Tag Archive for punishment pass

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Elderly Cathedral City man severely injured in hit-and-run, Great Divide record ride derailed, and RV wipes out group ride

August 29, 2023 / / 3 comments

There’s a special place in hell for whoever left a 91-year old man bleeding alone in a Cathedral City street.

Police responding to a report of the 3:15 am crash found the severely injured hit-and-run victim near Cathedral Canyon Drive and Dinah Shore Drive.

Let’s hope the victim makes a full recovery. And they find the person who did it.

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That’s gonna leave a mark.

Ultra endurance cyclist Jay Petervary’s attempt to set a speed record for the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route was derailed Sunday, when he was struck by a driver 30 miles outside of Salida, Colo.

According to Petervary’s wife, he suffered a broken vertebra, two broken arms, a cut cornea, and road rash on his butt, hip and elbow, but thankfully, no life-threatening injuries.

Petervary had with less than a thousand miles to go on the 2,671-mile trail when he was injured.

Meanwhile, pro cyclist Lachlan Morton will attempt the unsupported trail ride, which stretches from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells, New Mexico.

The popular pro, who gained fame for his Alt Tour de France, in which he raced the racers to Paris, says his attempt is less about breaking the record, and more about seeing how fast he can do it in a mentally and physically sustainable way.

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A truly brutal video captures a far-too-close pass from an RV driver clipping a bicyclist, and taking out a group of riders like so many bowling pins.

Thanks to Michael Kim, who tells me this happened on Arizona’s Lake Mary Road. 

Click through to the third slide to see the video, but be forewarned that you can’t unsee if if you do.

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In a moving piece, a man returning to Pittsburgh for the first time in a decade spots his friend’s ghost bike while riding through the city, and reflects on the changes to the city’s streets that were inspired by her needless death.

The bike, painted white and locked to a steel post, will stand silently on the sidewalk, a memorial to the woman who lost her life here.

And in that moment, I’ll take stock of everything that’s different. Because it’s not the same Pittsburgh I remember—and I don’t mean new high-rises, shuttered businesses, or graying friends. For a cyclist who’s been away for a while, the city exhibits radical transformation. Spotting that Ghost Bike will fill me with anger and heartache. I will wish, for the thousandth time, that this memorial didn’t have to exist. But I will also marvel at all the change that began with a single accident. And I will wonder what Susan would think of it all.

It’s worth taking a few minutes to read the whole thing.

Then wonder why all the many ghost bikes scattered through the City of Angels have never done the same.

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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 Boston TV station reports on a man who was killed when he struck by a UPS truck while riding a bike. But waits until nearly the end of the story to mention that the truck had a driver.

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Local 

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator has launched the Zero-Emission Delivery (ZED) City Challenge, calling for cities to share ideas and solutions for advancing zero-emission delivery, from promoting small, electric delivery vehicles and e-cargo bikes to reshaping the transport of goods coming through ports.

South Pasadena has installed traffic calming measures, including Class II painted bike lanes, on Oak, Grand and Hermosa Aves as part of a Slow Streets demonstration project.

 

State

Streetsblog’s Melanie Curry and Joe Linton write that supporters of AB 645, which would legalize a California speed cam pilot program, have bent over backward to appease opponents of the bill, but some will never be satisfied.

Irvine tests a popup protected bike lane on Yale Ave as it considers proposals to make it permanent.

San Diego police busted the thief who stopped to play with a Pacific Beach family’s overly friendly golden retriever in a viral video, before making off with a $1,300 ebike.

A Temecula teenager was able to get her stolen ebike back thanks to an AirTag, as sheriff’s deputies followed digital crumbs to locate the bike and build a case against two men charged with taking it.

A Ventura County letter writer says we don’t need a bunch of new rules, regulations and limitations on ebikes, because there are already enough in the state’s vehicle code.

 

National

A new survey from Cycling Weekly shows that a typical amateur bicyclist rides five times a week and covers over 5,000 miles a year, owns four bikes, raced back in the day but now prefers time trials and ultras, subscribes to three training apps, and is fitter than many people half their age. I could claim the first two and the last one back in my pre-diabetes days. Now, not so much.

Velo highlights their favorite gravel bikes from the recent MADE handmade bike show in Portland, while Cycling Weekly reflects on the beautiful, unique and funky standouts from the “coolest” bike show of the year.

CNN recommends the accessories you need for your city bike rides. Some of which you actually do, like pedals. Though not necessarily those pedals.

Newly released records show police in Salem, Oregon lied about coordinating with the Drug Enforcement Agency to manage information after an off-duty DEA agent killed a woman riding a bicycle in a March crash; no decision yet on whether charges will be filed against the agent.

Albuquerque, New Mexico is moving forward with a “stunning” rail trail designed by world-renowned architect Antoine Predock, which promises to transform the city.

Chicago bike riders demand more protected bike lanes and slower speed limits, as bike-related crashes continue to climb. Which is a story that could be written in virtually any city in the US, but especially right here in Los Angeles.

That’s more like it. A Michigan man was sentenced to eight years behind bars for the drunken, high-speed hit-and-run that killed a man riding a bicycle; prosecutors said he was driving 85 mph in the middle of the street, with a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.

The New York Mets are in talks to bring the city’s Citi Bike bikeshare to their ball field, which is sponsored by the same eponymous bank as the bikeshare system. Which serves as a reminder that there’s still no Metro Bike docks at LA’s Dodger Stadium, either.

 

International

The City Fix corrects five myths about open streets events, including the supposed inconvenience to drivers.

Evidently, bike skills are no match for booze, as an Irish coroner rules that a skilled 45-year old bicyclist died when he crashed his ebike into a lamppost after drinking with his roommate.

Newly bike-friendly Paris will become one of the few city’s around the world to ban e-scooter rentals, after 90% of voters elected to kick them out.

Thousands of Berlin residents took to their bikes for Critical Mass on Friday to protest protest the dominance of motor vehicles in the city, discriminatory road traffic laws and car-centric urban planning

Bicyclists in the Spanish city of Girona are required to carry liability insurance for the equivalent of $129 a year, but many don’t.

Twenty-three Czech bike riders have lost their lives in the first six months of this year, as the country is off to its worst start since 2015.

 

Competitive Cycling

GCN examines “the most beautiful bike race you’ve never hear of,” with nine epic climbs through 300 mile of the Alps.

Rouleur says if you want to win a grand tour, you take Sepp Kuss with you, as the Colorado cyclist has played a key role in the Jumbo-Visma team’s attempt at an unprecedented sweep of all three grand tours.

Remco Evenepoel demonstrates that it’s possible to win and lose at the same time, winning Monday’s stage of the Vuelta, then being taken out by a spectator after crossing the finish line.

https://twitter.com/eurosport/status/1696189390391816620?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1696189390391816620%7Ctwgr%5Efccc53ac3773459ea5d8dcea49d8f00539a8a760%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthespun.com%2Fmore%2Ftop-stories%2Fprofessional-cyclist-in-scary-crash-with-spectator-at-the-finish-line

 

Finally…

That feeling when your newfound love of bicycling leads to the plot of your next bestseller.

And this is the best laugh I’ve had in ages. Thanks to Mike Burk for the link.

https://twitter.com/buitengebieden/status/1690112351779819520

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Why too-close passes matter, Cyber Monday bike deals near and far, and the ever-expanding world of ebikes

November 30, 2020 / / 3 comments

We’re of to an amazing start for the 6th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive, with our best ever opening weekend!

Thankfully, that led to my first haircut in three months, before I was forced to  become a hermit and move to a shack in Montana. 

Which doesn’t sound all that bad, given the year we’ve all had. 

So thanks to everyone who opened their hearts and wallets to help keep Southern California’s best source for bike news and advocacy coming to your favorite device every morning.

Now let’s keep it going!

Give to the BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive today!

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This is why close passes matter.

An Aussie driver clips a bicyclist riding in a double pace line, sending him flying into the riders around him — even though all of the riders were outside the traffic lane.

Naturally, social media users blamed the victims for riding too close to the white line, instead of blaming the driver for crossing it and breaking the country’s one-meter passing law — the equivalent of a three-foot passing law.

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It’s Cyber Monday, which is sort of like Black Friday, except online and a few days later.

Business Wire recommends their picks for the best bike deals of the day, as well as the best ebike deals online.

And Cycling Weekly offers UK-centric choices for the best deals for gravel grinders, along with other bicycling deals.

But before you buy anything online, check with your local bike shop to see if maybe they can give you something just as good, or better.

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Today’s common theme is the ever expanding world of ebikes, and the many uses for them.

Arnold is back on his ebike, riding through Santa Monica with his adult kids just a month after heart surgery.

Robin Wright is one of us, too, riding ebikes with her husband through the streets LA.

A Streetsblog writer says she tried an e-cargo bike for 30 days, and didn’t need to touch her car the whole time.

Canadian parcel delivery firms are shifting from trucks to e-cargo bikes in some cities.

Smart move. An anti-bike lane Parliament member had an epiphany after a bike dealer lent him an ebike to get around during the pandemic.

The Netherlands is turning old outdoor ashtrays into ebike charging stations.

A Parisian tech firm unveiled a new e-bicycle ambulance designed to efficiently slice through traffic to arrive at crash scenes and other rescue situations faster than a traditional ambulance. Meanwhile, Clean Technica considers how bike ambulances can save lives by reaching urban victims faster.

And the Bike League offers a recorded webinar discussing how ebikes can replace car trips in your community.

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

In what may be the grossest attack ever, a bicyclist out for a walk spotted a parked bicycle with a used condom stretched over the nose of the saddle.

A 60-something Irish ebike rider says he’s all in favor of bike lanes, but those damn “pseudo-racing cyclists (are) a complete menace.”

Angry British drivers are vandalizing traffic cams and new bike lanes less than a day after they’re installed.

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

A bike-riding UK teen gets seven and a half years for being a one-man crime wave, including robbery and sexual assault, even though his lawyer argued he was just a nice, well-adjusted boy.

Another British teen was shot in the leg by another bicycle rider as he was riding his bike; a 26-year old man was arrested for attempted murder.

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Local

The Los Angeles Police Commission ruled that an LAPD sergeant was justified in killing a mentally ill man holding a bike part that several witnesses had mistaken for a gun.

KCET offers a guide to LA’s best foot — and in most cases, bike — bridges.

Now that David Ryu is out in LA’s 4th Council District, Streetsblog’s Joe Linton suggests a number of actionable transportation ideas for new councilmember Nithya Raman.

Beverly Hills will host a zoom meeting this Sunday to discuss the gilded city’s Complete Streets plan.

 

State

An Irvine couple was busted for stealing a GPS-equipped bait bike, which police tracked to the back of their car following the theft.

La Jolla considers a proposal for protected bike lanes on Gilman Drive.

There’s something seriously wrong with anyone who could steal 200 new tricycles that had been donated to a San Francisco firefighters’ toy program for underprivileged kids.

Tragic news from Sacramento, where an 81-year old man was killed by an allegedly stoned driver as he was walking his bike on the sidewalk.

 

National

Consumer Reports offers advice on when to replace your bike helmet.

A HuffPo writer investigates Dunkin’s weird donut-branded tandem, and concludes it’s not the real bike being offered.

CleanTechnica says the pandemic is driving urban transport to micromobility.

Cycling Savvy offers advice on how to safely control the lane around blind curves.

NPR looks at how a nine-year old Nevada kid ended up with a $19,000 hospital bill for a few stitches after falling off his bike, when the insurance company unexpectedly denied the claim.

Colorado cops bust a man suspected of attacking and killing a 71-year old man riding a bike earlier this month, on unrelated charges.

After a grocery store worker’s bike was stolen while he was at work, kindhearted Illinois firefighters shopping at the store heard about it, and replaced his bicycle using union charity funds before the man’s shift ended.

A father and daughter successfully rode from their homes in Monroe County, Michigan to Monroe County, Florida on Penny Farthings.

A Long Island couple faces charges for chasing a 13-year old boy and tackling him off his bike in a case of mistaken identity.

The New York Post’s resident anti-bike curmudgeon celebrates news that the head of the city’s transportation department is stepping down, while blaming the “bullying bike lobby” for never being satisfied.

An on-duty Louisiana cop killed a man standing with his bicycle just inside the the traffic lane in a collision.

 

International

How to beat the bane of bicyclists by overcoming back pain resulting from time in the saddle.

Cycling Tips‘ James Huang discusses ten products he loved this year, ranging from a $5 used crockpot to a Specialized S-Works bike that costs too much to ask.

Touching story from British Columbia, where children made a small memorial for a stranger who died from a medical emergency while riding his bike, saying “…we are sure you were a great person and we hope you make it to heaven.”

Brompton is struggling to stay on track, despite being buffeted by the coronavirus pandemic and the Brexit exit from the European Union.

A local London site says the government is boosting spending on bike lanes, following a 300% jump in bicycling rates during the pandemic. However, London’s anti-bike Mail celebrates efforts to rip the bike lanes out, accusing them of clogging up “our” towns. Evidently, bike riders aren’t part of their towns, as far as they are concerned.

A 16-year old British boy will spend the next eight years behind bars for repeatedly stabbing a man in front of his kids, after the man accused him of stealing his son’s bike; the victim nearly bled to death before doctors were able to save him.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a drunk driver got a lousy 18 months behind bars for crashing into a pregnant woman riding in a bike lane, causing her to lose her baby. At least he lost his license for six years, although it should have been for life.

Life is even cheaper for the driver who walked with community service for killing a bike-riding father, after playing the universal Get Out of Jail Free card of claiming the sun was in his eyes; the victim’s wife insists “picking up litter is not justice” for taking a human life.

Sticking with deadly drivers in the UK, a bike rider forgives the drunk driver who nearly killed him on a group ride.

British road rage incidents have spiked over the past three years, including attacks on people riding bicycles.

A new report from a German testing institute says cargo bikes are safe for children, but only if they’re strapped into seat belts and they should be wearing helmets.

Angry Budapest residents want to know why the city’s bikeshare program is being closed for an overhaul in the middle of a pandemic, when more people are relying on bikes for safe transportation.

There’s a special place in hell for the Indian man who pushed a nine-year old boy off his bicycle in a strong arm robbery.

A Philippine paper says riding a bicycle is a key step towards improving your health.

 

Competitive Cycling

Yes, please. Cycling Tips’ Caley Fretz urges broadcasters to stop showing repeated replays of horrific cycling crashes until we know how the victim is.

French cyclist Mikaël Cherel was lucky to avoid serious injury when he was taken down by a loose dog that ran in front of his bike on a training ride; naturally, the owner made a quick escape with his dog while Cherel was still down on the pavement.

 

Finally…

Why rip out protected bike lanes when you can just ignore the bollards? Tesla’s  scary new ebike concept makes their awful truck look good.

And don’t run over your little brother with your bike.

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Thanks to Arthur B, Eric L, John C, Stephen T, David R, Michael S, the Muir’s , Michael F, Paul F, Andrew G, Alan C, Mike B, Andrew B, Mark J, Robert K, Glenn C, Theodore F, Domus P, Patrick J. M, Michael C, Lisa G and Michael V for their very generous support to help keep bringing SoCal’s best bike news and advocacy you way every day!

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Punishment pass brush-by, CD12 transportation forum, and forget coronavirus — cars are the health crisis

February 4, 2020 / / 5 comments

This is what a real punishment pass looks like.

Allyson Vought, the LA Bicycling Advisory Committee representative for Council District 15, forwarded this video to me yesterday.

It’s hard to see from the rear-facing cam, but the driver actually brushes her as he — let’s assume it’s a he — passes as closely as physically possible without actually sending her to the ER.

Or worse.

Which makes it hit-and-run. Not to mention assault with a deadly weapon.

And yes, she reported it to the police; what, if anything, they’ll do about it remains to be seen.

 

But one thing is clear.

In most cases like this, the driver would simply claim he didn’t see the person on the bike. That won’t work here, since he blared on the horn as he passed, indicating he not only saw her, but wanted her to get the hell out of his way.

And that makes it intentional.

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If you live, work or ride in the San Fernando Valley’s 12th Council District, cancel your plans for tomorrow and attend this transportation town hall instead.

And yes, it’s that important.

Although something tells me regressive short-term incumbent John Lee may skip this one.

………

A new Chinese study confirms what we already knew. If you want to get fatter and out of shape, just get a car.

Which means the real health crisis isn’t coronavirus. It’s driving.

………

We mentioned last week that Mars Volta and Marilyn Manson bassist Juan Alderete was in a coma after suffering a serious brain injury when he went over the handlebars on his bicycle.

Now a crowdfunding page has been established to help pay his medical expenses, raising over $50,000 of the $250,000 goal in just two days.

Alderete suffered a diffuse axonal injury, despite wearing a helmet; several studies have suggested that bike helmets can contribute to, rather than prevent, that kind of injury.

………

Congratulations to Culver City, which voted to protect the lives of children walking or biking to school, after a years-long struggle to improve safety.

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

What an effing waste. A Fresno man is dead because a man riding a bike took offense to his support of the 49ers during Sunday’s Super Bowl, and shot him with a homemade zip gun; police found him hiding in a nearby homeless camp.

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Local

The LA Kings teamed with the Bikes for Kids Foundation to donate new bicycles and helmets to all 65 third grade students at Compton charter school.

 

State

No bias here. The San Francisco Chronicle highlights the suffering of Bay Area teachers, whose lives would be just dandy if it wasn’t for that darn bike lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Because apparently, there was no traffic on the bridge before they installed the bike lane as an alternative to driving. And induced demand isn’t a thing.

About damn time. San Francisco’s port authority finally decides that allowing restaurant valets to block bike lanes in the city’s Embarcadero is a bad thing. Which should have been done after a popular pedicab driver was killed two years ago.

In LA, we have to fight to get bike lanes anywhere; in San Francisco, the question is whether Valencia Street should get protected bike lanes or ban cars entirely.

Tragic news from Sacramento, where a woman riding her bike was killed by a heartless coward who fled the scene after Sunday’s crash.

A couple hundred people decided to skip the Super Bowl and ride a NorCal century instead, a Chico tradition since 1981.

 

National

Yes, ebikes are beginning to infiltrate gran fondos and group rides. I’ve heard of at least one popular group ride that’s been struggling with the issue of whether to allow ebikes for a couple years now.

Seriously, what does it mean when cold and snowy Denver has a Winter Bike to Work Day coming up next week — on Valentines Day, no less — and warm, sunny Los Angeles doesn’t even have one?

A Minnesota professor is trying to improve bike safety by designing a $500 smart bicycle with the sort of $80,000 LIDAR and sensors found on a self-driving car.

After gutting a bill mandating helmet use for bike-riding children, the Indiana legislature revives it to allow a state public safety fund to purchase and distribute helmets to kids. Proving that there are other ways to encourage helmet use besides fining people who ride with bare heads. Hint: The same thing works for bike lights, too.

Speaking of Indiana, an attorney from the state offers tips on what to do before and after getting hit by a car, including always riding with one or more cams on your bike. And if there’s any question why, see the video at the top of this page.

Maybe LA could take a tip from Memphis, which is conducting lane reconfigurations — aka road diets — on six streets to improve safety in the city formerly named the worst bike city in America. Meanwhile Los Angeles, which currently holds that dubious distinction, is currently planning exactly zero.

A New Orleans op-ed makes the case that the city’s docked bikeshare system is a form of public art.

Decatur, Georgia faces a bikelash after a three-year effort to improve bicycle safety and walkability in the Atlanta suburb. Kind of like every other place that’s tried to take an inch of roadway from motorists.

Miami bike advocates call for protected bike lanes instead of a painted green lane on a popular causeway where a woman was killed last year, complaining that the city has done nothing to improve safety following her death.

 

International

Even in bike-friendly Europe, nearly 20,000 people lost their lives riding bicycles in 28 EU countries in the nine years from 2010 to 2018.

Evidently, the best way for an ordinary Brit to get on American talk show is to buy a stolen bike and track down the owner.

A British man won’t be driving for the next year, after deliberately running a bike rider off the road for the imagined crime of not using a bike lane.

Evidently, the only thing that stinks in Limburg, Belgium is the cheese. Because anyone on a bike can ride along the city’s architectural artworks through a lake and over a forest, past sights including a 19th-century castle and an open-air museum.

According to a German expert, the top two-wheeled trends in Deutschland are ebikes, custom bikes and gravel bikes. Or if you really want to be on trend, just build a custom gravel ebike.

This is who we share the roads with. Horrible news from Australia, where an alleged drunk driver faces 20 charges after jumping the curb and killing four young children, and seriously injuring another; three of those killed were from a single family.

 

Competitive Cycling

The incomparable Katie “F’n” Compton looks to the future after her 4th place finish at the ‘cross world’s.

Dutch pro Jakob Fuglsang says he ain’t done nothing wrong, despite reports he’s been hanging out with Lance’s preferred doping doc, and the good doc asserts he’s never been convicted of anything. Which is not the same as never being implicated.

Cycling Tips reminisces about the chaotic 2005 Sun Tour, which marked the start of Simon Gerrans rise as a pro, but nearly marked the end of the then 53-year old stage race, which is still going strong.

 

Finally…

Apparently, golf cart drivers are just like any other drivers. How to create traffic jams on Google Maps with a little red wagon full of cellphones.

And if a Tesla Cyberbike doesn’t exist, just build your own. Thanks to Mike Cane for the link.

 

 

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

Morning Links: Women fight thieves for their bikes, medical insurance fail, and what a punishment pass looks like

January 17, 2020 / / Comments Off on Morning Links: Women fight thieves for their bikes, medical insurance fail, and what a punishment pass looks like

Don’t mess with women.

Or their bikes.

A Toronto woman ran out of a store and beat up the thief who tried to make off with her unlocked bike, even kicking him when he was down. Unfortunately, the video is posted to a private account, and I haven’t managed to find a copy.

And a 72-year old British great-grandmother wrestled a stolen mountain bike away from a thief after reading about the theft on Facebook; the man had tried to sell her the $1,500 bike for the equivalent of just $200.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvfHTDhx3uU

Photo by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay.

………

Retired pro Phil Gaimon somehow manages to maintain his sense of humor, even after a recent crash left him with $250,000 in medical bills.

And yes, that’s with insurance.

Just another example of how broken America’s medical and insurance system is.

………

A Dublin Bus driver is under fire — and under investigation — after a frighteningly close punishment pass.

Seriously, keep watching after the first one.

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Take a break for few minutes with a video of mountain biking in Israel.

Work can wait, right?

Unless you’d prefer a ride through Madeira, Portugal.

………

Pink Bike offers some clever ideas on how to stash your tools on your bike when you don’t want to use a pack.

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Local

Who knew? A Reddit post points out that LA County has a page devoted to reporting problems with bike paths, promising a pretty remarkable two-day response time.

 

State

Things are looking up for the San Diego-area man with Parkinson’s disease whose new ebike was stolen before he could even ride it; a crowdfunding campaign raised enough to buy a new bike in just four hours, while local company Juiced Bikes gave one to his wife so they can ride together. Meanwhile, police have arrested two suspects for the theft.

Clearly, drivers aren’t the only risk people on bikes face these days. A Riverside man joined the rising toll of bike riders across the US who’ve been shot in recent weeks; the victim was discovered lying in the street after several people reported hearing shots and died after being taken to a hospital.

Ventura County’s Ojai Valley Bike Trail reopens today, after construction work to repair storm damage forced it to close five months ago.

 

National

The fat bike craze is getting skinnier, with just half of the fat bike makers from 2015 still here five years later.

A Tucson letter writer says bicyclists should be required to use lights at “dusk, night and dawn,” just like the law already requires. And says those “handlebar ringydingy bells” would be nice, too.

Other cities continue to make progress while Los Angeles just keeps falling back, as the already bike-friendly Mile High City commits to building another 125 miles of bike lanes over the next three years. Unfortunately, the Denver Streetsblog won’t be around to cover it, at least not in its current form.

A Chicago bike lane remains faded, months after the city promised to repaint it following the death of a woman on her bike.

A New York community board says the lack of crosstown bike paths through Central Park are a ticking time bomb; they claim one rider has already lost his life as a result.

You’ve got to be kidding. Life is really cheap in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where a woman was fined just $1,000 for the distracted driving crash that killed two people on a club ride — which works out to just $500 for a human life. And she’ll get her license back in a lousy six months. Shameful.

Kindhearted Florida cops buy a new bike and helmet for a nine-year old boy after his was stolen, even making him an honorary junior officer.

 

International

Bike Radar continues their look at the year’s best bikes, with a ranking of the top steel framed bicycles.

Victoria, BC swears it’s not clearing snow off bike lanes before the rest of the street.

The rumored future Bond, James Bond is one of us, as James Norton rides his bike through the streets of London. But why does the press always seem to assume someone had to “settle” for riding a bicycle?

Britain’s biggest bike retailer said scooter and ebike sales nearly doubled compared to the last quarter of the previous year.

The Wall Street Journal reports bike riders are driving up real estate prices in Girona, Spain, which has seen prices go up 15% in the last year. Unfortunately, the usual WSJ paywall problems apply. Thanks to Jeff Vaughn for the heads-up.

India’s Hero Cycles develops plans to rule the bike world. Or 5% of it, anyway.

US Customs says ebikes are motorcycles, but that’s a good thing. The misclassification allows them to avoid Trump’s onerous 25% tariff.

 

Competitive Cycling

Fayetteville, Arkansas has been selected as the site of this year’s Pan-American Cyclocross Championships.

Dutch champ Anna van der Breggen looks forward to defending her Olympic road race gold metal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

 

Finally…

Indoor climbing walls are nothing new, but indoor bike park, not so much. Unless maybe you’d rather ride your bike on water.

And someone has finally developed an all-weather corgi carrier for your cargo bike.

What.

 

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

Morning Links: Biking to fight climate change crisis, how to bike Spring Street, and a musical view of CicLAvia

October 10, 2018 / / 2 comments

A new report warns that the Earth only has another eleven years to reverse climate change before suffering irreversible and catastrophic damage.

Not surprisingly, bicycling and walking more were among the mitigating tactics the researchers recommended to help fight climate change and keep the planet habitable.

Then again, that news is nothing new.

Although it may come as a shock to some members of the LA city council, where self-proclaimed environmentalists continue to block bike lanes and keep Angelenos dependent on their cars, despite acknowledging a climate emergency.

Maybe now they’ll finally get the message. And actually do something about it.

Though something tells me we may all turn blue from waiting.

Unless we die first from the effects of all those cars idling in traffic.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s takeaway from that climate change report is that we need to all switch to solar powered e-cars.

It’s almost like he has a stake in it or something.

Thanks to Jason Islas for the Musk heads-up.

………

LADOT has advice for bike riders on how to use the new left hand, parking protected bike lanes on Spring Street in DTLA.

Now if they could just come up with advice for drivers on how to avoid parking in it.

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LA County serves up a great video recap weaving a musical tapestry from last month’s Celebrate LA! CicLAvia.

Thanks to LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas for the link.

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Bike Snob’s Eben Weiss continues his ascent to being one of the country’s leading bike advocates, this time taking on the self-described “avid cyclists” who stand in the way of bike safety.

Sort of like the Kiwi driver and self-described cyclist who got upset when he had to follow two chatting bike riders, calling them entitled, rude and careless for delaying him for a whole 21 seconds.

Meanwhile, a bike advocate respond to his video by saying “Revving your engine, overtaking on a blind corner, and yelling at people on bikes is a dick move.”

Something tells me Weiss would agree.

………

Anyone have more information about this crash near Santa Monica Airport? That totally trashed bicycle doesn’t look good.

However, there’s nothing in the news about it. And usually, no news is good news.

https://twitter.com/feelingokay247/status/1049700728967593984

Update: I saw the following email from Benjamin S after I posted this last night. 

Meanwhile, a comment below says it took police 12 hours to clear the crash scene, and that forensics was called to investigate, which is never a good sign. 

Let’s all take a moment to offer a prayer or good thoughts for the victim of this crash, and hope for the best.

Update 2: According to Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole, the victim was “severely, but not critically injured.” 

………

Pro cyclist Ted King was on the receiving end of a punishment pass from a road raging driver.

Twitter user RS recognizes the location as Petaluma Road in Point Reyes.

………

Nothing like endangering a kid in a baby carriage with an ill-advised pass.

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Today’s common theme is ebikes.

Lifehacker considers whether you should buy an ebike. Unfortunately, the first — and often, last — consideration for many people is whether they can actually afford it.

The New York Times questions whether ebikes are about to take over the city, now that Gotham has eased restrictions on ped-assist bikes.

Business Times argues that ebikes can make you fitter than a regular bike. Which is probably true if the regular bike stays in your garage.

And Wired examines how dockless bikeshare provider Jump designed a global ebike capable of serving the most people, in the most urban environments.

………

Local

A ghost bike will be placed tonight for the victim of Sunday’s bike crash in Sun Valley.

 

State

The Challenged Athlete’s Foundation is hosting a 600-mile Million Dollar Challenge ride down the left coast from Monterey to San Diego next week.

The Orange County Bike Bells program to distribute bike bells to mountain bikers was honored with a Savvy Award for the best use of a promotional item from the national City-County Communications & Marketing Association (3CMA).

A separated Class 1 bike path in Goleta has won the Bikeways and Trails Project of the Year Award from the Los Angeles chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Now this Oakland bikeway is what a protected bike lane — and a Complete Street — should look like.

Former pro Levi Leipheimer’s Levi’s GranFondo drew over 4,000 bicyclists to Sonoma County over the weekend.

Sacramento approved a change to the city’s food vending vehicles code to legalize food bikes, at the urging of a couple who found out their fresh Stroopwafel bike violated the city codes.

 

National

The author of the “safety in numbers” theory says that tiny vehicles, such as e-scooters, could be the best thing to happen to Vision Zero.

Bike Index talks with the owner of the 5,000th stolen bicycle recovered through the free bike registry.

Bicycling profiles what they call cycling’s cutest rider, a three-pound Schnoodle named Pippa.

It’s neighbor against neighbor on the streets of Denver, where residents are split on a series of mini traffic circles installed as part of a neighborhood bikeway giving priority to non-motorized users.

Cycling tackles one of Colorado’s most iconic passes.

A Colorado bike tour has left a trail of bounced checks and broken promises in its wake, including stiffing a high school marching band.

If drivers can’t even manage to avoid dooring the new Milwaukee street car, how the hell are they supposed to see us?

In a problem DTLA bike riders can relate to, a Chicago TV station reports that bike riders are being endangered by having to swerve around cars and buses parked in a bike lane.

Maine is trying to boost bike tourism by plotting a 320-mile extension to US Bike Route 1 through the northern part of the state.

New York is building a 750-mile escape route, uh, bike trail to Canada.

WaPo discovers ‘bents, saying today’s adult tricycles are low, sleek, speeding and growing in popularity.

 

International

In Vancouver, dooring isn’t considered a crash, because the car isn’t moving and bikes aren’t considered vehicles. And the fine is just $81.

Life is cheap in Manitoba, Canada, where an allegedly drunk hit-and-run driver got just two years for killing a bike riding father; he also lost his license for five years, but the court cut that in half to credit him with the time since the 2016 crash.

A candidate for the Windsor, Ontario city council is taking Bike the Vote seriously by doing his campaigning by bicycle.

A “radical” new proposal would pedestrianize half of the streets in London’s historic core, banning cars and trucks while lowering speed limits to just 15 mph.

A reporter follows BBC presenter Jeremy Vines as he rides his bike from his TV gig to his radio studio, and quotes Vines saying riding a bike is quicker than a Maserati in London.

Safety first. A British bike rider dressed all in black, including a balaclava, to murder a man in a bike-by shooting — but wore a hi-viz jacket over it. One paper suggests it could be an effort to hide in plain sight.

No surprise here. A new study from a British insurance company shows that bike riders make better drivers; bike riding drivers filed claims at less than half the rate of other motorists.

A UK city is posting “Share with Care” signs to remind bike riders and pedestrians to safely share formerly pedestrian streets that were recently opened to people on bicycles.

Police in a British city are stopping bicyclists for using a cellphone when they ride. Only problem is, that’s not illegal.

A Scottish woman is on track to shatter the record for the fastest women’s ride around the world.

Bicycling is booming in Russia, despite market conditions that limit the importation of better quality bikes.

International diplomats climb on their bikes to fight climate change in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Foreign workers in Dubai can’t get to their jobs after their bicycles were confiscated for violating the emirate’s law mandating bike helmets and hi-viz.

Kiwi bike riders say they’re sick of the anti-cyclist vitriol on social media.

The Korea Times takes a look back at the country’s first women bike riders, even though many of the first women’s bikes were ridden by men wearing traditional skirts.

Tragic news from Japan, where an 88-year old woman is in a coma after being knocked down by a 13-year old boy on a bike.

 

Competitive Cycling

An admittedly flawed Irish study shows a worrying increase in spinal injuries among competitive cyclists.

A writer for Outside says America’s most recent ex-Tour de France winner is seeking forgiveness by starting a new cycling team.

A new Chinese cycling team with a massive budget sets out to win the Tour de France by 2025.

 

Finally…

A cuter, fluffier way to sniff out dope cheats. Why change tires when you can just zip on a new tread?

And apparently, there’s nothing scarier than bike-riding teenagers in clown masks.

 

Category: Morning Links, Streets and Infrastructure / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
 
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