Tag Archive for I’m so damn tired of Lance Armstrong already

Morning Links: LA Weekly says LA driving is fun, LA doesn’t make the bike commuting list, and Lance lies again

February 4, 2015 / / One comment

Local

The LA Weekly resorts to fiction, citing 12 streets that make you love driving in Los Angeles. Actually, nothing could make most LA motorists enjoy driving; only bike riders seem to truly enjoy our streets.

Glendale is the latest city to step up enforcement to prevent collisions involving cyclists and pedestrians. But police only ticket five people in the big dangerous machines that actually hurt people.

Flying Pigeon hosts their monthly Brewery Ride on Saturday.

 

State

KABC-7 offers a nice report on Monday’s memorial ride for Joey Robinson; let’s hope SoCal drivers were watching and got the message.

A Sacramento college student encourages us all to stay calm when encountering a flat tire.

Best advice ever? San Francisco traffic police say don’t rely on motorists to obey the law.

 

National

Clean Technica maps the top 25 US cities for bike commuting. And no, LA is not on the list, but Santa Monica is. And so is Santa Barbara.

In Portland, they have special lanes for bike riding chickens.

Caught on video: A Eugene OR driver blocks an unpainted bike box, then bumps a cyclist with his car twice — apparently on purpose.

Spokane thieves steal a green ghost bike for a 15-year old cyclist who died in a non-collision with a speeding police car.

Corpus Christi turns to bike cops to improve safety.

Michigan landowners don’t want a bike trail on their properties because they’d have to be more careful where they fire their guns.

In the immortal words of the Pretenders — and the Kinks before them — stop your sobbing; a Florida driver charged with killing a cyclist in a drag racing collision gets a stern warning from the judge to stop crying, already.

A Florida driver is arrested in the hit-and-run death of a bike rider; the victim wasn’t discovered for 11 hours after the collision. Which means the driver should face a murder charge on the assumption his victim might have been saved if he’d gotten help in time. Thanks to David Wolfberg for the link.

 

International

Game, set, match. A new Canadian study shows 12% of drivers pass cyclists unsafely on two lane roads without bike lanes; that drops to .2% on similar roads with bike lanes.

A Wednesday vote could determine whether London will take a bold step into a bike friendly future.

Caught on video: A Brit bike rider tries to beat a train crossing barrier, but gets knocked off his bike when it comes down on him.

Here’s something that will never, ever happen in the US, as Britain’s major political parties agree to participate in a debate on bicycling and bike infrastructure.

That Norwegian bike escalator is now available for installation anywhere in the world. Like maybe Los Angeles, for instance — and for as little as roughly $2 a yard.

New Zealand’s capital commits to making the city safer for cyclists.

 

Finally…

Maybe he should stick to his bike. As if doping wasn’t bad enough, integrity-challenged Lance Armstrong hit two parked cars last December after drinking at a party, then drove away. His girlfriend, who claimed to be his wife, initially took the blame for him, which gave him plenty of time to sober up before the truth finally came out. Thanks to John McBrearty and David Wolfberg for the heads-up.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Today’s post, as I pause amid a busy week to bring you the latest breaking and slightly broken bike news

January 10, 2013 / / 5 comments

Yes, I’ve been busy this week.

But no, I haven’t neglected your insatiable need for the latest breaking bike news; it just took me awhile to clear the decks and get around to it.

So fire up a cup of Joe and kick back for little light reading; it’s supposed to be too cold and damp for all but the hardiest riders to venture forth today, anyway.

And check out LA Streetsblog later today when I should have a report on double-parked trucks and otherwise blocked bike lanes in Santa Monica, as I continue to pitch hit for SaMo correspondent Gary Kavanagh.

………

Lots of bike and other related events scheduled for the coming weeks:

UCLA will host an L.A. mayoral debate at Royce Hall on the 22nd; meanwhile, Streetsblog challenges the candidates to a virtual video debate. SCAG invites you to discuss Bicycle Planning and Facilities Implementation on the 22nd, as well. Bicycle Kitchen is holding a fix-a-flat workshop on the 27th. Caltech Bike Lab teams with C.I.C.L.E. to offer defensive cycling classes; seriously, learning to ride defensively is probably the most important skill you can develop as a rider.

Registration is open for the 2013 UCLA Complete Streets Conference next month. And LACBC will host the city’s first Bike Prom on February 23rd; I think my tux still fits.

………

Only 90 more signatures are needed to support bike lanes on North Figueroa; I was number 410 out of the 500 required.

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Do we really have to discuss Lance? Alright, let’s get it over with.

As you must know by now, Lance Armstrong will sit down for a 90 minute interview with Oprah — yes, Oprah. Patt Morrison looks at Lance Armstrong and America’s questionable taste in heroes. Ten questions Oprah should ask Lance. Lance still claims those Tour de France victories, on Strava anyway. One key to survival is selecting the right enemies; Lance evidently erred badly in taking on fellow ex-Tour de France winner Floyd Landis. And Lance reportedly offered the US Anti Doping Agency a $250,000 bribe donation in 2004.

………

L.A.’s proposed bike parking ordinance is on it’s way back to the full city council. The city offers FAQs for the proposed street resurfacing bond we discussed yesterday; a vote is put off until next week after advocates take a stand. Bicycle Fixation reports progress at this week’s BPIT (Bicycle Plan Implementation Team) meeting. Metro offers advice on taking your bike on the train. Subtle successes in efforts to take back Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock.  Over 300 cyclists ride to remember PV Bicycle Center owner Steve Bowen, who died while riding shortly before Christmas. Hermosa Beach bike thieves don’t just steal a bike, they take the whole bike rack.

Orange County tries to get drugged drivers off the road. Newport Beach bike advocates and city officials discuss how to spend $300,000 in bike improvement funds raised recently; evidently, delivery trucks block bike lanes in Newport Beach, too. BikeSD finds a friendly reception when cyclists storm the San Diego City Council to protest recent biking deaths. Presenting San Diego’s bike advocate of the year. A new bikeway will connect San Diego’s Imperial Beach with the Bayshore Bikeway. Cyclists accuse Caltrans of ruining the roadway on Hwy 1 above of Cambria; then again, isn’t that what Caltrans does? The Times says Yosemite would be better off with fewer cars and more bikes; pretty much the opposite of the Park Service’s new management plan. An East Palo Alto man with eight prior felony convictions faces charges after hitting a cyclist last October, then getting out of his car to look at him before driving off. San Francisco’s most dangerous intersection will get a new red light camera to stop illegal right turns after more than 50 cyclists and pedestrians are injured over the last decade. East Bay bicyclists can now attend traffic school instead of paying a fine. A San Ramon lawyer who faces charges for the hit-and-run death of a cyclist last May claims he didn’t know he hit a human being; then again, he didn’t stop to find out, either. In a tragic turn of events, a Sonoma County cyclist survives a hit-and-run, only to be killed by a second car as he tried to get up.

How to teach a kid to ride a bike. Fifty places to ride before you die. Free People features girls — and boys — on bikes. Fewer Americans are buying their bikes at their local bike shop. Oregon leads the nation in bike-centric traffic signals; I’ve never actually seen one in the wild. A Seattle driver deliberately Jerry Browns a cyclist following a dispute over whether the rider stopped for a stop sign. L.A. transplants come to the aid of a Vancouver WA couple who had their tandem bike stolen. Six bike brands team to create a biking hotspot in Denver. A Minnesota writer takes the contrarian view that maybe bicycling isn’t that good for you after all. New York is about to provide parking for 24,000 bikes by converting 12,000 parking meters into bike racks. Bike riders haven’t been forgotten in plans for the upcoming presidential inauguration. A Virginia man is, understandably, upset that a planned bike path will go through his back yard.

A Canadian physician opposes bike lanes because they could slow his return to the hospital in an emergency; never mind that better fitness for his patients could make those emergencies less frequent, as could safer streets. Great infographic on who rides through London red lights. The Guardian says biking in hi-viz may not be as safe as you think; or at least they will, once they get their shit act together — wait, there it is now! A five-step guide to the un-stealable bike. Two UK street racers face four years in jail for killing a cyclist; too bad for them they didn’t do it in San Bernardino County. A Brit rider gets hit with the equivalent of a $1600 fine for riding salmon. Evidently, there’s a pecking order to Brisbane bike riders. Now that’s what I call a woman — an Aussie woman passes away 66 years after she and a companion set out on a three year bike tour of the continent.

Finally, I’m not impressed with the new Dutch heated, glow-in-the-dark cycle tracks; we could do the same thing if Caltrans would just approve paving bikeways with uranium tailings.

Category: Bike Events, General / Tags: , , , , ,
 
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