This one’s worth a listen.
The Cycle Feed podcast talks with our own Dorothy Wong, who walked away from Hollywood to become one of SoCal’s leading bike race organizers, and the driving force behind SoCal Cross.
And while we’re recognizing successful LA women, Grist honors LADOT’s Rubina Ghazarian and Metro’s Avital Shavit as part of the Grist 50 for their work getting LA on two wheels with the new Metro Bike bikeshare program.
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The 2017 Tour de Fat schedule has been announced, with 33 stops throughout the US for the annual beer and bike festival.
But if you live in the LA area and want to attend, you’ll have to travel at least 120 miles, as they’re apparently avoiding Los Angeles like the plague. They’re making four California stops, with the closest one in San Diego on July 8th. Not to mention two in the Bay Area.
Seriously, was it something we said?
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There will be a meeting in Huntington Park tomorrow to discuss plans for the awkwardly named Active Transportation Rail to River Corridor.
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USA Cycling announces a new 12-race American Road Calendar; the only California race in the series will take place in San Dimas this weekend.
On the women’s side, USA Cycling has set a goal of becoming the number one women’s cycling nation in the world. But if they fail, they’ll probably feel like number two.
The head sprint coach for British Cycling makes an emotional appeal for organ donors as he discusses the liver transplant that saved his life. I’ve signed my donor card, though I’m not sure anyone would want my used parts anymore.
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Local
A 50-year old bike rider suffered unspecified injuries when he allegedly turned left into the path of a BMW in Glendale Friday afternoon; police concluded the victim was at fault. Let’s hope that’s based on something other than the statement of the driver involved.
Pasadena gets it. The Rose City has adopted a new Street Design Guide that focuses moving everyone, not just the people in cars, and “accommodate(s) all users such as pedestrians, bicyclists, public transit, skateboarders and scooters.”
Damien Newton talks with Monica Curiel of Bike SGV about the bike and pedestrian count planned for April 1st; volunteers are needed throughout the San Gabriel Valley.
The Long Beach Grand Prix course opens to the non-motorized public for a brief time next Tuesday with a mini Beach Streets-style ciclovía.
State
Jason Roy Rocha was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter, evading police and hit and run with permanent injury after fleeing the Sunday morning crash that killed Encarnacion Salazar Munoz as he rode his bike home from work in Anaheim. The OC DA takes traffic crimes like this very seriously; with a little luck, Mr. Rocha can look forward to a long time behind bars.
The recent $4.85 million settlement with a man who was injured while riding his bike on the sidewalk could lead to changes in how San Diego sidewalks are maintained.
Ventura County gets $3.3 million in grants for three active transportation projects.
The San Luis Obispo paper calls on SLO County to spend the money to add another 4.4 miles a popular bike trail.
More bad news from NorCal, where a man on a bike was killed in collision in West San Jose; no details are available. Al Williams fills in some of the details, reporting the crash occurred near his home on a four lane street with bike lanes and a 35 mph speed limit; he says there was a Porsche with a broken windshield stopped on the side of the road when he went by.
San Francisco gets new ferry boats with room for 50 bikes. And a lot of people, too.
National
No, really. Scofflaw cyclists don’t break the law more than anyone else.
PlacesForBikes Michael Andersen asks if women riders are really more risk averse, or just more honest about admitting their fears.
The Robb Report shares a first-person view of one of their staff members wiping out on an ebike. Repeatedly.
Bicycling seems to have a bit of a donut obsession lately.
The Idaho mountain biker who was shot and killed by police last week for threatening dog owners with a gun on a local trail was well known and liked at the local bike co-op.
A Montana physician says the bike-hating senator who wants to ban bicycles from state highways is wrong.
My hometown newspaper looks at the pain grieving families feel over the light sentences given killer drivers. And tips are running out in the investigation into a series of apparently random shootings in the area two years ago that took the life of a popular cyclist, along with another man.
Houston is prepared to pass a new bike plan, even though critics complain it goes too far to “appease a vocal cadre of cyclists.”
The stoned driver who killed five cyclists in the Kalamazoo massacre will reportedly plead insanity.
A Wisconsin man purchased a billboard to ask drivers to watch for cyclists in memory of his wife, who was killed while riding a year ago today.
New York is getting more serious about Vision Zero, as the city gets ready to break ground on safety improvement projects throughout the five boroughs, including more protected bike lanes.
DC could soon pay commuters to leave their cars at home. California has a similar law allowing employers who subsidize parking to offer employees the chance to cash-out their parking space and take alternative transportation instead.
A Charlotte NC cop only realizes he hit a salmon cyclist when saw his broken side mirror. But if he never saw the victim, how did he know he was riding the wrong way?
In another North Carolina crash involving law enforcement, a bike rider was killed in a collision with a state police officer after allegedly running a red light, while the driver was only doing 23 mph. Funny how it always seems to be the other guy’s fault when a cop gets in a crash.
International
Bike Radar asks if a new series of mixtes from Brit bikewear maker Vulpine are the ultimate urban bikes.
Sad news from Costa Rica, where the fourth victim of a hit-and-run driver has died, seven weeks after her riding companions were killed at the scene; the driver turned himself in only after police discovered his car.
The Guardian’s Peter Walker dives head first into the great helmet debate, saying that while he wears one most of the time when he rides, “you don’t make cycling safe by obliging every rider to dress up as if for urban warfare.”
Caught on video: An English bike rider comes to blows with a driver who reportedly blocked his path. Seriously, drivers can be jerks, but violence only makes a bad situation worse.
A London bike rider is on trial for beating a man to death with his bike lock, when he and his friends followed the victim after a dispute in a chicken stand.
The strongman president of Turkmenistan is one of us, too.
A former South African rugby player got seriously banged up in a solo fall.
Trucks hauling dirt from a Melbourne rail tunnel currently under construction will be fitted with protective sideguards to protect bicyclists. Sideguards have been proven to improve safety and save lives; all commercial trucks should be required to have them installed, including here in the US.
Apparently there’s nowhere that cyclists can ride without some people complaining. Like the Aussie rider who was assaulted by a man who told him to “cycle on the road” — while he was riding in a velodrome. Yes, a velodrome.
Fortune says China’s app-based bikeshare model doesn’t make any sense, despite the investor funds that are pouring in.
Finally…
Yes, it looks beautiful, but how does it ride? If you’re going to rob a gas station with a toy gun, try not to ride your bike into a pole when you make your getaway.
And here’s your chance to catch up on the best bike vs animal videos, including the infamous zombie kangaroo herd.
