Today's "daily outrage" comes from Australia, where several cyclists in a pack of 50 slammed into the back of a car after the driver passed the group then stopped abruptly.
The hit-and-run driver later called a talk show to give his version.
Among those in the bunch cycling in Sydney were Olympic cyclists Ben Kersten, Michelle Ferris, Matthew White, Kevin Nichols and daughter Kate Nichols, who was injured in the 2005 car vs. bicycle crash in Germany that claimed the life of Amy Gillett and injured other members of the Australian cycling team ... more»
Two outstanding communities for bicycling on the Olympic Peninsula -- Bainbridge Island and Port Townsend -- have been named among the 11 new Bicycle Friendly communities by the League of American Bicyclists.
The others are Colorado Springs and Durango, Colorado, and Minneapolis, Minnesota (all silver level), and Arcata, California, Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlottesville, Virginia, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Oxford, Mississippi, and Sitka, Alaska (bronze).
Seattle cyclists are familiar with Bainbridge Island for hosting February's Chilly Hilly bike ride, above, when more than 4,000 bicycle riders take the ferry and jam up a 33-mile loop around the island.
Port Townsend, also a ferry stop on the Olympic Peninsula, is a destination for bike touring enthusiasts who enjoy stress-free rural roads. ... more»
If you're a bicycle commuter, or would like to be, May is certainly your month.
Communities across the US are sponsoring bike-to-work activities in May to urge people out of their cars and onto their bikes. In many places that support evaporates quickly, but by then it's hoped that commuters have been inspired to ride their bikes regularly.
Many month-long bike commuter contests begin today. Other dates to remember are National Bike Week from May 12 - 16, and Bike to Work Day on May 16 (other dates in some locales). Check the League of American Bicyclists Bike Month Events page for local listings.
The Cascade Bicycle Club is rallying support to preserve a future abandoned rail bed as a main link for off-road bicycle travel through Renton, Newcastle, Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland.
In a scheme that gets more complicated as time goes on, the Port of Seattle plans to buy the 42-mile Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad right-of-way for future use as a commuter corridor with rail and a hike-bike trail. The devil is in the details, though, as the Port wants the rail line to have priority over the trail, while King County wants the uses "coequal."
Cascade warns that the Port's position leaves the possibility of a trail in doubt.
"However, the Port of Seattle and the King County Council’s latest plan would give the Port of Seattle veto authority over a future trail, and subordinates trail construction to any “transportation use” – which does not include bicycle commuters on a trail." ... more»
Portland has become the first large US city to achieve the Platinum-level as a Bicycle Friendly Community, following only Davis, California, with the designation. The announcement was made Tuesday by the League of American Bicyclists.
Congratulations go to a wide group of activists, politicians, bureaucrats and even the local bike blogger who kept their eyes on the prize in recent years and helped push bicycling into the mainstream of the city's transportation and culture.
Let's hope it gives bicycling enthusiasts elsewhere the incentive to do the work to get their cities added to the list of Bicycle Friendly Cities that currently stands at 72 ... more»
That bike-sharing rental program called SmartBike DC is set to start next month in the nation's capital with 120 bicycles available at 10 spots around the city.
Operated by the Clear Channel outdoor advertising company, it's the first such project in the US and will be similar to other advertising-based bike rental programs in Paris, Lyon, Rennes and Barcelona, Spain. London is expected to get on board by 2010.
San Francisco will host a SmartBike program in the future, and Clear Channel is negotiating in Chicago and Portland ... more»
This is a hit-and-run driver story with a happy ending; at least the bicyclist victim is alive to talk about it.
I wrote about this case back in February, shortly after a motorist hit the Fircrest, Washington, bicyclist, dragged her and her bicycle to the side of the road, then drove off and disappeared into the morning twilight.
Here's a video report from Japan about an automated bicycle parking garage in Tokyo that can hold 9,400 bicycles.
The facility is located at the Kasai metro station and aims to solve the problem of finding a location to park a lot of bicycles in a small area.
The video isn't translated, but it appears that after you swipe a card, your bicycle is automatically whisked away and stored. When you return, swipe your card again, and the robot retrieves your bike and delivers it in 22 seconds ... more»
Ten novice bicycle commuters will earn up to $200 a month in reimbursements and incentives this summer simply by riding their bikes to work.
In addition, the 10 bike riders get $100 for a helmet, a lock and a tune-up at their local bike shop, and a free two-day League of American Bicyclist Road 1 training session.
In return, all the cyclists have to do is agree to ride their bikes from, through or to eastern or central Contra Costa County at least twice a week to get to their jobs from June through September.
This brilliant project to demonstrate the benefits of bicycle commuting is the work of 511 Contra Costa... more»
A University of North Carolina - Greensboro professor and bicycle advocate faces at least six weeks off the bike after he was struck by a text-messaging motorist.
Mark Schulz is lucky. He could be dead. The motorist struck him at about 35 mph, knocking him to the ground. He suffered a concussion, shattered kneecap, crushed vertebrae, broken ribs and a broken sternum.
Police said Schulz was doing everything right when he was hit at 10 p.m. on March 26; he wore a reflective vest, helmet, and front and rear lights. That doesn't help if the driver isn't looking ... more»
This is an amusing -- and frightening -- segment from the Judge Judy Show a couple of years ago in which she rules in favor of the cyclist, Kevin Gilmore, who was injured when a dog ran into his path.
It's amusing because the dog's owners are so clueless about who's responsible for the injury, and frightening because their argument -- that the cyclist caused the accident by riding down the highway instead of using one of the state's hundreds of miles of bike paths -- is probably a common perception among a lot of people... more»
The League of American Bicyclists calls our attention to an op-ed piece in the San Francisco Chronicle that was published in reaction to media coverage of the tragic deaths of Matt Peterson and Kristy Gough in Cupertino earlier this month.
Leah Shahum, executive director of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, writes that there's a "looming prejudice" against those who ride bikes.
There have been media reports about which streets are "most dangerous" for bicycles, the frequency that bicycles are considered at fault by police and reports of cyclists not following the rules of the road.
"The Cupertino tragedy has been portrayed as a "bicycle safety" story, instead of what it really is, a story about the risks of dangerous driving. ...
"Yet, the public dialogue has not focused on which streets are most dangerous for driving, bad behavior by drivers, or the fact that 40,000 people a year are killed in motor vehicle collisions in our nation. ... more»
The city of Tempe is launching an experiment to paint bike lanes red at intersections to caution motorists to look out for bicycles.
Portland has chosen the color green and will be repainting all of its blue bike lanes to the new color on the maintenance schedule. Seattle plans to paint bike lanes at four intersections green this spring as an experiment to see if that will prevent right hook collisions.
Meanwhile, Portland has begun installing green bike boxes at 14 intersections to intensify its efforts to prevent right hook collisions ... more»
The San Jose Mercury News published a map showing the location of bicycle fatalities in Santa Clara County over the past 10 years. It's a sobering document. There are more than 40 markers pinpointing the location of cyclists' deaths.
What I found interesting from a broader perspective was that not once did the reporter, Leslie Griffy, refer to "accidents" in the story. In each and every instance, she refered to "crashes." Good job.
Using the word "accident" to refer to a car-bike collision or crash is so common in newspaper stories that it's glaring in its absence ... more»
The South Dakota Bicycle Coalition is the newest organization in the U.S. aimed at improving the lives of the bicycling public.
About 30 cyclists from across the state met earlier this month to create a group that will focus on making bicycling safer in South Dakota, improve road conditions for bicycle riders and help people overcome obstacles to cycling.
First order of business: sending a letter to encourage the South Dakota Department of Transportation Railroad Board to save a railroad bridge over the Cheyenne River for railbanking. Eventually it could be used in a rails-to-trails project. ... more»
Some 1,000 bicycle riders joined the long procession on Saturday through Los Altos and Cupertino to the site where cyclists Matt Peterson and Kristy Gough were killed last Sunday.
Many are seen here at the memorial site on Stevens Canyon Road near where a Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputy swerved over the double-yellow line and struck Peterson and Gough head-on.
Although there's usually lots of joking and joshing when this many cyclists get together, news media reported a somber mood when the cyclists gathered at Foothill College for the 9-mile ride up to the memorial.
Photos of Gough and Peterson celebrating on podiums at recent bike races were placed at the memorial, and many cyclists left flowers, spare tubes and other mementos. Kristy's mother, Karen Sue Clarkson, rode one of her daughter's bicycles to the site ... more»
Kristy Gough and Matt Peterson will be remembered by friends, family and fellow cyclists during a memorial bike ride through Stevens Creek Canyon in Cupertino on Saturday.
The bike ride has been organized jointly by their two teams, Team Roaring Mouse Cycles (Peterson) and Third Pillar Racing Team (Gough). Riders will meet at Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos, at 2:30 for a 3 p.m. departure. They'll visit the crash site to share memories about the two before returning.
Meanwhile, a memorial service is scheduled for Matt Peterson at 7 p.m. at the Sports Basement, 1590 Bryant Street, San Francisco. As with the bike ride, everyone is invited.
Friends and teammates of fallen cyclists Matt Peterson and Kristy Gough are planning services and bicycle rides in their memories. A ride for Kristy is being put together for the Napa Valley and a memorial service is in the planning stages for Matt later this week in the San Francisco Bay area.
You can visit a new website, Remembering Matt, to find details on the service and leave a comment about him.
After reading and writing about the senseless tragedy that took Matt and Kristy, I headed out on a ride to remind myself that cycling is supposed to be fun. I had just oiled up the bike and rode harder than I usually do. The exertion helped blow off the anger and frustration that I felt about the situation for cyclists using our roads ... more»
Two cyclists were struck and killed by a Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputy whose vehicle crossed a double-yellow line on Sunday.
Dead are Kristy Gough, 31, of Oakland, and Matt Peterson, 30, of San Francisco. The highly ranked amateur cyclists (Gough was a pro triathlete as well) were in a group of at least four that were riding on Stevens Pass Road, a popular road for cyclists.
Sometimes the good guys -- that would be bicyclists -- prevail.
After advocates mounted a bike protest ride and conducted a traffic count, the Seattle transportation department is agreeing to replace sharrows on Stone Way North with bike lanes.
Merchants along the road that heads north from the Burke Gilman Trail insisted last summer that four lanes were needed on Stone Way because of truck traffic. The city installed sharrows on the uphill portion instead of bike lanes, an action which bike advocates said created a dangerous situation ... more»
Bicycles. Cars. Hit-and-runs. Probated sentences. The beat goes on.
A Texas woman convicted of striking a bicyclist and not stopping to help was sentenced to five years probation and a six-month probated jail sentence. The cyclist died five months later.
The Lubbock jurors deliberated two hours before coming up with this ridiculous sentence. It means the hit-and-run driver won't serve any jail time as long as she abides by the terms of her probation for five years.
In his closing arguments, the prosecutor asked for the five-year maximum sentence:
"Why would you consider probation for someone that didn't even give Brett the consideration some people would give a dog."more»
Not to belabor the issue of laws that require motorists to give bicycle riders 3 feet when passing, but there's always the question of enforcement once the law is passed.
Here's a story passed along to me from Utah about a cyclist who took matters into his own hands after a passenger in a close-passing pickup swiped him with his hand.
Startled, Jason Bultman still had the presence of mind to copy down the license plate. Police followed up and the Salt Lake City prosecutor's office filed charges in February, making the first prosecution of the 3-foot passing law enacted two years earlier.
If successful, it might empower many other harassed bicyclists to file reports with police. ... more»
Laws that require motorists to give bicycle riders 3 feet of space when passing always sound like a good idea to me. It allows manuevering room for cyclists and reduces the air turbulence caused by passing vehicles.
As bicycle advocates work to get these laws passed state by state, I've noticed there's some confusion about which states already have these laws on the books. So I did a little research.
I found that 10 state legislatures have passed 3-foot laws. They are Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. Two others -- Kentucky and Washington -- recommend 3 feet in driver's manuals.
Meanwhile, six states have 3-foot laws in state legislatures this year. They are Hawaii, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington. Here's the breakdown with links ... more»
Bicycling fatalities accounted for 773 deaths in 2006, a number that's too high despite being 01.6% lower than the previous year.
Accidents leading to bicycling deaths occurred more often in urban areas, at non-intersection locations, between 5 and 9 p.m. during the summer months. Nearly one-fourth of the bike riders had blood-alcohol content of .08%, which would qualify them for DUI if they were behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.
These are just some of the findings in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report for bicycle deaths and injuries for the year 2006, the latest data available.
Bike riders killed on the road are remembered by the annual Ride of Silence, (May 21, 2008), and by the white Ghost Cycles located at the scene of the tragedy. ... more»
Why should motorists drive responsibly when the criminal justice system often shows such a lack of concern for the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists? Take the case of Ephraim Schwartz that was adjudicated on Thursday by Seattle Municipal Court Judge George Holifield.
Schwartz admitted to talking on his cellphone when he struck and killed a pedestrian in a crosswalk in November 2006. There were no skid marks at the scene. He didn't even see Tatsuo Nakata.
This happened 1-1/2 years after Schwartz drove across the centerline, hit bicyclist Ilsa Govan, and received a ticket for driving on the wrong side of the road. There's also a traffic-signal violation in the period. In court on Thursday, Govan said:
"I just wish there was something that could have been done after he hit me." ... more»
Communities across the US are sponsoring bike-to-work activities in May to urge people out of their cars and onto their bikes. In many places that support evaporates quickly, but by then it's hoped that commuters have been inspired to ride their bikes regularly.
The Cascade Bicycle Club is rallying support to preserve a future abandoned rail bed as a main link for off-road bicycle travel through Renton, Newcastle, Bellevue, Redmond and Kirkland.
Portland has become the first large US city to achieve the Platinum-level as a Bicycle Friendly Community, following only Davis, California, with the designation. The announcement was made Tuesday by the League of American Bicyclists.
That bike-sharing rental program called SmartBike DC is set to start next month in the nation's capital with 120 bicycles available at 10 spots around the city.
The League of American Bicyclists calls our attention to an op-ed piece in the San Francisco Chronicle that was published in reaction to media coverage of the tragic deaths of Matt Peterson and Kristy Gough in Cupertino earlier this month.
Two cyclists were struck and killed by a Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputy whose vehicle crossed a double-yellow line on Sunday.
Sometimes the good guys -- that would be bicyclists -- prevail.
Not to belabor the issue of laws that require motorists to give bicycle riders 3 feet when passing, but there's always the question of enforcement once the law is passed.
Bicycling fatalities accounted for 773 deaths in 2006, a number that's too high despite being 01.6% lower than the previous year.
