Tag Archive for Giving Tuesday

Where to give this Giving Tuesday, elderly bike rider run over by heartless hit-and-run driver, and taking The NY Times to task

December 3, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 28 short days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 
But not one LA city leader seems to give a damn about it. Or if they do, they’re not saying anything. 

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It’s Day 5 of the 10th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

Thanks to Michael B, the M’s, and Miriam H for their generous donations to keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

Now it’s your turn. Take just a few minutes, and donate now!

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If you’re looking to put your money to good use this Giving Tuesday, consider giving to Streets For All, Streets Are For Everyone, Bike LA, Streetsblog LA, , Calbike, Orange County Bicycle Coalition, San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, Bike SD, or your local bike advocacy group, wherever you live.

And give a little extra Giving Tuesday consideration to Culver City-based Walk n’ Rollers, after the trailer and equipment they use to train kids on bike safety was stolen. Because they can use the help right now.

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A 71-year old man is in critical but stable condition after he was run over by a heartless hit-and-run driver while lying helpless in the roadway, after apparently striking an object with his bicycle.

According to the Ventura Police Department, a motorist called 911 after spotting the man lying in the road near Foothill Road and La Fonda Drive in East Ventura.

But after pulling over, the caller watched as the driver of a white car, possibly a Lexus, drove over the incapacitated victim. The driver, described only as a woman who appeared to be in her 70s, and another woman in her 20s got out and walked over to the victim, but fled the scene before emergency personnel arrived — without assisting the victim or calling for help, as required by law.

We shouldn’t need to remind anyone that major injuries are far more serious and difficult to overcome in older people, compounding the outrageousness of their crime. Although, unfortunately, that’s not something California’s overly lenient hit-and-run laws take into account.

Anyone with information is urged to call the Ventura Police Traffic Division at 805/339-4437.

Let’s hope they find these two and get them both off the road.

Permanently.

Thanks to Joe Linton and Jeffrey Rusk for the heads-up.

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Good for them.

Streetblog takes the New York Times to task for their recent piece that appeared to blame the recent murder of a Parisian bike rider by the driver of an SUV on the mythical “war on cars.”

Here’s how Streetsblog describes the paper’s reaction to the death of 27-year old bike advocate Paul Varry, who was intentionally run down by a 52-year old driver as he rode in a Paris bike lane.

The New York Times, though, suggested that another suspect deserved some of the blame: Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who, the paper said, has been “ratcheting up tensions” in the City of Light by implementing policies that “limit the movement, speed and parking options of cars.”

In a stunningly misguided article “Death of Cyclist in Paris Lays Bare Divide in Mayor’s War Against Cars,” writers Richard Fausset and Ségolène Le Stradic devoted much of the first 1,000 words of a roughly 1,450-word story to those who would paint Varry’s death as the latest salvo in the battle against Paris motorists’ “liberty to circulate,” to quote just one of the many angered drivers the writers interviewed.

According to the same driver, Hidalgo “is putting a garrote around Paris” by building bike paths and reducing speed limits on many of the city’s most famous roads — an “anti-car stance” that the article seemingly implies is now driving motorists to lethal violence.

It’s worth taking a few minutes to read the whole story. Because the Times certainly didn’t give that to their readers.

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Speaking of Streets For All, the transportation PAC is urging anyone who rides Forest Lawn Drive to turn out tomorrow to voice their support for protected bike lanes on the hazardous, high speed street.

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

An Athens, Ohio paper complains about “the world’s loneliest bike lanes,” which are “woefully bereft of bikers” riding on the city’s busiest commercial corridor, “negating their purpose.” Never mind that bike lanes are more efficient, often making them appear to be used less than they really are. Or that bike lanes are an effective tool to slow speeding drivers and improve safety for everyone, even if no one uses them.

A Florida man faces charges for allegedly shooting a passing bicyclist with a shotgun, as he got out of his car while the victim was riding past on his way to a friend’s house.

Separated bike lanes in Mysuru, India are under attack from roadside vendors, who are deliberately removing plastic bollards to create prime business real estate.

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It’s now 348 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And a full 42 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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Local  

A 61-year old Westlake Village man is in critical condition after he was struck by a minivan driver while riding on PCH near Sycamore Cove in Malibu.

SoCal bikemaker Linus Bike is closing their iconic Venice store on Abbot Kinney Blvd, and shifting to an online-only focus.

Santa Monica is cutting speed limits on over 30 miles of city streets to improve traffic safety; a revision in state law from a few years ago allows cities to drop speed limits by 5 mph under specific conditions.

Speaking of SaMo, the beachfront city is making the city’s dockless e-scooter micromobility program permanent, after years of operating on a trial basis.

 

State

A 100-year old, and still rideable, road bike will find a new home here in California, as a 96-year old Canadian man passed it down to his American son after moving into a retirement home.

San Diego’s newspaper of record uncovers an apparent non-scandal, reporting that La Mesa City Councilmember Colin Parent solicited donations to Circulae San Diego, the transportation advocacy nonprofit he works for; Parent says he was careful to adhere to the rules for behest donations even as he ran in a failed bid for the state Assembly.

A San Bernardino man learns the hard way that when you’re riding your bike with an outstanding felony warrant, while carrying meth, marijuana, a working scale and “additional paraphernalia suggestive of drug transport and sales,” it pays to follow city ordinances and state vehicle codes.

 

National

A Philadelphia injury epidemiologist calls on the city to slow drivers, better protect bike riders, and collect better data to improve safety.

 

International

Seriously? Bicycling examines how international nonprofit Best Buddies uses bikes to make the world a more inclusive place, assisting 200 million families around the world affected by intellectual and developmental disabilities. But even that story is hidden by their paywall, so you’re on your own if they block you. And unfortunately, so is the charity they’re ostensibly trying to help.

About damn time. British cops are going undercover on bicycles to bust dangerous drivers making unsafe passes. We tried, and failed, to talk the LAPD into doing the same thing, for reasons that were never explained to us.

Mint considers India’s best cities for bicycling, from Bengaluru to Mumbai, for your next trip to the subcontinent.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist looks back at French cycling great Jeannie Longo’s victory in the 1985 Coors Classic, which was America’s biggest bike race at the time. I was lucky enough to be standing on or near the finish line for several of her stage wins in the race.

Rare historic and collectors items will be on display at Italy’s Longarone Fiere Dolomiti during next year’s Giro d’Italia, if you happen to be hanging around for the race.

British cycling great Sir Bradley Wiggins says Lance Armstrong isn’t so bad once you get to know him, arguing that the ex-Tour de France champ “has got a heart under there somewhere” after he offered to pay for a week of special therapy in the US for Wiggins, even though Wiggins had termed the Texan a “lying bastard” in the wake of his doping charges. So, maybe a lying bastard with a heart of, well, certainly not gold. 

 

Finally…

If you want to bike through a fast food drive thru, you’re probably out of luck. How to leap from winning KOMs to the WorldTour.

And a bus so nice, he stole it twice — running down a bike rider in the process.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Give a little for bikes on Giving Tuesday, windshield bias in Santa Monica, and the case of the doubly purloined Pinarellos

November 28, 2023 / / Comments Off on Give a little for bikes on Giving Tuesday, windshield bias in Santa Monica, and the case of the doubly purloined Pinarellos

It’s Day 5 of the 9th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

So take just a moment before we get started to open your heart and wallet in support for our humble little bike blog.

And let’s thank Paul F and Grace P for their generous donations yesterday to help keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day!

So don’t wait! Donate today!

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It’s also Giving Tuesday.

So if you have anything left after giving to our holiday fund drive — or maybe the other way around — send a little love to some of the groups out there working to keep you safe and informed.

Thanks to Valley Duke, Chris Thomas and Gary J. Templeton for their suggestions.

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Santa Monica is celebrating the official unveiling of the bike and pedestrian friendly improvements on 17th Street and Michigan Ave, which have already survived the slings and arrows of local residents angry over changes to their streets.

Or should I say, “their” streets.

17th Street Bikeway Ribbon Cutting

9 a.m. Donuts, coffee and hot chocolate (while supplies last)

9:30 a.m.  Ribbon cutting ceremony

Confirmed Speakers:

  • Mayor Gleam Davis
  • Director of Transportation Anuj Gupta
  • Chief of Police Ramon Batista
  • Santa Monica Spoke Director Cynthia Rose

10 a.m. Santa Monica High School Marching Band

11:15 a.m. Academia de Danza Ballet Folklorico Flor de Mayo

10 a.m. – noon Guided bike tours

Thanks to David Drexler for the heads-up.

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Speaking of Santa Monica, a local writer offers a word salad of windshield bias and entitlement, along with support for what she says is Santa Monica’s near non-existent public transit system.

Evidently, she’s not a fan of the city’s Big Blue Bus. Or the continuous rumble of Metro buses on the coastal boulevards.

She starts with the story of her ex-husband’s bicycling crash, when he was run down from behind by a driver who questioned why he failed to see him as he rode home from dinner on Pico Blvd.

Because it was dark? Because the lights there are dim? Because it was late and maybe he was tired?

Because accidents happen. No one need be at fault. And yet, the city bears some responsibility for promoting biking before it’s truly safe, for making it ever-more-maddening to drive a car, and for absolutely refusing to create any realistic public transportation options.

I’ve been horrified to since read about two more recent bike accidents, one fatal. The city council’s solutions are all about increasing safety and visibility — and adding more fines. Safety is a good thing, certainly. But better biking is not a full-scale transportation option. And the current practice of incessantly writing parking tickets is already anti-resident, punitive, and un-Santa Monican. The real problem is that it is nearly impossible to drive a car peaceably anywhere in Santa Monica and it is only getting worse. The city has not invested in public transportation. We need safe, reliable, cheap public transportation, not more rules and more fines.

Except that “accidents happen” shouldn’t be an excuse for carelessness.

Cars are big, dangerous machines, and it’s not unreasonable to expect their operators to pay attention to the road directly ahead of them, and stop before hitting people or objects directly in their path.

Is that really too much to ask?

As for promoting bicycling before it’s truly safe, she’s got a point.

But that’s how you make it safe, by making improvements to the streets and encouraging people to use them, and using that increase in ridership to justify the next round of improvements.

Which shouldn’t be necessary, but it is. Because people like her inevitably complain about the inconveniences they face from each little incremental change on the streets.

That’s followed with more talk about the dangers of riding a bicycle, and holding onto one, along with the usual litany of all the reasons why bicycling is impractical.

Except that people do it every day, under exactly the conditions she complains about.

Also, it can be hard to keep a bike in Santa Monica. I, too, had been regularly biking until my electric bike got stolen from behind my house, and then my beach cruiser. And a biking-first policy isn’t inclusive. Plenty of people can’t rely on a bike — like parents of young children, the elderly or disabled, grocery shoppers, those needing to take important meetings free of sweat and errant hair, anyone who has to get anywhere else in LA.

Never mind that bikes, especially ebikes like the one she used to own, serve as effective mobility devices for the elderly and disabled, while cargo bikes are surprisingly efficient for grocery shopping and transporting young kids.

And as a former ebike owner, she should know as well as anyone how well they work for getting you places virtually sweat-free, especially in Santa Monica’s cool coastal climate.

She’s not wrong about the need to improve public transit, in Santa Monica and throughout Southern California.

But she is wrong about the practical benefits of bicycling, and the need for a virtually carbon-free form of inexpensive transportation as we confront a looming climate crisis.

Not to mention that bikes are fun.

Maybe a little lingering resentment towards her bike-riding ex is tainting her thinking.

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A team of well-rehearsed Italian bike thieves celebrated the American Thanksgiving Day with a professional heist at the headquarters of Pinarello, stealing 12 bikes worth over $164,000 in just 3 minutes.

The theft was so successful, they staged an encore just 20 hours later, returning to snatch another seven Pinarellos worth more than $109,000.

So if you happen to see a struggling bike team riding brand new Pinarellos next year, it may be more evidence that the cycling financial model really is in trouble.

Or maybe that’s just how they haze rookie riders these days.

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‘Tis the season.

Forbes offers a holiday gift guide recommending ebikes for every time of riding. Except for people who prefer standard bikes, of course.

And either there was an issue with translation, or Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling blog has written a gift guide for the cyclist band Queen.

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YouTuber Daily MTB Rider explains why the bike industry is failing.

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

Maybe there’s hope. A British writer who confesses to pouring gasoline on an inferno with her 2015 call to ban the “menace of bicycles” from the roads says she’s given up her car, taken to public transit and revised her low opinion of men in Lycra.

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Local 

Streetsblog examines the new bike lanes, green pavement treatments and a new bike path in Artesia.

LAist offers tips on how to achieve a more walkable, bikeable city.

Long Beach is on the path to getting speed cams.

 

State

Caltrans is moving forward with plans to extend San Diego County’s SR-56 bike path, with construction expected to be finished next year.

Bike-unfriendly Coronado, which famously banned all future bike lanes after residents complained about their dizzying, vertigo-inducing visual effects, is planning a festive Ride the Lights nighttime cycling party for December 10th.

The high desert community of Tehachapi unveiled 1.5 miles of new bike lanes in the Old Town district in an effort to improve air quality and traffic safety, as well as safety for cyclists who train in the area during the off-season.

Bicycling says San Francisco-based subscription service Friiyay is changing the business model of ebike rentals and ownership. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

More NorCal traffic violence, after someone riding a bicycle was killed by a driver in Stockton on Sunday.

 

National

Velo explains why banning right turns on red lights remains a challenge despite rising bicycling and pedestrian deaths, and numerous studies demonstrating the risk.

In the wake of bicyclists killed intentionally by murderous teenagers, extreme speeding motorists and drunk municipal bus drivers, Las Vegas police attempted to improve safety by instructing drivers on bike safety laws, including Nevada’s three-foot passing law. Which wouldn’t have helped with any of those cases. Or the truck driver high on meth who killed five bike riders in 2020, for that matter. But hey, baby steps, right?

While the interminable wait for California’s ebike voucher program to finally launch continues, Denver is wrapping yet another round of the city’s highly successful ebike voucher program with the final launch of the year, with all available vouchers expected to be claimed in less than 10 minutes.

A package of bills in the New York State legislature addresses the exploding risk of ebike fires, with bills mandating safer batteries and fire control equipment at ebike shops. Which raises the question of why any business wouldn’t be required to take the most basic steps to prevent fires.

 

International

Despite the government announcing a more than $10 billion fund to repair England’s notorious potholes, the country’s leading bicycling charity says it’s still not enough to keep bike riders safe.

A British doctor is suing Sheffield, England-based bike designers, builders and sellers Planet X for the equivalent of $12.63 million, after his gravel bike shattered underneath him as he rode, leaving him paralyzed with a broken spine.

Toyota is getting into the e-bikeshare business in Copenhagen.

More proof that bikes are built for disasters, as a Palestinian rides a bicycle past the rubble of a bombed out home, after gasoline has become unobtainable in Gaza.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling says cycling great and former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich confessed to doping and his crumbling life after his career ended, including “cocaine and alcohol abuse, assault charges, and arguably even more drama than Lance.” Although he still has a long way to go to match getting stripped of seven Tour titles. Once again, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

Bicycling also says Peter Sagan coulda been a contender. Or at least even greater than he was. Unfortunately, this one doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else, so you’re on your own if the magazine blocks you.

 

Finally…

Your all-new Holocene aero roadie could be made from your old one. And that feeling when you steal a bike from the bike thief who stole it from the bike shop.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Support bike advocacy on Giving Tuesday, Metro rescinds disguised rate increase, and new bike lanes in CD1 at last

November 29, 2022 / / 5 comments

Happy Giving Tuesday!

It’s the day you give your hard-earned money to help one or more deserving organizations do some good in the world. 

We listed a handful of local organizations that deserve your support yesterday, like CicLAvia, Streets For All and LA’s legendary Bicycle Kitchen.

Other deserving LA and California bike groups include Calbike, Streetsblog, BikeLA (formerly the LACBC), SAFE and Walk ‘n Rollers. 

Then if there’s anything left under your sofa cushions, it’s also Day 5 of the 8th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive.

So let’s give a special thanks to Andrew G, David R, Eric L and SAFE for their generous donations yesterday to keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

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Apparently, they heard us.

After transit users and advocacy groups rose up against Metro’s proposed new rate structure, which was presented as a “simplification” but would have resulted in a disguised rate increase for many riders, the LA County transit agency backed down.

Metro is now keeping the existing $1.75 fares and free transfers, while capping daily fares for multiple rides at $5, with an $18 weekly cap.

Which should work better for everyone.

While we’re on the subject, Metro is recruiting members for the agency’s Public Safety Advisory Committee.

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It looks like LADOT is getting a jump on “Roadkill” Gil Cedillo leaving office.

After nine years of blocking most, if not all, bike infrastructure in LA’s CD1, new bike lanes are beginning to appear on the streets of long-neglected Lincoln Heights now that Cedillo has lost his bid for a third and final term, with incoming Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez set to take office in two weeks.

Let’s hope it’s just the first of many, starting with deadly North Figueroa.

https://twitter.com/hippierunner/status/1597268600175284224

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Apparently, it is possible to build a bike lane that’s actually protected from motor vehicles, without relying on those little car-tickler plastic bendy posts.

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Speaking of Walk ‘n Rollers, the Culver City-based kids bike safety and education group is hosting a fundraising donut ride this Saturday.

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And speaking of CicLAvia, you can chase your donuts with America’s largest open streets event as it rolls through South LA on Sunday.

Fingers crossed that it doesn’t rain, though.

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‘Tis the season.

Seventy-five students in a Colorado elementary school were surprised with new bicycles thanks to a local nonprofit, after the kids watched a performance by a retired BMX stunt rider.

Hundreds of 3rd graders at a pair of Greenville NC elementary schools got new bikes, thanks to the Poway, California-based Bikes for Kids Foundation.

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

A Michigan judge faces a judicial ethics complaint after falsely accusing a bike shop owner of a racist assault after she demanded for a discount due to a problem with one of the bicycles; security video showed she was the one who actually assaulted the bike shop owner.

No bias here. Bike riders in Winnipeg, Manitoba were warned not to clear snow from city bike lanes or risk a fine, even if the city doesn’t do it.

A Toronto roadway vigilante asks if he was wrong to honk at a bike rider who started off from a red light during the Leading Pedestrian Interval, saying he’s tires of bicyclists making up their own rules; a columnist politely points out that there are too many traffic infractions at every intersection to enforce every one, and it ain’t his job anyway. Correction: I originally wrote that California bike riders are allowed to proceed along with the walk signal, in advance of the green light; however, Bryan J Blumberg explains that the rule won’t take effect until 2024. 

No bias here, either. London cops took a bike rider to task for swearing after they parked their unmarked car in bike lane, forcing the rider into the street — even though bicyclists are required to used the bike lane, and even though he had no idea they were cops. The Metro police later apologized, admitting the cops were wrong.

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

The FBI is continuing to search for a 38-year old armed robber, despite removing him from Ten Most Wanted list 18 years after he allegedly shot a 24-year-old armored-car guard five times in the head, then fled on a mountain bike with $56,000 in cash.

Students at England’s Cambridge University have a tradition of ignoring the university’s one-way traffic regulations, according to a university fellow.

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Local 

No news is good news, right?

 

State 

Calbike offers suggestions on how young people can get started in advocacy to get more people riding bicycles.

More bad news this week, as a 71-year old man suffered critical injuries when he was struck by a driver while riding in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Oakland is moving ahead with a $295 million package of infrastructure improvements between the city’s Jack London Square and a proposed new stadium at the port, including a bike path, regardless of whether it actually gets built.

 

National

VeloNews examines whether MIPS bike helmets really prevent traumatic brain injuries, as the manufacturers claim. However, you’ll have to sign up for a free account to read the story.

Bicycling looks at the problem of ever-shrinking passing zones, as bike lanes have failed to keep up with larger private vehicles — let alone vehicle sizes that force bike riders who don’t take the full lane even further into the door zone. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Bike Portland takes an early look at Oregon’s proposed ebike rebate program, which would offer up to $1,200 to purchase a standard ebike, or up to $1,700 for a cargo ebike. Although that could change as the bill moves forward.

Utah has suffered a 30 year high in bicycling fatalities; 15 people have been killed riding bikes in the state this year, with over a month to go.

Once again, authorities have managed to keep a dangerous driver on the road until it’s too late. A Utah man faces up to 20 years behind bars after pleading guilty in the drunken crash that killed a 13-year old boy riding his bike in a crosswalk; he was still on the road despite three previous DUI convictions, as well as violating court-imposed alcohol restrictions.

A sitting judge, who was the co-founder of the nonprofit Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico, was killed by her husband in murder suicide; he also shot a number of their pets before taking his own life.

A defendant in Colorado’s Operation Vicious Cycle bike theft scheme agreed to a plea deal of three years behind bars, followed by another three years of probation; seven other defendants are also accused of stealing high-end bikes from Denver-area bike shops for resale in a Mexican bike shop.

Good news, as Christian singer Amy Grant returned to a Memphis stage for the first time since she suffered a traumatic brain injury hitting a pothole on her bike in August; she was reportedly unconscious for up to 15 minutes following her fall. And yes, she was wearing a helmet.

New York’s fire department will require landlords to post a notice warning about the risk of ebike and e-scooter battery fires when charging them indoors.

Prosecutors in North Carolina have charged a driver with killing an Asheville man riding a bicycle, even though the driver played the Universal Get Out of Jail Free card by claiming he just didn’t see him; police say the area was well lighted, so the driver should have seen the victim in time to avoid the crash.

 

International

Road.cc asks its readers what’s the scariest thing that’s happened to them on a bike that didn’t involve a driver, with responses ranging from rampaging cows to exploding rims. In my case, it was probably when a log resting on a Louisiana roadway started moving when I rode closer, and snapped his alligator jaws at me as I swerved around it.

A writer for We Love Cycling makes the case for why requiring registration plates for bicycles doesn’t make sense.

A Japanese writer takes on the new rinko trend, defined as taking a folding bicycle on a train to explore your destination at the other end.

 

Competitive Cycling

A British man has been sidelined in advance of this week’s Cyclocross Masters World Championships after someone broke into his home and stole his bikes.

 

Finally…

Build your own DIY bicycle turn signals and brake light. Your next ebike could be your caddie, although it probably sucks at selecting the right club.

And presenting the answer for everyone who ever wanted to pedal through the library.

Or in it, anyway.

https://twitter.com/Michele_Bryans/status/1596218054077480960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1596218054077480960%7Ctwgr%5Edaafdaf1036e381419e91ae9390e8aa5b3f4c859%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-28-november-2022-297679

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

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

Killer Oceanside hit-and-run driver gets 2 years, low curb hazard on new Culver bike lanes, and scam Bonin anti-recall site

November 30, 2021 / / Comments Off on Killer Oceanside hit-and-run driver gets 2 years, low curb hazard on new Culver bike lanes, and scam Bonin anti-recall site

Before we get started, just a quick reminder that today is Giving Tuesday, the one day each year set aside to support worthy nonprofit organizations that need your help.

We could name a very long list, from Streets For All and the LACBC, to Calbike and Streetsblog LA and California.

Along with your own local advocacy groups, wherever you live.

One group that recently came to my attention is the Los Angeles Bicycle Academy, a youth cycling and bicycle education program created to “empower, educate and develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills in youth between the ages of 8-18.”

Our focus is to work with youth from underserved communities where opportunity, access, equity, and exposure within the sport of cycling is extremely limited. We want to help more young people learn the positive impact a bicycle can have on their own lives, and the lives of those around them.

They have big plans for the coming year, including opening a community bike shop, launching a build-a-bike program, and developing a women’s cycling team.

It’s worth checking out. And maybe adding them to your giving list this year.

Speaking of giving, our spokesdog up there reminds you to support SoCal’s best bike news by giving to the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

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Life is cheap in San Diego County, where 24-year old Oceanside resident Bailey Tennery got a lousy two years behind bars for killing 27-year old Carlsbad resident Jackson Williams as he rode his bike in Oceanside last July.

Tennery pled guilty to felony hit-and-run causing death and misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

She could have gotten up to four years in the state pen, with another year in county.

Instead, she got a relative slap on the wrist for leaving an innocent man to die alone in the street. Then hid her car for a full week until it was spotted by a homeless man.

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You can’t please everyone.

Culver City officially unveiled their new Move Culver City initiative, installing quick build bus and bike lanes on three major streets in the downtown area — in a fraction of the time and cost required for similar projects across the city limit line in Los Angeles.

But while most people came out to celebrate completion of the project, I’m told a group of drivers turned out to protest, apparently under the misconception that 100% of the streets belong to cars.

And unwilling to give up a single inch, let alone a lane or two.

On the other hand, the response from the two-wheeled group seems mostly positive.

https://twitter.com/PowerLlama/status/1465135867249369094

However, Mitchell Guzik pointed out an unexpected hazard posed by low concrete curbs intended to protect people using the bike lanes, but which could present a risk to any bike rider who runs into them.

Photo by Mitchell Guzik

Even in daylight, it’s a struggle to spot them in the photo. Which means it would be nearly impossible after dark.

And as we’ve seen on PCH in Cardiff, unintentionally hitting them can spill a rider into the roadway, with serious results.

The obvious solution, as Guzik suggests, is to paint the curbs a more visible color. Or go crazy, and let some of Culver City’s many artists decorate them.

Obviously, we don’t want to fall into the common SoCal trap of letting perfect be the enemy of good when it comes to bike lanes.

But just a minor improvement could make them safer for everyone.

Correction: I originally misspelled the name of Mitchell Guzik. My apologies for the error. 

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They’re back.

A few very unpleasant years ago, I had the misfortune of tangling with the fraudulent Westside Walkers Twitter account, which was created in response to the 2017 lane reductions on Venice Blvd and in Playa del Rey.

As Peter Flax made clear in outing the person behind the account, the Westside Walkers pretended to be “LA’s #1 walking & biking advocacy group.”

But it was actually just one man’s political dirty trick, posing as a nonexistent group to muddy the advocacy waters and make his opposition to traffic safety measures seem more reasonable.

He even went so far as to claim to be a co-founder and operator of this site. Which I can assure you neither he, nor anyone else other than myself, had anything to do with.

Now he’s back, pretending to be the “Official Democrat Anti Recall” group supporting CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin, which undoubtedly came as a surprise to the actual group opposing the recall.

As before, this is just another political dirty trick by a recall supporter and longtime Bonin hater, in an attempt to muddy the water.

And not hesitating to use outright lies to do it.

So don’t fall for it.

Whether or not you support Bonin — and I do — there’s no place for stunts like this, from someone with a long history of playing dirty.

Politics in Los Angeles are dirty enough.

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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 London political columnist takes issue with bike lanes and the unlicensed people who use them, saying bikes were fine for Victorian times, but should only be used on private property these days (scroll down — no, keep scrolling). Just wait until someone tells him who the roads were really built for. 

A British driver sideswipes a bike rider while making an ill-advised pass. And naturally blames the guy on the bike for being there — and touching his car with his body. No, really. 

………

Local

DTLA’s Grand Ave now has a dedicated right-side bus lane to complement the protected bike lane on the other side of the road.

 

State

A truck driver who fatally right-hooked a bike-riding San Luis Obispo man faces a maximum of one lousy year behind bars or a $1,000 fine after being charged with misdemeanor vehicular homicide, because he didn’t do it on purpose. On the other hand, the victim is still dead, whether or not it was intentional.

The CHP busted a hit-and-run driver who killed a 25-year old Watsonville man when he rear-ended the victim’s bicycle.

A Streetsblog op-ed accuses Oakland’s Vision Zero program of being an empty promise, and says the city needs to take it seriously if they want to eliminate traffic deaths. A sentiment most Los Angeles bike riders and pedestrians could probably relate to.

The carnage continues in the Bay Area, as a San Jose bike rider was killed in a collision yesterday.

The victim of the fatal Moraga bicycling collision we mentioned yesterday has been identified as a 77-year old man, who surely deserved better.

 

National

The Washington Post says, despite the rising rate of disasters brought on by a rapidly warming climate, state transportation agencies are only beginning to plan for climate change.

US bicycling rates are up 10% nationwide, with some cities seeing up to a 50% jump in ridership.

Electrek looks at the year’s best ebikes for under a grand.

Cycling Tips talks with an Iowa artist who turns discarded bike parts into works of art.

Um, no. Treehugger says a New York company’s stylish, high-viz vests will make you want to ride your bike every day. Something is seriously wrong if you have to dress like a glow-in-the-dark clown just to stay alive on a bicycle.

Streetsblog makes the case that the NYPD is lying about the risks posed by ebikes, conflating crashes involving ebikes, which are legal in New York, with mopeds, which aren’t. And placing all the blame on the bike riders, while ignoring who was actually at fault in those crashes.

Something is definitely out of kilter when bike lanes become a wedge issue in a local New Jersey election.

 

International

Evidently, in Canada, a bicycle visible in your Zoom background is just a partisan prop.

A writer for Bike Radar makes the case for registering your bike in the UK. Something you can do for free with lifetime registration from Bike Index on this side of the pond.

A British newsletter takes issue with the legend that Scottish veterinarian John Dunlop invented the pneumatic tire in the 1880s, pointing out that another Scotsman had patented one 40 years earlier.

The Philippines pandemic-driven bike boom was accompanied by a nearly 50% increase in injury collisions.

 

Finally…

Bicycles for people with more dollars than sense. Nothing like wracking your nuts on the top tube on live TV

And probably not the best idea to drive a stolen car to sell a stolen ebike bike to the guy you stole it from.

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It’s Day 5 of the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!

So let’s thank Bernard B, Stephen M and Tom C for their generous donations to help keep SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy keeps coming your way every day.

So don’t wait. Give now via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com.

Any amount, no matter how large or small, is truly and deeply appreciated.

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

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

Morning Links: Where to give on Giving Tuesday, emus and rams on the attack, and how to annoy women cyclists

November 29, 2016 / / 2 comments
It's the 2nd Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive! Donate today to help keep SoCal's best source for bike news coming your way every day.

It’s the 2nd Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive! Donate today to help keep Southern California’s best source for bike news coming your way every day.

Be sure to come back later today, when we’ll have a great guest post from David Kooi of Santa Monica Mountains Cyclery in Woodland Hills.

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Today is Giving Tuesday. If you’re looking for a good bike-related cause to support, here are a few suggestions.

The Milt Olin Foundation is raising $35,000 to fight distracted driving; the organization was founded by Louise Olin after her husband was killed by a sheriff’s deputy distracted by his onboard computer.

Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE) is a non-profit dedicated to improving street safety and ending hit-and-runs, led by Finish the Ride founder Damian Kevitt.

Richmond, CA’s Rich City Rides is raising $10,000 to help serve communities in San Francisco’s East Bay area. This is how they describe their mission: “We unite people with bicycles! By infusing high crime marginalized neighborhoods with social ride celebrations of life, unity and health we decrease violence and increase familiarity and humanity across cultures, ethnicities and communities.”

The California Bicycle Coalition, aka Calbike, works at the state level to fight for fairer treatment for bike riders, increased funding for bike projects, and changes in California law to better protect riders.

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition works to make LA and surrounding communities healthy, safe, and fun places to ride a bike through advocacy, education, and outreach. And a donation to the LACBC will enter you in a drawing to win a bicycle from Burbank-based Pure Cycles.

While they don’t seem to have donation pages online, the San Gabriel Valley’s Bike SGV and South LA’s East Side Riders both deserve support.

Note: I somehow forgot to include LA’s iconic CicLAvia, as well as World Bicycle Relief, an organization that works to end poverty by giving bicycles to students in Africa.

If we didn’t include your favorite bike organization or cause, be sure to mention it in the comments so others can see it.

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LA riders may have to deal with distracted, road raging drivers. But at least we don’t have to worry about charging emus.

Or head-butting mini rams, for that matter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f5RDV4DvQk

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This could be a look at LA’s future, as an 18-year old New Zealand man rides 15 miles on broken, rubble-strewn roads to get to safety after a 7.8 earthquake.

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Former pro Tyler Hamilton opens up about his painful doping past. Which of course has nothing to do with marketing his presumably dope-free training camps.

Doping spreads to the world of fixies, as a Columbian cyclist earned a lifetime ban by testing positive for EPO at the Milan Red Hook Crit. Evidently, he didn’t get the memo that the doping era is over.

Caught on video: Two Belgian cyclocross riders were disqualified when push came to shove. Literally.

Maybe they all could learn something from some balance bike racers. Credit Peter Flax with finding the video.

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Local

Metro has to fork up another $300 million for the contractor on the 405 Freeway boondoggle, raising the total cost for the failed widening project to $1.6 billion. Lets hope they learned something before dumping their new Measure M funds down the same auto-centric toilet.

The Westside’s Bikerowave co-op is hosting a bicycle swap meet on December 11th; members of the public are welcome to sell bike-related items.

No bias here. El Monte police conduct the first of ten planned Bike & Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Operations by ticketing 41 bicyclists, 14 pedestrians — and just six drivers. Evidently, scofflaw motorists don’t pose much risk to others there.

Somehow this one passed under the radar, as Cudahy will host a ciclovía/open streets event from 11 am to 3 pm this Saturday.

The CSU Long Beach student newspaper looks at the national bike helmet safety campaign founded by Carmen Lofgren following the death of her son, CSULB alum Gary Lofgren two years ago.

 

State

Residents of San Diego’s exclusive beachside La Jolla neighborhood just say no to bikeshare, complaining about the unsightly advertising on the city’s DecoBike system, as well as a feared traffic nightmare if bikes were to besmirched their jewel-encrusted streets.

Yelp now considers bike parking in its reviews, while Cyclelicious observes that one upscale Silicon Valley mall offers free, secure bike lockers. Hopefully, that’s an idea that will spread down this way; I’d be much more comfortable riding my bike to shop if I didn’t have to field strip it to lock up and knew it would be there when I get back.

The Sacramento Bee says transportation advocates are cautiously optimistic about the prospects for active transportation under a Trump administration. Evidently, they haven’t been talking to the same advocates I have.

 

National

A writer for Car & Driver is just the latest to say he’s given up riding a bike out of fear of texting, talking and otherwise distracted cellphone-using drivers. Thanks to Opus the Poet for the heads-up.

Caught on video too: This is why you always lock your bike securely to your roof rack, as a Seattle bike thief needs just a few minutes to make off with one.

Good news from Colorado, as Olympian Mara Abbott gets her stolen bike back. And in better condition than when it was taken from her garage.

After a Kansas art professor and competitive cyclist was killed in a collision, her case was handled by a lawyer she had mentored as a young bike racer.

A Minnesota grad student partners with a professor to develop sensors that attach to your bike to tell you when a car is approaching.

Pittsburgh cyclists finally have the crash data they need to advocate for safety improvements.

New York releases stats on pedestrians and cyclists killed or injured on Gotham streets last month. Which is something Los Angeles has never done, if it even bothers to track that information in real time. And which Vision Zero will be meaningless without.

New York debates expanding the Citi Bike bikeshare system throughout the city.

Two Baltimore teens have been convicted of robbery and first degree assault in the stabbing death of a bike rider last January, but acquitted of murder charges, as their younger accomplice shoulders the blame.

 

International

Now that’s a fat bike. An Edmonton, Canada man builds a $1,700, customized four-tired bicycle designed to take him over 750 miles of ice and snow from the South Pole to the Antarctic coast.

A British bike site concludes that fake tans are just appearance doping.

Brit bike designer Isla Rowntree wants to convince parents to spend $350 on a high-performance kid’s bike, instead of dropping fifty to a hundred bucks on a kid-sized bicycle shaped object.

A kindhearted Scotsman buys a new bike for the “wee daughter” of a crossing guard after hers was stolen at a charity event.

Caught on video three: A Scottish paper is quick to blame a foul-mouthed bike rider who went off on a driver after being “beeped” at. It’s hard to blame the rider for crossing in front of the driver when the car had just rounded a curve which would have hidden it from view. On the other hand, even if you’re right, don’t be a damn jerk about it.

A TV show in the UK follows eight pseudo-celebs as they train for the 75-mile Etape du Tour.

The husband of an American cruise ship passenger killed while riding her bike in New Zealand says it was just an accident and no one was to blame. Although local riders were quick to blame the lack of safe streets.

An Aussie stunt rider gives a whole new meaning to riding the rails, while another freaks out a driver by skitching a bus.

Brisbane, Australia decides to remove unsafe safety rails from city bikeways.

A 13-year old New Zealand boy is riding the 1,000 mile length of the country’s North Island, accompanied by his mother, to raise funds for a new playground.

Taipei has revolutionized its cycling culture in just eight years, increasing bike ridership 30%, while the city’s bikeshare costs half the price of subway ride. Which is just the opposite of LA, where renting a Metro Bike costs up to twice as much as a train ride; if they really want it to succeed here and get people out of their cars, the cost has to come down.

 

Finally…

No, seriously. Why bother obeying traffic laws when you’re carrying meth, drug paraphernalia and stolen debit cards on your bike? Don’t blame your bike for a failed romance.

And how to annoy women cyclists.

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A special thanks to Todd Rowell for his generous contribution to support this site during the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive.

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

Morning Links: Curmudgeonly SaMo writers, LABAC meets tonight, and giving on Giving Tuesday

December 1, 2015 / / 4 comments

Apparently tired of telling kids to get off his lawn, a curmudgeonly SaMo writer complains about a whopping four — yes, four — Main Street parking spaces that are being converted into parklets, which will evidently prevent anyone from parking anywhere in the neighborhood ever again; he similarly bemoans the parklets and loss of traffic lanes on Broadway in DTLA.

As an aside, the story mentions that the Santa Monica Planning Commission will meet on Wednesday to consider the city’s bike and pedestrian plans, which he’s clearly not in favor of, either.

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Meanwhile, Dr. Michael Cahn forwards this letter copied from the Santa Monica Observer, in which a driver is offended when his attempt to educate and/or enforce bike traffic laws from behind the wheel of his car is met with a predictable response.

TaylorLetterSMObserver

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LA’s Bicycle Advisory Committee, the city’s only official voice for bicyclists, meets tonight in the LAPD Hollywood Division Community Room, 6501 Fountain Ave.

BAC-Agenda

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The story of popular Silver Lake Trader Joe’s parking lot attendant Egee Mabolis is picked up by LAist and the Eastsider, following the bicycling injury that left him with no feeling in his arms and legs.

A gofundme account to help defray his medical costs has raised 3/5 of the $25,000 goal.

After all, it is Giving Tuesday.

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Speaking of Giving Tuesday, you can bid on a Silca SuperPista Ultimate Bicycle Pump hand-painted by cycling scion Taylor Phinney, with 100% of the proceeds going to support the Davis Phinney Foundation to fight Parkinson’s Disease. Phinney — Taylor, not Davis — is putting off additional surgery on his badly injured left knee in hopes of competing in next year’s Rio Olympics.

And with a little luck, a $10 donation to the (RED) campaign to fight HIV/AIDS could get you ice cream and ride through Central Park with U2’s Bono.

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Take a few minutes out of your day for this must-read piece from CiclaValley, in which he surprises a driver by saying he was lucky he got in a collision, even with his kids in the car, and even if the red light-running driver who hit him seemed to think it was no big deal.

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Next City offers a much better take on the documentary Bikes vs. Cars than yesterday’s Daily Beast hatchet job; the film opens at the Laemmle NoHo 7 this Friday.

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Local

Bicycling takes a very brief look at LA artist cycling tour guide and bike salesman Adam K. Masters, and how he got hooked on track racing.

Former DC and Chicago DOT chief and current author Gabe Klein calls for creative solutions like protected bike lanes and bikeshare stations to improve transportation in LA, along with a switch to self-driving cars.

A new video from Metro explains how to use the Metro Bike Hub at El Monte Station, which promises to be just the first of several throughout the LA area.

Temple City will consider a proposed redesign of Las Tunas Drive into a more vibrant, safe and people-friendly business district at tonight’s city council meeting; supporters of a more livable, walkable and bikeable street are urged to attend to counter expected opposition.

 

State

Good read from a cyclist who offers seven lessons he learned from riding 673 miles from San Francisco to San Diego with no idea what he was doing.

Oceanside residents are calling for safety improvements to the city’s main drag following the death of 12-year old Logan Lipton while he was riding his bike to school last month.

The Coronado bike lane madness goes on, as a letter writer says the town doesn’t need bike lanes because they didn’t slow traffic on a street where average speeds were only 28 mph to begin with.

Two local businesses come to the rescue after a burglar steals 26 bikes from a San Francisco middle school.

A San Francisco bike deliveryman comes to the rescue after a women gives birth to a premature baby on the sidewalk.

Stockton is holding a number of public workshops to update their Bicycle Master Plan. Let’s hope they don’t have to deal with lawsuits and recalcitrant councilmembers trying to overturn the public process, like some cities we could name.

 

National

The Pew Charitable Trusts says bike tourism means business, as cities and states are warming to the economic benefits of bicycling.

Seriously? Oahu residents suggest ticketing bike rental shops when their customers break the law. Which makes no more sense than holding car rental firms accountable when their customers speed or run red lights.

Indianapolis drivers are apparently confused by the city’s first parking protected bike lane.

City Lab says laws prohibiting bicyclists from wearing headphones, like one under consideration in Massachusetts, miss the point. Several writers, including frequent contributor Megan Lynch, beg to differ.

Brooklyn bike riders call for a statewide Idaho stop law.

The Wall Street Journal belatedly discovers that retirees are getting on their bikes. Note to the Journal: 50 ain’t exactly old.

A Philadelphia conference calls for Vision Zero to protect the lives of bicyclists and pedestrians; Toronto discusses the idea, as well.

A Delaware driver faces up to seven years for killing his bike-riding friend in a drunken hit-and-run.

Interesting idea from Florida, as a proposed law would require in-ground safety lights where bike paths cross roadways to alert drivers to the presence of bicycles.

Bighearted Tampa police officers chip in to buy a five-year old a new tricycle after his brand-new birthday bike was stolen in a car burglary.

 

International

Vancouver, which has made a massive investment in protected bike lanes, is rated Canada’s safest major city in which to ride a bike.

The Yukon tourism board wants you to explore the Great White North by fat-tire bike.

Brit bike riders are being offered a better deal on car insurance because they’re better drivers. Thanks to joninsocal for the link.

‘Tis the season. A bighearted four-year old British girl donates her new birthday bike so someone else can wake up to a new bike Christmas morning.

UK cyclists are being criticized for excessive speeds after single rider is clocked on Strava approaching 30 mph.

It’s a dream come true. Bike riders in one Danish town can outfit their bikes with special RFID tags that turn traffic lights green as they approach so they never have to stop for red lights.

Aljazeera says carless cities are the future of Europe. Maybe the idea will cross over to this country before we’re all old and grey.

A South African cyclist says the way to deal with dangerous roads is to stay off them when you can, and ride facing traffic when you can’t. Which is exactly the wrong thing to do.

Life is cheap in Melbourne, as an Aussie driver is fined a lousy grand for a fatal dooring.

‘Tis the season, too. An Australian town responds to complaints that it has the world’s worst Christmas tree by creating one made out of bicycles.

 

Finally…

Fund-Drive-With-Type-2If you’re trying to make your getaway by bike with a meth pipe and stolen guitar, make sure you can ride with it first. Or if you’re going to steal a bike, make sure the owner isn’t still attached to it.

And here’s your chance to ensure the Star Wars fan in your life ride gets to ride with his or her very own R2D2 bike helmet.

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Thanks to Todd Munson for supporting this site by contributing to the BikinginLA Holiday fund Drive.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,
 
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