I’m writing this with a migraine that’s threatening to make my head explode.
So if you see this, it means my meds finally kicked in; if not, someone please clean up whatever is left of me.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Photo by Aidan Nguyen from Pexels.
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That’s more like it.
The Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition is leading a community-driven effort to draw their own bike plan for the Rose City, proposing a connected, all-ages-and-abilities network of Greenways on low-speed streets, with protected bike lanes on faster roadways.
The map will be unveiled on June 3rd for World Bicycle Day.
That will come about a month before the city begins work on a new Active Transportation Plan intended to update the 2006 Pedestrian Plan and 2015 Bicycle Transportation Action Plan, as well as other documents, combining them into a single comprehensive blueprint.
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He gets it.
Writing for Electrek, Micah Toll argues that America is panicking over ebikes while ignoring the real problem.
As in, cars, and the people driving them.
If you spend enough time reading local news headlines these days, you’d be forgiven for thinking electric bicycles are one of the greatest threats facing American streets. Teenagers on fat-tire e-bikes, viral videos of wheelies, stories about injuries complete with ER doctor interviews… the same themes are playing on repeat…
Some riders behave irresponsibly. Some companies sell vehicles that blur the line between e-bikes and electric motorcycles. Some inexperienced riders are suddenly traveling at speeds they aren’t prepared to handle.
But somewhere along the way, the conversation seems to have lost all sense of proportion.
According to Toll, ebike and e-scooter deaths are averaging around 135 a year across the entire US. That includes everything from Lime scooters to illegal, high-speed motorbikes passing as bicycles.
Meanwhile, motor vehicles kill over 40,000 people every year. A difference of a mere 29,500%.
Clearly, we have to do something to rein in ebikes that exceed the legal limits, and don’t meet the definition of a bicycle, ped-assist or otherwise.
But focusing on the dangers posed by ebikes is like trying to swat a fly on a crashing jet.
A point made by a columnist for Cycling Weekly, who says recent concerns over speeding bicyclists also missed the mark.
In practice most of the people with an instinct for obeying a speed limit aren’t going to be the people who were any sort of problem – morons will continue to moron, delivery riders will still need to earn enough to eat. Why am I so sure, you ask? I’ll refer to you our roads in general. And, as on the roads in general, enforcement will be minimal. Meanwhile, cyclists will continue to take abuse from everyone, from the local paper to the House of Lords, much of it because of a group who aren’t actually riding bicycles. Honestly, it’s time to start treating different things differently.
And yes, “morons will continue to moron” sums up the debate as well as anything else I’ve seen.
But at least a California bill intended to address the illegal e-moto issue is moving forward.
Riding a bicycle in Los Angeles may feel like number two, but we’re actually number three, according to a Texas law firm.
In a story focusing on how safe Salt Lake City is for bicycling, ranking 53rd out of the 55 most dangerous cities for bicyclists, there’s an almost casual mention of which cities came out on top.
New York was number one, Houston number two. LA finished third.
Clearly, local drivers have to try harder.
We also ranked third for air quality, which is only surprising because we’re usually ranked as the nation’s worst.
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Streets Are For Everyone urges you to sign their open letter demanding that city leaders declare a Traffic Violence State of Emergency in Los Angeles; they’re nearing the goal of 1,000 signatures before it’s delivered to the city council.
And yes, my name is on it.
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We have Megan to thank for a trio of news stories, beginning with a report on Boise, Idaho’s “Blessing Bike” getting seniors back out for a ride.
And a group of Austin, Texas bike riders are roaming the city delivering food to people who may otherwise fall through the cracks.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A suspected “bike racing hater” is being blamed for removing over 50 route signs over a 12-mile stretch of Germany’s Rhön Cycle Marathon, the country’s most important long-distance bike race.
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Local
Public radio program Marketplace profiles LA’s Black-owned Ride On! Bike Co-Op, which is surviving difficult market conditions thanks to an ebike library program.
This is who we share the road with. Former NYPD Blue star Kim Delaney reportedly settled a lawsuit over a hit-and-run crash that injured a motorcycle rider on Venice Blvd; witnesses say she appeared to be intoxicated, but she insists she only left the scene since she felt threatened because of her celebrity. Terms of the settlement were not made public.
The West Hollywood Bicycle Coalition will host the annual Pride Ride on Sunday, June 7th, departing from the Hollywood and Highland Metro Station at 10:30 am, and riding to the WeHo Pride Parade and Street Fair in West Hollywood.
State
Carlsbad cops can start ticketing ebike riders for violating the city’s crackdown, after a two-month warning period ended.
A San Raphael man must not like bike riders. The 64-year old man was arrested after he allegedly confronted a bunch of bike-riding kids, swinging a fist at one before grabbing another child’s bicycle, first threatening to steal it, then throwing it at the kid when they wouldn’t let go; the same man was arrested three years ago for punching a man on a bicycle, knocking him off the bike, then striking him with a pipe during an apparent theft attempt.
A 75-year old Bay Area man says he’ll be riding in a SAG wagon in support of one of the two two legacy events replacing the AIDS/LifeCycle Ride, which ended last year; he’s aiming to raise $1,500 supporting the ride, after raising over $6,000 riding in the other legacy ride — and surviving with HIV since before the disease had a name.
Davis will host an all-ages bicycle scavenger hunt on Saturday, the seventh edition of the bike ride; this year’s theme is Music, with a goal of helping a band get their sound back together.
Speaking of Davis, police investigators have closed the case of a 60-year old woman killed when her bicycle collided with a teenager who was legally riding a class 2 ebike on a local bike path, confirming that no charges will be filed.
National
A law group ranks the 25 bridges that bike riders fear the most; surprisingly, none are in Southern California. Although the results were based on a survey of just over 3,000 bike riders nationwide, raising questions of how someone is capable of judging bridges across the country that they’ve likely never seen, let alone ridden.
That neo-Nazi adjacent “Bikes Will Not Replace US” sign we linked to yesterday was part of a protest against the weekend closure of a Seattle lakefront to motor vehicles. Because nothing says your cause is just like linking it to a Nazi slogan.
A writer for a Washington State website recommends exploring Lummi Island by bicycle. However, riding to it requires communing with the fishes, since it can only be reached by boat.
Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette forwards a story about the economic impact of Durango, Colorado’s annual Iron Horse Classic offroad race. Unfortunately, though, you’ll have to find a way around the paper’s paywall. And have I mentioned lately that paywalls suck and are self-defeating?
It’s been a bad few weeks for bike-riding kids in the Great Lakes region, with a 12-year old Michigan girl dying six days after she was struck by a driver while riding home from an ice cream shop, and a 14-year old boy killed by a driver in Illinois — even though the story doesn’t even mention anyone operating the apparently driverless vehicle.
The participants in this year’s Remember the Removal Bike Ride set off from Tahlequah, Oklahoma on a nearly 950-mile ride retracing the infamous Trail of Tears, one of the most shameful acts in American history.
The Sierra Club and Sunrise Movement are hosting the Ride to End Fossil Fuels, a century ride across Connecticut calling for elected leaders and state agencies to take action to address the climate crisis.
That’s more like it. A Florida woman was sentenced to ten years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a Navy veteran as he rode his bicycle in Pensacola three years ago, before fleeing to Kentucky to avoid prosecution, and having her car towed to Alabama to hide it from investigators; she will also face 18 years probation and lose her driver’s license for life.
International
Cardiff, Wales is combining new bike infrastructure with water conservation, designing bikeways that function as rain gardens and wildlife habitat, as well as providing shade, cooling the surrounding area and filtering air pollutants.
Bicycle ridership is surging and pedestrian injuries dropping on an Edinburg, Scotland bike path described as a “transport hell” and “the worst cycle lane in the world.”
An Irish study shows that over 80% of the country’s serious or fatal bicycling collisions occur during daylight hours and on straight roads, rebutting demands that bike riders be required to wear hi-viz.
Competitive Cycling
Jonas Vingegaard won his fourth mountain stage in this year’s Giro, taking stage 16 by more than a minute in a dramatic solo finish, while building a 4:03 lead over second place Felix Gall.
Defending Unbound 200 champion Cam Jones says he’s “genuinely scared” how fast he will be this weekend, as he defends his title on a prototype gravel bike with 32″ wheels, which will never be released to the general public.
A writer for Road.cc says gravel bikes go back at least 103 years to the 1923 Tour de France.
Finally…
Even the trees are out to get us these days. That feeling when bikeshare bikes outnumber seagulls on the local beaches. Nothing like relaxing with your three grand Zwift espresso maker.
And the deer are out to get us, too.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.
