask if he’d rather just have a new bike seat?

This is who we share the road with, too. Florida police arrested a hit-and-run driver who jumped a curb and plowed into a group of little kids on the sidewalk, killing two children and injuring four others. There’s not a pit in hell deep enough for someone who could just drive away after that.

 

International

Cycling Weekly gazes into its crystal ball to predict the top road bike trends of 2022.

An Anchorage, Alaska bike wrench is riding 1,560 miles solo through Baja California to raise funds to fight ALS; he already has $20,000 in pledges, and hopes to raise over $50,000.

A Toronto woman describes how avoiding public transportation during the pandemic turned her into a four season bike rider.

A London college professor explains why you can’t blame bike lanes for an increase in traffic congestion. In London, or anywhere else.

London’s transportation department is under pressure to remove a dangerous pass that sets off a road rage altercation from a new ad urging everyone on the road to try seeing things from the other guy’s perspective. Except there shouldn’t be another side to using a car to threaten the safety of someone on a bike or on foot.

After a local English official criticized new segregated bike lanes, saying drivers now feel hemmed in, an active transportation group does a little expert-level trolling by offering their sympathy for anyone who feels “rather claustrophobic” in their “one ton sofa-carrying steel boxes.”

A Scottish program to help low-income residents buy new ebikes fell flat, after no one took them up on the offer in the first three months, despite 290 people expressing interest.

He gets it. In an op-ed for The Guardian, a writer for Cycling Weekly asks how Britain can ever become a great bicycling nation when people on bicycles are subject to driver abuse, intimidation and terrible infrastructure. Then again, you could say the same thing about any city in the US, Los Angeles included. Or you could, if any of them actually wanted to be one.

Life is cheap in the UK, where relatives and advocates are calling for reforms after a driver got less than six years behind bars for the drunken, distracted hit-and-run that took the life of a 15-year old boy riding his bike.

Road.cc looks back fondly at the ten best British bike brands from the ’70s and ’80s. Any one of which I would have been happy to find in my Christmas stocking.

A game-changing UK traffic cam has captured 15,000 drivers using their cellphones behind the wheel. Which is exactly what we need here. Although drivers would complain about how unfair it is to get caught breaking the law.

A reminder that a driver doesn’t actually have to hit you to cause serious damage, as an Irish bike rider broke his collarbone when he was blown off his bike by the slip stream from a passing truck; needless to say, the driver didn’t bother to stop.

Add this one to your bike bucket list. Because this new cliffhanging Kiwi bikeway is what rail-to-trail conversions are all about.

 

Competitive Cycling

Dutch national road champion Amy Pieters remains in a medically induced coma after suffering a serious head injury in a fall while training in Spain; there’s no way to tell if she’s suffered any lasting damage until she wakes up.

No surprise here, as the ever expanding world of Covid-19 is already forcing restrictions on the year’s first pro bike races in February.

Pez Cycling News reviews a new book about the legendary 7-Eleven cycling team from a former editor of VeloNews.

Former pro and current Worst Retirement Ever rider Phil Gaimon is teaming with a trio of off-road cyclists, a ‘cross and track rider, and a 12-year old kid to form the multidisciplinary Jukebox Cycling team, but doesn’t expect it to change anything but whose banner he rides under.

Last week’s devastating pre-New Year’s fires outside Boulder, Colorado destroyed entire neighborhoods in Louisville and Superior — including the home of Tom and Alie Hopper, who both work for the EF Pro Cycling professional cycling team. A crowdfunding page to help them rebuild has raised over $102,000, more than doubling the $50,000 goal.

Two-time Mexican national champion and former EF Pro Cycling rider Luis Villalobos was banned for four years for doping. But the era of doping is over, right?

 

Finally…

If you’re going to ride your bike with a sword in your backpack, try not to fall off and stab yourself with it. Your next bike seat could have had a wedge to fit up your butt crack; thankfully it didn’t catch on.

And it looks like someone had a very good Christmas.

https://twitter.com/SanDiegoApedal/status/1474710596318859267

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