Tag Archive for Dia De Los Muertos

Melrose CicLAvia visits the Upside Down, BikeLA hosts Bike Fest Happy Hour, and it pays to pay people to bike to work

October 22, 2025 / / No comments
Day 295 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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You’re invited to the Upside Down next month, after Netflix purchased full sponsorship of the year’s last CicLAvia for a Stranger Things themed open streets event.

Los Angeles, do you copy?

On Sunday, November 23, fans are invited to join the Netflix x CicLAvia—Melrose Ave: Stranger Things 5 One Last Ride – an epic event bringing fans together to bike, skate, or stroll along a car-free stretch of Melrose Ave in celebration of the cultural phenomenon’s fifth and final season.

For one day only, fans will step into the world of Stranger Things with immersive photo ops, pedal-powered activations, live entertainment, merch, giveaways, and an exclusive content drop – all taking place just days before Volume 1 hits Netflix on November 26th at 5pm PT.

We’re going full 1980s, and you’re invited to join the fun: show up as your favorite Hawkins character or monster of the Upside Down, or channel peak ‘80s vibes with neon, leg warmers, windbreakers, or any retro fit.

If that’s not enough for you, fans can also choose to take part in a special quest along the route. Rack up pins by completing various activities on our quest map to unlock additional surprises.

The event is open to all and no RSVP will be needed. Just grab your bike, board, skates, sneakers… even your stroller, and head on out to Melrose Avenue for a day of fun, community, and adventure.

Meanwhile, Active Streets will beat CicLAvia to the punch with the five-mile Corazón de Valle on November 2nd, which is the perfect opportunity to bust out your best Dia de Los Muertos outfit.

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BikeLA, the former Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, will hold their annual Bike Fest fundraiser at Highland Park Brewery on Saturday, November 2nd.

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Apparently, it pays to encourage people to ride a bike.

According to a new report, the UK’s bike to work program contributes the equivalent of $766 million to the British economy.

According to ebike website Cycling Electric,

Work commissioned by the Cycle to Work Alliance has found the economic benefit of the cycle to work scheme to be worth £573 million ‘across retail, productivity, health, and household savings.’

The research found that participants in the scheme saved £1,262 per year by switching out their commute from a car to a cycle, or e-bike and the incentive results in 38% of participants commuting by bike for the very first time.

That works out to $1,689 per person per year, just by ditching their car for a bicycle.

The way it works is you pick out the bicycle and safety gear you want, and your employer buys it for you. Then you pay it back through a monthly salary deduction.

So depending on the price of the bicycle and the payment period, you could turn a profit in the first year. Or pay it off quicker, and turn a profit every year after that.

Cycling Electric calls the program imperfect, because anyone who is unemployed or self-employed is left out, among other issues.

But it still beats the hell out of any bike to work program I know of in this country.

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Streetsblog takes a look at the new Toronto barrier on the 3rd Street bike lane in DTLA.

What do you think of LADOT’s #TorontoBarrier bike lane pilot in #DTLA? Located on 3rd between Spring and Main

— Streetsblog L.A. (@streetsblogla.bsky.social) 2025-10-20T21:15:15.680Z

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

The mean streets of America are getting meaner.

A Portland driver was caught on video repeatedly ramming his SUV into a bike rider protecting a “No Kings” protest rally, yet the cops refused to even cite the driver because they said the victim shouldn’t have been blocking the street in the first place. Which is kinda like saying you can punch someone in the face if they’re jaywalking.

An Arlington, Virginia driver was arrested for intentionally ramming his car into a man on a bicycle, after the two men argued in a parking lot.

A Florida university professor faces an assault charge for knocking a teenager’s bike helmet off, after yelling at him to “slow down” while riding on a sidewalk; meanwhile, another Florida driver was busted for swerving towards a couple kids on ebikes for the crime of riding too fast.

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

An 18-year old ebike rider received a formal trespassing warning after knocking a woman over — while riding inside a Folsom, CA Walmart.

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Local 

Streets For All wants you to back their proposed Los Angeles City Charter reforms at today’s 4 pm Planning and Infrastructure Committee meeting.

Downtown Los Angeles News profiles LA’s Roadrunner Bags, which are handmade in DTLA “by cyclists, for cyclists.”

Culver City will hold a ribbon cutting today for the new Robertson Blvd bus/bike lanes.

Sheriff’s deputies are looking for a 20-year old at-risk man who went missing on a bike ride in Rosemead on Sunday.

 

State

Irvine-based e-truck maker Rivian continues to tease its new ebike — if you can call showing a full photo “teasing.”

A travel website says Stockton is America’s most dangerous city for bicyclists, with a jaw-dropping fatality rate six times the US average.

Berkeley-based travel company Backroads took its staff to Spain’s Costa Blanca to ride bikes just to get a taste of what the area has to offer.

A San Francisco bike ride next month will honor the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, or Ghoton, in the Tibetan language.

The bike lanes on the Bay Area’s Richmond-San Rafael bridge will now only be open to bicycles on Thursday evenings through Sunday, serving as a breakdown lane for cars the rest of the week. Because apparently, cars only break down on weekdays, and people only bike on weekends.

Calbike will host the next California Bike Summit in Sacramento next April.

 

National

Rapha is partnering with USA Cycling in hopes of reversing its eighth consecutive year of red ink. Sure, they may be losing money on every sale, but they make it up in volume.

A Las Vegas letter writer says the driver who killed a 12-year old riding a bike was at fault for not giving her a safe passing distance, but so was the person who illegally parked their SUV in the bike lane, forcing her out into traffic.

Um, okay. A Salt Lake City TV station says a pedestrian was killed in a collision while riding his bicycle across a street. Aside from the obvious tragedy, isn’t that like saying a pedestrian was killed while driving his car?

Horrible news from Colorado, where a man was found guilty of fatally shooting a 10-year old girl in the back after her father mistakenly confronted him about the girl’s stolen bike, firing several shots at the family’s car as they tried to drive away.

A Minnesota man is hoping to get his collection of rare BMX bikes back after someone stole four bikes valued at ten grand from his garage, though he says the sentimental value is worth more than the price tag.

Tragic news from upstate New York, where a 62-year old man was killed when he crashed his bicycle into someone he was riding with. Unfortunately, most of the story is hidden behind a paywall. 

They get it. New York Streetsblog says the problem with ebikes isn’t the relatively sedate ped-assist bikes, it’s the super-fast illegal ones.

A 71-year old North Carolina man was critically injured when he was struck by a driver after swerving into the car’s path — which actually seems to be the case for a change, since the crash was caught on a doorbell cam. The usual warning applies, so be sure you want to see it before you click on the link, because you can’t unsee it afterwards. 

 

International

Cycling Electric considers the year’s best long-range ebikes.

Bike Radar looks at the ten most controversial changes in road-cycling tech from the past century. I mean, who knew that derailleurs were controversial?

A pair of English teenagers were sentenced to three-and-a-half and four years, respectively, for a series of “well-planned,” violent attacks targeting people attempting to buy bicycles through Facebook Marketplace.

British Parliament members published a report calling for lifetime driving bans and stricter mobile phone laws to address a justice system they say is failing families of people killed by drivers.

An inquest ruled that a popular parish priest on the Isle of Wight died of injuries from a bike crash, a full 14 years after he was paralyzed falling off his bicycle.

A group of Dutch tourists learned the hard way to avoid local protests, when their bike tour took them into Valencia, Spain’s Old Town and they were surrounded by angry anti-tourism demonstrators yelling “Fuera, fuera!” (“Out, out”).

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist looks at the winners and losers in pro cycling’s new relegation system, as two French teams got the heave-ho.

The 2028 Tour de France has been bumped up to June to avoid a conflict with the ’28 Los Angeles Olympics, as Luxembourg and Prague contendi for the early Grand Départ.

 

Finally…

Surely, you joust. Now you, too, can give your bike a Diwali glow-up. If you’re going to dare the cops to come get you, try not to fall off your bicycle as you ride away.

And just another sumo wrestler on a bikeshare bike.

https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/1979875604821643695?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1979875604821643695%7Ctwgr%5E420d985aa9e1760605f5b0bef5c1bc68beb168e8%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-21-october-2025-316467

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Morning Links: Owner of Silver Lake hit-and-run car not talking, Solis honors fallen riders, and Ramona hit-and-run prelim

November 4, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Owner of Silver Lake hit-and-run car not talking, Solis honors fallen riders, and Ramona hit-and-run prelim

We mentioned this last week, but it’s worth a reminder. 

The first Monday after Daylight Savings Time ends is often among the most dangerous traffic days of the year. 

Drivers are still adjusting to the time change and the early darkness on their drive home. 

So ride with extra care today, and for the next few days.

And if you’re riding home after dark, put some damn lights on your bike, already.

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The car that was allegedly used in the Silver Lake hit-and-run that left a homeless bike rider severely injured is owned by a woman who works for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The owner of a Glendale auto body shop saw video of the crash, and contacted police after recognizing the car as one he had in his shop; the owner had brought it in claiming she found it vandalized when she got up the next morning.

Unfortunately, she refuses to cooperate with investigators and tell them who was behind the wheel at the time of the crash.

Which means the investigation could be stymied unless police can find a witness or other evidence to show who was driving.

That’s just one more way the law needs to be changed.

In the event of a crash or some other event, the owner of the car should be presumed to be driving, unless they can show that someone else was behind the wheel.

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She gets it.

Thanks to LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis for recognizing the victims of traffic violence with a Dia de los Muertos altar and ghost bike at Grand Park over the weekend.

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A preliminary hearing will be held tomorrow for the alleged hit-and-run driver who critically injured a Ramona woman riding her bike to work last month.

Thirty-four-year old Ramona resident Chase Richard faces up to nine years behind bars on charges of hit-and-run with death or permanent serious injury, and hit-and-run with injury.

He’s currently being held on $2.5 million bail.

His alleged victim, 53-year-old Ramona resident Michelle Scott, remains in a coma with few signs of brain activity over a month after the crash, although she is breathing on her own after being taken off a ventilator.

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Evidently, Orson Welles wasn’t a big fan of cars.

https://twitter.com/BrooklynSpoke/status/1190361787134283777

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

A road raging Irish driver was fined the equivalent of $500 and banned from driving for two years for crushing a bicycle with his car, then backing up and driving over it again, because the rider asked politely to get past him at a red light.

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Local

One bit of very good news today. Roberto Diaz, the then-15-year old South LA boy who was critically injured when he was struck on his bike by a red light-running driver, and dragged 1,500 feet under his car, was finally released from the hospital after three months and a dozen surgeries.

A new street safety group will meet on Saturday the 16th to discuss how to pedestrianize Hollywood Blvd, starting from La Brea to Highland.

Justin Bieber is one of us, as he flashes his tatts riding his bike through Beverly Hills, with an IV still attached.

 

State

A San Diego man will spend the next six years behind bars for beating a 57-year old man to death, who tried using a bicycle to defend himself.

The San Diego Padres — the only major San Diego pro sport team that hasn’t moved to LA yet — will host their annual Pedal for the Cause bike ride to raise funds for local cancer research.

Sad news from Santa Cruz, where a man was killed after his bike somehow went off a cliff.

A San Francisco op-ed says a proposed tax on Uber and Lyft rides won’t work, and will only justify their drivers bad behavior. Like blocking bike lanes.

No bias here. A Marin columnist calls a new protected bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge a boondoggle even before it opens, saying his paper will be counting rush hour bike riders to prove it doesn’t work.

 

National

No, riding an ebike isn’t cheating. But it could put your car out of work.

Omaha, Nebraska considers changing the law to clarify that bike lanes aren’t parking lanes.

A San Antonio, Texas op-ed says it may seem counterintuitive, but if you want less gridlock, reduce road capacity.

They get it, too. Bike riders in Stillwater OK complain that a driver who injured a bicyclist wasn’t ticket for violating the three-foot passing law, saying it would be nice if the city recognized “bicyclists as people that are trying to get from point A to point B just like people in the car.”

A 38-year old Illinois woman with cerebral palsy is still enjoying her freedom on the adult tricycle her uncle built for her 26 years ago.

New York’s bicycle death toll rises to 27 — nearly three times the ten riders killed last year — when an 87-year old man died a day after he was hit by a speeding driver; naturally, the NYPD blamed the victim, even though witnesses said he wasn’t at fault. Some accounts put the city’s bike death toll at 25, after bizarrely excluding two people killed riding ebikes.

Evidently, those “virtually theft-proof” Van Moof ebikes aren’t so theft-proof after all, as New York police are looking for the owner after recovering one a thief was using an electric grinder to make off with.

Gothamist says this could be the beginning of the end for free parking in NYC.

Baton Rouge LA opens a key link in a planned 13-mile bike and pedestrian trail around the city.

A pair of Florida bike riders say they were arrested for running stop signs, although the local sheriff insists that’s not the whole story.

 

International

Road.cc looks at the stats, and concludes we’re not the demons some drivers insist on insisting we are.

It takes a major schmuck to steal a ghost bike for a fallen Canadian bike rider.

A British police investigator somehow concluded that a bike rider who collided with a 79-year old pedestrian as he stepped into the street was doing a remarkable 38 mph at the moment of impact. Even though his Strava account says he was just doing 18.

A ten-year old Edinburgh boy starts an anti-bullying campaign after he was attacked and beaten by a group of older boys, who stole his bicycle.

Evidently, bike thieves start young in Scotland, where a toddler makes off with a balance bike from his daycare, then tries to convince his grandmother he bought it on Amazon.

Cycling Tips offers advice from a Melbourne, Australia psychologist on how to keep riding your bike after you become a father. Or a mother, presumably.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling says there were a lot of problems that led to the demise of next year’s Amgen Tour of California, but a new state law requiring gender pay equity wasn’t one of them.

American pro Peter Stetina says everyone wanted to compete in the AToC, just to race in California. But the race won’t be finishing at the Rose Bowl again any time soon.

 

Finally…

Remember, only one person on a bike. If you’re going for a bike ride, don’t forget your shades — no matter how many legs you have.

And nothing says fall like a jack-o-lantern protected bike lane.

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

Busy bike calendar with Ride Colorado, Spookycross, important meetings and Dia De Los Muertos

October 26, 2013 / / Comments Off on Busy bike calendar with Ride Colorado, Spookycross, important meetings and Dia De Los Muertos

Bike Talk airs every Saturday at 10 am; listen to it live or download the podcast from KPFK.

Bike Long Beach hosts Bike Saturdays every weekend; ride your bike to participating local shops and business throughout the city to get special offers and discounts.

They say every blog post needs a photo. Here's the Corgi in her $4.95 Halloween costume.

They say every blog post needs a photo. Here’s the Corgi in her $4.95 Halloween costume.

The Ghost Bikes of LA exhibit continues through November 16th at the red#5yellow#7 gallery, 4357 Melrose Ave.

If you read this Saturday morning, you may still have time to celebrate the recent bike and pedestrian improvements to Colorado Blvd in Northeast LA with Ride Colorado. Join Councilmember Jose Huizar, Take Back the Boulevard, LADOT, the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council, Safe Moves, and LACBC with a series of events centered around Eagle Rock City Hall, 2035 Colorado Blvd from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm.

The annual Spookycross cyclocross event returns to the Fairplex Stadium Complex in Pomona this weekend, 1101 W McKinley Ave in Pomona. Scheduled events include Saturday’s Spooky Cross costume race for kids and adults, and Sunday’s Krosstoberfest cyclocross race, as well as a family ride, 6k run, kid’s rodeo and bike swap and expo.

The SGV Bike Train and Bike San Gabriel Valley invite you to join in on a Halloween Bike Train and BBQ this Sunday, October 27th from 9 am to 2 pm at the Santa Fe Dam.

Also on Sunday, the Halloween Haunted Hollywood Ride rolls from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd. The easy, 15 mile ride meets at 9 am, rolling at 9:30 for a tour of 20 ghostly haunts, with a bathroom break midway in case they scare the crap out of you. Thanks to Sweet Ride USA for the link; their second episode is online now. 

And one more on Sunday, as the Do Good Bike Ride rolls from 1 Windward Ave in Venice to pick up trash and plant wildflowers on a leisurely two hour, 10 mile ride, departing at 10 am.

Culver City discusses bike parking at Monday’s city council meeting; 7 pm, October 28th, at CC City Hall, 9770 Culver Blvd.

The City of Los Angeles responds to public uproar over plans for the Hyperion-Glendale Bridge Complex by scheduling a public meeting this Monday, October 28th at the Friendship Auditorium, 3201 Riverside Drive. Current plans call for eliminating the promised bike lane contained in the 2010 bike plan, and narrowing the sidewalk and reducing it to one side, while turning the bridge into a dangerously high-speed, virtual freeway that could destroy the surrounding neighborhoods. But other than that…

The LACBC’s Civic Engagement Committee will meet on Wednesday, October 30th to discuss the conjunction of bikes and local politics. The meeting takes place from 6:45 pm to 8:30 on the Mezzanine level of LACBC headquarters, 634 South Spring Street in DTLA. The meeting is open to everyone,; you don’t have to be an LACBC member to attend.

Celebrate the season and honor fallen riders with the Dia De Los Muertos Ride on Friday, November 1st from 7 pm to midnight. Meet at Placita Olivera, aka Olivera Plaza, at 7 pm for face painting and raffles, then ride to visit ghost bike altars on a 30 mile zig-zagging ride; they promise no rider will be left behind.

For riders who prefer to avoid things that bump in the night by honoring the dead in the daytime, you’re invited to join in the Dia De Los Muertos Bici Party Ride on Saturday, November 2nd. Meet at 11:30 am at Placita Olivera, aka Olivera Plaza, to zig-zag through Downtown LA with a mobile altar on the way to the Dia De Los Muertos Festival at Grand Park.

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition invites you to Ride Lankershim for a People Friendly North Hollywood on Saturday, November 2nd. This second Ride Lankershim is being held to educate and inform local residents and businesses about the benefits of proposed bike lanes on NoHo’s main street in the face of opposition, including from the area’s ostensibly bike-friendly councilmember. Meet at 11 am at Metropolis Bikes, 4660 Lankershim Blvd.

The LACBC’s popular Sunday Funday Rides take place on the first Sunday of the month. This month’s ride takes place on Sunday, November 3rd from 8 am to 1 pm with the Fresh Prince of Bel Air Ride, led by LACBC Board Chair Alex Amerri. The ride meets at 8 am in the parking lot of the Wlshire Federal Building, 11000 Wilshire Blvd, rolling at 8:30 to explore the architectural gems of LA’s most exclusive neighborhood.

The 2013 edition of the Beverly Hills Gran Fondo rolls through Rodeo Drive and the Malibu Hills on Sunday, November 3rd, with rides of 47.6 and 90 miles; register online by Saturday, November 2nd. A two-day expo will be held next to the Montage Beverly Hills Hotel; which two days they don’t say, but we’ll assume it’s Saturday and Sunday, November 2nd and 3rd.

The next Metro Bicycle Roundtable takes place on Tuesday, November 5th from 5:30 pm to 7 pm in the Huntington Room of One Gateway Plaza in Downtown LA.

Wednesday, November 6th, popular LA cyclist Will Campbell begins a series of weekly morning bike rides with the Happy Foot Bicycle Club; the ride departs from the Happy Foot/Sad Foot sign at the corner of Benton Way and Sunset Blvd in Silver Lake promptly at 6:30 am.

The next ride in Metro’s series of monthly bike rides in conjunction with CICLE takes place on Sunday, November 16th with The Northridge Diners & Delis Ride; meet at the Northridge Metrolink Station, 8775 Wilbur Ave, at 10:30am.

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition teams with LA Walks to present Let’s Talk About Health: The Public Health Approach to Walking and Biking on Thursday, November 21st from 7 pm to 9 pm. The panel discussion will be held in the Edison Room of LACBC Headquarters, 634 South Spring Street. $10 admission; free for LACBC members and 2013 LA Walks donors.

The Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee meets at 7 pm on the first Tuesday of each even-numbered month; the next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 3rd at the Hollywood Neighborhood City Hall Community Room, 6501 Fountain Ave.

Category: Bike Events / Tags: , , ,
 
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