Tag Archive for just the links

Morning Links: Bike riders rescue woman in Santa Clarita, and dumping bikeshare bikes in all the wrong places

September 28, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Bike riders rescue woman in Santa Clarita, and dumping bikeshare bikes in all the wrong places

Let’s call this Morning Links lite.

Writing about bicycling fatalities in San Diego and Laguna Canyon — with a third in Santiago Canyon still to come — left limited time to write today’s post.

So we’re just hitting the highlights today. Or lowlights, in some cases.

We’ll be back with a more detailed report tomorrow.

……….

Local

Bike riders, including a retired police officer, come to the rescue when a 70-year old woman was attacked on a Santa Clarita bike path; a 29-year old transient from Orange County was arrested on an attempted murder charge. Thanks to Jeff Vaughn for the heads-up.

Santa Monica’s Breeze bikeshare is getting an updated look, and a new Instagram contest to help promote it.

You could soon find yourself sharing Santa Monica bike lanes with new rental e-scooters.

 

State

Bicycle safety is now officially part of the curriculum in Atascadero elementary schools.

Pleasanton has installed a permanent memorial to a 72-year old woman killed in a bicycling crash last year, following a number of bike and pedestrian safety improvements after her death.

Sad news from Petaluma, where a 74-year old bike rider was killed in a collision while making a left turn.

 

National

Your next Trek could come with batteries.

Bicycling offers advice on how to climb up a really tough hill. Without resorting to an ebike, that is.

Life is cheap in Colorado, where a driver still hasn’t started his five-month sentence for killing an eight-year old girl as she rode her bike, despite accepting the slap-on-the-wrist plea deal in April. Which means he would have been out already otherwise.

A Chicago weekly looks at female Mormon missionaries and their bikes.

Michigan considers requiring a statewide five foot passing distance in the wake of last year’s Kalamazoo massacre.

The organizers of a St. Louis century ride apologize to the Jewish community for scheduling the ride on Yom Kippur.

New York’s mayor throws bike riders under the bus, ignoring stats from his own Department of Transportation showing protected bike lanes improve safety for everyone and enhance compliance with traffic laws.

Now that’s more like it. A South Carolina woman was sentenced to ten years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a bike rider.

 

International

A Toronto writer says bicycling brings out the worst version of herself. If that’s as bad as she gets, she should be a candidate for sainthood.

Caught on video: A total jackass records himself leaning out of a car window to shove a London bicyclist off his bike and into a bus stop sign, as his equally obnoxious passengers laugh. Hopefully they’ll catch these jerks and give them the jail time they so richly deserve.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a customized adaptive bike from a severely disabled British man with cerebral palsy.

The war on bikes continues, as a man in the UK is on trial for allegedly punching a passing bike rider in the face, and sending him crashing through the rear window of a van.

An Aussie website calls Warsaw, Poland, the picturesque bike-friendly European capital you’ve never heard of.

Just like dockless bikeshare systems around the world, Australian bikeshare bikes continue to be dumped in all the wrong places. Although Aussies may be taking “wrong places” to a whole new level.

 

Finally…

As long as you’re riding your bike on a river anyway, you might as well clean it up a bit.

And Phil Gaimon’s Worst Retirement Ever takes on Boulder CO.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: Streetsblog talks with LACBC’s Erik Jansen, Massachusetts bikelash, and CiclaValley hits a deer

September 27, 2017 / / One comment

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

Then get out on your bike and enjoy this beautiful LA weather.

………

Forbes says the Israel start for next year’s Giro poses a difficult dilemma for pro cycling’s two Arab-owned teams, who must decide whether to participate in the Arab boycott of the country.

Call it Lance’s revenge. The French lab that uncovered proof of his doping has been provisionally suspended by the world anti-doping agency.

Italian cycling great Mario Cipollini complains that the dominance of Chris Froome and Peter Sagan has made bike racing boring. Maybe he didn’t see Sagan’s three-inch come-from-behind victory in Sunday’s world championships.

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Local

Streetsblog offers an interview with new LACBC Executive Director Erik Jansen.

Bicycling talks with former UCLA triathlete Nako Nakatsuka, who was unfairly sued by the driver who hit her, about her new bike advocacy website Bike Woke.

Wallet Hub ranks the most fun cities in the US, based on criteria that includes bike rentals and hiking trails, but not bikeways. Which may be why Los Angeles just barely missed the top ten, checking in at number twelve. That’s better than Oxnard, though, which ranks as the least fun city in the US.

San Francisco’s Beyond Chron website looks at former USC bike repairman Lil Bill Flournoy, who was unceremoniously booted off campus last year, and now fixes bikes on a city-owned space across from the university.

CiclaValley collides with a deer while riding on Mulholland. And of course, does it when his bike cam isn’t working.

 

State

A German dentist paused briefly in San Diego on his 19,000-mile bike ride from Argentina to Alaska.

A San Francisco supervisor is shocked to learn Uber and Lyft drivers illegally use bike and transit lanes; people who bike and ride buses, not so much.

Bay Area bike shops are being plagued by a serial test-ride thief.

 

National

Former DC and Chicago transportation director Gabe Klein says smart cities are the wave of the future.

Bighearted Idaho paramedics bought a new bike for a 13-year old boy after his was damaged when he was hit by a driver, along with bike helmets for his brothers and sisters.

A kindhearted stranger bought a new bike for an Illinois boy battling cancer after his bike was stolen.

An Indiana suburb is proving that it is possible to remake the streets to accommodate everyone.

It’s not just LA. Cambridge MA is experiencing their own bikelash as residents rise up to complain about the overly rapid implementation of a whole 1.25 miles of bike lanes in one year, leading to an apology from the mayor. Yes, just over a single mile.

New York bicyclists complain they’re being left out of a redesign of New York’s famed Fifth Avenue.

A New York man faces up to 15 years behind bars after being convicted in the hit-and-run death of a Queens bike advocate.

An Op-Ed in the Washington Post says it was reckless for lawmakers to drop a requirement that all bikes must have a bell, insisting that a polite little ding is more effective than yelling a warning.

 

International

A cyclist from my hometown rides the route traveled by Spanish conqueror Cortes from Veracruz to Mexico City.

A Toronto Op-Ed says new separated bike lanes are encouraging more “normal” people to come out and ride, while noting that removing these lanes could make those people go away.

Caught on video: Sometimes it’s the cops who violate safe passing laws, coming within inches of a UK bicyclist on a blind corner.

Britain’s Labour Party pledges to invest £10 per person for bike and pedestrian projects each year. Which would work out to roughly $4.3 billion here in the US. Note: I originally wrote $4.3 trillion; thanks to Andy S. for the correction. 

A writer in the Guardian says Google Maps must be improved if it’s going to be useful for bike riders, including information on bike parking once you get where you’re going.

It takes a truly massive schmuck to steal the custom racing handcycle specifically made for an Aussie Paralympic cyclist, which even can’t be used by anyone else.

Motorists in five Australian states will now face a $159 fine for violating their equivalent of a three foot law, prohibiting passing closer than one meter on roads with speed limits over 37 mph, and one and a half meters over that.

China’s bikeshare boom is cutting into the demand for gas.

 

Finally…

Give up your ironic hipster beard or your Belgian cycling career. And yes, your new Google Levi jacket can make and receive texts and calls, but you may have to put up with the smell.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: More on the all too real war on bikes, world championship highlights, and #1 on a bike trail

September 25, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: More on the all too real war on bikes, world championship highlights, and #1 on a bike trail

We’re finally back after missing the last two Mondays due to technical issues.

So if it only seems like we’ve been offline for a year, why am I a year older than I was when this all started?

………

More proof that while the alleged war on cars in a myth, the war on bikes is all too real.

Colorado sheriff’s deputies were investigating reports of a man threatening mountain bikers with a hatchet on the same trail where a rider was found shot to death last week.

A report on Twitter says a British century ride was sabotaged when someone poured oil over the roadway. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

And a mountain biker in the UK was lucky to avoid serious injury when someone left barbed wire piled on a trail.

………

Spoiler alert: If you still have the worlds in your viewing cue, skip to the next section.

Peter Sagan won by mere inches to make it a three-peat in the world championships, while Dutch rider Chantal Blaak won the women’s road race over Australian Katrin Garfoot.

Another race, another cyclist injured in a collision with race vehicles.

Cycling Tips offers a photo essay of the men’s world championship races.

The Giro d’Italia is accused of “sports-washing of Israel’s occupation and apartheid” with their Jerusalem start in next year’s race. Race organizers hope politics will stay out of the race. Good luck with that.

UCI’s new boss makes a much needed call for organizers and TV to boost women’s bike racing, and plans to crack down on motor doping and other forms of technological fraud.

Nice article on 13 cycling legends every road cyclist should know. Although someone should tell them it is actually possible to ride a road bike without any interest in bike racing, or need for it.

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Local

LA County’s bike riding public health director announces he will be leaving his position and heading back to New York at the end of the year.

Letter writers in the Times discuss a recent editorial accusing entitled drivers of getting in the way of the state’s climate goals; the first writer makes the paper’s point for them with absolutely no sense of the irony.

A man was shot to death while riding his bicycle through a Norwalk parking lot Thursday night.

Santa Monica’s COAST Festival returns for a second year this Sunday, offering a ciclovía to help get you ready for CicLAvia the following week; the city offers tips on what not to miss.

A new garden and bench were dedicated to fallen 13-year old bike rider Ciara Smith, who was killed in a collision with a Metro bus in Redondo Beach last May.

 

State

A San Diego woman gets her stolen bike back when a total stranger spots a man riding it, after seeing her post on Facebook.

An eight-year old Palm Springs boy was given a custom-made lowrider bicycle by the Make-A-Wish Foundation after battling kidney cancer for the last five years.

The Bay Area’s East Contra Costa County is working towards solving the first mile/last mile problem by improving bike routes leading to and from a new BART station.

San Francisco’s Curbed offers a short course in sidewalk etiquette, including the admonition to get off and walk your bike. Which is good advice on any crowded walkway, whether or not it’s legal to ride on it.

 

National

CleanTechnica explains everything you always wanted to know about ebikes but were afraid to ask. Or maybe not.

Outside offers advice on the seven essential items you need to start mountain biking for the low, low price of just $2,000. Or you could just buy a helmet and a used bike for a couple hundred, slap on some gloves and start riding.

A off-duty Navajo Nation cop faces DUI and manslaughter charges after sideswiping an SUV and running down an bike rider on the sidewalk, then blowing through a red light before crashing into Glendale AZ police cruiser.

Thousands of bicycles abandoned at Burning Man will be shipped to Houston and the Caribbean to aid hurricane victims.

Texas cops use their bikes to sneak up on drug dealers and other criminals who might be spooked by a police cruiser.

More people are skipping the traffic and commuting to St. Louis by bicycle.

A Minneapolis writer offers seven things to know about what he terms the city’s asinine fight over bike lanes on the south side. Most of which translates to the similarly asinine battle over bike lanes and road diets on LA’s Westside.

WNBA star Sylvia Fowles donated her entire $15,000 league MVP bonus to a Minnesota organization that helps low-income girls get access to bicycles.

Nothing like the British press’ breathless hysteria over a New York actor sharing a bike with his kids. Seriously, am I the only one who wants to slap their editors and say get over it already?

A second Boston-area bicyclist has been arrested for refusing to stop for a bike cop after blowing a stop sign on a bike trail. Seriously, just stop, take the ticket and fight it in court. Beats the hell out of spending a night behind bars.

The Washington Post reviews DC’s four new dockless bikeshare systems.

 

International

A Cycling Weekly Op-Ed says a kneejerk law prohibiting dangerous cycling won’t solve the problems on the country’s roads. On the other hand, overly careless or aggressive bicyclists should face consequences for their actions, just like drivers should but too often don’t.

Caught on video: An English driver just barely avoids hitting a bicycle with a child on the back as the rider blows through a red light; however, the driver starts going before the light changes, too.

The BBC asks, ala Rodney King, if cyclists and other road users can get along. Short answer, of course. If — and only if — everyone involved actually wants to, however.

A Brit radio program is shocked! shocked! to find brakeless fixies for sale in London, despite a ban on bike without brakes.

Dublin’s bikeshare system has helped double the number of daily bicyclists in the city to 96,000 in just six years.

Amsterdam turns off the traffic signals, and chaos does not result. Good luck achieving the same results with LA’s overly entitled drivers, however.

A new German study explains how bicycling effects the brains of Parkinson’s patients, after previous studies have shown noted improvement in symptoms while riding.

A bike advocacy group in Malta calls for bicyclists to be allowed to use highway tunnels.

Phuket, Thailand joined nearly 850 cities in 25 countries in going carfree on Sunday. No surprise that Los Angeles was not one of them.

Japanese bicyclists are rushing to buy liability insurance after courts have given huge damage awards in cases involving bike riders. Here in the US, your automotive insurance and/or homeowner’s or renter’s insurance should cover you, but check with your agent to be sure.

 

Finally…

Your next bike could be a wood sandwich. Get a weight weenie’s dream for just $12,000.

And it’s one thing to relieve yourself on the side of a bike trail, another to dump 50 gallons of number one next to one.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Dockless bikeshare may be coming to LA, and a video warning to watch where you’re riding

August 23, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Dockless bikeshare may be coming to LA, and a video warning to watch where you’re riding

Metro Bike may be saying “oh no” soon.

China’s Ofo dockless bikeshare hints that it may be coming to Los Angeles, as well as the Bay Area.

Which means we could soon be seeing abandoned yellow bicycles all over the city, like other cities where they’ve set up shop.

The question is whether they’ll start out in parts of town currently not served by the city’s bikeshare providers, or if they’ll attempt to go head-to-head with Metro Bike, WeHo Pedals and Santa Monica Breeze, among others.

Of course, where the bikes will end up is anyone’s guess.

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

………

Speaking of Griswold, he forwards this reminder to put down your phone and watch the road ahead of you.

And no, that’s not a bicycle. But the point remains.

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London’s Telegraph offers a podcast from stage four of the Vuelta, while Bleacher Report gives a brief recap of the day’s race. Just curious whether the lipstick kiss mark on the winner’s cheek came from one of the podium girls, or the new podium boys.

Cycling News provides quotes from riders at the finish line, most of which you could have written yourself. And takes a look at cycling’s best, worst and strangest victory salutes.

Alberto Contador is struggling with a stomach virus on what is likely to be his last grand tour.

A pro cyclist says he’s ashamed airline Aer Lingus has the Irish flag on it’s planes, after it loses his $9,400 bike, ignores him for a month, then offers the equivalent of $1,600 to make up for it.

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Local

In anticipation of Rapha Rides coming to Los Angeles in October, Bicycling writes about what makes the city a top cycling destination. But all they can come up with is a chef near Mt. Baldy, Nelson Vails’ victory in the ’84 Olympics, and a section about architecture and design that doesn’t even mention the City of Angels.

I. Martin Bicycles is hosting their Shut Up Legs ride this Saturday, with a trip to a bakery overlooking Westwood.

The LACBC is holding a Twilight Twirl ride in conjunction with Just Ride LA next Thursday.

An October ride in Santa Clarita will benefit The Painted Turtle camp for children with serious medical conditions.

 

State

Now that San Diego is building a dense, walkable and bikeable urban village near downtown, they naturally want to run a freeway connector right through the middle of it.

The 10th annual Bike the Bay will take riders over the iconic San Diego – Coronado Bay Bridge this Sunday.

Now that’s more like it. A Watsonville woman was sentenced to eleven years in prison for the DUI hit-and-run death of man riding his bike home last December.

Sad news from Modesto, where a police officer was killed in an off-duty collision while riding his bicycle.

Four San Francisco brothers were busted for stealing high-end mountain bikes in the Truckee – Lake Tahoe area, valued at over $125,000.

Police have arrested the 19-year old alleged hit-and-run driver who ran down a 15-year old Natomas boy as he rode his bike on Thursday; the victim’s grandmother feels sorry for the driver’s family, as well as her own.

Sacramento residents are worried about a proposed rest stop on a bike trail that would overlook an elementary school playground, fearing it would attract homeless people.

 

National

Trek wins a court case overturning a 10% import duty on bicycle cassettes.

Marketplace examines the new $15 Oregon bike tax. Even though the tax will go exclusively to bike infrastructure projects, it’s still largely symbolic; it’s unlikely to raise enough to make a significant difference, and mostly exists to address the mistaken complaint that bike riders don’t pay their fair share for the roads.

A pair of bicyclists on a cross-country journey across the US ride through the Colorado Rockies, and up through Wyoming to the Grand Tetons. That was my backyard growing up. And the Peak to Peak Highway leading into Estes Park was one of my favorite rides before I moved away.

A Montana bike rider was the victim of a strong arm robbery; he was reportedly beaten so badly police couldn’t interview him later.

A Good Samaritan buys a new bicycle for a 9-year old Oklahoma girl after hers was stolen from her yard.

A planned Wisconsin bike path could threaten an endangered local turtle species; it’s feared the ornate box turtles could be killed or injured by people using the pathway.

A Chicago panel discusses what’s needed to take cycling in the city to the next level.

Caught on video: New York police are looking for the hit-and-run driver who literally ran over a 16-year old girl. It’s a distant and grainy security cam view, but ask yourself if you really want to see that before you click on the link.

A former player for the New York Giants say bicycling helped ease the transition after his retirement, and provides the intense physical workout he was missing from football.

A Philadelphia Op-Ed says city council members shouldn’t have the power to block bike lanes, and should leave street planning to the experts. To which Los Angeles sighed a collective “Tell me about it.”

No bias here. The Washington Post says a bicyclist tried to abduct a woman walking on a roadway. Except what they really meant was it was a 13-year old boy who happened to be riding one.

Tampa FL considers a Vision Zero plan for one of the deadliest counties in the US.

 

International

Add these to your biking bucket list: The top ten Canadian national parks to ride in.

A man from the UK is riding the length of Ireland to raise funds for the mountain rescue team that saved him and a companion from hazardous conditions.

It takes a real jerk to push a 12-year old bike-riding girl off the sidewalk and into the street in front of oncoming traffic, whether or not she should have been riding there in the first place.

Even in the bike-friendly Netherlands, people aren’t getting enough exercise.

An Aussie writer says the bike ride doesn’t hurt, but the sudden stop after hitting a pothole does.

Singapore police arrest a hit-and-run ebike rider following a collision that killed a 78-year old man.

 

Finally…

Now you don’t have to choose whether to walk or ride a bike. Go ahead and skip the exorcism, but don’t transport your violent mentally ill patients by bicycle.

And no matter how mad you get, don’t slam your bike onto the hood of a parked car.

The car doesn’t deserve it.

And your bike sure as hell doesn’t.

 

Category: Bikeshare, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Today’s burning bikeshare news, and Westchester/ Playa NC requests road diet removal

August 17, 2017 / / 2 comments

It’s our first light news day in awhile, so let’s get right to it.

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Today’s common theme is bikeshare.

Caught on video: Vandalism of the Bay Area’s Ford GoBike bikeshare continues, as someone set one of the bikes on fire as it was docked.

A new Rutgers University survey shows black and Latino respondents support bike lanes and bikeshare, but concerns over crime and racial profiling have to be addressed first.

Two more dockless bikeshare companies are taking to the streets of Seattle, starting with China’s Ofo.

It really shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Trump Administration had a bikeshare station removed from the White House grounds, after it had been installed at the request of the previous administration.

The battle for dominance in China’s crowded bikeshare market claimed another victim as Nanking’s Ding Ding went out of business without returning customer’s deposits.

……….

In a setback for safer streets, the Neighborhood Council of Westchester/Playa voted to send an advisory letter to CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin calling on him to “immediately reverse the lane reductions in Playa del Rey.”

The motion was approved after removing Pershing Drive from the resolution, which presumably means they want to keep that one.

……….

Local

KPCC looks at plans to revamp the area in front of Union Station to make it more inviting for people walking and biking. Even if that means eliminating some parking and reducing traffic lanes on nearby streets.

Volunteers are wanted to help clean up the Santa Clara River in Santa Clarita; free bike valet will be provided by local bike shop Performance Cyclery.

Manhattan Beach approves a 400 foot bikeway along Pollywog park to improve safety to middle school students going to and from school.

 

State

The LA Weekly asks if California’s strict DUI laws are tough enough. That’s easy. No.

San Diego authorities thought they caught a break when police detained a couple for the hit-and-run that left a bike-riding woman in a medically induced coma, but it turned out to be the wrong car. Thanks to Frank Lehnerz for the heads-up.

After dominating California high school mountain biking, recent Ramona High School graduate Gwendalyn Gibson will represent the US at the world championships in Australia next month.

Santa Barbara will get its first protected bike lane, connecting the Eastside to downtown. If you can call bendable bollards protection, that is.

No bias here. A San Luis Obispo paper says local residents aren’t happy about plans to create a bicycle boulevard. Except they’ve dropped plans for the bike boulevard, and are actually proposing a pair of protected bike lanes. And only “several” of the 60 speakers complained about the proposal.

San Francisco is planning a road diet, bike lanes and other safety improvements on one of the city’s most dangerous corridors as part of the city’s Vision Zero program.

A Sebastopol bike gear maker nearly became the victim of a patent troll.

West Sacramento is installing a road diet to improve safety for people biking and walking; as usual, some residents want it ripped out before the construction is even finished.

A Sacramento public radio station examines efforts to allow mountain biking in US wilderness areas.

Folsom will open the full 2.5 mile Johnny Cash trail this October, honoring the singer’s legendary 1968 performance at nearby Folsom Prison; artwork depicting the singer will follow in another five years.

 

National

Seattle’s police department politely suggests it has better things to do than enforce the county’s mandatory bike helmet law.

Caught on video too: Bighearted Texas paramedics make a four-year old girl’s day by giving her a bicycle one of their daughters had outgrown after they treated her for a fall.

It took a bike rider to find a pair of horses that threw their riders and ran off into a Missouri national battlefield after getting spooked by turkeys.

Nice story. When a father tweeted that he couldn’t take his little daughter to a Green Bay Packers event she’d been looking forward to, one of the Packers players volunteered to ride a bike with her to a team practice himself. Even though her father was a Vikings fan.

Kindhearted Michigan cops buy a new bicycle for a young girl after taking a report about her stolen bicycle.

A New York driver parked in a bike lane — then chased after a woman and called her a fucking bitch after she had the audacity to ride her bike around him. Apparently, she was supposed to sit there and wait until he moved his car. Or maybe she said something as she rode past.

 

International

A fan of the Nottingham soccer club is riding to all of the second-tier British team’s away games to raise money for a cancer charity; he expects to ride at least 2,249 miles before the season ends next May.

Caught on video: A Scottish van driver has to make a panic stop to avoid a bike rider who rode out directly in front of him at a rainy junction.

Self-described anarchists remove grocery store ads from Helsinki’s bikeshare bikes.

Life is cheap in Singapore, where a truck driver got a whopping four weeks for killing an ebike rider when he pulled out from an intersection without looking. But at least he was banned from driving for five years, which will likely force him to find another line of work.

 

Finally…

No, you don’t want to borrow an abandoned bike in Japan. There’s a lot of good ways to impress friends; stealing a bike isn’t one of them.

And no, those bike-shaped bike racks aren’t meant for riding.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Combo passing pole and clothesline, more CicLAvia photos, and close calls here and abroad

June 15, 2017 / / One comment

Call it bicycle multi-tasking.

David Wolfberg forwards a photo of bike rider with a pole marking a three-foot passing distance. And using it to keep his dress shirt freshly pressed for work.

And before you ask, yes, Wolfberg says took he the shot while he was safely stopped at a traffic light.

………

CicLAvia offers some great photos from Sunday’s Glendale Meets Atwater Village event. Though they somehow appear to have missed the Corgi. And the CicLAvia chicken.

Meanwhile, the Glendale News-Press provides their own photos of the day.

………

Now that’s scary as hell. A British bicyclist barely avoids becoming roadkill when a driver darts out in front on him on a roundabout.

Meanwhile, CiclaValley had a too close call of his own, which seems almost tame in comparison.

………

A new report says the UK’s phenomenally successful cycling program subjected cyclists to a culture of fear and abuse that was tolerated by leadership.

Hein Verbruggen died in the Netherlands at age 75; the longtime head of the International Cycling Union oversaw the growth pro cycling over the past few decades, as well as accused of being complicit in the doping era.

The inaugural Colorado Classic announces the four stages of the circuit-based August race.

An Italian cycling team has become the latest to be banned after two of its riders tested positive for doping on the eve of the Giro d’Italia. Good thing the doping era is over.

………

Local

The Daily News looks at a growing memorial on the Orange Line bike path where a young homeless heroin addict died after hanging himself.

CiclaValley gives a positive review to the recent changes to the Griffith Park Circulation and Traffic Plan.

The NIMBY’s strike back. South Bay drivers have started a crowdfunding campaign to fight the recent road diets on Vista del Mar and Pershing Drive in Playa del Rey, so they can continue to use those beach community roads as their own cut-through commuter highways, safety be damned.

A Whittier man finally receives his high school diploma, 50 years after he shipped off to serve as a medic Vietnam rather than completing high school; in 2004, he joined with seven other cyclists on a ride from Irwindale to DC to successfully call for a designated day to give Vietnam vets the welcome home they never received.

The Long Beach man facing life in prison for throwing his bicycle at a cop who tried to stop him for riding without a license — and was severely beaten as a result — now says he’s a tribal sovereign exempt from American law. Of course he is.

 

State

Cupertino will invest $7 million in six new bicycling infrastructure projects over the next fiscal year.

You’ve got to be kidding. A man sentenced to 35 years in state prison for intentionally crashing into three bicyclists, among other charges, was mistakenly released when an unrelated Sacramento case was dismissed. Which means you might want to hide your bike until they can put him back behind bars where he belongs.

A Sacramento man’s bicycle remains locked to a fence after he was badly beaten while he was sleeping and left for dead on the corner where he worked as a sign twirler.

A man rode his bicycle 1,500 miles from Iowa to Sacramento to be with his sister as she battles cancer.

 

National

A Wyoming writer says yes, mountain bikers can be annoying, but they contribute a lot to the local economy.

Bighearted Omaha NE firefighters give 100 gently used bicycles to local kids, along with new helmets.

Austin TX bicyclists now face an easier commute after the state opens the third in a series of bike bridges over a steep gorge, which also means the shoulder formerly used by cyclists to cross an existing highway bridge can be turned back into a traffic lane. And thus induce additional traffic.

Police in Maine plan an statewide blitz to crack down on dangerous drivers who threaten the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians. In other words, what police should be doing everywhere, every day.

A Rhode Island memorial ride is re-envisioned with a new focus on bike safety for everyone.

A 21-year old Mobile AL man faces a number of charges after being arrested for shooting two bicyclists with a pellet gun.

 

International

Bike Radar usually gets it right. And their story on seven practical enhancements to turn your bike into a commuter bike is no exception. Although their use of the term “ultimate” might be debatable.

The Guardian offers five bike commute stories from around the world, ranging from witnessing a killer driver in Nairobi to crossing the border between affluence and poverty in New Orleans. And asks if bicycles and autonomous cars can co-exist by 2035.

Caught on video: A Calgary bike rider captures a rear view of an endo, after he goes over the handlebars when a driver stopped short in front of him.

A British writer says she loves to ride her bike, but drives instead because the roads in Manchester seem designed to wipe cyclists out.

Kindhearted English police repair an abandoned bicycle and give it to a teen when his was stolen after his family struggled to buy it.

A UK website asks if Mallorca, Spain is the ideal cycling location.

Bollywood star Salman Khan is one of us; the question is whether he’s just promoting his new movie or his new line of ebikes.

Dreams of making Bangkok the bicycling Copenhagen of the East have been dashed by a new governor with little interest in alternative transportation.

 

Finally…

While settle for patrolling trails on an ebike when you can have a cute little mini cop e-car?

And if you’re going to be in illegal possession of a wild raccoon while riding your bike, at least put a light on it. The bike, not the raccoon.

Although judging by the look on the rider’s mugshot, we can guess where he hid it.

Thanks to Todd Munson for the tip.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Donald Trump the bike-riding bully; Bike Night at Union Station, and new bike stuff

May 26, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Donald Trump the bike-riding bully; Bike Night at Union Station, and new bike stuff

We finally have proof that Donald Trump used to be one of us, as reporters for the Washington Post talk to people who knew him as a child.

Steven Nachtigall, now a 66-year-old doctor, recalled the time Trump, the “loudmouth bully,” jumped off his bike and pummeled another boy.

As long as we’re on the subject bike-riding celebrities, Cindy Crawford is one of us, as she goes for a ride in the ‘Bu with her fat bike-riding husband.

Gerard Butler is one of us, too, looking none too pleased to be stalked by paparazzi as he rides and dines in New York.

………

Metro wraps up the official Bike Month activities with tonight’s Bike Night at Union Station.

Meanwhile, Santa Monica Spoke closes out the month next Wednesday with a presentation by Chris Morfas on his work in Bogota, Columbia, home to 600,000 daily bike trips. Tickets are available here.

………

Today’s common theme is new bike stuff.

A new bike bell promises to make itself heard inside nearby motor vehicles. And not necessarily politely.

Your next ebike could fit in a backpack, right next to your collapsible folding helmet.

Wired says a new bike from California-based Yuba means we should all ditch our cars and start riding cargo bikes.

………

Cycling Weekly offers five talking points from stage 18 of the Giro.

Thursday’s stage could have relieved the pressure on Teejay van Garderen, or increased it.

And the Wall Street Journal asks if Tom Dumoulin can stay No. 1 after the No. 2 heard ‘round the world.

………

Local

Part of the money Metro saves by not finishing the 710 Freeway could go to street improvements, including bike lanes.

LA is testing low-cost pedestrian safety improvements in South LA, but may be complicating matters for people on bikes.

The attn: website picks up the story the LAPD’s tone-deaf Vision Zero tweet encouraging bike riders to use lights and helmets in response to a possibly homicidal driver.

Time Out LA looks forward to the coming bike, foot and horse bridge over the LA River connecting Griffith Park to Atwater Village.

Taking time out from an increasingly busy advocacy schedule, LA Bike Dad bikes the kids to the La Brea Tar Pits.

A Burbank letter writer says the city’s bike lanes don’t really inconvenience anyone, and could save lives.

The La Verne Bicycle Coalition is using GoFundMe to raise money for bicycling improvements. Thanks to Lester Walters for the heads-up.

A Malibu paper talks with a man who’s bicycling an estimated 11,729.17 miles to visit every major league baseball stadium in the US this summer.

 

State

A homeless Orange County man swears he’s not running a bike chop shop, and all the bikes he sells were collected from sidewalks, trash bins and junk yards; local authorities — and people who’ve had bikes stolen — aren’t so sure.

A Newport Beach elementary school paused to remember Brock McCann, the eight-year old third grader killed by a garbage truck while riding his bike home from school one year ago.

No surprise here. The Fallbrook teenager accused of killing a bike rider while under the influence of a controlled substance has pled not guilty. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe account has been set up to benefit the victim’s family.

A Santa Barbara writer describes how he cracked his pelvis falling off his bike on wet cobblestones on an underpass maintained by Caltrans — and met another rider who was injured at the exact same spot. Caltrans’ warning sign telling cyclists to walk their bikes is probably not sufficient for the agency to avoid liability.

A Sacramento writer says the city may finally be becoming more bike-friendly, but it needs to pedal faster towards that future.

 

National

People For Bikes wants you to just say no to the Trump budget, which says no to bicycling.

A physically disabled eight-year old will be able to ride a bike with his family for the first time, thanks to the efforts of volunteers from Utah State University.

There could soon by a protected bike lane on Nashville’s famed Music Row.

A Florida woman rejects a call for bicyclists to pay their fair share, saying we already do. In more ways than one.

 

International

Bicycling is helping a Syrian refugee adapt to his new home in Canada. This is the kind of scary person our government wants to bar from the country.

Toronto discovers the hard way that a bike path with no barriers separating it from the roadway doesn’t pass the 8 to 80 test; a regular bike commuter says nothing prepared him for the crash he witnessed.

A London writer says “smug” cyclists are the key to a fume-free future. And bike riders might not be so paranoid if drivers would stop knocking them over.

The Guardian considers which British political party will do the most for bicycling in the country; not looking good for the major parties.

A new survey from the UK shows exactly what you probably already knew. Most drivers don’t understand the law when it comes to bicycling.

 

Finally…

Every cyclist needs mom to coach them up the hard parts. If you’re going to make a run for it on your bike after stealing tools, try not to carry so many purses with you.

And if you’re going to ride drunk, try to pee facing away from traffic.

Then again, that holds true for taking a dump while leading a Grand Tour, as well.

   

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Morning Links: Newspapers across the US get it, and the spoiler-free Tour of California wraps in Pasadena

May 22, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Newspapers across the US get it, and the spoiler-free Tour of California wraps in Pasadena

It was a relatively light news weekend, so let’s get right to it.

………

For a change, a number of newspapers actually seem to get it.

The Ventura County Star says use the state’s increased gas tax to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The San Luis Obispo newspaper says fear is what’s keeping people from riding to work. And protected bike lanes are the answer.

The Denver Post says they support the idea of bicycling, and are keeping an open mind on a new two-way cycle track, even if they hate the ugly bollards.

And a writer for the Boston Globe says the city is too focused on the needs of drivers, and not enough on the people around them.

But then there’s this North Carolina newspaper, which insists on calling it an accident after the driver is charged in the death of a bicyclist.

………

By now, you probably know who won the Amgen Tour of California in Pasadena on Saturday. And what a surprise it was, becoming the first person from his country to win a WorldTour event. How’s that for a spoiler free wrap-up?

Once again, a rider has been injured in a crash caused by a race motorcycle, and Britain’s Geraint Thomas is forced to withdraw from the Giro. Here’s where the race stands after Sunday’s stage.

Former pros Alexander Vinokourov and Alexander Kolobnev will stand trial in Belgium on charges of corruption after Vinokourov was accused of paying Kolobnev 150,000 euros to let him win the 2010 Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

One of Ireland’s top amateur cyclists says the country is making races easier because riders aren’t “hard” enough to handle hard training or racing.

………

Local

The LA Times says newly re-elected CD1 Councilmember Gil Cedillo’s close call should send a message to City Hall that Angelenos are tired of business as usual. They focus on the city’s broken planning process, but the same message holds true for our dangerous streets.

The Source takes stock of the state of bicycling in the LA area, suggesting we have a good future ahead.

Streetsblog’s Joe offers images from LA’s Bike Week 2017.

A letter to the Burbank Leader explains how bike corrals will benefit the entire community.

A Long Beach bike rider was rammed by a car in what may have been a gang-related attack.

 

State

Caught on video: A tutor at Santa Ana College catches a bike thief in the act, who apparently doesn’t care.

Around 100 cyclists turned out for Saturday’s Tour de OC to raise funds for abused and neglected children in the county.

A group of 40 special needs kids in San Diego learned to ride a bike in a five-day “I Can Bike” camp.

NFL running back Marshawn Lynch is one of us, taking an impromptu BMX bike ride from Oakland to Berkeley and back with a few hundred friends. And a police escort.

Community members pull together to replace a Vallejo boy’s bicycle after it was stolen for the second time.

 

National

Adam Samberg is taking on the world of doping, uh, cycling, in an upcoming mockumentary for HBO.

City Lab asks not if, but when bicycles will rule the city.

A writer for Glamour proves that you actually can forget how to ride a bicycle, as she relearns how to ride at age 30.

An intern will be riding all 600 miles of Central Iowa’s off-road bike paths with a bike specially equipped to detect potholes and other problems with the pavement.

An Ohio driver gets two years behind bars and loses his license for five years for brake-checking a cyclist after an obscenity-filled punishment pass.

The rich get richer. New York plans six miles of protected bike lanes to connect bikeways in Eastern Queens. Which is how you make an actual bike network. And actually encourage more people to ride.

Treehugger says it’s time to stop traffic terrorism in the wake of the deadly drug-fueled attack in Times Square. Thanks to Fred Davis for the heads-up.

The war on bike riders goes on. A Florida man was shot in the ass multiple times from a passing car as he was riding his bike.

 

International

Bike Radar tells you how to get your bike project crowdfunded.

A Canadian doctor asks how can he recommend bicycling to his patients when the streets are still dangerous.

Now this is taking Vision Zero seriously. London banning all motor vehicle traffic in a crowded junction in the financial district during daylight hours in response to the death of a woman riding her bike.

An Irish bike rider says she thinks cyclists are a death wish on wheels.

A Japanese prefecture opens a nearly 700 mile bikeway around Shikoku island in an attempt to make it a “holy land for cyclists.”

Myanmar has a thriving BMX culture, with riders saving up to pay as much as $2,500 for a bike, despite a minimum wage of just $2.65 a day.

 

Finally…

Dumping raw sewage from the team van is a crappy move. Seriously, don’t punch people in cars, even if they are driving on a bike path.

And why wait for the driver to stop when you can just steal a bike off a moving car?

 

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Morning Links: Amgen Tour of California starts Sunday and yesterday; horrifying drunken road rage assault

May 12, 2017 / / 2 comments

The Amgen Tour of California men’s race starts on Sunday, while the separate but unequal women’s race is already under way.

Bicycling offers advice from a nine-year old bike racer, who is youngest reporter at this year’s Tour of California.

The Pasadena Weekly looks forward to the final stage, which ends in the Rose City, while Pasadena Now highlights the finish line festival and VIP experiences.

CiclaValley offers his own preview of the race.

………

In a truly horrifying story from Illinois, a driver is under arrest for attempted murder and a host of other charges after she flipped off a retired police captain as he rode his bike, then repeatedly rammed his bicycle and ran over him, and fled the scene with his bike still jammed under her car.

Not surprisingly, the judge ordered a mental health evaluation.

Thanks to Andy S for the heads-up.

………

Local

The EGP News says Tuesday is D-Day in CD1, while suggesting the majority Latino district could see a non-Latino elected to represent it for the first time if Cedillo supporters don’t turn out to vote.

Streetsblog examines new bike lanes on Hooper and Firestone in unincorporated South LA, which naturally don’t connect with any other bike lanes and disappear where riders need them most — in part thanks to Councilmember Curren Price’s ceaseless efforts to block a badly needed bike lane on Central Ave.

The Daily News offers photos of last year’s North Hollywood Ride of Silence; this year’s ride will take place on Wednesday.

The annual Cyclofemme ride rolls tomorrow at the new LA State Historic Park.

Collisions involving bicyclists and pedestrians make up just 18% of all collisions in Santa Monica, but result in 70% of the city’s traffic fatalities and 60% of severe injuries.

Santa Monica’s Cynergy Cycles is hosting a commute by bike clinic on Tuesday to get you ready for Bike to Work Day.

Long Beach will be honored for a plan to redefine the Long Beach Blvd corridor to enhance walkability and improve options for bicycling and transit, as well as housing.

 

State

Apparently, civil war has broken out in Cardiff, pitting neighbor against neighbor in a battle over which side of the railroad tracks a bike path should go on; the Coastal Commission voted to run the pathway along the railroad tracks, rather than along the Coast Highway.

An allegedly drunk San Diego driver was arrested at gun point after running away from a crash that left a bike rider seriously injured.

A 12-year old Antioch girl got her stolen $4,000 adaptive tricycle back thanks to a cop who made it his personal mission to find the thief; he found a 24-year old man riding it, who claimed he just found it.

The San Jose paper calls out salmon cyclists.

A barricaded pedestrian bridge might have spared the life of a San Lorenzo teenager who was killed by a train on his way to school; the crossing was fenced off years earlier due to concerns over graffiti and drug use. So instead of cleaning up the bridge, officials chose to put lives at risk.

The Bay Area celebrated Bike to Work Day yesterday; LA will observe it next week.

A Napa family makes a 15-mile round trip to school every day. Which shouldn’t be a big deal, but it is.

 

National

Toilet plungers once again form a DIY protected bike lane, this time in Providence RI. Except this time, the city plans to let them stay if they don’t impede traffic.

Boston bicyclists demand more money for safety programs in the wake of a rider’s death; the ex-wife of the victim blasted the mayor for not doing more to address traffic fatalities.

A writer for the New York Daily News gets it, asking why the NYPD cracks down on cyclists when drivers are the ones who pose the biggest danger. And the biggest jerks, in his estimation.

The widow of the bike rider killed by the drunken hit-and-run Baltimore bishop calls on drivers to put their phones down, and think before they get on the road.

A Tampa FL paper says America’s bicycling renaissance needs to be about more than just fun and fetish.

 

International

Toronto’s Globe and Mail considers the many ways bicycles help build better communities.

It turns out the bicyclist rammed into a tree by a pregnant London driver is a former Boston resident.

Here’s ten suggestions on where to ride on your next trip to Italy.

Australia’s Queensland state considers allowing student drivers to take a bicycle training course, and apply it as part of the required training for a driver’s license. Good idea. Except it should be required, not merely allowed.

Caught on video: An Aussie cyclist broadsides a car after bypassing stalled traffic in a bike lane, but apparently not paying attention when he entered an intersection.

 

Finally…

Running bicyclists and Californians out of Portland since the 1900s. Combining recreational shooting, hiking and bike on a single trail; what could possible go wrong?

And seriously. It doesn’t do a lot of good to gesture angrily at the train that just missed you, after going over the crossing gates.

 

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Morning Links: TdF champ Froome run off the road, Cedillo remains unpopular, and dodging bears on your commute

May 10, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: TdF champ Froome run off the road, Cedillo remains unpopular, and dodging bears on your commute

It’s Morning Links lite today, as last night’s breaking news and a broken internet connection took up too much of the evening.

But we managed to save the most important stuff for you.

So give it a read, then ignore the threatened May gray and drizzle, and get out for a ride. Or the other way around.

………

It’s not just us. Even Tour de France champs have to contend with angry drivers, as Chris Froome was run off the road by an impatient jerk while on a training ride in southern France; fortunately, he’s okay but his bike is toast.

If you’re jonesing for the Giro, which isn’t being carried on US TV, you can see it here if your willing to pay after the free seven-day trial ends. Thanks to Madeline Brozen for the tip.

………

Local

CiclaValley says next week’s series of Vision Zero Roscoe meetings and workshops are an important step in changing the auto-focused nature of our streets.

Bike SGV continues their series of Bike Month profiles of riders in the San Gabriel Valley.

Pasadena bike riders can enjoy a luxury pit stop next Thursday at the Langham Hotel for Bike to Work Day.

According to the LA Times, CD1 incumbent Gil Cedillo remains deeply unpopular in the district, despite the problems with the Bray-Ali campaign. Meanwhile, CD1 resident Todd Munson observes the irony of being asked to vote for Cedillo while being blocked from his Twitter account.

 

State

A San Diego bike rider and her dog are both expected to be okay after they were hit by a driver as they crossed a City Heights street in a crosswalk.

A bike rider apologizes for being rude to a Sacramento cop who just tried to say hello.

 

National

Now that’s scary. A Houston study shows one in three bike riders and pedestrians reported at least one near-miss or other close calls with a motor vehicle in a single week, while several reported those close calls lead to physical intimidation and verbal assaults by drivers.

Gear Junkie goes undercover with the Minneapolis vigilante bringing bike thieves to justice.

The LAPD officers on the Hollywood to DC Hollywood Memorial Ride to honor fallen officers passed through Cookeville TN on their way to Virginia.

Drunken, hit-and-run Baltimore ex-bishop Heather Cook was denied parole on Tuesday; the outright denial means Cook will have to serve her full sentence, though she could get out up to a year early with time off for good behavior.

A local TV station says there are fewer potholes in New Orleans bike lanes than then rest of the street because of the gas and water lines that lie underneath the traffic lanes. Or maybe it’s because bikes don’t cause wear and tear to the pavement like cars, SUVs and trucks.

 

International

A new report from the World Health Organization tells the world’s drivers to slow the f*** down. Although they might have phrased it a tad better.

A Vancouver commercial street is thriving, despite fears a road diet and separated cycle track would kill the businesses alongside it.

The BBC justifiably catches hell for asking who was to blame after a van driver used his vehicle as a weapon to force a bike rider off the road.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A British mother will have her baby behind bars after being convicted of intentionally running a bike rider off the road and into a tree because he had the audacity to complain about her use of a cell phone while driving.

A new Kickstarter campaign is under way to start the process of rescuing at least 80 neglected bikeways in the UK that were built with Dutch guidance in the 1930s.

A woman is running for city council in Tehran, Iran on a platform of creating bikes lanes and pedestrian-friendly streets that would allow women to walk safely. More evidence that cities around the world face similar problems due to overreliance on motor vehicles.

 

Finally…

Evidently, if you want to try bike commuting, you have to look the part. You also want to make sure no one else is riding your bicycle.

And try to avoid getting chased by a bear on the way.

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