Tag Archive for just the links

Morning Links: BMUFL protest in PVE, Ottowa rider say au contraire, and Chinese cyclist says go full Superman

January 17, 2017 / / 2 comments

Welcome back from what was a three-day weekend for some, and just another Monday for others. Either way, I hope you took advantage of the weather, maybe took in the parade, and spent a little time on your bike.

Or maybe a lot.

………

Local

KPCC reports on plans for a protected bike lane in Culver City; there will be a meeting to discuss the plan at 8 pm Thursday in the City Hall Patacchia Conference Room, 9770 Culver Blvd.

The LAPD is looking for whoever who rode a bike up to a man in a Panorama City parking lot and shot him multiple times.

Cycling in the South Bay reports on the weekend protest in Palos Verdes Estates where bicyclists held the same Bikes May Use Full Lane signs the city refuses to post.

 

State

Work starts today on improvements to the I-5 corridor through Solano Beach, including ten miles of new bike and pedestrians trails.

A man in Antelope is known for riding his motorized bike with Russian music booming from the speakers mounted on his handlebars.

 

National

Yes, Dr. Martin Luther King was one of us.

Bicycling Magazine tells you how to make a left turn.

Maui’s mayor demonstrates he sort of understands bike law, explaining that there are exemptions to the law requiring bicyclists to ride to the right, but leaving out the right to take the lane on streets too narrow to safely share with a motor vehicle, even if you do have to ride single file there.

Volunteers pitch in to bring an Oklahoma mountain bike trail back to life after it had fallen into disrepair.

A Minnesota man competed in the 200-mile Fat Pursuit fat bike race through Eastern Idaho, in whiteout conditions with temperatures down to 39 degrees below zero.

The head of Detroit’s Planning Department wants to make bicycling an important consideration in the Motor City’s infrastructure.

An Ohio woman rode 1,000 miles around Oahu to honor twelve Marines who were killed in a helicopter crash off last year, despite being born with just one hand.

The wife of a New Jersey chef has filed suit after he was killed riding his bike into a sewer excavation trench that was left unmarked and uncovered by workers.

It’s now illegal to park in a Massachusetts bike lane, although stopping in one is still legal. So the question is when does stopping becomes parking?

A Philly writer says bike lanes are key to the city’s plans for safer streets, even if some residents don’t like them. Although a spokesman for a motorist group says people are going to drive at whatever speeds they feel comfortable with, regardless of any efforts to slow them down.

A Baton Rouge LA bike rider says he feels like an urban archeologist as he sifts through the litter on the side of the road, saying “what is deplorable is countered by what is captivating.”

A Florida county has to decide whether to cancel plans for a $100 million, 75 miles bike path from Naples to Miami.

 

International

The Biking Expert website lists their ranking of the 75 most bike friendly cities in the world; San Francisco and Davis are the only California cities on the list.

Why settle for three must-have cycling apps, like we linked to yesterday, when you could have ten? And not just for iPhones, either.

Yesterday we linked to video of an Ottawa bike rider blocking a driver who kept lurching into him; the rider says the incident started when the driver kept tailgating him. And yes, he wants the driver prosecuted, despite what the police said.

You’ve got to be kidding. Police in England’s South Yorkshire say it’s not worth the effort to enforce the law against passing bicyclists too closely because not enough riders get killed to justify the cost.

The girlfriend of the bike rider doored by Britain’s transportation minister says yes, cyclists do count as road users.

Starting in March, you’ll have to wear a helmet when you ride in France — if you’re under 12, anyway.

Mannheim, Germany is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the forerunner to the bicycle.

A Chinese cyclist wants to get you out of the saddle and go full Superman on a frame-mounted fitness ball instead.

The 62-year old chief information officer of a global electronics firm is working to make Singapore more bikeable; he says the island nation needs another five years to catch up to Japan’s bicycling culture.

 

Finally…

Post-EPO Lance is still pretty good on a bike. Don’t bother riding your bike to Friday’s presidential inauguration.

And yes, we may have to deal with too many red lights and stop signs, but we hardly ever have to stop to help a pregnant cow deliver a calf.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: The joys of winter riding, no jail for French motor dopers, and a $150 Bluetooth bike coffee cup

January 16, 2017 / / 3 comments

It was a slow weekend on the local front, but there’s plenty of bike news from around the world for your entertainment and edification.

But before we start, let’s take a moment to remember the wisdom of Dr. Martin Luther King, with words as appropriate now as they were fifty years ago.

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.

A message as meaningful for our streets as for our nation, and our world.

………

Local

Once again, no news is good news. Right?

 

State

High desert cities are working to keep up with road repair on their crumbling streets; a new project in Victorville will add bike lanes along with pavement improvements — whatever that means — on La Mesa Road.

Santa Rosa lost its battle to allow people to ride their bikes on a popular pathway through a private subdivision.

 

National

Vogue discusses the joys of wintertime riding and the problems of dressing for it.

Bicycling introduces you to the only female mechanic on the US pro cycling tour.

An app website lists the three best cycling apps all cyclists must have on their iPhones. Assuming they have iPhones. And for some reason, they filed it under “Hobby.”

In an update to the story of the homeless man who rode his bike from California to Wichita to build planes, because he said God told him to, a local bike shop talked him into letting them fix his bike and gave him new tires so he can ride on ice this winter.

A Madison WI columnist is surprised that motorists accept pedestrian-crossing improvements, but get mad about improvements for bike riders.

Florida’s Space Coast is working to encourage bicycle tourism through the area.

 

International

How to throw a rooster dirt spray for the camera.

A former Canadian pro cyclist is lucky to be alive after suffering sudden paralysis from the neck down when a blood vessel burst between two vertebrae; he was able to drag himself to his phone using only his chin, then had Siri call 911.

A Vancouver letter writer says there’s no need for business owners to worry about the loss of parking spaces to make room for bike lanes, because people on bikes will more than make up for it.

Caught on video: Ottawa police say no charges will be filed after video surfaces of a bike rider using his bicycle as a shield to block the path of a driver, who continually lurches into it. No word on what triggered the confrontation.

London’s mayor clarifies his recent remarks, saying he didn’t mean cycle superhighways cause pollution, but that badly planned construction of them causes congestion, which does cause pollution. That clears up everything, right?

A London cyclist discovers the joys of track cycling.

Cardiff, Wales releases a plan to double the number of bike riders on the city’s streets.

Motor doping may get you disqualified, but it won’t get you thrown into a French jail.

Donations are pouring in to buy new hearing aids for 105-year old, age-group hour record holder Robert Marchand.

A group of 21 male and female randonneurs ride 900 miles across India in five days in a spirit of junoon, which translates to an all immersive passion. Which should be something most bike riders can relate to.

The state of South Australia will pick up the tab for medical expenses after a 15-year old cyclist hits a pothole caused by a leaky fire hydrant.

A Singapore cyclist says he actually wants to pay registration and display a set of license plates just so he can get a little respect on the roads — and so they’ll know who his is when he gets run over by a truck.

China’s ongoing app-based bikeshare boom may result in oversupply, as two leading companies battle for dominance. Not to mention the bikes are getting in the way.

 

Finally…

No, seriously. If you’re carrying a loaded handgun in your waistband, don’t ride recklessly — and put some damn lights on your bike. Don’t be surprised when a road bike website chooses a road bike as their commuter bike of the year.

And honestly, who doesn’t need a $150 Bluetooth-enabled coffee cup for your bike?

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , ,

Morning Links: Protected bike lanes in Culver City, DIY BMUFL signs in PVE, and strategically placed cycling caps

January 13, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Protected bike lanes in Culver City, DIY BMUFL signs in PVE, and strategically placed cycling caps

Happy Friday the 13th.

You could be one of those unlikely people trapped in their cars today. Or you can improve your day just by getting out on your bike.

Seems like that makes this a lucky day for all of us.

………

Local

Los Feliz Neighborhood Council President Luke Klipp explains why neighborhood councils matter if you care about walkability, bikeability and safer streets.

Culver City considers building protected bike lanes to link the Expo station with the city’s downtown half a mile away, as well as connecting the Helms District with Culver Blvd.

The Downey Bicycle Coalition will hold a Family Bike ride tomorrow.

The Department of DIY is ready to strike in Palos Verdes Estates, as South Bay cyclists buy their own Bikes May Use Full Lane signs, and will hold them up at entrances and exits to the city this weekend.

 

State

San Diego’s CCSD is hosting two women-only cycling training camps this March in Solana Beach, and April in Temecula.

Once again a bike rider is a hero, rescuing another rider from the rushing waters of rain-swelled Los Gatos Creek, even if he couldn’t save the man’s bike.

A determined San Ramon detective tracks down a stolen bicycle that was a woman’s only means of transportation, and returns it to her in less than a week.

Richmond is asking for public input on plans to build a tiny .3 mile bike path that would connect to a planned 500 mile network of bikeways around the San Francisco Bay.

San Francisco is the latest California city to increase enforcement of traffic violations that can put bicyclists and pedestrians at risk. The question is whether they will actually enforce the laws equally, or if it’s just an excuse for yet another crackdown on the people on two wheels.

A 71-year old Anderson Valley cyclist questions whether he should stop riding on the roads and stick to bike trails — not because he’s aging, but because of the carelessness and ineptitude of many drivers.

 

National

In a victory for alternative transportation, new federal transportation rules will measure people instead of cars.

A new study shows that the availability of bikeways encourages people to ride their bikes; it also shows that women prefer low stress routes, suggesting one way to reduce cycling’s gender gap is to build more bicycle boulevards.

Maine cyclists says the state’s three-foot passing law is an effective deterrent, even if enforcement is a challenge; unlike California, riders there can use bike cam video as proof of a violation.

New York traffic fatalities hit a historic low, even as bicycling and pedestrian deaths increase.

Great idea. Charlottesville VA bicyclists will deliver scones by bike on Valentines Day as a fundraiser for a local bike advocacy group.

North Carolina drivers can’t seem to figure out what sharrows mean.

A hit-and-run driver who ran down a Florida bicyclist on New Year’s Day drank for eight hours before the crash and still smelled of alcohol when he was arrested, but hasn’t been charged with DUI.

Federal marshals seize the property of a Florida deputy, including his clothing, golf clubs and fishing poles, to satisfy a fraction of the $22.4 million judgment against him for shooting an unarmed bike rider, who is now permanently paralyzed.

A Florida bike club makes its own video to promote the state’s new three-foot passing law. Although they could have shown someone who wasn’t wrapped in spandex or riding in a paceline.

 

International

A unique new foldie raising funds on Kickstarter claims to fold small enough to fit in a carry-on bag.

A London writer explains plans to ban cars from a busy junction in the heart of the city’s financial district to improve safety for bicyclists and pedestrians; cyclists already make up half of all traffic at the intersection during peak hours. Needless to say, taxi drivers are against it, though advocates call their protests misguided.

New raised bike lanes in Cambridge, England resulted in a doubling of ridership.

Talk about not getting it. The British Transport Minister who failed to give his contact info after dooring a cyclist now says bike riders are not road users; former Olympian and Tour de France cyclist Chris Boardman says his “comments demonstrate an astonishing lack of knowledge.”

The UK’s Cyclist website offers the good cyclist’s guide to riding in bad weather. Although the advice would seem to apply to bad riders, as well.

Very moving piece from the Guardian, as a physician thanks all those who came to her daughter’s aid after bad fall while riding on a bike path, from the strangers who stopped to help and offered her what little money they had, to the surgeon who saved her and the nurses who cared for her afterwards.

Just days after authorities said all Russian athletes should be banned from international competition for systematic doping, a Russian website attempts a little deflection with accusations that cycling continues to scrape the bottom of the barrel.

 

Finally…

Today’s lesson: Mess with a cyclist, even a former one, and you could get shot in the scrotum. And if you’re going to pose naked to raise money for a new kit, remember, it’s caps, not hats.

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Thanks to John Hall for his generous donation to help support this site. Even though the holiday fund drive is over, donations are always welcome and appreciated.

 

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: No surprise in women’s ‘cross title, fewer Expo Line bike thefts, and ebike non-bombs in OC

January 9, 2017 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: No surprise in women’s ‘cross title, fewer Expo Line bike thefts, and ebike non-bombs in OC

It was a quiet weekend on the bike news front, as most riders appeared content to sit out the storms sweeping the nation.

Except for those crazy ‘cross riders competing in snowy Connecticut.

Cannondale’s Stephen Hyde overcame a bad start and last-lap flat to win the men’s national cyclocross championship. It was a good day for people named Stephens, as Colorado’s Denzel Stephenson takes the US men’s junior cyclocross championship.

And needless to say, the unbeatable Katie Compton took the women’s title, winning her lucky 13th consecutive national ‘cross crown.

………

Brit sports site Rouleur has posted their entire 12-part 2014 interview with Lance Armstrong, America’s most famous disgraced athlete since Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Chris Froome says he rejected a medical exemption to use a banned drug during the 2015 Tour de France on moral grounds.

A pair of Irish cyclists hope to become the first duo from that country to finish the Race Across America, aka RAAM.

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Local

A funeral will be held on Thursday for an LAPD officer killed in an off-duty collision last week; she was one of us, serving as a bike cop before being promoted to field training officer last year.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department’s says they’ve stopped the problem of bike thefts at Expo Line stations in Santa Monica.

 

State

Bike theft is down slightly in Seal Beach, even as it goes up statewide, making up 5.6 percent of all larceny-theft.

A Palm Springs charity radiothon raised $77,000 to buy and assemble 400 bicycles for fourth grade children.

A SoCal cyclist drops the first of her three-part series on riding three bikes one three iconic rides over three years, starting with a solo climb on Gibraltar above Santa Barbara.

Fresno will pay $675,000 to settle with the family of a bike rider killed in a collision with a police cruiser while fleeing from a traffic stop; the lawsuit claimed the officer intentionally bumped his bike, then ran over him when he fell in front of the patrol car.

Now that’s more like it. The driver who intentionally ran down three Sacramento cyclists during a daylong crime spree gets a well-deserved 35 years in prison; he also struck one motorcycle rider and tried to hit another.

 

National

Ann Arbor, Michigan approves a five-foot passing law, requiring motorists to give at least five feet, not the usual three, when passing a bicyclist, pedestrian or wheelchair user.

Boston takes Vision Zero seriously, dropping its basic speed limit to 25 mph today in an effort to save lives. Now compare that to Los Angeles, where our nascent Vision Zero will have to address much higher speed limits and drivers who feel free to ignore them.

Baltimore opens a new bikeshare system in which four out of ten bicycles are ebikes.

A Charlotte NC writer tells the auto-centric county to butt out on plans for a bike lane on the Ashley River bridge that has already been approved by the city, noting that they could expect to be sued the next time someone gets hurt there.

 

International

A new Canadian study shows that walkable — and by extension, bikeable — neighborhoods result in lower rates of obesity and diabetes. Which means that safer bicycling infrastructure is a public health issue.

Life is cheap in British Columbia, where a drunk driver gets just 45 days for a wreck that left a bike rider with near-fatal injuries.

The Guardian offers a look inside the secret world of a London bicycle courier.

A British cyclist wants to apologize after taking her anger out on the Good Samaritan who tried to help her following a crash.

A Brit business site says self-driving cars could spark a cycling revolution, but only if they can overcome problems recognizing people on bikes. Then again, others have predicted a far more dystopian future for bicyclists in a world of driverless cars.

Paris will make a major investment in bicycling infrastructure, declaring 2017 the year of the bike; the city’s mayor pledges to cut the number of cars in the city center by half.

Nice. A Swedish woman spent Christmas Day and the day after riding just under 400 miles to raise the equivalent of over $2,400 for UNICEF.

Five-thousand Russian cyclists were expected to turn out in 13° below zero weather for a five mile ride along the Moscow River; however, only around 500 actually showed up.

 

Finally…

Most bike thieves at least have the decency to wait until the bike goes into production. Ebikes may offer some advantages, but calling out the bomb squad isn’t one of them.

And if you hear the bell, it may be just a tad premature to celebrate your victory.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Weekend Links: Risk of rain puts off Resolution Ride for another month, and legal dope may make roads safer

January 7, 2017 / / 2 comments

Cancel those plans for today’s Resolution Ride. This message came in yesterday’s email:

The Resolution Ride has been postponed due to inclement weather! But don’t worry, you’ll still get a chance to continue your resolutions on our rescheduled date of February 12th! Same time, same place – and with the added bonus of happening alongside our annual Expo! This means more chances to win, more fun, more resolutions, and even more reason to come out and ride with us.

If you can’t attend the rescheduled date and would like a refund, please contact Gonzalo Garcia (gogarcia@aidslifecycle.org) to do so. Keep those resolutions going in the new year and come ride with us February 12th!

On the other hand, it should be great weather for the LACBC’s Sunday Funday ride through the historic San Fernando Valley.

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Maybe legalization will be safer than people think.

According to a new study, states that allow medical marijuana use average 11% fewer traffic collisions and 26% fewer traffic fatalities, possibly due to a reduction in the rate of drunk driving.

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Local

The election of Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia to the Metro Board should be good news for bike riders, as well as the entire South Bay area.

An LA-area cyclist explains everything you need to know to Everest.

Congratulations to SCAG, whose Go Human Campaign was featured in the newsletter of the Federal Highway Association.

 

State

No news is good news, right?

 

National

A new drop-in e-wheel promises to turn your existing bike into an ebike with a 100 mile range, while doubling as an indoor trainer. Meanwhile, a new wheel hub for fat bikes is designed to keep your tires inflated to the ideal level.

All bike thieves suck. But especially the thief who stole an Arizona boy’s Christmas bike on Christmas Day.

The Wall Street Journal profiles Denise Mueller as she attempts to set a new speed record for an auto-assisted bicycle on Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, and finds peace at 140 mph.

A graduate student from my home town is the only American man selected to this year’s 5,700-mile Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme Race across Russia.

Des Moines IA bike riders are flexing their political muscle to fight plans to reroute a popular rural bike trail.

An Iowa City IA volunteer has refurbished and distributed over 400 bicycles for people in need.

A Pittsburgh paper reminds bike lane opponents that they can actually reduce traffic congestion, but bicycles only improve traffic flow when they have actual bike lanes to ride in.

 

International

A Montreal Uber food messenger is posting his mileage and earnings online to open a window on the delivery industry.

A Brit bicycle courier wins a court case reclassifying her as an employee of the company she works for, which could have implications for other members of the gig economy.

Life is cheap in the UK, where an 83-year old British lord was fined just £5,000 — the equivalent of $6150 — for seriously injuring a bike rider by driving his Jaguar carelessly.

Madrid follows the lead of Paris, and makes plans to ban cars from its main street within three years. Does that mean we could actually see a carfree Wilshire Blvd someday?

 

Finally…

Road bikes are slowly turning into mountain bikes. Finally, scientific proof bicycling is better than running.

And we only have to deal with LA drivers; German bicyclists have to worry about unexploded WWII bombs.

 

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

Morning Links: Petaluma punishment pass caught on video, and red light-running stupid driver tricks

January 3, 2017 / / One comment

Welcome back. Please accept my belated wishes for a healthy, happy and prosperous new year. And one filled with friends, family and bikes.

Lets hope this coming year is a safe and joyful one for all of us.

………

This is who we share the roads with.

First a Petaluma pickup driver hauling a horse trailer makes what appears to be a punishment pass directed at a couple of bicyclists hugging the white line. Or possibly just a dangerous attempt to cut back in time following an ill-advised pass.

Then stops to have a profanity-laced chat with the riders, telling them to get off the road and onto a non-existent bike path.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH4S2pKX9jw&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL290Pi9FkU&feature=youtu.be

Thanks to murphstahoe for the links.

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And here you thought only bike riders run red lights, right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z52L6jGdSkY&feature=youtu.be

Thanks to Patrick Pascal for the heads-up.

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Sad news, as 1950 Tour de France champ Ferdy Kuebler passed away at a Zurich hospital Thursday; Kuebler won the Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege classics on successive days in 1951 and 1952, as well as a 356-mile, single-day Bordeaux-to-Paris race in ’53.

More sad news, as rising Canadian pro cyclist Ellen Watters was killed in a collision on a training ride; New Brunswick riders are making a new push for a three-foot passing law in the wake of her death, and appear to be gaining support.

Brit Tour de France champ Bradley Wiggins calls it a career at age 36, amid allegations of drug use masked by special medical exemptions.

American pro Andrew Talansky’s Grand Tour plans may have suffered a setback when he broke his thumb after hitting black ice on a Christmas Eve training ride.

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Local

The LAPD made an arrest in the Hyde Park hit-and-run that left a motorized bike rider seriously injured.

Joe Linton says a recent hit-and-run that left a pedestrian injured shows the need to make NELA’s Fletcher Drive safe.

Debbie Reynolds was one of us, and rode her bike to her first screen test on the Warner Brothers lot from her home in Burbank when she was just 16.

CiclaValley recaps his best articles of the past year.

Pasadena’s Complete Streets Coalition will hold their January meeting next Monday.

Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson justifiably calls out cyclists on an annual New Years Day ride, where hundreds of bicyclists reportedly blew through red lights on their high-speed tour down the coast, resulting in a crash that injured a pedestrian and a bike rider. And says some riders actually blocked paramedics from getting to them in their attempt to catch up to the peloton. Correction: I’ve heard from someone who was on that ride, who reports that as much of a mess as it was, the rider who collided with the pedestrian was on a different, earlier ride, and said the wreck happened when a pedestrian stepped off the curb while the sun was in his eyes.

 

State

Be careful when you order bikes and parts online. California’s Specialized is suing a number of internet-based bike dealers for selling counterfeit frames and accessories.

California motorists are now prohibited from even holding a mobile phone for any reason while they drive. Of course, it’s already illegal to text or use a handheld phone in the state, and we’ve seen how that worked out.

We may have to deal with bullheaded LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to worry about crashing into Bay Area bulls.

San Francisco’s Vision Zero Coalition calls on the city to study its own traffic safety data.

Sad news from Stockton, where a bike rider was killed New Years Eve after allegedly riding through a red light.

 

National

States may have the traffic data the public needs to demand safer streets, but apparently, they’re under no obligation to share it, thanks to a little-known clause in federal law.

Two years ago there were no protected intersections in the US; now there are 12.

Now you can lock your bike up to a birth control device the next time you ride to Oregon’s Planned Parenthood headquarters.

A San Antonio driver hits a bike rider, takes her to a nearby bar, puts her damaged bike on her car, then drives away without identifying himself.

Great story. A homeless Escondido man rides a beach cruiser 1,640 miles to Wichita KS to build planes, because he says God told him to.

Life is cheap in Iowa, where a driver without insurance gets a whole two days for paralyzing a cyclist. Two. Effing. Days.

A Georgia cop helps a DUI driver turn his life around by buying him a bike to ride to work and AA meetings.

New York City now has a nine-mile long protected bike lane crossing the city.

The New York Times reports on a prominent evangelical preacher who lost his faith following a 40 mph solo fall on his bike.

A Miami rider offers a full year of stupid driver tricks caught on bike cam video.

A Florida man has a new bike thanks to a kindhearted EMS supervisor, who bought him one after his was totaled in a crash.

 

International

A new Canadian study says you may end up in the ICU, but at least you don’t have to stop cycling. Meanwhile, A new Chinese study shows riding a bicycle can reduce depression in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Cycling Weekly offers essential commuting clothes for riding to work, not much of which actually is.

I want to be like him when I grow up. Eighty-seven year old English rider sets three world age group records.

1970’s glam rockers Slade will be cancelling their shows for the next few months after lead guitarist and founding member Dave Hill broke his elbow in a collision with a bike rider.

Dublin votes to cut speed limits to the equivalent of 18 mph throughout the city to improve safety. So when will California realize lives are more important than speed, and allow cities to set safer limits?

An Irish study says boys are ten times more likely to ride their bikes to school than girls.

An Indian tycoon plans to revitalize Great Britain’s declining bike-making industry.

A bicyclist rides 4,600 miles through nine Indian states on a solar-powered ebike.

A New Zealand man gets on his bike for the first time in five years. And gets knocked off by a road-raging driver who drove onto the sidewalk to deliberately ram into him.

A Tokyo pedestrian was killed by a lightless, distracted bike rider on a narrow, sloping passageway where bicyclists aren’t even supposed to ride.

Singapore is installing bikeways in neighborhoods around the island and encouraging the use of personal mobility devices in an attempt to go car-lite.

 

Finally…

This is why you hire an American PR firm to handle your US launch. Busted for driving under the influence of caffeine.

And Ricky Gervais is one of us. Even if he can’t figure out how to use a Presta valve.

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Thanks to George Wolfberg, Karen Karabell, Eric Lewis, Glen Schmuetz and Stephen Katz, and to everyone who gave to last month’s BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive. The kindness and generosity of shown by the readers of this site has moved me more than I could possibly express.

I’d like to thank you all individually, but PayPal now keeps the email addresses of donors hidden. Which is probably a good thing, even if it means I have to thank you here, instead.

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

Morning Links: Last minute gift ideas, one last(?) bike giveaway, and mountain bike dog shredding

December 22, 2016 / / 4 comments

Just two days left in the 2nd Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive! Give today to keep Southern California’s best source for bike news coming your way today, and every day.

My apologies for whatever mistakes you may have found in yesterday’s post. And I’m sure there were many.

A sudden wave of illness meant publishing yesterday’s post without proof reading, for the first time since starting this site over eight years ago.

Hopefully we’ll do a little better today.

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CiclaValley offers gift suggestions for the bike rider in your life. And yes, it is perfectly acceptable to put yourself on your holiday gift list.

H&S Bicycles offers their own list of must have accessories for your new bike.

Cycling Weekly offers five of the year’s most weird and wonderful products, which may or may not be suitable for giving.

Here’s a list of eleven books for the budding urban planner, two and a half of which I’ve read. I can strongly recommend Gabe Klein’s Start-Up City and Samuel Schwartz’ Street Smart, which has the best explanation of why density matters I’ve yet seen; I’m currently working on Janette Sadik-Khan’s Streetfight.

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‘Tis the season.

The New Orleans Saints team up with Toys for Tots and the US Marines to give children bicycles and other toys.

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Great nighttime video of mountain bike tom Wragg shredding the trails with his dog Ruby.

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Today marks three years since Australian tourist James Rapley was tragically killed early on a Sunday morning as he made his way home for the holidays. He was run down by a stoned driver on Temescal Canyon Road as he took advantage of an extended layover at LAX to get out for a bike ride along the beach.

Plans are in the works for a parking protected bike lane on the uphill side of the dangerous roadway, where speeding drivers often drift into the bike lane, in hopes of keeping something like this from happening again.

Yet those plans are languishing, in part due to insufficient staffing at LADOT, and partly due to the usual local opposition to any changes they fear might inconvenience them or add a few minutes to their commute, even if it does save lives.

Lets hope the city can finally work it out before another anniversary passes.

Or before someone else gets killed.

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A memorial to British cyclist Tommy Simpson has been restored to mark 50 years after he collapsed and died climbing Mt. Ventoux after taking amphetamines during the 1967 Tour de France. A sportswriter asks if his death was in vain, as suspicions of doping and drug use continue to taint professional cycling.

A former coach accuses Britain’s governing body for cycling of having a culture of lies, bullying and harassment.

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Local

LA Magazine’s Neal Broverman says the planned South LA Rail-to-River bike and pedestrian pathway will be a great amenity in a park-poor area, but a lost opportunity to build an actual rail line through the community.

If you’re looking for a fun pre-Christmas ride, you could do a lot worse than Saturday’s Street Librarian’s Last Ride of the Year to restock those little street lending library boxes in Silver Lake.

 

State

San Clemente hires a contactor for a complete makeover of deadly PCH, including a road diet and curb extensions, bike lanes in both directions, and a separate two-way cycle track along the southbound side, with an additional pedestrian walkway running alongside. Let’s hope other OC cities follow their example.

Next year should be a good one for San Diego bike riders, with four new bike projects opening and several others on the way.

Lake Elsinore is beginning to develop a citywide bicycle path and trails master plan.

A Templeton man faces a felony manslaughter charge in the death of a bicyclist earlier this month; the driver was attempting to pass another vehicle by illegally crossing the double yellow lines when he hit the rider head-on.

San Francisco’s 9th and Division is the latest Bay Area intersection to get the protected treatment.

 

National

The war on bicyclists continues, as someone has once again sabotaged a popular Seattle bike trail.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a customized bike belonging to a 15-year old Washington quadriplegic; fortunately, police recovered the bike and expect to make an arrest.

A scathing city audit calls Kansas City’s bike plan nothing more than lines on a map that don’t connect with popular destinations, and have gone largely unbuilt. If we ask nice, do you think they’d be willing to audit Los Angeles next? They could probably just change a few locations and repurpose the same report.

The rich get richer. Missouri, which is already home to the 240-mile Katy Trail paralleling the Missouri River, gets ownership of a 144-mile abandoned rail line that will be converted into a bike trail along the northern edge of the Ozarks.

Friends remember a Minnesota cyclist for his fondness for AIDS rides and red high heels after he passed away from cancer; he reportedly wore those heels on his final days as a mail carrier. As the son of a mailman, I can’t help but smile at that.

Kalamazoo approves a new plan to keep bicyclists safe in response to last summer’s massacre. While it’s good news, it shouldn’t take a tragedy like that to do the right thing.

New York commits to improving bike safety around the city’s many bridges and parks in the year to come. Meanwhile, the city opens a new two-way protected bike lane through Chinatown.

 

International

Ontario police are trying to identify a homeless man who was traveling nearly 1,900 miles across Canada by bike and canoe after his body washed up, just 60 miles from his stated destination.

A British bicycling group calls for a retraction after a columnist for London’s Sunday Times calls the dooring of a bike rider by the country’s transport minister a “beautifully timed maneuver,” and suggests he should keep it up to make “London a safer place for normal humans.” The original story is hidden behind a paywall where no one can see it. And should stay that way.

The head of a London university says the dangers bicyclists face on the city’s streets discourage foreign students from attending.

London will host a Ride with Bowie bike ride next month on the first anniversary of his death.

A bighearted 89-year old English woman has taken it upon herself to pass out free hi-viz vests to bike riders to make them more visible to drivers and pedestrians. Although it would be nice if someone could make drivers actually pay attention instead of making everyone else dress up like clowns.

Police in the UK are looking for a bike thief caught on security cameras struggling to carry one bicycle while riding another.

A Brit driver faces six years behind bars for careening into a bike rider while speeding and “driving like an idiot” with his daughter in the car.

Unbelievable. A driver in the UK walks after allegedly killing a 15-year old bike rider, despite a) not having a license, b) driving 80 yards with his victim stuck in the windshield, and c) getting out of the car and running away from the scene; the judge cites a lack of evidence in dismissing the case.

Bollywood star Ali Fazal is one of us, after he took up riding to the set while filming in London.

Horrific story from Melbourne, Australia as a woman bike rider was robbed, stabbed and slashed in an apparent random attack; she’s in stable condition after seven hours of surgery.

Life is cheap in West Australia, where a driver walks with a measly $500 fine — the equivalent of just $360 in US dollars — for killing a bike rider; a British cyclist was fined more than that for riding in a pedestrian plaza.

 

Finally…

Caught on video: Now that’s what I call a close call.

And you can stop holding your breath waiting for that combination smart watch and bike computer you’ve always wanted.

No, really.

………

Thanks to Theodore Faber, Fred Davis Design and David Drexler for their generous support of the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive.

It’s hard to ask for money for this site, because there are so many other more deserving causes, and so many other obligations this time of year. So I deeply appreciate everyone who has opened their hearts and wallets to support this site, now and throughout the year.

Thank you.

Category: Bicycle Safety, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: The bike giveaway beat goes on, SaMo PD joins Bike Index, and standing up to a bully driver

December 21, 2016 / / 2 comments

It’s the last three days of the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive. Give today to keep SoCal’s best source for bike news coming your way every day!

‘Tis the season.

A Santa Clarita landfill company donates 70 bicycles to local non-profits for distribution to children.

A SoCal-based charity gives 80 San Jose elementary school students new bikes; the Bikes For Kids Foundation has given away 40,000 bicycles over the last 14 years.

Firefighters team with members of a Mill Valley church to distribute 100 bicycles and 1,000 toys to local children.

Teachers in the appropriately named Hollidaysbugh PA use a $2,000 grant to buy a specially adapted bicycle for a girl with cerebral palsy and severe epilepsy.

An anonymous Shreveport LA donor provided 100 bicycles to be distributed to underprivileged students.

………

Local

The LA Times mentions Josef Bray-Ali’s record of bike advocacy in Northeast LA as he takes on incumbent Councilmember Gil Cedillo in CD1.

CiclaValley takes his bike in to have the carbon frame repaired.

The LACBC offers advice on choosing a bike so your family can ride together.

The Santa Monica Police Department has joined the LAPD in recommending free bicycle registration with Bike Index, and checking the database to recover stolen bikes. You can register your bike with Bike Index right here, as well as report a stolen bike to add it to the database and automatically tweet a BOLO alert.

Next time you’re in SaMo, swing by city hall on Main Street so you can be counted on their new real-time bike counter.

 

State

A Victorville bike rider complained of back and leg pain after he was rear-ended by a driver who had just made a right turn; the woman behind the wheel played the universal Get Out of Jail Free card by claiming she just didn’t see him.

A San Luis Obispo letter writer suggests imposing a 2% surcharge on all bicycles, parts, accessories and service to fund more and better bikeways. Evidently, because bike riders don’t already pay sales, income, property and or any other assorted taxes, like normal people do.

Berkeley saves money and improves safety by improving existing infrastructure to create a protected intersection.

More sad news from Northern California, as yet another bike rider has been killed in a hit-and-run in Sacramento County.

 

National

Adventure cyclists now have a voice on the US Travel and Tourism Committee, which will try to get Mr. Trump’s ear on travel matters — if the incoming administration doesn’t disband it.

Bike lawyer Bob Mionske examines what happens when bike riders and drivers are blinded by the sun, saying if you can’t see or have the sun to your back, drivers probably can’t see you.

People for Bikes offers a Best Of recap of their 2016 tales.

Red Kite Prayer is giving away three “dream” road bikes to help raise funds for World Bicycle Relief.

Apropos the time of year, Bicycling offers a primer on how to gift wrap a bicycle.

Seattle will pay an injured bike rider $1.6 million after his lawyer successfully argues that a truck driver’s vision was blocked by bridge support columns

A St. Louis bike rider was stabbed by a homeless man who claimed he thought he was going to be attacked.

A writer in New York’s Newsday calls for a “draconian” prohibition on using mobile devices while driving. However, he tosses out the stat that about 54% of bike riders killed in crashed in 2015 weren’t wearing helmets, without considering how many of those suffered head injuries or if their injuries were survivable, with or without one.

 

International

Volvo’s reflective spray-on LifePaint is back, and available online for the first time. Because you just can’t expect drivers to actually see you if you only have lights, reflectors, and hi-viz.

Bike Radar offers five reasons roadies should get adventurous and get offroad.

Calgary votes to make a downtown network of protected bike lanes permanent, even winning over two councilors who voted against the original pilot project; the network’s unlikely success could offer lessons for other cities.

Caught on video: A Montreal snow-clearing driver faces a fine for crushing a bicycle that had been locked to a parking sign on the sidewalk.

London’s mayor taps a Nike executive as the city’s first walking and cycling commissioner.

Caught on video too: Manchester, England bike thieves ram through a steel bike shop gate to steal $21,000 worth of bicycles.

British ministers order mobile phone makers to develop and install software to keep drivers from using their phones behind the wheel. The question is how to keep drivers from using their phones without blocking their passengers, as well.

A Glasgow nonprofit has taught 7,000 children how to ride a bicycle before they start school.

A New Zealand cyclist hopes to set a new record by riding across the country in four days to raise money for charity. Meanwhile, three women riding across New Zealand to raise funds for a three-year old boy suffering from cerebral palsy meet him for the first time.

Australian police are still trying to identify a man who was found dead next to a pink bicycle in a Melbourne park 55 years ago. If there’s even been a better argument for always carrying ID when you ride, I don’t know what it would be.

Caught on video: A road raging Aussie driver threatens to run over a bicyclist, then grabs his bike cam and throws it across the road — bravely running away when the rider stands up to him, and offering to pay for any damages on the spot. Note to Daily Mail: It’s not a dashcam without a dashboard.

 

Finally…

Have a Clif Bar while you ride, Clif wine when you’re done. Making bike thieves do the walk of shame.

And no, widening the 405 wasn’t worth it.

………

Thanks to David Rindlaub for his generous support of the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive to help bring the area’s best bike news your way every morning.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: More bike giveaways, running a cyclist over for $15, and virtually ride your way to the pros

December 20, 2016 / / One comment

It’s the last four days of the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive. Give today to keep SoCal’s best source for bike news coming your way every day!

Unlike yesterday, there’s no shortage of local news today.

Or anywhere else, for that matter.

………

‘Tis the season.

Kindhearted neighbors of a 90-year old retired doctor in Ocean Beach team up to buy him a new bike after the three-wheeler he’d ridden every day for the past ten years was stolen from his yard.

Fontana police donate a total of 100 bicycles to local kids.

A Petaluma bike mechanic is refurbishing 50 adult and children’s bicycles to donate to a local homeless charity for their private bikeshare program.

A Pennsylvania auto dealer invites 60 kids for milk and cookies and a new bicycle.

Bighearted North Carolina kids pitch in to buy a new adult tricycle for an 82-year old woman after getting to know her during last fall’s Hurricane Matthew.

A New Zealand program to help get people on bicycles who couldn’t otherwise afford them has refurbished 75 out of 200 donated bikes, with 48 ready to give away.

………

After weeks of speculation about a mysterious package delivered to Bradley Wiggins’ Team Sky in 2011, they tell Parliament that it was an innocent shipment of flu medication. Which seems like a perfectly reasonably explanation now that it’s five years too late to verify.

Good news from the UK, as track cyclist Victoria Williamson is back to training after suffering a broken neck while racing in Rotterdam.

Former pro cyclist Chris Stockburger, now an orthopedic surgeon, is conducting a research study of injuries and safety problems common to competitive cyclists.

Two thousand Kiwi cyclists turn out to ride with Lance Armstrong, yet the first word of the story is still “Disgraced.” On the other hand, a former New Zealand cycling great says don’t scapegoat Lance for making the best of a rotten system and era.

Two competitors in the Tour of Costa Rica get the boot after one gave the other a boot following a high-speed crash.

………

Local

Metro wants to know where you’d put bikeshare docks in Venice and Pasadena.

NELA’s Fletcher Drive gets new pavement, a road diet and nearly one mile of bike lanes. Funny how much progress is being made building bike lanes just outside, but not in, Gil Cedillo’s 1st Council District.

LA Curbed takes a look at the new protected bike lane on one side of Van Nuys Blvd in Pacoima, part of the mayor’s Great Streets program.

Three Santa Monica elementary schools are among the most dangerous in the state for kids getting to and from school, whether by car, bike or on foot.

Good piece from SoCal Bicyclist reporting on last week’s die-in in Palos Verdes Estates, and the less-than-friendly reception the protesters got from city hall.

 

State

BikeSD asks if San Diego is ready to make the switch from auto-centric Level of Service to the multi-modal Vehicle Miles Traveled. And answers probably not.

Santa Barbara teens form a bike co-op at the local high school.

Hollister receives a $1 million grant to improve bike and pedestrian access. The city was made famous by the 1947 motorcycle riot depicted by Marlon Brando in The Wild One.

Uber admits its self-driving cars have a nasty habit of right-hooking bicyclists riding in San Francisco bike lanes, and promise to fix it.

 

National

People for Bikes reports on the nation’s best new bike lanes. Exactly none of which are in Los Angeles. Or anywhere else in Southern California, for that matter.

Bicycling suggests rad-itizing your bike with custom paint.

The Seattle Times asks if the city’s mandatory bike helmet law will kill its $5 million attempt to reboot its bikeshare program. Short answer, probably.

A Wisconsin town is allowing fat bikes on skate trails on a trial basis.

An Ohio man faces charges for knocking a man off his bike, then getting back in his car and deliberately running over him in a dispute over a lousy $15. Imagine what he would have done for $20.

The debate over Philadelphia bike lanes is targeted by fake news, as NIMBY opponents create excuses with no bearing in fact. Which sounds like every public bike lane meeting I’ve ever attended.

A Baltimore bike advocate discusses how bike infrastructure can address inequality in the city, where most of the existing bike lanes have gone into wealthy, white neighborhoods.

This is why you always carry identification. North Carolina authorities are trying to identify a man who died after falling off his bicycle. If you or someone you know rides without ID, do something about it now.

 

International

An Alberta, Canada writer says he’s riding for hope after losing his wife to cancer.

Police in the UK are looking for the bike-riding jerk who responded to a crash with a 72-year man on a shared pathway by pushing him up against a fence and spitting in the man’s face. I always try to see the other side of the story. But in this case, let’s hope the stocks are still legal over there.

The war on cars may be mythical, but the war on bikes is real. A Brit cyclist was lucky to avoid a tripwire strung across a promenade by a group of kids.

An Edinburgh columnist concedes that drivers who kill deserve punishment, but those darn cyclists need to need to obey the law, too. So why doesn’t anyone ever complain about all those scofflaw drivers who put far more people at risk?

Celebrate the 200th birthday of the bicycle with a special German 20 Euro coin.

A bike advocacy group in The Netherlands calls a proposed ban on smartphone use while riding senseless and unenforceable.

A pair of Indian cyclists are riding across the subcontinent to call attention to organ donation.

This is the cost of traffic violence, as a promising young doctor was killed riding her bike before she could start her new job with an Australian hospital.

 

Finally…

Keep sweating in that virtual cycling class, and maybe you too can win a spot on a pro team. Run a red light on your bike in Switzerland, and lose your driver’s license, which you may or may not have.

And something is seriously wrong when a five-year old girl isn’t safe riding in the cul-de-sac in front of her house.

………

Thanks to Bryan Jones and Todd Munson for their generous support of the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive to help bring the area’s best bike news your way every morning.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: A light local news day, a busy weekend for bike giveaways, and stupid bike burglar tricks

December 19, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: A light local news day, a busy weekend for bike giveaways, and stupid bike burglar tricks

It’s the last week of the 2nd Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive. Give today to keep Southern CAlifornia’s leading source for bike news coming your way every day!

The holiday season made for a light news weekend in the bike world.

With the exception of over a dozen bike giveaways totaling over 7,400 bicycles, that is. Including two from a generous cop, and a bighearted boy giving away his own bike to someone who needs it more.

Oddly though, not a single non-giveaway story made the radar on the local front.

But that’s good, right?

And if you missed it, you’ll find a lot more news, local and otherwise, on Saturday’s Weekend Links.

………

‘Tis the season.

The charity foundation started by Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner donated 2,000 bicycles, which were given away through an LA church.

Santa Barbara County inmates refurbished 25 bicycles collected by the sheriff’s department to distribute through local charities.

Forty-eight Adelanto elementary school students get new bikes, along with an adult bike for the mother of two of the children, whose husband died earlier this year.

A program founded by a Redding man 13 years ago gave away 275 bicycles last year; this year they have 125 bikes to donate, but are hoping for more.

Two Oregon boys will have bicycles this Christmas thanks to a bighearted cop who bought them new bikes after theirs were stolen.

Over 300 people pitched in to build 1,400 bicycles, which will be given as surprise gifts to residents of an unsuspecting Michigan neighborhood.

A New Jersey bike shop has repaired over 250 bicycles and donated them to local organizations.

Fayetteville NC’s Bicycle Man gave 1,500 bikes and helmets to local children, along with clothes and school supplies; the charity program has continued under his wife’s leadership after Bicycle Man Moses Mathis passed away in 2013.

The Charleston SC transportation authority gives away 16 unclaimed bikes that had been left on buses.

More than 1,000 Columbus GA children got new bicycles thanks to a program started by a local man.

A Georgia church gives away 26 bikes and 40 coats to struggling families.

Florida’s Jack the Bike Man gave away over 900 refurbished bikes on Sunday.

A bighearted Aussie six-year old boy offers to give his own bike to another child who needs it.

………

Former pro Marijn de Vries has raised allegations of sexual abuse and harassment in the Dutch cycling program.

A Bloomington IL ultra-distance cyclist is preparing to compete in next year’s 5,700 mile Red Bull Trans-Siberian Extreme race across Russia.

A 12-time Kiwi triathlon champ ignores Lance Armstrong’s past, and screaming headlines about drug cheating, to go for bike ride with the ex-Tour de France champ who’s in the country to film a commercial. Meanwhile, one writer calls him a sociopath and says no one should care if he’s in the country.

………

Local

No news is good news. Right?

 

State

A Santa Ana bike rider was the victim of a suspected gang shooting; he was hospitalized in critical condition.

Golden State Warriors Guard Shaun Livingston is a fan of Oakland’s Original Scraper Bike Team.

A Marin County town is putting bike lanes on a nearby connector road to ease congestion on a multi-use pathway, which has been the scene of a number of collisions between bicyclists and pedestrians.

 

National

After an Everett WA cyclist is hit by a car, several Good Samaritans help a police officer lift the car off him; thanks in part to their swift action, he’s expected to survive.

A Seattle bike columnist points out the need to be seen at night.

A Colorado man donates 40 acres of his own property to the public through a conservation easement that will protect the singletrack bike and hiking park he built.

The Omaha NE bikeshare program is set to double in size by 2019.

The Charleston SC newspaper says it’s time to stop stalling and build a bike lane on a key bridge over the Ashley River.

 

International

A 22-year old Irish man completes a 3,000 mile journey across the southern US from California to Florida.

British truckers fight for their right to continue cutting off bike riders.

In search of adventure, a British cyclist rides the entire 6,000 mile Iron Curtain Trail on a vintage East German shopping bike, deliberately unprepared to trace the route marking the former border between capitalist west and communist east.

Two advocacy groups merge to avoid working at cross purposes and holding back progress in a Pakistani state.

Twenty-three Indian bicyclists are riding over 900 miles from Delhi to Mumbai to call attention to human trafficking and child labor.

China’s app-based bikeshare systems are facing a problem with theft and sabotage.

The 82-year old founder of the world’s largest bike maker is stepping down after 44 years, passing the reigns of Taiwan’s Giant Manufacturing to his son and niece.

 

Finally…

It’s not a bike, it’s a born again billboard hogging the bike rack.

And if you’re going to break into a bike shop, don’t get run over by your own getaway van. And don’t drive on the damn bike path.

………

Special thanks to Mark Ganzer, Tai Wan Kim, and Michael Young for their generous donations to support this site and help bring the area’s best bike news your way every morning.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,
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