Tag Archive for Los Angeles

A call to rejoin the fight in Fullerton and LA County, what CA’s bike rebates could be, and tips for your first cargo bike

July 25, 2023 / / Comments Off on A call to rejoin the fight in Fullerton and LA County, what CA’s bike rebates could be, and tips for your first cargo bike

Okay, I screwed up this time. 

In the words that follow, I called in BikeLA, the former Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, to step up and help this writer for the Fullerton Observer, and other bicyclists in the area, with their campaign in support of plans for a lane reduction on Associated Road. 

In my mind, I mistakenly placed Fullerton in the tangle of cities in Southeast Los Angeles County. 

It’s not, of course. 

Fullerton is in Northern Orange County, on the other side of Buena Park. Which I should know, having written about the city several times — let alone being there more than once. 

I stand by my call for BikeLA to step up and resume its role as LA County’s leading bicycle advocacy organization. But any criticism, real or implied, for not taking a direct role in Fullerton is off base, and I apologize. 

He gets it.

A writer for the Fullerton Observer calls for improving safety on Associated Road by removing two traffic lanes between Bastanchury and Imperial, allowing for wider bike lanes and several feet of painted buffering.

But warns it’s not likely to happen without wide support, particularly from the city’s bicycling community.

Only property owners on Associated Road received notice of the meetings on this issue. Almost all were opposed to the project, primarily to the parking and the fear that it would result in homeless and student parking.  Two Councilmembers supported the opponents, while Councilmember Charles opposed the parking but supported the lane removal. Mayor Jung did not speak directly to the issue, but at a later meeting, in response to some comments that decisions seemed to have been made behind closed doors, he stated that it would come back for a vote.

That is yet to happen. Thus the issue remains open. In the meantime, staff has stopped working on this proposal. Since it involves only paint and the road re-construction is going forward from now until November 20, time remains to determine the ultimate lane configuration.

He goes on to call for people to sign a petition supporting the lane reduction, which doesn’t even have 40 supporters as of this writing.

And ends with this.

The Council majority would prefer to see this go away, even though there is no shortage of bicycle riders in Fullerton. Over 1000 turned out for a July 4 ride on Wilshire. Not so many readily turn out for Council meetings, contact their members, or sign petitions. Nor is there an active bicycle or road safety advocacy group in Fullerton at the moment.

If you wish to weigh in on this proposal (pro or con), you can contact the Council at Councilmembers@cityoffullerton.com, Or you can show up for public comments at Council meetings on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month at 5:30.

It has long been a problem, not just in Fullerton, but throughout LA County to get the bicycling community involved with their local government, and to stand up en masse to demand safer streets.

For nearly two decades, the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, now rebranded as BikeLA, led the fight, often working behind the scenes with government leaders, but able to marshal a significant turnout at council meetings when needed.

But now they’re needed — desperately — in Fullerton, and elsewhere throughout LA County.

As a former board member of the organization, I’ve withheld any criticism for some time now — especially knowing the dire straights the previous Executive Director left them in when he left the group at the brink of financial disaster after leaving the country.

I know the current board and leadership of BikeLA have worked hard to bring the organization back to health, financially and otherwise.

But it’s time they got back into the fight.

They have long since been supplanted as the county’s primary voice for bicycle advocacy by groups like Active SGV, SAFE and Streets For All.

Yes, some chapters of BikeLA have continued to be active in their local communities over the past few years.

But those chapters, and individual members, need to light a fire under the the current leadership, and urge them to once again step forward to lead the fight for bicycle access and safer streets.

And become, once again, the advocacy organization we all need them to be.

Because Fullerton is literally crying out for help.

And the rest of us aren’t far behind.

Photo from Pexels.

………

This is what California could have, if it ever rolls out its long-delayed, vastly underfunded ebike rebate program.

………

Arleigh Greenwald, better known as Bike Shop Girl, offers a Twitter thread with tips on buying your first cargo bike.

Although you’ll have to click through to read it, and may not be able to if you don’t have a Twitter account, since Elon keep changing the damn site rules every five minutes, along with the name.

https://twitter.com/bikeshopgirlcom/status/1683655598691287041

………

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

The US Army Corps of Engineers is closing a popular lakefront roadway near Fort Worth, Texas to bike riders and pedestrians, citing “hundreds” of safety incidents over the past three months. Because evidently, people are much safer with cars zooming by than people walking or riding bikes.

No bias here. A Cambridge, Massachusetts city council candidate says she won’t sign a pledge to keep building bike lanes, because some people can’t ride a bike, and even people who ride bikes sometimes drive cars.

Police in England are looking for the person who pushed a man off his bike and into a river; the victim was okay, but his bike was lost in the water.

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

A Virginia man faces charges after he allegedly crashed his bike into a car, then fired a shot at the driver. Seriously, violence — especially gun violence — is never the answer, though I suspect there may be some dispute over just who hit who. 

A Singapore bike rider is looking for the man who somehow took offense to being passed on his bike, catching up to him outside a store and repeatedly kicking his bike and wheels while swearing at him, until police broke up the confrontation — but evidently let the attacker go.

………

Local 

Apparently, Metro finally figured out they can waste all the money they want on widening the 605, without having to tear down people’s homes in Latino working class neighborhoods in Downey and Santa Fe Springs after all.

A Streetsblog op-ed from Streets for All’s Michael Schneider and Eli Lipmen of Move LA says it’s time to go bold, and finally make bikeshare a core Metro mobility service instead of an afterthought.

Bizarre attack in Pasadena, where a man pushing a bicycle walked up to another man at a bus stop, pushed the tip of a machete against his abdomen, then slashed a four-inch gash in the man’s leg, before gathering his bike and walking off, all without a single word.

 

State

Police in Huntington Beach are jumping on the ebike crackdown bandwagon, warning, ticketing and/or arresting those who “mis-use” ebikes, while warning that riding over-powered ebikes under the influence could lead to a DUI. Thanks to Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette for the heads-up.

A man in his 60s was lucky to apparently escape with minor injuries when he was the victim of a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike in Chula Vista late Monday morning.

San Diego’s SDNews says ebikes are popular and convenient, but also pose dangers, citing battery fires and speeds up to 28 mph — but fails to mention that you can achieve that relatively easily on a good road bike, too. And without the risk it will burst into flames. 

A lithium-ion ebike battery is blamed for setting an apartment on fire in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district.

 

National

A group of 15 Portland bike riders are suing the city for failing to comply with a 52-year old state law requiring cities to build cycling and pedestrian infrastructure whenever a road is reconstructed. Too bad we don’t have something like that on the books here in California. Because there are a lot of cities that need to have the hell sued out of them, starting with a certain SoCal megalopolis I could name. 

This is who we share the road with. A New Mexico woman faces vehicular homicide, DUI, hit-and-run and child abuse charges for fleeing the scene after driving against traffic, hitting a parked car and killing a 70-year old man riding a bicycle, all with her three-year old son in the car.

A Houston TV station reports on a local group using mountain bikes to help teens and their families dealing with addiction and other self-destructive behaviors.

Police in Minneapolis are warning about new bike theft tactics, as thieves are using super glue to jam bike locks so they can’t be opened, then coming back later and cutting the locks. I’ve been told by LAPD officers that’s being used here, too.

A Kentucky man will spend the next ten years behind bars after copping a plea to the hit-and-run death of a bike-riding mother, claiming he somehow didn’t see her despite the flashing lights on her bike, and the man’s she was riding with.

The shameful scourge of sharrows continues to spread, despite studies showing they increase the risk for bike riders, now leaving their dangerous road markings on the streets of Plattsburgh in upstate New York.

Lyft is considering selling off New York’s highly successful Citi Bike bikeshare due to mounting financial problems at the company. Meanwhile, Curbed questions why Citi Bike’s ebikes are always broken, concluding the problem is likely the bikes themselves. Or maybe a financially strapped company is just cutting corners. 

The rich get richer, as NYC’s public realm officer, aka “czar of public spaces,” is building on the city’s recent biking and pedestrian successes by ramping up projects to benefit both.

A 45-year old Pennsylvania man was sentenced to a well-deserved five to ten years behind bars after pleading guilty to the drunken, stoned crash that killed a bike-riding bank manager exactly 1,392 days earlier.

A West Virginia man faces charges of attempted murder, malicious wounding, wanton endangerment, and presentation of a firearm in the commission of a felony for jumping down off his trunk and shooting a passing bike rider in the arm, after screaming at him for some unknown reason.

Unbelievable. A North Carolina woman faces charges for fleeing the scene after running down two bike riders from behind, leaving one man with serious injuries — then trying to coverup her crime by telling investigators she thought she’d hit a deer, and going so far as to place hair from her dog on her windshield to support her story.

 

International

Electrek says the bike industry should refocus on building simple, attractive, and serviceable ebikes following the “shocking” VanMoof bankruptcy.

Canadian Cycling Magazine suggests a half dozen outdated rules for city bicycling that should be modernized.

London officials admitted that a bike lane is causing congestion when buses stop to pick up passengers. In other words, it’s the narrow traffic lanes and lack of bus stops, not the bike lanes, that are the problem. 

A pair of Scottish brothers are about to stand trial for murdering a man taking part in a 104-mile charity bike ride, then hiding his body for months afterwards; they allegedly abandoned the victim after hitting him with their car while driving under the influence, then came back the next day to move his bike and body.

 

Competitive Cycling

Germany’s Liane Lippert captured her first stage win since 2020 on Monday’s stage of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, aka the Women’s Tour de France.

Velo offers 21 quick hits in summing up this year’s Tour de France, from a “super” Sepp Kuss to pulling for Cav to make a comeback next year.

Lost in the news from the Tour de France was that upstart American Neilson Powless lost the polka dot King of the Mountain jersey to Italian Giulio Ciccone over the final stages, after pushing the action for much of the race.

Bicycling reports that Netflix’s popular cycling docuseries Unchained will be back for a second season, this time focusing on Tadej Pogačar and the UAE Team Emirates team.  As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

 

Finally…

Evidently, winning a Tour de France stage is like getting drunk — especially the next day. The video game-ish future of mountain biking.

And victory is not always to the swiftest, but to those who manage to remain upright.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

AAA admits dangers of high speed limits, family remembers heroic mountain biker, and DIY road signs punk SF planners

July 24, 2023 / / One comment

My apologies to anyone who sent me items for today’s post.

I’m really struggling to get through this one tonight, after going on a diabetic rollercoaster yesterday. 

So thank you to everyone who sent something. I am very grateful, even if I don’t thank you by name. 

……..

They get it.

Shockingly enough.

AAA, which is not exactly known for siding with traffic safety advocates, conducted a recent study about the dangers of high speeds.

As you can see below, the key finding were that lowering speed limits improves safety, raising speed limits makes things worse, and neither one makes a big difference when it comes to travel times.

Which should put the final nail in the coffin of the deadly 85th Percentile Law, which puts speeding drivers in charge of setting speed limits, and which AAA has long claimed as one of their biggest accomplishments.

But it probably won’t.

Because as Friday the 13th tells us, things like this are hard to kill, no matter how evil they are.

Key Findings

The Foundation study found:

  • Raising posted speed limits was associated with increased crash frequencies and rates for two of the three Interstate Highways examined.
  • Lowering posted speed limits was associated with decreased crash frequencies and rates for one of the two principal arterials examined.
  • Changes in travel times were small in response to both raised and lowered speed limits.

Then there’s this.

AAA recommends that changes in posted speed limits should consider a range of factors, including but not limited to the type of road, surrounding land use, and historical crash data. AAA supports automated speed enforcement, but programs must be carefully implemented to maintain community support, prioritize equity and consistently drive improved safety.

Yes, AAA actually endorsed speed cams. Someone tell the state legislature.

Stat.

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Family members remember Kai Torres Bronson, the heroic 24-year old mountain biker who died after helping rescue stranded hikers in the extreme heat of Carrizo Gorge last weekend.

They make the case for others to learn from this tragedy, and avoid putting yourself in danger.

………

The Department of DIY has struck in San Francisco, where someone has added their own accurate, if tongue-in-cheek traffic safety signs to the highly contentious and largely detested new centerline bike lane on Valencia Street, including signs reading “We regret this bike lane” and “¯\_(ツ)_/¯ good luck cyclists.”

Meanwhile, both critics and opponents agree the rollout of the bike lanes could have gone a lot better, while SF Gate asks if the solution for the dangerous street is making it worse.

………

Great short documentary about the Athens Twilight Crit, variously described as the “Super Bowl of American cycling” and “a knife fight in the dark.”

And featuring an extended cameo by Orange County cyclist Eddy Huntsman.

 

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This is who we share the road with.

https://twitter.com/ABC7/status/1682480636337049600

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

Seriously? A motor vehicle website demonstrates a severe case of windshield bias, saying an ebike is the best way to accessorize — not replace — your car.

Residents of a bucolic Denver street got out the torches and pitchforks to attack a new neighborhood greenway — or last least, sharply worded comments. Meanwhile, bike riders just want to get home in one piece.

Someone has sabotaged a new Victoria, British Columbia bike lane, strewing screws and nails across the road surface.

A British triathlete will need surgery to fix a broken collarbone after a laughing car passenger pushed her off her bike and into a ditch.

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

An Oxford, England man faces charges for killing an 81-year old woman while “furiously” riding his bike on a footpath.

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Local 

Why am I not surprised? Streetsblog reports that “Metro and LADOT quietly omitted and downgraded extensive bike and walk improvements approved and funded” for the new Little Tokyo station on the Regional Connector train line, while omitting other features at the Grand and Broadway Metro stations.

The LAPD hosted their 3rd Annual Ride to Remember memorial bike ride through the Northwestern San Fernando Valley on Sunday. And for the 3rd year in a row, neglected to tell us in advance so we could join them.

 

State

Streetsblog’s Melanie Currie write about Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner’s confusing actions in pulling the popular Stop As Yield bill, while introducing a bill that may or may not require licenses for ebike riders, now or in the future; they already require a similar license in Israel. Thanks to Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette for the heads-up.

In news that shouldn’t surprise anyone, a civil grand jury in San Mateo County has found a clear, systemic bias against bicyclists in both law enforcement and the legal system. Similar grand juries could likely reach the same results about any county in California, including Los Angeles.

 

National

NACTO says oversized vehicles designed to increase danger to people walking and riding bicycles shouldn’t receive five-star safety ratings, and wants you to tell that to the US Department of Transportation.

An Oregon coalition is working to repeal the mandatory bike lane use law, which forces riders to use the bike lane if there is one on the roadway, regardless of whether it might be substandard or dangerous, or whether the bicyclists are traveling at speed. California has the same dangerous law, which needs to be revoked. 

Heartbreaking news from Oregon, where a 76-year old man riding his bike to work was killed by a semi driver just 30 feet from his job. Thirty feet.

Applications open tomorrow for the next round of ebike rebates in Denver, which are expected to go fast. Meanwhile, we’re all still waiting for California’s ebike rebate plan to finally roll out.

The world’s biggest recreational multi-stage bike ride rolled out in Iowa on Sunday, as the state marks the 50th Anniversary of the legendary RAGBRAI; National Public Radio is once again fielding a team.

An Iowa widow calls for greater bike safety, 16-years after the unsolved hit-and-run that killed her bike-riding husband.

A Houston homeowner blasted a bike rider with a shotgun after they got into an argument, and the bicyclist refused to leave his property; whether the man’s actions were legal will depend largely on whether the victim was in the street or on the homeowner’s property when he was shot, thanks to Texas’ stand your ground law.

A 13-year old Chicago boy was lucky to survive when he was grazed by a bullet in a drive-by shooting while riding his bike; no word on whether he was the intended target.

Cleveland plans to build out the city’s urban bike network to prioritize equity and extend the health benefits of biking to the city’s underserved populations.

The Georgia coast could soon be getting a more than 200-mile bike path.

Tragic news from Florida, where a man died nearly two months after he was the victim of a hit-and-run while riding his bike; the 35-year old driver could be charged. Seriously? Could be? 

Meanwhile, a 33-year old Florida driver will spend the next 45 years behind bars for the high-speed, meth-fueled crash that killed a couple riding a tandem bike two years ago. Even I think that sentence is just a tad extreme.

 

International

Momentum Magazine says celebrate Barbie by embracing the movie’s “bold and playful fashion trend” for your bike. I’ll pass.

A Victoria, British Columbia bicyclist divides the city’s bike lanes into Outright Disasters, Questionable Judgments and Marginal Successes, with one Excellent Idea — with an asterisk

Montreal bike riders called attention to their plight by forming a people-protected bike lane.

Hackaday says last week’s bankruptcy of Dutch ebike maker VanMoof demonstrates the risks of cloud-connected transport, after the lack of an encryption key threatened to brick owners’ bikes.

An Italian associate professor of architecture and urbanism refused to pay a fine equivalent to $50 for riding over a pedestrian crossing in 2017, insisting he didn’t break any law and it was just the actions of an overzealous cop; the fine has now increased nearly 20-fold to over $932.

 

Competitive Cycling

To the surprise of no one after demolishing two-time Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar last week, defending champ cyclist Jonas Vingegaard rolled into Paris the winner of this year’s Tour de France by a whopping seven and a half minute margin.

American Sepp Kuss “somersaulted” out of a top ten finish when another rider’s blown tire took him out in a crash on Saturday’s stage 20 of the Tour, finishing the stage on pure grit with a badly bloodied face and elbow, and leaving him in 12th place as the peloton rolled into Paris.

The Guardian looks at the Tour’s ongoing history of fans failing to get the hell out of the way.

The first stage of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes rolled on Sunday, now that the men have gotten out of the way. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you. 

British cyclist Josh Quigley struggles to make the rare leap from suicide survivor to competing in the world championships.

Tragic news from Austria, where a 17-year old Italian cyclist was killed in the first stage of the Upper Austria Tour; the race was cancelled the following day.

 

Finally…

This is how it looks if someone steals your bike. Your next bike helmet could inflate on impact.

And won’t someone think of the poor, unfortunate cars?

 

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Explore the Venice Corridor with LADOT and CicLAvia Sunday, and East Side Riders expands to Huntington Park

July 21, 2023 / / Comments Off on Explore the Venice Corridor with LADOT and CicLAvia Sunday, and East Side Riders expands to Huntington Park

CicLAvia offers more details on Sunday’s event to celebrate and explore the new dedicated bus lanes and protected bike lane extensions on Venice Blvd.

And since I’m worn out after a too long, too hard and too busy week, I’ll let them tell you about it.

WHAT:

On Sunday, July 23, from 2-6 p.m., Venice Boulevard: Explore the Corridor presented by Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) and powered by CicLAvia, celebrates the recent transportation safety improvements along Venice Boulevard.

This free public event will feature a series of guided group bike rides and walks along the new protected bike lanes and safety features on Venice Boulevard, between National and Sepulveda, as well as routes through the surrounding neighborhoods. Venice Boulevard will remain open to cars, and we encourage participants to explore the area safely. Bicycles, roller skates, skateboards, scooters, strollers, walkers, and runners are all welcome.

WHERE:

There will be a Hub at Venice and Bagley (9390 Venice Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232) with music, street games and other activities for all ages and abilities.

WHEN:

Sunday, July 23, 2023; 2 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Illustration shows the new Venice Blvd bus/bike corridor. 

……….

The Watts-based East Side Riders Bike Club made a handful of announcements, starting with news of a second location in Huntington Park serving the Southeast LA communities.

Huntington Park Community News.

We recently secured a location in the city of Huntington Park to help is serve the Southeast (SELA) communities.

We’re looking forward to launching our summer Tuesday and Thursday community bike rides, teaching bicycle safety and education and lunching our SELA E-Bike loan program in HP.

Our Friday Night Rides (FNR) and Sunday Rides will now start and finish in Huntington Park.

Friday Night Rides

Every other Friday @ 6:00 pm

Sunday Rides

Weekly at 10:00 am

6013 State Street, Huntington Park CA 90255

The group also issued a Save the Date notice for the Watts Non-Profit Day.

Save The Date!!

Join East Side Riders and you the community as we host our first Nonprofit Day in Watts.

National Nonprofit Day is commemorated on August 17 each year to recognize nonprofit organizations’ ongoing efforts to serve the local community. If you’ve ever volunteered, you’re well aware of the significance of these charitable organizations.

This is a day to bring NPO’s in Watts together along with our elected officials so we can all get to know one another and share resources with the community.

Our Nonprofit Day will be held on

Sunday August 20th, 2023

11:00 am – 4:00 pm

Located on 103rd Street between Success and Compton in Watts.

For more information or to RSVP email Monica Sanchez, monica.sanchez@esrbc.org

 

Finally, the East Side Riders announced their free, all-ages after school activities program.

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Gravel Bike California looks forward to California’s Gravel Event Calendar as the fall / winter season picks up.

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Mountain bike brand Forbidden says quit your job, and ride a bike.

Works for me.

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

The Conservative Party’s candidate for London mayor threatens to undo years of progress for active travel, in sharp contrast with other European mayors; she insists she’s not insists she’s not anti-bike, despite describing bike riders as lawless and dangerous, while calling for mandatory registration for bicyclists, and claiming bike lanes cause congestion. Makes you wonder whether she’d consider anything short of calling for the death and dismemberment of people on two wheels as being anti-bike.

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

A Utah bike rider was captured on live TV lifting his bicycle over a barricade closing a bike trail, after a woman was killed when a tree fell on her during a storm (see story under National news).

There’s a special place in hell for the Pennsylvania man who stole a 15-year old boy’s bicycle, then used it to chase the boy’s teenaged sisters on their bikes, until an adult couple confronted the man.

Police in Singapore are looking for a Caucasian hit-and-run bicyclist who crashed into a woman and her toddler daughter, leaving them both banged up and shaken. Yet another reminder that you have the same obligation to remain after a crash as drivers do, even if too many of them don’t.

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Local 

LA’s experiment with placing cool paint on Pacoima streets is paying off, as the newest surface coatings are reducing ambient temperatures by three degrees throughout the ten-block test area.

 

State

Velo’s Urbanist Update argues that San Raphael state Assemblyman Damon Connolly is wrong when he cites the bike lanes on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge for causing pollution, because removing the bike lane would only move the bottleneck to the other end of the bridge. Besides, the real problem is the 80,000 drivers who insist on using it every day, not the people on bikes.

 

National

PeopleForBikes latest bikeability ratings of American cities continues to make waves, as EcoWatch looks at eight of the top-rated cities, including my Colorado hometown.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission warned people to immediately stop using SQM bicycle helmets because they don’t comply with positional stability and certification requirements, and can fail to protect riders in a crash.

Inmates at a Las Vegas correctional institution are fixing up abandoned bicycles collected from police around Nevada to donate to veterans, kids and the homeless.

For the second time this week, a bike rider had been killed by a falling tree branch, after a 68-year old Utah woman was killed when a tree fell on her as she rode on a bike trail during a thunderstorm.

Chicago Streetsblog calls PeopleForBikes’ low ranking for the city silly, but applauds the push for lower speed limits and a citywide protected bike network.

That’s more like it. A 32-year old Michigan man faces up to 15 years behind bars after he was convicted for the high-speed hit-and-run that killed a man riding a bicycle, while driving at over three times the legal alcohol limit — although prosecutors had asked for a second-degree murder conviction, with a possible life sentence.

Life is cheap in Pennsylvania, where a 39-year old woman got a whole 30 days behind bars for the hit-and-run collision that left a bike-riding man with a broken neck. But at least she’ll have to wear a monitoring anklet for another three months.

A grieving Georgia mother kicked off a traffic safety campaign after her ten-year old son was killed just trying to cross a street on his bike to get home.

 

International

Momentum Magazine offers a beginner’s guide to choosing the right ‘bent.

A writer for Condé Nast Traveler says her favorite Airbnb experience was riding an ebike on a 19-mile trail through Brazil’s Tijuca National Park, in the rainforests outside Rio de Janeiro.

Frightening video from Toronto, where dashcam captured a driver attempting to pass a bike rider on the right before running over him; fortunately, the victim pops back up after the crash. Be sure you really want to see it before you click on the clink, because you can’t unsee the image.

 

Competitive Cycling

Danish cyclist Kasper Asgreen foiled what was supposed to be a sprinter’s stage in yesterday’s stage 18 of the Tour de France, winning the stage with a lengthy four-man breakaway as multiple teams tried to chase them down at the finish.

American Sepp Kuss looks back at his role as a key lieutenant for Tour leader Jonas Vingegaard, saying the team knew what they had to do to break two-time winner Tadej Pogačar on the Col de la Loze.

Pogačar aims to finish the Tour on his terms, as his UAE Team Emirates looks towards two spots on the final podium, even if he’ll be denied a third yellow jersey.

Belgian Wout van Aert has what may be the best excuse for dropping out of the Tour, after leaving to be with his wife for the birth of their second child.

Canadian cyclists will be able to compete under their chosen gender in non-UCI sanctioned events for the rest of this year, after the governing body for bike racing banned trans athletes from competing in women’s races.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can prevent close passes with your very own inflatable spiky bikepack. That feeling when authorities give you a shuttle bus instead of a bike lane.

And when a self-deprecating f-bomb wins you more fans for keeping it real.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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

LBPD blames elderly tandem victim, learn about LA River path extension, and Metro chooses option 2 for bike/ped bridge

July 20, 2023 / / Comments Off on LBPD blames elderly tandem victim, learn about LA River path extension, and Metro chooses option 2 for bike/ped bridge

In case you missed it last night, Long Beach police were quick to blame the victim after a 76-year old Long Beach woman died when she was apparently knocked off a tandem bike by a hit-and-run driver.

Although they certainly didn’t see it that way.

Gaylin Reese was riding with her husband when police say they sideswiped a stopped car while riding in the bike lane on 2nd Street near Marina Drive.

A more likely explanation, however, is that an impatient driver tried to cut into the bike lane to go around stopped traffic, and hit the pair’s bicycle — something we’ve all seen drivers do before.

LBPD investigators also handed the driver’s lawyer a perfect excuse, assuming they ever find them, by saying the driver may not have even known about the impact.

Which seems pretty damned unlikely.

Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels.

……….

Metro invites you to come to the LA River Fest this Sunday to learn more about the planned eight-mile shared use path extension from Elysian Valley, through downtown Los Angeles to Vernon and Maywood.  

The free arts, film and community resource festival celebrating the LA River, hosted by the Friends of the L.A. River, aka FoLAR, takes place from 5 pm to 9 pm at LA State Historic Park in downtown Los Angeles.

………

Speaking of Metro, Numble reports the county transportation agency has apparently chosen what’s behind Option Number Two.

The plan for the bridge over US-101 would connect bicyclists from Union Station to LA River Bike Path, using a switchback and long span connecting the bike path to the southwest walkway at Patsaouras Plaza.

Click through to go to Twitter to examine the slides, but you may need a Twitter account to actually see them. 

………

Join Bike Long Beach for Bikes and Coffee this Saturday.

………

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

No surprise here, as police in New York disproportionately ticketed Black and other nonwhite bicyclists last year, joining other cities across the US, including Los Angeles, in targeting bike-riding people of color.

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

Police in San Antonio, Texas are looking for the brutal, bike-riding executioner who rode up and put six bullets in the head of a homeless man sleeping outside the backdoor of a Little Caesar’s Pizza shop.

An English man says he’s lucky to be alive after he was struck by an ebike rider while walking, and had to be resuscitated at the hospital.

………

Local 

Streetsblog visits the new, bike-friendly roundabout popup on Maine Avenue in Baldwin Park.

Glendale leaders joined with California Assembly Transportation Chair and Congressional candidate Laura Friedman to rally support for a proposed sped cam pilot program in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale, as well as three NorCal cities.

 

State

The X Games are coming to the Ventura County Fairgrounds this Friday through Sunday.

Two men were rushed to the hospital after a crash between an e-scooter rider and a bike rider on San Francisco’s Market Street.

A Stockton man in his 60s was killed by a heartless hit-and-run driver while riding his bike Tuesday night.

 

National

The journal of the American Bar Association talks with bike lawyer Bob Mionske about the long journey from two-time Olympic cyclist to a leading authority on bike law.

Ten college-age women are riding 1,700 miles down the Left Coast from Seattle to San Diego for the annual Pedal the Pacific ride to end human trafficking.

An op-ed from the president of a nonprofit, nonpartisan Utah public policy research organization says he’s gone from a fearless bike rider to merely confident since he was struck by a driver, and that better infrastructure could keep everyone safer.

A Minneapolis op-ed says a rolling stop law, aka Stop As Yield or Idaho Stop Law, can smooth relations between bicyclists and drivers, while helping everyone get where they’re going more quickly. Never mind that California bike riders will go at least another year without one, after the bill was pulled by its author on the verge of passing out of committee. 

A 20-year old Tennessee man faces an attempted murder charge after stabbing a bike rider with a box cutter, allegedly telling police that he was “just done with people.”

Friends and customers remember longtime Lansing, Michigan bike shop owner Denny Vandecar, who died of a ruptured brain aneurysm at age 82, after more than six decades in the bike industry.

Boston’s bike-friendly mayor announced a new bike training program for children ages four to 13 at sites around the city.

A 67-year old former Johnston PA hockey player and coach was rushed to the hospital following a collision while riding his bike; Steve Carlson was on the team that inspired the Paul Newman movie Slap Shot, and played one of the bespectacled Hanson brothers in the film.

Baltimore Magazine talks with the co-founder of Baltimore-based advocacy group Black People Ride Bikes.

Tragic news from North Carolina, where a 17-year-old boy was found dead hours after he was knocked off a bridge and into the river below by a pickup driver while riding his bike; police investigators absolved the driver of blame after he blamed the victim for not wearing reflective gear.

 

International

Momentum Magazine lists five benefits of living in a bicycle city, including reduced traffic congestion and healthier lifestyles.

This is who we share the road with. A 22-year old British man will spend the next 12 years behind bars for the violent, high-speed crash that killed a 38-year old woman who was 17 weeks pregnant; he filmed himself driving at speeds up to 123 mph before slamming into her disabled car at 93 mph. Three other children in the victim’s car somehow survived the crash.

UK ebike maker Mate Bikes is following VanMoof into bankruptcy, with an asset auction scheduled for next month.

An Indian bike program is credited with having a revolutionary effect on the lives of young girls there and in Zambia, where school attendance went up 45%.

Israeli e-scooter and ebike injuries have jumped a “staggering” 440% since 2018. But despite the panicky headline, that increase likely just reflects an increase in ridership.

 

Competitive Cycling

Defending champ Jonas Vingegaard virtually sealed a repeat victory in the Tour de France with a dominating performance on the stage-crowning Col de la Loze, resulting in a virtually unassailable 7:35 lead in the general classification; 23-year old Austrian Tour de France rookie Felix Gall won the stage.

Rouleur says Vingegaard displayed an implacable show of dominance, while psychologically crushing Pogačar.

Two-time Tour de France champ Pogačar said yesterday was one of his worst days on a bike as he lost over five minutes to Vingegaard, telling his teammates “I’m gone. I’m dead.”

Road.cc looks at the “weird, wonderful (and just plain wrong)” team kits, bikes and components at the Tour.

Velo writes that Peter Sagan is flaming out at the race he helped reconfigure through years of dominance.

You may have to cross a picket line to attend the UCI World Cycling Championships in Glasgow, Scotland next month, after two unions have voted to strike during the event.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can build your very own airless bike tires, without a 3D printer. At least we don’t have to worry about having to flee by bike when a herd of elephants interrupts a wedding party (although in this case, the bikes were probably motor scooters).

And who says bicycling shoes have to look like, well, bicycling shoes?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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

Hero fallen mountain biker ID’d, killing of CA Stop As Yield bill explained, and blocking bike lanes for road safety

July 19, 2023 / / Comments Off on Hero fallen mountain biker ID’d, killing of CA Stop As Yield bill explained, and blocking bike lanes for road safety

The hero mountain biker who apparently sacrificed his own life to help save stranded hikers from the intense heat east of San Diego has been identified.

Twenty-four-year old Kai Torres Bronson was with three other riders when they encountered four hikers who had run out of food and water, and were suffering the effects of temperatures up to 110 degrees in the Carrizo Gorge east of San Diego.

He then succumbed himself as he rode to the trailhead with a companion following their rescue, after the group had separated to guide the Cal fire rescue crew.

A crowdfunding campaign to pay for his funeral expenses has raised over $14,000 of the $35,000 goal.

Services for Torres Bronson will be held from 4 pm to 8 pm on July 29th at the Community Mortuary in Chula Vista.

Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels.

………

Seems like we’ve been talking a lot about 77th District Assemblymember Tasha Boerner from Encinitas lately.

Then again, it’s only been every day this week, and part of last week.

Most of the conversation has been about her apparently well-intentioned, if misguided bill to create a working group with a goal of establishing an ebike licensing program.

Which I might support if it’s amended to exempt ped-assist ebikes, and only apply to high speed throttle-controlled bicycles, which could be included under motorcycle licensing rather than create another expensive and unsustainable state program.

The law would also require anyone riding any type of ebike to carry some form of photo ID, and ban anyone under 12 from riding one, period.

But today’s topic is the other subject we’ve been mentioning, about her previously unexplained decision to pull AB 73, the Safety Stop or Stop As Yield bill, as she somehow snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

At least now we have an explanation.

But as the late, great Dale Carnegie once wrote, there are two reasons for anything a person does. A reason that sounds good, and the real reason.

I’m not sure we’ve heard that last one yet.

Maybe another state legislator can do what she did with the ebike licensing bill, and cannibalize another bill that’s already been introduced and replace it with a Stop As Yield law.

Because it’s been repeatedly shown to improve safety in cities and states across the US in recent years.

And quite frankly, we’ve waited long enough.

Meanwhile, Momentum Magazine says Stop As Yield is now law in Minnesota, and asks why it isn’t everywhere else.

Good question.

………

No bias here. God forbid they should inconvenience drivers a tiny bit when there’s a nice bike lane to put the sign in.

………

If Zachary Rynew, aka the force behind Gravel Bike California, recommends it, that’s good enough for me.

………

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

An angry Vail, Colorado bike rider addresses an open letter to the bike-riding man who forced him off a local trail.

No bias here. A Michigan country music DJ says Kalamazoo residents are livid over plans for an advisory bike lane, citing comments from just 92 of the city’s nearly 80,000 residents. Never mind that the city is trying to improve safety after five bike riders were killed, and four injured, by an extremely stoned driver in 2016.

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

A British woman was repeatedly punched in the head by male bike rider while riding her bike on a local tow path; no reason was given for the violent assault.

………

Local 

Authorities have named the suspect who brutally attacked a 67-year old woman as she was working in her East Los Angeles garden; 21-year-old Sergio Andrew Garcia allegedly punched the victim repeatedly in the face before pulling down her pants and underwear. He fled on foot before riding off on a fixie he’d apparently left nearby.

 

State

Stacker ranks all the counties in California for the worst commutes; shockingly, Los Angeles County was only number 12 on the list, while bucolic Calaveras County came in number one for leaving drivers feeling like number two.

An Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy gave a 12-year old boy a customized bike helmet after the boy crashed his ebike, noting that he’d seen the kid following the rules when he rides.

A Montecito op-ed explains why Strong Towns Santa Barbara supports the “Flat and Flexible” plan for Santa Barbara’s State Street, which they say is the option that is “most focused on the comfort and safety of pedestrians and cyclists.”

Even the trees are out to get us. A 65-year old Gilroy woman was killed when she was struck by a large tree branch while riding her bike.

Police in San Jose released video of a hit-and-run driver who killed bike riding woman last month; Hoodline gets it right by calling the driver a heartless hit-and-run menace.

Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick calls out the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition for supporting the Valencia Street centerline protected bike lane, arguing the organization’s “credibility is on the line along with the lives and limbs of people walking and biking.”

A Sacramento TV station talks with the Executive Director of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates about how the city and local groups are “catering” to bicyclists. Although something tells she might dispute that the city caters to anyone on two wheels.

 

National

A Florida car dealer polled over 3,000 people to find the most feared roads in America; New Mexico’s US Route 285 came in first, while California’s Death Valley Road was number two, in more ways than one.

Bend, Oregon teamed with a local state representative to host a discussion of ebike safety, prompted by the death of a 15-year old boy killed in a collision while riding one last month.

A Durango, Colorado bike shop worker offers tips on bike commuting on roads clogged with highway construction and summer tourists.

The Detroit man who allegedly pushed a young kid off his bike to steal it has been charged with unarmed robbery; he was being held on $50,000 bond after turning himself in.

A Michigan man is making the first known attempt to trace the state’s borders on a bicycle, with a 22-day, 2,400-mile ride to benefit a nonprofit helping formerly incarcerated people readjust to life outside prison walls.

A 32-year old hit-and-run driver is being tried for second-degree murder for killing a Wyoming, Michigan bike rider while driving under the influence at speeds up to 90 mph.

A 61-year old Florida man urges everyone who operates a motor vehicle to carry insurance, after he suffered life-altering injuries when he was struck by an uninsured motorcyclist while riding his bicycle; the Insurance Information Institute estimates that as many as 25% of the state’s drivers are uninsured.

This is who we share the road with. A three-year old driving a golf cart on private property in Florida struck and killed a seven-year old kid standing in the yard. Unbelievably, three-year olds driving golf carts is perfectly legal in the state; a bill banning anyone under 18 from driving one without a license or learner’s permit won’t go into effect until October.

 

International

Seriously? The US edition of Britain’s Sun tabloid considers what to do if a bike rider crashes into your car. Because evidently, that’s the real problem, not the other way around. And hint to The Sun — in this country, it’s 911, not 999.

A travel website ranks the “ten toughest mountain biking destinations that will make your stomach drop.”

There’s a special place in hell for the Niagara, Ontario hit-and-run driver who left an 82-year old bike rider fighting for his life in a drainage ditch. Seriously, anyone who can ride a bike at that age deserves better. Then again, so do the rest of us. 

High-flying Dutch ebike maker VanMoof is officially belly-up, after the Amsterdam District Court declared the company bankrupt; administrators will explore whether the brand can be saved in another form.

Turkish bike riders told police they got the wrong man, after police arrested someone for fleeing on foot following the crash that killed a man taking part in a group ride; his fellow bicyclists accused the hit-and-run driver of murder after finding drug paraphernalia in his car.

 

Competitive Cycling

Barring any major disasters, defending Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard should be able to cruise into Paris wearing the yellow jersey, after putting nearly two minutes between himself and his nearest competitors during yesterday’s time trial.

Rouleur questions whether there’s any way back for two-time tour champ Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates, after losing over a minute and a half in yesterday’s time trial.

Cycling Weekly calls out 18 things you didn’t know about Nielsen Powless, who is fighting to hold onto his polka dot jersey and become the first American to be crowned the Tour’s King of the Mountain.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can tow your every own electric catamaran with your very now electric bicycle. That feeling when transportation officials engage in a little turd polishing.

And when Twitter users second guess the courts, the law and bike safety.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

Proposed ebike bill won’t require a license to ride ebikes — for now, and recent deaths offer extreme heat warning

July 18, 2023 / / Comments Off on Proposed ebike bill won’t require a license to ride ebikes — for now, and recent deaths offer extreme heat warning

Let’s start with a quick update on AB 530, the new ebike bill sponsored by Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner.

Yesterday I received clarification that the bill doesn’t currently call for ebike licenses, but rather requires that anyone over 16 carry some form of photo ID whenever they ride an ebike.

Which means that anyone without a valid driver’s license will need to have a state ID, or a student or work ID with a photo. Or maybe start carrying a passport when you ride an ebike, even if you’re not planning to cross any international borders.

However, it does call for establishing a working group with a goal of creating a license for ebike riders.

So no ebike licenses for now. But no guarantees down the road, either.

And despite my misreading of the bill, it doesn’t require a bike helmet for Class 3 ebikes capable of speeds up to 28 mph, since that’s already state law.

Image by Maxfoot from Pixabay.

………

Yesterday, we learned that a 24-year old mountain biker died after apparently succumbing to extreme heat in the desert east of San Diego, shortly after helping rescue hikers who had become stranded without food or water.

That comes just a day after we mentioned that an Arizona man in his 70s had died of heat-related causes after his bike suffered a flat, and he attempted to walk to a nearby fire station to wait for his wife.

Both serve as tragic reminders of the dangers of the current extreme heat wave gripping the Southwest, which is only predicted to get worse over the coming weekend.

So if you can, try to avoid riding in the heat of the day. Schedule your rides for early in the morning before the heat of the day, or in the evening after the relentless pounding of the sun lets up.

If you do have to ride during the day, try to choose a route closer to the coast, where the air is cooler, or seek out shaded areas as much as possible.

If you have to ride in the city, remember that concrete buildings and dark road surfaces radiate heat far in excess of the already high ambient temperatures.

Wherever you ride, take more water than you think you’ll need, and take frequent breaks in shaded areas.

And remember that a simple mechanical can ruin even the most cautious plans, and keep you out in the sun far longer than intended.

………

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

A bike rider in Queens, New York managed to evade pursuing cops in a patrol car, as players and spectators at a local baseball game all stopped to watch.

………

Local 

The NoHo Arts District asks if LA’s Mobility Plan 2035 will increase bike and pedestrian safety in Los Angeles, after the plan was approved by the city council eight years ago. Short answer — not unless it’s actually implemented, which seems pretty damn unlikely at this point.

Westside Today examines Culver City’s newly enhanced Higuera Street Bridge, which they say prioritizes bicyclists and pedestrians. If they really want to prioritize people walking and riding bikes, get rid of the damn cars.

 

State

Sheriff’s deputies in Hesperia will conduct a bike and pedestrian safety operation on Wednesday. So ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit line, so you’re not the one who gets ticketed.

Once again, a bike rider is a hero, as a passing bicyclist warned Fresno residents that their home was on fire, and helped one person evacuate the burning home.

A temporary bike path opening this week will restore a bicycling route between Novato and Petaluma closed by a landslide due to storm damage.

A Bay Area television station argues that the bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge remains severely underutilized as it nears the end of a four year pilot program; officials bizarrely claim the bike lane is causing pollution, instead of all those people in the big, smelly machines. Once again mistaking the solution for the problem. 

San Francisco public radio station KQED California talks with bike and transportation leaders about how the state can become safer for bicyclists.

 

National

Bicycling looks at the health benefits of riding a bicycle for older people. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

The family of fallen masters champ Gwen Inglis won’t oppose a request from Lakewood, Colorado officials to remove her ghost bike, after a single complaint from someone who said it made them feel uncomfortable. Because God knows, we wouldn’t want to do that. 

A St. Paul, Minnesota columnist calls the city’s new bike plan “relentlessly ambitious,” while revealing the tension between more expensive protected bike lanes and cheaper quick-build projects.

A St. Paul teenager completed an around the world bike tour, riding through 20 countries in 22 months.

Arkansas officials unveiled plans for a $278 million, 200-mile bikeway connecting four counties in the central part of the state.

More fallout from PeopleForBikes latest ranking of urban bikeability, as Chicago ranked among the nation’s most dangerous cities for people on two wheels, coming in at a pitiful 161st out of 163 big cities.

Heartbreaking news from Indiana, where a Roman Catholic priest who was killed while riding his bicycle last year was credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.

Sad news from New York State, where a man participating in the eight-day Erie Canal Bike Tour was found dead in his tent Sunday morning.

Friends and fellow bicyclists remember 27-year-old Dzhoy Zuckerman, after the purple-clad fixture of the DC bicycling community was murdered just blocks from his home.

 

International

Inside EVs asks if ebike digital drives could mark the end of sprockets and chains.

Spain’s upcoming national elections put bike lanes and low-emission zones in the crosshairs of rightist-run cities, with the most likely outcome a coalition government that could reverse the county’s progress on climate goals.

 

Competitive Cycling

Velo examines how Tour de France leader Jonas Vingegaard shelved the race-ruining anxiety that made him the “worst guy in the peloton to become the “silent assassin” known as the Iceman in just five years.

Five Americans remain in the Tour de France peloton as the race enters its last week, with Sepp Kuss nearing a top ten finish as Vingegaard’s right handlebar man, and Neilson Powless in position to become the first US rider to win the King of the Mountains jersey.

Cyclists participating in the Tour asked fans to behave better, after a selfie-taking spectator hit Sepp Kuss’ handlebars on Sunday, causing a massive pileup.

Road.cc examines what makes a time trial bike so fast. Nothing, if I’m riding it. 

Former pro cyclists weigh in on whether the Netflix Tour de France documentary Unchained can grow bicycling in the US.

Transgender women’s cycling champ Austin Killips accused UCI of caving to a cabal of right-wingers, after the international governing body for cycling banned transgender women who transitioned after puberty from participating in women’s races.

 

Finally…

Why rough it when you can go bike glamping by pulling your own camper behind your bike? That feeling when the annual mountain bike race gets cancelled because of snow — in July.

And you might be able to buy a Tesla ebike one day.

But then you’d have to ride it.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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

Update: Boerner introduces bill to require ebike licenses, ban young riders; and bike rider severely injured in Moreno Vally crash

July 17, 2023 / / One comment

The news isn’t great on the bill to create an ebike licensing program.

Sponsored by 77th District Assemblymember Tasha Boerner, AB 530, which cannibalized an earlier bill, would —

1) Prohibit anyone under 12 from riding any class of ebike.

2) Require a photo ID for anyone over 16 who doesn’t have a valid driver’s license.

3) Existing state law requires that anyone riding a Class 3 ebike, defined as a ped-assist bike capable of speeds up to 28 mph, to wear a bike helmet that meets standards from the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) or the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Correction: I originally wrote that the bill would require an ebike license for anyone who doesn’t have a driver’s license.

However, that understanding came from the press release posted below, which says the bill would “Require an online written test and a state-issued photo identification for those without a valid driver’s license.”

I’m told that the bill actually requires that anyone over 16 without a driver’s license would be required to carry photo ID to ride an ebike, though I’m not sure what that would be, since not everyone has one. 

The bill would also establish a working group with a goal of creating a license for ebike riders. 

Although as we’ve repeatedly been told, there’s no way to create a bicycle license that would pencil out financially, so I’m not sure that would work out. Not to mention all the other reasons bike licensing isn’t viable. 

I don’t actually have a problem with the first requirement. Ebikes are powerful machines that young children may not be able to handle. Although I’d exclude handicapped children who may not be able to ride a standard bicycle.

I do have a problem with requiring a license for any adult to ride any kind of bicycle, electric or otherwise. There are countless reasons why someone might not have a driver’s license, which have nothing to do with their ability to ride a bicycle.

Someone who has been riding a bicycle for 20, 30 or 40 years is perfectly capable of riding an ebike without having to pass a test to get a license. And it creates a very slippery slope to the demands of some drivers that all bike riders should be licensed.

Once we require licenses for one group of bicyclists, it’s a very small step to require them for all.

Never mind that it’s exactly the wrong thing to do when California is literally on fire, overly congested traffic is grinding to halt, and our air and climate are fouled by motor vehicles.

We should be encouraging alternatives to driving, rather than throwing up still more barriers.

What would make far more sense is to create a separate class for throttle-controlled ebikes, which require no physical exertion to operate, and can easily reach speeds beyond what inexperienced riders are capable of safely controlling.

Like this one. Or this.

I’m sure Tasha Boerner’s heart is in the right place — although I’d like to know why the hell she pulled AB 73, which would have allowed bike riders to treat stop signs as yields when safe to do so, when it appeared to be on track to pass the legislature.

Especially since I’ve heard Gavin Newsom may have looked more favorably on it this time, after vetoing two earlier versions of the bill.

But this bill, AB 530, should be dead on arrival without major revisions.

Photo by Maxfoot from Pixabay.

………

Sad news from Moreno Valley, where a man riding a bicycle was severely injured in a head-on collision Friday night.

The victim was riding east on Box Springs Road at Pine Cone Lane around 9 pm when he allegedly crossed onto the wrong side of the road, and was struck by the driver of a 2006 Honda Civic.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Deputy Andrew Galbreath of the Moreno Valley sheriff’s station at 951/486-6700.

………

CicLAvia is teaming with LADOT to explore the newly extended protected bike lanes and safety improvements on Venice Blvd this Sunday, though the street will remain open to motor vehicles.

………

Streets For All is back with their monthly virtual happy hour on Wednesday, with Caltrans District 7 Director Gloria Roberts as special guest.

Which means this is your perfect chance to ask questions about safety improvements and Complete Streets requirements on state roadways.

………

A Shakespeare put it, “’tis true ’tis pity, and pity ’tis, ’tis true.”

………

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

Talk about not getting it. A London writer and bike rider says we don’t need any bike cam vigilantes, arguing that a road raging driver who went ballistic after being challenged for texting behind the wheel wasn’t endangering anyone because he was stuck in stationary traffic. Never mind that texting drivers often lurch forward without looking after someone honks at them for not moving when the light changes. 

A road-raging Porsche driver ran over a bike after a group of bike riders participating in a London ride-out blocked the driver’s path.

A couple in the UK were ordered to remove their DIY cargo bike parking space after the local council concluded that the planter they used for protection might hurt the poor cars.

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

Police in Northern Ireland have spoken to a bike rider regarding his conduct, after the “intolerant and ignorant” man shouted obscenities as he rode past a Protestant parade. More proof that The Troubles aren’t entirely in the past.

………

Local 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton visits my neighborhood to offer his thoughts on the new peak-hour bus lanes on La Brea Blvd, which he suggests could be even quicker and cheaper to build; he also notes that CD10 Councilmemember Heather Hutt is working to maintain the street’s auto-centric focus by indefinitely blocking the project south of Olympic Blvd. It’s worth noting that Hutt, who cites a lack of public consensus for blocking the project was appointed by the council to fill a vacancy, and has yet to face the voters.

 

State

Solana Beach officials discussed the city’s response to mounting ebike injuries, after neighboring Carlsbad and Encinitas declared a local state of emergency earlier this year.

The Ventura County Transportation Commission wants your input on planning the future of mobility for the county.

San Francisco Streetsblog takes a self-guided, unofficial tour of the new Gilman Street pedestrian and bicycle bridge over I-80, even though it’s not scheduled to open until October.

A Chico driver may have saved the life of a bike rider, stopping her car to intervene when she saw around eight pit bulls attacking a man riding his bike on a bike path, before the dogs turned on her; the dogs were captured at a nearby homeless encampment after both victims managed to get away

 

National

A travel website wants you to explore Mexico City by bicycle.

Streetsblog reposts a Substack article offering advice on how to talk to strangers to accomplish your bike and transit goals, saying even if you’re an introvert, you have to win others over to your cause.

Oregon officials are planning to build a 172-mile bicycle network in the scenic southwest portion of the state, though just what form it will take is still to be determined.

A new Oregon law reduces the penalties for biking under the influence, as lawmakers recognize the reduced damage an intoxicated bike rider can cause, compared to people in the big, dangerous machines.

A tragic warning about riding in extreme heat, after an Arizona man in his 70s died from apparent heat-related causes after suffering a flat, and attempting to walk his bike to a nearby fire station to wait for his wife.

This is who we share the road with. An Idaho woman is in a medically induced coma after she was run down by a 14-year old driver on the 4th of July while riding her bike; she was in treatment for a meth addiction and 120 days sober when she was injured. A crowdfunding campaign to defray her medical expenses has raised just over ten percent of the $50,000 goal.

A Nebraska bike rider became the latest person to be run down by a cop while riding a bicycle, after he was right hooked while riding on the sidewalk.

There’s a special place in hell for the adult thief who pushed a Detroit boy off his bike as the kid was riding it, then pedaled off on it; the thief turned himself into the police, while a state legislator gave the boy a new bike.

An Indiana man will spend the next 35 years behind bars after he was convicted of attempted murder for shooting a man on a bicycle in the back, while shouting that the victim had stolen his car.

A Kentucky state park worker is being praised for jumping into the water to save a ten-year old boy who accidentally rode his bike off a 15-foot cliff, then dove back in to retrieve the boy’s bicycle.

They get it, too. The leaders of a Boston-area city want the city’s police to stop ticketing bicyclists who ride through red lights without putting anyone else at risk.

Tragic news from DC, where a fixture in the local bicycling scene was fatally gunned down early Saturday; 27-year old Dzhoy Zuckerman was killed just blocks from his home by an unknown attacker. No word on whether he was riding his bike at the time, or any motive for the shooting. A crowdfunding campaign to support his partner has raised over $3,800 of the $10,000 goal in the first few hours.

 

International

Bike Biz asks if rising bicycle prices have become a barrier to sales.

A small new Canadian study suggest one factor causing crashes is that drivers just aren’t looking for people on bicycles.

A man riding his bike across Canada to raise awareness for mental health lost all of his gear when someone stole his bike outside a Winnipeg coffee shop; he says he was warned about Winnipeg.

A new Scottish study concludes that drivers are more likely to be at fault in crashes with bicyclists.

They must be doing something right, as British bicycling deaths drop 24% to their lowest level in 30 years. Exactly the opposite of what’s happening in this country, for reasons that should be self evident.

Forty people from four continents, including survivors of the 2017 New York bike path attack climbed the Grand Colombier before the Tour de France stage to honor the victims of terrorism.

Now you can carry your kids with what is in effect a three-wheeled ped-assist pedicab, thanks to a collaboration between Germany’s Cube and BMW.

A Singapore writer says it’s not easy being a casual bike rider in the island city-state. But apparently, it’s not any easier being a serious bicyclist, as 26 Singaporean roadies were fined for exceeding the limits on group rides, which specify no more than five bicyclists can ride together at any given time.

 

Competitive Cycling

This year’s Tour de France is threatening to descend into chaos, marring what is turning into an epic battle between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar.

Exhibit one is the race motos that halted an attack by Pogačar on the Col de Joux Plane on Saturday’s stage 14, which may have kept him from claiming the yellow jersey.

Velo questions whether the race motos could prove decisive, as Pogačar lost out on a time bonus that could have cut Vingegaard’s lead to just four seconds, while the riders and passengers of both motos were suspended for one whole stage for their transgressions.

Exhibit two is a mass crash shortly after the start of Saturday’s stage that forced three riders to abandon, while holding up the race for half an hour to attend to the injured cyclist; two other riders were forced to abandon when they both crashed on a fast descent shortly after the restart.

Exhibit three is another mass crash on Sunday’s stage, when a spectator taking a selfie came in contact with American rider Sepp Kuss, triggering a massive chain reaction crash.

Vingegaard responded to questions about increases in speeds, as he and Pogačar have broken several climbing records in recent years, crediting it on improving bicycle tech, while acknowledging that he can understand why people would wonder if he’s on something.

American riders Neilson Powless and Lawson Craddock lit up Sunday’s “monster climbing stage” in stage 15, as Powless defended the King of the Mountain jersey he’s worn for two weeks, while Craddock just missed the podium with a career-best fourth.

UCI has reversed its policy for transgender cyclists, ruling that transgender women who transition after puberty will be barred from competing in women’s cycling events in all categories and disciplines. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you. 

Huh? A bizarre story from South Korea, where a transgender cyclist says she won a woman’s race to prove a point to “selfish” trans athletes that biological men are physically superior to biological women.

Citing a recent court decision, a Colorado landowner is now requiring liability waivers from all the competitors, support staff and spectators for the Leadville 100 mountain bike race, after allowing the race to traverse his land for the previous four years he’s owned it. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can carry a concealed weapon on your bicycle (just give a fake birthday to get past the NRA’s intrusive age check). That feeling when your bike brand shares a name with a late rock star.

And when popping wheelies and bunny hopping makes you “the NBA of the streets.”

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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

LA adopts mini-superblock pilot; Baldwin Park roundabout popup tomorrow; and Shoup, Butler honored as top urbanists

July 14, 2023 / / Comments Off on LA adopts mini-superblock pilot; Baldwin Park roundabout popup tomorrow; and Shoup, Butler honored as top urbanists

Happy Bastille Day!

Celebrate by riding a French bike today. Or at least riding to a French bistro. 

Photo by Alex Azabache from Pexels.

………

Somehow, we missed this one earlier in the week.

According to Smart Cities Dive, the Los Angeles City Council has approved a pilot program for “park blocks,” which will reroute traffic around a single block to create carfree spaces for pedestrians.

The program is based on Barcelona, Spain’s superblocks, which channel cars around 1,300-foot spaces for living, shopping and dining.

The first such project will be installed in disgraced Councilmember Kevin de León’s 14th Council District, after he proposed creation of the program last year.

According to the website,

Park blocks can be tailored to communities’ needs, with features such as bike lanes and wider sidewalks, de León said. They can also provide “substantial shade, outdoor recreation, greening and storm water capture in communities desperate for parks,” according to a report by the Los Angeles City Council Transportation Committee…

Equity will be a focus of the program in Council District 14, which has a large Latino population and high proportion of low-income households, de León said. “The park blocks program emphasizes a participatory approach,” he said. “It allows residents to have a say in the design and implementation of the program in their neighborhoods.”

Let’s hope it spreads across the city.

And that isn’t allowed to die of benign neglect like too many other urbanist programs the city has adopted.

………

Baldwin Park will host a roundabout popup demonstration from 9 am to 1 pm tomorrow at the intersection of Maine Ave and Olive Street, complete with coffee and pastries for everyone in attendance.

According to a press release from the city,

The “Reimagine Olive/Maine” demonstration roundabout this week will be the newest addition to the street network in the city of Baldwin Park. The City’s Public Works Department started one week of construction on the temporary, street safety project on July 5 at the intersection of Maine Avenue and Olive Street.

The Baldwin Park City Council will hold a demonstration event at that intersection on Saturday, July 15 starting at 9 a.m. to present the street improvements to the community and the media. The demonstration will include remarks by Mayor Emmanuel J. Estrada and Councilmember Alejandra Avila, as well as numerous vehicles passing through the modern roundabout…

Roundabouts are known for their ability to enhance traffic flow compared to traffic signals. Their circular design eliminates the need for traffic signals, allowing vehicles to efficiently merge into circulating traffic and continuously flow without the interruption caused by signal phasing. This results in reduced travel times, improved fuel efficiency, decreased traffic congestion and reduced dangerous behaviors by drivers, such as running red lights or stop signs.

Roundabouts have been shown to reduce injury crashes by 75 percent and fatality crashes by 90 percent at intersections where stop signs or signals were previously used for traffic control, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Roundabouts also reduce the severity of crashes that do occur because they are designed to reduce the speed of vehicles. Roundabouts are especially effective during peak traffic hours when congestion is a concern.

Roundabouts also generate health benefits through the reduced pollution and traffic noise resulting from slower speeds and eliminating the wait for a traffic light to change. Without traffic lights, residents will save on the around-the-clock cost of powering traffic signals and the periodic cost of maintaining them. Residents also don’t have to worry about traffic signals at this intersection failing during a disaster, ensuring smooth traffic flow around a landscaped roundabout even during an emergency…

To learn more about the roundabout demonstration project, read the City’s staff report. Residents who would like to provide input on the project may do so using this online survey.

………

Congratulations to UCLA parking meister and distinguished research professor Donald Shoup, and bike equity advocate and UCLA urban planning doctoral student Tamika Butler, who were both named to Planetizen’s latest list of the top 100 most influential urbanists from the past and present.

The pair were honored at #6 and #57, respectively.

New York’s legendary anti-Robert Moses activist Jane Jacobs tops the list, followed by architect and urban designer Jan Gehl, landscape architect, journalist, social critic and public administrator Frederick Law Olmsted, architect, an urban planner and co-founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism Andrés Duany, and modern architecture and planning pioneer Le Corbusier.

Which puts them in pretty damn good company.

Especially considering Shoup checks in one notch above current Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, who is rapidly transforming the sprawling French capital into a 15-minute city, while Butler comes in above legendary figures like Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., Thomas Jefferson and Henry Cisneros.

………

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

A security guard for a South Carolina family campground faces charges for using brass knuckles to assault a bike rider, repeatedly striking the victim in the face in an effort to steal their bicycle.

No bias here. A British letter writer says bicyclists should be forced to pay for their own bike paths, since “anyone with eyes to see” can tell they prefer to ride on the sidewalk. If people would rather ride on the sidewalk than in the street, it’s a pretty good indication that the streets are too damn dangerous.

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

Police in Orlando, Florida are on the lookout for a bike-riding rustler who guided a horse out of its trailer, then rode off on his bike towing the horse behind him.

………

Local 

Around 40 at-risk kids received new bicycles last Saturday, thanks to the Golden State Foods Foundation and Brotherhood Crusade’s Build a Bike Program; the kids were allowed to take home the bikes they built themselves in the parking lot of the Black-owned Los Angeles Sentinel newspaper.

Long Beach will establish an Electric Bike Lending Library by the end of this year, which will allow residents to check out a bike for up to three months.

 

State

Bike rider and artist Kathleen King-Page is looking for sites around the world for her colorful “bike scribbles” sculptures, which feature stylized bicyclists intended to capture the “joy and grace of motion” of riding a bike; she currently has the metal sculptures installed in five US states, including her native California.

That’s more like it. A hit-and-run driver got seven years behind bars for killing a 21-year old bike-riding Corona man; 25-year old Neomi Renee Velado was convicted on felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and hit-and-run causing injury or death. Her conviction followed four previous at-fault collisions, three of which occurred when she was distracted by her phone.

A San Mateo County grand jury put local cities under a microscope, concluding that they’ve made improvements on bicycle safety over the past two decades, but there’s more work to do.

Streetblog says another life was lost to traffic violence in San Francisco when a hit-and-run driver killed a pedestrian while the city’s police were busy trying to round up skateboarders taking part in an annual hill bomb.

San Francisco officials backed off plans to remove parking spaces for a bus-only lane on Geary Street, caving to business owner’s fears that the loss of a whole 70 parking spaces would somehow put them out of business. Because apparently, people who use transit never buy anything. 

 

National

That feeling when getting injured by a distracted pedestrian in a bike lane is the kind of meet-cute that can get you laid — on Sex and the City sequel And Just Like That…, anyway.

Forget the whole men are from Mars, and women from Venus thing. A new survey uncovers the real proof the sexes are different, as men want a Tesla ebike, while women want one made by Tiffany. But would it still come in a little blue box?

He gets it. A writer for Velo says Complete Streets aren’t complete if all they do is check a box to “satisfy those irritating environmentalists.”

A 20-year old New Mexico man faces murder charges after allegedly shooting a 62-year old minister and grandfather multiple times as he rode his mountain bike on a trail, shocking residents of the local community.

The family of fallen Colorado masters champ Gwen Inglis wants the right to maintain her ghost bike, after the city of Englewood ordered it removed because someone complained that it was dilapidated and disturbing to walk past. Which is kinda the point; ghost bikes are supposed to make you uncomfortable, and remind everyone to drive safely.

A member-supported Denver website takes a deep dive into why Denver’s Vision Zero program is failing, as traffic deaths reached their highest level of this century last year, just seven years before the the program’s 2030 deadline.

A 74-year old Long Island woman lost control after swerving to avoid people in a crosswalk, then hit the gas instead of the brakes, running into a 70-year old man on a bike before ending up in a nature preserve pond. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive, and what the hell states are going to do about it. 

Connecticut’s $12 million ebike voucher program has received overwhelming demand, though not on the scale of Taylor Swift tickets, according to the program commissioner. That doesn’t bode well for California’s program, which will have $4.5 million less available for vouchers to serve a population nearly 11 times larger. 

 

International

Momentum provides a guide to buying your first foldie.

Bike Radar offers advice on how to treat road rash, which most longtime bike riders experience sooner or later. I once had road rash from my ankle to my chin after skidding across an eight-lane intersection when I lost control hitting a puddle while making a right turn at speed with a steep lean. Ouch. Or as the French say, aïe! 

The rich get richer, as London opens another ten low-traffic bikeways across the city.

A British city will resurface a dangerous bike lane after the uneven surface caused a man to fall off his bike, leaving him unconscious with a host of injuries. Sort of like the dangerously cracked surface of the newly expanded Venice Blvd protected bike lanes, which could easily cause an equally dangerous fall, if it hasn’t already.

You’ve got to be kidding. An Irish driver walked without a single day behind bars for running down a man who was on a leisurely Sunday bike ride, without even braking; she admitted to police that she just wasn’t looking when she smashed into the victim, who suffered spinal injuries and a broken ankle, can no longer walk or stand without pain, and is too afraid to ride a bike anymore. But at least she was really, really sorry. Right?

Belgian ebike maker Cowboy has ridden to the rescue of rival VanMoof ebike owners by releasing a free app to keep their bikes from being bricked if the company goes belly up. But if well-funded companies like VanMoof and Rad Power can’t make it, it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the ebike industry.

Your next German-made bike helmet could inflate in just 20 seconds.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tragic news from Belgium, where 25-year old Australian cyclist Connor Lambert was killed when he was struck by a truck driver while training on Wednesday; he was in Europe to mentor a junior cycling team called X-Speed.

Spanish cyclist Ion Izagirre rode to victory through the vineyards of Beaujolais with a 19-mile solo breakaway on Thursday’s 12th stage of the Tour de France, while 2022 winner Jonas Vingegaard stayed in yellow with a 17-second lead over two-time champ Tadej Pogacar; Colorado’s Sepp Kuss is the top American at 6:45 back.

Dutch sprinter Fabio Jakobsen withdrew from the Tour de France after injuries he suffered in a crash on the 4th stage made it impossible for him to continue on to Paris.

Mark Cavendish isn’t talking about a possible return next year to try to break the legendary Eddy Merckx record for Tour de France stage wins, after surgery to fix a complicated collarbone fracture that forced him to withdraw from the Tour.

Velo talks with four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome about the snub from his Israel Premier Tech team that left him off the Tour roster, while the team’s owner says Froome “has absolutely not been value for money.” Schmuck.

 

Finally…

Merging beach cruisers and surfwear seems like such a natural fit, you have to wonder what took so long. Your next bike could have modular tubes, allowing you to reconfigure the shape of the frame.

And your next ebike might not even have a drivetrain.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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

More on Fountain Valley hit-and-run, Boerner pulls Stop As Yield bill — again, and this is who we share the road with

July 13, 2023 / / Comments Off on More on Fountain Valley hit-and-run, Boerner pulls Stop As Yield bill — again, and this is who we share the road with

This is the face of hit-and-run.

It’s not often that we learn what happened to a crash victim after the initial news stories.

If it even makes the news, that is.

But we’re learning a lot more about the bike-riding victim of a Fountain Valley hit-and-run driver, who barely survived the initial impact.

We gave the hit-and-run a brief mention on Monday, based on the limited information that was available at the time.

Fountain Valley police are looking for the hit-and-run driver who critically injured a 20-year old Huntington Beach man when he was rear ended while riding in a bike lane in the Orange County city on the 4th of July.

Since then, KABC-7 has added more information to the story, including identifying the victim as 20-year old Huntington Beach resident Caysen Robinson.

They place the crash at 10:30 pm on Tuesday the 4th, when Robinson was run down from behind as he was riding in the northbound bike lane on Bushard Street.

A crowdfunding campaign started by the victim’s family to help pay his medical expenses reports Robinson’s heart was ruptured when he was literally run over by the driver’s SUV, surviving only because one of the first people on the scene had medical training.

He was rushed into surgery, where doctor’s were able to repair his heart, despite suffering an injury with a less than 1% survival rate.

They add this about his ongoing injuries —

Caysen was in a medically induced coma and put on a ventilator. Drs weaned him off, and he had surgery for a compound fracture of his tibia. Caysen still needs surgery for the 4 facial fractures. Today Caysen had unidentified pain in his shoulder and wrist, and Drs are looking into additional broken or fractured bones.

According to his family, Robinson is facing a long road to recovery.

Police are looking for the driver of a possible 2014-2019 Toyota Highlander. Anyone with information is urged to call the Traffic Bureau with the Fountain Valley Police Department at 714/593-4481.

The crowdfunding campaign for Caysen Robinson has raised nearly 80% of the $50,000 goal — an amount that is likely to barely put a dent in the hospital and therapy bills illegally left on his battered shoulders by the heartless coward who left him lying broken in the street.

So if you’ve got any extra cash lying around, they could certainly use the help.

Photo from the GoFundMe page for Caysen Robinson. Thanks to Bill Sellin for the heads-up. 

………

Once again, California’s proposed Stop As Yield law, aka the Safety Stop or Idaho Stop Law, has failed to become law, as Assemblymember Tasha Boerner pulled the bill from consideration for the second year in a row without explanation, after a pair of previous attempts were vetoed by Gavin Newsom.

And yes, that’s the same Tasha Boerner who pledged to introduce a bill mandating licensing for ebike riders; we should have more on that tomorrow.

Meanwhile, a number of bills were passed out of committee in the state Senate, including —

  • AB 645 creating a speed cam pilot program in six California cities, including Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale;
  • AB 413 mandating daylighting at intersections to improve safety;
  • AB 825 to legalize sidewalk riding anywhere in California that lacks good bike infrastructure (and no, sharrows aren’t “good” bike infrastructure);
  • AB 7 requiring transportation and highway planners to align their work with the state’s climate goals;
  • and AB 610 to create statewide a youth transit pass program.

………

This is who we share the road with.

Part 1 — A 69-year old man was critically injured when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver in LA’s Pacoima neighborhood; the driver hit the victim as he was standing next to his car after drifting into the bike lane. As always, there is a standing $25,000 reward for any hit-and-run resulting in serious injuries in the City of Los Angeles.

Part 2 — A Pennsylvania driver faces charges for killing a 54-year old man during a New York road rage confrontation, accelerating into the victim after he got out of his truck to slash the Pennsylvania man’s tires; witnesses absolved the killer, saying he acted in self-defense to protect two young girls in his car.

Part 3 — A 75-year old man was killed, and a 13-year old girl was injured, when a driver fleeing a traffic stop by the Secret Service plowed through a crowded DC crosswalk; at last report, police were still looking for the driver.

………

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

Police on Michigan’s Mackinac Island are impounding ebikes belonging to visitors who break the strict rules on the carfree island, where only Class 1 ped-assist ebikes are allowed, and all ebikes must be licensed on the island.

A Toronto bike rider complains he was almost killed by someone driving nearly 40 mph in a bollard-protected bike lane, who couldn’t comprehend that what they were doing was wrong when he confronted them.

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

Spain’s Ecological Transition Minister was subjected to well-deserved criticism for virtue signaling for riding her bike to a climate summit, after she was seen removing it from the trunk of her car a just mile away — and escorted to the meeting by security vehicles front and rear.

………

Local 

Metro, LADOT, Walk ‘N Rollers and BikeLA are hosting a community meeting tonight at the Helms Design Center in Culver City to consider first and last mile connections to the Culver City Metro Station; this comes after Culver City’s newly conservative city council voted to remove the highly successful Move Culver City protected bike lanes through the downtown area. Which is probably the most I’ve ever used Culver City in a single sentence.

Santa Monica Daily Press says the city still has a way to go to meet its Vision Zero commitment to eliminate traffic deaths by 2026. But unlike its much larger neighbor to the east, they’re actually trying to. And could.

 

State

Kids and teenagers in Temecula caught riding a bicycle with their helmet on will be rewarded with gift certificates to local restaurants, cookie shops and ice cream parlors. And Staples.

Good for them. Caltrans took Palo Alto residents by surprise with plans to install bike lanes on El Camino Real after repaving the street, which received a lukewarm response from local officials — but since it’s a state highway, they may be powerless to stop it. Now do PCH through Malibu, which is also a state highway.

Sad and infuriating news from Northern California, where an Oakland man was killed by a hit-and-run driver in a stolen car Wednesday morning. And a San Jose woman died five days after she was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding her bike.

Sacramento’s Sactown Magazine talks with former Vancouver chief city planner Brent Toderian, who has become a star consulting planner in the years since, and is now working with the California city.

Yosemite National Park — or Yo Semite as our former president once called it — is addressing the crushing traffic congestion caused by tourists cars by introducing a free bikeshare system.

 

National

I want to be like them when I grow up. An Ohio newspaper talks with a couple in their 70s who were riding their tandem home to Iowa after visiting their son in Virginia — which is nothing compared to their 4,500-mile Washington to Maine cross-country ride.

A Seattle man settled a lawsuit with the city for $10 million, six years after he crashed into a metal bollard placed in the middle of a bike path to keep drivers from using it, breaking his neck and leaving him a quadriplegic.

Seattle’s Rad Power Bikes is following up on its withdrawal from Europe with its fifth round of layoffs in just over two years.

Dueling demonstrations took place between people for and against a planned road diet in Boston’s West Roxbury neighborhood, although only 50 people turned out to protest it. Someone should tell them that road diets and protected bike lanes have been shown to increase sales and reduce retail vacancies, while improving safety for all road users.

A Florida TV station remembers Miami’s Jack the Bike Man after the local legend passed away at 81; he led a nonprofit that gave away thousands of refurbished bikes to kids and adults in need each year.

 

International

A writer for Cycling Weekly found deals on five fully-built bikes he says are better than anything you could have found on the recent Amazon Prime Days.

Toronto’s new mayor is one of us, as she rides her bike to work on her first day.

London is making permanent a popup, bi-directional protected bike lane, despite criticism from conservative politicians and an almost even number of comments for and against it.

No surprise here, as Dutch ebike-maker VanMoof has filed for bankruptcy protection after suspending operations earlier in the week; if the company goes out of business, the bikes’ app-based connected functionality may be bricked.

An investigative journalism foundation takes a long look at why bicycling continues to claim lives on Nigerian roads.

Philippine news anchor Gretchen Ho is one of us, laughing off a “really bad” fall off her bike while riding in Switzerland; she appeared to suffer minor injuries, while, in typical bicyclist fashion, she expressed more concern for her bike and GoPro.

 

Competitive Cycling

Jasper Phillipson sprinted to victory in Wednesday’s stage of the Tour de France, giving him over a third of the eleven stages so far.

Velo examines the diverging trajectories of back-to-back U-23 world champs Quinn Simmons and Remco Evenepoel, as the Belgian star has shined on the world stage, while the American faded into the pro peloton until he won the US national road championship, just ten days after directing rescuers to fallen cyclist Gino Mäder in the Tour de Suisse.

Velo also discusses how their competitors plan to reel in Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, as the former winners threaten to ride away with this year’s Tour de France.

Tuesday’s stage victory by Bahrain Victorious rider Pello Bilbao was hailed by His Majesty the King’s Representative for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain. They probably would have given him a longer title, but couldn’t think of anything else to add.

Bicycling reports Costa Rican cyclist Andrey Amador overcame overwhelming odds to lead Wednesday’s stage 11 of the Tour, before dropping off the podium; the 36-year old rider was severely beaten, robbed and left for dead a dozen years earlier. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

 

Finally…

How to inflate anything without a bike pump — except bike tires, or course. That feeling when you turn your bike into a car.

And in this country, it’s script writers — and now actors — on strike; in the UK, it’s bicycling instructors.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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

OCTA touts active transportation, El Monte Complete Streets meeting tonight, and Rosarito-to-Ensenada Bike Ride cancelled

July 12, 2023 / / 2 comments

Bike Month may be over, but the Orange County Transportation Authority, aka OCTA, apparently didn’t get the memo.

Or maybe they just want to extend the joy a little longer.

The agency announced several recent successful active transportation projects, including “strong” progress on The OC Loop, which will eventually offer 66 miles of continuous trails, and is now approximately 88% complete.

They’ve also competed Safe Travels Education Program, aka STEP, safe walking and biking safety campaigns in at least 25 public elementary schools, and worked with a social media influencer to develop an ebike safety tutorial that’s received over 1 million views on Instagram.

Photo by Maria Orlova from Pexels.

………

El Monte is hosting a public meeting tonight to discuss a Complete Streets project at Valley Boulevard and Main Street.

………

The popular annual Rosarito-to-Ensenada Bike Ride has been cancelled, with organizers saying the ride had been halted due to “reasons beyond their control.”

Although given the level of cartel violence in Mexico these days, it’s not hard to hazard a guess why, especially since it would be hard to insure.

………

People Powered Media says say hello to my little friend.

And give it a name.

Click on the screenshot to go to the original tweet

………

Seriously, who didn’t have this on their San Francisco Valencia Street centerline protected bike lane bingo card?

Click on the screenshot to go to the original tweet

………

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

A Toronto driver was captured on video driving across a wide bicycle bridge, forcing bicyclists to cringe as they walk their bikes along the wall.

A British man was hospitalized with two broken ribs, a broken collarbone, and a collapsed lung, and coughing up blood after crashing his bicycle into garden waste “maliciously” strewn across a bike path.

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

More on the bike-riding burglar who broke into Bibi’s Boutique on Pico Blvd in LA’s Pico-Robertson neighborhood, before pedaling off with over $3,000 in cash and merchandise.

………

Local 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton takes a look at the new Higuera Street Bridge replacement project over Ballona Creek in Culver City, including new protected bike lanes on the bridge, and a new — not improved, as I wrote earlier — ramp to the bike path below.

Glendale officials rallied in support of AB 645, which would create a speed cam pilot program in three SoCal cities — Glendale, Long Beach and Los Angeles — along with three cities in Northern California.

 

State

Police in Irvine busted a pair of alleged bike thieves who’d were arrested while ghost riding four stolen bicycles; the also had outstanding warrants, and were carrying burglary tools and drug paraphernalia.

A travel site describes what it’s like to bike across the the Golden Gate Bridge from Sausalito to San Francisco.

 

National

Red Bull calls Just Ride “the most entertaining podcast in cycling.”

Gear Patrol says it just might be worth it for ebike riders to invest in a bike helmet that exceeds minimum standards. Then again, it might be worthwhile for any bike rider. 

ET phones home with the best Prime Day deals on ebikes to cruise in comfort this summer; while Men’s Journal offers their own take on the same subject.

A 30-year old Aberdeen, Washington man was arrested for randomly attacking a man riding a bicycle for no apparent reason, while under the influence of a “stupendous” amount of alcohol; he also kicked a cop in the face and head-butted a hole through the window of the patrol car he was locked in.

A 27-year old Utah man turned himself in for Sunday’s fatal hit-and-run that took the life of a 59-year old man riding a bicycle. Although that would have given him plenty of time to sober up if he was under the influence at the time of the crash. 

Police in New Mexico charged a 29-year old man with murder for fatally shooting a man riding a bicycle on a local trail, for no apparent reason; the man had previous run-ins with several other people in the community, including firing a shot at the local high school cross-country team.

Good question. Students at Montana State University want to know why a man was handcuffed by campus police for riding his bike through a stop sign.

Security cam video shows the head of Fargo, North Dakota’s marathon fall off his bicycle before being run over and killed by a pickup driver, explaining why the driver wasn’t charged.

Heartbreaking news from Massachusetts, where a seven-year old little girl who had disappeared while riding her bike was found dead under nine feet of water a local river.

New York bicyclists are marking next week’s 141st birthday of legendary artist Edward Hopper with a bike ride from The Whitney Museum of American Art in Manhattan to his birthplace of Nyack NY and back — entirely which is appropriate since he was one of us.

A new multi-use trail will connect 17 commutes in South New Jersey’s Camden County; it will become part of a network offering 850 miles of interconnected trails.

DC could become the latest city to offer ebike rebates, with up to $2,000 off the price of an e-cargo bike, and $300 to replace crappy, fire-prone lithium-ion batteries. Meanwhile, Los Angeles responds with <crickets>. 

This is who we share the road with. After an Alabama police chase ended in a crash, officers discovered the armed suspect who allegedly stole the car was just eight-years old. Yes, 8.

Sad news from Miami, where the city’s beloved Jack the Bike Man died after suffering a heart attack last week at 81-years old; his annual holiday bike giveaway donated thousands of refurbished bicycles to children and adults in need for more than 20 years.

 

International

Momentum Magazine offers advice on how to deal with the inevitable bikelash, including advice to stay calm and respectful in confrontations. Which can seem almost impossible in the heat of the moment.

Lumos is now offering a stripped-down version of their original Ultra lighted bike helmet, with a removable rear light to reduce weight.

A British coroner concluded that all it might have taken to save the life of a 52-year old woman who died in a solo fall off her bike was a sign warning about the badly degraded roadway. Or maybe they could have just fixed the damn road in the first place. 

An 18-year old Idaho man is back home following his third place finish in the weeklong, 688-mile Ascend Armenia bikepacking race, which featured a whopping 83,000 feet of elevation gain.

Bike riders in Hyderabad, India say they’re satisfied with the progress on a new 14-mile, three-lane separated and covered cycle track.

 

Competitive Cycling

Veteran Basque cyclist Pello Bilbao jumped six spots in the Tour de France general classification, from 11th to 5th, in a bold six man breakaway, while dedicating his win to fallen Bahrain-Victorious teammate Gino Mäder, who died after riding off the road in last month’s Tour de Suisse.

Velo examines five times fans and dogs caused race-changing mayhem at theTour de France.

Bicycling is wowed by artist James Arnold’s animations of the upcoming Tour de France Femmes. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

 

Finally…

When you’re busted for riding your lightlessbike carrying a metal straw full of coke — and not the kind you drink. Or when carrying weed and meth on your bike leads to a Picayune arrest.

And that feeling when your new foraging bike was designed by a celebrity chef and environmentalist.

Because everyone needs a dedicated bike for foraging.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin.

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