PeopleForBikes wants to know what you think about biking in Los Angeles, or wherever you ride.
They’re asking everyone to complete a brief, 10 minute survey with the goal of ranking every city in the US in terms of how safe and pleasant it is to ride.
Which means LA is bound to be one of the top rated cities, right?
Okay, you can stop laughing now.
You’re welcome to answer anonymously, or you can provide your name and email, and be entered for a chance to win a $1,500 Trek bike.
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Today’s common theme is a sad one.
Friends and family members remember Agustin Rodriguez, Jr., who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Whittier last month. The woman who so needlessly took his life with her erratic and aggressive driving remains at large, though police say they do have some leads.
San Juan Capistrano father of five Steve Schenkenberger remains in a coma, ten days after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver; a crowdfunding site to help pay his medical expenses has raised nearly $86,000 of the $250,000 goal.
Friends remember Laguna Nigel school teacher and triathlete Scott Clark, who died two weeks after he was collateral damage in a collision between two drivers as he was crossing a street in a crosswalk; he was the second pedestrian killed in the city since the start of the year, along with the collision that critically injured Schenkenberger.
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The pro cyclists union is trying to stop the current disk brake trial over safety concerns.
British racing great Chris Hoy says the future is bright, despite cycling’s “challenged’ reputation.
Cycling’s golden couple find a clever way to announce they’re expecting their first child, posting a photo of a kids bike next to theirs. He or she should have some good bike racing genes, since Laura and Jason Kenny have 10 Olympic gold medals between them.
A rider with the all-diabetic Team Novo Nordisk tells children with the disease that it doesn’t have to mean career death for elite athletes.
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Local
Los Angeles Magazine says the long-delayed MyFigueroa Complete Streets project offers a glimpse into LA’s transportation future. Let’s hope that’s a glimpse at what our streets can be, not how long it will take.
626 Golden Streets lists the activities at the eight hubs along the 26-mile route through the San Gabriel Valley for the March 5th open streets event.
Laura Friedman, who represents La Cañada Flintridge in the state legislature, says collaboration is key to transportation projects, but fails to mention any form of alternative transportation.
Santa Monica will host Parks Day, Come Play! on the 25th of this month, featuring the grand opening or dedication of several parks, along with a bike ride with the mayor.
State
Apparently San Diego’s Bikeway Village project is hostile to hostels, as the Coastal Commission votes to go with a brewery on the site instead.
The bike-riding buddy of the San Bernardino terrorists will plead guilty to charges he illegally provided them with a pair of rifles.
More controversy over the inexplicably controversial plan to build a 50-mile bike path around the Coachella Valley, as residents of a seniors community express concerns that bike riders will peer into their bedrooms and break into their homes. Because peeping Toms and burglars never come by car.
Ventura police bust a bike-riding burglar.
It’s legal to ride a bike on the sidewalk in Cupertino, as long as you have child under 13 with you.
Sad news from Sacramento, as a middle school student was killed in a collision while riding his bike; a CHP spokesman said he died because he wasn’t wearing a helmet. No, he died because he was hit by a car.
National
Self Magazine considers what cycling, including the indoor kind, is doing to your vagina. For those who have one, of course.
Lifehacker offers advice on what to look for when you’re buying a used bike. First thing to look for: make sure it’s not stolen.
North Dakota voted down the bill that would have allowed drivers to run down anyone who was intentionally blocking traffic, without fear of prosecution. Which could have included cyclists taking the lane, if police concluded they didn’t belong there.
A bike-riding Houston editor says there’s no one simple answer to safer streets, and the city needs to put the same energy and ambition they demonstrated in hosting the Super Bowl behind making the city safer for everyone.
Kentucky considers a mandate for kids to wear bike helmets, but only if they’re 12 or younger. They’re also moving forward with a three-foot passing law that, unlike California, allows drivers to briefly cross a yellow line to pass a bike rider.
International
The Toronto paper explains right-of-way rules for bike lanes, stressing that drivers turning right have to yield to bicyclists.
An Ontario man was lucky to avoid jail for his third DUI offense. On an ebike. On the other hand, everyone who has to share the road with him, not so much.
British dog owners are looking for the man crashed into a small dog with his bike, then kept on going; the three-year old dog lost all but two of its teeth as a result. Seriously, it takes a heartless jerk to keep riding after injuring any animal; but it’s the owner’s responsibility to keep their dogs safe and out of harms way.
A new study shows the world’s most dangerously polluted cities, where the health risks of riding a bike outweigh the benefits, include Zabol, Iran, Allahabad and Gwalior, India, and Doha, Qatar.
A group of Tasmanian cycling legends in their 60s and 70s ride together every week; an 85-year old rider is still one of the fastest and fittest members of the group.
Now that’s performance art. A Zimbabwean history professor will be riding around Cape Town on a bicycle with bull horns and speakers, delivering lectures and spinning records.
Finally…
So what do you call the person who sits on the bottom of a bamboo tandem? Even government ministers get their bikes stolen.
And a man was fired for not pushing his bike across a plaza instead of riding it; then again, it’s hard to push a bike when you don’t have any arms.
