Tag Archive for cars vs bikes

Koretz gas ban called election gimmick, 6th Street Viaduct values cars above people, and Metro Bike wants your opinion

July 15, 2022 / / Comments Off on Koretz gas ban called election gimmick, 6th Street Viaduct values cars above people, and Metro Bike wants your opinion

My apologies once again for yesterday’s unexcused absence. 

I’m still dealing with bouts of disabling dizziness and queasiness that can stop me in my tracks, as it did Wednesday night. 

My doctors continue to assure me that it’s a form of migraine. Even if it hasn’t responded to diet, medication or any of the other treatments they were just darn sure would work. 

Which means this probably won’t be the last time it happens. 

And the next time won’t, either. 

Photo by Harrison Haines from Pexels.

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He gets it.

Rick Cole has lead a handful of SoCal cities, including Ventura and Santa Monica, as well as serving as a deputy mayor in Los Angeles.

Which is to say, he knows what he’s talking about. And can spot a cheap political stunt a mile away.

Sorry, Paul Koretz.

The tweet may be hidden behind a sensitive content warning, for reasons that will forever escape me. Just click the View link to display it, or you can read it here. 

https://twitter.com/urbanistcole/status/1547228947489775616

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More proof that the designers of the new 6th Street Viaduct put cars ahead of people.

Especially people on two wheels.

https://twitter.com/multimodalLA/status/1547453551613444096

Speaking of which, the Bicycle Advisory Committee’s Planning and Bikeways Engineering Subcommittees will discuss the bridge’s “bikeway shortcomings” at Tuesday’s Virtual meeting.

The committees will also discuss the Northvale Gap on the Expo bike path, and bike safety in Griffith Park, among other issues.

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Someone tell LADOT it would help if they put a link to the survey in their tweets.

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Metro is teaming with Active SGV to host a ride in Pomona tomorrow.

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Gravel Bike California takes a ride through the redwoods of Santa Cruz.

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

A naked Scottish couple riding a tandem were attacked by a driver, who made a U-turn to come back and hurl abuse at them — calling them prostitutes — before swerving his car into the couple; they’re continuing on their 837-mile fundraising ride despite suffering minor injuries.

British bike riders were quick to point out to a local police department why urging people to Cycle Like You Drive is a very, very bad idea.

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

Heartbreaking story from the UK, where a hit-and-run bicyclist will spend the next year behind bars for killing a 79-year old woman after rounding a corner while riding on the sidewalk.

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Local

A writer for the LA Times recommends exploring Griffith Park on your bike, particularly since Griffith Park Drive has been closed to cars through Monday. And hopefully longer.

CicLAvia is hosting a CivSalon panel discussion on Wednesday to discuss how innovation can make our streets safer and more equitable.

 

State 

Calbike joins with 17 other agencies to call for and end to freeway expansion in the Golden State.

Streetsblog says Caltran’s Complete Streets Action plan is basically a list of specific actions the agency will take to encourage a shift towards equitable and safer transportation. Let’s hope so, anyway.

Call it a win-win. San Diego’s new 2.3-mile bike lane on Pershing Drive through Balboa Park will improve safety for bike riders and pedestrians, as well as including a project to replace aging stormwater lines to prevent flooding and reduce water pollution.

A 58-year Rancho Bernardo man completed a 3,300-mile ride across the US, raising over $20,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation to fight type 1 diabetes.

Berkeley’s new 12-block parking and barrier protected bike lane connects the north and south sections of the city’s downtown.

Sonoma Magazine offers the ultimate guide to riding in the wine country county.

 

National

They get it. A retail business website says retailers usually fight new bike lanes, arguing they will hurt their business — but usually end up with higher sales after they’re built.

A British man completed his 4,000-mile bike ride across the US, raising nearly $30,000 for charity in the process — including the equivalent of over $2,300 from Dame Judy Dench.

The Pro’s Closet and The Radavist’s John Watson have teamed up on a special-edition gravel bike inspired by a Toyota Land Cruiser; only eight will be made, selling for just under nine grand.

Walmart is recalling a bike helmet that was a replacement for a recalled bike helmet.

It’s the 125th anniversary of the legendary Buffalo Soldier’s 41-day, 1,900 mile bike ride, proving bicycles could efficiently move troops. Until those damn cars and trucks took their place.

Pay full freight for a bike from Colorado bikemaker Alchemy Bikes, and they’ll put you up in a Golden CO hotel, and spring for beer and a breakfast burrito.

Tragic news from Colorado, whee a six-year old boy died days after he was bitten by a rattlesnake while riding bikes with his family.

Cars are still banned from the Northern entrances to Yellowstone due to flooding damage, but bikes are being allowed in for short rides; bicyclists call the carefree carfree experience “magical.”

It’s illegal to stand on the pedals while you ride your bike in Indiana.

Sad news from Missouri, where a 44-year old man was killed when a sheriff’s deputy rear-ended his bicycle; no word on why the deputy couldn’t see a grown man on a bike directly in front of him.

The alleged DUI driver who hit three pedestrians standing on an Illinois bike path, killing two young men, saw half the charges against her dismissed, but will face trial on the seven remaining counts.

A self-described “avid cyclist” says there has to be a better use for St. Paul, Minnesota’s money than removing parking spaces to build a two-way bikeway. There are no more chilling words than those that begin with “I’m an avid cyclist, but…”

There’s a special place in hell for whoever attacked a popular New York restaurant worker to steal his ebike as the man ride home from work, putting him in a coma he never recovered from.

Once again, a driver ran down a bike rider, then got out of his car to remove the victim’s bicycle from underneath before fleeing the scene, this time in North Carolina. Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up.

A Florida woman was lucky to survive after a driver hit her and a friend as they were riding their bikes, dragging the woman 50 feet beneath the car as the driver fled the scene; her friend escaped with just minor injuries.

 

International

London’s Evening Standard takes a look at the city’s bikeshare tribes, with tongue placed firmly in cheek.

Police in Britain’s New Forest urge drivers to slow down so they don’t crash into the donkeys. Or the people on bicycles .

That feeling when you fly to London, but your $16,500 bike and luggage fly to Naples.

Former pro cyclist and Rwandan genocide survivor Adrien Niyonshuti beat the pro peloton to the top of France’s legendary Alpe d’Huez, despite riding a 40 pound, single speed Qhubeka bike built for use in Africa.

Bike Radar looks at the best “weird and wonderful” tech from Germany’s Eurobike trade show.

The head of Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency reportedly is in intensive care after suffering multiple injuries falling off his bicycle; as usual, the country denies anything even happened. Although his injuries suggest something more serious than a simple fall off a bike.

A 36-year old Indian man has been riding throughout the country for the past three years to call attention to organic farming and the problem of single-use plastics.

CNN looks at how Abu Dhabi became the world’s hottest bicycling city. No, literally.

Hong Kong is considering requiring a helmet for anyone riding a bicycle, tricycle or multi-wheeled bike. Evidently, they have a lot of five, six and seven wheeled bikes. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Yellow jersey bearer Tadej Pogačar cracked on Wednesday’s 11th stage of the Tour de France, allowing Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard to slip into the lead.

He wasn’t the only Slovenian to crack. Primož Roglič followed suit the next day after a series of attacks by his Jumbo-Visma team, in an effort to widen Vingegaard’s lead; Vingegaard ended the day 2:22 ahead of Pogačar, who was unable to successfully attack on Thursday’s ride up Alpe d’Huez.

Twenty-two-year old Brit Tom Piddock won Thursday’s stage, besting veteran Chris Froome on the mountain top finish.

The top American is now Sepp Kuss, nearly 25 minutes behind the leader in 17th place, and one notch above Nielson Powless in 18th. Meanwhile, 21-year old Tour rookie Quinn Simmons vows to keep attacking.

Atlas Obscura dives into the chaos of the Tour’s Fast and Furious Feed Zone.

 

Finally…

Your next ebike could be good for 125 miles. Why stop riding at the water’s edge?

And let your bike be your tent pole on your next bikepacking trip.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

California phasing out gas cars, monthly Lake Elsinore community ride, and Harrison Ford rides after an all-nighter

April 15, 2022 / / One comment

The good news is, California is planning to phase out gas-powered vehicles by 2035.

The bad news is, they’re not planning to replace them with bicycles. Or even transit.

Just more cars, powered with a plug instead of dead dinosaurs.

Which means our air may get a little cleaner, but our roadways won’t be any safer or less congested.

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Mark your calendar for a Lake Elsinore community bike ride on the last Saturday of every month, to demand a safer environment for area children.

Meanwhile, Bike Walk Lake Elsinore catches you up on biking and walking projects in the Riverside County community.

Thanks to I Like Bikes for the heads-up.

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As if any experienced bike rider doesn’t know that’s the best time to ride, no matter how old you are. Or how long you’ve been up.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for forwarding the tweet.

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

No bias here. A mechanic for Jaguar’s Formula E racing team was deservedly fired after an online rant saying people on bicycles “Should be ran [sic] over in the road, dragged on to the path and pissed on by everyone!” if they dare ride in the roadway.

No bias here, either. After people complained about a street being too dangerous to ride a bike on, a British member of Parliament insisted it can’t be too bad, because she survived it. Which seems to set an awfully low bar.

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

Police in England are looking for a teenaged bike rider who reportedly smashed the wing mirror on a car, then dented the door and spit on its hood for no apparent reason. Vandalism is always wrong, tempting though it may be at times. But something tells me there’s probably another side to the story.

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Local

LAist proves it’s possible to ride a bike to Dodger Stadium, and easier than you may think.

 

State 

A Bay Area think tank concludes that exempting sustainable transportation projects from environmental review has worked as intended, as a new bill in the state legislature would make the exemption permanent.

He gets it. An op-ed by a San Diego ER nurse says the city’s streets should be safe for everyone, not just people in cars.

Residents of San Diego’s Rancho Penasquitos neighborhood make it clear they prefer a convenient place to park their cars, instead of bike lanes to help keep people safe from their big, dangerous machines.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a customized adaptive therapeutic bike belonging to an 11-year old Sacramento boy with cerebral palsy.

 

National

Belgian direct-to-consumer ebike maker Cowboy is now offering on-demand home test rides in ten US cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and New York.

Electrek rates the best ebikes in every price range, from under $1,000 to over five grand. I’ll take the Tern e-cargo bike, thank you.

A Washington woman reminds her small town neighbors she’s a 68-year old grandmother on an ebike, not a terrorist dressed in Lycra.

A Salt Lake City TV station describes Whittier’s fallen Bullard brothers as legends in the cycling community, nearly a week after they were killed by an alleged DUI driver outside of St. George. Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign to benefit their families has raised nearly $82,000.

The other Portland is looking to get more bike friendly, too. No, the one in Maine.

A Queens community group wants bikeshare, but only if they can put the docks on the sidewalk instead of the street. Because evidently, curbside parking is more important than people walking.

 

International

Road.cc recalls ten brilliant inventions that changed the bicycle forever.

Edinburgh officials says it’s too soon to criticize a new bike path while it’s still under construction — even though it’s being built in a bizarre zig-zag pattern, with power poles left standing in the middle of it.

Vice examines the bizarre case of a 14-year old Belfast boy who left home on his bike to meet some friends, lost his backpack, fell off his bike, and was seen riding naked through a housing estate before vanishing — all in the space of just 18 minutes. His body was found in a storm drain six days later.

Apparently, the French are no different from the rest of us, with over 80% of French drivers admit to using their cellphones while driving; on the other hand, 72% of bike riders use theirs while riding, too.

Tune in, turn on and go for a bike ride next Tuesday to mark the 79th anniversary of Bicycle Day, when LSD inventor Albert Hoffman dropped a few tabs and tripped all the way home on his bicycle in Basel, Switzerland.

Malaysians are in an uproar over the six-year prison sentence given to a young woman driver, even though she killed eight bike-riding teenagers ranging from 13 to 16; over one million people have signed a petition calling for her to be set free.

 

Competitive Cycling

Pro cyclists are riding the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to get ready for this weekend’s 126th edition of the Monument, give or take a few war years, with the women rolling tomorrow and the men on Sunday.

Heartbreaking news, as Dutch pro Amy Pieters remains in a drug-induced coma, with “no clear picture” of recovery, four months after she was severely injured crashing on a training ride.

Four hometown heroes who grew up watching the Redlands Classic will be competing in next week’s edition of the annual stage race.

Now you, too, can dress like your heroes from the the L39ion of LA cycling team, as long as you’re willing to fork out a couple hundred dollars for an aero jersey, and nearly three hundred for bib shorts. But at least you can get a hat or socks for twenty bucks.

 

Finally…

Apparently, cops think hi-viz repels drunk drivers. That feeling when recovering your stolen tandem turns into a hatchet job — literally.

And yes, we’re clearly the problem. Not all the people in the big, smelly machines.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

France tells carmakers to promote biking and walking in their ads, and Argentine driver runs down 5 riders on bike path

January 4, 2022 / / Comments Off on France tells carmakers to promote biking and walking in their ads, and Argentine driver runs down 5 riders on bike path
That’s more like it.

France is promoting alternative transportation by requiring all automotive ads to include a brief mention of alternatives to driving.

Options include “Consider carpooling,” “For day-to-day use, take public transportation,” or “For short trips, opt for walking or cycling,” along with the hashtag #SeDeplacerMoinsPolluer, or “Move and Pollute Less.”

That requirement applies to all TV, print, radio and internet advertising; failure to include one of the three options could result in a fine of up to fine of up to 50,000 euros, or $56,444 at current exchange rates.

Maybe we could see that on this side of the Atlantic some day.

We can dream, right?

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Horrifying story from Argentina, where a stoned driver doing 74 mph rammed five people riding on a bike path, before fleeing the scene with the help of four people waiting in a nearby truck.

Sadly, one of the victims died on the operating table.

Police arrested later arrested the driver, along with his accomplices. However, there’s no word on whether he lost control of his car and just caught a ride with people nearby, or if this was intentional and preplanned.

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Turns out some bike riders aren’t fans of red light-running scofflaw bicyclists who cut them off, either.

https://twitter.com/wildbell/status/1478125812691849216

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I want to see this sign posted along every street in California.

https://twitter.com/VisionZeroCA/status/1478114003754774528

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

Clearly, not everyone is a fan of the Bay Area’s Slow Streets. But not everyone threatens to come back with a Freightliner semi-truck and run over a woman to express their displeasure.

A Singapore truck driver was caught on video blowing through a red light while honking his horn at the woman legally crossing the street on her bike to get the hell out of his way.

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

The LAPD is looking for a man who stole a bicycle to make his getaway, after he murdered a homeless man in Panorama City in an unprovoked shooting.

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Local

Urbanize LA readers chose Streets For All’s proposal to extend the Ballona Creek bike path as the city’s best transportation project of the past year.

Newly freed Britney Spears is one of us, taking a spin on a high-performance ebike that looks more like a dirt bike with pedals, with a top speed of around 28 mph.

 

State

The San Diego Union-Tribune looks forward to Sunday’s annual Encinitas Cyclovia, combining open streets, live music, safety clinics and a bike rodeo for the kids.

An op-ed from the wife of a fallen San Diego bike rider killed by a wrong way driver, along with the advocacy manager for the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, takes the Union-Tribune to task for an editorial cartoon showing a business owner run over by bike riders, while saying the city needs to do far more to improve safety for people on bicycles and prevent more needless deaths.

A mountain biker was airlifted to a Riverside hospital with moderate injuries after he rode off an embankment on a Jurupa Valley trail, just north of the Pomona Freeway.

 

National

The National Complete Streets Coalition has put together a handy dandy little tool to help you calculate the benefits of any Complete Streets project, including safety, health, the environment and the economy.

A Colorado letter writer complains about the sentence given the speeding driver who killed pro mountain biker Benjamin Sonntag, calling the three-year sentence “pitiful,” especially since he could get out in just 18 months.

A Wisconsin man was able to get his stolen bike back after spotting it for sale online; police arrested the thieves when the man set up a meeting, and recovered several other purloined bicycles, as well.

That’s more like it, part two. New York-based grocery delivery service Buyk is expanding into Chicago with a commitment to deliver purchases within 15 minutes, without delivery fees, while paying their delivery riders a competitive wage starting at $17 per hour. Maybe we can talk them into coming to Los Angeles next.

Santa Monica based-Lime destroyed around 1,000 bicycles when they pulled out of South Bend, Indiana before the pandemic, despite donating 100 bikes to the city as the basis of a new community bikeshare system, and sending 200 bikes to Africa for people in need.

Unbelievable. The Allegheny County medical examiner ruled that the death of a Pittsburgh man was accidental, even after he was tased by police eight to ten times for the crime of taking an apparently abandoned bicycle around the block for a test ride. Which makes you wonder what the hell the cops would have to do to call it a homicide.

New York Streetsblog highlights five dangerous neighborhoods new Mayor Eric Adams needs to address to get the city’s failing Vision Zero back on track. There’s no way to get LA’s Vision Zero back on track, because it never was on track to begin with.

 

International

Bike Radar offers a complete guide to immersive chain waxing, calling it the gold standard for lubricating your bike chain.

A university in the Netherlands is testing out an 82-foot section of a smart bike path, complete with embedded with sensors, 3D cameras, wifi, radar and bluetooth, which can tell researchers how many people are using it, how fast they’re going and when; smart paths could ultimately be used to keep bike riders from waiting at red lights in bad weather, or direct riders to a faster route if it gets too busy.

The BBC shines a well-deserved spotlight on a 17-year old Ghanan boy who builds handmade wooden e-motorbikes to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. Even if the report is written in pidgin English. Seriously, I’ve known a number of people from Ghana, most of whom speak English at least as well I do, if not better.

Aussie researchers are looking at the worldwide trend of nonprofit bicycle kitchens that provide tools, second hand parts and bikes, and help with repairs, as well as offering a hub for community building. That’s true for several LA bike co-ops, including the Bicycle Kitchen, Bikerowave, The Bike Oven and the Ride On! Bike Shop in Leimert Park.

A Kenyon man spent three months riding the 2,700 miles from Malinda, Kenya to Durbin, South Africa to raise funds for orphans, while suffering three crashes along the way.

A Philippine website remembers a 74-year old endurance athlete and medal-winning triathlete who died recently from a stroke, competing for decades after losing his leg in a 1978 bombing that killed his 16-year old brother.

 

Competitive Cycling

Irish cyclist Dan Martin calls it a career after becoming just one of three Irish riders to win a stage in each of the Grand Tours, living up to his promise that he would walk away when he stopped enjoying it.

 

Finally…

Your next bike helmet could look like a turtle and unfold with the pull of a string. Arnold has to tell his ebike “I’ll be back” after being spotted with a plastic boot on his leg.

And apparently, blue is for boys and pink is for girls — even when it comes to pro cycling kits.

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

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

Morning Links: Driving on Ballona Creek, SaMo sued over Lyft scooter trip-and-fall, and December die-in at City Hall

November 13, 2019 / / 3 comments

When is a bike path not a bike path?

When it unexpectedly turns into a roadway for lost drivers.

Josh Hamilton forwarded this photo he took Tuesday morning on the Ballona Creek Bike Path in Culver City, along with the following note.

Longtime reader and wanted to share something that happened this morning.

Turns out there is nothing preventing cars from entering the bike path at Sepulveda Blvd (and minimal signage) and 2 people in a car accidentally drove onto the Ballona Creek Bike Path. They were driving slowly when I stopped and spoke with them near the pedestrian bridge at the school next to the path.

I assume they were foreign tourists as they were in what seemed like a rental car with out of state plates and they didn’t speak English. They mistakenly had Google Maps set to bicycle directions. They were concerned and clearly meant no harm, but it’s clearly an issue if drivers can just enter the bike path on accident or on purpose.

Then again, it seems to be a problem other places, too.

Photo of the unprotected entrance to the Ballona Creek Bike Path from Google Maps; photo of car on bike path by Josh Hamilton.

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Santa Monica voted to extend their e-scooter and bikeshare program another six months, until it can be replaced with a more comprehensive program.

Even though an 88-year old woman is suing Santa Monica, Lyft and the Santa Monica Community College District after suffering multiple hip, pelvis and elbow fractures when she tripped over a Lyft scooter that had been illegally left in a no scooter zone in front of the school.

It had been left on the sidewalk next to a passenger drop-off zone where the city had instituted a scooter “no deployment zone,” but allegedly failed to enforce it.

I’ve long supported micromobility to reduce the numbers of cars on the street and vehicle miles traveled.

Long being a relative term, since they first hit the streets just two years ago.

But inherent in that support is the need to use them responsibly. Which does not include leaving them where they block sidewalks or other places where people can trip on them.

A successful micromobility program demands safe places to ride the devices, as well as safe places to park them.

We need a complete, comprehensive network of bike lanes throughout every city in the LA area, along with secure, in-street bicycle, bikeshare and scooter parking on every block.

Whoever left that scooter there in violation of the rules, whether it was the last person to use it or someone who moved it there, is who’s really responsible for harming an elderly woman.

And they’re extremely lucky that’s all it was.

Instead, every resident of Santa Monica will be on the hook for that one person’s carelessness.

Thanks to Andrew Goldstein for the heads-up.

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This time they gave us plenty of notice.

So mark your calendar for December 3rd, when LA bike riders will hold a die-in on the steps of city hall.

Let’s there’s at least one person on the ground for each of the 28 people on bicycles killed in LA County so far this year — half of them in the City of Los Angeles.

And those numbers will continue to grow until Vision Zero finally becomes more than just a feel-good slogan for our elected leaders.

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A woman was injured when she was left crossed by a motorist pulling into a driveway during last weekend’s Tour de Foothills in Upland.

No word yet on how serious her injuries are.

Thanks to CiclaValley’s Zachary Rynew and Erik Griswold for the video.

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This is who we share the roads with.

Alleged drunk driver Carlo Adrian Navarro has been charged with murder for the Halloween night crash that killed an entire family in Long Beach.

The 20-year old man faces up to life in prison for the crash that killed a mother, father and their three-year old son as they were trick-or-treating.

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Thanks to the Beverly Hills PD for keeping the streets safe from people driving without a valid sofa license.

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The Orange County Bicycle Coalition sends word that half the Seal Beach Blvd bike lanes will be closed for the next six weeks.

Speaking of which, Orange County didn’t quite turn out as promised.

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

Someone has been smearing shit under the handlebars of DC bikeshares.

A road raging London driver screamed at a bicyclist to get in the bike lane, apparently unaware that bike riders don’t have to use them in the UK. Or maybe he was just pissed off about having to pay for a tiny fraction of it.

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

Seriously, if you’re taking up more than one seat on the train, move your damn ass if someone else needs one.

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Local

No surprise here. Uber is taking Los Angeles to court to prevent getting banned over their refusal to share use data with the city.

UCLA police are cracking down on scofflaw scooter users.

A USC editor talks about his bike commute, and says LA’s bikeability could use some improvements. Meanwhile, a writer for the school paper says distracted bicycling has to be banned on campus. Just wait until the New York Times tells him about distracted walking.

Bruce Willis is one of us, taking up bicycling after he sold his motorcycles and donated the profits to support active and retired soldiers. Although you can’t win with the British tabloids, who criticize people who don’t wear helmets and ridicule them if they do.

Get a ticket riding in the South Bay, and you could find yourself in bike traffic school.

It’s a tad too late for this month. But you might want to mark your calendar for next month’s full moon ride in Long Beach.

 

State

Cycling News offers photos from Peter Sagan’s three-day Sagan Roadie-Oh! in San Diego last weekend.

A board member with the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition says criticism from a man who failed to get elected to the board was off base, because he simply failed to convince enough people to vote for him.

San Diego mountain biker Nate Marroquin will walk into med school next summer, despite breaking his back in a fall that left him paralyzed last year.

A bike-riding serial killer will face trial for attacking a number of mostly homeless people in San Diego, killing four and injuring several others.

A Ventura neighborhood will get new sidewalks and bike lanes.

It takes a major schmuck to steal a trailer from a Fresno bike club, along with the mountain and cross bikes inside.

A San Jose columnist says yes, green lanes are important.

Sad news from the Bay Area, where a San Francisco man suffered life-threatening injuries in a collision while riding his bicycle. Let’s hope he pulls through, and makes a fast and full recovery.

San Francisco is making plans to lower the speed limit from 25 mph to 20 mph on narrow residential streets, even though that requires changing or repealing the state’s deadly 85th Percentile Law.

Berkeley considers instituting a sort-of Idaho Stop Law by asking police to de-emphasize ticketing riders who treat stops as yields, and red light like stop signs.

 

National

RideApart considers what tools you should carry on your bike.

Liberal think tank Center for American Progress says all-of-the-above transportation strategies won’t work. And what has to go is the country’s over-reliance on motor vehicles.

That’s more like it. A Denver driver gets some real justice for right hooking a bike rider, when a judge sentenced her to 50 hours of community service — to be served with a bicycling organization.

The Chicago Tribune offers tips one how to choose the best foldie. Oddly, they recommend a Schwinn, which has got to be one of the few times that’s happened since the ’60s.

Streetsblog says don’t blame the victim after a woman was killed when she was right hooked by a garbage truck.

Call it the two-wheeled Indy 500. IndyCar racer Tony Kanaan is one of us, riding 500 miles in a typical week. He considers the 56-mile bike leg of a triathlon a light day.

Speaking of Indy, a student at Indiana University has started a petition to remake Breaking Away with a female cast; the movie is based on the university’s annual Little 500. I’m all for it if Dennis Christopher they let reprise his role; Dave Stohler would a hell of a bike coach. And yes, I signed the petition.

A Rhode Island construction company is threatening to build apartments on a new bike path, claiming the state doesn’t own the land it built it on.

The New York Times recommends ped-assist bikes to help new mountain bikes gain confidence and fitness.

The NY Times also piles on with the victim blaming by offering tips on how to stop your distracted walking. Unlike distracted driving, no one has ever been killed by a distracted pedestrian. And there are few, if any, stats to support the idea that there has been a rash of distracted walking deaths.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a three-wheeled adaptive bike a Pennsylvania special needs man used to get to work.

Bicycling checks in with ex-Tour de France winner and new Amish Country hemp mogul Floyd Landis.

Sure, that’s credible. A Florida hit-and-run driver who killed a man riding his bike claimed he didn’t know he hit anyone. And just happened to buy some spray paint and repaint his truck.

After someone stole the bicycle a retired cop and stroke survivor used as his only form of exercise, kindhearted Florida sheriff’s deputies pitched in to buy him a new one.

 

International

A new study confirms that helmet laws drive down bicycling rates — but also finds that helmet use corresponds with a higher rate of upper body injuries. Before you throw your helmet away, bear in mind that correlation does not equal causation. And a wrecked shoulder is better than a wrecked skull.

That’s more like it. A Calgary man could face up to life in prison for the meth-fueled hit-and-run that killed a 15-year old boy and seriously injured his friend as they were riding their bikes; prosecutors waived 11 other charges against the man, who was driving a stolen vehicle without a valid driver’s license.

Seriously? The British government is allowing thousands of wild duck eggs to be destroyed because they might, potentially, grow up and walk in front of a bike rider someday.

Meital Weiss is one of us, too. She’s a 12-year old Israeli girl paralyzed from the waist down since she was 10 months old, who will celebrate her bat mitzvah by trading her wheelchair for a handcycle and ride to raise funds for the rehab hospital that cared for her. And that makes her a celeb — and a hero — in my book.

Aussie researchers consider why people fail at riding a bicycle, and how we can learn to fail better. And how you can tell where someone is in their commitment to ride by where they keep their bikes.

A Hong Kong bikeshare firm suffers a timely system breakdown, which just happened to make free bikes available to students and protesters.

Your next Chinese-made ebike could cost $425 and fold down to the size of a very large sheet of paper. Although that looks more like a scooter to me. And doesn’t have any pedals.

 

Competitive Cycling

Sad news from Australia, where five-time Paralympic medalist Kieran Modra was killed in a collision while he was riding to meet family members for a bike ride.

Eighty-three-year old French cycling great Raymond Poulidor passed away on Wednesday; he had eight Tour de France podiums in his 15-year career in the ’60s and early ’70s, but never wore the yellow jersey.

Cycling legend Eddy Merckx says he could have been a goner following his mid-October bike crash, if not a nurse who happened to be passing by.

 

Finally…

Forget that business degree; now you can major in bikes. You may never be a world champ mountain biker, but at least you can own his bike.

And riding your bike the wrong way on a freeway is not the recommended way to escape from the cops.

Even if it works.

 

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

Traffic throttling bike net neutrality protest, Peter Flax interviewed on podcast, and when animals attack

February 1, 2018 / / One comment

Call it a brilliant metaphor for net neutrality.

Or maybe just another way to get drivers pissed off at people on bikes.

A video director protested the FCC’s decision to roll back net neutrality by deliberately throttling traffic.

Rob Bliss made his point by slowly riding his bicycle in front of lines of backed-up drivers outside the DC offices of the Federal Communications Commission.

Then giving drivers the opportunity to go around him.

For $5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXI3H6Kd3K4

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Red Kite Prayer’s The Paceline Tandem podcast talks with LA bike scribe and beachfront bike commuter Peter Flax.

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Local

The Daily News asks what’s next for LA’s Vision Zero, after traffic deaths fell well short of the city’s goal of a 20% reduction by 2017. Then again, meeting that goal was never realistic, especially when the city didn’t even do anything until last year — then ripped out the lane reductions in Playa del Rey when drivers went berserk.

Speaking of Vision Zero, KPCC looks at the changes currently underway on Spring Street in DTLA, and how the improvements — including a left-side protected bike lane — could help cut traffic deaths. Especially if LA drivers and business owners start to realize a bike lane isn’t the end of the world, so they can go in more places.

A Burbank bike advocate is fighting the ban on bikes on the Mariposa Street over the LA River — and a citation for violating it — calling it unenforceable. It’s also ridiculous and unfair, put in place at the urging of equestrians who said bicyclists couldn’t be trusted to walk their bikes around horses.

 

State

Your next Bay Area Uber may not have a driver — or four wheels, for that matter.

A Marin columnist is back at it, complaining that sharing the road means drivers should get 100% of a new bridge at peak hours. And bike riders and pedestrians can have their own lane, but only once the people in cars are done with it.

 

National

Writing for CyclingTips, James Huang says maybe the bike industry would do a little better if it marketed itself based on how much fun road cycling is, rather than focusing on the joys of suffering.

Washington state is considering adopting the same ebike regulations that were pioneered in California.

A missing link in a Seattle bikeway receives environmental clearance, although opponents threaten to sue to stop it for the third time.

A Wyoming task force calls on the state to spend $10 million a year to create more walkable main streets, community pathways and rural bicycling routes in the sparsely populated state.

Bicycling offers six things you can learn from Fargo ND bicyclists who ride in sub-zero temperatures. Like maybe that even the worst LA winters aren’t so bad.

No, a New Orleans pedestrian wasn’t robbed by a group of cyclists; he was robbed by a group of teenagers who happened to be riding bicycles.

 

International

One more trip to add to your bicycle bucket list — bicycling the volcanic craters and tropical forests of the Azores. Unless maybe you’d rather ride through the French Alps.

A letter writer in the Guardian says riding an ebike isn’t cheating.

A Bristol, England newspaper begs to differ with a city councilor who says replacing a footbridge with a bike crossing is “a scandalous waste of public money” and “pandering to the cycling lobby.”

The war on bikes goes on, as a road raging British driver nearly runs a bike rider off the road, then blocks his way by driving in slow motion.

Nearly 200 bike riders were injured on Edinburg tram tracks in a seven year period; authorities say many never got back on their bikes again.

Aussie bike riders are urged to use bike cams to record dangerous drivers, though a motoring group says it’s likely to inflame tensions. Actually, it’s a good idea for everyone, regardless of where you ride; I use a helmet cam every time I ride in traffic. And no, it’s never enraged anyone, though it has caused a few angry drivers to back down once they realized they were on candid camera.

Brisbane, Australia considers a trial suspension of the city’s mandatory bike helmet law for the city’s bikeshare system. Although one city councilmember says he’d rather have separated bike lanes to get riders out of the way of cars and pedestrians.

An Australian driver claims it’s not his fault he killed a bike rider because he was totally zoned out behind the wheel, and doesn’t remember hitting anyone, possibly because of his diabetes or sleep apnea or something. Sure, let’s go with that.

A Kiwi bike rider is knocked off his bike braving the waves along a beachside street during a king tide.

 

Competitive Cycling

Twelve cyclists competing in the Tour of Costa Rica have tested positive for EPO, including the race winner. But sure, the era of doping is over, right? 

Retired pro cyclist Thomas Voeckler says it wouldn’t surprise him if Lance had motor doped. And he’s sure other cyclists did in the past, but that new tests have stamped it out. Just like they’ve put an end to every other form of cheating.

 

Finally…

Now you can ride on the handlebars all by yourself. Apparently, crashing your bike into a car can lead to a career in fashion.

And evidently, kangaroos aren’t the only animals that have it out for us. Thanks to Neal Henderson for the heads-up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y85asfrxBo

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

Morning Links: Serious sentence for a serious crime, memorial for 9-year old victim, and blame drivers, not bikes

November 23, 2015 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Serious sentence for a serious crime, memorial for 9-year old victim, and blame drivers, not bikes

They continue to take traffic crime seriously in Orange County.

An unlicensed drunk driver got 18 years — yes, years, not months — for fleeing the scene after killing an elderly woman and injuring her blind grandson as they stood in a Santa Ana bike lane to observe fireworks on the 4th of July in 2013.

When she was arrested two hours later, Kelly Michele Wolfe had a blood alcohol level of .31, nearly four times the legal limit.

Now she’s going to have a very long time to sober up.

Maybe someone should tell the LA DA this is what can happen when you don’t bargain away all the serious charges.

Thanks to Jeffrey Fylling for the heads-up.

………

Hundreds of mourners turned out on Sunday to remember the nine-year old boy killed while riding his bike in Irvine on Sunday.

He was a recent Chinese immigrant whose parents had come here looking for a better life.

Instead, they lost a son to this country’s deadly streets.

………

Great piece from Boyonabike, who says we should “tell car companies to take cynical marketing gimmicks like ‘Volvo Life Paint’ and shove it where the sun don’t shine.”

Because, he says, the real problem is dangerous and distracted drivers, a lack of safe infrastructure, and a “car culture that sells cars on TV by overt appeals to fantasies of speed and danger”

Seriously, read it, already.

………

Local

The LACBC’s Eric Bruins examines the investment priorities for a proposed transportation ballet measure.

The editor of USC’s Daily Trojan says bikeshare has the potential to revolutionize transit in Los Angeles if anyone actually uses it, while a writer for the Los Angeles News Group questions if people will pay $3.50 a trip to ride a bike.

Western Avenue in Palos Verdes could trade street parking for buffered bike lanes; for a change, the primary concern of local residents isn’t over the loss of parking spaces.

Writing for Orange 20 Bikes, Rick Risemberg offers advice on how to winterize your riding to prepare for El Niño and what passes for winter in the City of Angels.

Santa Clarita wants your opinion on the city’s off-street biking trails.

People for Bikes looks at Burbank’s own Pure Fix Cycles.

 

State

A San Jose cyclist is killed in a collision after allegedly bicycling under the influence; no word on why police think he’d been drinking.

San Francisco completes its 24th Vision Zero bike and pedestrian safety project three months ahead of schedule. Which puts it about 23 ahead of LA.

 

National

Great news from Arizona, as former US Representative Gabby Giffords takes her recumbent on a 40 mile ride less than five years after her near-fatal shooting.

Evidently, a Colorado letter writer really hates bike lanes; he condemns any government official who puts more than 20 cents into bike lane construction to suffer an eternity of spilling hot coffee in their laps while driving.

A Colorado mountain biker relates the frightening story of how he got lost for nearly two days after falling into a river during a recent Costa Rican race.

A discussion of installing crosstown bike lanes in New York’s Upper East Side draws little opposition, even if one community board member says bicyclists’ lawlessness has resulted in a “complete and total Armageddon.” Not to exaggerate or anything.

A Philadelphia magazine explores the challenges of being African American in white suburbia, including a troubling story of black teenagers just out for a bike ride.

The World Championships didn’t turn out to be the financial windfall for the Richmond area that had been promised.

 

International

London’s Cycling Commissioner says banning large trucks during rush hour won’t save as many lives as making trucks safer and building protected bike lanes. He also called a reporter a liar over claims bike riders weren’t using one of the city’s new cycle superhighways.

London plans to close a busy and dangerous junction in the heart of the city to motor vehicles for at least five years to improve safety and “all round congeniality,” while making more room for bikes and pedestrians.

A UK publication says leave the car at home if you don’t want to die young.

Two Brit bike thieves have been jailed for a long running con; they’d leave a laptop bag as security for taking a bike for a test ride, which turned out to hold nothing but books when they didn’t return. They’d gotten away with 23 bikes worth $93,000 before they were caught.

A British woman is left with a broken hip after a collision with a sidewalk-riding bicyclist. But if he just rode off without stopping, how do they know he had a foreign accent?

Forty Americans biked the length of Israel to show support for the Israeli military.

An 18-year old South African man designed and built his own very cool custom bike from scratch.

An Aussie website says it may be time to rethink the country’s bike helmet requirement.

A Kiwi earthmoving company has installed cameras with a dashboard monitor in their trucks to eliminate blind spots that put cyclists and pedestrians at risk.

A five-year old Chinese boy is able to ride his bike again after getting a 3D-printed hand.

Japanese police are looking for a man who smacked a woman in the head with a blunt object after her clothes somehow got caught in his bike when he rode up behind her.

 

Finally…

Evidently, it’s okay to steal a bike from a celebrity restaurant as long as you’re a hunk with washboard abs. If you’re going to use a bike as your getaway vehicle after robbing a bank, wearing a cycling cap sets the right stylistic tone.

And who says beautiful bikes don’t grow on trees?

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Thanks to Wes High and Matthew Robertson for their donations to support this site. Thanks to their generosity, the first ever Biking in LA Holiday Fund Drive is now up to, uh, three contributions!

Category: Bikes & the Law, Legal Cases, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Weekend Links: Bikes vs Cars, weekend events, a dangerous intersection and good news from Newport Beach

October 3, 2015 / / Comments Off on Weekend Links: Bikes vs Cars, weekend events, a dangerous intersection and good news from Newport Beach

You really don’t want to drive to see Bikes vs Cars, do you?

The documentary is screening in a free outdoor showing Sunday night at the Bowtie Project as part of the Ambulante Film Festival.

There will be a free bike valet, and at least three feeder rides, starting from North Hollywood, Exposition Park/USC, Glendale and El Sereno Parkett.

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A few other notable events this weekend.

The SoCalCross Prestige Series: SCOS2 Krosstoberfest cyclocross races roll in Long Beach’s El Dorado Park today.

Update: Bike SGV is hosting a free, family-friendly Ride to the Twenties Festival at the Workman Homestead Museum Saturday afternoon. My apologies for not mentioning this earlier.

The LACBC’s Sunday Funday Ride rolls through Pasadena this Sunday.

Metro’s Rideshare Week starts Sunday.

And on the 10th, women are invited to join Hrach and the Velo Studio crew for a gentle road ride through Griffith Park.

………

Margaret Wehbi sends word of a dangerous intersection at 135th St and La Cienega Blvd in the Wiseburn section of unincorporated LA County, near Hawthorne, where a young girl was hit by a car while riding to school.

She adds that the person who posted the notice dictated her comments, and apologized for the errors.

Screen Shot 2015-09-30 at September 30, 2015 15.25.00

Apparently, the girl suffered a broken growth plate, and will be in a sling for awhile. And both she and her mother have been traumatized by the incident.

………

Good news from Newport Beach, as a 14-year old girl who was the victim of a hit-and-run while riding her bike has made a full recovery.

Meanwhile, the driver turned himself in, and could face up to a year in jail and a fine of as much as $10,000.

Although I always question whether hit-and-run drivers who come forward a day or two later just gave themselves enough time to sober up.

Thanks to Amy Senk for the heads-up.

………

A writer for Sky News celebrates Peter Sagan’s victory at the world’s last week, saying the people’s champion is now the world champion.

World cyclocross champ Mathieu van der Poel is out for the foreseeable future after surgery for a knee injury suffered in an August crash.

And a car racing tour steals a page from bike racing’s book by introducing a team time trial.

………

Local

Better Bike’s Mark Elliot calls for traffic mitigation to protect the safety of bicyclists during the reconstruction of Santa Monica Blvd.

A letter writer in the Times says while 11-year old Matty Grossman wants a safe place to ride his bike, her son can’t walk home from school because of the cut-through traffic caused by the Rowena road diet.

LADOT Bike Blog looks at the new California laws to establish traffic diversion schools for bicyclists and a hit-and-run yellow alert system.

Caught on video: CiclaValley watches the owner of H & S bike shops climb the Hollywood Hills wheelie well.

Campus police bust a bike thief at Cal State Northridge on Friday.

Santa Monica’s new Breeze bikeshare system is still on track for a November rollout; the initial test system has proved popular enough that it will be extended past the planned October 1st end date.

Any Hermosa Beach city council candidate who poses for a campaign photo on a fat tire beach bike can’t be all bad.

Get your resume ready. Bike-friendly Long Beach is looking for an assistant city traffic engineer.

 

State

A writer for the Contra Costa Times says too much blood of bicyclists has been spilled on Mt. Diablo. Apparently, drivers have to receive a verbal warning because they don’t have enough sense not to pass on blind curves.

A Palo Alto road diet has won over the city’s skeptics, and will be made permanent after a successful trial phase. Installing road diets on streets like Rowena and North Figueroa on a trial basis could help overcome opposition here, while identifying issues that need to be addressed.

Modesto will conduct a year-long, nearly $300,000 traffic safety campaign, including a focus on bike and pedestrian safety.

 

National

Census data shows bike commuting continues to rise across the US as city’s build more bikeways; Los Angeles is up to 1.3%. However, census data dramatically undercounts the number of transportation cyclists, since it doesn’t include multi-modal commuters who bike part way or people who bike to shop or other destinations.

Talk about a miraculous recovery. A Wisconsin woman turned up at a police station to ask for her bike back after she had been declared brain dead and sent to another hospital as an organ donor.

A Minnesota writer rides with a bike messenger and learns being late is the cardinal sin of the business, even if that means getting back on your bike with a broken hand after flying over the car that cut you off.

Battle Creek MI police conclude no one was at fault for the wreck that killed a cyclist. Except for whoever was responsible for maintaining the crumbling asphalt that caused him to fall in front of a 15-year old driver.

A Harlem bicyclist sues UPS for repeatedly parking in the bike lanes. The same suit could be filed over delivery trucks blocking the bike lanes on Ocean and San Vicente in Santa Monica.

A 25-year old New York teacher who worked with disadvantaged children is honored as a Hometown Hero in Education; sadly, the award came two months after he was killed while riding cross country to raise money for the charity Bike and Build.

A New York writer says NYC cyclists might not have Boulder CO’s 300 miles of off-road pathways, but they enjoy the excitement of riding in the city. And instead of signs warning about puma attacks, they might have to dodge a rat or two.

City Lab looks at the benefits of slower traffic as measured in terms of both money and lives; a New Jersey road diet penciled out at a net benefit of between $2.6 million and $37 million over the 20-year lifespan of the project.

Maybe someone’s trying to tell them something. After a 7,000 rider strong charity ride was pushed back by the papal visit, it’s cancelled after heavy rains and fears of Hurricane Joaquin result in a state of emergency.

Nice. A Pennsylvania sheriff is placing signs reminding drivers of the state’s four-foot passing law on popular bicycling routes.

 

International

Not every cyclist wants a carb-burning workout; a new Brit route planner currently under development promises to get you to your destination with the least amount of effort.

Now you, too, can ride the same bikes that carried the Royal Mail, albeit in a more elephant friendly hue.

Belfast will hold its first ciclovía on Sunday.

The husband of a fallen Dubai cyclist and elephant polo champ leads her former teammates in climbing 100 French passes in 10 days in her honor.

In the latest example of wealthy Arabs behaving badly, a Mercedes driver is wanted in his native United Arab Emirates for a massive, choke-inducing burnout after arguing with a London cyclist.

 

Finally…

It’s never too soon to learn the ABCs of bicycling. Who needs an e-bike when your dogs can do all the work for you?

And the next time you rob a gas station, try using a mask instead of a trash bag over your head before making your escape by bike.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Bike Events, Car vs Bike, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,
 
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