BikinginLA

………

Congratulations are due to the latest round of cities to make the League of American Bicyclist’s list of Bicycle Friendly Communities, as well as cities renewing their membership or moving up a level.

SoCal cities to make the list are —

• Oceanside (Silver)
• Santa Barbara (Silver)
• Encinitas (Bronze)
• Riverside (Bronze)
• Temecula (Bronze)

Other California cities on the list are —

• Alameda (Silver)
• Roseville (Bronze)
• San Ramon (Bronze)
• Watsonville (Bronze)

Meanwhile, my Colorado hometown continues to prove its bike bona fides, pulling down the only Platinum rating.

………

You see a lot of things while riding your bike. But an up-close encounter with UFOs usually isn’t one of them.

A British woman claims to have had a close encounter of the second kind while riding her ebike, saying she was approached by a fleet of UFOs, with one coming as close as eight feet away, albeit on the other side of a hedge.

Being the friendly sort, she waved at her otherworldly visitors, causing some to instantly vanish, while others came right up to her.

She says they examined her with lasers, before vanishing with a burst of infrared light. Which is a little odd, since infrared isn’t usually visible to the human eye.

But still.

………

Just a few months after reviving his moribund racing career with four stage wins at this year’s Tour de France, British sprinter Mark Cavendish was the victim of a terrifying home invasion robbery, along with his entire family.

pic.twitter.com/t3TLwp92TN

— Mark Cavendish (@MarkCavendish) December 8, 2021

………

Streetsblog’s Streetfilms examines a successful New York bike boulevard.

……….

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes is all too real.   

An English man had to wait three hours for an ambulance in sub-40F degree weather after he was struck by a driver, lying flat on the cold ground after being told not to move due to a possible spinal injury; fortunately, he escaped with just a broken wrist.

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

The infamous Western Bandit was sentenced to life without parole for a three-year string of bike-born armed robberies along LA’s Western Ave; he murdered two people and shot at several others during the crime spree.

………

Local

A trio of state-funded programs to improve recreation equity in the Los Angeles area will help low-income people of color access state parks; one program will bus people to state and county parks and beaches, then show them how to use transit and bike paths to get there on their own.

You can now buy the new ebikes and e-scooters from Santa Monica-based Bird at Target. But you can’t read the article about it from the LA Business Journal without paying for a subscription.

A cast member on The Real World Homecoming: Los Angeles opened up about his recent collision when he was struck by a truck driver while riding his bike in DTLA just before filming started, leaving him with a serious head injury, a broken clavicle, wrist and possibly broken ribs; on a possibly related subject, other cast members had to remove all the alcohol from the set because of his excessive drinking.

 

State

The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition recognized local leaders for their work in the bicycling community at the organization’s virtual Golden Gear Awards.

Speaking of the SDCBC, bike riders of all ages are invited to join the group’s 4-mile, holiday-themed ride through Balboa Park tonight; participants will receive a set of bike lights courtesy of Lyft.

Finishing our San Diego trifecta, the city is considering banning fast food restaurants near transit stations, in part to protect bike riders and pedestrians; naturally, some people don’t approve.

Fresno police are looking for the heartless coward who fled the scene after seriously injuring a man walking his bike across a bridge; fortunately, the victim is expected to recover.

 

National

The Bike League has teamed with autonomous vehicle artificial intelligence provider Argo AI to develop a detailed set of guidelines for makers of self-driving cars to protect bike riders on the roadways, including mapping local infrastructure and laws, and expecting typical bicyclist behavior while being prepared for uncertain situations.

City Lab reminds business owners that not all holiday shoppers drive, and that studies show bike lanes are good for business. Meanwhile, the site also examines why infrastructure costs more in the US than virtually anywhere else.

New research shows you should exercise more as you grow older, rather than less, as most people assume. And bicycling is one of the best ways to do it.

Don’t plan on using your new federal tax rebate on one of the new ebikes from Harley-Davidson, since only one of the company’s Serial 1 bikes comes in under the $4,000 cap. And that’s if the bill can pass the Senate, which is far from a sure thing.

The Seattle bike cop caught on video rolling his bicycle over a protester’s head during last year’s protests was suspended for a whole seven days without pay, after the city’s police watchdog found he used excessive force, and acted without reasonable discretion and professionalism.

Denver residents want some temporary roundabouts removed after several bike riders have been injured by drivers; they were installed as part of the Slow Streets program, but never removed when roads were reopened to cars.

New signs along Colorado roads will remind drivers about the state’s three-foot passing law. We could use a few of those here in California, too. And by a few, I mean a few hundred thousand.

Kansas City newspaper readers share their thoughts on bike lanes. And in a pleasant change, the paper didn’t share the bike-haters point of view.

A Texas man will spend the next five years behind bars after repeatedly violating his probation for the hit-and-run death of a bike rider in 2008; the judge said she only wished she could sentence him to more.

Lake Wobegon, where “all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average,” may have been a mythical creation of folk humorist Garrison Keillor, but the Minnesota bikeway named after it may soon be part of the US Bicycle Route system.

Nice story from Indiana, where a couple has biked through all 50 states in their 57 years of marriage; they got married just eight months after meeting on a blind date.

The dark side of the bike boom reared its ugly head in Virginia, where bicycling fatalities are up over 75% this year.

‘Tis the season. Members of a St. Petersburg, Florida organization donated 117  bicycles for police to distribute to kids in need.

Florida sheriff’s deputies didn’t have to look far to find a hit-and-run driver, busting one of the department’s own dispatchers for the crime that left a bike rider seriously injured. And yes, it was captured on security cam.

 

International

Bicycling offers their recommendations for the best bike trips in 27 categories from around the world. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.

Cycling News explains the difference between road and touring bikes. That’s easy. I ride the former, and my adventureneering brother rides the latter.

Toronto finally removed construction fencing blocking a bike lane and forcing riders into unforgiving traffic, which had remained in place for months after work was stopped.

A former Spanish monk built a sprawling cathedral almost singlehandedly, using recycled bricks, car tires and bicycle wheels as his materials; he died at age 96, in his modest quarters in the building he built by hand.

The bike boom is threatening to go bust in Bengaluru, India, where all the parking is dedicated to cars and motorcycles, and none for bicycles.

Bangladeshi students across the country staged a bicycle protest on Wednesday to demand safer streets and justice for the victims of traffic violence.

 

Competitive Cycling

British cyclist Tom Pidcock has set his sights high, with plans to win world titles in cyclocross, mountain biking and road cycling next year, after just two years on the World Tour and elite levels. Although some of the other riders may have something to say about that.

Cycling Tips says October’s Into The Lion’s Den has gone from the year’s richest crit to a PR disaster, after none of the winners have received their share of the promised $100,000 prize money; race founder Justin Williams of the L39ion of Los Angeles cycling team is urging patience, promising that everyone will get paid.

 

If it doesn’t have pedals, it’s just an e-scooter — no matter how cute and tiny it is. Building your own gravity bike out of scraps.

And raise your hand if you want a bike-based mobile donut shop in your own town.

………

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