Tag Archive for stop as yield

Tell feds to cancel deadly trucks & SUVs, photos from Saturday’s Beach Streets, and what passes for bike lanes in CD3

May 23, 2023 / / One comment

Here’s your chance to tell the feds to stop allowing massive trucks and SUVs that seem intentionally designed to kill anyone outside the vehicle.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, aka NHTSA, is asking for input to draft new crashworthiness regulations to help improve safety for vulnerable road users, like bike riders and pedestrians.

Tell ’em it’s long past time to make vehicles safer for vulnerable road users like us.

Meanwhile, as long as we’re talking about feds, the US Department of Transportation has introduced their new Equitable Transportation Community (ETC) Explorer.

The tool is designed to help city planners, advocates, and elected officials plan more equitable transportation investments targeting traditionally underserved communities.

Which may be a mouthful, but it’s badly needed to help correct the deadly inequities on our streets, where people in low income communities or communities of color are more likely to be killed while biking or walking.

Photo by David Drexler from Long Beach Beach Streets (see below).

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Yesterday we shared David Drexler’s photos from the official opening of the new Mark Bixby bike-ped path over the International Gateway Bridge.

Today he’s kind enough to share a few photos from Saturday’s Beach Streets open streets event in downtown Long Beach.

Let’s just hope he got there early, and it was more crowded than the photos suggest.

Photos by David Drexler

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Good question.

Unfortunately, you can find substandard bike lanes like this in underserved neighborhoods all over the LA area.

https://twitter.com/gatodejazz/status/1660863095927873538

On the other hand, this is what you end up with when elected leaders actually give a damn.

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Calbike is urging you to contact your state assemblymember to call for passage of AB73, the latest attempt to pass the Bicycle Safety Stop, aka Stop as Yield.

The bill is intended to improve safety by allowing bike riders to roll through stop signs when there’s no conflicting traffic, and it’s safe to do so.

Assuming it can get past Governor Newsom’s veto pen this time.

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Put this on a T-shirt, and I’m all in.

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The creator of Sherlock Holmes was one of us.

And he’s right.

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

No bias here. After an elderly Hawaiian man died crashing his bike in an apparent solo fall, officials said his death wouldn’t count towards the county traffic fatality totals because he was riding a bicycle instead of driving a car.

No bias here, either. The Dallas Morning News reports someone stole a Dallas city bus, then crashed it into several parked cars and a bicycle. But they wait until the penultimate paragraph to mention that someone was actually riding that bike at the time; fortunately, the bike rider wasn’t injured.

A car passenger was caught on camera throwing trash at a British man as he rode his bike, even though he was riding with his four-year old son.

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

Two Louisiana schools were put on lockdown when a man was seen carrying a rifle on his bicycle; police gave the all-clear when they determined he was just taking it to a pawn shop.

Commenters are praising a Dollar General manager who used her car to run down an alleged shoplifter making off on his bicycle, even though she could — and perhaps should — be charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

https://twitter.com/4Mischief/status/1659997986284355586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1659997986284355586%7Ctwgr%5E100edd9a18e866a2b8543c811c1d87f8ae365e1e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Fdollar-general-employee-chase-down-thief-viral-1801733

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Local 

Streetsblog offers photos and an open thread from LA’s first CicLAmini on Sunday.

Urbanize reports on Saturday’s opening of the new Mark Bixby Memorial Bicycle-Pedestrian Path on the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge, offering expansive views from 205 feet above the Port of Long Beach.

Right now, you can get $600 off a new e-cargo bike from LA-based Cero One.

 

State

San Diego bike riders are dealing with a problem familiar to riders in other parts of the state, as trash and debris from a homeless camp piles up on an Ocean Beach bike path leading to the beach; a homeless advocate blames downtown sweeps that push homeless people to other parts of the city. Although as inconvenient as it is for people on bikes, not having a home is probably worse.

Fresno bike riders will get new protected bike lanes on four busy streets.

Unlike most other major US cities, San Francisco continues to improve safety for bike riders, as bicycling deaths dropped 58% over last year, averaging just 1.4 fatal bike crashes for every million residents. That compares to approximately 3.5 bike deaths for every million residents in Los Angeles last year.

This is who we share the road with. A Sacramento area man was killed by a 17-year old driver after successfully shepherding a family of baby ducks across the road.

 

National

Bicycling warns about the swayback position, saying you should check your posture on your bike if you get lower back pain. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

Road Bike Action considers how an ebike can help people improve their general health and well-being by leading a more active life.

Men’s Journal recommends the year’s best gravel bikes.

Travel + Leisure recommends the unpaved, 100-mile White Rim Road in Utah’s Canyonlands National Park, which takes three to four days to travel by bike.

Denver’s ebike rebate program is accomplishing its goal of getting people out of their cars, helping replace an estimated 100,000 vehicle miles per week.

A 62-year old Chicago man was the victim of a vicious attack when he was struck with a construction sign by another man while riding along a sidewalk, then beaten with his own bicycle, all for no apparent reason; he was hospitalized in critical condition.

Michigan parent groups are urging the state to adopt a mandatory helmet law for children, even though helmet laws have been shown to reduce childhood bicycling rates.

Anonymous donors have given over $3,000 to a private fund in Kalamazoo, Michigan to help solve crashes involving bicyclists.

New York is producing a series of themed self-guided route maps to encourage people to explore the city by bike.

A writer for the American Conservative says the outrage over the hospital worker who tried to wrest a bikeshare bike from a black teenager just reflects America’s “racism shortage.”

Frightening crime in Mobile, Alabama where a man riding a bicycle was forced off the road by a couple in a pickup, then robbed of his bike at gunpoint.

 

International

Cycling Weekly has declared this ebike week, offering a series of articles offering tips, advice and know-how.

In a result that shouldn’t surprise anyone, the removal of a highly praised bike lane in Vancouver’s Prospect Park has only resulted in more traffic congestion, not less, suggesting that maybe the bike lane wasn’t the problem after all.

A pair of writers for Outside take a blind ride down Quebec’s newest lift-accessed mountain bike park. Which probably doesn’t mean what you think.

Sports journalist Claude Droussent discusses his new crowdsourced guide to the best bicycling routes throughout the continent.

British motorists are “furious” about a confusing new road layout with a center-running bus lane, a spacious two-way bike lane, and walking paths on both sides of the road. All of which seems pretty damn clear to me.

The leader of a Malta bicycle advocacy group says narrowing traffic lanes without providing protective barriers for bike riders will only encourage speeding.

A writer compares riding on the volcanic island of Tenerife to a lava-filled moonscape, ending with a dinner of fresh squid at a bike-friendly hotel.

 

Competitive Cycling

Legendary sprinter Mark Cavendish is calling it a career, confirming that he plans to retire at the end of this year; the director of the Tour de France called him the greatest sprinter in the history of the Tour, and in history, period. Meanwhile, Wale’s Geraint Thomas says he has no plans to follow his friend into retirement.

England’s Lizzie Deignan says the increasing ability of both men’s and women’s cyclists mean the sport is getting harder than it’s ever been, which she says it great.

Retired ‘cross champ Hannah Arensman spoke out about why she quit the sport after losing a podium spot to a transgender woman, who Fox News insists on calling by her former male name.

 

Finally…

Your next ebike could come with a built-in Bluetooth speaker, even if you can’t hear it over city traffic. Evidently, you can still ride a bike, even when you’re next in line for the throne.

And that feeling when you go out for a ride on your ebike, and end up in the Giro.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Stop as yield passes Assembly committee, MOVE Culver City debate goes late, and bike-riding teens shot in Florence drive-by

April 25, 2023 / / No comments

The state Assembly’s Transportation Committee has once again passed a version of the Idaho Stop Law.

San Diego Assemblymember Tasha Boerner tweets that AB 73 would allow bike riders 18 and over to treat stop signs as yields, but only when it’s safe to do so.

She also notes that “9 other states already allow policies like these because the data shows it’s safer for cyclists & other drivers.”

Whether that will be enough to get Governor Gavin Newsom to yield veto pen — after he rejected two previous drafts — remains to be seen.

Photo by ALTEREDSNAPS for Pexels.

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Things aren’t looking great in Culver City.

The city council meeting discussing a proposal to rip out the successful MOVE Culver City mobility project is still ongoing as I write this; delaying discussion of controversial issues like this is a time-tested method of waiting out the opposition in hopes they’ll leave before the proposal comes up.

However, as the following tweet suggests, opposition to the project is firmly entrenched, wrong though it may be.

Bike Culver City is doing a great job of live-tweeting the debate, as comments go back and forth between members of the council.

Meanwhile, the list of elected officials coming out in favor of the project continues to grow.

Finally, it’s hard to tell from the photo, but it looks like a good turnout for the protest ride in favor of retaining the project.

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Seriously, why the hell isn’t this bigger news when a pair of teenagers get shot riding a bike in LA’s Florence neighborhood?

According to the Daily Breeze, a 16-year-old boy and 18-year-old girl apparently sharing a bicycle when they were critically injured in a drive-by shooting.

So is the problem that we just take shootings for granted now? Or just shootings “down there”?

Or do bike riders — or communities of color — just not matter anymore?

Or maybe all of the above.

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Tragic news from Newport Beach, where bike shop owner Don Feuer was struck by a driver while riding a scooter.

Feuer, owner of Victory Ebikes, was just one block from his store when he was critically injured in the crash on Saturday, April 16th.

According to a crowdfunding page set up to help pay his medical expenses and benefit his family, the crash left Feuer with a damaged spinal cord after breaking his C1 & C2 vertebrae, leaving his prognosis uncertain, at best.

The page has raised just over $8,600 of the $50,000 goal in five days, though word of his injuries is just getting out.

Given the extent of his injuries, however, even the full $50,000 is likely to be just a drop in the bucket for his future medical expenses.

Thanks to Psmith for the heads-up.

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Guerrilla DIY infrastructure group Crosswalk Collective demonstrates LA’s firm commitment to whatever is the opposite of Vision Zero, in which the death of a pedestrian results in a memorial sign and the removal of the group’s DIY crosswalks.

And shamefully, no other action in the seven years since.

Thanks to Tim Rutt for the tip.

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Gravel Bike California takes in the superbloom while riding the century old Ridge Route through the Angeles National Forest.

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

No bias here. A Kentucky law firm asks if bike riders can ever be liable for traffic collisions, before responding, in effect, “Let us count the ways…”

No bias here, either. A Minnesota letter writer says it’s time to stop giving carte blanche to bike path developers, accusing proponents of being divided between absolutists and “rational people.” As if developers of any bike path, anywhere, have ever been given carte blanche.

A Boston-area group opposed to bike lanes conducted their own study, and unsurprisingly concluded that some bike lanes are bad.

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

Police in Durham, North Carolina are looking for a bike-riding groper who’s assaulted six women, including three in the last month.

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Local 

A Los Angeles Times podcast considers whether anything can stop distracted driving. Short of a federal law requiring cellphones to shut off when cars are in motion, probably not.

As long as we’re talking podcasts, former LA Councilmember Mike Bonin’s What’s Next, Los Angeles podcast talks with Streets For All founder Michael Schneider.

Speaking of Schneider, he’s back with another op-ed in the LA Times, arguing that you’re not imagining it, Los Angeles traffic signals really do favor cars, not people.

UCLA’s Daily Bruin looks at the new Westwood Connected campaign to improve walking and biking in the area surrounding the campus.

 

State

You have just one week left to order Calbike’s 2023 bikewear collection.

Sad news from San Luis Obispo, where a Cal Poly student has died after being disconnected from life support, after he was struck by a driver while riding his bike last week.

Momentum Magazine examines the controversy over San Francisco’s planned center-lane pseudo-protected bike lane on Valencia Street; the city has already begun construction before more people can complain.

 

National

Lifewire says Velotric’s new ebike with a built-in Apple “Find My” feature is total genius.

Bicycling considers four Black bicycling clubs working to diversify the roads and trails, including All Clubs LA, which was founded by Kenneth Vinson and legendary cyclists LA cyclists Rahsaan Bahati, Justin Williams and Charon Smith. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Seattle builds a two-way, concrete-protected bikeway stretching a little more than half a mile in the southwest part of the city.

It wasn’t a good weekend for a bike rider in Orange, Texas, either.

A Kansas City TV station says ebikes from the city’s bikeshare system are the best way to get around during this week’s NFL draft.

An Indiana man was sentenced to up to forty years behind bars — or as little as three — for the hit-and-run crash that killed a man riding a bicycle four years ago; he also got a whole eight-day sentence for driving without a license — suspended, of course.

New York announced plans for another ten miles of hardened bike lanes, featuring the sort of concrete barriers most of us would actually consider protection, rather than the usual flimsy plastic car-tickler bendy posts.

New York bicyclists call on the city to keep those bikeway improvements coming, as bicycling deaths continue to climb.

Finishing our New York trifecta, the city considers a proposal to eliminate red tape when it comes to expanding bike lanes and create a real-time map of current bikeway conditions, while a New York councilmember accuses the NYPD of being part of the problem.

DC is reassessing plans for downtown bus and bike lanes in the wake of an organized bikelash.

 

International

An English county counselor was left bloodied and bruised after he was the victim of a hit-and-run driver who left the road and jumped a berm to hit him as he was riding on a fully separated bike path.

A new study from the UK says autonomous vehicles will need to understand the secret language of bicyclists to better understand their intentions, and vice versa.

The police escort for Britain’s prime minister now includes multiple bike cops, the better to force people off the roads.

A new German survey suggests the country isn’t a bicycling country yet, as a national bike club rates it “sufficient.”

That’s more like it. An Israeli driver will spend the next ten years behind bars for the drunken Yom Kippur death of a 12-year old boy riding his bike in Jerusalem two years ago, as well as being banned from driving for 20 years.

An African writer says bicycles present the solution to safe, healthy and inclusive cities on the continent, which continue to choke under air pollution, vehicular traffic and and traffic fatalities.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tadej Pogačar suffered a setback on his way to steamrolling the competition this spring, breaking multiple bones in his wrist; he’ll be out four to six weeks following successful surgery. The Slovenian cycling star says he’s was lucky that was all he broke, concluding “Shit happens.”

 

Finally…

How to pick the right seat for your tush. Your next gravel bike could be a Lamborghini — unless you’d rather have a new motorcycle-ish ebike inspired by a Land Rover.

And is it really a winning strategy to market your fat tire bike primarily to fat people?

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Still no Koreatown traffic signal after 3 years, Huizar rides 6th Street Bridge, and NHTSA boss calls for Idaho Stop

October 21, 2022 / / Comments Off on Still no Koreatown traffic signal after 3 years, Huizar rides 6th Street Bridge, and NHTSA boss calls for Idaho Stop

Good question.

It’s been three full years since a four-year old girl was killed by a left-turning driver while holding her mother’s hand in a Koreatown crosswalk.

Now LAist wants to know why nothing has been done to install the new traffic signal Koreatown residents were promised in response to Alessa Fajardo’s death as she was walking to school.

Alessa’s death highlighted a series of failures: by the driver who killed her and — more significantly — by the city of L.A., which long knew of dangerous conditions at the intersection where she was killed, but did not add (some) safety improvements until after her death…

But three years after Alessa was killed — and more than 30 months since LADOT recommended the signals be upgraded (with 4-way left turn signals) to make the intersection safer — the improvements have not yet been made.

Adding insult to literal injury, the driver apparently skipped town after initially stopping. There’s been an outstanding warrant for Indira Marrero since she failed to appear in court two years ago — despite the relative slap on the wrist of a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge.

Photo by Pixabay.

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It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from disgraced CD14 Councilmember Jose Huizar, who left office under the cloud of racketeering and bribery charges.

Apparently emboldened by the controversy swirling around successor Kevin De León, Huizar popped up yesterday to subtly remind everyone of one of his more popular accomplishments, even though it wasn’t completed until long after he was gone.

Like Huizar, De León refuses to resign despite repeated calls to step down.

Although as shameful as De León’s conduct has been, at least he doesn’t face decades behind bars for his actions, or the lack thereof.

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She gets it.

The acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, aka NHTSA, is calling for approving the Idaho Stop Law.

She argues that data shows the law, which allows bicyclists to treat stop signs as yields and red lights as stops signs, provides additional safety benefits to people on bicycles.

It’s already in effect in a handful of cities and states, while a modified version known as Stop as Yield — which does not allow for treating red lights as stop signs — is law in several others.

Although not California, where Governor Newsom vetoed it — twice.

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Today’s common theme is cops behaving badly.

A Canadian mountie faces charges for hitting a bike-riding suspect with his patrol car, after two men on a bicycles were seen making off with a large metal safe on a dolly.

And a 22-year old Aukland, New Zealand cop pled guilty to the off-duty death of a bike-riding man, while driving at well over twice the legal alcohol limit.

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

A white Illinois woman walked with probation after being allowed to plead down a felony hate crime charge to a single count of misdemeanor battery, for confronting three Black men riding their bikes along Lake Michigan, insisting their skin color meant they couldn’t be there without a permit.

Anger is growing in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a road raging driver was caught on security cam driving up on a sidewalk to hit a bike rider; both the driver and the victim left the scene afterwards. Always stick around to talk to the police after any assault, vehicular or otherwise.

A Toronto bike rider was lucky to escape from a road raging driver who swerved into him, before getting out of his truck to attack him. Laws may be different in Canada, but LAPD officers have told me that simply exiting a vehicle to confront someone is enough to subject a driver to assault charges.

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

Police in Springfield, Missouri are looking for a bike-riding woman and her companion, after they ignored No Trespassing signs to steal an 80 to 100-pound bench.

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Local

Pasadena has received a $36,500 site grant to improve bike and pedestrian safety.

 

State 

Orange County sheriff’s deputies will host a pair of free, all-ages ebike safety classes in Rancho Santa Margarita over the next two months.

Santa Barbara is removing the green bike lane markings from the center of the State Street Promenade. The bike lanes were intended to separate bike riders and pedestrians, but were ignored by people walking; now bicyclists and pedestrians will be expected to share the carfree street.

Tragic news from Fresno, where someone riding a bicycle was killed in a collision near the Fresno State University campus.

Apparently missing the point of a quick-build bike lane, San Francisco business owners are calling for more study and complaining about a loss of parking, even though the idea behind quick-build lanes is to try them out to see if they work.

Great idea. A resident-led rapid response group is working to call attention to traffic violence in Oakland, quickly organizing protests following deadly collisions.

 

National

Lifehacker offers advice on how to ride your bike in the rain.

Thrillist talks to the “experts” for a list of 16 bicycling essentials every new rider should own. None of which are actually essential.

A Tacoma, Washington bike drive bought in 370 bicycles to be refurbished and donated to people in need.

Fast Company looks at Denver’s wildly successful and popular $4.1 million ebike rebate program.

An Oklahoma man was sentenced to life in prison for the random drive-by shooting that killed a man riding a bicycle; he reportedly killed a stranger just to impress members of a street gang.

An Ohio man wants his coke possession charge separated from charges for the hit-and-run death of a 13-year old boy riding a bicycle, arguing that the drug bust came the next day — even though he was on his way to buy it when he killed the kid.

A Martha’s Vineyard letter writer complains about the two-week closure of a bike path for a three-day music festival, arguing that families and children are routed onto deadly roadways instead.

Lonely Planet says yes, it is possible to be a tourist in New York on a bicycle.

New York is offering a paltry $5,000 reward for the hit-and-run driver who killed a 13-year old boy, who leaped in front of his sister to push her out of the way as they walked in a bike lane.

 

International

Road.cc’s Near Miss of the Day isn’t, after a bike rider’s bikecam catches a van driver actually sideswiping him.

In a major setback for Vancouver bike riders, the city plans to rip out a contentious bike lane through a city park, so cut-through drivers can resume zooming through after being banned during the pandemic.

The conservative Times of London makes a dramatic U-turn by concluding that two-wheels are good, just nine months after demanding licenses and liability insurance for people on bikes. Although they still think cargo bikes annoy drivers.

American Anne Sacoolas pled guilty to a reduced charge of causing death by careless driving in the 2019 head-on, wrong-way driving death of a 19-year old British motorcyclist outside an RAF airbase known to house American spies, where her husband had worked. Sacoolas was able to use her husband’s diplomatic immunity to flee the country; it’s unlikely she will return to the UK for sentencing.

Brussels, Belgium now bans motorists from driving through the city center if that’s not their final destination.

We Love Cycling offers advice on how to cross European borders on a bicycle.

 

Competitive Cycling

Ireland is making a bid to host the start of the Tour de France, possibly as early as 2026.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your new ebike could literally explode. Or when The Cannibal spent twice as long wearing yellow as Britain’s latest prime minister spent in office.

And why tote a bulky tent and sleeping bag on your next bike tour, when you can peddle your very own solar-powered ebike camper van for the low, low price of ten grand?

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Meager LA bikeway output in decline, support urged for Stop-as-Yield bill, and Carlsbad declares bike emergency

August 24, 2022 / / Comments Off on Meager LA bikeway output in decline, support urged for Stop-as-Yield bill, and Carlsbad declares bike emergency

Before we get started, my brother the former Iditarod mushing and bike-riding adventurer is off on another cross-country bike tour.

He left yesterday on the Trans-America trail, taking it from Western Colorado to the Atlantic Coast. 

I’ll try to keep you posted when he shares details of his trip. 

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I doubt it will surprise anyone that bikeway implementation in Los Angeles fell last year.

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton reports the LADOT showed a total of just 39.1 miles of new or upgraded bikeways for the most recent fiscal year that just ended, down from 52.5 the previous year.

And yes, that includes sharrows and bike routes, as well as protected bike lanes, bike paths and painted bike lanes.

Linton reports that implementation of bikeways fell precipitously under outgoing Mayor and erstwhile almost ambassador to India Eric Garcetti.

Although Garcetti doesn’t shoulder all the blame.

Under Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, bike facility implementation peaked at 200+ new bikeway lane-miles annually. Since Mayor Eric Garcetti took office in 2013, implementation has fallen dramatically. Under Garcetti-appointed city Transportation Department (LADOT) General Manager Seleta Reynolds, new bikeway mileage has been dismal, hovering between 10 and 52 miles annually for the past seven years.

It’s not all Garcetti and Reynolds’ fault, as their modest efforts have been blocked by many city councilmembers: Gil Cedillo, Paul Koretz, Curren Price, David Ryu, Mitch O’Farrell, and Paul Krekorian have all vetoed planned bikeway projects in their districts.

I got pushback when I declared on twitter that last year’s total was a fail, as Linton and others pointed out that the figures for last year included some high-quality installations.

Which is fair.

Under Villaraigosa, the city focused on what they referred to as the low-hanging fruit, where installation of a bike lane didn’t require removing parking or a traffic lane.

And while the city remains averse to doing anything to annoy or inconvenience people in cars, they have built more protected bike lanes and cycle tracks in recent years.

Not enough, but still.

And not enough are truly protected, as the city too often pretends that car-tickler plastic bendy posts offer some form of protection from motorists, who can simply drive over them at will.

Hopefully, a new mayor and city council will increase funding to LADOT to hire more bike-focused engineers, and wipe the dust off the city’s Vision Zero and mobility plans.

We can hope, right?

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Calbike is urging everyone to call their state senators to urge them to vote for AB 1713, the latest attempt to pass a Stop-as-Yield law.

Streetsblog says we’re this close to getting the right to treat stop signs as yield signs, and that the bill addresses Governor Newsom’s complaint that led him to veto the previous version by limiting the law to riders over 18.

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They get it.

Carlsbad has responded to the recent deaths of two bike riders and a jump in ebike injuries by declaring a state of emergency, allowing the city to take immediate action to improve safety for bicyclists.

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Dr. Grace Peng has done the hard part for you, developing talking points for this afternoon’s workshop to discuss the California ebike rebate program.

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Belgian pro Wout Van Aert goes Hollywood, making a brief appearance in a Red Bull video featuring F1 racer Max Verstappen.

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GCN considers why bicycle license plates are a terrible idea.

Because they are.

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

A Chicago father accuses a hit-and-run driver of intentionally striking him and his daughter as they were biking home from school, not far from where a three-year old girl was killed earlier this year.

The Spanish driver who killed two people and seriously injured three others when he rammed a group of bike riders, possibly intentionally, is being held without bail pending trial, as police investigate him for possible murder charges; he has a long record of traffic safety violations, as well a violence against women.

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

New York police are looking for a hit-and-run bike rider, following the death of a pedestrian, who died days after the bicyclist collided with him while the victim was crossing a Manhattan street.

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Local

KCRW looks at the Healthy Streets LA ballot measure, which is being considered by the city council today, asking if the city can finally be friendlier to transit users and pedestrians. Because the measure’s not just about bikes, regardless of some perceptions.

The LA Times celebrates the closure of Griffith Park Drive through Griffith Park, and questions what other streets should be closed next. Like Hollywood Blvd, which is long overdue for a pedestrian plaza at Hollywood & Highland.

Good idea. A UCLA professor has created a new app enabling people to easily organize group bike rides to create safety in numbers for bike commuters.

Streetsblog talks with Los Angeles-based comedian George Coffey, who is turning Metro’s foibles into fodder for jokes.

Active SGV continues to live up to its name, as they continue to be one of the most active advocacy groups in the LA area; the group is bringing Slow Streets and open streets to the San Gabriel Valley, with a number of demonstration projects to show the value of traffic circles, outdoor dining, and bike lanes.

 

State 

Thirty-six-year old Kenneth Alexander Heimlich was convicted of going on a two-city crime rampage in Orange County in June, including pushing a bike rider into traffic and repeatedly stomping his head for no reason as they waited at a bus stop.

A 63-year old San Diego man was the victim of a hit-and-run when a driver turned in front of his bike, in a crash caught on security cam — even if the local TV station can’t be bothered to include it. Or even link to it. Schmucks.

Life is cheap in Lafayette, where the driver who killed 86-year old Joe Shami, better known as The Legend of Mount Diablo, walked without a single day behind bars; Lori Everett got a lousy one year probation and 100 hours of community service, while her victim got the death penalty.

A Davis writer says bicycle etiquette begins with being considerate.

 

National

The New York Times takes a look at the rise in traffic deaths, which disproportionately affect Black, Latino and low-income families.

A new study shows Blacks are overrepresented in bike and pedestrian deaths; the study also shows drivers of pickups and SUVs accounted for 38% of bike riders and pedestrians killed on the roads, despite being involved in just 20% of the crashes.

Marketplace says high-tech speed governors are gaining traction with safety advocates, even though carmakers hate the idea.

A six-year old Minneapolis girl was collateral damage in a shootout between two men when she was shot in the leg as she was riding her bike.

Heartbreaking news from Minnesota, where a pickup driver was arrested for vehicular homicide for killing an eight-year old girl as she rode her bike on the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Reservation.

Bighearted former Indiana University basketball player and Head Coach Dan Dakich and his wife gave away 31 bikes to kids in need earlier this month, as they work year round to ensure that every kid can have a bicycle.

This is why people keep dying on our streets. A North Carolina driver walked without a single day behind bars after copping to a plea deal for probation in the DUI death of a bike rider. Which sends a clear message to other drivers that it’s perfectly okay to get drunk, get behind the wheel and kill someone.

 

International

Road.cc considers the carbon footprint of your bike, which may be more than you think.

Newspaper readers in Hertfordshire, England like a government proposal to regulate bicyclists by requiring a numbered license plate and liability insurance to catch riders who totally ignore the rules. Even though that isn’t likely to happen, numbered plates or not.

Welsh bicyclists are ignoring government warnings to stay off the world’s longest and highest aqueduct; officials insist the 126-foot high structure isn’t wide enough to accommodate both people on foot and on two wheels.

Tragic news from Scotland, where champion mountain biker Rab Wardell died in his sleep in his Glasgow home, just two days after winning the elite men’s title at the Scottish MTB XC Championships; he was just 37.

A new study shows that Lisbon, Portugal’s bike paths reproduce the city’s social inequities, with people in working class neighborhoods having less access to them than residents of wealthy neighborhoods.

The first ever, ten-day Tour De Maccabi bike race and adventure tour will take Jewish bike riders rom Krakow, Poland through Slovakia and Hungary, before ending in front of Europe’s largest synagogue in Budapest

 

Competitive Cycling

As predicted, the first day back in Spain shook up the standings in the Vuelta, as three-time defending champ Primož Roglič stormed to victory in what The Guardian termed a “stunning effort,” taking the leader’s red jersey in the process; American Sepp Kuss is in second place, 13 seconds back.

The Mountain Bike World Championships begins today in Les Gets, France.

USA Cycling named the US men’s and women’s road cycling and time trial teams, with L39ION of Los Angeles cyclist Skylar Schneider the lone domestic competitor to make the team.

 

Finally…

Blame bikes for the demise of religion and a rise in women smokers.

And face it, he’s got a point.

https://twitter.com/fietsprofessor/status/1562125196689129474

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Arrest warrant issued in Mo Wilson love triangle murder, and bike & pedestrian bills move forward in CA legislature

May 23, 2022 / / One comment

Before we start, I’ve received a number of reports that someone on a bicycle was killed while riding in Claremont on Friday. 

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find any confirmation yet. 

I’ll let you know if I learn more.

………

It’s one of the oldest stories in Hollywood.

But this isn’t Hollywood. And this time, it’s not just some filmmaker’s fantasy.

Because it turns out the murder of rising gravel cyclist and mountain biker Moriah “Mo” Wilson was the result of an old fashioned love triangle.

Wilson was shot multiple times and killed August 11th while in Austin, Texas to prepare for the Gravel Locos race.

After investigating, police have issued a first degree murder warrant for 34-year old Kaitlin Marie Armstrong, the business partner, and off-and-on romantic partner, of pro gravel cyclist Colin Strickland, who operates a vintage trailer restoration business.

Strickland said he had a brief romantic relationship with Wilson last fall, before reconciling with Armstrong.

Apparently, they were on a “break” at the time.

Wilson and Strickland had gone swimming together that afternoon, before he dropped her off at the apartment of a friend she was staying with.

According to The New York Times, police had taken Armstrong into custody a day after the shooting, but let her go hours later.

The day after Ms. Wilson was found dead, the police took Ms. Armstrong into custody on an unspecified misdemeanor warrant but were then informed that the warrant was not valid and told Ms. Armstrong she could leave if she wanted to, the affidavit said…

The affidavit said the police had received a tip from an anonymous caller. The caller said Ms. Armstrong had said in January that she wanted to kill Ms. Wilson after learning that Mr. Strickland was in a romantic relationship with Ms. Wilson while he was dating Ms. Armstrong.

Now they have no idea where she is.

A Boston website reports Strickland originally lied about his own whereabouts the day of the shooting in an effort to hide his involvement with Wilson.

He also bought two guns last winter, for himself and Armstrong — including the weapon apparently used to kill Wilson.

The murder has left the Austin bicycling community in shock.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding page to “help fund community organizations that help youth find self-confidence, strength, and joy through biking, skiing, and other activities that Moriah was passionate about” has raised over $60,000 of the $100,000 goal.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

……….

Streetsblog notes that most bike, pedestrian and transit bills in the state legislature are moving forward.

That included the Bicycle Omnibus Bill and another attempt at getting the Stop As Yield bill, aka the Idaho Stop, past the governor’s desk.

However, it also includes a bill requiring bikeshare and e-scooter companies to insure their riders, which would likely put them all out of business.

………

Mark your calendar to help make biking better in Orange County.

………

An Indian man and his son can’t contain their joy over buying a used bike.

………

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

Seriously? After bike-riding Miami couple were killed by a fatigued driver who may have been sleeping at the wheel, the local police respond by reminding bike riders and drivers to obey the law, saying safety is a shared responsibility. Even though the victims didn’t do a damn thing wrong, except share the road with a driver without enough sense to pull over when he was too tired to drive.

Two London bike riders were attacked by a driver who pulled up next to them before tossing thumbtacks in their path.

After a British truck driver was caught on video buzzing a bike-riding cop in hi-viz, angry drivers tried to defend the close pass by insisting the driver stayed in his lane.

A member of Britain’s national cycling team was lucky to escape serious injury when he was intentionally rear-ended by a road raging hit-and-run driver.

More proof drivers are the same everywhere, as a road raging Parisian driver ends an argument with a bike rider by driving over his bike, and dragging it under his car as he tried to drive off without stopping.

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

After Fresno’s mayor posts a video suggesting he rode his ebike to work for Bike to Work Day, it turned out he didn’t really ride, and doesn’t even own the bike he was riding.

A Houston robbery victim ran over the thief’s bicycle getting away after the robber had shot him.

………

Local

Streetsblog’s Joe Linton examines Metro’s annual tradition of lying to justify their ever-expanding highway widening budget, which jumped 33% this year, on top of an 80% increase last year — despite promising to switch to a more multimodal approach. Never mind that they’re burning money while helping to set our world on fire in the midst of an ever-worsening climate emergency.

The BBC takes a look at my friend and bike shop owner Carlos Morales and the Eastside Bike Club he founded in 2008.

 

State 

Menifee is building a new six acre bike park.

Sad news from Fremont, where a seven-year old chid was killed when they were struck by a driver while riding a bicycle. Even if a San Francisco website can’t decide if the kid was riding a bike or walking.

 

National

Best Products says cheap ebikes are taking over the streets, while apparently defining cheap as under two grand.

An 82-year old writer for CleanTechnica shares the lessons he’s learned in eight years of ebike ownership and maintenance.

This is who we share the bike path with. An Iowa driver faces DUI and reckless homicide charges for killing one person and injuring two others as they were walking on a multi-use path at two in the morning, after driving nearly the entire length of the pathway.

 

International

A London, Ontario writer reminds pedestrians they don’t belong in bike lanes.

A new Canadian study shows women are more concerned about drivers, and bullying and abuse, than they are about infrastructure.

You’ve got to be kidding. After Scotland’s transport minister says ebikes are the future, a Lycra-clad neanderthal columnist insists ebike riders are cheating.

Half of British women would like to ride their bikes more, but don’t feel safe on the roads and worry about a lack of infrastructure.

A kindhearted teenage Ukrainian refugee in the UK gave his new bike to a fellow refugee so she wouldn’t have to go without one; he was rewarded with an even better bike a few days later.

Companies in Brussels, Belgium are rethinking deliveries, and trading delivery vans for “more environmentally friendly, and often faster, cargo bikes.“

New research from the Netherlands suggests that roundabouts are less safe for bike riders than traditional intersections.

Bike sales are surging in Beijing as the city closes parts of its transit system to combat Covid.

An aide to a Malaysian elected official was killed when he fell off his bike on a descent.

Heartbreaking story from Australia, where a Good Samaritan was stabbed to death by a 15-year old boy, after he tried to stop the teenager who had just stolen a bike from a younger boy; the 15-year old was arrested, but has yet to be charged.

 

Competitive Cycling

Britain’s Simon Yates took the win in Saturday’s 14th stage, while Ecuadorean pro Richard Carapaz slipped on the pink leader’s jersey.

All the action took place on Saturday, as an exhausted peloton eased into today’s rest day on Sunday’s stage 15, with Carapaz retaining his newly won leader’s jersey despite an early fall.

Dutch pro Tom Dumoulin threw in the towel on Saturday’s 14th stage, dropping out early in the race, explaining that his “body is worn out;” meanwhile, Alejandro Valverde dropped out of contention after losing eight minutes following a flat.

Former pro Robbie McEwen was forced to apologize for inadvertently using a homophobic slur during a Giro stage 10 broadcast.

 

Finally…

Maybe Obsessive Cycling Disorder isn’t the best name for a bike shop if you don’t want to piss off the OCD community. That feeling when you’ve been visited by the bike fairy.

And it looks like Trevor Noah is one of us. At least when he’s in The Netherlands.

https://twitter.com/Trevornoah/status/1528348661419229184

Thanks to Glenn Crider for the link.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Kid driver trying to roll coal runs down 6 Texas bike riders, bike rider gets stung in Hermosa sting, and sad state of LA biking

September 27, 2021 / / One comment

What does it take for a driver to get arrested, anyway?

Because if anyone deserves to spend some time behind bars, it’s the 16-year old boy who tried to coal roll a group of bike riders, and plowed into them, instead.

But considering it happened in Texas, he’ll probably get a slap on the wrist and a pat on the back.

According to Houston’s Fox-26, a group of bicyclists were training for a triathlon in Waller County, northwest of Houston Saturday morning.

Roughly 75 miles into their training ride, Ferrell says a black diesel pickup truck slowed down near him and accelerated to blow smoke in his lane.  Moments later, the pickup trick tried doing the same thing to other cyclists riding ahead of Ferrell.

“The reason he couldn’t stop is because he was accelerating to blow more diesel fuel on these cyclists,” said Ferrell.  “He ended up hitting 3 people before his brakes even started.”

A total of six riders were run down by the kid behind the wheel, four of whom had to be hospitalized; fortunately, their injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Yet despite everything, the kid was not ticketed, let alone arrested.

Rolling coal is assault with a deadly weapon, capable of causing riders to fall off their bikes, or cause lung damage, asthma attacks and eye irritation.

Let alone the risk of slamming into the intended targets while doing it.

This was anything but a mere oopsie.

It was a deliberate attack that led to serious injuries. And needs to be prosecuted that way.

Thanks to Victor Bale for the heads-up.

………

This is what can happen when you get caught up in one of those bicycle and pedestrian safety enforcement operations.

A bike rider who prefers to be anonymous forwarded this ticket for running a stop sign in Hermosa Beach. The irony is, that could be legal soon if Governor Newson signs the bill legalizing Stop as Yield in California.

Evidently, Hermosa cops weren’t willing to wait.

………

This twitter thread is worth a click to read the whole thing, as he describes the sad state of bicycling in Los Angeles.

Which keeps far too many people from riding their bikes.

………

Somehow, we missed this video of scofflaw salmon drivers in LA’s Griffith Park earlier this month.

But they’re right. Cars don’t belong in public parks.

Period.

https://twitter.com/EntitledCycling/status/1441485335284752391

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Bicycle art, junkyard or illegal bike chop shop?

4th and vermont from LosAngeles

………

Got to admit, it’s a pretty impressive work of Strava art.

Let’s just hope the grown-up guy who was the baby on the album cover doesn’t decide to sue him, too.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

………

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

No bias here. New Orleans has been targeting ghost bikes for violating a proposed policy, even though there is no current rule in place prohibiting them.

Bizarre story from the UK, which reports a bike rider was intentionally run down in a collision with a van — yet fails to even mention that the van had a driver.

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

A 60-year old road raging Kiwi man was sentenced to 100 hours behind bars, and a $400 “emotional harm payment,” for physically attacking a driver who allegedly clipped his leg in a dangerous pass as he was riding a bicycle with his wife.

………

Local

Metro has come back with a pair of plans for Colorado Blvd in Eagle Rock, one of which is very similar to the locally drafted Beautiful Blvd plan. And the other one isn’t.

 

State

Residents of Santee are revolting against transportation plans from Caltrans and the San Diego Association of Governments, aka SANDAG, insisting they’re not interested in bike lanes, but want more highway lanes to reduce congestion. Apparently they’ve never heard of induced demand, which would fill those new lanes with even more cars. Or that bike lanes can reduce traffic congestion by given some people an alternative to driving.

The CHP is looking for the hit-and-run driver who ran down a 60-year old woman as she was riding her bicycle on Highway 1 in San Luis Obispo, leaving her with multiple broken ribs and two broken clavicles.

The San Francisco Chronicle has apparently dropped its draconian paywall for a special graphic report illustrating the progress the city has made building bike lanes during the pandemic. An opportunity Los Angeles lost by failing to step up efforts when they had the chance.

A Santa Clara newspaper honored a retired electronic salesman with their North Bay Spirit Award for this month, for his work with the nonprofit he founded to fix up unloved bikes and give them to kids whose parents can’t afford one; in just the past seven months, he’s taken in 100 bicycles and given 80 away after repairing them. Thanks to Murphstahoe for the link.

 

National

Forbes says Harley Davidson’s new Serial 1 Mosh/CTY could easily replace your car for local shopping or commuting. But good luck getting one of their special edition, vintage-style bikes, which sold out the first week.

Then again, Men’s Health says the same thing about Specialized’s new turbo ebikes.

Denver’s transportation department says they can’t put more bike lanes on the city’s wide streets, because there just isn’t enough space. Having ridden throughout the city when I lived there a few decades back, I can say with all confidence, bullshit.

An Iowa man will spend anywhere from 14 to 60 years behind bars for beating a 72-year-old maintenance man to death with a kid’s bicycle.

Common sense prevailed in Dayton, Ohio by denying a permit to tear down the Wright Brothers first bike shop.

Kindhearted Massachusetts cops dug into their own pockets to buy a new bicycle for a young boy after his was stolen from his yard.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever punched a nine-year old Staten Island boy in the face and stole his bicycle.

New York authorities blame obsolete replacement batteries for 65 ebike and e-scooter battery fires that have killed three people this year.

Speaking of which, police in New York are looking for a group of four men and a woman for allegedly tossing that exploding ebike onto the subway tracks, which had initially been explained away as an accident.

New York’s Department of Transportation wants to install cameras to catch people blocking bike lanes with their cars, which will require a law change from the state. Never mind that some of the worst offenders are cops.

I want to be like him when I grow up. An 80-year old South Carolina man rode his bike 800 miles to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity.

A Florida woman was killed by a road racing motorcyclist, who hit her bicycle while he was racing a driver in a BMW as she was trying to ride across the street; no word on any charges, though police are looking for the driver of the BMW driver.

 

International

An op-ed by a British Columbia bike rider says the city of St. John’s is the worst bicycling city in Canada, without a single inch of bike lanes. And that has to change .

Life is cheap in the UK, where a doubly distracted taxi driver got less than three years for running down a man on a bicycle while using, not one, but two phones behind the wheel, leaving the victim with life-changing injuries.

Florence, Italy is extending its Bicipolitana network with two new lines; the concept refers to planning bikeways like subways, with primary routes leading across the city.

Italian bikemaker Colnago will fight bike theft by using blockchain technology combined with a non-removable RFID embedded in the frame.

Belgium has introduced the country’s first ever countrywide bike plan.

Seventy percent of the bicyclists killed in the Czech Republic this year weren’t wearing helmets. While that figure sounds disturbing, it’s meaningless without knowing how many of those victims suffered head injuries, and whether their injuries would have been survivable with or without one.

The late Zambian president and recording artist Kenneth Kaunda was one of us, with the 1960s guerrilla frequently riding the countryside carrying a guitar on his bike while leading the country’s freedom movement.

An Aussie columnist calls out the “gutter scum” who mocked the victims of collision on the paper’s Facebook page, after several bike riders were injured and a 63-year old woman was killed, when they were struck by a school bus driver.

 

Competitive Cycling

France’s Julian Alaphilippe repeated as men’s world road champ, in what Cycling Weekly termed possibly the greatest ride of his career.

Hometown favorite Wout van Aert said he just didn’t have the legs to compete with Alaphilippe, saying he’s only human.

Surprise third place finisher Michael Valgren saved the day for the vaunted Danish team at the worlds, telling himself “Shit, it’s up to me,” after realizing he was the only team member still in contention.

Youth was served at the women’s world road championships, as 23-year old Italian cyclist Elisa Balsamo outsprinted Dutch great Marianne Vos; VeloNews talks with Balsamo, as well as several other top competitors.

Cycling News blamed failed tactics for the Dutch team’s loss in the women’s race, which left a sour taste in Vos’ mouth.

Forget crits. Try testing your mettle on an “inappropriate” single speed bike in a brutal Slovenian bike race; towing a dog in trailer behind your bike is optional.

 

Finally…

Call it a split decision in an epic battle of man versus ebike. Nothing like setting up your own personal bait bike.

And if you can’t punch and kick an acquaintance and steal his bicycle, who can you?

………

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

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

Arrest made in fatal Vista Del Mar hit-and-run, PCH shoulder closing near Point Mugu, and feds cut ebike tax rebate

September 17, 2021 / / 4 comments

It looks like the LAPD got their man.

Police arrested 39-year old Darwin Dantzler for the hit-and-run death of a mother as she carried her three-year old son across Vista Del Mar last weekend.

Wendy Galdamez Palma was attempting to make her way from the beach to her car parked on the other side of the deadly roadway. She reportedly turned away from the onrushing car, sacrificing herself to save her child.

Palma would not have had to cross the street if city leaders had the courage to keep a road diet in place that shifted parking to the west side of the street to protect beachgoers, after a 16-year old girl was killed crossing the street several years ago.

The city settled a lawsuit over that crash for $9.5 million.

Palma’s death will likely cost Los Angeles a lot more, after city leaders caved in to demands from angry pass-through drivers used to using the street as a free-flowing  freeway bypass, ripping out the road diet and returning Vista Del Mar to its previous dangerous state.

And making another death virtually inevitable.

Authorities showed just how seriously they don’t take traffic crime in California, releasing Dantzler on a remarkably low $50,000 bail, given the seriousness of his crime.

Then again, he faces a maximum of just four years behind bars for felony hit-and-run. And if he’s convicted, he’ll likely serve less than half of that with good behavior.

Meanwhile, Wendy Galdamez Palma was — allegedly — given the death penalty at Dantzler’s hands.

And her husband and kids will have to somehow find a way to go on without her.

………

Caltrans will be closing a section of shoulder on southbound PCH in Ventura County for several months to repair damaged retaining walls.

If you ride through that area, you can expect to share the right lane with motorists.

But at least they’ll be dramatically lowering the speed limit through the construction zone. Let’s just hope drivers obey it.

Especially when someone on a bike is in front of them.

………

PeopleForBikes is urging everyone to voice your support for a proposed federal ebike tax credit and bike commuter benefit.

Although Treehugger argues, correctly, that ebike incentives are laughable compared to those for electric cars — especially after the House Ways and Means Committee cut the proposed benefit in half to just 15% of the purchase price, with a max of a lousy $750.

But at least that’s $750 we wouldn’t get otherwise.

Meanwhile, Calbike wants you to email Governor Newsom and urge him to sign AB 122, aka the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill, which will allow bike riders to treat stop signs as yields. Which most of us already do anyway.

AAA and the CHP had an outsized influence on our last governor. Hopefully they won’t oppose this bill. Or if they do, let’s hope Newsom listens to more enlightened voices and signs it anyway

And congratulate him on keeping his job while you’re at it.

It never hurts to suck up a little.

………

Valley Blvd is well on its way to getting shiny new curb-protected bike lanes.

https://twitter.com/boyonabike62/status/1438329554058186753

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More proof, as if you need it, that Bike Index works.

So what are you still waiting for? Get free lifetime registration now, before you need it.

………

This could be huge.

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Evidently, the new bike lanes on the Brooklyn Bridge pass inspection.

………

Milan is reclaiming space from cars, and giving it back to people.

So what the hell are we waiting for?

https://twitter.com/_dmoser/status/1438388469785575431

………

We may have to deal with LA drivers, but at least we don’t have to worry about avian dive bombers.

https://twitter.com/gplama/status/1437311200002408451

………

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

I don’t even know what to say about this one, as a cop tells someone on a bicycle that it’s not safe to ride in a bike lane, because of all the cars in it. Thanks to Keith Johnson for the forward.

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

Be on the lookout for bike-riding Santa Monica cello thieves.

Dallas police are looking for a shirtless, purple-pantsed, pistol-packing bike rider who fired a shot into a vehicle Wednesday afternoon.

………

Local

Metro Bike bikeshare is now brought to you by Doordash.

Los Angeles approved plans to make street improvements, such as bulbouts, speed humps and traffic circles, to deter street racing, which should improve safety for everyone by slowing all traffic.

CD14 Councilmember Kevin de León will host an open house to discus plans for the NoHo to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit through Eagle Rock on October 2nd; if you live, work or ride in the area — or want to — show up to support the Beautiful Boulevard Complete Streets plan.

 

State

Caltrans offered an update on $100 million in funding for Complete Streets projects on state roadways, including three projects in Los Angeles County, as well as others in Orange, San Diego and San Bernardino counties.

Yuba Bicycles is moving its HQ to San Juan Capistrano, with a couple new jobs in the front office.

Chico’s Sierra Nevada Brewing is working with a number of bike brands to give away a couple of custom bicycles, to raise funds and awareness for a pair of nonprofits working to repair severe damage to trail systems due to flooding and wildfires in Northern California and North Carolina.

 

National

Bicycling offers tips for better trail etiquette on your next off-road expedition. As usual, read it on Yahoo if Bicycling blocks you.

A Streetsblog op-ed offers advice on how to take on the NIMBYs, and beat opponents of street safety.

A physicians website argues that riding a bicycle to work can make you a better doctor.

Cycling News takes a deep dive into the “unique sizing, geometry and design of gravel bikes.”

Your next bike helmet could filter the air you breathe while you ride.

A new app promises to help you get your bike fit right.

Scary news from Alaska, where a doctor is urging everyone to leave their bikes at home because all the hospitals are full of Covid patients, and they may not be able to treat you if you get hurt.

You’d think it would be hard to go belly up in the middle of a worldwide bike boom, but a Denver bike shop would beg to differ.

An Oklahoma driver had his manslaughter conviction and 19-year sentence for killing a 12-year old, bike-riding Cherokee boy overturned, after the state Supreme Court ruled it had no jurisdiction on Indian lands.

A 74-year old Wisconsin man pled guilty to the hit-and-run death of a teenage boy riding a bicycle on the eve of his trial; he allegedly drove off after the crash, then returned to slowly drive by the crash site before fleeing again, leaving the boy to die in a ditch on the side of the road.

Shades of Vista Del Mar, as a Chicago bike rider was killed by a hit-and-run driver on a street where parking protected bike lanes were ripped out eight years ago, just because homeowners wanted to park next to the curb.

NatGeo sings the praises of Minneapolis as a bicycling city and a leader in the urban bicycling movement.

This one will put a smile on your face, as an Indianapolis paper profiles a 72-year old woman who’s famous locally for riding her pink bicycle everywhere she goes in her neighborhood.

A DC writer argues that every block matters in the fight for safer streets and a better climate.

Nice story from South Carolina, where a young boy riding an old bike crashed into a stranger’s car because he didn’t have any brakes, so instead of screaming at the boy, the man bought him a new bicycle, presumably with brakes that work.

 

International

Cycling Weekly offers a beginner’s guide to shifting.

A woman riding through Mexico discovers firsthand what it’s like to run out of water in the middle of the desert; fortunately, she stumbled on total strangers who saved her.

Britain’s ex-health secretary is one of us, as he was spotted riding a Lime ebike through Trafalgar Square after being forced out of the government over an affair, while leaving his wife to suffer through long Covid alone. Schmuck.

Paris continues to free itself from the tyranny of motor vehicles, as Slate talks with David Belliard, the city’s adjunct mayor for transportation and public space.

Time is running out for Afghanistan’s women’s cycling community following the Taliban takeover of the country; a campaign to evacuate and resettle 28 bicyclists and their families has raised nearly $100,000 of the $250,000 goal.

 

Competitive Cycling

L39ion of Los Angeles founder Justin Williams is attempting to jumpstart the moribund heart of American cycling with a one-day, $100,000 crit in Sacramento next month, including equal payouts for men and women.

Of course, the way they’ve performed this season, there’s a good chance L39ion will just win all of that money back.

 

Finally…

One sure sign you’ve got too much money — paying $65 for an ounce and a half of chain lube; then again, what else would you use on your $12,700 ebike? Your next bike could come complete with a retractable plastic roof.

And always ride with a friend.

………

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

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

Bike and transportation bills pass in final days of legislature, ebikes as mobility devices, and unholy upside down lock job

September 14, 2021 / / Comments Off on Bike and transportation bills pass in final days of legislature, ebikes as mobility devices, and unholy upside down lock job

You can stick a fork in this year’s state legislative session.

Amid the flurry of bills passed in the final days of the session were bills legalizing stop as yield for bike riders — aka the stop sign portion of the Idaho Stop Law — a bill legalizing jaywalking, and one that should allow local governments to lower some speed limits.

Another bill would allow cities to limit motor vehicle traffic by making Slow Streets permanent.

As always, however, the question is whether the governor will sign the bills once they reach his desk, assuming he survive’s today’s recall election.

Although he hasn’t shown any sign of wielding his veto pen like a sword to smite the legislature’s best efforts, unlike his predecessor in Sacramento.

………

NIMBYs constantly remind us that not everyone can ride a bike, in order to justify their opposition to bikeways.

Never mind that virtually anyone can ride an ebike. And for many people, riding one is easier than walking.

………

Ralph Durham briefly returns to California from his usual German haunts, just in time to discover this unholy upside down San Francisco locking job.

Photo by Ralph Durham

Then again, the owner did secure the front wheel and frame to the rack with a U-lock, with another locking the rear triangle and wheel, and a cable offering extra support.

It just looks strange.

………

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

An Ontario woman — no, the one in Canada — faces a handful of charges for a mini crime spree, including stabbing a bike tire, then throwing her knife at the bike’s rider while accusing the man of somehow cutting her off.

Life is cheap in the UK, where a driver can assault someone on a bicycle for riding two abreast, while still driving their car, and walk away with just an effing warning. No, seriously.

………

Local

One more reason to end the deadly 85th Percentile Rule — nearly a third of the speed limit increases in the latest round were on streets with painted bike lanes, raising the risk for anyone who’s not encased in a few tons of glass and steel. Thanks to Roland Hannson for the heads-up.

Redditors discuss the viability of riding your bike to the new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, concluding that you can ride there, but permanent bike parking could be in short supply. Thanks to TomG8090 for the tip.

It may just be a recall, but Metro is still offering free bus and bikeshare rides today for Election Day. Even if you voted weeks ago, like me.

Jennifer Garner is one of us, as is her nine-year old son Samuel, as they enjoyed a ride through LA’s Brentwood neighborhood.

 

State

A Santa Cruz man was lucky to escape injury when he lost control of his bike on a steep descent, and plunged 250 feet down the hill; he was rescued by sheriff’s deputies after local residents heard him calling for help.

Fifty-seven-year old NorCal bike shop chain Mike’s Bikes has been sold to Dutch conglomerate The Pon Group, parent company of Santa Cruz Bicycles, among other bike brands. But you may be out of luck if you ordered a Specialized bike from them, after the bikemaker abruptly pulled their account following the sale.

A 32-year old Davis man faces charges for walking down the street punching cars, then pushing a 15-year old girl off her bicycle and attacking her before he was stopped by bystanders.

 

National

PeopleForBikes applauds the $7.4 billion for bicycles in the proposed House infrastructure bill. Although the prospects of that passing the Senate unscathed aren’t looking good, with West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin demanding that the $3.5 billion bill be pared down to a relatively paltry $1.5 billion.

Private land owners are blocking access to Colorado mountains in the wake of a 2019 appeals court ruling that upheld a ruling making the US Air Force Academy liable for a mountain biker who crashed after hitting a sinkhole on a washed out trail.

Missouri is considering a rule change that would expand access by allowing ebikes into state conservation areas.

New York bicycle delivery riders team up to take their safety into their own hands, after accepting they can’t count on the police for protection.

 

International

Police in Alberta, Canada crack down on bike thieves, busting four bike boosters by using bait bikes. Which serves as your periodic reminder that the LAPD still doesn’t use bait bikes to combat the ever-rising tide of bike theft, due to a flawed city attorney ruling that warned it might be seen as entrapment — even though bait bikes are successfully, and legally, used elsewhere in California.

Glasgow, Scotland drivers are up in arms demanding the removal of new bollards marking a bike lanes, insisting they have serious road safety concerns. Because the bollards apparently interfere with their God-given right to park in the bike lane, and they’re apparently unaware they can just drive over the plastic car tickler bendy posts, anyway.

Electrek considers the twenty coolest ebikes from this year’s Eurobike 2021 in Friedrichshafen, Germany, including a wave-riding ebike, and wheels that charge your bike with solar power while you ride.

Even the Smithsonian Magazine is onboard with the $1,062 German-made backpack that inflates to form an upper body airbag in a crash. Combine that with your $450 Hövding inflatable helmet, and you’ll be nearly impervious to injury for a mere $1,500.

Business is booming in Portugal’s “bike valley,” which produces a quarter of the ebikes in the European Union, despite having just 2% of the population.

A new Indian e-scooter startup pledges its new factory will be run and operated entirely by women, with its eventual 10,000-person staff making it the world’s largest women-only factory.

Bikeshare comes to the capital of Rwanda in an effort to reduce carbon emissions and the city’s automotive dependency.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bicycling examines the steps pro cycling is — or isn’t — taking to prevent the next horrific crash. This one doesn’t appear to be available on Yahoo, so if Bicycling blocks you, you’re out of luck.

Trinidadian women’s cyclist Teniel Campbell took Monday’s sixth stage of the Tour de l’Ardeche on a borrowed bike, after thieves stole all her team’s bicycles prior to the previous stage; other teams pitched in to contribute their spare bikes to keep the team in the race.

Kiwi Continental team Global 6 Cycling rode with bright green wheels during the recent Tour of Britain in support of refugees.

Speaking of the Tour of Britain, The Scotsman offers photos from last week’s stage race won by Belgian cyclist Wout Van Aert.

 

Finally…

Judging by the headline, there’s only one bicyclist in Columbia, Missouri, who keeps getting bigger.

And who needs all those boring college classes when you can get your degree in bicycle assembly and repair.

………

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

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

Banks trial delayed again, German gets 15 years for killing bike rider Bihn Ngo, and Stop As Yield bill goes to governor

September 2, 2021 / / Comments Off on Banks trial delayed again, German gets 15 years for killing bike rider Bihn Ngo, and Stop As Yield bill goes to governor

Let’s start with a few more notes from our anonymous correspondent, while we wait for her next update from the Scarpa murder trial.

Well, on October 1st, Mariah Kandise Banks has yet another reset for a preliminary hearing in the hit-and-run death of Frederick “Woon” Frasier. Time to review matters is needed by both the latest Deputy DA assigned to her case AND the counsel Banks has chosen to replace her previous, recently deceased defense attorney. This gives Miss Banks a spell to recover, as she seemed to be under the weather with a deep, phlegmy cough. (I wish I would have double-masked.)

I spoke briefly to the DA. He stated that he had personally spoken to Woon’s mama, and I am skeptical, because if I were the mother of the deceased I would absolutely have mentioned that the perpetrator’s social media shows her in violation of the terms of her bail, but the DA did not forward any such mention to the judge.

Judge Erika Estrada is the new judge presiding over courtroom 38, as Judge Hobbs has been assigned to a different one. I am furious on behalf of the Foltz court staffers who have died of COVID that, last summer, Hobbs chose to let a witness testify without a mask. Especially since the witness was a cop, and local law enforcement agencies have had a statistically high infection rate among their members. Ugh. So disappointing.

(Ed. note: Peter Flax wrote movingly about Woon’s death, and his mother’s long-delayed fight for justice, which is now two years longer. 

………

Repeat drunk driver and former bartender Justin Scott German, who ran down Binh Ngo in 2017, accepted a plea bargain last week. He left Ngo’s broken body and parts of his shiny red Mustang lying in the road. Family members who noticed his incomplete vehicle also noted details in the news of a local crash. They asked a neighbor (a retired police officer) how to proceed, and he called it in.

German has been sentenced to 15 years in state prison; 10 for murder and an additional 5 for hit-and-run, to be served consecutively. Currently he’s chillin’ in county until next week, when he has his arbitrary firearms relinquishment hearing.

………

My laptop fried to a crisp last month, and I had nothing backed up.

Nothing.

Most of my court notes are hand scribbled, and my day planner’s good ol’ hard copy too, so there’s some consolation.

But I had been collecting basic info bits for a mapping project, and they are irretrievable.

Several years ago, a nonprofit bike agency back east (Bike Baltimore maybe?) had a map documenting collisions of cars vs buildings. I understand the importance of such an endeavor, because those selfish buildings aren’t licensed, and have you ever seen one wearing a helmet? Ever?!? Every year, these damn buildings inflict hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of dollars worth of damage to vehicles. HOW DARE THEY?!? They must be publicly shamed!

Anyway. I had begun documenting collisions involving buildings and assorted public infrastructure. Like the Edison pole on Huntington Drive that a speeder knocked into a backyard swimming pool on a sunny weekend afternoon. Another collision on Huntington Drive Wednesday involved a collision with an LA County Fire rig, which sent a Toyota into someone’s yard. And the hydrant (one of about 900 annually in LA County alone) that got sheared on Alameda on Sunday. And the fence at the Long Beach DMV that got taken out Monday, never mind the fence at the Hollywood post office. And these apartments, whose occupants should’ve just stayed out of the way. Did I mention some geezer tried to turn my local drugstore into a drive-thru?

These things happen ALL. THE. TIME. and rarely make the news. We just shrug, repair the property, and move on. C’est la vie. So it goes. Pertinent Onion headline.

Photo shows Bank’s alleged victim Frederick “Woon” Frazier in better days.

………

Now we can all breathe a little easier.

It looks like AB 122 has been approved by the state assembly, after it was revised in the senate.

https://twitter.com/JeremyBWhite/status/1433185054750953473

Now it’s on to Governor Newsom’s desk for his signature. But even if he’s recalled, it looks like he’ll have more than a month after the election to sign the bill.

So I wouldn’t expect any news until after the September 14th recall election, as he’s likely to avoid action that could give anyone a reason to vote yes.

Even if research does show it’s safer for bike riders to yield instead of stop.

Thanks to Bicycling Monterey’s Mari Lynch for the recall info.

………

Yes, former LA Councilmember Marvin Braude was one of us.

And there’s a reason why the beachfront bike path is named after him.

………

Nothing like letting a hit-and-run driver get away with it, just because they got away with it.

https://twitter.com/BarbChamberlain/status/1433100471057539080

Thanks to Erik Griswold for the heads-up.

………

It looks like there really is a war on cars, after all. But this time, it’s Mother Nature who’s looking for revenge.

https://twitter.com/motorisms/status/1433260352209309699

Seriously, though, let’s all say a few prayers and send some good thoughts to everyone affected by Hurricane Ida and it’s remaining remnants. Even the ones in cars. 

………

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

No bias here. An Iowa radio personality complains that the state’s bicyclists are dangerously out of control, before noting that it’s just a small minority that causes the problems. But they should stay out of his way.

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

A New Jersey man was lucky to escape with two months behind bars and three years probation for breaking the jaw of a man with a disability, after an argument that began as he rode his bike by the victim. And ended when he circled back on his bike to punch the guy in the face. See hell, special place, for attacking someone with a disability. Schmuck.

………

Local

No news is good news, right?

 

State

Spectrum News 1 looks forward to California’s forthcoming $10 million ebike rebate program.

Kern County is hoping to salvage a plan to extend the eastern end of the Kern River bike path by avoiding the golf course that scuttled earlier plans. Or better yet, just seize the place by eminent domain, and build affordable housing on the damn thing. And the bike path.

This year’s Eroica California has been postponed until next year, and the 2021 Mammoth Gran Fondo has been cancelled, due to the closure of national forest lands and the strain on firefighting resources.

 

National

Amazon is recalling 860 TurboSke Kids Toddler bike helmets sold through the site because they don’t meet CPSC helmet standards; only size small helmets are affected.

While European shipping companies have been quick to embrace e-cargo bikes, their American counterparts are dragging their feet. For reason’s that should be obvious to anyone who’s paid attention to the lack of safe infrastructure and the sorry state of our streets. 

A Portland woman discusses how she learned to quiet her demons and keep riding through her pregnancy.

A 16-year old Idaho boy completed the nearly 1,200-mile Silk Road Mountain Race through the mountains of northwest Kyrgyzstan, finishing in 11 days and nine hours. So what were you doing at 16?

There’s a special place in hell for anyone who would steal a custom-made adaptive bike from a Minneapolis man with a disability. Or any other adaptive bicycle, for that matter.

Tragic news from Queens, where a nine-year old boy was killed in a fire started by charging an ebike battery. No word on what kind of bike or battery was involved.

A New Jersey monument preserves the actual brakeless, fixed gear, steel frame, wooden-wheel bicycle ridden to victory in the first Tour of Somerville race 81 years ago.

A Pittsburgh bike rider confirms that when it comes to protected bike lanes, if you build it, they will come.

That’s more like it. A stoned and drinking Pennsylvania driver will spend up to eleven years behind bars for critically injuring a 13-year old boy riding a bicycle; over a year later, the boy still requires 24-hour care for a traumatic brain injury.

A bike-riding Mississippi woman was apparently killed by a sentient, self-driving 30-year old pickup. Otherwise, the story would have mentioned that the damn thing had a driver. Right?

 

International

Road.cc says new theories changing occupational health and safety could improve road safety, as well as eliminating the attitude of us versus them on our streets.

Mérida, Yucatan is moving forward with plans to build a bike lane network equal to 10% of the 2,900-mile road space devoted to cars. That should be the minimal goal for any city, anywhere.

Kate and William’s kids are all one of us, as Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis spent the summer taking long walks, fishing and riding horses and bikes on an extended stay with the queen in her Scottish retreat. Although the 95-year old queen probably didn’t ride bikes with them.

A UK bike mechanic is giving back to the country’s health workers fighting the pandemic by repairing stolen bikes recovered by the police, and giving them to National Health Service staffers who’ve had their own bikes stolen.

No surprise here, as Copenhagen is once again ranked the world’s most bike-friendly city, followed by Tallinn, Estonia and Amsterdam. Mad City was the only American city to make the list at #27, just behind Ottawa, Canada.

Dutch ebike maker VanMoof has raised a whopping $182 million over the past two years — not counting crowdfunding campaigns — making it the world’s most funded ebike company.

Proof of concept. An Austrian industrial design student has put over 620 miles on his bizarre looking circular-framed touring bike that folds out into its own camper.

A Malaysian website remembers the legendary Lion of Malaya, who fought the Japanese during WWII by smuggling leaflets hidden in the hollow tubes of his bicycle.

 

Competitive Cycling

To the surprise of no one, Primož Roglič is back in the Vuelta’s red leader’s jersey as the race returned to the mountains for a couple intense stages, over two minutes ahead of second place Enric Mas. American Sepp Kuss is five minutes back after fighting off challengers to finish second in yesterday’s 17th stage.

Oddly named Norwegian cyclist Odd Christian Eiking probably won’t have to worry about making sure they get his name right on the Vuelta trophy anymore, after slipping off the red jersey and out of the top ten.

USA Cycling announced the roster for the road world championships in Flanders later this month; Amber Neben is questionable after she was left-crossed by a driver while riding on PCH in Corona Del Mar two weeks ago, breaking her pelvis in three place.

American paracyclist Oksana Masters won two road cycling golds in two days at the Tokyo Paralympics, despite never having won a previous road race.

Red Bull looks back at the rapid evolution of mountain bikes over the 20-year history of the Red Bull Rampage.

 

Finally…

Your next ebike might not have a chain, belt or anything else connecting the crank with the wheel. If it doesn’t have pedals, it ain’t an ebike.

And why you should never mess with a Victorian woman on a bicycle.

………

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

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

Stop as yield bill passes state senate, Sunset4All meets public/private funding goal, and LA’s bike lane parking lot

August 31, 2021 / / One comment

Now it’s up to the governor.

Or maybe not.

Reports indicate that AB 122, aka the Bicycle Safety Stop Bill, passed the California State Senate yesterday, after passing the assembly in April.

The bill would allow a modified version of the Idaho Stop Law in the state, following the lead of several other states that have passed it in recent years.

It allows someone on a bicycle to treat a stop sign as a yield, preceding through the intersection only when it is safe to do so after yielding to other traffic and pedestrians.

In other words, it legalizes the way most people on bicycles already ride. However, it does not allow the rider to roll a stop when someone else has the right of way.

It also does not allow bike riders to go through red lights, as the full Idaho Stop does, by treating them as stop signs.

You will still be legally required to come to a full stop behind the stop line until the light turns green, just as you would in a car; failure to do so can result in a ticket, whether on two wheels or four.

The bill was also modified in the Senate to clarify that it does not change a driver’s liability in the event of a collision. Which as I read it, means drivers won’t be able to claim they’re not at fault in a crash because someone on a bicycle legally rolled the stop.

However, that minor change to the text — along with revisions to the existing law changing “which” to the grammatically correct “that” in the absence of a comma — likely means it will have to go back to the state assembly for what should be a pro forma vote for final approval.

And it’s important to note that the law contains a sunset provision, which means it would cease to be in effect as of January 1, 2028, unless it’s extended by the legislature.

Let’s hope they move quickly, so Newsom can sign the bill before the recall vote on September 14th, in case he’s removed from office.

Correction: Even if Newsom is recalled, he’d have 38 days after the election to sign the bill before his replacement can take office. Thanks to Bicycling Monterey’s Mari Lynch for the correction. 

Here’s how the legislative council’s digest describes the bill, as it was passed.

This bill would, until January 1, 2028, require a person riding a bicycle, when approaching a stop sign at the entrance of an intersection, to yield the right-of-way to any vehicles that have either stopped at or entered the intersection, or that are approaching on the intersecting highway close enough to constitute an immediate hazard, and to pedestrians, as specified, and continue to yield the right-of-way to those vehicles and pedestrians until reasonably safe to proceed. The bill would require other vehicles to yield the right-of-way to a bicycle that, having yielded as prescribed, has entered the intersection. The bill would state that these provisions do not affect the liability of a driver of a motor vehicle as a result of the driver’s negligent or wrongful act or omission in the operation of a motor vehicle.

The bill would also require the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol to submit a report to the Legislature, as specified, regarding the effects of this bill.

So it’s a big win.

But we still need to get it over the finish line.

………

Congratulations to Sunset4All on meeting their $25,000 goal to fund LA’s first public/private partnership to improve safety and livability on our streets.

Better yet, that total will be matched by angel donors, for a total of $50,000.

Which definitely calls for a celebration.

https://twitter.com/SunsetForAll/status/1432524536679854080

 

………

I’m sure the owner is a lovely person, though.

………

It may be touching.

But doesn’t driving alongside your kid while he rides his bike to school kind of defeat the purpose?

https://www.tiktok.com/@thenewtonfamily/video/6995613307377929477?referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdk79lclgtez2i.cloudfront.net%2F&referer_video_id=6995613307377929477&refer=embed

………

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

A San Diego letter writer suggests he’s afraid to ride a bicycle, so we should all just stick to our cars.

No bias here. A Massachusetts letter writer says a new bike lane confuses him, so people should just ride their bikes on the sidewalks, since no one uses them anyway. And get rid of parking meters while you’re at it.

A Glasgow, Scotland writer says everyone has a role to play in making the city safe for people on bicycles, after a bus driver deliberately cut into her to pull into a bus stop as she rode in a bike lane, rather than simply wait patiently for her to move ahead.

………

Local

When is a bike lane not a bike lane? When it’s completely blocked with a massive amount of truck, forcing anyone on a bicycle out into speeding traffic.

 

State

Stephen Taylor Scarpa went on trial for murder Monday in the allegedly stoned death of Costa Mesa fire captain Mike Kreza as he was riding his bike in Mission Viejo three years ago; Scarpa reportedly had meth, fentanyl and several prescription medications in his system at the time of the crash.

Renée Zellweger and Ant Anstead are each one of us, as the celeb couple went for a ride through Laguna Beach on their matching Pedego fat tire ebikes.

San Francisco Streetsblog complains that politicians may talk about climate change, but inevitably revert to that status quo when push comes to shove, using the reopening of the city’s Great Highway to cars while the world is on fire as the case in point. Sadly, LA’s leaders appear to be cut from exactly the same cloth.

 

National

A new survey says walking has bizarrely become part of the culture wars, with liberals wanting walkable communities while conservatives want to drive everywhere.

That’s more like it. The new electric Cadillac Lyric will come standard with a bicycle warning system to alert the driver if there’s someone on a bike in their blind spot.

Outside’s Joe Lindsey offers advice on how to choose a bike for the gravel-curious.

A new Portland study confirms what we already know — speed kills. An analysis of crash data shows that speeding drivers are the leading cause of pedestrian deaths in the city.

This is who we share the road with. An Oregon man got seven well-deserved years behind bars for running a red light while speeding, and killing an 11-year old boy walking in a crosswalk on his way to school, while stoned on “central nervous system depressants and narcotic pain relievers.” Better yet, he will permanently lose the right to drive in the state.

Heartbreaking news from Minnesota, where a deaf father of seven was killed in a collision when he was struck by a driver while lying on the roadway, after somehow coming off his bicycle; he leaves behind a fiancé pregnant with twins.

Cincinnati has put the removal of a successful bike path on hold pending a vote by the city council after a petition was started to save the on-street pathway, which has resulted in a 40% drop in speeding drivers. And that’s probably why they don’t like it.

This is who we share the road with, part 2. A New York man was busted for DUI with a BAC nearly three times the legal limit while driving his riding lawnmower on city streets.

 

International

London skate brand Palace is teaming up with Cannondale to create their first signature hybrid city bike.

An environmentally minded Irish father finds his plans on hold when the new cargo bike he intended to use to ferry his kids to school was backordered; the lack of a viable bus system means he had to rely on the kindness of neighbors to drive the kids to class. Something too many carfree Los Angeles residents can probably relate to.

A Kiwi company says forget aluminum and carbon fiber, your next handlebars should be bamboo. Although what that has to do with Forrest Gump I have no idea.

 

Competitive Cycling

Once and future mountain bike champ Nino Schurter won his ninth world title, becoming the oldest men’s world champ at 35, after the Swiss rider was the youngest when he won his first at 22.

Two-time Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar says he’s just a bike rider, not a pop star.

 

Finally…

Yes, it’s still bike theft if you’re just trading up. That feeling when your bougie handlebars are replaced with a sickle and hammer.

And Megan Lynch calls this the best recumbent fairing ever.

So who am I to argue?

………

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

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