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No bias here.
British gearhead Jeremy Clarkson, the former host of Top Gear and the current Grand Tour host, claimed bike lanes are causing tension between the UK’s “normal people and its raving lunatics.”
He’s got a point, as long as he thinks the people on two wheels are the normal ones.
But then he added this gem.
I sometimes ride a bicycle in London but I am well aware that when I do so, I am a guest in the world of the car.
Which is why I would NEVER cycle on Kensington High Street. It’s too bloody dangerous.
Even though the point of striping bike lanes on the street was to make the street safer for everyone.
Let alone that bike riders have the same right to the roadway that drivers do, in the UK and in the US.
More, in fact, since bike riders aren’t required to have a license, which can be revoked to take away a driver’s privilege — not right — to the road.
If more drivers thought of themselves guests in a world of humans, we’d all be better off.
Meanwhile, bike-riding British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reportedly went ballistic after a bike lane was ripped out in London’s tony Kensington neighborhood, over the objections of the country’s cycling czar.
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This is why people continue to die on our streets.
Rod Stewart was stopped by a Beverly Hills cop for street racing with two friends on a residential street.
The three were driving cars from his sports car collection, including a right-hand drive Lamborghini Countach. And wanted to see how fast they could go between stop signs, hitting 60 mph in the process.
But instead of throwing them all in jail and impounding the cars, or at least ticketing the trio, the cop reportedly got flustered when he saw who was behind the wheel of a high-end Porsche, and let them all go.
So evidently, the law really is different for the rich and famous when they threaten the lives of everyone else on the street than it is for the rest of us.
Got it.
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It’s official.
America’s last remaining Tour de France champ is the first cyclist to be awarded a Congressional Gold Medal, and one of just ten individual athletes to receive the honor.
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Listen to CD5 city council candidate Scott Epstein’s appearance on Bike Talk.
'Cyclist Scott Epstein for LA City Council District 5’ at https://t.co/AOdm4fnu3t @scottforla
— Bike Talk (@biketalkpfk) December 7, 2020
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If you’re looking for a good cause to support, you could do a lot worse than this one.
And do a lot of good in the process.
https://twitter.com/philgaimon/status/1335450733345296393
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What happens when a couple of innocent motorist stumble into a bike bar.
No, the other kind.
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We all wish we could do this sometimes.
Or maybe all the time.
Esto no hubiera pasado si este cruce tuviera un reductor de velocidad. pic.twitter.com/tb00x3tO4S
— Peatónito (@peatonito) December 6, 2020
For the Spanish-challenged among us, like me, that translates to,
This would not have happened if this crossing had a speed bump.
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No surprise here.
The internet took that story about the $1,000 Specialized carbon balance bike and ran with it.
This bike is doing wonders for the cycling meme business. https://t.co/PYTP5w9rQ5 pic.twitter.com/EVmVQkc7tY
— Let's Get Neighborhood Approval to Save the Planet (@ChrisByBike) December 4, 2020
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Follow along as mountain biker Gee Atherton rides a ridiculous series of Ridgeline jumps.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
After a Portland pickup driver subjected a bike-riding couple to a punishment pass, he got out of his truck and threatened to fight them when they tried to confront him at a red light.
An 18-year old New Zealand bicyclist was deliberately knocked off his bike by a driver who yelled and honked at him before swerving into his bike; it marked the third time in two years angry motorists have run him off the road.
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Local
Twitter may think Chris Pratt is a clown. But anyone who takes his kid out for a bike ride is doing oaky in the dad department.
State
Santa Barbara considers options to rebuild or replace a nearly 140-ear old bridge on Mission Canyon Road, including options for a new bike lane.
National
Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss says step away from your Zwift trainer and enjoy the lost art of winter riding, because it’s almost never too cold to ride.
A Kansas City woman rode her bike to get through her divorce; now she’s using it to cope with being newly jobless during the pandemic.
PeopleForBikes blames Chicago’s default 30 mph speed limit for the city’s mediocre bikeability rating, instead of 25 mph in most of the US. Unlike Los Angeles, where drivers universally ignore the 25 mph speed limit on most residential streets. Along with pretty much every other speed limit in the city.
A Syracuse NY bike shop owner couldn’t do any more than watch on security cam as a teenage boy tried to break into his shop on Thanksgiving Day, causing $6,000 in damage even if he wasn’t able to take anything; the kid was caught by police trying to break into another shop down the street.
‘Tis the season. A program developed by the former GM of Philadelphia’s transportation authority just gave away its 1,000th bike to children in need over the past eight years.
No bias here. After a Florida sheriff’s deputy crashed into an ebike rider, they immediately blamed the victim, insisting he crashed into the deputy’s massive SUV while riding in the crosswalk against the Don’t Walk signal. As if the driver had no responsibility to check for anyone using the crosswalk or sidewalk, regardless of whether he was crossing with the light.
International
The World Economic Forum says dockless bikeshare symbolizes the future of our cities.
Cycling Weekly takes a look at health warning signs for bicyclists. I’d also include an inability to maintain muscle mass, which was the first major warning sign of my diabetes and neuropathy, and could have led to a diagnosis and treatment years earlier.
Cycling News looks at the best luxury gifts for bicyclists. Although a decent bike cam is really more of a necessity these days, GoPro or otherwise.
They get it. The UK’s Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents says that bike helmets won’t prevent a crash, but can be an important secondary safety feature if you get in one; the story goes on to address first aid for various bicycling injuries.
Nearly 60 years later, the iconic bicycle designed by Dr. Alex Moulton is still made in the English town of Bradford on Avon. Which is more than an hour away from that other famous Avon town.
Edinburgh bicyclists complain about having to ride in traffic after the city failed to plow the snow from protected bike lanes.
Horrible murder in the UK, where a man was beaten to death after allegedly pushing a 13-year old boy off his bike, when the boy rode too close to him as he was walking to the market. He may have been an ass for pushing the boy off his bike, but it shouldn’t have called for a vigilante death penalty.
A 60-year old Colombian man was killed in a Hong Kong wreck when a firefighter somehow lost control of the fire engine he was driving, striking the victim’s bicycle before crashing into a park car.
Competitive Cycling
Cycling Weekly wonders how far Sepp Kuss can climb in the world of cycling, citing the 26-year old American’s rapid rise in the sport.
Former Tour de France champ Geraint Thomas shared his X-rays to show he was okay after taking a bad fall on a training ride on Sunday.
Heartbreaking news, as 21-year old Italian cyclist Michael Antonelli died of Covid-19; his death came after two years of struggling to recover from major brain trauma suffered in a fall off a cliff in one of his first races after turning pro.
A group of ten cyclists were injured crashing into a police motorcycle on the first lap of an Australian race when a cop leading the peloton stopped to let a car out of a driveway, without realizing they were right behind him; the most seriously injured rider was okay following surgery, after he was initially place in an induced coma with severe leg injuries.
Cycling News recalls the 25 most compelling cycling personalities of the last 25 years.
Rouleur complains about pro cycling’s toxic masculinity problem, saying cyclists should be able to cry like a baby if they feel the need. Seriously? I’d rank podium girls, and pay and race inequalities for women cyclists, far ahead of “big boys don’t cry” on a scale of toxic masculinity in the sport.
Speaking of which, it’s about damn time a woman was named sports director, aka directeur sportif, of a WorldTour cycling team, as Cherie Pridham was hired to manage Israel Start-Up Nation, new home to former TdF champ Chris Froome.
An Aspen CO writer asks Lance to forgive him for being so hard on the former Tour de France champ for his doping, lying and bullying. Um, sure. Let’s go with that.
Finally…
If you want to be an internet sensation, just ride around the world with a cat on your shoulders. When the world gives you a pandemic pub lockdown, start a bicycle beer delivery service.
And that feeling when you find a giant fish carcass on your beachfront bike ride.
Or maybe a 5,000-year old whale.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
