Today’s common theme is elderly bike riders and drivers.
Although your definition of elderly may vary, most likely depending on how old you are.
A road raging, 70-year old Tiburon, California driver faces charges for following a bike rider in his car before getting out and threatening him with a knife, because he believed his intended victim had hit his car with his hand; the bike rider teamed with a nearby witness to hold the man down until police arrived.
A 69-year old alleged drunken, hit-and-run driver faces up to a decade behind bars for killing a 20-year old Ohio bike rider.
An 80-year old former reporter for the Miami Herald is riding his bike up and down the East Coast chasing weather systems, after spending the last two decades exploring storm systems on the West Coast and the middle of the country.
Tragic news from Florida, where an 88-year old man riding a bike was killed by a 95-year old woman in a Buick as he was attempting to cross a roadway. No word on who was at fault, but the crash once again raises the question of how old is too old to drive.
A Japanese study shows requiring cognitive tests for drivers over 70 can prevent crashes caused by men — but oddly, not by women. However, injuries among bike riders and pedestrians increased as cognitively impaired former drivers took to biking and walking.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Parks workers in Portland, Oregon will be retrained after staffer mistakenly posted a sign banning bikes from unpaved park trails, even though official city policy explicitly allows bicycles.
A London counselor is calling for bike-blocking barriers in front of a pedestrian tunnel under the Thames, despite long-stalled plans to allow bike riding in the tunnel; the two-pound fine for violating the bike ban hasn’t ben raised since 1912.
No bias here. A long-running BBC host agrees with an anti-bike tweet, saying “Too much testosterone squeezed into slightly too little Lycra tends to prove explosive.” Then again, so do broadcasters who are full of shit.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
That feeling when a bunny loses its cottontail in a crash with a speeding Stanford University bike rider. Although someone should tell the Stanford student paper that a tail is not a limb.
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Local
High-end Swiss bikemaker Thömus held a cocktail reception to unveil their new store on Santa Monica’s Montana Ave, and introduce their 25-pound, $6,000 ebike, which they claim is the lightest ebike currently on the market. So, should we be offended that we weren’t invited? Maybe this site is too proletarian for their taste.
Police in Santa Monica will be conducting yet another bike and pedestrian safety operation on Thursday from 6 am to 8 pm, ticketing any traffic violations that could endanger bike riders or pedestrians, regardless of who commits them. Standard protocol applies — ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit lines, at least for that one day, so you’re not the one who gets a ticket.
State
You might want to avoid PCH through Huntington Beach today, after flooding from high tides blocked the highway in both directions at Bolsa Chica Beach on Tuesday; at least part of the highway is expected to remain closed through today.
San Francisco-based Strava offered a mea culpa over the botched rollout of their recent price increases, saying they moved too fast without providing enough clarity on pricing. Yet they didn’t roll back their prices, so they can’t be too sorry.
San Francisco’s Mission Local examines the hit-and-run epidemic, calling it the perfect crime in some ways, since over 70% of Bay Area drivers who flee from crashes get away with it. That number is significantly higher here in Los Angeles, where 92% of hit-and-run drivers are never caught.
National
They get it. Wired says store owners still fight to protect their curbside parking, even though installing protected bike lanes tends to boost local businesses.
That’s more like it. A new bill in the Montana legislature would clarify that ebikes are not motor vehicles, mopeds or off-highway vehicles, and should be allowed anywhere regular bicycles are allowed.
This is why people keep dying on our streets. We mentioned yesterday that an alleged drunken hit-and-run driver was sentenced to up to 15 years behind bars — actually 20 — for killing a 13-year old boy riding his bike; now it turns it he had five previous DUIs, yet could still walk after less than one year with good behavior. Just another example of authorities keeping a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late.
Houston’s transit agency is considering investing half a million dollars to take over the city’s bikeshare system to improve connectivity to buses and trains.
The trial of accused terrorist Sayfullo Saipov is nearing the end, as prosecutors argue he turned a popular New York bike path into a battlefield strewn with mangled bikes and bodies; the Halloween Day, 2017 vehicular attack left eight dead and dozens injured, some permanently. Meanwhile, a Dutch woman met the cop she credits with saving her life after losing both her legs in the attack.
International
Bicycling visits seven massive bike garages around the world they say you have to check out. None of which are in the US, naturally. For a change, read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you.
Road.cc revisits some of the best, worst and weirdest bicycle patents, from Shimano’s 14-speed sprocket to Google’s human flypaper designed to prevent serious injuries by making bike riders and pedestrians stick to the cars that hit them. No, really.
A new study from the UK shows as little as six to nine minutes of vigorous activity — like riding your fast or uphill — is enough to keep your brain working at peak efficiency.
A British CEO is biking 1,000 miles across Europe to raise enough money to remove 40 Russian landmines in Ukraine.
British insurance company ETA examines tactical urbanism and DIY crosswalks, including the efforts of LA’s Crosswalk Collective.
Popular Dutch ebike maker VanMoof is losing money on every bike they sell due to supply chain issues. But they plan to make it up in volume.
Toyota is teaming with French ebike maker Douze to introduce a new flatbed e-cargo bike designed for both businesses and individuals; it can also be configured to carry passengers.
An unidentified 16-year old is facing life in prison after he was convicted of stabbing a Perth, Australia man to death in a dispute over a stolen bicycle; the victim was attempting to reclaim a bike taken from a ten-year old boy.
Competitive Cycling
The US National Mountain Bike Team will now be based in Bentonville, Arkansas. Just like Walmart.
American Quinn Simmons was the surprise winner of the third stage of Argentina’s Vuelta a San Juan; the 22-year old redhead claimed victory on a closed circuit car racing track.
The nascent National Cycling League announced their 2023 schedule, with races planned for Miami, Atlanta, Denver and Washington DC. Which seems to give them a decidedly East Coast bent.
Finally…
Your next bike rack could charge your ebike. Riding your bike with a vision-blocking array of 64 smartphones because you gotta catch ’em all in Pokémon Go.
And Arnold has clearly been one of us for a long time. But let’s hope someone has introduced him to the concept of bike shorts in the years since.
Or underwear, anyway.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
