Thanks to all the volunteers and the cyclists that stopped by at the Long Beach Cyclists hosted pit-stop. Special thanks to Portfolio Coffeehouse and Noah’s Bagels for their donations, feeding scores of cyclists this morning.
Bike to Work Day 2009
Open Response to Tim Grobaty
Responding to Tim Grobaty’s piece on Bike to Work Day, where in I give him some writing tips to make a sexy cycling story.
Dear Tim,
Well, the offer to give you a personally guided bike ride around the city still stands. An enjoyable bike ride of the “oh look at the birdie” sort probably would make an uninteresting piece. But maybe one where we dispel the myths of how difficult and dangerous it is (see above comments) would be more interesting.
Or perhaps a piece on how cyclists have the the same rights on the road but are treated as 2nd class road users would be more interesting. Or more interesting still, how about the fact that the police in our city aren’t aware that bikes can ride lawfully on the street and ticket cyclists for a right that is clearly spelled out in the California Vehicle Code. Or how they ride on the sidewalk and against traffic violating the CVC, while lawful and educated cyclists get harangued for trying to do a little good.
Or perhaps you could frame the piece in such a way that it points out the fact that the plight of the urban cyclist is a transporation civil rights issue (+1 for historical references), where a group of people going about their lawful business are constantly harassed, illegally ticketed and besmirched in the media.
That wouldn’t be SO boring and closer to the mark, no? So let’s take Orangey for a ride.
Russ
“We” try to ride a bike again
Tim Grobaty is at it again. This mornings’ paper features an editorial on biking.
We don’t hate bikes, we don’t mind bike-riding, it’s just that we’re not a big fan of going to work in the first place and we feel there’s no sense in throwing additional hurdles between our home and the workplace. Plus, while it’s nice to dawdle en route to the plant, we’re generally in a big, 65-mph hurry to get home.
Continues Roca: “I and some people from the bicycle advocacy group I am a part of would love to ride your commute with you and perhaps show you some tips and techniques to make it more enjoyable.”
Thanks, Russ, but an enjoyable bike ride makes for a lousy column.
To read more: Press-Telegram
Traffic Skills 101
Please sign up for traffic skills 101. Classes are held monthly. We often hold the classroom portion in the evening at the Pyramid Annex at the CSULB campus (right next door to the pyramid and parking structure), and a later day for the riding portion of the program. Contact us for details about upcoming Traffic Skills 101 dates.
Bike Counts May 2009 at CSULB
We will be conducting Bike counts on the CSULB campus on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009. We need counters for two hour window- 7:00am – 9:00am, 9:00am- 11:00am, and 4:00pm- 6:00pm.
All volunteers will be entered to win a $50 cafe piccolo gift certificate. www.cafepiccolo.com
Cafe Piccolo is owned and run by an avid cyclist and alumni.
First 18 people that volunteer get a $10 in beach bucks!!
Please contact Allyson Clark at allysonc42@yahoo.ca – 562-682-3895
Photos of what a Lawful cyclist looks like…
LBCyclists, May 8th 2009 |
Have you been unlawfully cited? Email us!
Let me begin by saying that there are legitimate reasons for getting tickets on a bike. If you blow through a red light, if you’re riding the wrong way in traffic, if you’re on the sidewalk, if you’re under 18 and you’re not wearing a helmet. Those are ticketable offenses.
If, however, you were given a ticket or had some interaction with a police officer for doing nothing other than LAWFUL bicycling, we want to know! We want to build a case for why the police must be included in making Long Beach bike friendly and we need your stories. Please provide as many details as you can such as intersections, citation numbers and badge numbers. Email us.
A bike friendly city is one where your most basic and fundamental right to ride in travel lanes that serve your destination are understood and respected. What good are thousands of miles of bike lanes if the second you leave a bike lane you feel like open prey or that you’re going to be cited for doing nothing than exercising your right to ride in the street?
Bike the power! Email us.
Spotted in Long Beach…
Pedersen bicycles are rare enough, but to find one ironically juxtaposed with another truss design is just too good to pass up!
See more at: http://www.pedersenbicycles.com/index.htm
Smells Like a Bike Lane… (May 2009)
This morning on my way to work I noticed some funny markings along 2nd Street from Junipero (say: “who-knee-pair-oh”) to Alamitos, and the same markings were discovered on First St. on my way home.
It looks like a bike lane, but more than 80% of the space would have a cyclist riding in the door zone. Clearly the City wouldn’t do anything like that – not being as Bike-Friendly as it is; so I decided that the dashed lines all the way down the street were actually the markings for a gas line or water pipe. Though it would be nice to imagine that this was the markings for the center of a series of sharrows, because it IS in a pretty darn safe spot.
Let’s take a look…
See that funny little symbol in the middle? The one that looks like a bicycle?
Could this be a bike lane that encourages cyclists to ride in the door zone? Nah.
It’s probably just the markings of a sewer pipe. Right?
That little spray paint marking that says “STOP”, just before the intersection limit-line must be where the gas line stops. I know the City wouldn’t allow a bike lane to be this much in the door zone.
Open Letter to Chief Batts
I received an email from Chief Batts to call the office and describe the incident. After doing so, I wrote this email to the Chief:
Dear Chief Batts,
I called and spoke with a Sergeant regarding the citation and he is looking into it. With regards to your incident, I don’t think that is the same “gentleman” we’re talking about. This incident occurred on Anaheim as he was commuting to work. He is also a trained cycling safety instructor.
What I hope to come from all this is the start of a dialogue between the bicycle community and the police. I know that there are many lawless cyclists out there and they SHOULD be ticketed. Cyclists riding the wrong way. Cyclists blowing through red lights. Cyclists on the sidewalk. Cyclists under 18 riding with no brakes and a helmet. They should be ticketed. I think we have so many with an utter disregard of the law because there is NOT ENOUGH enforcement.
That said, the police should also be sensitized to identify what is lawful and safe riding. Riding as far to the right as you can is NOT safe. Riding closer to the middle of the lane IS safe, it increases visibility, lets the rider avoid the door zone, etc., The phrasing in 21202 allows for this, cyclists only have to ride to the right as long as it is “practicable” (a big difference from “possible”). “Practicable” allows us to claim the lane when we deem it unsafe to ride to the right. Many cities make this point clear with signs that say “BIcyclists allowed full use of the lane.”
I believe that the police is one of the most important keys to making Long Beach bicycle friendly. Without proper enforcement we will just see a rise in unlawful cyclists and more hostile interactions between motorists and cyclists that will escalate into violence (there are many incidents of this happening in Los Angeles right now). That is why it is paramount that officers on your force that work in areas with a high concentration of cyclists (downtown, Belmont Shore, CSULB) should receive training to differentiate when a cyclist is lawfully riding in the street (claiming the middle of the lane when need be) and when they are putting themselves and others in danger. Further, I would also like to see the bicycle mounted police follow the CVC. It is very difficult for me to defend my rights to a motorist who is yelling at me to “get on the sidewalk” or “you don’t belong here”, when the bicycle mounted police can often be seen riding on the sidewalk, against traffic or in the door zone.
If you are willing, the bicycle advocacy group I work with, The Long Beach Cyclists, has trained bicycle safety educators from the League of American Bicyclists. We would very much like to set up a program with the police department to slowly train the force with issues regards to bicycles in traffic. The League offers a curriculum specially tailored to law enforcement. I think this would more quickly and efficiently make Long Beach more bicycle friendly than any thing else we can do.
Thank you once again for responding to me personally. I hope you will seriously consider bicycle training for some of your force.
Sincerely,
Russ Roca
