Tag Archive for New York

Bicyclists framed for bear’s murder in Central Park, and El Segundo bike rider critically injured by driver fleeing cops

Clearly, I’m still having trouble keeping this site online.

I’m told the problem is outdated and incompatible apps bringing it down, so maybe that’s something I can work on one-handed when I’m out following my surgery. Keep your fingers crossed that I get this post up and you get to read it before it goes down again.

Because that seems to be a thing right now. 

I hope to be back again tomorrow before I go under the knife.

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Just 147 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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We was framed.

Presidential candidate, vaccine denier and conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy admitted on Monday that he was the perpetrator of a prank that helped fan the flames of anti-bike hysteria a decade ago.

Apparently an aficionado of road kill, Kennedy claimed he in a video with Roseanne Barr that he had found a small bear after it had been struck by a driver, and scooped it up planning to butcher it later and eat it.

But he ran out of time before he had to catch a flight. So rather than let a good dead bear go to waste, he took it to New York’s Central Park and dumped it next to a bicycle, staging the scene to make it look like a bike rider had killed the bear and run away afterwards.

Never mind that a crash with a bicycle is highly unlikely to kill even the barest of a bear. Which, as I recall, was what I wrote at the time, as the media ran wild with the story of the heartless killer bike rider who ran away rather than face the consequences for killing a cute, cuddly walking teddy bear.

This at a time when the media was whipping up a frenzy over New York’s expanding bicycle network, which eventually proved to be a boon to businesses and property values.

As well as reports of reckless, scofflaw bike riders crashing into joggers in Central Park and pedestrians everywhere, in which the person on two wheels inevitably received the full blame for the actions of both parties.

That was the environment in which Kennedy the Younger played his joke, leading to a police investigation that went nowhere.

Evidently, forensics don’t work on bear carcasses, since the cops couldn’t seem to figure out that the fatal injuries caused by a motor vehicle couldn’t have been caused by a lightweight bicycle.

However, it’s likely that Kennedy’s belated confession wasn’t just an effort to cleanse his soul and lighten the bear burden on his conscience.

Rather, he was apparently trying to get ahead of a rumored unflattering story in the New Yorker that would have pointed the finger at the formerly feckless scion of the Kennedy clan for the bear’s demise.

Or at least why its final resting place was next to a Central Park roadway rather than out in the woods.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

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It’s happened again.

Just weeks after Raul Castañeda was killed by a driver fleeing police in Irwindale, another man was critically injured when he was struck by a driver fleeing from cops in El Segundo on Sunday.

The driver was fleeing from a traffic stop by members of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s gang and narcotics team when he slammed into the man riding a bicycle at Center Street and Mariposa Ave around 3 pm.

As usual, there’s no word on the victim’s current condition.

Police found the driver’s car nearby after he escaped on foot.

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A 71-year old man was hospitalized with major injuries after he was struck by a driver in Chula Vista, California.

Border Patrol agents attempted to revive the victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified.

The driver, a woman in her 30s from Vista, was arrested by the Border Patrol agents for charges “unrelated to the collision.”

Local police said alcohol played a role in the crash, but didn’t clarify whether the driver or the victim appeared to be under the influence.

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Streets For All is hosting a virtual mobility debate between the candidates for the WeHo city council on August 15th.

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It’s now 229 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 38 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

Once again, a driver intentionally ran down someone on a bicycle and posted the video to Instagram, this time leaving a Detroit bike rider with two broken legs.

No bias here. A columnist for the Boston Globe swears he’s not against bike lanes, let alone bicycles, but thinks someone was just trying to prove a point by “shoehorning” a bike lane onto his favorite boulevard, which was apparently much better when it was just crammed with cars.

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Local 

Cronkite News says Los Angeles should prepare for the 2028 Olympics by copying the bike lanes of Paris.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s adopted son Pax was released from the hospital after nearly three weeks in the ICU with serious head injury suffered in a helmet-less ebike crash.

 

State

How do you say “bikelash” in Mandarin? San Francisco backed down on plans to install a bike lane in Chinatown after business owners got out the torches and pitchforks, arguing that the area is just too crowded.

 

National

A group of New Yorkers took the “worst bike ride ever” over the weekend — a 130-mile ride from New York City to the Montauk Point Lighthouse riding the worst bike they could get their hands on, including a heavy bikeshare bike.

A Queens, New York bike rider was killed, despite riding in a protected bike lane, when the driver of a box truck drove over the armadillos meant to force a wide turn.

 

International

A new re-wilding project in Wales is being funded by the same mountain bikers usually accused of destroying nature, not restoring it. Thanks again to Megan Lynch. 

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list. National Geographic suggests taking a multi-day bike tour of the ancient ruins, nature reserves and seaside villages along Turkey’s Aegean coast.

Hong Kong bicycling deaths tripled over the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year — and already top the six riders killed in all of 2023. Although that’s just a quarter of the 24 bike riders killed in Los Angeles last year, even though Hong Kong has twice the population.

Aussie cyclist Rohan Dennis will face trial on charges of causing death by dangerous driving and driving without due care in the death of his his wife and fellow Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins.

 

Competitive Cycling

American Kristen Faulkner won the Olympic road cycling race on Sunday in a surprise victory over the legendary Marianne Vos, just seven years after taking up cycling through Central Park; she was selected as an alternate when another rider dropped out.

Road.cc wants to know if the Paris Olympic road course was the most photogenic ever. And yes, even potty breaks are harder at the Games.

Cyclist offers a preview of next week’s week-long Tour de France Femmes.

Legendary five-time Tour de France champ Eddy Merckx touts Olympic road cycling champ Remco Evenepoel over Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar at the upcoming world championship.

Sad news from North Carolina, where expert class rider Scott Huntley died Sunday after a major crash at the 2024 Gravity Mountain Bike National Championships, a tragic reminder about the risks pro mountain bikers take on a daily basis.

 

Finally…

Throwing your bike at passing cars is not among the recommended uses.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

Bicycling “disaster for traditional economy,” bike-born antisemitic attack in New York, and LA scores another pitiful bike score

Just 190 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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In probably the worst take ever, the CEO the Caribbean-based Euro Exim Bank called bicycling a disaster for the traditional economy.

That’s because bicyclists don’t buy cars, make loan payments, or pay for car repairs. And never mind the reduced healthcare costs because people who ride bikes tend to be healthier than people who drive.

Even though reduced healthcare costs and a healthier population are a net benefit to society, and people who ride bicycles still buy stuff — and have more money left over to do it with.

And if bicycling is such a threat to the traditional economy, maybe it’s the traditional economy that needs to change.

Then again, the billionaire owner of discount Euro airline Ryan Air wasn’t much better, tweeting his discontent over environmentalists and bicyclists with the hashtag #AirTravelOverBicycleRide.

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WTF is wrong with some people?

Police in New York are looking for a bike-riding middle-aged white man bigot who yelled “Fuck you, Jew,” then tossed a bag of dog poop through a driver’s open window before riding off on his bicycle.

Which raises the obvious question of who the hell rides a bike carrying a bag of dog poop?

Never mind that it remains unclear whether or not his intended victim actually was Jewish.

It’s also unclear whether this had anything to do with the current tensions over Gaza, or if it was just some asshole taking advantage of the current tensions.

But regardless of any possible political motives, there’s just no excuse for antisemitism or bigotry of any kind, no matter how you get around. Ever.

Period.

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People For Bikes is out with their seventh annual City Ratings, showing things appear to be getting better for bicycling in the US.

Los Angeles scored a pretty pitiful 25 out of a possible 100, though they cited the passage of the Measure HLA Complete Streets mandate as reason for hope. But at least that’s a little better than last year’s even more pitiful 19.

Meanwhile. Michigan’s carfree Mackinac Island was rated the country’s top city for bicycling, which is a lot easier to do when you don’t have drivers and their big, dangerous machines to contend with.

Outside the US, London leads the UK in bikeability, but the UK continues to trail the rest of Europe.

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There’s another bouncing baby bike lane on the bike-friendly UCLA campus.

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Mark your calendar for a friendly Orange County bike ride at the end of the week. Thanks to Mike Wilkinson for the tip.

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It’s now 186 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And three full years since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

A new study shows that despite the wailing of local businesses, San Francisco’s centerline Valencia Street bike lane didn’t actually hurt their sales.

Chicago bike advocates are questioning whether city workers really removed a ghost bike by mistake, or if it was taken down in preparation for next month’s NASCAR race in the city.

While Cambridge, Massachusetts drivers fight to halt expansion of bike lanes, a second person has been killed riding a bicycle in the Ivy League town in less than a month, just as PeopleForBikes proclaims it as a top city for bicycling. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

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

American professional skateboarder Tyshawn Jones was kicked off his bicycle by another bike rider while riding in Paris last week, for no apparent reason.

https://twitter.com/TMZ/status/1804186264834576843

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Local 

Good question. The LA Times asks why you should need a driver’s license for a job that doesn’t involve driving?

Police in Los Angeles are looking for a man riding a “distinctive” pink bicycle, who’s accused of fatally stabbing another man before riding off late Saturday afternoon.

 

State

A San Francisco news outlet asks candidates in a city council race if they support the proposed quick-build Frida Kahlo protected bike lane project.

Sad news from Oakland, where a bike rider was killed in a hit-and-run early Friday morning. Thanks again to Megan Lynch.

 

National

A writer for Tom’s Guide says Trek’s $200 CarBack Radar Rear Bike Light is like having eyes in the back of your head, pairing with your smartphone to give you a view of cars approaching from behind.

A columnist for Cycling Weekly bemoans his favorite-ever bike ride, as the effort to repeat it turns from a cherished memory to a nagging reminder of subsequent inadequacy.

A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that childhood bicycling deaths have dropped significantly since 1975. Although that probably reflects a drop in childhood bicycling rates more than any safety improvements. 

The 17 Cherokee bicyclists who took part in the annual Remember the Removal bike ride returned to when it started in Oklahoma, following the nearly 1,000-mile ride that traced the route of the historic Trail of Tears.

Wisconsin conservatives continued to freak out over the Madison edition of the World Naked Bike Ride, after last year’s complaints, with one official insisting they need to protect the children from seeing naked and nearly naked adult bodies on bicycles, and that the participants “desperately need Jesus.” Then again, the need to protect children from the effects of climate change is exactly the point the bike riders were trying to make. 

Pittsburgh is providing adaptive bicycles through the city’s bikeshare program.

When a 12-year old Buffalo NY boy started a lemonade stand to raise money for a new bicycle after his was stolen, a generous stranger gave him a brand new BMX bike, instead.

Iconic artist Edward Hopper was one of us, as New York’s Whitney Museum scheduled a 60-mile bike ride to celebrate the “avid” bicyclist’s 142nd birthday.  But he doesn’t look a day over 131.

Electrek calls the Key Biscayne, Florida ebike ban the “Footloose for ebikes.”

 

International

Is Manchester, England really the booming European Capital of Cycling, or is it just a vague tagline on a t-shirt?

An Irish writer says after doing the math, spending the equivalent of $6,400 for an e-cargo bike didn’t seem outrageous compared to buying a second car.

She gets it. Even in the Netherlands, the same debate goes on, as a spokeswoman for a victim’s support charity says fixing the causes of bicycling crashes should be a higher priority than getting people to wear bike helmets.

The BBC celebrates the “endless dunes, romantic windmills, historic Hanseatic towns and abandoned forts” of Poland’s “glorious” Velo Baltica cycling route along the Baltic Coast.

 

Competitive Cycling

One of the greatest ever women’s cyclists is making an unexpected comeback, after the Netherlands’ Anna van der Breggen announced her return to competition three years after her last race.

Magnus Sheffield and Matteo Jorgenson will join Brandon McNulty on the US cycling team for the Paris Olympics, as the USA attempts to end a 40-year men’s medal drought; Chloe Dygert and Taylor Knibb will take the two women’s spots.

Toronto was transfixed by the city’s long-standing Dunlop Trophy Road Race back in 1894.

Twenty-three-year old Italian cyclist Andrea Piccolo was fired from the US-based EF Education-EasyPost cycling team after he was arrested for carrying human growth hormone into the country.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your ebike conversion kit bursts into flames while you’re riding it. And Sisyphus may have been condemned to push a rock up a hillside for all eternity, but some bicyclists ride up the same hill every time because they want to.

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Thanks to David Erickson for his unexpected donation to help support this site, and keep bringing you all the best bike news everyday, from around the world and around the corner. Donations of any amount, for any reason, are always welcome and appreciated

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

Grossman sentencing Monday on hit-and-run, murder charges; and NY congestion pricing decision could jeopardize LA plan

Just 207 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
Stop what you’re doing and sign this petition demanding Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we all face on the city’s mean streets.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re up to 1,191 signatures, so don’t stop now! Let’s get it up to 1,200 before I send it to the mayor’s office!

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.

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Prosecutors rejected defense calls for probation for Rebecca Grossman, arguing the wealthy socialite is a narcissist who deserves life in prison.

Grossman was convicted on two counts of murder and gross vehicular manslaughter, and one count of hit and run for the high-speed deaths of 11-year old Mark Iskander and his eight-year old brother as they crossed a residential Westlake Village street with their parents.

The wife of Grossman Burn Center founder Dr. Peter Grossman, Grossman allegedly had Valium in her system and had downed at least two margaritas, before racing with her then-boyfriend, former Dodgers pitcher Scott Erickson.

Her attorneys argued the wealthy philanthropist and mother of two has no prior criminal record and should be spared prison time, while prosecutors contend she deserves a heavy sentence because she hasn’t shown any remorse or accepted responsibility for the fatal crash.

Their recommendation of two consecutive sentences of 15-to-life, plus four years for the hit-and-run count, would mean the 60-year old would likely spend the rest of her life behind bars.

She’s scheduled to be sentenced on Monday.

Let’s just hope the judge agrees.

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More fallout from New York Governor Kathy Hochul’s unexpected decision to kill congestion pricing in New York City.

Curbed says the city needs congestion pricing and the governor blew it in trying to cancel the program, calling it a crucial tool that will benefit everyone, even if it doesn’t poll well.

New York Streetsblog questions whether the governor even has the legal authority to cancel congestion pricing scheduled to go into effect at the end of this month, and if she has a plan to replace the billions in lost revenue to fund the city’s transit network.

The Atlantic calls the governor inept, and says her decision to spike congestion pricing at the last second was terrible policy, and terrible politics.

But the conservative New York Post applauded Hochul for killing congestion pricing, and calls for making sure it stays dead.

While it may seem like a New York problem, her decision matters here in Los Angeles, too. Because if it stands, that will make it almost impossible to implement congestion pricing, which has proven successful in London, virtually anywhere in the US.

Including right here in the City of Angels and Traffic Congestion.

Metro is currently five years into their study of whether congestion pricing would work in Los Angeles.

Then again, that’s usually how the city kill any proposal they want to go away, by assigning a study no one will ever hear from again.

We can only hope that doesn’t happen this time.

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Better Bike Beverly Hills invites you to join Streets For All’s fundraiser and bike ride in the city tomorrow, with guest speakers California State Senator Ben Allen and Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath.

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BikeSD is sponsoring a bike ride tomorrow to show that bikes mean business, and encourage bike riders to use its coupon book to support businesses along Main Street in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood.

And vice versa.

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Gravel Bike California takes an epic two-wheeled offroad tour of Catalina Island.

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It’s now 169 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And three full years since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, supporters of Minnesota’s ebike rebate program says it still has merit, even though it accepted just 80 applications before the website crashed, and the state cancelled the opening for now.

Which is 80 more than California has taken.

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

No bias here, as British broadcaster and bicyclist Jeremy Vine posts video of an unacceptably close pass by a black cab, and commenters can’t seem to grasp the concept that the driver could have slowed down and wait until there was space to pass safely.

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Local 

Hermosa Beach is banning ebikes and electric motorcycles from the city’s greenbelt, but will still allow them on The Strand and in Pier Plaza, as long as the motor is turned off — making them impractically heavy. Banning ebikes from bike paths and walkways is legal under state law; banning them from public streets is not. 

Long Beach released five years of data on e-scooter crashes since they were approved for use in the city in 2018, revealing 113 crashes — including two deaths.

 

State

A San Diego letter writer compares the city’s painted bike lanes with the well-protected bike lanes he enjoyed in Vancouver, and says San Diego’s may be dangerous, but at least no one uses them so there’s no traffic.

Speaking of San Diego, San Diego Magazine recommends an offroad ride through the spider web of trails in Balboa Park’s Florida Canyon.

Finishing our San Diego trifecta, a new report says cities in San Diego County aren’t making enough progress in meeting their climate goals. Although investing more to promote bicycling wouldn’t hurt. 

 

National

A new bill introduced by outgoing Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer aims to reinvigorate bicycle manufacturing in the United States — starting by waiving tariffs for bike components for ten years.

A University of Nevada-Reno news site says better bike paths in the newly approved regional active transportation plan offers one solution to the area’s heat and climate change-inducing traffic congestion.

Wisconsin celebrates the state’s Bike Week with a theme of Bikes Mean Business, as they highlight the economic benefits bicycling brings to the state. Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s mayor marked Bike Week with a five-mile public bike ride. LA’s mayor campaigned as a bike rider, yet couldn’t be bothered to even mention this city’s Bike Week, let alone take a ride with us.

Chicago Streetsblog says the solution to flooding in city’s curb-protected bike lanes is to build more raised bike lanes.

Lime will share its bikeshare and e-scooter rental data for DC and Bloomington, Indiana with the cities to help improve equity, safety and accessibility.

 

International

Bloomberg calls bicycle skills training and education programs aimed at women and minority groups the other kind of bike infrastructure that cities need to close stubborn access gaps and get more riders in the saddle.

Paris will transition to using cargo bikes for deliveries during and after next month’s Olympic Games.

Cyclist visits Copenhagen’s “City of Bikes” to explore what makes it the world’s most bike-friendly city. Words that you are unlikely to ever hear about Los Angeles. 

That’s more like it. Belgium is replacing its 50-year old Highway Code with a new Public Road Code, to reflect that cars are no longer the default standard while welcoming bicyclists and pedestrians; meanwhile, bike theft in the country’s capital has surged 70% since 2015.

An advocacy group in Goa issued a “fervent call” for the immediate implementation of a road safety plan to protect bicyclists on all highways and local roads in the Indian state.

 

Competitive Cycling

Thursday’s stage of the Criterium du Dauphine was halted mid-race due to a massive crash that that took down race leaders Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, though both were able to get up afterwards.

In one of the more bizarre stories in recent memory, retired pros Laurens ten Dam and Thomas Dekker spent the night before the recent Unbound Gravel behind bars, complete with matching orange jumpsuits, after they were busted for public indecency trying to freshen up in a public parking lot after a three-hour training ride.

 

Finally…

That feeling when the city’s mayor films himself riding a bicycle on a street where bikes are banned. And when your stolen Penny Farthing comes back like a bad penny.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

Measure HLA leads in early voting, NY Vision Zero goes wrong, and possible driver shenanigans on Reseda Blvd

Just 300 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

As of this writing, we’re up to 1,007 signatures, so let’s keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us!

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It’s very early, and returns are still coming in. But so far, things are looking good for safer streets in the City of Angels.

https://twitter.com/schneider/status/1765265605329064090

Then again, why bother counting the ballots, when you can just follow KNBC-4’s lead and declare the winner when the first votes come in?

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New York’s Vision Zero is clearly going the wrong way.

According to figures released by the city, bicycling deaths in New York reached a record high last year, with 30 people killed riding bikes in 2023. Another 395 bike riders suffered severe injuries.

Over three-quarters of those killed were riding ebikes, while 80% of people suffering severe injuries were on traditional pedal bikes.

Which seems significant, but probably isn’t.

Then again, at least New York released their Vision Zero figures, unlike a certain SoCal megalopolis we could name.

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LADOT and CicLAvia will officially unveil the new Reseda Blvd Complete Streets corridor on Sunday, March 17th — aka St. Patrick’s Day — from 1 pm to 5 pm.

However, unlike most CicLAvia events, this will not be an open streets event, so you may still have to deal with some driver shenanigans.

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It’s now 77 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 33 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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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 British man was fined the equivalent of $635 just for riding his bicycle through a town center in violation of a bicycling ban, which is more than many killer drivers a fined; an 82-year old man told city leaders to “stick it up your arse” after being fined the equivalent of $127 for the same offense in 2022.

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

Scofflaw Japanese bicyclists will now be able to pay traffic fines up to the equivalent of $80, rather than face criminal prosecution for most traffic violations, although “malicious violations” including drunk biking and obstructing traffic will still be subject to criminal punishment.

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Local 

Authorities have identified a 44-year old homeless woman who was found dead on a Long Beach bike path near El Dorado Park Friday morning, saying her death is being investigated as a possible homicide.

 

State

San Diego Magazine recommends the best backcountry mountain bike route to the “surging watefalls (sic) and bubbling creeks” of Mildred Falls.

If you’re missing a bicycle, look north to Santa Cruz County, where sheriff’s deputies recovered dozens of apparently stolen bicycles while serving a warrant in Watsonville.

Petaluma residents broke out the torches and pitchforks over a proposal for a quick-build bike lane to replace a worn and aging one, over concerns about losing — you guessed it — parking spaces, albeit on just one side of the street. Because as we all know, a free place to store your car is far more important than human lives.

 

National

A US engineer living in the Netherlands argues that the root problem with American DOTs lies with the education and licensing of engineers, who are taught to build deadly infrastructure.

A writer for CNET offers his favorite bicycling gadgets, accessories, apparel and services for the coming year, while NBC News recommends the top rated bike helmets of 2024.

A Portland man was allegedly run down by a rampaging driver while standing with his bicycle, after the driver became enraged because he couldn’t score any fentanyl from a homeless encampment.

The widow of a Seattle bike rider is urging prosecutors to reconsider a decision to let the 53-year old driver who killed him with a slap on the wrist, despite striking him in a left cross crash while driving with a suspended license; police also failed to test the driver for drug or alcohol use.

A Denver private school chef won’t be cooking for the kids anytime soon, after fracturing his hand, ribs and sternum when he was struck by a driver while biking to work; a crowdfunding campaign to help pay his medical expenses has nearly met the modest $2,500 goal.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole an adaptive tricycle custom-made for a disabled little boy in Mad City, Wisconsin.

If you build it, they will come. A new protected bike lane in Philadelphia has resulted in a 181% increase in ridership rates, while also leading to an 81% jump in drivers parking on the sidewalk.

Five years after the New Orleans mass casualty crash that killed two people and injured seven others riding their bikes near a Mardi Gras parade, a survivor of the crash is calling on the city to do more to protect bike riders, following a recent report that it has the highest rate of fatal bicyclist crashes per capita among major U.S. metro areas.

A bill that would have given Florida cities more power to restrict ebikes and e-scooters has failed in the state legislature, though the sponsor says it will be reintroduced next year.

 

International

Women make up just 23% of the bicyclists in the English city of Milton Keynes, although a greater concern might be that they counted just 163 people riding bicycles on the city’s shared mobility lanes over a ten-day period in January.

You have less than two months to dig out your finest Scottish woolens and vintage bicycle for London’s annual Tweed Ride next month.

You’re welcome. People walking and biking account for over 680,00 fewer cars and trucks on the streets of Ireland’s five largest cities.

As if dangerous drivers weren’t enough to worry about, a 60-year old Singapore man died of organ failure after he was repeatedly stung by a swarm of angry hornets as he rode his bike.

Former two-time world time trial champ Rohan Dennis will face a judge next week over charges he drove in a “culpably negligent manner” causing the death of his wife, Australian Olympic cyclist Melissa Hoskins, who reportedly fell from the hood of his SUV while attempting to open the passenger door. Maybe after the hearing we’ll finally learn why she was on the hood to begin with.

 

Competitive Cycling

The Visma-Lease a Bike cycling team is defending their use of their new Giro Aerohead II helmets that make the riders look like weir yellow mushrooms, despite a belief that UCI will ban their use in the near future; GCN says they should just hurry up and do it, already.

Good question. Pez Cycling News examines what can be done to promote better mental health among pro cyclists.

More than 400 cyclists competed in Costa Mesa’s Taylor Elizabeth Clifford Memorial Grand Prix, named in honor of a Huntington Beach teenager who died from an overdose in 2005.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you have to wait for the end of a belated Mardi Gras parade to start building a bikeway. Who says you need a front wheel to bike to Kashmir, anyway?

And evidently, they’re called Waymo because they’re way mo’ dangerous than non-autonomous vehicles.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

New York proposes speed limiters for habitual speeders, and LA won’t fix dangerous bump on LA River bike path

They get it.

Sort of.

State legislators in New York have proposed a bill that would require habitual speeders to install a speed limitation device on their cars, similar to an interlock device for drunk drivers.

“We are going to literally force you to slow down by requiring you to install a speed limiter on your car,” bill sponsor state Sen. Andrew Gounardes warned reckless drivers on Tuesday during a press conference at the Atlantic Avenue intersection where a speeding driver killed Katherine Harris, 31, in April.

The proposal comes amid an historically deadly year for city streets, in which 132 people have died in crashes so far, including 49 pedestrians. Speed limiters have been shown to reduce traffic deaths by 37 percent, supporters said, citing a report from the European Transport Safety Council.

So far, so good.

But the devil, as they say, is in the details.

Like a particularly devilish requirement that the law doesn’t kick in until a driver receives at least six speeding tickets in a single year.

As if you can’t kill anyone by driving too fast until the seventh time you get caught. Never mind that virtually no one only speeds once or twice.

Or that most drivers routinely exceed the speed limit, at least here in Los Angeles.

The other devilish detail is that even with the device installed, drivers could still speed by 5 mph over the post speed limit. Because evidently, requiring drivers to actually observe the speed limit is cruel and unusual punishment.

But it’s a good start.

And something like that would make a great companion piece to the proposed speed cam pilot project here in California.

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KCAL News led off last night’s broadcast with a report on a dangerous bump caused by a tree root on the LA River bike path. which has already injured a number of bicyclists.

And yet, the city has done nothing to fix it, despite repeated requests going back a couple years.

Which means that every injury caused by the raised, cracked pavement could cost exponentially more to settle, because lawyers can easy show that officials were aware of the problem, and let it continue to cause injuries, anyway.

Meanwhile, the LA city council is considering a $60 million contract with Metro to build a 13-mile segment of the Los Angeles River bike path in the San Fernando Valley.

The project would plug existing gaps in the bikeway between Vanalden Ave to the west and Forest Lawn Drive/Zoo Drive to the east.

Maybe they can use a little of that money to fix a bump, too.

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Once again, we’re likely to hear howls of protest from local business leaders, somehow convinced their businesses will fail unless people can park their cars directly in front of them.

Because people who walk and bike apparently live off the grid, don’t eat or drink and buy nothing.

https://twitter.com/TallDarknJewish/status/1686376236950421504

………

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

Four Virginia bike riders have been injured riding into a gate used to close a popular roadway at night, after the city failed to open it on time. Although you’d think it wouldn’t be that hard to see a gate blocking a roadway.

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

A small New Jersey town has amended the city’s bike rules after blaming teens on bikes for ruining the “Downtown experience.”

After a couple of South Carolina kids killed someone’s schnauzer while riding an ebike on the sidewalk, an op-ed writer says blame the careless bike riders, because it’s not the ebike’s fault.

………

Local 

Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, offers a quick lesson in the importance of language in framing perceptions — like saying crash instead of accident.

Metro wants your input for first mile/last mile improvements around the Culver City Metro Station. You know, like restoring the Move Culver City protected bike lanes recently ripped out by the city’s new conservative city council.

The Pasadena Star-News considers whether it’s legal for drivers to cross into a bike lane to make a right turn, correctly answering yes, while calling out careless drivers. Unlike most other states, California requires drivers to enter a bike lane prior to an intersection to make a right, rather than turning across the lane.

 

State

A Bay Area writer complains that San Mateo County was an early Vision Zero adopter, but the concept was never taken seriously. Sort of like the chronically underfunded Vision Zero program in Los Angeles.

Sad news from Rohnert Park, where police were surprised to learn the bike-riding man killed in a collision was actually a homeless woman.

 

National

CNN suggests the best gear for beginning mountain bikers, while Road Bike Rider offers advice on how to keep your bike clean.

Cycling News considers your best options for ebike conversion kits.

CleanTechnica questions why the website doesn’t cover more bikes without plugs.

Anthropocene suggests your next EV should have two wheels instead of four, saying ebikes now prevent a lot more emissions than all the world’s Teslas.

Idaho authorities recommend that a 14-year old driver face a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge for the hit-and-run death of a woman riding her bike last 4th of July; Idaho allows residents to get a learner’s permit at 14 and a half, but they aren’t allowed to drive unsupervised.

Boulder, Colorado bike riders say a new door zone bike lane fails the comfort and safety test.

Review a safety brochure, sign an injury waiver form, and you’ll get a free lift pass to ride the mountain bike trails at Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin — and a free beer.

Minnesota bike riders now have a green light to roll stop signs, becoming the latest state to adopt the Idaho Stop Law, or Stop As Yield. And once again, California won’t be joining them, even though the law has been repeatedly shown to improve safety, after Encinitas State Assemblymember Tasha Boerner pulled her bill legalizing Stop As Yield in the wake of two previous vetoes from the governor.

Chicago residents are on the lookout for an 82-year old man with limited English skills who went missing after going for a bike ride.

Yesterday we mentioned a bike rider who was critically injured when he was struck by an Indianapolis cop, who swerved onto the wrong side of the road to avoid another car; tragically, the 34-year old father of two kids died of his injuries.

A Boston TV station examines how the city’s bike mayor is working to make the roads safer and more inclusive. Which is a reminder that Los Angeles still doesn’t have one.

A New York bike rider says the recent crash of mo-ped and electric motor scooter riders on the Manhattan Bridge calls for “difficult conversations about the purpose of the city’s precious bike lane real estate, food delivery worker equity and the role NYPD should play in enforcing existing rules.”

Planetizen complains that ebikes from New York’s Citi Bike are too popular for their own good, as bikeshare operator Lyft struggles with maintenance and charging.

 

International

Road.cc examines the world’s lightest, cost-be-damned road bike frames and components to create the ultimate featherweight bike. For weight weenies with more dollars than sense, apparently. 

Toronto Blue Jays centerfielder Kevin Kiermaier will have to find another way to get to work, after the bike he used to ride four and a half miles to the ballpark was stolen from his garage.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission warns against wearing bike helmets from SQM and Xinerter, which don’t meet mandatory safety requirements and may pose a serious risk of injury or death, as the Chinese manufacturer refuses to issue a recall.

Officials at South Korea’s Camp Humphries US Army base urged soldies to register their bicycles, after a pair of sergeants discovered a trove of over 100 missing bikes when one of them went to recover her own stolen bike.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your new bike garage looks like an Apple Store, but without all the computers and iPhones and stuff. If you’re going to bury the victim of a drunken hit-and-run, don’t leave your Red Bull can behind.

And it might be worth a pilgrimage to Pittsburgh to see Pee-Wee Herman’s iconic bike.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

Busy bike weekend coming up, fight to preserve Move Culver City, and Chubby Checker resurrected to stop doorings

Before we start, let’s take a moment to thank Cohen Law Partners for renewing their sponsorship of this site for another year. 

It’s thanks to them, and our other sponsors, that I can to do this full-time, and keep bringing you all the best bike news and advocacy every day. 

Hopefully, you never need a good bike lawyer. But I’d trust any one of the people over there on the right if it was my life and rights on the line. 

………

BikeLA invites you to kick off your CicLAvia weekend festivities with their Earth Month edition of the Cruise & Connect ride series this Saturday.

The advocacy nonprofit, formerly knows as the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, aka LACBC, promises a 15-mile “relaxed and fun-filled ride along the scenic LA River Bike Path.”

That’s followed the next day by the Mid-City meets Pico Union CicLAvia, the second of eight planned open streets events presented by CicLAvia and Metro this year, including two new CicLAminis.

Best of all, California’s seemingly endless series of atmospheric rivers resulted in a disaster declaration for most of the state, including Los Angeles County.

Which means you have an extra six months to do your taxes. So you can enjoy a bike-filled weekend without worrying about getting them done.

Thanks to Atticuz for the heads-up. 

………

Speaking of BikeLA, the advocacy group is helping bicycle researchers at Portland State University conduct a survey for ebike owners.

………

Former Culver City Councilmember Alex Fisch continues to fight for the Complete Streets makeover of downtown Culver City, despite the conservative NIMBY takeover of the council that ousted him.

https://twitter.com/AlexFischCC/status/1645634068363759616

………

New York resurrects early rock and roll legend Chubby Checker to rebrand the Dutch Reach as the New York Twist in an effort to prevent doorings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEEqUud8YaI

………

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

A Las Vegas writer explores a “spectacular” 34-mile trail through the foothills of Boulder City. But has to dodge a lost motorist blissfully traveling along the paved pathway.

No bias here. NIMBYs in New York’s wealthy Upper West Side are getting out the torches and pitchforks to fight a plan to convert an abandoned newsstand into an ebike charging stand and rest space for low income delivery workers, calling it a “horrendously inappropriate location” and a “very, very dangerous thing to do.”

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

A San Antonio bike rider apparently faked a crash to rob a Good Samaritan who stopped to help. Although the story is hidden behind a paywall, so it’s hard to say for sure.

A Chinese man learns the hard way that when you’re smuggling 6,000 microSD cards hidden inside your bicycle, try not to look so guilty when you go through customs.

………

Local 

Streetsblog offers more information about the new Westwood Connected campaign announced by Streets For All last week to improve safety and connectivity for people who choose to travel the car-choked Westwood streets by some other means.

Metro is offering free Earth Day rides on Saturday, April 22 in recognition of “transit’s role in improving our environment and public health…and fighting climate change.” And yes, that includes the full Metro Bike system.

 

State

Bad news from San Jose, where police are investigating a hit-and-run that left a woman riding a bicycle with life-threatening injuries.

A Sacramento school is investing $6,000 in bicycles and helmets to teach every kindergarten student how to ride a bike.

 

National

Momentum Magazine says bicycling in a dress or skirt is not as difficult as you might think. Unless you live in Tennessee, where you may be subjected to a physical inspection to verify you have the right to wear one.

Lebanese-American author Nassim Taleb is one of us, returning to bicycling after discovering that weightlifting alone isn’t good for your heart.

A handful of Portland riders ignored the rain, and donned their finest wool garments for the city’s annual Tweed Ride. Which is actually the kind of weather tweed is made for, anyway. 

They get it. A university student newspaper says Tacoma, Washington needs a Vision Zero program to make traffic fatalities a completely avoidable tragedy. Although with a few notable exceptions — hello Hoboken — American Vision Zero programs have had decidedly mixed results. And that’s if they actually get funded, unlike a certain SoCal megalopolis we could name.

A Denver website profiles bike shop owner Scott Baker, saying he turns bicycles into an art form.

Upscale Colorado resort town Vail is joining Denver and nearby Avon in offering an ebike rebate program, with residents who buy one from a local bike shop eligible for rebates up to $500.

New York is on pace to have its deadliest year ever for bicyclists, with ten people killed riding bikes already this year, despite the city’s rapid expansion of protected bike lanes. As usual, read the second link on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you. 

More tragic news from New York, where two children became the latest victims of defective ebike batteries; their father and three other children were able to jump out of a window to escape the fast-moving flames, but they were unable to escape.

A Philadelphia woman is launching the free Black Girl Joy Bike Rides to promote joy, self-care and a sense of community for Black women.

 

International

Forbes goes beyond the usual suspects to “vet” the seven best gravel bikes, three of which are actually retail for less than four grand.

The UK’s rapid prime minister churn has resulted in the latest Conservative government’s scrapping of the Zero Emission Transport City project, putting plans for 1,000 bike hangers and 250 electric buses in Bristol at risk.

A European website explains why you should consider Türkiye, the country formerly known as Turkey, for your next bicycle tourism trip.

 

Competitive Cycling

Steamboat, Colorado gravel race SBT GRVL is teaming with nonprofit organization Ride for Racial Justice to increase equity in gravel racing.

A participant in a Belize cross-country race says he’s “еmоtіоnаllу brоkеn іntо а thоuѕаnd ріесеѕ lіkе а рuzzlе” after crashing into a traffic control cop while trying to gain time at a roundabout.

 

Finally…

Vienna considers requiring bike parking in multi-family housing — no, the other Vienna. Put your money into bike helmet stocks.

And who needs tires when you can have square treads, instead?

………

Chag Pesach Sameach to all observing Passover. 

And Ramadan Mubarak to all observing the Islamic holy month. 

……….

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

NY bike path terrorist spared death penalty, and memorial ride Saturday for murdered bike rider Dr. Michael Mammone

Convicted terrorist Sayfullo Saipov will spend the rest of his life in a Super Max prison, after a New York jury failed to agree on the death penalty.

Saipov was convicted of killing eight people, and injuring several others, when he drove a rented U-Haul truck down a Manhattan bike path on Halloween Day in 2017.

Several of the other victims suffered life-altering injuries, ranging from paralysis to lost limbs.

………

Laguna Beach will host a Ride in Peace memorial ride on Saturday for Dr. Michael Mammone, who was murdered by a man apparently suffering from mental illness as he was riding his bike last month.

Dr. Mammone, an emergency physician with Providence Mission Hospital, was stopped at a red light on PCH in Laguna Beach when he was allegedly intentionally run down from behind by Vanroy Evan Smith, who got out of his car and stabbed Mammone to death, apparently choosing his victim at random.

So when you ride to remember Dr. Mammone this weekend, remember, too, this country’s failed mental health system that led to his murder.

………

Some of LA’s leading advocacy groups are teaming up to fight for safer streets.

Although the question is whether street safety advocacy groups Streets For All and Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, weren’t invited, or chose not to play.

And why, either way.

………

ActiveSGV invites you to help scout out the next 626 Golden Streets ride.

………

Mark your calendar for June’s Culver City Pride Ride.

………

This is why people keep dying on our streets.

And why it will only get worse as vehicles keep getting bigger.

………

Very cool to know the estimable will.i.am is one of us.

And so, evidently, is Twisted Sister.

………

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

Fox News wants you to be afraid, very afraid, of ebikes and their supposedly exploding batteries.

Apparently, it’s okay to pass someone on a bike too close, as long as they’re riding a Penny Farthing on the streets of London.

A bike rider in Bristol, England says he’s fed up with a “pointless” bike lane, which is always blocked by drivers who find their desire for a convenient cup of coffee more important than his desire to stay alive.

Sadly, the tweet below is an all-too typical example of victim blaming, when watching the replay at the end makes it clear the bike rider was right hooked; thankfully, the victim escaped unscathed, even if his bike didn’t.

But sometimes, its the people on two wheels behaving badly.

Inconsiderate bikeshare users will be now be charged five times as much for dumping rental ebikes in central London — a whopping ten pounds, or $12.16 at current exchange rates.

Um, okay. A Dutch “traffic psychologist” blames Amsterdam’s “bicycle fetish” for traffic misconduct, describing it as a feeling of superiority that “my bike and I are completely in charge here.” A feeling I would love to have just once in my life.

………

Local 

LAist recommends riding with People for Mobility Justice if you want to make friends on two wheels. And talks with honored PMJ volunteer and immigrant rights advocate Erick Huerta.

Nice move from South LA’s East Side Riders, who are marking their 16th anniversary by establishing an ebike lending library for residents of Watts, Willowbrook and Compton.

UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs takes justifiable pride in parking maester Donald Shoup being featured in discussions of parking reform in both the New York Times and the Congress for New Urbanism’s Public Square.

This is who we share the road with. A Pasadena man faces charges for repeatedly, and intentionally, ramming a woman’s car after rear-ending her at a red light; he was arrested after causing a disturbance at a nearby business.

A Santa Monica man faces hate crime and attempted murder charges for yelling racial slurs at a Black man who was just walking his dog, then attacking a Black man and woman with a pipe on an Expo Line platform, again shouting racial slurs, after fleeing the first scene on his bike when nearby firefighters intervened.

Work has finally begun on a long-planned beautification project on Front Street in San Pedro, including construction of a 22-foot wide multiuse path.

 

State

Caltrans announced a number of traffic safety projects in Orange County, including extending bike lanes through intersections in Huntington Beach.

The Orange County Register invites you to sign up for their new traffic and transportation email newsletter, The Road Ahead. Let’s just hope they take an expansive view of transportation, rather than just limiting it to the vroom, vroom crowd. 

Hats off to Carlsbad, which has narrowed traffic lanes on historic Highway 101, aka Carlsbad Blvd, reducing one section to just one lane to make room for a buffered bike lane, as well as marking areas where drivers and bike riders have to share the lane.

Five-time world champion triathlete Lesley Paterson co-wrote and executive produced the German movie All Quiet On The Western Front, which won four Oscars out of nine nominations, including best foreign language film; she wrote the script as she rode her bike around San Diego. I always did my best work while riding my bike, too. 

A Streetsblog op-ed accuses San Francisco officials of trying to fake their way to Vision Zero, citing the failure to slow speeding drivers and improve safety on the city’s Franklin Street.

That’s more like it. A first-term Oakland councilmember says she’s had it with the city’s dangerous streets.

 

National

CityLab suggests e-trikes are coming to the rescue of aging suburban Boomers, who quickly discover the roads aren’t as friendly for people on wide bikes as they are for drivers.

Bicycling says the Bicycle Film Festival is coming to your living room through the end of this month. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

MotorBiscuit raises the question of whether a bicyclist is a driver or pedestrian, saying bike riders exist in a weird gray area between the two. Which is exactly the problem, since people riding bikes are neither one, but traffic planners, engineers and government officials insist on forcing us into one camp or the other. 

Portland is considering an update to the city’s Freight Master Plan, including a proposal to use cargo bikes for last-mile deliveries.

Advocates in my bike-friendly Colorado hometown are pushing for construction of a “world class bike park” on the site of the former football stadium where I used to play in the marching band. And may have smuggled booze for the band inside my tuba.

This is who we share the road with. In a truly bizarre case, a Texas boy is dead, along with two horses, when a driver slammed into three teenaged rustlers riding stolen horses along a freeway.

Evidently, Los Angeles isn’t the only place with inconsiderate film crews, as Chicago bike advocates had to spring into action when the catering crew for Chicago Fire set up shop in a separated bike lane.

Chicago Magazine takes a ride down the city’s busiest, and most dangerous, bikeway, where 50 bike riders have been hit by cars, and three killed, in the last three years.

Wisconsin’s Democratic governor is proposing to more than double spending on recreational trails, raising funding from an average of $7 million to $18 million a year.

Illinois is considering an ebike rebate bill, with a focus on people who receive government assistance or earn less than 300% of the federal poverty level. Which is similar to plans for California’s ebike rebate program, if it ever actually happens.

Kindhearted community members pitched in to buy a $4,000 ebike for a 60-year old Bowling Green, Kentucky bike shop worker who rides his bike everywhere, due to a learning disability that prevents him from driving.

A Philadelphia man will spend the rest of his life in prison for the driveby shooting that killed a 16-year old boy who was just riding his bike home from a convenience store, in a case of mistaken identity.

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. DC is replacing its flimsy plastic car-tickler bendy posts with concrete dividers to improve safety on separated bike lanes where drivers have just driven over the plastic bollards.

A Florida lawyer and bicyclist alleges that Miami-Dade County has done absolutely nothing to improve safety in the nine months after two bicyclists were killed riding along the city’s deadly Rickenbacker Causeway.

Police have charged an 86-year-old Clearwater, Florida man for the hit-and-run death of a 36-year old woman riding her bike. Once again raising the question of how old is too old to drive, and why officials insist on keeping elderly drivers on the road until it’s too late. 

 

International

Momentum Magazine says getting serious about active transportation in Europe means getting serious about eliminating street parking. The same would be true in this country, except eliminating street parking seems to be a nonstarter most places.

Momentum also considers the best ways to carry groceries on your bicycle.

A British Columbia writer says biking to work is her form of self-care, after becoming lethargic and irritable working from home.

A Toronto op-ed says the city’s residents are turning from cars to bicycles, which is reflected in a new condo development.

Scotland’s Endura bikewear manufacturer takes helmet design to the extreme by auctioning off four bike helmets imprinted with actual CAT scans of bicyclists who suffered life-threatening brain injuries, to benefit The Brain Charity in the UK. I’ll pass, thank you.

Cycling Weekly examines the phenomenon of middle-aged British men geeking out over vintage bikes. In my case, it’s just lusting after the classic bikes I couldn’t afford when I was younger. Then again, I can’t afford them now, either.

Brexit claimed another victim, as the UK distributor for bike brands including Tern Bicycles, Lake, Forme, ETC, Emmelle and MeThree has entered liquidation proceedings.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a 74-year old driver walked without a day behind bars for killing 41-year old father as he rode his bike. But at least he won’t get his license back until he’s 81.

A 49-year old Irish woman embraced the single life as she rode her bicycle through six continents, describing herself as “just Bridget Jones on a bike.”

A Hong Kong man faces charges for stealing the bicycle of a Chinese influencer, which he had ridden through 32 Chinese provinces over the past three years.

Bike riders blame aggressive motorists as Australian bicycling injuries reach a record high.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews says French cyclist David Gaudu is setting hearts aflame in his home country with hopes for the Tour de France, after finishing second to Tadej Pogačar in Paris-Nice.

No bias here. Cycling’s governing body showed its antagonism towards diabetics competing at the highest level by stripping Alaska’s Kristen Faulkner of her surprising third-place finish in the Strade Bianche Donne for wearing a continuous glucose monitor during the race.

Rouleur tells the “heartwarming” story of how French cyclist Romain Bardet’s old bike is carrying the dreams of Oman’s national champion, as he strives to race in Europe.

Bicycling reports Belgian road and track cyclist Lotte Kopecky will take part in this week’s Nokere Koerse race, despite the unexpected death of her 29-year old brother last week. Read it on AOL this time if the magazine blocks you. 

If you held the Strava KOM for Tenerife volcano Mount Teide, Remco Evenepoel  has some bad news for you.

Nothing like having a rogue motorist driving salmon on a supposedly closed bike race course during Sunday’s final stage of Paris-Nice.

 

Finally…

When you’re carrying meth and heroin on your bike, maybe don’t pop a wheelie in the middle of an intersection with the cops looking on. That feeling when you need a ebike that shares tech with the Mars Rover.

And fortunately, she said yes. Because it would have been very embarrassing to jump off a bike mid-race to propose, otherwise.

https://www.tiktok.com/@hanner.knapp/video/7202635612095024426?embed_source=121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%3Bnull%3Bembed_blank&refer=embed&referer_url=www.bikemag.com%2Ftrending-news%2Fcyclist-dream-proposal&referer_video_id=7202635612095024426

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Let me offer a special thanks to a longtime friend of this site, who made an unexpected donation to help keep all the best bike news coming your way every day, which literally came in five minutes before an automatic payment would have bounced. 

As always, donations of any size, any time and for any reason are always welcome and very appreciated.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

Man in rental truck mows down eight people on Brooklyn sidewalk, killing one; Dr. Mammone’s wife discusses her loss

Happy Valentines Day!

Remember to give your two-wheeled loved one a little extra care and affection today, too. 

………

Once again, someone in a rental truck has mowed down pedestrians and bike riders in New York.

This time, police chased a fleeing driver in a U-Haul truck as he drove down a Brooklyn sidewalks and bike lanes through six intersections, killing one person and injuring seven others; three of the victims were on bicycles.

And like the killer of Dr. Michael Mammone in Dana Point, the driver suffers from mental illness, with a history of going off his medications, according to his son.

Which sadly seems to be no barrier to operating a motor vehicle.

Police aren’t sure yet if the attacks were deliberate, though it’s hard to imagine otherwise. However, they are confident this was not a terrorist attack.

Just someone once again using a motor vehicle as a weapon, apparently.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in the other case of a driver in a rental truck mowing down innocent people in the Big Apple say confessed terrorist Sayfullo Saipov has to die by lethal injection for the Halloween, 2017 attack on a Manhattan bike path, because he’s too dangerous to keep in prison.

………

After blaring accusations that Vanroy Evan Smith made comments about white privilege when he stabbed Dr. Michael Mammone to death, the New York Post discusses his interview with the Orange County Register. And can only manage to mention Smith’s denial of racial comments in passing near the end of the story.

Which isn’t exactly a correction. Let alone a retraction.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mammone’s wife talks with KCAL News about the loss of her husband; a celebration of his life will be held Thursday at the Festival of the Arts.

………

A former Bay Area resident visiting from Houston took a tour of rain damage in the Santa Cruz mountains from the January storms, and posted video of it as a short film he calls the Tour de Disaster.

………

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

Vancouver’s parks board voted to rip out a popular popup bike lane through a public park, because it wasn’t popular with drivers who used the road as a cut-through route.

But sometimes, its the people on two wheels behaving badly.

No bias here. A Santa Barbara letter writer says it’s not true that the State Street Promenade is safer now that cars have been banned, complaining about the risk to pedestrians posed by irresponsible bike riders, and that “No amount of new bike paths will improve public safety if cyclists ride irresponsibly.” While she has a point about irresponsible people, regardless of how they travel, she’s apparently confused about the relative risks posed by bicycles and motor vehicles. 

No bias here, either. A Republican councilwoman in Queens responds to a park bike crash by saying bike riders should be required to be licensed and carry insurance, after a “bike racer named Kevin” bailed without providing his contact information when he hit a woman on a bikeshare bike. A reminder that hit-and-run is hit-and-run, whether you’re on a bike or in a car. Although that whole registration and insurance thing hasn’t worked that well to rein in bad driver behavior, either. 

………

Local 

The Washington Post says the death of 12-year-old Molly Steinsapir in Pacific Palisades as she rode with a friend on a borrowed Rad Power ebike calls attention to the safety of ebikes, and ebike brakes in particular, and “whether the wildly popular bicycles are safe for young people to ride.”

 

State

A Santa Ana news site recommends registering your bicycle for free with Bike Index, after Irvine cops bust a bike thief — and have to let him go with a ticket because the bike was worth less than the $950 threshold for grand theft.

Encinitas appears to be getting serious about improving bike and pedestrian safety, approving an implementation plan for the city’s active transportation plan; roughly three-quarters of the 86 miles of bikeways contained in the active transportation plan remain to be built.

Police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who ran down a 71-year old man from behind as he stood in a South San Francisco bike lane after getting off his bike.

SFist reports on the brazen dooring attacks on Friday’s East Bay Bike Party that left two people seriously injured, as well as other attacks in Bay Area cities on Thursday and Saturday; Streetsblog calls the attackers sociopaths, not incorrectly.

A Sonoma paper wants to honor whoever is “adorning” a local bike path with seasonal displays.

 

National

Giro is recalling bike helmets made before this year because the straps may “disengage” during use. Which sounds like a bad thing.

For the second day in a row, someone riding a bicycle has been killed in a collision in my platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Colorado hometown. And once again, police blame the victim for allegedly blowing through a traffic signal.

Life is cheap in Texas, where an Austin municipal bus driver walked with seven years probation for killing a former TV station employee as he rode his bicycle on the University of Texas campus, while she was allegedly stoned on prescription drugs.

The official explanation for a bike crash involving an Illinois college student doesn’t pass the smell test, as the local MTD insists the bike rider somehow swerved into the side of a bus as it passed him safely outside the bike lane he was riding in.

There’s a special place in hell for the Michigan hit-and-run driver who fled on foot after killing a six-year old boy riding his bicycle.

New York advocates complain the city has failed to live up to promises to upgrade bicycling infrastructure in high-risk areas of Brooklyn.

The Washington Post says those darn Gen Zs just don’t want to drive.

 

International

Momentum Magazine suggests ten ways to go on a Valentine’s Day bike date.

He gets it. A British letter writer says if it’s true we live in an anti-car world, he’d hate to see a pro-car one.

UFC star Connor McGregor says he’s still traumatized after being knocked off his bike by a driver in Ireland last month.

A Dutch man has spent the last nine months riding his bike 8,700 miles from the Netherlands to Nepal to observe the effects of climate change.

An Australian man is on trial for murder after allegedly stabbing his rooming house neighbor to death, in a dispute that began when the other man called him a “poof” and moved his bicycle; he says he killed the victim in self-defense as the man was trying to steal his bike.

 

Finally…

Win a $1 million bike race without ever leaving the comfort of your own home. Your next Trek could be tie-dyed.

And watch out for those sneaky bicyclists with their damn cams out to catch those poor, unfortunate drivers breaking the law.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

Morning Links: South African cyclist assaulted by park rangers, NY ebike bill vetoed, and thirsty koala begs a sip

I take it back.

Even though the door officially closed on the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive before Christmas Eve, some very kindhearted people pried it back open anyway. 

So thanks to Plurabelle Books, Phillip Y and Michael D for their generous contributions to help keep SoCal’s best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day. 

Thanks to their last-minute gifts, we hit record 61 donations totaling $2,567, topping last year’s total of nearly $2,500.

To put that in perspective, that represents nearly 25% of my total income for all of last year. 

So thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. 

Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas from Pexels.

………

NTT pro cyclist Nic Dlamini, one of the few black cyclists on the WorldTour, had his arm broken by South African national park workers — apparently for failing to pay a $6.40 entry fee.

Reports from the scene indicate that the workers lay in wait for him and grabbed his handlebars without warning, knocking Dlamini off his bike.

Thinking he was being robbed — not an unusual occurrence for South African cyclists — he tried to grab his damaged bike back, leading his attackers to conclude he was resisting arrest.

With predictable results.

Note: You can literally hear the bone in Dlamini’s arm snap in the flowing video, so you may not want to view this if you’re squeamish. Or at least turn the sound down.

Meanwhile, a witness says he was disgusted by the way Dlamini was manhandled; his injury could affect his racing schedule for the coming year, as well as preparations for the 2020 Olympics.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

………

Proving he has no idea what he’s doing — or maybe trying to outdo the windshield bias of former CA Governor Jerry BrownNY Governor Andrew Cuomo vetoed a bill that would have belatedly legalized ebikes in the Empire State.

Mostly because it didn’t include a provision requiring helmets for ebike users, even though they aren’t required for any other adult bicyclists in the state, no matter how fast they ride.

And even though many, if not most, other states have managed to legalize ebikes without undue restrictions on bikes that travel below 28 mph.

And even though the current ban hurts lower income, mostly immigrant food delivery workers the most.

While the bill passed by overwhelming, veto-proof margins, it’s unlikely to be overridden because the legislature would have to be called back in to special session.

Meanwhile, a new study shows ebike riders are more likely to suffer internal injuries.

Which helmets ain’t gonna help.

………

Proof that something can be too cute and too sad at the same time.

A koala in fire-scarred Australia flags down a bicyclist, and climbs her bike to share a little water on a 104° day.

But at least the little guy knew who to turn to for help.

………

It may not be about bicycling.

But take a few minutes to read this hard-hitting, painful piece from Tamika Butler about how to survive in the planning community when you’re young, black and queer.

………

Proof that Vision Zero can work.

But only if elected leaders have the courage to stand up to drivers to make real changes.

Hint: Ours apparently don’t.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war bikes goes on. 

A British woman was lucky to escape without serious injuries when she crashed into barbwire someone had strung across a bike path.

No bias here. A clickbait website lists 20 things that “guys riding bicycles” do that drivers can’t stand, including just about everything this side of merely existing.

………

‘Tis the Season.

Apparently, the giving isn’t over yet.

The Pasadena Police Department teamed with the Salvation Army and Pasadena Rotary Club to give 250 new bikes to local kids this year.

Kindhearted officers with the Seal Beach police union bought a new bike and helmet for a man after a thief pushed him off his bike and into traffic, before making off with his bicycle; police arrested the suspect a short distance away.

And ex-pro Phil Gaimon kicks off a great thread of kids enjoying their new bikes this year; just click on the tweet and scroll down.

………

We’ve still got a lot of ground to cover. So maybe we should just take a brief corgi break before moving on, courtesy of Mike Cane.

There. Doesn’t that feel better?

………

Local

The LAPD says they’re focusing on six Westside intersections that have seen an uptick in car crashes, including three each on Santa Monica and Sepulveda Blvds. Which would suggest that those corridors aren’t exactly safe for people on bicycles, either.

Apparently trying out for a job at the Onion, a Venice columnist insists that people who are able to bike or walk to work thanks to increased density will be more likely to die of strokes because of a lack of green space.

A writer for Bike Radar rides a $30 refurbished Univega from LA’s Bicycle Kitchen 130 miles to Tijuana to attend a worldwide gathering of DIY bicycle workshops, calling it the wrong bike for the right job. Let’s just say she’s not a fan of friction shifting.

CiclaValley celebrates one million vertical feet of climbing this year.

 

State

As of yesterday, you no longer have to merge to the left at an intersection when a bike lane becomes a right turn lane, or vice versa. But don’t try eating roadkill just yet.

California somehow continues to believe a slap on the wrist will change driver behavior, as drivers will now be charged a single point against their license for using a handheld cellphone — but only after the second offense in 36 months.

A San Diego bike rider suffered “significant” injuries when he was struck by a vehicle, which apparently didn’t have a driver. At least according to the news report.

It looks like justice denied in Bonsall, where the CHP apparently concluded that an experienced bike rider would somehow swerve into traffic without looking while surrounded by drivers traveling at highway speeds.

A Cambria writer takes up riding an ebike as an alternative to driving, and discovers he “had no idea how dangerous it is for people riding a bike” until he was one of them.

Note to self: Don’t ride around Bakersfield with a shotgun in your pants.

 

National

In a case of life imitating art — or advertising, anyway — the actor who played the husband in the infamous Peloton holiday ad gave one to his own girlfriend for Christmas. No word on whether she left him because of it, like one version of her fictional counterpart.

Streetsblog USA announces the winners of their simultaneously serious and tongue-in-cheek national Streetsie Awards, including a gridlock tweet from LA Times transportation beat reporter Laura Nelson.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is one of us. Although he might want to save that helmet for the upcoming impeachment trial, when things are likely to get rough.

A writer for Outside says she loved bike touring — until she decided to do it for a living.

How to carry your full-sized golden retriever with you on your bike.

Harvard Business Review examines why it’s so hard to change people’s commuting behavior; Treehugger laments how will we ever get people out of their cars?

He gets it. A police sergeant and CyclingSavvy instructor says no law requires you to endanger yourself, so stay out of the door zone. Just try explaining that to some of his less-enlightened compatriots, though.

Your next wall rack could look like you just bagged and mounted a bike seat. Although I’m not sure just what message that sends.

A self-professed Portland driver, off-roader, motorcyclist, bicyclist, runner and pedestrian says the city should end its war on cars, somehow mistaking carving out a little room for his other means of transportation as an attack on the first one.

Oregon became the latest state to adopt a modified version of the Idaho Stop Law, allowing bike riders to treat stop signs as yields; a Portland TV station compares it to drivers rolling stop signs, except it’s for bikesl.

Well, that’s one problem we don’t usually have in Los Angeles, as Colorado beavers flood a popular Denver bike path.

Cowboy hats off to Wyoming, for claiming the title as the nation’s worst state for bike riders and pedestrians.

Once again, a bike rider’s around-the-world journey was cut short when he was run down by an American driver. A Scottish rider making his eighth attempt to circumnavigate the globe was run down from behind at 70 mph by a 60-year old woman in Texas, leaving him with 10 broken ribs, a fractured skull, pelvis and ankle, and a punctured lung. Needless to say, investigators conclude it was just an oopsie, harm but no foul.

Great idea. Michigan advocates are putting the cycle back in recycling, pedaling Christmas trees to the city’s drop-off site for a $25 donation. 

Nearly three times the number of bike riders were killed in New York this year compared to 2018, the highest rate in 20 years; the New York Times questions what went wrong with the city’s Vision Zero.

New York bicyclists are now legally allowed to start crossing an intersection during the Leading Pedestrian Interval, giving them a few seconds head start on motorists. Let’s hope that spreads here.

More proof that it it’s paved, someone will try to drive in it like this New York driver.

Heartbreaking story from Florida, where a family marked what should have been a little girl’s second birthday. She was killed on a family bike ride when a driver, stoned on coke, fentanyl and a laundry list of other drugs, jumped the curb and ran them down on the sidewalk; six months later, her father remains hospitalized with a brain injury

 

International

The Guardian says shifting to e-cars isn’t enough — if we’re serious about fighting climate change, it will take a shift away from car culture.

Here’s a few more rides for your bike bucket list, as Atlas Obscura gets rolling on seven “dreamy” European bike paths. Soon to be six, since the UK has decided it doesn’t want to be part of Europe anymore.

BoJo used to be one of us. But no more, as the British prime minister’s girlfriend gives him a new offroad motorbike after security officials take his bicycle away.

A former drug addict in the UK is honored for turning his life around after becoming a bike mechanic.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo takes the lead on fighting climate change, as the city’s newly built network of bike lanes is already transforming the city; it’s the new way to get around the City of Lights, with bicycling rates up 54% in just one year. Let’s just hope LA’s climate mayor is taking notes.

 

Competitive Cycling

LA Parent discusses the Youth Cycling Association, dedicated to building the next generation of competitive cyclists.

Look’s new track bike promises to give riders a full bike-length advantage in a 200 meter sprint.

Cycling Weekly looks back on the top ten cycling news stories from 2019.

Bicycling considers how to take the race out of bike racing.

Former pro mountain bike champ Amanda Batty says going downhill fast was the least risky thing she ever did.

Swiss pro mountain biker Jolanda Neff will be competing without a spleen from now on, after suffering life-threatening injuries in a harrowing crash in North Carolina.

 

Finally…

Sometimes, a tumbleweed can be a bike riders best friend. Now you, too, can ride your bike in a CBD-infused bodysuit — which may or may not be a good idea.

And it only makes sense that the keeper of the Nice and Naughty lists would be one of us, too.

………

That almost catches us up on everything we missed during my annual sabbatical. I’m going to keep my promise to actually try to get some sleep every now and then; we’ll catch up on the rest tomorrow.

Morning Links: Protected bike lanes save lives even where they aren’t, and New York kind-of goes after macho drivers

Just eight days left in the 5th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive! Donate today via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com.

………

Yet another benefit from protected bike lanes.

A new Toronto study shows that not only did protected bike lanes increase ridership 2.57 times on the streets they’re located on, they also reduced collisions between motorists and bike riders 38% on those streets.

But surprisingly, they reduced collisions between motorists and bike riders by 35% on nearby streets up to 1,800 feet away, as well.

………

New York officials say macho men in SUVs and pickups are killing people on bikes and foot, so they’re introducing a new ad campaign to shame them.

Although most drivers probably won’t be.

Not to mention when I look at the ad, his expression and dress doesn’t exactly say “macho” to me.

Meanwhile, the SUV reference is so subtle, it’s barely there. And could be literally any other type of vehicle without changing anything.

………

In what looks like a case of out-of-control cops, Seattle bike cops appear to ram pedestrians on a sidewalk from behind with their bikes, apparently without warning, then bust them for obstruction and resisting arrest.

Although remember, we’re not seeing what came before this, which may or may not be relevant.

Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for the heads-up.

………

‘Tis the Season.

A pair of players for the San Diego Padres teamed with the Bikes for Kids nonprofit group to give 141 bikes to 2nd and 3rd graders at a local elementary school.

Over 300 Pleasanton CA volunteers turned out to build 800 bikes for East Bay kids. And recycle the boxes they came in.

Power company PG&E worked with the Bay Area Bike Project and a Chico CA sports store to provide 40 bicycles for kids affected by last year’s devastating Camp Fire.

A South Dakota bike charity built 171 bicycles for kids in need.

Ninety-two Missouri kids now have new bikes courtesy of the Boys and Girls Clubs.

Over 100 bike-borne Santas, elves and reindeer invaded Mad City, Wisconsin over the weekend.

Three hundred kids in upstate New York will get new bicycles thanks to the employees of the county garbage collector.

A Pennsylvania urgent care center donated 110 balance bikes to local schools to help kindergarten kids learn to ride a bike.

The owner of the New Orleans Saints gave 50 new bikes to needy kids belonging to a Louisiana Native American tribe.

A Mississippi bike club is teaming with the local sheriff’s department to give 120 bicycles to area kids.

Kindhearted cops in Orlando FL gave away 100 bike and helmets to area students.

But by far the best story comes from Scotland, where a kindhearted young boy asked Santa to bring him a new bicycle, and give the one he’d outgrown to a homeless shelter.

………

It’s not just the last full week of the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive, it’s the last eight days of the late Corgi’s tenure as spokesdog.

Let me offer my sincere thanks to Beverly L and Harold and Karen K for their generous donations to support this site. And help keep all the best bike news and advocacy coming your way every day

So what are are you waiting for, already?

………

Local

A New York couple relates how they quit their jobs and moved to Southern California by bicycle, riding 2,500 miles in 44 days while looking for work and freelancing along the way.

 

State

An Irvine bike rider was hit by an apparent drunk driver shortly after midnight Sunday morning, despite having lights and reflectors, and riding in a crosswalk near a bike path.

San Francisco police have finally gotten around to responding to bicyclists’ complaints about drivers blocking the bike lanes on Valencia Street, where citations are up 41% over last year.

Inexcusable. The chair of the Oakland Bicyclist and Pedestrian Commission was held at gunpoint by private security guards for the crime of taking pictures of yarn-bombed bike racks on a public sidewalk. But it couldn’t have anything to do with him being black, right?

An op-ed in a Marin newspaper says the new bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is part of efforts to remove obstacles to bicycling. Apparently, it’s working, since the bridge is averaging 660 bike trips every day in its first two weeks.

Santa Rosa police busted four homeless people for stealing a bait bike.

Sacramento is the latest California city to adopt a Complete Streets policy. Let’s hope they have more luck with it than a certain SoCal metropolis has.

 

National

Peloton isn’t the only game in town for stay at home bicyclists; the others range from less expensive to a lot less expensive. Although just getting outside can help you live longer.

DHL has been ordered to pay over $9 million to a Canadian couple who were run down while riding single file on on the shoulder an Oregon highway. The driver said it wasn’t his fault, claiming they were actually in the traffic lane and he couldn’t avoid them; one victim nearly lost his leg as a result of the crash.

Colorado bicyclists are making a last ditch effort to roundup investors to rescue a Northern Colorado velodrome before another buyer tears it down.

File this one under you’ve got to be kidding. An off-duty Michigan cop could walk with probation for the hit-and-run that left a bike rider with a broken elbow. Then coming back and directing traffic — without telling anyone he was the one who hit him.

New York councilmember tell the cops to knock off harassing and ticketing ebike delivery riders. Good luck with that. Harassing bike riders appears to be what the NYPD does best.

Louisiana State University, home to the new Heisman Trophy winner, will be getting new bike lanes to improve bike safety on campus. Which is a big change from when I lived in Baton Rouge, and could count on getting a beer or two thrown at me just for daring to ride past the campus.

 

International

Despite the complaints of some disgruntled drivers, over two-thirds of Vancouver residents like the city’s new network of protected bike lanes.

A Calgary letter writer says scofflaw bicyclists are getting with murder — and the editor of the local paper evidently agrees with him. Never mind that its the people on four wheels who are actually killing people, and disproportionately the ones on two wheels or feet getting killed.

Apparently, some drivers really can’t see us. After an English driver critically injured a woman on a bicycle, she failed an eye test the next day.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is one of us, through his election likely means his days as an everyday bike rider are probably numbered. But he should still be a friend to bicycling while in office.

A UK truck driver was convicted despite playing the universal Get Out of Jail Free card by claiming the sun was in his eye. Possibly because he was high on coke at the time of the crash.

An Irish court awarded an injured bike rider the equivalent of over $22,000 after a driver ran over his foot — even though he allegedly ran a red light, ruling he was 60% responsible for the crash.

A Danish website suggests ebikes are becoming the country’s new car.

An Indian city has asked municipal employees to walk or bike to work once a week to help curb pollution.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi is one of us, touring the Red Sea city of Sharm el Shiekh before opening the World Youth Forum later that day.

 

Competitive Cycling

A mass crash in a Brisbane, Australia track cycling race took out 12 of the 21 World Cup cyclists competing in the Omnium.

Cycling Tips offers tips on how to design a bike race course.

Twenty-two-year old Gage Hecht is your new men’s US national ‘cross champ.

 

Finally…

Former Doors frontman Jim Morrison is still one of us, evidently. Who says you can’t ride on solid ice?

And that feeling when your loose dog is faster than most of the peloton.

https://twitter.com/FulSpeed/status/1206215964754432001?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1206215964754432001&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cyclingweekly.com%2Fnews%2Fracing%2Fwatch-dog-causes-havoc-getting-course-cyclocross-race-445156