Tag Archive for Los Angeles

Morning Links: Bikeshare finally comes to DTLA, and bike-friendly LA city council candidate Jesse Creed

July 8, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Bikeshare finally comes to DTLA, and bike-friendly LA city council candidate Jesse Creed

Just a short update today, as my diabetes seems compelled to knock me on my ass following a busy day.

I’ll try to be back tomorrow with a full report for the weekend.

………

It’s true.

Los Angeles finally has a bikeshare system.

LA Downtown News takes an early Metro Bike test ride, and finds the bikes comfortable, but with a shortage of safe places to ride them.

A $75,000 grant, matched by $25,000 from Metro, will help make bike sharing more accessible to underserved communities. Note to LA Weekly: That photo from CicLAvia has nothing to do bikeshare; it’s like using a photo of private cars to illustrate a story about taxis.

The LA Times questions whether Los Angeles will embrace bikeshare, while Mayor Eric Garcetti mimics William Mulholland by saying “Here they are. Use them.”

The Times also provides a detailed explanation of how the Metro Bike system works, along with a nifty little bikeshare music video.

The Daily News says Los Angeles has big plans for the bikeshare system to expand to nine regions, starting next year with Pasadena, Venice and the Port of LA.

LAist offers a full report from the kickoff event, while noting riders proceeding along Grand Avenue were greeted by multiple signs reading “Bike Lane Closed.”

KTLA-5 offers a video report, including a brief interview with the mayor, in which he says he looks forward to taking one of the bikes out to go for lunch.

KPCC explains how to use the bikeshare system, which is currently only available to pass holders; walk-up users can rent a bike using their TAP card beginning August 1st.

It's (LA) Time(s) for bikeshare in Los Angeles

It’s (LA) Time(s) for bikeshare in Los Angeles

A massive fleet of Metro Bikes waiting to be deployed

A massive fleet of Metro Bikes waiting to be deployed

A crowd of a few hundred people turned out for the event

A crowd of a few hundred people turned out for the event

Metro CEO Phillip Washington addresses the crowd of soon-to-be bike sharers.

Metro CEO Phillip Washington addresses the crowd of soon-to-be bike sharers.

LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis

LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis looks forward to eastward expansion

Proof that I really was there, courtesy of the Eastside Riders

Proof that I really was there, courtesy of the Eastside Riders

LADOT GM Seleta Reynolds helps lead the ride off from Grand Park

LADOT GM Seleta Reynolds helps lead the rideoff from Grand Park

Riders roll out with LA City Hall as a backdrop

Riders like this should be a common sight at LA City Hall and throughout the Downtown area

The loneliest Metro Bike awaits in front of the Grand Central Market, with the Million Dollar Theater and the Bradbury Building in the background

The loneliest little Metro Bike awaits in front of the Grand Central Market, with the Million Dollar Theater and the Bradbury Building in the background

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If you need a place to ride your new Metro Bike, the LAPD invites you to attend a People and Pets Safety Fair tomorrow at the still-unnamed LAPD Headquarters in DTLA.

LAPD People and Pets

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Following the Metro Bike event, I had the pleasure of meeting with Jesse Creed, who’s running against incumbent Councilmember Paul Koretz in LA’s 5th Council District.

Before I even met him, he had my qualified support under the “enemy of my enemy is my friend” doctrine.

But after talking with him, I can remove that “qualified” and say he now has my full support.

I found him to be youthful, energetic, personable and highly engaged, with a clear understanding of the problems facing Los Angeles, and the belief that we can and should do better.

A bike rider himself, his commitment to sustainable transportation goes beyond mere words, including riding his bike for short trips instead of taking the car. And working to represent the entire community to build Complete Streets that benefit everyone, as opposed to arbitrarily blocking them as his opponent has done.

He’s also open to new perspectives. When I recommended a book on how to make government work better, he pulled out his phone and bought it on the spot.

We still face four months of nasty campaigning leading up to this fall’s presidential election, and the inevitable voter fatigue that will follow before LA’s city election finally rolls around in the spring.

But we could do a lot worse than electing Creed to represent the people of the 5th District.

In fact, we already have. And we’re paying the price for it.

………

On a related, and belated, note, I’ve been remiss in my failure to note that Josef Bray-Ali, owner of the Flying Pigeon LA bike shop in Northeast LA, now has a fundraising website set up.

If we can elect Creed and Bray-Ali next spring, we’ll be well on our way to making this the livable city it can and should be.

And if #bikeLA finally gets off its collective ass and gets out to vote, we will.

………

Once again, construction closes a section of the LA River Bike Path. And for the next three years, no less.

But at least this time, they’re doing it for our benefit, in order to lengthen the path and improve access at Riverside Drive.

LA River bike path closure at Riverside Drive

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The LAPD has captured a suspect in the string of bike-riding Hollywood parking lot robberies.

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Reuters looks at the South LA lowrider bicycle scene, including a talk with Manny Silva of Manny’s Bike Shop, considered the godfather of lowrider bikes.

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Finally…

Leo Tolstoy was one of us.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Bikeshare, Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,

Morning Links: Metro Bike kickoff in DTLA, bike-friendly Amoeba, and even Trump can’t stop the Rump

July 7, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Metro Bike kickoff in DTLA, bike-friendly Amoeba, and even Trump can’t stop the Rump

After years of false starts, bikeshare finally comes to Los Angeles today.

Or Downtown, anyway.

The celebration kicks off at 11 am at Grand Park, offering “snacks, live music and good vibes.” And lots of bikes that need to be moved to other locations.

Richard Risemberg questions some of the dock placements, as well as LA’s lack of a connected bikeway network anywhere outside of DTLA, but says, in the words of famed water maven Bill Mulholland, “There it is. Take it.”

Fortunately, given the lack of infrastructure, bikeshare riders have just half the rate of injury as other bicyclists.

………

Nice to see Amoeba Music getting on the bike bandwagon.

Amoeba Music Window

That would make a perfect place for a bikeshare dock, if and when Metro Bike ever makes it out to Hollywood.

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You can’t spell Trump without rump.

Donald Trump once threatened to sue the organizers of Aspen’s Tour de Rump for trademark infringement for his short-lived Tour de Trump bike race.

Twenty-seven years later, the Aspen race is still going strong, while even the king of comb-overs seems to have forgotten the other one.

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Cycling Weekly offers five talking points from the fifth stage of the Tour de France, while the anticipated battle between Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana still looms ahead in the mountain stages.

TdF rookie Fabio Aru takes control of the Astana team as 2014 winner Vincenzo Nibali falters on the race’s first climb. London’s Daily Mail says the Tour has spectacle, blood and emotion.

Look for more doping revelations, as the World Anti-Doping Agency and cycling’s governing body now have over 200 bags of blood saved from the Spanish Operation Puerto case.

Former Temecula resident Sarah Hammer is a favorite to medal in track cycling at the Rio Olympics.

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Local

A DTLA bicycle boutique is raising funds on Indiegogo and asking for donations of used bikes to create a bikeshare program for homeless people on Skid Row.

Monrovia unanimously approves a new bicycle master plan calling for 3.7 miles of bike paths, 4.2 miles of bike lanes and 18 miles of sharrows; an additional 7.1 miles will be studied for protected bike lanes. Boyonabike calls it an important step, but says much work still remains. Like making sure those sharrows do more than help drivers improve their aim.

A Woodland Hills couple starts their life together with a 55-mile wedding day ride through the Conejo Valley, complete with tux-print cycling jerseys.

 

State

Red Kite Prayer’s Padraig says if you want to get away with murder, run someone over, then toss a crumpled bicycle next to the body.

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. San Diego is making safety improvements to a street where a teenage skateboarder was killed by a hit-and-run driver while skating in a bike lane.

A 79-year old bike rider was injured when he was left-crossed by a Riverside County sheriff’s employee in Rancho Mirage; for once, the CHP suggests the officer may be at fault for going through a no left turn arrow and failing to yield to oncoming traffic.

An Atascadero letter writer employs selective reading to insist that state law bars riding two abreast, citing CVC 21202 as proof. But like most drivers and law enforcement officers, neglects to consider that it does not apply on non-sharable lanes.

A carload of Marin County teenagers was cited for battery and possession of alcohol after shooting a cyclist with a paintball gun.

A Davis cycling instructor says summer is the perfect time to start riding as a family.

 

National

Clean Technica looks at People for Bikes’ plan to create a Big Jump in bicycling rates in ten select cities in just three years, while the aforementioned national advocacy group wants your help to fix a new Federal rule that could block protected bike lanes.

Google is teaching its self-driving cars to avoid bike riders, predicting it could save scores of riders each year.

Outside says the proliferation of bike and helmet cams is demonstrating the dangers bicyclists face on the streets, though it may not make a difference in the courtroom.

Consumer Reports describes the anatomy of a bike crash, while somehow feeling the need to point out that your brain will probably slosh around inside your skull once you hit the pavement.

Bike racer Neil Bezdek describes the experience of going carless from a roadie’s perspective. Decent story, right up until the last sentence.

A 72-year old Iowa man is about to start a 4,000 mile bike tour across the US, after riding over 18,000 miles over the last four years.

An Iowa paper calls for a ban on texting while driving, after a distracted driver walks with just tickets and a license suspension for killing a cyclist. Of course, even if it is illegal, that doesn’t mean prosecutors will actually do anything about it.

A local paper looks at the Columbus OH jerk idiot driver who apparently thought threatening to kill bike riders was a form of satire.

A Nashville music executive was killed in an apparent solo fall; he was found lying in the roadway next to his undamaged bicycle after somehow losing control during a brief descent.

Caught on video: A New York cyclist records what it’s like to be an UberRush bike messenger for a day.

After years of complaints, the NYPD finally gets serious about cracking down on drivers parking in bike lanes, issuing 1,757 tickets for blocking bike lanes over a five day period, as well as 810 summons for failing to yield to bicyclists and pedestrians.

DC considers capping a rail yard to create space for a park or bikeways.

 

International

Toronto drivers take a toll on vulnerable road users, as 20 cyclists and pedestrians were hit by cars in less than 24 hours, including a 71-year old cyclist killed when he crashed into a parked van while dodging a left cross; a Toronto cop apologizes for initially blaming the victim.

A Brit bike thief explains how to keep you bike safe from someone like him.

British Cycling gets behind a campaign to open the UK’s trails to offroad riders.

Paris opens the first half mile of what will eventually be a 28-mile network of bike highways crossing the city.

London’s Telegraph asks if Majorca, Spain is the world’s greatest cycling destination. Actually, the best cycling destination is wherever you’re going. Especially if you’re not going anywhere.

Over 150 people rode from the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp to the Jewish Community Center in Krakow, Poland to remember the Holocaust.

 

Finally…

Music to ride a bike to. If you’re going to steal a bike from an apartment building, don’t stop to have a smoke in front of the entrance afterwards.

And the dope you ordered from your bike messenger may not be the dope you get.

 

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

Morning Links: Bike-friendly UCLA nabs the Silver, and Marin grand jury delves into traffic planning

July 6, 2016 / / One comment

Congratulations to UCLA, which has been upgraded to a Silver Level Bicycle-Friendly University.

It’s great that the university is taking concrete steps to keep bike riders and their bikes safe on campus.

Just too bad LA Councilmember Paul Koretz is dedicated to keeping things dangerous once they leave it.

………

A Marin columnist congratulates the local grand jury as they demonstrate why traffic planning should be left to people who know what the hell they’re talking about.

The grand jury, which is clearly unfamiliar with the concept of induced demand, came back with a report criticizing local officials for failing to solve the region’s traffic problems, calling on them to widen roadways to increase capacity.

And failing, evidently, to recognize that the cause of traffic congestion isn’t the width of the roadway, but the number of vehicles on it.

“Based on community feedback and limited funding, focus on those potential improvements that maximize congestion relief and safety. Outside of this project, consider shifting planned budgets for multi-million dollar pedestrian-bicycle pathways toward projects that benefit a larger population.”

Never mind that those “multi-million dollar” pathways benefit public health while providing people with an alternative to joining the great mass of motor vehicles clogging the roadways.

Let them learn from Southern California’s mistake. Turning streets into highways, and highways into freeways does not solve the problem, and only makes the situation worse while destroying the quality of life in the surrounding community.

So if they can’t handle the traffic, the only real solution is to provide residents with a way out of it.

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Business Insider offers a close-up look at Peter Sagan’s bike; he retains the leader’s jersey after four stages.

Dutch rider Tom Doumalin criticizes the long, boring transitional stages in the Tour de France. He should be happy since the race heads back to the mountains today, with a battered Alberto Contador looking vulnerable.

American Evelyn Stevens retains her lead after four stages in the Giro Rosa.

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Local

Writing for the LA Times, Alissa Walker sends a message back in time to describe the utopian, extremely bike and transit-friendly Los Angeles of 2056. We can dream, right?

The LA Weekly looks at the Eastside’s Ovarian Psychos, saying the radical feminist cycling group is taking Boyle Heights back one ride at a time.

Metro is reaching out to low income communities to participate in LA’s new bikeshare system.

A man was shot to death while riding along the LA River, on an unpaved section of the bike path in Bellflower, in what police say appears to be a gang-related attack.

Palos Verdes Estates will discuss replacing the highly biased “Bicycle Laws Strictly Enforced” signs with “Share the Road” signs and signs touting the three-foot passing law at today’s meeting of the city’s Traffic Safety Committee. Nice that they realize traffic laws should be enforced against people who don’t ride bikes, too. But maybe they could go for “Bikes May Use Full Lane” instead of the useless and outdated “Share the Road.”

 

State

A Riverside woman was lucky to survive with moderate injuries after her bike was clipped by a train.

Atascadero is planning to install a roundabout and separated bike lanes to improve safety near a high school, while providing access from downtown to Atascadero Lake.

Visalia is asking for public input on the city’s first-ever active transportation plan.

At least three witnesses jumped into action to follow a hit-and-run driver who fled the scene after slamming into a Santa Rosa salmon cyclist; the victim suffered road rash, while the driver was busted and booked.

 

National

Google’s self-driving cars can now recognize cyclists’ hand signals. But how will they respond to the one used the most in LA traffic?

Wired says instead of trying to fool Waze, slow traffic by installing road diets with bike lanes, among other options.

An Austin TX bike rider died when the chain came of his bike and jammed into his wheel, throwing him off his bike. Let that be a tragic reminder to always keep your bike in good riding condition.

An Ohio boy with cerebral palsy is given the gift of freedom and mobility by the local Kiwanis club, in the form of a customized tricycle.

Ohio cyclists — and riders around the world — were up in arms over a driver in the Columbus Doo Dah Parade who featured a crushed bike on the hood of his SUV, with a manikin depicting a cyclist sticking out of the roof, and a sign reading “I’ll share the road when you follow the rules.” Because evidently, he’s the only driver in Ohio who never breaks the law. And because threatening to kill people is always good for a laugh.

The Louisville KY city council votes to reduce funding for bikeways in favor of programs to help keep kids off the streets. Which their vote will accomplish in more ways than one.

An Indiana cycling instructor lists a dozen ways drivers and bike riders can share the road.

An upstate New York man faces charges for tackling and holding down a cyclist who almost hit his dog. As a dog owner, I can understand the sentiment. But, no.

A New York driver intentionally ran down and killed a man on a bike before fleeing the scene. So naturally, the NYPD responds by cracking down on bike riders.

Great idea. A DC bike advocacy group uses a grant to hire five trail rangers to patrol area bike paths.

A Norfolk VA writer says the only thing holding the city back from being a great cycling city is a lack of political will. Which is exactly what’s holding LA back, some areas in particular.

 

International

Ottawa transit officials rejected plans for cycle tracks in a new rail station design, knowingly putting bike riders at risk. Meanwhile, Ottawa police ticket 323 drivers and tow 29 vehicles for parking in bike lanes and bus-only lanes.

The Netherlands isn’t just a haven for bike riders, it’s also paradise for bike thieves.

Denmark’s royal family is one, uh, four of us, as they go for a family bike ride.

If you’re going to pose as a cyclist and attempt to blend into a group ride in order to sneak across the border into Spanish territory, make sure your stolen passport is in order first.

It took American adventurers Rebecca Rusch and Pat Sweeny four days to pedal up Mount Kilimanjaro, and another two to ride back down, while raising funds to provide 131 new bikes for people in need in Africa through World Bicycle Relief.

Opponents of a Kiwi bike and pedestrian bridge claim it could be dangerously overcrowded, putting users at risk of a human crush. In other words, don’t build it because it might be too successful. And doesn’t any bridge, anywhere, face exactly the same, extremely minimal risk?

A Malaysian woman takes a solo bike tour through Cambodia and Thailand, negotiating the language barrier with had gestures and staying at “love hotels.”

 

Finally…

Next time you flee the country to avoid paying damages to a Chinese bicyclist, don’t leave your Chinese wife behind. No, seriously, if you’re riding your bike with burglary tools and stolen checks and credit cards, stay off the damn sidewalk.

And how can we possibly top a story about a cyclist who survived a lightening strike thanks to his headphones and penis?

 

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

Morning Links: Topanga Creek wrench finishes Tour Divide, Libertarian candidate claims 485 mile ride

July 5, 2016 / / 2 comments

Most cyclists are happy to complete a century or two. If that.

Topanga Creek Outpost bike builder and mechanic Jay Barre just finished the 2,700-mile offroad Tour Divide from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells, New Mexico.

Definitely worth stopping by the shop to congratulate him once he recovers from the grueling ride. And buy him a beer for me while you’re at it.

Thanks to Pete Kaufman for the heads-up, who calls Barre an “all-around nice guy.”

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Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is one of us, clarifying that he “only” rode 485 miles in 36 hours, not 600 as he originally claimed.

Correction: Originally I wrote that Johnson was the vice presidential candidate, not the Libertarian candidate for president. Thanks to Michele for the correction. 

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Evidently, Detroit’s Slow Roll movement has spread to the Tour de France.

Leader Peter Sagan complains about reckless riding and a lack of respect in the peloton, saying he could wear the yellow jersey today, but go home after crashing out tomorrow. Mark Cavendish agrees, saying “losers” are taking more chances in the sprints because they’re jealous of winners, as he moves to second on the all-time TdF win list.

Pro cyclist Lizzie Armistead is inspiring British women to take to their bikes.

Evidently, women racers are expected to lose to men — or at least cooperate with them — or risk getting accused of cheating.

A woman roadie becomes the latest Russian athlete to fail a drug test; the country is formally appealing a ban from the Rio Olympics over a systematic doping program.

And the man who invented motor doping says scanners don’t work if the motor is turned off.

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Local

The Source offers ten things to know about the unimaginatively named new Metro Bike Share, which opens for registered users this Thursday. Evidently, Bikey McBikeface was already taken.

The Urban Avenger points out a dangerous hazard on the new Expo Line bike path.

Variety reviews the Ovarian Psychos documentary, finding it a little thin.

Driver says rude Palos Verdes cyclists inhibiting his God-given right to own the road are the real cause of road rage. Something tells me if bikes weren’t there, he’d find something else to rage about.

Long Beach tries out a pop-up separated bike lane to see how it goes over with the public.

 

State

San Diego drivers keep knocking down plastic bollards separating a protected bike lane from newly narrowed traffic lanes, putting the pedestrians using it at risk. Pedestrians don’t belong in in bike lanes, but that’s what happens when you don’t build sidewalks. And little plastic poles are incapable of protecting anyone, especially when drivers can’t manage to down or stay in their lanes.

Not surprisingly, by far the most common bicycling traffic violation in San Diego is a failure to stop or yield the right-of-way.

A bike-riding San Luis Obispo cop says the best way to pass cyclists is to slow down and tap on the horn, albeit from a distance. To which I suspect most riders would agree with the former, and profoundly disagree with the latter.

Sacramento finally gets serious about clarifying where bicyclists can and can’t legally ride on the sidewalk. Although a better alternative is to improve the roadways, since few people will ride on the sidewalk if they feel safe riding in the street.

 

National

Bike friendly Boulder CO considers how to keep cyclists safe following a rash of fatalities.

Montana authorities give up on capturing a grizzly bear that killed a mountain biker, saying the bear reacted naturally to a high speed collision on the trail.

An Austin TX writer goes on a bicycle brewery tour of my hometown.

A new 46-mile bike trail will allow bicyclists to follow pioneer routes through Kansas and Missouri.

Despite admitting to texting while driving, an Iowa woman will face nothing more than fines and a six-month license suspension for running down a bike rider. Sounds like the Ventura County DA has been moonlighting in the corn belt.

Something is seriously wrong when ghost bikes aren’t even safe from dangerous drivers.

An off-duty Chicago cop is credited with saving the life of a bike rider who suffered a serious neck wound when he was doored.

It takes a major jerk to punch a 14-year old girl on a Michigan shared use trail because she didn’t get the hell out of the cyclist’s way fast enough.

A New York hit-and-run may have been a case of murder, as surveillance video appears to show the driver intentionally running into his bike-riding victim.

A Greenville NC driver calls for draconian bike license fees in order to use bike paths. Since the taxes cyclists pay don’t count, evidently.

 

International

A new Canadian study shows climate change can be slowed by building more bike paths.

A British reality star has a close call after crashing in front of a minivan.

Britain’s GoPro vigilante cyclist teams up with an anti-bike traffic lawyer to prove each other wrong while highlighting the dangers of London’s busy roads.

Someone sabotaged an Irish bike trail prior to a mountain bike race in an apparently deliberate attempt to injure or kill riders; wire was strung at neck level, while logs and rocks were placed across the trail.

A German man gets two and an half years for plotting to bomb an undisclosed cycling race last year.

 

Finally…

Today’s lesson: Always own a bicycle, so you can safely recover your stolen Tesla. ‪If you’re going to break into a home to steal some bikes, a car and other items, make sure it doesn’t belong to a company that makes GPS tracking devices.

And your next bike could be a horse.

Sort of.

 

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

Weekend Links: Traffic and bicycling fatalities jump, help fix Forest Lawn Drive, and ride-off with Metro Bike

July 2, 2016 / / Comments Off on Weekend Links: Traffic and bicycling fatalities jump, help fix Forest Lawn Drive, and ride-off with Metro Bike

Just a few quick notes before we break for the holiday weekend.

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So much for peak driving, as driving hit record levels, with Americans putting in more miles on the road 2015 than ever before.

Along with it comes a 7.7% jump in traffic fatalities, with bicycling fatalities up 13%, and pedestrian deaths climbing 10%.

But the increase wasn’t just because of the record driving levels. The rate of traffic fatalities also increased to 1.12 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, up from 1.08 the year before.

A genuine nationwide commitment to Vision Zero can’t come soon enough.

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If you’ve ever ridden LA’s Forest Lawn Drive, you know what a challenge it can be to navigate the crumbling road surface.

Cyclist Craig White has started a petition calling on Councilmember David Ryu to fix the roadway to make it safe for people on bicycles.

It’s well worth taking a few moments to sign.

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Metro is looking for people to ride in Thursday’s kickoff event for the Grand Opening of the Metro Bike Share at Grand Park in DTLA on Thursday.

Metro Bike Share is launching with up to 65 stations and 1000 bicycles in Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) on July 7, 2016!

Join Metro, the City of Los Angeles and the Downtown community in a celebration at Grand Park with music, snacks, and a chance to be the first to test ride the new bikes for free!

The Metro Bike Share Launch and Ride-Off Event will culminate with a bike ride to experience a new way to see DTLA.

To sign up for the ride-off, select your preferred station destination from the ticket options provided. You’ll be assigned a bike and asked to sign a waiver as a part of the registration process. Please note: Sign ups are first come first served, so don’t miss out. Don’t forget to bring your helmet!

If you are interested in leading a ride group, please email us at marketing@bikeshare.metro.net. Ride leaders get a special Metro Bike Share gift for helping out!

Remember this is a ride-off, so make sure to pick a station close to where you want to end up! We recommend arriving to the event by Metro Rail, bus, or by walking. Plan your trip at Metro.net or use the transit setting on your preferred map application.

Launch Party schedule:

  • 11-11:30am – Check-in
  • 11:30am – Celebration
  • 12pm – Press Conference
  • 12:30pm – Ride-off

Click here to RSVP asap!

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Nice piece from Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman, as she stops to help a young man patch his tube, only to discover it wasn’t fixable.

Fortunately, though, he was, as he tells her about the metal rod in his back after recovering from being hit by a car six months earlier.

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Sad news from Chicago, as a woman was killed riding one of the city’s Divvy bikeshare bikes, in what is believed to be the first bikeshare fatality in the US.

Thanks to Steve Herbert for the heads-up.

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Long-time reader Fred Davis forwards an excerpt from former New York DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan’s book Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution discussing the fight for bike lanes, and the inevitable bikelash that followed.

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The Guardian traces a cycling path through literature.

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A suspected bike thief was caught on video in Long Beach’s Belmont Shore.

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My formerly sled dog-racing brother, now living in Colorado, forwards news of an Aspen area bike trail being closed due to too much adorableness.

A rider took a photo of three mountain lion kittens on the side of the trail. Which means that mama was undoubtedly nearby somewhere. And not likely to look kindly on anyone getting too close to her brood.

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Have a great 4th of July weekend.

But don’t forget that holiday weekends mean more drunk and stoned drivers on the road. And more people more focused on finding a parking space than looking for bicycles in front of them.

So ride safely and defensively this weekend. I want to see you all back here on Tuesday.

 

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

Morning Links: Bike race-inspired wallpaper, and bikelash begins to newly bike friendly Caltrans

July 1, 2016 / / One comment

Just in time for today’s start of Italy’s Giro Rosa and tomorrow’s Tour de France kickoff, a Brit company wants to paper your walls with Tour de France-inspired images.

Great Britain’s Murals Wallpaper offers images of classic bicycles with the headings Grand Tour, Vélo and Peloton.

All that’s missing is Le Doping. Motor and otherwise.

Tour-De-France-Grand-Tour-Web

Tour-De-France-Pelaton-Web

Tour-De-France-Velo-Web

Seriously, if I still had an office, one or more of these would go up as soon as I could have them shipped overseas.

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Now that Caltrans has finally embraced bicycling and walking, the inevitable bikelash has begun.

A writer for the Spectator calls the agency’s 2040 transportation plan more of a social-engineering than transportation-engineering document, complaining that we need to fix the “roads, freeways, and bridges that most of us actually rely on to get places” instead of building bike lanes.

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The Santa Monica Spoke says your voice is needed to get the Feds to count bikes when determining performance measures for our national transportation system.

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Mark your calendar for Bike With Your Dog Day on July 10th.

Seriously, the Corgi would flip my bike the first time she saw a squirrel or motorcycle. Let alone a sandwich lying in the street.

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On the eve of the Tour de France, the Wall Street Journal calls Peter Sagan the rock star of cycling.

French rider Nacer Bouhanni will miss the tour after injuring his hand punching out some loud drunks in the next hotel room.

Nineteen-year old Roseville CA cyclist Neilson Powless is being compared favorably to Lance and LeMond as the future of American cycling. Hopefully more like the drug-free latter than the former.

American BMX rider Amanda Carr will be competing in the Rio Olympics. Just not for the US.

And Cycling Tips remembers a time when Donald Trump didn’t ridicule government officials for riding a bike, but actually sponsored a bike race back when he still had hair.

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Local

Los Angeles Magazine provides an in-depth profile of LA Mayor Eric Garcetti; unfortunately, it barely touches on transportation, let alone bicycling.

Los Angeles offers a $50,000 reward for the person who mistakenly shot a ten-year old girl in the head while aiming for a man on a bicycle in Boyle Heights last month.

LAist wants to know if you live car-free in LA.

Discover Los Angeles rides from Playa del Rey to Torrance Beach along the beachfront Marvin Bruade bike path.

The LACBC is hosting a pre-4th of July Sunday Funday Ride through the Westside this weekend.

Palos Verdes Estates officials promise they’re already working on plans to improve safety for cyclists in the community.

 

State

Bike-friendly Newport Beach city councilmember Tony Petros will step down at the end of his first term.

KPBS asks how blocking bike lanes is good for the environment, as plans for San Diego’s North Park neighborhood call for widening roads to alleviate congestion.

Celebrate the 4th with a little Mammoth Mountain downhill, on skis and two wheels.

An off-duty Santa Barbara cop interrupts his bike ride home from work to stop a racially charged knife attack on a homeless man.

A Fresno bike shop relocates to nearby Hanford after the owner gets fed up with break-ins at the former downtown location.

No bias here, as a San Jose paper says Atherton is about to be invaded by hundreds of bike riders.

San Francisco cyclists call for safer streets at a meeting of the city’s Vision Zero committee, after two bike riders were killed in separate hit-and-runs last week; one of the victims was remembered as a rising star in the tech world.

In the wake of the deaths, San Francisco’s mayor announces 57 new high priority Vision Zero projects.

CamelBak teams with local groups to give away 80 kid’s bikes and helmets in Petaluma.

 

National

People for Bikes is taking applications for a new program to double or triple bike ridership in select city neighborhoods while reducing crashes. I’d like to nominate Hollywood, thank you. That leaves nine others.

Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama and Washington DC, still have contributory negligence laws that keep cyclists from recovering any damages in a crash if they’re found just one percent responsible.

Portland’s bikeshare system will offer adaptive bikes for disabled riders starting next year.

A Washington appeals court rules that bicycles are an integral part of the state’s multimodal transportation plan, so cities must make streets safe for bike riders. Now if we can only get California courts to follow their precedence.

More bighearted cops, as Fairbanks AK police replace an autistic man’s stolen bike.

Colorado authorities widen the shoulder of a highway after a cyclist was critically injured while riding on the fog line; fortunately, the victim is slowly recovering.

A 15-year old Nebraska boy tows his lawn mowing business in a trailer behind his bike.

San Antonio TX is facing a lawsuit for diverting funds from a transportation sales tax to build sidewalks and bikeways.

Good news from Kalamazoo, as the most seriously injured survivor of the hit-and-run DUI wreck that killed five riders and injured four others is released from the hospital.

The Boston Globe looks at the ritual of installing ghost bike memorials. Which are needed far too often, there and here.

Caught on video: New York’s 8th Street bike lane is consistently filled with everything and everyone but bike riders.

Pastors of Black churches in DC’s Shaw neighborhood continue to fight plans for bike lanes. Evidently, African Americans must not ride bikes to church in DC. Then again, they might if they had a safe way to get there.

A CNN reporter samples the coffee-infused business bikewear from the Ministry of Supply.

Santa Monica’s CycleHop is one of three companies still in the running to build the planned New Orleans bikeshare system.

 

International

This is why you have to lock up a ghost bike. A Canadian man simply walks off with one, claiming he didn’t know its significance. On the other hand, he probably did know it didn’t belong to him.

Windsor, Ontario’s mayor enjoys his first bike ride to work so much he promises to keep riding over the summer.

Former Brit pro David Millar ranks the world’s ten best places for a bicycling vacation. Surprisingly, he puts Boulder and Aspen CO number two, ahead of Tuscany and anywhere in France, while Maui checks in at number ten.

UK fashion designer Paul Smith discusses his lifelong love of cycling, as well as his new line of bikewear.

Bike riders aren’t always the good guys. A BBC presenter is the victim of a racist attack after she intervenes with a bicyclist who was telling an Asian man to go home. Seriously, what the hell is wrong with the UK these days?

Vice offers photos of Berlin’s brutal Bike Wars competition, which one of the founders describes as a destruction derby with bicycles.

The Guardian asks if inter-city bikeways like Germany’s coming bicycle autobahn could revolutionize our daily commute. I’d settle for a decent bikeway connecting Los Angeles with itself. Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

An Aussie woman is in critical condition after colliding with a bicyclist.

 

Finally…

Maybe if you didn’t call it the Loop of Doom it might go better next time. Probably not the best idea to throw a knife at — let alone try to shoot — the bike-riding acquaintance you owe money to.

And whatever you do, don’t slap a fireman if he tells you to stop your bike.

Just… don’t.

Thanks to Helper for the link.

 

Category: Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: BOLO alert for bicycling Hollywood robber, and celebrate the coming of bikeshare to DTLA on 7/7

June 30, 2016 / / 2 comments

The LAPD asks us to be on the lookout for a bike-riding robber victimizing Hollywood parking lot attendants.

Hollywood Bicyclist Robber Sought

Hollywood: The Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollywood Area robbery detectives are asking for the public’s help in providing any information that will lead to the identification and arrest of an armed suspect that was involved in a series of parking lot robberies.

From June 11, 2016 through June 25, 2016, between the hours of 11:35 A.M. to 10:50 P.M., there have been multiple robberies in the Hollywood area involving parking lot attendants.

The suspect armed with a handgun confronted the victims and demanded money from each of them. The suspect then fled with the victims’ money on a mountain bike. The mountain bike is described red and/or black in color.

The suspect is described as a 40 to 60 year old male Black. He stands approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs between 130-150 pounds. He was seen wearing a ‘Flat Bill’ style baseball hat during the robberies. The suspect is to be considered armed and dangerous.

Hollywood Bicyclist Robber Sought

………

Bikeshare officially comes to Downtown LA on July 7th.

For people who sign up in advance, anyway; walk-up users will have to wait until August to take advantage of the system.

According to Streetsblog’s Joe Linton, Metro is teaming up with the LACBC and Multicultural Communities for Mobility on a $100,000 program to make bikeshare services available to low-income riders, making it one of the first systems anywhere accessible to people with limited incomes and no credit cards.

Meanwhile, you’re invited to join Metro for a grand opening celebration and ride-off at Grand Park on the 7th. You can learn more and RSVP here.

Metro-Bike-Share-Launch-Celebration-1

But how long before we see our very own NIMBY bikeshare bikelash?

………

Today’s common theme is bike helmets.

Consumer Reports rates bike helmets for adults, including some with the relatively new MIPS technology to help reduce the risk of concussions.

A New York public health professor credits a bike helmet with saving his son’s life, and extrapolates that to mean every bike rider, everywhere, should be required to wear one — even on bikeshare systems, which have yet to experience a single fatality in the US. Of course, by that logic, everyone should wear a bulletproof vest, too.

And a Canadian coroner concludes that a helmet could have saved a cyclist’s life, even though the victim was hit by a car with enough force to throw him over 50 feet through the air. He fails to mention that stopping for the stop sign the rider ran would have done a lot more good.*

*Just a reminder for new readers: I’m a firm believer in bike helmets, and never ride without one. But I also recognize that they are designed to protect against slow speed falls, not high speed collisions, and should be seen a last resort when everything else fails.

………

A bike helmet probably wouldn’t have done a US Forrest Service officer any good, as the 38-year old mountain biker was attacked and killed by a grizzly bear; the victim and his riding companion surprised the bear while riding just outside Glacier National Park.

Thanks to John McBrearty for the heads-up.

………

The Fresno Bee looks at the contenders for this year’s Tour de France, which starts Saturday at Mont-Saint-Michel; the AP says Chris Froome may be on the cusp of greatness. Tejay van Garderen heads the diminished American contingent, as Taylor Phinney and Andrew Talansky skip the race, while Tyler Farrar and Ben King were left off their team rosters.

The Tour de France isn’t the only major race kicking off this weekend, as the last remaining Grand Tour in women’s racing, the Giro Rosa, starts on Friday.

Canadian pro Mike Woods talks about the journey that brought him to the threshold of the Tour de France and the Rio Olympics, starting when he had to give up his running career due to injuries and took up cycling just four years ago.

LA resident, Olympic medalist and seven-time national champ Dotsie Bausch credits bicycling with saving her life as she recovered from an eating disorder.

………

Local

A nitrogen-based draft coffee bike is raising funds on Indiegogo with plans to hit the streets of LA this summer; donate three grand and get your own nitro coffee bike, uh, trike.

Angelyne may drive a pink Corvette, but her assistant is one of us.

The ICanBike program teaches handicapped individuals how to ride a bike in Pomona.

Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson reveals that underneath his curmudgeonly façade, he’s a begrudging optimist when it comes to making Palos Verdes Estates a better, safer, more enjoyable place to ride a bike.

Obey the letter of the law if you ride through Hawthorne today, as they become the latest SoCal city to target violations that put bicyclists and pedestrians at risk, regardless of who commits them.

Long Beach cyclists are asked to try out temporary bike lanes in Bixby Knolls on Friday.

 

State

Shrink it, pink it and charge more for it. The so-called “pink tax” survives a challenge in the state legislature, allowing companies to continue overcharging charging women more for bicycles and other items that are virtually identical to less-expensive men’s models.

Legendary bike maker Masi will host screenings of Breaking Away in Carlsbad this weekend to celebrate its 90th anniversary.

An Arroyo Grande woman with a long history of drug and alcohol convictions gets 15 to life for killing a bike rider while under the influence; she had alcohol, meth and THC in her system, and was wearing an ankle monitor for a previous conviction at the time of the hit-and-run crash.

A San Francisco cyclist questions the safety of a buffered bike lane that resulted from a road diet on Golden Gate Avenue, as people continue to drive in it anyway. Such as the motorcyclist who punched him when told he didn’t belong in a bike lane.

San Francisco cyclists ride to remember the two women bicyclists killed in separate hit-and-runs last week; a witness to one of the wrecks writes a heartbreaking remembrance.

A columnist for the SF Chronicle calls for automated speed cameras, which are currently barred under California law, to improve safety on the streets.

 

National

Three women leave their husbands behind and tour Alaska’s Denali National Park by bicycle.

A Boulder CO drunk driver faces charges after fleeing from a fatal cycling collision; despite a witness’ assertion that she was laughing hysterically following the collision, she was actually hysterically freaking out. Or so her lawyer says, anyway.

Instead of bikeshare, Golden CO opens a bike library offering two styles of American-made Jamis bikes in various sizes for adults and children.

A Michigan driver tries riding a bike to get a better perspective on what cyclists experience, and gain some insight into how to avoid more tragedies.

A bighearted Louisiana sheriff’s deputy replaces a pair of stolen bicycles that were taken from two little kids in the same family.

 

International

A determined Toronto area mom rode her bicycle through two barriers of police tape to get to her daughter following a house explosion that killed one person.

A cranky Ottawa, Canada writer pens the bicycling equivalent of “get off my lawn,” while somehow concluding that cyclists are responsible for avoiding collisions, even when drivers are at fault.

A Canadian writer offers drivers advice on how to pass a bike without killing anyone or being a dick.

A man in the UK put in the winning bid on a bicycle listed on eBay. Then gave the seller’s address to the police, since it was his stolen bike.

Caught on video: A Russian cyclist looks away for a few seconds, and looks up just in time to plow into a pedestrian.

Police in Chennai, India are going back to bicycle patrols, which allows them to sneak up on miscreants at night.

Tragic news, as a South African cycling champ who finished fourth in the 1956 Olympics was tied up and shot in a home invasion robbery.

 

Finally…

Before you celebrate your victory, make sure the race is actually over. If you think roads are crappy now, wait until they pave them with pig shit.

And it is possible to ride a $180 Walmart Huffy down a double black diamond mountain bike trail. But barely.

Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the link.

 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Bikeshare, Law Enforcement, Morning Links, Violence & Crime / Tags: , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Good news on LA bike collisions, and Floyd Landis goes from doper to dope purveyor

June 29, 2016 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Good news on LA bike collisions, and Floyd Landis goes from doper to dope purveyor

My apologies for the late post; blame a late night Internet outage that kept me offline until this morning.

……….

A couple of interesting tidbits from yesterday’s LAPD bike liaison meeting.

While traffic collisions are up overall in the San Fernando Valley compared to last year, there’s been a 23% decrease in bicycling collisions. And a 37% drop in collisions resulting in serious injuries to bike riders.

Meanwhile, the proliferation of bike lanes in Downtown LA has resulted in an overall slowing of traffic speeds, as well as improved compliance with traffic laws by bike riders. Demonstrating once again that if you want bicyclists to obey the law, just give them a safe place to ride.

Speaking of the department’s bike liaison program, you can find email addresses for each of the bike liaisons for the city’s four traffic divisions listed on the Resources page.

These officers are here to help if you have any problems resolving bicycling issues involving the police. So feel free to reach out to them when you need help, whether it’s dealing with harassment or dangerous traffic conditions on your ride, unfair treatment by police, or officers refusing to accept a report or complaint.

No, seriously. That’s what they’re here for.

………

Disgraced ex-Tour de France champ Floyd Landis used to insist his Mennonite upbringing meant he wouldn’t have doped.

Now he’s in the dope business.

Landis, who won the 2006 Tour on an artificial hip, has teamed with former teammate Dave Zabriskie to create a new line of marijuana-laced lotions called Floyd’s of Leadville to treat pain and inflammation.

So far, it’s only available in Colorado, where virtually all things marijuana are legal.

But we may eventually see it here under California’s medical marijuana laws.

………

An Italian judge concludes that cycling great Marco Pantani really did die of a cocaine overdose and wasn’t murdered by the mob.

An Aussie pro cyclist says living the lifestyle isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, explaining why she’s stepping away, if not retiring, at the ripe old age of 20.

All those crashes in the Amgen Tour of California are finally explained; the riders were running on Microsoft.

………

Local

If you want your kid to perform well in school, buy ‘em a bicycle.

LADOT GM Seleta Reynolds testifies before the US Senate on the Internet of Things.

CiclaValley feels the sting of bicycling in bee season.

Monrovia is expected to adopt a new bike plan next month, including seven miles of protected bike lanes.

Just one day after a bike rider was shot and killed in Compton, another bike rider shot three men in a car, killing one.

Forty cyclists ride to protest a lack of infrastructure and police action to protect bike riders in Palos Verdes Estates by scrupulously obeying the letter of the law; one driver who clearly didn’t get it swore at riders because he had to go around them. Which is kind of the point.

 

State

Someone on a bicycle attacked two homeless people in San Diego using a rock and a golf club.

After partying all night, an Oceanside driver crashed into a pedestrian and kept going for nearly a mile — with his body still embedded in her windshield.

Solvang puts a planned bike and pedestrian bridge on hold after Caltrans finds deficiencies in a nearby vehicle bridge, which could require replacement while costing the city $600,000 in funds allocated for the bike/ped project.

A Visalia woman was critically injured when her bike was rear-ended by a car.

San Francisco cyclists pen a letter to the mayor asking for safer streets.

A Sacramento salmon cyclist is lucky to walk away from a crash with a light rail train.

 

National

The Atlantic says America’s automotive hegemony is insane.

An East Coast group is working on completing a continuous bikeway stretching from Florida to Maine. We can’t even get a continuous bikeway across Los Angeles.

An anonymous bicycling superhero rides to the rescue of a paint-covered kitten someone abandoned in an Albuquerque dumpster. Which is exactly what should happen to the person who put it there. Without the rescue part.

A Michigan paper asks if the Kalamazoo bike crash reflects a statewide trend, where bike-involved collisions were up 57% last year.

A Boston drunk driver gets eight to twelve years behind bars for the collateral damage death of a teenage bike rider, after he crashed into a car stopped at a red light and knocked it into the waiting cyclist. Although someone should tell Patch that when a person drives drunk, whatever happens as a result is not an accident.

No bias here. An upstate New York paper blames a cyclist for crashing into the side of a car, which apparently wasn’t moving and didn’t have a driver.

Famed bike-riding New York fashion photographer Bill Cunningham passed away at age 87 after suffering a stroke; a petition calls for naming a Gotham street corner after him, while the Financial Times says he should be admired for his principles.

A New York judge rules it violates a driver’s constitutional rights to require them not to crash into people.

A writer for the Washington Post offers tips on traveling in a car with a bike on the back.

Hammering out the Democratic Party platform be a messy process, but at least they reached unanimous agreement on the need for more bike paths.

Battling petitions circulate in Lafayette LA, calling for the removal, or not, of a bike lane that’s part of a citywide loop.

 

International

Who says Rapha doesn’t support women cyclists?

Cycling Magazine lists bicycling’s 14 most influential Canadians.

Police in Ottawa, Canada are using a sonar device to help catch drivers who pass too close to cyclists.

A crazed Brit cyclist who was deliberately holding up traffic reached in and stole the car keys from a BBC presenter who was acting in an entirely reasonable manner. Or at least, that’s his version of the story; something tells me the rider in question might see it a little differently.

Rome plans to create a 27-mile inner city bicycling route linking the city’s tourist attractions. Unlike LA, where there’s no viable way for most tourists to visit the city’s many attractions by bike.

Apparently, Pakistani bike riders need a helmet with front and rear cams, blind spot detection, brake lights, turns signals, Bluetooth and WiFi, and built-in GPS. But no word on whether it will actually protect your head if you fall off your bike.

An Aussie driver’s grandmother says he just made a mistake and he’s terribly sorry for fleeing the scene after killing a bike rider. Which makes it all okay, of course.

 

Finally…

It takes a real loser to slap a six-year old in the face in a dispute over a bicycle. Sometimes it’s nice just to ride your bike and fiddle around.

And congratulations, you are now superfluous.

 

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

Morning Links: Redondo’s bike speed limit may be illegal, and SF Critical Mass rider pleads out in assault case

June 28, 2016 / / One comment

It seems Cycling in the South Bay’s Seth Davidson is no fan of bike lanes.

But what he hates even more is stupidly illegal regulations.

Like the one on the relatively new protected bike lanes in Redondo Beach, which, like on the Strand in Hermosa Beach, restrict bicyclists to a measly eight mph speed limit.

Except, as someone on his site pointed out, it would appear to be in violation state laws. So hold on to that one in case you get nailed by a radar-toting South Bay cop for going nine in an eight mile per hour zone.

………

A San Francisco bike rider will get probation and anger management classes after pleading guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism for attacking a car during a Critical Mass ride last year.

………

NPR says authorities will be on the lookout for motor doping at this year’s Tour de France, using thermal imaging devices.

Cycling Weekly says pro cycling isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, as three young riders have retired in the last six months.

Team USA cyclists are relying on high-tech training tools to get ready for the Rio Olympics.

………

Local

Plans for the LAX-adjacent Metro stop include a bike hub with showers and parking for 150 bikes, as well as protected bike lanes on nearby Manchester Blvd.

A man riding his bike outside his home was one of two people killed in separate Compton shootings.

A Santa Monica architect calls the city’s Breeze bikeshare an unqualified success.

 

State

San Diego is a hub for bespoke bikes.

Construction begins on new bike lanes in Chula Vista, at the possible expense of some eucalyptus trees.

Sad news from Newman, where a 65-year old bike rider was killed by a 17-year old driver in a left cross crash; his nephew describes the victim as “just a cool guy.”

Drivers say they seldom see a bicyclist using the bike lanes after a San Jose road diet, even though ridership has nearly doubled.

Streetsblog says outrage over bike deaths isn’t enough, especially when city employees — and the police — don’t seem to care.

San Francisco residents were lucky no one was injured when an apparently drunk driver went on a hit-and-run rampage in the Lower Haight district.

An Antioch bike rider was killed in a collision with a train Sunday afternoon.

 

National

Wired gets all science-y to explain why added mass on your wheels is your worst enemy. But only when you accelerate.

A Las Vegas man is riding 4,000 miles in 70 days to fight cancer, despite losing his left femur to Stage 2 Ewing’s Sarcoma.

The 10 best gonzo bike rides in Colorado for your next trip to the Mile High State. Which takes on a whole new meaning these days.

A Colorado driver faces charges for vehicular homicide, hit-and-run and DUI in the death of a bicyclist Saturday; she was already on probation for driving while impaired, and had another DUI arrest in Texas just three years ago. Nice job of keeping a dangerous driver on the road until she kills someone.

An Ohio driver faces multiple lawsuits for killing two cyclists and injuring three others, after being acquitted of vehicular homicide by claiming the sun was in his eyes, and it was the bike riders’ fault for not wearing hi-viz.

A Massachusetts advocacy organization urges charges in the fatal dooring of a bike rider last week, while a bike-hating Boston columnist responds by going on a bizarre anti-bike Twitter rant.

A stoned Massachusetts driver still managed to rear-end a cyclist, despite a cop’s best efforts to pull him over.

Jennifer Aniston’s husband is one of us, as Justin Theroux Read trades his motorcycle for a bicycle in NYC.

A Philly writer says drivers, walkers and cyclists can all get along, even if she feels like an avatar in a video game when she takes to the city’s streets and trails.

 

International

Momentum offers advice on how to safely pass a bike rider.

Brazilian police want charges filed against 14 people for the collapse of a Rio elevated bike path that killed two people in April.

Calgary small businesses are learning to love bike lanes after discovering the value bicyclists bring to the marketplace.

A Winnipeg writer says wearing a bike helmet will improve your safety, but passing a law to mandate them won’t.

Tennis star Novak Djokovic is one of us. Or at least he would be if he hadn’t been banned from his bike at Wimbledon for reckless riding.

More fallout from the UK’s ill-advised exit from the European Union, which could mean a big jump in British bike prices.

Nearly 100 people in Malta swapped their cars for bicycles to commute to work this month in the tiny island republic.

Something’s seriously wrong when a photo of a Dutch bike rider in an Aussie airline ad violates the country’s helmet law.

The bighearted people at a local bike shop replaced a tandem bike stolen from a blind and autistic New Zealand man.

 

Finally…

When store employees stop you from buying two bikes with a stolen credit card, don’t try to grab another one on the way out — and don’t punch the cop who tries to stop you. If you’re carrying crack, dope and a pipe in your sock, seriously, don’t ride salmon.

And if you want to confuse drivers, just hang a bike from a tree.

………

A special thanks to ReaniMac for getting my Macbook up and running again in less than an hour, after a bad hard drive cable put me out of business over the weekend. If, as Steve Jobs famously said, computers are the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds, they’re my LBS.

 

Category: Bikes & the Law, Morning Links / Tags: , , , , ,

Morning Links: Planning Comm says Westwood and Central are out; 626 Golden Streets postponed due to fires

June 24, 2016 / / 3 comments

Something stinks in City Hall.

As expected, the LA City Planning Commission gritted its teeth and went along with amendments to remove Westwood Blvd and Central Ave from the city’s Mobility Plan, clearly against their better judgment.

This, after rumors have circulated that councilmembers have made an agreement to throw bike riders on those streets under the bus. Perhaps literally.

I’m told the commissioners seemed to get the absurdity arguments that the best way to deal with the dangers along those corridors is to keep them dangerous, while making an attempt at social engineering by trying to shunt cyclist onto side streets where they clearly don’t want to go.

Which is the best way to ensure the failure of any bikeway.

And that, of course, leads to the same old circular thinking that says “see, we gave cyclists a bike lane and they didn’t use it, so clearly bike lanes don’t work and there’s no reason to build any more.”

Fortunately, the commissioners had the sense to make sure the removal of these lanes from the Mobility Plan doesn’t preclude studying, and perhaps building, them at a later date.

Like when Paul Koretz is out of office, which can’t happen soon enough.

Now the amendments go back to city hall, where they will be rubber stamped by the council, though we can hope at least a few councilmember have the courage to vote no.

Streetsblog’s Sahra Sulaiman offers a great report from commission meeting.

……….

626 Golden StreetsDisappointing news, as the long-planned 626 Golden Streets open streets event scheduled for this Sunday has been postponed to due to smoke from a pair of fires in the San Gabriels, as well as the need to keep streets clear for firefighters.

The event, which would have been the longest ciclovía in the US, is expected be rescheduled for another date, although the logistics of working out a schedule with seven cities may make that challenging.

Sorry, Gabe.

………

Let’s catch up with some other upcoming events.

Dine for a great cause today, when Burbank’s Bob’s Big Boy is the site of a fundraiser for Ride 2 Recovery; the restaurant will donate 20% of your meal ticket if you present the flyer you can pick up at the fundraiser booth outside. Fifteen-year old Michelle Morlock is raising $3,000 in donations to take part in next year’s ride, which helps veterans and active duty military personnel recover from emotional and physical wounds through bicycling. If you can’t make it, send ‘em a few bucks — or maybe a lot of bucks — at the address on the link.

This is the last Friday of the month, which means it’s time for LA Critical Mass, billed as the largest community bike ride in the US.

The LA Design Festival is teaming with Flying Pigeon LA for the eighth annual Design-n-Dim Sum bike ride this Sunday.

Helen’s Cycles is holding their Monthly Group Ride next Saturday, complete with an optional dirt section to kick off your 4th of July weekend.

Finish the Ride and Velo Studio are hosting the free community ride Tour de Griffith Park: An Introduction to Safe and Fun Riding on Sunday, July 3rd.

The Eastside Bike Club and Stan’s Bike Shop will host the second annual Tour de Tacos on Saturday, July 16th; the 25-mile family friendly ride promises at least four taco breaks along the way.

Former LACBC board member and Laemmle Theaters president Greg Laemmle invites you to ride with him on the third annual Tour de Laemmle on Sunday, July 24th. Greg will ride 125 miles to visit all nine Laemmle Theaters in a single day; you can register to join him for all or part of the ride.

………

Yesterday we shared a photo of what was left after thieves pried open a U-lock securing a bicycle on my block; today, the other bike locked up on my block suffered the same fate.

This is all that was left.

SAMSUNG

………

Taylor Phinney and Brent Bookwalter will represent the US for road cycling in the Olympic games, along with Megan Guarnier, Kristin Armstrong, Evelyn Stevens and Mara Abbott on the women’s side.

………

Local

Metro votes to put a transportation sales tax extension on the November ballot, which would including bicycling and walking projects along with transit and highway work.

East Long Beach is dealing with the same increase in homelessness being seen throughout Southern California; residents are warned to secure their bikes to protect them from chop shops popping up in the area.

 

State

Menlo Park backpedals on plans to install bike lanes and make other needed safety improvements on El Camino Real.

Facebook’s new Frank Gehry-designed Menlo Park headquarters will also include a bicycle bridge designed in Gehry’s typically asymmetrical style. Although it looks more like it was designed by Picasso. Or maybe just someone who has never ridden a bicycle before.

The mayor of San Francisco was outraged by Wednesday’s twin hit-and-runs that left two cyclists dead; however, the SF Bicycle Coalition called his words hollow. Meanwhile, there was a third fatal bike crash in the Bay Area on Thursday morning, this time in Pleasanton.

 

National

Lifehacker offers a beginners guide to picking the perfect first bike.

A new reflective, neon-colored bike safety triangle is now raising funds on Kickstarter. It will probably make you more visible, but shouldn’t the onus be on drivers to look where they’re going, rather than on cyclists to light themselves up with virtual neon signs to get their damn attention?

Denver cyclists were welcomed to that city’s Bike to Work Day with a series of blocked bike lanes.

Even though Ohio allows bicyclists to ride two abreast, a Cincinnati suburb considers requiring them to ride single file.

 

International

Bike Radar offers tips on how to convert your existing ride into an ebike.

New bike path surfaces could help you bounce back from a fall. No, literally.

A British Columbia letter writer says a tourist guide is right that bicyclists will be “challenged and amazed” riding on a local highway — challenged to stay on it in the heavy traffic, and amazed they survived the experience.

A writer in the UK says she used to be one of the good ones back when everyone obeyed the law, but now that she doesn’t ride a bike anymore, people on bicycles have somehow morphed into a horrifying menace that threatens all those poor, bike-afflicted motorists and pedestrians.

Life is cheap in Ireland. A speeding, unlicensed driver gets a whole two and a half years in jail for the hit-and-run death of a cyclist he struck while attempting a four-wheel drift around a turn; the 27-year old driver, who never bothered to get a driver’s license, had been barred from driving three times in the previous five years, but still managed to stay behind the wheel until he killed someone.

China’s Xiaomi unveils a $450 folding ebike, which you can get there, but not here.

 

Finally…

Who needs a kite eating tree when Idaho has a bike eating one? Anyone can carry groceries home on a bike; try towing a sofa.

And make your getaway on the back of a bicycle after robbing a donut shop, and you could end up in the trash.

And then behind bars.

 

Category: Advocacy & Politics, Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , ,
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