Bicycle Blog Cyclelicious

The Complete Streets Acts of 2009 Tom Harkin? Nice! Not that I think Harkin was ever Michelle Bachman, but it's great to have the Senator from Iowa making these statements, not just a couple of guys from Oregon. League of Illinois Bicyclists is one of the "others!" LaHood announced as Obama's pick for Transportation Secretary Ian Hibell RIP Stories like this always make me angry and sad. Aging adventurers deserve the right to die of peaceful hypothermia, or of being bought too many free drinks by enraptured fans. Getting smacked down by yet another sleazy pig of a motorist is too gross an insult and too harsh an exit. Bike shops selling more bikes and service Speaking of new bicycle accessories.....I found this great new product for carrying your Ipod while you ride! Check it out at www.theplayersupport.com. It's so much better than my armband in so many ways.... I'm really excited to have discovered this! Criminal complaint against Christopher Long Thanks for the NYT link. Officer Pogan's behavior is unbelievable, disgraceful, disgusting, etc. Where should we send our notices of shame?

Does Mayor Bloomberg know what's going on? I hope officer Pogan goes on to a rewarding, illustrious career as a mall security guard - unarmed, of course. Critical Mass rides are stupid--reflected by a good chunk of their participants. Even so, the behavior by the police officer is unacceptable. What makes it even worse is the lies that resulted in jail time. This policeman should lose his job. I'm not buying that story about the bike swerving into Officer Pogan, but I'm real suspicious about that supposed "sworn statement" because there's no signature on it swearing to anything! Without the officer's signature, it's just a piece of papers with words typed on it. Watch the vid. The cop walked up to him and assaulted him. Bicycle Leadership Conference during Sea Otter Festival Bike by shooting Makes me think of the old Chris Rock (I think) routine about making bullets so expensive that drive-by shootings would be uneconomical, but it's the price of gas doing it. LAPD arrests motorist for assault with deadly weapon moderate injuries? 90 stitches to the face to reattach a nose for the one bloke, and a shoulder bone protruding from his jersey for the other. yeah. moderate. what would it take to label them severe? ...i hope the judge "gets" the intent in this & acts accordingly...

...if this ex-doctor doesn't do time, there is something wrong here...if he'd pulled up alongside & shot but not killed these riders, he'd definitely still be going away...his lawyer is already playing it up & the guy will act contrite when it's needed & ultimately will never pay the price he should be paying for his actions...

...what an amazingly deplorable situation... While this is a very unfortunate situation, I'm glad to see the lethality of vehicles recognized. As a bike commuter I've been intimidated and threaten by a vehicle numerous times~~often by normal everyday looking people. I don't see any difference to this behavior and waving a gun in someone's face for walking too slow, and in this case actually shooting them.

It is extremely absurd that the DA would have to even consider weather to press charges. This is an issue that really needs to be taken more seriously. Unfortunately, it appears that people who have never had to share the road with a "Death Machine" just don't understand how dangerous it can be. eep "Bicyclists who crave a steady uphill climb flock to Mandeville Canyon Road and its 5-mile, straight-shot ascent with no traffic lights.

"But the route's rising popularity has turned the narrow road into a zone of conflict for Brentwood residents and the hundreds of cyclists who, every weekend, brave its twists, turns and tree-root bumps..."

Hmm, nice car-headed reporting in the LA Times. Crazy cyclists who want to ride uphill for fun block traffic for the good people who live there; conflict was inevitable. Blah blah. If you want to keep your blood pressure under control, avoid the comments in the LA Times article. 160 people claiming the cyclists deserved it They sent the road rager guy in Chicago away for 45 years (for murder). Here's hoping this guy does at least 10. I think it's very possible. Interbike stays in Vegas ...las vegas & interbike are like the ultimate complimentary dichotomy...they are both so right & so wrong for each other...

...vegas is not whatsoever, a bike friendly town, but it does support an infrastructure that easily facilitates 'the show'...the airport is right there in the middle of town...it's only about 6 minutes away from the 'sands convention center' by cab...

...vegas is loaded w/ excellent restaurants of all calibers & price ranges to suit everyone from shop rats to industry execs or if you get fussy like me, there is even a whole foods near the 'green valley' turn off...if you don't eat well in vegas, baby, you ain't trying...

...while it's old hat to the regular show goers, 'sin city's' architecture really is kind of amazing & if you have the time for entertainment, there is everything from street performances to 'strip clubs' to the expensively sublime floor-shows...& if you're on cyclings 'A' list you'll have your invitations to the right parties...

...now that they've added both a cyclo-cross race & a crit in town during the evenings, on top off the 'dirt-demo' out in 'bootleg canyon', interbike now involves a fair amount of actual cycling although it's mostly just days of standing around talking about it...

...& top cap it all off...while the bicycle industry is genuinely well stocked w/ good, honest hardworking folks, the bicycles & products these days, seem to have a bit of that "over the top, rah, rah, look at me" las vegas flair...maybe that's the real reason for staying... Collaborative marketing: USA + France Team CSC finds sponsor Bike to budget protest If they decorate the bicycles appropriately, it's a great way to be visible for an extended period of time and distance. (googling "bicycle protest" for images is fun, tho' mostly it's nekkid people.) Silicon Valley Bicycle Safety Town Hall IKEA bicycle Just a note to point out that IKEA is not a "Dutch furniture retailer" as such, any more than it is a "Canadian", "Estonian", "U.S.", "Kuwaiti" or "Singaporean" furniture retailer. Yes, it does have national branches in the Netherlands and all these other countries plus many, many more, but as the source article mentions, it is a Swedish company (hence all the Swedish and occasionally Danish and Norwegian names that identify its products). It was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in Elmtaryd township, Agunnaryd county (whence the initials IKEA) in Sweden and still has its headquarters there.

Perhaps you should say that the bikes are being sold by the Dutch division of the Swedish household items retailer... Thanks Anon -- I'm aware that IKEA started in Sweden, but it's currently headquartered in the Netherlands, apparently because you can run a "non-profit" group there and not publish your books. IKEA is fully owned by a non-profit foundation.

I frequently get things wrong on this blog, but I did happen to look this one up before writing it. Fritz -

On the topic of IKEA and bikes, should you ever end up at the IKEA in East Palo Alto, you can check out a dark corner of the first level of the parking garage, where IKEA has put a bike rack and proudly painted a sign above said bike rack that has a picture of a bike and says "BIKE RACK"

Said bike rack is mounted horizontally along the wall, roughly 6 inches from the wall, rendering it useless for locking up more than one bike, placed along the series of slots instead of wheel through the slots. Hi Murph -- Been there! I know exactly what you mean. Interesting. Can't tell much from the picture in that Bike Europe article though. Do you know where to find a better image? Santa Cruz approves "Bikes In Lane" signs for Mission Street ...i hope this will make a positive difference in the awareness & attitudes of drivers along that stretch...

...thousands upon thousands of touring cyclists, for many years have used that section of roadway & it took the recent deaths of two people before signs that state the law, could be placed to raise awareness... thanks for this post Fritz!

im still confused about this line "the California Vehicle Code for impeding traffic only applies to 2 lane roads, not 4 lane highways"

can i be ticketed for taking the lane on a 2 lane road? I've made a couple of corrections to the article based on some feedback that Mr. Shanteu sent to me in email.

Billy, I'm not a lawyer, but here's the text of CVC 21656 - Turning Out of Slow Moving Vehicles: On a two-lane highway where passing is unsafe because of traffic in the opposite direction or other conditions, a slow-moving vehicle, including a passenger vehicle, behind which five or more vehicles are formed in line, shall turn off the roadway at the nearest place designated as a turnout by signs erected by the authority having jurisdiction over the highway, or wherever sufficient area for a safe turnout exists, in order to permit the vehicles following it to proceed. As used in this section a slow-moving vehicle is one which is proceeding at a rate of speed less than the normal flow of traffic at the particular time and place.

And here's the text of CVC 22400 - Minimum Speed Law: (a) No person shall drive upon a highway at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, unless the reduced speed is necessary for safe operation, because of a grade, or in compliance with law. thanks again fritz.

it is not clear to me how CVC 21656 and 22400 (the ones you mentioned) work together with CVC 21202 which states:

"21202. (a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at a speed less than the normal speed of traffic moving in the same direction at that time shall ride as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:
...
(3) When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions (including, but not limited to...substandard width lanes) ...
For purposes of this section, a "substandard width lane" is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane."


http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc21202.htm Girls and Gear in Portland, Maine Stinks that MegaBus is shutting down their west coast operations (at least the important routes); the concept and their marketing/branding scheme is kooky and one has to wonder how long they would last with such low prices without mass consumption. If the mid-west works for them, stick there for a couple of years until they can slowly migrate west. My kids thought the buses were kewl when we passed them on highway 5. Bicycle news in the Bay Area Trips for Kids conference at IMBA National Summit Bikes Belong Awards $44,200 in Grants for Recreation Projects In the news: Bike shops report strong sales Lets hope it is the start of an ongong trend. Inaugural Tour of America rescheduled for 2009 General Motors buys Specialized Bicycles! B-friggen-S Oh, and for the record: http://www.dashes.com/anil/2008/03/your-april-fools-day-joke-continues-to-suck.html Maybe GM will buy every bike manufacturer and shut them all down, just like they (supposedly) did with the streetcars! GM vehicles must be licensed to be street legal. No doubt GM execs will want equal treatment for all their products.
Jack Nice one man, Happy April Fools' Day! This speaks to the power of the blog. Now to ... not harness it... set something even more creative out of the harnesses... Chicago passes bicycle safety ordinance Effective advocay pays large dividends. Now let's hope that law enforcement is properly trained. My kind of town!
Jack ...i gotta agree w/ jack...hopefully the laws will be applied intelligently & judiciously so as to not foment more cyclist/ motorist negativity...

...that & i'd like to go for a ride & a beer in his town w/ mayor daley... I think I would rather have explosives at my disposal than more laws to be ignored by officers. Kristy Gough, Matt Peterson killed in cycling accident Shit. If you can't trust law enforcement personnel to avoid cyclists, who can you trust? Geez! In law we trust? Please provide the media links, thanks.
Jack Charges? You can bet there'd be some if a distracted dub in a car crossed the centerline and killed a sheriff. There is video of the crash site on www.ktvu.com.
The north bound police car crossed over the center line, then crossed through the south bound lane, then through the south bound bike lane, then crashed in to a hill on the far side of the road. This was a wide road with wide bike lanes on both sides of the road. The cyclists were reportedly riding single file in the south bound bike lane. The video shows broken bike parts scattered in the bike lane and sticking out from under the police car. ...what a horrific, tragic shame...healthy, purposeful folks out enjoying a beautiful spring day by sharing a bike ride...

...the cop allegedly stated at the scene that he had fallen asleep behind the wheel & it would seem to be born out by the fact that his crown vic did, as anon mentioned, go completely across the road, the bike lane & up unto the hillside, on the opposite side from his direction of travel...
...it looked by the photos of the car placement that there was no attempt to correct direction...
...i may be wrong but pure extrapolation says to me that by simply being distracted, the vehicle path would have been different...
...as bad as this is, hopefully electronic records will dispel the idea that he was simply on his phone or in-car computer...somehow that would make this even worse...
...whatever the facts, while they will be of little comfort to the victims family & friends, knowing might help clear the air to some degree...

...at this point, my heart goes out to everyone involved, including the negligent cop...he had to have the presence of mind to try & help the victims, knowing full well he created the situation...
...i know my feelings will change if it's proven he was operating any form of electronic devices at that crucial moment... Anon8:22, thanks for the video link. I've also posted links to the stories in the Chron and Merc News that provide additional details.

Local riders are also talking about an accident on Skyline Blvd this afternoon near Woodside, CA. If you ever want to kill somebody, wait until they are on a bike and run them down. There will be no charges filed against you. You can get off scott free! Cyclists have to start demanding that drivers who injure cyclists are punished. Until other drivers start to hear about drivers getting long sentences, this will continue.

If somebody had crossed 4 lanes of traffic and mowed down a mother with a baby in carriage, you can bet charges would have been filed. These cyclists deserve the same respect. Charges need to be filed whenever vehicle operators lose control of their vehicle and injure others. My bet's on text messaging while driving. I see it all the time. It's a tragedy for everyone involved, though. In regards to the accident on Skyline Blvd, Sunday afternoon. I was one of the first on the scene. It appeared that a car travelling north on Skyline took a left turn into Morse Lane and didn't see four cyclists traveling southbound on Skyline. One of them took a rebound off the hood and windshield of the car and ended up on the road. Road rash to the arm and maybe a factured plevis. I ended up holding his head still in case his neck was factured. Another rider took a concussion and was unconscious for a good 15 minutes or so. Though thankfully the rider regained consciousness and was able to sit up. Another rider appeared to hurt his hip. The rider on the road mentioned that he didn't expect to hit a parked car but no way with the amount of damage to the car. The car had to be travelling or the bicyclists were travelling at a fast clip.
Remember, there's no cell service on stretches of Skyline that complicates getting medical service in time. Luckily a couple motorcyclists came up and I sent them on to Alice's and the CDF station down the road to summon help. Also please don't wear green cycling jerseys like these guys. Its hard to differentiate between a cyclist and the forest when the cyclist is essentially wearing camouflage. Bright green just doesn't stand out as much as international orange. Thanks for that info about Skyline, Anon5:06. I'll need to keep your tip about green jerseys in mind -- I have one and often ride in the Santa Cruz Mountains. If you read this is there a chance you can contact me? There was another serious car vs. bike altercation this past weekend. My teammate was hit and run by a White truck or SUV around 6am. Friday on MacArthur just south of the Laurel district.

Note I said altercation...the driver fled the scene leaving my unconcious teammate lying in the gutter.

One note about the Merc's account...said the driver both applied CPR and called the accident in..neither are true according to eyewitness reports that I've read elsewhere. National Bike Summit 2008 in the news ...fritz...are you getting back east for any of this cycling summit conference ???... Cyclist spontaneously combusts I'll have to suspend my riding to work in my work clothes on dry winter days until they announce the kind of material his pants were made of...and I check the labels on my pants. Jeez. Or he accidentally tossed a cigarette butt into his trouser cuff. Universal Studios: Not In My Back Yard Back in the 50's my dad used to go messing down around in the LA river and sneak into the backlots.

Guess they weren't always so concerned about security! NEed to get a few starlets and celebs in on this thing. I have to agree with Universal on this. After all, you wouldn't want to make it easy for a bike rider to sneak in and get advance pictures of "You, Me and Dupree II". Shimano buys Pearl Izumi Wow this must have passed by without me even noticing. Thanks for the heads up! Let's hope that only good can come from this! Ripon College bike giveaway ...total props to president joyce for the willingness to implement such a program...

...it will be an interesting sociological experiment as well as a bold environmental statement... 9% of Boulder commuters commute by bike Does somebody have a subscription? I'd like to see where Philly is but I don't wanna pay. I can't find the 2006 data for Philly -- perhaps somebody with better Internet sluething skills can find that info from the U.S. Census website? Motorcycles aren't SOVs? Nothing against motorcycles, I'm just trying to figure out why they were considered separately. Is driving a motorcycle significantly different from driving a small car? Is it difficult to find safe motorcycle parking? Et cetera? Team High Road now American Bicycle news ...when i first heard the TofC was adding a women's crit on the first stage finishing circuit, i though 'how intelligent of them to devise that plan'...
...well, it turns out to be the brainchild of "proman cycling' team boss, nicola cranmer, who approached the race organizers & lobbied to make it happen...
...this chick is working hard to make a lot of good things happen in the world of women's cycling...

...click on the 'cycling in marin' link & read the article...also follow the lead to that articles writer & blogger bob cullinan who has a new internet cycling news & info project in the works called 'Cycleto.com'...

...fritz...great idea by svbc to do the parking thing...it only takes one moron to spoil an enthusiast's day on what will be a special time on the hill...you guys are 'kings of the mountain'... Wow, lots of great links here. Thanks Fritz Canada buys Cannondale, Sugoi "Schwinn, GT Bicycle, Mongoose, Pacific, Dyno, Murray, RoadMaster, PowerLite and InSTEP brands of bicycle produts "

Funny how they refer to these as "bicycle products," not bicycles. Like "Pasteurized process cheese food" is to cheese. Sheldon Brown Very sad news. Sheldon was a wealth of cycling knowledge and will be missed by many of us who never had the opportunity to meet him face to face.

I only communicated with him by email a few times, but I agree with your statement Fritz. He was a wonderful, kind, giving soul. ...having never met sheldon, my impression of him was not so much his wonderful knowledge but the fact that he was so giving of it... He will definitely be missed. I never met him, but I corresponded with him on a couple of occasions via e-mail. He was always very helpful and knowledgeable. OMG - didn't know this until I saw your Facebook status. We all mourn his passing at Kryptonite... A thoughtful, dedicated and generous cyclist, he will be greatly missed. He shared his knowledge willingly and offered great resources. He will always be a cycling god IMO. Thanks Sheldon and R.I.P.

Jack I was taken by surprise by how hard hearing about his death hit me. So, I decided to write down the thoughts in my head in a posting on my personal blog.

Is it crazy to mourn the passing of someone you never really knew? If so, I guess I'm crazy; I can't help this horrible feeling of loss. I totally agree with Mr. Ardelli. I didn't know or had meet him but his site was in my bookmarks since I started to bike. Rest in peace, Sheldon. R.I.P Sheldon.

All respect from denmark to the best bike mechanic in the world.

regards I met him at Interbike back in 2006 and he was a great guy to meet.

Heaven has one hell of a mechanic now. Tree hugger, bicyclist, Frenchman, gay guy all in one shot Thats B.S. why didn't she get the minimum!?!?! giving her one year less than the max isn't showing his family the justice he deserves and only gives her remorse. ehhrr I mean

"why didn't she get the maximum" not minimum..... duh. I was too pissed to type correctly. She was a repeat offender too...apparently driving on a suspended license from a previous DUI when she killed him! I would think something like that would raise the maximum... I think they should (when she gets out) take away her drivers license and show her how to ride a bike for the next 10 years. Once she has ridden to the bars for 10 years maybe she would swerve in front of a car (drunk). Then life will sort out the rest (if she survives). At the minimum she would grow to respect what we go through on a daily basis. *shakes head* and how about this for Faux "News"

when writing a headline for an AP news wire article which clearly states that the criminal received "one year shy of the maximum" and was convicted of "negligent homicide and two counts of aggravated DUI" some "editor" comes up with

"Woman Gets Maximum Prison Term After Laughing About Murder Victim's Death"

great "journalism" standards there, for sure - didja read it? I like Bill's idea to force her to cycle upon release.

She certainly should never be allowed to drive again. Amtrak strike would impact Caltrain, other commuter rail services Strike averted! See http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/18/nyregion/18amtrak.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin Thanks for that news, Dan. Bicycle news Why is the featured sporting event at the "Bicycle Leadership Conference" golf? Because not everyone can play bike polo?