(AP Photo)
Here’s the news that caught my eye this past week…
– California Governor Jerry Brown has has vetoed a safe passing bill on grounds that the stipulation of passing bikes at 15 mph would cause backups and safety problems. Advocates are upset and confused. (*Note: I made a mistake in my critique of Gov. Brown’s reasoning that has since been edited out. I regret the error. — JM)
– In a last-ditch attempt to foster civility on their roads, authorities in Caracas, Venenzuela have deployed mimes to calm traffic.
– As Portland gears up for a bike sharing program, some cities with existing systems, like Chicago, are looking to expand bike sharing while other cities, like Duluth, MN, start thinking about installing bike share systems of their own.
– Bike shops are doing well, and not just in Portland. The Kingwood Observer highlighted a Houston-area shop, Sprockets Bicycles and More, which has been so successful that the shop owners regularly donate bike repair services to their local fire fighters.
– One province in the Philippines is attempting to promote bicycling by giving commuters who travel to work by bike a 30 minute grace period before they have to be at their desks.
– The University of Connecticut is now allowing students to check out bicycles from the library, just like they do books.
– Chicago has passed a law extending their texting and cell phone ban to people operating bicycles.
– The Times of India reported on a constable who caught two other police officers drinking on the job after the offending officers failed to notice him passing by on his bicycle.
– A tragic story out of New York of a 22-year-old man who died after being struck by two cars traveling in opposite directions while riding his bicycle.
– The New York Times discusses the cover of the 2012 Cinelli product catalog which ironically highlights the supposed “war between cyclists and motorists.”
– Speaking of “war,” when a BBC headline reads, “Are bicycles and cars in a war for American streets?” you know it’ll get some attention (the article features a few quotes from PBOT’s Mark Lear).
– Atypical parkinsonism, a disorder with symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease but with different recommended treatment, is being diagnosed using patients’ ability to ride a bicycle.
– A 17-year-old young man in Des Moines is making headlines by beating older, more seasoned competitors after his mother encouraged him to take up cycling in his early teens.
– In Surrey, BC a judge found the use of a person’s thumb to be worth $116,060.91 after the thumb was broken in a car-bicycle collision where the person on the bicycle was found to be exactly 15% liable for the incident.
– Dave Weber rode his bicycle nearly 1100 miles in September and an 18-year-old from Whitchurch rode 2,000 miles in two weeks to raise money for his town’s youth center.
– Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Douglass Adams is completing the last 221-mile leg of an 18,000-mile, 365-day bike ride to honor our military and their families.
– Police in the UK are looking for witnesses to an assault of a man on a bicycle who wasn’t struck by a car, but instead was allegedly pushed by a passenger leaning out a car window.
– Occupy Wall Street protesters peacefully demonstrated at Los Angeles’ “biggest block party,” CicLAvia, LA’s car-free equivalent of Portland’s Sunday Parkways.
– The city of Austin, TX was inundated with bicycle messengers attending the North American Cycle Courier Championships.
– In case anyone doubted the legitimacy of riding a bike in high heels, here are instructions on how to build your own cycling heels.
– And finally, how could we resist a blog post for men about how to wear skirts while biking, complete with fantastic illustrations.
Did you find something interesting that should be in next week’s Monday Roundup? Drop us a line.