Tag Archive for Pedal Ahead

Officials stonewall on ebike voucher fiasco, and CA Supreme Court rules cities are obligated to maintain safe streets

May 5, 2025 / / No comments
Day 125 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Once again, the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Jeff McDonald is on the story of the massive California Ebike Voucher Program fiasco.

And he sounds as frustrated with all the stonewalling as we are.

State officials have not explained why the enrollment program keeps crashing. Instead, a department spokesperson acknowledged the errors and said the board is committed to figuring out what went wrong and doing a more effective job going forward…

A San Diego charity called Pedal Ahead won the state e-bike contract in 2022. The entity was founded by former political consultant and FBI informant Edward Clancy, who also set up a for-profit company with the same name.

No one from Pedal Ahead responded to requests for comment…

Clancy, who left Pedal Ahead last year, has not replied to multiple requests for comment since the civil and criminal investigations were disclosed. His successor, Scott Anderson, also has not responded to requests.

Aside from all the “no comment” comments, McDonald’s story is probably the best insight we’re going to get into what the hell is going on with this clown show, at least for now.

And there’s no word on when — or honestly, if — we’ll get a redo on the 2nd application window, which suddenly slammed shut on everyone who had somehow managed to get through the crashed website into the application waiting room.

As I said last week, at least part of the problem was opening the window for just one hour, then encouraging everyone to apply early — virtually ensuring they would overwhelm the apparently meager servers and crash the system.

And yes, McDonald had the excellent good taste to quote yours truly.

But you’ll have to read the story to get my take.

Thank you to CARB and Pedal Ahead for allowing me to dig out my favorite fail photo one more time.

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In a big win for bike riders, the California Supreme Court found that cities have a legal responsibility to maintain safe streets, ruling that they can’t rely on liability waivers to avoid responsibility for dangerous road conditions.

The case involved cyclist Ty Whitehead, who suffered a traumatic brain injury during a charity training ride after hitting a large, obscured pothole on Skyline Boulevard in Oakland. Although Whitehead had signed a release form as part of the event, the Court ruled that such waivers cannot excuse a city from its statutory duty to maintain safe public roads. The Court unanimously found that exempting cities from liability in these cases violates California Civil Code section 1668, which prohibits contracts that waive responsibility for a violation of the law…

The ruling clarifies that municipal liability cannot be sidestepped through fine print and reaffirms that cyclists are entitled to the same legal protections as any other road user. It is especially significant at a time when more Californians are choosing bicycles for health, transportation, and environmental reasons.

That means that if you hit a pothole or crack in the road, or if safety markings are worn or missing, the city could be legally responsible for any injuries, even with a liability waiver.

And I know some damn good lawyers if you ever need one.

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Speaking of potholes, Streets For All urges you to take action to fight the Mayor’s disaster of a budget.

And don’t get me started on the pitted and cracked hellscape that is Fairfax Ave.

Meanwhile, the street safety PAC applauds CD5 Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky for supporting the ongoing call to reopen the gate blocking bicycle access to the Los Angeles National Cemetery, which would allow bike riders to safely avoid deadly Wilshire Blvd near the 405.

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This site has long supported Bike Talk and their work to give a voice to bike riders here in Los Angeles, and throughout the US.

Here’s your chance to support them, too — and get a great bonus in return.

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

New York bicyclists will now risk a criminal summons requiring them to appear in court for minor offenses like running a stop light or stop sign, as the city naturally responds to the jump in traffic violence by blaming the victims. Thanks to Robert Karwasky for the heads-up. 

No surprise here, as British commenters blame the victim for not riding in the bike lane, after a van driver honked his horn and clipped the man with his wing mirror in a brutal punishment pass.

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Local 

Crosstown says walking in Los Angeles is becoming increasingly deadlier, with 39 pedestrians killed on the streets and sidewalks of LA through April 12th of this year, up 50% from a decade ago — and they point the finger, as so many others have, at the city’s failure to fully implement Vision Zero.

Last year was also the deadliest on record for animals in the City of Angels, according to Crosstown.

The Sierra Club says the bicycling community — and Los Angeles-based ex-pro cyclist Phil Gaimon in particular — is becoming some of the most passionate protectors of our public lands; Gaimon is also the host of the Worst Retirement Ever YouTube series and the annual Phil’s Cookie Fondo in the Santa Monica Mountains.

 

State

San Diego residents are encouraged to ride somewhere, anywhere on May 15th for Bike Anywhere Day.

A San Diego security cam captured a man and woman stealing a pair of bicycles worth a combined $27,000 from a well-known figure in the city’s bicycling community. Although I can think of a lot better things to do on a date.

Sad news from Visalia, where a 53-year old man was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

More tariff news, as a Visalia couple started a custom ebike business with bikes from Australia, but made with parts from China — which subjects them to a whopping 170% tariff that went into effect after they placed their order.

A San Francisco website introduces the city’s “anti-profit” community bike shop.

 

National

Momentum lists the top ten bicycling cities in the US, according to figures from Strava. And despite everything, Los Angeles actually made the list at #9, with an average commute of 9.5 miles. So much for all those people who say no one would ever bike more than three miles to work, if at all.

National Public Radio looks at Portland’s monthly bike commuting tradition of breakfast on the bridges.

Portland bicyclists came out for a ride to celebrate Star Wars Day, aka May the 4th, many dressed in the appropriate costumes.

Over 1,100 people were left disappointed when the annual L’Etape Las Vegas by Tour de France was cancelled due to heavy rain and unsafe road conditions.

The attorney for a 13-year-old New Mexico boy convicted in the thrill-kill death of a bike-riding man while driving a stolen car says he hopes the boy will be reformed during his time behind bars; the boy received the maximum penalty for a juvenile, sentenced to remain behind bars unto he turns 21.

Colorado-based mountain bikemaker Revel Bikes could soon rise from the dead, following hints of new ownership less than a month after they went belly-up.

Local Queens residents turned out to protest plans to ban bikes from the boardwalk in New York’s Rockaway Beach.

A New York newsletter examines what’s being done to protect bike riders and pedestrians, after a recent rash of traffic deaths.

A whopping 30,000 people took over the streets of New York for New York’s 47th annual TD Five Boro Bike Tour, possibly the world’s largest charity ride.

This is the cost of traffic violence. The popular and influential synthwave artist known as “Starcadian” was killed in a dooring in New York; 44-year old George Smaragdis slammed into the door of a Mercedes when the driver flung it open, then fell under a delivery box truck. And no, I don’t know what synthwave is, either.

Now the trees are out to get us, too, as a Pennsylvania bike rider learned the hard way.

Sad news from North Carolina, where an 18-year-old Mormon missionary was killed, and another rider injured, when they were struck by a driver who literally ran away from the crash.

 

International

Road.cc reviews a $332 anti-axel grinder bike lock, but somehow doesn’t bother to test whether it actually resists one.

Awful news from Wales, where a woman was somehow entrapped by and impaled on her bicycle after falling on a coastal bike path.

Speaking of Wales, a 35-year old man completed a ride halfway around the world, covering over 14 months, 26 countries and 16,250 miles from Cardiff to Australia’s New South Wales.

An English mayor is riding 300 miles from St. Neots in Cambridgeshire, England to St. Neot in Cornwall, Wales, in hopes of repairing a 1,000-year old rift between the two identically named towns that began with the theft of the saint’s bones from the Welsh church.

Inmates at a London prison are being schooled as bicycle mechanics, giving a new hope for the future for “bikes and blokes with a past.”

A Parisian woman finds her place amid the bicycling ghosts from the past. Meanwhile, National Geographic explains how to tour the City of Lights from a bicycle seat like a local. But it will cost you your email to read it.

Sad news from Northern Italy, where a 31-year old top level amateur cyclist died after losing control on a descent and crashing into a wall during the Granfondo di Bergamo.

A writer for Travel + Leisure claims to have found Europe’s most peaceful summer adventure by riding 160 miles through the 20,000 islands of the Finland archipelago.

A European website examines the things you can and can’t do while riding in Spain, where the rain falls mostly on the plain. Or so I’ve heard.

A newspaper in Malta says flimsy painted bike lanes are the wrong way to protect bike riders, but protected and/or elevated bike lanes are the right way.

That feeling when you ride 560 miles across a Kazakh lake without setting foot on dry land. Or wheels, for that matter.

 

Competitive Cycling

The women’s Vuelta a España, aka La Vuelta Femenina, kicked off Sunday with a team time trial through the streets of Barcelona. But it nearly didn’t, amid the chaos caused by a delayed UCI inspection, when the Movistar Team showed up late and only one of the two judges was available, forcing two Visma-Lease a Bike riders to miss the start.

Road.cc makes the argument for why UCI should allow F1-style bicycles designed just for pro cyclists, and not built for or sold to the general public.

One of the best things about bicycling is when you pick you a stray bike rider along the way — alike falling in with Jonas Vingegaard on a training ride.

A new book tells the story of the legendary French cyclist Jacques Anquetil, aka “Monsieur Chrono,” the first man to win all three Grand Tours and the first five-time winner of the Tour de France.

American cycling legend Bobby Julich says your local crit is what draws new cycling fans into the sport.

 

Finally…

Why cats land on their feet, and your bike doesn’t fall over when you ride. We may have to watch out for LA drivers who dart out of side streets, but at least we don’t have to worry t-boning a darting deer.

And that feeling when your dog sticks the landing, too.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Stand up to LA Mayor’s draconian DOGE-style budget cuts, and cars weapons of mass destruction in the wrong hands

April 28, 2025 / / No comments
Day 118 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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By the time you read this, I should be home recovering from an early morning outpatient surgery. 

It’s nothing serious. But I’ve been told to expect a lot of pain for the first 24 hours, and will probably be pretty out of it for awhile. 

I wanted to try and write something for tomorrow. But I think I need to take the night off and give myself time to recover. 

So I’m going to let my pain meds wrap me in the arms of Morpheus, and see you again on Wednesday, instead.

And no, I’m not worried. Scared shitless, maybe, but not nervous. But at least writing this should help keep my mind off it for a few hours. 

Meanwhile, the surgery will be performed robotically. So I plan to take a good look at that machine when they wheel me in. 

And if it says Waymo anywhere, I’m going to run like hell.

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Last week, I commented on the mayor’s slash and burn budget for the coming fiscal year, which comes after years of warnings that the city’s spending and pay raises were unsustainable.

Not to mention a seemingly endless series of legal settlements for everything from sexual harassment to injuries and deaths caused by poorly designed and maintained streets, resulting in half a billion in payments in just the last two years.

Most of which could have been avoided if the city spent the money fixing the problems, instead of paying later for not fixing them.

Now Mayor Bass has responded by pulling an Elon Musk-style DOGE act, calling for laying off 1,600 city staffers, something that could have a devastating effect on already understaffed departments responsible for street safety, like LADOT and Street Services.

And that’s in addition to proposing a delay in capital expenditures, like bike lanes and other safety improvements.

Now, I’m the first to admit I’m no financial wizard, and have no idea how to best balance the city’s books.

But I do know we shouldn’t be making cuts that will cost lives and lead to millions more in legal settlements.

If you’re as mad as I am, you can comment on the mayor’s proposed budget at City Hall this afternoon.

APRIL 28, 2025 at 4pm
City Hall Council Chamber, Room 340
200 North Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Then turn out on Wednesday evening, preferably wearing red, for a die-in on the steps of City Hall.

Dying-In Los Angeles – A Protest for Safer Streets: Don’t “DOGE” LA Safety

A coalition of non-profits and road safety advocates will be hosting a protest on the steps of LA City Hall to raise awareness of LA’s dystopian-level budget cuts.

If these cuts go through, there will be no funding for new safety improvements next year — no speed reduction measures, no protected bike lanes, no pedestrian upgrades. Nothing.

Join us at 6pm, April 30th – LA City Hall.

I won’t be able to make it because of my surgery, which will lay me up for a couple weeks. But I hope you’ll go and demand safer streets for me.

And maybe do a little yelling.

Because I sure as hell would.

Meanwhile, Damian Kevitt, the founder of Streets Are For Everyone and Finish The Ride — and the bike rider who barely survived being dragged onto the 5 Freeway by a fleeing hit-and-run driver, who was never caught — has started a petition to tell the Mayor not to DOGE LA safety.

Yes, I’ve signed it myself. And I hope you will, and share it with everyone you know.

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Another day, another mass casualty crash on North American roads.

By now, you’ve probably heard that at least 11 people were killed, and dozens more injured, when a man slammed his SUV into the crowd of people celebrating a Philippine holiday in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The driver was taken into custody after being stopped by people attending the festival.

However, police concluded that this was not a terrorist attack, as it first appeared, but rather, the driver was someone well known to police with a history of mental health issues.

Which raises the obvious question of why someone with a history of mental health problems was still allowed to pilot a multi-ton potential weapon of mass destruction.

As Tom Vanderbilt, author of Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), put it, a driver’s license is too easy to get, and too hard to lose. 

Driving is treated as if it’s a right, rather than a privilege. And until we change that, horrific disasters like this will keep happening, intentionally or otherwise.

Even the conservative Los Angeles Daily News agrees, calling for removing the license of drivers who have proven they don’t belong on the road.

Yet the state continues to ignore the most obvious way to improve road safety: remove the licenses of those drivers who have a history of driving dangerously. A shocking investigative report by CalMatters called “License to Kill” highlighted California’s inexplicable willingness to allow the deadliest drivers to keep driving.

It’s unfathomable—and appalling that the Department of Motor Vehicles had little to say for itself. The DMV “routinely allows drivers … with horrifying histories of dangerous driving, including DUIs, crashes and numerous tickets … to continue to operate on our roadways,” per the report. Too often they go on to kill. Many keep driving even after they kill. Some go on to kill again.”

Clearly, we have to add mental illness to that list.

And as we’ve noted before, simply suspending a driver’s license offers no guarantee they won’t continue to drive anyway. We need to remove the driver’s access to a motor vehicle, whether that means impounding it, or somehow disabling it until they get their license back.

Thanks to someone who prefers to be anonymous for forwarding the Daily News link. 

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Okay, so they’re not gone yet.

The logo for San Diego’s Pedal Ahead is still on the website for the California E-bike Incentive Project, as they gear up for tomorrow’s second round of deliberately throttled ebike vouchers.

It turns out the nonprofit agency is only semi-fired, and continuing to work with the California Air Resources Board, aka CARB, as they look for a replacement.

Which doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence things will go better this time, after the disastrous first round.

Thanks to Malcomb Watson for pointing that out.

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

No bias here. A San Diego letter writer says if the city has to make budget cuts, it should start with the bike lanes.

Horrible news from Chicago, where a 55-year old bike advocate was attacked with a crowbar by a road raging car passenger after he called out the driver for parking in the bike lane, as he was riding home from Friday’s Critical Mass.

No bias here, either. The Mayor of Melbourne, Australia’s inner city called out the “white privilege” of “managerial class people,” saying they’re the only supporters of a bike lane he wants to narrow to restore 69 parking spaces removed to build it.

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

Um, okay. Police in England are trying out a new forensic spray for tagging anti-social bicyclists and motorcyclists, marking their clothes and bikes with a yellow stain that shows up under ultraviolet light, allowing police to identify the miscreants later.

Legislation was re-introduced in the British Parliament to “close a loophole” in the law to allow bicyclists who kill pedestrians to be sentenced to life in prison, just like killer drivers can be, but usually aren’t; meanwhile, The Spectator says “We don’t need a crackdown on killer cyclists;” but you’ll need to subscribe or register if you want to read it.

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Local 

UCLA hosted the annual bicycle-powered Coastalong Music and Sustainability Festival on campus this year, because the usual off-campus venue is under construction.

Santa Clarita has removed the white “paddles,” aka bollards, lining the protected bike lane on Orchard Village Road, because people found them aesthetically displeasing.

 

State

Orange County’s first paved pump track opened in San Clemente on Saturday.

A new 6.7-mile, $31 million bikeway will open this summer, running parallel to the trolley in Imperial Beach to connect the San Ysidro border crossing with the Bayshore Bikeway.

Sad news from Fresno, where a man riding a bicycle was killed by a driver near a freeway onramp; the driver was reportedly cooperating with investigators, even though it sounds like they left the scene.

An op-ed from the communications manager for the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates questions whether spending state traffic safety grant money to ticket bicyclists and pedestrians will make the city safer. It’s also illegal selective enforcement, because police can’t legally enforce the law against one group without equal enforcement against anyone else who commits the same violations. 

Sacramento’s ABC10 offers five things to know about tomorrow’s second round of California ebike incentives.

 

National

Planetizen provides US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy with a data-based explainer on why bike lanes are good, after said there’s no evidence that bike lanes have benefits.

Author Colum McCann responded to a request from the New York Times to explore a significant moment in his religious or spiritual life by submitting an essay about biking across the US in his early 20s questioning his faith, and finding God in the people he met along the way.

Oregon bikemaker Co-Motion Cycles invited the public in over the weekend to see how tandem bikes are made, as the tandem bike industry is reportedly booming. Which would make it one of the few bright spots in the bike industry these days.

An urgent search is underway to find British Paralympian Sam Ruddock after the paracyclist disappeared on a visit to Las Vegas two weeks ago.

The truck driver who plowed into a group ride in Goodyear, Arizona, killing two people and injuring 17 others, lost his bid to get the charges against him dismissed; investigators concluded driver fatigue was the cause of the crash, despite the driver’s claim his steering locked up. Never mind that he had gotten high the night before and still had THC in his system hours after the crash.

In an argument reminiscent of Bill Clinton’s questioning what the meaning of “is” is, voters in my bike-friendly Colorado hometown may have to return to the ballot box to determine the meaning of “recreation,” as opponents of a proposed bike park argue that rules limiting the area to recreational uses mean it can’t be used for a bike park, because riding a bicycle in a bike park somehow isn’t recreation.

Kiwi pop star Lorde is one of us, as the video for her latest song shows her riding a vintage bike through the carfree streets of New York City, grinning from ear to ear. Because who wouldn’t smile if there wasn’t a car in sight on your next ride?

Orlando, Florida turned bikeways into a year-long outdoor art gallery.

 

International

PinkBike offers random highlights from Europe’s largest handmade bike show, ranging from an antique bike horn to a frame-mounted liquor flask.

A new London bicycling festival promises to bring bike markets, BMX events, obstacle courses, live music and a bicycle ballet performance, along with over 30 family-friendly bike rides through nearly half of the city’s 32 boroughs.

A website from the UK introduces readers to a 56-year old woman they call the Iron Empress, who went directly from finishing the London marathon to the British Black Unty Bike Ride through South Africa.

A British man is taking one last bike ride to raise funds for four charities before he has both legs amputated due to a rare genetic condition.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a woman walked without a day behind bars for running a stop sign, crashing into another car and killing a 79-year old man riding a bicycle as collateral damage; she had just gotten the news that her father was dying while using her handsfree phone, and instead of pulling over to deal with her shock and grief, just kept driving until she killed someone.

Sad news from Spain, where a 39-year-old British man died in a fall during the grueling Mallorca 312 amateur bike race, as tributes poured in for the popular rider.

You can now find new bike lanes on the Dvořák Embankment in front of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Prague, Czech Republic.

China’s Xinhua offers photos from Saturday’s I Bike Budapest ride, as hundreds of people turned out to demonstrate the importance of bicycles as daily transportation in the city.

 

Competitive Cycling

An Indiana University student newspaper posted photos and results from the university’s iconic Little 500, including one of the gnarliest crash photos I’ve ever seen; Kappa Alpha Theta sorority won the women’s race, while Black Key Bulls won the men’s race for the second year in a row.

World Champ Tadej Pogacar continued his dominance of the early racing season with a solo breakaway win at Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday, his third win at the 133-year old Monument.

Mauritian cyclist Kim Le Court became the first African rider to win a Monument, out-sprinting Demi Vollering, Puck Pieterse and Cédrine Kerbaol at the finish.

In the latest incident of race fans behaving badly, a spectator was called an “absolute moron” for riding his bike on the Liège-Bastogne-Liège course as the women’s race was ongoing, then latching on to the back wheel of race leader Pauliena Rooijakkers before eventually being ejected by a race marshal.

The Uno-X Mobility cycling team brought back the “unmistakable” green, red and white jerseys of the legendary 7-Eleven team in a homage at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Road.cc examines the most obscure and peculiar sponsors of the pro peloton.

It was repeat news at the California edition of the popular Belgian Waffle Ride, with both the men’s and women’s races won by defending champs Matt Beers and Sofia Gomez Villafañe.

Cycling News looks at the huge crowds, party atmosphere and tough competition of the 45-year old Athens, Georgia Twilight Criterium.

 

Finally…

Everyone has fair-weather friends, so invite them to join you on a fair-weather ride. The late Pope Francis probably had more and better bikes than you have.

And your next bike ride could put you in the spotlight.

Or your legs, anyway.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

CA Ebike Incentive management firm accused of major misconduct, and “King” Trump kills New York congestion pricing

February 20, 2025 / / One comment
Day 51 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Nope. Nothing to see here.

Pedal Ahead, the San Diego firm chosen to manage the California Ebike Incentive Program is being sued by their former manager, accusing the nonprofit of what basically sounds like fraud and embezzlement.

But I’m not a lawyer, so what the hell do I know?

According to San Diego’s CBS8, it also may have explain why it took so long to roll out the state ebike vouchers.

In a newly filed non-conformed copy of a lawsuit obtained by CBS 8, former Pedal Ahead manager Rodrigo Rodriguez says he was forced out of his position after he reported misuse of funds, discriminatory statements from the nonprofit CEO, Ed Clancy, and evidence that Clancy was using Pedal Ahead to steer business to his own e-bike ventures, thus delaying a statewide initiative to provide grants to lower-income residents to purchase e-bikes.

In December 2024, the program moved on from Pedal Ahead and finally rolled out its e-bike incentives.

According to the lawsuit, the rollout was postponed for a long time due to Pedal Ahead’s alleged misconduct. However, not before Pedal Ahead secured over $10 million in grant funding from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the San Diego Association of Governments.

So those of us who accused the program of mismanagement and called for a criminal investigation may have been onto something.

You’re welcome.

And apparently, Pedal Ahead is not involved with the program any more, with the state taking over management of the program, which is the first I’ve heard about it.

So we have them to thank for the intentionally botched rollout of the first and only round of vouchers.

Clancy is also accused making discriminatory comments about the low-income communities they were intended to serve, as well as neglecting required outreach to communities of color in the state, including Barrio Logan, Richmond, Hunters Point, Fresno and Native American reservations

Evidently, oversight wasn’t a high priority for the California Air Resources Board, aka CARB, which was supposed oversee the program.

Or basic competence, for that matter.

The San Diego Union-Tribune has reported that Pedal Ahead is facing three separate investigations, however, their story is currently hidden behind a paywall.

Let’s hope those investigations also look into who chose them to run the program for CARB, and why.

And maybe it’s time for a few public hearings on this whole shitshow.

Or past time, even.

Ebike photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels.

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President Trump has boldly gone where no president has gone before, reaching into local traffic management to cancel New York’s successful congestion pricing program, while crowning himself king.

Just how legal that is remains to be determined.

Trump could have a say in the matter, since the program involved highways and bridges built using federal funds, which legally gives Washington a voice, if not a veto, over how they are used.

Although whether Trump can summarily overturn the four-year process blessed by the previous administration will depend on the outcome of the inevitable lawsuits.

Meanwhile let’s all wish a happy third birthday to LA Metro’s own congestion pricing study, which still hasn’t been released, evidently out of fear of pissing off LA drivers and the elected leaders who love them.

It may be a moot point now, though, since a Los Angeles edition of congestion pricing is no more likely to be approved by the Trump administration than New York’s was.

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An automotive website lists ten bicycles with known safety flaws, along with another ten ebikes banned for safety risks.

Although it doesn’t say who banned them, so maybe take that with a grain of salt.

And maybe they should have stopped there. Because that same automotive website badly misses the mark with their next piece, highlighting ten bicycles proven to be safest in high speed crashes.

Maybe they assume bicycles come standard with airbags. Or maybe they’ve forgotten that it isn’t the hard surfaces of a bicycle that matter in a crash, but the soft, squishy parts of the person on it.

Whether you’re in a solo crash or struck by a speeding driver, even the heaviest, most shock-absorbing frame will offer little protection when your entire body is exposed to the impact.

Which raises the question what the hell they’re thinking — or maybe what they’re on.

Or maybe they just let AI write the whole damn thing, and no one bothered to read it before they put it online.

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Finish The Ride founder Damian Kevitt will join a discussion on the future of ebikes at Claremont’s Harvey Mudd College on Monday.

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

Ontario, Canada’s ongoing war on bike lanes made its way into the campaign for provincial premier, as current leader Doug Ford, brother of the late crack-smoking Toronto mayor, attacked his opponents for their belief in “bike lanes and riding bikes and planting trees…But the problem is, you won’t be able to afford the trees because the economy will go down the tubes with all three of you.” Because apparently, trees and bikes are somehow bad for the local economy. Or something. 

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Local  

The eight-year old son of singer Pink and motocross star Carey Hart is one of us, following in his famous dad’s footsteps on “an appropriately sized” BMX bike.

 

State

Calbike says support advocates, and keep calm and pedal on in the face of whiplash changes in federal funding and policies. And thanks for linking to Transportation For America’s analysis of what’s going on at the federal level, and what it means for all of us. 

San Francisco CA Senator Scott Weiner has introduced two more bills to speed up projects that reduce car dependency, with SB71 focused on shortening CEQA reviews for transit, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, and SB445 on imposing permitting process deadlines for larger transit projects.

The Santa Cruz Sentinel takes a look at the Coastal Rail Trail following the tracks of the 19th Century Santa Cruz and Monterey Bay Railroad.

San Francisco finally installed its first speed cam, as allowed under a state pilot program approved a year ago. Which makes them one up on Los Angeles, which, to the best of my knowledge, hasn’t installed any.

 

National

Electrek recommends the best ebikes available now at every price point, from below a thousand bucks to more than five grand.

Bike Magazine considers how cuts in the federal public lands workforce will affect mountain biking, saying responsible ridership will now be more important than ever.

An Oregon legislator agreed to withdraw a controversial bill that would have banned Class 3 ebikes from bike lanes, while reclassifying them with mopeds and motorcycles.

New Mexico is considering whether and how to restrict mountain biking to protect the endangered Peñasco Least Chipmunk.

Denver will host a psychedelic bike ride in April to mark the 82nd anniversary of Bicycle Day, when Swiss chemist Dr. Albert Hoffman dropped the first LSD tab and unexpectedly tripped out while riding his bike home from work.

Residents of New York’s wealthy Upper East Side say they were blindsided by the new green wave on Third Ave, with traffic lights now timed to give constant green lights to anyone traveling 15 mph. Like on a bicycle, for instance. Or a car stuck in traffic thanks to Trump’s cancelation of congestion pricing.

A Louisiana high school senior who rode his bike to school everyday received a surprise upgrade from two wheels to four, when school officials gave him the keys to a donated used car. Although some of us would consider that a downgrade, instead.

Florida nonprofit Jack the Bike Man vows to continue its mission of providing refurbished bicycles to kids in need, after a fire tore through the second floor of their West Palm Beach warehouse; there were no bicycles stored there, but the group had hoped to sell it to raise funds for their work.

 

International

Momentum recommends studded bike tires for winter riding. Although here in sunny SoCal you’re more likely to need a good sunscreen. 

Evidently, winter isn’t a problem for bike riders in Brussels, Belgium, where ridership is up 4% over last year, on top of a nearly 14% increase the year before, despite record rainfall.

Momentum also suggests the best off-the-beaten-path bicycling routes in Italy, for your next off-the-beaten-path trip to the country.

An Aussie photography magazine talks with “bicycle photographer extraordinaire” Marcus Enno, better known in the cycling world as Beardy McBeard.

 

Competitive Cycling

The opening stage of Portugal’s Volta ao Algarve was called off with no winner declared when nearly the entire peloton took a wrong turn at a roundabout less than a kilometer from the finish line, speeding through the crowded lane on the wrong side of the barriers.

Escape Collective drops their paywall to consider other alternative endings to bike races that UCI probably hasn’t considered. Unless maybe they have, of course.

 

Finally….

Your next mountain bike ride could be halted by a chipmunk. Now you, too, can ride the custom bike honoring a locally famous runaway dog in a pooch-themed Mardi Gras parade.

And your next road kit could honor famed cycling superstar SpongeBob.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Civil rights complaint filed against administrator of CA ebike incentive; loophole closed on Chinese imports

February 4, 2025 / / Comments Off on Civil rights complaint filed against administrator of CA ebike incentive; loophole closed on Chinese imports
Day 35 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Nope. Nothing out of the ordinary here.

San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas abruptly resigned, despite winning re-election to a second term in November, citing fears for her personal safety over her support for a sanctuary city.

Or maybe it had something to do with a civil rights complaint filed with the EPA citing close ties to Ed Clancy, head of the San Diego nonprofit Pedal Ahead, which administers the California ebike incentive program.

The complaint alleges the ebike voucher program discriminates against Black people, making their vouchers harder to redeem and charging additional fees, along with a number of other allegations.

Just one more example of the total shitshow this program has devolved into.

The only question here is whether the DOJ investigation Reichert mentions is the state investigation we already knew about, or whether a federal investigation has been launched as well.

Thanks to Malcolm Watson for the heads-up.

………

Despite lifting the new tariffs on Mexico and Canada yesterday, at least temporarily, Trump allowed the additional 10% punitive tariff on goods imported from to go into effect, as we discussed yesterday.

Adding insult to financial injury, he is also reportedly closing the de minimis loophole, which allows goods from China valued below $800 to be shipped directly to the consumer, bypassing import duties and regulatory scrutiny.

That’s what allows Chinese websites such as Shein and Temu to offer such low prices.

It’s also what has allowed low-end Chinese ebikes sold through Amazon and Walmart to flood the market.

So it may not necessarily be a bad thing. Even if it means you could pay more for components.

………

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

San Mateo, California is taking a page from Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s playbook, with a vote last night to consider ripping out the two-year old Humboldt Street bike lanes because drivers are whining about a loss of parking.

No bias here. An English town is benevolently lifting a ban on bicycles on the city’s main shopping street after four years — but only permitting bicycles restricted to the same hours as delivery trucks, rather than allowing the access other shoppers and employees enjoy.

………

Local  

Long Beach will hold a public town hall meeting to discus the city’s Orange Avenue Backbone Bikeway Project a week from Thursday.

 

State

Calbike asks, not unreasonably, why there’s still no new bill in the state legislature to legalize Stop As Yield, aka the California Safety Stop, aka the Idaho Stop Law, after two new studies showed it works, improving safety for bicyclists while reducing conflicts at intersections.

The award-winning Arthritis Foundation California Coast Classic Bike Tour is returning for the 25th consecutive year this September.

San Diego continues to fall short of its Vision Zero goals, with 19 people killed by traffic violence in the county last month — including one riding a bicycle that we weren’t previously aware of.

 

National

My bike-friendly Colorado hometown will join other cities across the state in celebrating Valentines Day with a Winter Bike to Work Day, allowing bike riders to spend the day with their one true love — their bicycles. Yet somehow, no one marks the day to encourage people here in Southern California to bike to work in winter, despite having nearly ideal weather for it. Then again, the summer Bike to Work Day has been nearly moribund here post-pandemic, so why should a winter one be any different?

A Florida couple are now both facing charges after investigators concluded the husband lied about being behind the wheel in a deadly hit-and-run that killed an eight-year old girl as she was riding a bicycle, after they discovered he was at work at the time of the crash, and it was the wife who was actually driving.

 

International

Cycling Weekly considers the burning question of when should you replace your bicycle.

This is why people keep dying on our streets. An Irish parliament member is calling for a public inquiry into the death of a 23-year old man riding a bicycle, after it was revealed the driver of the car had 42 previous convictions, including convictions for traffic violations, theft and possession of heroin, and was was on bail at the time of the crash.

Bicyclists in Melbourne, Australia are complaining about new bike lanes that they say is make things more dangerous, because the concrete dividers do nothing to keep drivers from pulling out into the bike lane, keep taxis stopping in them or prevent pedestrians from using them as sidewalks.

 

Competitive Cycling

Mountain Bike Action says Tom Pidcock And Mathieu Van Der Poel could give Switzerland’s Nino Schurter a run for his money as the world’s top cross-country mountain bike racer. 

Pez Cycling News considers the most shocking moments in cycling history, starting with Lance the doper. And Landis the Mennonite doper, too.

A San Luis Obispo website says a secretive, underground, unsanctioned and arguably illegal bike race known as the SLO Little 500 “puts the fun in dysfunction.”

 

Finally…

Celebrate Black History Month by riding brakeless. That feeling when you race through the muck and mud with a $300,000 Swiss watch on your wrist.

And now you, too, can have a built-in handlebar dashboard on your bike. Because there just aren’t enough ways to suck the fun out of bicycling already.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

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

Missing the point on ghost bikes, El Segundo’s new substandard bike lanes, and CA’s failed ebike voucher plan

July 26, 2024 / / One comment
Just 158 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

An Altamont NY writer kinda misses the point about ghost bikes.

He notes that it’s natural to grieve, and we don’t all do it in the same way. But wonders whether it’s healthy to be reminded of these tragedies every time you pass by, and questions who wants to see something like that, anyway?

But that’s the point.

None of us want to see that. But we all need to be reminded what happened there.

Because a ghost bike is more than just a memorial. It’s a reminder to everyone who sees it about the fragility of human life, and the need to drive in a way that respects that.

A ghost bike is a searing reminder to respect the safety of people on bicycles, and to take your damn foot off the gas, for once.

Personally, I hate the damn things. I hope we never have to install another one.

But I will support ghost bikes until they’re not needed any more. And the last person killed riding a bike on our streets really is the last one.

Photo of ghost bike for fallen South LA bicyclist Frederick “Woon” Frazier by Matt Tinoco.

………

Evidently, substandard is the new standard. At least in El Segundo.

………

It’s now 218 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, Streetsblog’s Melanie Curry has taken an in-depth look at the program. Or at least as in-depth as possible, given the closed-door decision making process, obtuse public pronouncements and obvious obfuscation.

Her piece was posted under the headline What the Heck is Going on with the State E-bike Incentive Program? Which is about as politely stated as possible given the subject matter.

I would have used another word starting with H instead of heck. And even that would be an effort to censure my own thoughts on the subject.

Curry writes that the California Air Resources Board, aka CARB, has continually promised that the the program, which is currently funded at $30 million after the state legislature sweetened the pot, will launch “soon.”

Sometimes that’s sometime in the next quarter, or the one after that. But every time, their self-imposed deadline has come and gone, with barely a dime laid out.

The soft launch that we’ve heard virtually nothing about has funded just 77 vouchers, mostly in the San Diego area, according to Curry. But no dollar amounts have been announced.

And if San Diego rings a bell, it’s because that’s where program administrator Pedal Ahead is located. And where Pedal Ahead and its CEO are reportedly being investigated amid accusations of mixing public and private funds.

As Curry explains,

And now, two recent articles in the San Diego Union Tribune say that the program’s administrator is “under investigation” by multiple agencies for various improprieties, and is being sued by one of its employees who says he wasn’t paid for work he did, and that the nonprofit mixed public money and private business.

When CARB announced that they had chosen Pedal Ahead as administrator for the program in 2022, advocates were quietly but frantically worried that a big mistake had been made. Rumors swirled about Pedal Ahead’s founder, Ed Clancy, and questions were raised about his personal connections to former CARB board member Nathan Fletcher, who helped Clancy launch his organization, Rider Safety Visibility (RSV), of which Pedal Ahead is a part.

But no one would go on record with their concerns, and CARB staff insisted that (former CARB board member, California Assembly Member and current San Diego County Supervisor Nathan) Fletcher had zero influence over the decision. They chose Pedal Ahead, they said, because of the organization’s experience with e-bikes.

Nope. Nothing to see there.

Never mind the apparent conflict of interest that led to Pedal Ahead’s selection, despite an application that wasn’t exactly on point, to be kind.

Rider Safety Visibility turned in an application that implied it would recreate the program it was running in San Diego. But that program was not at all like the state’s plan. That is, the Pedal Ahead program run by RSV is a “loan-to-own” program wherein income-qualified people are given e-bikes, which they could keep after a certain period of time as long as they fulfilled certain requirements, like riding at least 35 miles a week and bringing them in regularly to be checked (and to have their mileage checked on Strava units included on the bike).

The statewide plan, in contrast, would give money to people to buy their own e-bikes.

Nothing to see there, either.

So let’s be honest.

At this point, it’s obvious that the California ebike voucher program is just one massive clusterfuck, with no public openness or accountability.

And it’s long past time for the California Attorney General’s office to audit the program, and open a criminal investigation if it’s warranted.

Because I highly suspect it is.

So if anyone wants to pass this on to them, I’m fine with that.

Thanks to Ellectrek for the heads-up. And to Melanie Curry for her reporting. 

………

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

A road raging, hit-and-run driver was arrested in Ventura County after plowing into a bicyclist riding at the back of a group on LA’s Mandeville Canyon Road; he’s then seen honking and yelling at the bike riders filming him as he plows through a gate, before engaging in a brief police chase and crashing once again in Malibu.

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

A Florida man has been busted on hit-and-run charges after crashing his speeding ebike into a man playing soccer on the beach, then fleeing the scene. Yet another reminder that you have as much responsibility to stop after a crash as a driver does. Even though they too often don’t.

………

Local 

Police are looking for a man suspected of stabbing a man in his mid-40s at the the North Hollywood Metro station, before fleeing on a black bicycle.

Once again, a bicyclist is a hero, as a Venice rider rode his pedicab between boardwalk brawlers to break up a fight.

Beverly Hills plans to restripe the existing bike lanes on Burton Drive, after completing the current repaving project.

Claremont approved spending $41,000 to continue funding the GoSGV bikeshare.

Agoura Hills is rolling out a new bike plan, after receiving a $1.6 million federal transportation grant.

 

State

San Diego intends to use eminent domain to seize two pieces of private property in La Jolla considered essential for completing the Coastal Rail Trail bikeway.

The Ventura County coastline is now officially part of US Bike Route 95.

 

National

National Geographic — yes, it’s still around — recommends the best road cycling gear for beginners.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, aka CPSC is warning bike riders to immediately stop using Camzimo bicycle helmets, which may not provide adequate protection in a fall.

Oh, hell no. Bicycling wants to know if you’d buy a $100 water bottle. For a change, read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you. 

For what seems like the first time in recorded history, a cop in North Platte, Nebraska offers safety advice for bicyclists that doesn’t once mention wearing a helmet. Although I’m not sure about the requirement to have a front bike light “that protrudes up to 500 feet,” which seems just a tad excessive. And dangerous.

Bill Belichick is one of us, as the 72-year old former NFL coaching great went for a Nantucket bike ride with his much younger girlfriend, after apparently confusing himself with the star of a Woody Allen film.

The New York Times offers a very belated obituary for 1930’s Belgian trans cyclist Willy de Bruyn, who broke gender barriers by announcing he wanted to live as a man, after winning a number of women’s cycling competitions.

No surprise here. The Philadelphia DA announced that the driver who killed a pediatric oncologist as she was riding her bike in the city last week was traveling at twice the posted 25 mph speed limit, with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit; the 68-year old driver has been charged with vehicular manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, DUI, reckless driving and other assorted offenses.

Kindhearted Brevard County, Florida sheriff’s deputies bought a new bike for a nine-year old girl after hers was stolen.

In the saddest story of the day, a three-year old Florida boy was killed when he was hit-by a driver while he was riding his bike with family members.

 

International

Toronto suffered its fifth bicycling fatality of the year — more than the previous four years combined — when a woman was struck by the driver of a dump truck, who was apparently unable to stop the large truck when parked cars blocking a bike lane forced the woman into the traffic lane.

Forget cycling. British bike hero Chris Boardman, who won the men’s individual pursuit at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, wants to own a Sussex football club. That’s soccer to those of us on this side of the pond.

Rouleur recommend five unique Parisian bicycling spots to visit during the 2024 Olympics, which start today.

Even in the midst of war, Ukrainian bicyclists call for the preservation of Kyiv’s “American Girl” bike park, one of the oldest in the city. And apparently one of the few sites the Russians haven’t managed to bomb. Yet.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your helmet and goggles-clad terrier is a biketouring RAGBRAI ruff rider. Or when you hold a memorial ride for bike-riding fallen feline.

And when a stray pup joins in on an indefinite bike ride around the world.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

California media ignoring problems with state’s moribund ebike voucher program, and bike bills whittled down in legislature

July 3, 2024 / / Comments Off on California media ignoring problems with state’s moribund ebike voucher program, and bike bills whittled down in legislature
Just 181 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

Happy Independence Day!

There’s no better way to celebrate the 4th than with a good bike ride, whether you’re riding during the day or to the fireworks at night.

Just remember many people may have been drinking before they get behind the wheel, and many others driving distracted. Or both. And they may not be looking for someone on a bicycle.

So ride defensively this weekend. I don’t want to have to write about you or anyone else.

As for me, if past is prologue, my 4th will be spent all night huddled in a closet comforting a corgi terrified by the near constant bombardment of illegal fireworks outside our Hollywood neighborhood. 

Good times. 

We’ll see you again bright and early on Monday.

Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels.

………

It’s now 195 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, Minnesota’s ebike voucher program ran out after just 18 minutes when over 10,000 people attempted to claim one. This was the program’s second attempt to launch after the website crashed from high demand a few weeks ago.

Neve mind that the launch came just one year after the program was created by the legislature.

That compares with California’s still moribund program, which still hasn’t even attempted to launch yet. And probably won’t anytime soon after serious questions were raised about program administrator Pedal Ahead.

Which oddly hasn’t been mentioned anywhere other than in the local San Diego paper, despite its status as a failed statewide program.

………

Sharrows only exist to help drivers improve their aim.

Meanwhile, Streetsblog’s Melanie Curry reports a bill to ban sharrows from high speed roadways is still alive in the state legislature, along with the Caltrans Complete Streets bill, but both have been whittled down to reflect the status quo.

………

This has got to be one of the most evocative cycling photos I’ve seen.

………

I forgot she was one of us, too.

https://twitter.com/cyclartist/status/1808199538345230525

………

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

No bias here. After new separated bike lanes were installed on San Diego’s Convoy Street, a local TV station focused all its attention on anecdotal reports of customers avoiding the area due to a loss of previously super convenient parking spaces.

No bias here, either. London bicyclists want to know why the Royal Parks Service won’t allow early morning time trials in the city’s Richmond Park over concerns about speeding cyclists, but is going ahead with a much larger duathlon race consisting of running and bicycling.

………

Local 

The Los Angeles Times looks at California’s deadliest freeways, topped by I-15 in San Bernardino County and I-10 in Riverside County, with 48 deaths and 31 deaths in 2022, respectively. Another reminder that any transportation system that accepts death as a frequent and predictable consequence is an abject failure.

Speaking of freeways, Metro still plans to flush billions down the climate change-inducing, induced demand toilet by expanding the 605 and 5 Freeways.

 

State

A 77-year old San Diego man suffered severe, but not life-threatening injuries when he crashed his ebike into a raised curb in the Serra Mesa neighborhood.

A Santa Rosa mother joined with local bicyclists to call for the CHP to address an increase in hostility directed towards bicyclists, as well as stepping up the investigation into her son’s death after he was killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bike.

 

National

In a bizarre story, a Denver bicyclist was somehow killed when a driver rolled their vehicle over the center freeway divider, raising questions of just where the victim had been riding, which the local media doesn’t seem to be asking.

Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a suspect in the hit-and-run crash that killed an 82-year old man taking part in the five-day Tour of Nebraska last weekend.

A planned overhaul of the main concourse at Chicago’s Union Station will included expanded bike parking options, after respondents overwhelmingly preferred adding secure, indoor bike storage.

New York’s congestion pricing may not be dead after all, as political leaders attempt to persuade the state’s governor to accept a revised plan with a lower fee for motorists driving into Manhattan.

An off-duty New Jersey cop has been charged with a relatively minor third-degree felony for the hit-and-run that critically injured an 18-year old man riding a bicycle; he turned himself in after giving himself time to sober up the next day.

 

International

Bike Rumor looks forward to the return of the Eurobike trade show in Frankfurt, Germany this weekend.

Megan Lynch forwards a heartbreaking Mastadon post showing the work of an Australian woman who made a quilt from her husband’s bicycling jerseys, after he was killed while riding his bike.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tadej Pogačar climbed back into the yellow leader’s jersey on stage 4 of the Tour de France, dropping rival Jonas Vingegaard on the summit of the Col du Galibier on his way to a 45 second lead over the peloton.

Velo examines Biniam Gorman’s long journey from impoverished Eritrea to cycling stardom as the first Black African to win a stage at the Tour de France.

Greg LeMond remains the only American to officially wear the yellow jersey, after Tour de France stage and general classification wins by Lance Armstrong, Floyd Landis, David Zabriskie and George Hincapie were officially erased, as if both the wins and the people who won them had never existed.

Ouch. A Utah paper asks if anyone in America even cares that the world’s premier bike race has started.

Cycling News offers the best deals on bike gear inspired by the Tour.

Eight years ago, US Olympian Kristen Faulkner didn’t even know how to clip into her pedals; today, she’s a medal contender in the individual time trial at the Paris Olympics.

 

Finally…

Your next ebike could come with drone DNA. Apparently, riding your bike naked with a group is okay; riding naked alone not so much.

And forget debating, make Trump and Biden race bikes.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Nonprofit overseeing CA ebike voucher program under investigation, and Gordon Ramsay says “wear your helmet”

June 17, 2024 / / One comment
Just 198 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.

Image by Maxfoot from Pixabay.

………

And that, my friends, is when it all went to hell.

As you may know, we’ve been tracking the moribund California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which has now reached 178 days since we were promised it would open in fall of last year.

Spoiler alert — it didn’t.

It’s also a full three years since the plan was approved by the state legislature and signed into law by the governor. And counting.

And just two weeks before they’re guaranteed to miss the most recent promised launch date in the second quarter of this year, which has now been pushed back to sometime this summer.

They’re not likely to meet that one, either.

Because the program charged with operating the California ebike incentive program, San Diego nonprofit Pedal Ahead, could end up facing charges themselves.

In fact, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports that Pedal Ahead is currently facing not one, not two, but three ongoing investigations. (Although the paper’s newly even more draconian paywall means you’ll have to register with your email if you want to read it.)

It’s a confusing and convoluted story. But the gist of it is that Pedal Ahead is accused of being delinquent in filing the required paperwork with various government agencies, leading to investigations by San Diego County, the California Air Resources Board, and the California Department of Justice.

Yet somehow, they’re supposed to handle the increasingly complicated statewide program, which has now been funded with a still-too-small $31 million to distribute, even though that’s up from the initial $10 million fund, which was reduced to just $7.5 million after overhead.

And even though they’ve been removed as operators of the low-income ebike loan-to-own program launched by the San Diego Association of Governments two years ago.

Yet it was that “expertise” that formed the basis of their selection to operate the statewide program.

But at least that part of the story is clear.

It gets more confusing when the paper tries to explain the numerous nonprofit and for-profit companies opened by Pedal Ahead chief executive Edward Clancy in recent years, many with nearly identical names.

And many, if not most, of which either ran into problems, or apparently never got beyond the naming stage.

Then there’s the fact that Clancy wore a wire for the FBI’s probe into illegal campaign financing involving his former boss and a Mexican businessman, while skating on any possible charges himself.

Clancy was appointed as “bike czar” by former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, who resigned under a torrent of sexual misconduct accusations after less than a year in office.

According to the Union-Tribune,

Clancy was later reported to have been a confidential informant in an unrelated federal investigation into illegal campaign financing in San Diego County.

The Union-Tribune reported in 2014 that he wore a wire for the FBI, recording conversations with three people who were later charged with coordinating $500,000 in donations from Mexican businessman Jose Susumo Azano Matsura to Filner, then-District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and two Democratic political committees.

Clancy, who received qualified immunity from federal prosecutors and was never himself charged with any wrongdoing, maintained his political connections after he stopped consulting.

No problem, then.

It’s long past time that the state legislature conducted an open, public hearing into the problems with the state ebike incentive program that have led to its ongoing failure to launch, despite the clear intent of our elected leaders.

And shine a much-needed light on a program that has been utterly opaque up to this point.

Because something tells me what we’ve learned today is just the tip of an iceberg big enough to sink the Titanic all over again.

Thanks to Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette for the heads-up. 

………

The common theme over the weekend, the one that sucked the air out of the news headlines, is Gordon’s Ramsay’s advice to wear your bike helmet.

Yes, the lovably irascible chef is one of us. Although “lovably” kind of depends on your perspective.

Ramsay revealed in a Father’s Day greeting that he had been the victim of a bad bicycling crash in Connecticut recently, lifting his traditional chef’s jacket to reveal a badly bruised torso. And crediting his shattered helmet and “those incredible trauma surgeons, doctors, nurses in the hospitals” that looked after him with saving his life.

Meanwhile, a writer for the Christian Science Monitor also says wear a helmet, and put front, and especially, rear lights on your bike, offering his own hard-won experience in Long Beach as proof.

Although he misses the mark in calling out bicyclists for riding “two, three or even four abreast.” forcing drivers to “swerve completely into the incoming traffic lane.”

Never mind that riding abreast helps prevent unsafe passing, and using the next lane to go around them is exactly what drivers are supposed to do.

Then again, even Dutch officials are calling for the country’s largely helmet averse population to change “because the brain is very vulnerable.”

………

Nothing like have your bike stolen right in front of you on a Metro platform in broad daylight, as passengers look on.

………

It’s not every day you actually see a positive report about new bike lanes on the local news.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdK5c-i6HDs

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

………

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

No bias here. A writer for an off-road racing website blames a group of Atlanta bike riders for complaining when a cop ignored the speeding BMW driver who zoomed around them on the wrong side of the road, only to lecture them for some undisclosed reason. “We’ve all encountered entitled, difficult cyclists before,” he writes. “Maybe they’re riding three or four abreast, not letting cars get by, and acting aggressive towards any driver who does try to pass.”

A UK paper complains about the mythical war on cars over plans to fine drivers who step out into London bike lanes, as if the real problem is the penalty, and not the reason for it.

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

Bavarian police observed over 11,500 bicycling infractions over a one-month period of heightened enforcement.

………

Local 

Discover Los Angeles reminds us about this Sunday’s CicLAvia on Western Ave in South LA.

Here’s your chance to tell Glendale you want a permanent calmer, safer North Brand Boulevard, after the city’s successful pilot project.

Pasadena is implementing a quick build safety improvement program on Allen Ave between Colorado Blvd and Villa Street, offering enhanced crosswalks, curb extensions and new bicycle lanes.

Active SGV offers a recap on the recent Active Streets: Mission to Mission, including an appearance by the inimitable Gabe the Sasquatch.

Malibu releases details on the upcoming safety improvements on deadly PCH. All of which only offer a downpayment on what the killer highway really needs. 

 

State

Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, says three speeding bills they support are moving forward in the state legislature, including bills to allow speed cams on PCH in Malibu, and increase penalties for speeding on highways.

Motor vehicle speeds aren’t the only concern for state legislators, however, as AB 1774 would prohibit the sale of any product or device that can modify the speed of an ebike.

The California Building Standards Commission wants your input to shape bike parking standards in the new state building code.

Just days after the heartbreaking death of a 17-year old San Diego boy killed by an Amtrak train while riding his bike across the tracks, comes news that California is the deadliest state for train collisions, with 38 fatal crashes last year, compared to just 21 in Florida, the next highest state.

The Orange County Power Authority is launching its own ebike voucher program, offering up to $1,500 for income-qualified buyers.

Beach cities aren’t the only ones freaking out about ebike safety, as cities in California’s Inland Empire attempt to rein in teenagers on electric bicycles. Although they often conflate ebikes and e-motorbikes.

The latest proposal to replace San Francisco’s widely loathed Valencia Street center-running bike lane would create a slalom course as the bike lane swerves around restaurant parklets.

 

National

A writer for Bike Magazine pens a Father’s Day ode to his favorite riding companion, and the man who gave him everything.

Despite the best efforts of rightwing culture warriors, the World Naked Bike Ride returned to Mad City, Wisconsin on Saturday.

There’s not a pit deep enough for the schmuck who stole an 11-year old boy’s lowrider bike he’d customized himself from a New Mexico museum display.

Hundreds of teenaged bike riders gathered in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley to call for nationwide bike safety improvements at the 10th annual national Youth Bike Summit.

In news that should surprise absolutely no one — but probably will — a new study from New Jersey’s Rutger’s University shows bike lanes calm roadways, improving safety for everyone.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever rode off after stealing a collection jar raising funds for a premature Florida baby.

 

International

The mayor of Quebec City offers a master class in how to respond to accusations that bicyclists don’t pay for the services we receive. Although you’ll need to read the subtitles if you don’t understand French. Thanks again to Megan Lynch. 

A neighborhood in Birmingham, England is now offering an e-cargo bikeshare service to help cut pollution.

The UK’s best bicycle-friendly homes, starting at just £225,000 — the equivalent of a little over $285,000. I’ll send y’all a postcard once I get settled.

 

Competitive Cycling

That’s Sir Mark Cavendish to you, now.

Twenty-year old Norwegian pro Johannes Kulset is demanding an apology from cycling’s governing body after he was banned from the Tour of Slovenia for using the ‘super tuck’ position, denying he used his chest or forearms for support.

A pair of best buds are hoping to set a new record for the fastest duo to cross the Atlantic City finish line for the Race Across America, aka RAAM.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can own your very own Van Gogh bike. Ranking the Euro 2024 soccer teams based on how bike-friendly their cities are.

And there’s actually nothing funny about using laughing gas behind the wheel.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Feeling suckered by CA ebike voucher program, CD4’s Raman wins re-election, and why people keep dying on the streets

March 15, 2024 / / Comments Off on Feeling suckered by CA ebike voucher program, CD4’s Raman wins re-election, and why people keep dying on the streets
Just 291 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

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

As of this writing, we’re up to 1,017 signatures, so let’s keep it going! Urge everyone you know to sign the petition, until the mayor agrees to meet with us! 

Photo by Max J from Pexels.

………

Let’s start with a look at California’s virtually moribund ebike incentive program, and its ongoing failure to launch.

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

Life is cheap in New Zealand, where a woman is demanding action after police determine there’s “not enough detail” to charge a hit-and-run bus driver who just drove off after knocking her off her bike.

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

London’s Telegraph complains that the city is building more floating bus stops, even though some bicyclists don’t stop for pedestrians like they’re supposed to. Seriously, don’t do that. It only takes a few seconds to observe the right-of-way, and let pedestrians pass.

………

Local 

Alhambra’s city council unanimously approved a new bike and pedestrian plan, which was delayed for two months to get more community input. Although as we’ve learned the hard way, getting a plan approved is meaningless unless it’s actually funded and implemented, regardless of apparent support.

A paraplegic Palmdale man says riding a handcycle in Sunday’s Los Angeles Marathon fulfills his wildest dream.

LA County will spend $250 million to widen the Old Road in Stevenson Ranch to six lanes, while adding a protected bike lane in each direction. It costs an average of $1 million a mile to build a protected bike lane, which means they could build ten miles of protected lanes on both sides of the roadway, and still return $230 million change.

Santa Monica once again learned the hard way that free parking isn’t free; it cost the city $26,000 in lost revenue to provide free parking in city lots the last three days before Christmas, which resulted in exactly no benefit to local businesses.

Speaking of SaMo, the city is encouraging bicyclists to register their bikes through Bike Index or Garage 529 before May’s National Bike Month; you can sign up for lifetime free registration with Bike Index right here, as well as report a stolen bike or check their nationwide stolen bike registry. Full disclosure, I don’t get a damn thing for hosting Bike Index on this site, aside from the satisfaction of helping thwart bike thieves.

 

State

Survivors of a fallen Bakersfield bike rider filed a claim against the county, alleging dangerous conditions on the roadway where she was killed by a driver last year, including inadequate lighting, traffic signals and signage.

San Mateo bicyclists and traffic safety advocates are demanding answers after a hit-and-run driver left a bike-riding 62-year old woman with a broken back.

 

National

A new AI-powered device promises to use “computer vision” to alert bike riders to cars and other dangers on the roadway. So they expect us to rely on the same technology that draws people with three legs, and makes up various “facts.”

He gets it. Bike Portland’s Jonathan Maus says the reason more people aren’t biking is too many cars, with too many driven without regard for others.

Now this is a bike travel guide, as a Boulder CO weekly offers tips on where to stop for food and drinks on your next long-distance ride.

Denver promises to plow bike lanes, as the city prepares to get up to 20 inches of snow, though bike riders are warned they may have to share traffic lanes with motorists. And yet, we’re somehow told that no one will ride a bike during LA’s temperate winters. 

Kindhearted Indiana cops gave a new bike to a 12-year old boy whose bike was destroyed when he was hit by a bus; fortunately, he wasn’t hurt.

That’s more like it. A bill in the Vermont legislature will give bike riders priority at intersections and require a four-foot passing distance.

New York Streetsblog celebrates the new Citi Bike bikeshare dock at the former Shea Stadium, now Citi Field, allowing bikeshare users to ride to a Mets game. But then you’d have to actually watch them play, so hard pass. 

A $9.6 million federal grant will fund a nearly nine-mile bike and pedestrian path between two Mississippi towns, as part of a project to widen US 90 from four to six lanes. So call it a win-lose for the environment and induced-demand. 

 

International

Canadian Cycling Magazine argues there should be tax incentives to buy and ride a bicycle. There should be some on this side of the border, too.

A BBC radio host is riding the “staggering distance” of 500 km across the country — the equivalent of 310 miles — to raise funds for Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day. Or as randonneurs call a distance like that, Tuesday.

Bike-riding BBC host Jeremy Vine is suing a former Man City soccer player for calling him a “bike nonce.” Which I might find offensive, too, if I knew what the hell it meant.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Weekly tips two-time Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar to win Saturday’s Milan-San Remo, the longest one-day race in pro cycling.

The UCI Ethics Commission fined Soudal Quick-Step team boss Patrick Lefevere for making disparaging comments about women, including suggesting that women drink too much, and that many female pros aren’t worth pro cycling’s current minimum wage.

 

Finally…

This is what it looks like when unloved bicycles are left to die alone. Just let the billionaires pay for a pod to change out of your sweaty clothes after a bike commute.

And that feeling when you promise to ride a bike to see your friends, after getting busted for driving an uninsured vehicle with an expired driver’s license.

At 103 years old.

………

Ramadan Mubarak to all observing the Islamic holy month today. 

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

CA ebike voucher program sets next failure to launch deadline, and Times calls out fear-mongering over Measure HLA

February 23, 2024 / / One comment
Just 312 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can. Only 19 signatures to go to reach 1,000! 

………

Good news, maybe.

But don’t hold your breath.

San Diego’s inewsource reports that the next soon-to-be-missed deadline for California’s moribund ebike rebate program is now scheduled for sometime this spring.

That comes after self-imposed deadlines of January 1st, 2023, and the significantly more vague deadlines of second quarter, 2023, then last fall, which is the most recently missed deadline.

Not that we weren’t all expecting it to launch in 2022, after it passed the state legislature and was signed into law all the way back in those heady pandemic days of 2021.

So if anyone feels like Charlie Brown trying to kick a football, you’re in good company.

The story begins with a focus on San Diego nonprofit Pedal Ahead, which has been tasked with operating the program for the California Air Resources Board.

The nonprofit plans to operate a similar program statewide under a $10 million grant it received from the California Air Resources Board, or CARB. But roughly a year after its originally planned launch date, the program has yet to officially start.

CARB spokesperson Lys Mendez told inewsource that the state’s E-Bike Incentive Project is now expected to begin in the spring, as officials need more time for “infrastructure building” — essentially, making sure Pedal Ahead runs smoothly statewide. That includes organizing with e-bike retailers and community groups that can help get the word out and educate the public about the program, she said.

In other words, the same bullshit they’ve been feeding us for the last year.

The only real news in the story is that the soft launch that was supposed to take place last year actually did happen, despite the complete and total news blackout up to this point.

But as inewsource previously reported, Pedal Ahead suffered from low participation when it launched its San Diego program in 2020, with just a fraction of local participants logging enough miles to keep their bikes — and some reporting far fewer miles than what’s required, or none at all. The program also didn’t use an income requirement, allowing people who didn’t qualify as low income to receive a bike.

Despite that, Pedal Ahead beat two other applicants to administer the state program, with CARB citing the nonprofit’s “proven, on-the-ground experience” in San Diego.

Some money has been spent ahead of the program officially opening statewide. A preliminary “soft launch” is already happening in San Diego, the East Bay in Northern California, Fresno and in tribal communities, Mendez said. In those locations, she said the state is “currently testing key aspects” of the program.

Some, as in a quarter of the original $10 million in state funding has already gone to overhead, leaving just $7.5 million available for rebates.

Of that, $5 million is reserved for the lowest income applicants, with just $2.5 million for everyone else who qualifies with an income less than 300% of the federal poverty level.

Never mind that I would have qualified if the program had launched on time a year ago, and won’t now.

So I hope someone enjoys riding my ebike.

Maybe I can get Tern to sponsor me with one of these, instead. It could happen.

The other news in the story is that even after the moribund program finally crawls its way through the earth to launch, like Dracula after dark, it could take a full three months to be approved for a voucher once you apply.

Residents must also be at least 18 years old to apply for a voucher to get a free e-bike from a program-selected retailer, such as a local bike shop. Participants will need to own the e-bike for at least a year and complete surveys about the experience.

The approval process may take up to three months.

Yes, three months.

And if that’s not a sign of the sheer incompetency behind this program, I don’t know what is.

Frankly, I’m ready to give up on the whole damn thing and ask my state legislators to fire both CARB and Pedal Ahead, and start over from scratch.

Because the thing that other cities and states have seemed to find so easy to do — get ebike rebate programs up and running through multiple rounds of funding — seems to be impossible here.

Meanwhile, if Tasha Boerner’s AB 2234 passes, even adults will be required to pass an online test in order to be able to legally buy one, let alone actually ride it, if they don’t already have a driver’s license.

Because living in poverty isn’t humbling enough, evidently.

Thanks to Ellectrek for the heads-up.

………

They get it.

The Los Angeles Times writes that all the fear-mongering over Measure HLA — the Healthy Streets LA ballot measure — ignores that what’s really scary is LA’s deadly streets.

According to the paper, some of the city’s most powerful officials have been trying to sabotage the measure, rather than actually doing something to reduce deaths and injuries resulting from traffic violence.

Never mind actually eliminating them, which was supposed to happen by next year. But won’t.

But even though the projects have been on the books for years, last week the city’s top budget official released a questionable new $3.1-billion estimate for the plan, while the union that represents city firefighters claimed that making the streets safer will slow emergency response times.

It’s fear-mongering designed to scare Angelenos into voting against the measure. But what’s really frightening is that L.A. leaders could have started building a more walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly sustainable city years ago and perhaps averted some of the recent deaths. They had the blueprint to make streets safer but didn’t make it a priority. That’s why Measure HLA is necessary.

It’s worth reading the whole thing to see just how much your life is — or more accurately, isn’t — worth to many of those leading this city.

Let alone the people responsible for saving it.

………

Bike Long Beach will host a murals and coffee ride tomorrow, to avoid conflicting with Sunday’s CicLAvia, along with a virtual monthly meeting on Monday.

Bike Long Beach Feb Meeting

………

Don’t forget Saturday’s 46th Annual LA Chinatown bike ride tomorrow, and Sunday’s Melrose Ave CicLAvia.

………

It’s now 64 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

………

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

No bias here. Streetsblog says Oakland complains about a lack of resources to build bike lanes, but they somehow had the resources to rip one out along the city’s Embarcadero.

Britain’s CyclingMikey, scorned among the motoring crowd for recording scofflaw drivers with his bike cam, says bicyclists “are seen as the cockroaches of the road.” Well, tell us something we don’t know.

Berlin’s rightwing mayor is fulfilling a campaign promise to make more room for cars by ripping out bike lanes. Which is more proof that we’re never more than one election from losing all the gains we make.

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

Apparently, someone has our back, but not in a good way. After a 19-year old driver hit a bike rider in San Antonio, Texas, someone opened fire, riddling the car with bullets.

………

Local 

The Beverly Press says Measure HLA could pave the future for mobility in Los Angeles.

 

State

Calbike calls on California to divest from wasteful, induced demand-inducing highway projects, and invest in Complete Streets and the state’s transportation future.

Calbike also introduced a slate of 16 bills they’re backing for the current legislative session, including bills that would mandate Complete Streets following Caltrans resurfacing projects, similar to Measure HLA, as well as mandating motor vehicle speed limiters and truck sideguards.

An Orange County mother has made it her mission to preach ebike safety in the face of rising ebike injury rates. Although I’ve yet to see a study that shows ebike injury rates in relation to ebike ridership, without which claims of rising or worsening injuries are merely anecdotal.

San Diego will pay nearly $3 million to the family of Hossein Samadi, who was killed in a 2020 collision with a city truck parked in a bike lane Carmel Valley Road without warning cones or flashers.

San Francisco Streetsblog attempts to cut through the latest misinformation regarding the city’s Valencia Street centerline bike lane.

Bike Magazine examines how Davis became “Bike City, USA.”

 

National

Vehicle-to-everything technology, aka V2X, rears its ugly head once again, as a writer for Streetsblog says we could improve safety for bicyclists by allowing cars and bikes to talk to one another. As long as you’re willing to wear a transponder every time you ride, or be held accountable anytime you don’t.

Velo marks Black History Month with a look at eight groups making bicycling more inclusive across the US.

NPR reports bike helmet use declined almost 6% each year for the last five years, while ebike head injuries saw a 49-fold increase, with just 44% of injured ebike riders wearing helmets. Although as noted above, those numbers are virtually meaningless without a comparison to increasing ebike ridership rates, and comparing helmet use by ebike riders who suffered head trauma with similarly injured riders of regular bikes.

An Oʻahu bike club uses two wheels to explore Honolulu’s Kalihi Valley, one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods.

This is why you let the police handle it. A Portland woman was nearly killed when she went with friends to a homeless camp to help recover a stolen bicycle, and was shot by a man with a high-powered air rifle.

Denver opened a new $14 million, 1.5-mile protected bike lane that bike riders have been waiting on for more than eight years.

Cleveland’s Vision Zero program is called into question after 550 people were struck by drivers while walking or biking in the city.

The husband of fallen US diplomat and bicyclist Sarah Debbink Langenkamp says littering can get you up to five years behind bars in Maryland, but the driver who right hooked his wife with a 50,000 pound truck walked with a traffic ticket that carried a lousy $2,000 and 150 hours of community service.

 

International

More on the “clever policing” that London cops used to bust a $165,000 bike theft ring by using a bait bike. Something that remains off-limits for the LAPD, over misplaced fears of entrapment, thanks to a singularly uninformed opinion from former City Attorney Mike Feuer, who wants to be my next Congress Person; yeah, good luck with that. Thanks to Steven Hallett for the link. 

Meanwhile, bikejacking victims call for more cops around London’s Regent’s Park, where gangs of moped-riding thieves are reportedly targeting a list of high-end bicycles, including Pinarello, Bianchi, S-Works and Brompton, which are then shipped to Russia to evade sanctions.

A British letter writer says excuse me, but 1 million bicyclists a year, 2,739 cyclists every day and 114 an hour does not a low number using a bike lane make.

Paris is now officially the most bike-friendly city in France.

Over a quarter of Belgians rode an ebike last year, as electric bicycles continue to gain in popularity. That’s a figure we may never see here, as long as officials continue to drag their feet on an underfunded rebate program, and fight against safer, more livable streets.

Czech carmaker Škoda’s We Love Cycling site looks forward to this year’s trends in bicycle fashions. Which are pretty much the same as last year, and every other year.

 

Competitive Cycling

British cyclist Adam Yates was forced to retire from the UAE Tour following a concussion protocol fail, when he continued riding after a crash, until he radioed the crew to ask what happened since he didn’t remember anything.

A writer for Cycling Weekly knows just how it feels when Phil Gaimon steals your hard-won KOM.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you get hit with a bicycle during a pro wrestling street fight. Or when even an Aggie understands we’re second-class road users.

And presenting the driver psychology course for bicycling safety.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Pasadena Transportation chief to head LADOT, soft launch for CA ebike rebates, and lousy $500 ticket for AZ sideswipe

August 30, 2023 / / Comments Off on Pasadena Transportation chief to head LADOT, soft launch for CA ebike rebates, and lousy $500 ticket for AZ sideswipe

Well, I’m underwhelmed.

Nine months after Karen Bass became mayor of Los Angeles, she finally got around to naming someone to lead LADOT.

According to Streetsblog, current Pasadena Transportation head Laura Rubio-Cornejo will become the next general manager of the Los Angeles transportation department, assuming she’s approved by the city council.

Which is pretty much a given in a city where most councilmembers are loathe to rock the boat.

Rubio-Cornejo, who previously led Metro Countywide Planning, replaces underperforming former LADOT and NACTO chief Seleta Reynolds, who left for greener pastures at Metro a year ago.

Despite sky high expectations, Reynolds was largely a disappointment at LADOT, where her hands were tied by risk-averse city officials, and never appeared to have the full backing of former LA Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Whether Rubio-Cornejo fares any better remains to be seen.

But I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Photo from City of Pasadena, via Streetsblog.

………

Still no word on when the statewide launch of the California ebike rebate program will take place.

According to Calbike, San Diego’s Pedal Ahead, which has been chosen to administer the program, announced its long-awaited soft launch.

No, really.

We are currently launching a multi-phase California E-Bike Incentive Project soft launch which includes retailer onboarding and training, community-based organization (CBO) outreach and community engagement, and the website launch. The next one to two months will be focused on retailer and CBO outreach, which will be happening concurrently leading up to the application window opening.

The soft launch will focus on four regions in California and we have already begun introducing the program to local CBOs and identifying retailers in the regions to make sure they are fully supported with the appropriate program support, trainings and resources.

So, at least another month or two before we can expect to see any action outside of a few select, unnamed areas. And before we can start seeing more ebikes replace smelly, dangerous, climate-killing cars here in the late, great Golden State.

Anyone who’s been holding their breath waiting for this is probably dead by now.

………

You’ve got to be effing kidding.

Life is cheap in Arizona, where the driver who sideswiped a bicyclist taking part in a club ride, sending three people to the hospital, walked with a ticket for an unsafe pass carrying a lousy fine of up to $500.

Because evidently, knocking multiple bike riders down like so many bowling pins is just no big deal.

And pretty much legal.

………

Huh?

A writer for an Aussie website calls for mandatory registration and license plates for cyclists.

But not for people riding bikes.

By his standard, if you earn money riding a bike — like delivery riders — you’re a cyclist. But if you just ride to work once a year, or ride to the park with the kids, you’re just riding a bike.

Then there’s this.

If you routinely spend every Sunday morning rolling en masse along a beachside boulevard, pumping the blood as much as you are metaphorically pumping your fist at an imaginary Le Tour stage gate, then you are a cyclist too and you should probably pay for registration.

You’re on the road. You’re using the infrastructure. You are at risk from other cyclists and you are a risk to pedestrians. Plus, I can’t be the only person to have seen riders sail through red traffic lights…

Never mind that people taking part in group rides are usually in the traffic lane, not using bicycle infrastructure.

Or that splitting hairs must be easier down there, as he somehow expects police to tell whether someone on a bike rides every weekend, or just this once.

Or whether that guy riding to the park with his kids may have just finished a fast half century with the club.

Although his primary concern — I say his, since it has a man’s byline, but is so self-contradictory it could easily have been generated by AI — appears to be forcing bicyclists to carry insurance and get some skin in the game.

As with all these adjustments in the way we live our lives, we need the powers that be to arrange a little quid pro quo. Remove vehicle lanes to encourage more bike riders, so why not extend the reach of the third-party insurance that is included with motor vehicle registration to cover you when on your bike? You’ve paid the fee, does it really matter what vehicle you are using?

After all, you can’t drive and ride at the same time…

Plus, if we want less cars and more bicycles, taxation has to come from somewhere. Surely it would be better to recognise a contribution of your bicycle registration than to just have everything else ratcheted up to account for the gap.

It’s likely this piece is nothing more than an effort to create a little controversy to drive traffic to the site, while signaling to car shoppers that they’re on their side.

But they may find out the hard way all those weekend warriors on bikes buy cars, too.

………

The New York Times continues their bizarre anti-ebike campaign, arguing that parents don’t know whether to view the bikes as freedom or danger, as more teens take to them.

For the moment, the power to decide what teenagers may or may not ride falls to a nongovernmental authority: parents. Across the country, they are expressing a mix of enthusiasm, contrition and uncertainty about the trendy mode of transportation.

Some parents who initially embraced e-bikes now say their enthusiasm has waned with news of recent crashes involving teenagers.

Because apparently, no child was ever injured riding a bicycle without a battery.

The question they fail to answer, as they build their anecdotal case, is whether there have been more more, or more severe, crashes on ebikes than would have been expected on regular bicycles.

Unless and until they can provide that, their entire campaign should be seen as nothing more than anti-ebike fear mongering, with the possible exception of calling out the increased fire risk due to lithium ion batteries.

Since regular bikes hardly ever burst into flames.

………

The Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee has now been around for 50 years.

Although it continues to remain strictly advisory, instead of being given the regulatory authority of a commission it should have received years ago.

………

Phil Gaimon responds to the critics, and arms bicyclists with responses to the 1% of hostile motorists who seem to make up most of the commenters online.

………

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

No bias here. Writing for The Spectator, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle says Jeremy Vine’s call for drivers to be banned from overtaking cyclists in major cities is “ridiculous” and “the real problem isn’t motorists but Jeremy Vine himself.” Something even Vine seems to agree with, as he says to take his comments with a grain of salt and stop overreacting to everything he says.

It turns out the Philippine driver who pulled a gun on an unarmed bicyclist is a former cop who left the force after repeated demotions, including one for grave misconduct, yet he complains he’s being depicted as a “bad person” on social media; Quezon City has offered the victim protection if he chooses to pursue a case against the former QC cop.  

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

Two Bakersfield boys saw very different outcomes when police attempted to stop them for riding against traffic; a 13-year old boy who pulled over and waited at the side of the road was released to his mother, while a 14-year old boy who kept riding and popping wheelies had the book thrown at him.

………

Local 

You may now be able to rent a Tern cargo bike for as little as $99 a month, as the Aussie bike leasing firm Wombi announces plans to set up their first US operation in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles plans to implement safety improvements from the city’s “Vision Zero Safety Toolkit” along a two-mile stretch of Hollywood Blvd east of Gower, which saw 56 people killed or seriously injured over the last decade. Although what those improvements will be remains to be seen, likely depending on public feedback.

The LA Times foresees an optimistic paradise of electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles, ebikes and free public transit replaced gas-guzzling cars within 20 years.

 

State

Calbike calls on you to help get a slate of active transportation bills out of the Suspense File in the Senate Appropriations Committee; the bills must move forward by the first of the month or be killed for this year.

The late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins was one of us, doing some of his best thinking and songwriting on a mountain bike near his Laguna Beach home.

The San Diego Reader questions whether the same man is responsible for two violent bikejackings in the city.

 

National

A Honolulu ER doc rides his bike 21 miles to work every day, rain or shine — and has for over 30 years.

A Houston writer says “there’s something heart-warming about the anarchy of 2,000 people on bikes reclaiming the roads back from cars.”

An Indianapolis woman faces charges for DUI and driving without ever having a driver’s license after she crashed into a man riding a bicycle, leaving the victim with multiple compound fractures, while driving at over three times the legal alcohol limit.

This is the cost of traffic violence, part one. A “cherished” Evansville, Indiana high school music director was killed while riding his bicycle, though the details are unclear.

This is the cost of traffic violence, part two. The Boston-area bike rider killed by a UPS driver Monday afternoon was identified as a respected professor and mentor to graduate students at Tufts University School of Medicine.

As the California legislature continues to appease vested driving interests in an attempt to legalize a speed cam pilot program, New York stats show a 30% drop in speeding violations after their camera program began operating 24/7.

Life is cheap in Pennsylvania, where a driver got just 11½ to 23 months behind bars for severely injuring a man riding a bicycle while driving his pickup truck with inoperable brakes and without insurance.

A new 2-mile ADA-accessible Delaware bike path was funded with $23 million from the new federal infrastructure bill.

This is the cost of traffic violence, part three. Police in Baltimore are looking for the hit-and-run driver who took the life of a “beloved” mother of two as she rode her bike home from work over the weekend.

That’s more like it. A new 42 story, 631 unit Miami residential tower will have more than twice as many bicycle parking spaces as it will spaces for cars.

 

International

Tragic news from the UK, where two men on ebikes were killed by a driver on a “very fast” 50 mph roadway; the driver was arrested on a careless driving charge.

The fiancé of the Scottish bike rider killed by a drunk driver, who then hid his body for three years with the help of the driver’s brother, lashed out at the courts for failing to impose a “proper” sentence on the two men, who received 12 years and five years and three months, respectively.

A British man has defied the odds by learning to walk and eat again, after doctors gave him just 24 hours to live after hitting an embankment on his ebike.

Momentum Magazine visits the world’s longest purpose-built bike and pedestrian tunnel in Bergen, Norway; the Fyllingsdalen is 1.8 miles long and takes approximately 10 minutes to travel by bicycle.

Bicycling reports over 45,000 people rode their bicycles to a Formula 1 race in the Netherlands after the country banned cars from the event; another 55,000 arrived by bus or train. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Workers in the Spanish town of Elche are scraping bike lanes off the roads, after the newly installed far-right government adopted a populist, pro-car policy. Which is a warning of what could happen here if we don’t vote for bike-friendly candidates. 

He gets it. A writer from Islamabad, Pakistan says bicyclists aren’t a nuisance, whether you’re talking about kids on bikes or adults riding to reduce their waistlines.

 

Competitive Cycling

His hometown newspaper celebrates James Macdonald’s victory at the recent world road cycling championships, as the 80-year old Williamsburg, Virginia resident topped the 80-84 age group in a 53-mile race earlier this month.

Remco Evenepoel raged about safety at the Vuelta, or the lack thereof, after he was bloodied in a crash with a spectator following his stage three win, saying “It’s the third day in a row and it’s breaking my balls a bit now. I’ve had enough.” Meanwhile, the peloton has finally figured out they’re just pawns in the game.

The home of 22-year old pro cyclist Michel Hessmann was searched by German authorities as part of a doping investigation, after the suspended Jumbo-Visma rider tested positive for a banned diuretic earlier this month. But the doping era is over, right?

The inaugural CRIT Championship will debut in St. Petersburg, Florida this October, the race is the multi-million dollar brainchild of L39ion of Los Angeles founder Justin Williams.

 

Finally…

The street may be open, but it will cost you nearly 85 bucks to bike it. Even stairs are nothing to the world’s fastest pizza delivery rider.

And it took me about five seconds to find the bicycle in this picture.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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