Just 12 days left in the 8th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive!
You know how fast time flies this time of year. Turn around, and it will be Boxing Day already, and it will all be over for another year.
Okay, who just applauded?
Let’s all take a moment to thank Terese E for a generous donation to keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.
And yes, she was the only one who donated yesterday.
So don’t wait. Donate today via PayPal or Zelle. Then relax and enjoy the holidays, knowing you’ve done your part to help keep this site up and running, and free for all.
And help keep a hungry spokesdog and chief fundraiser in kibble.
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Tragic news from Redlands, where the victim of Thursday’s fatal bicycling collision was identified as a 16-year old boy from Mexico who was just vacationing in the city.
A crowdfunding campaign to send Juan Pablo Carrillo-Salazar’s body back to his family Zacatecas for burial has raised just $135 of the modest $6,000 goal so far.
If money’s tight this year, go ahead and skip the fund drive this year, and donate to this worthy cause, instead.
We’ll be back again next year for the 9th edition of our fund drive.
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You can now make a tax deductible donation to LA transportation PAC Streets For All for use on nonpolitical activities, thanks to the requirements of nonprofit tax law.
Some pretty big news: you can now donate tax deductible funds to Streets For All! We are fiscally sponsored by @cayimby's Education Fund. Donations to this fund will be used for non-political advocacy efforts. Set up a $5/mo or $10/mo donation! https://t.co/mKzNeogoE3 pic.twitter.com/1RWAtNroFd
— Streets For All (@streetsforall) December 12, 2022
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Apparently, an abandoned bike helmet is pretty exciting stuff when you’re a toddler.
https://www.tiktok.com/@thearmfarklife/video/7165660871459491118?_r=1&_t=8XNUB3jeXiF&is_from_webapp=v1&item_id=7165660871459491118
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Why ride when you can fly?
https://twitter.com/jamshed_mohamed/status/1601661754911510529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1601661754911510529%7Ctwgr%5E1923e3778c05579f6e02b5604a6eb0566bc4f5aa%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fd-37917973493830349893.ampproject.net%2F2211250451000%2Fframe.html
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Take a two and a half minute downhill break with Kiwi freestyle pro Vero Sandler. And her dog.
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‘Tis the season.
In a comment from yesterday, Center Line Rules author Michael Wagner reminds us about a couple of local bike builds he too part in recently, to ensure that 80 Fontana area kids will have new bikes under the tree this year, as well as building more bikes with the Claremont Senior Bike Group, the Claremont Rotary Club, students from El Roble Middle School, Claremont High School and the Webb Schools.
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Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Once again, a UK pedestrian has been killed by a bike rider, after an elderly woman walking on a pathway died two weeks after she was knocked down by a speeding hybrid bike — which apparently didn’t have a rider, judging by the story.
A South African cyclist learns the hard way that you can get banned from real racing for cheating at the virtual kind.
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Local
A letter writer takes now-former Mayor Eric Garcetti — and implicitly, the Los Angeles Times — to task for the rising rate of traffic deaths in the city, and failure of his Vision Zero plan. And concludes that Garcetti’s pledge wqs indicative of his “’promise now, do nothing later’ approach to any difficult choice he had to make. That toothless, spineless approach will forever be his legacy.” Harsh, but sadly accurate.
Green Car Congress specifies the six Los Angeles active transportation projects funded by the California Transportation Commission, as part of nearly $1 billion in active transportation funding throughout the state.
A Long Beach man was the victim of a bike-by shooting; the same bike rider may have carjacked a woman a few minutes later, and crashed her SUV a few minutes after that.
State
Encinitas will shut down the Coast Highway next month, opening it up to pedestrians and bike riders on January 8th.
National
Electrek suggest stocking stuffers for the ebike rider or regular bicyclist in your life, while Road.cc helps you avoid a festive faux pas by suggesting what not to get.
Road Bike Rider considers the difference between a touring bike and a roadie.
Christian singing star Amy Grant now says the bike crash that knocked her unconscious and put her latest tour on hold was a blessing that forced her to refocus on what she loved about performing to begin with.
Unbelievable. An Iowa man walked out of prison a free man this week, despite being sentenced to ten years for the drunken death of a 69-year old woman riding a bike, after the judge somehow decided the original sentence was too harsh and resentenced him to probation. Just in case you were wondering why people keep dying on our streets, or anything.
An Arkansas man will serve a well-deserved ten years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a bike-riding man who had just gotten married two months earlier.
Rail service was shut down in Pittsburgh on Sunday after a mountain biker fell 25-feet off a cliff, landing on the railroad tracks.
He gets it. A 75-year old Baltimore man says forget the myth that Baby Boomers have no use for bike lanes.
Sad news from Maryland, where a longtime bike shop owner was killed when an early morning fire broke out in the shop, where he was living with his dog, who was also overcome with smoke.
Once again, authorities somehow managed to keep a dangerous driver on the streets until it’s too late, as a North Carolina man faced charges for crashing into a bike rider while high on weed and heroin, a week after appearing in court for causing a freeway crash; he was still on the road despite 40 previous convictions and multiple DUIs.
The worldwide epidemic of bike shop closures continues, with the closure of a 62-year old Florida bike shop.
This is the cost of traffic violence. The owner of a Michigan bike shop was killed in a Florida traffic collision while delivering free bikes for kids displaced by Hurricane Ian.
International
Bicycling offers an overview of what year-end Strava data tells us, including that bike commuting is nearly back up to pre-pandemic levels, and you’re more likely to ride further with a friend when it’s cold out. Of course, it also only tells you about people who use Strava. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.
Bike Radar recommends their picks for the best ebikes for every type of rider. And adds an explanation of motor position, and why it matters. Meanwhile, Bloomberg offers their ebike picks, too.
Competitive Cycling
Bicycling takes a detailed look at the tragic life of Moriah “Mo” Wilson, whose star burned brightly over the world of ‘cross for a few short years, before she was allegedly murdered by the jealous girlfriend of pro cyclist Colin Strickland. Read it on AOL this time if the magazine blocks you.
Belgian world champion Remco Evenepoel announced plans to compete in next year’s Giro.
Finally…
Your next ebike could be a naked Mercedes-Benz. Now you, too, can pedal a bike to power Rome’s Christmas tree.
And this pretty well sums up the whole sad situation.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
