My apologies, once again, for yesterday’s unexcused absence.
An unexpected blood sugar crash literally put me on my ass, taking me from feeling fine to too sick to stand up in a matter of minutes, and knocking me out until early morning.
One more reminder that diabetes sucks.
Seriously, if you’re at risk for diabetes, do whatever it takes to avoid it. Because you really don’t want this shit.
And another reminder came yesterday.
For the past several months, I’ve been battling hand pain and numbness that’s grown progressively worse, forcing me to work through severe pain just to get this site online every night.
After a neuro exam that could have passed for a medieval torture session, it turns out I’ve got advanced carpal tunnel in both wrists, which will likely require surgery in the next few months.
And which was probably caused by diabetes.
Good times.
Meanwhile, I’ve got a number of other medical tests coming up in the next few days that will likely affect me in ways that could make it difficult, if not impossible, to write, as I struggle to get everything checked out before our health insurance runs out at the end of the year.
I’ll do my best to keep up, but please accept my apologies in advance if I can’t manage to post any new updates.
Hopefully, I’ll see you tomorrow and Friday; if not, we’ll be back bright and early next week once all this is over.
………
More on that horrific attack that left a Las Vegas woman dead, along with the passenger in a passing van who pushed her off her bicycle, before he himself out of the van he was riding in.
The 23-year old man behind the wheel faces multiple charges in the double deaths, including murder, hit-and-run and violating his parole.
Multiple people witnessed the fatal attack, including a group of women who were following the two killers home from a bar.
A couple walking on the sidewalk had just exchanged greetings with the victim before she was murdered.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has a number of other stories about the attack; unfortunately, they’re hidden behind a paywall. Definitely not a smart move for a story that’s getting international attention.
Thanks to everyone who gave me a heads-up about this incident.
………
There’s not a pit deep enough for whoever shot a woman with a paint gun as she was out for a casual ride with a friend in LA’s Palms neighborhood on Sunday.
Some asshole driver shot at us with a something like paintball gun and hit me twice while we were riding side by side in a lane down Jefferson near National. It hurt and left a nasty mark. Pretty upset, but also relieved it wasn’t anything worse. Also the “paint” or whatever the fuck that was looked like snot and bird poop mixed together. So gross.
Too many jerks seem to think things like that are funny, never realizing — or maybe not caring — that it can rapidly develop into a life threatening situation if the victim loses control or falls off her bike.
Just like we saw in Las Vegas.
And even under the best circumstances, it hurts like hell.
Let’s hope she called the police, because shooting someone with anything is a crime.
Thanks to Howard for the tip.
………
Even cops will tell you they’re some of the worst drivers on the road.
And too often, innocent people pay the price.
Case in point, an on-duty DC police officer killed a man as he was riding his bike across the street in Maryland’s Prince George’s County.
And a Florida woman was killed when she was run down by a sheriff’s deputy in a marked patrol vehicle after getting off her bike to talk with her boyfriend on a remote roadway.
Then there’s this from the protests over the police shooting of a Black man in Philadelphia. Thanks to Megan Lynch for the forward.
Can confirm that a cop car drove through the line that us bikers were holding for the marchers. No one was seriously hurt but the disregard for our safety and use of force in that moment was astounding. https://t.co/l7gEqxa8FA
— Matt McParland (@MattMcParland) October 28, 2020
………
Take a drone’s eye mountain bike break from work this morning, assuming you’re one of the lucky ones who actually still has a job.
But maybe take a little dramamine first.
………
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A British boy was pushed off his bike and threatened with weapons by a pair of teenaged thieves who made off with his bike.
Someone is sabotaging French forest trails with cables tied across pathways, broken glass and hidden nail-studded boards, which can seriously injure unsuspecting hikers and mountain bikers. Or worse.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Police in a Louisiana city are looking for a “very suspicious,” masked bike-riding man who’s been entering people’s yards and going through their mailboxes. Then again, anyone who doesn’t wear a mask should be considered suspicious these days.
………
Local
A new bikeshare dock is helping to close the gap created by a two-year shutdown of the L-Line — formerly Gold Line — in DTLA after the Little Tokyo Metro station was permanently closed.
Former One Tree Hill and Chicago P.D. actress Sophia Bush is one of us, riding her e-cargo bike through the streets of LA with her dog in a very cool bicycle sidecar.
More on Santa Monica’s plans to install a two-way protected bike lane on Ocean Ave along Palisades Park.
State
They get it. San Diego is taking Complete Streets a step further by focusing on Complete Communities; an updated plan will be presented online in two weeks.
Not everyone gets it, though. A San Diego columnist displays his windshield bias, insisting that the city’s Sunset Cliffs Natural Park is being ruined by bicycles after being shocked! shocked! to see a boisterous group ride complete with police escort. Apparently, natural areas are only supposed to be enjoyed by people who drive in silence to get there.
Santa Barbara police offer advice on how to protect yourself from bike thieves, including registering your bike for free with Bike Index.
San Francisco advocates cry foul after the city drops plans for a sidewalk-level bikeway on iconic Market Street, citing rising costs and too many people on bicycles.
Sonoma County is doing its best to stiff a woman who won a $1.9 million judgement against the county after she was seriously injured hitting a massive pothole on her bike, but they’re running out of legal options. Thanks to Phillip Young for the link.
National
How five Black bike riders use their bicycles to express joy and push through the limits of white supremacy. Here’s the Yahoo link if Bicycling’s site blocks you out.
Shape suggests everything you need to know before your first bikepacking trip. Which is a good start, but isn’t anywhere close to all you should know, let alone need to.
Bloomberg Business says Seattle-based Rad Power’s bestselling ebike is “disrupting America’s pandemic commute” to such a degree that the company can’t keep up with demand. Then again, neither can most bikemakers right now.
The site to report blocked bike lanes developed by Chicago’s Bike Lane Uprising is now live in over 100 cities across the US, including Los Angeles and Long Beach, which has its own separate page. You can download their new app for Android and iOS.
A Chicago bike shop donates a cruiser bike to the Little Sisters of the Poor. No, really.
Kindhearted Detroit cops dig into their own pockets to buy a new bike for an autistic boy after his was stolen.
Country star Dierks Bentley is one of us, enjoying the freedom to ride his bike incognito through the streets of Nashville for the first time in years, thanks to his coronavirus mask.
New York officials say the Revel dockless e-motorscooters are 69 times more dangerous than the city’s bikeshare system.
Kerri Russell and Matthew Rhys are both one of us, bundling up for a cold Brooklyn bike ride.
The LSU student newspaper complains about a lack of bike lanes on and around campus, saying the situation “poses a significant threat to the safety of students.” Sounds like nothing’s changed since I used to ride there decades ago.
A Florida man faces a manslaughter charge for the drunken hit-and-run death of a bike rider; he had a BAC over one and a half times the legal limit 90 minutes after the crash, as well as traces of coke and weed in his system.
International
Good question. A writer for Bike Biz questions just how sustainable bikewear is, concluding the greenest clothes are the ones you already own.
A London driver lost control of his Ferrari, barely avoiding some people on bikes. A reminder that anyone with excess money can buy a fast car, but not the skill to drive it.
A new bicyclist pens an open letter to the driver who gave her a punishment pass. Which is how new bike riders too often become ex-bike riders.
Britain’s leading advocacy group called for better protection for people on bicycles, after a bike rider suffered minor injuries when the head of the country’s opposition Labour Party crashed into him.
No irony here. A British man was killed in a drunken fall off his bicycle, in the exact same spot where he crashed his van two years earlier, resulting in a 20-month driving ban for DUI.
There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole the bike an Irish man was using to bring back food and vital medicine for his family, since he couldn’t drive due to a brain injury suffered in a hit-and-run as a young man.
Viking biking is so popular in Norway the country has to expand subsidies for studded winter bike tires.
Turkish bike riders are demanding safer streets following an increasing number of people killed or injured while riding their bikes.
A Japanese man became the first bicyclist charged under the country’s new bike rage law after grabbing a 70-year old man by the collar when the older man complained about his riding.
Despite the international coronavirus bike boom, leading bicycle parts maker Shimano saw a drop in sales this year, as bike makers and retailers struggled to keep up.
Police in Shanghai busted 16 men for making and renting illegal low-grade ebike batteries.
A Philippines TV host is just 14 bikes short of her goal of donating 500 bicycles to help people in need of reliable transportation to work.
Competitive Cycling
It was a good day for Canada in yesterday’s 7th stage of the Vuelta.
Cyclist tells the tale of Britain’s first Black cycling champ.
Rouleur looks at the “endless enigma” that is five-time Tour de France champ Miguel Indurain.
Finally…
Your next ebike could be a slick retro looking non-hog Harley. Making one of Canada’s largest cities your own Moose portrait.
And the perfect harness to improve safety while turning yourself into a pedaling Christmas tree.
………
Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
