Tag Archive for World Bicycle Day

Silence marks World Bicycle Day in City of Angels, living carfree in LA, and what a real 3-foot passing violation looks like

June 4, 2024 / / No comments
Just 210 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025.
Stop what you’re doing and sign this petition demanding Mayor Bass hold a public meeting to listen to the dangers we all face on the city’s mean streets.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’re up to 1,178 signatures, so don’t stop now! I’ll forward the petition to the mayor’s office in the next few days. So urge everyone you know to sign it now! 

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Yesterday was World Bicycle Day.

Or as it’s known here in Los Angeles, Monday.

While other cities around the world marked it to greater or lesser degrees, Los Angeles observed the day by ignoring it entirely.

There was no official proclamation from the mayor, who seems to have forgotten we exist, after claiming to be one of us when she needed our votes.

Ditto for the city council, which offers us only vague promises that they can ignore later.

The silence was just as deafening coming from county leaders, the governor and the state legislature.

But at least Bike Metro remembered.

Then again, my inbox wasn’t exactly full of messages from state and local advocacy organizations using the day as a springboard to call for safer streets, better infrastructure, and other steps to get more people on fewer wheels.

Let alone the urgent need to provide safe and efficient alternatives to driving, at a time when our world is literally burning.

Instead, World Bicycle Day was just another opportunity for our elected leaders to once again swipe left, and remind us all that they’re just not that into us.

Meanwhile, the India Times marked World Bicycle Day by ranking the world’s top six bicycle friendly cities, while another site listed their own top ten cities.

Portland, Oregon made both lists. And do I really need to say Los Angeles didn’t?

I didn’t think so.

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Thanks to Culver City-based multimedia producer and Loyola Marymount University Professor Emeritus Art Nomura for forwarding a couple non-commercial video series about the joys of going carfree.

The first, Carfree, Season 1, is described as a 12-part mini-documentary series released last year about the joys and challenges of living carfree, or carfree lite, in Southern California; Carfree, Season 2 is currently in production.

The second is Carfree Epiphany, a series of self-produced 30 second to two minute stories of how people have become and/or are becoming carfree. You’re invited to contribute your own video, with instructions on how to submit it included on the link.

I gave up driving several years ago. And don’t miss driving in this hot mess of a city one bit.

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Define “three-foot passing violation.”

Or at least it would be, if video evidence of misdemeanors and traffic violations counted for anything in California.

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Mexico’s new president-elect is one of us.

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It’s now 166 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And three full years since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, Minnesota becomes the latest state to offer non-vaporware ebike rebates up to $1,500 — just one year after it was approved by the legislature.

Proving just how quick and easy it can be when the people in charge actually give a damn, and don’t have their skulls firmly embedded between their buttocks.

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

Horrifying story from Missouri, where a man was found badly injured 13 hours after somehow surviving a 22-foot fall, after he had to jump off his bike and over a concrete barrier to avoid getting run down by a hit-and-run driver.

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

After three cygnets — aka baby swans — were killed along an English trail, suspicion immediately fell on reckless bicyclists, despite the lack of any actual evidence pointing in that direction. If bike riders were really responsible, there would have been feathers everywhere from the impact with the bike tires.

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Local 

Autoweek says last weekend’s Electrify Expo in Long Beach illustrates exactly who will be hurt by President Biden’s new tariffs on electric vehicles, e-bikes and e-scooters and components. Like the people who might otherwise buy them. And the ones who will have to pay through the nose to do it anyway.

An LA County judge rejected wealthy socialite Rebecca Grossman’s bid to have her conviction overturned for killing two little kids as they rode their skateboard and kick scooter across the street with their parents, citing her speeding and drinking that night, as well as a previous warning from police about the dangers of speeding.

 

State

The Voice of OC looks at Orange County’s efforts to catch up to the burgeoning use of ebikes in the county, and the panic over teens on fast, throttle-controlled ebikes that may be beyond their ability to control safely.

 

National

Strong Towns says sidewalks, bike paths and other public spaces where people can gather are key to building strong towns that are irresistible to tourists.

Sixty members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity are preparing for the group’s annual cross-country ride to raise funds for programs to support people with disabilities.

Outside makes their picks for the very best gravel bikes available today.

Drivers in Anchorage, Alaska are up in arms after the city’s first protected bike lane and lane reduction appeared over the weekend, as the city struggles to maintain its reputation for being bike and pedestrian friendly.

Denver is removing the rubber bumpers from a protected bike lane in front of a condo building, after an 82-year old man tripped over one and broke his pelvis, leading to a series of falls — and eventually, his death.

Kansas Public Radio talks with LA-based author Peter Flax about his new book — Live to Ride: Finding Joy and Meaning on a Bicycle.

The New York Times examines the people responsible for the city’s ghost bikes, and the message they spread about the need to drive safely.

 

International

Forbes says your next vacation should be a self-guided bike tour.

Canadian Cycling Magazine insists Season 2 of The Tour de France: Unchained is even better than the first.

That’s more like it. Police in York, Ontario are using drones to catch drivers who pass too close to bike riders, and don’t give the newly required one meter passing distance — a little more than three feet.

A new study from a Canadian university shows that driver speeds really do go down when there’s a bike lane on the street.

A British driver is on trial for killing a 52-year old triathlete as she was competing in a time trial in 2022, plowing into her from behind despite clear visibility and an open lane to her left — and later telling police he had no memory of the crash, but admitting that he “must” have hit her. Which would seem kinda obvious under the circumstances. 

A new book argues that the Netherlands isn’t the bicycling paradise people think, and communities — even the ones filled with people on two wheels — should ask deeper questions about what their streets are really for. While the country may not be perfect, it’s still a hell of a lot better than pretty much anywhere here in the US. Especially LA. 

Meanwhile, three-quarters of Netherlands residents think using bike helmets is a good idea for ebike riders, even though hardly any actually do.

Over half the residents of Germany’s Hesse state listed building more bike lanes as one of their top priorities, in a state where one-third of the population ride bicycle a multiple times a week.

More proof of the power of bikes, as bicycling became a tool for liberating women in Karachi, Pakistan, after one woman started a girl’s bicycle club.

The general manager of a new Hyatt hotel offers his perspective on bicycling in Kolkata, formerly known to English speakers as Calcutta.

A writer for a Philippine website explains how New Zealand made him feel safe riding a bicycle, as the country does its best to protect active transportation users.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tragic news from Brazil, where 42-year old cycling champ Lais Saes was killed in a hit-and-run while training with three other women on a dirt mountain road, when she was struck by the driver of a utility vehicle; it took more than an hour for help to arrive at the remote location.

 

Finally…

No, whacking an ebike worker over the head with a motorbike helmet isn’t actually what they were designed for. You can’t drive in the bike lane just because your car self-identifies as a bicycle.

And that feeling when the cops catch a hit-and-run driver because one of your AirPods fell into his car during the collision.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Happy World Bicycle Day, MOVE Culver City CEQA suit trial begins, and Bike Talk talks The Art of Cycling

June 3, 2024 / / 2 comments
Just 211 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 all face on the mean streets of LA.

Then share it — and keep sharing it — with everyone you know, on every platform you can.

We’ve jumped up to 1,173 signatures, so don’t stop now! I’ll forward the petition to the mayor’s office in the next few days. So urge everyone you know to sign it now! 

Photo by Ana Arantes from Pexels.

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Happy World Bicycle Day!

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Just a quick note before we get started. 

I’m finally starting to feel a little better, almost two months after falling and injuring my ribs and back, and re-injuring my shoulder. My ribs are almost back to normal, and my back is getting there. On the other hand, I think my torn rotator cuff is just screwed at this point.

Also, a very kind person reached out to me last week and offered to come over and help around our apartment — the second time that’s happened since my wife and I have both been injured, after another BikinginLA reader generously offered to come do our shopping for us. 

I won’t embarrass them by sharing their names, but I truly appreciate their offers of help. And the kindness and generosity of the readers of this site, which I see every year during our fund drive, and throughout the year. 

So my sincere thanks to both of these people, and everyone who has given from their heart to help keep this all going. 

And speaking of keeping the lights on, please take a moment to thank Pasadena bike lawyer and longtime bicycling supporter Thomas Forsyth for renewing his ad for another year. 

Thank you. 

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As you may know, I’ve been complaining for some time about Culver City’s regressive move to rip out the highly successful MOVE Culver City project.

Not only did they move quickly to remove the protected bus and bike lanes, combining them into a single shared lane, but they made the move without conducting the required environmental review.

A lawsuit contesting the removal without a CEQA review was filed in November, and will be heard Wednesday at the Los Angeles County Superior Court at 111 North Hill Street.

If you can make it, show up to show your support for the Friends and Families for MOVE Culver City, aka FFMCC, who filed the suit. And let me know what happens.

Here’s a press release from the group explaining the case.

Friends and Families for Move Culver City Invites Members of the Public to Attend the Hearing on June 5th for its Lawsuit Against City’s Planned Removal of Protected Bike Lanes and Pedestrian Protections from MOVE Culver City Project

Culver City, CA – Friends and Families for MOVE Culver City (FFMCC), a local advocacy group, invites members of the public to attend the hearing for its lawsuit to stop Culver City’s removal of critical infrastructure without proper California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review on June 5th at 1:30pm in Department 15 at 111 North Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. The group first raised concerns and filed a lawsuit challenging the Culver City Council’s plans to remove key transportation upgrades in October 2023. The Culver City Council disregarded its own data, hundreds of public comments, letters and warnings from the community, elected officials, businesses, lawyers and environmental and mobility advocates when it first voted to begin the process of removing elements of its MOVE Culver City project in April 2023. Local advocates assert that the City Council’s approval of a CEQA exemption to these modifications is a violation of the law, as it would remove a protected bike lane and pedestrian features to accommodate an additional lane of vehicular traffic without disclosing, analyzing, or mitigating the impacts of those changes in an Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

Despite the warning, in January 2024, the Culver City Council voted to approve funding for a construction contract related to the removal of safety upgrades in the Move Culver City Corridor.

Following the vote, FFMCC filed a lawsuit in October 2023. A copy of the opening brief can be viewed here.

“We’re confident in the strength of our case and expect the judge to rule in our favor,” says Yotala Oszkay Febres-Cordero, Chair of Friends and Families for MOVE Culver City, the plaintiff in the case. “The city clearly violated CEQA by voting to exempt the project from environmental review, ignoring the indisputable fact that replacing a protected bike lane with an additional lane for cars, and removing pedestrian safety features, poses significant threats to public health and safety. This is precisely why CEQA was enacted, to provide notice to and protect communities when a planned project generates these environmental threats.” FFMCC is represented by attorneys Ellis Raskin, Jillian Ames, and Jenny Dao of Hanson Bridgett LLP.

In moving forward with this trial, FFMCC hopes to show the City that proper CEQA review pursuant to state law must be adhered to before any environmentally hostile modifications are made to the MOVE Culver City corridor.

About Friends and Families for Move Culver City

Friends and Families for Move Culver City was formed in response to the Culver City Council’s 3-2 vote to declare modifications to the MOVE Culver City project exempt from CEQA and to proceed with the removal of protected bike lanes, pedestrian protections and safety measures, and the addition of vehicle lanes along Washington Blvd and Culver Blvd in Culver City. Following the council vote on 9/11/2023, a GoFundMe was organized which raised more than $15,000 in less than two weeks, with nearly 200 donations from community members opposing the City’s plans.

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Bike Talk talks with the author of The Art of Cycling in this week’s episode, dropping on Thursday.

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The popular bike blogger known as Bike Shop Girl has created a new website focused on the cargo bike life.

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It’s now 165 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And three full years 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.

An English bike rider suffered broken bones and a punctured lung when masked “thugs” on motorbikes pushed him off his bike while riding on a segregated bike lane, in what may or may not have been a bikejacking attempt.

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

Montreal saw a 20% jump in tickets issued to people on bicycles from 2022 to 2023. Which either means people are riding worse, or the cops are cracking down more.

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Local 

LAist explores the pushback on traffic safety efforts, as people fight to keep the roads dangerous and keep their God-given right to go zoom zoom all they want, damn the consequences.

Pasadena is already on the verge of being a 15-minute city.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole an adaptive custom tricycle from a young Lawndale girl with a rare neurological disorder.

 

State

Calbike remembers the late, great Bill Walton.

A travel website selects seven surprisingly scenic and bikeable cities in California. Although they list Los Angeles at number six, just ahead of San Diego, which suggests they’ve never actually been here.

The annual AIDS/LifeCycle Ride is underway, with people from around the world riding 540 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles this week; the fundraising ride will end in LA this weekend.

Sad news from Fresno, where a 50-year old man was killed riding in the downtown area; police blamed the victim for making an unsafe turn.

A new Marin County bikeway is a downpayment on a long-planned north-south bikeway reaching across the entire county.

Bay Area bike riding is about to get safer, as work begins to install 22 bicycling turnouts on deadly Mt. Diablo. Then again, when you name a mountain after the devil, you’re tempting fate, anyway.

 

National

Momentum lists the best US bike routes to check out this summer.

Paramedics in Anchorage, Alaska gave a young girl a new bicycle after a “distressing” incident that left her impaled by the brake lever on her bicycle, threatening her femoral artery.

An Arizona man says he could have been killed after he was knocked off his bike by the wing mirror of a passing RV.

Tragic news from Colorado, where an eight-year old girl was chased down and killed by a raging moose as she rode her bike.

Life is cheap in Texas, where killing a kid riding his bicycle is just an “oopsie.”

A New York man was the victim of illegal parking, killed when he crashed his ebike into an unattended semi-truck and trailer double parked in the traffic lane.

The sitting President of the United States was sitting on a bike seat in Delaware this weekend as he went for a ride with his son, Hunter, who will go on trial this week on federal gun charges.

He gets it. A writer for the Palm Beach Post says bicyclists risk their lives to ride in West Palm Beach, and it’s time the city did something to protect them.

 

International

A new study shows making a habit of riding a bicycle can keep your knees young.

Canadian national newspaper The Globe and Mail patiently explains why it’s not a good idea to put bike lanes in the middle of the road. Something San Francisco probably should have read before the whole Valencia Street fiasco.

A ten-year old British girl was injured when some jackass threw a kid’s bike off a multi-story housing unit, hitting the child below.

Bollywood actress Rakul Preet Singh is one of us, as she shares her thoughts on biking in Mumbai for today’s World Bicycle Day.

The India Times profiles billionaire bike rider and software entrepreneur Sridhar Vembu.

Beijing, China is experiencing an ultra-cycling boom, but hopes for the country’s hydrogen-powered bikeshare bikes are rapidly deflating.

A group of Aussie professors, lecturers and researchers examine why so few of their countrymen and women ride bikes, and offer suggestions on how to get the country back on two wheels.

 

Competitive Cycling

Australia’s Lachlan Morton and Germany’s Rosa Maria Klöser won the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively, of America’s premier gravel race, the Life Time Unbound Gravel 200 in Kansas over the weekend. Read it on AOL this time if Bicycling blocks you. 

Morton won in a record time, despite making a wrong turn on the course.

A columnist for Cycling Weekly says it’s okay if pro cyclists hate cycling sometimes, because the rest of us have our ups and downs, too.

Tadej Pogačar’s agent proclaims post-ride beers are good for you.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your local bikeway has been around for 126 years. Your next graphene-reinforced bike lock could be axle-grinder resistant.

And who needs a bike seat when you can weld three chairs to your mamachari bike?

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Thanks to Cassandra Fulgham for her donation to help support this site — and possibly help defray that ambulance ride and ER visit. As you probably know by now, donations of an amount, no matter how large or small, are always welcome and appreciated, whatever the reason.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

County completes work to expand beachfront bike path to Palisades, and speed cam pilot passes state Assembly

June 1, 2023 / / Comments Off on County completes work to expand beachfront bike path to Palisades, and speed cam pilot passes state Assembly

County officials celebrated the completion of separated bike and pedestrian pathways on the beachfront Marvin Braude Bike Trail.

But it could have been so much more.

The project extended the parallel walking and biking pathways through Will Rogers State Park, creating a continuous 22-mile separated pathway along the beach from Pacific Palisades to Torrance.

As long as you don’t count the section that was bizarrely routed through a Redondo Beach parking garage, where bike riders are expected to dismount and walk their bikes.

But it didn’t have to end in Pacific Palisades.

Thirteen years ago, Los Angeles officials revived a proposal to extend the bike path two miles north to Malibu, where separate bike and pedestrian paths would be built into the rip rock along the coast to get around the private tennis club at the north end of the state beach.

The proposal would have allowed safe bike access to and from Malibu for beach visitors and tourists alike. Along with the added benefit of allowing bike riders to bypass the dangerously narrow section of PCH leading into Malibu.

Unfortunately, it was killed by opposition from a group of influential LA bike activists who balked at the project’s $30 million price tag, worried the optics of spending that much on a bike path would increase opposition to other bike projects.

Even though the city officials would have sought state and federal grants to pay for it, so it would cost the city little or nothing.

And even though it would take considerably more to build it today, with the price tag increasing with every passing year.

But it would have been done by now. And it would have been wonderful.

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I still can’t seem to embed tweets.

So you’ll have to settle for a screenshot of this announcement from Walk San Francisco celebrating the passage of AB 645, which will allow a speed cam pilot program in six California cities, including Los Angeles, Glendale and Long Beach.

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The World Cycling Alliance reminds us to celebrate World Bicycle Day this Saturday.

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A new documentary about America’s only remaining Tour de France winner opens in theaters June 23rd, setting out the cyclist’s “setbacks and triumphant comeback.”

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

More proof we’re damned if we do, and damned if we don’t, as a road raging British driver loses it because the bike rider in front of him stopped at a red light.

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

A British man is calling for the hit-and-run salmon bike rider who knocked him unconscious in a bicyclist-on-bicyclist crash to turn himself in; the victim gained fame as the owner of an uninhabited Scottish island featured by the BBC.

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Local 

CicLAvia returns to South Los Angeles on Father’s Day, June 18th, with a 6.2-mile route along Vermont Ave between Exposition and Century Blvds; the route is easily accessible via the Metro Expo (E) Line.

An unscientific survey of over 4,300 Angelenos from LAist shows concerns over homelessness and housing affordability dwarfs everything else, including infrastructure and transportation. 

The Eastsider reports work is back on track for the highly flawed $80 million redesign of the landmark Glendale-Hyperion bridge, which will include bike lanes, but forces pedestrians to cross four lanes of traffic to get to the single sidewalk; work was supposed to begin in 2020, but was delayed by the pandemic.

Streetsblog visits the dangerously substandard, three-foot wide De Soto Avenue bike lane, two-thirds of which is in the gutter.

 

State

California Streetsblog says Smart Growth America’s new Complete Streets report raises the bar with strong and effective policies that lay the groundwork for safer streets for everyone.

Both drivers and bike riders are complaining about a construction project to add bike lanes and reverse-angled parking along PCH in Encinitas; the city’s mayor encourages everyone to wait until it’s done, when he says it will become a very popular destination.

Plans for a pedestrian promenade and bikeway on San Diego’s Normal Street have been delayed for eight years in a dispute over a driveway, which has now been condemned by the city.

A Kern County man faces up to ten years behind bars after he was convicted of the drunken hit-and-run that seriously injured two people riding bikes, leaving one with a brain injury; the defense attorney had tried to blame the victims for riding on the roadway without lights or reflectors. Even though neither of them forced the driver to get drunk, or get behind the wheel afterwards. 

An op-ed from a Santa Cruz writer says a proposal for a 12-foot wide bike and pedestrian trail next to a rail line fails the safety test because it would be too popular, and wouldn’t allow users to escape in an emergency, due to fencing on one side and a retaining wall on the other.

Sad news from Clovis, where a 36-year old man faces charges for the drunken hit-and-run that killed a bike rider; he had a BAC over three times the legal blood alcohol level when he was arrested after someone in his home turned him in.

Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick says visiting the Netherlands wasn’t a shock, but returning to the Bay Area afterwards was.

A Lewiston bike shop owner was lucky to survive after “a swell of humanity” rushed to his aid after suffering a heart attack while riding across the Golden Gate Bridge.

A 29-year old Shasta County woman has been sentenced to three years behind bars for the hit-and-run death of a 65-year old man riding his bike. She reported the victim lying on the side of the road, but didn’t say she was the one who hit him; she could have faced a total of five years on the two charges.

 

National

Portland’s summer-long Pedalpalooza bike festival kicked off its 21st season this week.

This year’s Cycle Oregon Classic bike tour through rural Oregon will be its last, a victim of rising production costs, rider preferences, volunteer capacity and extended fire seasons after 32 years.

A kindhearted 11-year old Arizona boy bought two mountain bikes after his bike was stolen, one for himself and one to give to someone else, after a TV station reported on the lemonade stand he was using to raise the money.

Residents of Houston’s Third Ward are demanding greater protection from a gang of teenagers who have been terrorizing bike riders on a local trail; five bicyclists have been brutally beaten and robbed in recent weeks, and another victim was shot.

Members of a St. Louis bike group are calling for the return of a green bike that was installed as a memorial to one of the group’s founders, after it disappeared just before the second anniversary of his unexpected death.

Massachusetts is considering a proposal for ebike rebates up to $750.

A free six-week Brooklyn bike repair course helps formerly incarcerated people get back on their feet, as well as others who have had run-ins with the law.

French startup Upway has opened their first US location in Brooklyn, selling refurbished and overstock ebikes at a discount.

The libertarian Cato Institute says the racially charged conflict over a New York bikeshare bike illustrates the growing popularity of shared ebikes.

Curbed considers the pitfalls of congestion pricing and how to avoid them, which is addressed to New York’s upcoming congestion pricing program. But it should be required reading for LA Metro and Los Angeles County officials.

A ten-mile bike ride around the National Mall by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and and chief GOP negotiator Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana played a roll in working out a deal with White House officials on raising the national debt limit.

 

International

Momentum Magazine recommends easy ways to incorporate bicycling into your urban lifestyle.

Canadian cargo bike owners say park the car, and use a cargo bike instead.

An estimated three hundred people turned out for a memorial bike ride in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to honor a 33-year old mother and wrester who represented Canada for over a decade, after she was run down by a garbage truck driver.

The news from Montreal just keeps getting better, as the Quebec city attempts to revitalize commercial districts by closing ten streets for the summer.

As we noted yesterday, a modestly updated version of the classic, British-made Raleigh Chopper bike is back, complete with its oversized gear shifts, albeit at a whopping 2,970% markup.

Bicyclists in Oxford, England have launched their own DIY, crowdsourced online bike map showing low-traffic routes throughout the city.

A self-proclaimed liberal London bike rider made headlines for accusing Just Stop Oil activists, who were blocking a street in protest, of “harming the cause” and “fucking it up for all of us.” I’ve long argued that blocking streets may garner headlines, but you don’t win people over to your cause by making their commutes miserable. 

 

Competitive Cycling

Celebrate the Giro with pink sidewalls on your Italian-made Vittoria tires.

Primož Roglič’s former ski-jumping teammate appeared out of nowhere to give him a key push right when he needed it following a Giro mechanical.

Cycling Weekly offers a detailed analysis of every stage of next month’s Tour de France.

Bicycling profiles 2022 Unbound Gravel champ Sofia Gomez Villafañe, explaining how the Argentine mountain biker became a gravel superstar. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you. 

Two Russian Olympic track cycling medalists have been barred from competing for failing to adopt a neutral status due to the country’s war in Ukraine.

Tragic news from Tennessee, where a 58-year old lifelong athlete and longtime Ironman competitor has died over a week after he was injured crashing his bike in a Chattanooga triathlon.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you’re the former world champ, and still have to train for the Tour de France with your kid in tow — literally. Your next foldie could have a magnesium frame.

And your new Porsche could have two wheels instead of four, at far less than half the price.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

LA Times calls for legalizing speed cams, mark your calendar for World Bike Day, and a bad day to ride near big trucks

May 25, 2023 / / One comment

They get it.

The Los Angeles Times calls for passing legislation to legalize speed cams, saying they could “quickly make some of the state’s most speed-prone and dangerous streets safer…”

…With traffic deaths on the rise in California, and particularly in cities, such as Los Angeles and San Jose, you’d think lawmakers would eagerly adopt a proven strategy for saving lives.

You would be wrong. In 2021 and 2022, state legislators killed bills that would override the state prohibition on automated speed enforcement and let some cities install speed cameras to catch and ticket motorists who egregiously exceed the speed limit.

It’s worth taking a few minutes to read the whole thing.

Then contact your state Assembly member and urge them to support Assembly Bill 645, which was introduced by Burbank Assemblymember, Transportation Committee Chair, and US Congressional candidate Laura Friedman.

We’re definitely going to miss her when she leaves the legislature.

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Mark your calendar for World Bicycle Day on Saturday, June 3rd, while Tuesday, May 30th is the first National Ebike Day.

Neither of which have anything to do April’s LSD-themed Bicycle Day.

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It was a bad time to bike around large trucks, as an Alabama bike rider was killed by a dump truck driver on Tuesday, while a Saskatoon, Saskatchewan woman was killed when her bike was struck by the driver of a cement truck, and a London bike rider was killed in a collision with a commercial truck driver.

Note the emphasis on drivers, since the trucks weren’t driving themselves, regardless of what the local press bothers to mention them.

Best advice is to always give large trucks as wide a berth as you can, including moving off the roadway if necessary to stay safe.

It’s better to bail and make it home in one piece, than wish you had.

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An LA bike rider gets fed up with Google’s misleading and just plain wrong bike maps, so he makes his own more accurate version.

Thanks to Erik Griswold and Danny for the heads-up.

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Oceanside bike lawyer and BikinginLA sponsor Richard Duquette forwards a discount for next month’s Giro di San Diego.

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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 Pacific Beach website says residents expressed their displeasure over plans to build a bike boulevard on Diamond Street — even though just four people of the seven people commented at a town council meeting even mentioned it; although one resident correctly noted it would affect property values. Even though she meant they’d go down, while bikeways usually make them go up.

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Local 

BikeLA, the former Los Angeles Count Bicycle Coalition, has partnered with autonomous carmaker Waymo to continue their Operation Firefly bike light distribution program this year, which has given out over 15,000 sets of lights over more than a decade. The program started back when I was still on the board of the nonprofit, not that I take any credit for it.

Pasadena is launching its own ebike rebate plan July 1st, with rebates starting at $500; if you qualify for the California ebike rebate prgram, which should launch by then, you could be looking at $1,500 off the price a standard ebike, and significantly more for an e-cargo bike.

The Altadena Bicycle Club and Altadena Heritage will host their 3rd Annual Altadena Golden Poppy Bicycle Ride this Sunday. Which is a lot of damn Altadenas if you ask me.

Santa Monica will conduct road work around the pier to install concrete medians separating the bike lane from motor vehicle traffic on Ocean Ave.

Streetsblog takes a detailed tour of the new Mark Bixby bike and pedestrian path along the Long Beach International Gateway Bridge.

 

State

A 57-year-old road bike rider suffered a compound fracture to his left leg when he was struck by a 61-year old man riding a Harley Davidson in San Diego’s Kearny Mesa neighborhood; the motorcyclist suffered road rash in the crash.

Santa Barbara residents can now check out an ebike from the local library.

A Bakersfield man is on trial for fleeing the scene after running down two people riding bikes, leaving one in a coma, while driving with a blood alcohol level over three times the legal limit; naturally, the defense lawyer blamed the victims for wearing dark clothes and riding without reflectors after dark, instead of his allegedly drunk client.

Sad news from San Jose, where a man riding an e-scooter died days after he crashed into brush piled in a bike lane. Which is exactly why bike lanes should be cleaned on a regular basis, but usually aren’t.

Palo Alto is planning to build bike underpasses before construction begins on reconfiguring its rail crossings, so bike riders and pedestrians can continue to use them while work continues.

Streetsblog’s Roger Ruddick says a report from a local TV station that that San Francisco streets are safer is counterfactual. Which is a polite way of saying it’s BS.

San Francisco News takes a closer look at the city’s “impressive” Slow Streets program.

 

National

Outdoor recommends the best bike helmets.

How to demonstrate you don’t ride a bike, without saying it. Money recommends the best bike racks, starting with a pair of typical wheel-bender racks.

The Scottsdale, Arizona city council is split down the middle regarding the city’s recent road diets, with the mayor and three councilmembers supporting them, and three councilmembers opposed.

This is who we share the road with. An Arizona man faces charges for drifting into a bike lane and killing a bike rider while high on meth and weed; the 46-year old man tried to claim the bike rider swerved in front of his SUV.

Denver has exceeded the city’s goal of building 125 miles of new bike lanes in five years, with 137 miles since 2018.

A Chicago man says if you can’t find a plexiglass covered e-cargo trike, just build your own. Then offer to build some for other people, too.

A legal site examines why people in Wisconsin drive recklessly, blaming a number of factors including the state’s unique laws and driving culture. Although a much shorter explanation is because they can.

Cleveland, Ohio is pushing proposals to change zoning laws and incentives for transit-oriented development with limited parking in an effort to become a 15-minute city.

Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer, co-chair of the Congressional Bike Caucus, teamed with a DC advocacy group to lead a bike ride around the city to demand policies to protect bike riders. Maybe next time they could convince our bike-riding president to join them.

No surprise here, as Miami is one of the nation’s most dangerous places to ride a bike, ranking fifth in the US for bicycling deaths.

 

International

Momentum readers consider the world’s worst bike lanes, including one on PCH in San Diego.

They get it. A Toronto website debunks three common myths about bike lanes, including that they cause congestion and are bad for business; meanwhile a bent bike rack has a Toronto writer bent out of shape.

Mixed results in London, where bicycling fatalities dropped last year, but serious injuries rose sharply.

An English website explains the benefits of Low Traffic Neighborhoods, the British equivalent of our Slow Streets, while debunking the “evil plot” to give people cleaner air and safer streets.

Welsh police face an investigation over the crash that killed two ebike-riding teenagers, who may or may not have been chased by the cops at the time of their crash; security video shows a police van following them just one minute before the fatal crash.

Talk about two countries divided by a common language. Cycling Weekly says Britain’s bike nonprofit “gives you the chance to loan an ebike for a month for free.” Although we’d say “borrow” on this side of the Atlantic. 

An Italian craftsman builds bespoke wooden bike wheel rims, just down the road from the shrine to the Madonna del Ghisallo, patron saint of bicyclists.

A Kiwi website says ebike commuting can be quicker than driving, and healthier, too. The same also holds true up here where drains circle clockwise.

An Aussie bike site asks if road rage is worth getting riled up about.

 

Competitive Cycling

Welshman Geraint Thomas continues to lead the Giro, while Italy’s Alberto Dainese bounced back from a stomach illness to win Wednesday’s stage 17. Anyone who can continue with a bike race while battling stomach issues definitely has my respect.

Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar has worked his way into the top five, with just five stages left in the Giro.

Cyclist examines the businesses behind pro cycling’s biggest sponsors.

 

Finally…

Chances are, Johnny Appleseed would ride a bike these days, just like his Indian counterpart. That feeling when your bike has its own mailbox. And gets love letters.

And when a cat has probably biked through more states than you have.

……….

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

Oh, and fuck Putin, too.

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

Bike industry dips toe into racial justice, bike shops looted across US, and lucky Sacramento bike rider just misses crash

June 3, 2020 / / Comments Off on Bike industry dips toe into racial justice, bike shops looted across US, and lucky Sacramento bike rider just misses crash

Happy World Bicycle Day.

Photo by Necati Anil Cakirman from Pexels.

………

The bike industry is starting to dip a cleated toe into the fight against racism.

A handful of smaller bike brands are opening their hearts and wallets to support racial justice.

That includes LA-based women’s apparel maker Machines for Freedom, which is matching donations up to $10,000.

Meanwhile, Trek founder John Burke pens a lengthy message that reads more like a campaign position paper.

Especially after the company’s bikes were wielded as weapons by police.

………

Bike shops across the country fell victim to looting, including this shop in Miami, where thieves drove off with a literal truck full of bicycles.

 

Meanwhile, LA’s I. Martin lost $130,000 worth of bikes and gear, a number that could have been higher if they hadn’t sold off much of their inventory while the shop was closed due to the coronavirus; owner Martin Wolff joined with community members to fight off the looters.

………

In a remarkable video, a Sacramento bicyclist barely avoids becoming collateral damage in a motor vehicle crash.

………

Local

Yes, you can ride your bike on the 405 Freeway in Westwood; all it takes is a protest over George Floyd’s death taking over the highway (scroll down).

WeHo’s leaders clearly don’t get it, as councilmembers argue that Slow Streets are just an inconvenience, and the city’s sidewalks are wide enough.

Once again, a bike rider is a hero, as a woman in Santa Monica used her bicycle to defend a jewelry store from looters for two hours.

Robert Downey Jr. may be one of us, although that could be anyone riding through the ‘Bu under that mask.

The former Governator took his ebike out to examine the extensive looting damage in Santa Monica.

 

State

Fresno police busted an armed robber who hid out in a neighborhood after jacking a bicycle at gunpoint as the victim was riding it.

Still more sad news from Northern California, where an accused drunk driver faces charges for killing a bike rider when he crossed onto the wrong side of the road.

 

National

A woman with Parkinson’s vows to get back onto her bike after a solo fall sent her to the emergency room after her foot froze, preventing her from unclipping from her pedal.

A blogger says yes, race has to be part of the transportation discussion.

The Minnesota semi driver who plowed into a group of protesters on a closed freeway was released from jail, telling investigators he panicked after seeing people on the roadway and finally skidded to a stop when he saw a woman on a bike fall in from of his truck.

Tragic news from New York, where a woman jogger was critically injured when she was struck by a man on a bicycle in Central Park; a witness blamed bicyclists for running the red light, without apparently knowing if the rider in question actually did.

A Florida paper offer advice on how to stay safe if you’re just starting — or restarting — riding.

 

International

Evidently, you can buy a road bike complete with mudguards.

Business is booming for bike mechanics in old-rich Venezuela as people in the country adjust to life without gasoline.

Tragic news from the UK, where a pair of bicyclists were killed in a crash when they were run down by the driver of a VW Golf.

Two other British bike riders were lucky to walk away after they were run down by a hit-and-run driver.

Either bikes are booming in Britain or bike subscription services are — or both — with sales at the country’s leading firm up 440%.

A Spanish bikemaker introduces a gorgeous new ebike with a swooping frame, even if it will set you back over four grand.

NPR revisits the story of the 15-year old Indian girl who pedaled 700 miles back home with her injured father on the back of her bicycle, earning a tryout with the national cycling team in the process.

 

Competitive Cycling

You’ll have to wait a little longer to learn who’ll be competing in the Olympics under the USA banner, as US Cycling delays announcing the road, track and mountain bike teams for next year’s delayed games.

Cyclist examines the outsized effect Covid-19 is having on the pro peloton.

 

Finally…

Pop your bike wheel on a pedestal, put it in a museum and call it art. Why waste your energy riding inside when you could recharge a Tesla?

And don’t call bikes the new toilet paper unless you plan to wipe your ass with one.

Seriously.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Tomorrow is World Bicycle Day, white bicyclists have to do better, and Gaimon loses Everest with tongue in cheek

June 2, 2020 / / Comments Off on Tomorrow is World Bicycle Day, white bicyclists have to do better, and Gaimon loses Everest with tongue in cheek

Tomorrow is World Bicycle Day.

Or as it’s known in Los Angeles, Wednesday.

So how do you plan to celebrate?

You could start with the First Ever Virtual Bicycle Video, released by an Indian bicycle organization.

Or just get out and go for a ride.

Photo by Josh Kur from Pexels.

………

A writer for Canadian Cycling Magazine says as white cyclists, we have to do better.

This may not be your conversation topic of choice but it’s something that we must address. As white cyclists, we have a social responsibility to take direct action toward tangible change within the cycling community and the community at large. It’s not enough to simply not be racist. As Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of the Antiracist Research & Policy Center at the American University, said during a recent edition of CBC’s The Current, “To say you are not racist is to deny your racism. We’re either being racist or anti-racist at all times.”

With the turmoil roiling the country in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, this is a good time to remember that bicycling is often a different experience for black and brown riders than for white riders.

We don’t have to worry about what could happen if we get stopped by the police. Or feel worried eyes upon us riding through a predominantly white neighborhood.

Or worse.

When the simple act of going for a run can get you killed. And the threat may not come from the drivers the rest of us worry about. At least not in the same way.

And if you’re white, you don’t automatically become a suspect simply by riding through the wrong community, or at the wrong time.

I’ve long wanted to believe that biking while black or brown wasn’t a problem. Not here, not now.

But based on what people have told me, that’s simply not true.

It’s up to all of us to ensure a level playing field for everyone on the streets.

And in life.

………

Phil Gaimon sticks his tongue firmly in cheek, and says thanks, but he already knows he lost his Everesting record before he could even finish drinking the champagne to celebrate it.

And he wants your help to find a better hill to take it back.

Seriously, this will probably be the funniest thing you see all day.

………

The war on cars is a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.

A Detroit man faces charges for deliberately trying to run down a pair of bike cops, then leading police on a chase as he fled the scene.

A 63-year old English man was injured when he was knocked off the ebike he uses as a mobility aide after someone threw something at him from a passing car.

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

British police are looking for a bike-riding man who squirted a baby in the face with water. Don’t do that. No, really.

………

Local

DTLA Bikes lucked out on Saturday’s night of looting in Downtown Los Angeles, when thieves cut the gate, but left after realizing all the bikes inside were locked; owner Yehuda Masjedi chased away a trio of thieves armed with bolt cutters as he was waiting for police to arrive Sunday morning.

 

State

No news is good news, right?

 

National

Tech Radar looks into ebikes that could genuinely replace your car. Unless you don’t own a car, in which case maybe they could replace your TAP card.

Surprisingly, AOL suggests four bikes you can still get from Amazon. No, it isn’t surprising that you can get bikes from Amazon. It’s surprising that AOL is still out there.

Today recommends the best kids bikes to get them riding this summer.

Road Bike Action details the “travails and treasure” of building your dream bike, one component at a time. Yes, they really phrased it that way.

An engineering website recommends 17 accessories every bicyclist should buy. Much of which you probably shouldn’t.

A Utah bicyclist will probably frame the ticket and display it prominently on his wall after police clocked him doing 55 mph in a 40 mph zone on a descent.

The Denver Post blames thriving ridership and an Asian supply chain disrupted by Covid-19 for the nationwide bicycle shortage.

Yale considers whether the current coronavirus-light traffic will last post-pandemic. Short answer, no. Longer answer, not without major structural changes to our streets, and policy changes at city hall.

 

International

Pro cyclists deal with the same roads as the rest of us. And they report things are getting worse around the world as countries reawaken from the coronavirus lockdown.

Cycling Tips says yes, you can be sued for causing a crash and injuring another rider on a group ride.

Costa Rica is on its way to becoming the world’s first zero-carbon country, if they can just do something about all those cars.

This is what a would-be bike thief looks like, as a Vancouver BC man films a stranger attempting to cut a U-lock from a bike in front of his building; despite the dubious ownership claims of the thief, police are looking for the bike’s real owner.

Bighearted workers at a Calgary, Alberta bike shop are raising funds to benefit the wife of a coworker and bring his family up from California for his funeral, after the elite rider was killed in a collision last week; they hope to raise $10,000 by donating all profits from Wednesday’s rentals and sales.

London’s Evening Standard picks the year’s best bike locks. Although “best” is a relative term when they include a cable lock, which is just an open invitation to steal your bike.

A new British study shows bike commuting or taking the train can cut your risk of cancer, as well as death from heart disease and mortality from all causes. In fact, bicycling is so good for you, we’d all probably live forever if it wasn’t for cars.

BBC host James May calls on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to bomb the country with bicycles, noting that he could give every adult in Britain a carbon frame bike for the price of a high speed rail line.

Another BBC presenter says she’s now terrified of riding a bicycle after her bike-riding husband was hit by a driver.

Riding a bike drunk in the UK could cost you the equivalent of over $3,100. Thanks to Robert Leone for the link.

A Turkish man rode his bicycle over 430 miles in two days to see his 14-year old daughter, who lives with her mother.

 

Competitive Cycling

Yes, Lance still hates fellow ex-Tour de France champ Floyd Landis.

Speaking of dopers, say hi to banned former German pro Jan Ullrich.

 

Finally…

This is why you don’t ride under railroad crossing arms. Why pedal when you can just walk and ride at the same time?

And finally, a how-to video tailor-made for me.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already. 

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

Morning Links: Happy World Bicycle Day, a slap-happy Giro fan, and bringing back beloved British bicycling bread ad

June 3, 2019 / / One comment

Before we start, I hope you’ll join me in thanking the law firm of Thomas Forsyth for renewing their sponsorship of this site for another year. 

Without their continued support, and that of Cohen Law Partners, and especially title sponsor Pocrass & De Los Reyes, this site would not be possible. 

………

Happy World Bicycle Day.

Zwift wants you to do your riding inside today, as the virtual cycling company is hosting charity rides every hour.

So go ahead. Feel free to join in for a good cause.

But then get your butt outside and get on a bike that actually goes somewhere.

Meanwhile, I’ll be joining you in spirit as I continue to rehab my knee, getting in a few imaginary miles inside with a non-Zwift spin on trainer.

And wishing I was riding outside instead.

Photo by Flo Dnd from Pexels.

………

Knock a Giro cyclist off his bike by getting a little too close to the action, and prepare to get slapped.

Twice.

Meanwhile, the rider’s boss was all in, saying it would have been the end of cycling as a sport if López was disciplined.

………

A British bread company is bringing back a fully restored version of a classic ad that was recently voted the country’s all-time favorite, and which launched the career of director Ridley Scott.

………

Local

The LAPD has located the hit-and-run driver who killed a bike rider in Boyle Heights on Friday; the driver failed to stop after running over 24-year old Maywood resident Jaime Ramirez.

KCET offers a guide to the most unusual streets in Los Angeles.

Cypress Park residents are tired of the sound of speeding cars, screeching brakes and crunching metal, saying it’s just a matter of time before someone gets killed. Unfortunately, it’s not an accident that their city council representative is commonly known as Road Kill Gil for his willful inaction on traffic safety issues. 

The Alhambra Source considers the city’s problems with bike safety from the perspective of the people on two wheels.

A ghost bike was installed in Valencia last week to honor 22-year old Kori Powers, who was run down from behind while riding on Rye Canyon Road.

Santa Monica approves an $833 million Climate Action & Adaptation Plan, including plans to replace half of all motor vehicle trips with walking, or riding bikes, scooters and skateboards.

Hermosa Beach has renamed the sharrows on Hermosa Ave for Julian Katz, the former public works commissioner and longtime advocate for bikeways who passed away last year. Out of respect to Katz, I’ll keep any wisecracks about the non-benefits of sharrows to myself, for once.

Long Beach is addressing complaints about the safety of the new Broadway protected bike lanes — by changing street sweeping times. Sure, let’s go with that.

A Long Beach man was fatally shot when a group of men got out of a car and chased him down the street as he tried to get away on his bike.

 

State

A Fox News columnist accuses California’s “looney left politicians” of ignoring the state’s problems, and focusing on things like “Los Angeles…spending millions of dollars building bike lanes modeled after those in Copenhagen.” We wish.

The former safety officer for the Kern Wheelmen says Bakersfield’s streets aren’t safe or enjoyable for bike riders, with or without a bike lane, and haven’t been since the ’80s.

Once again, a San Francisco bike rider has slammed into an elderly pedestrian in a crosswalk, while apparently attempting, and failing, to beat the light. Fortunately, the victim does not appear to have been seriously injured.

A San Francisco advocate decries Lyft’s attempt to maintain a bikeshare monopoly in the city.

An advocacy group is suing Danville over its approval of a 69-home community near Mt. Diablo State Park, alleging the environmental impact statement doesn’t adequately address the risks posed to bike riders.

Sad news from Carmichael, where a bike rider was killed in a collision after allegedly riding into traffic without waiting to cross a major street.

Caltrans Director Laurie Berman is one of us. Or was, for a day, as she led a Bike Month-ending ride in Sacramento on a bikeshare ebike.

A local paper tells the story of Thomas Stevens, who decided on a whim to ride a bike across the Sierras on a Penny Farthing in 1884, becoming the first person to bike over Donner Summit on a bicycle, then continued on around the world.

 

National

Britney Spears is one of us, going for a bike ride around her neighborhood with her boyfriend, wherever that may be.

A Tucson AZ couple are riding with cameras on their bikes, in response to what they call the most frightening city they’ve ridden in.

A new Colorado program will offer insurance to bike riders for the low, low price of just $50 a month. Even though bike riders pose a fraction of the risk drivers do, whether to others or to the company that insures them.

NIMBY residents on a Chicago street say they’re more afraid of getting hit by bicycles than by the people in the big, dangerous machines Even though there’s no record of anyone getting killed by someone on a bicycle in the city, ever.

After not riding for 20 years, an Ohio man learns the hard way that riding a bike isn’t just like riding a bike.

The Department of DIY has opened a branch office in Maine, where a group of volunteers is saving $45,000 a mile by building their own network of mountain bike trails.

If you’re looking for a little summer reading, how about a thriller starring a Boston bike messenger and stand-up comic who ends up doing a little mystery sleuthing on the side.

A Staten Island writer says that Vision Zero is just a Catch 22, and will just result in more safety efforts whether deaths go up or down. We can only hope. And if it is a Catch 22, let’s hope it’s better the one currently airing on Netflix.

A headphones-wearing BMX rider knocked a Hasidic man’s hat off his head, in what New York police are investigating as a hate crime.

Baltimore bike riders turned out to honor a popular 84-year old man known as the mayor of a local bike trail, after he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer.

Now that’s scary. A South Carolina man was injured when the pavement he was riding on collapsed underneath him without warning, dropping him into a ten-foot sinkhole.

Sadly, it happens to cops, too. A Florida sheriff’s deputy was killed while training for a 9/11 memorial ride when a driver blew through a stop sign at 40 mph and slammed into his bike.

 

International

A Trinidad father is the latest challenger to build the world’s tallest bike, at a planned 25 feet six inches; the current title is still held by LA’s own Stoopidtall.

Maybe crashing into a pedestrian is more dangerous than we thought. Saskatoon police are looking for a bike rider after the gun in his backpack went off when he hit a pedestrian with his bike, shattering a storefront window.

Nearly half of all British residents say the country’s streets are too dangerous for bike riders.

They may be right. A Conservative member of Parliament suffered a broken hand when he was doored by a car passenger. Proof to doubting Americans that yes, conservatives can and do ride bicycles.

I want to be like her when I grow up. An 81-year old English grandmother has set out to bike the full length of the country, from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

Up to 90,000 people turned out for a Berlin demonstration and bike ride demanding more space for bikes on the city’s streets.

Mumbai is attempting to make itself the bicycle capital of India by 2030.

A Philippine bicyclist makes the case for a bike-friendly Manilla, saying more people on bikes would free up more space for cars. Although scofflaw bike riders don’t excuse drivers hogging bike lanes, regardless of what he says.

A Thai paper correctly acknowledges that bicycling can turn you into a sex god. Although that might not be the exact way the phrased it.

 

Competitive Cycling

If you still don’t know who won the Giro, you probably haven’t been paying attention for the last week, when Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz tightened his grip on the pink jersey.

Carapaz’s victory was a long way from his childhood riding a skeletal bike without tires that his father pulled out of a junkyard.

Former race leader Primož Roglič faded in the homestretch after crashing in stage 14, but was able to save his place on the podium with the final time trial.

Colin Strickland and Amity Rockwell won the men’s and women’s editions of this year’s Dirty Kanza endurance gravel race, with Strickland setting a record for the first sub-10 hour finish.

Once again, a young bicyclist has lost his life competing in a race, as 18-year old Danish junior cyclist Andreas Byskov Sarbov was killed in a collision while competing in a time trial.

Bicycling says it’s been 30 year since since Greg LeMond won the Tour de France in what the magazine calls the greatest comeback in modern sports history.

Washington’s Robbie Webster and Missouri’s Sarah Haskins won the men’s and women’s elite divisions of the Herbalife 24 Triathlon from Venice to DTLA. A homeless advocate planned to ride the biking leg of the race, despite losing one of his own to flesh eating viruses.

 

Finally…

You can carry anything by bike — even a full-size massage table. That feeling when your fall ends up immortalized on a Google street view.

And forget scooters. It’s time for dockless pogo sticks.

No, really.

………

Thanks to Matthew Robertson for his ongoing support of this site. 

And on a personal note, I hope you’ll join me in wishing the Corgi a happy birthday today, as she turns 13; we’ve now had her for almost nine of those years.

Even if she does have way too many toys.

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , ,
 
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