Just 307 days until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
So stop what you’re doing and sign this petition to demand Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we face walking and biking on the mean streets of LA.
Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.
We made it!
As of this writing, we’re at 1,005 signatures! So let’s keep it going, and urge your friends, family and coworkers to sign the petition until the mayor agrees to meet with us!
Photo from swrve website.
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Disappointing news, as Los Angeles-based bikewear brand swrve is set to close after 20 years of making comfortable clothing for urban bicyclists and bike commuters.
The company plans to remain in operation for the next few months as it sells off existing inventory, but won’t place any further orders with suppliers.
There is some small hope, however, with swrve’s owners putting it on the market in hopes of attracting a new buyer.
Fingers crossed.
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A new video dissects the recent ebike ban in Key Biscayne, Florida, that followed the death of an elderly woman riding a bicycle who collided with a teenaged ebike rider.
According to CleanTechnica, it demonstrates “how one thing leads to another to lead from tragedy to bigger tragedies.”
The ban also offers a stark reminder that your right to ride the bicycle of your choice could easily be taken away.
Meanwhile, an Oregon ebike bill is likely to pass following a last minute compromise, after the Bike League and PeopleForBikes came out against an earlier version of the bill.
The new version narrows the definition of a bicycle to being equipped with pedals, to prevent throttle-controlled bikes from being classified as ebikes.
Which could be a reasonable compromise to Encinitas Assembly Member Tasha Boerner’s bill to ban ebike use for kids under 12, and require online training to buy or ride an ebike for anyone without a driver’s license.
Defining an ebike as having operable pedals would continue to permit ped-assist ebikes, while reclassifying throttle-controlled bikes as subject added regulation.
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A new report from a trio of US university professors says bike incentive programs are an expensive way for state and local governments to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
However, they also single out the programs for promoting health, equity and cleaner air. Not to mention improving traffic congestion by reducing the number of vehicles on the road.
Something that California’s dramatically underfunded ebike voucher program could have been doing for the past two years — if the state had gotten its shit together and actually launched the damn thing.
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If you ever thought there was a lot going on in the LA area bicycling community, you’re right.
Courtesy of Mobility For Who and Trash Panda Cycling, a calendar of local bike events offers a crowded schedule of daily rides and races for anyone looking for more two-wheeled fun to fill your time.
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GCN asks the burning question of whether an ebike makes you fast enough to train with hang with the pros.
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It’s now 70 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 31 months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A new video captures a British Columbia hiker standing in the middle of a mountain biking trail to berate bikers for using it, apparently a tad confused over the concept of a bike-specific trail.
No surprise here, as video of a bike-riding Toronto traffic enforcement officer ticketing drivers blocking a protected bike lane draws exactly the kind of comments you’d expect from the typically aggrieved driving community.
@tps_bikehart When I am assigned a special detail for bike lane enforcement. It is ZERO tolerance. Doesnt matter if you’re “only stopped for 2 mins” “but i have a pickup” “but i have a delivery” but,but,but …..no excuse. Park legally. These parking offences are zero tolerance and more restrictive for a reason. Bike lanes keep cyclist safe. This happened to be an area where there is no protection curb as its a driveway to a PARKING gargage. And a driver still shanelessly pulls in, turns their hazards. Guess whats the hazard? THE CAR. $150 tag to be served in the mail and other served to windshield #fyp #toronto #bikeTO #cycleto #cycletoronto #bikelanes #parkingticket #cyclist #parkingenforcement #parkingofficer #torontopolice #cars #biketok #downtown #parkingticket
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A bike-riding bandit has snatched at least seven cellphones from the hands of unsuspecting Manhattanites in recent weeks.
A pedalling perp was pinched by the police after a series of bike-born Virginia purse snatchings. I think “Pedaling Perp” will be the name of my new band.
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Local
Santa Monica police will conduct yet another Bike & Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Operation today, ticketing any traffic violation that could endanger bike riders or pedestrians, regardless of who commits it. So once again, ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit line today, so you’re not the one who gets fined.
State
Canyon News reports California is working to improve safety for bicyclists, but more bike safety legislation is needed. Although how hard the state is actually working on it is subject to debate.
Laguna Nigel became the latest Orange County city to tighten ebike regulations, banning handheld cellphone use while riding a bike, prohibiting wheelies by ebike riders, and requiring a helmet for any ebike riders under 18. Even though state law already requires bike helmets for anyone under 18, and the other provisions are of questionable legality, since only the state has the authority to regulate bicycle use on public roads.
Seriously? Over 1,000 bicyclists are expected for Saturday’s annual Solvang Century Bike Ride, even if the local paper describes it as a “non-competitive race,” which is a complete contradiction of terms. Apparently, they don’t know any other words to describe multiple people on bicycles riding at the same time.
Sad news from Fresno, where a 53-year old homeless woman was killed when she allegedly made an abrupt left turn on her bike in front of an SUV; meanwhile, the driver was arrested on the spot for DUI.
A lawsuit has been filed over another Fresno bicycling death, alleging a popular university lecturer was killed last October when at least five drivers of high-powered sports cars were racing one another, before one hit her head-on after rounding a curve on the wrong side of the road.
This is the cost of traffic violence. A 38-year old woman killed in a Los Altos collision while riding her bike earlier this month was described as a having a brilliant technical mind and a compassionate, personable nature; she was engaged to be married just two months from today.
National
Forbes recommends the year’s best road bikes that cater to every type of bicyclist. Unless you’re one of the millions of American bike riders who’s not a roadie, of course.
A University of Washington worker puts a new spin on the term professional cyclist, delivering letters and packages by ebike for the campus mail service.
A kindhearted Oklahoma sheriff’s deputy took it on himself to put a new tube in a student’s bicycle while they were in class, after the kid apparently suffered a flat on the way to school.
In a story that shouldn’t surprise anyone, the Chicago Tribune reports that serious crashes involving bicyclists and pedestrians seldom lead to charges, or even tickets, which advocates say is a sign they aren’t taken seriously enough. That same story could be written for virtually any American city, as traffic violence is usually just considered an “oopsie,” even when there’s clear evidence of reckless behavior.
In another sign that New York’s Vision Zero still has a long way to go, a 64-year old man riding a bikeshare bike was killed when he was doored while riding on a street which has been identified as a Vision Zero corridor, but where nothing has been done.
Despite promises by New York officials to build ebike charging stations for workers after a fatal ebike battery fire last year, not one dime of the promised funding has been spent.
Tampa, Florida traffic engineers report there have been zero fatalities at intersections where bike boxes have been installed.
International
Who needs a bike bell when you could have a mini car horn capable of an ear-blasting 125 decibels of annoying honking, just like the people ensconced in a couple tons of glass and steel.
Dutch ebike maker VanMoof took a step toward returning to life following a near-fatal bankruptcy, as the company’s new owners provided access to repair manuals, guides, and technical drawings for their ebikes built prior to 2019, which were previously available only to certified bike shops.
swrThe 16-year old boy accused of intentionally running down two Melbourne, Australia bike riders with a stolen car will have to stay behind bars until his trial, after the judge denied bail in the case; the victims continue to suffer from brain and spinal injuries.
Competitive Cycling
Twenty-one-year old American “crit king” Luke Lamperti made an impressive spring classics debut with a 7th place finish at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.
The legendary Marianne Vos outsprinted world champ Lotte Kopecky to win the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, one of the most important one-day classics on the Belgian cycling calendar.
Finally…
That feeling when the countryside is haunted by miles of ghost bike paths. Or when you need hip waders for your next ride.
And we may have to deal with drivers parking in bike lanes, but at least they’re not blocked by bigass bales of hay.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin
