Tag Archive for economic benefits of biking

Bicycling “disaster for traditional economy,” bike-born antisemitic attack in New York, and LA scores another pitiful bike score

June 24, 2024 / / Comments Off on Bicycling “disaster for traditional economy,” bike-born antisemitic attack in New York, and LA scores another pitiful bike score
Just 190 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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In probably the worst take ever, the CEO the Caribbean-based Euro Exim Bank called bicycling a disaster for the traditional economy.

That’s because bicyclists don’t buy cars, make loan payments, or pay for car repairs. And never mind the reduced healthcare costs because people who ride bikes tend to be healthier than people who drive.

Even though reduced healthcare costs and a healthier population are a net benefit to society, and people who ride bicycles still buy stuff — and have more money left over to do it with.

And if bicycling is such a threat to the traditional economy, maybe it’s the traditional economy that needs to change.

Then again, the billionaire owner of discount Euro airline Ryan Air wasn’t much better, tweeting his discontent over environmentalists and bicyclists with the hashtag #AirTravelOverBicycleRide.

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WTF is wrong with some people?

Police in New York are looking for a bike-riding middle-aged white man bigot who yelled “Fuck you, Jew,” then tossed a bag of dog poop through a driver’s open window before riding off on his bicycle.

Which raises the obvious question of who the hell rides a bike carrying a bag of dog poop?

Never mind that it remains unclear whether or not his intended victim actually was Jewish.

It’s also unclear whether this had anything to do with the current tensions over Gaza, or if it was just some asshole taking advantage of the current tensions.

But regardless of any possible political motives, there’s just no excuse for antisemitism or bigotry of any kind, no matter how you get around. Ever.

Period.

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People For Bikes is out with their seventh annual City Ratings, showing things appear to be getting better for bicycling in the US.

Los Angeles scored a pretty pitiful 25 out of a possible 100, though they cited the passage of the Measure HLA Complete Streets mandate as reason for hope. But at least that’s a little better than last year’s even more pitiful 19.

Meanwhile. Michigan’s carfree Mackinac Island was rated the country’s top city for bicycling, which is a lot easier to do when you don’t have drivers and their big, dangerous machines to contend with.

Outside the US, London leads the UK in bikeability, but the UK continues to trail the rest of Europe.

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There’s another bouncing baby bike lane on the bike-friendly UCLA campus.

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Mark your calendar for a friendly Orange County bike ride at the end of the week. Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the tip.

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It’s now 186 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And three full years 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 new study shows that despite the wailing of local businesses, San Francisco’s centerline Valencia Street bike lane didn’t actually hurt their sales.

Chicago bike advocates are questioning whether city workers really removed a ghost bike by mistake, or if it was taken down in preparation for next month’s NASCAR race in the city.

While Cambridge, Massachusetts drivers fight to halt expansion of bike lanes, a second person has been killed riding a bicycle in the Ivy League town in less than a month, just as PeopleForBikes proclaims it as a top city for bicycling. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

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

American professional skateboarder Tyshawn Jones was kicked off his bicycle by another bike rider while riding in Paris last week, for no apparent reason.

https://twitter.com/TMZ/status/1804186264834576843

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Local 

Good question. The LA Times asks why you should need a driver’s license for a job that doesn’t involve driving?

Police in Los Angeles are looking for a man riding a “distinctive” pink bicycle, who’s accused of fatally stabbing another man before riding off late Saturday afternoon.

 

State

A San Francisco news outlet asks candidates in a city council race if they support the proposed quick-build Frida Kahlo protected bike lane project.

Sad news from Oakland, where a bike rider was killed in a hit-and-run early Friday morning. Thanks again to Megan Lynch.

 

National

A writer for Tom’s Guide says Trek’s $200 CarBack Radar Rear Bike Light is like having eyes in the back of your head, pairing with your smartphone to give you a view of cars approaching from behind.

A columnist for Cycling Weekly bemoans his favorite-ever bike ride, as the effort to repeat it turns from a cherished memory to a nagging reminder of subsequent inadequacy.

A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that childhood bicycling deaths have dropped significantly since 1975. Although that probably reflects a drop in childhood bicycling rates more than any safety improvements. 

The 17 Cherokee bicyclists who took part in the annual Remember the Removal bike ride returned to when it started in Oklahoma, following the nearly 1,000-mile ride that traced the route of the historic Trail of Tears.

Wisconsin conservatives continued to freak out over the Madison edition of the World Naked Bike Ride, after last year’s complaints, with one official insisting they need to protect the children from seeing naked and nearly naked adult bodies on bicycles, and that the participants “desperately need Jesus.” Then again, the need to protect children from the effects of climate change is exactly the point the bike riders were trying to make. 

Pittsburgh is providing adaptive bicycles through the city’s bikeshare program.

When a 12-year old Buffalo NY boy started a lemonade stand to raise money for a new bicycle after his was stolen, a generous stranger gave him a brand new BMX bike, instead.

Iconic artist Edward Hopper was one of us, as New York’s Whitney Museum scheduled a 60-mile bike ride to celebrate the “avid” bicyclist’s 142nd birthday.  But he doesn’t look a day over 131.

Electrek calls the Key Biscayne, Florida ebike ban the “Footloose for ebikes.”

 

International

Is Manchester, England really the booming European Capital of Cycling, or is it just a vague tagline on a t-shirt?

An Irish writer says after doing the math, spending the equivalent of $6,400 for an e-cargo bike didn’t seem outrageous compared to buying a second car.

She gets it. Even in the Netherlands, the same debate goes on, as a spokeswoman for a victim’s support charity says fixing the causes of bicycling crashes should be a higher priority than getting people to wear bike helmets.

The BBC celebrates the “endless dunes, romantic windmills, historic Hanseatic towns and abandoned forts” of Poland’s “glorious” Velo Baltica cycling route along the Baltic Coast.

 

Competitive Cycling

One of the greatest ever women’s cyclists is making an unexpected comeback, after the Netherlands’ Anna van der Breggen announced her return to competition three years after her last race.

Magnus Sheffield and Matteo Jorgenson will join Brandon McNulty on the US cycling team for the Paris Olympics, as the USA attempts to end a 40-year men’s medal drought; Chloe Dygert and Taylor Knibb will take the two women’s spots.

Toronto was transfixed by the city’s long-standing Dunlop Trophy Road Race back in 1894.

Twenty-three-year old Italian cyclist Andrea Piccolo was fired from the US-based EF Education-EasyPost cycling team after he was arrested for carrying human growth hormone into the country.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your ebike conversion kit bursts into flames while you’re riding it. And Sisyphus may have been condemned to push a rock up a hillside for all eternity, but some bicyclists ride up the same hill every time because they want to.

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Thanks to David Erickson for his unexpected donation to help support this site, and keep bringing you all the best bike news everyday, from around the world and around the corner. Donations of any amount, for any reason, are always welcome and appreciated. 

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Study shows bicycling boosts jobs and economy, inspiring comeback by injured rider, and LA Arborteum gets the message

November 24, 2021 / / One comment

I hope you’ll have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow. 

Just take a few minutes to practice an attitude of gratitude, and find something to give thanks for. Even if it’s just making it through another year in these trying times. 

And if you can take a break from stuffing yourself with stuffing, find some time to get out for a bike ride. Take it from me, there are few better days to ride, as long as you make it back before all those drivers high on tryptophan start crawling back home. 

Then come back on Friday, when we’ll officially kick off the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive, and I shamelessly beg for your hard-earned money to help keep this site coming your way every day. 

We’ll be back on Monday with more Morning Links to catch up on anything we missed. And of course, we’ll be here over the weekend if there’s any breaking news.

And yes, that’s the royal “we,” unless you count our intern and spokesdog up there on the left.

Now stay safe, and enjoy the ride. I want to see you back here next week.  

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More proof bicycling pays.

A new report from an academic research company shows that tripling the current level of London bicycling by 2030 would save lives and create jobs, while resulting in a $6.5 billion annual economic dividend.

And that’s on top of the usual benefits like reducing traffic congestion and improving air quality.

Investment in cycleways was one of the best ways of creating jobs through infrastructure spend, more than any other infrastructure project aside from energy efficiency in buildings, reported the TUC’s 2020 study. Thirty-three jobs are created for every $1.4 million invested in walking or cycling infrastructure over a two-year period, found the TUC.

The Bicycle Association’s 32-page report claims that increasing cycling’s modal share to 14% is “realizable” because net-zero ambitions will require a shift from private motor car use to other means, including cycling.

There’s absolutely no reason to believe the same wouldn’t hold true in Los Angeles, or most other major cities. And it should be easier to realize that kind of increase in Los Angeles, with its temperate climate and mostly flat terrain.

All that’s missing is the political will and financial investment to make it happen.

So what the hell are we waiting for?

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This is the cost of traffic violence.

If it’s true about that which does not kill you, one LA bicyclist is going to be pretty damn strong once she gets back on her feet.

Then again, it sounds like she already is.

A reader named Mitchell reached out to me yesterday to ask if I’d heard about Peta Takai, a master’s road and gravel cyclist who was critically injured in a collision while riding on PCH last September.

Apparently, she was riding near La Costa Beach in Malibu when a kid driving the family Range Rover made an illegal U-turn and slammed into her.

She’s been sharing her challenging and inspiring story on Instagram.

As she notes, she has a very long road ahead of her to get her life back, let alone get back on her bike some day.

A crowdfunding page has raised $28,100, easily topping the low $20,000 goal. But given the extent of her injuries, and the months, if not years, of rehab that will be required, that’s likely just a fraction of what she’s going to need.

So if you’ve got a few extra bucks, send them her way. And tell your friends to do the same.

And maybe remember her on Giving Tuesday next week.

Thanks to Mitchell for the heads-up, and hats off to Giant Santa Monica, which I’m told helped raise funds for her.

And you can make that crowdfunding total $28,120 now.

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Maybe we’ll see some decent bike parking at the Arboretum soon.

Fingers crossed.

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

Colorado sheriff’s deputies shared video of an idiot driver who passed a left-turning bike rider at high speed on the wrong side of the road, in what they called “the true definition of a close call.” And they were right.

Once again, a bike rider has been deliberately rammed off the road by a hit-and-run driver in London’s Richmond Park, raising questions as to why drivers are allowed in the park in the first place. Parks are for people, not cars. Period.

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

Police in Ohio are looking for a bank robber who made his getaway on a bicycle, which is rapidly becoming the getaway vehicle of choice for discerning criminals.

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Local

Once again, no news is good news. Right?

 

State

Rancho Santa Margarita’s Felt Bicycles has changed hands again after the company was offloaded to ebike and motorcycle maker Pierer Mobility, just four years after it was sold to Rossignol.

San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge is about to get a 15 mph speed limit for bike riders, with fines ranging from $238 to $490 for anyone caught speeding. The question is whether the limit will be enforceable against riders without a cycling computer or speedometer, who would have no way of knowing they’re exceeding it — especially since there is no statutory requirement to have one on your bike. 

 

National

A new 360° ebike warning system promises to alert riders to the risk of collisions in any direction, and could eventually be upgraded to warn about potholes and other road hazards; it draws power from the ebike’s battery, which is why it can’t currently be used on other bikes.

The Consumer Post offers a roundup of the best Black Friday deals on ebikes and e-scooters. Although I’m firmly in the go outside and buy nothing on Black Friday camp.

Smaller communities are getting creative to promote ebike use, including Colorado’s Roaring Fork Valley, which uses a pair of freestanding solar-powered bikeshare docks to recharge the bikes. They also have a pretty damn good trout stream, too.

More details on the Colorado bike theft ring that stands accused of stealing over $1.5 million worth of mountain bikes from 29 bike shop break-ins, and apparently taking them over the border into Mexico to resell. Thanks to Keith Johnson for the heads-up.

Incredibly bad idea from a Kansas City councilwoman, who proposed an ordinance to give local residents greater control over bike lanes — including the power to remove lanes they don’t like.

Nice gesture from a Wisconsin town, which will feature a float honoring an 89-year old man who rode his own hand-built wooden bicycle, patterned after the first pedal bike, in local parades for over 20 years, after he was killed while riding a bike to his high school reunion.

Sentencing has been delayed for a 74-year old Wisconsin man who pled guilty to hitting a teenage bike rider with his pickup and leaving the boy to die alone in a ditch, as he considers changing his plea and rejecting the deal negotiated by his lawyer.

Boston is experimenting with a road diet on the Harvard Bridge to give more room for bike riders than the existing bike lane, on a bridge with the city’s highest ridership rate.

Strangers came to the aid of a New Orleans woman after she was right-hooked by a hit-and-run driver, and no one showed up in response to a 911 call; police say they responded within six minutes, but no one was there. Which means either someone is lying about the police response, or they went to the wrong location.

This is why you should never confront a bike thief yourself. A Florida man was stabbed after a woman confronted a thief trying to steal her bike, and called her husband for help; he brought along a co-worker who was stabbed by the thief.

 

International

A London bike rider has set a Guinness world record for the largest GPS drawing completed in 12 hours, crafting an image of a mustachioed man overlaid on the city.

Luxury fashion brand Jacquemus is teaming with Dutch ebike maker Van Moof to market their own ebike, joining a long list of fashion brands collaborating with bikemakers.

Dubai continues its crackdown on scofflaw bike riders, as police confiscate an average of nearly 1,000 bicycles a month for the last ten months.

 

Competitive Cycling

Yet another investigation has been launched into the death of 1998 Tour de France winner Marco Pantini, this time focusing on whether others were involved in his apparent drug overdose.

Veteran women’s cyclist Tayler Wiles decries the dearth of young women coming into the sport, placing the blame on the lack of a WorldTour race in the US, after a series of high-level events have fallen off the calendar, including the late, great Tour of California.

 

Finally…

Forget an Apple Car, just make the iBike, instead. Your daily ride could help prevent Alzheimers.

And that pretty well sums it up, alright.

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

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