Tag Archive for Los Angeles

San Diego declares war on ebike-riding seniors, and US bike deaths keep rising as planners prioritize cars over people

April 9, 2024 / / Comments Off on San Diego declares war on ebike-riding seniors, and US bike deaths keep rising as planners prioritize cars over people
Just 267 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we all face on the needlessly mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re now up to 1,046 signatures, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

Photo by Max J on Pexels. 

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Author Richard Fox writes that San Diego has declared war on ebike-riding seniors.

On April 7, four 78-years olds with ebikes stopped for lunch at a picnic table along the series of bike paths that surround picturesque Mission Bay in San Diego. The circuit around the bay is the main easy scenic bike ride in San Diego, enjoyed by walkers and cyclists of all ages. Suddenly, a park ranger appeared and demanded that they leave the park with their ebikes through the nearest parking lot and do the remainder of the ride on nearby busy roadways in traffic. 

While a small percentage of ebikers, usually youngsters and the occasional obnoxious adult, may terrorize multi-use trails by weaving around others at high speeds, most ebikers, especially seniors, are sensible and courteous, obeying posted speed limits.  But rather than targeting the miscreants, the City and Port of San Diego have banned all ebikes on their most scenic trails that line bodies of water such as San Diego Bay in San Diego Harbor, Mission Bay, and the Mission/Pacific Beach Boardwalk. 

Since many seniors, and those with physical disabilities, rely on the extra boost provided by ebikes, the city has effectively taken away their ability to ride on San Diego’s most scenic bike paths. And that includes this senior, author of enCYCLEpedia Southern California – The Best Easy Scenic Bike Rides.  In the book I sang the praises of San Diego and its world class biking opportunities, but now that is all in the past for those who ride ebikes. Not only is the Mission Bay ride off limits, but that ride is the hub for area rides to La Jolla, Ocean Beach and Old Town San Diego. The harbor ride is the connector between Liberty Station, Shelter and Harbor Islands, new protected bike lanes across downtown to Little Italy and Balboa Park, and the ferry to Coronado. Now ebiking seniors must dodge traffic and avoid the most scenic stretches that have e-bike bans, and sidewalks are no longer a safe option for them since San Diego has banned ebikes on those as well.

A better regulatory system needs to be implemented.  Seniors don’t deserve to be thrown under the bus because of the bad behavior of others, which is literally what may happen if they are forced to ride in traffic instead of the safety of bike paths in the most scenic areas of San Diego.

It’s now 110 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 34 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

No bias here. The director of the Center for Energy, Climate and Environment says bike lanes are a good idea, except where they endanger bike riders, like along a truck route in beautiful Petaluma. Which suggests she may be less concerned with climate and the environment than the name of her center might suggest — especially since the piece also appears on the The Heritage Foundation website, which Wikipedia describes as an “activist conservative think tank.” 

An English woman was seriously injured when a driver pulled up next to her, and the car’s passenger pushed her off her bike and into a ditch last July; a suspect has been in jail since shortly after the attack. It takes a long time for British crime reports to percolate to the surface, due to the country’s strict privacy laws. 

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A road-raging Singaporean bike rider was facing criticism online for not being cautious enough after dropping his bike in the roadway to confront a driver who failed to slow down and stop at a crosswalk. Because evidently, he should have somehow known the driver wasn’t going to see him right the hell in front of him, and placidly accepted the unanticipated threat to his life. 

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Local 

No news is good news, right?

 

State

You’ve got to be kidding. Police in Salinas busted three kids who fled after the cops broke up a dangerous rideout of about 25 to 30 kids accused of riding recklessly and blocking major intersections — and charged them with multiple crimes, including felony evading, and one kid with conspiracy for organizing the rideout. Nothing like overcharging for a nonviolent crime. Thanks to PeddleEd for the link. 

City council candidates weighed in on San Francisco’s controversial Valencia Street centerline bike lane, with responses ranging from “needs work” to an outright disaster.

 

National

Good idea. The National Bicycle Dealers Association, aka NBDA, is establishing a database of all certified and insured ebikes available in the US to enable consumers, retailers, local governments and ebike incentive programs to differentiate between safe and unsafe makes and models. And no, I don’t know what “insured” means in this context, either. 

Meanwhile, Electrek recommends the best ebikes you can buy right now.

A Portland advocate says women need to talk about taking back the streets of the city, and most other cities, as well.

The high school in my adventure cycling brother’s new Colorado hometown is now hosting a class creating the next generation of bike mechanics by teaching them how to break down and rebuild bikes from scratch. Thanks to my old friend Tim Rutt for the heads-up. 

Bozeman, Montana is the latest city to consider banning parking in bike lanes, which shouldn’t be legal anywhere.

Houston’s Rice University has their own version of Indiana’s iconic Little 500, complete with pre-race water balloon fights, water chugging, vehicle decorating, and face painting. So maybe they don’t take it quite as seriously as IU does.

Collisions involving bike riders surged in Houston last year, jumping a whopping 21%.

The “world-renowned” TD Five Boro Bike Tour is back on in New York next month; Forbes calls it the world’s most inclusive bike ride. Which would seem to be impossible to quantify. 

New York says ebike batteries are becoming the most dangerous objects in the city, and offers a photo essay of the fire scars caused by dangerous lithium-ion batteries.

Ghost bikes are belatedly coming to Knoxville, Tennessee.

While Los Angeles remains too afraid of angry drivers to implement most road diets, Charlotte NC is moving ahead with a $12.9 million makeover of major street, reducing a little over half a mile from “four lanes to two to slow down vehicular traffic and improve pedestrian and cyclist access.”

Sean “Diddy” Combs is one of us, asking fans to “pray for your brother” while taking a casual bike ride across Miami, following recent FBI raids of two of his homes looking for evidence of alleged sex trafficking. Okay, so maybe not.

 

International

For the second day in a row, a Canadian driver faces a murder investigation for the death of a bike rider, as an Edmonton driver is accused of the hit-and-run death of a bike-riding man he allegedly knew.

A group of London bobbies — aka cops — commandeered ebikes from passing bike riders to chase a man escaping by bicycle after allegedly stealing a bottle of Hennessy; the man was also wanted to be sent back to prison.

A reporter for the BBC corrects online critics and trolls, clarifying that her bakfiets cargo bike did in fact replace her car, saving her the equivalent of over $1,260 in fuel costs — and she paid for it herself. Meanwhile, Momentum recommends five bucket bikes that could do the same for you right now.

Talk about not getting it. Auto-centric British Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson calls bike cam-wielding CyclingMikey “the most dreadful man in Britain today,” while calling him a sneak for openly recording texting drivers — and says texting while stopped in traffic is “as dangerous as knitting.”

Switzerland is asking companies across the entire country to form teams to encourage employees to bike to work as often as possible in May and June.

 

Competitive Cycling

Women’s world champ Lotte Kopecky served as her own bike wrench, grabbing an allen wrench from the team car to tighten her stem while riding to victory in Paris-Roubaix.

Primoz Roglic shows off his bandaged butt, among other parts, following the 12-rider crash that left defending Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard with a broken collarbone and a collapsed lung.

 

Finally…

The same tech that draws five-limbed people and insisted there were Black soldiers in Nazi Germany now wants to keep you safe from approaching cars.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Hit-and-run Sierra Madre bicyclist arrested after two-month manhunt, and over 2,100 turn out in Griffith Park for safer streets

April 8, 2024 / / Comments Off on Hit-and-run Sierra Madre bicyclist arrested after two-month manhunt, and over 2,100 turn out in Griffith Park for safer streets
Just 268 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we all face on the needlessly mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re now up to 1,043 signatures, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

………

The good news is, my wife is back home from the hospital, with a couple partially displaced fractures in her shoulder. The next few weeks will determine whether we’re looking at a grueling three month recovery, or up to a year if she needs surgery to reset the bones. 

Meanwhile, I’m now her full-time caregiver, as well as the corgi’s. Which is going to mean some major changes to when and how I work. 

Hopefully I’ll be able to keep things up and you won’t notice a difference. But no promises, because this is going to be a real challenge for the coming months. 

………

It’s now 109 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 34 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

West Hollywood residents planned a protest on Sunday to complain about the loss of parking to make space for protected bike lanes and other infrastructure projects on Fountain and Willoughby Aves, as well as Santa Monica Blvd, which “will eventually deprive the surrounding neighborhoods of hundreds of parking spaces.” Proving once again that the convenience of drivers outweighs human lives for far too many people. And seriously, don’t read the comments after you’ve eaten. Or at all, for that matter.

A Las Cruces, New Mexico driver was convicted of shooting a bike rider in the face during a road-rage incident, along with a five-year sentence enhancement for using a firearm; the dispute began when he almost crashed into the victim.

Houston, Texas is deemphasizing its commitment to Vision Zero under the city’s new mayor.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a van driver got a lousy 21-months behind bars for intentionally swerving into a teenager riding an ebike, who he thought had stolen his son’s motorbike.

Even in North Macedonia, streets, sidewalks and bike paths are unusable after being overrun with parked cars.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A 79-year old English woman is grieving the love of her life, after a hit-and-run bike rider rode off after rolling over her pet chihuahua.

A British judge ruled that a 54-year old senior control engineer and a 66-year-old teacher were equally at fault for colliding while riding on a bike path, concluding they were “traveling at twice the safe speed” and oblivious to each other’s presence when the “inevitable” crash occurred.

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Local 

London’s Independent says forget driving, and explore Los Angeles by bicycle.

Streets For All founder Michael Schneider says the lesson to be learned from the overwhelming passage of Measure HLA is that safe streets are good politics.

The LA Times asks if you have what it takes to compete in the grueling, three-stage LA Tourist Race for gravel and mountain bikes.

McLaren IndyCar driver David Malukas will make a delayed debut with the team in Long Beach in two weeks, after a mountain-biking “brain fart” sent him over his handlebars while riding on an easy trail, resulting in a dislocated his wrist and multiple torn ligaments.

 

State

Calbike says California must seize the opportunity to build better bikeways by supporting AB 2290, Assemblymember Laura Friedman’s Quicker and Better Bikeways Bill.

The San Luis Obispo Police Department ticketed a whopping 13 drivers and bicyclists during their latest bicycle and pedestrian safety operation, though they didn’t give a breakdown on which group got the most tickets, or why.

Sad news from Lost Hills, where a bike rider was killed by a pickup driver in the tiny unincorporated town.

The owner of a San Francisco restaurant threatens an extreme crash diet, saying he’s going on a 30-day hunger strike to protest the Valencia Street centerline bike lanes, claiming the bike lanes are ruining his business.

The Marin County Bicycle Coalition issued a call to action, urging Bay Area bicyclists to fight to keep the bike and pedestrian path on the Richmond-San Raphael bridge, which drivers somehow claim is causing congestion instead of just too many cars and drivers clogging the five lane, double-decker bridge.

 

National

A writer for an automotive website lists the downsides of owning an ebike, ranging from price to limited range and the need for charging. And says it’s still worth it to own and ride one.

The Sierra Club offers advice on how to hit the road from Idaho to Alabama to Maine without a single car ride or plane trip, using nothing but Amtrak and a bicycle.

Velo introduces some of the four-legged, furry friends of gravel racing.

Denver is continuing to make improvements to the city’s streets, opening a 1.5-mile protected bike lane on one of the city’s busiest business corridors.

Watch as a Colorado woman goes bicycling with her miniature cow. Because why wouldn’t she?

A 78-year old Iowa city councilmember was injured when a woman less than half his age crashed into his bicycle, despite flashing lights mounted front and rear on his bike.

The city council in Providence, Rhode Island passed a resolution opposing the mayor’s plan to rip out a bike lane to make more room for cars, as hundreds of residents turned out to oppose the plan.

 

International

No, airbag bib shorts for bicyclists aren’t an April Fools joke.

Your next bike could be made of recycled plastic. And look like it, too.

A 45-year old Vancouver man faces a charge of first-degree murder for the hit-and-run crash that killed a man riding a bicycle — a charge that requires intent, though no explanation was given.

She gets it. A Toronto mother of two writes that dead and injured bicyclists are never included in traffic discussions, while the voices that get lost in the debate are of those who don’t or can’t drive.

Thirty owners of Pedersen bicycles turned out to mark the 131st anniversary the distinctive diamond-shaped bikes, in the “genius” inventor’s English hometown.

A British man will spend the next 32 years behind bars for attempted murder after stalking another man through two pubs and lying in wait in an alley before shooting him through the neck. But at least he made his getaway on an ebike.

The UK is investing the equivalent of $3.6 million to build a bikeway separated from foot traffic on London’s Hammersmith Bridge, which has been closed to motor vehicles since cracks were discovered in 2019.

British drivers are encouraged to put a sticker reading “Think Bike” on their side mirrors to remind them to watch out for people on bicycles. Better yet,  make one that reads “Watch for bikes and pedestrians,” and require it by law.

Amsterdam is addressing the risk faster ebikes pose to people on bikeways by bumping ebikes capable of traveling faster than 12 mph into the driving lanes, which have a maximum speed limit of 18 mph.

Huh? Politico says a political backlash is leaving the future of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo uncertain, calling her an unpopular but visionary leader, after ten years of transforming the way Parisians get around. Even though city residents overwhelmingly backed her proposal to increase parking rates for SUVs. 

A bike-riding photographer bears witness to the sheer devastation caused by the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

A Singapore website investigates the lux lifestyle of Bromptons, Pinarellos and bespoke bikes.

A cement truck driver will spend the next six years behind bars for killing a Singapore bike rider while driving under the influence; he tried to blame the victim for riding too close to his truck.

There’s no lower form of walking human scum than the scammers trying to take advantage of an Australian hit-and-run victim’s family, after he was killed by a truck driver while riding his bike last month.

 

Competitive Cycling

Two-time defending Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard’s racing season is now in jeopardy, after a hard crash with several other riders during the Tour of Basque Country left him with a collapsed lung and pulmonary contusion, as well as a broken collarbone and several broken ribs; the crash also took out cycling stars Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel, the latter also suffering a broken collarbone, along with fractured shoulder plates. The race was cancelled following the crash involving a dozen riders.

Australian cycling star Jay Vine managed to avoid surgery for spinal injuries he suffered in the crash, but he will be in a neck brace for the next six weeks.

The president of the French professional cyclists union calls on UCI to take responsibility for making the sport safer, saying he’s angry over the recent spate of high-speed crashes, while Cyclist calls media coverage of the crash “inexcusable.”

World champion Mathieu van der Poel won his second straight Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, finishing three minutes ahead of his nearest rival after a 37-mile solo breakaway, just one week after winning the Tour of Flanders.

Women’s world champ Lotte Kopecky won Saturday’s Paris-Roubaix Femmes, topping former world champ Elisa Balsamo at the finish.

Cycling Weekly profiles a 51-year old London woman who is slowly remaking herself into an ultra-distance cyclist, as she trains for a “short” 1,145-mile, island-hopping UK race. Which just happens to begin in my father’s ancestral home.

An op-ed for Bike Rumor says it’s time for more of the bike industry to move past the toxic culture of bike racing.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you want to ride your bike, but with a windshield. Or when your bike bell has a dinosaur on it — maybe you can just pretend it’s a kaiju.

And even five-time Tour de France winners get their bikes stolen.

But sometimes, they get them back.

……... 

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

US bicycling deaths set all-time record, 3 years for speeding hit-and-run driver, and Park demands info on bike trail collapse

April 3, 2024 / / One comment
Just 272 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we all face on the needlessly mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re now up to 1,031 signatures, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

Photo by Artyom Kulakov from Pexels.

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Let’s start with a little personal news. 

My wife fell and broke her shoulder in two places yesterday. She spent last night in the hospital, but she’ll be coming home today with it in a sling because they need to let the swelling go down before they can operate to reset it. 

Which means I’ll be her full time caregiver for the next few days, unless I can somehow talk the corgi into lending a paw. 

Never mind that this was just her second week at her new job, after finally landing her first permanent position since the pandemic. 

But those are the breaks. 

As a result, I doubt I’ll be able to work the rest of this week. So unless there’s breaking news, I’ll see you bright and early on Monday. 

I hope. 

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It’s now 105 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 34 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A Florida man faces charges for getting out of his car and attacking a 72-year old man riding a bicycle — while holding a small dog, no less — after he stopped short to avoid running a red light, and another bike rider crashed into his car; the driver was arrested after calling 911 to report losing his dog in the melee.

Kiwi bike riders are pushing back against the country’s Transportation Minister’s drastic policy shift to place more emphasis on cars and highways, while reducing funding for walking, bicycling and public transport.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Police in Brentwood, California are considering asking city leaders to pass an ordinance allowing them to seize the bikes of kids who flaunt traffic laws or ride through stores, after they were unable to find another city with a similar ordinance. Which somehow hasn’t stopped cops from illegally seizing bikes without legal authority.

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Local 

Streetsblog reports Los Angeles has nearly completed work on a new protected bike lane and walkways along Parthenia Place in the working-class Latino community of North Hills, in the San Fernando Valley.

LA TV station Fox-11 enjoys a good laugh over a bicyclist popping a wheelie next to a police chase, apparently unable to distinguish between a bicycle and what looks like a dirt bike, or maybe a throttle-controlled ebike.

 

State

Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette forwards news that the bike industry is mulling a response to Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner’s proposal to license ebike riders who don’t have a driver’s license, with bikemakers coming down on both sides of the issue.

BMX riders are justifiably upset after Visalia demolished a local DIY bike park without warning last week, with no plans for an official replacement.

 

National

It took a couple years, but a Colorado man is finally back on his bike after he was run down by a hit-and-run driver, suffering over 20 broken bones, with his right femur was shattered into 40 pieces. The driver was eventually charged with careless driving and leaving the scene; no word on whether he was convicted or sentenced. Which kinda puts my wife’s broken shoulder in perspective, I guess. 

Life is really cheap in Colorado, where a woman who killed a 13-year old boy riding his bike to school walked without a day behind bars, after she was sentenced to a lousy two years probation and a $1,000 fine, despite admitting she killed an innocent kid while driving carelessly. Which is clearly just no big deal there. Or in most of the country, for that matter.

Seriously? Colorado has an official day just to celebrate ebikes. Meanwhile, California is trying to restrict their use, and can’t even offer a rebate voucher after three years. 

Consider it a National Park Service open streets event, as Yellowstone once again opens to bicycles in advance of opening the gates to motor vehicles.

New York will mark Earth Day with a series of seven signature car-free streets and 46 community-organized locations throughout the city. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, drivers will just continue doing what they do every other day. 

 

International

Electrek says there’s “nothing new about major automakers and motorcycle companies trying and failing to build and sell electric bicycles,” dating back to “American automotive visionary Lee Iacocca” in the 1990s.

A new study from the Netherlands shows that 75% of all drivers and bike riders use their cellphones on the road.

They get it. A new Swiss study suggests that cities around the world “need to take into account the rapid growth and the serious potential of electric bikes in moving people away from automobile.”

The Japan Times reports helmet use remains low in the country, despite a new law mandating bike helmets, as a report shows that only 14.7% of bike riders killed or injured in crashes were wearing one. Or it could just show that people wearing helmets weren’t the one getting killed or seriously injured.

Velo says the bike lanes in your city probably aren’t good enough, as yet another new study, this time from Australia, shows painted bike lanes aren’t enough to get most people on their bikes.

 

Competitive Cycling

Belgian cyclist Lars Daniels may have a future as a cowboy when he finally hangs up his saddle — bike saddle, that is — after corralling an escaped horse that tried to join the peloton during stage one of Belgium’s Arden Challenge on Saturday.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your kid’s bicycling instructor is a Grammy winning singer-songwriter-businesswoman-dancer-model-actress. Or when a dead rat represents everything you love about bicycling.

And apparently, not even bison are safe from out-of-control drivers.

……... 

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

Killer hit-and-run driver to be sentenced today, Torrance bike rider victim of a hit-and-run, and a bevy of bike April Fools

April 2, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 273 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we all face on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re now up to 1,030 signatures, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels. 

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An admitted hit-and-run driver will be sentenced in Banning today for fleeing the scene after killing a bike rider in San Jacinto in 2022.

Twenty-two-year old Savaughn JoJuan Colon Barnes pled guilty to a single count of hit-and-run resulting in death in the killing of Margarito Castro as he waited at a red light in December of 2022, after prosecutors agreed to drop charges of gross vehicular manslaughter and fleeing the scene of a crime.

According to My News LA,

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Dawn Blair, about 8 p.m. on Dec. 4, Castro was in the center median, waiting to cross State Street at Dillon Avenue, when Barnes approached, going southbound on State “at a high rate of speed” in his Hyundai sedan.

“The driver of the Hyundai entered the center median … and struck the victim,” Blair said.

Unfortunately, under California’s overly lenient hit-and-run statutes, he now faces a maximum sentence of just four years behind bars.

And will likely be out in less than half that time.

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It’s now 104 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 34 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

But Pedal Ahead, the San Diego nonprofit charged with administering the virtually moribund ebike voucher program, hints that it may finally be showing signs of life.

Even if it does fund non-UL-certified ebikes that could suddenly and unexpectedly burst into flames.

But seriously, what’s the worst that could happen?

Meanwhile, Colorado’s new ebike rebate program may be smaller than California’s, which starts at $750. But unlike California, it’s available to anyone.

However, the state’s governor seems a tad out of touch arguing that it’s still worthwhile for bike shops to participate, even though they may have to wait as long as a year to get reimbursed — in effect requiring small shop owners to finance the state program.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

No bias here. The editor of Palo Alto paper complains about proposed bike lanes on El Camino Real, arguing that it would be unsafe for kids and kill local businesses. Even though it’s been repeatedly shown that bike lanes are good for business, and little kids aren’t the only ones who might want to ride their bikes on the local main street just like people in cars.

Bike riders in Providence, Rhode Island turned out to protest plans to remove downtown bike lanes, as the tone-deaf mayor’s office argues the removal is necessary to ease traffic congestion amid the years-long closure of a local bridge. As if people in cars are the only ones who need to get somewhere. 

A 29-year old South Carolina man says he’s lucky to be alive, after he was shot near the knee after being forced off the road by an apparent road raging motorist.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Actor Matthew Broderick is one of us in more ways than one, after he’s caught  running a red light and riding past a “Wait Here” sign while riding a bikeshare bike in London.

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Local 

No news is good news, right?

 

State

She gets it. An Encinitas letter writer says drivers need to be more generous in sharing the road because too many people riding bikes have died in San Diego County, and paint is no protection from 2,000- to 4,000-pound vehicles.

San Diego’s Bike Anywhere Day will get a new Bike Week companion, as the city announced plans for a Bike Local Day to encourage people to ride in their own communities.

 

National

A longtime New York bike advocate decries the lack of privately owned, traditional strictly pedal-powered bicycles on the city streets, complaining that ebikes and bikeshares are taking over the bike lanes. And in other news, an old man yelled at the neighborhood kids to get off his lawn. 

Um, okay. To the surprise of virtually everyone, a local TV station invites outdoor enthusiasts to bike Sparta, Wisconsin, declaring it the Cycling Capital of America. Said no one else, ever, which may or may not be the point.

Hundreds of Wisconsin kids got new bikes as part of a statewide program to teach bike skills to elementary and middle school students.

The “biggest party on two wheels” is returning to Winston-Salem, North Carolina this September, with the multi-day Gears and Guitars music and bicycle festival. The only question is, how the hell am I going to get there, and who’s going with me?

 

International

Bollywood actress Saiyami Kher is one of us, calling for more bike-friendly infrastructure in Mumbai following a spike in bicycling collisions.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your crash is so embarrassing, even your bike tries to run away. If you’re going to steal a bicycle, it’s probably not the best idea to take it off the back of a parked sheriff’s patrol car — especially without checking for cameras first.

And I kinda wish this last one wasn’t just an April Fools joke.

Thanks to Norm Bradwell for the link.

……... 

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Los Altos bike rider busted in apparent pretext stop, and San Francisco marks a full decade of Vision Zero failure

April 1, 2024 / / One comment
Just 274 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re now up to 1,030 signatures, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

………

It’s now 103 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 34 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, Calbike offers an update on the virtually moribund program based on a recent virtual public work group, saying the program’s soft launch really is underway — and they believe the statewide launch will happen “soon.”

No, really.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

An English bike rider underwent extensive surgery to repair a broken elbow after someone sabotaged a bike trail by placing a large tree branch across it; a group of youths were seen “fleeing the scene,” though no one seems to have actually seen them move the branch.

A disabled British man suffering from Parkinson’s disease won his battle to have barriers removed that blocked his recumbent bike from a section of the National Cycle Network, reaching an out-of-court settlement to move the barriers, which were designed to keep motorbikes off the bikeway.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A self-professed Boulder, Colorado bike rider accuses his fellow bicyclists of brazenly breaking the law, alleging that Boulder bike riders “want all the rights of both cars and pedestrians without any of the responsibilities.” Actually, bicyclists already have the same rights, as well as the responsibilities, regardless of whether they may or may not want them. And it’s not like drivers or pedestrians behave any better. 

………

Local 

Streetsblog offers more details on Metro’s cancellation of a plan to have ride hailing provider Lyft operate the Metro Bike bikeshare system, saying the contract will stay with Philadelphia-based Bicycle Transit Systems (BTS) — and its unionized local workers — for the foreseeable future.

A retired Santa Clarita motorcycle cop says yes, you can get busted for biking under the influence.

 

State

A city planner on TikTok explains why bicycling rates are sometimes higher in cities with less favorable climates, comparing California’s traffic-challenged painted bike lanes with safer off-road bike paths in the Yukon and British Columbia.

Work is beginning on repairs to the landslide plagued Beacon’s Beach bike path in Encinitas, which could reopen in time for Memorial Day.

A new musical making its US debut at San Diego’s Old Globe Theater tells the tale of the first woman to ride a bike around the world in the 1890s — even though it barely shows an actual bike.

San Francisco opened a new quick-build bike lane leading to the city’s Oracle Park baseball field, linking to a new bikeshare station and the Giant’s bike valet. Meanwhile, anyone wanting to ride to LA’s Dodger Stadium continues to be on your own.

A Marin paper complains about a compromise plan to remove the “costly” bike lane on the Richmond-San Raphael Bridge four days a week, citing the “underwhelming” use by bicyclists while arguing that it doesn’t go far enough. Even though officials say the bike lane isn’t to blame for the massive traffic tie-ups on the bridge.

 

National

Dozens of people turned out for a Portland bike ride and ghost bike installation in honor of a homeless man who was killed by a driver while riding a bike, observing that he always stepped up to help others.

The Seattle suburb of Bellevue tossed the city’s commitment to Vision Zero out the window, exposing city staff members to needless personal and professional attacks.

An Indiana man was the victim of a bizarre attack while riding his bike when he was pepper sprayed and stabbed in the neck with a box cutter, in an apparent case of mistaken identity; as the victim lay on the ground, his attacker asked his name, then responded “Wrong guy” before running off, later telling police he was “Done with people.

‘An Indiana nonprofit gave out more than 750 refurbished bikes to kids in need to mark the Easter weekend.

A Virginia man managed to morph his ice cream bicycle business into a bike-and-mortar hot dog stand.

Raleigh, North Carolina will use a $150,000 federal grant to pay ebike riders up to $1,500 in exchange for usage data on where and how they ride.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A Florida man celebrated his 90th birthday with a 90-mile bike,

 

International

Momentum writes in praise of the humble beater bike for urban commuting.

Next City considers how chilly Montreal became a year-round bicycling success story. Meanwhile, sunny Los Angeles continues to be a hot mess for bike riding. 

Huge masses of people turned out for an Edinburgh bike ride to protest plans to halt the city’s Low Traffic Neighborhoods.

Shop owners in Manchester, England accuse a new bike lane of killing their businesses by preventing customers from parking in front of their shops. Although as we’ve seen other places, anecdotal claims of sales declines are often contradicted by sale tax receipts, or more easily explained by other reasons.

No bias here. London’s Daily Mail complains about the “menace” of ebikes, noting that the 260 illegally modified ebikes seized by police last year was double the number in 2022. Even though that works out to less than one a day — and the vast number of ebikes on the streets weren’t modified, legally or otherwise.

Bike riders in Macedonia argue you can’t have a smart airport in a smart city without first building smart streets.

Dubai will now use AI-powered robots with facial recognition to identify scofflaw bike riders and e-scooterists, and automatically send tickets for traffic and helmet violations,

 

Competitive Cycling

World champ Mathieu van der Poel won Sunday’s Tour of Flanders, making his move on a brutal cobbled climb with 26 miles to go, staying in the saddle when other riders jumped off to run their bikes up the hill; Elisa Longo Borghini sprinted for the win on the women’s side.

The five-day Redlands Bicycle Classic will return for its 38th annual edition on April 10, featuring a number of new twists — including a record number of women in the peloton.

Cycling Weekly says forget Giro’s weird and wacky time trial helmet, because everything bicyclists have put on our heads since bikes were invented are mystifying and ridiculous.

Smile and the world smiles with you — but put on a grumpy face if you want to mess with the competiton at your next race.

 

Finally…

Who needs a warehouse, when you can mount a DJ set and a set of speakers on a bicycle, and conduct your own rolling rave? Seriously, who wouldn’t want shag carpet pedals?

And that feeling when your ebike goes up in flames outside Buckingham Palace.

……... 

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Guilty verdict in bizarre Palm Springs attacks, South Pas rips out safer streets, and new CicLAvia summer event maps

March 29, 2024 / / Comments Off on Guilty verdict in bizarre Palm Springs attacks, South Pas rips out safer streets, and new CicLAvia summer event maps
Just 277 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re now up to 1,029 signatures, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.

………

A 29-year old Palm Springs man was convicted on nearly a dozen charges for a bizarre series of attacks against other motorists and a bike rider.

Including forcing a man to jump off his bicycle to avoid getting run over when the seemingly maniacal driver suddenly hit the gas and jumped the median, aiming directly at victim at an estimated 60 mph.

Juaquin Mercer Moraga was found guilty of three counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon, two counts each of misdemeanor assault and misdemeanor vandalism, and one count each of felony vandalism and misdemeanor battery, after less than a day of deliberation.

The defense argued that Moraga was suffering from paranoid delusions at the time of the attacks, as a result of “major depressive disorder,” “cannabis use disorder” and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Which the jury clearly didn’t buy.

………

It’s now 100 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 33 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Austin, Texas claims it’s cracking down on people illegally parking in bike lanes. Although it’s hard to call it a crackdown when they’ve cited an average of less than two people a day.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

London’s Daily Mail reports on “amazing videos” depicting “exploding” rider-on-ride road rage. Which amounts to a motorcyclist gently criticizing bicyclists for riding through a red light, and a trailing bicyclist berating another bike rider for not undertaking a large truck.

………

Local 

Los Angeles Public Press has more on Metro’s decision to give ride-hailing service Lyft the heave-ho, and keep the Metro Bike bikeshare program’s union-managed operating system in place, at least for now.

The LAFD used a hoist to airlift a 19-year old man out of a remote area in Tujunga Tuesday, after he suffered an arm injury while mountain biking.

Los Angeles County will hold a virtual public meeting April 16th to discuss the county’s Bicycle Master Plan.

 

State

Following the death of her friend on a Berkeley street last month, a writer for Cal Matters calls for safer streets through the passage of a pair of Senate bills, which would force Caltrans to adhere to its own Complete Streets policies, and require speed governors to limit the ability of drivers to exceed the posted speed limit by more than 10 mph.

San Francisco marked ten years of the city’s failed Vision Zero program, as the city doubles down despite rising rates of traffic deaths, and city officials pinky swear to do better.

Oakland is down to the last five days for public input on proposals to redesign one of the city’s most dangerous streets by reconfiguring traffic lanes and auditing bike paths. Just please, please, please don’t put the bike paths in the middle of the damn roadway. No, seriously.

 

National

CBS News reports traffic deaths are spiking in the US, despite billions spent on improving safety. Except the $2.4 billion they’re talking about doesn’t go very far when spread among all the cities and states in the US, and doesn’t do a damn thing to reduce the size of SUVs, or get drivers to put down their phones and stop speeding. 

E! Online rates the best bikes and kick scooters for your little kids. Or grandkids. Or whatever.

Good Housekeeping recommends gifts for mountain bikers, triathletes and casual bike riders to put in your Easter, Passover or Ramadan basket this year. 

A 76-year old Oregon man says goodbye to his trusted and rusted J.C. Higgins bike, which was originally purchased from Sears three years before he was born.

Oregon’s bicycle tax, the only statewide bike tax in the US, reflects a significant bike boom in 2022, followed by a moderate bust back to pre-pandemic levels for 2023.

Rounding out today’s Oregon trifecta, federal funds from the 2020 Great American Outdoor Act will pay for new dirt on a “stomach-churning” singletrack trail along a cliff in the Columbia River Gorge.

Colorado’s $450 ebike rebate program kicks off on Tuesday, even though only 24 bike shops in the entire state are participating, after being told they could wait over a year to be reimbursed. Although something tells me the odds are somewhere north of 100% that California’s $750 ebike voucher plan will take even longer — if it ever launches.

Telugu actor Naveen Polishetty is one of us, after breaking his arm recently while riding in Dallas.

An Indiana city repealed its bike licensing law, a registration requirement so old, hardly anyone knew it existed.

Streetsblog considers the disaster on Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, questioning why we treat major transportation tragedies with so much urgency, while ignoring “our collective car crash epidemic” with over ten times the number of victims on the bridge dying as a result of traffic violence in the US every day.

A South Carolina traffic engineer says he’s not ready to tell his peers he represents one of the safest biking towns in the US, when the city’s new bike lanes are just a thin painted strip in the middle of the roadway.

 

International

Gaza’s paracycling team has turned to delivering more then $70,000 in aid, after their dreams of competing in Paris were shattered by the war with Israel.

Velo visits a Giant factory in Taiwan to see how normal-sized carbon fiber bikes are made.

 

Competitive Cycling

Olympic favorite Wout Van Aert faces an uncertain schedule to return to the peloton after surgery to repair multiple fractures, following his high speed crash in the Dwars door Vlaanderen on Wednesday; he could miss May’s Giro d’Italia, as well as the spring classics.

Velo offers the “ultimate guide” to the upcoming gravel racing season.

 

Finally…

Iron Man’s ebike is a Porsche. Many drivers may act childish, but not many actually are one.

And someone’s taking vehicular cycling just a tad too far.

https://twitter.com/motorisms/status/1773566868684505246

……... 

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Metro Bike union beats back Lyft contract, $2.45 million in San Diego pothole case, and helmet law targets indigenous riders

March 28, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 278 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re slowly gaining signatures, up to 1,027 now, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

………

It was a light bike news day yesterday. So if no news is good news, this may be one of my best pieces ever. 

The better news is, that means you can get out on your bike that much sooner today. 

………

It’s now 99 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 33 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Drivers in Manchester, England are accused of making a mockery of a controversial green bike lane by parking their vehicles in the bikeway.

………

Local 

Public radio station KCRW’s Press Play discusses long overdue plans to reduce traffic lanes, widen sidewalks, and add bike and bus lanes along the Hollywood Blvd Walk of Fame.

Santa Clarita approved an extension of the Bouquet Canyon Trail, providing a connection between Bouquet Canyon Road and the city’s Central Park.

Actor Robert Downey Jr. is one of us, going ebiking in the ‘Bu with his son, while demonstrating that TMZ doesn’t know what the hell a BMX is.

 

State

A San Diego bike commuter and long-distance runner says that complaints over the curb-protected bike lane where an Encinitas father apparently fell to his death suggest that critics just don’t want to share the road with slower bicyclists.

A San Francisco website says it’s not Vision Zero that has failed in the city, but San Francisco’s piecemeal, reactive approach to fixing the problem.

Sad news from Napa, where a 45-year old man was killed in an apparent hit-and-run, after he was found lying in the street near his bicycle, suffering from serious injuries.

 

National

There’s a special place in hell for the hit-and-run semi driver who left a bike-riding 81-year old Queens, New York man to die in the street.

New York has authorized the use of e-cargo bikes to replace delivery vans in the city, many in the form of cute little pedal-powered mini box trucks.

 

International

Life is cheap in Scotland, where a man convicted of careless driving in a crash that left a bike rider with life-changing injuries walked without a day behind bars, after getting a lousy $1,900 fine and a 15-month driving ban; meanwhile, his victim may never be able to ride a bike again.

Irish pro cyclist Imogen Cotter is urging drivers not to make like a bunny, and slow the hell down over the Easter weekend.

The Netherlands is proposing banning performance modification kits designed to boost ebike speeds beyond the strict limits set by the European Union.

 

Competitive Cycling

American Matteo Jorgenson became the first American to win the one-day Dwars door Vlaanderen classic on Wednesday by attacking with a little over four miles to go, after favorites Wout van Aert, Mads Pedersen, Jasper Stuyven and Biniam Girmay crashed out in a spill that took out more than a half-dozen riders; Jorgenson also won the prestigious Paris-Nice earlier this month.

The crash could jeopardize Olympic favorite and defending silver medalist van Aert chances of competing in the Paris Games after breaking his collarbone and several ribs, as well as knocking him out of the upcoming Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Belgian cyclist Tiesj Benoot blames himself for the crash that injured van Aert.

On the women’s side, Dutch great Marianne Vos took her first Dwars door Vlaanderen win, outsprinting Shirin van Anrooij at the finish.

Twenty-eight cyclists competing in the Isle of Man road race won lifetime bragging rights, after Manx-native Mark Cavendish finished 29th.

 

Finally…

It’s time for the annual donning of the tweed. Your next e-cargo bike could take its tech from F1.

And that feeling when an illegal bike jump could be a real blast.

No, literally.

……... 

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

The war on bikes shifts into high gear, “There Are No Accidents” author on Bike Talk, and Paris bike boom keeps booming

March 27, 2024 / / Comments Off on The war on bikes shifts into high gear, “There Are No Accidents” author on Bike Talk, and Paris bike boom keeps booming
Just 279 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re slowly gaining signatures, up to 1,027 now, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

Photo is an 1897 military bicycle with a machine gun mounted on the handlebars. 

………

My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence. 

My Monday went to hell before I even got out of bed, and didn’t get any better until late that night, by which time I was too tired to form a thought, let alone a sentence. 

That was followed yesterday by a shot in my right eye to control bleeding in the retina, yet another of the boundless joys of diabetes.

Good times. 

But if you’re reading this, I guess that means I literally saw my way through my work tonight. So there’s that, anyway.

………

It’s now 98 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 33 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A Marin columnist says a proposal to remove the bike lane on the Richmond-San Raphael Bridge on weekdays doesn’t go far enough, and he wants to give the lane back to drivers full time, even on days when they don’t need it. Because autos uber alles, evidently.

Providence, Rhode Island is considering the same thing, as city officials debate a plan to close the bike lane on a local bridge to make more room for motor vehicles. After all, it makes far more sense to remove alternatives to driving than to try to get more people out of their cars. Right?

Police in Yorkshire, England are looking for the person who ran away after pushing a woman off her bicycle in a “wholly unprovoked attack.”

New bike symbols on a London street appear to encourage people to ride in the door zone and into parked cars in an apparent attempt to thin the herd, while the city insists they were “carefully developed in line with guidance.”

Residents of a UK city are “furious” over “confusing” bicycle symbols painted on a street with no bike lanes, apparently unable to comprehend that bike riders are encourage to ride there.

British motorists slam a photo of a Dutch father carrying his five kids on his cargo bike, claiming he’s endangering them and that not one is wearing a helmet, while one driver bizarrely claims almost everyone in the Netherlands wears a helmet, in a country where almost no one does.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Police in Salinas posted a number to call to report kids riding their bikes recklessly and without regard for their own and drivers’ safety. Because evidently, teen and tween kids on a bikes are the real risk on the streets, not the people in the big, dangerous machines. 

Police in the Sultanate of Oman have arrested over 20 young people and seized more than 200 unlicensed motorcycles and bicycles for traffic violations, in a crackdown on reckless riding during Ramadan. Because, once again, the real danger is kids on bikes of all kinds, motor and otherwise.

………

Local 

Streetsblog talks with former Bicycling editor and South Bay-based bike writer Peter Flax about his new book, Live to Ride: Finding Joy and Meaning on a Bicycle. Which is a lot of italics for one lousy sentence.

West Hollywood gave Bird the bird, and will now allow only Lime e-scooters to besmirch their streets.

 

State

Caltrans is finally putting its money where its Complete Streets policy is, pledging to invest a cool billion dollars into bike lanes across the state over the next four years.

Streetsblog offers a non-comprehensive list of sustainable transportation bills to watch in this year’s state legislative session. Which is better than the legislature’s usual non-comprehendible bills. 

About damn time. The hit-and-run death of fallen Oceanside bicyclist and mother Tracey Gross is raising concerns about the safety of bike riders on State Route 76, where at least eight people were injured riding bikes over the most recent five year period. Those concerns should have been raised when the first person was struck, not the latest.

The small farming community of Lamont, located southeast of Bakersfield, just got its first protected bike lane.

Bad news from Davis, where a UC freshman is in a coma after she was struck by a driver while riding her bike on campus. Parents should have a right to expect their kids will be safe when they send them off to college.

 

National

Streetsblog accuses New York officials of putting safety last, after four Brooklyn neighborhoods named Vision Zero “Bike Priority Areas” in 2017 still don’t have any protected bike lanes. To which Los Angeles says “hold my beer.”

A Manhattan community board rejected a planned ebike charging hub intended to replace an abandoned newsstand, after concluding it looked too modern.

The mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey signed a bill requiring ebike delivery riders to be licensed by the city, saying he was doing it in the “spirit of collaboration” despite shortcomings in the law. Even though no one bothered to collaborate with the low-wage workers. 

WaPo is the latest newspaper to pick up the story of the Atlanta bike rider who tows a large magnet behind his bike to clear the streets of flat-inducing nails, screws and other metallic detritus. More proof that not all heroes wear capes. Or tights, for that matter. 

 

International

Momentum offers an introductory guide to Velomobiles, and writes that “getting serious about active transportation in Europe it starts with street parking.”

A writer for Cycling Weekly debunks common myths about fat bicyclists, who turn out to be pretty much like anyone else who rides a bike, but bigger.

British Columbia authorities are investigating after a bike rider was injured by a mountie driving an unmarked car.

Hundreds of bicyclists rode for cleaner air in Birmingham, England.

A British newspaper says ebikes are the future of urban transport in the UK.

Another Cycling Weekly writer says he went to the Netherlands, and saw for himself how much better bicycling could be in the UK. And pretty much anywhere else, for that matter. 

They get it, too. The Irish government is considering new financial incentives to encourage bicycling, after the country’s Cycle to Work program failed to entice enough people to bike to work and leave their cars at home.

Pope Francis sold the Pinarello Dogma given to him by Egan Bernal for the equivalent of more than $15,000, which was half the predicted price for the holy roadie.

An Austrian study reports that an average of 600 children are injured by bicycle handlebars each year, with half involving tears and bruises to the liver, pancreas or spleen.

A drunk driver in India plowed his SUV into a car, three motorcyclists and a bicyclist, leaving the bicycle literally folded in half, and one person in critical condition. And you can probably guess which person that was.

A heartbreaking photo shows a Palestinian boy sitting next to his bicycle in front of a building destroyed by an Israeli bombardment in Rafah.

A new Chinese study shows that ebikes serve as a crucial alternative to cars, as well as complementing transit services, and that banning ebikes “would not be conducive to curbing car growth.”

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist answers the burning question of what the hell is a soigneur?

Bicycling reports that former Tour de France champ Egan Bernal took a remarkable third place at this year’s Volta a Catalunya, behind Tadej Pogačar and Mikel Landa, just two years after a near fatal crash in his native Colombia. Read it on AOL this time if the magazine blocks you.

 

Finally…

Your next gravel bike could cost more than a cheap new car — unless you’d rather have a track bike that costs more than a decent one. Your next full-suspension mountain bike could be made of plywood.

And this is who we share the road with. Or the river, in this case.

……... 

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , ,

LA unprepared for HLA, columnist bizarrely blames HLA for school closures, and fatal Encinitas fall raises bike lane questions

March 25, 2024 / / 3 comments
Just 281 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re up to 1,025 signatures, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

………

It’s now 96 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 33 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A Massachusetts college student is in a medically induced coma after suffered traumatic brain injury, along with broken clavicle, broken hip and a punctured lung, because a driver forced her off the road and into a brick wall while bicycling in Spain; her parents are trying to crowdfund $250,000 to fly her back to the US for treatment.

………

Local 

Mark your calendar for April 21st, when CicLAvia returns to Venice Blvd.

Glendale wants your input for proposed bicycle facilities on Glenoaks Blvd, particularly if you live in the area.

An unemployed South Bay man went from reselling ebikes from a beach chair on Hermosa Ave to owning his own ebike shop on the same street.

 

State

Calbike is asking you to email the state senate Transportation Committee to show your support for SB 960, which would require Caltrans to implement Complete Streets policies for the corridors under its control. Like on PCH, aka SoCal’s killer highway.

A La Jolla man is creating Strava art by using his bike to outline animals, plants and other shapes across San Diego County.

San Diego is set to receive over $220 million for road, bicycle and pedestrian projects, including funding for 265 miles of new and improved bike lanes on state highways.

This is who we share the road with. A 65-year-old Riverside County woman was violently attacked by a road-raging driver as she attempted to record him trying to fight a neighbor who had yelled at him to slow down in their residential neighborhood.

Monterey is gearing up for next month’s 34th edition of the Sea Otter Classic, which promises to be the largest yet.

 

National

Imports of ebikes fell slightly last year, partially offsetting a drastic drop in non-electric bikes imports, as ebikes continue to grab a larger share of bicycle sales. Thanks to PeddleEd for the link. 

Cycling News lists the best bike brands they trust, out of the more than 100 bike makes on the market.

Tragic news from Honolulu, where two people riding bicycles were collateral damage when a 20-year old speeding driver lost control of his vehicle, hit a utility pole, and landed in the crosswalk they were riding in.

Hundreds of people turned out for Portland’s 20th Annual Worst Day of the Year ride, as the weather appeared to live up to its billing.

Colorado bike shops will have to float the cost of the state’s $450 ebike vouchers for nearly a year before they can expect to be reimbursed by the state, which could limit participation in the program since few bike shops can afford to carry the added debt.

A 24-year old Colorado woman was arrested in Arkansas, two months after she fled the Rocky Mountain state to avoid charges for the hit-and-run death of a man riding a bicycle; she’s accused of knocking the 43-year old victim off his bike and over an embankment, and taking his bike to hide evidence of the crime.

The post-pandemic bike bust claims another victim, as a more than 140-year old Cleveland bike shop is set to close this year.

 

International

Momentum explores the five best Reddit communities for urban bicyclists.

Velo rates the world’s five best rides for roadies, including a ride around California’s Lake Tahoe.

Just in time for the Christian Holy Week, Bike Radar lists pilgrimages you can make by bicycle instead of on foot, ranging from 40 to 1,300 miles.

British Columbia ebike maker Biktrix suffered a massive loss when thieves drove up in a semi, and stole a shipping container holding $1 million work of new ebikes and unreleased prototypes.

Montreal-based Memento Cycles won the People’s Choice category at this year’s Philly Bike Expo with a steel gavel bike intended as a tribute to the LGBTQ community.

A writer for The Standard says yes, bicyclists can be annoying, but it’s drivers who are the real problem in London.

No surprise here, as a new Edinburgh study shows commuting by bicycle results in better mental health. Which virtually anyone who’s ever done it could tell you. 

The parents of a fallen Glasgow bicyclist surprisingly call for more people to get on their bikes, arguing there is safety in numbers.

Life is cheap in England, where dashcam video captured a careless driver crash into two women bicyclists, resulting in life-changing injuries to both victims, yet the 20-year driver got just ten lousy months behind bars, and was banned from driving for two years. If you ever wonder why people keep dying on the streets, slap-on-the-wrist sentences like this are a good place to start.

This is who we share the road with, too. A UK TikTok influencer filmed himself doing 90 mph in a 30 mph residential neighborhood, with just one hand on the wheel of his new Porsche, safety be damned. Which should be reason enough to take the damn thing away from him. Permanently. 

A British bike mechanic says there’s no tangible benefit to spending the equivalent of $12,600 or more on a bicycle.

An Irish cop was cleared of all wrongdoing after serving a three-year suspension for giving a lousy $50 unclaimed bicycle to an elderly man in need; needless to say, he intends to sue, although the story is hidden behind a paywall.

A French bicyclist learned the hard way to pay his fines, after the penalty for wearing headphones while riding tripled to 400 Euros — the equivalent of $433 — although he claims he never received a notice.

Former Singapore Transport Minister S Iswaran faces corruption charges, after he’s accused of receiving several gifts, including a new Brompton. The rest might be a problem, but taking the foldie seems totally understandable. And the whiskey. 

 

Competitive Cycling

A new Belgian study suggest that if you want to win in the pro peloton, don’t have kids, because becoming a father adversely impacts the performance of professional road cyclists.

Dutch pro Lorena Wiebes edged out Italy’s Elisa Balsamo to win the women’s Gent-Wevelgem in a photo finish; Mads Pedersen and Mathieu van der Poel took first and second on the men’s side.

The 23-year old Ukrainian refugee accused of killing US junior cyclist Magnus White rejected a proposed plea deal that could have seen her sentenced to as little as two years behind bars, as prosecutors suspect she was literally asleep at the wheel.

 

Finally…

You can find lots of things while riding a bike, including the occasional body. Your next ebike could be patterned after Swiss cheese.

And yes, she has more bike skills than most of us combined.

https://twitter.com/OverThinking_ar/status/1771168187423281351

……... 

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

New Flax bike book out now, Hollywood Complete Street plan announced, and Senate bill promises local bike/ped funding

March 22, 2024 / / Comments Off on New Flax bike book out now, Hollywood Complete Street plan announced, and Senate bill promises local bike/ped funding
Just 284 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re up to 1,022 signatures, so keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

And that’s my copy of Flax’s new book up there. 

………

It’s now 93 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 33 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

No bias here. A group of merchants in the UK claim a new bike lane has killed their businesses, even though the project actually added 80 parking spaces.

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Local 

Over 80 kids and adults took part in South Pas Active Streets’ Park-to-Park family bike ride in South Pasadena last Saturday, sponsored by seven local groups.

 

State

Police in Orange busted a bike thief who stole a bicycle from a 14-year old boy while he was playing with friends.

Sad news from Watsonville, where a 58-year old bike rider died in the hospital, a week after being injured in a collision; police investigators said the victim was following the law when he or she was struck by the 31-year old driver.

A Berkeley father calls for safe streets after he and his son survived a collision when a driver hit the cargo bike they were riding.

A Gold Country cycling columnist says don’t let bad behavior define bicyclists, and it’s never appropriate to flip off a driver. No matter how much they might deserve it. 

 

National

Marketplace says cargo bikes offer a solution to package delivery trucks clogging city streets.

Forbes offers a “complete and comprehensive” guide to the year’s best bike brands.

A 24-year old Colorado woman was arrested for a fatal hit-and-run, two months after she knocked a 43-year old man off his bicycle and left him to die on an embankment on the side of the road; the victim wasn’t found for more than two days after the crash. Drivers like that should face a murder charge for making the conscious decision to let their victims die rather than stop and call for help. 

Kindhearted Idaho cops gave new bikes to a pair of cousins, after the five and four-year old boys survived getting hit by an intoxicated driver.

They get it. A Kentucky radio station says motorists need to watch out for bicyclists. True, in every sense.

Hoboken, New Jersey will now require ebike delivery riders to be tested, licensed, and wear a high-vis vest with a registration number; the city has gone seven years without a single traffic death.

DC shows how to launch an ebike rebate program similar to the highly successful Denver ebike voucher plan, just six months after it was unanimously approved by the city council. Not three years or more, like bumbling and incompetent California’s moribund plan. 

 

International

A 32-year old Austin, Texas man became the first openly gay man to ride a bike around the world, traveling 27,461 miles across 37 different countries in 280 days, and raising nearly $19,000 for for LGBTQ+ suicide prevention nonprofit The Trevor Project.

Momentum takes a look at the bike bus movement, and why kids love it so much. Short answer, because it’s fun. Longer answer, because it’s a lot of fun.

Thanks to the Church of Scotland, bike riders will have a new 1.6-mile path between two small villages, after the church donated a parcel of land for the project.

Life is cheap in Scotland, where 69 year old man walked without a day behind bars for killing a 22-year old French-American bike rider while driving with an obscured windshield, and dragging her more than half the length of a football field; the lawyer representing her family writes that drivers hold the key to keeping bicyclists safe, and mere sentencing won’t cut it.

The Daily Mail joins “London’s patron saint of cycling” on a ride through the city’s streets to see if it really is a death trap, while a former British news host calls out the aforementioned saint, BBC host Jeremy Vine, after he was nearly hit by bicyclists blowing through a red light. Because as we all know, every bike rider is responsible for the actions of every other misbehaving bicyclist.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling website recommends the five best bicycling festivals to visit this year.

 

Competitive Cycling

Sad news from Australia, where a 62-year old man was killed while competing in the Indian Pacific Wheel Race, seven years after popular ultra-endurance rider Mike Hall was killed in the first edition of the race; another competitor was injured in a separate incident.

Arkansas’ Joe Martin Stage Race has been cancelled for this year; one of just four remaining UCI sanctioned races in the US, and the longest-held stage race in America — assuming it returns next year, as promised.

The popular Belgian Waffle Ride, aka BWR, will return to North City in San Marcos on April 27-28.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you can’t find a place to do handstands and splits on your handlebars. And hell hath no fury like a bicyclist with a GoPro.

……... 

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin

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