Tag Archive for Long Beach

Morning Links: Uber scoots into Hollywood, anachronistic bikes, and Nov. closure of San Gabriel River path

October 25, 2018 / / 2 comments

So this happened yesterday.

Uber has apparently made the long migration east from their new Santa Monica base to the wilds of Hollywood.

Or maybe someone just took a long ride and left one here on the sidewalk near my home.

The tag on the e-scooter, which you can read by clicking the photo below, promises up to five free one-half hour rides per day through October 28th using the Uber app.

Hopefully, if the Uber scooters really have finally made their long-promised entry into the LA scooter wars, that means Uber’s popular JUMP ebike bikeshare will soon follow.

………

Last Friday, we mentioned the frozen antique bicycle which had unexpectedly emerged from the snowy slopes of the Italian Alps. Not far from where Ötzi, the 5,000-year old frozen caveman, had emerged from his own glacial grave in 1991.

Leading to the obvious and inescapable conclusion that it might be his bike.

If obvious and inescapable can be read to mean ludicrous and anachronistic.

Yet Marvin Davis has forwarded proof, of a sort, that it may be possible after all.

Which leads us to today’s discovery of what happens when you abbreviate the year in a multi-day Google Search.

Only to discover the odd fact that not one story about bicycles was published online on Tuesday or Wednesday’s date in 18 AD.

Go figure.

………

Long Beach Mobility & Healthy Living Programs Officer Michelle Mowery sends word of yet another one-day closure of the San Gabriel River Bike Path next month.

The path will be closed from 8 am to 5 pm on Wednesday, November 14th between 2nd Street and 7th Street (California State Highway 22) for additional work by the LA Department of Public Works.

So mark your calendar, and plan on another route that day.

………

No bias here.

An indignorant writer for a Kiwi website complains about the “massive amounts of taxpayer and ratepayer money” to give supposedly freeloading bike riders “an advantage over motorists who have to pay their own way in life.”

Don’t get me wrong, recreational cycling on purpose-built cycleways, especially out in the country, is an admirable pursuit, but cycling is not a practical means of transport, and the amount of other people’s money thrown at cycling infrastructure is totally disproportionate to the number of cyclists using it.

If the cost of cycleways and special cycle lanes was reflected in a tax on new bicycles each one would cost its purchaser at least $50,000.

Never mind that the total cost of a painted bike lane runs around $50,000 a mile in the US. So evidently, he’s assuming that every bike lane will be used by just one person per mile.

Period.

He goes on to complain about a planned walkway over the Aukland harbor, insisting it will become a death trap for people on foot as spandex-clad bike riders hit speeds of 55 mph on the downhill slope.

Because that’s just what we all do.

………

Local

Santa Monica Mountains Cyclery shares a photo of a bike thief who made off with a bike from a Norwalk shop.

 

State

San Francisco bike riders will be wearing wigs and sensible heels this weekend to protest Prop 6. And those are just the men, including State Sen. Scott Wiener.

Modesto is planning a new road diet to calm traffic on one of the city’s most dangerous streets; previous road diets have actually improved traffic flow for drivers. Which is probably why Modesto NIMBYs and traffic safety deniers aren’t rising up in revolt, unlike the privileged drivers in a certain SoCal city we could name.

 

National

Bicycling offers tips on how to dress for cold winter weather, including LA’s frigid 60° temps. And explains how riding a bike can give you a healthier gut.

Meanwhile, the great bike helmet debate goes on, as a writer for Bicycling says it’s okay to not wear a helmet, adding they can help protect against some injuries, but safer streets and drivers help more.

Good idea. A Colorado Springs CO advocacy group is offering classes for people who want to learn how to drive safely around bike riders.

An Estes Park writer suggests bicycling as a practical solution to the Colorado tourist town’s chronic traffic and parking problems.

Anyone can ride across the country. A Texas man is riding in a heart shape through 13 states to show his love for the US, and see for himself how divided the country is.

A Louisville KY woman explains how mansplainers nearly made her quit bicycling, until she gave up on the trails and started riding in the local cemetery. Seriously, when it comes to advice, be a well, not a fountain; if people want advice, they’ll usually ask for it. Although someone should tell her that calling out “on your left” is a courtesy to help avoid confusion and crashes, even if some riders treat it like more of a command. 

Still more from Bicycling, as they explain how a sub-seven-mile Memphis bike lane helped transform the city, which preceded Los Angeles as a two-time loser as America’s worst city for bicycling. So maybe there’s hope for us yet.

A Pittsburgh website profiles a paraplegic rockstar, author and record-setting handcyclist.

At a time when it seems like no one is behind the wheel in Washington, it could soon be literally true.

DC will try slow zones and banning right turns at some red lights to improve safety, as the mayor attempts to reset the city’s Vision Zero; traffic deaths have already exceeded the total for all of last year.

 

International

An automotive website considers when carmakers make bikes. I’ll take the Pashley Morgan, thank you.

Seriously, don’t be that guy. A bike raging London bicyclist caused nearly $2,000 in damage by slamming his bike onto the hood of a chauffeured limo. No matter what a driver might have done, violence is never the answer, tempting though it may be.

No bias here, either. A British radio host takes London’s DOT-equivalent to task for not implementing a harebrained plan to let drivers use one of the city’s cycle superhighways at non-peak hours. It should come as no surprise that his last name is Ferrari.

An English town saw a 200% increase in bicycling after they banned cars from the city center.

The war on cars may be a myth, but but the war on bikes goes on. An Irish farmer was convicted of pushing two men off their bikes, complaining they were passing too close to where he was walking.

NPR considers how a disastrous change in service providers nearly killed the famed Paris Vélib’ bikeshare.

A new Danish study shows bicycling in your 50s and 60s can cut your risk of early death by 23%. Then again, any death before you’re ready is early.

Switch to biking, walking or taking transit in Bologna, Italy and the city will buy you a beer. Which is why this site may soon be called BikinginBologna.

An advocacy group in Malta is urging employers to fight traffic by buying bicycles for their workers — then taking it out of their salaries.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 71-year old Indian man is on his seventh ride around the world.

An Israeli professional soccer player has been indicted for the drunken hit-and-run that killed an ebike rider.

An Aussie woman is furious that she got stuck behind a group of bicyclists for awhile, complaining that they didn’t move over to let her pass. Never mind that the lane was clearly to narrow to safely share.

A Kiwi writer describes a rainy bike commute to work, which she started doing when her car’s radiator blew up six years ago. And says if someone offered her a new car today, she wouldn’t take it.

He gets it. A New Zealand writer says don’t panic, they’re only scooters.

Brisbane, Australia bike advocates call for a connected bikeway grid in the central business district after bike riders identify a mere 2,850 traffic safety problem areas.

Heartbreaking story from Thailand, where a Philippine randonneur was killed by a hit-and-run driver who ran a red light, just 31 miles from the end of a 1,250-mile race.

A short German-made film examines how Beijing is turning back to bicycles in an attempt to ease traffic and smog in the city of 21 million.

 

Competitive Cycling

Former US Postal team director Johan Bruyneel, who helped Lance win — and lose — a record-setting seven Tour de France titles, has received a well-deserved lifetime ban from cycling.

America’s other ex-Tour de France winner and current CBD peddler says cycling’s post-doping era ain’t so clean, either.

Cycling Tips says the pro cycling calendar is bloated and anti-climactic.

Good news, as 21-year old Californian former pro cyclist Adrien Costa is back on his bike, just three months after losing a leg in a Mono County climbing accident.

 

Finally…

How to not mispronounce common bike brands. Just what every bicyclist needs — $200 cherry red vinyl bike shorts with a bejeweled buckle.

And proof not all distracted drivers are drivers. Even if it was probably staged.

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

Morning Links: Uber & Lyft join Bird & Lime in SaMo, San Gabriel River path closure, and Metro bus squeeze play

August 31, 2018 / / 4 comments

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the three-day Labor Day weekend.

Which means the streets will be filled with drivers leaving work early this afternoon to get a head start on the weekend. And the drinking — and smoking — will start soon after, and continue through Monday. 

Standard holiday rules apply. Assume every driver you see on the streets is under the influence. And those who aren’t are more likely to be looking at their phones than looking for you.

So ride accordingly.

Ride your bike safely and defensively. I want to see you back here bright and early Tuesday morning. 

Photo by Michael Spadoni from pexels.com

………

Cooler heads prevailed in Santa Monica, which chose existing e-scooter providers Bird and Lime to participate in a year-long pilot program, along with newcomers Uber and Lyft.

Yes, that Uber and Lyft.

Each company will be allowed to provide up to 1,000 scooters and 2,000 ebikes in the coastal city, with 750 scooters allowed in the initial rollout.

Uber appears to be the only one of the four which currently has ebikes available with their Jump bikes. Presumably Lyft and Lime will follow suit, though it’s unclear if Bird has any interest in getting into the bikeshare business.

Let’s hope Los Angeles, which was supposed to send out cease and desist letters to both Bird and Lime this week, is paying attention.

Because this is how a smart city does it.

………

A look at data in Charlotte NC shows that on a level playing field, dockless e-scooters are kicking dockless bikeshare’s ass, with nearly four times as many trips taken on scooters.

However, that could change once e-bikeshare is added to the mix.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg takes a look at Uber’s new Jump scooter.

………

Mark your calendar if you ride the San Gabriel River Bike Path in Long Beach.

The city is working with the Los Angeles Department of Public Works on a plans for a one-day closure of the bike path between 2nd Street and 7th Street (California State Highway 22) next month.

The closure is tentatively set for September 17, 2018 from 8 am to 5 pm; plans should be finalized in another week or two.

Thanks to Long Beach Mobility & Healthy Living Programs Officer Michelle Mowery for the heads-up.

………

CiclaValley got caught in a squeeze play with a Metro Bus in DTLA. Something that should never, ever happen.

Period.

………

Local

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton says the MyFigueroa project opened to muted applause, thanks to too many compromises and what ended up as just a semi-protected bike lane, due to a lack of political support and opportunities for public involvement.

Speaking of Streetsblog, Joe Linton notices LA’s incredible disappearing sharrows on 4th Street, and Rosewood Ave. Personally, I consider sharrows a failed experiment; used correctly, they’re good for wayfinding and positioning riders outside the door zone, but little else.

The LACBC’s monthly Sunday Funday ride will meet up with twenty immigration rights advocates riding from Seattle to San Diego for a tour of Long Beach this Sunday.

A Santa Clarita magazine says the city’s Heads Up safety campaign may be working, with collisions down 12% over the first five months of this year.

Writing for the Long Beach Post, Brian Addison suggests the planned expansion of the 710 Freeway won’t be good for the surrounding communities. Or for people on foot or bikes, despite the promises.

 

State

The California legislature has passed AB 2989, which will limit dockless e-scooters to 15 mph, and remove the ridiculous helmet requirement. Now it’s on to the governor’s desk, where we have to worry whether we’ll get Jerry Browned once again.

Streetsblog urges a no vote on Prop 6, which would remove the state’s new gas tax to pay for desperately needed roadway repairs, calling it “an incoherent and childish effort to distract you from Donald Trump.”

A San Diego website recommends the top four things to do on an ebike in the city.

Life is cheap in San Luis Obispo, where a distracted driver walks with probation and community service in the death of a world-class triathlete, thanks in part to the kindness and forgiveness of the victim’s family. Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up.

San Francisco will bring back e-scooters after a four month ban, but gives the contracts to a couple of firms most scooter users have never heard of.

A columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle looks at the arrest of Rich City Rides founder Najari Smith for playing his music too loud and allegedly resisting arrest while leading a group ride, aka Biking While Black. His supporters will rally for Smith at a court hearing scheduled for this morning on the noise violation charge. No doubt he’ll be surrounded by countless drivers arrested in Oakland for bumping loud music from their cars. Right?

Frustration boiled over at a meeting to discuss the death of an Oakland man who was killed in a collision while riding his bike, as family members complained about a lack of information and the slow pace of the investigation.

 

National

Bike lawyer Bob Mionske starts a conversation on legal liability for group rides.

The booming popularity of ebikes is outpacing attempts to regulate them, as only 10 states have passed legislation to reclassify them. One of those ten is California, which should get credit for pioneering the regulations the others have copied.

Bike Snob goes e-scooting in Portland, and finds them “both highly convenient and laughably benign.” And wonder’s what’s not to like.

Ride carefully out there. A Baltimore bike rider is in critical condition after a collision with another bicyclist.

No bias here. After two bike riders are killed in separate hit-and-runs in a matter of hours in a Kentucky town, the local police urge riders to wear helmets and hi-viz instead of telling drivers not to hit people, and if they do, stop.

In an attempt to keep dockless bikeshare bikes from cluttering the sidewalks, DC makes the situation worse by requiring that they be locked to a bike rack or street sign at the end of each ride, which will greatly reduce the amount of available bike parking for everyone else.

A bicyclist is passing through Louisiana on her way to Key West in an attempt to be the first woman with a prosthetic leg to bike across the US.

After a Lousiana city councilman was killed when his bike was run down from behind by a negligent driver, the parish where the crash occurred naturally responds with a series of punitive, victim-blaming proposals aimed at the people on two wheels, instead of the ones in the big, dangerous machines.

 

International

No bias here, either. A British Columbia letter writer says no one uses the new bike lanes, and those who do are usually towing carts full of stolen goods.

An Alberta letter writer patiently explains that when a bike rider hits a dog, or anything else, they’re more likely to fall over than ride away.

Ottawa police stress that a woman was injured when she fell on her own while riding on a separated bike lane, and hit a passing truck when she fell. If someone can fall off their bike and hit another vehicle, it’s passing too damn close. And it could have been the close pass that caused her to fall.

A suspect has been arrested in the ebike hit-and-run that left a London woman critically injured as she was trying to cross the street. Security cam video clearly shows the victim dart out into the path of the rider, something that has been left out of the previous press reports. Just like with many motor vehicle crashes, if the bike rider had remained at the scene, there probably wouldn’t have been any charges. Or hysterical tabloid stories, for that matter.

A heroic Brit jumped into a moving van and wrestled the driver’s feet of the pedals to stop him after he ran over a bike rider, then led bystanders in pushing the van up a hill to get it off the victim, who was hospitalized in serious but stable condition.

It’s three years behind bars for an English driver who critically injured two bike riders because he was having an argument with his girlfriend — via video chat while driving.

Like most early car makers, Britain’s Aston Martin was founded by bicyclists. Which means James Bond could have been one of us, too.

A UK letter writer brings out every cliche in the book to call bicyclists an “absolute menace.”

British advocacy group Cycling UK calls on the government to address a fear of cycling, as a new study shows fears about road safety is the main reason that keeps people off their bikes.

A new French study looks at whether there’s really any benefit to drafting uphill. And concludes there’s more than they thought.

Another ride to add to your bike bucket list — traveling from the German birthplace of the bicycle to the gateway to the Black Forest. Then again, word is the Netherlands isn’t bad, either.

A business writer says South Africans are becoming addicted to overseas cycling events.

An Australian study says it could save the country $380 million dollars a year if motor vehicle occupants all wore bicycle helmets. Remember that if a driver gets on your case for not wearing one. And before you get on mine, yes, I always wear a helmet when I ride, but believe grownups should be able to make that decision for themselves.

A Chinese volunteer teaching in Africa took the long way home, riding nearly 10,000 miles from Benin to the Forbidden Kingdom.

 

Competitive Cycling

A Kiwi cyclist reports he got death threats after getting angry with a teammate while winning gold in mountain biking at the Commonwealth Games earlier this year.

In today’s mostly spoiler-free Vuelta event, a rider goes from last place to first in the space of 24 hours.

 

Finally…

If it’s divided from the roadway, pained green and has little pictures of a bicycle stenciled on it, it may not be intended for motor vehicles. Sharrows do not a bike boulevard make.

And when you can’t remember the name of the foreign dignitary visiting your country, just call him “the bicycle guy.”

 

 

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

Morning Links: Cooler heads in the e-scooters debate, improving MyFig, and parking in a protected bike lane

August 29, 2018 / / One comment

Here are a couple of the smartest takes on the great e-scooters debate I’ve seen yet.

LA’s own CD15 Councilmember Joe Buscaino penned a great Op-Ed for the Los Angeles Daily News, in which he pointed out the real problem on our streets.

And it ain’t scooters.

Most of those concerned cited safety as their primary issue with dockless scooters- they disrupt traffic when ridden in traffic lanes, cause conflict when taken on the sidewalk by scofflaw riders, and cause accessibility issues when parked in all kinds of inappropriate places.

I understand these sentiments, because I see all the same issues on our streets and sidewalks — with cars. Cars clog our streets everyday in traffic jams which are only made worse when collisions occur. I see cars parked on the sidewalk and on front lawns all the time.

The worst part about cars is the manner in whic*h people are severely injured or even killed due to vehicle collisions. This isn’t some abstract problem — we have good hard evidence that children in America are twice as likely to die in traffic collisions relative to other affluent nations. Traffic collisions are the leading cause of death for children ages 2-14 in Los Angeles.

So while I get the concern for safety on scooters, it strikes me as misplaced to blame the scooters rather than the 4,000-pound steel machines that are actually hurting people.

It’s definitely worth reading the whole thing. And maybe remembering his name when Eric Garcetti is termed out as mayor in 2022.

In another great take, a writer for a governing website says cars cause all the same problems that people complain about e-scooters causing, but scooters don’t pose a risk to others. And smart planners will make room for them.

An Oakland panel discussion tackles the topic of e-scooters, saying they pose the potential to divert drivers for short trips up to three miles, and could be the key to getting safe bike lanes.

And an Op-Ed in the LA Times says let tech solve the problem of e-scooters.

Photo shamelessly borrowed from the Bird website.

………

As we’ve mentioned a few times, the long-delayed MyFigueroa project is finally getting an official unveiling on Thursday, after nearly a decade of planning and too many compromises.

Which have left some people ecstatic over the new protected bikeway, and others wondering why the city even bothered.

Fortunately, the LACBC and other bike advocates have made progress in addressing those complaints directly with LADOT.

Here’s what Michael MacDonald of Bike the Vote LA had to say.

We’ve been working behind the scenes in dialog with our local representatives and LADOT about the concerns that many have communicated in this group and on Twitter. We still have work to do, but we’ve made some significant progress that I wanted to share.

Most notably, those of you who visit 7th and Figueroa should find that the ‘beg buttons’ are gone. There are still pedestrian buttons at this intersection, but they aren’t mandatory in order to receive a green walk signal. Similarly, by Thursday the bike signals at Olympic and 9th St should default to a green light on every signal cycle.

We’re hoping to continue to make some progress on the signal design, illegal parking in the bike lane, and improving the look and feel of bike infrastructure to be something that people of all ages and abilities can use comfortably.

If you care about this project — and I believe all in this group do — I would encourage you to attend the opening event on Thursday morning.

Hope to see you there.

 

And this is how LADOT responded to the complaints, in addition to offering a detailed explanation of what was done and why.

Based on community comments, LADOT has made these adjustments to MyFigueroa:

  • Added bollards in areas where the bike lanes are generally unprotected and do not operate with bicycle signals, and for more physical separation and to discourage vehicles from stopping in the bike lane to load or unload or to park illegally
  • Allowed for better signal progression and reduced travel time for bicyclists by adjusting signal timing and instituting rest-in-red for the bicycle and right turn signal indicators
  • Extended the MyFig project north to facilitate a continuous protected northbound bike lane from 11th Street to Wilshire Boulevard (bike lane previously became unprotected at 8th Street and terminated at 7th Street) to allow for a more robust connection to bike lanes on 7th Street and the bike lane on Figueroa Street which continues to Cesar E. Chavez Avenue/Sunset Boulevard

………

Richard Rosenthal forwards word that Long Beach has installed a much needed parking-protected bike lane on Bellflower Blvd.

But not everyone seems to have gotten the memo.

Although you’d think the bike symbol right behind his car might have been a clue.

………

CicLAvia is holding a meeting to discuss the next event on September 30th, which will end in my figurative backyard.

………

LAPD Sgt. Helper has more than lived up to his name, going out of his way to help LA’s bicycling community.

Now it’s our turn to repay him.

A bike cop and bicyclist himself, Helper is raising funds to ride in next year’s Police Unity Tour to honor fallen officers and raise funds for a National Law Enforcement Officer’s Memorial and Museum.

In other words, a good guy riding his bike to raise funds for a great cause. If that doesn’t make you open your wallet and make a donation, I don’t know what will.

And yes, I may be broke these days. But I still managed to scrape a little together to help him out.

………

Local

Now it makes a more sense. Yesterday we linked to a story saying the Gabriel National Recreation Trail was reopening this weekend thanks to the efforts of volunteers. But make that the popular Gabrielino Trail singletrack path through the Angeles National Forest.

TMZ reports actress Maura Tierney appeared to be okay a day after she was hit by a driver while riding in the Washington Blvd bike lane in Marina del Rey, as a paparazzo catches her walking gingerly near her home. Just be glad you don’t have photographers waiting in the bushes outside your door after your next crash.

Bellflower is looking for input as they develop a new active transportation plan. Thanks to Bike SGV for the link.

 

State

No news is good news. Right?

 

National

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on, as a Utah endurance cyclist was the victim of a jerk in a truck rolling coal — and they have a photograph to prove it. But the state police apparently don’t give a damn.

This is who we share the roads with. A Colorado Springs CO news team was lucky to survive when they were nearly run down by a driver while reporting live from a crime scene — even though they were standing in a bike lane. Or maybe because they were in a bike lane. Thanks to Jeff Vaughn for the heads-up.

A Fargo ND city commissioner calls for raising bicycle traffic tickets from $5 to $20, saying traffic infractions committed on a bike should be treated the same as those committed in a motor vehicle. Because bikes pose just as much risk to others as cars and SUVs, right? And if they’re charging drivers just $20, something is seriously wrong. 

A San Antonio company is offering ebike conversion kits to transform your ride into an up to 30 mph speedster for a mere $800 to $1,200.

This is why people continue to die on our streets. An Indiana man got a gentle caress on the wrist for running down a bike rider while high on methadone, leaving his victim seriously injured. Somehow, the judge was convinced to allow him to serve the paltry one year sentence at home, despite two prior convictions.

The NYPD is targeting delivery riders for using illegal throttle-controlled ebikes, rather than ticketing the companies they work for — even though the law clearly says the employer is responsible.

The New York driver who left a car parked in a bike lane with a note saying it predated the lane explained himself, saying the bike lane was painted around the car two days after he left on a weeklong vacation.

You’ve got to be kidding. A DC police spokesperson calls dead pedestrians lazy for getting killed by drivers, and the unquestioning local ABC affiliate runs with the demonstrably false story.

 

International

Vox talks with Chris and Melissa Bruntlett, the couple behind Vancouver’s Modacity, and authors of Building the Cycling City: The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality.

Nova Scotia businesses are discovering the benefits of catering to bike tourists.

Chinese dockless bikeshare company Mobike is bringing their new ebikes to the streets of London to offer “sweat-free cycling.”

It’s happened again. A London bicyclist fled the scene after critically injuring a woman in a collision as she was crossing the street; police found his abandoned bike a mile away. Just to be clear, people on bikes, scooters, skateboards or anything else have just as much responsibility to remain at the scene and help a victim as drivers do, but too often don’t. So just stop already.

A British HuffPo writer says you shouldn’t listen to pro cyclists about the helmet debate, noting that bicycling is safer than walking.

Now that’s how you make a point. Two weeks after the Lord Mayor of Dublin was caught parking his official car in a bike lane, Irish bicyclists gave him a new bike so he can use the lane legally next time.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 97-year old Dutchman rides his bike to old folks homes to play piano five days a week. Of course, that means I’d have to learn to play one.

It was a dark and stormy night. A bike tour in a Mumbai suburb gives riders a thrill with scary stories as they travel the city on two wheels.

A New Zealand city see sharrows as the bicycling solution to narrow streets and parked cars.

Caught on video: A New Zealand security camera captured a bike-riding boy getting hit by a van driver; fortunately, he wasn’t seriously injured. As always with videos like this, be sure it’s really something you want to see before you click the link, because you can’t unsee it.

Caught on video too: A pair of helmet-less bicyclists ride through an Aussie freeway tunnel on bikeshare bikes, apparently changing their mind halfway through and jumping on a ledge before transportation workers pick them up.

 

Competitive Cycling

Three-time national road champ Megan Guarnier announced her retirement from pro cycling after next month’s world championships. Her eleven-year career included wins in the Giro Rosa, Tour of California and Emakumeen Saria, as well as this year’s Women’s Tour de Yorkshire; she’s leaving to pursue an MD/PhD in neuroscience.

Screw spoilers. Popular American cyclist Ben King made his mark on the Vuelta, winning Tuesday’s stage in a sprint to the finish after what ended up as a two-man breakaway.

The folding of the Aqua Blue Sport Continental cycling team means there’s now another 15 riders and support staff looking for work.

Former Jelly Belly and US team member Corey Steinbrecher says he’s glad he raced clean; he’s now a resident at a Tennessee hospital after graduating medical school.

 

Finally…

At least we don’t have to dodge tigers. Maybe there’s an explanation for LA drivers after all.

And why did the chicken cross the road? Apparently to creep out and harass kids on the way to school.

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

35-year old San Pedro man killed in Long Beach collision Thursday morning

August 3, 2018 / / 2 comments

A San Pedro man rode his new e-bike to work for just the second time yesterday.

And the last.

According to the Long Beach Post, 35-year old Ben Rael — described by his brother as having “the biggest damn heart you can imagine” — had saved up for six months to buy the bike he lost his life riding.

The Press-Telegram reports Rael was riding west on the south sidewalk on 7th Street approaching Martin Luther King Jr. Ave around 6:35 am Thursday. Witnesses say he rode off the sidewalk and into the street against traffic, and was immediately struck by the driver of a large pickup.

Rael was apparently thrown into the back of the truck, where the driver performed CPR until paramedics arrived; he died after being taken to a nearby hospital.

Police said alcohol was not a factor.

However, damage to the truck, and Rael’s shattered bicycle, suggest that speed may have been. It’s possible that the driver may have been speeding, or that Rael may have been traveling at a high speed when they hit head on.

Or both.

Either could explain why he apparently rode out directly into the path of an oncoming truck, which is the lingering question in explaining what happened.

This is at least the 28th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 13th in Los Angeles County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Ben Rael and all his family and loved ones.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

Morning Links: Koretz proposes ban on e-scooters in Los Angeles, and keeping drivers on the road until it’s too late

August 1, 2018 / / 6 comments

In a move that probably shouldn’t have surprised anyone, LA’s self-proclaimed environmentalist councilmember has called for a temporary ban on dockless e-scooters.

Yes, Paul Koretz, the councilmember who singlehandedly blocked desperately needed bike lanes on Westwood Blvd — as well as on other major corridors throughout the Westside — has taken action to force people of their e-scooters and back into their cars, rather than allowing a viable first mile/last mile solution to take root.

This is the same councilman who has called for a Climate Emergency Mobilization Department. Yet can’t seem to see the logical disconnect in fighting alternative forms of transportation while paying lip service to climate change.

Then again, he doesn’t seem to see any problem with blocking increased density, either.

Evidently, he’s all for emergency action to address climate change, as long as it’s in someone else’s district.

Never mind that, as someone else pointed out, blocking bike lanes is just climate change denial in action.

Then there’s this disconnect, from the report by KFI radio.

“When we had a hearing in our Transportation Committee, at the time I had seen about three of them and I thought it wasn’t a big deal,” Koretz said. “I’ve probably seen a thousand since just on Beverly Boulevard where I live, and 100 percent have no helmet usage. … I’ve seen probably 20 go by with double on the scooter, which is very dangerous. On the commercial streets, everyone is illegally on the sidewalk.”

Which was followed by,

As for the public’s reaction, Koretz said he believed most residents want the scooters off the streets. He said his office has receive hundreds of complaints about them in recent weeks.

Yes, that is the scientific way to gauge public opinion, especially since people who support the scooters aren’t likely to call to say so without some compelling reason.

Like a stupid proposal to ban them, for instance.

And how is it that “hundreds of complaints” somehow outweighs thousands of users — by his own observation?

As for Koretz’ “better safe than sorry” concerns, there’s this from the Hollywood Reporter’s overview of the response, legal and otherwise, to e-scooters in the LA area.

Scooters have shown to pose safety hazards while operational and parked. According to injury attorney Catherine Lerer of L.A.’s McGee Lerer & Associates, who has written extensively about electric scooters, the top two seen in her office are people hurt when a scooter malfunctions — when a brake line is cut by disgruntled L.A. residents, for instance, or the scooter’s main post collapses — and pedestrians tripping over the scooters. “I’ve gotten calls from elderly people exiting businesses…people leave them right outside the front door,” Lerer notes.

Doesn’t exactly sound like a disaster in the making. Especially when one of the leading causes of injuries is sabotage by scooter-hating NIMBY terrorists.

The proposal was seconded by San Fernando Valley Councilmember Mitch Englander, who has also proposed a ban on dockless bikeshare until the city can work out a permitting process.

This follows the misguided bans on e-scooters in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills; the latter banning even riding bikeshare bikes or e-scooters through the city, which most likely violates state law.

Of course, this kind of hysteria about a new form of transportation is nothing new.

And something tells me Koretz would have been one of the first to call for a ban on bicycles had he lived in the 1890s. Although he probably would have been fine with the Model T chasing everyone else off the roads.

Of course, Los Angeles could take a more rational approach, like working with Lime and Bird to address any issues while they work the bugs out, as Culver City and Long Beach are doing.

But that would make too much sense.

Especially for an environmentalist who seems determined to keep Angelenos in their smog and greenhouse gas-belching cars.

https://twitter.com/LAMetroBlueLine/status/1024492126694866944

………

As long as we’re talking about e-scooters and dockless bikeshare, let’s look at a few more stories on the subject.

Curbed offers everything you need to know about renting e-scooters and dockless bikeshare in Los Angeles. While you still can, that is.

When a Portland-area website went fishing for complaints about e-scooters, what they got were complaints about cars.

And a St. Louis website gives Lime scooters a test ride, and comes back with 13 things they learned. Including that they’re fun as, well, you get the idea.

………

This is who we share the roads with.

Life is cheap in British Columbia, where a driver gets just 45 days behind bars for killing a van driver while speeding, tailgating and driving recklessly — despite receiving 40 tickets over the last 20 years.

And a Tuskegee University football player will never play the game again, after his leg was severed when a friend’s car he was helping to jump was hit by a driver with a “criminal history dating to 1989 (that) ‘shows a pattern of driving offenses and felony arrests.'”

Just two more examples of authorities keeping dangerous drivers on the road until it’s too late.

………

More on the American couple killed in a terrorist attack in Tajikistan on Sunday, who had quit their jobs to bike around the world.

The couple from Washington, DC had written about their trip on a blog that sadly will never be finished.

And authorities blamed the attack on members of the blacklisted Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan.

………

Local

As we noted last week, fresh green bike lanes are finally going down on Santa Monica Blvd in the former Biking Black Hole of Beverly Hills, which had fought the lanes for nearly a decade before surprisingly embracing them last year.

Today Santa Clarita sheriff’s deputies will step up enforcement of traffic violations that put bicyclists and pedestrians at risk, regardless of who commits them. So ride to the letter of the law until you leave their jurisdiction.

 

State

A Cambrian man accidentally became the first bike rider to travel Highway 1 in Big Sur after it reopened last month.

San Francisco approves plans for a curb-protected bike lane the promises to be the safest in the city.

Sad news from Del Norte County, where the CHP is looking for a hit-and-run driver who killed a woman as she rode her bike; the victim wasn’t carrying ID and still hasn’t been identified. One more reminder to always carry some form of identification when you ride; I never leave home without my RoadID, which doubles as a medic alert bracelet.

 

National

A writer for Forbes says cities must take advantage of the opportunities presented by bikeshare.

Bloomberg says Uber and Lyft may not be the solution to traffic congestion, but they’re probably not the cause, either.

Bicycling profiles BMX star Nigel Sylvester, saying the “rebellious superstar is breaking all the rules,” and doesn’t need your permission, thank you.

A writer for Fox News blames “big-spending liberals” for pushing Seattle bike lane and streetcar projects that have been plagued with cost overruns.

A Washington writer gets a detailed education in why many bicyclists prefer to ride on the highway, when there’s a perfectly good bike path nearby. Which should be required reading for planners before they’re allowed to design any offroad path.

Evidently, Los Angeles isn’t the only city where councilmembers have the power to block bike lanes. A Chicago bike rider was killed when he was doored on a street that was supposed to have a protected bike lane, which was halted by the local alderman.

After Ofo pulled out of White Plains NY, they donated over 100 bike for use by low income families.

An Albany NY TV station raises concerns about the structural integrity of an old railroad bridge that now used by over “200,000 bike riders, joggers and dog walkers” every year.

Charlotte NC is planning its first two-way, protected cycle track.

 

International

Curbed looks at 14 gorgeous carfree cities around the world. Anyone one of which I’m just about ready to move to. Although bike riding on the Venice canals might be a bit of a challenge.

No surprise here, as a study shows the noxious fumes in London’s air disappeared during the annual carfree Ride London event.

A British lawyer who calls himself Mr. Loophole suggests revising the country’s traffic laws, including requiring all bike riders to pass a proficiency test, and have their bicycles inspected annually for safety violations (aka an MoT, or Ministry of Transport exam).

Talk about lessons not learned. Bike Biz reprints a speech in the British parliament that calls for a revival of bicycling in the national interest — which was given sixty years ago. And clearly not acted on.

Egyptians are being encouraged to leave their cars behind in an effort to spread bicycle culture throughout the country.

Shimano has apparently overcome the losses from the factory fire in Japan earlier this year, with sales up 6.8%.

 

Competitive Cycling

Forbes calls bicycle racing the best sport to combine spectating and active participation.

A French newspaper calls for a budget cap for pro cycling teams following Team Sky’s dominating performance in the Tour de France; the president of cycling’s governing body calls for limiting teams to a maximum of six riders instead.

After successful surgery to repair a fractured vertebrae suffered during the Tour, Vincenzo Nibali hopes to return in time for the Vuelta a España later this month.

VeloNews talks with a sports psychologist about whether the abuse Team Sky riders suffered from fans during the Tour had any effect. Apparently not, since they led most of the way and placed two riders on the podium; cutting back on salbutamol probably had a bigger effect on Chris Froome.

Speaking of VeloNews, the magazine also talks with the head of the Dimension Data team about his efforts to build an African team; while several African riders have competed on the WorldTour with the team, no black African has yet won a stage at the highest levels.

And completing our VeloNews trilogy, the magazine offers a beautiful photo essay of the Tour de France from the Pyrenees to Paris.

A 60-year old Australian woman won the masters mountain bike world championships just one day after suffering a major crash.

 

Finally…

Evidently, the more bikes change, the more they look the same. Doing the Tour de France without a bicycle.

And sometimes, doing the right thing gets rewarded.

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

Morning Links: Bike-related SoCal shootings, bad MyFig bike signals, and drunken victim blaming by PBS

July 6, 2018 / / One comment

It’s been a violent few days in Southern California.

Tragic story from Santa Ana, where a woman collecting recyclables was barely able to get off her bike in time before a truck slammed into it early yesterday. Only to discover the driver was already dead or dying from a gunshot wound; police are unsure where or how he got shot.

And man was shot as he and a woman were riding their bicycles on the LA River bike path in Long Beach on Wednesday. Although given the date, it’s possible it could have been caused by some idiot firing a gun into the air to celebrate the 4th.

………

Michael MacDonald, aka topomodesto, offers a scathing indictment of the bike traffic signals on the new MyFigueroa bike lanes.

https://twitter.com/topomodesto/status/1014881629397921792

The response from LADOT simply says they’re still fine-tuning the street.

………

Today’s must-read is a powerful op-ed from a pair of Toronto bicyclists and political science professors, who say it’s anarchy on the streets for the city’s cyclists.

An affluent city in which the act of riding a bike means our parents, partners, children and friends can die violent deaths is a travesty. A police force that won’t protect us should be ashamed. A legal system that won’t punish offenders is a farce. City councillors who won’t allocate funds to protect lives should be pushed out of office.

Until the city asserts its proper authority, the act of cycling in Toronto will remain a nasty, brutish and deadly experience.

Much of which applies to Los Angeles, as well. From a legal system that too often lets deadly drivers off with a slap on the wrist — if they get charged at all — to councilmembers who don’t just refuse to fund projects, but actually halt already funded safety projects.

And who should be pushed out here as well if they refuse to protect the lives and safety of their constituents, and anyone else who uses the streets of this city.

………

On the other hand, PBS NewsHour offers an incredibly wrong-headed report blaming drunk pedestrians for the rise in pedestrian deaths.

Not distracted drivers. Or even poorly designed SUVs.

A third of pedestrians killed in crashes in 2016 were over the legal limit, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That’s nearly 2,000 people — up more than 300 since 2014.

“Those numbers are pretty shocking,” said Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, which represents state highway safety offices. “We think this is a big problem.”

Sure.

Except there is no legal limit for walking, because unlike operating a deadly two-ton machine, drinking doesn’t significantly impair moving your feet unless you get stumbling, falling down drunk.

Never mind that the report doesn’t specify how many of those intoxicated pedestrians were actually at fault, or did anything to contribute to their demise other than simply being there.

And it doesn’t mention how many of those deaths were actually caused by a lack of safe sidewalks and crosswalks that may have forced victims out into the street. Other than to suggest you should walk a quarter mile in each direction to get to a safe crossing rather than simply run across the street, like most people would do, drunk or sober.

Let alone the simple fact that if one-third of the victims were under the influence, that means the overwhelming majority weren’t.

We could spend hours picking this one apart.

But let’s just say this story is an incredible, stinking example victim-blaming windshield bias.

And PBS should be ashamed of it.

………

Local

KPCC says LeBron could use the new MyFigueroa bike lane to get to Staples Center, except it’s full of parked cars.

 

State

A San Diego TV station explains how the city’s new bike boxes improve safety for bicyclists.

Now living in Los Gatos, mountain biking legend Juliana Furtado speaks out about the risk of suicide and depression, saying she’s lucky to have survived the disease that took the lives of her mother and older sister.

San Francisco-based Spin is bailing on bikes, and getting onboard the dockless e-scooter craze.

A Sonoma County Facebook group is teaming together to help recover stolen bicycles.

Sad news from Santa Rosa, where a man was killed in a crash with two hit-and-run drivers while riding his bike to see his kids; one of the drivers was arrested four miles away.

 

National

That car exhaust you suck in when you ride might be putting you at greater risk for diabetes. It’s frightening to think I might not have inherited my adult-onset diabetes from my mother after all, but gotten it from 30 plus years of riding in traffic instead.

A writer for Forbes says if you want to stay safe on the streets, you need to get radar taillight. Meanwhile, SoCal pro cyclist Coryn Rivera lists the gear she says you need to stay safe on a road bike.

A local magazine says sprawling, auto-centric Dallas could become a bike city. And if Big D can do it, so can Los Angeles.

A Detroit man is spending his weekends on his bike to photograph the city’s street art.

A Michigan court ordered a new trial over a $1 million judgement in the death of a six-year old boy who was killed riding his bike on a fairgrounds trail, after the fairgrounds argued the boy’s father was to blame for letting him ride there.

An Indiana bike rider was hit by a car, which apparently didn’t have a driver. And despite the statements from a bystander blaming the victim for not having a helmet — and who doesn’t think bikes belong on the road — a witness to the crash says a helmet wouldn’t have kept him from getting run down from behind. Thanks to Melissa McCurley for the heads-up.

Instead of making bridges safe for bike riders — or even legal, for that matter — Newport RI is now offering to drive them across the bridges on shuttle buses.

A Buffalo NY bike rider who refers to himself in the second person does the highly flawed math, and says streets aren’t wide enough for bike lanes.

New York is making plans to fix a scary gap in the city’s bike network. Meanwhile, most of LA’s bike network is a scary gap.

Philly bicyclists demand that drivers stop parking in bike lanes. Meanwhile, an op-ed says the way to build a better Philadelphia is to design it for everyone from 8 to 80.

Baton Rouge LA bike advocates say their best hope for changing the city’s bike unfriendly nature died along with a city councilmember who was run down from behind while riding his bike last week.

 

International

Horrifying video from Vancouver, where a bike rider gets right hooked by a massive gas tanker truck, which proceeds to run over her bicycle just as she jumps to safety.

Great advice for motorists from a Yukon columnist, who says drivers are responsible for 90% of crashes with bicyclists.

Good advice from the CBC in Winnipeg on how to avoid having your bike stolen. And how to avoid buying a hot one.

Guardian readers recommend ten European trips to add to your bike bucket list.

A UK writer ranks every type of bike rider from worst to least worst, saying there’s no such thing as an actively good cyclist. Even though she professes to write from the perspective of one.

 

Competitive Cycling

American Tejay van Garderen won’t be competing to win the Tour de France; instead he’ll be riding in support of team leader Richie Porte.

SB Nation says the Tour de France is a parade of dreams, and every moment of the tour is the highlight of someone’s life.

A new biography of America’s last remaining Tour de France winner credits Berkeley with spawning the modern bicycle-racing boom.

Seven TdF teams will be sucking down their $33 a bottle ketones sports drinks during this year’s race.

A group of women cyclists are riding the full Tour de France route one day ahead of the men competing in the race, while still contending with traffic and other inconveniences. But sure, let’s go ahead and pretend women can’t handle long stage races or difficult courses.

Good profile from Peter Flax, who says world road champ Peter Sagan is an enigma wrapped in rainbow stripes.

This is what happens to cyclists with questionable test results who don’t have Chris Froome’s money or Team Sky’s lawyers.

Now you, too, can own your very own Tour de France bike for a mere twelve grand.

The 805 Thousand Oaks Grand Prix rolls this weekend.

 

Finally…

Oh sure, anyone can ride around the world on two wheels. Actually, Khloe Kardashian doesn’t look a bit like she’s competing in the Tour de France, or any other bike race.

And no need to what until you stop, just grill your food while you ride.

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

Victim identified in Long Beach bicycling double hit-and-run last weekend

March 9, 2018 / / 2 comments

Somehow, we missed this one last weekend.

Friday morning, the LA County Coroner’s office released the name of a hit-and-run victim who was killed while riding a bike in Long Beach last Saturday.

Long Beach police officers discovered 24-year old San Pedro resident Cole Micek lying on the Terminal Island Freeway at Pier A Way around 3 am last Saturday.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Micek’s identification was delayed because he wasn’t carrying any ID.

According to the Long Beach police, he was struck by two drivers, both of whom fled the scene. They’re looking for white 2015-17 Toyota Camry, as well as a late-1990s Honda Accord with a dark hood and a sunroof.

Anyone with information about the crash was asked to call Long Beach Police Detective Sirilo Garcia at 562/570-7355 or Crime Stoppers at 800/222-8477.

This is the tenth bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth in Los Angeles County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Cole Micek and all his family and loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

Update: Two young bike riders struck in Long Beach crosswalk; teenage boy killed

November 9, 2017 / / 14 comments

It’s tragic enough when anyone is needlessly killed in a crash.

Worse when it’s a child. Especially one who doesn’t appear to have done anything wrong.

The Long Beach Post reports that a boy in his early teens was killed while riding his bike in the city Thursday afternoon.

According to the paper, the boy was riding with a preteen girl, headed east in the crosswalk on Conant Street at Woodruff Ave at 3:55 pm, when they were both struck by a driver turning left off westbound Conant onto Woodruff Ave.

They were taken to a local hospital, where the boy passed away. The girl remains hospitalized in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries.

Neither victim has been publicly identified.

The driver stayed at the scene.

This is the 57th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 25th in Los Angeles County.

It’s also the third bicycling death in Long Beach this year, and at least the 13th since 2011.

Update: According to the Long Beach Report, the two victims were  waiting on the sidewalk to cross Woodruff on their bikes, and didn’t enter the crosswalk until the light turned green. The driver turned into them as they were riding across the street.

Anyone with information is urged to call LBPD Collision Investigation Detail Detective Brian Watt at 562/570-7355.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.

 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , ,

Update: Bike rider killed in North Long Beach collision; 17th rider killed in Los Angeles County this year

August 31, 2017 / / 2 comments

The Press-Telegram is reporting that a bike rider was killed in North Long Beach this morning.

According to the paper, the victim was struck by a car Downey Ave at La Jara Street around 9:45 am.

The rider, who has not been publicly identified, reportedly turned onto the street diagonally, putting him directly into the path of the oncoming car.

A police spokesperson says the victim saw the car at the last moment, but was struck as both he and the driver tried to avoid the crash.

He died at the scene.

A street view shows two lanes in each direction on Downey with a center left turn lane, and a parallel access road on either side.

It’s unclear where the rider would have entered the road at a diagonal angle. It’s possible he may have come off a side street intending to turn at La Jara, or vice versa, but that is just speculation.

It’s also questionable why he wouldn’t have seen the driver, since Downey offers an unobstructed view in both directions. As well as who told police he tried to avoid the crash after seeing the driver at the last minute.

It’s impossible to know what he may have seen and when, since he’s unable to give his side of the story. Or just what his actions were as a result unless they were observed by independent witnesses.

This is the 37th bicycling fatality in Southern California, and the 17th in Los Angeles County this year. And it’s at least the 13th bicycling death in Long Beach since 2010.

Update: The Press-Telegram has identified the victim as 54-year old Long Beach resident John Anthony Holland.

According to the paper, Holland was struck while riding northwest across northbound Downey Ave between Hedda and La Jara streets.

The driver reportedly moved into the right lane to avoid Holland at the same time Holland made a U-turn to his right, putting him directly into the path of the car.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for John Anthony Holland and his loved ones. 

Category: Bicycle Safety, Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Playa del Rey task force unveiled, a call to block Long beach road diet, and new Crypto Cycles film

August 21, 2017 / / One comment

Councilmember Mike Bonin has followed up on his promise to create a task force to study the Playa del Rey road diets.

He named a panel of 20 people to the Playa del Rey Safer Streets Task Force, charged with determining if the lane reductions should stay in place. And what other changes, if any, should be made to improve safety in the beachfront community.

The panel is made up of local residents and business people, including those for and against the recent changes.

Although it’s notable that only Peter Flax is identified by his means of transportation; evidently, it’s just assumed that everyone else drives.

You know, like normal people.

Meanwhile, the Easy Reader News offers one of the most in-depth examinations of the controversy to date, as South Bay residents continue to expect everyone else to pay the price for their unsustainable single-occupant commutes.

……….

A “longtime Long Beach resident” appears to have taken the wrong lesson from the Vista del Mar fiasco, saying LA’s portside neighbor should learn from LA and cancel the planned Broadway bike lanes.

Long Beach really wants to be Amsterdam, where bicycles rule. But we live in Southern California, where distances between home and work are often great, good public transportation is essentially non-existent, and temperatures are often in the 80s and 90s (and it’s getting hotter every year).

Apparently, our council imagines if we destroy our main traffic arteries, those streets will just go “poof,” cars will disappear and lanes will magically fill up with air-conditioned, long-distance commuter bicycles.

Yes, because those moderate temperatures are just too hot for humans to endure. Especially with those cool sea breezes and coastal clouds to cool things off.

And never mind that most car trips in the LA area are three miles or less. Which hardly requires a long-distance commuter bicycle.

Or bicyclist, for that matter.

………

Last week we showed you a trailer for Décryptø, the experimental short film from Scott Nichols looking at the custom hand-made carbon fiber bikes from SoCal’s Cryptic Cycles.

Now you can see the whole six-minute film, which dropped yesterday.

………

Security footage shows a Walmart security guard intentionally run down a bike rider in a parking lot.

Twice.

The Albuquerque Walmart guard then claimed the rider simply fell over on his own when he hit the curb with his bike.

Sure. Let’s go with that.

According to the guard, the whole thing started when the man on the bike hit her car with a soda. Which even if true, does not justify assault with a deadly weapon once.

Let alone twice.

The bicyclist’s version is that he was just taking a drink, and accidently splashed water on the car.

Fortunately, he was not seriously injured.

Nor, apparently, was the driver by the soda or water that somehow splashed her vehicle.

Police seem to believe the guy on the bike — and the video — arresting the security guard on a charge of aggravated battery.

………

Here’s the spoiler-free standings of the Vuelta after two stages, with a recap of Sunday’s second stage, which was too fast for successful breakaways.

Britain’s twin Yates brothers will ride twin bikes in the Vuelta that are mirror images of each other.

After falling out with Australian cycling officials and getting left off the country’s cycling team last year, Aussie track cyclist Shane Perkins has received special permission from Russian President Vladimir Putin to ride for that country, which has a desperate need for cyclists who aren’t banned for doping.

Security is high in Spain for the Vuelta and the kickoff of the country’s soccer season following the terror attack in Barcelona, but won’t affect the route.

In non-Vuelta news, Peloton looks at LA’s own pro crit champ Justin Williams.

A Tour of Norway breakaway was reeled back in when a bridge unexpectedly opened, stopping the lead riders dead in their tracks until the rest of the field caught up.

……….

Local

Sad news from South LA, where a man was killed and two women wounded in a drive-by shooting while riding their bikes in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood. Note to KTLA-5: It’s not a shootout unless the victims shoot back.

Burbank’s new bike corrals are proving a hit with bicyclists, at times holding as many as 16 bikes in a space built for 14.

A writer for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune talks with two men who went carfree, and remarkably, their lives did not grind to a halt.

 

State

The legislator who authored California’s handheld cellphone ban says the reason it’s almost universally ignored by drivers is that the penalty is too low. He tried twice to increase the penalty slightly, but both times it was vetoed by a clueless Governor Brown.

A former BMX rider has started a BMX club for school kids in San Diego’s Barrio Logan to help teach bike safety and get the kids exercising.

A San Luis Obispo letter writer says no, the streets actually belong to all of us.

San Francisco parks officials have decided that protected bike lanes would detract from the beauty of Golden Gate Park. Because all those streets and cars are just so damn pretty.

A kindhearted South San Francisco cop passes along his own son’s bicycle to replace one stolen from a 10-year old boy.

A Sacramento mother says the hit-and-run driver who killed her 15-year old son as he rode his bike back home with a friend has changed her family’s lives forever.

The Chico Velo bicycle advocacy group is looking for a new executive director, as the woman who has run the group in the Gold-level bike-friendly city since 2012 is looking to retire.

Now that’s more like it. A Lake Tahoe man gets four years and eight months behind bars for running a stop sign and hitting a bicyclist while driving at three times the legal alcohol limit, then attempting to run down a witness that followed him; he’s also banned from driving for five years after his release. Make that a lifetime driving ban, and we’ve got a deal.

 

National

Germany’s Canyon bikes is coming to the US for the first time, available only through the internet.

Bicycling takes a short look at problems tall people don’t have.

As dockless bikeshare expands in Seattle, many riders are ignoring the local bike helmet requirement, while police focus on education over writing rickets. Meanwhile, a Libertarian who derided bikeshare as socialist has found the privately owned dockless bikeshare more to his liking.

No surprise here. The relatives of a fallen cyclist have filed suit against the organizers of the Kansas City Crit after he was killed falling into a steel crowd-control barrier in June.

Great idea. An Oklahoma city holds an annual Tour de Trykes to raise funds to give away 30 to 40 adaptive tricycles to special needs kids.

Forget motorists upset over the loss of parking or traffic lanes. A group of homeless people may sue to block plans for a Chicago bike path because it could force them out from the bridge they’ve been living under.

This is the cost of traffic violence. A Minnesota bioscience researcher was killed riding her bike, as she was on her way to mentor people at a homeless shelter.

A Michigan advocacy group collected donations to create a reward fund help solve serious crimes against bicyclists.

There’s a special place in hell for the hit-and-run driver who left a bike-riding nun dying in the street.

Detroit is planning to more than double the amount of protected bike lanes in the city.

A North Carolina community remembers a man who earned the name Bicycle Jonny by riding his bicycle everywhere, after he was killed by a speeding driver.

 

International

A British Columbia bicyclist was beaten with his own bike after being knocked off it by mentally disturbed man as he rode on a bike trail; the woman he was riding with escaped with minor injuries.

A 17-year old high school grad builds his portfolio with breathtaking photos taken on a summer bike tour across the Canadian Rockies.

A toddler was knocked out of his stroller by a sidewalk cyclist in Ottawa, Canada. Seriously, if you’re going to ride on the sidewalk, slow the hell down and ride carefully around pedestrians.

Employees at a Nova Scotia market rescue a bike rider after she suffers heat stroke on a trail ride.

A writer for the Guardian says that she’s lazy, but cycling with a pack of women through a London park changed that.

A letter writer in the UK says the correct answer to the question “Where are all the cyclists in the bike lanes?” is leave your car at home and bike in them yourself.

A mystery was solved after a British couple discovered a pool of blood and a backpack on their porch after hearing a knock on their door, and police conducted an unsuccessful search using dogs. It turned out to be a man who had fallen off his bike and suffered a head injury; his friends had taken him to a hotel for help after they found him knocking on the door of the house for help.

A Glasgow bike rider receives a round of applause for his response to an anti-gay street preacher.

The Jewish couple who created Curious George escaped the Nazi invasion on a makeshift tandem bike, riding from Paris to the south of France before fleeing to Brazil by train and boat.

Indian bike riders take a rain-soaked midnight ride through the streets of Mumbai.

Eight British Muslim men rode their bicycles 2,000 miles through eight countries to attend the Hajj in Saudi Arabia.

A 70-year old Australian woman describes what it’s like to be doored from a painful first-hand perspective.

WaPo says if you really want to see Kyoto, Japan, walk, bike or take a train.

 

Finally…

No, the best way to avoid wrecking your car during the eclipse is riding your bicycle, instead. If you’re going to run away from a crash with a bike rider, try not to leave your passenger behind.

And Lance’s Kiwi beer ad has been canned.

 

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