BikinginLA

I finally managed to get back to Abbot Kinney and insert myself into the traffic lane long enough to get a photo of that odd sharrow I mentioned last week. It’s one thing to direct us into the door zone, but sending us directly into the parked cars seems a little extreme.

Go ahead and follow it. I dare you.

Even from further away, it still points the same way. When you paint on a curve, a slight change in angle makes a big difference.

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In upcoming events, the third Metro Bicycle Roundtable will be a brown bag lunch from noon to 2p Wednesday, August 12th. The next day, join the LACBC for the 1st Annual City of Lights Awards Dinner on Thursday, August 12th.

Click to enlarge

And mark your calendar for the Santa Monica Museum of Art’s bike-centric Cause for Creativity: Tour da Arts, vol. 2, scheduled for August 22, 2010; thanks to Green LA Girl for reminding me about the press release that’s been languishing in my inbox. Just three days later, Streetsblog holds a re-launch party and fundraiser on Wednesday, August 25th.

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A bicyclist was hit on Santa Monica Blvd near the courthouse in Beverly Hills Friday evening; no other details at this time. Video from Wednesday’s Blood In protest in Beverly Hills. Stephen Box urges the mayor to implement the Backbone Network in 10 steps. Metro’s plans to lift the peak hour bike ban evidently haven’t circulated internally yet. Motorists discover an injured cyclist lying in the road near Bonsall CA, about 40 miles north of San Diego. A Davis bicyclist is run down by an RV in Quebec. If you don’t drive in a Hollywood film, you’re clearly some sort of weirdo; meanwhile, an Entertainment writer casts a critical eye on Bicycling’s best cycling movies of all time. As Bikestations circle the globe, I’m still waiting for one at City Hall. Touring the Four Corners region on two wheels; or maybe you’d rather tour Ireland’s County Kerry, or ride through Iceland. While we still struggle to get paint on the ground, Colorado cyclists are getting off-road bike paths along I-70 through the Rockies. The first major Colorado stage race since the late, great Coors Classic could kick off as early as next year. Courtesy of Witch on a Bicycle, OKC homicide investigators have taken over a suspicious hit-and-run case involving a cyclist. A RAGBRAI rider is killed in a collision with another cyclist. A bloody Chicago hit-and-run that wasn’t. Advice on riding on the sidewalk, or rather, why not to. Justin Timberlake rides a bike in NYC. Turns out that knit bike was actually crocheted art. Biking through New York, with soundtrack. LAB members can vote on the best bicyclist of all time; I’ve got to go with the Cannibal, and maybe Jeannie Longo a close second. A day after Contador bails on Astana, the Schleck brothers are leaving Saxo Bank. New bike share programs kick off in London and Chicago, with Boston and DC on deck. Quick iPad sketches of London Mayor Boris Johnson and the city’s  new bike share program; BoJo warns there may be problems at the start, while road.cc offers a test ride and two cyclists say the city may not be the safest place to ride. Your summer bike reading list. Stats confirm a biking boom in Britain; this isn’t the first time they’ve had a bike culture. A biking Brit family cycles the Pan-American highway from Alaska to Argentina. Nothing much has changed since the death of a Malta cyclist last year. If you really want to be seen, how about tires with built-in LED lights, or maybe an obnoxiously visible jersey.

Finally, courtesy of Cyclelicious, distracted drivers are bad enough; now they’re firing cannons at us; a group of teenagers may have been responsible.

And if anyone knows where I can get a good deal on replacing a dead Flight Deck SC-6502, let me know; I think mine just went to that great silicon plant in the sky.

I’m working on something for tomorrow — with lots of pictures for all you who think there are just too many darn words on here. In the meantime, here’s a whole lot of links to keep you entertained and informed.

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Just another day in Hollywood, as a driver is shot and killed, two police officers injured in a collision and a cyclist hit by a car — all on the same block less than half an hour apart.

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Evidently, not every police department has learned the lessons of Critical Mass, as Toronto police — including bike cops — are accused of illegally beating and detaining CM riders protesting the current G20 conference.

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News from the upcoming Tour de France, which begins on Saturday with a prologue in Rotterdam.

Even as the teams finalize their rosters, the Schleck brothers are already plotting their next move. Lance says this will be his last Tour, while Snoop Dogg wants to borrow his bike for a few tricks down the street. Contador is more relaxed this time around.

And what TdF news is complete without a doping report these days? Riccardo Riccò, the rider Robbie McEwen branded a “f*ucking hypocrite,” gets a two-month suspended sentence and 3,000 Euro fine; Swiss rider Thomas Frei is banned for two years after testing positive for EPO. After all the recent charges of mechanical doping, maybe race judges need to look for these.

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In a battle of biking infrastructure, LADOT stripes new bike lanes on Winnetka; Santa Monica counters with bike lanes on Arizona and raises by throwing down sharrows on 14th St.

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Ron Durgin will be teaching free Confident City Cycling courses in West Hollywood on July 10th and 17th. LADOT Bike Blog samples Council Member Tom Labonge’s Positively Fourth Street ride. Joe Linton visits the artistic new Ballona Gates. My friend at Altadenablog — who is leading the resistance to AOL’s latest attempt to rule the world make a profit — notes the final scheduled meeting on the proposed L.A. County Bicycle Master Plan is scheduled for Altadena on July 12th. How bikes helped emancipate women over a century ago. Advice from Consumer Reports on how to buy a better bike. If you ride a 2009 Felt, maybe you shouldn’t until you check the recall list. Traffic-meister Tom Vanderbilt looks at the rapidly spreading idea of bicycle highways. A red light dispute leads to a driver deliberately hitting a rider’s bike, then backing up to hit him again. NYC bike lanes, love ‘em or lose ‘em. Is the League of American Bicyclists still relevant? Cincinnati’s bike safety ordinance will be one of the strictest in the Midwest. In a classic example of police bias, a Denton, TX cyclist is berated and ticketed after stopping at a stop sign, then getting hit by a car coming around a blind corner. Now that Denver has bike share, people need a place to ride them. Bicycle Colorado is challenging the Black Hawk bike ban in court. Now that’s a pretty bike lane. The Washington Post takes a close-up look at DOT Secretary Ray LaHood; who would have thought he’d turn out to be the star of the Obama administration? The Illinois AG says blame the judge for the light sentences to two drivers convicted of intentionally running down cyclists. Just how many eyes do Oregon drivers have? A new iPhone App walks you through 20 common repairs. Waking up to ciclovia in Mexico City. An Irish mother calls for a mandatory helmet law for anyone under 18 after her son is killed, even though a helmet would not have helped in his case. The Guardian asks if bait bikes are fair or foul, while Cyclelicious notes San Francisco is planning its own sting and offers tips to protect your bike. Does Lycra make you break the law?

Finally, the perfect cufflinks to wear with your spandex tux at the next bike club awards dinner.

In honor of National Bike Month, AAA urges drivers not to kill us. As little as five minutes of green exercise — like biking — can boost your mood and self esteem. Times’ columnist Steve Lopez stalks distracted drivers with the LAPD. A cyclist is killed in a collision with a mini-van in Sacramento. Bicycling down the Las Vegas strip. A 67-year old Illinois woman gets a whopping 42 21 days behind bars for intentionally impaling a cyclist’s bike on her bumper. Wichita considers revising its bike laws. For one day, New York cyclists rule the Five Boros. A pedestrian in my hometown pleads with cyclists not to warn him when they’re passing. A look at Denver’s veteran bike couriers. Paris prepares for a bold plan to ban cars from the banks of the Seine. A new Brit website caters to women cyclists, promising absolution for all your cycling sins. Brit cyclists don’t pay the Road Tax, then again, no one else has for 73 years. Biking in suits to take back the streets of Bucharest. A Kiwi rider competes in the Japanese full-contact keirin bike racing.

Finally, a New York cyclist stops for red lights just to see if it can be done, and finds it rather pleasant — even if little old ladies leave him in their dust.