He did it.
LA-based former pro cyclist Phil Gaimon set a new world record for Everesting, riding the height of Mount Everest in less than eight hours.
Riding on LA’s steep Mountaingate Drive, Gaimon climbed a total of 29,029 feet in a time of 7:52:12, shaving 33 minutes off the previous record.
It took him over 60 laps, and nearly 100 miles of riding distance to do it.
Not to mention finishing with a little vomit in his beard. Which is a detail I’m sure none of us really needed.
Gaimon explains below he he picked the road for his record setting attempt.
Meanwhile, the LA Times reveals this isn’t the first time that road has been the scene of a hillclimb. Even if you do have to go back 35 years.
Photo by Raniery Costa Pelissari from Pexels.
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CD4 Councilmember David Ryu must be feeling the heat as he runs for reelection in a tight race with challenger Nithya Raman.
Or else he’s had a sudden change of heart after four years of fighting road diets, bike lanes and any other kind of mobility improvements in the district.
We don’t have to live like this. We don’t have to choke our city with pollution. We definitely don’t all need to commute to an office each day.
I have spent years getting our City moving in a more sustainable and healthy way – it’s time to rethink how we move altogether.
— David E. Ryu (@davideryu) May 12, 2020
Personally, I’d bet on the former.
But either way, it’s good to see him finally come around.
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There’s a special place in hell for the three people who stole a custom-made adaptive bike from a 15-year old Sherman Oaks boy with Down syndrome.
The Los Angeles Police Department is hoping the public can help find a stolen tricycle that belongs to a Sherman Oaks teen with special needs https://t.co/YzZLi6HU2K
— KCAL News (@kcalnews) May 13, 2020
Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.
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Mountain biker Ben Travis takes full advantage of his one outing allowed under the UK’s coronavirus lockdown, with some pretty cool stunts on the empty streets, plazas and freight yards of his Scottish hometown.
Unless you’d rather watch Belgian mountain biker Thomas Genon prove that bikes can fly.
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Moses Sumney goes for a relaxing bike ride on his latest video.
With no hands, even.
Usher says hold my beer, not only riding through Los Feliz with no hands, while holding his not-so-little dog.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.
A Reddit user posted video of a jerk in a pickup rolling coal, forcing them to ride through a thick fog of black exhaust; no word on where that happened, unfortunately. Thanks to Michael for the tip.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Or in this case, a kid, as Alabama police tracked down bike-riding boy in connection with a series of arson fires.
And a Washington man is behind bars after allegedly using a meat cleaver to rob people while riding his bike.
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Local
You still can’t ride a bike at the beach in LA County, but as of today, you can ride your bike on a closed-to-cars Rose Bowl Loop in Pasadena; social distancing required, with masks in parking lots and high density areas, and no group rides allowed.
Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson is one of us, riding through Los Angeles with his longtime girlfriend.
For fans of The Bachelor, Peter Weber and Kelley Flanagan went for a casual tandem ride through the streets of LA. For the rest of us, carry on.
State
There won’t be any Bike to Work Day in San Diego this Thursday, after the San Diego Association of Governments, aka SANDAG, cancelled this year’s event due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Never mind that there are hardly any jobs left to bike to these days, anyway.
San Diego is taking advantage of the light traffic by repaving a three-mile section of North Harbor Drive leading to the airport, including new buffered bike lanes.
A San Raphael homeowner collared the thief who tried to steal a bike from his garage, chasing him down and holding him in a headlock until police arrived.
The Humboldt County Planning Commission approved a $1.5 million, Class 1 multi-use path paralleling State Route 255 through the tiny town of Manila, answering a decades-long call to improve safety for people on bicycles.
National
The New York Times says the coronavirus crisis presents a unique opportunity to reimagine our cities, creating more and better public spaces to weather this pandemic and provide greater opportunity for decades to come. Scroll slowly through the initial graphic for the full effect.
WaPo says the coronavirus isn’t the only crisis America faces right now, as speeding drivers have taken over the country’s empty roadways. Thanks to Misha Dworsky for the link.
Nice piece from Cycling Tips, as a father discovers that life rolls on even now, when his young daughter learns to ride a bike for the first time.
A new study shows distracted pedestrians aren’t the problem drivers think they are. But distracted drivers are.
Specialized has released a new transport ebike they promise is 40% lighter than traditional ebikes.
Lifehacker offers tips on how to tune your bike, while the Chicago Tribune recommends their favorite road tires.
A writer for Chicago Streetsblog says the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery illustrates the problem with calling for open streets, because they aren’t always safe for people of color, even without cars on them.
A Chicago woman pens an open letter to the hit-and-run scumbag driver who ran down her bike and left her sprawled in the street.
An Illinois town shelves plans to require helmets for bike riders, skateboarders and skaters, saying it’s not the right time because of the pandemic. It’s never the right time, because helmet laws have been repeatedly shown to depress bicycling rates, rather than improving safety.
A St. Paul MN writer maps the top gaps in the city’s bikeway network. You couldn’t do the same thing here in Los Angeles, because what passes for our nominal network is more gaps than bikeways.
Nice move from the maker of Minnesota’s Honeycomb cereal, which is donating 600 bicycles to tweens and teens in foster care.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for that new ebike from General Motors; the Detroit automaker pulled the plug after a trial European release last year.
International
A Mexican bikemaker is in hot water after attempting to skirt the country’s lockdown rules by hiding over 350 employees at its Mexico City factory.
The Guardian calls for more space on the roads for pedestrians and people on bicycles, saying we need room to move around safely, not a culture war.
Road.cc picks the year’s best touring bikes, starting at the equivalent of under $700.
York, England wants to become the UK’s first zero-emissions city center, with only bikes and electric vehicles allowed.
It takes a real pair of jerks to refuse to get out of the way of a little girl riding her bike on a British trail — then swear and kick her bike after she falls off.
Paris is installing 31 miles of bike lanes in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus on public transit. Meanwhile, a New York writer begs bike-friendly Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo to come be his mayor instead of the current occupant of Gotham’s city hall. Maybe she could come take over for LA’s ostensible climate mayor, instead.
French bike part maker Mavic is struggling under France’s version of bankruptcy.
Germany sees a big jump in ebike sales after the country’s bike shops are allowed to reopen.
Voice of America reports on Rome’s efforts to build more bike lanes to steer residents away from transit during the pandemic.
Italy will pay 70% of the cost of a new bicycle or e-scooter during the coronavirus crisis, up to the equivalent of $540.
The former elections commissioner of the Philippines says it’s time to promote a cycling culture in the country to improve public health during the coronavirus crisis.
Finally…
Evidently, your bike shorts are going to be trendy for awhile.
And it’s scary as hell when I agree with LA’s conservative shock jocks for the first time.
This must be what the Upside Down feels like.
You can go to the beach in #LA, but can’t #bike or park in public lots? People crossing #PCH is more dangerous. Then you can hike and not bike? Pick up only at stores? None of this makes sense. Where’s the science? We want to hear from you. #covid19 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/0VYUzbeOvr
— The John Kobylt Show (@JohnKobyltRadio) May 12, 2020
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
