Congratulations, Angelenos.
You now officially live and ride in the most dangerous place in the United States.
And that’s not even counting Covid cases.
Let alone LA drivers.
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Oddly enough, though, LA County streets were a little less dangerous last year.
Crosstown says while LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s efforts have failed, the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a steep drop in pedestrian deaths, succeeding where he couldn’t.
We’ve seen a similar drop in bicycling fatalities, with just 16 deaths in all of LA County last year, compared to 34 in 2019.
Never mind the mind-blowing decline in bicycle collisions we mentioned last month, dropping 90% in September compared to the year before, and 70% for the year as a whole.
The question remains why, since motor vehicle traffic has returned to pre-pandemic levels, while bicycle ridership is up.
Maybe it’s safety in numbers. Or maybe there’s something else going on.
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More sad news.
With a heavy heart we learned of the passing of Jay Walljasper, a longtime active transportation advocate. We're thankful for his contributions to the movement, including his 2018 report with @PedalLove, "The Surprising Promise of Bicycling in America". https://t.co/qQrsq7vNH9
— League of American Bicyclists (@BikeLeague) January 5, 2021
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Mitt Romney is one of us. Or was, anyway.
A young Mitt Romney in France, 1966-1968. pic.twitter.com/cpbsyjiKMy
— The French History Podcast 🇲🇫 (@FrenchHist) January 6, 2021
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
Once again, someone has sabotaged a British bike trail, planting upright nails in the dirt to puncture the tires of unsuspecting riders, with the potential for serious injuries.
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Local
It looks like Adams Blvd could get a new bike lane on a two-mile stretch between Fairfax and Crenshaw. As always though, what if anything ends up on the streets depends on how loudly the drivers and NIMBYs complain.
A Santa Clarita radio station picks up tips on how to ride in the snow, which apparently first appeared on a Virginia website. Even if most SoCal bicyclists are unlikely to encounter snow unless they go looking for it.
State
San Diego is opening a new $135 million bridge over Mission Bay to replace an aging span that will be demolished and recycled; a 12-foot wide bike and pedestrian lane should be finished sometime next year.
National
Now we’re starting to get somewhere. A new clip-on, throttle controlled motor promises to convert your bicycle to an ebike in just minutes, for around four hundred bucks.
Self picks their favorite bike helmets for women.
New above-the-ear earbuds from Bose promise to keep you safe on the road by allowing you to hear the sounds around you; these headphones from AfterShokz make the same promise. But just try explaining that to the cop who’s writing you up for having one in each ear.
The owner of Phoenix, Arizona’s Bicycle Nomad Cafe completed his second 2,200 mile bike journey to retrace the route of escaped slaves along the Underground Railroad, riding with a reluctant partner from New Orleans to Niagara Falls.
Los Angeles didn’t get a single bike lane on PeopleForBike’s ranking of the top ten bikeways in the US; Austin Texas — with just a quarter of the population — got two.
A Milwaukee man went from fixing bikes for his neighbors to opening a new bike shop, thanks to the increased demand from the pandemic-induced bike boom.
A new study shows New York has consistently failed to follow through on plans to install bike parking, resulting in just one space for every 116 bicycles; that compares with 1.5 spaces for every registered motor vehicle. Then again, drivers aren’t exactly happy with the situation, either.
Horrible news from Jacksonville, Florida, where a pair of bike crashes just ten minutes apart left one woman dead, and another man fighting for his life.
Florida residents have rallied round a new local bike shop, after a Good Samaritan stopped a burglar from breaking in and held him for the police.
International
British bike shops have been given the okay to remain open, despite the country’s slide into its third pandemic lockdown.
A former mountain biker who competed for the UK says ebikes helped him get his life back, despite a serious heart condition that means never raising his heart rate above sedentary levels.
Named “low carbon heroes” by the Welsh Government, a British couple are helping get more people on bikes during the lockdown by refurbishing old bicycles and converting them to ebikes.
Dutch bike cops will now have flashing blue lights on their bikes to identify themselves as the police. No word on whether they will also make siren noises with their mouths.
I like it. South Africa’s Stay Wider of the Rider campaign reminds drivers to give bike riders more space on the roads.
A pair of Malaysian cities plan to improve safety for bike riders by converting under-used motorcycle lanes into bike lanes.
Competitive Cycling
Cycling Tips talks with American cycling legend Connie Carpenter-Phinney, road cycling Gold Medal winner in the ’84 Olympics and one of the era’s top women’s pros; she’s also the wife of fellow Olympic cyclist David Phinney, and the mother of recently retired pro Taylor Phinney.
Apparently, British women’s cycling great Beryl Burton doesn’t get any respect these days.
Mortified to find some talentless moron has defaced our iconic beryl burton mural over the festive holiday. We’re absolutely gutted. @BBCLookNorth @letouryorkshire @yorkshirepost @Welcome2Yorks pic.twitter.com/09msct802C
— woodrup cycles (@woodrupcycles) December 29, 2020
Finally…
Maybe you should put bicycling under job skills on your resume. Bribing firefighters with a bike to take their Covid-19 vaccine.
And that feeling when you go out for potatoes and come home with a new bicycle.
It’s a very easy mistake to make. https://t.co/hTTOwXRhOm
— Chris Boardman (@Chris_Boardman) January 5, 2021
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a damn mask, already.
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