Tag Archive for Los Angeles

Morning Links: Koretz aid promises Westwood bike lane removal, and the Bieb nearly takes out bikers in the ‘Bu

Don’t forget, there’s just four more days to nominate someone you know to win a new bicycle in our first-ever bike giveaway. So take a moment to tell us who you think deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net today!

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Do they know something we don’t?

A field deputy for Westside Councilmember Paul Koretz assured the Westwood Neighborhood Council that a bike lane slated for Westwood Blvd north of Wilshire Blvd in the Village will be removed from the new Mobility Plan.

Even though he doesn’t have the authority to do that. And even though a proposal to remove it, or any other bike lane, from the plan must first be approved by the city Planning Commission, then face a hearing by the city council Transportation and Planning and Land Use Management Committees, before being voted on by the full council.

To this point, there have been no public discussions of the matter by any of those bodies.

Any secret discussions or backroom deals attempting to bypass that process would be a violation of the state’s Brown Act, which requires that all meetings of official bodies be held in public. And would likely invalidate any decisions resulting from it.

So let’s hope that she just misspoke or was misquoted, and meant to say that Koretz will attempt to have the bike lane removed from the plan.

Because we all have a right to be heard before any decision is made.

Especially the wrong one.

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CiclaValley catches up on the latest details of the LA River bike path closure. The good news is most of the barriers will be on the opposite side of the river from the bike path. However, he says the path will close for construction of the barriers between Riverside and Glendale Blvd for two weeks starting on the 26th; no word yet on whether it will reopen in full or in part once the work is finished.

Meanwhile, LADOT Bike Blog fills in the history and the background of the flood control efforts on LA’s concrete river.

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Tres shock! A new study shows what we already knew — sharrows don’t improve safety, and they don’t seem to increase ridership, either.

Meanwhile, another study suggests that biking infrastructure and gentrification mirror one another, making it difficult to say which one causes the other.

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Semi-reformed celeb bad boy Justin Bieber nearly takes out an entire cycling team that was training in the ‘Bu, inexplicably running out in front of the riders waving his arms while they cruised down PCH at 25 mph.

However, all was forgiven when he posed for selfies with the riders, who forgot to ask why he did it in the first place.

Maybe he just wanted their autographs.

Although one site seems to blame the guys in the tight shorts, saying they should have stuck with SoulCycle.

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Local

The petition to remove bike lanes from York Blvd in Northeast LA has 304 supporters as of this writing; the petition to keep them has 454.

There’s now more hope on Hope Street, as the DTLA street gets a new parklet.

A UCLA alum is filming a documentary about the problems bike riders face, focusing on last year’s Emmy Ride; the film’s executive producer is former Ad Men producer Tom Smuts, who started the ride.

Another former UCLA student writes that she has continued to ride after graduating, commuting to work, leading rides and volunteering as an advocate for safer streets. And it all began with the school’s program to rent out commuter bikes to students for $45 a quarter.

That guy riding one of New York’s Citi Bikes across the US has now made it to Claremont; Santa Monica Spoke invites you to welcome him when he ends his journey at the end of Route 66 on the 23rd.

Long Beach firefighters rescue a woman who injured her head when she somehow fell off the San Gabriel River bike path.

Mark your calendar. BikeSGV lists the seven — count ‘em — open streets events scheduled for the LA area this year.

 

State

Three Leucadia coffee shops will soon get bike corrals in the North San Diego County community.

Sad news from the Bay Area, as an 80-year old Novato sidewalk cyclist was killed in a collision with a 16-year old driver who was making a left turn out of a parking lot.

Streetsblog talks with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s new interim ED.

Best wishes to one of last year’s AIDS Lifecycle riders, Sonoma-area winemaker Chuck Hovey, who is recovering from a massive stroke he suffered just a week after finishing the ride.

In a crime that appears to be getting more common, a Sacramento cyclist is bike-jacked at knifepoint. Expanding the city’s bait bike program won’t help with that kind of theft, even though it lead to around 60 busts last year.

 

National

Nice. An Albuquerque program gives bikes to the homeless to help them get back on their feet.

An Oklahoma driver will face a felony manslaughter charge for the distracted driving death of a cyclist, who was biking across the country building and repairing homes; the woman who was riding with him is still recovering from her injuries.

Even the sponsor of the Missouri bill which would require every bicycle to have a 15-foot orange fluorescent flag agrees that it’s ridiculous; he claims he just wanted to get people talking about bike safety. He previously co-sponsored a bill that would have banned bikes from state roads if there was a bike trail within two miles of the highway.

Chicago is ticketing more drivers for parking in bike lanes, while expanding its bikeshare into predominantly African American and low-to-moderate income communities.

A 50-mile Kentucky bike ride will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the bike-riding Buffalo Soldiers in 1896.

A Massachusetts eighth grader testifies in front of a state legislative committee in support of a pair of bike safety bills, after his father was nearly caught between a bus and a row of parked cars when it cut into the bike lane as they were riding together.

Boston’s Bikeface compares bikes to shoes to explain why you always seem to need one more.

You still have a chance to win a bike ride with Bono through New York’s Central Park, who is tempting fate by returning to the scene of his solo crash.

A Georgia nurse who just happened to by passing by saved the life of a bike rider when he collapsed from a heart attack in the middle of an intersection.

Despite doomsday predictions, there have been no bike crashes on a Florida bridge two years after a ban on bikes was lifted.

 

International

Caught on video: An angry Brit bike rider confronts a driver inside a supermarket after a dangerously close punishment pass.

Supporters of British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn raise funds to give him his dream bike, a sub-$700 Raleigh Criterium — even though a writer for the Telegraph criticized him for coveting such an “expensive” bike.

It took four cops to put an “arrogant” Irish bike rider in a squad car after he was busted for insisting on his “right to cycle in the manner in which he insisted he cycled;” during the incident, he called the Irish equivalent of 911 in an effort to report the police to the police.

So much for that friendly welcome to Europe. Norway is sending bike-riding Syrian refugees back to Russia the same way they came after they exploited a loophole banning anyone from walking or driving across the border.

The National continues its recent coverage of bicycling in the United Arab Emirates and beyond, this time offering a look at riding in Rwanda.

Dutch bank ING donates pedicabs to Philippine hurricane survivors to help lift them out of poverty.

 

Finally…

No matter how angry you get, don’t take it out on your bike. Speaking of tres shock!, LA bike thieves learn the hard way not to steal bikes. Or sit on them, anyway.

And it’s a common tactic for bike thieves to lock another bike to yours so they can come back later to take it. But what does it mean when someone ties a cute little dog up to your bike?

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Thanks to John Hall for his generous donation to support this site. Contributions are always welcome in any amount, for any reason.

 

Morning Links: Alleged drunk hit-and-run driver faces charges, and Che Garcetti leads urban streets revolution

Unfortunately, I was tied up in a meeting last night, and didn’t have time to write the usual daily bike news roundup. But there are too many good stories to skip entirely, so let’s call this Morning Links Lite.

And come back later today, when we’ll have a different take on Describe Your Ride.

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Don’t forget, there’s less than one week to nominate someone you know to win a new bicycle in our first-ever bike giveaway. So take a moment to tell us who you think deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net today!

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Twenty-five-year old Glendora resident Presley Rodriguez pled not guilty to a felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, along with special enhancement for fleeing the scene, in the alleged drunken hit-and-run death of Jose De Jesus Ruiz-Villanueva as he rode his bike to work last fall.

A police officer heard the collision, and stopped Rodriguez after seeing the damaged car speed away; a second officer found Ruiz-Villanueva lying dead at the scene.

She faces a well-deserved 15 year behind bars if she’s convicted, though the DA will most likely plead the case out for far less.

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Newsweek calls LA Mayor Eric Garcetti the Che Guevara of SoCal infrastructure as he leads an urban revolution that, if successful, could spread across the country.

However, the story also relies on the old misleading stat that only 1% of Angelenos commute by bike, which fails to include other transportation riders such as students, shoppers or anyone who uses a bike for just part of their commute.

And it neglects to mention the huge jump in Santa Monica ridership after the city built a complete bike network, which should serve as a model for LA, and prove that people here will ride if they’re just given a share of the streets.

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Speaking of remaking our streets — and the inevitable blowback cited in the Newsweek story — a petition on Change.org calls for the removal of bike lanes on York Blvd, claiming they cause major congestion at rush hour, overflow traffic on side streets and lost sales for local businesses.

Meanwhile, a counter petition says au contraire, most people want keep the bike lanes right where they are. Sign the latter if you live, work or ride in the area.

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On top of all the other bad news yesterday, a man was murdered while riding his bike in Carson Tuesday evening. Police are looking for two suspects who ran away after shooting him; motive is unknown.

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Police bust a career petty thief living in Leisure World in Seal Beach; the area saw a jump in stolen bicycles after he moved into the community following his latest release from jail.

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A gofundme account has been started to raise funds for a memorial for Stephen Craig Ortiz, the Loma Linda rider killed recently when he was left crossed by a 92-year old driver.

But in a very generous gesture, his family has requested that any further donations go the Inland Empire Biking Alliance, even though the fund has raised only $305 of the $2,000 goal.

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A San Francisco bike rider was pepper sprayed by a driver who had just buzzed her when she knocked on the car’s window at a red light to complain.

Something similar happened to a cyclist right here in LA recently; we should have the story soon.

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Also in the Bagdad by the Bay, a bike deliveryman says he was brutally beaten by a cop, apparently for using his cellphone while cycling, which isn’t illegal.

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After Utah firefighters save the life of a college student who was nearly killed in a collision, they take up a collection to buy him a new bike.

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Cyclelicious reports that a proposed law in Missouri would require all bike riders to have a 15-foot tall orange fluorescent flag attached to their bicycles, apparently to protect riders from low-flying aircraft.

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Look mom, no handlebars!

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Edinburgh police are on the lookout for a “scruffy” bike rider with dark circles around his eyes who allegedly kicked a toddler as he rode by on his mountain bike.

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We may have to deal with LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to worry crashing into a sheep on a high speed descent.

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An Aussie motorcycle cop rode up next to a moving bicyclist and pushed him off his bike in the middle of a busy intersection, allegedly for the crime of riding through a red light and not wearing a helmet.

Police claim the rider had refused to stop when the cop tried to pull him over, but witnesses told a different story.

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And don’t try this at home. A Barcelona bicyclist drafts just inches behind a bus at 50 mph.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WczZwjl4pgk

Morning Links: Expo bike path meeting tonight, and bikes may or may not be banned from Camp Pendleton

Less than one week to nominate someone you know to win a new bicycle.

Read more about our first-ever bike giveaway, and tell us who you think deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net today!

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Don’t forget tonight’s meeting to discuss closing the nearly one-mile gap in the new Expo Line bike path through the NIMBY Northvale wasteland.

I’ve got another commitment that will keep me from attending, so feel free to forward your thoughts on the meeting.

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Riders making their way between Orange County and San Diego may soon have to find a new way to get there.

Or maybe not.

Richard Masoner of Cyclelicious forwards news that as of February 1st, Camp Pendleton will be closed to anyone without a sponsor and a valid reason to enter the base.

But whether that will include bike riders remains to be seen, despite the anti-bike hysteria in the comments.

The base is currently the only approved route for bicyclists connecting OC with North San Diego County, since riders are banned from the 5 Freeway. Its scenic views and relatively low, though sometimes heavily armed, traffic also makes it a very popular route for recreational riders and group rides.

Closing the base to riders would almost certainly force the state to open the freeway to bicyclists, which is the case in other areas where there is no alternate riding route. Although I can’t imagine anyone willingly trading the quiet roads of Camp Pendleton for a rock and glass-strewn shoulder with semis buzzing by at 70 mph or more.

It may turn out to be much ado about nothing, as a message from the base indicates that no decision has been made regarding bicycle access after the 1st. There have been similar scares in the past with no action taken restricting riders.

However, it does serve as a reminder that, like with the VA grounds in West LA, bicyclists are guests on federal property, and expected to act accordingly; Pendleton has their own rules that riders are expected to observe.

And while one commenter worries about bike-borne ISIS terrorists sneaking in to attack the base, it’s the people on two wheels who have faced the greatest danger.

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Just a touch of schadenfreude yesterday, as I watched a car driving in a bike lane nearly get doored by a driver who didn’t bother to look before throwing his door open.

And no, neither of them seemed to have a clue what just happened.

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Local

CiclaValley questions the necessity of closing a large portion of the LA River bike path to put up flood control barriers, and the effect it will have on businesses in Frogtown and Elysian Valley.

Bikabout offers a 12-city bucket list of where they want to wander by bike this year, including the City of Angels and our own CicLAvia.

The LA Times wonders which NFL stadium plan would screw up traffic the least; the Inglewood site got the nod from the NFL. The owner of the stadium should be required to pay for a rail extension to serve the site, as well as safe cycling infrastructure and bike parking facilities to provide an alternative to driving to the games and other events.

Santa Monica police will once again be on the lookout for traffic violations that put bicyclists and pedestrians at risk this Saturday, regardless of who commits them. So be on your best behavior while riding through the city this weekend.

Long Beach will host its second Beach Streets ciclovía on a still-secret route through the Downtown area on Saturday, March 19th, less than two weeks after the next Valley CicLAvia.

 

State

People for Bikes quotes the reactions of six Californians on Caltrans’ new guidelines for protected bike lanes, including LADOT maven Seleta Reynolds and BikeSD’s Sam Ollinger.

Bicycling says to give hoverboards a wide berth now that they’re banished to the bike lanes, since you never know when they’ll burst into flames. The magazine also talks to the amazing Jo Celso, the San Diego pro cyclist who beat Hodgkin’s to come back stronger than ever.

There’s a special place in hell for anyone who’d steal a truckload of bikes and helmets from an Oakland nonprofit serving East Bay children.

 

National

A new survey says one in ten Americans would steal a bike for $10,000; for a billion, 12% of men would be willing to kill you. Then again, I’ve run into some drivers who seem willing to do it for free.

A Portland writer panics over plans to allow mountain bikers into city parklands.

Cheyenne WY considers eliminating the city’s largely ignored bicycle licensing requirement; only one person bothered to register a bike under the current law last year.

A New York writer says a Vision Zero law protecting pedestrians and bicyclists isn’t necessary because, you know, accidents happen and drivers just can’t be held responsible for killing someone.

A Baltimore bicyclist tried to use his bike to defend himself from a group of attacking teenagers.

Horrific testimony from an Alabama cyclist in the trial of the driver who ran down her two riding partners; the driver claims the sun was in his eyes, though she disputes that.

More evidence that bicycling benefits Parkinson’s patients, as a patients’ symptoms disappear during a Maryland spin class.

 

International

A university professor is riding across Canada virtually. Which isn’t the same thing.

A Toronto driver will serve the next three months behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a bike rider, weekends only. This has got to be a joke, right?

A Brit bike shop owner laughs at some of the absurd gear the industry tries to push on us.

Now that’s more like it. A prolific British bike thief has been given a lifetime ban from even coming within 13 feet of bicycle unless he can prove he owns it.

A road raging driver from the UK gets nearly five years for the death of a 69-year old bike advocate following an argument; the Afghan vet, who suffers from severe depression and PTSD following his service, says he doesn’t even remember making contact with the victim’s bike.

Madonna’s ex is one of us, too.

Copenhagenize says yawning bike riders are the best sign of a bicycle-friendly city.

India plans to build smart cities to address the country’s many urban ills; a writer says smart thinking about bicycles needs to be part of the process.

Caught on video: A dashcam view catches a truck driver fleeing the scene after toppling a bike rider; fortunately, the cyclist bounces back up to his feet.

 

Finally…

It’s one thing to get pissed off at a driver; spitting and hurling racial abuse is another matter. Seriously, if you’re going to ride your bike to a friend’s house when it’s 8° outside, put some damn gloves on.

And that’s one way to do it, as two boys each take a pedal to share a single bike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfNndLkhF6s

 

 

 

Morning Links: Dockweiler Beach bike path still closed, fund for homeless man who saved bike rider’s life

Just one more week to help someone you know win new bicycle. Read more about our first-ever bike giveaway and suggest who deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net!

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The Marvin Braude bike path on Dockwieler Beach in Playa del Rey remains closed due to damage from last week’s rains and heavy surf. And is likely to stay that way for some time.

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In a heartwarming story from Montebello, a Sherman Oaks triathlete sets up a gofundme account for a wheelchair-bound homeless man who suffered two broken legs when he was hit by a car while on his way to a hospital for follow-up care for a leg infection.

She met him while riding a double metric century before the holidays; completing the circle, the man, who once worked as an EMT, helped save the life of a stranger who had collapsed from a heart attack while riding his bike last year.

As of this writing, the fund had raised just over $3,000 of the $5,000 goal.

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Local

The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition is pushing for 10% of a possible transportation sales tax measure to be set aside for biking and walking projects, while noting that other areas commit more.

LADOT Bike Blog talks with Bridget Smith, the department’s new chief of staff.

Melissa McCarthy is one of us, going for a pre-Golden Globes ride with her family.

Streetsblog’s Damien Newton kicks off a new series of podcasts focused on sustainable transportation in the San Gabriel Valley by talking with Glendale Mayor Ara Najarian and Bike SGV’s Andrew Yip.

The Steering Committee of BikeCulverCity, formerly the Culver City Bicycle Coalition, meets tonight at Kay ‘N Dave’s Cantina on Culver Blvd.

A new art exhibit just opened in Culver City focusing on works sculpted from bicycle wheels.

Santa Monica’s bike share coordinator offers tips on how to use the city’s Breeze bikeshare system.

LA Magazine looks at the LA Public Library’s San Pedro Book Bike.

 

State

Formed by a then-13-year old kid, Redlands’ rapidly expanding GS Andiamo Junior Cycling Development Program is helping to introduce teenage riders to the sport of cycling.

Bakersfield police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who injured a bike rider last month.

Improvements in bicycling safety appear to be paying off in San Luis Obispo, as bike collisions are down 20% since 2009 even as ridership increases; overall traffic collisions in the city reached their lowest point in 15 years.

Great piece from the Bay Area looking at streets that are dangerous by design for bicyclists and pedestrians to an extent that would be unacceptable for roads designed for motor vehicles. The story notes that traffic fatalities are three times higher in California cities on streets laid out after 1950, before California’s deadly auto-centrism took over.

The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s interim director begins work while a search goes on for a new leader.

Fairfield police use a bait bike to bust five bike thieves. As the story implies, most bike thieves don’t suffer any real consequences; we need to change the law to make the theft of any bike a felony, regardless of value.

 

National

Bicycling offers advice on how to deal with angry drivers. Nothing defuses an angry confrontation faster than pulling out your phone and taking a photo of the driver and his or her license plate, while making a show of dialing 911 will almost always get them to drive away. Just don’t stand in front of their car while you do it.

Seattle moves forward with a one-mile protected bike lane on a popular riding route that preserves 90% of parking along the street, but at a surprising political cost for a city that supports bicycling.

As fat-tire bicycling gains popularity, bike theft becomes a year-round problem in Alaska.

A Colorado driver gets eight years for killing a bicyclist while driving drunk; the judge wanted to show more leniency, but the driver showed no hint of remorse or taking responsibility for his drinking. Contrast that with a Georgia case where a motorist got off with one year of probation after pleading to vehicular homicide in the death of a cyclist.

Kentucky considers a bill requiring children under 12 to wear a bike helmet.

Kirstie Alley is one of us, riding through New York with her friends helped her lose 50 pounds and keep it off for the past year.

Seriously? New Jersey considers forming a commission to study how to better protect bicyclists and pedestrians. Because it takes a commission to find proven solutions like protected bike lanes, better crosswalks, slower speeds and prioritizing people over motor vehicles?

A Baltimore man was stabbed to death and robbed following a confrontation with a group of men while riding his bike; two teens are charged with his murder while police look for other suspects. Always try to ride away from confrontations, and remember no bike — or anything else you have on you — is worth you life.

 

International

A Winnipeg bike rider captures close calls with motorists on his helmet cam. That squeeze play with the semi is scary as hell.

A British cyclist lost her life because of a water-filled pothole that was supposed to have been fixed weeks earlier — and finally was, two days too late.

Britain plans a permanent memorial to fallen cyclists, inspired by the man who brought the first World Naked Bike Ride to Cambridge.

UK track cyclist Victoria Williamson is expected to make a full recovery after shattering her pelvis, ribs and several vertebrae in a crash with a Dutch competitor last week.

A new study from the Netherlands shows bicycling is so popular the country’s bike lanes are bursting at the seams. Note to City Lab: Referring to the Netherlands as Holland is like calling the US West Virginia.

That solar bike path in the Netherlands has proven successful after a full year of use, although the energy produced is far more expensive than other sources.

An Italian photographer catches images of Rome’s crumbling 20-mile riverside bike path.

A website in the United Arab Emirates offers an interesting look at the history of the bicycle, and looks admiringly as bicycling moves to the mainstream in NYC.

 

Finally…

Apparently, hemp seeds are dope when it comes to building muscle. Never mind its ability to take you places or improve your health, a bike is just one big fashion accessory.

And now you, too, can blog about bikes for fun and profit.

 

Morning Links: Bike lanes on WeHo’s Fairfax, news from the ‘cross Nats, and bike riding kung fu Buddhist nuns

scholar_womens_44276c94-aece-4b4e-8573-e68d4cdda98f_1024x1024Just one more week to help someone you know win a new bicycle. Read more about our first-ever bike giveaway and suggest who deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net.

Even if that person is you.

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Fairfax Ave could soon have a continuous bike lane from Hollywood Blvd to Melrose Ave.

West Hollywood is moving forward with plans to place bike lanes on that city’s section of Fairfax between Fountain and Willoughby Aves, transforming this…

Fairfax south of Santa Monica

Fairfax south of Santa Monica

…into this.

Fairfax south of SaMo 2

The lanes would connect with existing bike lanes on Fairfax north of Fountain, as well as planned lanes between Willoughby and Melrose in the City of LA. The WeHo website suggests they might even extend below Melrose; however, that would likely require removing parking from the narrow, small business-lined street.

Which isn’t likely to happen given the city’s risk-averse culture.

Still, it’s nice to see a little coordination between the two cities to provide a badly needed north-south route for bike riders in that part of town.

Thanks to the West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition for the link.

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The amazing Katie Compton wins her 12th national cyclocross championship; Jeremy Powers only has nine more to go after winning his third straight men’s title.

Cyclocross Magazine offers full coverage.

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Local

Santa Monica will create a new coastal zoning plan, taking into account the new bikeshare program, as well as future sea level rises due to global warming.

The Daily News looks at Winnetka’s five-year old Girlz Gone Riding mountain bike club, which has grown to include chapters in San Diego and the Inland Empire. Note to Daily News: 1,000 Facebook members sounds impressive, but chances are, they’re no more real than Facebook friends.

 

State

An Oxnard cyclist was critically injured in a broadside collision Sunday afternoon.

A musician’s cross-country bike trip from West Virginia to Santa Paula inspires a web series and a new album.

Palo Alto’s My City Bikes is trying to encourage people to save money and stay fit by riding bikes.

 

National

NPR looks at Kurt Searvogel, the new holder of the year record.

A bike-riding TV news producer says older riders need to encourage the next generation of bicyclists.

The Austin TX Ghisallo Cycling Initiative, named after the patron saint of cyclists, teaches older adults to ride three-wheel bikes to provide them with better health and greater mobility.

A Mississippi physician bikes the route of the Underground Railroad north to Canada.

Orlando FL gets its first sharrows. Which work a lot better for wayfinding than they do for improving safety or encouraging drivers to share the lane.

 

International

In a shameful assault, a Canadian man rode his bike past a group of Syrian refugees attending a Vancouver welcome event, and pepper sprayed at least 30 men, women and children.

If you build it, they don’t always come. A bikeshare program operated by a British rail system has averaged only one rental per station every six days.

Remarkably, all five candidates for London mayor have endorsed banning cars from one of the city’s busiest, and most polluted, streets, as well as implementing an Idaho stop law. Maybe we could get the losers to run for office here.

A road raging Brit bike rider is confined to a curfew for attacking a driver who allegedly passed too close. Seriously, keep your anger and your fists to yourself, no matter how much you think the other party might deserve it. On the other hand, if a bike rider is smashing in your window and threatening to kill you, you may not have given “ample room” after all.

Now that’s a good dog. A British police dog sniffs out a stolen mountain bike worth over $4,300.

This could be the last year for the Tour of Oman.

Officials of the United Arab Emirates get on their bikes to encourage their citizens to bike to work this Tuesday, though some of those citizens say the streets of Abu Dhabi are too dangerous to ride.

Adventure Journal relates the story of Polish cyclist Kazimierz Nowak, who twice rode the full length of Africa in the 1930s as the world was building up to global war.

A Kiwi expat competes in 14 mile time trial on Friday and goes a 46 mile bike ride on Saturday, then gets married that night.

The death of a young bike-riding mother leads to a campaign for more and safer bike lanes in the Philippines.

A Singapore cyclist offers a whopping $10 to forget the whole thing after crashing into a three-year old and knocking out his tooth.

 

Finally…

A bike for people who aren’t ready to give up the car. The world needs more bike riding kung fu Buddhist nuns.

And go ahead and fire it up; a new study shows weed won’t affect your ability to ride a bike.

Though you may want to pack more munchies for the ride.

 

Thank El Niño — Marvin Braude bike path closed on Dockweiler Beach, LA River bike path may close through April

No Weekend Links this weekend due to other obligations.

But first we need a quick update on the bike path front following this week’s storms.

Starting with a section of the Marvin Braude bike path between Manhattan Beach and Playa del Rey that may be closed for the foreseeable future.

According to the LA County website, the closure runs from Culver Blvd to Imperial Highway, while Redondo Beach Patch — yes, it still exists — places the closure along Dockweiler Beach between the lifeguard station at 8600 Vista del Mar and a county Department of Beaches and Harbors maintenance facility at 8255 Vista del Mar.

A bypass is reportedly in the works, most likely directing riders onto Vista del Mar.

Judging by photos tweeted by County Supervisor Don Knabe, it could be some time before the path reopens.

CYPIGIgUwAAr3SQ

CYPIGI3UEAAn6OZ

The other bad news is a possible closure of the LA River bike path through Griffith Park, Silver Lake and Atwater Village until next spring.

According to the LA Times, the Army Corps of Engineers will be installing temporary flood control barriers along the river to reduce the risk of flooding this winter.

The Eastsider reports it will cover a three-mile stretch of the river, and may require closure of the bike path, while Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, who represents the area, says sections will be closed on an “as needed” basis through mid-April.

Construction is expected to start on Monday and take several weeks. Chances are that section of the path will be closed, in all or in part, during the construction phase; whether it reopens afterwards remains to be seen.

Thanks to Patrick Pascal and BikeSGV for the heads-up.

Morning Links: All hands on deck for Expo Line bike path, hit-and-run goes global, and Culver founder one of us

Someone you know needs a new bicycle. Just click here to read about our first bike giveaway and nominate someone who deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net.

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Streetsblog’s Joe Linton writes that there will be an all-hands-on-deck meeting next Wednesday to discuss closing the Northvale gap in the new Expo bikeway.

After neighborhood NIMBY’s in the upscale Cheviot Hills neighborhood failed to stop the train, they turned their attention halting the bike path, expressing fear that bike-riding burglars and two-wheeled peeping Toms would soon terrorize the area.

Which is only a slight exaggeration.

Meanwhile, funding dried up amid disputes over where to locate the path, and where — or if —there should be access to the neighborhood.

Linton writes that Councilmember Paul Koretz, who has made it his life’s mission to keep bikes off Westwood Blvd, is working to close the gap in what would be the only continuous bikeway from Downtown to the Beach.

There will undoubtedly be many people opposing the bike path going through their neighborhood, so as he notes, if you live, work, bike, or breathe in this part of West Los Angeles, you need to be there to voice your support.

It takes place from 6 pm to 8 pm at the Palms-Rancho Park Branch Library, 2920 Overland Ave.

………

Clearly, hit-and-run is a worldwide problem.

A New Hampshire cyclist was lucky to escape with bruises when he was hit by a driver who sped away; police later arrested the suspect for hit-and-run, as well being a felon in possession of an unlicensed gun.

A British man faces “substantial” jail time for driving away after killing a cyclist while speeding at over twice the 30 mph limit.

And an Indian driver is under arrest for fleeing the scene after running down a man who was riding home from work.

………

Local

CICLE will host a learning to ride class for adults on the 17th.

The founder of Culver City was one of us. Before coming to California, Harry Culver rode in 53-day, 4,120 mile bike race ending at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Long Beach begins work to improve access for bikes and the disabled at Alamitos Beach.

 

State

Calbike poses six detailed questions about the governor’s new budget, and says he stalls on climate change.

Caltrans buys an Encinitas strawberry field to convert it into a park and ride and freeway access ramp, as well as community gardens and open space; the facility will include bike lockers and a bike lane that connects to bike paths planned for the area. Maybe they should call it a bike and ride.

San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood gets a road diet and buffered bike lanes to improve safety after a close vote by the neighborhood planning committee.

Next time you’re in Morro Bay, check out the new bike park that opened over the holidays.

Fresno will shut down a freeway for a day and turn it over to bicycles for the California Classic century ride.

Sad news from Vacaville, as a woman died of injuries she suffered in a collision while riding her bike last month.

 

National

The co-chairs of the Congressional Bike Caucus – yes, there is one — introduce a rare bi-partisan bill to allow communities more flexibility to use federal funds for bikeshare programs.

Fast Company looks at the nation’s five best bike lanes.

Nike sponsors Portland’s new Biketown bikeshare program.

A Seattle radio host continues his anti-bike rants, this time saying if officials really care about bike safety, they should ban bike riders from going through a parking lot they’re legally entitled to use, since a protected bike lane will be built nearby. It’s not safety he’s concerned about; it’s really about the money and lost parking spaces for a bike lane he opposes.

Vermont considers a bill that would require right-turning drivers to yield to bikes, and allow motorists to cross a yellow line to pass a bicycle.

North Carolina cyclists say a proposal requiring them to ride on the right half travel lane will increase the risk of serious crashes.

A trio of brothers followed the course of the infamous Sherman’s March to the Sea in the Civil War, riding 340 miles from Atlanta to Savannah. Hopefully they didn’t slash and burn along the way.

 

International

A Vancouver cyclist was killed in a bizarre accident when he was hit by a piece of trash tossed by a dumpster diver.

The founders of Vancouver’s Modacity write in praise of slow cycling, saying the slower a city’s bicyclists ride, the more mature its bike culture.

A Toronto paper questions whether Vision Zero can succeed in the auto-centric city.

No surprise here. Bikes were the most stolen items in Britain last year.

Cycling Weekly looks at the Cannibal as the legendary Belgian cyclist turns 70.

Riding through the coastlines, deserts and mountains of Spain’s Andalusia region.

Bicycling is booming in Mumbai.

Bike riding in New Zealand is getting safer as it gets more popular.

The mayor of Taipei will ride his bike 21 hours tomorrow to promote the Velo-City Global Conference to be held in his city next month.

 

Finally…

How does someone fail to see a stopped bus before crashing your bike into it? When a bus company driving instructor says running over cyclists is a public service, you’ve got to wonder what he’s teaching his students.

And a five-year old rides to the rescue in his pajamas.

 

Morning Links: Bike-friendly Davis breaks the law a little, and something’s rotten in SoCal bike racing

Someone you know needs a new bicycle. Just click here to read about our first bike giveaway and nominate someone who deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net

And come back later today when another rider uses video to describe his ride.

………

It looks like bike-friendly Davis is breaking the law. But only a little.

The platinum level Sacramento-area college town is reminding bike riders to renew their licenses, since any two-year bike license issued in 2013 has now expired.

Just two small problems with that.

First, they suggest that bicycles are registered with the state of California, which doesn’t license bikes. Instead, CVC 39002 allows local jurisdictions to license bikes at their discretion. Meanwhile, CVC 39003 (same link) makes it clear that the licenses must be issued by the city, county or some other agency they designate.

Not the state.

Second, they charge a modest $10 for a new two-year license, and just $5 to renew an existing license.

But both of those amounts are illegal and excessive.

According to CVC 39004 (ditto), those same jurisdictions are allowed to charge no more than $4 per year for a new license, and $2 a year for a renewal.

Which means Davis is overcharging bicyclists by a whopping 25%. Or a measly $1 or 50¢ a year, respectively, depending on how you want to look at it. Although that’s no small amount when multiplied by the tens of thousands of bikes in the city.

Either way, the program is in clear violation of state law.

Something to remember if your city or county has a bike licensing program, or is considering one.

On the other hand, the registration program is helping a number of UC Davis students get their bikes back, after Dixon police bust a pair of thieves with 31 hot bikes.

………

Streetsblog LA named the winners of their annual Streetsie Awards, including LA City Councilmember Joe Buscaino as Elected Official of the Year, Caltrans’ Dale Benson as Civil Servant of the Year, and the LACBC’s Tamika Butler and Mark Lopez of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice in a tie for the Deborah Murphy Award for Excellence in Advocacy.

You can see the full list of winners here.

Meanwhile, California Streetsblog names Santa Monica Assemblymember Richard Bloom as Legislator of the Year.

………

I’m not really tuned into the SoCal bike racing scene. But if David Huntsman and Seth Davidson both say there’s something wrong with the sport’s local governing body, then something is definitely rotten in our cycling state of Denmark.

Besides, if you can’t trust a couple of bike riding lawyers, who can you trust?

………

Following up on yesterday’s tech news, Sony ups the ante to take on GoPro in the action cam market, while Nikon introduces a cam offering 360° views. Of course, the only way to make that work is to mount it on the outside of your handlebars or the very top of your helmet. And then sit up very straight.

………

Local

CiclaValley offers tips for riding in the rain. Rick Risemberg recommends lights, capes, wool clothing and fenders, while Ciclelicious asks which fender. I’d suggest this one, but I doubt it would help.

Not surprisingly, the LA River bike path is closed due to the rains, along with most, if not all, of the other creek and riverside bikeways in the county. Meanwhile, plans are underway to improve the lower portion of the river.

Glendale will host a public meeting on Saturday to get input on a planned redesign of Ocean View Blvd, including bulb-outs and bike lanes.

 

State

Campbell cyclists raise $20,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation in a post-Christmas ride.

Beaver fever strikes on a Merced bike path.

Cupertino’s De Anza college adds three new e-bikes to their fleet of 56 bikes available to students free of charge for a full quarter.

 

National

Conspiracy theorists are still opposing bike and transit projects throughout the US, even though the Agenda 21 Chimera that fueled it is gone.

Bicycling lists seven people — okay, 219 — who could really use a good bike ride.

Next City says it’s time to bury the sharrow for good.

The newest member of the Baseball Hall of Fame is one of us.

Outside offers a profile on Ned Overend, who’s still kicking fat bike ass at age 60 — 26 years after his mountain bike world championship.

An interesting study from the University of Washington finds neighborhood density is the primary factor that encourages low and middle income residents to walk or bike; for wealthier people, the attractiveness of their neighborhood is key.

Seattle bike cops recover a $4,000 stolen bike using the Bike Index website. You can register your bike, report a stolen bike or check to see if a bike has been stolen using Bike Index right here on this site. And unlike the Davis program, it’s free.

It takes a real jerk to steal a motorized recumbent from an Iowa man battling stomach cancer who used it as his only form of transportation.

A Florida paper shows what a difference it can make when the press calls attention to bicycle safety instead of trolling bike riders.

Nothing like starting young. A pair of Florida boys, just seven and eight years old, are under arrest for an attempted strong-arm bike jacking. No one hates bike thieves more than I do, but handcuffing a seven-year old seems a tad extreme.

 

International

Bike Radar offers some good advice on buying a used bike online.

A Canadian writer offers lessons learned from 100,000 kilometers — 62,137 miles — on the seat of a bike.

A British site offers advice on how to make your bike commute more like the Tour de France, while Road.cc pipes in with some additional suggestions. Although getting someone to hurl abuse at you is no challenge in LA traffic.

A new study shows London bike riders are six times fitter than other commuters.

It takes a major jerk to punch a 62-year old British woman after shoving his bike into her, regardless of what she may have said to him.

Retiring former world track champ Martyn Irvine says he shamed dopers by beating them fair and square.

Drain a Paris canal built by Napoleon, and what do you find? Bicycles, naturally.

Bike riders are braving Delhi’s infamous traffic, despite conditions that make LA seem like a breeze; meanwhile an ad for an Indian hospital sums up the health benefits of bicycling.

A 24-year old biology student works to become the first professional cyclist from Burkina Faso. If there are any bike makers reading this, send this guy a new racing bike. Now.

An Australian chief traffic cop questions whether older drivers belong on the road. It’s a tough call; some older people retain the vision and reflexes they need to drive safely into their nineties, while others should have their keys taken away.

Toyota’s new robotics expert was inspired to build crash-proof cars by seeing the aftermath of a bicycling crash as a child.

An Aussie expat living in Ho Chi Minh City has set out to ride every road connecting north and south Vietnam.

 

Finally…

Nothing like banning a doper after he stops racing. It doesn’t do a lot of good to sue the Forest Service for failing to maintain an illegal bike trail.

And evidently, the fastest way to improve bike safety is to get the damn bike riders off the road.

 

Morning Links: Too much bike tech, cyclocross nationals, and riding your bike pony through an LA El Niño

Someone you know needs a new bicycle.

Just click here to read about our first bike giveaway and nominate someone who deserves to win a free bike from Beachbikes.net.

………

Is there such a thing as too much tech?

Like maybe a bike helmet with a built-in brake light, turn signals and a Bluetooth speaker, that calls for help if you crash. Pick it up if you drop it, or you may find paramedics knocking on your door.

Uni-directional bike cams are so passé. New helmets from Giro and Bell will feature a 360° video camera, though there doesn’t seem to be a road bike version planned for the near future. Then again, maybe what you need is a mini-bike cam that wraps around your wrist.

And Garmin unveils a new heads-up display that projects turn-by-turn GPS directions, texts and notifications directly onto your glasses, as well as radar alerts of traffic approaching from behind. Or you could learn to look behind you, or get a mirror, and leave all that crap behind and just enjoy the ride.

………

The amazing Katie Compton discusses battling depression, an antibiotic-resistant staph infection and a rare, cramp-causing genetic disorder, none of which has prevented her from reigning as America’s greatest cyclocross racer.

Meanwhile, North Carolina expects to see a boost in tourism from this week’s USA Cycling Cyclo-Cross National Championships, while VeloNews offers a video preview of the course. Note to press: You can call it the Nationals, Nats or the National Championships, but please don’t call it the Nationals Championships.

………

Local

LADOT Bike Blog offers timely advice on how to ride your bike through an LA El Niño, although speeding up the red lights for cyclists would be nice, too. Or you could take my approach, and just pull the covers over your head until next week.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton looks forward to what 2016 could bring for livable streets, including bikeshare in DTLA, protected bike lanes on Venice Blvd and showdowns over the Mobility Plan.

LA gets new bike lanes on Edgemont Street near LA Community College.

The Weekly looks on as LA’s underground bike racing culture says goodbye to the iconic Sixth Street Bridge, which will be replaced by a more modern, bike and pedestrian friendly one.

Nice piece from Jessica Langlois about acquiring her first fixie, even if the name of the bike was a tad unusual.

The Wheelhouse, a bike-centric coffee and pastry shop, comes to Downtown’s Arts District next week.

Metro’s one and only Bike Hub will be hosting a free flat tire clinic in El Monte on the 27th.

 

State

It took just five minutes for someone to get out of a car and steal a teenager’s unlocked bike outside a San Diego Target.

The annual Tour de Palm Springs rolls on the 23rd; if your legs have anything left the next day, you can stick around for a half marathon.

That planned 50-mile bikeway circling the Coachella Valley will now be subject to a vote in Rancho Mirage.

A Santa Barbara writer says trading your car for a bike can save you thousands while still allowing you to live comfortably.

HBO is looking for bike riding extras for a new series filming in Monterey.

 

National

A barely intelligible rant from an anonymous Portland woman accuses a bicyclist of “secretly incubating a veliciraptor’s (sic) egg inside (her) womb” for defending her right to the road, before she hauled off and hit the writer’s boyfriend when he confronted her for hogging it. Boy, would I like to hear the other side of this one.

Seattle residents — and a ranting writer — think a new cycle track designed to improve safety will actually make things worse for pedestrians, and ask the city to impose a 10 mph speed limit and force cyclists to stop at each of the 18 pedestrian crossings along the way. Which would be the best way to ensure riders won’t use it; besides, studies show protected bikeways improve safety for everyone, not just the people on bikes.

Now that’s more like it. A Fargo bike thief faces up to ten years in prison for stealing a $10,000 bike. I’d settle for seeing thieves serve just one year for stealing a bike worth up to a tenth of that.

Double good news from Illinois, as a pair of business owners pitch in to get a wounded vet a new adaptive bike after his was stolen; meanwhile, police recovered his bike, which will be repaired and sent to someone else with disabilities.

An unlicensed teen is charged with fleeing the scene on foot after killing a cyclist while driving a stolen car; as an 18-year old, he will likely charged as an adult. Which means he should be going away for a long time.

 

International

As most cyclists already know, beer and exercise go together. Though not always at the same time.

A famed cycling photographer is being forced to sell the barely-ridden dream bike that won best in class at last year’s UK hand-built bike show, due to a degenerative bone disorder.

A road raging London cabbie is charged with using his taxi as a weapon to ram a bike rider off the road after a dispute over parking in a bike lane.

French bicycle mechanics no longer have to be certified by the government.

A video compilation shows a series of close calls for cyclists on the streets of Malta. Which doesn’t look a lot different than riding the sometimes mean streets of LA.

Leave it to the Dutch to develop the Boncho, a stiff-front bicycle poncho. Which would certainly come in handy in LA this week; then again, so would pontoons.

A Jordanian man who wears a suit as he rides to work in Abu Dhabi says he’s never seen another Arab commute by bike.

A Namibian man rides to work in style on his self-customized bike, complete with handlebar-mounted radio and two rearview mirrors.

 

Finally…

Speaking of pontoons, why ride next to the bay when you can ride on it? Next time, try riding the bike to make a getaway instead of throwing it at the security guard.

And why settle for cowboy dreams when you can turn your bike into your very own pony?

 

Describe Your Ride: A car-free, pre-Christmas Highland Park shopping trip

Today’s submission comes from Harv, who relates a quick ride through LA’s Highland Park neighborhood for groceries on the day before Christmas Eve.

He describes himself as a long time LA resident of who began riding for transportation at the tender age of 12, and has been active in the resurgence of bicycle activism since the bike boom of the early 1970s.

………

Since I am no longer commuting to my former job in DTLA or my volunteer job in Highland Park, my most frequent repeated ride is for food shopping. A round trip of 5 miles, all hilly, with tricky freeway feeders and a dangerous intersection at Figueroa and Avenue 50. I have been car-free for three years, before then I was car very light for several years. My bike is my only transportation from home, if I want to eat, I have to ride. So let’s get started for an Xmas eve-eve run to the Food for Less in Highland Park.

.

It will start with my bolting on my cut-down milk crate to the rack of my grocery bike built for the purpose. A frame low enough to step over when my crate is stacked high with groceries, 1.5 inch street tyres for stability and load bearing, a low enough bottom gear to lug up my moderate hill with 20 pounds of food, 5 pounds of rack/crate, a 5 or 6 pound back pack, and, of course, me. Without the added cargo, I can fly up my hill on one of my single speed bikes with less effort.

.

OK, we descend the hill and get within a mile of the market without having to pedal at all. A short run along Griffin Avenue takes us past the playing fields of Montecito Park, which are empty today, but frequently have several ball games going. Continue past the Audubon Center and the north gate of Debs Park which usually has several homeless camps going on behind it, and then the Avenue 52 freeway feeder looms up disturbing the tranquility of the trip thus far. Here, there are I-110 on and off ramps on either side of the parkway. As I pass the first set, I glance to my left to see how many cars are backed up at the end of the off ramp stop sign. All these cars will be turning left into my path. I adjust my speed and position to minimize the conflict and sprint up the short distance to get across the bridge and duck into the residential area which provides refuge. When the I-110 was put in, about 1940, all streets in the grid across the Arroyo to Figueroa were dead-ended except for the freeway feeders such as Avenue 43, 52, and 57. So there is no way I can get across without hitting this feeder traffic.

.

To avoid Figueroa and Ave 52, I wiggle through the residential area alluded to and approach the market on Ave 50 but hop onto the sidewalk before the corner to avoid the dreaded right hooking cars into the Mickey Dee’s parking lot. Finally rolling into the F4L lot after clearing the bus passengers and Big Mac gobblers, now only to dodge cars backing out of spaces and errant shopping carts rolling down the slight incline. But finally making it to the front door, I dismount and walk the bike into market, up and down the aisles, putting my purchases into the crate. My bike is my shopping cart. Every store employee knows me (after shopping there for over 20 years) and no one bats an eye.

.

The return trip is the reverse, except I have to handle the downhill traffic rushing toward the on ramps on the narrow 2 lane street. I wait patiently for a break in the traffic and bounce down the broken pavement with a glance over my shoulder every few seconds. Most drivers cut me enough slack, but I still have to time myself to not be at the on ramp entrance when someone might right hook me. Then I have to cross the off ramp with similar timing, eye contact, and negotiation. Finally clear of this mayhem, I speed up on the downhill section of Griffin past the homeless encampments, the Audubon, the playing fields and turn left up my hill for the grind to the top. I eat for another week.

………

If you’d like to share your ride with us, just send it to the email address on the About BikinginLA page. It can be a rant, rave or anything in between, from a few sentences to a detailed description. Or any other format you think tells the story best, however and wherever you ride.

Let’s keep the conversation going.