Tag Archive for Performance Bike

Morning Links: Performance Bike liquidation, car-focused street design in San Dimas, and LAPD gots ebikes

December 4, 2018 / / 5 comments

It’s Day 12 of the 4th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive.

Your support keeps SoCal’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming your way every day.

And allows me to devote my time to doing whatever I can to make this world a better place for people on two wheels. 

Anything you can give helps, and is truly and deeply appreciated!

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I’m not a fan of liquidation sales as a rule, which feels like picking at the bones of a failed company.

And even less when it comes to national and online retailers that can undercut local bike shops. Especially when those sales are timed for the holiday season, which most bike shops count on to stay in the black and remain in business.

So I’m a little reluctant to relay the news that Performance Bike is offering a liquidation sale at all their locations — even the ones that won’t be closing.

But most of us can use a little extra savings this time of year. Just make sure anything you buy really is a bargain.

Before I went into advertising — and long before I began work on this site — I spent several years in retail, and got a first-hand look at liquidation firms in action.

And can attest that while you may find some decent bargains, there’s a good chance your LBS may offer you a better deal, especially in the long run.

Meanwhile, here are the Performance locations that are currently on the chopping block.

Let’s hope yours isn’t on the list. And that everyone who works for them will land on their feet.

Hint to bike shops: If you could use a few new employees, this is a great time to start looking.

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What’s wrong with this picture?

Everything, according to Claremont Senior Bike Group member Robs Muir.

The newly rebuilt Golden Hills Road in San Dimas, long a popular route for bicyclists, appears to have been designed without giving people on bikes a single thought.

Here’s what Muir had to say about it.

Brand-new road (Lower Golden Hills) which is very popular with cyclists… No legal bike lanes, no signage to indicate that ‘Bicycles may use full lane’, no sharrows, completely unnecessary Botts’ dots across the entire road (very dangerous for narrow tires), Botts dots lining the center lines, no pedestrian sidewalk on south side of road, and double solid yellow lines which restrict vehicles from crossing over the middle of the road—preventing safe passing distances when overtaking bicycles.

Someone needs to hire a professional, knowledgeable, and responsible traffic engineer and get the developer to cough up the money to design a safe roadway appropriate to the year of 2018. This is pretty awful.

So much for California’s Complete Streets requirement.

But maybe they didn’t use any state funds for this. Or maybe they just didn’t give a damn about anyone who’s not in a car.

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LAPD’s got ebikes, as seen in this clip of bike cops from Sunday’s CicLAvia.

https://twitter.com/LAcycleHelper/status/1069688930096664577

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Sometimes, you can hear it coming a mile away.

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Now that’s a close call.

One blamed on bad road design that puts bike riders and motorists in conflict.

https://twitter.com/righttobikeit/status/1068527685683445760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1068527685683445760&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2F252724-near-miss-day-225-poor-road-design-puts-cyclists-and-drivers-conflict

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‘Tis the season.

A short 10-mile holiday toy ride could raise more than $450,000 and collect over 8,100 bikes for Southern Nevada kids in need.

A Detroit group refurbished over 1,100 bicycles to give to kids whose families can’t afford one for the holidays.

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Local

CicLAvia has announced the date and location of their next open streets event, to be held March 3rd of next year in Culver City, Palms and Mar Vista, with the exact route still to be determined.

Writing for Streetsblog, Carter Rubin says Metro is preparing to pour more gasoline on our climate change fire by spending $400 million in new roads projects after cancelling plans for the 710 Freeway extension. Meanwhile, a former climate change skeptic explains why he was wrong, and why other conservatives should admit it, too.

The new Spectrum News 1 channel reports on Santa Clarita’s new pilot program testing an app to trigger green lights on bike trails when the regular bicycle detectors don’t do the job.

 

State

The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition is hosting a Holiday Joy Ride in Balboa Park on Thursday. Note to CBS8: Seriously? It’s not exactly solid reporting when you get the group’s name wrong not once, not twice, but five times in five paragraphs — especially when it’s in the Facebook post you embedded in the story.

Santa Maria is nearing approval of a multimodal streetscape plan to “better accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians while also balancing the needs for vehicular and truck traffic.”

 

National

Former pro mountain biker Mark Weir describes surviving the the deadly form of heart attack known as the widowmaker, and the warning signs he ignored. That same type of heart attack was seconds away from killing my wife a few years ago.

A writer for Forbes offers a reminder that bike helmets lose their protective qualities over time, and should be replaced every three to five years.

A Utah bike co-op is offering 18 kids as young as eight years old a chance to earn a bike by learning how to repair it.

A Streetblog writer discusses staying joyful riding a bike despite Chicago’s harsh winters. Which should be a lot easier here in LA, where winter’s worst just means a little rain. Okay, maybe a lot of rain. 

A Kentucky man has developed a business selling refurbished bicycles through Instagram, Facebook and eBay.

As Atlanta approves a new transportation intended to re-align the city away from cars, advocates demand action on its previous commitments to bicyclists, pedestrians and transit users.

After cancelling the city’s mandatory bike registration program, New Orleans is developing a new, voluntary registration system to combat bike theft in conjunction with Bike Index. Which serves as yet another reminder to register your bike for free as part of the nationwide Bike Index database.

A Tampa newspaper lists the city’s most dangerous intersections for bike riders, most of which are located in lower income areas where many people don’t drive.

Lime has introduced dockless ebikes in Orlando. That may offer a hint of what could be in the wings for LA once Lime receives official approval to begin operations in the city.

Evidently, Florida is challenging Southern California as the hit-and-run capital of the world, as two bike riders were killed in separate hit-and-run crashes in Central Florida less than four hours apart. Thanks to Frank Lehnerz for the heads-up.

 

International

A program to offer bikeshare to disadvantaged people in Glasgow, Scotland at a reduced rate has been a success, with 4,700 trips so far this year.

A 21-year old Scottish cyclist says he was on the brink of suicide before charity work saved him.

An Irish physiotherapist suggests that bicycling, or other forms of exercise, can help cancer patients overcome chemotherapy.

Wellington, New Zealand, has embedded 19 bicycle counters in city streets to gather accurate data on bicycling rates, with another three to come. Which compares somewhat favorably to LA’s zero counters. And explains why the city has no idea how many people ride bikes in Los Angeles, or where.

Now that’s an adventure. A group of Nepalese bicyclists ride gravel roads to Lo Manthang, the land beyond the Himalayas that served as the inspiration for the mythical Shangra-La.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling has more on the unexpected death of longtime cycling commentator Paul Sherwin, who partnered with Phil Liggett to broadcast the Tour de France for 33 years, after competing in it for seven. Cycling Tip’s Neal Rogers discusses why his death hurts so much.

Columbian cyclist Esteban Chaves will be back to racing next year after missing eight months due to the Epstein-Barr virus.

Writers for VeloNews debate whether Annemiek van Vleuten or Anna van der Breggen should be their female cyclist of the year.

The German cycling federation named Kristina Vogel as its Cyclist of the Year in an emotional return to the track, six months after she was paralyzed from the waist down in a training crash.

Forget a road race or triathlon. If you really want to test yourself, try a single-stage race through the wilds of Kyrgyzstan.

 

Finally…

No matter how hard it rains, SoCal riders hardly ever need studded tires for their bikes. Is it progress when even mob hitmen choose a bike as a getaway vehicle?

And clearly, restaurants should be required to wear helmets and hi-viz.

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

We have a winner!

June 23, 2011 / / 3 comments

Here's the official mileage from my ride on Wednesday.

Thanks to everyone who entered Wednesday’s contest for a free $25 gift card from Performance Bike.

And especially everyone who thought I could manage a decent distance. I’ll talk to everyone who guessed under 30 miles — or even 16 — after class.

As it turned out, a late start dictated by the day’s breaking news limited my options, since I had to get back for other commitments. But I still managed to get in a decent 40.39 miles — just 1.29 miles more than the 39.1 mile guessed by Joe Anthony of Bike Commute News; P4D was off by just 1.91 miles, and the lovely Alice Strong finished third at an even 37 miles, 3.39 miles off the final total.

I’ll be emailing Joe for his mailing address, and will forward it to Performance Bike’s agency to send him his prize.

So congratulations to Joe, and thanks again to everyone who entered.

I don’t know about you, but this was fun. Maybe we’ll do it again sometime soon.

Category: General / Tags: , , ,

Win a $25 Performance gift card, celebrate To Live and Ride in LA, and watch your ass on Angeles Crest

June 22, 2011 / / 21 comments

For once, it could actually pay to read this blog.

Starting today, the singularly named Performance Bike is holding what they describe as the biggest sale in their 29-year history. And to celebrate — and yes, get a little publicity — they’ve offered me a $25 gift card to give away to one of my readers.

According to their press release, everything in their stores will be on sale, as well as everything on their website, with doorbuster specials offering up to 70% off. The sale runs through Sunday, June 26th; and takes place in all of their local L.A.-area stores, including, presumably, the new Long Beach store.

And while you’re at it, you might want to like them on Facebook, for those of you who, unlike me, actually like Facebook.

Now, about that contest to win a free gift card.

Here are the rules:

I’m planning to go out for a bike ride on Wednesday. All you have to do is guess how far I’m going to ride; closest guess to my actual final mileage wins the $25 gift card from Performance Bike.

Simple, right?

Of course, the catch is, even I don’t know how far I’m going to ride.

To give you a clue, I’ll be riding from my home in Westwood to the coast, then along the beach and back. I live almost exactly 7.5 miles from PCH, so that’s a minimum of 15 miles right there. And exactly where and how far I go after that will depend entirely on my mood, the weather and how far my legs will carry me.

Just leave your best guess in the comments here; I’ll contact the winner by email, so be sure to use a valid email address. And to give everyone a fair chance, wherever you are and whenever you read this, we’ll make the deadline to enter a full 24 hours from the time I post this.

Which means the cut-off is Wednesday night at 11:58 pm PDT.

The gift card will be mailed to the winner directly from their agency, and should be valid on the Performance website, so you don’t need to live in Southern California to enter.

May the best guess win.

Note to other bike shops: I’m a firm believer in supporting local bike shops; the reason I’m promoting the Performance sale is because they asked. Just a hint.

And for the sake of full disclosure, they’re sending me a gift card for the same amount as well. And no, you can’t have it.

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The new, long-awaited movie about the L.A. fixie scene has just been released on DVD and iTunes. To Live & Ride in L.A. explores one of the world’s most vibrant cycling scenes taking place right now on the streets, alleys and velodromes of our fair city.

You can celebrate both the film and biking at the official release party this Saturday, June 26th, at Royal/T, 8910 Washington Blvd in L.A. The party runs from 6:30 pm to midnight, and is open to the public.

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Michael Byerts forwards an email from a member of the LA Tri Club warning about a dangerous driver on Angeles Crest Highway — which has already seen three traffic fatalities since the highway was reopened less than three weeks ago.

On Angeles Crest today, a silver Nissan XTERRA (ED: plate number deleted) slowed down to yell angrily at three pairs of cyclists and swerved into the shoulder cutting off two pairs (I was in one of the pairs). All three pairs were riding separately, didn’t know each other, and were at different sections of the highway between Foothill and Newcombs. Long story short, the car was reported, and the driver was stopped and arrested.

However, given that the driver seemed to show very little remorse when talking with the other pair of cyclists up at Newcombs Ranch and didn’t seem all that well balanced, we are a little worried that he will continue his dangerous driving into cyclists. All three pairs of cyclists were riding up, so going slowly. If he does the same thing to cyclists riding down, it could be much worse.

So, please be careful if you see a silver Nissan XTERRA while riding on ACH, particularly if the driver slows down or yells at you. The car had a bike rack on it today, too. If you experience anything similar (or have already since crest has opened), please notify the California Highway Patrol to build a case on this guy.

Please forward to friends/groups that ride on Angeles Crest.

I’m withholding the author’s name to protect his/her privacy.

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Finally, you may recall that L.A. cyclist Patrick Pascal offered his observations on the multitude of problems facing cyclists in Griffith Park in a guest post last December.

Now he offers an update indicating that at least one of the problems has been resolved.

I am happy to report that, a mere six months after the above left picture appeared on your blog (in my review of Griffith Park’s bike amenities), this stretch of pavement (pictured on the right has been restored. I have no illusions that my post was anything but a coincidence as we all know how fastidious the city is about maintaining infrastructure. Bravo to the Park Department for not letting the entire roadway wash away before making repairs.

BTW, this is one of LA’s best sunset rides with panoramas from the San Gabriel mountains to the islands and into the valley from the top.

Before.

After. Though from what I can see, the other side still doesn't look so good.

Category: General, Guest Columns / Tags: , , , , , ,
 
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