So, Saturday was the 19th anniversary of this site. It seems like something I should be celebrating, if I wasn’t so damned tired.
I had no idea what this was going to become when I started, and not sure I would have started it if I did. I just know I was pissed off about the state of bicycling in Los Angeles at the time, and surprised to learn there were others out there just as pissed off as me.
A lot has changed since then, not all of it for the better. But one huge improvement is the number of people who give a damn about our God-given right to ride a bike and get back home in one piece.
I used to say I was just a voice calling in the wilderness. And I still do. But now there a hundreds more voices calling for change, and thousands more listening.
I was hoping to have a new merchandise site up and running today, but I’m still busy trying to figure out how everything works, and learning product design on the fly. Sort of like building the bicycle while I’m riding it, except both wheels are flat and the chain is broken.
But other than that, it’s going great.
I’m still making changes, tweaking designs as I get a better idea what works and what doesn’t, and adding new ones as I get them done.
So take a look when you get a chance, and let me know what you think. I’d appreciate any constructive criticism to keep me going in the right direction — what you like, what you don’t, what you’d like to see and what I could do better.
And since I’m still working out the bugs, I’m extending my introductory sale for another week, with 20% off the regular price through July 4th. So if there’s anything you like, now’s the time to grab it.
Now let’s get back to work, because the next year isn’t going to write itself.
Dammit.
……….
A suspect is under arrest and likely facing charges after allegedly shooting two men with a BB gun near Saturday’s World Naked Bike Ride in DTLA.
The victims may have been among the hundreds taking part in the 19th annual Los Angeles edition of the Naked Bike Ride, though that hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Police responded to reports of the shooting around 11 am near the intersection of Temple Street and North Alameda Street, about an hour after the ride started, after a man dressed entirely in black had rolled up on a scooter and opened fire.
It’s also not clear if the men were targeted or shot at random, or who else may have been in the vicinity. Fortunately, they weren’t seriously injured, and were treated at the scene for lacerations.
Video showed a bald man in black being taken into custody after being located by police. KNBC-4 identified him as Edward Sherpa, and said he was wandering around under the influence.
Meanwhile, the New York Post excitedly focused on the suspect’s facial tattoos, while calling him a “madman.”
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A New York driver chased a bicyclist down a parking protected bike lane, before getting out and trying to take the victim’s bike, all because the guy gave the driver’s car “a little tap” after the driver almost hit him while trying to make a right turn. Seriously, as many of us have learned the hard way, some people lose their shit if you so much as touch their precious cars, no matter how close they just came to killing you.
Crazy dude chasing me in the bike lane
byu/FollowingNo3327 inNYCbike
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A British dog walker and bicyclist makes the case for the use of bike bells around such furry four-footed critters, after getting into a heated argument with a bike rider who became angry when a dog darted into his path, despite failing to give any notice of his presence. The bike rider, that is, not the dog. And as I’ve said many times before, I find a voice more effective than a bike bell, if only because it allows you to ask someone to rein their dog in so you can pass safely.
………
Local
Streetsblog’s Joe Linton examines new peak hour bus lanes on Florence Ave and on Alvarado Street, which can also be used by bike riders.
South Pasadena approved plans for a two-way protected bike lane on Fremont Ave, which will require removing parking on one side of the street and replacing 89 trees, at a cost of $23 million; the plan also calls for roundabouts where the street intersects with Hope and Oxley Streets.
State
Sad news from Fremont, where a man riding an ebike in a bike lane was killed by a driver attempting to enter a freeway onramp, at a typical conflict zone where bike riders are expected to cross the paths of oncoming drivers entering the freeway, the apparent victim of bad road design; however, SFist reports the bicyclist was riding salmon in the bike lane, heading against traffic, when he was struck.
More sad news, this time from San Joaquin County, where a person towing a shopping cart with a bicycle was killed by a hit-and-run driver, along with their two dogs; the three victims had been dead at least four to 12 hours before their bodies were discovered by police. No word on whether they might have survived if the driver had simply stopped and called 911 like any normal human being with a conscience.
National
BGR list five Apple Watch functions bicyclists will use every day. I got mine for the fall detection feature, which will automatically call 911 and notify my wife if it detects a hard fall — or the corgi tugs too hard on her leash — unless I cancel it with 30 seconds. But hopefully not every day.
Police in Eugene, Oregon arrested a 25-year old “prolific car thief” after he severely injured a 40-year old woman riding a bicycle, then abandoned the stolen truck and tried to flee on a bicycle himself.
There’s a special place in hell for whoever stole a custom adaptive tricycle belonging to a 23-year old autistic Vancouver, Washington woman, who relies on it to get around since she can’t drive. A crowdfunding page has raised just more than the modest four grand goal.
Nope, no bias here. The New York Post calls out the mayor’s “insane” decision to end criminal enforcement against ebike riders, demanding “How many New Yorkers have to get killed or seriously injured by rampaging e-bike riders before the political class stops protecting them?” Even though under the same circumstances, drivers would only get a traffic ticket, rather than a summons for criminal court, despite posing far more risk to others than people on ebikes; all Mamdani did was level the playing field.
No bias here, either. The NY Post says the cops are looking for a “cycling psycho” on a “dinky” little “bike bike,” who whacked a 73-year old man with a metal pipe following an argument. Even though his “bike bike” looks a lot more like a mo-ped or e-moto. And who the hell carries a metal pipe on their bike, anyway?
Virginia opened a new 2.5-mile paved shared use trail as part of a new $660 million freeway express lane extension project. Although something tells me the shared use path amounted to little more than a rounding error in the freeway budget.
Critical Mass riders in New Orleans turned out to honor a 47-year old restaurant worker who was killed while riding his bicycle earlier this month.
President Trump’s granddaughter says that returning to golf after major surgery was “just like riding a bike,” even though she failed to make the cut in a Florida tournament. Actually, the only thing that’s just like riding a bike is riding a bike. And it sounds more like she fell off it, anyway.
A Florida woman is planning a century ride on July 4th to honor her late daughter on the seventh anniversary of her suicide, while raising funds for a faith’s program to support youth in need.
A Florida man riding a bicycle was killed when he was hit head-on by a man on a motor scooter, who suffered critical injuries; police note that neither victim was wearing a helmet, though they didn’t say if either suffered a head injury.
That’s more like it. A 25-year old Florida woman was sentenced to 29 years behind bars and had her license permanently revoked for the hit-and-run death of a 67-year old man riding a bicycle; she was driving 80 mph in a 40 mph zone, with a BAC over four times the legal limit, when she slammed into the victim from behind
International
Momentum highlights six “amazing” Dutch-style bicycles.
A Calgary, Alberta op-ed writer says the city knows how to make things safer for bike riders, but is focusing on the wrong things — like a bike safety post from the cops that doesn’t even mention drivers, let alone bad street design.
Toronto cops handed out 9,500 tickets to bike riders last year, although a quarter of those were to bikeshare users for not wearing a helmet. Apparently, everyone is expected to always carry a bike helmet with them 24/7 on the off chance they might decide to use a bikeshare.
Ultra-endurance cyclist Dr. Sarah Ruggins now holds three world records, including fastest south-north crossing of Europe, and the greatest distance ridden by a woman in a single week, despite not being able to ride a bicycle until three years ago, after spending 10 years recovering from a rare autoimmune condition.
The recent Eurobike trade show demonstrated that the bike industry is doubling down on smart bikes and AI, building into bikes the same sort of tech now found in cars. So soon, you, too can play video games when you should be watching the road. And no matter how smart bikes get, it’s not likely to make up entirely for stupid drivers.
An op-ed from German biking magazine Tour says it’s not cool to copy pro cyclists when you ride on public roads, unless maybe you actually are one, arguing that you’re not in a race, so don’t act like it.
Ukraine’s Supreme Court rules that bike riding victims can lose some of their legal settlement if they were under the influence at the time of the crash.
Competitive Cycling
The official Olympics website lists the full team rosters of everyone taking part in this year’s Tour de France, which begins on Saturday.
Finally…
Nothing like standing in line for Metallica when a few hundred mostly naked people roll by on bicycles. That feeling when a search for bike news from the last 24 hours somehow turns up a story about Andy Schleck — from 14 years ago.
And even an expert in conflict resolution and deescalation can give in to that sudden urge to flip off a reckless driver.
………
Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin.