Bike Girl Conquers Fear

Fear is one of the primary things that keeps people off their bikes. Bike Girl was terrified to get on a bicycle on the streets in Los Angeles before she made the conversion. But cyclists saddle up every day knowing that they have a right to the streets.

What happens when the people who are supposed to be protecting that right decide simply not to? This happens.

Well in response, this happened. Cyclists stormed the Bastille to force the politicians and the police to answer to the mistreatment of cyclists in the city.

Bike Girl is joining other members of the Bike Writers' Collective in condemning the treatment of cyclists by the LAPD and members of the L.A. City Council.

Until the people who are supposed to be protecting cyclists' rights step up, Bike Girl suggests readers learn the vehicle code in their area.

This pamphlet and this post helped Bike Girl learn the rules of the road, and how to bike defensively.

This is where the rules are for riding a bike in California.

This is the Cyclists' Bill of Rights, endorsed by the L.A. City Council.

Bike Girl Gets Stood Up

Councilman LaBonge is the one in the tie. Image from Metro

Bike Girl loves bike commuting. But she does not love that the only route between the Universal City/Burbank/Toluca Lake area and Hollywood is via the Cahuenga Pass. At night, the only other road over the mountain that goes through Griffith Park is closed. During the Griffith Park Light Festival, that road is completely closed to cyclists. Metro service stops around 1 a.m. This leaves the Pass as the only option.

Bike Girl has blogged several times about the dangers of this particular road. It's poorly paved, cars routinely exceed the speed limit as they use it as an alternative to the adjacent 101 freeway, and now, Bike Girl counts 34 dead streetlights, creating a black abyss between Barham and the Hollywood Bowl.

Ever the optimist, Bike Girl invited her city councilman to join her on a ride over this pass to see the urgent need for repair of the existing infrastructure. Her councilman, Tom LaBonge, even responded to her request saying he'd be down. He said she only had to name the date.
Bike Girl excitedly named a date, but received no further response from Councilman LaBonge. Just in case, she stood, bicycle leaning against her hip, at the appointed place at the appointed time. But Councilman LaBonge has effectively stood her up.

Thinking her email may have just been buried in his inbox, Bike Girl followed up. But alas, she has received no further correspondence from her councilman.

This was very discouraging to Bike Girl. She truly believed that on some level, Councilman LaBonge really did care about cycling issues. She understands if he feels too unsafe to travel that road. Bike Girl herself is intimidated by it. But since he said he would ride, she feels lied to.

While it should be no surprise to Bike Girl that politicians make promises they do not keep, she genuinely thought in this case, with this supposedly bike-friendly councilman, she could get through. Councilman LaBonge has routinely positioned himself as the Bicycle Councilman. He has even thrown rides with LAPD escorts through his district and purchased ice cream for all who attended.

Councilman LaBonge, if you read this, please note that the invitation is still open. If you still don't want to ride, please at least push repairs and speed enforcement on this stretch of road higher on the priority list. The safety of cyclists in your district depends on it.

Readers, please call and report the street light outages on the stretch of Southbound Cahuenga Boulevard between Barham and the Hollywood Bowl by calling 3-1-1 in the city of L.A., or 1-866-4LACITY outside city limits.

The articles of the Cyclists Bill of Rights that apply to this stretch of road are numbers 1, 5, and 7.

Bike Girl Preferred The Pot Hole

Bike Girl got all dolled up over the weekend for a top secret rendezvous in Echo Park. She hopped on her extremely classy step-through and headed east. It should've been a simple commute.

But someone, or something, seemed determined to have Bike Girl killed.

That someone, Bike Girl suspects, is a lazy city employee. Likely one of Mayor Villaraigosa's pot hole repair special forces. Under the guise of making the roads safer, this mystery assailant appears to have turned an "innie" pothole, into an "outie."

Planted squarely in the Bike Lane on the eastbound side of Sunset Boulevard, is an asphalt mountain. This bump is about a foot and a half tall at it's peak, and takes up 7/8ths of the bike lane just before the Tropical Cafe.

Bike Girl only noticed the bump at the last minute. Had she seen it moments later, or reacted with any less than her typical cat-like reflexes, she may have suffered extreme injury...or worse.

In fact, shortly after Bike Girl discovered the bump, she heard that a Wolfpack rider fell victim to that same bump Monday night. Word on the streets is the rider, who thought he was safe in the bike lane, hit the bump and flew off his bike. Bike Girl hears he broke a finger and cut up his face.

Why an asphalt patch needs to be so tall is beyond Bike Girl's powers of comprehension. Bike girl urges cyclists to use caution in the eastbound bike lane on Sunset and to call 3-1-1 and report the problem. After all, according to provision 5 of the Cyclists Bill of Rights : Cyclists have the right to routine accommodations in all roadway projects and improvements.