Tag Archive for Metro

Vermont Ave bike commuters deserve safe multimodal route, and someone finally takes an anti-bike booby trap seriously

July 7, 2025 / / One comment
Day 188 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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He gets it.

A Substack writer considers the bike commuters who ride LA’s Vermont Avenue, as Jonathan Hale argues they “deserve a multimodal transit artery done right.”

Taisha was riding on the sidewalk. There are no bike lanes along Vermont north of Gage Avenue. I asked her why she liked riding a bicycle around Los Angeles.

“You know, it’s quicker, it’s easy to get around,” she said. “It gives me peace of mind.”

“You ever been hit by a car?” I asked, keeping an eye on the evening mayhem in my periphery.

“Absolutely!” she exclaimed, laughing. “Yeah, everybody gets hit by cars. It’s always a victim of someone looking left and turning right. Always.”

Hale continues by pointing out that Metro is building bus rapid transit lanes on the corridor, without considering the need of people like her and others he spoke with.

And LA doesn’t seem to care.

The city of Los Angeles, meanwhile, has looked the other way, refusing to collaborate with Metro to build a truly multimodal transit corridor – even though the city is legally required to fund the project under Measure HLA. That’s why local activist Joe Linton has sued the city, alleging that Los Angeles has shirked its legal responsibility to make roadway improvements in accordance with its Mobility Plan 2035.

It’s more than worth a few minutes of your day to read the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Dr. Grace Peng points out that it’s personal for her, too.

The Vermont protected bike lane through South LA to Del Amo is personal. It connects the J line Harbor Gateway Transit Center to 99 Ranch on Artesia. What places could you go on a Vermont Ave protected bike lane? @bikinginla.bsky.social

— Dr Grace Peng (@gspeng.bsky.social) 2025-07-03T19:16:03.192Z

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That’s more like it.

A 23-year old man from Osaka, Japan have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and obstructing traffic for stringing a rope across a city street, causing a bike rider to fall and strike his head.

About damn time someone, anywhere, took a booby trap like that seriously, treating it the dangerous, potentially deadly assault it is, instead of just a harmless prank.

Thanks to Megan for the heads-up.

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Gravel Bike California celebrates its 6th anniversary by delving even deeper into the darkest dens of the Angeles Forest.

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

No bias here. The Encinitas city council approved contracts for bicycle education programs from grade school to high school — but ordered city staffers to ensure they weren’t teaching “political” pro-bike propaganda.

A North Vancouver, British Columbia city councilor is calling for mandatory bells on every bike, even though drivers can’t hear them, and pedestrians don’t know what to do if they do.

Clearly suffering from a severe case of windshield bias, a member of the Irish parliament demanded that the country’s Transportation Ministry consider making hi-viz jackets compulsory for all pedestrians, bicyclists and school bus passengers.

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

Police in New York initially arrested a 30-year old woman for hit-and-run, accusing her of leaving the scene after crashing her bicycle into the rider of an electric unicycle — but prosecutors dropped the charges after discovering she had waited 45 minutes for the cops to show up, while speaking with witnesses and waiting for paramedics before going home.

A Washington Post reader takes the paper to task for showing a shirtless, helmet-less bike rider with a corgi in a backpack in high heat while checking his phone with no hands on his handlebars.

A London barrister posts video of his confrontation with a traffic cop after he got a ticket for riding with no hands during rush hour traffic, even though there’s no law against that in the UK.

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Local 

An op-ed from the chair of Bike Long Beach argues the city is falling behind on life-saving speed cams. Just like its much bigger neighbor next door. 

 

State

A portable pump track is making it’s way around Orange County, popping up in Buena Park before moving on to Santa Ana, after appearing already in Mission Viejo, Garden Grove, Tustin, Irvine and Huntington Beach.

Sad news from San Raphael, where a 54-year old man who was one of the mountain biking coaches at a local high school was killed by a driver in a left cross collision while he was riding his bike, at an intersection where four bike riders were struck by drivers in similar crashes over a five-year period, yet the city did nothing to fix it.

The people running Apple clearly don’t get it, donating $4 million to close a funding gap to build a Cupertino freeway interchange with funds originally planed for a bikeway project, helping fuel induced demand and climate change.

 

National

Bicycling considers why so many girls are giving up biking, and what parents can do to help keep them on two wheels. You can read the story on MSN if the magazine blocks you. 

An architect’s newsletter says it’s time to come up with an infrastructure design solution to safely integrate ebikes.

Car and Driver recommends the best electric cargo bikes. Because who knows more about replacing your car with an ebike than a driving magazine?

Singletracks wants to know whether you think mountain bike trail difficulty ratings are accurate.

Velo explains how to find an actual, factual real deal on bicycling gear on Amazon Prime Day.

A Black father and son describe how they began biking together after the 65-year old dad underwent three heart surgeries, including the multi-day ride from St. Louis to Chicago recounted in their PBS documentary Bike Vessel. 

Um, okay. Hundreds of Portland bike riders were expected to turn out for the “We’re Better Than You” bike ride to raise awareness for “their superior lifestyle choices,” riding at exactly 6 mph to send a message that “Cars are murder machines, walking is inefficient, and public transit is for people who haven’t maxed out their REI credit cards yet.”

Denver bike riders spent their 4th of July riding in silence to honor the victims of traffic violence, following a 78% jump in bicycle and pedestrian deaths in the past ten years.

An Ohio driver faces multiple charges for the alleged DUI hit-and-run that seriously injured two of three kids riding a “three-wheeled bicycle.” Which sounds a lot like a tricycle, although they don’t mention the age of the victims. 

A New York news site says the Parks Department is trying to have it both ways by allowing ebikes and e-scooters in parks and pathways, while restricting cars in parks to protect people on bicycles, arguing that reckless ebike riders pose as much risk to pedestrians as drivers do.

Once again, a motor vehicle was a weapon of mass destruction, when a North Carolina dump truck driver crossed the center line and hit three bike riders head-on, killing two men and injuring the other; an Asheville bike shop planned a memorial to remember the victims, one of whom had worked there for four years.

 

International

Momentum tries to explain People For Bikes’ seemingly inexplicable ratings for the world’s most bicycle-friendly cities.

Thirty-one-year old British cyclist Molly Weaver set a new record by circumnavigating the country in 21 days, 10 hours and 48 minutes, shattering the previous record by 17 hours.

Students from the vocational school founded by the two Václav’s who founded Czech carmaker Škoda as bikemaker 130 years ago transformed one of the company’s cars into a bike race support vehicle as their graduate project.

An 18-year old man with dual French and German citizenship disappeared while riding his bike through Iran on a 400-day bicycling trip across Europe and Asia; he went missing on the third day of the recent Israeli bombardment, and could be one of the estimated 20 foreigners being held by Iran on suspicion of spying. 

The best places to ride your bike in Tokyo for your next trip to Japan.

Bicyclists and traffic safety advocates staged a protest in Manila over the weekend, demanding the Philippine capital cancel plans to remove a protected bike lane to make room for motorcycle lanes.

China is experiencing a boom in ebike sales thanks to a generous nationwide “cash for clunkers” style trade-in program.

This is the cost of traffic violence. An Australian race car driver described as a “extraordinary figure” in Australian motorsports, and who recently competed in the 24 Hours of La Mans, as well as backing the careers of several young racers, was killed by a bus driver while he was riding a bike with his wife near the local zoo.

 

Competitive Cycling

Mathieu Van der Poel ended the first weekend of the Tour de France in yellow after outsprinting Tadej Pogacar in a photo finish to win the second stage, with Jonas Vingegaard third; Cycling News offers a moment-by-moment recap of how the stage unfolded.

The Cofidis cycling team was hit by thieves before the second stage, breaking into one of the team trucks to steal 11 Look bikes worth an estimated $170,000, as well as the team mechanics’ tool sets.

Trine Marie Vingegaard Hansen, the wife of Jonas Vingegaard, stirred up a hornet’s nest by publicly criticizing the training methods of her husband’s Visma-Lease a Bike cycling team, as well as the time away from family demanded by the team, though the team insisted it was blown out of proportion.

Former world time trial cham Filippo Ganna’s Tour de France experience didn’t even make it through the first stage, becoming the first rider to abandon the race after suffering a concussion in a crash.

Cyclist profiles the seven North American cyclists taking part in this year’s Tour — two of whom came up through the same Boise, Idaho youth cycling program.

Road.cc offers a definitive guide to what all the pros are riding at the Tour, while your favorite cyclist could now risk getting a yellow card for bad behavior, just like soccer players.

The Tour de France is overshadowing the Giro d’Italia Donne, aka the women’s Giro, where Swiss individual time trial champ Marlen Reusser won the Giro’s first stage ITT to take the pink leader’s jersey.

The final day of the German Track Cycling Championships was cancelled when two cyclists crashed over the track barriers on final bend of the men’s keirin semi-finals, injuring seven spectators, two seriously enough to be airlifted to local hospitals; the two racers escaped with minor injuries.

A 19-year old British pro apologized for causing a massive crash after hitting a pothole in the country’s national road championships, while reporting that he fractured a vertebrae in his neck, and suffered a “fair amount” of road rash.

 

Finally…

Achieving world peace by sharing an off-road tandem. Your next e-recumbent could look like a velomobile, with a removable roof and a trunk in the back, or maybe it could be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell — but is it really a bicycle if it doesn’t have pedals?

And that’s one hell of a polka dot tan line, dude.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Crowdfund launched for fallen rider Virgo Datu, nominations for Burbank kids bike giveaway, and Metro meetings this month

July 2, 2025 / / No comments
Day 183 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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We’ve got a lot of ground to cover after yesterday’s unexcused absence.

But before we get started, a crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help pay funeral and memorial expenses for fallen bicyclist Virgo Datu.

Datu passed away unexpectedly after crashing when he caught a wheel on Saturday’s Montrose Ride.

The campaign has already raised over $10,000, more than double the initial $5,000 goal.

Photo of Virgo Datu from crowdfunding page.

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I’m always a sucker for a good cause, especially when it comes to giving kids bicycles.

Which brings us to the 4th Annual Bikes for Kids giveaway sponsored by Burbank native and personal injury attorney Adrianos Facchetti.

According to a press release for the event,

Facchetti, who helps families recover after car accidents and injuries, says the giveaway is one of the most meaningful things his team does all year. “After seeing the struggles many of our clients go through, we wanted to create something that spreads joy.”

The event has grown steadily since its launch in 2021. Past winners included kids who helped care for siblings, stayed strong through medical challenges, or simply showed up every day with kindness. The firm invites the ten selected children to its Burbank office, where they receive their new bikes, helmets, and a round of applause…

“This community raised me,” Facchetti added. “This is one small way we can give back.”

Nominations are open for any child aged 6 to 17 who lives within ten miles of The Law Offices of Adrianos Facchetti at 4444 W. Riverside Drive, Suite 308, in Burbank. Submissions should explain how the child has gone “above and beyond” to help someone else, or positively impacted their siblings, classmates or community.

Nominations are open from July 5th through July 26th; just click here to submit yours.

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Metro will hold a series of important public meetings this month to discuss the NoHo to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit Project, and the Sepulveda Transit Corridor.

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

Seriously? An English town defends fining people the equivalent of nearly $1,400 just for riding a bike through the town center, claiming residents have been “scarred for life” by “anti-social” bicyclists.

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

If you’re trying to flee from San Bernardino Sheriff’s deputies while carrying several baggies of meth, try not to crash your ebike into one of their cars.

No bias here. A Santa Barbara grand jury examined complaints about bad behavior and near accidents involving young people on ebikes, concluding that better eduction and stricter enforcement were needed to rein them in — although the local paper doesn’t put it that nicely. And yes, some kids are out of control, with far too many e-motorbikes passed off as ebikes. But just wait until the jurors learn what drivers do out on the streets, as well the relative risk ebike riders pose compared to people in the big, dangerous machines.

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Local 

A 31-year old man was in stable condition after being shot while riding his bike in DTLA Sunday night, telling police he didn’t see the shooter. Or presumably, know why.

The LA Country Sheriff’s Department will conduct another bicycle and pedestrian safety operation in West Hollywood on Thursday, ticketing anyone who commits a traffic violation that could endanger either group, regardless of who commits it. So as usual, ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit line to make sure you’re not the one who gets written up. Thanks to David for the heads-up. 

Santa Clarita officially broke ground on the new Haskell Canyon Bike Park on Tuesday.

 

State

California cities are now using drones to catch people riding illegal ebikes, aka out-of-class, not street legal or illegally modified.

Oceanside will dedicate a segment of the San Luis Rey River Trail in the city to Jensen Taylor Hughes, a young woman who was killed while riding on the trail in September, 2023. I don’t seem to have a record of her death, and can’t find any news reports.

An Oceanside man is working to transform the community through a lowrider bicycle project.

Family and friends of a 12-year old girl killed this April in an Encinitas crosswalk call out a proposal to widen deadly Encinitas Blvd to add a third traffic lane in each direction, calling for bicycle and pedestrian improvements instead.

A 41-year old man was busted for an allegedly drunken hit-and-run after rear-ending a bike rider in Perris; the victim was hospitalized in stable condition despite suffering serious injuries.

Ventura nonprofit Bike 4 A Cause will launch a free program to teach kids to ride bicycles this Saturday.

Hats off to Oakland’s Bay Area Bicycle Rescue, which collects unloved bikes from community members and repairs them to redistribute to people who need them, saving over 1,200 bikes from the landfill last year alone.

Singletracks talks with the Calirado Kid, a Sacramento-based mountain bike content creator “known for posting hilarious bike-related videos on Instagram, TikTok and Youtube,” while working with a science group to encourage riders to help document biodiversity in California.

 

National

Good damn question. A movie site questions whatever happened to all those great cycling movies like we had in the ’80s.

Buyer beware. Electrek considers what you really get when you order that $500 ebike online.

He gets it. A writer for Cycling Weekly argues that bicycling is a political act, and the battle for public lands is a reminder that cyclists can’t afford to stay on the sidelines of politics.

No bias here, either. A writer for a sustainable journalism newsletter examines the slow progress American cities are making in becoming bike friendly — but positions it by misleadingly asking if that progress is a good thing. But at least they have the good taste to include a photo of a Boston corgi in a cargo bike. 

The Atlantic bemoans the decline of a classic childhood pastime, as fewer kids are riding bikes. But you’ll have to sign up for a free trial if you want to read more than the first few paragraphs.

He gets it, too. Alaska writer Craig Medred complains that the public is usually kept in the dark about traffic violence, at a time when even AAA says only 35% of American drivers can be classified as “good,” and “only luck and the capabilities of modern medicine” keep the carnage from being worse.

As of yesterday, bike riders in New Mexico now enjoy the full benefits of the Idaho Stop Law, which lets bicyclists treat stop signs as yields and red lights as stop signs, although in both cases they’re required to observe the right-of-way and proceed only when safe.

Livability says diverse terrain, beautiful views and a lack crowds make Idaho’s Palouse region a bicycling paradise.

A new Denver bike app helps bicyclists find “low-stress” bike routes, while rewarding them for stopping at local businesses along the way.

A New York judge calls time out, ruling that a restraining order protecting an endangered bike lane will stay in place for now, until he rules on a case trying to stop the city from ripping it out.

More proof that bikes are good for business, after the US Pro Road National Championships generated a $6.9 million impact on Charleston, West Virginia — a whopping 50% jump over last year.

A new report says bike-unfriendly Alabama has the nation’s strictest bicycle laws.

 

International

Momentum recommends Canada’s best bike cities, for anyone looking to flee for snowier pastures.

More on the Toronto bike lane that Ontario officials want to rip out “because no one uses it” — even though it carries more rush hour traffic than the traffic lanes next to it. Maybe they should rip out one of the lanes drivers use to make more room for bikes, instead. 

After selling his eponymous bikewear brand, former Canadian Olympian Louis Garneau has started a new company focused on making more affordable kids bikes.

Shimano wants to know why Europe has a “critical” shortage of bike mechanics, saying it risks creating barriers to bicycling.

Police in Wales will stop accepting video evidence of overly close passes — or doing anything about them, anyway — even though video is been accepted as proof of traffic violations throughout the UK.

They get it. An Irish bike advocacy group says we try to rationalize traffic violence as freak accidents, when the roads are “still engineered, policed and legislated for in ways that accept, and sometimes even enable, lethal outcomes.”

Here’s your chance to own a new limited edition Swiss watch honoring cycling great Fabian Cancellara, for the low, low price of nearly $6,400. Although the only nod to Cancellara is a few touches of yellow, so it could honor anyone of your choice who has ever worn yellow, if Sparticus doesn’t do it for you. 

Life is cheap in New Zealand, where a judge acquitted a semi driver for killing a longtime bike commuter in their equivalent of a right hook, blaming poor road markings for making it unclear who had the right-of-way, even though the driver admitted to never even seeing the victim.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist calls out the favorites for this year’s Tour de France, which they swear goes beyond Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, and digs deep to examine who stands to get a cut of the race’s $2,714,901.48 in prize money (at Tuesday’s exchange rate).

Velo identifies “all the bikes, components and gear” used by the 23 teams rolling out for the Tour this Saturday.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can own your very own established bike brand. Your next handlebars could be reminiscent of America’s military HQ, but with less brass.

And call it the next best thing to biking naked.

Thoughts on this skinsuit
byu/BaewuIf inCyclingFashion

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Stop Metro’s induced demand inducing 71 Freeway project, and reinventing upper body bicycle workouts for the first time

June 25, 2025 / / No comments
Day 176 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Streets For All wants your help to stop Metro’s proposal to flush even more millions down the induced-demand toilet by widening the 71 freeway through Pomona.

Even though freeway projects go against California’s ostensible commitment to Complete Streets, as well as the state’s pollution and climate goals.

But if it gives drivers a faster commute for a few months until the corresponding crushing increase in traffic makes it worse for the rest of eternity, it’s worth it.

Right?

Tell the CTC: No More Freeway Widening!

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) on Thursday is considering funding (tab 21) widening the 71 freeway in Pomona (State Route 71 Gap Closure Project – Phase 2), a project being proposed by Metro Los Angeles.

This is Destruction For Nada! The expensive trend of disastrous highway widening projects must stop.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Tell the CTC that you DO NOT support freeway widenings! Let’s use that funding on sustainable projects instead.

EMAIL THE CTC (CUSTOMIZE THE BOTTOM!)

Photo by MART PRODUCTION from Pexels. 

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Once again, someone has invented the “first” bicycle with moving handlebars to give you an upper body workout while you ride.

Something that seems to get “invented” for the first time every few years.

Never mind that they keep running into the recurring problem that handlebars already serve a purpose, which isn’t helped if the damn things keep moving on you.

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

No bias here. A Eugene, Oregon TV station reports on a “vehicle versus bicycle crash,” which apparently had no humans involved in or on either vehicle. Although their primary concern is just warning drivers about the traffic inconvenience, rather than any potential risk to human life or anything.

Apparently, a new bike lane will destroy Gloucestershire, England’s historic city center, but all those “historic” streets and cars are just fine, even though bikes were there first.

No bias here, either. A radio station on the Isle of Man released a petition calling for banning bike riders from a 13-mile roadway, claiming it’s too dangerous for bikes and cars to share — which garnered a whopping 200 signatures, representing less than 0.25% of the island’s population. Something tells me they’d get more signatures if they called for banning cars, instead.

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Local 

Santa Clarita was set to consider approving a construction contract for the long-awaited Haskell Canyon Bike Park at last night city council meeting.

 

State

The good news, Apple Valley approved a new Complete Streets Action Plan, including a number of new bike paths throughout the city; the bad news, it’s funded by a federal grant, so the funds could be on the chopping block.

A Menifee teenager suffered severe, but non-life-threatening, injuries when he was t-boned by a driver while riding his ebike across the street.

 

National

Streetsblog digs into the recent City Ratings from People For Bikes to uncover the country’s fastest improving bike-friendly cities, led by a small town in Idaho — something else that could be threatened by cuts to federal funding.

Bicycling offers tips on how to survive riding in the heat now enveloping more than half the country. But it doesn’t appear to be available anywhere else, so you may have to bake of the magazine blocks you; my best advise is to ride early or late, drink plenty of water, and stick to shaded routes if you ride midday. 

To mark the upcoming 4th of July, a freedom loving Bend, Oregon man says his bicycle set him free.

Good says Seattle’s body-painted naked bike ride offers a lesson in colorful living.

Santa Fe, New Mexico will consider adopting a Vision Zero program this week. But it comes too late to save a 42-year old competitive cyclist, staple of the city’s pickleball scene, and veteran of the famed Little 500, who was killed by a driver while riding his bike last week.

Colorado will celebrate the summer Bike to Work Day today, offering the second part of their twice-yearly Bike Day schedule. Never mind that Los Angeles, with its ideal weather and mostly flat terrain, barely observes one Bike to Work Day anymore, let alone two. 

A Boulder, Colorado weekly suggests riding your bike to work, then enjoying a variety of local mountain bike and road bicycle tours later in the day.

Cheyenne, Wyoming is hosting a Bike to Work Day of their own today. Which is only surprising if you ever tried riding the extremely bike-unfriendly, cowboy-centric home of the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo back in the day, which I was only brave enough to attempt once. 

A 54-year old Missouri man has ridden his bike every day since December 29, 2015, averaging 33 miles a day, while surviving two traffic collisions, a dog attack and crashing when he swerved to miss a squirrel. That works out to “just” 11,566 miles, assuming he went out again today. 

A New York grand jury indicted a 54-year old man for murder, manslaughter, unlawful fleeing a police officer, leaving the scene of an incident, and assorted other related crimes, for allegedly killing a 36-year-old woman riding a bicycle while he was fleeing from the cops.

He gets it. A New York man writes that NY Mayor Adams is playing a dangerous game by pitting community members against bicyclists in attempting to rip out a bike lane in predominately Jewish neighborhood, apparently forgetting bike riders are part of the community, too. And they vote.

A North Carolina bike columnist recommends riding a 22-mile rail-to-trail conversion from downtown Durham to the next county.

 

International

If you build it, they will come. Bicyclists now outnumber cars on a major Toronto street — with one of the bike lanes the provincial government wants to rip out.

It takes a real schmuck to steal an ebike from a Liverpool, England crash victim after he was struck by a stoned driver, and whisked away to the hospital.

While everyone else will be stuck in traffic trying to get to the UK’s famed Glastonbury Festival, a Spanish man will only have to lock up his bike after rocking the 1,000 miles from his Madrid home to the music fest.

A British driver complains about an “incredibly dangerous” bike rider, arguing that “you shouldn’t be cycling if you don’t know the rules of the road” — then admits without irony to driving 30 mph in a 20 mph zone.

Ireland’s Cycle to Work Scheme — “scheme” meaning program in this case — allows you to buy a new bike and safety gear tax-free, with the payments deducted from your salary over the next year.

Travel site Lonely Planet recommends some of France’s best bicycling routes that start in Paris. Or end there, depending on your perspective.

The last 12 months have been the deadliest on Australian roads in 15 years, largely because of a 15.7% increase in pedestrian deaths and a 36.7% jump in bicycling fatalities.

 

Competitive Cycling

Italian cyclist Diego Ulissi won the Giro dell’Appennino with a solo breakaway on the next-to-last climb, marking 16 straight years with at least one win for the 35-year old pro.

Proving it’s never too late, 35-year old former Moto Grand Prix racer Aleix Espargaró will swap his leathers for Lycra, and make his professional cycling debut for the Lidl-Trek developmental squad at the Tour of Austria. Okay, so it’s way too late for me. But still. 

USA Cycling is merging with US Paralympic Cycling, bringing all Olympic and Paralympic bike racing under a single roof to create a “more unified, inclusiv, and efficient support system” for American cyclists.

Apparently, bikewear takes on a whole new meaning at the tongue-in-cheek Brompton World Championships held in the UK.

 

Finally…

LA drivers may be hard to bear, but at least we don’t have to deal with actual bears most days. Apparently, sexy baggage handlers make better bike stewards.

And if you’re going to jump a roadway, at least try to stick the landing.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Is something rotten in the state of Metro, make Warner Center more bikeable, and help spend OC Measure M funds

June 5, 2025 / / No comments
Day 156 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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To paraphrase the bard, something may be rotten in the state of Metro.

LA Public Press reports that formal complaints filed by Metro Bike operator BTS, aka Bicycle Transit Systems, accuses transit agency officials of violating procurement laws and creating conflicts of interest to favor ride-hailing giant Lyft.

BTS alleges Metro was set to award Lyft a nearly $200 million contract to operate the city’s bikeshare system after illegally structuring the bid to benefit  Lyft.

On May 22, the Metro Board of Directors was set to approve Lyft’s $198 million proposal to operate Metro Bike Share, a countywide rental system of 1,800 public bikes.

But the board removed the scheduled vote from the meeting agenda after BTS alleged in a “protest” letter filed May 14 that a Lyft subcontractor wrote a section of the county’s request for proposals for the Metro Bike Share contract. BTS claims the subcontractor’s involvement could have given the ride-hailing company an unfair advantage. BTS filed a second protest letter on May 20 naming the subcontractor and alleging broader issues with Metro’s procurement process.

It’s possible this is nothing more than a last-ditch effort by BTS and Metro Bike union members to retain the contract they’ve held since 2016.

But if there’s any truth to it, we deserve to know.

And something needs to be done to ensure a level playing field, and guarantee they select the best people for the job.

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Here’s your chance to help make car-centric Warner Center more bikeable and walkable, as Los Angeles moves forward with plans to remake the current office desert.

The city is looking for feedback at the Woodland Hills Farmers Market on June 21st, a short walk or bike ride from the Sherman Way G (Orange) Line Station.

HELP SHAPE THE WARNER CENTER ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION HUB

The Warner Center Active Transportation Hub project supports the transformation of the Warner Center area into an active transportation hub for jobs and housing. Active transportation includes walking, biking, scootering or using a wheelchair – any form of human-powered mobility.

Thanks to everyone who was able to join us at the Open House! If you missed it, check out the meeting presentation online.

ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT

Visit Our Booth at the Woodland Hills Farmers Market

Saturday, June 21, 2025 | 9 am – 2 pm

5650 Shoup Ave., Woodland Hills, CA 91367

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Drop by and tell us

  • What would make you want to walk, bike, or roll more often in Warner Center area?
  • What challenges need to be addressed?
  • Your input will shape future solutions.
CAN’T ATTEND IN PERSON?

Take our 10-minute survey!

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As long as we’re on the subject of public meetings, the Orange County Transportation Authority, aka OCTA, wants to know how you want to spend Measure M transportation funds.

Annual Measure M Hearing set for June 10 to Ensure Accountability of Taxpayer Funds for Transportation

Taxpayer Oversight Committee will hold its 34th public hearing to ensure transportation funding is being delivered as promised to Orange County voters

ORANGE – The Taxpayer Oversight Committee will hold its 34th annual public hearing to ensure that Measure M, the county’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, is being delivered as promised to Orange County voters.

This year’s public hearing is scheduled for:

6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10, at the Orange County Transportation Authority headquarters, 550 S. Main St. in Orange.

The independent, 11-member oversight committee was formed to monitor OCTA’s use of Measure M funding, approve all changes to the Measure M Transportation Investment Plan, and hold annual public hearings on the expenditure of funds generated by the half-cent sales tax. The original measure was first approved by voters in 1990 and overwhelmingly renewed in 2006.

The renewed Measure M is continuing to fund balanced and sustainable transportation improvements through 2041, estimated to invest approximately $14 billion in all. The voter-approved plan allocates 43% of funds to freeways, 32% to streets and roads, and 25% to transit, and includes two environmental programs focused on preserving natural habitats and improving water quality through stormwater capture systems.

The first Measure M helped fund more than $4 billion worth of transportation improvements. These include enhanced freeways, smoother streets, synchronized traffic signals, improved intersections, and regional Metrolink rail service – which continues to be funded by Measure M.

OCTA remains committed to relieving congestion, maintaining infrastructure, expanding travel choices for seniors and people with disabilities, and protecting the environment.

Measure M also supports projects that reduce travel times, improve safety, and coordinate traffic signal systems across cities.

Those unable to attend the public hearing can submit comments by visiting octa.net/PublicHearing.

All written comments must be submitted by noon on Monday, June 9.

Written comments may be addressed to:

Andrea West
Clerk of the Board
Orange County Transportation Authority
550 South Main Street
P.O. Box 14184
Orange, CA 92683-1584

By phone at (714) 560-5611

Or by email at clerkoffice@octa.net.

For more information about Measure M or the Taxpayer Oversight Committee, visit octa.net/TOC.

………

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

A San Diego letter writer says the San Diego Association of Governments, aka SANDAG’s, approval of a $27 million Complete Streets project to reconfigure University Ave “proved once again that it is run by a consortium of incompetents.” Because he recently drove to Balboa Park without seeing a single bus in the bus lane, or a bike in the bike lane, which apparently serves as conclusive proof no one ever uses them.

No bias here. An Idaho county judge jerked back the permit for a bike park, just ten days before it was due to open, after the owners had built a network of world-class mountain bike trails on their own dime.

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

A visitor to the Boston suburb of Somerville says they were nearly struck by reckless bike riders three times just trying to cross a street, requiring “evasive maneuvers that would make a Cirque du Soleil performer break a sweat.” Although commenters said having to take a step back isn’t the same as getting hit, and oddly, they’ve never had a problem there.

They’ve got a point. A British bike advocacy group urged Parliament to reconsider a plan for on-the-spot fines equivalent to $677 for bicycling violations in pedestrian zones, arguing that the considerate bike riders are easy to catch, while speedy and/or aggressive anti-social ones will get away scot-free.

………

Local 

Caltrans is resurfacing a 20-mile stretch of PCH through the harbor area — likely without building the bike lanes and pedestrian improvements required under the state’s Complete Streets policy — ensuring this stretch of LA’s killer highway will remain that way.

 

State

Thousands of people came out last weekend for Irvine’s second annual CicloIrvine open streets event.

Wrightwood’s Mountain High Resorts will open a new downhill mountain bike park on June 14th.

Sad news from Merced, where a 27-year old man riding a BMX bike was killed by a hit-and-run driver, who later called police to say he had hit “something;” police blamed the victim’s black clothing and a lack of reflectors, saying the driver was unable to see him from behind on the dark street.

West Sacramento is considering a Vision Zero plan with a goal of cutting traffic deaths in half over the next decade. Which is laudable, but half ain’t zero — which is what the “zero” in Vision Zero means. 

 

National

Outside broke out the angle grinder to pick the year’s best bike locks.

A Las Vegas bike shop owner, and former Republican candidate for governor, is working to educate customers about the effects of tariffs that increase the cost of bikes and parts from China, while limiting availability.

A 16-year old Albuquerque, New Mexico boy, the oldest of the four kids charged with fatally running down a Los Alamos scientist in a stolen car as he was biking to work, will remain in custody pending trial after a judge ruled she couldn’t ensure public safety if he was released. No shit.

Ohio will invest nearly $52 million dollars in bike and pedestrian safety projects over the next four years, funding 44 projects in 33 counties.

An unsigned op-ed by “avid cyclists” says Boston’s “willy-nilly installation of bike lanes is the epitome of virtue-signaling,” and that encouraging senior citizens to use bikes as a means of transportation “is tantamount to inviting them to die or suffer serious injuries,” insisting they’re not being hyperbolic. Although it’s worth noting that Boston has an average of seven bicycling deaths per year affecting people of all ages, which makes it seem kinda hyperbolic.

A man and woman were injured when they crashed into a kite string while riding in a bike lane on bridge in Brooklyn, slicing the woman’s hand and forehead, while slitting the man’s throat; the string appeared to be coated in glass like the kind used for kite fighting in South Asian countries. A crowdfunding campaign to help pay the man’s medical bills has raised just over $4,500 of the $15,000 goal.

New York City will impose a 15 mph speed limit on ebike and scooter riders on city streets, forcing people on ebikes, including delivery riders, to go slower than someone on a decent road bike.

An upstate New York man was welcomed back to his Pennsylvania adjacent town after spending the last year riding over 13,000 miles circumnavigating the US, sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

A neighborhood group filed suit to stop Philadelphia from installing cement barriers to protect a bike lane, even though a bike-riding pediatric physician was killed there last year by a driver who drove through the current plastic bollards.

 

International

The dangerous trend of young bike riders popping wheelies and swerving into traffic has spread to the Caribbean’s Cayman Islands, according to a local website.

Irish Customs seized more than 4,000 ebikes worth more than $5.1 million alleged to have been illegally smuggled into the country to avoid European Union duty charges.

An Indian website says bicycling in the coastal state of Goa could be riskier than you think, due to reckless drivers and stray animals.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tragic news from the Tour of Iran, where 21-year old Mustafa Ayyorkun, a two-time Türkiye — formerly Turkey — junior road race champion died four days after suffering a broken neck when he collided with a teammate.

 

Finally…

When you’re carrying a dollar bill and a lottery ticket with a white powdery substance on your bike, don’t ride salmon.

And who wouldn’t want a dart board on your bike?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

It was World Bicycle Day — but not in LA, OC Bike Coalition says no to Class IV bike lanes, and Metro rides Rail-To-Rail

June 4, 2025 / / 2 comments
Day 155 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Happy International Corgi Day to all who celebrate.

And seriously, why wouldn’t you?

Photo from 6th Street Bridge during 2023 Heart of LA CicLAvia.

………

Yesterday was World Bicycle Day.

Or as it was known here in Los Angeles, Tuesday.

Just one more example of the city not treating us as second-class citizens, because they don’t even give us a passing thought.

Case in point, last month’s Bike to Work Day, which Los Angeles officials observed by ignoring it. And us.

Meanwhile, Zag Daily says it’s a pivotal time for bicycling, which is why World Bicycle Day matters.

Think Global Health says regular bicycling is good for physical, mental and yes, planetary health, but more sustainable urban planning is needed.

An Indian writer penned an ode to the humble bicycle.

In a purely performative move, New York renamed a bicycle tunnel as the “World Bicycle Day Bike Underpass” for one whole day. But at least that was better than LA did. 

The Coachella Valley marked World Bicycle Day by reminding drivers to use caution around people on bicycles.

Then there was this —

………

The Orange County Bike Coalition has come out against Class IV protected bike lanes, calling out the “known hazards (they) cause to the riders that use them.”

Like other bicyclists we’ve heard from in San Diego, the OCBC expressed concerns about riders risking injuries by colliding with the raised barriers separating them from traffic.

Although it’s hard to reconcile anecdotal reports of hazards with studies showing they dramatically increase ridership and improve safety for everyone using the roadway.

Let’s hope that’s something researchers will take a look at.

And find a way to both protect riders from drivers, and from the bike lanes themselves.

………

Metro is hosting a relaxed, family friendly ride to explore the newly opened segment of the Rail to Rail Active Transportation Corridor in South LA this Sunday.

The three-mile round-trip ride even includes a scheduled snack stop at Granny’s Kitchen Southern Style Soul Food along the way.

Although maybe someone should tell KTLA-5 that it helps to mention what day the ride is in their news reports. 

………

Who needs new tires when you’ve got duct tape?

Duct tape fixes everything
byu/Visible-Grass-8805 inJustridingalong

………

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

Streetsblog takes a look at that off-the-rails Kern County Grand Jury report that criticized spending on Bakersfield bike lanes, concluding, in effect, that it’s too hot and smoggy to ride a bicycle in the summer, so everyone should just stay in their cars.

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

When you’re carrying meth and magic mushrooms, and trying to hide an $1,100 bike behind a bush outside Cheyenne, Wyoming, make sure it’s yours — and doesn’t have an AirTag on it.

Police in Northern Ireland are investigating after a viral video captured an adult riding a bicycle with a child draped over their back, and narrowly avoiding a collision.

………

Local 

Los Angeles is narrowing the sidewalk on a 500-foot stretch of Balboa Blvd to make room for more cars — specifically left turn lanes — in a process Streetsblog’s Joe Linton describes as “harmful to city budgets, pedestrians, cyclists, climate, air quality, historic preservation, etc.” After all, who needs sidewalks anyway, right?

Metro’s Adopt-A-bike program is bringing mobility to families impacted by the January firestorms by providing them with free donated bicycles.

Culver City Crossroads offers more information on the CC city council’s unanimous support for extending the Ballona Creek Bike Path.

Santa Monica continues to improve the former quick-build MANGo greenway, and plans to build another on Washington Ave.

 

State

MSN reposted the San Diego Union-Tribune article we linked to yesterday about the California Ebike Incentive Program’s apparently successful third attempt at managing the 128,000 people who attempted to apply for a voucher last week, for everyone who couldn’t see it, like me. And I was even quoted in it.

The AIDS/LifeCycle ride passes through Monterey County on its way to the Central Coast for the last time, with 2,500 people taking part in the final tour.

Palo Alto councilmembers are pushing back against the city’s new bike plan, which calls for bike lanes on major traffic corridors.

This is the cost of traffic violence. Sad news from Stanford, where the president of the campus Democrats was killed when he was struck by a driver while riding an ebike on campus — raising the question of why a university campus even allows drivers to go fast enough to kill someone.

 

National

Sorry not sorry. A writer for Bicycling makes a concerted effort to stop apologizing for the “otherwise self-assured” way she rides. But maybe they should be apologizing for reposting the same damn story that originally appeared in 2017. 

This is the cost of traffic violence, part two. An off-duty Harris County, Texas police sergeant riding a bicycle was killed by a 63-year old man driving a U-Haul truck, in an allegedly drunken hit-and-run.

A Michigan man is building prosthetic limbs from readily available bicycle parts in an effort to help the nine out of ten people worldwide who don’t have access to artificial limbs.

A new campaign ad targets Boston Mayor Michelle Wu over her support for bike lanes, even after she ripped out the protective barriers.

 

International

A European website says bicycle tourism is changing how we see and spend on the continent.

Cyclist recommends the best road bikes — as long as you have a somewhere between the equivalent of $6,700 to $17,300 to spend.

Apparently, crappy bikes aren’t allowed to have great brakes worth more than the bike itself.

A writer for Cycling Weekly says bicyclists have a right to be angry about infrastructure, but it’s not worth fueling a culture war by haranguing people online. I’ve learned through long and painful experience that it’s just not worth engaging with the haters on social media, because it’s an argument no one ever wins.

In what may be the understatement of the year, the owner of Germany’s Canyon Bikes says “it was another challenging year,” after losing the equivalent of more than $43 million last year.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Weekly says Simon Yates proved he’s one of Britain’s best-ever cyclists by winning the Giro, after riding “undercover” until the final weekend.

Mexican media continues to celebrate the success of Isaac del Toro’s second place finish in the Giro, calling it the best ever performance by a cyclist from the country. And marking the 21-year old as someone to watch going forward.

British cycling legend Sir Mark Cavendish will be honored by renaming a raceway in his honor on my ancestral home, where my great-great-great-great grandfather helped bankrupt the local bank.

LA28 announced venues for an accessible 2028 Paralympic Games, with most of the events located in Downtown LA and Exposition Park. Although it’s questionable how competitors and spectators will get to the games when the city isn’t building the bus and bike lanes they promised to make them car free.

 

Finally…

Your new wheels could pay homage to Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstrat guitar. It’s about damn time a bicycle was portrayed as an upscale, laidback status symbol on TV.

And that feeling when you have to bunnyhop a feline at the finish line.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

WHO promotes bike/walk safety for healthier communities, and gear up for Bike Week events starting today in WeHo

May 13, 2025 / / 2 comments
Day 133 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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She gets it.

Forbes talks with Etienne Krug, director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Department for the Social Determinants of Health, who says walking and bicycling help reduce the risk of the leading causes of premature death, including heart disease, diabetes and cancer, as well as curbing air pollution, reducing traffic congestion and fighting climate change.

But before communities can enjoy the obvious benefits, we’ll have to do something about the surging rate of bicycling and walking deaths. “At least one pedestrian or cyclist is killed on the world’s roads every 2 minutes,” according to Krug.

Which is why WHO is releasing a new toolkit to help make the roads safer to promote walking and bicycling.

Maybe we can find a way to get Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom to read the damn thing.

We can dream, right?

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

………

Metro is offering free rides on all Metro trains and buses, as well as Metro Bike and Metro Micro for Thursday’s Bike to Work Day, as well as 30-day Metro Bike memberships for a buck, and half-off one-year memberships.

Metrolink is also offering free rides Thursday for anyone boarding with a bicycle. And the same goes for LADOT’s DASH and Commuter Express buses.

Unfortunately, Metro has given up on the Bike to Work Day pitstops we used to enjoy in those heady pre-pandemic days. But you can still find them in Culver City, Pasadena and Beverly Hills (thanks to Streetsblog for those links). 

And West Hollywood is getting the jump on everyone else by marking Bike Month with a free “pit stop” from 8 to 10 this morning — yes, today — at the northeast corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Hancock Ave, featuring safety lights, refreshments and info on local bike projects.

………

Arnold urges us to unite for a pollution-free future.

So that means he got rid of his massive Hummer and Yukon SUVs, right?

………

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

Bike riders are showing up in force to city council meetings in Hartford, Connecticut to protest a plan to roll back the city’s commitment to building bike lanes if small business owners think they will somehow negatively affect them. Even though the opposite is usually true.

A British man was sentenced to life in prison for deliberately ramming a 22-year old ebike rider not once, but twice to teach him a lesson for “showboating” and popping wheelies, then fleeing the scene and leaving the victim to die alone in the street; although in this case, life means a minimum of 22 years behind bars, which means the 21-year old driver will be at least 43 before he’s eligible to get out.

No bias here. An “irate” British bike rider complained on Reddit about being “sick to death” of finding drivers parked in bike lanes every time he goes out for a ride. Yet the tabloids somehow turned that simple complaint around to complain about “entitled” bike riders hogging the sidewalk.

I'm sick to death of cars parking on cycle lanes. This happens each and every time I ride.
byu/d49k inukbike

………

Local 

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton offers photos from, and an open thread about, last weekend’s Beach Streets in Long Beach.

This Saturday, Metro is officially opening the initial phase of the long-awaited Rail-to-Rail multi-use path in South LA, a rail-to-trail conversion between the A Line Slauson Station and the Fairview Heights K Line Station; you can get more information and RSVP here.

Speaking of Metro, they will finally break ground on the long-gestating NoHo to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit line next month, which, unlike the Vermont BRT line, will include protected bike lanes along Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock.

 

State

Nothing like describing the California Ebike Incentive Program’s massive failure in the second round of incentives, when the site crashed as soon as it opened, as just a “glitch.”

A Bakersfield judge postponed until July the murder trial of the man accused of the alleged drunken hit-and-run that killed a 30-year old woman riding a bicycle; 27-year old Caleb Nathaniel Rodriguez is also charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, hit and run causing death and driving on a license suspended for DUI.

San Francisco’s new Biking and Rolling Plan promises to connect the city’s bike lanes into a complete network putting everyone in the city within a quarter mile of a bike lane within the next 20 years. Then again, Los Angeles promised the same thing, and you know how that worked out.

 

National

Tragic news from Everett, Washington, where a 13-year old boy riding an ebike was killed when he ran into a braided cable someone had illegally strung between a fence and a post, something his parents say should have never been there in the first place.

The mayor of Spokane, Washington is inviting the public to ride with him on tomorrow’s National Bike to Work Day. Yet somehow, LA’s ostensibly bike-riding mayor isn’t inviting anyone to ride with her, and hasn’t been seen on one since she was elected in 2022. 

Over 200 bike riders have signed up for the 31st annual ride up and over Colorado’s 12,095-foot Independence Pass this Saturday, offering a whopping 2,300 feet of vertical climbing over the short ten-mile distance.

An Iowa man says he saves hundreds of dollars each month by biking to work nearly every day instead of driving. Which oddly still surprises people, even though we keep trying to tell them that.

A man was found dead after becoming separated from his riding companion on a Minnesota river trail; his body was found eight miles away from where he was last seen, and on the other side of the river.

A Minnesota man is on a mission to give 22,000 bike helmets to kids, after he suffered a brain injury when he was 18 after a friend lost control of his car and spun out after a night of partying. So wouldn’t it make more sense to give out car helmets, instead?

University professors in Michigan and Florida are researching perceptions on bicyclist comfort and safety as we “prepare for an e-bike future,” funded by a $610,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. Although they might want to check on that funding, since most bike and pedestrian projects are getting DOGE’d.

A writer for New York Streetsblog is challenging candidates for mayor to ride with him; yesterday he rode with a political novice with 30 years experience riding a bicycle, and a pro-bike, pro-business and pro-police agenda. Although his best qualification may be that he didn’t have a bribery indictment dismissed by federal prosecutors like the city’s current mayor, after — allegedly — promising to cooperate with immigration raids. 

A Florida man was collateral damage when police discovered that a man who had crashed his car into a house had been fatally shot in the chest — then discovered a man on a bicycle had died after being trapped under the car.

 

International

Bicycling examines the case of a former Toronto cop called Canada’s most infamous and prolific bicycle thief, after police raids recovered more than 3,000 bicycles. You’ll have to subscribe to the magazine if you want to read it, though, but you can find the story on Wikipedia.

That’s more like it. A driver in the Cayman Islands was warned he could be prosecuted after he was recorded dangerously passing bicyclists participating in a memorial ride for a fallen bike rider, while driving on the right shoulder of the roadway.

Dublin, Ireland is celebrating Bike Week and Climate Week by telling bike riders to dismount on part of its longest cycle route. Which is kind of a problem for handcyclists and other people who have difficulty walking.

 

Competitive Cycling

A San Diego man will attempt to set four separate world records in a single six-hour ride on the city’s velodrome to raise awareness and funds for the local Parkinson’s community; he’ll attempt to set age group records in 70-74 age group for the farthest distance in six hours, fastest 100 kilometers, fastest 100 miles, and fastest 200 kilometers. They tell me that’s where I’m probably headed in ten to fifteen years. And no, I don’t mean San Diego. Or the velodrome.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you buy a $390 ebike directly from China, and are pleasantly surprised when it doesn’t suck. Your next cargo bike could have a steering wheel over a single tire, with a detachable modular trailer.

And nothing like describing new bikepacking campers using a line from Seinfeld about boobs.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

This town ain’t big enough for anti-bike lane columnists, welcome to Bike Month, and the annual Pasadena Ride of Silence

May 1, 2025 / / Comments Off on This town ain’t big enough for anti-bike lane columnists, welcome to Bike Month, and the annual Pasadena Ride of Silence
Day 121 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

No bias here.

A columnist for the Los Angeles News Group says the situation on LA streets is best described as a Western, spaghetti or otherwise.

It wouldn’t be about cowboys versus Indians. It wouldn’t be about ranchers versus homesteaders. It wouldn’t be about gold miners versus general store operators.

It would be about drivers versus bicyclists.

“Mister, this road ain’t big enough for both of us” could replace “Eureka” as the official motto of California.

According to writer Susan Shelly, it would pit all those good townsfolk who drive cars, delivery vans, ambulances “and other motor vehicles relied upon for timely transportation,” against a group that “apparently is not in a hurry to get anywhere.”

And the group that is not in a hurry — aka the people on bicycles, joined by transit users — have somehow made it their mission to slow down traffic, something the people who have “to be somewhere quickly” don’t appreciate.

So guess who the bad guys are in this scenario?

Never mind that slowing down traffic improves safety and saves lives for everyone. And it’s not the people on two wheels who are out there killing people like a drunken gunslinger shooting up the town saloon.

She goes on to examine the Measure HLA lawsuit filed by Streetsblog editor Joe Linton over the lack of bike lanes in Metro’s semi-Complete Streets makeover of the Vermont Ave corridor, while misrepresenting the debate over the adoption of the city’s mobility plan in 2015.

There was resistance from some council members to adopting a plan that aimed to slow city traffic on major arteries. But advocates said it was simply “a vision statement” and “an aspirational document.” Bonin said it would “help us get active transportation funds from the state.” Council President Herb Wesson reassuringly told reluctant colleagues, “This is a concept. If you choose to vote on this today, it will not be put in place tomorrow.”

It was actually an LADOT official blindsiding advocates when she described the 2010 Bike Plan — which was subsumed into the mobility plan — as merely “aspirational,” just days after a successful fight to get it approved by the city council, who passed it with unanimous support.

And Wesson’s comment was a reference to the plan’s 20-year timeline, which meant that it would not have to be put in place right away. But that never meant it wouldn’t be put in place at all.

Shelley ends with a return to the lawsuit over the city’s failure to enforce the requirements of Measure HLA on Vermont, after describing the measure as something put on the ballot by “fuming-mad bicyclists.”

And never mentioning that it passed with overwhelming support from a broad spectrum of voters.

The city disputes that it is obligated to make these changes, but meanwhile, Metro, a countywide agency, is removing a traffic lane on Vermont Avenue to build a dedicated bus lane, enraging the bike-lane people and causing the movie to have an exciting but complicated subplot.

In the final scene, everyone realizes there’s no money for any of it, and the drivers win.

It’s not the bus lanes “enraging the bike-lane people,” as Shelley says. The “bike-lane people” I know are all in favor of a dedicated bus lane.

Instead, it’s the fact that Metro isn’t also building the bike lane that’s called for in the mobility plan, and so required by law under the terms of HLA.

It’s also not true that the money isn’t there.

In fact, the Vermont Ave project is budgeted at a whopping $425 million. And it will cost a lot less to install bike lanes now while the whole street is under construction, rather that going back and installing them after this project is finished.

But why let a couple inconvenient facts like that ruin a good metaphorical screed?

Never mind that the drivers are already winning.

But then, the cowboys in the black hats usually do win until just before the hero saves the town and rides off into the sunset, to beat her metaphor like the dead horse it is.

Photo by Ahmet Çığşar from Pexels. Think of it as a metaphorical columnist suffering from windshield bias driving ever more car traffic.

………

Welcome to National Bike Month.

………

Bike Month also means it’s time for the annual Pasadena Ride of Silence at the Rose Bowl on May 21st to honor fallen bicyclists.

PASADENA, CA, April 28, 2025 – The cycling community of Pasadena invites the public to join in for the annual Ride of Silence on Wednesday, May 21st, at 6 p.m. This solemn event, now in its 23rd year, honors cyclists who have been injured or killed on public roadways and raises awareness about sharing the road safely.

  The Pasadena Ride of Silence will begin at the Rose Bowl in the north end of Lot I, with registration and check-ins beginning at 6:15 p.m., announcements at 6:30 p.m., and white doves from White Dove Release will be sent off individually to honor the cyclists lost during the last year at 6:50 p.m. At 7 p.m., a police escort will lead cyclists en masse on a slow and silent 7-mile route to Pasadena City Hall, where attendees will observe a moment of silence to honor friends and family lost to traffic violence. The ride will finish at the Rose Bowl with free tacos for all registered participants. 

 The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 1,105 cyclists were killed by drivers of motor vehicles in 2022, the highest number ever recorded since the federal government started collecting data in 1975. Experts believe the increase in fatalities is due to several factors: inadequate street designs to include safe lanes for cycling, larger vehicles such as pickups and SUVs, which are deadlier in size and shape, higher horsepower in vehicles, and distracted driving. 

The NHTSA has finalized a new Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard to make automatic emergency braking (AEB), including pedestrian AEB, standard on all passenger cars and light trucks by September 2029. Making this safety feature standard (previously, it was bundled with expensive tech packages) is part of the Department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy to address the crisis of deaths on the roads and hopes to make U.S. roads dramatically safer for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists alike.

“We ride in silence to honor those we’ve lost, to raise awareness for the safety of all cyclists, and to remind the world that we belong on the road too,” said Thomas Cassidy, Pasadena Ride of Silence organizer. 

………

Yep.

That pretty well sums it up.

………

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

A town in Illinois voted to make things more dangerous by requiring anyone on any type of bicycle to ride single file, reducing visibility of bike riders and encouraging unsafe passing, in a misguided effort to reign in teens on ebikes.

………

Local 

NPR picks up the story of DTLA’s bike-riding, chainsaw-wielding tree assassin, and the effect his crimes had on the local community.

 

State

Calbike says bills creating a quick-build bike lane program and creating a bike highways are likely to end up in the Appropriations Committee’s Suspense File, which could lead to an eventual floor vote, or could just provide a way for opponents to quietly kill them.

Streetsblog argues that the California Ebike Incentive Program needed a win after endless delays and the total disaster of the first round of vouchers, and instead ended up with more egg on their face when the website crashed during yesterday’s second round of voucher applications, leading them to cancel the application window.

A new report analyzing state-by-state bike theft data shows California has the nation’s highest rate of stolen bicycles, almost double that of number two Texas.

Irvine is hosting the Orange County city’s second annual CicloIrvine open streets event this Saturday.

New stats have reignited the debate over the curb protected bike lanes on Coast Highway 101 through Cardiff, as a member of the Encinitas Mobility and Traffic Safety Commission reports the 42 crashes since 2020 represent a 400% increase compared to the 14 years prior; however, the chair of BikeWalk Encinitas says there’s no way to know how many lives may have been saved by the barriers.

Life is cheap in San Diego County, where a woman who killed a 71-year old man riding a bicycle while she was fleeing from the Border Patrol with a car full of undocumented immigrants, and driving at twice the speed limit on the wrong side of the road, was sentenced to just three years and five months behind bars — even though she had faced up to 20 years behind bars.

A new volunteer Bakersfield bike patrol trained by the National Ski Patrol will provide security and help to people in need on the Kern River Bike Path.

A Sacramento letter writer says yes, cops should ticket all those dangerous scofflaw bike riders. Never mind that people in cars, trucks and SUVs pose a much greater risk to everyone.

 

National

A new study published in the journal PLOS One demonstrated that both seniors riding ebikes and regular bikes showed improved cognitive function compared to a non-bicycling control group, while the ebike group had more confidence in completing the assigned rides.

Seattle bike riders protested a dangerous bikeway design where a protected bike lane ends suddenly and dumps riders into dangerous traffic, prompting the city to install temporary barriers to protect riders.

This is the cost of traffic violence. Residents of Pleasant Grove, Utah are remembering a nine-year old boy was killed by a hit-and-run driver as he was just trying to cross the street on his bicycle; police later took a man in his 80s in for questioning.

Women behind bars in Idaho are being trained to repair bicycles to donate to people on the outside, and will get a bicycle upon their release.

Sad news from my ostensibly bike-friendly Colorado hometown, where a longtime local bike advocate and the leader of a weekly no-drop ride was killed when he was struck head-on by a motorcyclist who made an ill-advised pass of another motorbike rider close to a curve.

Indianapolis just opened a new bridge with two-thirds of the surface devoted to bicyclists and pedestrians, and just one lane in each direction for cars.

Maine’s Acadia National Park offers 45 miles of forested scenic gravel roads that are closed to cars.

A Boston TV station examines the city’s “simmering debate” over bike lanes, after the mayor ripped out protective barriers on a number of bike lanes because angry drivers found them inconvenient.

 

International

No surprise here. A new study shows that pedestrians and bicyclists are far more likely to be killed by today’s massive, flat-grilled pickups and SUVs, with a 44% higher fatality risk overall, and 82% higher for children.

Road.cc examines the pros and cons of hiding an AirTag or other electronic trackers on your bike to help find it if it gets stolen.

A slideshow features bizarre bicycle designs the writers didn’t think were possible. Thanks to an anonymous source for the link.

Canada’s Banff National Park is extending a spring and fall ban on cars on a section of the Bow Valley Parkway through the park, after a successful three-year pilot program.

A writer for The Guardian says it’s no wonder BBC broadcaster Jeremy Vine has stopped posting bike cam videos, because the rage directed towards bike riders is off the scale — and comments from politicians deliberately stirring up anger to troll for votes don’t help.

A Scottish website recommends eight of the best bike paths in Glasgow, for your next trip to the land of Bobby Burns.

A Greek travel website recommends riding your bike around the Aegean island of Spetses.

Great idea. Our German correspondent Ralph Durham reports seeing traffic lights with the poles illuminated by LED lights on a visit to Izmir, Turkiye, turning the poles red, yellow and green to match the traffic signal.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list, as Momentum offers everything you need to know about Japan’s Shimanami Kaidō bike route, calling it a paradise for bicyclists.

 

Competitive Cycling

America’s only remaining Tour de France winner confirmed that he’s running for president of UCI, the umbrella organization in charge of bike racing around the world.

Cyclist recounts the complete history of the Pinarello Dogma, calling it the most dominant race bike in modern cycling history.

 

Finally…

Evidently, a sidewalk-level bike lane without noticeable markings is just a sidewalk. Beating your 75-year old neighbor because of where he put his garbage is not an approved use of an ebike wheel.

And now even shopping cart drivers are out to get us.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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LADOT beats HLA deadline but claims everything is exempt, and Metro/LADOT Universal Basic Mobility months late

April 10, 2025 / / Comments Off on LADOT beats HLA deadline but claims everything is exempt, and Metro/LADOT Universal Basic Mobility months late
Day 100 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

The only surprise is they did it.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports that LADOT made their Wednesday deadline to post a website listing their progress on Measure HLA, as required by the ordinance passed by the voters a year ago with two-thirds support.

But of all the resurfacing projects on all the streets in LA — which sounds like a line from Casablanca — they only managed to list seven lousy projects.

And surprise, surprise, claim they are all exempt from the measure.

Every last one.

According to Linton,

The website lists just seven projects, all of which LADOT claims do not trigger Measure HLA.

The seven projects are:

The website includes no status, no dates for these seven projects. Most are pending; it appears that just one (Roscoe) has been completed.

What’s not on the map? In late 2024, LADOT claimed that three projects had been triggered by HLA: Hollywood, plus Reseda Boulevard and Manchester Boulevard. Reseda and Manchester are absent. The ballot language states that the website shall include completed projects. It’s not clear why they have been omitted.

It seems clear from the obvious foot-dragging, obfuscation and needless delays that LADOT and city leadership have no intention of complying with Measure HLA, and are looking for any excuse they can find to avoid living up to it.

That includes Metro’s Vermont Ave project, where the official consensus seems to “So sue us, already.”

Let’s hope someone takes them up on it.

………

No surprise here, either.

After a successful Phase 1, Phase 2 of Metro and LADOT’s universal basic mobility program has been beset by seemingly endless and unexplained delays.

The second phase of the Metro Mobility Wallet was supposed to launch last year, providing 2,000 low-income residents with $1,800, divided into two equal payments.

The money is intended to be used for any transportation expenses, from paying for bus passes or rideshare, to buying a bicycle. But more than four months later, no one has been able to access a dime on the preloaded debit cards.

It’s possible that the problems lie with the card provider, who is reportedly having problems with another client, as well.

But even if that’s the case, it raises questions of why — like the California Air Resources Board and a seemingly moribund ebike voucher program — they chose a provider who is unable to service the program, raising obvious questions of judgement.

And if not, the questions becomes just who or what the problem is.

………

The defense attorney for Sean Higgins, the driver accused of killing the hockey-playing Gaudreau brothers as they rode their bikes the night before their sister’s New Jersey wedding, wants to have the charges against his client tossed.

Which is pretty much what every defense attorney everywhere wants.

However, his reasoning is that the grand jury wasn’t told the brothers had been drinking before getting on their bikes, and were legally drunk at the time of the crash.

Even though, unlike driving, biking under the influence is perfectly legal in New Jersey.

And even though their drinking had nothing to do with why Higgins was attempting to pass two other drivers on the right, while speeding and over the legal alcohol limit, with two wheels on the shoulder and two on the grass verge when he slammed into the Gaudreau’s bikes.

But other than that, sure.

………

Caltrans is looking for input on a draft plan to remake LA’s killer highway, to make it a little less, uh, murdery.

RELEASE OF PCH MASTER PLAN FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND UPCOMING MEETINGS

Today, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is pleased to announce the release of the draft of the PCH Master Plan Feasibility Study for a 60-day public review period ending on June 09, 2025. The draft Study can be viewed online at bit.ly/3YhpEnP

Caltrans invites members of the public, stakeholders, and any interested individuals to review the Draft Study and leave your thoughts in the comment box provided here or via email to 07-pchmpfs@publicinput.com. When providing comments via email, please include the relevant section title, page number, figure, or table number when applicable to help us accurately locate the part of the document you’re commenting on.

The draft document will be formally unveiled for public comment at a meeting at Malibu City Hall today, Wednesday, April 9, from 5:30 – 8:00 PM. The meeting will also cover two PCH pavement rehabilitation projects in the cities of Santa Monica, Los Angeles and Malibu, which aim to extend the pavement service life and improve ride quality for motorists on PCH from Santa Monica to the Los Angeles/Ventura County line. For those who cannot attend the April 9 meeting in person, two virtual meetings are also planned to discuss the two pavement rehabilitation projects and Draft PCH Master Plan Feasibility Study. Community members are invited to participate in these workshops to learn about the latest updates and provide input.

For more information, please visit the project website or email 
07-pchmpfs@publicinput.com 

………

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

The bikelash is real. A protected bike lane appeared to be the decisive issue in the Grand Junction, Colorado city council race, with all the winning candidates campaigning against it, with the exception of one woman who ran unopposed.

Houston’s mayor backtracked on his anti-bike lane agenda in the face of withering opposition from bike riders, promising to install a dedicated, but non-protected bike lane to replace the protected lane he ripped out, rather than the previously threatened promised sharrows.

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

A 65-year old British woman faces charges for the hit-and-run crash that left a two-year old kid with a permanent scar on his head, after crashing into him as he walked with his mother, while she was illegally riding her ebike on a walking path.

………

Local 

Secret Los Angeles considers the ten most scenic bike trails and routes to explore around the city. Not all of which are all that, you know, scenic.

Streets For All urges support for extending the bus lanes on Lincoln Blvd south from the Santa Monica border to near LAX; the transportation PAC also says a proposal to extend the Ballona Creek Bike Path to the creek’s headwaters is getting closer to reality.

It looks like WeHo bike lanes could be getting a touch of Pantone 349C, aka Hollywood Green, after the city council moved a proposal to paint the city’s bike lanes to the consent calendar to likely be approved at a coming meeting.

 

State

Heartbreaking news, as authorities identified the 13-year old boy killed by a driver while riding his bike in Clovis yesterday, after leaving home without permission and without his helmet.

Mountain Bike Action considers the history and legacy of the Sea Otter Classic, calling it America’s greatest mountain bike event. Although fans of the Iron House Classic and Leadville Trail 100 might beg to differ.

Bay Area businesses, including a local bike shop, complain about the “pain and trauma” inflicted by Trump’s on-again off-again tariffs; meanwhile, a Minneapolis bike shop owner is in “panic mode” over the tariff uncertainty.

 

National

People For Bikes says they’re endorsing the Children’s Bill of Rights in Sport because every kid deserves a safe place to ride.

Portland is adding signage and infrastructure improvements to help support the city’s growing bike bus movement.

Washington State is launching a lottery for the state’s $4 million ebike rebate program, with winners getting a $300 voucher towards the purchase of an ebike, and income-eligible households receiving up to $1,200.

A Minnesota bicycle advocacy group is testing an ebike-to-work pilot program, providing five Duluth businesses with ebikes for seven months for their employees to use.

A Loyola of Chicago student recommends bicycling through the city this spring, saying it turned a 45-minute walk into a pleasant 10-minute ride.

 

International

No bias here. That feeling when a far-right British pol complains about spending for bike lanes no one is using, that everyone is using, while a former Top Gear host says he’s not worried about a dangerous roundabout because he has a car, not a child’s toy.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Redlands Bicycle Classic opened with a time trial at Lake Perris yesterday, followed by a road race today, and a circuit race tomorrow, ending with a downtown crit on Sunday.

 

Finally….

Seriously, I’ve got nothing.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Prosecutor contradicts Magnus White killer’s claim she hadn’t been drinking, and LA approves minimal HLA minimums

April 4, 2025 / / Comments Off on Prosecutor contradicts Magnus White killer’s claim she hadn’t been drinking, and LA approves minimal HLA minimums
Day 94 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

She was drinking before the fatal crash.

Or maybe she wasn’t.

Yeva Smilianska testified on the witness stand Thursday that she was busy working, and so wan’t drinking, the night before she admittedly killed 17-year old US National Team cyclist Magnus White outside Boulder, Colorado.

Her former friend and coworker, Nereida “Neddy” Cooper, testified that Smilianska actually had the night off, and was drinking at the bar they both worked at until it closed. Then they went to her home and shared an open bottle of whiskey until they both went to bed around 6:30 am.

Less than six hours later, Smilianska was standing on the side of the road where White lay dying next to his mangled bicycle.

Her lawyer claims Smilianska isn’t responsible for White’s death because she fell asleep behind the wheel before drifting onto the shoulder. Smilianska told the court she was sleepy but sober at the time of the crash, and police at the scene said she didn’t appear to be intoxicated.

She also says she was unemotional at the scene because she “completely turned off” after seeing White lying behind her.

But prosecutors introduced a pair of text messages Smilianska sent hours after the crash, which she said she didn’t remember.

I don’t think so but we have to remember I was drunk as well. To be honest, when you guys were gone I continued to drink and honestly I don’t even remember how I drove myself home. That’s fucked up.

But anyway the drinks you just told me sound like enough to get drunk…

Nah I’m fine. I’m just scared of myself cos I drove SO drunk I don’t even remember it. My whole way home. I was mad and I really fucked up…

Which kinda makes it seem like she was drinking to me, but I’m not on the jury.

………

The Los Angeles Street Standards Committee approved the proposed minimum standards for street projects impacted by Measure HLA, which requires that the city build out the previously approved mobility plan when streets are resurfaced.

Which matters because the minimum is probably all we can count on from the city these days.

Advocates questioned the use of shared bus/bike lanes where separate bus lanes and painted bike lanes are called for, as well as the city’s failure to define crosswalks for Pedestrian Enhanced Districts.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times offers a good recap of the debate over whether Measure HLA applies to the Vermont Transit Corridor, explaining both the scope of the Metro project, and the arguments for why HLA does and doesn’t apply to Metro.

Transit advocates argue that the exclusion from the Vermont Avenue project ignores voters’ mandate to follow the mobility plan, which calls for improved bike lanes on that street; Metro and city officials have countered that the measure applied only to the city of Los Angeles — not to the countywide transit agency.

“We don’t think it’s legal,” said Michael Schneider, who heads Streets for All, the advocacy group behind the ballot measure. “HLA is a city measure, and Metro is a county agency, but Vermont is owned by the City of Los Angeles, and the city is working with Metro. They’re permitting it, they’re providing technical expertise, they’re spending staff time and money. This falls under Measure HLA, which requires a bike lane on Vermont.”

However, Metro has threatened to sue if the county agency is required to comply with the city ordinance, arguing that adding bike lanes to the project would delay it five years and require them to acquire additional properties along the route.

Move LA Executive Director Eli Lipmen summed up the whole debate as succinctly as anyone.

Lipmen said that more people will be hurt if Metro does not allow for new protected bike lanes in its plans and hopes there is still time for conversation

“Vermont needs to happen and needs to happen as soon as possible. We cannot delay this project another second,” Lipmen said.

He’s right.

On both counts.

………

A crowdfunding campaign for a Bakersfield mother killed by a pickup driver while riding her bike last month has raised a paltry $700 of the relatively modest $5,000 goal.

……….

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

No bias here. The Sausalito city council turned down a half-million dollar grant to install bike lanes on the most ridden road in Marin County, even though it’s on the city’s High Injury Network and in alignment with city policies, deeming the project “too controversial” thanks to the torches and pitchforks of the “change nothing” crowd.

No bias here, either. The governor of Idaho signed a pair of bills redefining roads as “for the primary benefit of motor vehicles,” while restricting where standalone bike and pedestrian projects can be built, and prohibiting projects that would narrow roadways.

………

Local 

Claremont conditionally approved an ordinance to allow ebikes on the city’s Claremont Hills Wilderness Park trail; it will come back up for a second, final vote on April 22nd.

 

State

San Diego County Crime Stoppers is pulling out all the stops in the hunt for the driver, and the car, who killed an ebike rider in a Clairemont hit-and-run last weekend. Which is exactly how it should be, and exactly what Los Angeles doesn’t do.

She gets it. The head of the Mineta Transportation Institute asks if the convenience of turning right on red is really worth the risk to bike riders and pedestrians.

San Francisco approved plans for a parking-protected bike lane on Oak Street leading to Golden Gate Park, but will divert riders into a park to make room for turning cars.

 

National

People For Bikes considers the effects of Trump’s tariffs on the bike industry — not to mention what you’ll pay for your next bike and parts — with import taxes as high as 46% on Asian nations, where most bicycles are made. Best advice is to buy what you can now, before prices go up and availability goes down.

 

International

Momentum lists the six most bike-friendly North American airports, none of which are LAX. Or any other California airport south of San Francisco.

London’s bicycling and walking commissioner says it would be “extremely unpleasant” to have thousands of bicyclists riding through a newly pedestrianized Oxford Street, but bike riders complain about the “weak and wiggly” alternatives provided for bikes. Although the real news is that London has a bicycling and walking commissioner, unlike a certain SoCal megalopolis we could name. 

British custom framebuilder Feather Cycles is the latest bike brand to bike the dust, as the owner says he could make more money as a food delivery rider.

Stars and Stripes recommends resources for long-distance bicycling through Europe, most of which apply to us non-service members, too.

Around 80 university students are riding nearly 800 miles to Strasbourg, France to call for European Union support for a Serbian anti-graft project to halt corruption in the Balkan nation, as it seeks membership in the 27-nation bloc.

 

Competitive Cycling

The teams competing for this year’s Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift were announced Thursday, including all 15 WorldTour teams, along with seven teams from the ProTour.

Two-time world and Olympic champ Remco Evenepoel is expected to return to racing at Switzerland’s Tour de Romandie at the end of this month, after suffering multiple fractures, dislocated collarbone and bruised lungs when he was doored by a Belgian postal van driver in December.

You know the Lotto cycling team missed the mark when their new team kit is best described as “an explosion in a paint factory.”

Velo will live stream all the races in the USA CRITS series this spring. Which may the only way you’ll see them, since most of the races are in Georgia, and all are in the South other than a single race in Nebraska.

 

Finally….

Seriously, who knows the best bikes better than Brit GQ?  You win some, you lose some, and sometimes you just take a coffee break.

And that feeling when they raised the speed limit, but you could still get ticket for going too fast.

In a bike race.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Gap closure on LA River path through Griffith Park inches closer, and why LA drivers get fatter in slow traffic

March 4, 2025 / / Comments Off on Gap closure on LA River path through Griffith Park inches closer, and why LA drivers get fatter in slow traffic
Day 63 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Please forgive me for a belated Ramadan Mubarak!

And happy Mardi Gras to all who celebrate. 

Today’s graphic is a rendering from the LA City environmental report for the propose LA River path gap closure. 

………

We could be getting a little closer to closing another gap in the LA River bike path.

Urbanize reports Los Angeles has published an environmental report for a new segment of the bike path, closing a 4,600-foot gap through Griffith Park between Riverside Drive and the Mariposa Bridge.

The plans call for a 12-foot wide paved path, with one lane in each direction and shoulders on either side, next to a 10-foot wide equestrian trail.

But don’t plan on riding it anytime soon.

Los Angeles has punted on previous promises to complete the full LA River path in time for the 2028 Olympics, which is why this one little segment isn’t scheduled for completion until over a year later.

And God only knows when the long missing segment through DTLA and points south will finally get built, with anticipated federal funding now up in the air.

………

A study looks at the relationship between slow traffic and fast food.

The study published in the Journal of Urban Economics shows that Los Angeles drivers who are stuck in traffic are more likely to stop for unhealthy fast food than drivers with less congested commutes.

A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, published in the Journal of Urban Economics, examined weekday traffic data from Los Angeles County highways between 2017 and 2019 and compared it with cellphone GPS data tracking customer visits to fast food restaurants in the same county during the same years. They found that when traffic was worse due to unexpected slowdowns, visits to fast food restaurants went up. This effect was especially strong if the traffic delays occurred around evening mealtimes, when drivers were leaving work and probably starting to feel some predinner hunger pangs.

In fact, for every additional 30 seconds delayed in traffic per mile traveled, there was a 1% increase in visits to fast food restaurants.

Just more proof that driving is bad for your health. And your diet.

On the other hand, bike riders are more likely to stop for tacos, based on a nonscientific study of yours truly.

Or maybe donuts.

………

Streetsblog calls out a couple of bike-related public meetings this week.

First up is a virtual update on new bus lanes on Vermont Ave at 6 pm this Thursday; work is starting now, even though the project doesn’t include any accommodation for bicycles, as required under Measure HLA.

Metro will hold the final two community meetings of the current round to discuss the Segment B of the Rail-to-Rail/River Active Transportation Corridor Project, focusing on active transportation improvements on Randolph Street through Bell, Bell Gardens, Huntington Park and Maywood; a virtual meeting will be held Thursday at noon, and a real world meeting in Bell at 10 am Saturday.

………

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

A new British bill intended to crack down on “anti-social cycling” would allow on-the-spot fines equivalent to more than $600 for riding a bike in a pedestrian zone. Although I always thought anti-social cycling was wanting to ride your bike alone. 

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

After a 65-year old salmon cyclist got right hooked by a driver, the victim got a trip to the hospital and a traffic ticket — but oddly, for failing to obey a traffic control device, rather than riding against traffic.

………

Local  

The Palisades resident famous for attempting to escape the January firestorm on his bicycle while carrying two large original paintings, before leaving them with a news reporter, explains why he “unconsciously” grabbed the artwork on his rush out the door.

This time, the rich only got a little richer, as bike-friendly Santa Monica installed a little less than four miles of new and upgraded bike lanes last year, along with 39 new curb extensions, two new crosswalks and 222 repainted ones and new stop signs at key intersections.

 

State

The Kern County coroner identified the 68-year old man killed when a pickup driver slammed into his bicycle Friday evening.

A writer for the Cal Poly student newspaper says San Luis Obispo is doing bike safety right — if students stay there long enough to benefit from it.

More proof that bike lanes aren’t divisive after all, despite the loud angry voices screaming on talk radio and at public meetings, as a Berkeley poll shows that 73% of city residents support expanding bike infrastructure — including 57% who don’t bike and don’t want to.

A San Francisco website says why wait for speed cams, when they can just install more speed bumps?

Bike-riding volunteers are helping to keep people safe on the city’s bike paths, while they enjoy the scenery themselves.

 

National

I want to be like them when I grow up. Bicycling talks with people over 80 about how riding a bicycle helps them think and feel years younger. Although you’ll need a subscription if the magazine blocks you this time.

Nevada could become the next state to adopt a Stop As Yield Law, aka the Idaho Stop Law, to improve safety for people on bicycles. Meanwhile, the California legislature has passed it twice, only to see the bills die on Governor Newsom’s desk. 

Arizona bicyclists held a memorial ride to remember the two people killed and 16 injured in the 2023 Goodyear, Arizona, massacre, led by one of the survivors; driver Pedro Quintana Lujan faces just 12 misdemeanor charges, despite falsely claiming his steering locked up.

The owner of an Albuquerque, New Mexico bike shop received a $50,000 settlement from the city after she sued for wrongful arrest; she got a summons for battery when she attempted to block a combative customer from entering the store after he’d already been thrown out twice.

Sad news from Wisconsin, where a bike-riding couple in their late 50s were killed when they were run down by a 20-year old SUV driver on a rural road not far from their home.

Momentum chats with New York’s Cargo Bike Momma, whose kid-toting SUV has just two wheels.

 

International

A six-year old Scottish boy has successfully made the leap from a balance bike to shredding mountain bike trails better than most adults.

British environmentalists are going to the High Court — equivalent to a US Superior Court — to fight plans for a Coventry bike lane that would require chopping down 26 trees.

An Aussie advocacy group is fighting bad bollards on bike paths.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Pasadena Triathlon returns to the Rose Bowl this Saturday, with a format designed to encourage first-timers.

 

Finally….

Now you, too, can enjoy riding in the rain, just in time for the return of what passes for winter here in LA. Enjoy mountain biking above the Arctic Circle.

And jumping from the saddle to Slovak dancing stardom.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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