Tag Archive for Finish the Ride

San Diego County singled-out for ebike exception, volunteer for Finish the Ride, and happy Pedestrian Safety Month

October 4, 2024 / / Comments Off on San Diego County singled-out for ebike exception, volunteer for Finish the Ride, and happy Pedestrian Safety Month
Just 87 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Sorry, kids.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assemblymember Tasha Boerner’s AB 2234, which creates a four-year pilot program allowing San Diego County, or any cities in the county, to ban children under 12 from riding ebikes.

Not that it’s necessarily a bad idea.

It’s asking a lot for a little kid to handle something that can generate significantly more power and speed than they can on their own.

What I’m not comfortable with is giving one county the right to write their own traffic laws and override existing state regulations, leading to a patchwork of laws marked only by a thin line on a map.

What’s legal on one side of the line could be illegal on the other, and they’re expecting little kids to know just where the hell it’s drawn.

If they really want to change the law, change it statewide so it applies to everyone, then study the results so we know whether or not it really made a difference.

Maybe we could start by revising the current ebike classifications to better differentiate between ped-assist electric bicycles and what are in effect throttle-controlled electric motorcycles.

Ebike photo by Maxfoot from Pixabay.

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Finish the Ride is looking for volunteers to help with this month’s event in Santa Clarita.

Ride Marshals are essential for guiding participants through tricky spots, monitoring safety, and providing assistance along the route. Their role is key to creating a safe, enjoyable experience for all riders. From helping with flats to keeping an eye out for heat exhaustion, they serve as both guides and guardians.

Bicyclists interested in becoming Ride Marshals can sign up here (all the details are in the volunteer sign-up sheet). Ideally, marshals will be available on either October 13th or 19th for a run-through of the route at West Creek Park in Santa Clarita before the event on the 27th.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Guiding riders through trouble spots and ensuring safety
  • Monitoring for unsafe behavior and stepping in when necessary
  • Providing updates at pit stops and supporting fellow marshals
  • Assisting with minor repairs, flats, and medical issues
  • Serving as friendly ambassadors while ensuring the event runs smoothly

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It’s time to address pedestrian safety, according to the giant federal agency that allows giant Tesla Trucks and SUVs on the road.

https://twitter.com/NHTSAgov/status/1841100829761101909

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Take a break in your day to watch a little mountain biking on the biggest rock slabs on Earth.

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It’s now 289 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And an even 40 months 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.

No bias here. An “accomplished automotive journalist” suggests that bicyclists may be the new biker gangs — apparently blaming everyone who rides a bicycle for the actions of a few swarms of out-of-control teenagers.

No bias here, either. An active transportation plan bicyclists say will lead to a safe and more pleasant town center for an English city is branded the “biggest, most expensive cat litter tray in history” by disgruntled residents, who say they’re ready to move out because of it. Well, don’t let the door hit you. And empty that litter box on the way out. 

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

At least three parents have done the right — and very hard — thing, turning in their own kids for participating in the bike-riding teenage flash mob that looted several LA-area 7-11s.

A blind British man says he’s worried about simply walking on the sidewalk after a bike rider illegally using it shattered his white cane and hurled abuse at him.

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Local  

The Los Angeles Times examines the race between incumbent Heather Hutt and Grace Yoo for LA’s 10th Council District; Yoo served as a transportation commissioner under former Mayor Villaraigosa, while Hutt chairs the city council transportation committee, and is described as a “champion of transit” and a supporter of Measure HLA.

 

State

A writer for the San Diego Reader considers the ups and downs of riding a bike in the city’s hilly Cel Cerro neighborhood, with a 14% grade leading up to his home.

A 21-year old Aussie law student and competitive swimmer received a $167.5 settlement after the bicycle he rented on a visit to San Francisco came apart as he was riding it, throwing him over the handlebars.

 

National

Streetsblog looks at eight ways people re-imagined parking spaces from last month’s Park(ing) Day, which seems to have come and gone with little notice here in LA.

Strong Towns says whether bike lanes cause or reduce congestion asking is the wrong question.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole an Austin, Texas ghost bike for a 74-year old hit-and-run victim for the third time.

Life is cheap in Connecticut, where the hit-and-run driver who killed a 69-year old high school custodian as he rode his bike got a lousy two years behind bars, after he accepted a plea deal for evading responsibility for the fatal crash.

Brooklyn artist Taliah Lempert is carving out a unique space for herself in the New York art world by fusing her passion for painting and bicycles.

New York’s steps to improve ebike safety appear to be paying off, with fewer ebike fires inside buildings, and fewer deaths as a result.

Bicyclists are going all in on hurricane relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Helene, from North Carolina-based Fox Factory’s employee-assistance fund to launching crowdfunding campaigns.

 

International

Momentum highlights the best Canadian rail trails for a fall bicycling getaway.

The mountain resort town of Banff, Alberta is considering how they can slow speeding bike riders on local tails.

UK-based bicycle distributor I-ride, maker of the in-house Orro bike brand, says there’s still hope for a takeover by an industry insider, days after an investor pulled out at the last minute, leaving the company bankrupt.

No surprise here, as international students tend to have more bicycling crashes than native Dutch bike riders in the Netherlands.

A man who calls himself the Cycle Baba has ridden his bike more than 80,000 across more than 100 countries since he left his home in India eight years ago to promote a message of eco-friendly living.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclinguptodate considers the current state of American road cycling, arguing that Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss offer hope; otherwise, not so much.

 

Finally…

Your next handlebar bag could be a recycled billboard. That feeling when a flooded ebike battery is the least of your problems.

And something tells me this Parisian suburb looks just a little different these days.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Hit-and-run Sierra Madre bicyclist arrested after two-month manhunt, and over 2,100 turn out in Griffith Park for safer streets

April 8, 2024 / / Comments Off on Hit-and-run Sierra Madre bicyclist arrested after two-month manhunt, and over 2,100 turn out in Griffith Park for safer streets
Just 268 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we all face on the needlessly mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re now up to 1,043 signatures, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

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The good news is, my wife is back home from the hospital, with a couple partially displaced fractures in her shoulder. The next few weeks will determine whether we’re looking at a grueling three month recovery, or up to a year if she needs surgery to reset the bones. 

Meanwhile, I’m now her full-time caregiver, as well as the corgi’s. Which is going to mean some major changes to when and how I work. 

Hopefully I’ll be able to keep things up and you won’t notice a difference. But no promises, because this is going to be a real challenge for the coming months. 

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It’s now 109 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 34 months 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.

West Hollywood residents planned a protest on Sunday to complain about the loss of parking to make space for protected bike lanes and other infrastructure projects on Fountain and Willoughby Aves, as well as Santa Monica Blvd, which “will eventually deprive the surrounding neighborhoods of hundreds of parking spaces.” Proving once again that the convenience of drivers outweighs human lives for far too many people. And seriously, don’t read the comments after you’ve eaten. Or at all, for that matter.

A Las Cruces, New Mexico driver was convicted of shooting a bike rider in the face during a road-rage incident, along with a five-year sentence enhancement for using a firearm; the dispute began when he almost crashed into the victim.

Houston, Texas is deemphasizing its commitment to Vision Zero under the city’s new mayor.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a van driver got a lousy 21-months behind bars for intentionally swerving into a teenager riding an ebike, who he thought had stolen his son’s motorbike.

Even in North Macedonia, streets, sidewalks and bike paths are unusable after being overrun with parked cars.

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

A 79-year old English woman is grieving the love of her life, after a hit-and-run bike rider rode off after rolling over her pet chihuahua.

A British judge ruled that a 54-year old senior control engineer and a 66-year-old teacher were equally at fault for colliding while riding on a bike path, concluding they were “traveling at twice the safe speed” and oblivious to each other’s presence when the “inevitable” crash occurred.

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Local 

London’s Independent says forget driving, and explore Los Angeles by bicycle.

Streets For All founder Michael Schneider says the lesson to be learned from the overwhelming passage of Measure HLA is that safe streets are good politics.

The LA Times asks if you have what it takes to compete in the grueling, three-stage LA Tourist Race for gravel and mountain bikes.

McLaren IndyCar driver David Malukas will make a delayed debut with the team in Long Beach in two weeks, after a mountain-biking “brain fart” sent him over his handlebars while riding on an easy trail, resulting in a dislocated his wrist and multiple torn ligaments.

 

State

Calbike says California must seize the opportunity to build better bikeways by supporting AB 2290, Assemblymember Laura Friedman’s Quicker and Better Bikeways Bill.

The San Luis Obispo Police Department ticketed a whopping 13 drivers and bicyclists during their latest bicycle and pedestrian safety operation, though they didn’t give a breakdown on which group got the most tickets, or why.

Sad news from Lost Hills, where a bike rider was killed by a pickup driver in the tiny unincorporated town.

The owner of a San Francisco restaurant threatens an extreme crash diet, saying he’s going on a 30-day hunger strike to protest the Valencia Street centerline bike lanes, claiming the bike lanes are ruining his business.

The Marin County Bicycle Coalition issued a call to action, urging Bay Area bicyclists to fight to keep the bike and pedestrian path on the Richmond-San Raphael bridge, which drivers somehow claim is causing congestion instead of just too many cars and drivers clogging the five lane, double-decker bridge.

 

National

A writer for an automotive website lists the downsides of owning an ebike, ranging from price to limited range and the need for charging. And says it’s still worth it to own and ride one.

The Sierra Club offers advice on how to hit the road from Idaho to Alabama to Maine without a single car ride or plane trip, using nothing but Amtrak and a bicycle.

Velo introduces some of the four-legged, furry friends of gravel racing.

Denver is continuing to make improvements to the city’s streets, opening a 1.5-mile protected bike lane on one of the city’s busiest business corridors.

Watch as a Colorado woman goes bicycling with her miniature cow. Because why wouldn’t she?

A 78-year old Iowa city councilmember was injured when a woman less than half his age crashed into his bicycle, despite flashing lights mounted front and rear on his bike.

The city council in Providence, Rhode Island passed a resolution opposing the mayor’s plan to rip out a bike lane to make more room for cars, as hundreds of residents turned out to oppose the plan.

 

International

No, airbag bib shorts for bicyclists aren’t an April Fools joke.

Your next bike could be made of recycled plastic. And look like it, too.

A 45-year old Vancouver man faces a charge of first-degree murder for the hit-and-run crash that killed a man riding a bicycle — a charge that requires intent, though no explanation was given.

She gets it. A Toronto mother of two writes that dead and injured bicyclists are never included in traffic discussions, while the voices that get lost in the debate are of those who don’t or can’t drive.

Thirty owners of Pedersen bicycles turned out to mark the 131st anniversary the distinctive diamond-shaped bikes, in the “genius” inventor’s English hometown.

A British man will spend the next 32 years behind bars for attempted murder after stalking another man through two pubs and lying in wait in an alley before shooting him through the neck. But at least he made his getaway on an ebike.

The UK is investing the equivalent of $3.6 million to build a bikeway separated from foot traffic on London’s Hammersmith Bridge, which has been closed to motor vehicles since cracks were discovered in 2019.

British drivers are encouraged to put a sticker reading “Think Bike” on their side mirrors to remind them to watch out for people on bicycles. Better yet,  make one that reads “Watch for bikes and pedestrians,” and require it by law.

Amsterdam is addressing the risk faster ebikes pose to people on bikeways by bumping ebikes capable of traveling faster than 12 mph into the driving lanes, which have a maximum speed limit of 18 mph.

Huh? Politico says a political backlash is leaving the future of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo uncertain, calling her an unpopular but visionary leader, after ten years of transforming the way Parisians get around. Even though city residents overwhelmingly backed her proposal to increase parking rates for SUVs. 

A bike-riding photographer bears witness to the sheer devastation caused by the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

A Singapore website investigates the lux lifestyle of Bromptons, Pinarellos and bespoke bikes.

A cement truck driver will spend the next six years behind bars for killing a Singapore bike rider while driving under the influence; he tried to blame the victim for riding too close to his truck.

There’s no lower form of walking human scum than the scammers trying to take advantage of an Australian hit-and-run victim’s family, after he was killed by a truck driver while riding his bike last month.

 

Competitive Cycling

Two-time defending Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard’s racing season is now in jeopardy, after a hard crash with several other riders during the Tour of Basque Country left him with a collapsed lung and pulmonary contusion, as well as a broken collarbone and several broken ribs; the crash also took out cycling stars Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel, the latter also suffering a broken collarbone, along with fractured shoulder plates. The race was cancelled following the crash involving a dozen riders.

Australian cycling star Jay Vine managed to avoid surgery for spinal injuries he suffered in the crash, but he will be in a neck brace for the next six weeks.

The president of the French professional cyclists union calls on UCI to take responsibility for making the sport safer, saying he’s angry over the recent spate of high-speed crashes, while Cyclist calls media coverage of the crash “inexcusable.”

World champion Mathieu van der Poel won his second straight Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, finishing three minutes ahead of his nearest rival after a 37-mile solo breakaway, just one week after winning the Tour of Flanders.

Women’s world champ Lotte Kopecky won Saturday’s Paris-Roubaix Femmes, topping former world champ Elisa Balsamo at the finish.

Cycling Weekly profiles a 51-year old London woman who is slowly remaking herself into an ultra-distance cyclist, as she trains for a “short” 1,145-mile, island-hopping UK race. Which just happens to begin in my father’s ancestral home.

An op-ed for Bike Rumor says it’s time for more of the bike industry to move past the toxic culture of bike racing.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you want to ride your bike, but with a windshield. Or when your bike bell has a dinosaur on it — maybe you can just pretend it’s a kaiju.

And even five-time Tour de France winners get their bikes stolen.

But sometimes, they get them back.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Heart of LA CicLAvia Sunday, followed by Streets For All CicLAvia afterparty, and help clean up Venice Blvd Saturday

October 13, 2023 / / 2 comments

It should be an extra spooky Friday the 13th on the mean streets of LA today, coming just over two weeks before Halloween. 

While a little triskaidekaphobia never hurt anyone, it couldn’t hurt to use a little extra caution today, so your ride doesn’t turn into someone else’s bad luck.

And if you see someone in a hockey mask coming your way, maybe ride the other direction just to be safe.  

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CicLAvia returns to its DTLA roots this weekend, nearly 13 years to the day after the first one.

However, Sunday’s Heart of LA CicLAvia follows only portions of the original route, traveling 7.8 miles through downtown with stops in Chinatown and Little Tokyo, while adding extensions to South Park, and Boyle Heights and Mariachi Plaza across the new 6th Street bridge.

That will be followed by the year’s final CicLAvia, in South LA on December 3rd, offering a route stretching from Historic South Central to Leimert Park, primarily along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I see a side trip to Harold and Belle’s in my future.

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Streets For All will follow Sunday’s CicLAvia with an afterparty at a super secret location in DTLA.

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Get in the mood for Sunday’s CicLAvia by helping clean up the neglected Venice Blvd bike lanes.

Which could definitely use it.

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If CicLAvia isn’t your thing, the Burbank Kiwanis club is hosting a bike rodeo on Sunday.

My favorite events are the roadie roping and ebike buck riding.

https://twitter.com/BurbankPD/status/1712552805477839231

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

Police in Parma, Ohio are looking for a hit-and-run driver who used his SUV as a weapon to intentionally run down someone on a bicycle; no word on the condition of the victim or any reason for the attack.

No bias here. An Ottawa, Canada writer places tongue firmly in cheek, and announces that the country’s bike riders were mortified to learn they’re not “actually allowed to run every red light and stop sign they come across.” Just wait until someone tells him about all those entitled drivers who pick and choose what traffic laws they want to obey.

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Local 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton lists eight things you probably don’t know about the first Arroyo Fest in 20 years, which walks and rolls on Sunday, October 29th on the 110 Freeway — and takes place early, starting at 7 am and ending a 11 am.

El Monte-based Addmotor is introducing a $2,700, dual battery longtail e-cargo bike with an exceptional 210 mile range.

Hermosa Beach moves forward with an effort to usurp the state’s authority over traffic laws by copying other SoCal cities attempts to write their own laws regulating ebikes, such as Manhattan Beach’s illegal ban on anyone — on an ebike or otherwise — riding two abreast, which is legal under state law.

 

State

Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bike bills authored by Burbank state senator and US House candidate Anthony Portantino to require landlords to allow tenants to store and charge ebikes and e-scooters in their apartments, and require Caltrans to appoint an active transportation safety czar. Although it doesn’t require the state transportation agency to actually, you know, listen to them.

A new study from San Bernardino County’s Loma Linda University shows that middle school bicycling programs can boost students’ mental health. Which should come as a surprise to no one.

 

National

The Strategist offers suggestions for the best gifts for bicyclists. And for a change, they actually suggest some decent stuff. 

Axios maps out where bicycling is growing in the US, including San Diego and Los Angeles, based on a recent report from mobility data firm StreetLight Data.

CleanTechnica says a new calculator can help cities quantify the “environmental and economic benefits of replacing short-distance vehicle trips with ebike trips.” Maybe someone should tell those ebike-averse beach cities about it. 

A proposed class action lawsuit has been filed against Shimano, Specialized and Trek following the massive Hollowtech crankset recall, alleging that by failing to recall all Hollowtech cranksets, the companies are attempting to limit costs at the expense of consumers. Or maybe the ones they recalled were just the only ones that were defective. 

The Stranger talks with Seattle Bike Blog author Tom Fucoloro about his new book exploring the history of bicycling in the city, Biking Uphill in the Rain: The Story of Seattle from Behind the Handlebars.

An Idaho law professor explains the state’s bike-friendly traffic laws, saying it’s hard not to feel embattled riding a bicycle when confronted by drivers who don’t know the law.

Security cam video shows a bike thief riding off with a woman’s bicycle at a Denver rail station, before a Good Samaritan steps up to stop him and get her bike back.

Colorado continues its efforts to get more residents riding ebikes, offering local communities part of a $2.5 million pot of cash to provide their own ebike rebates, in addition to the state’s rebate program. Meanwhile, California’s ebike rebate program remains in limbo after more than two years, so far just a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. 

Milwaukee officials hope adding more protected bike lanes will make the city safer for bicyclists, after seven people were killed in the county last year; it may be helping, because they’ve only suffered two deaths this year. Although two is still two too many.

Brooklyn drivers complain that a new parking-protected bike lane makes it impossible to pull out of their driveways, echoing the same complaint of every driver faced with every parking-protected bike lane everywhere. And everyone else seems to get used to it, so they probably will, too.

New York announced plans for another 40 miles of protected bike lanes, with two new bikeways in Queens and one each in Brooklyn and the Bronx, as well as a 10-mile protected bike lane on Staten Island between Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and the Goethals Bridge.

That’s more like it. A 29-year old Alabama woman was sentenced to six years behind bars for the criminally negligent, hit-and-run crash that killed a “beloved” retired veterinarian as he was riding his bicycle in 2021; the driver claimed she had hit a deer. Although there’s something wrong when negligently killing someone is just a misdemeanor, while driving away from it is a felony. 

 

International

The European Union Court of Justice has officially ruled that ebikes are bicycles, not motorcycles, because they are not exclusively motor driven and don’t require insurance to cover damages. Although that would seem to leave throttle-driven ebikes in question.

He gets it. Scotland’s new roadworks commissioner says bicyclists and pedestrians should be given priority at roadway projects, even if it delays motorist and takes up space. If he ever runs for office, I’m voting for him. Even if I have to move. 

Disturbing story from the UK, where officials knew about a deep roadway crack for months before it killed an 84-year old man whose bike tire got stuck in it, but the highway workers sent to examine it were only focused on potholes that could damage cars, not cracks that could kill bike riders.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling offers all the details on L39ion of Los Angeles founder Justin Williams’ new one-day Circuit Racing International Tour, aka CRIT, championship in St. Petersburg, Florida next weekend. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can ding! ding! your little heart away as you drop hapless foes in your next crit or club beer race.

And that feeling when you try to run away from your jailers, even though you just don’t look good in stripes.

Or maybe because you don’t look good in stripes.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

CicLAvia throws a hurricane party Sunday, and Finish the Ride calls for support for South Pasadena pilot bike lane

August 18, 2023 / / Comments Off on CicLAvia throws a hurricane party Sunday, and Finish the Ride calls for support for South Pasadena pilot bike lane

Let’s start with a correction.

I don’t know what the hell I was thinking yesterday when I said CicLAvia comes back to Hollywood and Koreatown a week from Sunday.

It’s this Sunday, of course.

The Koreatown Meets Hollywood CicLAvia follows a portion of the route first explored in the epic DTLA to Hollywood CicLAvia celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the LA Symphony four years ago.

Maybe someone should buy me a calendar. Or better yet, teach me how to use one.

Thanks to Joe Linton for the correction. 

Update: Sunday’s CicLAvia has been canceled due to the hurricane.

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It looks like we’re going to luck out, and get Sunday’s CicLAvia in before Los Angeles gets hit with the remnants of the Cat 4 Hurricane Hillary now moving through the Pacific.

According to the National Weather Service, the storm should roll in late Sunday, bringing possible rain and thunderstorms on Monday and Tuesday.

We don’t get a lot of hurricanes here in Los Angeles; news reports yesterday said this would be just the third one in LA history.

However, the tradition in Louisiana is to throw a raging hurricane party when a hurricane approaches, because as Jimmy Buffet put it, if you’re going to get blown away, you might as well get blown away.

And as it just so happens, we have a party already scheduled for Hollywood and Koreatown on Sunday before it gets here.

You know what to do.

Let’s all turn out, and make this one a CicLAvia for the ages.

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Finish the Ride is calling for your support for a pilot bike lane in South Pasadena, in the face of the seemingly inevitable NIMBY opposition.

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Speaking of Finish the Ride, the group is gearing up for their annual Halloween event in Santa Clarita in just over two months.

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Bike Walk Glendale is hosting a walk through the city tomorrow, followed by an advocacy workshop on Wednesday.

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Gravel Bike California celebrates the annual Tour de Big Bear, calling it “perfectly timed and extremely well-organized” and complementing “a fantastic course which is hard to imagine being so close to LA.”

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More proof that a bike is your best way to get around before, during or after a disaster.

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The Bike League is less than $26,000 away from their relatively modest $50,000 fundraising goal, which will turn into a cool hundred grand if they make it.

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

No bias here. A writer for Britain’s conservative The Spectator warns about the dangers of cargo bikes, calling them hell for motorists “piloted either by smug yet very stressed parents or by delivery hipsters with ironic facial hair, retro clothing, flexible sexuality and a heavily-worn social conscience.” And yes, he claims to be a bike rider himself — a “member of the Lycra lancers” — which is always a red flag. 

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

A North Carolina bike rider had to be airlifted to a hospital after colliding with another bike rider traveling in the same direction, knocking each other out.

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Local 

A British expat living in LA’s Westchester neighborhood takes a century ride to get some fish and chips in Port Hueneme.

The Greening America’s Cities initiative of the Bezos Earth Fund will address heat-related social inequity in the LA area by providing $3.5 million to fund a greenbelt and a biking and walking path along the Pacoima Wash, replacing the existing concrete embankment with a less heat-absorbent surface.

 

State

A guest commentary from Cal Matters refutes the argument that adding speed cams to California cities will target people of color, but will protect them, instead.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department says thieves are targeting ebikes in North County cities, as riders run into Target or Walmart stores without locking their bikes. Which is yet another reminder to always lock your bike everywhere, unless you take it with you.

A 51-year old bike rider suffered serious, but non-life threatening, injuries when they were struck by a hit-and-run driver in La Mesa, who got out of his pickup following the crash, but drove away before police arrived.

Bad news from Fresno, where a 50-year old man was critically injured when he was struck by a driver while riding his bike in a crosswalk, reportedly against the light. As always, who was actually at fault depends on whether there were any independent witnesses who saw the crash, other than the driver who hit him.

Oakland underground cartoonist and muralist Fred Noland is one of us, as the Black artist prepares to release a 250-page biographical comic about the legendary Major Taylor.

More bad news, this time from Sacramento, where a man riding a bike was killed by a hit-and-run driver early Thursday morning.

 

National

Legendary union leader and American socialist Eugene Debs was one of us. Because of course he was.

Outside offers advice on how to avoid being taken in by greenwashing.

Sports Illustrated rates the best rear racks for every kind of bike.

Seattle readers report having a love/fear relationship with biking in the city. Which pretty much goes for bike riders anywhere in America.

Trek donated a quarter of a million dollars to restart expansion plans for a bike park in Idaho Springs, west of Denver.

An inspector with a Connecticut state attorney’s office — the equivalent of a district attorney — faces charges for hitting a 17-year old bike rider after failing to come to a full stop at a red light, and leaving the scene afterwards — twice.

Life is cheap in Staten Island, where a 35-year old woman walked without a day behind bars for killing a 52-year old man riding a bicycle, despite originally being charged with criminally negligent homicide and third-degree assault.

Streetsblog complains there’s too much green on Brooklyn greenways, as the New York borough neglects overgrown weeds lining the bike paths.

New York is banning ebikes and scooters that haven’t been certified for safety starting next month, in the wake of a rash of deadly ebike battery fires.

A Florida state trooper explains who has the right-of-way when a driver is making a right turn across a bike lane and a bike rider is going straight. And surprisingly, gets it right.

 

International

Momentum considers the best cities around the world to fall in love with bicycling all over again. None of which is Los Angeles. Or anywhere else in Southern California, for that matter.

Road.cc offers “essential” money-saving tips to keep riding without breaking the bank.

Following the lead of competitive cycling, the world’s top chess federation has ruled that trans women can’t compete in women’s chess events, apparently concluding that their birth sex somehow gives them a unfair advantage in the Sicilian Defense.

I want to be like him when I grow up. An 80-year old Winnipeg, Manitoba man rode his bike over 1,800 miles to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees.

In a pleasant change, a spokesperson for a British bicycling group says Belfast, Northern Ireland, businesses are firmly behind calls for less car parking and more emphasis on active travel.

An Irish columnist says the country’s police and Road Safety Authority don’t have the resources to keep bicyclists safe.

Cyclist takes a rare route up France’s legendary Mont Ventoux.

In what could be an intriguing matchup, the electric scooter unit of British Formula One engineering and technology firm McLaren Applied is reportedly in advanced talks to buy bankrupt Dutch ebike maker VanMoof.

China Daily reports the bike business is booming in the Middle Kingdom.

 

Competitive Cycling

Velo says this could be the best start list ever for the Vuelta, with the reigning champs of all three grand tours set to clash at the Spanish grand tour.

The one-day Maryland Cycling Classic is now America’s top race, with a “star-studded preliminary roster” featuring leading American cyclists and Tour de France stage winners.

 

Finally…

That feeling when a paracycling champ without arms wins a pair of high-end watches. Or when you lose your KOM — or QOM — to a Dutch cycling champ.

And why that bike crash was definitely your fault.

No matter how it happened.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Metro considers Alameda mobility options, 10th Anniversary of Finish The Ride this weekend, and writers bike the strike

June 9, 2023 / / Comments Off on Metro considers Alameda mobility options, 10th Anniversary of Finish The Ride this weekend, and writers bike the strike

Anyone who has tried to walk or bike Alameda Street south of Union Station in DTLA knows it’s just this side of a traffic choked living hell.

As I found out the hard way recently.

Now Metro is presenting three options to make the street safer and more inviting for humans between 1st and Cesar Chavez, as part of plans for a new esplanade leading to the station.

The options range from closing or moving offramps and widening sidewalks, to converting Arcadia Street to a pedestrian walkway and capping the 101 Freeway to create a new park.

Let’s hope our officials have the courage and foresight to make the choice that will most dramatically remake Downtown Los Angeles.

They can use some of that money they have budgeted to flush down the toilet on freeway widening projects.

Map from Metro Alameda Mobility Project website.

………

This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of Finish The Ride, which began when Damian Kevitt invited the public to join him in finishing the Griffith Park ride that was interrupted by a hit-and-run driver, who has never been caught.

More than 2,000 “cyclists, runners, walkers, challenged athletes, veterans, first responders, civic and community leaders, and safe streets advocates from across Southern California” are expected to turn out to demand safer streets for everyone.

This year’s event has been divided into two parts, with Finish The Run on Saturday, and Finish The Ride on Sunday.

You’ll also have a chance to meet two highly qualified candidates to replace Adam Schiff in California’s 30th Congressional District, in Laura Friedman and Anthony Portantino.

I’ll let the folks at Finish The Ride take it from here.

Finish The Ride (www.FinishTheRide.org) was founded in the aftermath of a vicious hit-and-run crime in 2013 that saw cyclist Damian Kevitt lose his leg after being dragged under a car from the streets of Griffith Park onto and down Interstate 5 for nearly a quarter mile. A year later, Kevitt was accompanied by hundreds of cyclists, street safety advocates, and community leaders as part of a campaign to raise awareness of an epidemic of hit-and-run crimes in Los Angeles.

Last year participants in Finish The Ride and Finish The Run demanded that Griffith Park be made safer for the tens of thousands who use it weekly for recreation and exercise. As a result, only a couple of months later, a section of Griffith Park Drive was transformed from a road into a closed pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian path, and 4 million dollars of funding was approved for additional safety renovations across the park.

According to a report by the non-profit Streets Are For Everyone (known as SAFE), the City of Los Angeles saw a record 312 fatalities last year, most of them pedestrians, and tens of thousands more seriously injured. The primary factor in all these collisions was reckless speeding. SAFE has been involved in a massive state-wide campaign to educate about and advocate for the need to reign in reckless speeding to save lives. Part of this campaign has demanded that legislators pass AB 645, a pilot program that would allow the limited use of speed safety cameras in school zones and on the most dangerous roads in 6 cities across the state. Over 1800 have signed a petition to demand that legislators support AB 645. As a result of this campaign, AB 645 just passed the Assembly with overwhelming support (58 to 7).

This year’s Finish The Ride and Finish The Run event brings together people from all walks to continue the call to demand that roads be made safer and reckless speeding be addressed as the public health crisis that it is.

Finish The Ride and Finish The Run is now in its 10th year and will be held over two days – runners and walkers on Saturday and cyclists on Sunday. On Saturday, there will be the usual 5K/10K run/walk and half-marathon run. On Sunday will be the usual 15-mile, 25-mile, 35-mile, and 50 miles rides. New additions to this year’s event are the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council 1K Kids Run and a Puppy Run on Saturday and the Bahati Foundation Metric Century on Sunday.

Saturday, 10 June 2023 – Finish The Run

  • (1200 runners and walkers expected)
  • Time: 7:30 AM Griffith Park Half-Marathon starts
  • 8 AM Finish the Run Opening Ceremony with Civic Leaders and other Victims of Traffic Violence speaking (All other events depart following the opening ceremony)
  • Where: Griffith Park, Crystal Springs Area
  • 4663 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
  • Who: Asm Laura Friedman
  • Councilmember Nithya Raman
  • Damian Kevitt, Founder of Finish The Ride/Finish The Run and Streets Are For Everyone
  • Cindi Enamorado, sister of Raymond Olivares, who lost his life in February 2023 at the hands of a driver engaged in street racing.

————

Sunday, 11 June 2023 – Finish The Ride

  • (800 cyclists expected)
  • Time: 7 AM Olympic Silver Medalist Nelson Nails leads the Bahati Foundation Metric Century and Andrew Jelmert Half Century Ride
  • 8 AM Finish the Ride Opening Ceremony with Civic Leaders and other Victims of Traffic Violence speaking (All other events depart following the opening ceremony)
  • Where: Griffith Park, Crystal Springs Area
  • 4663 Crystal Springs Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90027
  • Who: Senator Anthony Portantino
  • Damian Kevitt, Founder of Finish The Ride and Streets Are For Everyone
  • Curtis Townsend Sr., who lost his wife, Trina Newman-Townsend, in a hit-and-run on Christmas Eve in 2022.

………

Seen on the street: A WGA writer bikes the strike.

Meanwhile, striking writers took part in a 27-mile “Bike Strike” protest ride from Radford Studio to Amazon, with stops at Warners and Disney, then over the hill Netflix, with a stop for lunch at Swingers.

………

David Drexler shares video showing the full length of the new Mark Bixby bike/ped path on the International Gateway Bridge, taken on last month’s opening day.

………

Gravel Bike California accepts the challenge of biking the Desert X biennial art installation across the “vast & sandy” Coachella Valley in a single day.

………

A UC Davis bike rider is on the hunt for a hit-and-run e-cart driver.

And yes, it’s legally hit-and-run if you just cause someone to fall, even without making contact.

Need help finding a worker driving one of those mini electric vehicle who ran a stop sign/didn’t yield, causing me to fall off bike
byu/Cars_are_my_life inUCDavis

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up. 

………

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

No bias here. A South Bay writer decries plans to build a bike path on Flagler Alley connecting Redondo Beach and Torrance, which was recently blocked by the latter city. And repeats the myth that the $1.8 million price tag would cost more than building a mile of freeway. Actually, the Federal Highway Administration says it costs $2.8 million for a single lane-mile of freeway on flat, rural terrain, and $62.4 million in urban environments.

Violent assaults from passing cars continue in Oakland, where a bike rider was smacked on the head by a car passenger; that comes just months after at least 14 East Bay bike riders were intentionally doored in February.

Ocean City, New Jersey tabled plans to ban ebikes from the city’s boardwalk, instead creating a committee to study the issue. If they’re anything like Los Angeles, having a committee study something means no one will ever hear about it again. 

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

When you’re carrying a loaded gun and meth on your bike, and already wanted on outstanding warrants, try not to end a police chase on your bike at a Redding cemetery.

A Minnesota man wanted on drug and gun charges tried to make his getaway from police on a stolen bicycle. And failed.

………

Local 

The Transportation Committee of the Los Angeles City Council held its first post-pandemic community meeting at the Michelle and Barack Obama Sports Complex in Baldwin Hills to discuss bicycling, bicycle safety and bike equity.

No surprise here, as LA Times readers are divided on the possibility of congestion pricing, with responses ranging from exuberant support to an “unambiguous ‘F— NO.'”

Pasadena is launching its own ebike rebate program on July 1st, with rebates up to $1,000 for city residents. Meanwhile, Los Angeles hasn’t even discussed any program to get motor vehicles off the streets, with ebikes or otherwise.

A Santa Clarita woman explains how her love of bicycling led to a bike tour of Japan with her 13-year old daughter.

 

State

LA County Mobility PAC Streets For All celebrates their wins in the state legislature, where all of the bills they sponsored are still alive at the halfway point. 

Laguna Beach is requiring students to complete an ebike safety course in exchange for a permit to park their bike on campus. Which is a great way to discourage bike commuting, and force people without permits back into cars.

She gets it. A San Jose writer says automated speed cams could save lives.

 

National

Treehugger says it’s time for government officials to stop ignoring ebikes, as a new report on EVs barely acknowledges their existence.

The New Mexico-based, federally funded Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety is using AI in an effort to combat rising traffic fatalities.

Colorado officially announced their new program to provide ebike rebates for residents earning less than 80% to 100% of their county’s median income. Just the latest city, state or province to provide ebike rebates before California’s vastly underfunded, fomerly-first-in-the-nation program gets off the ground — which should finally happen soon.

A suicidal teenager credits the kindness of Oklahoma strangers with saving his life after he set out of Chicago on a bicycle he pulled out of the trash.

Huh? A Columbus, Ohio TV station says many people are priced out of bicycling by the high cost of bikes, even while mentioning a nonprofit shop that sells refurbished bikes for around a hundred bucks. Seriously, cost should never be a barrier to bicycling, when there are countless options for low cost bikes. Or even free ones like the one above.

An Indiana woman learns the hard way that sometimes that bump in the road is a bike rider, not a pothole.

After watching a man walk past their station on his way to work for nearly two years, kindhearted cops in an Ohio city gave him a new bicycles.

Good idea. A new Pittsburgh proposal would provide automatic bikeshare memberships to all city employees.

Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss returns to bike commuting in the Big Apple after 14 years, and notices just a few changes.

Raleigh, North Carolina will offer residents 150 ebike vouchers ranging from $500 to $1,500 in exchange for sharing data on their usage.

A New Orleans website considers clothing options for the clothing optional World Naked Bike Ride, including the classic Crown Royal bag to carry your, uh, marbles. Personally, I don’t care what you wear, as long as you cover the seat on any borrowed, rented or bikeshare bikes.

 

International

Sad news from Antigua, where a 35-year old man has passed away in a Houston hospital, 13 months after he was run down by a driver, along with three other bicyclists.

A free website tells you whether it’s safe to walk, bike or run in the smoke from the Canadian wildfires. A far simpler rule of thumb is if you can smell smoke, stay home. Your lungs and sinuses will thank you.

No surprise here, as a Vancouver bike rider claims the removal of a popular bike lane in the city’s Stanley Park has resulted in harassment and speeding drivers.

A London writer argues that bike theft has been effectively decriminalized in the city.

Police in Northern Ireland are taking to the road on unmarked bicycles to enforce laws against unsafe passing. The LAPD has repeatedly been urged to do the same thing, but have refused over fears of being accused of entrapment. 

Over half of the people killed in collisions in Finnish cities were walking or riding a bike.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website looks at what bicycling means to people around the world. Including those in the exotic land called USA. 

 

Competitive Cycling

America’s last remaining Tour de France winner is feeling better after turning the corner in his battle with leukemia, which he traces to the shotgun blast that nearly killed him after winning his first Tour.

Bicycling says the Tour de France will require cycling teams to mask up and remain in a team bubble to avoid spreading Covid, unlike the recent Giro. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Speaking of Bicycling, they say you can watch the Tour and the eight-stage Tour de France Femmes with a subscription to Peacock. Read it on AOL of the magazine blocks you. 

Outside says Netflix’ new series Tour de France: Unchained will turn you into a cycling fan. Unless you already are, of course.

A writer for Cycling Weekly rode the 351-mile Unbound XL gravel race, so you won’t have to. And writes about how her gear stood up to the test.

Scottish endurance cyclist Christina Mackenzie has qualified for a spot in the world road cycling championships, nine months after she was seriously injured and left for dead by a hit-and-run driver.

 

Finally…

Why drive to see Queen Bey when you can ride your bike? Your next bike could be made from recycled Nespesso capsules.

And seriously, many drivers are happy to do it for free.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Taking Metro to task for wasting funds on highways, LA tanks on best bike cities list, and big Griffith Park announcement Friday

August 17, 2022 / / One comment

Let’s start with a new op-ed taking Metro to task for continuing to flush tens of billions of dollars down the highway toilet.

Writing in the LA Times, Streets For All founder Michael Schneider argues that the county transportation agency’s highway construction plans more than negate any climate change improvements from new transit lines, while only serving to make traffic worse.

Hello, induced demand.

Climate change impact is measured in two ways: vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions. For the billions that we will spend on new bus and rail service, as well as active transportation improvements, Metro estimates in a study it just published that by 2047 we will reduce vehicle miles traveled by 9.7 billion, resulting in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2.7 million metric tons of CO2. These massive reductions would result in much cleaner air for us all, and go a long way toward meeting our climate goals.

However, just as Metro is spending tens of billions building rail and bus projects, it also plans to spend billions adding 363 miles of new highways and arterials. According to Metro’s own calculations based on state standards, this will increase vehicle miles traveled by up to 36.8 billion, and emit an additional 10.1 million metric tons of CO2.

Yes, you read that right — we are spending tens of billions of dollars to make climate change and traffic worse. The expansion of highways will do far more harm than the expansion of mass transit will avert.

Never mind that the money being wasted on highway expansion could be put to better use building bus and bike networks, as well as speeding the completion of the upcoming K Line (Crenshaw Line) to connect with the B Line (aka Red Line) at Hollywood & Highland.

That would create Metro’s first viable connector line, with connections to the B Line, D Line (Purple), E Line (Expo), and the C Line (Green), as well as connecting to LAX.

As Schneider says, it’s long past time Metro stopped sabotaging their climate-friendly projects, and instead spend the money we give them on projects that will reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions.

Wasting more money on highway projects is exactly what we don’t need now.

Or ever, for that matter.

………

Surprising results, as a new survey ranks Utrecht in the Netherlands the world’s best bicycling city.

That’s followed by Munster, Germany and Antwerp, Belgium, before we get to the usual suspects in Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

Meanwhile, Johannesburg, South Africa checks in as the worst city to ride a bike.

Not surprisingly, no American city made the top ten. You have to go all the way down to #39 to find San Francisco, followed by Portland at #41.

Los Angeles checks in at a deservedly low #57 out of 100 cities worldwide.

The only real question is why we ranked that high.

………

The plot thickens, as both CD4 Councilmember Nithya Raman and Finish the Ride, tease a big announcement on the future of Griffith Park this Friday.

………

Nice. USA Cycling is looking to fast track entree to track cycling for kids from marginalized communities that have traditionally been ignored by cycling.

………

The Bike League is recruiting more LCIs.

https://twitter.com/BikeLeague/status/1559276241106006017

………

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

An Oregon driver is charged with 2nd degree murder for intentionally backing his truck into a man on a bicycle following an argument between the two men, pinning the other man against a wall.

A London, Ontario bike rider is speaking out about the apparently intentional hit-and-run that left him with a broken collarbone, and injured another rider.

A London cabbie celebrates the removal of a bike lane by buzzing the unfortunate bike rider who happened to be there.

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

An equestrian in the UK blames a bike racing club for panicking her horse, which nearly spun her in front of an oncoming car. We’re only getting one side of the story here, but seriously, show some respect and courtesy to others on the road.

………

Local

The LA Times offers tips on riding an ebike, saying they offer a different ride than regular bikes.

West Hollywood looks forward to Sunday’s CicLAvia—Meet the Hollywoods, which travels down Hollywood Blvd, Highland Ave and Santa Monica Blvd, and invites attendees to stick around afterwards for a free concert with M&M The Afro-Persian Experience at Plummer Park.

Compton is embedding Botts’ Dots in an intersection in an effort to halt street takeovers.

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Long Beach is planning safety improvements at an intersection where a seven-year old boy was killed by a left-turning truck driver while crossing in a crosswalk with his dad, even though the intersection was considered up to code at the time of last month’s crash.

Long Beach’s popular Beach Streets University open streets event is set to return to the area around Cal State Long Beach next month, after a two-year hiatus.

 

State 

Governor Newsom has signed a new law charging the CHP with developing statewide safety standards for ebikes. Although they couldn’t have found a less bike-friendly organization, or one with more limited training on existing bike laws.

The family of fallen bicyclist Christine Hawk Embree is calling for safer streets after the 35-year old woman was killed in a Carlsbad collision while riding her ebike with her 16-month old daughter, who somehow survived unscathed.

Former Santa Monica city manager and Los Angeles deputy mayor Rick Cole says the death of respected Ventura County Supervisor Carmen Ramirez is a wake-up call for street safety; Ramirez was killed crossing an Oxnard street last week.

The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition is hosting their 12th Annual Bike Summit in Millbrae tomorrow.

San Francisco has put plans for congestion pricing on hold until traffic returns to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, LA’s proposed congestion pricing plan is apparently being studied to death.

 

National

Road Bike Rider offers advice on how to survive the dreaded speed wobbles.

People For Bikes argues that bicycles and ebikes weren’t completely ignored in the recently signed Inflation Reduction Act, though you have to look pretty damn hard to find them.

Boston commuters are expected to take to their bikes to cope with a month-long train line shutdown.

Fire up your crocodile tears for all those New Yorkers who can’t find anywhere to park their cars, in the one American city where you’re least likely to need one.

A Virginia woman says now she needs to live for her friend after they were both run down by an 18-year old alleged drunk driver; only she survived, though she has a very long road to recovery.

 

International

Canadians are up in arms over a policy allowing ebikes in the country’s Banff National Park.

Road.cc remembers “slightly crazed” English bike designer Mike Burrows, saying we’ll “never see his like again;” Burrows died Monday at age 79.

That’s more like it. A 29-year old Scottish driver got a well-deserved five years behind bars, along with a 12 and a half year ban on driving, for killing a 16-year old boy riding his bike home from school, while he was driving at a whopping 80 mph in a 30 mph zone.

No bias here. Britain’s Transportation Secretary promises to get tough on bike riders, saying bicyclists should be insured, have license plates on their bikes, and be subject to the same speed limits as motorists.

The executive director of a UK bike advocacy organization says it’s a mistake to pitch ebikes as “enhanced bicycles,” arguing they should be considered the most energy efficient of all electric vehicles, instead.

A Toronto paper says Munich’s bicycling culture offers ideas on how to safely integrate bikes and cars, arguing that the city should prioritize safe infrastructure instead of cracking down on bike riders with ineffective policing.

She gets it. An op-ed writer for a Malta newspaper says a mandatory helmet law won’t make bicycling any safer; what’s needed is better infrastructure, safer vehicles and education.

A traffic safety organization in the Netherlands teamed with a bike advocacy group to call for a ban on ebike performance kits, which can double the allowed speed controls; a spokesperson says “If you install one on the electric bike, you are simply a racing monster.”

 

Competitive Cycling

Seven-time Grand Tour winner Chris Froome says he’s fully recovered from Covid, and ready to roll in Friday’s Vuelta a España, where he’ll co-lead the Israel-Premier Tech team with Michael Woods.

A new women and majority-minority owned cycling league is set to take off, with teams in Miami, Atlanta, Denver and Chicago.

 

Finally…

No, you can’t legally jam drivers’ cellphones, tempting though it may be. You — yes, you — can build your very own DIY ebike.

And Dustin Hoffman was one of us. On a foldie, no less.

https://twitter.com/marlonw/status/1559528883581358082

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

LA bicyclists mourn popular Rapha ride leader, big turnout for Finish the Ride, and fraudster tripped up by Strava KOM

May 2, 2022 / / One comment

Before we start, there’s a lot of grief in the LA bicycling community today.

On Saturday, news broke that someone had been killed riding a bike in Canyon County.

While the story is still developing, we’ve learned that the victim was 37-year old John Hermoso, a popular Los Angeles Rapha ride leader, better known as Panda.

He was apparently riding with a small group of cyclists on a seldom-used roadway in Canyon Country, near Santa Clarita in north LA County.

It appears to have been a head-on collision on a blind corner. We’ll likely learn more today as we hear from more voices.

But it’s just one more heartbreaking reminder of the cost of traffic violence, in a year when bicycling deaths are spiraling out of control. And this time, it’s touched people throughout the community.

Not exactly the way we wanted to start Bike Month.

Photo by Photo by Matej Novosad from Pexels.

………

Around 1,600 people turned out for Sunday’s Finish the Ride in Griffith Park, just two weeks after 77-year old Andrew Jelmert was killed riding on Crystal Springs Drive.

The annual ride began when founder Damian Kevitt invited the community to join him as he finished the ride that was interrupted when he was run down by a hit-and-run driver a decade ago, and dragged onto the 5 Freeway before he was able to free himself.

Kevitt lost the lower portion of his right leg in the crash, and nearly his life. And has since devoted it to fighting hit-and-runs and making the streets safer for all of us.

………

We ended with a link to this story as a blind item on Friday, but it’s worth bringing it back up today.

Cycling Tips takes a deep dive into the many lives of Australian cyclist Nick Clark — pro cyclist, soldier, CEO, lawyer, author, academic, hostage responder, weapons instructor and Virginia bike shop owner.

But underneath them all, was just a single con man, whose web of lies was undone by a Strava KOM.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

………

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

No bias here. A San Diego writer insists the city’s mayor and “his bike extremist minions” are blind to the needs of disabled drivers and older people, ignoring the fact that many disabled and older people ride bikes. And fails to see the irony in saying he sees more cars illegally parked in bike lanes than people riding in them.

A New York Citi Bike bikeshare dock was apparently destroyed overnight by a hit-and-run driver, raising the question of whether it was a deliberate attack.

https://twitter.com/cosmicamericana/status/1520765125623492608

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

Police are looking for a New York man who fled the scene on a bicycle after fatally shooting another man following an argument.

An Edinburgh bike rider held up a tram in rush hour traffic after the driver honked at her to move, riding as slowly as she could with her middle finger extended. And I don’t blame her one bit.

………

Local

LAist offers an in-depth explainer of the newly approved NoHo to Pasadena bus rapid transit line, which will include a lane reduction and protected bike lanes through Eagle Rock.

Spectrum News 1 offers a guide to yesterday’s 626 Golden Streets open streets festival.

 

State 

Hundreds of San Francisco bike riders stage a slow ride in support of slow streets, calling for more to be closed to through traffic.

Sacramento residents remember a 22-year old man killed by a hit-and-run driver last week while riding his bike home from work.

 

National

Cycling Savvy offers advice on how to successfully navigate traffic circles and roundabouts.

Electrek offers this month’s picks for the best ebikes at every price level, while T3 considers the downsides of owning an ebike. Although they may be mistaken about the limited health benefits of ebikes.

He gets it. An information security expert says the way to stop bicyclists from running stop signs is to remove the requirement for them to stop, saying bike riders have as much need to stop for stop signs as drivers do in roundabouts. Which is none.

A Las Vegas paper marks the one-year anniversary of the hit-and-run death of a 66-year-old grandmother, who was killed just crossing the street to her granddaughter’s birthday party, by calling for greater protections for bike riders and pedestrians.

A carfree Houston developer insists the notoriously car-centric city is becoming more bike friendly.

Wisconsin Republicans blocked plans to spend just 1.5% of the $283 million the state is receiving under the federal infrastructure bill on bike and pedestrian projects to reduce traffic congestion, while doubling down on traffic-inducing highway projects.

A 40-year cycling instructor from Pennsylvania insists that while there’s room for improvement on American roads, it will never replace the need for bicycling instruction to improve safety. Although most experts would flip that equation, and say that education, while helpful, will never replace the need for safer streets.

In an entirely predictable incident, 15 people were injured when an Atlanta party bike tipped over rounding a corner, two critically but none with life-threatening injuries. The operator was later charged with driving under the influence.

 

International

An eight-year old boy raised the equivalent of nearly $8,000 by riding his bike two laps around London’s Richmond Park, a total of 14 miles.

A Leicester, England paper recalls forgotten local legend Bert Harris, who set the cycling world on fire until his tragic death after crashing in a race 125 years ago.

A shameless masked thief rode off on a British girl’s one-week old bike as she sat just feet away in a friend’s car, with the door open.

Singapore bike riders and bus drivers swap roles to see the roads from the other’s perspective.

New Zealand bicyclists, pedestrians and bus riders call for travel justice, demanding better safety and accessibility for anyone not inside a two-ton metal box.

 

Competitive Cycling

American pro Alexey Vermeulen won the 137-mile Belgian Waffle Ride, after dropping late breakaway partner Alex Howes.

VeloNews offers photos from the women’s Belgian Waffle Ride, won by pro cyclist Mo Wilson by 25 minutes in a breakaway.

Liège–Bastogne–Liège women’s winner Annemiek van Vleuten will be out of commission for awhile after breaking her wrist in a training crash.

A Redlands paper recaps the “triumphant return” of last week’s Redlands Classic.

  

Finally…

That feeling when you might have gotten away if you’d stolen a bike instead of a truck. Your next foldie could be lighter than a miniature poodle — and a lot more fun to ride.

And you — yes, you — are a bike person.

………

Eid Mubarak to all those celebrating today!

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Witnessing road rage and Hollywood hit-and-run, and 76-year old man gravely injured in Griffith Park bike crash

April 25, 2022 / / 3 comments

Friday, I witnessed what too many of us face too often on LA streets.

I stood in front of my building watching as a man rode his bike down our residential street, narrow enough that drivers traveling in opposite directions have to negotiate clearances to pass safely.

He was positioned correctly, just outside the door zone, while leaving plenty of room for drivers to pass.

However, an impatient driver sped up from behind, and was apparently angry that he had to wait a few seconds for driver coming the other way to pass. So he subjected the rider to a needlessly close punishment pass — then brake checked him after the man on the bike strenuously objected to the close pass, like most of us would.

The incident ended when they exchanged words at the stop sign at the end of the block, then turned in opposite directions. Although I’m not sure if the guy on the bike turned left simply to get away from the jerk in the car.

It all happened too quickly for me to react and get my phone out, let alone catch the driver’s license plate.

But it serves as yet another sad reminder that we are all subject to the whims and temperament of those we share the road with.

Because it’s far too easy for drivers to take their bad day out on the nearest person on a bike.

………

Apparently, I wasn’t the only witness to bad driver behavior last week. A Reddit user posted the following message about a hit-and-run he witnessed in Hollywood on Wednesday.

Hit & Run @ Wilcox & Delongpre tonight (4/21)

Driving home from work tonight in Hollywood around 6:50pm I saw a black Tesla model X right hook a cyclist travelling southbound on Wilcox. Tesla sped away and I followed them to get their license plate number – if that sounds like it was you shoot me a DM and I’d be happy to share.

Thanks to tsmith8808 for the heads-up.

………

Bad news just keeps coming from Griffith Park.

One week after the death of 77-year old Andrew Jelmert on Crystal Springs Drive, a 76-year old man was in grave condition after somehow falling from his bike in the 4358 block of Griffith Park Drive on Saturday.

Unfortunately, there’s no word yet on how or why he fell.

But what should be one of the safest places to ride a bike in Los Angeles is looking far from it these days.

Meanwhile, Lionel Mares writes to remind us that the Griffith Park Advisory Board will hold a Zoom meeting at 6:30 pm this Thursday. Which might be a good opportunity to demand safer streets — and fewer cars — in LA’s iconic park.

And Los Angeles Times readers write to call for safer streets in Griffith Park.

………

This is the last week to register for this year’s Finish the Ride in Griffith Park, which is all the more important after the events of the last two weeks.

Finish the Ride was founded by hit-and-run survivor Damian Kevitt, who lost the lower part of his right leg when he was struck by a van driver on Zoo Drive in Griffith Park, and dragged onto the 5 Freeway before he could free himself.

It started as a single event to call attention to the hit-and-run epidemic, and finish the ride he was unable to complete because of the 2013 crash. And has morphed into a powerful nonprofit movement to fight the scourge of fleeing drivers.

………

About damn time.

https://twitter.com/hunter_owens/status/1517991859162730496

………

Renée Zellweger is one of us. And knows how to dress the part.

………

A couple boys from India demonstrate a little tandem teamwork on a single seat bike.

………

Ignore the news story. Just pay attention to all the bicycles in the background, which shows what’s possible with decent infrastructure.

………

A British rider learns the hard way that maybe attempting a 124-mile ride on a $38 Amazon bike isn’t the best idea.

………

If there are any international art thieves out there, this would look very good on my wall.

Just saying.

https://twitter.com/davidguenel/status/1517609191338393603

………

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

No bias here. A Staten Island website says traffic deaths continue to rise in New York, despite the city’s Vision Zero, and nearly a “decade of demonizing motorists as almost the exclusive cause of deaths on the road.” Considering drivers are the only ones who are killing people, it seems appropriate.

Twenty-three-year old French pro cyclist Lucie Jounier suffered a concussion, trapezoid fracture, and cuts and abrasions to her face when she was deliberately brake checked by driver while on a training crash; needless to say, the driver didn’t stop afterwards.

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

Police in Leicester, England are looking for a hit-and-run ebike rider who left a pedestrian with life-threatening injuries.

………

Local

The Beautiful Boulevard plan is nearing the finish line, after a Metro committee approved plans for North Hollywood to Pasadena bus rapid transit lane, which incorporates many elements of the Eagle Rock resident-designed plan; the last step will be approval by the full Metro board at Thursday’s meeting.

Road Bike Rider reviews the new $3,800 mamarachi-style Cero One utility ebike, made by West Los Angeles-based Cero Bikes. And likes it. I like the corgi-sized utility basket up front.

 

State 

The rich get richer. San Diego continues its drive to be bike friendly with the opening of the new 3.1-mile Landis Bikeway connecting North Park and City Heights, part of a 12-mile network of bike boulevards. Although it’s probably not named after former San Diego resident and ex-Tour de France winner, and current CBD purveyor, Floyd Landis.

Residents of San Diego’s Rancho Peñasquitos neighborhood bemoan the loss of a few dozen parking spaces for a new bike lane, while bike riders applaud the new separated lane.

A month after the so-called People’s Convoy truckers protest was held up by a single bike rider in Washington DC, they were pelted with eggs amid shouts of “Get out of town” during a pass through Oakland.

Sacramento police are looking for the driver of a work truck who fled the scene after rear ending a man on a bike, resulting in major injuries.

 

National

USA Today offers tips on how to upgrade your bike commute.

Washington City, Utah installed a pair of ghost bikes to honor Adam & Matthew Bullard, who were both killed by an alleged DUI driver while participating in the Tour of St. George earlier this month. Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign to benefit the brothers families has surpassed the $100,000 goal, with over $107,000 at this writing. Thanks to Kent Russell for the heads-up.

Residents of my Colorado hometown consider how to make the platinum-level bicycle friendly community even safer for bike riders and pedestrians.

A Milwaukee woman faces charges for the hit-and-run death of a man riding a bicycle, after she initially tried to blame her boyfriend for the crash, even though he wasn’t even in the car. Which is a pretty good clue that maybe he needs to rethink their relationship.

Tennessee has passed a bill requiring killer drunk drivers to support the children of their victims; the first of its kind law now goes to the governor for his signature.

Twelve New York residents were injured in four separate incidents when ebike batteries unexpectedly burst into flames.

This is who we share the road with. A Florida teenager with a history of recording himself driving at extreme speeds on public highways now faces six counts of vehicular homicide after he rear-ended another vehicle while traveling at 151 mph. Vehicular homicide carries a maximum penalty of 15 years per count in Florida; if the judge imposes consecutive sentences, he could end up serving up to 90 years behind bars.

 

International

Yet another study shows the health benefits of riding a bike, showing bicycling can reduce your risk of premature death by 23%.

T3 looks at the best new bikes from the London Ebike Festival, with a lineup heavy on foldies and micro bikes.

A 51-year old man was critically injured in Leeds, England when he crashed his bike head-on into another man on an ebike as they were both riding in opposite directions on the sidewalk.

India’s Hero Cycles is opening a new ebike assembly line in Manchester, England.

Typical. After a Welsh driver got the equivalent of a $532 fine for passing a group of bicyclists too close at too high a speed, other drivers insist on social media that he didn’t do anything wrong. Unfortunately, I can’t get the video to load; it may not be available in the US.

Thousands of Scottish bicyclists turned out for the 10th Annual Pedal on Parliament to demand safer streets. In Los Angeles, we’re lucky if we can get a could dozen people to show up for a protest. Maybe if we had numbers like this, city officials might actually listen to us. And do something. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Dutch pro Annemiek van Vleuten won the women’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège to complete her best ever spring campaign; she also won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, as well as notching three second place finishes and one fourth in the spring classics.

Twenty-two-year old Remco Evenepoel won the men’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège in his maiden effort in cycling’s oldest classic, as Belgium swept the podium.

Ouch! American Larry Warbasse will miss Switzerland’s Tour de Romandie after suffering testicular lesions with hematoma in a high-speed crash in Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège. World champ Julian Alaphilippe suffered two broken ribs, a broken scapula and a hemo pneumothorax in the same crash, while his teammate Ilan Van Wilder ended up with a broken jaw.

Twenty-four-year old Tyler Stites claimed victory in the Redlands Classic, sliding atop the podium with a third place finish in the final stage; 27-year old Heidi Franz took the women’s title.

An Indiana University fraternity claimed its first Little 500 victory in over 20 years.

 

Finally…

Riding tandem on a single-seat bike with a kitty as your stoker. And who needs an ebike when your passenger pitches in?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Crowdfunding for families of fallen Bullard brothers, ebikes booming despite short supplies, and register for coming LA rides

April 13, 2022 / / Comments Off on Crowdfunding for families of fallen Bullard brothers, ebikes booming despite short supplies, and register for coming LA rides

Following up on yesterday’s lead story, a crowdfunding campaign is raising money for the families of Adam and Matthew Bullard.

The brothers were killed Saturday by an alleged DUI driver near the finish line of the Tour of St. George, Utah. The driver infamously claimed she lost control of her car after losing control of her bowels, while failing every field sobriety test.

Adam leaves behind his wife and son, while Matt is survived by his wife and four children.

The fund has raised more than $61,000 of the $100,000 goal in just the first day.

Photo of Adam and Matthew Bullard from Adam Bullard’s Facebook page. 

………

The bike boom goes on, along with the concomitant supply chain problems.

Inc. calls soaring gas prices a double-edged sword for ebike and e-scooter companies, as fuel prices drive demand while raising their own transportation costs.

A Cleveland TV station says the bike boom is entering its third year, as high gas prices drive demand for gas-free transportation options.

Bloomberg looks at the supply problems faced by the world’s largest bikemaker, Taiwan’s Giant Manufacturing Group, concluding shortages may continue through this year as the company looks to diversify where its bikes are made.

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Celebrate Easter/Passover by signing up for what may be the world’s only cookie-themed fondo.

Meanwhile, there’s just two days left to get a discount when you register for May 1st’s Finish the Ride and Finish the Run in Griffith Park; use code GP20 to register before midnight Thursday.

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Be on the lookout for a hit-and-run driver who ran down an e-scooter rider last week.

https://twitter.com/BigFredOnABike/status/1513951971459284994

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

A 50-year old Utah man faces charges for shooting a 13-year old girl with a BB gun when she confronted him about breaking her friend’s bicycle; he was already on home confinement after being sentenced for DUI and being a felon in possession of a gun.

No bias here. A 70-acre park in Oxford, England posted a sign banning bicycles “whether ridden or not,” despite being bordered by a shared use path; one bike rider justifiably called it ridiculous, discriminatory and petty.

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Local

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that reported bike thefts are climbing in Los Angeles, up six percent over last year, following a decline the past few years from the high of 2017. Although that decline may or may not be accurate, since many people never report their stolen bikes to the police, so theft figures likely reflect a dramatic undercount.

Members of the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition rallied at Pasadena City Hall last night to call for safer streets in the city.

 

State 

Road.cc takes a loving look at a bespoke bicycle famed California bikemaker Tom Ritchey built for his dad 50 years ago when he was just 17, incorporating unique features that were decades ahead of their time.

San Diego continues to demonstrate how not to roll out new bike infrastructure, as residents of the Rancho Penasquitos neighborhood complain that they weren’t notified before parking spaces were removed and bike lanes striped, while the local councilwoman says no one informed her office, either.

 

National

Not so rad news from Seattle ebike maker Rad Power Bikes, which is laying off nearly 14% of its current workforce, in what the company describes as a restructuring; the bikemaker’s in-house service department is getting the ax as it outsources its customer service operations.

Police in Boulder, Colorado recovered three stolen bikes — including two chainless prototype bikes worth $70,000 — when the thief walked into a bike shop with a hot $12,000 ebike and a pair of bolt cutters.

Chicago aldermen are working on a proposal to allow drivers who block bike lanes to be ticketed based on bike cam video. It’s also worth noting that the Windy City has 50 members on its Board of Aldermen, while Los Angeles has just 15 city councilmembers, despite 1.1 million more residents. 

A research group at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University is reinventing the traffic light, using real-time adaptive technology to improve the flow of all road users — not just cars — while reducing red light waiting times.

A 27-year old New York man has amazed his doctors by walking again, less than two years, and five surgeries, after he was paralyzed in a dooring; now his goal is to compete in fencing at the 2026 Paralympic Games.

 

International

A writer for T3 calls out three mistakes every ebike buyer makes, including buying a cheap bike, thinking ebikes are really fast, and breaking the law. Everyone being a relative term, of course, since countless people don’t do any of those things. 

No bias here, either. A British paper reported a fresh call to remove a two-way bike lane — but based the entire story on the opinion of a single person, who called the lane a “white elephant.”

Bicycling injuries are spiking in the Netherlands, climbing a third over the past decade, although most aren’t the result of car crashes.

No surprise here, either, as a Norwegian study shows ebike buyers doubled their transportation riding, while quadrupling how far they ride in just six months.

 

Competitive Cycling

Subscribers to NBC’s Peacock streaming service can watch this weekend’s Paris-Roubaix, with the women’s race Saturday, and the men’s on Sunday.

Pro cyclist Hugo Hofstetter called for stricter regulations of disc brakes after he needed 35 stitches when the brake rotor sliced through his helmet in a fall.

 

Finally…

That feeling when someone is wheelie a fan of your work. Or when it takes 10 years, 8 months and 12 days to notch your second win. But who’s counting?

And who says you can’t carry a 30-foot flagpole on your bike?

Let alone for 35 miles.

https://twitter.com/pekkatahkola/status/1513606609418788871?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1513606609418788871%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-12-april-2022-291867

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Morning Links: A busy weekend for bike events, more bike giveaways for the holidays, and more doping news

December 15, 2017 / / One comment

Let’s start with a long list of bike events on a very busy weekend.

Beginning with a vintage bike ride in the San Fernando Valley.

Earlier this summer, local vintage bike enthusiast Peter Glenn started a vintage bike ride in the Valley. The final vintage ride for this Sunday rolls from 19600 Plummer St in Northridge at 9am, with a 20 mile loop, and free coffee and pastries afterwards. Peter describes it as a rolling bike show, with a mixture of beautifully restored American and European bikes from the 70’s and 80’s.

Everyone is welcome, even if you don’t own a vintage bike. And unlike Eroica, there’s no anti-Lycra brigade.

Thanks to Steve S for the heads-up.

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Finish the Ride and Safe Streets for Everyone will hold a ride to support hit-and-run victim Keith Jackson, who remains in a coma after he was struck from behind on La Tuna Canyon last weekend.

Meanwhile, CiclaValley writes about the search for his killer. And a crowdfunding campaign has raised over $1,100 in the first 24 hours to help pay Jackson’s medical bills.

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Still more events:

Bike SGV is holding a Cycling Santas Holiday Lights Ride on Saturday.

The final SoCal Cross races of the year take place Saturday and Sunday in Moreno Valley.

Bike Walk Glendale and the LACBC are hosting a Holiday Lights Ride on Sunday, with a stop in Gauchos Village for a hot cocoa treat.

SC Velo and Incycle Bike Stores are holding a Toy Ride in San Dimas on Sunday.

One of the nation’s most challenging hill climb competitions rolls Sunday with the 12th edition of Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer.

The Bikerowave will host a talk on getting more women bicycling with London Bike Kitchen founder Jenni Gwiazdowski next Friday; she’ll sign copies of her new book afterwards.

Bike SGV will ride the streets of Glendora January 6th to gather data the city can use to “make more informed decisions about their bike and walking infrastructure.”

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‘Tis the season.

LA Chargers running back Melvin Gordon has teamed with the Rally Cycling Pro Continental team to build 150 bikes for SoCal kids.

Burbank’s appropriately named Bike Angels have refurbished 150 bicycles to a nearly new condition for kids who might not otherwise be able to afford one.

The Cameron Park Rotary Club will be distributing over 200 bicycles refurbished by a single inmate at Folsom State Prison.

Fifty Fresno kids received new bicycles courtesy of a local property company.

Singer, songwriter and Broadway star Sara Bareilles is teaming with bikemaker Priority Bicycles and Santa Rosa’s North Bay Bike Project to provide bicycles for kids affected by the recent North Bay fires.

A Newport RI advocacy group has restored 30 bicycles for local kids.

The widow of North Carolina’s Bicycle Man has kept up his holiday tradition, refurbishing 1,200 bikes for children whose families couldn’t afford one.

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It’s the last day of the penultimate week of the 3rd Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

You can help keep SoCal’s best bike news coming your way with just a few clicks by using PayPal. Or by using the Zelle app that is probably already in the banking app on your smartphone; send your contribution to ted @ bikinginla dot com (remove the spaces and format as a standard email address).

Any donation, in any amount, is truly and deeply appreciated.

As an added bonus, frequent contributor Megan Lynch will provide a free download of her CD Songs the Brothers Warner Taught Me to anyone who makes a contribution during the fund drive. If you’ve already contributed and would like a copy, just email me at the address above and I’ll forward it to her.

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Local

It looks like the long-promised protected bike lanes on 7th Street may finally be moving forward, after the LA City Council voted to approve funding for the 7th Street Streetscape Improvements Project; they were promised as part of the approval process for the Wilshire Grand Center.

The Monterey Park City Council will vote on city’s first protected bike lanes on Monterey Pass Road at their meeting this Wednesday.

LA County is looking for input on a planned Complete Streets project on Rosemead Blvd in Pico Rivera and the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area.

Long Beach has received a $150,000 state grant for bicycle and pedestrian safety education. Although the money would be much better spent educating drivers, since they’re the ones who pose a risk to others.

 

State

The Orange County Register talks with a San Clemente cruiser ebike maker who started the company after getting bad customer service when he bought an ebike.

Riverside sheriff’s deputies are searching for whoever who beat a Menifee man to death, shortly after he was seen riding a bicycle towing a trailer to collect recycling.

No surprise here. The CHP and Alameda County District Attorney decided not to file charges against a driver who swerved into oncoming traffic to avoid a bike rider signaling a left turn, hit his outstretched arm, and kept going. Thanks to F. Lehnerz for the tip.

 

National

Bellingham, Washington police have busted nine people for bike theft using a GPS-equipped bait bike.

The Colorado man who killed mountain bike legend Mike Rust has been sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole, as well as concurrent sentences of 12 years for burglary, 18 months for tampering with evidence and 12 months each for theft and abuse of a corpse. Rust had disappeared in 2009 after setting out to track a burglar; his body was discovered early this year.

A Michigan driver got three to 15 years for fleeing the scene after killing a bike rider. Another example of keeping dangerous drivers on the road until they kill someone; she had five crashes in the previous eight years, as well as citations for careless driving and hit-and-run.

An allegedly drunk driver killed a bike rider while cutting donuts with his car. Yet another case of keeping dangerous drivers on the road until it’s too late; it was his third drunk driving arrest, yet somehow, he was still allowed behind the wheel.

The New York Times looks at a bike rider’s confrontation with a state senator who blocked a bike lane, then allegedly pretended to be a cop when the rider approached him.

More proof that bikes are good for business, as a new study using data from MasterCard shows higher receipts at New York restaurants near bikeshare locations.

A Louisiana bike rider says before you call an angry cyclist a nuisance, consider what made them so angry in the first place. And build better infrastructure, already.

 

International

Your 2018 Specialized Allez may be being recalled because of a bad fork.

Bike thefts are continuing to spike in Calgary, as riders are feeling ignored by the police.

Good idea. A proposed bill in Ontario, Canada would require anyone who killed a bicyclist or pedestrian to undergo renewed driver training, perform community service and appear in court to hear victim impact statements.

Here’s a surprise. A Toronto bike advocacy group has disbanded after nearly 25 years, saying conditions had improved enough in the city that they were no longer needed.

A British city has received the equivalent of $7,600 from a Chinese city to teach lower-income residents how to fix their bikes.

A Dutch consortium has developed an ebike designed to improve stability for elderly riders.

A study from the Netherlands shows GPS equipped decoy bikes cut bike theft up to 50% in areas where’s they’ve been used. Maybe that will be enough to finally convince the LAPD to give them a try.

Germany’s national bike industry trade association warns about the dangers of unsafe dockless bikeshare bikes.

 

Competitive Cycling

Chris Froome continues to insist he’s innocent of doping accusations, as Germany’s Tony Martin decries the double standard, questioning why Froome wasn’t immediately suspended.

Belgium authorities aren’t pleased Lance has been invited to attend next year’s Tour of Flanders as a special guest.

Italian cyclist Nicola Ruffoni will be 30 years old before he can compete again after getting a four-year ban for doping.

Dutch team LottoNL-Jumbo has sent three riders home for possessing a legal sleep aid that had not been approved by the team.

 

Finally…

Your next bike could be powered by hydrogen. Forget three feet; how about a 20-foot passing distance and a 6 mph speed limit? Thanks to Erik Griswold for the link.

And if you’re going to unveil the new national team, it might help if you actually named them.

Just saying.

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