Tag Archive for Watts

CicLAvia comes to South LA Sunday, anti-bike lane bike commuter, and reality shifts when ebike-hater downloads rental app

Day 251 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Patch offers a reminder about this weekend’s Historic South Central meets Watts CicLAvia.

Included among the highlights are the birthplace of West Coast Jazz, Watts Towers and the former LA headquarters of the Black Panthers.

Which is not a phrase I ever thought we’d use back in the day,

And BikeLA — the former Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, will host a feeder ride to the open streets event.

https://twitter.com/heybikela/status/1963666212887593338

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A year-round London bike commuter says he’s no fan of bike lanes.

His reasoning is that a) they don’t really reduce traffic — either vehicular or on the Tube — since most people stop riding in bad weather, and b) because they’re often blocked for one reason or another.

Then there’s this.

Most British roads still have no cycle lanes, after all, but they’re still very safe for cyclists. In 2023, 24 cyclists were killed and just over a thousand seriously hurt per billion miles cycled in this country. In other words if you cycle a mile, the chance is about one in a million that you’ll be seriously hurt or worse. I’d have to commute every weekday for well over 200 years – without any holidays – before it would be likely that I’d suffer a serious mishap. Even given today’s gloomy pension prospects, I hopefully won’t have to do that.

As for the danger from cyclists, it does exist: but it’s minuscule. We Brits are roughly as likely to be killed by lightning as by a cyclist. We’re noticeably more likely to be killed in an “accident involving cattle”. In a world with cars and carbon monoxide and food poisoning in it – let alone heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s – worrying about being killed by a cyclist would be pretty illogical.

It’s only one man’s view, of course, but I consider the fear that many cyclists have of riding among motor traffic to be pretty illogical too. There are some bad and aggressive drivers out there to be sure, but that’s true of cyclists too, and in fact most drivers in my experience are safe: sometimes even friendly.

He’s right. But wrong.

I made a pretty similar calculation some time back, too.

In 2009, Americans took 4 billion trips by bicycle.

How safe is bicycling? Cyclists suffered in an estimated 52,000 injuries in 2009; making your odds of returning home safely from any given ride nearly 77,000 to one; the chances of surviving any given ride were over 6.3 million to one in your favor.

On the other hand, people do get injured — or worse — riding a bicycle.

So while the odds of completing any given ride safely are astronomically in your favor, they’re still odds. Which means there’s always a chance of losing, infinitesimally small though it may be.

And the whole point of bike lanes is to improve all our odds of getting home in one piece.

He also makes another mistake common to experienced bicyclists.

You may feel comfortable riding in traffic, just like I did for years. But bike lanes aren’t for those of us who feel confident mixing it up with motorists.

They’re for the people who don’t.

Bike lanes — particularly protected bike lanes — provide space for the overwhelming majority of people who don’t feel safe sharing the same road space with drivers.

Especially with bad drivers, which to be honest, most people are at one time or another. They drink, they speed, they use their phones, and just do stupid stuff.

You know, as people do.

So if you feel comfortable riding in traffic, great. But that doesn’t mean everyone else should, because they don’t.

And won’t.

Meanwhile, a Santa Rosa bicyclist insists our London friend is not the only one who feels that way.

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Another London writer, with tongue planted firmly in cheek this time, says he hates bike riders.

God, I hate cyclists: shooting the lights, ignoring zebras, mounting the pavement, overtaking on the inside, thinking they’re so damned virtuous, being all vegan, pro-Palestine and probably trans, crouched over their racing handlebars like they’re on the Tour de frigging France, in their silly hats with those mincy little shoes, skin-tight shorts disappearing up their bum cracks…

But when he’s on a bike, “the pedal is on the other foot.”

Bloody motorists: fat, entitled, Farage-voting sales reps, slumped in the driving seat like Jabba the Hut, killing the planet with every lazy depression of the gas pedal, oblivious to my presence, distracted by TikTok, missing the light changes, failing to indicate, smoking fags and eating burgers, overlapping into designated cycle lanes, clogging up a city that is perfectly well served by trains and buses…

But one thing we can all agree on, he says, is everyone hates ebikes.

And they’re all drug dealers anyway, and gang members and petty crims, which is why they wear balaclavas and ride with their hoods up. Who cycles with a hood up unless they’re off to bash an old lady or sell heroin to schoolgirls? And if not drug dealers then, worse, they’re Deliveroo and Uber Eats stormtroopers, dispensing poisonous portions of fatty crap to the last few citizens not on Ozempic, feeding the obesity epidemic with cold cheeseburgers their consumers couldn’t be bothered to get up off the sofa and go out and get for themselves; racing to hit the targets they need to make ends meet, unregulated, killing pedestrians to get to the front doors of the people they’re killing with pizzas; a situation I blame, when I’m driving my car, on the illegal immigrants riding the bikes, but, when I’m riding my lefty pedal bike, on the greedy capitalist fat cats at “Big Food”. Farageist or Polanskyite, there’s nothing to love about e-bikes.

And as for the rented ones, the Limes and the Forests and the Santanders, they sit at the top of the pyramid of evil: no accountability, no ownership, no investment in the infrastructure, no dog in the fight. Random chancers leaping aboard them helmetless, no notion of the rules of the road, no tax paid, giggly gangs of students on summer evenings riding seven abreast like the Von bloody Trapps, leaving their bikes, when they run out of juice, strewn across pavements and shop doorways, piles of them in broken heaps all over town like dead green horses at the back door of the slaughterhouse. The very end of civil society.

And then, he downloaded the Lime app, and his world was turned inside out like an Escher lithograph.

Seriously, it’s worth taking a few minutes to read the whole thing. Because it might just be the best laugh you have all day.

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

A Naples, Florida advocacy group offers sad but necessary advice on how to get away unharmed in a confrontation with an angry driver, including avoiding eye contact, which can be interpreted as confrontational. Just like with angry apes and aggressive subway riders. 

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

Life is cheap in London, where a 45-year old man walked without a day behind bars for breaking a woman’s jaw when he crashed into her while riding his bike on the wrong side of the road; he was fined the equivalent of a “paltry and insulting” $675.

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Local 

That’s more like it. A 64-year old Long Beach man was sentenced to 30 years to life behind bars for the meth-fueled crash that killed 12-year old Noel Bascon in 2020 as the boy rode his bike across a Costa Mesa intersection with his father; Richard David Lavalle’s sentence was doubled because of his prior criminal convictions, and charged as a 3rd strike. He was credited with over four years time served.

 

State

Sunnyvale City Councilmember Richard Mehlinger suffered a broken left thumb and right wrist when he was struck by a driver while riding his bike; the “staunch traffic safety advocate” said the crash showed the “necessity and urgency” of installing bike lanes.

Around two dozen bicyclists rode with their dogs on a three-mile circuit along San Francisco’s Sunset Dunes on the Dogon’ Bike Ride, organized by comedian Sarah Catz-Hyman.

 

National

A pair of entrepreneurs scored a $200,000 invested on Shark Tank, after a stationary bike ride convinced Kevin O’Leary and another shark they had indeed invented a more comfortable bike seat.

A guest writer for Bike Portland says the city’s greenways won’t be safe until they build them that way.

Dozens of Denver residents rode across the city in search of bagels and matzo ball soup on the city’s annual Jewish Deli Bike Tour.

A 22-year old Ohio man set out on a bike ride in 1973, and was never seen again; his body was finally identified this year, 52 years after he disappeared after last being seen in Cleveland — and 45 years after remains were found in a Whitney, Ontario park, 461 miles away.

Hundreds of people turned out for a protest ride in central Philadelphia to demand better protection for bicyclists, after a 67-year old bike advocate was killed in a collision while riding a bike.

 

International

A Montreal columnist complains about possible plans to close a roadway to motor vehicle traffic, arguing that there’s no need to provoke a battle between bicyclists and drivers when so many of us are both. And yet, the roads are unevenly apportioned overwhelmingly in favor of one over the other.

An English man returned to his home after riding his bike around the world,  arriving back in Cornwall 477 days and 22,300 miles after he left.

Life is cheap in Ireland, where a taxi driver on his way to work walked without a day behind bars for crashing into a six-year old boy riding a bike; he was fined the equivalent of $879 for the crash that left the kid with bruising and a broken arm.

The good news is, the coach of the Paris Saint-Germain soccer team is one of us; the bad news, he crashed his bike and broke his collarbone, and will be out of action after surgery to repair it.

UNESCO World Heritage site Albi, France successfully melded a 19th-century railway viaduct across the Tarn River with a lightweight new bike and pedestrian bridge.

Drew Barrymore says her 12-year old daughter crashed her ebike while riding in the mountains of France, and ended up using her bra as a tourniquet for her badly ripped elbow.

French endurance cyclist Sofiane Sehili’s attempt to set a new record for bicycling across Eurasia ended badly at the Russian border, where he was accused of crossing the border illegally and tossed in jail, just 248 miles short of his destination, and 10,936 miles after setting out from Lisbon, Portugal.

Horrible story from India, where a 40-year old man was stabbed to death and his body dumped in the woods over accusations of practicing witchcraft, after riding his bike to a nearby village for repairs.

 

Competitive Cycling

Danish sprinter Mads Pedersen claimed victory in Sunday’s Stage 15 of the Vuelta a España, while two-time Tour de France champ Jonas Vingegaard remained in the red leader’s jersey, with João Almeida 48 seconds back in second place.

Once again, someone protesting the war in Gaza disrupted the Vuelta, causing two riders to crash when he jumped out from the side of the road waving a Palestinian flag; because of the repeated protests, the Israel Premier Tech cycling team switched to new uniforms without the team name.

Welsh Olympic medalist and 2018 Tour de France champ Geraint Thomas called it a career after Sunday’s final stage of the Tour of Britain, capping his career in his hometown of Cardiff, as the race was won by 22-year old Frenchman Romain Gregoire.

Pre-race favorite Neilson Powless was forced to run with his bike when he suffered a flat in Saturday’s Maryland Cycling Classic; he ended up finishing 18th, well behind eventual men’s winner Sandy Dujardin, while Poland’s Agnieszka Skalniak-Sojka won the women’s race.

Around 70 bicyclists were injured, some seriously, in a mass crash in a German bike race involving more than 1,000 amateur and semi-professional cyclists.

Tragic news from Malaysia, where a 28-year old man was killed in an amateur race when he tried to avoid crashing into a group of riders, falling onto the other side of the road where he was struck by a motorist.

 

Finally…

Nothing like stumbling on a bicycle that’s been rolling in the deep like it was sung by Adele. The mountain bike of the future, as designed by AI.

And motorcyclist pot, meet bike-rider kettle.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Chino driver flees with ebike embedded in bumper, Historic South Central Meets Watts CicLAvia, and pledge to bike in OC

Day 149 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Just a quick note. 

I always try to thank people who submit stories, because I truly appreciate the help finding stories I might not otherwise see.  

After hearing from a few people, however, I am changing my policy to identify people just by their first names going forward, in order to protect their privacy. 

I mean, you’ll still know it’s you. But everyone else doesn’t need to.

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Um, okay.

Police in Chino arrested a woman who drove roughly five miles or more to Montclair with a shattered windshield, and an ebike embedded in her bumper, after fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run crash that left the victim with a head injury.

Police found the woman by tracking an AirTag hidden on the ebike across multiple cities.

What they don’t say, though, is how much time elapsed between the crash and the arrest, and whether the driver would have had time to sober up first.

Because something tells me she might have needed to.

Thanks to Jeffrey for the heads-up.

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Mark your calendar for the next CicLAvia next month, as Historic South Central Meets Watts.

Here’s how a press release describes the open streets event.

6.4-Miles of Open Streets Connecting Historic South Central, Florence, Firestone, and Watts Via S Central Ave and 103rd Street to Enjoy this ‘Pop-Up’ Park for the Day in One’s Favorite People-Powered Way for All Ages and Abilities

On Sunday, June 22; between 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. CicLAvia will celebrate its 61st car-free open streets event catalyzing vibrant public spaces, active transportation and good health through car-free streets. CicLAvia—Historic South Central meets Watts connects historic South Central, Florence, Firestone, and Watts, welcoming everyone of all ages and abilities to enjoy this day-long 6.4-mile pop-up park. Always free, you can enjoy the day,by walking, jogging, biking, roller skating, skating, or simply spectating at CicLAvia. Participants can show up anywhere along the route between 9am-4pm to enjoy the open streets, take the time to explore, and see where the day takes you.

Imagine streets alive with joy, laughter, and the freedom to roam. CicLAvia is a non-profit organization that has been opening streets throughout Los Angeles County for nearly 15 years now. It transforms city streets into a car-free celebration of community, connection, and possibility — places where participants can slow down, connect, and appreciate the city in a new way. CicLAvia is about reimagining our city streets as welcoming spaces for everyone — places for walking, running, rolling, skating, cycling, gathering, and enjoying the moment.

As a nonprofit organization, CicLAvia relies on the public’s support to continue bringing opportunities for meaningful community connections, mindful exploration, and greater understanding across Los Angeles.

CicLAvia—Historic South Central meets Watts includes five (5) hubs filled with plenty of activities and programs along the route. Hubs are walking zones (mandatory dismounts) and meeting points along the route which includes theHistoric South Central Hub located on Central Ave, just south of Washington Blvd.; Jazz Park Hub located at 41nd Place and Central Ave; Florence Firestone Hub located on Central Ave near 61st St; Central Ave Hub located on Central Ave near E. 84th St; and the Watts Hub located on E 103rd St and Success Ave. Hubs offer family-friendly activities, restrooms, free water refilling stations, free basic bike repair, bike parking, places to sit and meet up with friends and family, and first aid. Free pedicab rides are available at each hub’s information booth.

The CicLAvia—Historic South Central meets Watts route is accessible via many different forms of transportation. There is not one place to start or finish. Read more about getting to the route through these links: hubs, Metro, bike rentals, parking for the event, group meet ups: walk/run clubs, feeder rides, bus detours, and help getting to CicLAvia.

(Please note, if you are biking to and from CicLAvia along any streets that are open to cars, it is at the discretion of the individual.)

“South LA is always one of the highlights of CicLAvia’s schedule,” says CicLAvia Executive Director Romel Pascual. “Along South Central Ave, LA’s dynamic culture can be seen in the local businesses and restaurants, community parks, and public art that are on the route. It gives Angelenos the opportunity to see new things, which reminds us of what makes our city a remarkable and special place.

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As long as we’re doing press releases, the Orange County Transportation Authority, aka OCTA, says there’s still time to pledge to ride a bike this month.

While OCTA encourages people to ride all year long, May is National Bike Month, which is also celebrated all month long in Orange County.

OCTA invites people of all ages and abilities to take part in Bike Month, and there’s still time to pledge to ride a bicycle – for commuting, for fun, or for fitness.

This year’s “Every Ride is Your Story” campaign encourages participants to ride at least once during May. Those who pledge online will be entered in a raffle to win a commuter e-bike prize package that includes an Avant Agile Commuter E-Bike, along with accessories including an adult helmet, child helmet, bike lock, and baby seat.

Pledges must be received by the end of the day on Saturday, May 31, at www.octa.net/bikemonth. A winner will be announced in June.

In addition to the Bike Rally, OCTA continues to promote safe cycling habits for all riders, including those using e-bikes. Resources and safety tips are available at www.octa.net/bikeand www.octa.net/ebike.

Orange County offers more than 1,000 miles of bikeways, from beach paths to mountain trails, making it easier than ever to ride safely and explore the region on two wheels. Over the last 15 years, OCTA has invested approximately $437 million in active transportation, including cycling and more than half (54%) of the county’s primary roadways include bike lanes.

Over 80 riders made a 4-mile bike ride from the Orange Metrolink Station to OCTA headquarters for a Bike Rally Wednesday morning to promote active transportation throughout the county.

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No bias here.

The anti-bike New York Post is trying to whip a nonissue into an “explosive” campaign issue, after an ebike rider crashed into a three-year old girl who apparently got out of a double-parked car and darted into the bike lane he was riding in, making a crash virtually unavoidable.

Yet the paper somehow blames the bike lane, and not the driver who double-parked or the dad who didn’t hold her back.

And the result could have been far worse if she had darted in the other direction. But no one seems to be calling for removing dangerous traffic lanes from the roadway.

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

A Lancaster, Pennsylvania man was charged with intentionally crashing his car into a 16-year old boy riding an ebike, after he admitted to intentionally driving into the victim, causing serious injuries.

Seriously? After a British bike rider was struck by a hit-and-run driver who darted in front of him on a roundabout, The Sun can’t seem to figure out who was in the wrong.

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Local 

Metro’s board of directors moved last week to put the planned Southeast Gateway Line underground, leaving them a paltry $10 to $12 billion short. And even that probably wouldn’t result in the green, bike-friendly Alameda corridor shown in the picture.

Ebike dealer Upway is hosting a community bike ride and ebike block party in Redondo Beach on Saturday.

 

State

Former Los Angeles mayor and erstwhile bicycle champion Antonio Villaraigosa is complaining about high gas prices and closing oil refineries. Neither of which could have anything to do with taking more than $175,000 in campaign contributions from the oil industry for his run for governor. Right?

The chief executive officer of the San Diego Youth Services rode his bicycle 500 miles from San Francisco to San Diego earlier this month to call awareness and raise funds for the 55-year old nonprofit.

A Madera teenager got a new, refurbished bicycle after his was stolen, thanks to a program run by inmates at a local penitentiary.

Sad news from Petaluma, where a man riding a bicycle was killed when he was rear-ended by a driver.

 

National

Portland wants residents to help them choose a new tagline to promote bicycling. None of which would have made it past the first round at any decent ad agency.

Singletracks looks at five of the best mountain bike trails in Washington state. Sasquatch sightings optional.

Another teenager has been arrested for the Albuquerque, New Mexico hit-and-run that killed a 63-year-old physicist as he was biking to his job at Sandia National Laboratories last year, making them the fourth juvenile in the stolen car when the kids intentionally steered it into the victim, and posted it on social media.

A Denver, Colorado TV station examines the intersection between May’s Mental Health Awareness Month and National Bike Month, and how riding a bicycle can improve your mental health.

An Austin, Texas woman learned the hard way about reckless ebike riders on the city’s trails. Or one in particular, anyway.

Atlanta’s bike-riding Magnet Man has a new bicycle thanks to fans and supporters who replaced the one he had stolen, enabling him to get back to using his magnet-equipped bike trailer to sweep metal debris off the streets before it ends up in the tires of local drivers.

 

International

Bicyclists in the Cayman Islands are calling for immediate action to improve safety on the streets after an uptick in serious injuries.

What’s the point of living in a haunted Manitoba city if you’re not going to have a bike ride visiting all the ghastly and ghostly sites? Although it really should have been after dark. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Mexico’s Isaac del Toro bounced back from a bad day in the Alps to win Wednesday’s stage 17, extending his lead to 41 seconds, as Richard Carapaz climbed into second.

This is pretty much the definition of a gnarly crash, taken from a New Jersey Cat 3 race.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your AI reporter doesn’t know the difference between a linear park and a sports attraction. Or when a fundraising ride ends in a new bike — and a proposal.

And NFTs once again raise their ugly, scammy and virtually worthless head, this time with a bicycle spin.

Seriously, shame on Pez Cycling for even accepting the sponsored post.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

A call to remove the Marina Freeway, why more people don’t ride bikes in LA, and car-ticklers don’t protect a damn thing

My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence. 

After surviving through hours of pouring rain, I lost my internet connection just as the storm was letting up — and just as I was about to put Monday’s post online. 

Then waited nearly 19 hours to get it back again. 

So here’s the post you were supposed to get yesterday. We’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on Monday’s news after I have a chance to catch up myself. 

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I hope everyone came through this weekend’s hurriquake in one piece. 

If you’re riding anywhere in Southern California today, try to avoid going through any standing water. 

As much fun as it might be to relive your splash-filled youth by riding through puddles, there’s usually no way to know how deep it is, or what may be hidden underneath. 

The result could be anything from a broken wheel to a broken collarbone. So it’s just not worth the risk. 

Image from From Streets For All/SWA Group.

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Urbanize examines the call from Streets For All and landscape architecture firm SWA Group to remove the underused Marina Freeway stub, and replace it with a linear park.

The concept unveiled yesterday, dubbed Marina Central Park, calls for converting the roughly 128-acre right-of-way lined with nearly 4,000 new homes, as well as roadway with space for vehicles, bus rapid transit, and bikeways. Renderings show low-rise structures located throughout the park, standing five stories in height with commercial uses located at the first floor.

Likewise, the proposal calls for reconnecting the freeway corridor surrounding ecological resources such as the Ballona Wetlands and Centinela Creek, which is shown with new terrace decks lining the concrete channel.

It’s worth considering, even if the prospect of removing a freeway —even one as useless as the Marina Freeway — in car-addled LA seems unlikely, at best.

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According to Joni Yung, aka ayogist, if you want to know why more people don’t bike in the LA area, consider the quality of our roads.

Or the lack thereof.

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This is why LADOT’s favorite form of bike lane “protection” doesn’t protect a damn thing.

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The East Side Riders Bike Club forwards news of Saturday’s Non-Profit Day in Watts.

Hope in the Community! / Esperanza en la Comunidad!

Watts Non-Profit Day!

This Saturday August 26th

10:00am-3:00pm

Watts Civic Center

1513 E. 103rd St, Los Angeles, 90002

It’s an opportunity for everyone to come together and celebrate our triumphs in our amazing City!

Non-Profit Day with East Side Riders Bike Club is not just a one-time event, it’s a steppingstone toward lasting Community Transformation, Empowerment, and Unity. The purpose of the day is to bring all non-profits in Watts and surrounding areas together so we can get to know one another, showcase their work to the community and bring Government Departments together so non-profits can interact and learn from their local government on policies and procedures. It’s a STEPPINGSTONE toward lasting community transformation.

As the organization’s email says, they’re more than just a bike club.

A lot more.

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Once again, a someone riding a bike was a hero, and a bicycle was the difference between life and death in an emergency, as a man in Maui borrowed a bike to get past a long line of stalled traffic and warn his grandmother in time to escape the flames of the Lahaina fire.

Meanwhile, a Kona bike shop owner is collecting “gently used” bikes to donate to victims of the Lahaina fire to meet their needs for transportation and recreation.

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Today’s best story comes from the UK, where an English man sold his bikes to pay for an operation for his dog.

When his dog, named for the bikewear brand Rapha, needed a lifesaving operation costing over $7,600, he put his four bicycles up for sale to pay for it.

So he was surprised when one of the buyers turned out to be a friend of his, who gave the bike back to him.

And when word got out about what he’d done, a local bike shop gave him another bike so he could keep riding.

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The recent world championships in Glasgow included competition in cycle-ball.

Seriously, raise your hand if you even knew that was a thing.

 

And don’t watch the next two videos if you want to remain proud of your ability to track stand or bunny hop.

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Alpha Romeo F1 driver Valtteri Bottas is one of us, competing in a Colorado hillclimb dressed as Duffman, the iconic Duff Beer mascot from the Simpsons.

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

A Utah columnist says the local government tries to appease bike haters by randomly chip sealing the most popular riding routes, even if it forced them to repaint all the bike lanes. With tongue firmly in cheek, I hope.

No bias here. An Irish paper asks why Mike van Erp, aka Cycling Mikey, is Britain’s most hated bicyclist, just because he films drivers breaking the law.

A New Zealand paper says “bike lane bullies” are putting bike riders at risk, with road raging repeat offenders and bike lane-encroaching drivers needlessly increasing the danger for people on bikes.

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

A 40-year old man has been arrested for a string of sexual assaults in San Mateo County, accused of riding his mountain bike on local trails and assaulting women as he rode by.

There’s a special place in hell for the Portland man who allowed his dog to attack a beloved 17-year old cat outside its owner’s home, then stomped on the wounded animal and rode his bike over it to finish it off, before riding off with the cat’s lifeless body.

Police in New York are looking for the couple who attacked a pair of Orthodox Jews when a woman passenger on a bikeshare bike slapped a man on the back of the head as they rode by, then attacked an Orthodox woman; another Orthodox man was attacked when a man got off his e-scooter to knock the victim’s yarmulke off his head.

North Carolina cops are looking for the spandex-clad bike rider who tried to kick over a political sign saying “Trump won,” before returning at night to set the sign on fire.

British bike riders competing in a wildcat race — aka “thugs” in tabloid parlance — were accused of plowing into an elderly woman and a tourist, and nearly striking a little boy, although only the latter can be seen on video.

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Local 

Long Beach wants to know how you use bikeshare and dockless e-scooter programs in the city.

Sixty-four-year old former Bell police chief Andreas Probst was killed while riding his bike near his northwest Las Vegas home last Monday when he was struck by an alleged speeding, underaged driver; his daughter learned about the crash through a notification from Probst’s Apple Watch moments after it happened.

 

State

Police in La Mesa are looking for the hit-and-run driver who seriously injured a 51-year old man riding a bicycle on Wednesday; the driver of the pickup is described as a Hispanic male in a white T-shirt, black shorts and white shoes.

Good question. The San Francisco Standard wants to know why you can’t ride your bike across the Bay Bridge, with bike riders currently required to turn around halfway.

Megan Lynch forwards word that UC Davis is now offering accessible bikeshare, although with no recumbents or trikes, it may not be accessible for everyone.

 

National

The maker of a cargo bike designed to transport kids saw a big jump in sales after a successful 2021 Shark Tank appearance, although they faced a recent recall for exceeding federal lead paint guidelines.

A writer for Electrek argues that we need more kids on e-balance bikes, not fewer, even though The New York Times calls them motorcycles for kids.

After biking 3,000 miles across the US, a German man is now attempting to run all the way back, running more than a marathon distance every day.

The Cherokee Nation is accepting applications for next year’s Remember the Removal Bike Ride, which retraces the northern route of the Trail of Tears through seven states over a span of three weeks and 950 miles; applicants must be between 16 and 24 years old, and members of the Cherokee Nation.

A Chicago man is riding across the city bearing signs calling for 10% of the city’s streets to have bike lanes, instead of the current 2%.

Minneapolis-based All-City Cycles is on the way out, after its parent company announced the bikemaker won’t be releasing any new models after next year, despite its cult-like following.

In what may be a dangerous prank gone wrong, a Buffalo, New York man faces up to 25 years behind bars for fatally shooting a 38-year old man riding a bike with a BB gun.

New York’s recent Vision Zero progress has come completely undone this year, as the city sees its deadliest year for bike riders in decades, and with no one but the victims paying the price.

A 28-year old Philadelphia man faces life behind bars after he was convicted of the fatal driveby shooting of a 67-year old man riding a bike in Camden, New Jersey.

 

International

A Whistler, British Columbia pro mountain biker returned home to conduct her own anti-racism mountain biking clinics, teaching bike riders to be not only better mountain bikers, but better humans, as well.

Life is cheap in Ontario, Canada, where a 22-year old man will spend six years behind bars for killing two First Nation’s women out for an early morning bike ride, while driving under the influence.

Fed up with drivers blocking bike lanes, a Toronto bike advocate is dressing up as a World Cup referee and handing out yellow cards to offending motorists.

A Glasgow university professor has created a music map of the city to encourage people to ride their bikes or walk between music venues.

The British manufacturer of a new anti-theft smart bike light claims it’s more secure than most relationships. Which is probably true, sadly.

Bundesliga star Kevin Behrens is one of us, as the German soccer player rode his bike home after scoring a hat trick in a recent game.

A young man from Malta rode his bike over 2,700 miles from the Mediterranean island through Europe, traveling from the boot of Italy through Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, while carrying just his tent, sleeping bag, four changes of clothes and a phone charger.

An Indian paper says bike riders struggle for space on the roads in Chennai at the risk to their own safety, as the city of nearly 12 million has lost its love for bikes over the past 90 years.

A Nigerian man rode his bicycle for 15 days and 500 miles just to meet afrobeats star Davido in Lagos.

That’s more like it. Motorcyclists in the Philippines will face arrest if they continue to use a bike lane on a major roadway, although the fine converts to less than $18.

 

Competitive Cycling

Newly crowned world road champ Mathieu van der Poel may extend his WorldTour season to train for mountain biking.

 

Finally…

That feeling when the highly touted new bike route just leads to a pair of locked gates. When you’re trying to escape from the cops, try not to ride your bike into a stopped police van.

And now you, too, can own a bicycle custom made for the legendary Fausto Coppi, for the low, low price of nearly $132,000.

So who wants to start a crowdfunding campaign so I can buy it?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin