Tag Archive for San Diego County Bicycle Coalition

California ebike rebate plan takes shape, sentencing for killer San Diego driver, and 15-minute city conspiracy theories

This is who we share the road with.

A nice three day weekend with my wife was, if not ruined, at least darkened by a road raging woman who nearly ran us down making a left turn as we crossed the street, less than a block from our home.

She somehow took offense when I objected to the way my wife, dog and I nearly became roadkill, screaming that it was our fault because we hadn’t been paying attention.

Which was true for the dog, anyway.

Never mind that a) we had the right-of-way, b) she started her turn after we were already crossing the street, and c) she neglected to use her turn signal, which might have tipped us off.

But in her mind, we were 100% at fault.

Just another reminder that cars can turn people into monsters.

And that we’ll never have safe streets until our elected leaders have the courage and political will to actually do something about it. 

Ebike photo by Alex from Pexels.

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Calbike updated the latest outlines of California’s long-delayed ebike rebate program, which is currently slated to begin sometime in the second quarter of this year.

Which means no sooner than April.

  • To qualify, participants can make no more than 300% of the federal poverty level (FPL).
  • The base incentive will be $1,000.
  • Participants can get an additional $750 toward the purchase of a cargo bike or adaptive bike.
  • People whose income is below 225% of FPL or who live in a disadvantaged community can qualify for an additional $250, so the maximum incentive amount is $2,000.
  • Incentives can be applied toward sales tax, as well as the purchase price.
  • Incentives will be applied at the point of sale.
  • All three classes of e-bikes can qualify for incentives.
  • Used bikes will not be eligible.
  • Incentives can be used to buy e-bikes from local bike shops or online retailers with a business location in California.
  • Adaptive bikes can include tricycles. CARB plans to keep the definition of adaptive e-bikes as broad as possible.

As far as I can tell, it looks like the Federal Poverty Limits are calculated using the adjusted gross income on your latest tax return, with certain items added back in.

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The San Diego Bike Coalition is calling for bike riders to turn out for Friday’s sentencing of the wrong-way driver who killed Matt Keenan in September, 2021.

Keenan was riding his bike to the movies in Mission Valley when the driver, who hasn’t been publicly named, let alone shamed, rounded a corner on the wrong side of the road and hit him head-on.

His confessed killer is copping a plea to misdemeanor Vehicular Manslaughter with Gross Negligence, with a three-year license suspension and not one day behind bars.

Let me repeat.

A lousy license suspension — not even revocation — and no jail time at all. For needlessly killing another human being, while likely driving distracted.

According to the organization, Keenan’s wife Laura has become one of the leading voices for safer streets in the nearly year and a half since his death, and deserves the support of the entire bicycling community in calling for the judge to add additional penalties, like community service and probation, at the sentencing hearing.

If you can’t attend the hearing, they recommend emailing the judge.

Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.

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Thousands of apparently very confused yet virulent protesters turned out in Oxford, England to protest Low Traffic Neighborhoods, aka LTNs, as well as plans for 15-minute cities.

According to the BBC, the protestors based their LTN complaints on the difficulties they could pose for motorists who could be unable to drive directly through the city. Not to mention some major climate change denial, as well as baseless claims that it would result in a “climate lockdown,” with residents required to stay at home to protect the environment.

Meanwhile, 15-minute city proposals were bizarrely accused of being a front for a dystopian concentration camp-like lockdown, with gates locking residents inside their zone, allowed to leave just 100 days a year. Along with the creation of an Orwellian surveillance state to enforce climate goals.

Not to mention that Neo-Nazis turned out in support of the protests. Or maybe were behind it.

Consider, for instance, this speech by a 12-year old anti-Greta Thuneburg, which has been circulating in rightwing circles for the past few days. Even if it, like the rest of the opposition, is based almost entirely on baseless conspiracy theories.

And none of which actually have a damn thing to do with it, of course.

A 15-minute city simply means that everything you need for daily life should be located within 15 minutes of your home — preferably by walking, biking or taking transit.

Meanwhile, LTNs are simply designed to discourage driving through a neighborhood, to increase the safety and livability of the community.

Neither one is intended to force anyone out of their cars. And they certainly have nothing to do with a dystopian surveillance state.

Here’s how British bike scribe and historian Carlton Reid debunks the conspiracies in under a minute.

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Call this ad the anti-anti-15-minute city ad, asking if we can put a man on the moon, why can’t a kid safely ride a bike?

Then again, we haven’t set foot on the moon in over 50 years, either.

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A new French traffic safety campaign calls out the dangers of toxic masculinity behind the wheel.

Unfortunately for us monolingual types, though, it’s in French.

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The legendary Nina Simone was one of us.

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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 79-year old Missouri man is dead because a driver’s van struck the victim’s bike. Not, say, the driver. Because apparently, the van somehow did it all on its own. 

No bias here, either. A Florida letter writer says bicyclists are a danger to themselves and others on the road because it’s a fact that we can’t keep up with traffic flow, and it’s our fault drivers get mad about it because we shouldn’t be there into first place. Then again, it’s also a fact that people on bikes are often faster than congested traffic. And we’re not responsible for how drivers, or anyone else, reacts. 

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

Life is cheap in the UK, where the courts let a 25-year old man walk with a 12-month sentence for wanton and furious biking, with all 12 months suspended; he was skitching and popping wheelies just moments before running down a 13-year old kid while blowing through a red light. Thanks to Marcello Calicchio for the link.

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Local 

Streets For All is asking for your support for a motion at today’s City Council PLUM Committee meeting to end automatic street widening when new construction takes place, which results in those odd mid-block wide spots that too often get blamed on us.

Speaking of Streets For All, the street safety PAC is participating in the annual Climate Ride for the first time, and is looking for volunteers to ride with them, as well as sponsors for the riders.

SoCal Cycling discusses how to get back into bicycling after a long layoff. Kind of like the one I’ve gone through with one diabetes-related health problem after another, which has resulted in a bike that’s virtually unrideable at this point. And a rider who can’t either.

Unbelievable. Metro’s board Planning and Programming Committee rejected calls for pedestrian crosswalk improvements in Pasadena, as part of a package of multimodal projects using leftover funds from the cancelled 710 Freeway extension; advocates hope the full board will overturn the decision this week. Apparently they’ve forgotten the urgent need to improve walkability and bikeability in the face of a climate emergency.

This is who we share the road with. A group of pedestrians waiting for lunch outside a Sawtelle Blvd restaurant became collateral damage when two drivers collided and one careened into the crowd, sending four people to the hospital, including a 23-year old woman in critical condition.

 

State

Streets For All calls out Caltrans for misrepresenting 1,600 miles of Complete Streets, most of which are anything but. And asks you to comment on it.

San Diego’s Park Blvd will be getting dedicated bus lanes and buffered bike lanes through Balboa Park, which has proven deadly for bike and e-scooter riders in recent years. Thanks again to Phillip Young.

Woodland Hills Magazine highlights the area’s best bike riding views.

A San Francisco TV station reports East Bay bike riders are showing solidarity in the face of violent dooring attacks by teenagers in an apparent stolen car; shamefully, Oakland cops say they’re too busy to do anything about it.

Apparently having nothing better to do, the CHP is investigating several instances of juvenile bike riders on the Bay Bridge.

 

National

A Utah man pled guilty to reduced charges for killing one man and injuring another when he crashed into their bikes last July; he was on parole for multiple felonies and had amphetamine, meth, codeine and morphine in his system at the time of the crash. Not to mention belonging to a Nazi criminal gang.

Life is cheap in Texas, where a bus driver walked without a day behind bars for killing a bike rider on the UT campus in 2019; the 44-year old woman got seven years probation and 250 hours of community service, while her victim got death.

Minneapolis is staring down a more than a quarter of a million settlement for the forcible arrest of a man riding a bicycle during the 2020 protests over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, even though the bike rider “was peacefully and lawfully exercising his constitutional right to protest.”

No bias here, either. The Ohio legislature is proposing a ban on center lane bike lanes in cities of 300,000 population, after Cleveland business owners complained they wouldn’t be able to make left turns or unload their trucks.

Tragic news from Pennsylvania, where a 75-year old man was killed when a cop responding to a traffic call rammed his bicycle from behind, while traveling without his lights or siren on; meanwhile, a woman standing in a New York bike lane was killed when she was collateral damage in a crash between a cop and another driver.

Bizarre story from South Carolina, where a John Doe was finally identified as a South Carolina man after his family reported him missing, three months after he was killed riding his bike without ID. Yet another reminder to always carry ID with you when you ride. 

A New Orleans TV station says the city’s bikeshare system is the best way to get around during today’s Mardi Gras celebrations.

 

International

National Geographic says gravel cycling is the next big trend.

CNN highlights ten of the world’s best cities to explore by bicycle; unfortunately, San Francisco is the only US city on the list. And needless to say, Los Angeles isn’t. Thanks to Steve Fujinaka for the tip. 

Canadian F1 driver Lance Stoll is one of us; the driver for Aston Martin will miss next month’s Bahrain Grand Prix after suffering an injury in a “minor” bike crash.

You’ve got to be kidding. Bath, England NIMBYs argue that new green bike parking hangers will threaten the city’s Unesco World Heritage status. Because evidently, all those cars and their parking lots must have been there since Roman times.

Police in the UK are facing justified criticism for advising a pair of bike riders  “be aware,” “keep space” and “expect to wait” after they were struck by drivers, with no suggestions for drivers to not hit people, on bikes or otherwise.

British Channel 5 news anchor Dan Walker is one of us, after he had to miss his broadcast after he was struck by a driver while riding his bike to the strain station.

Hit-and-run drivers in the UK could soon face of fines up to the equivalent of $1,200 for not stopping after hitting a cat. Which is more than many drivers get for killing someone on a bicycle.

Cycling Weekly says bicycling is growing in some parts of the Middle East, despite poor infrastructure and police harassment, while being banned in other places.

Things are looking up for bike shops in Vietnam, as more Vietnamese commuters are opting for riding a bicycle.

He gets it. A Philippine professor says riding a bike is a basic human right, and he intends to keep doing it for the rest of his life.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist looks at the hard road ridden by newly crowned Esteban Chaves, who became Colombia’s national champ for the first time at the ripe old age of 33.

A 20-year old British bike rider says forget hi-viz, after his back and bike were both broken when he was struck by a driver, despite wearing a kit he says couldn’t have been brighter.

British cyclist Tom Pidcock shows off his bike handling skills at the Volta ao Algarve’s time trial on Sunday.

Sad news from the Netherlands, where Dutch cyclist Amy Pieters suffered a setback in her recovery from a near fatal 2021 bike crash, although she continues to ride an adaptive bike, despite suffering epileptic seizures.

Hear, hear! Kenyan-born Chris Froome says he has high hopes for African cycling.

 

Finally…

Foster a pet, get a discount on your next bike. Probably not the best idea to hit a cop who stops you for riding without a light.

And no more free bikes for Indian school kids.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

 

New Clifton Way sharrows in Beverly Hills, San Diego-area bike summit this week, and Bike the Vote tomorrow

So close.

Beverly Hills came tantalizingly close to installing the LA-area’s first advisory lanes, which narrow a roadway to a single two-way center lane and two bike lanes, requiring drivers to move into the bike lanes to get around an oncoming car.

Instead, they settled for sharrows that just sort of hint at a bike lane on both sides of Clifton Way between San Vicente and Robertson, requiring drivers to move to the center to get around bike riders.

Or more likely, impatiently following people on bicycles until they finally find a break in oncoming traffic, before angrily swerving around them.

Because, as we’ve noted before, sharrows only serve to thin the herd, with the arrows there to help drivers improve their aim.

Or as Peter Flax so aptly put it, sharrows are bullshit.

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The San Diego Bicycle Coalition is hosting its third bike summit this Thursday and Friday.

This is how SANDAG Associate Active Transportation Planner Josh Clark described it in an email.

In its third incarnation, the Regional Bike Summit has been a wonderful summary of practice and ideas that’s worth your attendance.  The full lineup of speakers, panels and fun at the San Diego Regional Bike Summit is hosted by the Bike Coalition. This year’s theme: Pedaling Past the Pandemic will highlight the recent “Boom” that has occurred during the pandemic and how we can maintain it. Highlights of the Summit include speakers and sessions on Mobility Justice, E-bikes, Housing and Active Transportation, MIcro-Mobility and Mobility Hubs, Connecting Communities and much more. We will also hear from our regional elected leaders on the state of mobility and bicycling improvements being made in our communities. Registration includes the opening reception, lunch on Friday and rides on Saturday.

You can learn more and register for the event here

Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.

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Don’t forget to vote by mail, dropbox or at the polls by 7 pm tomorrow.

To make it easier, Metro is offering free bus and train rides on Tuesday, along with free half hour bikeshare rides with the promo code 060722.

Lime is also offering two free half hour rides Tuesday on any of their scooters or bikes to get you to and from the polls, use promo code LIMETOPOLLSCALI.

If you’re still not sure who to vote for, Streets For All released their final endorsements before tomorrow’s Election Day, including corgi dad Kenneth Mejia for City Controller, as well as endorsements for Congress in CA-32, CA-34 and CA-37, and Glendale City Council. You can find their previous endorsements for other races here.

And I agree with them about Mejia, after giving him my endorsement back in January.

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Tragic news from Kansas, where a Colorado man entered in the 200-mile Unbound Gravel was killed in a collision the evening before the race.

Sixty-one-year old Gregory Bachman was killed by the driver of a massive Chevy Silverado pickup while crossing a rural intersection. Local authorities said he somehow crashed into the truck, but didn’t explain how or why.

The gravel intersection doesn’t appear to be controlled by any signs or signals, leaving it up to each person to negotiate a safe crossing. It’s likely the driver wasn’t expecting to find anyone on a bicycle on a gravel country road like that.

A crowdfunding page for Bachman has raised nearly $4,200 of the modest $5,000 goal.

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A reminder that Megan Lynch will be discussing accessibility at tonight’s meeting of the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition.

https://twitter.com/may_gun/status/1526308359820914688

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If you ever wonder why people drive so aggressively, you can start with despicable marketing like this.

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Turns out the late comic Flip Wilson was one of us, at least on his show.

https://twitter.com/may_gun/status/1533290367692312576

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

Seriously? A New York NIMBY is trying to sic the cops on a man who runs a curbside bike repair, fixing bicycles for free and giving away refurbished bikes to people in need, while accepting donations from people who can afford to pay.

Bizarre attack in the UK, where the organizer and a ride marshal of the Coventry edition of the World Naked Bike Ride were attacked and kicked off their bikes by masked riders on fast ebikes or trail bikes; one of the victims suffered a broken elbow.

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Local

The LA Times offers advice on how to get to the Hollywood Bowl without a car — including riding a bicycle, if you’re brave enough.

A man was hospitalized in critical condition after he was shot on a beachfront bike path in Long Beach Friday evening; no word on what led to the shooting, or whether the victim was walking, biking or just hanging out. Thanks to fartyshart for the link.

 

State 

No wonder the Golden State Warriors lost their first game in the NBA finals, after a nine-year old Warriors fan’s lucky lowrider bicycle was stolen.

No surprise here. Oakland police are blaming the victim in the death of longtime Chez Panisse wine director Jonathan Waters, concluding he was at fault for making a left turn in front of an 18-year old driver as he rode his bike home from work — although there’s no word on how fast the driver was going.

UC Davis police defend themselves over accusations that the cop on the scene after a bike rider was struck by the driver of a garbage truck did nothing to aid the victim before paramedics arrived. I’m also told a witness accused the cop of driving over the victim’s foot.

 

National

A Malaysian newspaper takes a look at the current state of bicycling in the US, finding 12.4% of Americans ride on a regular basis.

Forget all those new gas powered mail trucks. The US Postal Service is testing e-cargo bikes capable of carrying 400 pounds of mail.

A writer for Bloomberg says it’s time to start subsidizing the purchase of ebikes to jumpstart bike commuting.

Where to land your plane if you’re looking for a good bike ride.

Researchers at MIT have developed a self-driving bicycle, which they say could make docked bikeshare systems three and a half times more efficient, and dockless bikeshares eight times more efficient; the bike automatically turns into a tricycle to improve stability in riderless mode, then converts back when it’s being ridden.

Heartbreaking news from Indianapolis, where one of the last things a bike-riding hit-and-run victim did before she died was to give police the license number of the car that hit her, which led to the arrest of the 27-year old driver.

Around a hundred Boston bike riders turned out to honor late 19th Century Black bicyclist Kittie Knox, who defied racial and gender barriers and joined the League of American Wheelmen — forerunner to the League of American Bicyclists — just one year before they banned Black members in 1894; sadly, she was just 26 when she died just six years later.

Talk about ridiculous. NYPD officers conducted a crackdown on people riding ped-assist ebikes in Prospect park, where they are currently banned — effectively preventing people with limited mobility from accessing the park on a bike.

 

International

It will take a lot more than electric cars to stop pollution, because tire wear on today’s heavier vehicles causes 2,000 times the particulate pollution as what comes out of the tailpipe.

Montreal’s bicycle culture is seen as a model for the rest of Canada as gas prices continue to climb.

Here’s another one for your bike bucket list — touring Iceland by ebike.

That feeling when your celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee is interrupted by a buck naked couple on a tandem prepping for an au naturale fundraising ride the length of Britain.

Irish bike riders could get a lift up a hill with a 14% grade in Cork.

After a Detroit columnist crashes his bike while riding in France, he ends up getting x-rays and stitches from the only doctor available — a veterinarian.

A new Belgium survey shows that only 12% of people in the country ride their bikes to work or school. Which compares somewhat favorably to 0.6% in the US.

Former Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo is one of us, setting out with his wife on a four day, 280 mile bike tour to a Spanish shrine, to fulfill a promise he made to do the trip if the Spanish soccer team he owns a controlling interest in ever got promoted to the leagues top tier. Which it did.

Slovenian bicyclists raced up the country’s highest peak, climbing over 2,400 feet on small wheeled, singlespeed foldies, to honor the bikes that were once made in the former Yugoslavia.

India marked World Bicycle Day by making pans to donate a whopping 15,000 bicycles to Madagascar to get more people on bikes.

A crowdfunding campaign to help Afghanistan’s women cyclists escape the country has raised over $24,000 of the $187,000 goal.

A Melbourne, Australia writer laments the city’s decision to stop building bike lanes, after getting complaints from out-of-town, pass-through drivers. Which should sound familiar to anyone who has been biking in LA for awhile. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Dutch great Tom Doumalin calls it a career after the end of this season, saying “cycling required my blood, sweat and tears at times, but mostly it was beautiful.”

While we all wait with varying degrees of patience for next month’s Tour de France, racing goes on, with Dutch pro Wout van Aert winning the first stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

CLR Effect reports on the third and final day of racing in the 2022 Los Angeles Velodrome Racing Association Spring Omnium at Carson’s Velo Sports Center, complete with some exceptional photos by author Michael Wagner.

 

Finally…

Nothing like celebrating pride with a drag bike parade. Your next bike could be a 2-D Volkswagen Bug.

And an 1891 patent proves you could have been riding inside one wheel, rather than on top of two wheels. Thanks to Steven Hallett for the link.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

OCTA wants your transportation input, San Diego gears up for Bike Month, and a zombie project on Magnolia Blvd

The Orange County Transportation Authority wants to know how you get around the county.

And yes, the correct answer is by bike.

OCTA Seeks Community Input on O.C. Transportation Needs

Transportation Needs Assessment Survey is available online and in multiple languages through March

ORANGE – The Orange County Transportation Authority is conducting an online survey to gain better insight into how people living in Orange County are changing the way they get around the county.

The Transportation Needs Assessment Survey is intended to gauge people’s opinions on the current public transit system and help shape future transportation planning in Orange County.

The online survey is part of an ongoing effort by OCTA to reach out to current riders of OC Bus and Metrolink, as well as non-riders, to deliver a balanced and sustainable transportation network for the county and to enhance overall quality of life.

The survey, at www.OCTAsurvey.com, will be online through the end of March. In an effort to engage residents from a variety of backgrounds, the survey is available in English and six other languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

“Our goal is to ensure all residents have a voice when it comes to transportation needs,” said OCTA Chairman Steve Jones, also the mayor of Garden Grove. “The Transportation Needs Assessment is an opportunity for residents to have a say in local and regional mobility and to ensure everyone is being served.”

The brief survey, which should take approximately 10 minutes or less to complete, asks how residents currently get around Orange County, and seeks suggestions on what can be improved to encourage people to use public transportation or consider active transportation options, such as walking and cycling.

For more information about the OC Bus system, visit www.OCBus.com and take the survey at www.OCTAsurvey.com.

Although I’m still not sure there’s life beyond the Orange Curtain.

Photo by 3888952 from Pixabay.

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While we’re on the topic of points south, San Diego is already making plans for this year’s Bike Month and Bike to Work Day.

Save the date! The 30th Annual SANDAG Bike to Work Day will be Thursday, May 14, 2020. Online registration will open on March 2. Register by April 12 for a chance to win a $500 gift card to Moment Bicycles!

Interested in hosting an official Bike to Work Day pit stop? Applications will be accepted from March 2–20. Support new and experienced riders throughout the county as they roll by a pit stop to pick up a free t-shirt, snacks, and encouragement.

Be sure to stay tuned to the SANDAG Facebook page to vote for this year’s official Bike to Work Day t-shirt later this month!

For more information about Bike to Work Day, visit the iCommute Bike Month web page.

Needless to say, LA Metro apparently hasn’t given it much — or any — thought, with last year’s page still online., and no mention of events past next month.

Which could go a long way towards explaining why LA’s Bike Month, and Bike to Work Day in particular, have petered out in recent years.

Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.

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Leone also forwards a busy calendar of events from the San Diego County Bike Coalition, starting with a bike touring weekend and basic road safety class tomorrow.

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A Twitter thread from Streetsblog makes the case that the proposed widening of Magnolia Blvd in North Hollywood is a zombie project that has somehow lived on, despite a call to narrow the street in the city’s mobility plan.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on. 

Bike riders in Christchurch, New Zealand, face a rising bikelash, as drivers demand that riders need to be educated and wear hi-viz. Or maybe just get the hell off the roads.

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Local

CicLAvia is starting the year off on the right foot, or maybe wheel, with a six-mile route down historic Central Ave in South LA this Sunday.

Spectrum News 1 profiles LA’s Areli Morales, who relies on Metro Bike bikeshare to support her carfree lifestyle.

The beachfront Marvin Braude Bike Trail is getting a much-needed facelift north of the Santa Monica pier, including widening the path and adding a separate walking path like below the pier, in time for the busy summer riding season.

 

State

Calbike says a change in state law led to the passage of a $90 million bond to fund San Diego bike projects.

A Palm Springs bicyclist wants the city to rip out some recent road diets on arterial streets, saying he prefers sharrows. Unlike most bicyclists and the bike curious, who would rather see some degree of separation from cars, if not protection.

Conejo Valley high school students will be collecting new or used bicycles for Wheels to Africa on March 7th; the Virginia nonprofit ships bikes to Africa to provide mobility for people in need.

 

National

It’s rude to draft a stranger without getting an okay first. But for a woman, it’s downright creepy and scary to have a man on an ebike on her wheel for the entire ride.

Peloton didn’t just offer to give people one of their “like new” stationary bikes in exchange for a Flywheel stationary bikes after winning a lawsuit against their competition. Owners report Peloton plans to brick their Flywheel bikes at the end of next month.

Curbed explains everything you always wanted to know about ebikes, but were afraid to ask; meanwhile Electrek finds five ebikes under a grand.

Portland bike owners can now report stolen bikes online. Which should solve the problem of cops who don’t want to be bothered with writing up a report.

Houston wants bike riders to get creative with rolling two-wheeled artworks for the city’s first Art Bike Parade in May.

A Saint Louis bike rider was run down by a heartless coward who fled the scene in a crash caught on security cam video. Not an apparently driverless El Camino, as the story suggests.

Chicago will now allow parking enforcement officers to photograph drivers who block bus or bike lanes so a ticket can be mailed to the owners, even if they move their vehicles before they can be ticketed onsite.

Massachusetts will finally get a hands-free law for drivers on Sunday. Although studies show even hands-free mode isn’t safe

A writer for Gear Patrol rides his first double century, from New York’s Hudson Valley through Vermont.

New York Mayor de Blasio threw his own Department of Transportation Commissioner under the bus, backtracking on a long-delayed bike lane just a day after she had announced it was moving forward.

An op-ed by a pair of “avid” New York bicyclists offers advice on how to how to ride a bike in the city and live to tell the tale.

A Florida sheriff’s deputy in an unmarked car crashed into a man on a bike after the victim allegedly darted into traffic.

 

International

A British man gets a well-deserved four and a half years for using a three-foot samurai sword to steal a bicycle from a 13-year old boy.

A UK website makes their picks for the best bicycling gear of 2020 to get the most out of your ride.

A mountain bike and helmet triggered a search, and hopefully a rescue, after they were left untouched for four days on New Zealand’s Great Barrier Island.

Unbelievable. The allegedly intoxicated man who ran down five Australian bicyclists as they rode in a bike lane was granted bail on a previous drug charge just one day before the crash. Just one more example of authorities keeping dangerous drivers on the road until it’s too late.

This is who we share the roads with. An Australian man was the victim of a vicious ax murder a couple hours after he was involved in a road rage incident.

The coronavirus claimed an indirect victim when an Irish bike rider was killed in a collision in Thailand, after he was prevented from flying home due to travel restrictions imposed as a result of the virus.

 

Finally…

Apparently, accused bike path terrorists are just a tad touchy when you wake them up. Harrison Ford was a dirty, rotten fibber when he denied riding an ebike.

And Aussie road champ Amanda Spratt gets goat bombed.

Morning Links: Protected bike lanes are now legal; WeHo considers removing crosswalks to improve ped safety

It’s perfect bike weather in LA.

And the tourists are gone, most of them, anyway. Which means it’s relatively safe to return to our usually over-congested bike paths.

So tell your boss you’re coming down with a bad case of bike flu. And hit the road to show your bike some much needed love for a few hours.

Work will wait.

And so will today’s post. I promise we’ll still be here when you get back.

As for my bike, it’s still sitting in the corner of my office feeling neglected, waiting sadly for the day I can get back on it.

And so am I.

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Governor Brown signed two new bike bills, one permitting protected bikeways — which are currently considered experimental under state law — and another allowing voters to add a $5 fee to car registration on a local basis to fund bike infrastructure.

AB 1193 directs Caltrans to develop standards for protected bike lanes, while at the same time allowing cities to use guidelines included in the NACTO guide, rather than rely on Caltrans, which tends to be overly conservative and decades behind the times.

SB 1183 allows local governments to impose an additional $5 fee on car registrations to fund bicycle networks. However, it requires approval by a two-thirds majority. And getting two-thirds of voters, almost all of whom are drivers, to tax themselves to pay for bike lanes seems pretty damned unlikely.

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Under the heading of they just don’t get it, West Hollywood authorities consider removing crosswalks and increasing traffic speeds to improve pedestrian safety. No, really.

Maybe someone can explain it to them.

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Very sad news from Portland, as Kerry Kunsman, a League Cycling Instructor and board member of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, is critically injured in a rear-end collision while on border to border bike ride. The SDCBC asks for your prayers for his recovery from a severe brain injury.

Update: The news gets even sadder, as I’m told Kerry Kunsman passed away this morning. My deepest sympathy and prayers for him and for all his family and friends.  

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According to the New York Post, bikes kill; a bike-hating writer for the paper calls even average cyclists assassins on wheels — neglecting the fact that cars kill roughly 5,000 times more people than the average of six people killed in collisions with bicycles in the US each year.

Meanwhile, the paper is still raging over the recent collision between a cyclist and a pedestrian, who sadly passed away over the weekend.

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Bike racing’s governing body will try out on-bike cameras and real-time GPS positioning at this week’s road cycling world championships.

BMC wins the men’s time trial at the world championships; Teejay van Garderen says it’s the highlight of his young career. Specialized-Lululemon takes the women’s title for the third year in a row.

And pro cycling’s God of Thunder calls is a career.

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Local

Hats off to the LACBC, which filed a public records request with the LA County DA’s office for information on the Milt Olin case.

Bicyclists respond to the anti-bike letters in the LA Times. Meanwhile, Walk Bike Burbank responds to anti-bike letters in the Burbank paper.

A Glendale letter writer says bicyclists should pay a “fairness fee,” failing to realize that cyclists and other non-drivers subsidize our streets for the benefit of motorists; what would be fair is giving every bicyclist, pedestrian and transit user a refund on the portion of their taxes spent on roadwork.

 

State

Orange County opens another two-mile segment of the planed OC Loop, which will eventually create a continuous 66 mile bikeway through the county.

A Fountain Valley woman barely avoids falling debris from a crippled airliner as she rode along the bike path in Huntington Beach.

A helmetless San Diego area cyclist suffers a fractured skull in a solo fall. This is one of the rare instances when whether the victim wore a helmet is actually worth reporting, since relatively slow speed falls are exactly what bike helmets are designed to protect against.

Yes, you’re required to pull over when five or more vehicles back up behind you and are unable to pass, just like any other slow moving vehicle. But only when it’s safe and there’s space to do so.

 

National

Elly Blue looks at the future of bicycling and how to ensure everyone has a seat at the table. Or on a bike, anyway. Which brings us to the good, the bad and the ugly of marketing bicycling to women.

Bicycling offers the 10-best car-free bike paths in the US, and calls the newly combined Bike Index and National Stolen Bike Registry the most powerful tool to fight bike theft.

A survivor of the horrific 1970 plane crash that killed most of the Wichita State University football team plans to ride from the school’s football stadium to the site of the crash in Colorado.

If you’re going to steal a bike, probably not the best choice to snatch one from a San Antonio bike cop. Or one in Zimbabwe for that matter — especially not if you’re a fellow cop.

Delaware is the nation’s second most dangerous state for cyclists on a per capita basis.

What will it take to make Macon GA safe for cyclists and pedestrians?

 

International

A shift to bicycling, walking and transit could save 1.4 million lives by 2050; Hamburg Germany plans to go car-free in 20 years; could other cities follow suit?

The oldest Tour de France stage winner in the post-war era passed away in Belgium on Saturday at age 92, 51 years after he won he race’s ninth stage.

An Aussie take on exploring The Hague by bike.

Explore Israeli history by bike. Though you might want to wait until things settle down just a tad.

British bike advocacy group Sustrans applauds an Australian state’s consideration of bike safety reforms. But why does even a bike website think the Idaho stop law is radical?

 

Finally…

As if cyclists didn’t have a bad enough reputation, are we ready for the Bieb on the bike? For God’s sake, someone buy that boy a belt, already.

And caught on video: a Russian bike rider barely avoids becoming collateral damage in a traffic collision — twice.