Tag Archive for gun violence

Newsom approves limited speed cam pilot, Israeli bicyclists victims of Hamas violence, and DOJ sues eBay for rolling coal

October 16, 2023 / / Comments Off on Newsom approves limited speed cam pilot, Israeli bicyclists victims of Hamas violence, and DOJ sues eBay for rolling coal

Newsom signed this one, anyway.

LAist reports speed cams could be coming to Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale after Governor Newsom signed a bill authorizing a pilot program in the three cities, as well as three cities in Northern California.

However, the program will be limited to streets in “school zones, highway segments most prone to injuries, and areas identified by local authorities as having high volumes of speeders and street racing.”

The pilot program continues California’s insistence on reinventing the wheel, since speed cams have already proven successful in 200 communities in 21 other states, including New York City, Chicago and DC.

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You knew the recent Hamas massacre in Israel wouldn’t spare the bicycling community.

According to Marca, the heartless violence took the lives of an entire family of triathletes, and at least four mountain bikers were killed on their way to a training ride.

Another group of bike riders survived by hiding under bushes for hours to escape the attack.

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Yes, please.

The US Department of Justice is suing eBay for selling more than 343,000 illegal “rolling coal” pollution devices through the platform, illegally enabling drivers to modify emissions controls on their cars and trucks — and bury bike riders and pedestrians in a cloud of exhaust smoke.

The platform could face a well-deserved $5,580 fine for each devise sold under the Clean Air Act, for a total of nearly $2 billion.

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This is the future bike riders want.

Meanwhile, as today’s top photo demonstrates, the countless full bike racks at Sunday’s CicLAvia offered more proof that bikes mean business, with bars, restaurants and cafes jammed with happy participants.

Along with more than a few corgis.

And this one definitely won the most creative award at Sunday’s Heart of LA CicLAvia.

Although the LAPD responded to the end of Sunday’s CicLAvia with an illegal order telling bike riders to get off the street.

https://twitter.com/MobilityForWho/status/1713784208873988121

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

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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 former British city counselor accused local advocates of planning a “deeply distasteful” protest ride to demand safe streets in the wake of two recent bicycling deaths, saying it would put people off bicycling.

No bias here, either. Business owners in a UK city protested what they called a “totally crazy, ridiculous” plan to remove a whole two — yes, two — parking spaces to make room for eight bikeshare bikes.

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

A 73-year old man in the UK walked without a day in jail for crashing his bicycle into a pedestrian, leaving the 88-year old victim fighting for his life; the man thought he could ride safely even though he was left partially sighted after a stroke.

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Local 

This is who we share the road with. A Long Beach driver killed one woman and injured six other people when he drove into pedestrians and cars at Shoreline Drive and Aquarium Way Saturday evening.

 

State

An Orange County man was busted after completing a transportation theft trifecta, first stealing a car, followed by a bicycle, before being arrested while wearing the car owner’s shoes.

A Victorville woman was critically injured when her bicycle was struck by a motorcyclist while crossing a busy roadway Friday afternoon.

UC Santa Barbara Police recovered 18 purloined bicycles after busting an accused prolific bike thief.

A Bakersfield man suffered major injuries when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike, and left lying in the roadway Saturday evening.

Sad news from San Francisco, where bicyclist was killed in a collision while riding on a freeway; no word on why the rider was on the Interstate highway.

 

National

CleanTechnica calls ebikes a less-polluting option for commutes and errands as part of the new normal, while Momentum offers advice on what you need to know before buying one.

Gravel has officially gone mainstream, as CNN rates the year’s 12 best gravel bikes.

Gear Junkie offers tips on selecting the right bicycle helmet for the way you ride.

Hundreds of Las Vegas bicyclists turned out for the 10th Annual Ride to Remember, in honor of bike racer Pete Makowski, who was killed by a gravel truck driver while on a training ride in 2013, and all bike-riding victims of traffic violence.

Kindhearted Tucson, Arizona volunteers put together 1,200 bikes to donate to underserved kids.

A new Denver program is using heart rate data to identify bicycling danger zones before anyone gets hurt.

Life is cheap is Wisconsin, where a woman got just 18 months behind bars for killing a 29-year old man riding a bicycle, while driving at nearly twice the legal alcohol limit and nearly twice the posted speed limit.

Cincinnati Bengals punter Drue Christian stayed in shape by delivering meals for DoorDash on his bicycle during the off-season, then started buying meals himself and giving them to people in need.

Family members continue to call for justice two years after Pittsburgh police tased a homeless man up to ten times, even though he didn’t pose a threat to them or anyone else, just because he rode a bicycle that appeared to be abandoned around the block before returning it; the city has already paid an $8 million settlement in the case, but no officers have been charged in his death.

A South Carolina letter writer has a complaint bike riders everywhere can relate to, asking people to stop leaving yard waste and other trash in bike lanes.

 

International

Major bicycling brands, including Schwalbe, Rudy Project and Trek, are becoming more environmentally conscious and reducing their carbon footprint.

A Vancouver nonprofit calculates that switching from a car to a bicycle could save commuters over $9,000 a year.

Yes, please. A new Google Maps feature will allow London bike riders to consider current traffic conditions and the availability of high-quality cycling infrastructure in planning their route. Hopefully, that will roll out here in the US if it proves successful there. 

The Daily Mail complains that a Scottish ebike loan program has cost the country the equivalent of over $600,000, as people have purchased ebikes but failed to repay the cost.

A pair of British bike riders were the victims of a bikejacking by moped-riding muggers, who pulled up to them at a red light and ordered them off their bicycles.

A British man’s beloved bicycle was stolen outside his local pub, after it had taken him 22,500 miles around the world in just 430 days.

A Kenyon writer says it’s imperative that the country combine high-capacity buses and bicycling to “significantly reduce urban carbon emissions and foster cleaner, healthier cities for all.”

Police in South Australia said they have arrested the state’s infamous “Bicycle Bandit,” after DNA led them to a 73-year old man who allegedly robbed at least ten banks over a ten-year period beginning in 2004, using a bicycle as his primary getaway vehicle.

 

Competitive Cycling

Dutch pro Milan Vader won his first WorldTour race at China’s Tour of Guangxi, a year after a bad crash during a Basque Country race last year left him in an induced coma with his spine fractured in eleven places, and doubts of ever riding again.

French cyclist Typhaine Laurance is walking away from pro cycling, retiring at just 25 due to the sports low pay; she was forced to continue living with her parents while earning the equivalent of just over $1,000 a month.

Conservative media was up in arms after two transgender cyclists took home gold and silver at a women’s ‘cross race in Chicago.

 

Finally…

Sometimes the best approach to slowing drivers is a mangled bike and a pair of legs sticking out of the hedge. Apparently, bike shorts aren’t used for bicycling anymore, even though they still are, except when they’re not.

And just blame Google Maps if you end up riding on a highway where bikes are banned.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

He doesn’t need WeHo bike lanes so you don’t either, just say no to guns on bikes, and bike lanes are handicap mobility lanes

August 24, 2023 / / 2 comments

No bias here.

The editor of WeHoVille says he’s a bicyclist. And because he doesn’t need bike lanes, neither do you.

Then again, it’s always a red flag when someone feels the need to self-identify as a bicyclist before making their case.

True to form, Brandon Garcia writes that he’s more than happy to take back roads to get where he’s going, and thinks that the planned bike lanes on Fountain Ave and Santa Monica Blvd will be too disruptive to the city.

Never mind, he says, that the existing bike lanes on Santa Monica are usually blocked by buses or double-parked drivers. Although that would seem to be a reason to enforce the laws against blocking bike lanes, than oppose building them.

What the city wants to do with Fountain and Santa Monica will disrupt the lives of too many people who depend on those roads to get across town. Who depend on those parking spaces for their guests or their customers, or whose leases don’t include a parking spot.

Up to 37,000 cars travel down Fountain every day. At most, there are 145 bicycles that use it daily.

The city expects the removal of two lanes on Fountain to reduce traffic by 900 vehicles every hour. 600 of those will be diverted onto Santa Monica or Sunset. The drivers of 250 cars per hour will simply decide not to make the trip, the city oddly believes.

Never mind that, as others have noted before, you can’t judge the need for a bridge by how many people swim across the river. The fact that most bike riders don’t feel safe on Fountain is a far better argument for making it safer, rather than keeping it dangerous.

Meanwhile, numerous studies have shown that making driving more difficult results in a reduction in the number of cars on the road — not an odd belief, but simple traffic science.

And that reduction is absolutely necessary in the face of our current climate emergency, when the world is literally burning from over-reliance on fossil fuels.

The simple fact is, people on bicycles have places to go, just like people in cars, and need safe routes through the city to get there.

He may not need them, or want them.

But that doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t.

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Back when I lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana about a hundred or so years ago, I had a friend who dealt with the city’s abusive and road raging drivers by riding with a .22 strapped to his bike.

By his account, it made most motorists give him a wide berth. And if anyone actually threatened him, just a tap or two on the holster was enough to defuse the situation.

Maybe.

Although I doubt many drivers actually saw it as they zoomed by. Never mind the fact that they came pre-armed with a multi-ton weapon of their own, should they choose to use it.

I mention that because a writer for Outside has written a response to the Armed Cyclist seen below, an influencer who calls for arming yourself — whether with a gun or some other weapon — for self-defense when you ride.

Frederick Dreier describes an incident when a driver began harassing, then threatening him as he rode in New York. 

His response was to first kick out a headlight, then hurl his U-lock, shattering the car’s rear windshield, before disappearing down a one-way street.

OK, back to my anecdote involving the hurled lock. Look, I wish I had the calm and mature demeanor to simply bite my upper lip and walk away from situations like the one I had a decade ago. I’ve been to therapy and I’m working on becoming an enlightened and self-actuated member of society. But I’m not there yet. I can still transform into a raging lunatic at times—specifically when some jerk driver messes with me on my bike. Had I been carrying a gun during my moment of rage years ago, I probably would have emptied the clip into the windshield, which means I’d likely be writing pithy takes from a cell in Rikers right now. And that ugly encounter is hardly the only one I’ve had with drivers. Over the years I’ve been sideswiped, t-boned, intimidated, and buzzed too many times to count. If I rode with a gun, I might be responsible for multiple crimes.

That’s precisely why I don’t own a gun.

I have a temper, which I manage to control most of the time. And I’m a firm believer in nonviolence.

But if I had a gun, there’s just too much chance I might use it.

And one weapon is one too many in most situations, even if most people just call it a car.

Read the story on Yahoo if Outside blocks you. 

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Remember this the next time someone tells you bike lanes are bad for handicapped people.

A New Zealand writer says she uses a wheelchair and bike lanes, rejecting the argument that people with disabilities need more car parking.

It is infuriating and painful to see people speak on behalf of disabled people when they are really only trying to protect their non-disabled car parks. Have you ever wondered where these people go when it’s time to fight for a building code that requires accessible universal design features like lifts, ramps and doorways of a decent width? Or why these same faces and names appear again to oppose the social housing initiatives in their neighbourhoods that would house disabled people? Or why they’re not advocating for more mobility parking at all?!

She goes on to write that many disabled people use bicycles, and consider their ebikes, scooters and trikes to be their mobility devices.

And need safe places to ride them.

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Joni Yung loves the new bus and bike lanes on La Brea, even if they’re too often blocked with parked cars.

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GCN offers bike handling drills to elevate your skills and confidence on the bike.

And impress the hell out of your friends while you’re at it.

Meanwhile, the site also looks at the fast-growing gravel fondo in my Colorado hometown.

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

Seriously? A Vermont columnist responds to a self-admitted scofflaw bicyclist by saying consider how bad a driver would feel if they hit him with their car. Never mind how bad he might feel after bouncing off a couple tons of glass and steel.

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

If you’re already on state-supervised probation with a lengthy rap sheep, maybe don’t rob a couple of stores, then ride your bike back to your apartment. And definitely ditch the bike and clothes before the cops find ’em.

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Local 

LA County Sheriff’s deputies will conduct a bike and pedestrian safety operation in West Hollywood on Tuesday, ticketing anyone who commits a violation that could put either one at risk. So ride to the letter of the law until you’re safely back in LAPD or Beverly Hills PD jurisdictions. Thanks to David Drexler for the heads-up. 

Pasadena will host the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Union Street protected bike lane on Saturday, September 9th in front of City Hall. That’s Pasadena City Hall, not Los Angeles or any of the other 86 cities in LA County.

 

State

An environmental law website says California policy makers are embracing ebikes, despite the New York Times wrongheaded take, but questions whether the state is falling behind.

Monterey County Weekly considers how fast is too fast on a bike path, with one local city setting a 12 mph speed limit that the writer considers far too low. My take is ride as fast as you want if you’re the only one on it, but slow down around slower bike riders and pedestrians. At least, that’s what I always did. 

Sticking with Monterey County, a 14-year old junior track star ran down a purse-snatcher on a BMX, grabbing back the stolen handbag before the thief could get away.

 

National

Gizmodo says Peloton’s business is as busted as its bike seats, which have been recalled due to a risk of breaking off if you pedal too hard, sending the company’s stock into a tailspin.

Portland’s all-new MADE handmade bike show is making its debut this week; Cycling Weekly discusses three things they’re excited to see.

While potential ebike buyers continue to wait for California’s long-delayed rebate program, with the latest update nearly two month’s old, Boulder, Colorado is already gearing up for its second round of rebate vouchers.

Gravel bike tires could be growing, as Colorado-based Moots introduces the 750d standard, which Bike Radar says is comparable to a 29″ mountain bike tire.

This is who we share the road with. A Galveston, Texas bike rider was seriously injured when a driver swerved into oncoming traffic, hit the victim and carried them both over the seawall and onto the beach.

A convicted drunk driver has been sentenced to anywhere from three-and-a-half to 15 years behind bars for dragging a Michigan bike rider for one-and-a-half miles under his van as he fled from the crash site; he was nearly three times the legal limit after his arrest, with multiple bottles of booze rolling around in his van.

A Massachusetts artist is unveiling a new series of paintings inspired by a local bike path. And yes, it makes me want to ride it.

The rich get richer. New York is removing a traffic lane on the city’s Tenth Ave through Hell’s Kitchen and narrowing traffic lanes to make room for a spacious, ten-foot wide, two-way protected bike lane.

An Andover, Maryland study finds there wasn’t a single reported bicycle crash in a city square during the study period, despite a total lack of bike infrastructure — but also found most bike riders avoid it like the plague.

 

International

Momentum looks at “awe-inspiring” bicycle infrastructure from around the world. None of which is in LA, or anywhere else in the US.

A woman riding a bike was killed by a hit-and-run driver fleeing from police in Mississauga, Ontario; the victim was found lying in the grass an hour-and-a-half after the police chase, and half an hour after police found the abandoned car nearby.

A 69-year old Scottish truck driver will finally face charges for killing a 22-year old French woman as she rode her bike in Glasgow eight months ago, although there’s no word on what he’s charged with.

This is who we share the road with, too. An English driver was busted for doing a whopping 61 mph in a 30 mph zone, while passing just feet from a child riding a bicycle.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a woman was sentenced to just 14 months behind bars for the drunken hit-and-run that left a bike-riding man seriously injured.

NPR reports on the bankruptcy of Dutch ebike maker VanMoof, noting that it’s left owners of the bikes stranded with no way to repair the company’s nonstandard designs. And that owners of the bikes in the Netherlands have resorted to stealing other people’s VanMoof’s just to strip them for parts.

 

Competitive Cycling

Transgender British cyclist Emily Bridges was named to an annual roundup of Britain’s 25 Powerhouse women by the country’s edition of Vogue Magazine; needless to say, the British tabloids took offense, if only to rile up readers to drive up readership. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

However, Out Sports reports Bridges has quit competitive cycling in the face of both British and UCI bans on trans women competing in women’s cycling.

American ultra-cyclist Nick DeHaan won the 758-mile Paris-Brest-Paris on Tuesday, finishing 48 minutes ahead of his nearest rival while setting a modern course record of 41 hours, 46 minutes and 30 seconds.

 

Finally…

Get your bikes for Burning Man. Why settle for double ebike suspension when you can have triple?

And don’t ride alone to the state fair when you can join a pedaling pastor and a public radio announcer.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Nury Martinez resigns while de León doesn’t, ebike sexism from Sports Illustrated, and murder over bikes

October 14, 2022 / / 2 comments

My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence. 

I’d like to say I’m feeling much better today, but I promised a long time ago I’d never lie to you. 

So I won’t. 

………

Continuing with the week’s theme, former LA City Council President Nury Martinez finally did the right thing and resigned from the council, in the wake of a racist rant in a secretly recorded meeting that managed to do what many thought was impossible.

She almost single-handedly united the entire city.

If only in anger over managing to offend virtually everyone.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times says it’s time for Kevin de León and Gil Cedillo, her fellow councilmembers who participated in the redistricting meeting, to hit the road, as well.

Word is that Cedillo is taking some time to consider his options, but de León currently has no intention of resigning, bizarrely thinking he can somehow weather the storm.

Hint: He can’t.

The loss of Martinez and de León is likely to hurt efforts to build bikeways and safer streets, but it’s necessary if the city is going to move forward.

“Roadkill” Gil Cedillo, who already lost his run for re-election, not so much.

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Talk about not getting it.

Apparently Sports Illustrated is still stuck firmly in the last century.

The magazine followed the lead of countless other publications in recent weeks, making their picks for the best ebikes for all kinds of riders, from roadies, to seniors, to mountain bikers.

But their pick for the best women’s bike is — wait for it — a cruiser bike, apparently missing the memo that women can be serious bicyclists, too, and like to ride all kinds of bikes.

And often better, and faster, than the guys can.

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Talk about not getting the memo.

We’ve said many times before that no bike is worth a human life.

But now two men are dead, and two other men face murder charges in disputes over bicycles.

A 70-year old Parlier, California man was arrested on suspicion of murder after confronting the man he accused of stealing the bicycle he used as his only form of transportation, shooting him multiple times.

Meanwhile, a Mississippi man faces a first degree murder charge for killing his own uncle with a single shotgun blast following an argument over a bicycle; he told police he returned to the victim’s home armed with the gun to get his bike gear.

And police in Missouri are looking a pair of homeless men who got into a shootout after arguing over a bicycle; fortunately, they both appear to be bad shots.

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LADOT is holding a virtual workshop on Tuesday to discuss the 2.5-mile Connect Del Rey Corridor connecting the Ballona Creek Bike Path to the Culver Blvd Bike Path along surface streets.

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With all the crap going on in LA these days, taking an evening to celebrate UCLA parking meister Donald Shoup sounds like a great idea.

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A new video from the Israel-Premier Tech cycling tech shows the first ride of a group of Afghan women’s cyclists they helped evacuate the country.

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Be honest. You know you want one.

And that passenger jet on the front fairing is a nice touch, too.

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

Bicycling says abuse of bike lanes by drivers is killing us, and it’s getting worse. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

A road raging Houston driver nearly ran down a man on a bicycle, then chased him over a mile while honking her horn — with her phone in her hand.

A car full of young men filmed themselves running down a Dublin, Ireland bike rider, apparently intentionally, as one urges the driver to flee the scene afterwards.

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

A 20-year old Philadelphia man is fighting for his life after he was shot several times by a man who fled on a bicycle.

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Local

Streetsblog rides the new, nearly complete bike lanes on San Vicente Blvd.

Burbank has put the brakes on new fast food restaurant drive-thrus in the city, even while local residents say it’s too little, too late.

 

State 

Half of the half-dozen candidates for Anaheim City Council who responded to a Voice of OC candidate survey call for better bike infrastructure to deal with traffic congestion. The rest either didn’t respond, or didn’t mention bikes.

Aliso Viejo has adopted a set of draconian ebike regulations, limiting ebike riders to 5 mph on sidewalks and 10 mph on bike paths, as well as banning ebikes from city owned or operated parking lots. Although it will be interesting to see if that conflicts with newly passed state legislation allowing ebikes on trails at speeds up to 20 mph.

Great idea. A new Palo Alto app will pay you $5 a day to commute by bike or ebike; scooters and skateboards qualify, too.

After a bike rider was killed crashing into a bollard on a Sonoma County bike path, the county responded by merely repainting them, rather than removing them.

 

National

A new study presented to the American Academy of Pediatrics purports to show that fractures suffered by children riding bicycles have steadily declined for the last 20 years; the authors credit the decline to teaching road safety and promoting helmet use. Although it’s just as likely that the decline stems from fewer kids riding bikes in recent years.

A triathlon site offers advice on how to remove rust from your bike. Although in my case, removing rust from the rider is more of a problem.

If you wonder why Portland is so much better to ride in than Los Angeles, the sheer size of this turnout for a people-protected bike lane to protest a deadly intersection should give you a clue.

A writer for Strong Towns looks at the bicycling death of a 13-year old boy in Tacoma, Washington, questioning whose child will be the next to be killed on a stroad, a dangerous mix of a local street and road.

Utah has seen the highest number of people killed in collisions with drivers while riding bicycles in more that 30 years.

There’s now a sparkling new advisory bike lane next to what used to be my alma mater in my very bike friendly Colorado hometown, which didn’t get that way until long after I left.

Bloomberg says Denver’s ebike rebate program is so hot, all the available certificates are gone within minutes, while cities like Boston are taking note.  Los Angeles, not so much. Never mind that California’s failure to get its ebike rebate program off the ground is making NASA’s new moon rocket look good.

A Kansas City street is getting a three-mile lane reduction and protected bike lanes.

Police in Oklahoma are looking for four close male friends who haven’t been seen or heard from since they left for a bike ride this past Sunday.

A lawmaker discovers the limitations of the Oklahoma City bicycle network when he starts commuting to the state capital by ebike.

Life is cheap in Chicago, where a judge is up for re-election five years after he gave a drunk driver who killed a man a a bicycle a lousy ten days behind bars, even though he was driving twice the legal speed limit with twice the legal BAC — and even though it was his third DUI arrest. Let’s hope they send his honor to an early retirement.

Still no justice for a Pittsburgh man who died after he was repeatedly tased by police a year ago, for the crime of taking what he thought was an abandoned bicycle around the block for a joy ride.

Heartbreaking news from Long Island, where a 13-year old boy was killed after he pushed his sister out of the way of a hit-and-run driver as they walked in a bike lane.

 

International

Up to 82% of Toronto area residents want more bike lanes.

A pair of European studies show that switching just one trip each week from cars to bikes or or trains can lead to significant reductions in emissions.

The New York Times examines whether Dutch ebike brand VanMoof can help reshape urban transportation.

A new German study contradicts earlier studies showing the health benefits of ebikes is comparable to regular bicycles, revealing ebike users are 44% less likely to hit fitness goals. Although Cycling Weekly says the self-selecting study may not be as valid as it purports to be.

Chinese made Ancheer ebikes are being recalled in the US because their lithium-ion batteries “can ignite, explode or spark.” Which is probably a bad thing, especially if you’re riding one at the time.

 

Competitive Cycling

Remco Evenepoel topped Wout van Aert for the Kristallen Fiets, aka Crystal Bicycle, award for the year’s best male Belgian rider.

Now you, too, can own your very own gently used, secondhand pro bike. Or maybe not so gently used.

 

Finally…

Who says your bike needs a chain? If you’re riding your bike carrying meth and enough fentanyl to kill 4,000 people, don’t ride salmon — and put a damn light on it.

And this is who we share the road with.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjQnLeHpQMo/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=0ab771fe-8b6d-49e6-985c-d6b3f6aa7616

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Road rage rises on the mean streets of LA, LACBC Bike Month ride, and Streets For All plans June virtual Happy Hour

May 27, 2022 / / 2 comments

No surprise here.

Road rage continues to soar on the mean streets of Los Angeles, with reports up 41.4% over the first four months of the year, compared to last year.

And no, that doesn’t just reflect calmer streets during last year’s pandemic slowdown. It’s also a significant increase over the pre-pandemic good old days of 2019.

It’s more than just a simple disagreement between road users, too. As Crosstown explains,

While the concept of road rage makes some think of a driver who gets cut off and responds by shaking a fist, actual incidents are much more serious. The LAPD defines road rage as when a person commits an assault with a vehicle, or other weapon, due to something that occurs while driving. To be classified as road rage, the encounter must, in police parlance, require “willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others.”

Over two-thirds of road rage cases reported last year involved a gun — more than double the number of cases reported in each of the previous two years. As if a multi-tin motor vehicle isn’t weapon enough.

So be careful out there.

You never know who you’re sharing the road with. Or how they’re armed.

Thanks to Ted Faber for the heads-up.

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Lionel Mares forwards photos from last Sunday’s LACBC Bike Month ride, where it appears a good time was had by all.

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Streets For All is hosting another virtual happy hour on June 8th — the day after Election Day — with the vice mayor of Burbank.

And no, that’s doesn’t mean he’s mayor of all the fun stuff.

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Gravel Bike California offers your guide to riding the rocks at May and Kagel Canyons.

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If anyone gets me on their gift list this year, this will do nicely.

https://twitter.com/guggenheimbot/status/1529950461490565120

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GCN offers advice on how to buy a used bike.

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

This is why people keep dying on the streets. A British hit-and-run driver was fined the equivalent of just $526 for a crash that left a bike rider seriously injured, even though he appeared to crash into the victim intentionally.

Police in the UK are looking for three men who got out of a car and beat a man in his 50s after they crashed into his bike.

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

New York police are looking for a masked bike rider who jumped off his bicycle and repeatedly stabbed a man who was walking on the sidewalk; the victim was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

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Local

The Los Angeles Times got four of the remaining candidates for mayor of Los Angeles on the record for their transportation policies, although Kevin de León is the only candidate with an actual transportation platform; billionaire Rick Caruso apparently had better things to do, saying he wasn’t ready to discuss the subject yet, less than two weeks before Election Day.

E-scooter providers Lime, Lyft and Spin have changed their city-mandated programs for low-income riders, reportedly without informing the public first.

 

State 

A 52-year old San Diego man was sentenced to 11 years behind bars, 34 years after his errant shot killed a passing bike rider in the city’s Encanto neighborhood.

Murrieta kindergartners are learning how to ride a bike as part of the All Kids Bike program, with bikes and helmets courtesy of supercross star Ryan Dungey.

Momentum considers the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s successful efforts to create the city’s first carfree street. Which compares favorably to LA’s none.

If you build it, they don’t always come. A San Francisco website reports the free bike valet at the city’s Chase Center arena, home of the NBA Warriors, is going mostly unused.

No surprise that New York and Los Angeles lead the nation in bicycling deaths; more surprising is that Stockton and Sacramento County both rank in the nation’s top ten for bicycling fatalities.

 

National

CNN offers suggestions on how to store and secure your bike at home.

The sheriff of New Mexico’s Sandoval County is recovering from a broken back and rib after crashing his mountain bike when he tried to ramp over a rock, and slammed into it instead.

A Colorado writer considers the growing animosity between drivers and bike riders, insisting “We all kinda hate each other, and by ‘kinda,’ I mean truly and deeply with a passion.”

Colorado Public Radio relates the origin tale of the Iron Horse Classic, when two brothers decided to race each other, one on a bike and the other at the helm of a classic narrow gauge steam engine; this weekend marks the 50th edition of the road race.

Britain’s Daily Mail — not exactly know for its veracity — reports cyclist Colin Strickland has gone into hiding, evidently worried that his fugitive girlfriend will target him next, after allegedly shooting and killing top gravel cyclist Moriah ‘Mo’ Wilson.

The head of Brompton is on a mission to convert New Yorkers to foldies.

A Pennsylvania man is on life support after a man just released from jail knocked him off his bicycle, then beat him with it for two minutes before walking away and leaving his victim for dead.

I want to be like him when I grow up. Fed up with high gas prices, an 85-year old North Carolina man fixed up his bike, and plans to live virtually carfree for the foreseeable future. Even if gas prices there are nearly two bucks cheaper than in Los Angeles.

 

International

A new international database offers nearly 1.6 million geo-located records of bicycle collisions from various cities, states, regions and countries around the world, apparently including Los Angeles, making it easier for researchers to study them.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list — an easy four-hour ebike ride from Rome to see the 2,500-year old Appian Way and ancient Roman aqueducts.

Survivors of a British endurance cyclist are suing the organizers of a French bike race for the equivalent of nearly a million dollars after the 36-year old man died of heat stroke during the competition.

Copenhagen will introduce Denmark’s first diagonal bike lane to connect bike lanes through a busy intersection.

WaPo examines Ukrainian fighters turning ebikes made in the country into weapons of war.

Sad news from Myanmar, where the 2019 Sony World Photography Awards Winner was killed in a collision; 42-year old Kyaw Win Hlaing was run down when a quarreling couple in a mini-truck rear-ended his bicycle.

 

Competitive Cycling

The popular Belgian Waffle Ride offroad race is expanding into Michigan, for what will be the series fifth event, following races in San Diego, Utah, North Carolina and Kansas.

 

Finally…

Your next bike could have a massive DIY omnidirectional front wheel. Your next ebike could be made by Mercedes Formula E car racing team.

And who says you can’t carry trash on a bike?

Thanks to Jon for the link.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

More talk about dogs on bikes, LADOT wins awards for pandemic response, and Ohio cops run over shooting victim

June 17, 2021 / / One comment

Let’s talk dogs on bikes.

Earlier this week, we mentioned a story with tips on how to ride a bike with your dog.

Something I hope to do with our corgi, once I find a decent e-cargo bike I can mange to ride without her killing me.

And something Adam Ginsberg is already doing with his.

Well now…..it’s just so happens I started riding with our rescued Boston Terrier, Bailey, last July. During one of our daily walks, my wife and I saw a man riding with his dog…but the dog was in a backpack!! I had a good hunch Bailey would enjoy doing the same. So, I employed my mAd Google sKiLlz, and found…..www.k9sportsack.com.

They have all manner of pooch backpack goodness so us 2 legged humans can take our 4 legged family members on adventures. Within a few days, a pack arrived, and I immediately set about training Bailey to ride. My hunch proved correct, and she fell in love with riding.

To help protect her vulnerable eyes, I added a pair of Rex-Specs, too.

Now, we go on rides 2-3 times a week, down to the beach, and thru downtown Ventura, where the city closed off Main Street to cars and opened it up to restaurants, shops, people and bikes (yay!!!).

We get so many great reactions – people from 1 to 100 love seeing us riding around town.  We regularly are asked if they can take a picture, and Bailey never says no.

I already have the backpack Ginsberg mentioned, a gift from a fellow corgi aficionado. And a pair of pink corgi-sized goggles that our last corgi never took to.

So maybe I’ll have to give it a try once my hands heal enough to get back on a bike.

Photo by Adam Ginsberg

Photo by Adam Ginsberg

………

Maybe LADOT had a better year than we thought.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation received four Outstanding Project Awards from the Metropolitan Los Angeles Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

The agency was recognized for —

  • An outstanding emergency response/preparedness project award for its COVID-19 pandemic response programs, including the al fresco dining program, slow streets program, automated touchless traffic signals, and support for COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites.
  • An outstanding bikeways and trails project award for the new protected bike lanes on Fifth and Sixth streets from Spring Street to Central Avenue.
  • An outstanding applied mapping technology project award for its GIS strategic plan, which uses all available department and city data to create a network to identify priority projects for Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Green New Deal.
  • An outstanding big data project award for its pandemic travel behavior study, which analyzed travel trends during the pandemic, affirming long-standing racial inequities created by decades of policies oppressing people of color.

What’s not on the list, of course, is any mention of popup bike lanes created during the pandemic. Because there weren’t any, unlike most other major cities.

Nor was there any attempt to speed up implementation of the city’s mobility plan or traffic elements of the Green New Deal while traffic was lighter during the pandemic, squandering a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

There was also no mention of an award for implementing LA’s Vision Zero program, apparently acknowledging that nibbling around the edges with easy to implement, non-controversial projects will never make a significant dent in the city’s traffic fatality rate.

A rate that’s measured in broken human lives and shattered families.

So let’s all give LADOT a warm and well-deserved round of applause for what they accomplished last year.

While recognizing that it’s nowhere near enough. And that we’ll be paying for a generation for what wasn’t done when they had the chance.

Evidently, I’m not the only one who thinks so.

………

And yes, it can be done, if we have the will to do it.

………

This is who we share the road with.

After an Ohio man was shot by an assailant, he was run over by a driver as he lay bleeding in the street before paramedics could get to him.

Or rather, he was run over by the police officer responding to the call, who was too busy reading street address numbers to pay attention to the roadway ahead of her.

Never mind the actual crime scene.

And never mind that the initial police report didn’t even mention the collision, which the police chief later wrote off as just an oopsie.

No word on whether it was the oopsie or the gun actually killed the poor guy.

………

LA County wants your input on how we’ll all get around in the eastern San Gabriel Valley in the years to come.

………

GCN considers how to avoid bonking on your next long ride.

………

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

This is what it’s like to get buzzed — repeatedly — by Denver motorcycle cops in violation of Colorado’s three-foot passing law.

A Toronto bike rider exchanged more than words with a road raging driver, puncturing the pickup’s tire as the driver got back in, then attempting in vain to escape as the irate man chased him down and grabbed his bike, smashing it against a building.

https://twitter.com/livingbyyyz/status/1404959122202808320

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

After a man violently punched an Orthodox Jewish boy on LA’s Melrose Ave for no apparent reason, his bike-riding friend walked up and threatened to kill the boy’s entire family, as well as a bystander who was documenting the assault.

………

Local

More details on yesterday’s tragic news about the fatal driveby shooting of a 22-year old man in South LA, which also wounded an eight-year old girl; the victim was Marcelis Gude, son of the man behind the Twitter account @FilmThePoliceLA, who was apparently mistaken for a gang member as he stood speaking with a woman. The girl, who is in stable condition, was just collateral damage, caught up in the gunfire as she was riding by on her bike.

 

State

Nice. San Diego’s $30 million spacious, curb-protected Rose Creek Bikeway is wide open and ready to ride.

The California Coastal Commission gave the thumbs-up to expanding Santa Barbara’s bikeshare system along the city’s waterfront, while giving a solid thumbs-down to an appeal from a self-appointed city hall watchdog who complains they’ll mar her views.

Treehugger talks with dads who use their cargo bikes to take their kids everywhere, including an English father of two who now lives in Thousand Oaks.

Thirty-one people have suffered broken bones at the hands and batons of Bakersfield cops over the last four years, including a 37-year old man who was beaten for the crime of not having a light on his bicycle, ending up with a compound fracture and charges for assaulting an officer and resisting arrest by allowing them to beat him.

 

National

Cycling Weekly considers how to safely store your ebike.

Next City says cars want the streets back now that the pandemic is — hopefully — ending, but cities would be better off without them.

Regardless of what the advertorials say, no bike lock offers “impenetrable bike security;” with the right tools and enough time, a determined bike thief can get through anything.

Support is growing for a repeal of Seattle’s counterproductive bike helmet mandate, which is blamed for unfairly targeting riders of color.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole the bicycle a 57-year-old Arizona man with autism and schizophrenia used as his only form of transportation, as well as therapy

Not only is RAGBAI back this year, you can leave your mask at home for the annual ride across Iowa.

Members of a Twin Cities Facebook group were honored by the Minneapolis Police Department for helping capture a wanted felon while trying to recover a stolen bike; the group has helped return more than 100 stolen bicycles to their owners over the past five years.

The Green Bay Packers annual tradition of borrowing bicycles from young fans to ride the last few yards to training camp could be in jeopardy for the second year in a row, as the NFL warns players not to interact with fans due to Covid risks.

New York graffiti artist Futura has teamed with Cinelli for a line of bikewear, recalling his days as a bicycle messenger.

A team of New York developers has come its senses, and will stop fighting the legally required 286 bike parking spaces for an 83-story mixed-use tower in Midtown.

A WaPo columnist says Republicans could actually improve Biden’s infrastructure proposal by ensuring the money is spent well, rather than merely on how much gets spent.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution profiles the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, and their efforts to make bicycling safer and more comfortable in the Big Peach.

 

International

Cycling News says no, you can’t legally chip your ebike to overcome the manufacturer’s speed limitations. But you can make other improvements, starting with a second battery.

An Ottawa, Canada man was overjoyed to get his stolen bike back, newly repaired by a local bike shop; he had initially gone viral for wishing the thief well when it was stolen back in January, saying he hoped they treated it with respect and enjoyed the ride.

The numbers don’t lie. Montreal’s new bicycle network is a clear success, with over 6,200 riders passing a bike counter on the 2nd of this month; anything over 4,000 daily riders is considered exceptional usage.

A London writer is terrified of being run down by someone on an e-scooter, while another woman says a teenage boy riding one once crashed into her.

A British man learns the hard way that just because you’ve safely left your vintage bike outside for the last decade doesn’t mean someone won’t steal it.

That’s more like it. The UK warns local governments to be “ambitious” in bidding for funds for bike projects, suggesting that mere paint won’t make the cut.

A Chinese company wants to put a 23 tool bike multitool in your pocket for just $29 on Kickstarter.

 

Competitive Cycling

Giro champ Egan Bernal had an audience with the pope, and gave the former bike-riding Argentine bishop his winning bike and the winner’s pink jersey.

Racing is underway in the annual cross-country Trans Am Bike Race, as the competitors begin passing through Kansas.

 

Finally…

Never mind your laptop, hackers could be after your Peloton. Riding a bike shouldn’t be a pain in the butt.

And your next bike could be a Louis Vuitton for the low, low price of just $28,900.

For less than that, you could have had a $24,000 Radiohead Brompton.

………

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

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

Bike rider busted for beating La Jolla driver, kids shot over bikes, and LA missed list of worst bike cities — but SD doesn’t

June 11, 2021 / / One comment

Something tells me there’s more to this story.

A San Diego bicyclist riding with a group was busted after being chased down by a police helicopter for allegedly beating a driver in La Jolla.

Members of the group reportedly beat the man unconscious, before leaving after bystanders intervened.

The helicopter pilot tracked the group to Mission Bay, where a man police identified as the main aggressor was taken into custody on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and assault likely to result in great bodily injury.

However, what’s missing from the story, as usual, is any indication of what the driver may have done to set the riders off like that, if anything.

Because it’s highly unlikely they picked some random person in a car to attack just for the hell of it.

But whatever the reason, let’s all try to remember that violence is never the answer, tempting as it may be in the moment.

Lord knows, there have been more than a few drivers I’ve wanted to punch. But thankfully, didn’t.

………

What the hell is wrong with these people?

More information today about the Michigan man who shot his six-year old neighbor, apparently for the crime of leaving a bicycle on the man’s yard.

When the boy and some young relatives came over to retrieve it, Ryan Le-Nguyen came out of his house and confronted the kid, unsuccessfully swinging a sledgehammer at the boy, who was able to avoid the blows.

Le-Nguyen then went back inside, and fired a shot through the window, hitting the boy in the arm.

Despite being charged with assault with intent to murder, Le-Nguyen is already out on a ridiculously low $10,000 bond. And presumably back home, next to a kid he tried to kill.

Let’s hope no one else leaves a bike on his lawn.

Just two days later, an 18-year old Delaware man was busted for shooting an 11-year old girl in the abdomen with a BB gun, following a dispute over her riding his bicycle.

Seriously, kids in this country face enough problems just trying to ride a bike without some asshole shooting them over it.

And yes, I use that term advisedly.

………

Our new president certainly knows how to make a friend.

Meeting with Britain’s Boris Johnson for the first time as president, Joe Biden gave the bike-riding prime minister a new American-made bicycle, custom made for BoJo by family-owned Philadelphia bikemaker Bilenky Cycle Works.

Evidently, they’re so small they don’t even have a website.

Johnson responded with a framed photo of an Edinburgh mural of Frederick Douglass.

Point, Biden.

Update: Bilenky does have a website. Thanks to k_david for the correction.

………

For once, there’s a list of bike cities Los Angeles can be glad it didn’t make, as 24/7 Tempo follows up on their clickbait list of America’s best bike cities with a  similar clickbait countdown of the 25 worst.

No real surprise that Bakersfield and San Bernardino make the list at 25 and 24, respectively.

Bizarrely, though, so does newly bike friendly San Diego at number 18, which has made huge strides in accommodating bikes and other forms of alternative transportation in recent years, while neighboring Chula Vista joins them at 12.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina came out at the bottom, as their pick for the nation’s worst bike city.

Although LA’s Sunset Boulevard did make the list of the world’s coolest streets, in the non-temperature sense.

………

More proof that free lifetime bicycle registration from Bike Index works.

Seriously, what are you waiting for?

………

Local

A writer for City Watch insists the fix is in, as Metro plows over Eagle Rock with the planned NoHo to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit project, regardless of resident’s wishes. Or, hear me out here, maybe a lot of local residents actually support the plan, even as others continue to oppose it. Kind of like every other project ever built, planned or proposed. 

For sale: An RV big enough to hold all your bikes, and double as your next home when you get priced out of LA’s housing market.

 

State

A Sacramento man tracks down the burglar who tried to break into his home. And gets his neighbor’s bike back in the process.

 

National

For a change, the Wall Street Journal’s notorious paywall lets you see four of the six rewarding rail trail routes they recommend throughout the US, including Lassen County’s Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail in Northeastern California.

I want to be like her when I grow up. A 70-year old lifelong bike rider from Tennessee wants you to know that riding an ebike isn’t the end of your bicycling career. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

A Spokane, Washington paper says bicycles were the ultimate safe recreation choice during the pandemic. And they still are.

Las Vegas bike advocates continue to call for safer streets, a day after a killer truck driver was sentenced to up to 40 years behind bars for the meth fueled crash that killed five bicyclists.

Bike-riding Tulsa OK residents were invited to try out the city’s first popup protected intersection.

New York bicyclists will ride today to demand the city disband the NYPD’s bike-riding Strategic Response Group, the so-called Goon Squad that has used bikes to batter protestors at recent demonstrations.

Streetsblog says New York state legislators are continuing to stall on legislation to keep bike riders and pedestrians safe.

Five Black bike riders followed the route of the Underground Railroad from Alabama to DC to honor the spirit of their ancestors. Once again, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

 

International

Shimano put Pioneer power meter users on notice that they have just one week before Shimano pulls the plug on the website supporting the Pioneer products, ruthlessly driving a stake through the still-beating heart of the product line they acquired last year.

Life is cheap in Alberta, Canada, where a woman walked with a lousy $1,000 fine for the hit-and-run death of a man riding a bicycle.

British king-in-waiting Prince Charles took a rare public bike ride to launch the 250-mile Palaces On Wheels ride to benefit the British Asian Trust. Although the prince didn’t look too steady on a bike that appeared to be set much too low for him.

Indian buyers of GoZero ebikes will now enjoy a corporate roadside assistance program.

 

Competitive Cycling

A deep US cycling team will be heading for Tokyo with ambitions of gold in next month’s Olympics, which appear to be happening as scheduled, pandemic be damned.

Ten-time world champ Chloe Dygert will compete in three events, just nine months after she was seriously injured following an apparent speed wobble in the world time trial championships; SoCal’s world-beating Coryn Rivera also made the team.

The only women’s rider representative on the UCI Safety Commission thinks the sport has been allowed to cut corners far too long, and needs to do more to protect cyclists.

 

Finally…

Get a lawyer before calling your family if you get hit while riding a bike. As if we didn’t have enough to worry about with drivers blocking bike lanes, now we have to share them with robots.

And your next bike may be able to ride itself and come when you call.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask. 

And get vaccinated, already.

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

Hard-hitting look at race in cycling, South LA teen killed in drive-by while riding bike, and a deep dive into SoCal bike deaths

November 23, 2020 / / Comments Off on Hard-hitting look at race in cycling, South LA teen killed in drive-by while riding bike, and a deep dive into SoCal bike deaths

Let’s start with a very hard-hitting essay from self-described Afro-Latino pro cyclist Ama Nsek, newly signed to the Los Angeles-based L39ION of LA cycling team.

It starts out rough, and doesn’t get any easier.

Note: I’m not censoring his language, even though it includes a word I would never use. 

I’ve had several people – even a “teammate” – call me nigger. I’ve had racists shout it from their cars as they pass me on my bike. I sat there as a white man criticized my Mom, who looks white, but is Hispanic, for being with a monkey, my father – a Black man. I had a woman tell me at the Redlands Classic she would never even think about dating a black man because “they’re too much trouble.” A girl I was dating told me she had racist grandparents. This came up only as they were potentially going to be joining us on a trip, a problem I’m sure many Black folks have run into.

After quoting LA’s former national crit champ Rahsaan Bahati saying he feels like a raisin in a bowl of milk in the overwhelmingly white world of pro cycling, he finishes this way.

If you’ve gotten to the end of the article and you haven’t clicked any of the links, shared this message, or taken it upon yourself to educate yourself more, then the problem is lack of self-education in society and dismissal of stories like this. It’s the continued silence and lack of discussion from common people that supports racism and still propagates the idea that silence is safe.

Well, safe for whom? Clearly, not for people like me. If this struck a chord, please share this and begin the talks. It starts at the table with friends and family.

Seriously, take a few minutes and read it.

And if it makes you uncomfortable, that’s the point.

………

Tragedy strikes again in South LA, where a 15-year old boy was killed in a drive-by shooting, for no apparent reason.

Carl Jackson, Jr. was an honor student, with no gang affiliations, who was just riding his bike back home.

The shooting helped push Los Angeles over 300 murders this year, a tragic figure the city hasn’t seen since 2009.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding account to pay for Carl Jackson Jr’s funeral expenses has raised over $3,500 of the $8,000 goal.

More proof that cars aren’t the only reason the streets aren’t safe for everyone.

And equity remains a pipe dream for many people of color.

Excuse my language, but there’s no fucking justification for this crap. Ever.

Period.

………

The Southern California News Group’s Steve Scauzillo takes a deep dive into SoCal bicycling deaths during the pandemic, and why lighter traffic has made the roads even more dangerous.

And yes, he has the excellent taste to quote c’est moi, as well as several leading SoCal advocates.

………

Good question.

………

This pretty much says it all, doesn’t it?

………

A pair of researchers at San Jose State University are want your help with a survey to gauge attitudes towards mandatory bike helmet laws, and how they affect rider behavior.

Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the heads-up.

………

Santa Monica has replaced the painted bike lanes on Ocean Ave with new parking protected bike lanes.

………

This classic comic pretty much nails it.

………

Yes, there was a time not the long ago when kids in Los Angeles actually rode bikes.

Even if it feels like ancient history now.

………

This is what governments do when they’re actually concerned about safety.

………

Yes, please. We should have this on every residential street.

Or maybe just every street.

https://twitter.com/Rainmaker1973/status/1330156589672779776

………

The latest video from GCN explains the difference between ‘cross and gravel bikes.

………

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

Oxford, England bike riders recount their complaints about motorists, including one rider who was knocked off their bike by a driver who then demanded money for the damage to his car.

This is why people keep dying on the streets. A Spanish woman faces a maximum of just four years behind bars — and could walk free — despite killing three bike riders and maiming two others while driving high on coke and at four times the legal alcohol limit in a 2017 crash.

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

Police in New York are looking for a bike-riding gunman who robbed and groped a woman outside her Bronx apartment.

It takes a real schmuck to mug a woman while she’s holding a baby, like this English bike rider and his walking partner.

Mountain bikers are blamed for causing irreparable damage to an ancient woodland in the UK. Seriously, don’t do that.

………

Local

LA’s Slow Streets program is criticized for serving mostly wealthy communities on the Westside, where residents have the luxury of working from home.

Long Beach is moving forward with a Complete Streets remake of dangerous, car-choked Artesia Blvd, including bike paths, better sidewalks and improved traffic signals.

Usually when a bike rider is involved in a collision with a motor vehicle, it’s the person on the bicycle who bears the brunt of the crash; this time, it was a Danville motorcyclist who was tragically killed when a bike rider somehow fell into the traffic lane and the victim crashed into the bicycle lying in the roadway.

 

State

This is who we share the road with. Police in Anaheim are looking for the driver who used his car as a weapon by intentionally backing into a pair of people outside the Anaheim Lodge hotel, seriously injuring them as well as a clerk working on the other side of the wall.

The Orange County Bicycle Coalition warns that road work has reduced lanes on already dangerous Santiago Canyon Road, greatly increasing the risk on the popular riding route — as fallen bicyclist Hanna Tran apparently learned the hard way last week. Thanks to Bill Sellin and Victor Bale for the heads-up.

An Encinitas man has published a new book recounting his 5,000-mile cross-country bike ride back in the ’70s, when it was a much rarer achievement.

Santa Barbara officials aren’t happy to learn their newly approved e-bikeshare system will come with three nine-foot tall solar-powered enrollment kiosks that nobody bothered to mention before.

A judge rules a Goleta driver will stand trial for the alleged drunken hit-and-run that took the lives of a married couple as they were walking on an offroad bike path.

A San Francisco writer tries taking an ebike up the city’s steepest hill, and fails. Twice.

 

National

No, wearing a mask does not impair oxygen intake during workouts such as riding a bike.

Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss concludes that 20 miles is the ideal length for a bike ride. That used to be when I felt like I was just warming up; these days, I’d be happy just to get that far.

A new study concludes gravel riding makes you feel more tired and hungry because it takes more effort to ride rough surfaces. Which explains why LA bike riders feel worn out and starving after riding the city’s broken streets; as usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you out.

A Maui motorcyclist discovers what it’s like when the hit-and-run driver who wrecked his Harley turns out to be the chief of police.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a trailer from a Minneapolis nonprofit containing 30 bicycles they used to teach children how to ride a bike.

Bighearted coworkers bought a new bike for an Indianapolis man after the bicycle he rode to work to support his three kids was stolen; kindhearted security guards at the courthouse where he works replaced it the first time.

Boston offers a network of new protected bike lanes in the downtown area.

Streetsblog calls on New York to begin building bike boulevards. We were promised those in Los Angeles in the 2010 bike plan. Promises made, promises broken.

‘Tis the season. Florida volunteers pitch in to build bikes to ensure every kid in need can have one.

 

International

For people on a budget, Road.cc lists the best bikes for less than the equivalent of $665 — and starting for just half that.

A Road.cc reader recounts his journey from a self-professed petrolhead to a committed bicyclist.

A writer for Toronto’s Globe and Mail considers how the pandemic is propelling an urban biking and walking revolution, including the shift to a 15-minute city.

Speaking of Toronto, a family of five ditches their SUV and goes carfree, taking to their bikes even in the cold Canadian winter. And wishes they’d known about cargo bikes years ago.

We’re not quite ready to leave Canada’s largest city, where bike riders are demanding that flimsy new Toronto bike racks be removed because they’re too easy to unscrew from the sidewalk, rendering them useless.

Bike thieves will take anything. Even a broken-down bike that was part of Banksy’s latest artwork.

A London woman makes the unusual transition from stage manager to bicycle mechanic to survive the pandemic.

They get it. A leading Scottish newspaper calls bicycling “a life-saving form of transport we must invest in.”

A British study shows that most people support bike lanes, but the public usually overestimates opposition to them. Just LA’s mayor and councilmembers.

The UK’s Sun newspaper recommends gear you need if you want to use your bike to avoid public transit. None of which you actually need.

Former Game of Thrones star Kit Harrington is one of us, as he rides the streets of Dublin on his way to work on the second season of Amazon Prime’s Modern Love.

Who needs an ebike? An Irish company has developed a ped-assist wheel that’s powered mechanically by your own weight. Evidently, the Design Boom website doesn’t think sentences need capital letters, either.

Bikeshare is booming in Zagreb, Croatia, as the system more than triples in size.

A Philippine broadcaster celebrated her 50th birthday by donating 50 bicycles to a program to help people who need a bike to get to work to keep their jobs during the pandemic.

 

Competitive Cycling

USA Cycling introduces the new Olympic Development Academy to help young cyclists develop Gold Medal skills. Thanks to David Huntsman for the tip, who calls it a sea change in their approach to Junior/U23 racer development.

Now you can own the bike Italian great Marco Pantani rode to victory on Mont Ventoux in 2000, beating the previously referenced ex-winner of that year’s Tour de France in the process.

The local newspaper remembers famed cycling coach and longtime Ramona resident Edward “Eddie B” Borysewicz, the man behind the top American cyclists in recent decades. Including one who won the most Tour de France titles ever, until he didn’t.

 

Finally…

This year, Santa rides a bike. You may never be a pro cyclist, but you can pretend with…Monopoly.

And that feeling when a wild boar eats your lunch.

No, literally.

 

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Speeding ebike riders put others at risk, Times equates chokeholds with scuffed shoes, and driver flashes gun at bicyclists

July 13, 2020 / / 5 comments

Let’s start with this note from frequent link contributor Victor Bale.

I needed a break from the heat of the Coachella Valley so I spent Thursday thru today at the Balboa Peninsula of Newport Beach. I rode the length of the boardwalk all the way to Sunset Beach and other bike trails every day and I was struck by how many ebikes I saw. They were everywhere and here’s a couple of thoughts.

I love that ebikes are bringing new blood to the sport but I was bothered by the recklessness of “some” of the cyclists.

Many were traveling at speeds totally inappropriate (the speed limit on the boardwalk is 8 MPH) to a narrow boardwalk full of families walking, cyclists on beach cruisers, very young kids cycling or on scooters and seniors out for a lesurely stroll.

I watched as a young man knocked over a woman riding a beach cruiser. No harm to her other than road rash but she was lucky. When he passed me he was using throttle only and exceeding 20 MPH. I watched as people were cut off. I watched as ebikes rode on the boardwalk paperboy style at high speeds just to show off. It was crazy. I’m surprised high profile accidents haven’t happened yet.

Nobody likes onerous regulations and enforcement but I worry about what the future will bring if something isn’t done now about regulating ebikes and ebike usage. It’s only a matter of time before an ebike rider kills a pedestrian (if it hasn’t happened already).

Take that as a warning.

Coastal cities have cracked down on bike riders exceeding the admittedly exceedingly low speed limits on the beachfront boardwalks. And will undoubtedly do it again if they think things are getting out of control.

Never mind that it takes a major jerk to zip blithely along while putting everyone else at risk.

And while I’m not aware of anyone being killed or seriously injured by an ebike rider in Southern California, it has happened in other cities.

So slow the eff down, already.

Photo by Maxfoot from Pixabay.

………

There’s something seriously wrong when a movie critic for the LA Times equates an “[expletive], entitled bicyclist who scuffs Buggin’ Out’s pristine Jordans,” with cops killing Black men with chokeholds.

Maybe someone should tell him there’s a difference between being an obnoxious jerk and, you know, actually killing someone.

Or maybe the Times should just do the right thing and remove this one.

Thanks to Sean Meredith for the heads-up.

………

If you can’t afford to fix your bike, Pasadena wants to help.

………

The Black Lives Matter movement isn’t stopping, with at least two bike rides to honor Breonna Taylor this weekend, in Richmond VA and Grand Rapids MI.

There was a similar ride in Los Angeles over the weekend, but it doesn’t seem to be online yet.

Meanwhile, police in Ottawa, Canada apologized to a Black bike rider who stopped to rest on a bridge, only to have a white woman call 911 to demand he get off so she could pass uninhibited.

https://twitter.com/IceFresh2/status/1280214101516574725?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1280214101516574725%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffingtonpost.ca%2Fentry%2Fottawa-911-police-karen-black-man_ca_5f08e5f2c5b67a80bc076ae5

………

GCN says wheel weight doesn’t matter after all.

………

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

An ugly incident caught on video, as a couple of bicyclists confronted a Florida driver who passed too close, and told them to stay the fuck off the road — and brandished a gun as he got out of his SUV. Or maybe not; it’s possible he was just putting it in his pocket as he got out, as he claimed.

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

San Francisco authorities are looking for a bike-riding gunman who shot a 44-year old man as he was walking along the street.

Bicycles seem to have become the getaway vehicle of choice, as the FBI looks for a weaponless bike rider who robbed a Chicago area bank.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee police are looking for a knife-wielding man who rode off on a bike after stealing merchandise from a pair of stores.

………

Local

The LA Galaxy is teaming with the East Side Riders for a bike ride from Watts to Dignity Health Sports Park for the Galaxy’s match with LAFC this Saturday.

El Monte officially unveiled the new San Gabriel Valley ebike bikeshare, which will eventually grow to 840 bicycles.

Caltrans and Malibu will host a Zoom meeting Wednesday evening to discuss replacing the narrow bridge over Trancas Creek on PCH, including bike lanes and shoulders in both directions, as well as a westbound right turn lane onto Trancas Canyon Road.

Gerard Butler is one of us, as is his former model and house-flipping girlfriend Morgan Brown.

 

State

The San Diego Bicycle Coalition is offering a number of bike education classes over the next ten days, starting with one tonight.

Speaking of San Diego, the city has ordered cafes to remove outdoor tables that were blocking a bike lane.

Hundreds of young Santa Barbara bike riders turned out for an officially unsanctioned Familia Rideout on Saturday, though masks and social distancing appeared to be largely forgotten.

A bike-riding woman in Contra Costa County suffered major head injuries in a collision with a driver, although the Mercury News appeared to blame her for colliding with the car.

A San Francisco man is putting his lockdown time to good use by putting discarded and unloved bicycles back on the road.

 

National

Cycling Savvy offer tips on how to stay safe riding on a bike path.

Forbes suggests the best bikewear and accessories for women, apparently based on the mistaken assumption that everyone wants to sport spandex and ride roadies. And despite what the caption says, a bicycle is all you really need to start riding. So don’t let that other crap get in your way; you can always get it later if you want.

Popular Science continues their unexpected bike theme, explaining how to carry just about anything on your bike with a rack and some bungee cords. And offers tips on how to avoid common beginner’s mistakes.

Bicycling considers how to find the best bike routes when you’re far from home.

Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown is one of us, though she’s definitely not in the spandex camp, with her bigass all-turquoise fat tire ebike.

Tragic news from Glendale AZ, where a man and woman were both killed when a driver slammed into their bikes as they rode together.

A Denver weekly examines the worst habits of pandemic drivers. Which would be all of them. Habits, that is. And drivers.

Tragic news from Laredo, Texas, where a 77-year old man died five weeks after he was beaten by two men who stole his bike after accusing him of breaking a window.

Great story about a Milwaukee bus driver who bought a ten-year old boy a new bicycle after he kept her company when her bus broke down.

Minnesota Public Radio talks with British bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid about the coronavirus bike boom, as officials belatedly discover that people actually prefer clean air to heavy traffic.

For the first time, an 89-year old Ohio man opted not to ride his 1936 Shelby bicycle in the local parade, riding in a trailer instead while his grandkids rode his antique bikes.

Dockless Jump ebikes are returning to the streets of DC, just weeks after the company murdered tens of thousands of the bikes.

J.Lo is still one of us, even if she switched to an ElliptiGo for a ride through Miami this weekend.

Motocross rider Mike Alessi was lucky to escape with cuts, road rash and a cranial hematoma when he was run down from behind by a hit-and-run driver while training on his road bicycle in Florida; while he’s relatively okay, his bike was trashed.

 

International

You could soon be riding on dandelions.

Once again, bike riders are heroes, nine times over, as bicyclists around the world stepped up to make a difference during the coronavirus lockdown.

In a move that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago, London is removing parking in the history City district to install bike corrals to accommodate the rising numbers of bike riders using the city’s expanding bike network. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, it seems to still be unthinkable.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a driver stoned on the opiate painkiller dihydrocodeine, as well as coke, weed and morphine, got just over two lousy years behind bars for killing a man riding his bike.

He gets it. Former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas tells British GQ how to get started riding a bicycle, starting by suggesting a secondhand bike, without a single mention of spandex or high end gear.

An Irish writer says bring back the bicycle, suggesting we’d all be better off if we rode our bikes instead of driving whenever possible.

Bologna, Italy introduced a new campaign to get more people out on their bikes following the Covid-19 lockdown. Although the best way to do that is to provide more popup bike lanes, exactly like Los Angeles isn’t doing.

Covid-19 has brought Karachi, Pakistan back to the bicycling city it used to be before cars and security concerns chased people off the streets.

No more handheld cellphones while you ride your bike in Singapore after this month.

A New Zealand woman tells drivers an extra minute won’t kill them, but it could kill someone else — like it did her late husband, who died five days after he was run down by a truck driver. They’d been riding together ever since they met while bicycling across Canada 23 years ago; now she doesn’t know how she can ride again without him.

 

Competitive Cycling

A British semi-pro cycling champ credits an air ambulance with saving his life after he was hit by a dump truck while rounding a blind bend on a group ride.

PBS catches up with the pretend virtual Tour de France.

Cycling Weekly tracks down the virtual cyclists who virtually beat the virtually riding pros, and begs for their secrets.

 

Finally…

Political dirty tricks have seeped down to the animal kingdom, with a chipmunk attack on a bike-riding Democratic candidate. Apparently iguanas are out to get us, too.

And you don’t have to understand Italian to get the official song of the Giro.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Morning Links: Indignorant anti-road diet columnist, bike riders on the wrong end of guns, and more traffic mayhem

September 20, 2017 / / 5 comments

So wrong, in so many ways.

A columnist for the LA Daily News goes out of her way to demonstrate her near total ignorance of traffic safety, Vision Zero and “dangerous” road diets in a column saying the latter belongs in a Museum of Stupid Ideas.

Never mind that road diets have been shown to increase safety up to 47%. But why let a little detail like that get in the way of a good rant?

Then there’s her screed about Vision Zero coming from — gasp! — Sweden.

Common sense would tell you that traffic solutions should be developed locally without guidance from irrelevant foreign capitals, and that’s why common sense is not in the museum.

During 2016, the first full year of Vision Zero’s implementation in Los Angeles, fatalities in traffic collisions were up a horrifying 43 percent over the previous year.

Although she might have mentioned that all LA did in 2016 was develop a plan for Vision Zero. And to the best of my knowledge, talking about reducing traffic deaths has never caused a single collision.

Or that the purpose of Vision Zero is not to prevent traffic collisions, but to keep people from dying in them, by recognizing that people will always make mistakes, but better roadway designs can keep those mistakes from killing someone.

And never mind that virtually every traffic solution currently in use in LA came from somewhere else. From traffic lights and stop signs, to the billion dollar HOV lanes on the 405.

About the only innovation we can claim is the right turn on red light. Which isn’t exactly a template for safety.

But the topper is this one, where she goes out of her way to have it both ways.

Although city officials consulted extensively with community groups before turning eight-tenths of a mile of Venice Boulevard into one of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s “Great Streets,” the part of the plan that involved taking away a traffic lane in each direction wasn’t exactly displayed on street banners.

So she acknowledges that the city conducted extensive outreach. Then turns around and says it didn’t do enough outreach.

Maybe next time she should do a little basic research so she knows what the hell she’s talking about before flying off the handle.

Or wasting newsprint with uninformed drivel like this.

………

Today’s common theme is bikes and guns.

There are still no suspects in the fatal shooting of a popular Colorado mountain biker as he was riding last week; his body was discovered days later next to a trail.

A Florida bike rider was shot by a driver in an apparent road rage incident; no word on the condition of the victim.

And compared to the previous two cases, a Pennsylvania bicyclist got off easy when an angry driver merely pointed his gun at him following an argument.

Of course, if the drivers had just used their cars instead, it would have been written off as just an accident.

And the bike riders would have been blamed for it.

………

Today’s other common theme is the more traditional form of traffic violence.

A pair of Oklahoma men tried to cover-up a fatal hit-and-run collision by intentionally driving into a highway guard rail to hide the damage from hitting a bike rider.

A Missouri man was doing 93 in a 35 mph zone — and driving on a suspended license — when he slammed into a bicyclist last year; he now faces a charge of first-degree involuntary manslaughter.

A Wisconsin man was turned in by his own wife following a drunken hit-and-run that took the life of man riding a bicycle.

An 83-year old Michigan man faces a misdemeanor charge after killing one bicyclist and injuring another in a rear-end collision last year. Older people may depend on their cars for mobility, but we’ve got to find a way to get them off the roads before it’s too late.

………

Dutch cyclist Annemiek van Vleuten bounced back from her horrific crash in the Rio Olympics road cycling race to win world championship in the time trial yesterday.

If you’ve ever questioned how tough women cyclists really are, consider this video of British cyclist Lauren Dolan celebrating her 18th birthday by finishing the time trial despite a horrific leg injury suffered when she hit a manhole cover. Thanks to Jon for the heads-up.

https://twitter.com/JamieHaughey/status/909870748549943296/video/1

……….

Local

Letter writers in the Times say dark tinted windows on cars make it more dangerous for bike riders and pedestrians.

Los Angeles is planning for temporary walkways and bike paths in the recently purchased Taylor Yards railroad site, while plans are developed for a permanent park.

Curbed examines the future of bikeshare in the City of Angels.

Doris Day used to be one of us, riding her bicycle through Beverly Hills to rescue stray animals.

The Beach Reporter looks at Manhattan Beach resident Evens Stievenart’s new world record in the Le Mans Pearl Izumi 24 Hours Cycling race

 

State

Nice story from San Diego, where a nearly blind 94-year old woman took her first bike ride in 15 years on the back of a tandem as part of a Dreams Do Come True program at an Escondido retirement community.

The new dockless bikeshare bikes in San Diego’s Imperial Beach are already getting trashed by users and vandals, less than two weeks after their introduction.

A three mile Wildomar bike lane project has been put on hold after all the bids came in over budget.

A Riverside columnist explain what those green patches in the bike lanes are all about.

Speaking in Oakland, a traffic engineer says protected bike lanes must be the new normal, and urban planners are still trying to undo the damage caused by vehicular cyclists in the 1970s and 80s.

Jens Voigt returns to Marin County to headline the third annual Jensie Gran Fondo of Marin,

 

National

A new study shows teens are increasingly putting off drinking, driving and sex. Which makes sense, since the last one seldom happened without the first two, anyway.

No overreaction here, as TV’s Inside Edition says groups of crazed cyclists are causing “absolute mayhem in the streets.” Meanwhile, a group of young bike riders tried to prove them right by ignoring a ban on bikes to take over New York’s Cross Bronx Expressway.

Houston residents are donating bicycles to help people who lost their cars in Hurricane Harvey.

Kellen Winslow II is one of us, as he tries to sell the home he bought in the Texas hills in hopes of becoming the first pro football player to turn pro cyclist.

A New York woman confirms that riding across the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the city’s most difficult commutes, even if it was better than she expected.

Curbed talks with Philadelphia’s biggest bike advocate.

 

International

Edinburg, Scotland is waiting to give hometown hero Mark Beaumont the welcome he’s earned after a record-breaking 79-day bike ride around the world.

A British personal injury lawyer says the laws must be changed to clarify the rights and obligations of bicyclists, and protect riders who hit someone while riding in a bike lane.

A New Zealand cyclist calls for ripping out a new separated bike lane, after first assuring us he’s one of the good ones — not, he insists, a spandex clad rider on a $5,000 carbon fiber bike, or someone who insists on slowly taking the lane at rush hour.

 

Finally…

Apparently, you’re more dangerous than a truck. And everything you always wanted to know about bicycling in Bogotá but were afraid to ask.

Thanks to Dennis Eckhart for his generous donation to help support this site. Or maybe just help pay for that new hard drive.

 

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

Tonight’s post, which is not about bicycling at first, though I try to make up for it later

December 15, 2012 / / Comments Off on Tonight’s post, which is not about bicycling at first, though I try to make up for it later

Some days, life just doesn’t make sense.

And this was one, in spades, as the unfolding joy of the holiday season was shattered once again by yet another madman with a gun.

I won’t make the comparison, as some have done, to the carnage on our streets. Yes, both needlessly waste precious human life, snatching innocent victims from their loved ones breasts.

But this is different.

This was an intentional choice to kill and kill again. It was not the result of distraction or drunkenness; it did not stem from carelessness or flaunting the laws that govern the roads we all share.

This was an act of gut-wrenching insanity. A heinous crime against God and man.

No rational person could point a gun at a child and pull the trigger. Let alone do it 20 times, then take the life of another eight adults.

Yes, there is madness on our streets.

But it doesn’t begin to compare to the madness that allows this to happen over and over, all over the country.

There will be other nights to address the long list of problems on our streets. But not this night.

This is a night for prayers for people we don’t know. And now never will.

And for those who loved and nurtured them, and now face an eternally aching hole in their lives and hearts that can never be filled.

We are all devastated.

And yes, I’ve said it before.

But let’s not let another day pass without telling those we love that we do. Hug those you can; call those you can’t.

Share the simple joy of having one another in our lives in this season of miracles.

Do it now, before it’s too late. Because one day it will be.

Tomorrow we can all commit to doing all we can to ensure that this will never happen again.

Because it’s happened too many times already.

And it will again.

If we don’t.

………

image004

Burbank Bike Angels hard at work

Nothing warms my heart more than people who go out of their way to share a little joy with kids who might not otherwise find anything under the tree on Christmas morning.

That’s why I’m a big fan of things like the 7th Annual All City Toy Ride that — hopefully — took place on Friday if the rain held off long enough.

And even more when bikes are involved as more than just a form of transportation.

Like the work of volunteers with the Burbank Bike Angels, who spent the last three months refurbishing bikes and restoring them to like new condition. And resulting in the delivery of 150 bikes to the Salvation Army to distribute to kids in need, along with another 50 bikes for other organizations.

Their work is just about done for this year.

But there’s always next year. They’re asking you for any used bikes — especially children’s bikes — and monetary donations so they can give away even more bikes next year. As well as volunteers to turn those unloved bikes into sparkling new gifts to inspire better health and a love of bicycling in a new generation.

If you can offer any help, whether bikes, money or time — or all of the above — call the Burbank Recycle Center at 818/238-3900.

Love the bike riding bear in the lower right

Love the bike riding bear in the lower right

………

Fifty-eight candidates qualified for next March’s L.A. city elections; all but eight are running for city council seats. The LACBC’s Operation Firefly brings bike lights to South L.A. Flying Pigeon says North Fig doesn’t have to be a killer neighborhood. Getting back on a bike isn’t always like riding a bike. Orange County motorists discover ghost bikes, far too many of which have taken root in the county this year. San Diego counts bikes countywide, while the San Diego Bicycle Coalition says this was the year bikes boosted local business. Thousand Oaks gets a new semi-green bike lane. Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor train line may be looking into a bike share program.

If you’re wondering what to buy your bike riding — or bike curious — friends, consider this review of Elly Blue’s Everyday Bicycling. Nevada begins work on an off-road bike path on their side of Lake Tahoe. Bicyclists, pedestrians and transit users all outspend Portland drivers at area small businesses; NBC picks up the story, as well. A high Seattle driver is charged with attempting to run over a bicycling off-duty cop after he tells her to stop smoking heroin. A 62-year cyclist from my hometown is recovering from a hit-and-run he can’t even remember. A man gets a whopping 30 days for threatening a Montana cyclist with a switchblade. Chicago cyclists get a new two-way cycletrack. Road riding can bring up all kinds of emotions, most of them good. A writer for the New York Times Magazine offers an insightful and very funny sequel to the year-old piece we linked to yesterday, in response to the anti-bike screed from the New York Post’s Steve Cuozzo. New York’s upcoming bike share program is just the latest sign of the city’s revived bicycle culture. If you’re a convicted felon carrying a concealed weapon, don’t ride your bike while drunk.

A Canadian driver right hooks a cyclist, so naturally police ticket the cyclist for riding in a crosswalk — even though the driver had a suspended license. The GranFondo Banff has to develop a new wildlife plan after grizzly bears forced a 40 kilometer reduction in last year’s route. A London driver is acquitted of fatally dooring a cyclist, despite having tinted windows that only allowed 17% visibility. The bike riding journalist whose near-fatal collision inspired the London Times CycleSafe campaign remains hospitalized 13 months later, while the distracted truck driver who put her there gets off with a £2,700 fine and eight months suspended license. An open letter urges the British Judiciary to give a damn about the lives of cyclists in response, while a London blogger struggles to understand. Cambridge police crack down on anti-social cycling; apparently, anti-social driving is still okay. YouTube offers a new bike channel in conjunction with a British bicycling communications channel. A UK writer says cyclists need to give respect in order to get respect; odd that no one ever says that about motorists. The 100th edition of the Tour de France will start in Corsica, while the 101st begins in Yorkshire, England; after most of the recent titles have been vacated, does anyone still care? Your next mountain bike could come from Andorra; no, not the tv witch. In honor of the holidays, the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer tandem bike, of a sort. Bike commuting in Rio. Celebrate the birthday of the man who invented the modern bicycle 158 years ago.

Finally, Red Kite Prayer sums up the day’s tragic events nicely, as always.

Category: Guest Columns, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , ,
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