Let’s hope you took advantage of that extra hour over the weekend to catch up on your sleep.
Or maybe your bike just a little longer.
Just remember that the time change seems to have a deleterious effect on people’s driving abilities.
So ride defensively and with a little more caution for the next few days. And make sure you’ve got a set of lights with you if you plan on riding late in the day.
Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels.
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Let’s start with a couple of recent Reddit posts.
First up is a rider who’s tired of fixing flats due to the ubiquitous broken glass coating LA bike lanes.
Rant: I think the constant glass on the road is really messing with my life
byu/marsandsaturn inLosAngeles
Let’s deal with the obvious first.
If you’re still riding in LA without quality puncture-resistant tires, you should get some. I used to suffer flats three or four times a month before switching to Gatorskins, dropping to one or two a year afterwards.
Second, most streets in the City of Angels should be swept on a weekly basis. So if the streets you ride remain covered with glass and other tire threatening detritus — or the bike lanes never seem to get cleaned at all — use the 311 app to complain to the Bureau of Street Services.
More important, however, is this post forwarded by Streets For All founder Michael Schneider.
Once again, let’s start with the obvious.
This is a crime.
If this happens to you, you should immediately called the police and report it as a shooting. This is no less a driveby than if they had used a handgun, and should be prosecuted as such.
Even if prosecutors conclude there isn’t enough evidence to bring charges, it could establish a pattern of behavior in case they do it again. That’s what led to the conviction of Dr. Christopher Thompson in the infamous Mandeville Canyon brake check case.
Second, this would make a strong case under LA’s bicyclist anti-harassment ordinance, which allows a claim of $1,000 or triple the actual damages, whichever is higher.
The law also allows for attorney’s fees, although you’d be hard-pressed to find one who will take such a small case.
But you can file it yourself in small claims court.
One way or another, the shooters shouldn’t be allowed to get away it, or they’ll just do it again to someone else.
And next time, the victim may not be so lucky.
Thanks to HowTheWestWS for forwarding the first post.
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About damn time.
It’s been six long years since I served on the board of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.
And one question that continually came up during board meetings was a proposal to rebrand the LACBC using the then popular hashtag #BikeLA. But there were always holdouts who weren’t sold on the idea, or thought it wasn’t the right time for one reason or another.
Evidently, support finally aligned in recent weeks, as the organization announced their new branding as Bike LA at Saturday’s Bike Fest.
Not only is it a simpler and more self-explanatory name, but it gives the group a much-needed opportunity for a fresh start after a few very difficult years.
LACBC just announced that they are re-branding and will henceforth be known as Bike LA pic.twitter.com/nAwB0mw2oN
— StreetsblogLA (@StreetsblogLA) November 5, 2022
Thanks to Ravener for the tip.
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Another reminder, if we needed it, that the East Side Riders Bike Club is about a lot more than just bikes.
And do a hell of a lot of good in, and for, the community.
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This is who we share the road with.
Every driver on the road is armed and dangerous, whether or not they have a weapon in the car.
Because their car is a weapon.
Driver rams van into Vons storefront in University City after being asked to leave https://t.co/QkDtA5BeQz [Breaking]
— The San Diego Union-Tribune (@sdut) November 7, 2022
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A new video attempts to answer the question of why does riding a bicycle feel so damn good?
Meanwhile, frequent contributor Victor Bale recommends this podcast about the introduction of the safety bicycle, if you’re looking for a good listen.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. British residents blasted their local leaders after a new bike lane opened — blocked by lampposts in both directions.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Georgia police busted a man who attempted to escape the cops by fleeing through a Taco Bell lot to avoid being arrested; they caught up to him when he crashed his bike into a curb.
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Local
Good2Go Bikes, a joint project from Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, and Pedal Movement, launched recently in the Rancho San Pedro public housing development to provide low-income residents with access to low-cost ebike and e-cargo bike rentals.
The Signal looks at SAFE founder Damian Kevitt and the Santa Clarita Finish The Ride and Finish The Run Halloween events to raise money for bike safety.
State
A 79-year old San Diego man was seriously injured when he somehow lost control and fell off his bike in Sorrento Valley.
National
A Las Vegas bike rider was killed, and another critically injured, in a drunken, serial hit-and-run that ultimately involved ten vehicles, and left another seven people injured — including four people from Alhambra.
Arkansas is planning a 500-mile bike path along the historic Butterfield Stage Route connecting Jefferson City, Missouri and Fort Smith, Arkansas.
New York bicyclists ride to the rescue to close the gaps in the city’s composting program by using teenage microhaulers to collect and transport refuse the city doesn’t; in ten years, just one such business diverted nearly a million pounds of food waste from landfills, turning it into 427,000 pounds of compost.
New York firefighters rescued a woman who was dangling outside a 20th floor window to escape a fire apparently started by an ebike battery.
No surprise here. DC business owners and a relative handful of residents have brought out the torches and pitchforks over a proposal for a 2.7-mile bike lane, apparently failing to grasp the concept that bike lanes are good for business, as well as property values. Thanks again to Victor Bale.
International
A pair of studies refute the accepted wisdom that micromobility doesn’t reduce car travel and emissions, showing that banning e-scooters after dark increased travel times, and that the most recent generation of e-scooters reduce emissions 70% over the lifetime of the scooters.
Bike Radar talks with four people who say their lives have been transformed by ebikes; the site also argues that ebikes could solve a number of problems, including car dependency and transport poverty, but only with “better infrastructure, updated attitudes and government backing.”
So why not hitch an e-trailer to your ebike?
A new Dutch company has opened new low-cost a London bicycle subscription service, identified by a single blue tire, complete with an antitheft guarantee.
A new 250-mile, coast-to-coast Scottish bike path scheduled to open next year promises to add millions of pounds to the local economy.
A hard-hitting piece from a British columnist, who says he prepares for war every time he rides his bike, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Although he could spend a lot less time insisting he’s not one of THOSE cyclists.
Life is cheap in the UK, where a 74-year old driver got just two and a half years for killing one bike rider and seriously injuring another, while blaming the victims for failing to ride single file and “bumping” onto his car. He also failed to mention his recent stroke when renewing his license.
Unbelievable. An Irish railroad worker won an unfair dismissal claim for the equivalent of nearly $4,000 after the railroad fired him, claiming he couldn’t perform his duties — because he was in prison after plowing into a group of women bicyclists while driving at four times the legal alcohol limit, leaving two women with life-changing injuries. Thanks again to Victor Bale.
Two-hundred-fifty people turned out to honor a Berlin bike rider who was killed when she was run over by a truck driver.
Tens of thousands of bike riders enjoyed a carfree afternoon on a ten-lane Dubai freeway.
Competitive Cycling
Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard says he’s “just not bothered” by all the pressure and attention that comes with winning cycling’s premier event, and looks forward to defending his title next year.
Finally…
Racing Penny Farthings in Prague. That feeling when you steal a bike, but can’t remember where you left it.
And apparently, bike commuting on the marathon course is a no-no.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin, too.
