Tag Archive for just the links

Morning Links: A warning on riding through smoke, Arts District bike lanes, and is Ryu plotting to undo Rowena?

August 9, 2018 / / One comment

Last night, we watched as the edge of the devilish smoke plume from the Holy Fire slowly approached our apartment.

And as the evening wore on, we began to smell a hint of smoke in the Hollywood air.

Which for us, just means dealing with my allergies and my wife’s asthma. And slipping the Corgi a benadryl to stop her sneezing.

But if you live or ride closer to the fire, smelling smoke should serve as a warning to stay off your bike for awhile. Or at the very least, wearing a protective mask so you don’t suck in ash and other particles carried on the smoke.

Smoke from wildfires can cause a host of health problems, short term and long, especially if you have underlying health conditions.

During one of the Malibu fires a few years back, I thought it was far enough away that I could get in a quick ride. And paid the price with breathing problems that lasted long after the smoke cleared.

So learn from my mistake, and if you can smell smoke, just take a few days off.

Chances are, the roads will still be there when the fire is out.

………

Local

LA Councilmember Jose Huizar calls for a new mobility strategy for the Arts District, including bike lanes on Traction Ave, Sante Fe Street and Mateo Street.

A writer for Los Angeles Magazine examines the pleasures and pains of walking in LA, saying we could all stand to see a little more of the city from its sidewalks.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports on a seemingly secret study prepared for Councilmember David Ryu that appears to lay the groundwork for removing the highly successful Rowena road diet to appease local residents and return automotive hegemony to the street.

 

State

A Calistoga bike shop displays a collector’s racing bikes, including some of the first carbon and ti bikes, dating back to a 1930’s bike mode by early Italian cyclist Giovanni Gerbi.

Eureka votes to conduct a pair of road diets to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians. Maybe councilmembers have more courage up there than they do here in Los Angeles. Or maybe they just care more.

 

National

Bicycling says the economic success of gravel bike rides like Dirty Kanzaa is saving small-town America.

The Portland Business Journal talks with BikePortland founder Jonathan Maus, who says the city has lost its status as a bicycling leader.

They take a long time to get there, but an Idaho TV station finally says yes, bicyclists are allowed to ride two abreast. And they can use the Idaho stop, because they’re, like, in Idaho.

A Catholic website looks at the spiritual side of Iowa’s RAGBRAI, which in this case could be called biking with the bishop.

Gothamist maps out the most dangerous areas for bike riders and pedestrians in NYC.

The Philadelphia Inquirer says you’re most likely to be killed by a car in the city’s poorer neighborhoods, whether you’re on a bike or on foot. The same is true in Los Angeles, and probably most other cities, where poor neighborhoods are usually older and neglected.

Don’t be this guy. After a DC driver honked at him, a road raging bike rider attacked the driver and his car with a U-lock while shouting the N-word at him. The racist jerk is now being held behind bars without bail on hate crime charges.

 

International

A new European medical study compares the health benefits of various modes of transportation. And once again, bicycling comes out on top, for mental and physical health, both real and perceived.

Another new study looks at the effects of bike lanes next to parallel parking, saying that dooring is underreported. And recommends sharrows instead of bike lanes to get riders out of the door zone. Although it’s my belief that the arrows in sharrows are only there to help angry drivers improve their aim.

A Winnipeg poll says 70% percent of bike riders worry about being passed too closely, while 40% of drivers worry about doing it. Simple solution: If all drivers would just stop doing it, no one would have to worry about it.

No bias here. After a group of British cyclists post bike cam video of a pair of dangerous drivers, the tabloids focus on a commenter who called them a bunch of “Lycra wankers” in response.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a Glasgow man’s bicycle as he was being treated by paramedics after a crash.

No bias here, either. The Irish Times says it will take a massive change in attitude to cut the country’s record bicycling fatalities — no, by the people on two wheels. Oh, and people need to stop drinking and driving, too.

A Nordic business site says the Hövding air bag helmet is the safest and trendiest bike helmet, and it’s going global. Safest, maybe. But trendiest? How many have you actually seen in the wild? That’s what I thought.

Politico looks at the slow, painful death of the famed Paris Vélib docked bikeshare system. Or maybe not, as a cyclist celebrates the end of the Tour de France by touring Paris with his fiancé by Vélib.

Berlin swings and misses in its attempt to be more like Amsterdam, building a bike path that zigs and zags with more right angles than a hopscotch grid.

A writer offers advice on how to avoid injury while riding a bicycle in Uganda, starting with riding defensively and being patient. Although advising riders to wear elbow pads and knee guards seems a little extreme.

Life is cheap in Australia, where a driver may avoid jail for fleeing the scene after leaving a 13-year old bike rider with life-threatening injuries, telling the court she just panicked and has realized the error of her ways. But what the hell is with expecting a 13-year kid to act like an experienced rider? 

He gets it. According to an Aussie writer, no one says you have to like cyclists, just don’t kill anyone. And stop saying you want to.

 

Competitive Cycling

Aussie cyclist Ritchie Porte says the only way to beat Team Sky in next year’s Tour de France is for all the other teams to gang up and keep attacking.

Sad news, as American cyclist Adrien Costa lost his right leg above the knee in a climbing accident last month; the 20-year old rider for Hagens Berman Axeon team walked away from racing after winning Le Tour de Bretagne and finishing second in the Tour of Utah in 2016. A GoFundMe page to help pay for his treatment has raised over $46,000 of the $100,000 goal.

 

Finally…

In the US, it’s the dog days of summer; in Australia, it’s the start of Magpies swooping at bicyclists season. When your $120,000 track bike turns out to be worth $15,000 US. Which is still a lot.

And don’t chase a grandmother into her home while naked and masturbating.

Especially if she’s armed.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Miscreant scooter users, Safe Routes to Schools in Boyle Heights, and Giant bikes in Ventura

May 24, 2018 / / One comment

It’s a relatively quiet news day, so let’s get right to it.

………

Local

The LA Times asks if e-scooter startup Bird can control the behavior of miscreant scooter users.

Los Angeles broke ground on a Safe Routes to Schools project designed to improve safety for people biking and walking to Breed and Sheridan elementary schools, and should eventually include a road diet and bike lanes on Soto Street in Boyle Heights.

 

State

The Ventura County Star applauds Giant Bicycles North American operations, which is headquartered in Newbury Park; the area’s US congresswoman recently toured the plant to promote National Bike Month.

 

National

A writer for Outside says women face sexual harassment on the roads, in addition to the harassment they face just for riding a bike. Meanwhile, the magazine offers eight pieces of bike gear to keep you safe on your commute. And no, pepper spray isn’t one of them, but maybe it should be.

Bicycling considers the annual Remember the Removal ride, with 18 members of the Cherokee nation riding their bikes along the infamous Tail of Tears to honor their ancestors who were forced to march from Georgia to Oklahoma.

A website for engineers and designers asks what all the buzz about ebikes is about. And proceeds to answer their own question.

A Mac website reviews the Apple Watch-controlled Lumos bike helmet, and likes it — if you’re willing to fiddle with it to keep it working properly.

Bend OR bike riders complain the city’s bike lanes have become an obstacle course.

Denver uses inexpensive rubberized curbs to form traffic circles to create a neighborhood bikeway. Which is a reminder that we were promised an actual network of Bicycle Friendly Streets — which everyone interpreted as another name for bike boulevards — in both the 2010 bike plan and the subsequent Mobility Plan 2035. None of which has appeared, by any name.

He gets it. A Colorado writer says safer streets will mean more people on bicycles. And that’s a good thing.

In a rare example of a town pulling together to honor fallen riders, a Kansas town installs a ghost bike to honor a pair of German bike tourists who were killed while riding on the famed Route 66. The police donated the bicycle, while the local convention and visitors bureau worked with the Kansas Historic Route 66 Association to acquire the land and install the bike. Although a better way to honor them might be filing charges against the 23-year old driver who killed them.

A Nebraska bike rider credits his helmet for saving him when he hit a loose chunk of asphalt at 23 mph and went flying, landing on his head and skidding 15 feet. As we’ve said many times before, a bike helmet should always be seen as a last resort when all else fails. But I’ve been very glad I had mine when it did.

Michigan legislators vote to approve a three-foot passing distance, and require at least one hour of bike, motorcycle and vulnerable user instruction in driver education classes. However, that’s a step down from the bill’s original five-foot passing distance.

New York developers are adding bicycling amenities to compete for buyers and residents.

A Philadelphia TV station asks why cyclists keep dying on the city’s streets. Maybe someday an LA station will finally ask that same question.

The war on bikes goes on, as a Baltimore firefighter is charged with lifting a young black man up by the throat in a public bike lane meeting.

Let’s hope a Florida Patch site made a typo in the subhead, saying construction will begin construction on a project “designed to the death of cyclists” at a deadly intersection. More surprising is learning there are still Patch sites lingering around.

 

International

If you want to live longer, ditch the drive to work.

As usual, bike riders won a commuting race in Vancouver, beating people who drive or took transit. And won on commuting costs, too.

The sponsors of a British Columbia Bike to Work Week offer five reasons to ride your bike, including it’s social and ridiculously fun. Which may just be the best reason.

The trucking industry in Halifax, Nova Scotia is fighting proposed regulations to require side guards on trucks to save lives in right hook collisions. Which should be required on every truck, everywhere.

A Halifax paper offers tips on how to become a better bicyclist.

The parents of a fallen Canadian bicyclist urge the coward who fled the scene after killing their son to turn him — or her — self in. Proving that hit-and-run is not just a Los Angeles, or even a California, problem.

No shit. A British judge tells a convicted drunk driver she’s a danger to the public, as he tosses her appeal to have her sentence for killing a teenage bike rider reduced, especially since she had three previous DUI convictions.

A UK campaign calls on the government to teach the Dutch Reach in the face of rising dooring incidents.

An Edinburgh couple wasn’t satisfied with the choices they had for bike jackets, so they designed one that converts to a messenger bag or rolls up under your seat. There’s eight days left to grab one for around $250 on Indiegogo.

An Indian website profiles a 17-year old boy who has overcome cerebral palsy to excel at cycling in the Special Olympics.

Factor Daily looks at leading Chinese dockless bikeshare provider Ofo’s plans for India, the second most populous country after China.

Australian bike riders push for a law that would require a high tech device in all cars that would completely block cellphone use while the car is in motion. We need that here, although there should be an exception for 911 calls.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Tips offers a great photo essay from the recent Amgen Tour of California. But wasn’t there a women’s race, too?

The same site says Tour of California winner Egan Bernal really is that good.

That big Italian bike race is in its final week.

 

Finally…

Jensie loves Johnny Cash. How to pedal pot.

And when you’re not sure if safety barriers are there to slow riders down or injure them.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: Invasion of the dockless electric scooters, and Lincoln Blvd to be widened in Marina del Rey

April 5, 2018 / / 3 comments

Evidently, we were one day too soon with yesterday’s photo of a LimeBike electric scooter, since dockless scooters are today’s common theme.

Vanity Fair says San Francisco is being overrun with dockless scooters.

Wired says the invasion of the dockless scooters raises questions of who the streets and sidewalks are for, and which vehicles get priority.

A reviewer for the Washington Post says LimeBike scooters offer a whimsical ride, but he can’t imagine an adult ever using a dockless scooter.

And yet, I see people using them all the time in my neighborhood, and they haven’t even come to Hollywood yet.

In case you missed it. Upper photo from the Bird Scooter Instagram page.

………

Local

Caltrans plans to widen a slightly more than half-mile strip of Lincoln Blvd in Marina del Rey to make more room for bike lanes and sidewalks. And more cars, of course.

 

State

Plans are proceeding for what will eventually be a continuous 27-mile bike trail through San Diego’s North County region.

Evidently, Jump ped-assist ebike dockless bikeshare is coming to Davis. Although it would be nice if the story actually said that.

Ukiah’s police chief offers safety tips for pedestrians and bike riders, telling the latter to act like a car. Somehow, I don’t see how guzzling fuel and spewing noxious odors while endangering everyone around you will actually make anyone safer.

 

National

People for Bikes is looking for a new business and political engagement manager.

Honolulu drivers are confused by a new parking protected bike lane.

Bicyclists will get one last chance to ride Seattle’s Alaskan Way viaduct before it’s torn down next year.

A Jackson Hole WY sixth grader has been riding his bike to school all winter, despite the cold and snow.

Pro choice advocates followed San Antonio TX Google employees to work on billboard-bearing cargo bikes to protest false search results.

A Brooklyn paper says overcrowding on the Brooklyn Bridge has reached a breaking point as pedestrians and bike riders were turned away by police.

The Columbia Journalism Review advises reporters not to blame the victims in bike and pedestrian crashes.

The NYPD blocks a raised bike lane through Times Square to provide security for theater patrons, less than two months after previously reopening it.

Philadelphia bike riders call for protected bike lanes, despite city plans to move existing buffered lanes from the right side of a pair of one-way streets to the left, and improve intersection crossings.

The war on bikes continues, as a Virginia father is intentionally struck twice by a road raging driver as he was riding with his kids.

Your next bike helmet could look like an ordinary hat thanks to a pair of Virginia Tech students.

Tampa, Florida decides traffic flow is more important than previously planned lane reduction and bike lanes on a redesigned boulevard, suggesting that bicyclists should just ride on back streets instead.

 

International

An Ottawa city councilor is told “we don’t remove bike lanes” after he suggests removing existing bike lanes when separated bike lanes are installed on a nearby street.

British bike advocates ask that vulnerable road users be exempted from a bill that would make injuries valued at less than the equivalent of $7,000 subject to small claims court.

A Welsh cyclist follows the swallows on a second-hand bike as they migrate 4,000 miles to Africa and back. Although a local paper seems amazed he survived.

Copenhagenize author Mikael Colville-Andersen’s new book discusses how bicycles can save our cities.

A bike helmet maker points out that New Zealand’s rate of bicycling deaths dropped after helmets were made mandatory, but fails to recognize that bicycling rates for children and adults dropped as well.

Chinese dockless bikeshare provider Mobike has been sold for $2.7 billion. Dashing hopes that it would merge with fellow Chinese bikeshare provider Ofo to form a new company called Mofo.

 

Competitive Cycling

Dutch rider Fabio Jakobsen won the 2018 Scheldeprijs race race through Belgium and the Netherlands, after winds — and a parked car — knocked out many of the favorites.

Peter Flax offers a tongue-in-cheek ranking of the top 40 cycling dopers.

 

Finally…

Come for the KOMs, stay for the porn ads. If you want to drive a bus, you have to ride a bike.

And forget all those photos of abandoned Chinese bikeshare bikes; in America, we abandon cars instead.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: Metro approves open streets funds, and Coronado gives the boot to dockless bikeshare

March 26, 2018 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Metro approves open streets funds, and Coronado gives the boot to dockless bikeshare

It’s a light news day today, so let’s get right to it.

……..

Local

Metro approves funding for the next two-year cycle of open streets events.

 

State

Encinitas approves plans for bike and pedestrian-friendly makeover of the coast highway through Leucadia.

Coronado says no to dockless bikeshare, but the bikes show up there anyway. And will get impounded by the police.

Good news from Madera County, where bicyclists will now be allowed to cross the San Joaquin River on Highway 41.

 

National

No surprise here. Honolulu police are using a grant intended to improve bicycle safety to crack down on bike riders.

The Portland police department gave away 100 new kids bikes in memory of a bike rider who died nine months after he was paralyzed by an 84-year old red light-running driver.

A Seattle group opposing safety improvements on a local street gets an earful when they tweet that single moms don’t bike. I’m afraid I lost my record of who sent this one to me, but thank you, anyway.

A Boulder CO Op-Ed says it’s time for the city to lower speed limits and implement Vision Zero, as well as eliminating right turn on red.

A long-planned Wisconsin bikeway connecting Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River is at risk after estimates for a bridge over a highway come in higher than expected.

The head of a Wisconsin bike advocacy group thanks the DA’s office for prosecuting a distracted driver who killed a woman riding her bike while he was searching for some papers on his passenger seat, even if the jury disagreed.

Springfield IL is preparing for its first open streets event, patterned after LA’s own CicLAvia.

Ann Arbor MI considers a seven-point plan to improve safety, including lowering speed limits and adopting a Vision Zero task force; Ontario, Canada considers a very similar four-point plan.

The Wall Street Journal asks if ebikes are actually worth it.

The war on bikes continues, as a Virginia SUV passenger is caught on video throwing a full water bottle at a trio of bike riders, hitting one; the occupants of the SUV could be charged with assault and battery.

 

International

A friend of Britain’s Prince Harry rode the length of South America in just over 48 days, shaving ten days off the existing record.

Toronto bike riders will stage a die-in on the steps of city hall to call for safer streets. It’s long past time we did the same thing right here in Los Angeles, if anyone would actually show up.

A London paper complains that driving across the city will soon be slower than riding a bike. Like that’s a bad thing.

As usual, an English town decides to fix a dangerous intersection to make it safer for bicyclists, but only after it’s already too late.

A British writer says shared pathways allowing bikes on one side and pedestrians on the other are just an accident waiting to happen.

A Dublin, Ireland university news site says the city lacks the bicycling infrastructure to keep the growing number of bike riders safe. And that bicyclists shouldn’t have to slide under a bus to stop being swept under the rug.

An Australian writer says bicycling is good for you, so give bikeshare a chance. Meanwhile, an Aussie site says ditching the country’s mandatory helmet law could lead to better overall health.

Singapore went carfree on Sunday, as part of a monthly program to close the streets of the Civic District to motor vehicles on the last Sunday of each month.

 

Competitive Cycling

World champ Peter Sagan has now won nearly four percent of the 80 editions of the Belgian classic Gent-Wevelgem; Italian cyclist Ilia Viviani broke down in tears after being boxed out at the finish, calling it the most disappointing loss of his career.

An Indian bike race ends in chaos after one of the lead riders crashes just before the finish, as riders are forced to share the busy road with cars.

A New Zealand website considers how to fairly accommodate transgender athletes, as a Kiwi woman dominates the women’s elite mountain biking field after formerly competing as an average men’s racer.

Nice to see that at least one of Lance’s friends has stuck by him.

 

Finally…

Sometimes, biking is for the birds. Bicycling helps keep you young, but your bone marrow is getting old.

And gift wrap for — or from — the bike rider in your life.

………

A special thanks to Pedego 101 and J Fylling for their generous donations to help replace my late, lamented laptop, which, after two full months in the repair shop, appears destined for that great recycling facility in the sky.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Looking forward to SGV CicLAvia, slowing traffic with lawn signs, and lock your bike, already

February 13, 2018 / / 2 comments

The Corgi reminds you what can happen if you don’t lock your bike up securely and completely.

And register it, already.

………

Local

Writing for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the Southern California News Group’s Steve Scauzillo takes a great look at the upcoming San Gabriel Valley CicLAvia, saying it’s all about community and discovering your town close up. Nice to see he’s survived the latest round of layoffs at the SCGN to keep covering the SoCal transportation beat.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton talks with a representative of Zagster, with their Pace dockless bikeshare smart bikes poised to enter the city. Although if the bikes were really smart, they’d be ebikes.

A writer for Slate rides an ebike around Los Angeles, and concludes they’re meant for bigger things than just replacing bicycles.

 

State

A Ventura letter-writer considers the value of club cycling.

Pebble Beach blocks the road to bike riders, even though their public-use agreement with the Coastal Commission only allows them to block the road to motor vehicles.

Sacramento considers a lawn sign campaign asking drivers to slow down. Which should be about as effective as all the other signs asking drivers to slow down. In other words, just this side of not at all.

A Tahoe paper offers more details on Peter Sagan’s upcoming gravel fondo in Truckee this May.

A Chico man learns the hard way not to register a $2,700 bicycle the day after it was stolen from a local bike shop.

 

National

Wired suggests funding our streets by making every road a toll road. Which should also give a big boost to bicycling.

No bias here. A Seattle resident fights to save her neighborhood from the scourge of a parking protected bike lane and those sneaky, underhanded cyclists.

The Texas Department of Transportation is planning for more highways and traffic. And more traffic deaths as a result.

A bike law website says Delaware, where even honking at bicyclists is against the law, may have the best bike laws in the US.

You know bicycling is more than a trend when even Birmingham AL is getting bike-friendly.

 

International

Kindhearted Vancouver Twitter users help get a homeless man back in the saddle after his bike was stolen.

It’s two years behind bars for the British bike shop owner who led his very own bike theft ring.

If you have your bike locked up at the Cheltingham Spa Railway Station in Gloucestershire, England, you have two weeks to move it.

An English architecture firm proposes a trio of amazing looking cylindrical glass towers capable of storing hundreds of bicycles at the entrance to London’s tech city.

No irony here. Ex-Friends star and current Top Gear host Matt LeBlanc calls people on bicycles “frustrating,” and says he won’t ride a bike in London because “it just seems like a death sentence.” Probably because of impatient drivers like him.

A red-faced, road-raging Irish driver is banned from driving for two years and gets the equivalent of a $1540 fine for repeatedly swerving into a group of bicyclists, before crashing into one. And not a single day behind bars.

The Guardian looks at how Copenhagen became Copenhagen, and what the rest of the world can learn from it. Like not listening to all those people who insist (insert city here) isn’t Copenhagen.

 

Competitive Cycling

Chris Froome will start his 2018 racing season under a Salbutamol cloud in Spain tomorrow.

A number of top riders plan to compete on the cobbles of this year’s Paris-Roubaix, because they’ll see them again in the Tour de France.

The great Katie Compton is done for the season after a nasty cut down to the bone on her knee from a disc brake rotor during a Belgian cyclocross final.

VeloNews looks at how riders find a balance between religion and sport in pro cycling.

 

Finally…

Sometimes the slowest rider wins the race. We may have to deal with aggressive LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to worry about dive-bombing owls.

And if you’re tempted to write “Bicycling advocates are wheelie excited” in a story for your college paper, maybe you should consider changing your major.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Protected bike lanes in DTLA, Long Beach wants to be cooler, and San Diego could go dockless

January 30, 2018 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Protected bike lanes in DTLA, Long Beach wants to be cooler, and San Diego could go dockless

We’re back. More or less. 

While my laptop still lingers at the shop waiting for a diagnosis, they were kind enough to loan me a semi-balky replacement.

Which works well enough to get today’s bike news wrap-up online, anyway.

………

Local

Work has started on transforming the bike lanes on Spring and Main Streets in DTLA to parking protected bike lanes, at the expense of a couple of parklets.

Long Beach’s bike-friendly mayor is working on plans to cool the city, from adding more trees and green spaces to getting more cars off the streets.

 

State

San Diego’s city attorney issues an opinion that dockless bikeshare doesn’t conflict with the city’s exclusive agreement with its DecoBike docked bikeshare system, which could open the door to other systems.

Berkeley gets a pair of new green bike lanes, along with safer bus loading zones and sidewalks to help students and faculty get to the UC campus.

 

National

A Honolulu woman became collateral damage when a drifting street racer smashed into her bike; the critically injured triathlete was riding with several other cyclists at the time of the crash.

Like California, it’s against the law to cross the centerline to pass a bike rider in a no-passing zone in Washington state. Even though drivers are allowed to do it in several other states, without the blood bath Governor Brown anticipated when he vetoed a bill that would have allowed it here.

A new Missouri bike shop built from railroad shipping containers will serve riders on a popular rail-to-trail bikeway.

Chicago bicyclists celebrate a frozen Winter Bike to Work Day. So why is it that Los Angeles, with its nearly perfect weather, can’t manage a single day to promote winter bike commuting here?

Caught on video: The war on bikes continues, as a Pittsburgh-area driver throws a bike rider to the ground, then heaves his bike at him.

No surprise here, as survivors of the New York bike path terrorist attack have filed a $600 million lawsuit against the city.

 

International

A writer for NewCo Shift delves into macro- and micro-mobility to explain why cars are doomed, and bikes will help us reclaim the streets.

Greenpeace says the answer is fewer cars, not just e-cars.

A Canadian website explains why bike lanes are good for everyone. Including people in cars.

They get it. Some bike lanes in Edmonton, Canada get plowed before the rest of the street, since they’re considered arterial routes for bicyclists.

After police tell a British woman they don’t have time to investigate her stolen bike, she tracked it down herself on eBay and stole it back.

A Dublin man was home with his wife giving his kids a bath when burglars broke into his home with crowbars in broad daylight, stealing a pair of high-end bicycles.

Malta has repealed its law requiring bike riders to wear helmets, part of a series of incentives to encourage more riding.

More proof that things are the same all over the world, as a new blue bike lane in Kuala Lumpur immediately turns into a parking lane.

 

Finally…

Get your next KOM on a secret military base. It’s not dockless bikeshare parking, it’s littering.

And people have been fighting over the streets since the ’60s.

The 1860s.

 

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Morning Links: A growing list of bike ride events, and NYC and SF show what Vision Zero can and should be

January 11, 2018 / / 4 comments

Let’s catch up with a growing list of upcoming bike ride events.

A bike ride will be held on Saturday to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Alhambra Avenue street improvement project, including bike lanes, crosswalk and new sidewalks; the ride will travel 5.5 miles from Highland Park to El Sereno.

Bike SGV and Metro Bike invite you to learn how to knit your own seat cover this Saturday, or the following Saturday.

The very busy Bike SGV is offering a free, three-part city cycling course over the next three Saturdays.

Santa Monica Spoke and Santa Monica Planning invite you to join them for a ride with the city’s mayor on January 20th; the ride will also feature Calbike board members, as well as Jeffrey Tanenhaus, who rode a Citi Bike bikeshare bike cross-country from New York to Santa Monica in 2016.

El Sereno is a popular location this month, as the Eastside Bike Club will host an El Sereno Family Bike Ride on the 21st.

San Diego’s annual Recovery Ride rolls on the 21st, benefitting a pair of local nonprofits.

The LACBC has rescheduled their third annual Mulholland clean-up, hosted by former pro cyclist, author and cookie monster Phil Gaimon for January 27th.

Bike SGV’s first bike train of the year will ride up to the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights for a vegetarian brunch on January 28th.

Stan’s Bike Shop and the Eastside Bike Club are hosting the US premier of MAMIL “Middle Aged Men In Lycra” on February 21st; part of the film was shot at the bike shop and features several members of the bike club.

………

San Francisco and New York are bucking national trends with record low traffic fatalities, even as deaths are on the increase throughout the US.

Which shows what can happen when cities take Vision Zero seriously, build bike lanes and pedestrian facilities, and actually stand up to the inevitable backlash.

Let’s hope LA is taking notes.

………

Local

USC is welcoming the URB-E e-scooter sharing system to campus, even as the school still struggles to accommodate students and faculty on bicycles.

 

State

More bad news from the California legislature, where a senate committee gutted a Complete Streets measure that would have required Caltrans to consider the needs of all road users.

Maybe Rep. Darrel Issa is quitting his Orange/San Diego County congressional seat because he didn’t want to have to campaign by bicycle again this year.

The San Diego Association of Governments, aka SANDAG, has spent roughly $15 million a mile so far to build just four miles of high-priority bikeways.

Caught on video: A Fresno BMX rider snatched a woman’s purse as she sat on a bench by a parking lot.

For every 15 donations to the Stanford blood bank in Palo Alto, a local bike shop will donate a bicycle to a child in foster care or a single-parent shelter, and the blood bank will make a donation to the bike shop.

JUMP Bikes gets the permit to be San Francisco’s first dockless e-bikeshare system.

Streetsblog says the dismissal of charges against a road raging Marin driver after he completed an anger management class is proof that we need a statewide cyclist anti-harassment ordinance.

A Placerville bike rider says he doesn’t care if the city if bike friendly because he doesn’t need bike lanes; all he cares about is making it safer for pedestrians.

 

National

Bicyclists in Steamboat Springs CO may lose a new bike lane if drivers can’t figure out how to back into reverse-angle parking spaces.

Michigan lawmakers gut a proposed five-foot passing law, replacing the minimum passing distance with a vague requirement to pass at an unspecified “safe distance.”

Wired looks at the success of high-end underground clothing line Outlier, which was born out of a desire for clothes that could look cool and still be tough enough for New York cyclists.

The Atlantic offers a moving video look at the ghost bikes of New York; every image represents a life taken too soon, for no reason.

A New York community group is suing the city in an effort to force the removal of a bike lane they blame for increasing traffic collisions.

 

International

Heartbreaking story from the UK, where a coroner concludes a 16-year old time trial specialist was killed when he signaled to an oncoming driver that he was going to make a U-turn, and the driver misread it as a signal to overtake him.

Britain’s Daily Mail kind of misses the point, saying a cyclist sparked a road rage confrontation with an angry driver by yelling at him and flipping him off — never mind the unsafe pass that the rider was responding to.

Just what we all need. A seemingly innocuous intersection in the UK can actually make bicyclists and drivers invisible to one another until the last second, despite a lack of obvious barriers. Thanks to David Wolfberg for the heads-up.

Kindhearted Welsh residents use blankets, tea and hot water bottles to keep a man in his 60s from going into hypothermia after he suffered several broken bones falling off his bike; it took more than four hours for an ambulance to finally arrive.

An Irish bicyclist has gone missing in the desert of southern Israel for seven weeks; his wallet, keys and tablet computer were found on a trail in late December.

Parisians are seeing red over the absence of the popular grey Vélib’ bikeshare bikes from the streets, as a switch to a new operator runs aground.

Add one more trip to your bicycling bucket list — a 435-mile, 14-day trip across the Czech Republic.

Jump a red light in Saudi Arabia, and get the equivalent of an $800 fine.

Good piece from an Aussie writer, who says bicycling is legal; death threats — whether online or on the streets — aren’t.

This is who we share the roads with. A killer Australian driver with 16 previous traffic convictions bizarrely blames the media for all his problems, after getting caught riding a stolen motorbike 12 days after his license was suspended for driving stoned.

 

Competitive Cycling

Kiwi road cycling champion Jason Christie is under fire for apparently flipping off his competitors as he crossed the finish line, although the head of the national cycling council said it looks like more than one finger to him. Unfortunately, the video doesn’t seem to play in this country, but that looks like a single middle finger on each hand to me.

No, you can’t run red lights and make the equivalent of an illegal left turn, even if you’re the world’s leading cycling team.

Chris Froome could be banned from the world championships if his doping investigation isn’t resolved soon, while the head of British Cycling says leaking his failed test harmed cycling. Sure, leaking the test results hurt cycling, but failing the test itself was just fine.

Australia’s Tour Down Under is still benefitting from participation by the World’s Most Famous Doper, though Lance swears he was clean the three years he took part in the race.

 

Finally…

At least pro cycling isn’t as boring as snooker. If you’re going to steal a pair of high-end carbon track cycling shoes, make sure they’re your size first.

And you know you’ve made it when the pope agrees to baptize your kid.

 

Category: Bike Events, Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Formerly paralyzed BMX champ dances at his wedding, and bicycling as a mobility tool

January 3, 2018 / / 4 comments

In today’s best news story, 26-year old Australian BMX champ Sam Willoughby danced with his new wife at their wedding in San Diego, just 15 months after he was paralyzed from the neck down in a training accident.

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Important piece in the Guardian, which notes that riding a bicycle is easier than walking for most disabled people, and that many disabled commuters travel by bicycle.

Which make bike lanes an important mobility tool, rather than an obstacle for the disabled as bike lane opponents commonly accuse.

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This is what happens when a professional BMX racer misjudges his jump over a fence. And is lucky to avoid getting impaled.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhoalv9S2Gw

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Local

Disappointing news from DTLA, as Arts District coffee shop/bike shop The Wheelhouse closed unexpectedly at the end of the year, though the owners promise to make a comeback somewhere, in some form. Meanwhile, Calabasas-based 10-Speed Coffee, run by the owners of the bike-themed Pedaler’s Fork restaurant, will be opening a new location in Santa Monica this April.

Megan Lynch forwards a South Pasadena news story about the Rose Parade, including photos of bike riders accompanying a bicycle-themed float.

A look back at what could have been, on the 118th anniversary of the famed California Cycleway, an elevated wooden bikeway that was supposed to link Pasadena with Downtown Los Angeles but was never finished.

 

State

Seriously? The new mayor of Solana Beach in North San Diego County says she doesn’t support efforts to get more people on bikes, because she can’t show real estate using a bicycle. Maybe she should try a little harder. Or not judge everyone else by what she isn’t willing to do.

 

National

Less than a year after taking up riding, newly retired NASCAR favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. vows to ride his bike 50 to 100 miles a week, even with a new baby on the way. Anyone who has a new baby is probably thinking “Good luck with that.”

A bicyclist is riding from New York to the CES show in Las Vegas in just 10 days to promote the Elektron Gen 2 e-assist wheel with a beta version of the new Google Assist installed. Thanks again to Megan Lynch.

Sounds like fun. Arizona bike riders welcomed 2018 with a New Year’s ride through the desert under the supermoon.

Utah may consider adopting the full Idaho Stop Law, which would allow bike riders to treat stop signs as yields, and red lights as stop signs. And potentially go one step further than California, which is set to consider a bill that would allow bicyclists to treat stops as yields, but still have to stop for red lights.  Thanks to Eric Rogers for the heads-up.

Dockless bikeshare finally has Dallas TX residents talking about bikes.

The head of a Wisconsin bike nonprofit says every kid who wants a bike should have one. Not to mention a safe place to ride it.

It’s now officially legal for drivers to pass bicyclists in a no passing zone in Illinois, and for cyclists to ride on the shoulder of a roadway. Even if they may have to wait for the state to thaw out first. It would be legal for drivers to briefly cross the yellow line to pass bicyclists in California if Governor Jerry Brown hadn’t vetoed an earlier version of the three-foot passing law that contained that provision.

Life is cheap in Michigan, where the life of a bicyclist killed by a drunk driver is only worth a lousy nine months in jail.

Auto-centric Michigan is finally getting around to updating the laws to protect people on bicycles, including a five-foot passing law and banning distracted driving. Although based on the previous story, it sounds like tougher penalties for DUI and fatal crashes might be a good idea, too.

Baltimore drivers are complaining about protected bike lanes, saying the streets are too narrow to accommodate a buffered bike lane, a parking lane and two travel lanes. Although it sounds like what they really want is to get their parking spaces back.

A kindhearted Florida woman crowdsourced funds to buy an 80-year old man a three-wheeled ebike after learning he walked eight miles each way to get to his job.

 

International

Lawrence Solomon, head of a climate-change denying Canadian think tank, is back with yet another bike-hating diatribe, urging cities to rip out bike lanes “before more innocent people get hurt.” Never mind that studies have shown that bike lanes — and especially protected bike lanes — improve safety for all road users.

A British bike advocacy group says a biased online survey of that found drivers want bike riders to have insurance and wear hi-viz is, well, biased. Meanwhile, the head of that advocacy group was stunned to get his stolen Brompton back after someone found it abandoned at a train station.

Caught on video: A Brit bicyclist is nearly squeezed off the road in a punishment pass by a bus driver. And he responds with the same language I’ve used under similar circumstances, which is why I usually post my videos with the sound off.

The husband of an English woman killed in a crash with a bicyclist calls for a new law banning dangerous or careless cycling that results in injury or death. Even though the rider who hit his wife was sentenced to 18 months behind bars, which is more than most drivers get.

A man in the UK is looking for the Good Samaritans who helped him when he broke his arm after his bike was crowded off the road by a passing driver.

A bighearted stranger bought a British boy a new bike after the one he got for Christmas was stolen at knifepoint in a bike-jacking.

The deputy director of Zimbabwe’s national intelligence agency was posthumously named a national hero after he was killed in a traffic collision, despite killing a bike rider in a crash 16 years earlier.

This is why you should always carry ID when you ride. Australian authorities are trying to identify a man who collapsed while riding his bike. I wear my Road ID whenever I leave home, whether or not I’m riding; it doubles as my medical alert bracelet.

A travel writer calls Taiwan a bicycling paradise.

 

Competitive Cycling

Eight-time world BMX and mountain bike champ Caroline Buchanan is expected to make a full recovery after she was critically injured in a one-car crash in Australia’s New South Wales state over the weekend.

Pro cyclist Kristian Sbaragli learned the hard way not to leave his team bike unattended when he stops for coffee after a training ride.

 

Finally…

If you’re going to use a bike as your getaway vehicle, at least show a little respect and rob something better than a dollar store. Don’t extort money from the driver that hit you.

And seriously, don’t wear your headphone turned up so loud you can’t hear an oncoming train.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: LA’s woeful bike lanes, Calbike supports Idaho Stop law, and risky riding with Hugh Jackman

December 29, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: LA’s woeful bike lanes, Calbike supports Idaho Stop law, and risky riding with Hugh Jackman

Please accept my best wishes for a very healthy, happy and prosperous new year. May the coming year bring you 12 months of safe roads and enjoyable rides.

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Local

A former Los Angeles City planner takes a bike ride to the beach with his wife, and discovers the woeful state of the city’s bicycle infrastructure. And says it’s no secret how to build successful grade-separated bike lanes. Other than getting LA’s entitled drivers to make room for them, of course.

A La Mirada man is riding to eradicate polio in honor of his father, who contracted the disease as a child and suffered from its effects the rest of his life. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

Santa Monica will hold a public meeting on January 10th to discuss plans for a new bridge leading to the pier, including one that would replace the current bridge with a bike and pedestrian bridge. Unfortunately, none of the options include removing cars from the pier and making more room for people.

CICLE and Metro’s BEST program are hosting a free tacos and churros ride in Lincoln Heights tomorrow.

This should be fun. Former pro Phil Gaimon, author of Draft Animals, will talk with Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson at Pages bookstore in Manhattan Beach next Friday.

 

State

Calbike is collecting signatures in support of the Idaho Stop law, which will be before the state legislature next year.

It takes a major scumbag to steal a three-wheeled bike from a Costa Mesa man suffering from stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

The San Diego Association of Governments, aka SANDAG, is offering $30 million in competitive grants for projects that will increase walking, biking and transit use.

Simi Valley police bust a bike thief who stole four bikes worth $10,000 from a truck belonging to an evacuee from the Thomas fire. But at least the victim had the sense to rescue his bikes from the fire first.

If you’re going to burglarize an Oxnard bike store, try to come up with a better escape plan than riding them away one at a time.

San Jose improves safety near a high school, including adding bollards to separate an existing bike lane.

Redding police are working with the National Bike Registry to register bicycles and help reduce bike theft. You can register your bike for free right here with Bike Index. But whatever service you choose to use, do it now — before it’s too late.

 

National

Momentum Magazine discusses the scientifically confirmed health benefits of urban bicycling, and even Dr. Oz says make time to ride a bike.

A new Kickstarter campaign promises to replace your current brake pads with brake lights that work without batteries, wires or friction generators.

LimeBike is working to solve the problem of irresponsible parking of their dockless bikeshare bikes in Seattle. I saw my first LimeBike, parked responsibly, at a coffee shop in DTLA yesterday, a long ride up from their home in LA’s port cities.

No, riding 350 miles from the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas in five days is not a “mammoth cycling challenge,” even if it is for a good cause.

A new movie looks at the “whack jobs” who fat bike the snow covered Michigan backcountry in the dead of winter.

A Harvard Business School student is hoping to improve bike safety with a $24 neon yellow T-shirt reading Bikes May Use Full Lane, Change Lanes to Pass.

New York will try out a bike valet parking program near three transit hubs in the city.

 

International

A Toronto writer blames a popular bike lane for driving stores out of business, insisting that no one is using the path in the winter. Seriously, if your business can’t survive something like that, your problems go a lot deeper than a bike lane. And there’s a major lack of imagination on display if a bookstore owner can’t figure out how to make money off people who ride bikes.

Zac Efron is one of us, as is Hugh Jackman, while the latter nearly gets the former run over by a double decker bus in London traffic.

The Guardian looks at how tech is hopefully, but probably not, improving bicycling.

A British letter writer says cyclists should have to pass a test before being allowed on the roads to weed out bad riders. After all, it works so well with drivers, right?

Scottish police are still looking for a man who disappeared without a trace while trying to ride his bike home in September.

One-third of Scottish children don’t receive bicycle safety training in school. That compares to nearly three-thirds in the US.

Former Indian Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi is one of us, too.

An Aussie driver gets a $500 fine and a three-month license suspension for driving with meth and THC in his system; remarkably, it was considered his first offense since he’d just gotten a new driver’s license after losing his previous license following seven — count ‘em, seven — previous DUI convictions, and eight convictions for driving without a license, as well as killing a 10-year old girl in 2003. Another example of authorities keeping dangerous drivers on the road until it’s too late. Some people simply shouldn’t be allowed to drive. Ever.

Caught on video: Once again, a bike rider is a hero, as a Chinese man jumps off his bike to save the life of an elderly woman who had fallen into a frozen river, breaking the ice with his bare hands to bring her to safety.

 

Competitive Cycling

Ella Cycling Tips recounts the most memorable moments of women’s cycling over the past year.

You’ve got to be kidding. Banned cyclist Riccardo Riccò swears he’ll once again be part of the pro peloton when his 12-year doping ban finally expires, and insists he’ll still be competitive when he returns at age 40. And that doping with drugs is better than motor doping.

Speaking of dopers, former pro Thomas Dekker’s tell-all book is now available in English.

Now that’s a real hero. A 26-year old Spanish man with cerebral palsy is planning to compete in a six day bike race across the Sahara Desert, despite being paralyzed in 76% of his body.

 

Finally…

No, repeatedly slamming a dockless bikeshare bike into the ground is not among the recommended uses for it. On the other hand, flooding someone’s yard with them may be.

And now you can get in on the cryptocurrency craze just by riding a bike.

Although you might have to move to Singapore first.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: Glendale Narrows trail moves forward, Vision Zero in the US, and bike-riding kung fu nuns

December 28, 2017 / / 2 comments

Thanks to Mark G, Stephen A and Stephen C for their generous donations to close out the 3rd Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive. And to everyone who gave from their hearts to help keep SoCal’s best bike news coming your way every day.

The kindness and generosity of the readers of this site never fails to amaze me.

And let’s all give a special thanks to over there on the right sponsors, without whom this site wouldn’t be possible.

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Local

Things are looking good for Metro’s trial bikeshare station at Echo Park.

Glendale approves the next phase of a bike and pedestrian path that will eventually connect the Glendale Narrows to Griffith Park.

The head of the San Diego Mountain Biking Association writes the LA Times to say mountain bikers will not be taking over the Pacific Coast Trail, even if a new bill allowing bicycles in federal wilderness areas passes.

 

State

An Orange County nonprofit provided six special needs kids with customized adaptive bikes.

A San Diego weekly calls the possible advent of dockless bikeshare “Chinese bicycle torture.”

Sad news from Tulare, where a homeless man was killed riding his bicycle on Christmas Eve.

More bad news comes from Santa Rosa, where a 67-year old man died two days after his bike was hit by a car.

A Sacramento parolee was busted as he was riding his cruiser bike for injuring several drivers by tossing boulders off a freeway overpass; he has two previous arrests for similar crimes.

It takes a real scumbag to leave an 11-year old Rancho Cordova kid bleeding in the street after crashing into his ebike.

 

National

NBC News looks at the spread of Vision Zero across the US, including the failure of the Playa del Rey lane reductions here in LA.

In a couple months, you could be riding your very own $400 Ikea bike. And yes, you have to assemble it.

Slate calls the lighted Lumos bike helmet something every bike commuter needs. Ignoring the fact that countless bike commuters successfully ride without it every day.

X-Shifter is developing voice and gesture controls that could allow more disabled people to ride bicycles.

Iron Chef Cat Cora is one of us.

Bicyclists are calling Seattle streetcar tracks a death trap after one rider is killed falling on the tracks and another seriously injured.

A Washington bike cop gets credit for busting a pickpocket by racing to the store where the alleged thief was using the victim’s credit card.

Las Vegas is planning to pilot a program that would use computer analytics to warn drivers about the presence of bikes, as well as warning bicyclists about encroaching drivers and how to time traffic lights.

The next time someone tells you LA’s 60° winter weather is too cold to ride in, point them to this guy riding in a -40° wind chill factor in Fargo ND.

Don’t Tase me, bro. New Chicago guidelines forbid shocking bike riders, or other fleeing suspects, with Tasers.

An Illinois city exonerates its police department after officers arrested two boys for riding a single bike, with one on the handlebars. Which was probably the single most asinine police action of 2017.

A Minnesota woman and her son were released from custody after they were arrested for a hit-and-run crash that killed a bike rider; police still haven’t been able to locate the killing machine.

A kindhearted Michigan cop buys a bicycle for an 11-year old boy after learning he’d never had one.

A 10-year old New Hampshire boy received an inspiring New Year’s greeting from hockey star Milan Lucic after he fell riding his bike, lacerating his liver and damaging his pancreas.

A Massachusetts woman was sentenced to up to four years in prison for the hit-and-run death of a bike rider, as well as intimidating a witness; her boyfriend was previously sentenced for helping to hide the victim’s bicycle.

No bias here. Residents of a New York community say they’re not opposed to bike lanes, but they don’t belong on historic streets or in front of schools. Never mind that bicycles have a longer history track record in the city than the cars that no one seems to object to.

A New Jersey man is suing a railroad after his bike tire got caught in a gap in a rail crossing near their home.

CityLab looks at how DC built a bike boom. Meanwhile, DC authorities say please don’t call 911 to complain about dockless bikeshare riders.

 

International

Strava says their stats show bicyclists around the world rode a total of 4.5 billion miles this year. Even more impressive when you consider how small a percentage of the worldwide bicycling community actually uses the app.

Caught on video: This is what it looks like to ride a bicycle at 125 mph on a Brazilian roadway.

A British Columbia letter writer says bike riders should be forced to carry liability insurance, citing the death of a London woman killed by a sidewalk riding bicyclist. Here in California, your car insurance should cover you in the event of any crash while riding your bike.

Ottawa, Canada police have your back, at least when it comes to anti-bike distracted drivers.

A pair of San Diego men pass through India on an around-the-world bike ride, after deciding they were having so much fun riding from Vancouver to Tijuana that they wanted to keep going.

In the best story of the day, 200 Kung Fu nuns on bikes swap their traditional robes for Lycra leggings on a month-long ride around Kathmandu.

Nairobi’s deadly streets could be getting safer and more inviting for bike riders and pedestrians.

Sydney, Australia area cities combine to impose new regulations on dockless bikeshare providers, including a requirement for geo-fencing to keep them within approved areas.

Two Malaysian men are riding their bikes to the seven wonders of the modern world to raise money to fight cancer. Only one of which is really all that modern.

 

Competitive Cycling

Lance loved the Icarus doping documentary. Maybe it reminded him of the good old days.

The four-day Colorado Classic bike race and music festival will return this August.

A Turkish rider quits the new Israeli cycling team over the controversy started when Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Peter Flax looks at the “comedy, tragedy and pure circus” of the past year in pro cycling.

 

Finally…

Nothing like celebrating Christmas with Santa on a sex-toy bike. Sure, anyone can ride naked in the middle of summer.

And save a little bike-riding kid from a dog attack, and get honored in the Rose Parade.

Especially if you have four feet and a tail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-Opm9b2WDk&has_verified=1

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I’ll try to be back tomorrow. But if we don’t meet here, for whatever reason, stay safe on the streets and we’ll see you again next year.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,
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