Most cyclists are happy to complete a century or two. If that.
Topanga Creek Outpost bike builder and mechanic Jay Barre just finished the 2,700-mile offroad Tour Divide from Banff, Alberta to Antelope Wells, New Mexico.
Definitely worth stopping by the shop to congratulate him once he recovers from the grueling ride. And buy him a beer for me while you’re at it.
Thanks to Pete Kaufman for the heads-up, who calls Barre an “all-around nice guy.”
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Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is one of us, clarifying that he “only” rode 485 miles in 36 hours, not 600 as he originally claimed.
Correction: Originally I wrote that Johnson was the vice presidential candidate, not the Libertarian candidate for president. Thanks to Michele for the correction.
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Evidently, Detroit’s Slow Roll movement has spread to the Tour de France.
Leader Peter Sagan complains about reckless riding and a lack of respect in the peloton, saying he could wear the yellow jersey today, but go home after crashing out tomorrow. Mark Cavendish agrees, saying “losers” are taking more chances in the sprints because they’re jealous of winners, as he moves to second on the all-time TdF win list.
Pro cyclist Lizzie Armistead is inspiring British women to take to their bikes.
Evidently, women racers are expected to lose to men — or at least cooperate with them — or risk getting accused of cheating.
A woman roadie becomes the latest Russian athlete to fail a drug test; the country is formally appealing a ban from the Rio Olympics over a systematic doping program.
And the man who invented motor doping says scanners don’t work if the motor is turned off.
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Local
The Source offers ten things to know about the unimaginatively named new Metro Bike Share, which opens for registered users this Thursday. Evidently, Bikey McBikeface was already taken.
The Urban Avenger points out a dangerous hazard on the new Expo Line bike path.
Variety reviews the Ovarian Psychos documentary, finding it a little thin.
Driver says rude Palos Verdes cyclists inhibiting his God-given right to own the road are the real cause of road rage. Something tells me if bikes weren’t there, he’d find something else to rage about.
Long Beach tries out a pop-up separated bike lane to see how it goes over with the public.
State
San Diego drivers keep knocking down plastic bollards separating a protected bike lane from newly narrowed traffic lanes, putting the pedestrians using it at risk. Pedestrians don’t belong in in bike lanes, but that’s what happens when you don’t build sidewalks. And little plastic poles are incapable of protecting anyone, especially when drivers can’t manage to down or stay in their lanes.
Not surprisingly, by far the most common bicycling traffic violation in San Diego is a failure to stop or yield the right-of-way.
A bike-riding San Luis Obispo cop says the best way to pass cyclists is to slow down and tap on the horn, albeit from a distance. To which I suspect most riders would agree with the former, and profoundly disagree with the latter.
Sacramento finally gets serious about clarifying where bicyclists can and can’t legally ride on the sidewalk. Although a better alternative is to improve the roadways, since few people will ride on the sidewalk if they feel safe riding in the street.
National
Bike friendly Boulder CO considers how to keep cyclists safe following a rash of fatalities.
Montana authorities give up on capturing a grizzly bear that killed a mountain biker, saying the bear reacted naturally to a high speed collision on the trail.
An Austin TX writer goes on a bicycle brewery tour of my hometown.
A new 46-mile bike trail will allow bicyclists to follow pioneer routes through Kansas and Missouri.
Despite admitting to texting while driving, an Iowa woman will face nothing more than fines and a six-month license suspension for running down a bike rider. Sounds like the Ventura County DA has been moonlighting in the corn belt.
Something is seriously wrong when ghost bikes aren’t even safe from dangerous drivers.
An off-duty Chicago cop is credited with saving the life of a bike rider who suffered a serious neck wound when he was doored.
It takes a major jerk to punch a 14-year old girl on a Michigan shared use trail because she didn’t get the hell out of the cyclist’s way fast enough.
A New York hit-and-run may have been a case of murder, as surveillance video appears to show the driver intentionally running into his bike-riding victim.
A Greenville NC driver calls for draconian bike license fees in order to use bike paths. Since the taxes cyclists pay don’t count, evidently.
International
A new Canadian study shows climate change can be slowed by building more bike paths.
A British reality star has a close call after crashing in front of a minivan.
Britain’s GoPro vigilante cyclist teams up with an anti-bike traffic lawyer to prove each other wrong while highlighting the dangers of London’s busy roads.
Someone sabotaged an Irish bike trail prior to a mountain bike race in an apparently deliberate attempt to injure or kill riders; wire was strung at neck level, while logs and rocks were placed across the trail.
A German man gets two and an half years for plotting to bomb an undisclosed cycling race last year.
Finally…
Today’s lesson: Always own a bicycle, so you can safely recover your stolen Tesla. If you’re going to break into a home to steal some bikes, a car and other items, make sure it doesn’t belong to a company that makes GPS tracking devices.
And your next bike could be a horse.
Sort of.
