Tag Archive for just the links

Morning Links: The good, bad and ugly in SD, screaming AL truckers busted, and the future belongs to bikes

May 8, 2017 / / One comment

It’s shaping up to be a video Monday.

Let’s start with a clip from Frank Lehnerz, who offers a first-hand perspective on why San Diego bicyclists are frustrated that starts out good, but gets ugly fast.

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An Alabama father and son were arrested after turning themselves in for the screaming road rage assault on a charity cyclist that went viral last week.

Then there was this one from the UK, where a British van driver deliberately ran a bicyclist off the road. And was fired as soon as the video became public.

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The future is ours. A prominent disruptive technologies analyst says bicycles will eventually rule the roads, and cars will be the big losers.

And forget ebikes. Here’s what we’ll all be riding.

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Nice new ad from Go Human in honor of bike month.

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With just over a week left in the campaign, CD1 challenger Joe Bray-Ali has replaced both his campaign manager and communications director with professionals, taking the place of two people described as “essentially neighborhood volunteers.”

Speaking of Bray-Ali, Todd Munson forwards a mailer from incumbent Gil Cedillo that targets the bike-riding challenger directly.

 

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Former American pro Tyler Hamilton says there’s still doping in the pro peloton. Which should come as a shock to absolutely no one.

It was not a good day for Australia’s Rohan Dennis at the Giro; Geraint Thomas had the legs, but not the luck. Here’s Sunday’s spoiler-free standings.

The Sacramento Bee wants to know why women cyclists competing in the Amgen Tour of California make less money than men when they work just as hard. Why, indeed?

Make your TV watching plans for the AToC. Or be there in person when the race comes to the LA area for the last four stages.

BMC Racing General Manager Jim Ochowicz says fans will be surprised by the next generation of cycling talent coming from the US in the next few years; a new group of Canadian riders is on the rise, as well.

ESPN introduces the women of New York’s Red Hook Crit. And for a change, it’s not all glamour pics. Or any, for that matter.

New champions were crowned in the Redlands Bicycle Classic men’s and women’s crits.

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Before we move on, let’s throw in a quick sponsored post from our friends Jon Riddle and Sarah Amelar, Co-Authors of Where to Bike Los Angeles.

Don’t let National Bike Month slip by without adding Where to Bike Los Angeles to your cycling library. It’s by far the best riding guide for LA by far and you can pick it up during the ongoing one-month sale — this May only — for less than twenty bucks a copy directly from the authors’ Amazon store.

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Local

The LA Times says it’s time to give the Idaho Stop Law a try in California.

The LACBC is hosting a Bicycle Commuting Essentials workshop tonight at Just Ride LA in DTLA to help get you ready for next week’s Bike to Work Day.

Streetsblog checks out the new protected bike lanes on Monterey Road in Northeast LA.

A writer for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune rides the San Gabriel River Trail and encounters several homeless encampments on the way, including what looks like a bicycle chop shop.

A writer on Facebook says his mother tracked down her stolen bicycle in El Monte, but can’t get police to take it seriously.

 

State

Newport Beach considers a road diet on Bayside Drive to slow speeding drivers, after resistance to plans for a roundabout.

A San Diego city councilmember rides with 100 bicyclists through his Barrio Logan district, while promising money for bicycling.

San Bernardino County accepts a $200,000 SCAG grant to develop an Active Transportation Plan for the High Dessert’s Morongo Basin.

Why blame all those people in cars for causing traffic congestion, when a bike-riding Santa Cruz councilmember and his supporters make such convenient scapegoats?

A Sacramento bike rider was attacked by a pair of pit bulls from a homeless encampment along a riverfront bike path, suffering severe bite wounds on his legs.

 

National

Despite the failure of Seattle’s bikeshare program — largely blamed on the city’s mandatory bike helmet law — two dockless, app-based bikeshare companies have set their sights on the city.

Caught on video: If you’ve ever wondered how bike thieves go about their business, check out this Boise ID security video.

Bighearted members of an Iowa organization provided five special needs kids with adaptive bicycles.

Texas toddlers complete in a strider bike race around the streets of Fort Worth in the cutest story you’ll read today.

A Memphis cop has joined past and current officers from the LAPD on the first Hollywood Memorial Ride to honor fallen officers.

Several hundred New York riders take part in the annual Blessing of the Bicycles. LA’s Blessing of the Bicycles will take place at Good Samaritan Hospital a week from tomorrow.

New York riders says a perpetually clogged Williamsburg bike lane is a fatal crash waiting to happen.

Evidently, Aziz Ansari is one of us, riding his bicycle to promote an upcoming show at New York’s Paley Center. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

Twenty-six riders stopped in Philadelphia on their way to DC on a 400-mile ride from Newton, Connecticut to honor the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting.

No surprise here. Bicyclists in Maryland oppose the release of the drunken, hit-and-run Baltimore bishop; if you live in Maryland, you’re urged to sign the petition to keep Heather Cook behind bars.

A Virginia writer says everything he knows about bicycling he learned from his father, and hopes to pass it on to his own kids one day.

Kindhearted cops in Georgia help 17 kids build their own bicycles donated by a food company.

 

International

In a study that should surprise absolutely no one, researchers conclude that the success of bikeshare programs depends on safe bicycling infrastructure.

Bike Radar offers six essential roadie skills, along with nine things you can do on a bike, but probably shouldn’t do off one.

Calgary police recover a stolen bicycle and return it to the owner 18 years after it was taken.

Despite support for cycling from Parliament, the UK’s Cyclist Magazine worries that cycling will get squeezed out of political party manifestos in the rush to the country’s new election.

A writer for the Guardian considers the lesson he learned from his dad about how to be a good father, courtesy of a used purple chopper bike.

Popular five-year old British bikewear maker Vulpine has gone belly-up.

An award-winning inventor in the UK has developed an incredible shrinking bike helmet designed to fit into a small pouch.

A five-year old girl will be tackling the full length of a 55-mile Welsh trail, along with her father and seven-year old brother. At that age, I was happy when my parents let me ride around the block. On the sidewalk.

Sad news from Spain, where a drunk and stoned driver — at 8:30 on Sunday morning — plowed into six members of a triathlon team on a training ride, killing two and seriously injuring three others.

Melbourne, Australia authorities clear a bike rider in the death of an elderly man who stepped in front of him as he rode in a bike lane.

 

Finally…

If you’re a convicted felon carrying a loaded handgun on your bike, don’t ride salmon. Unless headline is missing a comma, this could be the most popular bikeway in the state.

And the next time you’re struggling to make it up a hill, just &%$^! the #&O%! out of it.

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Thanks to Danila Oder for her generous donation to support BikinginLA, and help keep Southern California’s best bike news coming your way every day.

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And another post comes to  close, as the support staff has petered out after hard day fetching all the latest news.

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bike Cam Video, Morning Links, Road Rage, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Dangerous driver — and pedestrian — tricks, and willfully indignorant* bike-hating writers

April 25, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Dangerous driver — and pedestrian — tricks, and willfully indignorant* bike-hating writers

The war on bikes goes on.

A Macon GA pedestrian was convicted of misdemeanor assault for body-checking an Air Force chaplain who was riding his bike on a base fitness trail, insisting “the trail is not for bicycles.”

A North Carolina driver faces a second degree murder charge for — allegedly — intentionally running down a bike rider, for the apparent crime of saying something to a woman at a nearby home.

A British Columbia hit-and-run driver may have intentionally targeted a 14-year old competitive cyclist; a witness saw the truck veer into a bike lane to hit her, while reports circulated about a similar truck involved in a previous road rage incident.

Meanwhile, a Toronto writer asks if driving is a privilege, why is it so hard to revoke — and why shouldn’t dangerous drivers be priced off the road?

Or as Tom Vanderbilt put it, a driver’s license is too easy to get, and too hard to lose.

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Then there are the writers who just don’t get it. And seem damn proud of it.

A Davis columnist doesn’t seem to like the idea of an Idaho Stop Law, because, in his observations, virtually no one on a bike stops for a stop sign anyway, while every single driver comes to a full and complete stop. No, really, you can stop laughing now, that’s what he said.

An Atlanta columnist describes a road diet as “New Urbanism-speak for choking off a road” in hopes that drivers will become so frustrated they’ll go somewhere else.

On the other hand, an Australian columnist gets it, saying licensing bicyclists isn’t the answer, and that only a change in the attitude of all road users will prevent future tragedies.

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Fallen pro cyclist Michele Scarponi will be buried today in his full team kit; even his parrot is in mourning.

A French pro was the victim of a vicious attack with a baseball bat and a box cutter while on a training ride with two other cyclists.

Former British cyclist Jonathan Tiernan-Locke lost his license for 41 months after being convicted of driving at over twice the legal alcohol limit. This is why people continue to die on the streets, when even a second drunk driving offense results in nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

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Local

Vision Zero will host four open houses in Southeast and South LA in the coming weeks, with the first one this Thursday. And will roll out a series of events throughout the LA area, starting this week on Hoover Street.

The Better Bikeshare Partnership looks at the Team LACBC Diversity program to encourage more people to take part in the annual Climate Ride, beyond the usual white male suspects.

Speaking of the LACBC, they’ll be holding a roadside bike repair workshop tomorrow evening in conjunction with DTLA’s Just Ride LA bike shop.

 

State

Now that Governor Brown and his wife got new bicycles for Christmas, maybe he’ll be a little more concerned about bicycle safety and providing safe places to ride.

A San Diego man recounts his “amazing” four-day ride along the coast highway from Ocean Beach to Santa Barbara with a friend.

A San Jose woman wants bike riders to pay to fix potholes in the roads, even though bikes don’t cause them. Cyclelicious takes the opportunity to remind us of the Fourth Power Rule, concluding that a Prius causes 38,000 times more road damage to the road than a bicycle.

 

National

People for Bikes compares bicycling to other types of exercise to see how it stacks up; shockingly, riding a bike comes out on top almost every time.

Portland is developing an adaptive bikeshare program to address complaints that the city’s Nike-sponsored systems isn’t accessible to people with disabilities.

Austin TX is doubling the size of their free bikeshare system.

Caught on video: A Skokie IL cop pulls over a driver for tailgating a bike rider, telling them both “I want you to know that I care.” Although it’s kind of scary that the rider didn’t know he was being followed that closely.

A Minnesota TV station profiles a facemask wearing, bike-riding Robocop who records and challenges dangerous drivers.

Drag racer Courtney Force and IndyCar driver Graham Rahal are two of us, as they go fat bike riding in Indianapolis.

Caught on video too: Tennessee firefighters rescue a teenager who tried to ride his bicycle through 50-degree floodwaters.

Life is sickeningly cheap in Florida, where killing a fourth grader riding his bike on the sidewalk is worth nothing more than a $1,000 fine and a one-year license suspension.

 

International

Caught on video three: A bike-raging Toronto cyclist smashes the side mirror of an SUV, accusing the driver of laughing after nearly hitting him; a local advocacy group rightly condemns vigilantism while noting that something clearly led up to the incident.

Horrific story from London, where police are looking for a gang of masked thugs who hacked a teenage bike rider to death for no apparent reason, after harassing people earlier in the evening.

An unmarked bike cop will be riding the streets of Edinburgh to catch and educate drivers who don’t pass safely. Which is really all it takes to enforce the three-foot passing law, and yet, almost no police agencies in the US bother to do it. Including here in Los Angeles.

Forbes says the Glasgow study showing bike commuting can lower your risk of death by all causes 41% is an exceptionally well-controlled study, adding to its credibility. Unlike, say, the one that says you could suffer dementia and have a stroke if you drink diet soda.

A new Dutch system uses bunnies and turtles to tell you whether you need to speed up or slow down to make the next green light. And a cow to say just give up, already.

A bikeshare company is picking up the tab for Beirut’s first prototype bike lane, which will be extended throughout the city if all goes well.

The battle to reclaim Mosul from ISIS rebels has resulted in a unique bicycle culture, as cars and motorcycles are banned from moving in the west side of the city, and bikes are more practical in the rest.

Remembering when bikes went to war a century ago, as members of the Kiwi and Aussie Anzac Cyclist Brigade found themselves trapped in the trenches of WWI.

Nothing like watching a seeming embarrassed kangaroo hide its crotch after just missing an Aussie cyclist.

 

Finally…

No, seriously. If you’re riding your bike at 2:40 am carrying hash, crack and coke, put a damn light on it and stay off the sidewalk. If you’re going to use your bicycle as a burglary getaway vehicle, again, put a damn light on it, already.

And if you feel the need to salute the cyclist who just beat you in a sprint to the finish, try to use more than one finger.

Or at least hide it from the camera.

 

*A mashup of indignant and ignorant, a truly lovely combination

 

Category: Anti-bike bias, Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, Morning Links, Road Rage / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Times talks bike tours, reward for bike-riding Koreatown killer, and more stupid criminal tricks

April 11, 2017 / / 2 comments

The LA Times Travel section went heavy on the bikes this week, following up on yesterday’s story on charity bike rides in the West.

The paper asked “bicycling enthusiasts” for their favorite rides, which ranged from LA’s Ballona Creek north to Washington, and east to the Mississippi. But somehow managed to place Iowa’s RAGBRAI in Missouri.

They suggest trying a pedal-assist ebike to get a bigger charge out of your trip — no pun intended, I’m sure — and follow up with ten questions to answer before you set out on a bike trip.

And last but not least, they offer a short timeline of the 200-year history of the bicycle, noting that the first recumbents were met with derision.

An attitude that continues today in some circles.

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Local

There’s now a $50,000 reward for the bike-riding man who killed a homeless woman in Koreatown in February.

CiclaValley urges everyone to show up for Wednesday’s meeting for bike lanes on Lankershim Blvd.

CicLAvia is looking for a paid digital engagement intern.

A 36-year old homeless man has been ordered to undergo a psych evaluation after getting busted for throwing an object at a driver’s car when he was apparently cut off while riding his bike on a Santa Clarita sidewalk.

 

State

Welcome back to SoCal, Frank. Former Newport Beach bike advocate Frank Peters is back in Southern California, setting up shop in Santa Barbara after a stint in Portland. And back to his old bike advocacy ways.

Plans are starting to fall into place for a possible 13-mile bike and pedestrian path linking Petaluma and Sebastopol.

The organizer of the Napa County triathlon where over 30 competitors were treated for possible hypothermia after swimming in a freezing lake says it didn’t really happen, and besides, they should have worn a jacket.

 

National

Cyclocross Magazine offers seven pretty good reasons to visit your local auto parts store.

Thankfully, there’s no consensus in the Iowa legislature for a bill that would force bike riders to dress like roadway workers and light their bikes 24/7.

Equestrians carry the anti-bike torch in Wichita KS, partially blocking plans for a bike path through a park.

A Wisconsin bike rider faces charges for allegedly beating a pedestrian after they nearly collided as the victim was crossing the street.

Chicago drivers who ignore No Parking signs and park in a buffered bike lane are blocking more than just people on bicycles.

The driver charged in the drug-fueled Kalamazoo massacre that killed five bike riders was arrested for a previous DUI in 2011, but his confession that he was stoned on painkillers was tossed because he hadn’t been read his rights.

Winston-Salem NC plans construction of a separated bike path along with a highway project, minimizing costs and disruption; the route is designed to allow riders to avoid a pair of major hills on their way downtown.

Atlanta is putting the finishing touches on a new three mile, 14-foot wide section of the planned Beltline multi-use trail through the city.

 

International

Treehugger reviews the new book by the Guardian’s bicycling writer, Peter Walker.

Montreal makes a smart move by making their bikeshare free on weekends.

After being acquitted in Britain’s first crowd-funded private prosecution, a British driver says it’s horrifying to be responsible for the death of another person, while insisting that she just didn’t see him.

Police are looking for an English cyclist who assaulted a couple in their 60s when they parked their car after passing him. I’d really like to say there’s another side to the story, but there’s no excuse for physically attacking anyone. Ever. Period.

No bias here. A British paper says a bicyclist suffered serious injuries smashing into a windshield. Never mind that she was actually hit by the car, which apparently did not have a driver.

As long as you run the country, you can make them play any damn song you want. The president of Turkmenistan has chosen a song he recorded as the official anthem of the Asian Indoor Games being hosted by his county.

An Indian couple is riding from Mumbai to Bangkok, having covered over 2,100 miles so far.

 

Finally…

A police station probably isn’t the best place to hide after getting off your bike and snatching a woman’s cell phone. Just a suggestion: If you’re going to ride your bike in the Applebee’s parking lot, leave your gun, heroin and prescription drugs at home.

And if you’re going to drop out of a bike race, try not to get picked up by the police for riding on a highway.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Gilbert skips Hell of the North, fight to save USC bike shop, and don’t come back as Chinese bikeshare

April 5, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Gilbert skips Hell of the North, fight to save USC bike shop, and don’t come back as Chinese bikeshare

It was a relatively quiet day in the bike world. So let’s get right to it.

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So much for all that talk of Philippe Gilbert sweeping the Five Monuments; he’ll be skipping the famed Hell of the North this weekend, which makes it kind of hard to win.

Lance’s favorite dope doctor is convicted in an Italian court. And walks with an 18-month suspended sentence.

Cycling’s international governing body shifts focus and pledges to support all forms of bicycling, not just racing.

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Local

FOX-11 reports the petition to save Lil Bill’s bike shop on the USC campus now has over 5,000 signatures. As of this writing, it’s reached nearly six times the original goal of 1,000 signatures.

When is a bike lane not a bike lane? When it’s blocked by construction signs.

Parklets are finally coming to Santa Monica, even if some residents don’t get it.

Malibu city officials discuss the proposals in the city’s PCH parking study, which is designed to improve safety for everyone by addressing the problems caused by haphazard parking on the coast highway.

It’s been too long since we’ve heard from LA Bike Dad, who crashed the marathon with kid in tow. And decries the lack of human space on our streets.

 

State

A San Diego man faces charges for a campaign of attacks on homeless people, including hitting two men in the back of their head while riding his bicycle.

A driver in San Luis Obispo was blinded by the sun as he tried to make a left turn, but did it anyway, oblivious to the bicyclist directly in his path. If you can’t see, don’t go. Is that really so hard to understand?

The third annual L’Eroica vintage bike fest will take place in Paso Robles this weekend.

A bighearted Fresno kid earned a new bike by getting good grades in school. Then immediately gave it to his friend, who didn’t have one.

The Youth Cycling Alliance is working with UC Berkeley to map and assess youth bicycling groups around the country to encourage more young people to ride.

 

National

Something our president and I can agree on: support for the Wounded Warrior Project.

GQ offers advice on how to properly warm up for a bike ride. Or you could just do what most people do, and just get on your bike and start pedaling.

Bicycling looks at the anti-bike Montana state senator and his hare-brained proposal to charge out-of-state bicyclists a $25 fee to ride Montana roadways, while noting he was fined for an ethics violation, and his wife was convicted of embezzling $20,000 from her own mother.

Life is cheap in Colorado, where an allegedly high driver gets off with just 150 days behind bars for killing an eight-year old girl as she rode her bike in a crosswalk with her stepfather.

A Minneapolis website looks at the award-winning Prince tribute bicycle.

New York police are doing their best to discourage bicycling by issuing riders bogus tickets, including for not wearing a helmet. Which isn’t against the law in that state unless you’re under 14.

It’s not just bike riders who are imperiled by trail-sabotaging terrorists. Megan Lynch forwards news that a North Carolina runner’s foot was impaled by a four-inch nail pounded into a tree root back in February, one of 40 found on the trail.

 

International

“Do you know what time it is?” “No.” “Time to steal your bike.” Seriously, there’s a special place in hell for anyone who’d threaten violence to steal a 12-year old Vancouver boy’s bicycle.

Canadian veterans will ride nearly 400 miles through Europe this summer to combat PTSD.

A Canadian cop says bike owners need to take responsibility for protecting their bikes by buying a good lock and recording the serial number of the bike. And register it!

The Telegraph asks if riding along the banks of the Danube is the world’s most relaxing cycling holiday.

The joys of bicycling around the German Bodensee and bathing naked with strangers after dark.

Who needs a battery when your cargo bike has a German-made fuel cell?

An Aussie website says plans for a Melbourne veloway look good, but there’s room for improvement.

Malaysian teenagers “repent” after eight late night bike riders where killed when a driver slammed into them earlier this year, while the story notes that not all “bike gangs” are bad.

 

Finally…

A burglar cleverly disguises himself as a bicyclist by riding a bicycle. The next time you’re reincarnated, don’t come back as a Chinese bikeshare bike.

And a Formula 1 race car driver is busted for speeding.

On a bicycle.

In a triathlon.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: Another successful CicLAvia, riding the KY Bourbon Country, and all the bike news that fits

March 27, 2017 / / 2 comments

LA hosted another successful CicLAvia on Sunday, where a good time was reportedly had by all, or nearly all, anyway, at the 20th edition of what is arguably the country’s most successful open streets festival.

According to a report on KNBC-4 that doesn’t appear to be online yet, the crowd was estimated at 50,000 people. Which sounds like yet another in a long line of chronic attendance undercounts, as people come and go throughout the day.

But does anyone really believe San Antonio drew more people to their ciclovía than LA did?

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What could be better than a three day ride through the Kentucky Bourbon Country — complete with samples at the end of the day?

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Three cyclists and a race marshal were injured, two seriously, when a car stopped around a blind curve during a German bike race and the riders reportedly slammed into the back of it. Thanks to Erik Griswold for the tip.

The cobbles belong to Belgian Olympic champ Greg Van Avermaet this year. Cycling Weekly offers five things they learned from his victory in Sunday’s Gent-Wevelgem, while Finland’s Lotta Lepistö was two for two on the women’s side this week.

Spain’s Alejandro Valverde won his second Tour of Catalonia on Sunday, as countryman Alberto Contador took second.

Former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins says his testimony in a British doping investigation will shock a few people. At this point, the only that that would really shock anyone would be if there wasn’t any.

That’s one way to keep your kid home. Italian cycling great Mario Cipollini’s mom cut his bike in half to keep him from riding off when he was six years old. Apparently, it didn’t stop him.

Team Rwanda Cycling technical director Jock Boyer says his goal is to make the country an elite cycling nation. Boyer was the first American to ride in the Tour de France; he also convicted of molesting an eleven-year old girl for three years.

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Local

Metro is asking for comments on their newly released guidelines on how to spend Measure M money; Streetsblog says cities are already jockeying for funding. My suggestion: Invest in transit and Complete Streets, and don’t waste a dime on demand-inducing highway projects, like the failed widening of the 405 through the Sepulveda Pass.

Speaking of Measure M and Complete Streets, you’re urged to attend Wednesday’s meeting of the city council Transportation Committee to call for LA to spend its share of the funds to make the streets safer for everyone.

Venice-based Solé Bicycles is opening a new bike shop near USC, intending it to be a gathering place for students. But that means a small on-campus bike shop will get the boot.

 

State

This is why you didn’t want to ride in Bolsa Chico State Park on Saturday.

The Tour de Palm Springs will stay in Palm Springs after Palm Desert agrees to host the ride, but not the name.

Cyclocross Magazine looks back at last year’s classic bicycle L’Eroica California in Los Robles; this year’s ride rolls April 8th and 9th.

The San Jose Mercury News says ebikes are catching on with the public; a 79-year old Aussie e-trike rider would agree.

Who says cyclists aren’t tough? A Stockton man continued riding home after hearing a loud pop, not realizing he’d been shot.

A Lake Tahoe advocacy group says it’s great that there are more bikeways in the area, but a map so they could actually find them might help.

 

National

Wired says the way to get commuters out of their cars is to pay them not to park them.

If bicycling isn’t enough fun, you can always turn it into an augmented reality game and deduct points for scofflaw cyclists.

Riding across the US is one thing; riding from San Diego to San Francisco the long way is another. A Kansas City man plans to ride 7,000 miles on a route that will take him to the Bay Area by way of Georgia, the Great Lakes and Oregon, to raise funds for victims and survivors of sex trafficking.

Seattle is finally getting around to cleaning up a homeless encampment encroaching on a bike path after a woman is attacked.

The president of USA Cycling writes to rebut the Montana senator who wants to ban cyclists from state roads.

It takes a special kind of asshole to steal a 13-year old autistic Albuquerque kid’s therapy bike.

Country singer Clay Walker is sort of one of us, hosting a Houston TX bike ride to fight MS.

A Houston Op-Ed says to function efficiently, roads must work for all users.

A horrifying story from Texas, as a San Antonio driver is under arrest for fleeing on foot after fatally running down a bike rider participating in an MS fundraising ride, then hitting and killing another rider just 80 yards down the road; as a third rider had to dive into a ditch to get away from him. Thanks to Steve Katz for the heads-up.

A Chicago study shows red light cameras really do improve safety. They were removed in Los Angeles when motorists argued they caused wrecks by making drivers actually stop for red lights.

A New York man was finally arrested nine months after he allegedly ran down a cyclist and fled the scene, then claimed his car had been stolen.

For some bizarre reason, ebikes are banned under New York state law, and NYC cops seem more than happy to confiscate them.

Caught on video: A bike cop throws his bicycle at an anti-Trump protester in Philadelphia.

An Op-Ed in the Washington Post says if car drivers made cyclists feel safer, we’d all be better off.

In a bizarre case, a Virginia man was convicted of pulling a gun off his bike frame and shooting a little twelve-pound terrier he claimed was viscously attacking him and left him in fear for his life. Because so many little ankle-biters have been known to leap up and rip the lungs out of passing cyclists, evidently.

 

International

Bike Radar offers advice on how to care for your next cut or road rash, while a Canadian cycling site offers advice on how to keep riding when you’re expecting.

David Beckham is a proud father, as his 5-1/2-year old daughter is now one of us, too.

The release of a British strategy to double biking and walking rates has been delayed due to last week’s London terrorist attack.

English police are looking for a bike-riding purse snatcher who left a woman in her seventies with two black eyes and a broken arm.

An Indian woman quit her job to ride across the country calling for gender equality.

A New Zealand study shows bicycling is no more dangerous than many other recreational activities, and safer than many. But fear of the perceived danger still keeps many people from riding.

Yes, cyclists are welcome on a Kiwi walkway. Not so fast, you mountain bike riders.

A Hong Kong clean air group says it’s time for the island to stop paying lip service to bicycling projects and get serious. The same could be said for Los Angeles — and most other American cities.

 

Finally…

First step as a secret KGB agent embedded in America — become a bike messenger. If you have to crash your car, always blame Bigfoot.

And maybe you need an overdose of cuteness to get you out of your post-CicLAvia Monday morning funk.

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

Morning Links: It’s the Wild West on our streets, a successful DIY plunger bike lane, and Marathon Crash returns

March 13, 2017 / / 4 comments

Just a quick note before we get started.

According to researchers from the University of Colorado, there is a 17% spike in traffic collisions the Monday after the spring Daylight Savings time change.

So use extra caution on the roads today, whether you’re walking, riding or driving. And as always, ride and drive defensively.

Because you can’t control what other people do. But you can be prepared to react in a safe and controlled manner, no matter what they do.

Besides, it’s a lot safer than playing rugby.

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A Nebraska researcher concludes it’s like the Wild West on our streets, as the behavior of both bicyclists and motorists are governed by unspoken rules of behavior that go beyond traffic laws. But even when riders break the law, in most cases they do it to avoid being injured or killed by a driver.

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That DIY lane barrier made up of toilet plungers in Wichita KS was a success, as the city was shamed into installing a post-protected bike lane by the guerrilla installation.

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This Sunday is your chance to bike 26 miles of empty LA streets, when the legendary early morning Marathon Crash ride returns for another year. Here’s what the LA Weekly had to say about it a few years back.

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This is why people continue to die on our streets.

An Oregon driver says it’s inevitable that he’ll drive drunk again after being sentenced to one lousy year in jail for his ninth — yes, ninth — DUI.

A Colorado woman will face anywhere from four to twelve years in jail after pleading guilty to the drunken hit-and-run death of a bicyclist; she was on probation for a previous drunk driving conviction at the time of the crash, and had two other alcohol-related arrests.

And the hit-and-run driver who killed an Irish bike rider had 49 prior convictions, and was on a temporary release from jail despite violating bail 18 times.

They all should be permanently banned from driving, as well as owning, renting or borrowing a motor vehicle.

Or sitting behind the wheel and saying “vroom, vroom,” for that matter.

………

Here’s a spoiler-free report on the conclusion of the seven day Paris – Nice race: Alberto Contado made a hell of a finish, even if the next-to-last stage was too hard for a March race.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 78-year old Englishman hopes to raise the equivalent of $73,000 by riding the full route of this year’s Giro d’Italia.

“Is that a bicycle pump in your pocket or are you just pleased to see me?” Team Sky used Viagra to get a jump on the competition.

Evidently, motor doping is nothing new. Except the motors used to be on trains.

………

Local

Get your fresh bagels by bike in Silver Lake and Echo Park.

A writer for UCLA’s Daily Bruin calls on newly re-elected CD5 Councilmember Paul Koretz to be more dynamic in his final term in office. Yeah, that will happen.

Bike thefts are up on the Cal State Northridge campus.

West Hollywood’s WeHo Pedals bikeshare program will hold pop-up Hub Days at bikeshare locations around the city to explain how the program works.

Culver City is looking at plans for a bikeshare system.

Coldplay’s Chris Martin is one of us, riding in Malibu with his son.

Bellflower has approved plans for the Bellflower-Paramount Bike Trail, which will eventually connect the LA River and San Gabriel River bike paths.

 

State

Camp Pendleton will host their Hell Fire Fat Tire mountain bike race on March 18; the race is open to both military personnel and civilians. I wonder if any of the people who had their bikes confiscated by the Marines at Miramar will risk competing on the other Marine base to the north.

Palm Springs residents are calling for a road diet on Golf Club Drive to slow speeding drivers, even though city officials say it’s not a problem.

Los Gatos approves a new bike and pedestrian plan intended to create a low-stress bicycle and pedestrian network.

San Jose’s Mr. Roadshow considers the debate over AB 1103, California’s proposed Idaho Stop Law. Speaking of which, Calbike wants your signature in support of the bill.

The bike path on San Francisco’s Bay Bridge won’t open to riders on weekdays until this summer.

A Richmond couple build a bike park and give free bikes to kids, even while they’re struggling to make their own rent.

A Redding man gets busted for walking out of a bike shop with a display bicycle after his picture circulates on social media.

 

National

An auto website says one reason our roads and infrastructure are failing is an underinvestment in pedestrian and biking options.

Salon discusses how the humble bicycle continues to set women free and be a key to women’s empowerment.

The North American Handmade Bicycle Show visits Utah for the first, and possibly last, time.

Austin TX tries out an American version of the Chinese-style freestanding app-based bikeshare systems during SXSW.

A Houston bike path comes complete with a separate lane for golf carts.

Sad news from DC, where an editor for Kiplinger’s died after she was struck by a bicycle. Bikes don’t pose anywhere near the danger to others that cars do, but as this tragedy shows, a collision with a bicycle can result in serious injuries, or worse. Always slow down and ride carefully when pedestrians or less skilled riders are around.

Hilton Head NC cyclists can’t win, getting abuse from strollers if they use a bike path and from drivers if they ride in the road.

Macon GA creates a self-guided bike tour through a historic industrial district. But for some reason, promotes it by motor vehicle.

A kindhearted Florida cop bought a new bicycle out of his own pocket for a man whose bike was stolen, after learning it was his only form of transportation.

A Florida bike ministry has provided 37,000 meals and 2,700 bicycles to the needy, who have to earn the bike by working eight hours for a non-profit organization.

City Lab asks if a winding, elevated bike path could improve safety for Miami bicyclists and kickstart a cultural change in the city.

 

International

Why bother cycling at the gym when you can just fidget your way to better health?

Bike Radar wants you to remember who got you started in bicycling, and pass it on to someone else.

The Toronto Star calls on drivers to protect bike riders from doorings.

A British writer says no, the solution to the country’s cycling problems does not include making people ride in glowing tubes in the sky.

Caught on video: A Brit rider posts videos of a trio of ridiculously close passes. This is why you have to take the lane if it’s too narrow to share; hugging the curb only invites passes like this.

A TV news presenter in the UK was the victim of a distracted driving hit-and-run while riding his bike last week.

Food delivery cyclists in France have now unionized to battle the “Uberization” of delivery services.

That solar power-generating Dutch bike path has proved so successful it’s expanding into new areas — including Kern County.

Oslo will become the first city to ban cars from the city center in 2019; the city will also build more than 35 miles of bike lanes in the next two years.

Two Vietnamese men have begun independent bike tours of the country to promote organ donation.

 

Finally…

Maybe riding a bike inside the store isn’t the best idea. When riders and port-a-potties are blowing across the road, cancelling the event probably isn’t the worst idea.

And anyone can drive a stock car at 200 mph. It takes real courage to wear spandex.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Car vs Bike, Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Weekend Links: Bike riders behaving badly, protected bike lanes coming to DTLA, and road raging in a g-string

March 4, 2017 / / One comment

Today’s edition of bike riders behaving badly.

A Houston cyclist spit on a driver, with her two kids in the car, after allegedly darting out in front of her car from a bike path crossing the road. Never mind that she was on the phone at the time.

Police in St. Petersburg FL are looking for the bicyclist who leaned over a woman sitting in the passenger seat of a convertible, and spit into her husband’s face. Of course, the driver swears he did absolutely nothing to antagonize him.

Funny how drivers always seem to be the innocent party, victimized by crazed cyclists who lash out against total strangers for no reason at all.

And while we’ve said this before, it can’t be stressed enough. Never get physical, no matter what a driver may have done to provoke you.

Any questions of morality aside — and yes, it is wrong, not to mention disgusting — it makes you the bad guy, and could leave you open to criminal, as well as civil, charges.

Better to get whatever they did on video if you have a cam, and let the police deal with it. Or just post it online, and let the court of public opinion have its way.

And if you don’t have one, get one.

………

Bicycling’s Joe Lindsay asks if the new Colorado Classic is the race that will save American Pro Cycling.

Meanwhile, the magazine talks with the team of high school mountain bikers who beat Lance and his fellow ex-dopers.

………

Local

There will be a kickoff event for the planned protected bike lanes on Spring and Main streets, now known as Main & Spring Forward, in DTLA this Sunday for anyone not attending the 626 Golden Streets.

A UCLA lecturer says bike riders will continue to be put at risk in Westwood if CD5 Councilmember Paul Koretz is re-elected.

UCLA researcher and lecturer Herbie Huff says the solution to overcrowded roads isn’t tunneling under the city, it’s putting a price on them.

The Daily Breeze talks with candidates for the Manhattan Beach city council, only one of whom even mentions bicycling.

Once again, Long Beach will open the Toyota Grand Prix course to the public for an open streets event. And once again, it will only last for an hour and a half. And it will be on a weekday when most people can’t attend.

 

State

Don’t plan on riding the bike path at Bolsa Chica State Beach on the 25th, unless you want to ride through a pro-Trump rally.

San Francisco manages to get the cars out of its new Valencia Street protected bike lane in time for the official opening.

 

National

A dog website says don’t bring your bike into the dog park unless you want to risk wiping out in a pile of poop.

A new four-wheeled e-scooter prototype promises to be a cross between an ebike and an ATV, with a 16.5 mph top speed to allow it to be used in bike lanes.

A writer for Strong Towns says it’s time to move beyond open streets events, and consider closing some streets the other 364 days of the year.

A Wisconsin appeals court reinstates a road rage charge after ruling a county judge had erroneously dismissed the case.

No, seriously. If they can put a protected bike lane on New York’s busy Fifth Avenue, they can do it just about anywhere. Even on some of LA’s busier streets.

The new director of a Charleston SC advocacy group will have the unenviable task of turning around the nation’s worst city for bicycling.

 

International

DHL is testing last-mile delivery by cargo bike in 13 European counties.

Royal-in-law Pippa Middleton offers her tips on how to dress for riding.

Life is cheap in the UK, where fatally dooring a bike rider is only worth a $98 fine.

The rich get richer, as bike-friendly Sweden and Denmark open the world’s first cross-border bike ferry.

Caught on video: An Aussie cyclist just barely avoids getting run down by a speeding, out of control driver who flipped his SUV after apparently suffering a medical episode.

China’s once-ubiquitous Flying Pigeon is once again flying high, churning out bikes for the country’s app-based bikeshare programs.

 

Finally…

The perfect tri bike for everyone who wants to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Who needs energy gel when you’ve got gummy bears?

And if you’re going to get physical with a Paris bicyclist, put some damn boxers on first.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: No women’s French tour this year, LACBC staffer says no on S, and Pure Cycles goes electric

March 2, 2017 / / 6 comments

Let’s start things off with a long list of links from the wonderful wacky world of bike racing.

In a big step back for women’s cycling, the week-long Route de France race will not be held after getting dropped from UCI’s WorldTour calendar.

The physician for former Tour de France champ Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky claims his laptop with all their records was conveniently stolen three years ago, preventing doping authorities from being able to examine them. And he’s conveniently too sick to appear before a Parliamentary panel looking into it.

Lawyers for Brit cyclist Jess Varnish says the country’s governing body for cycling has learned nothing from its recent controversies; she had been dismissed from the team before the Olympics, and told to go have a baby.

The new Colorado Classic pro race will come complete with a three-day Denver festival, including performances by Wilco, the New Pornographers, Death Cab for Cutie, Saint Motel and La Santa Cecilia. The next to last leg of the race will run over the 8,000-foot elevation Peak to Peak Highway, which was one of my favorite rides when I lived out that way.

VeloNews says this Saturday’s Strade Bianche should be your new favorite race.

LA’s own former pro Phil Gaimon calls it the worst retirement ever, as he sets out to capture KOMS on YouTube. And speaking of Gaimon, he’s accepting preorders for his new book, Ask A Pro.

………

Local

The LACBC’s Carol Feucht explains why everyone who rides a bike should vote no on Measure S.

The San Gabriel Valley Tribune looks forward to Sunday’s nearly 18-mile 626 Golden Streets event, calling it an argument for a carfree LA County. Meanwhile, the Pasadena Star-News explains everything you need to know to ride from South Pasadena to Azusa.

If you’d prefer something more strenuous and less paved, CiclaValley invites you to Ryan Steers’ Birthday Gravel Feast this Sunday.

West Hollywood’s WeHo Pedals bikeshare will be free for new and existing members on election day.

Santa Clarita parks commissioner and cyclist Kevin Korenthal is packing his bikes and family and moving to Texas.

Interesting piece of advice from Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson, who says while you aren’t required to have a license to ride a bike, you do have to show a cop your ID if you’re asked for it.

 

State

San Clemente will install a nearly one-mile long protected bike lane along the coast highway.

San Diego was reminded the hard way that it’s cheaper to fix infrastructure problems than pay for it later, as a man was awarded a $4.85 million for injuries he suffered when his bike hit a seven-inch sidewalk displacement caused by a tree root. But seriously, how fast did you have to be going to fly 28 feet after hitting it something like that? Let alone on a sidewalk.

The UC Santa Barbara student government is funding nearly $127,000 worth of bike racks to deal with a chronic shortage of bike parking.

A San Francisco supervisor calls for a ban on bicycle chop shops, and authorizing police to seize any bikes or parts they find in one. We could use a law like that on a statewide basis; you can see bike chop shops operating in plain view all over Southern California.

 

National

A wine website lists the five best US cities for biking and beer; San Diego and Berkeley made the list, along with my hometown.

Bike Portland recounts the city’s journey to making Vision Zero its top transportation priority.

The South Dakota State University newspaper recommends biking to class to relieve stress and improve time management. Not to mention keeping all those cars off campus.

An Iowa writer says you should add the cross-state RAGBRAI ride to your bucket list.

Chicago Streetsblog offers a four paragraph bike helmet manifesto, saying if people in your city feel the need to wear a helmet, it’s a sign the streets aren’t safe. Except bike helmets aren’t designed to protect riders from cars, they’re made to protect against relatively slow speed falls.

This is just so wrong on so many levels. A New York community board member says a protected bike lane is unnecessary, because “Once Trump removes all the illegals… there won’t be anybody to ride bike lanes.” Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

The Washington Post says cities around the country are embracing lower speed limits to save lives.

A North Carolina man has been arrested in the case of the scooter rider who harassed and assaulted two men in Key West, calling them homophobic slurs and saying “You’re in Trump country now.”

 

International

People will soon be able to walk or bike between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit on a multi-use path installed on the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

An English woman suffered a fractured cheekbone when a shoplifter fleeing store security smashed into her on his bike.

Caught on video: A Brit rider gets caught in a frightening squeeze play when a bus driver drifts into the bike lane he’s riding in.

Caught on video too: A Glasgow, Scotland bike rider apparently made a wrong turn and ended up riding in the middle of a busy freeway.

Berlin sees bicycles as the key to solving the city’s transportation problems.

Now that sounds like fun. Take a food and bike tour through northern Italy with the Border Grill’s Mary Sue Milliken and other chefs on the Emilia Romagna Chef Bike Tour this June.

Exploring Abu Dhabi by bikeshare.

China’s Ofo app-based bikeshare built a $1 billion business one 15¢ bike ride at a time. Although where to put them all seems to be a problem.

 

Finally…

When you’d rather hate on bicyclists than bother to understand what the hell you’re talking about. Finding the nation’s most bike-friendly city in the most bike-friendly country.

And like Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival, Burbank-based fixie maker Pure Cycles goes electric.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: New Colorado pro race, bikes and microbrews coming to Echo Park, and riding 30 days the wrong way

January 26, 2017 / / 2 comments

Through the end of this month, BikinginLA is supporting local bike shops and other small businesses in the bike industry by offering deep discounts on our usual advertising rates. For more information, or to find out if your business qualifies, email the address on the Support and Advertising page.

………

Colorado’s USA Pro Challenge is dead and buried. Now the four-stage Colorado Classic pro race, which will include a two-stage women’s race, will rise from the ashes to take its place. Although they still seem to think women are too fragile to compete on an equal basis with the men.

Evidently, former pro Frank Schleck still likes to go fast; he’ll lose his driver’s license for a month and face five year’s probation for driving 52 mph in a 31 mph zone.

Former British world road champ Nicole Cook says the problem with pro cycling is the sport in run “by men, for men” and doping is being fought by “the wrong people, in the wrong way, with the wrong tools.”

………

Local

Echo Park could be soon home to LA’s first microbrewery/bike shop.

The Radical Optimism series is hosting a panel discussion on How We Move: Getting Around the “Shrinking” City of Los Angeles tonight in Culver City.

Santa Monica’s Cynergy Cycles hosts a discussion on bikepacking tonight.

Hermosa Beach will start using bike cops in an effort to control late night partying in the downtown area.

 

State

Ventura police bust a man who jacked a bicycle at knifepoint after he’d removed it from the back of vehicle while the driver slept inside.

A San Francisco bicyclist was the victim of a hit-and-run near the city’s Pier 39 following a failed pass.

Just days after San Francisco officials stared down Chinese app-based bikeshare company Bluegogo, a US-based startup wants to bring their dock-less, app-based bikeshare system to the city.

A San Francisco native says no, cyclists, pedestrians and drivers have not always hated one another, but we should all come together to hate the people on hoverboards.

 

National

The CEO of Affirm and co-founder of PayPal is one of us, taking his bike with him wherever he travels.

Popular Mechanics gets it, saying it’s time to rethink our roads so they work for everyone, including bicyclists.

Next City talks to Motivate CEO Jay Walder, head of the nation’s largest bikeshare company, who says Donald Trump should look to America’s transit revolution for guidance on how to overhaul the nation’s infrastructure through public-private partnerships.

No bias here. Colorado considers adopting the Idaho Stop law, but one TV station says it allows bicyclists to run red lights and stop signs. Actually, it just lets bike riders treat stop signs as yields, and treat red light like stop signs. Big difference.

A Victoria TX newspaper says all it would take is a little paint to bring the city into the 21st Century by putting in some bike lanes.

Detroit police are still looking for the bicycle-riding killer of a university police officer, releasing a photo of the bike he was riding.

A Northwestern University professor says cyclists, pedestrians and drivers all have to work together to ensure safety.

Note to Boston Globe: A “suspicious device” made from a beer bottle half filled with gasoline with a rag sticking out of it, like the one found on a bike trail, is called a Molotov cocktail.

New York-based BMX pro Nigel Sylvester makes Forbes Magazine’s 30 Under 30, to go along with his 200,000 Instagram followers and seven million YouTube views.

A Virginia columnist says the state doesn’t need a proposed law banning bicycling while drunk, calling it a legal solution in search of a problem.

Before you detain a teenager for stealing your son’s bike, make sure it really is. A Florida man faces felony kidnapping and robbery charges because he didn’t. And it wasn’t.

 

International

James May, host of Amazon’s The Grand Tour, is one of us, but says most bike riders are a bit hopeless, awkwardly peddling badly adjusted bikes with no idea how to use their gears.

Cycling Weekly patiently explains why cyclists ride in the middle of the road. But they neglected to mention that it makes riders more visible to drivers, which is why taking the lane is taught by both the League of American Bicyclists and CyclingSavvy.

London’s Independent says forget riding down Bolivia’s Death Road; if you want a real challenge, try riding Peru’s Pichu Pichu volcano.

Bike riders are donning facemasks to deal with London’s crushing smog.

Now that’s a close call. A Brit driver just misses a bicyclist riding in a bike lane before plowing into a street sign.

 

Finally…

Breaking News: Riding at night isn’t like riding during the day because it’s dark. If you’re trying to make it home for the holidays, make sure you don’t ride for 30 days in the wrong direction.

And if NASCAR is going to be more like bike racing, does that mean the drivers will start shaving their legs?

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Weekend Links: LA election debates, reforming CA Trans Commission, hi-viz skin, and better libidos through biking

January 21, 2017 / / Comments Off on Weekend Links: LA election debates, reforming CA Trans Commission, hi-viz skin, and better libidos through biking

Please forgive yesterday’s unexcused absence.

The sudden failure of a hard drive cable took my laptop down without warning, wiping out all the links I’d been saving, and leaving me without access to this site.

The good news it, it was a quick, easy and relatively affordable fix. So we’re back in business, and serving up a virtual smorgasbord of fresh, hot bike links.

………

Local

Bike the Vote LA provides a list of upcoming candidate debates before the March city elections.

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton talks with Bike SGV Executive Director Wes Reutimann about better bike parking for the Gold Line.

In case you wondered, this is why many bike paths shut down before heavy rains. And if you were planning to use the protected bike lanes on the California Incline this weekend, you might want to plan another route.

Santa Monica is conducting yet another of their frequent bike and pedestrian safety enforcement days this Monday. You know the drill; follow the letter of the law until you cross back into the scofflaw loving arms of LA.

A Long Beach city councilmember says people are free to push for changes to the number and color of the green bollards on Studebaker Road, but they were put there to slow traffic and improve safety.

 

State

A bill to restructure California’s Transportation Commission would require at least one of the six members to have expertise in bicycle and pedestrian safety; two would have a background in sustainable transportation, one in mass transit, and two working with disadvantaged communities.

Calbike is looking for an administrative manager.

After starting out with ambitious plans for a Complete Street makeover of San Diego’s El Cajon Blvd, the city settles on a watered-down approach with buffered bike lanes instead of protected lanes.

Bring your rain gear. Today’s Tour de Palm Springs will roll rain or shine. Or 40 mph winds.

This is the cost of traffic violence. Thirty-three years later, a writer in Half Moon Bay still struggles with the hit-and-run death of his bike-riding father two days before his dad’s 38th birthday.

A Redding man is facing a murder charge for calmly riding away on his bike after setting a gas station clerk on fire; authorities still don’t know why, though.

 

National

Lawsuits are flying back and forth at the new company formed by America’s last remaining Tour de France winner to make low-cost carbon fiber, but not for bikes.

Bicycling explains why you should keep riding outside all winter, and how to organize a bike pub crawl.

Men’s Journal offers commuter gear every cyclist needs. None of which anyone really needs, but most of which seems pretty good for a change.

Who needs hi-viz when your skin can glow in the dark?

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Oregon will build a bike path to fill a gap in a bike lane where a man was killed last year.

A Colorado man beat depression by bicycling across the US with just $600 to his name; now he’s preparing to race 5,770 miles across Russia.

The war on bikes continues, as a Montana legislator introduces a bill that would ban bikes from virtually every two lane road in the state. Which is most of the highways in the state, as I recall.

If you build it, they will come. Nearly one million people used the bike trail system in Sioux Falls SD last year, in a city of just 165,000.

Caught on video: A road raging Wisconsin driver rolls a stop sign, then repeatedly attempts to cut off a bike rider before getting out of his car to confront him, and complaining that the cyclist is taking up too much of the road. Even though the sharrows indicate he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be.

The bike-born coffee and bread deliveries must go through, even in a Minnesota winter.

When a local hotel is razed, an Indiana woman asks for, and receives, the 600 pound boulder she used to sit on to watch her late husband, a county sheriff, ride off to DC every year to honor officers killed in the line of duty.

A Michigan TV station lists three surprising benefits of bicycling, including boosting your libido. Which probably isn’t much of a surprise for those of us who do.

Amsterdam’s bike mayor is taking her act on the road in an attempt to remake the former New Amsterdam into a bike riding city.

Philadelphia police are getting serious about ticketing people who park in bike lanes.

Now that’s more like it. A Pennsylvania man gets five to twelve years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a motorized bike rider who was on his way to see his dying father.

Life is cheap in Louisiana, where a hit-and-run driver walks after killing a cyclist; his victim wasn’t killed in the crash, but drowned in a ditch because the jerk who hit him didn’t bother to stop. Something’s seriously wrong with the prosecutors who made this deal; instead of being released on probation, he should be doing hard time on a 2nd murder conviction.

New Orleans is launching a fleet of 700 custom-designed bikeshare bikes at 70 stations around the city.

 

International

Cycling News asks if sexual abuse will be cycling’s next big scandal.

A British Columbia snow biker wants his cliff-hanging ski-bike back.

Bad British roads killed or injured 99 bike riders over a recent two year period. Meanwhile, in a totally unrelated story, the BBC asks if sidewalk riding should be legal in the country.

A Belfast woman is looking for the hit-and-run cyclist who killed her dog. I’ve had to dodge a number of dogs whose irresponsible owners let them wander across pathways on a loose leash. But, if you can’t avoid hitting a dog, human or any other animal, just stop already.

Caught on video too: Aussie police are looking for a sidewalk raging pedestrian who grabbed a 62-year old woman’s bike by the rear wheel and flipped her over the handlebars, tossing her face-first into the pavement.

A Santa Barbara couple spends three weeks riding 600 miles around Taiwan.

 

Finally…

No, bikeshare bikes don’t grow on trees. Helmets have been around almost forever.

And your next bike could actually fly. But only if you define “bike” very loosely.

 

Category: General / Tags: , ,
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