Sadly, today’s common theme is hate crimes, with a bicycle connection.
A white Cleveland man faces hate charges for deliberately driving onto a lawn and into a group of black teenagers, after a man at the house told him he couldn’t fix the driver’s bicycle.
A pair of Connecticut men face a raft of charges, including a hate count, for intentionally running three juvenile bike riders off the road with their car while shouting racial slurs, then jumping out and stealing one of their bikes after the kids wisely ran off.
English police are looking for a white BMX rider who shouted a racially abusive comment at a woman walking in the roadway; unlike in the US, hate speech is banned in the UK.
However, there was some good news, as over a thousand people turned out for a Milwaukee bike ride to spread the message that Black is Beautiful.
Photo by Johan Bos from Pexels.
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In better news, Apple is adding turn-by-turn bicycle directions to Apple Maps in the next iOS upgrade.
Although a writer for Mashable says if the demo is any indication, the new bike route feature is off to a terrible start by sending riders on routes no one should ever use.
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A 4K restoration of 1980’s BMX classic Rad will be released on video on demand next month.
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Bolivian bus drivers get a feel for what a close pass from a bus feels like.
And it ain’t pretty.
https://twitter.com/carlosfgarciac/status/1274368229792722946
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Local
The Source looks at the upcoming project to build bus lanes and left-side protected bike lanes on 5th and 6th Streets in DTLA, though there’s no word on filling the seven block gap caused by two lousy blocks of parking.
You won’t need to worry about getting doored on Santa Monica’s Main Street anytime soon, where the city will replace street parking with al fresco dining while maintaining the existing bike lanes, with k-rails separating the two so you won’t sneeze on anyone’s food, as one letter writer insisted a week or two back.
State
An Oxnard bike rider suffered broken ribs and a back fracture when he was right hooked by a driver. Oddly, the Ventura County Star insists on mentioning that he wasn’t wearing a helmet, which wouldn’t have done anything to prevent his injuries.
An Orange Grove band director is riding his bike 420 miles from his UCLA alma mater back up to the city to raise funds to make up for the coronavirus crisis cancelling the school’s usual fundraising efforts.
National
National Geographic considers how bicycles changed the world, impacting virtually every aspect of life. Thanks to Tim Rutt for the heads-up.
Cycling Industry News attempts to document the first chapter of the coronavirus bike boom.
Women’s Day lists nine online retailers where you can buy a bicycle, assuming they still have some left. Although you’re usually better off ordering through your local bike shop to ensure you’ll get one that meets your needs, and get hands-on service for your new bike.
Gear Patrol looks back at the birth of Oakley when founder Jim Jannard sold motorcycle gear out of the trunk of his car; the company was named after his English Setter.
Jump bikes may be disappearing from most places following their purchase by Lime, but they’re returning to Seattle as the city’s sole bikeshare provider.
Seattle-based RadPower’s newest ebike breaks the elusive $1,000 barrier for non-Chinese ebikes, at least to start.
Austin TX bike riders are about to get a popup bike lane leading to the state capitol building to aid in social distancing, in a state where it’s becoming more necessary every day.
Providence RI is launching a campaign to call attention to the city’s bike lanes.
Don’t count on bike lanes on the Brooklyn Bridge anytime soon, though it remains under discussion.
It’s open season on bike riders in Gotham, where three bike riders have been killed in New York City in just two weeks.
International
City Beat reminds us of the power of e-cargo bikes in rethinking our streets.
A Vancouver park reopened to car traffic, but with half of the roadway reserved for people on bicycles and on foot.
Once again, authorities failed to keep a deadly driver off the roads, after an Ontario woman was arrested for driving at twice the legal alcohol limit after serving less than half of a seven year sentence for killing a bike rider while driving drunk, then fleeing from police at speeds up to 124 mph; she also received a ten year ban on driving, which clearly didn’t deter her.
Bike-riding BBC host Jeremy Vine steps up when his neighbor’s bike was stolen, and Britain’s biggest bike chain stepped in to give the nurse with the National Health Service a new bicycle.
Another British bike shop chain is on the brink of going belly up, as GoOutdoors faces the equivalent of bankruptcy.
A Manilla business site says it took a pandemic for the country’s leaders to take bicycling seriously. Unfortunately, even that hasn’t done the job in the US yet.
One of the Philippines greatest national heroes had a simple wish in the final year of his life, before he was executed by Spanish colonial rulers in 1896 — a bicycle, which he never got.
Australia is urged to raise the power and speed of ebikes to get people out of their cars and ease post-pandemic congestion; the country currently limits ebike speeds to just 15 mph.
Competitive Cycling
Car racing and Paralympic champ Alex Zanardi in stable condition in a medically induced coma, but remains in grave neurological condition, following a horrific crash in an Italian handcycle race.
SoCal’s Tour of Flanders-winning national road champ Coryn Rivera reveals the diet that helps her cross the finish line in first place.
Finally…
Legendary cowboy actor Tom Mix rode more than horses. Lachlan Morton’s record-setting effort to ride the height of Mt. Everest twice in one week was overshadowed by a less than 50-mile pedal bike ride — by a two-year old.
And documenting a truly Legendary bike build.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
