Tag Archive for Eric Rogers

Morning Links: San Jose driver slams two bike riders, former musher’s epic bike journey, and new human bike record

July 16, 2019 / / 5 comments

Let’s start with this understated quote from a San Jose cop.

“Well, you can imagine, she hit two bicyclists. She’s obviously very shaken up and distraught,” said Tepoorten.

As well she should be.

Considering the woman killed one bike rider and left the other critically injured and clinging to life.

Although something tells me the families and loved ones of the victims are pretty damn distraught, too.

The victims were riding in a marked bike lane when the driver pulled out of a San Jose strip mall parking lot and slammed into them yesterday morning; somehow going fast enough to cause life-threatening injuries to two people, despite just leaving the lot.

“Any time you’re exiting a parking lot, you have yield to pedestrian, vehicle traffic, as well as bicycles. So, the bicyclists would have the right of way because they were already in the roadway traveling southbound on Vistapark,” said Gena Tepoorten of the San Jose Police Department. “She was exiting a parking lot, we know, when this happened.”

Particularly since parking lots are usually controlled with either a stop sign or stop light, suggesting she had to speed through one or the other to cause that much harm.

Thanks to John McBrearty for the heads-up.

………

Earlier this year, my former Iditrod sled dog-mushing brother Eric — former musher and particle physicist, that is, not former brother — wrote a guest post on here describing last year’s epic bike ride from the Pacific Northwest back to his home in western Colorado.

Now he’s off on his latest adventure, a three and a half month bikepacking journey that will take him up to Seattle, down the left coast to Tijuana, and back up to Colorado, hitting a number of national and state parks along the way.

Not to mention a brief layover at BikinginLA world headquarters in Hollywood.

I’m not active on Facebook these days, but you can follow along on his journey there if you want to vicariously take part in the adventure.

And who knows? Maybe we can all talk him into giving a talk once he gets to LA.

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There’s a new world record for the largest human-formed bicycle, beating the effort to promote the Amgen Tour of California at the Rose Bowl earlier this year.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

A road raging Cincinnati, Ohio man is being held on a charge of felonious assault for intentionally swerving in front of a bike rider and dooring him from his moving truck, leaving the victim with serious injuries.

F. Lehnerz forwards video of a road raging driver who brake checked a group of bike riders, then got out of his car to scream at them for the crime of not riding their bikes the way he thought they should. Unfortunately, no word on where this took place.

………

Local

Bike the Vote LA has endorsed environmentalist and professor Loraine Lundquist in the special election for the San Fernando Valley’s 12th Council District.

Visions of Venice Blvd. Seventy-five people turned out to protest the road diet and bike lanes on the Broadway corridor in Long Beach, arguing that they make the street more dangerous. The bike lanes, not the people. Though they probably do, too.

 

State

San Diego drivers are confused by the new parking protected bike lanes in the downtown area.

No bias here. A San Diego weekly says the city’s mayor and a councilmember effectively told local civic groups to drop dead because they didn’t adopt the groups plans for preserving parking in the Mid City area; instead opting to remove 420 mostly unused curbside parking spaces to install protected bike lanes.

The Bay Area’s BART trains will now include straps to secure bicycles in the car’s bike section, allowing bike riders to ride more safely and comfortably, without having to stand and hold their bikes. Let’s hope LA Metro and Metrolink are paying attention.

Only a third of San Francisco’s fatal hit-and-runs result in charges, while a full 40% of the cases go unsolved, leading to heartbreak and frustration for those left behind. On the other hand, only 8% of LA’s hit-and-runs, fatal or otherwise, ever get solved. Thanks to Robert Leone for the link. 

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole two adaptive bicycles from a Sacramental special needs boy who suffers from verbal, physical and intellectual disabilities.

 

National

Bicycling examines the futuristic Fuell Fluid-1 ped-assist ebike designed by engineer and motorcycle racer Erik Buell and Formula 1 designer Frédéric Vasseur. The magazine also lists what they consider the best bike buys on Amazon Prime Day. But check with your favorite local bike shop first before you click the buy button.

No one is using Aspen, Colorado’s new $20,000 bike lockers, even though they rent for just $40 a season and have been moved to other locations to draw more interest. For 40 bucks, I’ll take one if they’ll move it to Los Angeles. Or move me to Aspen. 

An older Boulder CO bike rider wants to know what happened to the formerly common bike courtesy of calling out “On your left!” when passing another rider or pedestrian. Good question, although I’ve found “Passing on your left” to be more effective. But whether you use your voice or a bell, some sort of audible warning should be given.

There’s also a special place in hell for whoever stole a 15-year old Idaho BMX champ’s bike, preventing him from competing this year.

Three bike riders were injured riding over rough railroad tracks on a tune-up ride for Iowa’s popular RAGBRAI, at least one after being directed across by a police officer, despite fire trucks apparently responding to earlier injuries.

A New York website says inadequate traffic enforcement is undermining Vision Zero, as killer drivers too often walk with little or no consequences for taking the life of another human being.

How to tell when an intersection is too dangerous. A bike rider in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood was injured when she was hit by a cab less than a block from where another woman was killed in a crash last month.

A Long Island doctor wants to know if anyone conducted an environmental impact report to determine how many people ride bikes before painting a new bike lane in front of the post office. Maybe someone could explain to the good doctor how bicycling could benefit his patients. Or he could just ask this Albuquerque physician. Then again, he could just be a PhD with no patients, or patience.

A group of Philadelphia seminarians will ride 150 miles in five days, crisscrossing the city to promote religious vocations.

Shreveport police are looking for a car that fled the scene after striking a kid on a bicycle, since it apparently didn’t have a driver. Thanks again to F. Lehnerz for the tip.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana residents are outraged over the murder of a 75-year old community leader who founded the city’s African American history museum; she’d been suffocated and stuffed in the trunk of a car. Sadie Roberts-Joseph was known for coordinating bike giveaways through the museum.

Naples FL is installing bike turn boxes to guide riders through a simple L-turn.

 

International

Not only have the new Vancouver, British Columbia bike lanes not led to the feared traffic Armageddon, after ten years they’ve proven to be even more successful than city leaders originally predicted.

There’s not a hole deep enough for someone heartless enough to flee the scene after killing a 10-year old Ontario, Canada girl as she rode her bike.

The UK considers whether to legalize e-scooters, though it would be kind of hard to shove the genie back into the bottle at this point.

A British neurosurgeon says skip the helmet, arguing that bike helmets are too flimsy and ineffective to do any good, and may encourage risky behavior. He also says people look at him like he’s mad when he rides in his cowboy hat and boots. Which is understandable, considering the relative lack of actual cowboys in the UK.

No bias here. A 60-year old Irish woman says she automatically rules out any man who includes a photo of himself wearing Lycra on a bicycle in his online dating profile.

Tragic news from Kolkata — formerly Calcutta — India, where a seven-year old boy was electrocuted when he went to pick up his bicycle after live wires fell on it overnight.

Inspired by the ciclovia of Bogota, Columbia, the mayor of Seoul, Korea is planning to build a network of uninterrupted bike trails in every direction through the densely populated city.

He gets it. A Vietnamese writer says humanity dies when drivers flee the scene, leaving their victims to die on the street without help.

 

Finally…

Bike sharing for people who don’t want to share their bikes. Apparently, a car’s ragtop roof matters more than whether it had a driver.

And it’s not a good idea to spank a mooning cycling fan if you want to stay in the race.

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

Guest Post: There and back again — a former Iditarod sled dog racer takes the long way home

March 11, 2019 / / 7 comments

It wasn’t that long ago that my oldest brother was chasing his childhood dreams through the frozen tundra.

Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Eric Rogers dreamed of one day moving to Alaska and driving his own dog team through the wilderness.

Then made it come true, leaving behind a successful career as a particle physicist to compete four times in the famed Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

But that was before Eric discovered bicycling. And his dreams shifted from sled dogs to RAAM.

After moving down to the lower 48 a few years ago, he started bikepacking along local trails and backroads, before moving on to short bike touring trips.

This past fall, he set out on an epic solo bike tour from the Pacific Northwest back to his western Colorado home.

And took the scenic route.

Here’s his story, followed by photos from his tour.

………

Why would anyone want to ride their bicycle 2,500 miles?  The answer is I didn’t.  

What I did do was get up in the morning, ride for 50 to 60 miles, stop to set up camp, have dinner and relax before going to bed.  The next morning I repeated the process.  Add some rest days, lather, rinse, and repeat until you get back home and then look at your odometer and by golly I guess maybe I did do it after all.  

So why this route?  I like the Oregon Coast, North Cascades, Glacier, and Yellowstone National Parks, have family in Portland and Idaho Falls and have always wanted to explore the Olympic Peninsula.  Connect the dots and there you have it.  

From Grand Junction you can take the train to Sacramento and change trains to Portland.  Large comfortable seats, friendly staff, no TSA, and for $20 / train you can get roll on / roll off service for your bike.  The staff are not cyclists and don’t know drive side from non-drive side so they ask you to take the bike to the baggage car where they put it in a rack, and pick it up there at the end of the ride (or to change trains) but it is a simple process.  Much easier than boxing your bike to fly or take the bus.  The fires in Northern California did complicate things some, but it all worked out.

So why do it by bicycle?  Besides the fact that I enjoy riding, on a bicycle you are an interesting, and non-threating, person.  People come up to say “hi” and ask what you are doing.  You can meet some of the best folks this way.  

Ready to ride, with kitty litter panniers

In the Olympic National Forest I put a 3 inch nail through the rear tire.  I didn’t think much about it at the time, but riding up Rainy Pass in North Cascades National Park several days later, the bike just didn’t feel right.  I could see ripples in the shoulder pavement and convinced myself that was what I was feeling.  I finally stopped to check the bike, and the rear tire was worn completely through an area the size of a quarter and riding on the Rhino Liner and the nearest bike shop was over 30 miles away.

Luckily Rainy Pass is where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses WA Hwy 20 and a gentleman was doing trail magic there.  Another gentleman going west who had stopped there took me 37 miles east to Winthrop to get a new tire and then 37 miles back to Rainy Pass so I didn’t miss riding through any of the scenery.  Those are the kind of folks I met on the whole trip.

Then how many time have you been driving and seen some incredible sight, but there is nowhere to stop and enjoy it?  On a bicycle you can move to the side, put your foot down and stay as long as you would like.

And there are the hiker / biker campsites.  Oregon State Parks are $8 / person, Washington State Parks are $10 / campsite, Glacier and Yellowstone are $5 (and an Old Fart Pass makes that $2.50!) with no turn away policies.  What a deal!

It was an incredible trip, but if I did it again I’d like to go 2 weeks earlier.  I was leaving Bozeman and intending to ride Hwy 191 through Big Sky to West Yellowstone when I checked the Weather Forecast just for grins – Big Sky (the night’s destination) was supposed to hit 6 degrees for a low. OOPS! Changed plans and took MT 84 to HWY 287. Good Choice. I fought headwinds to the point I really wanted relief. I found a three sided shelter with its back to the wind in the only campground enroute and spent the whole next day waiting out a snowstorm :-).  Luckily the second morning dawned clear and a little warmer and the trip continued.

Then riding home from Idaho Falls at about 7,000 feet elevation in late October got more than a little cold sometimes.  I was riding south 20 miles north of Vernal Utah looking for a place to camp on public land when I spotted a roadside rest area on a ridge in the National Forest overlooking private land in the valley below.  Pretty much exposed to traffic, but having an outhouse is a plus.  I set up camp and called my wife to check in.  Sunset comes early in late October and as the sun went down the temperature dropped dramatically.  The breeze picked up and I sat beside my tent shivering while trying to eat.  Dang!  Right beside me sat a windproof brick outhouse, still a little warm from the setting sun.  Culture be danged, into the outhouse, out of the wind, and ignore any odors!  Luckily it had recently been cleaned and wasn’t near as bad as it could have been – it was supposed to be an adventure, right?  The next morning it was still cold and windy and breakfast was in my unique shelter too.

Then there was Wyoming.  I was going to resupply in Sage WY, but Sage only exists on the map ☺.  There was a train siding there, but nothing else was left.  Not a problem, I always have a day’s food with me.  I wild camped in Fossil Butte National Monument and intended to resupply (now only lunch left) in Kemmerer, but it was 3 miles out of the way and downhill – not a problem I would go right through Carter WY – except Carter was another town that was not there.  The railroad doesn’t stop anymore and there are only 3 house and a couple abandoned buildings left.  OK I’ll resupply in Urie just after I cross I-80.  Urie had a restaurant, but no store.  Luckily Mountain View had a Family Dollar, but I was getting a little concerned.  I learned that in Wyoming, just because the town is on the map doesn’t mean it exists! ☺

There is much more to tell, but space is limited.  Great people, fabulous scenery, doing things I never thought I would do, and burning enough calories to eat anything I wanted.  Life just doesn’t get much better than that!

Eric O Rogers

Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
Rain Forest
Rain Forest
Rain Forest
North Cascades
Coming into Winthrop WA
Eastern WA
Western Montana
Whitefish MT
Whitefish MT
Hiker Biker Site Glacier NP
Swan River Valley MT
Coming into Helena MT
Coming into Helena MT
Before snow – after Bozeman
Before snow – after Bozeman
Madison River – Yellowstone
Madison River – Yellowstone.
Yellowstone
Yellowstone
Lewis River Yellowstone
Grand Teton NP
Grand Teton NP
Grand Teton NP
Western WY
Western WY
Western WY – the town that was not there
Western WY
Flaming Gorge
Local Politicians (Turkeys)
Almost Home
Classy Colorado Motel – the Best Western it is not
Classy Colorado Motel – the Best Western it is not
The Last Camp outside Rangely CO

Category: Guest Columns / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: Bikeways the best way to fight climate change, and buy a steel bike to cut CO2 emissions

September 10, 2018 / / One comment

Want to fight climate change?

Build more and better bikeways.

According to a new British study, the single most cost-effective way to reduce the CO2 emissions causing climate change is to build more bicycle infrastructure.

In fact, if bicycling rose to just 7.5% of urban bike trips globally, it would keep 2.3 gigatons of CO2 emissions out of the atmosphere.

Increase bike modal share to 10%, and that rises to a savings of 11 gigatons of CO2.

And the cost of all that new climate change fighting infrastructure?

Just over $2 billion worldwide. Minus $2 billion, that is.

Which means that bike infrastructure more than pays for itself.

Tell that to the traffic safety deniers. And to LA city councilmembers like Paul Koretz, who profess to fighting climate change while blocking bike lanes in their districts.

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Another way to cut carbon emissions is to buy a steel frame bike, instead of ti, carbon or aluminum. And patch your tubes instead of throwing them away.

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My former Iditarod Sled Dog-driving brother Eric is off on another unsupported solo bike tour.

This time he’s following a route that will take him 2,400 miles from Portland Oregon to Grand Junction, Colorado, hitting five national parks along the way.

And likely riding through some serious winter weather before he makes it home late next month.

Then again, after mushing through the wilderness on the way to Nome in the middle of winter, he should be used to it.

And yes, I’m jealous as hell.

I’ll try to provide updates along the way.

Eric’s bike loaded down with his kitty litter panniers as he sets out on the first day.

Not a bad view for the first night of the tour, as he settles in for the night at Tillamook Bay.

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Local

CiclaValley catches a driver continually weaving in and out of a bike lane to bypass backed up traffic.

 

State

Bad news from Escondido, where a 14-year old boy suffered life-threatening burns when he was hit by a driver while riding his bike, and was trapped underneath the car; police were quick to blame the victim for not having lights on his bike or wearing “safety gear.” Bike riders in California are required to have lights and reflectors after dark, and riders under 18 must wear helmets — even though that would have done nothing to prevent the victim’s burns in this case.

Police in San Luis Obispo are stopping bicyclists and pedestrians for traffic violations, and asking them to post to social media why they were stopped in lieu of receiving a ticket. Although it would be nice if they did the same for drivers, instead of just blaming and shaming potential victims.

 

National

City Lab offers an explainer on how induced demand works. Someone tried to argue last week that induced demand was a myth, based solely on the fact that he chose not to believe it.

Writing for a tech website, an “avid cyclist” calls e-scooters one of the season’s most ridiculous and unnecessary fads, and hopes they die before they kill someone. He seems to see the streets from a windshield perspective, despite having spent a “not-so-small fortune” on bicycles, kits, helmets and gloves.

Life is cheap in Arizona, where a driver was acquitted of murder charges for fatally shooting drunken bike rider following a fight that began because the victim was weaving in and out of traffic.

Heavy rains have forced Madison WI bike riders to find alternative routes, as bike paths in the bike-friendly city have been taken over by ducks and kayaks.

Chicago Streetsblog says buffered bike lanes offer an inexpensive way to prevent doorings.

A Columbus, Ohio writer says the current panic over scooters is nothing new; the arrival of bicycles sparked the same fears over 120 years ago.

A beginning Ohio bike commuter offers advice based on what’s he’s learned.

Four hundred fifty bicyclists are making their way 325 miles across the state of Maine in the sixth annual BikeMaine tour.

An Op-Ed from a Boston bike rider describes the day he was assaulted by a road raging driver while riding in a bike lane — which wouldn’t have happened if the city had built the protected bike lane bicyclists had asked for

A real estate website has identified New York’s most blocked bike lane. LA’s would probably be the new MyFig bike lane across from Staples Center, with nearby 7th Street a close second. But that’s just a guess.

The New York Post’s bike-hating columnist gets exactly what he was after when his latest screed stirs up an angry response, concluding that the people who called him racist for ignoring anyone other than young, white bicyclists are the real racists. Sure, let’s go with that. Nothing like tossing a molotov cocktail into a crowd, then acting innocent when people get upset.

An Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun says it’s time to stop caving into the bike lobby, citing the $850 million in federal TAP funds, and the paltry $3 million spent by the Bike League and People for Bikes to lobby the federal government. Even though TAP funds go for a lot more than just bike lanes. And wait until he finds out how much the feds, states and local governments spend to subsidize motor vehicle traffic. Let alone how much car makers, oil companies and construction firms pay to lobby them.

A Virginia letter writer says expecting bike riders to give a verbal warning is outdated, and they should be required to use a bike bell, instead.

 

International

Bike Radar discusses the “essential pieces of cycling clothing and kit you need” to ride a bike. I can’t begin to say how much I hate stories like this; all you need to ride a bike is pants or shorts, and some sort of shoes. Everything else is optional to a greater or lesser degree.

A Toronto physician’s group calling itself Doctors for Safe Cycling says lowering speed limits and building more protected bike lanes is the prescription for road safety.

Now that’s something to be proud of. A 20-year old British woman became the first blind rider to independently ride a 30-mile trail.

The Guardian says Great Britain needs a boost from ebikes.

An English driver will spend nearly four years behind bars after smashing into a group of randonneurs a year ago, leaving one rider paralyzed and two others injured — then simply driving home despite acknowledging he’d hit “something.”

Do we really want to get into the great bike helmet debate again? Not when it’s as lightweight as this piece from the UK.

Even in the Netherlands, school drop-off points are dangerous places, as a government minister urges parents not to drive, and to walk or bike their kids to school instead.

A century old Kiev, Ukraine velodrome might be the coolest cycling track in Europe.

You’ve got to be kidding. An Australian city puts a series of bike safety signs on hold over fears they could increase liability by acknowledging the streets are dangerous. So apparently, the solution is just to keep them that way.

 

Competitive Cycling

Heartbreaking news, as 27-year old German Olympic and world track sprint cycling champion Kristina Vogel announced her legs are paralyzed, following a crash with another cyclist while training earlier this year that resulted in a severed spinal chord. Yet another reminder that bicycling is a dangerous sport, especially at the highest levels.

Ending a 17-year drought, 22-year old Kate Courtney became the first American since 2001 to win the mountain bike world championship; Denmark’s Annika Langvad finished second, followed by Canadian Emily Batty.

The leader’s jersey change hands once again at the Vuelta a España, where the top four riders are separated by just 47 seconds.

Twenty-three-year old American former mountain biker Sepp Kuss is making an impact at the Vuelta in his first year on the WorldTour, after winning this year’s Tour of Utah.

We probably don’t need to worry about spoilers with the Tour of Britain, where France’s Julian Alaphilippe won the title.

The Dimension Data pro cycling team will reduce the number of African riders as it struggles to maintain its WorldTour status; the team has focused on developing black African riders.

Sad news from Canada, where a 20-year old Edmonton track cyclist is in intensive care after crashing at around 40 mph in a Mexican velodrome.

 

Finally…

Most people usually don’t drink while they’re on their bike. It’s not a tandem bike, it’s an argument machine.

And once again, an Aussie rider is the victim of a rude ‘roo. Or two.

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Join the Militant Angeleno and BikinginLA for the first-ever Militant Angeleno’s Epic CicLAvia Tour at the Celebrate LA! LA Phil 100 CicLAvia on September 30th!

Just RSVP to MilitantAngeleno@gmail.com. We want to guarantee a relatively small group to make sure we can keep the group together, and everyone can hear.

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L’Shana Tova to all marking Rosh Hashanah today!

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

Morning Links: A deep dive into fake bikes, Ford says share the Euro roads, and kid beaten by cops for no helmet

May 29, 2018 / / One comment

Before we get started, I hope you’ll join me in wishing a safe and happy journey to my oldest brother, who switched from Iditarod sled dog racing to dreaming of riding RAAM. And who is setting out today for a month-long bike tour through the Colorado and Wyoming high country.

No, really.

I’m only a lot jealous.

Photo by Eric Rogers, before he left the wilds of Alaska for the slightly more civilized confines of Colorado’s West Slope.

………

Bike Biz takes a deep dive into the world of fake bike gear, with a 20-part series on the wide world of bicycle counterfeiting.

Here’s just a few of the highlights.

Knockoffs are nearly as old as the first bicycle.

People buy Foakleys — aka fake Oakleys — because they feel like they’re being ripped off. And not by the fakes.

Specialized’s fake fighter in chief has been running down counterfeit Specialized parts for the past 10 years, earning the Mandarin nickname “Tiger watching the Tigers.” Meanwhile, lawyers fighting Chinese fakes are just playing whack-a-mole.

How to tell which fakes are safe to use, and which will give out on you.

Your new Pinarello could be spelled a little differently.

You don’t want to count on a counterfeit when your skull is at risk.

And you really don’t want to take on the organized crime triads behind the fakes. But bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid did anyway.

………

Ford says it’s time to share the roads, and see them from someone else’s perspective. At least in Europe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xic8W48LxUc

………

You’ve got to be kidding.

New Zealand police tackle and punch a 13-year old boy for the crime of riding a bicycle in a park without a helmet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yApMwz2rAew

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the tip.

………

A painful read from women’s pro Molly Weaver, who confronts the depression brought on by a series of collisions with drivers, resulting in numerous broken bones and concussions, as she decides to take her leave from the sport.

At the end of the day, the reality is that the majority of us as female cyclists are riding on passion and love for the sport alone. We don’t earn anywhere near a minimum wage, and so once the joy is lost there’s not much else to carry on for.

It’s not an easy read. But it’s worth it for a rare view into the struggles of women’s cyclists.

………

Let’s catch up on a few post-holiday events.

BikinginLA title sponsor Jim Pocrass will join with members of the Santa Monica Police Department to answer your questions about road safety, equity and the rights of bicyclists tomorrow night.

Multicultural Communities for Mobility and Metro’s Bicycle Education Safety Training (BEST) Program are hosting a ride this Saturday to mark Pride Month and remember the victims of the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting this Saturday.

Bike SGV and Women on Wheels are holding a Dam(sel) Ride along the San Gabriel River to the Cogswell Dam on Sunday.

Also on Sunday, LA’s most popular fund raising ride rolls with the LACBC’s 18th annual River Ride along the LA River Bike Path; all the proceeds go to supporting their efforts to bring you a more bikeable LA.

Whatever you do, get out and celebrate World Bicycle Day this Sunday.

………

Local

The Western Avenue Great Streets Project could be expanding in scope based on public feedback, including powder-coated bike racks. But still no safe way to get to them.

The area surrounding UCLA and Westwood Village voted to split off into a separate neighborhood council, which should provide more support for bicycling and other long-stymied activities in the area.

Metro votes to cut prices for the Metro Bike bikeshare and expand the system into Silver Lake, Koreatown and Expo Park, as well as Culver City, Playa Vista and Marina del Rey. But again, without providing safe streets to ride them on.

Streetsblog looks at the new one-block long sort-of protected bike lane on 7th Street in DTLA, which has already proven popular with Uber drivers.

Now that’s impressive. A group of cyclists somehow managed to raise $100,000 by riding 1,000 miles from Watts to Oxnard and back. Especially since the two communities are a little more than 50 miles apart.

 

State

San Francisco walking advocates call for installing a raised intersection to slow traffic and improve safety.

A San Francisco writer says the new litmus test for when you’re too old isn’t how loud the music is, but your tolerance for dockless bikeshare bikes leaned up against trees.

The Oakland bike community is in mourning over the death of the man known to most as Tall Paul, who spent decades building custom bikes and giving them away to kids with good report cards. A crowdfunding campaign has raised a little more than $1,800 of the $8,500 goal to pay for his funeral.

Where to ride on your next trip up to Sacramento and Stockton.

 

National

A new documentary tells the story of a 22-year old American who rode his bike around the world — including a 10,000 mile journey across the Arctic.

Nothing to worry about here. The self-driving Uber car that killed Elaine Herzberg in Tempe, Arizona, spotted her before the crash but didn’t hit the brakes because the company disconnected the car’s automatic braking system.

An Arizona writer considers why some drivers hate us for no apparent reason. Thanks to Frank Lehnerz for the heads-up.

Here’s your chance to ride Colorado’s famed Tour of the Moon course, made famous in the movie American Flyers and the legendary Coors Classic stage race.

Thieves are cutting locks and stealing bicycles in downtown Denver. Which makes it pretty much like every other downtown in the US. And why you need to register your bike now. 

A sports columnist discovers the camaraderie inherent with any bike club, but specifically a Tulsa OK riding club where women turn to deal with health problems and other issues.

Horrible reminder that hit-and-run isn’t just an LA problem, as bike rider was found dead along a Texas highway, the apparent victim of a heartless coward behind the wheel. Thanks to Stephen Katz for the link.

A new exhibit at a Wisconsin art museum considers the art of designing Trek bicycles. Maybe they have a special section in the exhibit on the art of intimidating anyone who — correctly, as it turns out — accused Lance of doping.

Speaking of Wisconsin, if you want to get drunk and ride your bike, move there or one of the other 28 states that don’t have a BUI law on the books. One of which is not California.

Tragic news from Indianapolis, where a man on a bicycle was killed in a crash with a trio of motorcyclists, one of whom also died as a result; witnesses said the motorcycle riders were speeding and popping wheelies before crashing into the bicycle rider.

New York officials knew a bike path was easily accessible to drivers before last year’s Halloween terrorist attack, but did nothing to stop it until it was too late; it’s unclear what permanent changes will be made to protect riders.

Smart. Instead of ticketing kids for performing stunts on their bikes, the Patterson NJ police department hosted a Wheelie Race and Stunts competition.

I know you are but what am I? Someone hacked road signs along a North Carolina triathlon route to call bicyclists idiots and assholes on bikes.

 

International

A writer for Digital Trends says e-mountain bikes straddle the line between extravagance and necessity, while allowing riders to hit the trails without the skill to do it successfully.

The Weather Channel offers advice on how to ride in the Canadian heat. All of which applies here where it gets a lot hotter.

Another reminder to always ride carefully in a group, as an Ontario, Canada cyclist suffered life-threatening injuries in a collision with two other riders in a newly formed bike club.

You don’t need insurance to ride a bicycle in Europe, but you will to ride an ebike if it can go over 15 mph.

London’s walking and bicycling chief says the city’s cyclists are too white, too middle class and too male, with people who don’t match that description making up just 15% of London bike riders. On the other hand, at least they have a walking and bicycling chief, unlike some SoCal metropolises I could name.

Madrid will ban cars from the city center this fall, with the exception of people who actually live there and zero-emission cabs and trucks.

Rihanna is teaming with Chinese dockless bikeshare provider Ofo to give bikes to girls in Malawi to help make education more accessible.

A South African driver gets ten years for killing two bike riders in a 5am crash as he was leaving a nightclub; the wreck reportedly scared several riders off their bikes.

New stickers applied directly to the pavement tell Seoul, Korea cyclists to get off their bikes when using crosswalks.

Great idea. Public bikeshare riders in Taipei, Taiwan will now be automatically insured whenever they rent a bike.

Beijing is about to begin work on a four-mile bicycle highway.

 

Competitive Cycling

By now, it’s no spoiler to say Chris Froome won the Giro with a spectacular solo breakaway on Thursday, becoming one of a handful of cyclists to win all three grand tours.

However, Peter Flax complains that Froome should never have competed under the cloud of a failed drug test, and stirs controversy in the comments by questioning what fueled that ride.

Now Froome turns his attention to winning a record-tying fifth Tour de France, unless that doping cloud turns into a storm. And yes, Lance won seven, but we’re all pretending that never happened.

 

Finally…

Park in a bike path, get a yellow card. Your old bike tires could end up under Canadian horse hooves.

And forget a helmet; be sure to wear your app-controlled brain stimulator.

 

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

From dog sled racing to dreams of RAAM

October 3, 2011 / / 11 comments

Living our dreams has never been a problem for my family.

My sister Penny went from a high school dropout to regional manager of a children’s clothing firm, before starting a second career as an administrator of her son’s school. My brother Jim took up the mandolin several years ago, and now plays bluegrass throughout Northern Colorado.

My brother Eric is the (slightly) less hairy one.

And my oldest brother Eric earned a Ph.D in particle physics before moving on to a career in geophysics and environmental reclamation work. Then walked away to fulfill a life-long dream to run an Alaskan dog sled team.

Not bad for a kid who grew up watching Sgt. Preston in the Valley.

He’s competed in the famed Iditarod four times, finishing three — 1200 miles through the Alaskan wilderness in the dead of winter. The last time he ran, he had his fastest team. But held them back in the face of a severe storm, choosing to protect his dogs over finishing well.

There’s one story, though, that will tell you everything you need to know about my brother Eric.

The one year he didn’t finish, a series of mishaps left him with a broken leg, wrenched shoulder and a frostbite on his foot, forcing him to drop out of the race and seek shelter in a drafty shed, in the face of gale force winds and temperatures well south of 30 below.

But before he settled in to wait for rescue, he made sure his dogs were watered, fed and safe from the storm. Then refused to be evacuated until his team could be rescued, as well.

Now he’s taken up bicycling.

But I’ll let him tell you that story.

………

Eric's new bike, a GT Transeo 3.0

You would think that a grandfather with a Ph. D. in Physics would know better.  It started innocent enough.  We are involuntary retired living on fixed income.   With gas over $4 / galleon and my vehicle being a Silverado 2500 HD 4×4 dog truck (ok just read 8 mpg in town), I was feeling more than a little trapped.  I’ve been listening to Ted’s bike stories for some time, but I hadn’t ridden since I got my driver’s license at 16 (no I won’t tell you how long ago that was),  but just maybe I could ride some of my short errands and save some money.

Rather than buy a bike I might not ride (and really could not afford), I could borrow one and try it.  A good friend had a Wal-Mart mountain bike from Key West just sitting around and loaned it to me.  Ah, the slippery slope.  My first ride was 0.1 miles – from my house everything is downhill – that part went fine.  Riding back my legs almost fell off.  But it was enjoyable in a masochistic kind of way.

A week later I was riding a whole ¼ mile, all the way to the bottom of the hill and back up.  Man how I wished that bike had a grandpa gear!  Two weeks later I rode the 13 miles from my house to my VA appointment (Anchorage has great bike paths).  The feeling of freedom was every bit as good as getting my license at 16.  I was independent and could go wherever and whenever I wanted.  A month later I rode 24 miles to a meeting and rode back again.

I was hooked and went straight to the hard stuff.  Reading stories like “Miles from Nowhere”, discovering the Adventure Cycling and Crazy Guy on a Bike websites – Furnace Creek 508 and RAAM only fueled the fire.  I’ve got a daughter in Goldsboro, NC and visions of riding from Anchorage to see her are dancing in my head.  Time to buy my own bike.

With dreams of long distance touring, but reality of short commutes to meetings and errands, this has got to be a versatile “one size fits all” kind of bike.  I dreamt about riding the Novara Safari or Surly Long Haul Trucker, but choked on the price tag.  I’m haunting Craigslist, ebay, LBS, and REI.  Three weeks ago I found a GT Transeo 3.0 at REI that had been ridden and returned.  A “comfort bike” – I liked the sound of that.  Aluminum frame, front suspension, disc brakes, braze-ons, and best of all, this one had a 22t chain ring – Grandpa gear!

Of course you can’t let a good thing go – I’ve added fenders to ride in the rain (typical August through October weather in Anchorage), a Topeak rack and milk crate, water bottles, lights and lock.  I found studded tires for winter ridding on Craigslist.  I’ve ordered a trekker handlebar from Nashbar that is due next week.

For a guy that has run 4 Iditarods and signed up for the 2012 Yukon Quest, this might be serious.

Pray for me!

Eric

Category: Guest Columns / Tags: , , , , ,

Run over by a riding mower, near-killer PV speed bumps to stay

May 31, 2011 / / 9 comments

As some of you may know, my oldest brother runs a dog team up in the Anchorage area, competing in the famed Iditarod sled dog race four times, and finishing three.

The other left him and his team huddled in a shelter in subzero temperatures, waiting for rescue with a broken sled — not to mention a broken leg, frostbite and a bruised shoulder.

The dogs were just fine, though.

So maybe he was in the market for a safer form of transportation, or one that works a little better once the snow melts. Or maybe, like the rest of us, he was just trying to save a little with the current sky high price of gas.

Regardless, my brother, Eric O. Rogers — perhaps the only particle physicist and dog musher on the planet — has now officially joined the ranks of bike riders.

And promptly gotten himself run over.

By a riding mower.

It seems he rode his bike to the local Lowes home improvement store, and stopped in the parking lot to ask an employee where he could find a bike rack. And as he was stopped on his bike, he was hit by man on a riding lawnmower.

Fortunately, the mower wasn’t in use at the time, and he escaped with nothing more than a little road rash.

And I’m sure you already know the answer to the question that nearly got him turned into mulch.

Lowes, at least that one, doesn’t have bike racks.

………

In a decision that defies common sense, the City Council of Palos Verdes Estates has voted to keep the speed bumps that nearly killed cyclist Richard Schlickman.

As you may recall, Schlickman was critically injured when he hit the newly installed speed bumps — excuse me, speed cushions — while riding downhill at speed, with little or no warning to cyclists that they had been built on a popular riding route. He had been riding downhill at speed when he hit the bumps, sliding nearly 80 feet down the roadway before coming to a stop; fortunately, word is he continues to make slow but steady improvement from what could have been a fatal fall.

But rather than remove or replace the potentially killer cushions, the council inexplicably voted to keep them in place.

Evidently, they haven’t yet crippled or killed enough cyclists in their effort to tame local traffic. Maybe someone should tell them there are alternative methods to calm traffic that don’t put riders lives at risk.

I hope PVE has a good lawyer.

Thanks to Jim Lyle for the heads-up.

………

Hap Dougherty shares another great set of cycling photos. This time, it’s a Memorial Day ride that took him from Westwood’s Los Angeles National Cemetery, throughout the Westside and up the L.A. River Bike Path — home to this weekend’s L.A. River Ride.

It does make you wonder why the cemetery insists on banning bikes, when so many riders just want to pay their respects.

Myself included.

………

Over the weekend I found myself drawn into a discussion on the West Seattle Blog, possibly the nation’s leading hyperlocal news site — sorry Patch — managed by a couple of longtime friends.

One of their readers was shocked and offended to see a cyclist towing his child in a bike trailer, assuming imminent danger — if not death — for the parentally neglected kid.

Problem is, while motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death for children, few, if any, of those deaths result from collisions with bicycle trailers. In terms of sheer numbers, children are at far greater risk riding in a car with their parents, or simply walking on the sidewalk.

One of the writers tried to make the point that even if just one child was killed as a result of riding in a bike trailer, it would be one too many — especially if it was your child.

That conveniently ignores the nearly 7,000 or more passengers killed in motor vehicle collisions each year — many of them children. As well as the more than 4,000 pedestrians of all ages killed every year. Each of whom was someone’s child.

So rather than getting up in arms over a potential, hypothetical danger, we should be concerned about the proven risk posed by careless, aggressive, intoxicated or distracted drivers, who kill over 33,000 people on American streets every year — including a minimum of 630 cyclists.

Sadly, there are none so blind as those who cannot see through the glare of their own windshields.

……..

Finally, thanks to Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious for stopping by to say hi as he passed through town over the weekend, along with his lovely family. It was a true pleasure to finally meet someone I’ve only traded emails with, and who’s work I have always enjoyed and admired.

And while I neglected to take any pictures, he did capture great shot of the new intern, who has been helping more than she knows by sleeping behind the sofa this morning and allowing me to work uninterrupted for a change.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, General / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Extra added post pre-Iditarod post

March 8, 2009 / / One comment

My brother set out on his fourth Iditarod Sled Dog Race this morning, leading a team of 15 dogs 1,150 miles through the frozen tundra of the Great White North. As a recent profile in the local Anchorage paper made clear, he’s not going to win.

To put it in cycling terms, it’s like if you, by some miracle, found yourself riding in the Tour de France.

You know you’re not going to win. But you’re still competing on equal terms with the best riders in the world.

And what could be more cool than that?

Only this. Imagine competing in that race in some of the most forbidding conditions on earth, through snow up to 12 feet deep and temperatures far below freezing, if not far below zero. And your only companions are a team of dogs — experienced athletes in their own right, who love racing every bit as much as you do.

You can follow his progress by visiting the official Iditarod website, and clicking on the link reading View Full Current Standings link. Just look for the name Eric Rogers, bib number 60 — which was also his starting position.

As I write this, he’s just under 4 hours into what should be somewhere around an 8 to 10 day race. And he’s already moved up 25 spots to 35th place.

He won’t win.

But damn, I’m proud of him.

Category: General / Tags: , ,

Extra added non-bike related bonus post

January 11, 2009 / / Comments Off on Extra added non-bike related bonus post

Funny how things work out.

On New Years Day, I wrote about taking chances. Big chances. Like the time I loaded my belongings in my car and started driving across the country, with no destination in mind.  Or when my brother set aside his doctorate in particle physics, and walked away from a successful career to compete in the Iditarod — a 1,200 mile dog sled race through the wilds of Alaska.

A few days later, a writer associated with Fermilab — one of the world’s leading research facilities in the field of high energy physics — did an online search for particle physics.

And somehow, was lead to my humble blog.

Now she’s written about the intersecting point of high-energy hadron deuteron collisions and sled dog racing — i.e., my brother — for Fermilab’s online magazine.

You can read about it here.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , ,
 
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