Let’s start with a quick update on AB 530, the new ebike bill sponsored by Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner.
Yesterday I received clarification that the bill doesn’t currently call for ebike licenses, but rather requires that anyone over 16 carry some form of photo ID whenever they ride an ebike.
Which means that anyone without a valid driver’s license will need to have a state ID, or a student or work ID with a photo. Or maybe start carrying a passport when you ride an ebike, even if you’re not planning to cross any international borders.
However, it does call for establishing a working group with a goal of creating a license for ebike riders.
So no ebike licenses for now. But no guarantees down the road, either.
And despite my misreading of the bill, it doesn’t require a bike helmet for Class 3 ebikes capable of speeds up to 28 mph, since that’s already state law.
Image by Maxfoot from Pixabay.
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Yesterday, we learned that a 24-year old mountain biker died after apparently succumbing to extreme heat in the desert east of San Diego, shortly after helping rescue hikers who had become stranded without food or water.
That comes just a day after we mentioned that an Arizona man in his 70s had died of heat-related causes after his bike suffered a flat, and he attempted to walk to a nearby fire station to wait for his wife.
Both serve as tragic reminders of the dangers of the current extreme heat wave gripping the Southwest, which is only predicted to get worse over the coming weekend.
So if you can, try to avoid riding in the heat of the day. Schedule your rides for early in the morning before the heat of the day, or in the evening after the relentless pounding of the sun lets up.
If you do have to ride during the day, try to choose a route closer to the coast, where the air is cooler, or seek out shaded areas as much as possible.
If you have to ride in the city, remember that concrete buildings and dark road surfaces radiate heat far in excess of the already high ambient temperatures.
Wherever you ride, take more water than you think you’ll need, and take frequent breaks in shaded areas.
And remember that a simple mechanical can ruin even the most cautious plans, and keep you out in the sun far longer than intended.
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Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A bike rider in Queens, New York managed to evade pursuing cops in a patrol car, as players and spectators at a local baseball game all stopped to watch.
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Local
The NoHo Arts District asks if LA’s Mobility Plan 2035 will increase bike and pedestrian safety in Los Angeles, after the plan was approved by the city council eight years ago. Short answer — not unless it’s actually implemented, which seems pretty damn unlikely at this point.
Westside Today examines Culver City’s newly enhanced Higuera Street Bridge, which they say prioritizes bicyclists and pedestrians. If they really want to prioritize people walking and riding bikes, get rid of the damn cars.
State
Sheriff’s deputies in Hesperia will conduct a bike and pedestrian safety operation on Wednesday. So ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit line, so you’re not the one who gets ticketed.
Once again, a bike rider is a hero, as a passing bicyclist warned Fresno residents that their home was on fire, and helped one person evacuate the burning home.
A temporary bike path opening this week will restore a bicycling route between Novato and Petaluma closed by a landslide due to storm damage.
A Bay Area television station argues that the bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge remains severely underutilized as it nears the end of a four year pilot program; officials bizarrely claim the bike lane is causing pollution, instead of all those people in the big, smelly machines. Once again mistaking the solution for the problem.
San Francisco public radio station KQED California talks with bike and transportation leaders about how the state can become safer for bicyclists.
National
Bicycling looks at the health benefits of riding a bicycle for older people. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.
The family of fallen masters champ Gwen Inglis won’t oppose a request from Lakewood, Colorado officials to remove her ghost bike, after a single complaint from someone who said it made them feel uncomfortable. Because God knows, we wouldn’t want to do that.
A St. Paul, Minnesota columnist calls the city’s new bike plan “relentlessly ambitious,” while revealing the tension between more expensive protected bike lanes and cheaper quick-build projects.
A St. Paul teenager completed an around the world bike tour, riding through 20 countries in 22 months.
Arkansas officials unveiled plans for a $278 million, 200-mile bikeway connecting four counties in the central part of the state.
More fallout from PeopleForBikes latest ranking of urban bikeability, as Chicago ranked among the nation’s most dangerous cities for people on two wheels, coming in at a pitiful 161st out of 163 big cities.
Heartbreaking news from Indiana, where a Roman Catholic priest who was killed while riding his bicycle last year was credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.
Sad news from New York State, where a man participating in the eight-day Erie Canal Bike Tour was found dead in his tent Sunday morning.
Friends and fellow bicyclists remember 27-year-old Dzhoy Zuckerman, after the purple-clad fixture of the DC bicycling community was murdered just blocks from his home.
International
Inside EVs asks if ebike digital drives could mark the end of sprockets and chains.
Spain’s upcoming national elections put bike lanes and low-emission zones in the crosshairs of rightist-run cities, with the most likely outcome a coalition government that could reverse the county’s progress on climate goals.
Competitive Cycling
Velo examines how Tour de France leader Jonas Vingegaard shelved the race-ruining anxiety that made him the “worst guy in the peloton to become the “silent assassin” known as the Iceman in just five years.
Five Americans remain in the Tour de France peloton as the race enters its last week, with Sepp Kuss nearing a top ten finish as Vingegaard’s right handlebar man, and Neilson Powless in position to become the first US rider to win the King of the Mountains jersey.
Cyclists participating in the Tour asked fans to behave better, after a selfie-taking spectator hit Sepp Kuss’ handlebars on Sunday, causing a massive pileup.
Road.cc examines what makes a time trial bike so fast. Nothing, if I’m riding it.
Former pro cyclists weigh in on whether the Netflix Tour de France documentary Unchained can grow bicycling in the US.
Transgender women’s cycling champ Austin Killips accused UCI of caving to a cabal of right-wingers, after the international governing body for cycling banned transgender women who transitioned after puberty from participating in women’s races.
Finally…
Why rough it when you can go bike glamping by pulling your own camper behind your bike? That feeling when the annual mountain bike race gets cancelled because of snow — in July.
And you might be able to buy a Tesla ebike one day.
But then you’d have to ride it.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
