Today is Bike Anywhere Day in LA County. So just get on your bike and do it, already.
Photo by Lina Kivaka from Pexels.
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More on the battle for the heart and soul of Eagle Rock, as Metro commits to running the NoHo to Pasadena BRT — aka, bus rapid transit — line along Colorado Blvd.
However, as we noted yesterday, the configuration of the roadway is still undetermined, after CD14 Councilmember Kevin de León threw a wrench in the resident-driven Beautiful Blvd plan, which would remove a traffic lane in some places, while retaining bike lanes, landscaping, medians and most parking.
De León insisted on studying another option, and gathering still more public input, despite months of public meetings and comments already.
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San Diego Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez drove the final nail in the coffin of one of the two speed cam bills under consideration in the state legislature this session, blocking the pilot program in the Assembly Appropriations Committee after severely gutting it earlier.
https://twitter.com/ptraughber/status/1395494740330618885
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The UN Global Road Safety Week calls on policymakers to reduce speed limits to 20 mph on streets where bicyclists and pedestrians mix with motor vehicles.
Meanwhile, a British town is scrapping its 20 mph speed limit because most drivers ignore it anyway.
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Good point.
Jesus, all the tweets about the new Ford F-150. Enough already.
Imagine if @JoeBiden swapped his bike for an e-bike and had a few journos follow him around for a bit. It’d be a game-changer. @SecretaryPete pic.twitter.com/GwwcNnWHig
— Martyn Schmoll (@martynschmoll) May 21, 2021
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Local
Long Beach is officially opening a new bike path leading to Pier J along Harbor Scenic Drive this Sunday.
State
Bike rodeos are back, with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department hosting one for kids in San Clemente on the 26th.
Menifee police will conduct a bicycle and pedestrian safety operation on the 24th, ticketing any violations that put either group at risk, regardless of who commits them. So ride to the letter of the law if you ride there on Monday.
Bakersfield is marking Bike to Work Day today, with bike shops and clubs offering refreshments on the Kern River Parkway throughout town, pandemic be damned.
A Clovis bike rider captures a closeup view of a hawk attacking his head on his helmet cam; the bird has a reputation for attacking people who come too close to its nest.
Danville opens a new bike and pedestrian bridge that cuts half a mile off the previous route through downtown, while allowing riders to bypass three busy intersections.
National
The latest bike helmet ratings are in from the testing lab at Virginia Tech, demonstrating once again that higher cost doesn’t necessarily translate to better protection.
Jalopnik asked readers to share the close calls they’ve had on a bike. And boy, did they.
A new study shows ped-assist ebikes offer nearly the same health benefits as regular bicycles.
If you’re in the market for a Giant or Liv bicycle, Colorado used bike site The Pro’s Closet is now accepting trade-ins.
A bicycle resort in Colorado Springs CO is hosting a bike-themed art show this weekend.
Riding away from a lifelong dream to play in the NFL, a football player at the University of Texas El Paso gave up his final year of eligibility for a 650-mile ride across the state with his father and brother, to raise awareness of brain cancers after his uncle died of glioblastoma.
A Cape Cod town considers blocking a bike and pedestrian path leading to the beach, closing a public access route that’s existed for more than 200 years.
A bighearted Rhode Island teenager raised funds to donate 70 bicycles to the local Boys and Girls Clubs for kids in need.
The pandemic bike boom has hit the mountain bike trails, as well; the New York Times credits more trails, better bikes and the rise of high-school mountain biking, as well as the chance to get out in the fresh air with friends.
A North Carolina man will spend the next four years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a popular bike advocate, after being sentenced to a total of 20 years with 16 years suspended. His boss faces charges as an accessory after the fact for helping coverup the crime committed in a company truck.
Even the buildings are out to get us. A New Orleans bike rider was injured when high winds blew debris off an abandoned skyscraper.
Miami police released bodycam video of the aftermath of a drunken hit-and-run collision in which a former porn star is charged with running down an ebike-riding pastor.
A Florida man escaped with serious injuries when he became collateral damage in police chase while riding his bike, as officers chased five teens in a stolen SUV; he’s currently confined to a wheelchair after being thrown 15 feet into the air by the force of the impact.
More collateral damage in Florida, where two men were indicted on first degree murder charges for the accidental shooting of a bike rider, who was hit by a stray bullet during a shootout between the occupants of two cars; three other men will also face charges in the case.
International
An op-ed from an “avid cyclist” in Vancouver says the city’s bike lanes are unnecessary and wasteful, because they inconvenience people in cars and are primarily used during the morning and evening rush hours. You know, kind of like all those lanes drivers use.
A 17-year old Irish boy will spend the next two years in juvenile detention for killing a bike courier after running a red light.
Sisters and Bollywood stars Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor warn a paparazzo to back off after he steps into their path to film them riding their bikes.
Manilla residents are taking to bicycles to escape the city’s notorious gridlock.
A Singapore e-scooter rider will spend 12 weeks behind bars for the death of a 64-year old woman on a bicycle after they crashed on a shared-use path; the victim’s family understandably calls the sentence too lenient.
A group of Aussie bicyclists get brake-checked by a trailer-towing pickup driver, who gets out and yells at them for having the audacity to ride on the road. You know, like they’re supposed to.
Competitive Cycling
Italian cyclist Gianluca Brambilla was booted off the podium in yesterday’s 12th stage of the Giro, relegated from third to fourth for veering wildly in front of George Bennett in a final sprint to the finish. Fellow Italian Andrea Vendrame won the stage in a breakaway with Australian Chris Hamilton.
A new gravel race will roll from Fruita, Colorado to Cisco, Utah tomorrow, with distances up to 185 miles, while the glitterati of the gravel world will be in Texas for the inaugural 155-mile Gravel Locos race.
Finally…
Your next bike could be a Penny Farthing. Is there really such a thing as a popular freeway interchange?
And I can’t offer any better advice for Bike Anywhere Day than this.
There's so much to see out in this big, beautiful world of ours! Why not hop on a bike and see the sights? pic.twitter.com/mQKrKE1LhG
— Kermit the Frog (@KermitTheFrog) May 20, 2021
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask.
And get vaccinated, already.
