Tag Archive for New York

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

March 15, 2023 / / 2 comments

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.

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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.

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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.

https://twitter.com/LosAngelesWalks/status/1633961609013116929

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

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

https://twitter.com/CulverCityPride/status/1633252099537666050

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This is why people keep dying on our streets.

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

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

And so, evidently, is Twisted Sister.

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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.

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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.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

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

February 14, 2023 / / Comments Off on 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. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

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

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

January 2, 2020 / / 2 comments

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.

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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.

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Proving he has no idea what he’s doing — or maybe trying to outdo the windshield bias of former CA Governor Jerry Brown — NY 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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‘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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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

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

December 16, 2019 / / 5 comments

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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‘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

Category: General / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Morning Links: Failing presidential candidate calls for licensing bike riders, and CiclaValley to open LA River segment

September 5, 2019 / / One comment

Not exactly the best way to establish your climate change cred.

The same day CNN held their series of presidential candidate climate change town halls, New York Mayor Bill De Blasio, who didn’t participate, said he’s considering requiring licenses and registration for bike riders.

And if that’s not enough to force New Yorkers back into their cars, forcing bikeshare riders to wear bike helmets should do the trick.

“We have to think about what’s going to be safe for people first, but also what’s going to work,” the mayor said of the helmet requirement. “Is it something we could actually enforce effectively? Would it discourage people from riding bikes? I care first and foremost about safety.”

Although if he truly cared about safety, he’d start by banning motor vehicles from Manhattan. And taking steps to tame them everywhere else.

Questioning whether 4th tier presidential candidate is trying to undermine his own city’s bikeshare system, Streetsblog succinctly captured their take this way —

De Brainless: Mayor Endorses Meritless Helmet and Licensing Requirements for Cyclists

New York’s Daily News summed it up best, though.

Whether or not he moves forward with the license requirement, the mayor said he plans to crack down on cyclists who break traffic laws, despite little evidence suggesting that bikes are a menace to public safety.

Maybe just he’s hoping that attacking people on bikes could boost his presidential poll numbers up to a full one percent.

Mandatory bike helmet photo by malcolm garret from Pexels.

………

CiclaValley’s Zachary Rynew will be speaking at the official opening of a new section of the LA River Greenway — aka the LA River bike path — at 10 am today.

Look behind the Coffee Bean if you want to attend.

………

You still have time to call your state assembly member to urge the passage of SB 127, the state’s proposed Complete Streets bill.

CA Streetsblog breaks down exactly how Caltrans lied in an attempt to defeat the bill exaggerated its costs in their required estimate to state legislators by hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

Meanwhile, Streetsblog profiles new Caltrans Director Adetokunbo Toks Omishakin, saying he has a background in healthy living initiatives, Complete Streets and activite transportation with AASHTO, Nashville and the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

So maybe there’s hope for the agency yet.

………

A live streaming bike rider in an undisclosed European city suffered a “brutal cycling accident” when he caught a wheel in some railroad tracks and fell off his bike, suffering a boo boo on his hand.

Maybe they define brutal just a tad differently over there.

………

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

A Stockton man is under arrest on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon for intentionally using his car to attack a bike rider, who was able to jump off just in time to avoid getting hit; his bike was not as lucky.

The New York man with a long rap sheet arrested for intentionally running down and killing a bike-riding burglar says he was just trying to get close enough to catch the man, and blamed the victim for maybe doing something to mess up his brakes and steering. No, seriously.

………

Local

Looks like we won one for a change. Buried in an LA Times story about LA’s self-appointed anti-everything NIMBY extortionists Fix the City suing to halt the city’s Transit Oriented Communities program — which would stop much-needed affordable and market-rate housing — is the news that the group’s challenge to the Los Angeles mobility plan recently failed. That should free the city to finally get started on building bike lanes and safer streets. They should change the group’s name to something else with one more letter that also starts with F, which would be a hell of a lot more accurate.

Hats off to the Eastside Riders for installing a ghost bike for the still unnamed victim of the hit-and-run in South LA earlier this week.

Metro will start using automated cameras on the front of their buses to catch drivers illegally using the Bus Only Lanes. Maybe they could put them on all their buses to catch people parking in bike lanes while they’re at it.

 

State

A 78-year old San Diego man suffered life-threatening injuries when he allegedly rode though an intersection without yielding, and collided with an SUV. As always, the question is whether there were independent witnesses who saw him violate the right-of-way.

Speaking of San Diego, the city is proposing a road diet and bike lanes to tame dangerous Mission Blvd. It’s been 30 years since I lived down there, but Mission was a nightmare for bike riders and pedestrians then, and I doubt it’s gotten any better since.

The San Diego Reader rides the county’s 44-mile Coastal Rail Trail stretching from Oceanside to downtown’s Santa Fe Depot, though not all of it is paved.

Once again, a dangerous pass has taken the life of a bike rider, as a man riding in Fresno County was killed when a driver passed a semi and struck his bicycle head-on as he drove on the wrong side of the road.

The Stanislaus County town of Riverbank is adopting LA’s new permanent memorial signs to honor a fallen bike rider. With a little luck, maybe they will spread throughout the state.

Santa Clara County is considering a paved, 10-mile bicycle superhighway to encourage bike commuting.

Every first and second grader at a San Francisco school got a new bike, thanks to a Colorado nonprofit that’s given away 2,900 bikes to kids in low-income schools across the US. Make that 2,984 now.

 

National

Bicycling considers when, and when not to, wear bike gloves.

Financial website Market Watch considers the best bike helmets under $100. Which could come in handy the next time the stock market crashes.

Speaking of bike helmets, a new study shows drugs, alcohol and not wearing a helmet are frequent factors in e-scooter injuries — even though most of the injuries involved leg, ankle, collarbone, shoulder blade and/or forearm fractures, which bike helmets aren’t likely to prevent. And evidently, dangerous streets and bad drivers don’t play any role at all in e-scooter injuries.

Hit-and-run isn’t just an LA problem anymore. A Denver-area man was killed when his bike was struck by two separate drivers, both of whom fled the scene, three minutes apart; police found what they believe is the first vehicle Wednesday afternoon.

A Minnesota woman got a minor miracle when someone spotted her stolen bike for sale on Facebook, and she arranged to meet the seller so police could swoop in and make the arrest. Which is exactly the right way to do it, without putting yourself at needless risk.

A researcher at an Ohio university used kitty litter panniers on her bike to ride around town and prove that squirrels eavesdrop on birds to tell when it’s safe to come out and find their nuts. Those are the same panniers my brother is currently using on his epic bike tour down the left coast, though I don’t believe he’s planning to eavesdrop on birds, squirrels or anything else.

Forget parking. The newest argument against a bike lane bordering New York’s Central Park is that it would cause problems for carriage drivers and their horses. Because really, what could be more romantic than forcing bike riders to contend with impatient drivers?

Police are looking for a Florida man who rode up to a bike shop on his bicycle, then left it behind and rode off with a customer’s $11,000 bike that had been left for service.

Apparently tiring of telling kids to get off his lawn, an anonymous Florida columnist says bikeshare bikes are an eyesore, and it’s a bicyclist’s own damn fault for whatever it was that happened to him. Or her.

 

International

A British woman had been up all night before she killed a bike rider while driving back home; studies show drowsy driving is as bad, or even worse than, drunk driving.

If there’s a major bike race in front of your building, you might want to hide your rooftop cannabis garden; although under Spanish law, it may or may not be legal.

Successive groups of Indian bike riders rode around the world nearly a century ago, each one inspiring the next — despite encounters with elephant herds and Amazon headhunters. Or deciding to drop out and stay in America.

Tokyo considers a government proposal to sort-of require bike riders to carry liability insurance, but without a penalty if they don’t.

 

Competitive Cycling

VeloNews says it was mixed results for the US team at the Mountain Bike World Championships, marked by grit and close calls, but no results. Admit it, you didn’t even know the mtn bike worlds took place over the weekend. Well, I didn’t, anyway.

USA Cycling hired former Olympic silver medalist and world champion Mari Holden to coach the women’s road cycling team leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

 

Finally…

Nothing will encourage you to practice sprints like someone chasing you down the street waving a machete. What is it with bike-riding people — okay, men — wacking off in public lately?

And when your near drowning is captured on live TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrelT6fp_BE

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

Morning Links: Eliminating car culture amid Vision Zero fail, and bike greenways at tonight’s Pasadena council meeting

August 26, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Eliminating car culture amid Vision Zero fail, and bike greenways at tonight’s Pasadena council meeting

Good essay by James Ramsey for Gothamist, questioning whether New York City should completely eliminate car culture.

It’s debatable whether New York City is a car town. On one hand, it’s obviously not — the majority of us take public transportation to work, cycling is at an all-time high, and there are people walking around at all hours of the day and night.

But the recent death of Jose Alzorriz, a 52-year-old cyclist from Park Slope, highlights a different reality about how the city is designed, and for whom…

But as economist and longtime cyclist Charles Komanoff wrote this week in an op-ed for Gothamist, the individual decisions of reckless drivers are merely the “proximate causes” of these tragedies.

“The wellspring of cycle fatalities lies deeper, in driving’s culture and sheer volume,” Komanoff writes.

Which is why he’s joining several prominent officials, most notably City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, in saying we need to “break the car culture.” That means making it far more expensive to drive in the city; less placating of reactionary community boards (see the cases of the 14th Street busway, or the Central Park West bike lane); and taking away huge chunks of space currently devoted to free or cheap parking.

Komanoff goes on to add that ending car culture also means “placing public transit, biking, and walking at the center of all city planning decisions.”

Incrementalism isn’t enough, he argues. Adding a few bike lanes won’t “change the cultural assumption that cars reign supreme” in New York.

The same holds true for Los Angeles.

When the city was looking for public input on Vision Zero, several of us argued for the urgent need to break attitude that LA streets are for cars and the people in them.

And that Vision Zero would never succeed as long as the city’s longtime philosophy of autos über alles was allowed to continue.

Which was quickly agreed with. And then, like most bold steps in the City of Angels, promptly forgotten.

Instead, we got a weak-kneed call for drivers to watch their speed from the punter for the Rams.

Evidently, the city concluded the best way to change driver attitudes was to bore them to death, and start over with the next generation.

Like New York, we’re long past the point where incremental changes will make a damn bit of difference.

It’s time for bold action and real change from a mayor and council who seem afraid of both. Or more accurately, afraid of angry windshield-biased NIMBY voters.

That’s where genuine leadership and political courage must come in. Elected leaders willing to stand up and take the heat for changes the city must make if we’re going to survive the coming decades.

And that’s exactly what the city lacks right now.

………

If you live or ride in the Pasadena area, drop whatever you were planning to do tonight and head to the meeting of the Pasadena city council, where officials will discuss proposals for four bicycle greenways, aka bike boulevards.

  • El Molino Ave between Atchison Street and Bonita Drive
  • Wilson Ave between Washington Blvd and California Blvd
  • Sierra Bonita Ave between Washington Blvd and Colorado Blvd
  • Craig Ave between Orange Grove Blvd and Del Mar Blvd

Unless you were already planning to be at the meeting.

In which case, carry on.

………

Over a hundred people turned out for yesterday’s march to demand safer streets in response to a hit-and-run that has left a 15-year old bike rider hospitalized for the past three weeks.

At least it now looks like he’s going to survive.

………

Not only is former NBA star Reggie Miller one of us, he got a new gravel grinder for his birthday.

………

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

Toronto bicyclists are turning to civil courts to confront road raging drivers after the criminal court system lets them down.

Three British teenagers have been charged with murder for ramming a popular, 18-year old taekwondo star and role model as he rode his bike in southwest London, then getting out and beating him as he lay on the ground.

Two Irish thieves rammed a rider to knock off his bicycle and into a ditch, then got out of their car and mugged him before taking off with his bike.

………

Local

The number of e-scooter riders ticketed by the LAPD is soaring, mostly for riding on the sidewalk — even before the Paul Koretz-inspired crackdown on sidewalk scooter riders began.

Santa Clarita sheriff’s deputies ticketed 74 people during their recent crackdown on traffic violations that endanger bicyclists and pedestrians, half of which were for distracted driving.

When Pomona police officers tried to return a young boy’s cellphone after it was stolen by older kids as he walked to school, they learned he was afraid to walk to class anymore. So the kindhearted cops surprised him a new bicycle, helmet and lock so he could ride to school, instead.

Active SGV considers LA County’s plans for protected bike lanes.

 

State

Yes, those cars with dark tinted windows are illegal in California. Which doesn’t mean they’re not out there threatening your life and safety on a daily basis.

Police are investigating a crash between a bicyclist and a motorcyclist in Rancho Santa Margarita that left one man dead; for a change, it was the man with the motor. Which does not make it any less tragic.

Sadly, a 48-year old San Diego man suffered life-threatening injuries when he crashed his motorized bicycle into the side of a car while attempting to ride across a street; no word on whether he was on an ebike or one with a gasoline engine.

A Clovis woman apparently broke both arms and legs when she allegedly ran a red light and was struck by a driver.

The San Francisco Chronicle accuses Caltrans of trying to steamroll SB127, the Complete Streets bill that would force the state agency to consider the needs of all street users.

 

National

After the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed claiming “new left urbanists” want to use infrastructure to “make the masses conform to one vision of how to live — which unfortunately is hidden behind their paywall — a writer for Jalopnik responds that he never knew an op-ed could be so stupid.

A writer for the LA Times takes an ebike-aided bike tour of the Oregon Cascades. Which just happens to be where my brother is now on his solo bike tour across the west, except he’s currently on the coast.

Police, fire and EMS personnel rode 650 miles across Texas in eight days to honor fallen first responders.

After a homeless man stole a $10,000 road bike off a car rack, Tulsa OK police quickly mobilized to track him down, busting him a few hours later riding the purloined bike while carrying bolt cutters.

A Michigan man with muscular dystrophy will have to start over after his coast-to-coast fundraising bike ride to fight the disease was interrupted when a careless driver slammed into him and his riding partner with just 800 miles to go, leaving both with several broken bones; the driver played the universal Get Out of Jail Free card, claiming he just didn’t see them. Which should be seen as a confession rather than an excuse, but seldom is.

A Maine man is suing Ford for $1 million over a crash when he was riding his bike with his son. Not over the gardening truck that passed them, but for the the 50-year old Ford lawn mower in the back whose blade came off and nearly severed his leg.

If you’re riding a bike in Boston with a loaded gun in your pocket, try not to act so damn suspicious.

Hundreds of New Yorkers rode to honor a fallen rider and demand safer streets. And called for the city’s mayor to stop running for president and come back to deal with the recent rash of bicycling deaths.

A Philadelphia op-ed says taking steps to hold drivers accountable signals a change in the city’s pervasive car culture.

Philly goes all out for the city’s annual naked bike ride, and they’ve got the photos to prove it.

A Palm Beach FL columnist inadvertently shows how windshield bias can determine who gets blamed for bike and motorcycle crashes, pointing out that drivers get most of the blame in one county, and people on two wheels in the next. Even though studies show drivers are to blame in the majority of crashes.

A Florida woman is under arrest after slamming into a bike rider during her morning commute, then driving to work to begin her shift; she called her husband and asked him to return to the crash scene for her, but never bothered to call the police.

Seriously? After an older person complained about bikes in a Florida park, a city department ordered signs from — from Amazon, no less — banning bicycles in the park, knowing they weren’t official and couldn’t be enforced.

 

International

A pair of British Columbia bike thieves broke into a parking garage and made off with an $11,000 Yeti mountain bike, as well as another as-yet unidentified bicycle.

A 73-year old Victoria BC letter writer says he just rode in a new bike lane, and contrary to the usual hysterical reports, didn’t crash into any pedestrians, get hit by wobbly bike riders or run over by cars coming from a parking lot.

After a drunk, half-naked man got tossed out of an English supermarket, he grabbed a bicycle and tried to smash his way back in through the glass.

A British couple are riding over 3,700 miles to draw a bicycle across the face of Europe to call attention to the environmental impact of traveling by motor vehicle.

The breathless UK media freaks out over a man riding his bicycle on a “busy” street carrying a baby in one arm. For a change, they’ve got a point; a kid should always be in a child’s seat or some other type of safe child carrier on a bike.

An Irish government committee calls on the country to legalize e-scooters. Which means you could soon take a Bird to the Blarney Stone, or a Lime to Limerick.

Cargo bikes are becoming status symbols in Deutschland, as Germans turn away from electric cars in the switch to greener transport.

A Taipei, Taiwan committee calls on the transport ministry to prevent bike crashes, which they mostly blame on the people on two wheels.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling News lists ten cyclists to keep your eye on in this year’s Vuelta, which kicked off on Saturday — including a rising young American rider for a change.

Twenty-two-year old American cyclist Chloe Dygert-Owen dominated the inaugural women’s Colorado Classic, winning all four stages, as her husband was 5,000 miles away in Spain competing in his first Grand Tour.

 

Finally…

Anyone can go biking on a mountain, but try riding a third of a mile under one. Are you a biker or a cyclist — or just someone who rides a bicycle?

And why ebikes burn like Jimi Hendrix’ guitar.

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

Morning Links: Koretz wants scooter ban but goes for stickers instead, anti-bike bias in NYC, and faking cancer for charity

August 2, 2019 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Koretz wants scooter ban but goes for stickers instead, anti-bike bias in NYC, and faking cancer for charity

Maybe this makes sense to someone.

Or not.

CD5 Councilmember Paul Koretz has called on the city to place stickers reading No e-scooter riding on the sidewalk. It’s the law. on the sidewalks of his district.

I continue to be very concerned about the e-scooter explosion here in Los Angeles and decided to proactively alert riders of the illegality of riding on sidewalks for the safety of the pedestrians in my district,” said Koretz, whose Fifth District stretches from the Santa Monica Mountains to parts of Hollywood.

“In addition to my concern about riders on the sidewalks, I am equally worried about e-scooter riders’ own safety entering commercial traffic. In reality, there are few places where e-scooters can be ridden safely.

Not that scooter users aren’t already aware of that, since it’s clearly marked on every damn scooter currently available in Los Angeles.

And as he suggests, scooterists use the sidewalks because they don’t feel safe on city streets — thanks in part to Koretz own efforts to block bike lanes, and keep streets dangerous in his district.

But like Elizabeth Warren, he has a plan for that.

I would be thrilled to see e-scooters banned until we have an adequate bicycle/e-scooter lane infrastructure for them,” Koretz said. “In the meantime I am hoping these decals can alleviate some of the e-scooter danger occurring in my district.

So, the solution, in his typical auto-focused way, is to ban scooters until he’s out of office, and let someone else come in and build the bike lanes and safe streets he hasn’t. And won’t.

And in the meantime, he’ll just maintain the current level of automotive hegemony on our streets by keeping it too risky and uncomfortable to ride a scooter on the Westside.

Or a bike, for that matter.

Just another example of making it look like he’s doing something to improve safety without actually doing a damn thing.

………

No bias here.

A New York writer says the reason bike riders keep dying in the city is we’re all a bunch of maniacs with no regard for the law or our own safety.

Okay, that may be paraphrasing just a tad.

But still.

He starts by complaining about the recent decision to let bike riders use the leading pedestrian interval signals to get a jump on traffic, and cross intersections — where most urban crashes occur — safely.

But then quickly moves on to make it clear his problem is with bikes and the people who ride them.

The city also plans to splurge another $58.4 million on more bike lanes. But nobody — not Mayor Bill de Blasio, not council Speaker Corey Johnson and not Transportation Alternatives, the bicycle-advocacy group that curiously holds dominion over our streets — is calling for mandatory training or demanding adherence to traffic laws.

Both moves are all too symptomatic of city politicians’ infatuation with the bicycle ideology and the elite interests that promote it — as well as their corresponding indifference to pedestrians…

The bike lobby’s utter silence on education and accountability is a cruel betrayal of all law-abiding, safety-conscious bicyclists — and undeniable evidence of its reckless ideological zeal.

He wastes a lot of ink defending New Yorker’s God-given right to own an automobile, and park it wherever the hell they want.

As if the overwhelming majority of the city’s streets aren’t already given over to the gasoline cult. The people who ride bicycles are just trying to scrape back a tiny portion to protect their own lives, and encourage more people to willingly leave their cars at home.

And actually succeeding, unlike some West Coast cities that unanimously approve hard-fought bike plans that just gather dust on the shelf while people die on our own streets.

Okay, maybe one city in particular.

Then there’s this.

Not only are bikes rendered impractical in bad weather, for many people, including the elderly, disabled and anyone who doesn’t want to show up at work smelling like an anchovy’s armpit, they aren’t a viable alternative to automobiles or public transportation.

Apparently, he’s never heard of ebikes. Or hand cycles. Or adult tricycles. Or any of the other ways the elderly, disabled and business commuters ride bikes every day.

Never mind that countless New Yorkers commute by bike year round, regardless of the weather. Because unlike witches and bike-hating writers, we don’t melt in the rain or snow.

Besides, anchovies don’t have armpits.

It goes on, and gets worse. But we’ll spare you the rest; you can click on the link yourself, or just bang your head against the wall for several minutes until you lose any sense of reality.

Either way, the effect will be the same.

………

Speaking of New York, confused NYPD officers ticketed a grown man for not wearing a helmet — even though the state’s helmet law doesn’t apply to anyone over 14.

………

The definition of a bike lane fail.

………

I only wish this was unbelievable.

An Ohio man became a star fundraiser for a local charity ride to fight cancer after announcing he had stage 4 brain cancer.

But seven years later, he still showed no outward signs of the disease, and refused to give any details about his treatment.

When organizers confronted him, he confessed to faking the whole thing. As well as stealing a small portion of the money he raised.

And going so far as to hide the truth from his own partner of 17 years.

………

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

A Chicago TV station says tensions remain high after a driver punched a bicyclist in a video we linked to last month; the road raging driver reportedly lost his job with a law firm after the video went viral.

An off-duty New York transportation department worker hits a bike rider with his car, then gets out and slaps the victim’s phone out of his hand and pushes him before driving away.

But sometimes it’s the people on bikes behaving badly.

New York police are on the lookout for a sexual assault suspect who faked a bike crash as an excuse to grab a woman’s breasts — then broke into her home and was standing over her bed when she woke up at 4:30 am. Seriously, there’s not a pit deep enough.

………

Local

The LA Times says the city’s most controversial and divisive issue right now may be e-scooters, and scooter companies should be responsible for their users’ bad behavior. They’ve got a point. I watched yesterday as a Wheels user carefully parked his scooter and took a picture to prove to the company he’d done it correctly. Then walked off, leaving it parked directly in the middle of the sidewalk, blocking foot traffic from both directions.

Dodgers stadium is scheduled for a $100 million makeover before next season, including improved bicycle and pedestrian access. No word on whether that will include a secure bike valet, like their arch rivals in San Francisco.

CiclaValley goes gravel grinding in Point Mugu State Park and Sycamore Canyon.

Pasadena will host a class tomorrow designed to help you become a more confident urban bicyclist, along with a ride on the Arroyo Seco Bike Trail.

Caltrans is beginning a $5.5 million pavement repair and slurry seal project they promise will result in a smoother ride for motorists and bicyclists on PCH above Santa Monica.

The Jewish Journal celebrates renaming the sharrows on Hermosa Ave for the late cycling king of Hermosa Beach. But no matter who they honor, sharrows are not and will never be a bike lane.

 

State

Better bike lanes are making it safer and easier for people on two wheels in downtown San Diego.

A San Diego writer says everyone has their NIMBY moments — his neighbors don’t want bike lanes to replace their on street parking, and he never wanted them and their massive SUVs as neighbors.

Speaking of San Diego NIMBYs, City Beat accuses a mayoral hopeful of going full NIMBY in calling for a complete ban on e-scooters, noting the search for someone else to blame is always successful. To paraphrase a movie from a few years back, everybody knows you never go full NIMBY.

Evidently, riding a bicycle to see a San Francisco Giants game makes you a security risk.

Lyft pulls their new ebikes from the streets of San Francisco after some of them spontaneously burst into flames. Because the alternative would be to require all users to wear asbestos bike shorts.

 

National

A Senate committee has passed a bi-partisan bike-friendly transportation bill favored by PeopleForBikes. Now the question is whether Mitch McConnell will even allow it to come up for a vote.

He gets it. An editor for automotive website Jalopnik says a big-ass truck doesn’t make you tough. Now if they could just make sure all the drivers of those massive trucks and SUVs read that before being allowed back on the streets with bike riders and pedestrians.

Outside offers advice on the right way to clean your bike, while GQ considers the best pants for your bike commute.

Rock band The Distillers has cancelled their American tour after the drummer was doored, resulting in a truly nasty cut on his hand that took 40 stitches to close.

A Seattle bike shop owner was caught on security cam attempting to fight off a bike thief with a wrench, crushing her fingers, as he walked off with a new bike after she returned the one he brought in for repair to its original owners.

An Arizona city learns the hard way that pulling over law-abiding drivers to give them fake tickets offering free drinks at Circle K is a bad idea, after someone points out that’s it’s against the law to stop drivers without probable cause. So they decide to just stop bike riders and pedestrians instead, evidently assuming the Constitution doesn’t apply to us.

Several hundred Denver bike riders came out to honor fallen bicyclists and call for safer streets. The Denver Post says motorists can honor those victims by pledging to be a better and safer driver.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a $40,000 handicapped-accessible van from a Denver nonprofit, and used it to smash into a bike shop.

According to the local sheriff, an 81-year old Michigan man was killed when he tried to jump a curb with his adult tricycle, then tipped over and fell into the street, where he was run over by a semi. No, really, that doesn’t strain credibility at all — especially when getting right hooked by the truck driver seems a lot more likely.

One kindhearted person gave a bike to another. A Tennessee police chief gave one of the department’s extra bicycles to a young woman, after she gave hers to a coworker who needed it more.

A Knoxville TN law firm is looking for plaintiffs to sue bike helmet makers who don’t include MIPS or Wave Cel tech on every model.

Once again, wealthy New York condo owners have sued — and lost — in an attempt to block a new bike lane that would result in the loss of 400 parking spaces.

New Yorkers remember artist and yogi Em Samolewicz, the city’s 18th bicycling victim this year, as a gentle, kind soul and a magical creature; Gothamist says the city is doing basically nothing to keep riders like her from getting fatally doored.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio may not have a chance in hell of becoming president, but we shouldn’t laugh off his call for a nationwide Vision Zero. Even if it doesn’t seem to be working so well in his own city right now.

A New Jersey bike rider learns the hard way to always secure your empty heroin packets before you pull out your ID for the cops.

The lawyer for a driver accused of killing a man and woman when he plowed into a group of nine bike riders near a New Orleans Mardi Gras parade will stipulate that he was driving drunk when he hit them, virtually guaranteeing his conviction on two counts of vehicular homicide and 14 other charges. But they dispute that his blood alcohol level was over .20, would could result in 60 years behind bars.

 

International

Bike experts say the city’s new network of bikeways explains why bicycling has increased London, despite dropping in the rest of England.

New British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says his favorite thing is his bike hemet, which he always keeps with him in case a sudden urge to ride should strike.

South African police have opened a murder investigation after a popular local character known as Santa on a Bicycle died after spending four days lying in a ditch.

A New Zealand website says it’s time to give the streets back to children and protect the most vulnerable road users.

Brisbane, Australia opens a new inner-city protected bike lane five years after a woman was killed riding her bike there. So once again, someone has to die before officials actually do something to improve safety.

An Australian study says the way to reduce car congestion and pollution is to eliminate parking spaces.

 

Competitive Cycling

It’s not just the pros who are tough. A 19-year old Nebraska woman finished a triathlon in just over two hours, despite two broken arms suffered when she collided with another rider during the cycling portion of the race — then still had to ride the last ten miles, and run another three.

The future of American cycling may involve getting dirty on mountain bikes.

Cyclist looks at how much Egan Bernal was paid for winning the Tour de France.

 

Finally…

Nothing amuses small minds and motorists like epic bike fails. Probably not the best idea to ride your bike over a cop who pulls you over for not having lights — or urge a cop to tase you when he stops to help after an apparent drunken bike crash.

Congratulations, we’re all superfluous now.

And if you’re going to have sex with your bike, bring plenty of lube so nothing gets stuck.

………

Let me offer a belated but heartfelt thank you to Mark Jones for his generous donation to help keep BikinginLA coming your way, and to Matthew Robertson for his equally generous monthly contribution. 

Donations of any amount are always appreciated, whether to help support this site or defray the Corgi’s mounting medical bills.

Especially now.

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

Morning Links: New plant-based cookbook by LA nutritionist and bicyclist, scary NY vigilantes, and bike riders behaving badly

July 17, 2019 / / 8 comments

Anyone looking to improve their diet — or performance on their bike — could do a lot worse than the new plant-based sports nutrition book co-written by Los Angeles nutritionist and enduro-cyclist Matt Ruscigno.

Longtime BikinginLA readers will know Ruscigno as founder of LA’s legendary Feel My Legs, I’m a Racer hillclimb competition.

Correction: I originally identified this as a cookbook; thanks to Matt Ruscigno for setting me straight. 

………

A frightening assault in New York was compounded by an apparently uncaring cop.

A small, older woman on a bikeshare bike was physically detained, despite her repeated screams for help, by two large men in a massive black SUV who claimed she had somehow scratched it.

https://twitter.com/Tellythecairn/status/1151142869664768005

And the New York traffic officer who finally arrived was apparently fine with the vigilante detention. Even though the men could have been charged with kidnapping and assault.

And probably should have been.

………

In what’s becoming an annual event, yet another mountain biker has jumped over the Tour de France peloton.

………

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

A Seattle bicyclist posted a photo of the mark left on his thigh left by the driver who deliberately ran him off the road.

https://twitter.com/sejdevries/status/1151299527111917568

A road-raging British driver has been convicted assault by dangerous driving after getting out of his car to threaten a bicyclist, which was followed by a brake check, followed by slamming into the victim, breaking his pelvis, all despite the bike rider’s repeated attempts to get away.

Sometimes, though, it’s the people on bikes behaving badly.

Illinois police are looking for the adult male bike rider who stopped kids on a bike path, dropped his pants, and offered them money to change his diaper. Twice.

A bike-riding man stole a New Jersey boy’s unattended backpack while the kid was fishing a short distance away.

Former New York Rangers hockey player Sean Avery is continuing his one-man defense of the city’s bike lanes, posting obscenity-laced videos on Instagram that deservedly, but rudely, call out the delivery people who block them; he’s currently facing charges for smashing his scooter into a driver’s car.

A bike-raging Montreal rider is expected to face charges for smashing the windows of a bus with his bike lock because the driver was following his bicycle too closely.

Police in Halifax, Nova Scotia, are looking for a pair of men who yelled at a woman and slapped her in the face after catching up to her car at a stop sign, shortly after she had passed their bikes. Something tells me there’s more to this story. But still, just…don’t.

………

Local

Streetsblog looks at the new traffic diverters on Rosewood Ave that allow bike riders and pedestrians to cross La Brea Ave, while forcing drivers on Rosewood to turn right.

Officials responsible for revitalizing the upper part of the Los Angeles River went fishing for feedback on a proposal to connect the Verdugo Mountains and San Rafael Hills in Glendale in some vague, undefined way that could possibly involve a bike path or some other type of trail. Or not.

Google Maps will soon be able to show you, not only where bikeshare docks are located, but how many bikes are there, in 24 cities around the world — including Los Angeles.

UCLA parking meister Donald Shoup talks micromobility and e-scooter parking.

Mavic, the French bike component and equipment maker, is now owned by a Beverly Hills private equity firm.

Santa Monica has clipped Bird’s wings, cutting the number of scooters they’re allowed to deploy on the streets by a third in response to continued complaints and data anomalies.

One of the counter protesters at the recent small demonstration demanding the removal of the Broadway road diet in Long Beach was the CEO of the company hired to manage the city’s bikeshare program, who carried a sign saying road diets save lives — even though his car’s mirror was knocked off by a passing driver while parked on the street.

 

State

The OC Register profiles Tustin’s Geoff Frost, a butterfly gardener, pine cone jewelry designer, didgeridoo craftsman, and now, beekeeper. And when he’s not doing all that, he sidelines as the manager of the Path Bike Shop.

Santa Barbara police released photos of an alleged hit-and-run driver who injured a bike rider last month.

A Frazier Park woman suffered major injuries in a crash police are investigating as a hit-and-run, after she somehow came off her bike and crashed into a railing or the pavement.

A new study has identified San Jose’s most dangerous neighborhoods and intersections for car crashes.

Atlas Obscura offers an appreciation of San Francisco’s 400-foot Duboce Parkway Mural, an “ode to bicycling” painted by volunteers with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

 

National

Now you, too, can buy a numbered, limited edition version of Specialized’s new e-roadie for the low, low price of just $17,000. But at least it’s pretty, right?

Bicycling talks with YouTube’s bike pump playing musician.

People for Bikes announced the recipients of their latest round of small grants, most of which went to organizations in the South and Midwest; only one went to a group west of the Mississippi — and none in California.

A 69-year old Portland man had his $11,000 Colnago stolen in a strong-arm robbery when a pair of young men knocked him off his bike and into some bushes and made off with his bicycle; one of the alleged thieves was later caught on video riding it.

Colorado bike riders will face a 1.6-mile detour after a separated bikeway between Denver and Boulder was closed when a bridge collapsed due to the ground subsiding beneath it.

A San Antonio TX driver learns the hard way that it’s probably not the best idea to run over a bike cop’s bicycle while fleeing a simple traffic stop.

Yes, it really does happen. A Brooklyn bike rider was seriously injured when he suddenly cut across both lanes of traffic, and was hit by a driver traveling in the opposite direction in a crash caught on security cam.

Good question. Gothamist examines the psychology behind the hatred New York drivers and pedestrians have for bike riders, noting that despite the perceived danger, bike riders were involved in just 2% of pedestrian injuries and only one death in 2017, while New York drivers killed 106 people on foot.

New York’s Citi Bike bikeshare finally makes its way the Bronx, following years of criticism for catering to more upscale neighborhoods.

Bicycling injuries are up in eight of New York’s ten “safety priority” districts, sometimes by double digits.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a Pennsylvania combat vet’s bicycle on his first day of work at a pizza joint; it was his only form of transportation. He turned down an offer of a car to replace it because he just doesn’t want one. Now that’s my kind of guy.

An Alabama bike co-op placed a ghost bike for a homeless man who may have been one of their customers.

An Atlanta woman and her husband have raised funds for a $5,000 reward after a hit-and-run driver ran her down from behind as they were riding their bikes in a marked bike lane, in a crash that was also caught on a security camera.

 

International

Another reminder that people in more enlightened countries can buy insurance to cover them and their bikes when they ride. Unlike the US, where you can only get collision insurance if you own a car. The main reason I’ve held onto my car this long is my reluctance to give up uninsured motorist coverage, which protects you on your bike, as well as your car.

Britain’s Countess of Wessex confessed to giving a male rider a complex about his butt, after she and another woman spent the better part of an hour staring at it on a 445-mile charity ride.

If you want to try riding your bike up the world’s steepest street, you’ll have to travel to Wales, where you’ll find a roadway offering a breathtaking 37.45% grade.

A new Aussie study confirms that active commutes like bicycling or walking can make you happier, and more productive at work.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist looks at who are the winners and losers in the Tour de France so far.

It will cost you to watch the token women’s La Course by le Tour de France, which offers just a single day of circuit racing compared to three weeks for the men. But at least they offer matching prize money. Pro tip: Save your money and catch the free online streaming of next month’s Colorado Classic, which is now a top tier, four stage women’s race.

One of the champions at the recent USA Cycling Track National Championships in Carson once again was Cal Berkeley law professor Molly Van Houweling, who won the Elite Women’s Individual Pursuit.

 

Finally…

Seriously, don’t drop your bike to chase down an escaped goat. Your shredded bike tubes could come back as a fanny pack…uh, hip pack.

And the latest bike-themed music video goes a bit goth.

And strange.

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

Morning Links: Dockless bikeshare isn’t here yet, more on NYC bike path attack, and goodbye LAist

November 3, 2017 / / 2 comments

For a moment, it looked like dockless bikeshare had arrived in LA.

Even if it’s not entirely legal yet.

Marc, aka @mcas_LA, tweeted a pair of photos showing a fleet of LimeBikes in the Jewelry District in DTLA, even though the proposed ordinance to legalize dockless bikeshare hadn’t made it through the city council yet.

Alas, it was not to be.

Not yet, anyway.

LimeBike was quick to respond that the bikes were being test-ridden by their employees at a private event, and that they would never launch Uber-style without waiting for the proper permits.

So you’ll just have to wait awhile longer.

………

New York is responding to Tuesday’s terrorist attack by installing K-rail barriers at 57 intersections, including the one that Sayfullo Saipov used to drive onto the bike path.

A bill in the US Senate would provide $50 million a year to install bollards, planters and other barriers along bikeways to protect cyclists. Get back to me when they get serious; $50 million works out to a token gesture of just $1 million per state.

A student injured when Saipov’s rented truck crashed into a school attended class on Wednesday to keep his record for perfect attendance.

A writer for Opposing Views considers what the attack says about bike safety.

In an Op-Ed in the Washington Post, Eben Weiss, aka Bike Snob, writes that a terrorist attack isn’t going to scare bicyclists off their bikes because we already have to deal with motorists.

And it hasn’t stopped them, as New Yorkers flocked to the pathway when it reopened yesterday.

………

You can kiss LAist goodbye. The billionaire publisher of the “ist” and DNAinfo sites pulled the plug on the entire network yesterday, taking down all the archives at the same time.

The site had regularly written about bike issues, and been a supporter of safer streets in Los Angeles, and other cities around the world.

I’m sure it’s just a coincidence that the closure came after employees had voted to unionize.

………

Local

Streeetsblog’s Joe Linton and Damien Newton correct the pernicious lie that Mike Bonin somehow stole money from the Measure M transportation tax to fund Vision Zero.

The LACBC’s Operation Firefly kicks off in Van Nuys next week, providing lights to bike riders who don’t have them.

The Pasadena Star-News asks if new trains, busways and bike lanes can end SoCal gridlock. Short answer, no. With more people bringing more cars here every year, our street will continue to be clogged. The only solution is to provide alternatives to driving, so the people who choose to leave their cars at home won’t be stuck in that mess.

Authorities are looking for funding to build a roundabout at the intersection of Highway 39 and the Old San Gabriel Canyon Road above Azusa to slow traffic and provide a safe extension to the San Gabriel River Trail, which currently dead ends at the roadway.

Helen’s Cycles is holding a trio of rides this weekend, while Santa Monica’s Breeze bikeshare celebrates its second anniversary on Saturday. And CicLAvia hosts their 2nd Annual pLAy Day in LA fundraiser on Sunday.

 

State

Nice piece in the LA Daily News about the recently completed, 450-mile Challenge Ride from San Francisco for wounded vets, including a former four-star Army Chief of Staff helping an injured ex-private up a hill.

The owner of a Coronado bike rental company opposes a proposal to allow LimeBike to operate on the island.

Bakersfield has received $200,000 in funding from Kern County for a number of bike-related projects, including bike parking in the downtown area, and the Build-A-Bike program that allows kids to earn a bicycle while learning about bike maintenance and repair.

San Luis Obispo is moving forward with plans for 50 new bicycling facilities, including buffered bike lanes and a bike boulevard, to fundamentally change the way people in the community get around.

Kindhearted Visalia residents pitched in to buy a new ebike for a legally blind teenager after the one he got for his 16th birthday was stolen.

A San Jose columnist says a planned bike and pedestrian bridge is a key link to improve safety, even if a letter writer considers it a waste of money.

A San Francisco man was critically injured when a bike rider opened fire on the victim following an argument; the suspect was arrested nearby.

San Francisco protesters create a people-protected bike lane on the Embarcadero to call attention to the need for greater safety.

 

National

People for Bikes offers four reasons why businesses should embrace ebikes.

A Seattle magazine says it’s good that dockless bikeshare bikes are being abandoned in trees, because it removes the moral superiority of bicycling, and makes it seem like it an everyday activity. Which it already is.

Over 8,000 people are expected to attend Denver’s one-day VeloSwap bike swap meet and expo this weekend.

A Dallas columnist says relax, and give dockless bikeshare time to work itself out.

Former cyclist Sinead Miller is now working with Nashville’s Vanderbilt University to put an end to sepsis, after ending her pro career when she suffered a traumatic brain injury in a collision.

A driver tried to run over a group of Miami police officers on a weekly community ride, and apparently got away.

 

International

An Op-Ed in Canadian Cyclist Magazine calls out the special status of drivers, and says laws that make a cyclist’s life cheap have to be changed.

Glasgow’s Philippa York says she would have gladly given up the fame that came with her cycling career as the former Robert Millar in order to transition to a woman when she was younger.

 

Finally…

Oprah is one of us, even if one of her favorite things looks suspiciously like a ghost bike. And evidently, the painkiller Tramadol will make you faster.

Even if it has the opposite effect on me.

 

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

Morning Links: 2nd edition of popular SoCal bicycling guide, and more details on NYC bike path terrorist attack

November 2, 2017 / / 3 comments

Let’s start with an updated version of a popular SoCal bicycling guidebook.

This is how the publisher describes it.

Good news for SoCal cyclists who prefer riding on bike trails and low-traffic bike routes: Richard Fox has published a thoroughly updated 2nd Edition of his popular colorful 400-page guidebook, “enCYCLEpedia Southern California – The Best Easy Scenic Bike Rides.”  It showcases over 200 fun ride options from Cambria to San Diego to Palm Springs.  Ride descriptions have detailed turn by turn instructions accompanied by stylized scaled maps depicting paved vs dirt bike trails and on-road bike routes.  A typical ride is 10-20 miles long with beautiful scenery, few hills, little or no auto traffic, and lots of interesting things to see or places to eat en route. Options to extend or combine rides are described. Now available from available from Amazon or direct from the author for $21.95.

A sample page from the book

………

More on Tuesday’s terrorist attack on a New York City bike path.

An Argentine school honored five of the victims, who graduated in the same class of 1987; another of their schoolmates, now working as a scientist in Boston, was injured in the attack. Video shows them happy and smiling as they rode through New York before the attack.

Several of the victims appeared to be riding rental bikes from the New York branch of a San Francisco company.

The New York Times looks at the people caught in the driver’s path, while the Washington Post profiles one of the two Americans and a Belgian mother of two who were killed.

A New York cop is called a hero for stopping the attack by shooting the suspect, who now faces terrorism charges.

Not all the victims were on the bike path; one of the two kids in the school bus the driver crashed into remains in critical condition.

The New York Times says the attack exposed the vulnerable street crossings on the bike path; bike advocates have called for better protection for the bike path for more than a decade.

Fast Company says safe streets that shield bicyclists and pedestrians from motor vehicles are the best protection against future attacks. The attack prompted calls for improved safety for bike paths in Chattanooga, Boston and Santa Maria.

But it didn’t stop New Yorkers from returning to the path the next day. And the head of a New York bike advocacy group says we’ll never stop biking.

………

Peter Flax complains about the recent Shanghai Skoda Criterium, saying fake bike races don’t belong in professional cycling.

The Bicycling Hall of Fame announces four new members.

………

Local

LA’s Vision Zero plan is expected to bring protected bike lanes and safer street crossings to the area around USC, where 21 people were killed in crashes between 2014 and 2016. Unless any drivers object to it, of course.

Starchitect Frank Gehry says the long-promised transformation of the LA River will never happen. Which is odd, since he’s the one the mayor put in charge of designing it.

More Selena Gomez bike photos, as she goes riding in LA with the Bieb.

CiclaValley revisits the site of the La Tuna fire.

Cost estimates have nearly doubled for a 2.8-mile extension of the Whittier Greenway Trail due to required improvements at railway crossings; the project is still moving forward despite the $15.7 million price tag.

 

State

The California legislature will consider a bill that could legalize part of the Idaho Stop law next year; AB1103 would allow bike riders to treat stop signs as yields, but maintain the requirement to wait for red lights.

A transient man in San Diego stabbed another man who tried to steal his bicycle.

San Diego plans a Day of Service to honor fallen bike rider Maruta Gardner, who was killed by a drunk driver as she was painting over graffiti in Mission Beach last year.

A Marin cyclist was locked up and had his bike confiscated for skitching behind a big rig on the 101 Highway.

 

National

NACTO has developed guidelines for when a protected bike lane should be installed. Which pretty much mandates one for most of Los Angeles.

A Portland musician and bike messenger was found dead in a park after apparently falling off his bike and hitting his head.

The man who recovered JujJu Smith-Schuster’s stolen bike wants the Pittsburgh Steelers tickets that were promised as a reward.

Residents of a Massachusetts town demand the city respond to complaints about “bicycle bullies.”

A day after the New York terrorist attack, a New York woman was shot in the stomach as she was docking her bikeshare bike; her attacker apparently shot himself afterwards.

A DC advocacy site suggests five street signs that point to a failed street design.

A Georgia woman has been convicted of two vehicular homicide counts, as well as seven counts of inflicting serious injury with a vehicle, DUI and endangering a child after swerving onto the wrong side of the road and hitting a group of bike riders head-on; she had meth and several other drugs in her system and was reaching for her cellphone at the time of the crash.

 

International

Someone hung a banner over a Montreal overpass accusing the city of too much talk and not enough action, while urging viewers to Bike the Vote en français.

Writing in The BMJ — formerly the British Medical Journal — a Scottish physician says restricting bicycling in response to the death of a single pedestrian would cause needless harm to public health. Case in point, a new Danish study shows bicycling to work is as good for losing weight as working out at a gym five days a week.

Caught on video: A Scottish bike rider and a driver engage in an expletive-filled spat after the former complains about the latter talking on his phone while he drives.

There’s a special place in hell for the British men who crashed their van into a pair of boys who were sharing a bicycle, then jumped out and stole it.

Amsterdam has banned beer bikes after complaints about rowdy drunken tourists.

Dutch bicyclists complain that they can’t find a place to park their bikes at busy train stations.

Tel Aviv, Israel begins enforcement of a partial sidewalk bike ban.

A road raging Russian bike rider faces 15 years behind bars for the murder of a careless driver who nearly ran him down. Another example of what can happen if you let your anger get the better of you. Just shake it off and ride away.

 

Finally…

The best way to win a bake off is to train by winning a few track cycling championships. Your next bike could be a 13 pound Aston Martin.

And who doesn’t need a bike built to survive a fall of a cliff.

Even if you don’t.

 

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