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Thread Box:
LADOT rep callin us out!
Thread started by Roadblock at 12.18.08 - 3:39 pm

so a month or so ago we're at the Storm the Bastille city council committee meeting backing up the Cyclists Bill of Rights when the LADOT gets on the mike and starts making excuse after excuse about why we can't have something as simple as a fucken sharrow put on the pavement. Amidst all the whining and waffled excuses, Michelle Mowery ONe of the LADOT reps- even had this to say

"sharrow paint is slippery and can be dangerous to cyclists"

WTF!? FTW!

in response to our outrage during the meeting she's saying in this article on LAweekly.com

"I got more miles in my legs than they do"

apparently she's a seasoned semi pro racer with 11 bikes..... and that supposed to impress? Personally I don't care how many closed course weekend races you done I want to know how you get to work everyday. if she commutes by bike then kudos but that still doesnt give her an excuse to be making all these excuses of why we cant have decent bicycle infrastructure like normal world class cities now does it?

Paint on the ground or nothing!




reply


IT ALWAYS AMAZES ME HOW POLITICIANS THINK.



eddieboyinla
12.18.08 - 3:48 pm

reply


good stuff "Rhoda Bloshe"
at this point would you still recommend Ridazz get licenses for their bikes?



sciencefriction
12.18.08 - 3:50 pm

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yes. I reccomend that EVERYONE get licenses for their bikes because it's obviously being used as a last resort to "get us" when all other lame tactics fail. make yourself "gotcha proof"!! and Mowery.... you better recognize. come out on a Monday night and feel that true grit.



Roadblock
12.18.08 - 3:53 pm

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That paint for the crosswalks is actually dangerous when it is foggy / wet while riding with no hands. It's a big rectangle of slippery smooth paint.

When one is riding with no hands (and all the weight is on the back wheel) it is pretty easy to have your bike go sideways out from underneath you.

That said, I HIGHLY doubt the sharrows design lends itself to the same kind of danger, mainly because it isn't a huge continuous section of paint.



jonnyboy
12.18.08 - 3:54 pm

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I love Mr. Bloch.



Joe Borfo
12.18.08 - 3:55 pm

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Hmm, I wonder how Ms. Mowery can prove she has more miles than any of us. I may have only 8 bikes (4 of which I built myself from the ground up, and one that was a salvage case I'm still finishing) but my daily ride (yes, just ONE of those bikes) has over 20 thousand miles on the frame, ALL of it on the streets of Los Angeles, dealing with the shoddy, poorly designed road system.
Oh, and I'm FOR infrastructure, and AGAINST licensing, which is nothing more than a harassment law, considering it has very rarely been used to find stolen bikes, I mean hey, have they found Luis' bike yet? Or done something about the kids stealing bikes and parts? I mean many of those bikes were licensed too!
Let's see the city do something to HELP bicyclists, not create back door routes for cops to harass people.
Oh, and that article could use some editing.



FuzzBeast
12.18.08 - 4:01 pm

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We need an alley cat race between Roadblock and rep Mowery.





thegodofthor
12.18.08 - 4:33 pm

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HELL YA, THIS I GOTTA SEE, PERSONALLY I THINK ROADBLOCK WOULD GET CREAMED ON, ......YOU LUCKY GUY!!!!

LOL



eddieboyinla
12.18.08 - 4:37 pm

reply


Great article! Yeah, I want to see this on Monday night...but you know that Mowery doesn't ride in the winter or at night, so you might have to postpone to a full moon summer evening. :-)



illuminateLA
12.18.08 - 4:59 pm

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She went after Stephen Box in this LA Mag article, page 4:

“I am now convinced that it’s not really about the bike,” she tells me. “It’s about visibility, showing up in media pieces, getting somebody to put a camera on him. I really don’t think it’s about moving the bike agenda forward. I think it’s about Stephen’s personal issues.”

I'm personally sick to death of Mowery's excuses and personal attacks. She's completely out of touch with real cyclists, and she is disdainful of community. Technocrat in the worst sense. Time for a transfer, or termination.

Going further, she says she has more miles on her legs than we do. Not true. If she did indeed race, she probably has more miles under her than me, and she probably has more than Roadblock. But between the two of us, we have more. And collectively, as a community, we have hundreds of times more miles. And yet she believes herself to be more intelligent than not just one of us, but all of us.

Plus, we weren't driving our LA city employee pool SUV out to Malibu to ride on buttery baby pavement. We're riding real streets.



Alex Thompson
12.18.08 - 5:00 pm

reply




to





PC
12.18.08 - 5:00 pm

reply


Plus, we weren't driving our LA city employee pool SUV out to Malibu to ride on buttery baby pavement. We're riding real streets.


amen!



coldcut
12.18.08 - 5:03 pm

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Looks like we're not even a gadfly with her. :-(

Interviewer -
We are huge fans of Midnight Ridazz, but they, us included when we join them, break the law many times over by running reds, blocking intersections, etc. What's the talk over at City Hall?

Michelle Mowery -
I've not heard anything about the ride negatively or positively via City Hall.



User1
12.18.08 - 5:08 pm

reply


oops....
http://www.laist.com/2007/01/25/laist_interview_the_citys_bike_queen.php



User1
12.18.08 - 5:08 pm

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PC calls it! And it only took two thousand and one words!



SoapBoxLA
12.18.08 - 5:15 pm

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Respectfully, I disagree with RB on the licenses. Sure, you can protect yourself from harassment. But ultimately that makes the law appear more legitimate, and it will lead to other people needing to get licenses and so forth. I feel it's better to flip em the bird and say "ticket me", and then make your voice heard regarding the idiocy and injustice of the law. Make em give you a ticket for that frivolous crap - it only makes them a fool.



Alex Thompson
12.18.08 - 5:24 pm

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reading the article AT posted, it sounds more like she's trying to cover her ass for being ineffectual and stuck in bureaucracy, and shown up by people who ACTUALLY ride on a daily basis, for ALL their trips.

I dunno, there are many of us who don't "limit our trips by car to %50", but actually, factually limit them to pretty much 100% by bike. People who don't have the option of using the SGV river path as part of our daily rides, people who have to use those 6,500 miles of LA street and have to deal with the BS system in place in this city.
To be honest, it sounds like she's trying to cover herself for the fact that Mr. Box is more of a media focal point because, oh yeah, he gets shit done.
I still wanna know the totals. Ms. Mowery, how many miles a year do you ride?
Are you a "true roadie"? (that ones for RBI)
Does your bike (or fleet of them) ACTUALLY have exactly the same number of miles on it that your vehicle(s) do(es) (i.e. 50% of distance traveled)? I wanna know, because mine's pretty close to 100% (aside from freeway bus travel, still logged probably 25,000 miles on my fleet in the last 2 years or so, NONE of it on a closed course), and knowing people who have cars, well, most fudge that number as to how much they drive.




FuzzBeast
12.18.08 - 5:28 pm

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Ill race her any time any day any season. Win or lose I don't care. As long as its on the streets of Los Angeles and not on some closed off course in San Dimas.



Roadblock
12.18.08 - 5:31 pm

reply


merider3.



PC
12.18.08 - 5:31 pm

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That's a great article on the scene and it deserves a posting all it's own. We're always complaining about the articles written, but this is one I can't find anything to fault.

Nice job Matthew!!!

If Alex or Stephen doesn't post it up, I'll do it myself!



User1
12.18.08 - 5:32 pm

reply


LOL if you can't beat her, you might as well stop going to WP!

http://la-bike.org/events/awards_gala.html

41 bpm huh?



User1
12.18.08 - 5:34 pm

reply


yes, sir PC remembers.

I dunno, shit like this, petty squabbling, it makes us seem like idiots. If the people at caltrans were serious, they could get shit fixed. Mr. Box has gotten things accomplished just by being annoying (in a good way Stephen) meanwhile they cannot provide more than 2% of the transitways (road or off street bike paths, whatever) with bike paths? And they get paid to do this every day?
We (i mean the community) go to a meeting and look how much press it generated. Now that the eye is upon them, they're resorting to name calling, and stupid statements of "i ride more than those people" which obviously isnt true.



FuzzBeast
12.18.08 - 5:38 pm

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I don't care if she rides a thousand miles a week. As has been pointed out she chooses when and where she rides leaving her completely out of touch with the reality of riding in LA.



toweliesbong
12.18.08 - 5:41 pm

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Mowery is the new I



Joe Borfo
12.18.08 - 5:46 pm

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You know what, semi pro or not she's not having these LA streets. That's why her and her colleague were talkin all that nonsense about needing more time to study sharrows. They dont ride these streets like wee do. they dont know all the issues...



Roadblock
12.18.08 - 5:47 pm

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Exactly. Someone needs to take over her position, someone who KNOWS la streets, not just someone who "rides a bike sometimes", maybe someone who knows about teh civilz engineerings... but at the last someone who travels primarily by bicycle, on LA streets, ALL THE TIME, and knows the condition they re in, knows the potholes, the narrow lanes, the lights that don't change for bikes no matter how long you wait, the badly arranged intersections (Wilshire/Santa Monica anyone?), The streets with poor traffic management/too many busses (WIlshire again), the evil psychotic bus drivers, all the crap we deal with ALL THE TIME, not someone who may or may not have "more miles" than Lance (she'd pretty much have to to have more miles than the cycling community in LA, oh yeah, we have racers too, of pretty much every category in pretty much every aspect of cycling, from track to cross, to road, to mountain).
Someone who is in touch with the urban cycling community, knows what the grassroots are doing, and is WILLING TO HELP THEM.
At that meeting, the public went before the council and asked them for what they need, the response was tepid, they didn't even know what was being asked for, it "needed more study" (even though you have a decent portion of the population asking for safety improvements to roads they use all the time), these are people who SHOULD BE WORKING FOR THE CYCLING COMMUNITY, not against.
It's time we get someone in there who KNOWS what is necessary.



FuzzBeast
12.18.08 - 6:01 pm

reply


AT I hear you but the more we pester the beleaguered central division with bike license bullshit the more they regret it the less likely they are to act up and by virtue of having the license you thwart some harassment too..... just on the interim until the law is "taken out back and shot"



Roadblock
12.18.08 - 6:04 pm

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+1 all of you.
this city will just implode one day and disappear.



aksendz
12.18.08 - 7:56 pm

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In defense of Ms. Mowery, I have attended two public events where she has spoken. On the way to the first one, last summer, she zipped past me and some other ridazz on her bike (I'm pretty sure Alex was with us) going down Figurora to USC.
I can say she does commute by bike, and she does ride on some rough streets (surface and traffic wise) and she is a pretty strong rider.
At the second meeting, I spoke briefly and mentioned I had cycled up from Long Beach to City Hall in about 2 hours. The first thing she said when she spoke was she once rode from Long Beach to L.A. in an hour and 15 minutes. At that moment, I wanted to race her. Tangs to Pedro sounds about right to me.



Creative Thing
12.18.08 - 10:12 pm

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"Sharrow paint is slippery"?
* Cars right-hooking cyclists are a lot worse than a moment's slip
* Railroad crossings are tolerated yet are a much worse hazard
* There's a city up North with painted sharrows and bike boxes where it rains a heck of a lot more than in LA
* Gutters on flat land and street crossings are slippery when it rains... and often when it doesn't
* How the heck much does it rain in LA anyway, really?




OverTheHill
12.18.08 - 10:52 pm

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I never said she was not a strong rider, all I'm saying is, she is out of touch with the very people she is supposed to represent.
She seems to spend a lot of time on bike paths, from where people seem to keep running into her, something most of us don't have the daily luxury to do (outside of group rides, I never end up on a bike path, they don't go anywhere). She seems to constantly come up with BS excuses for the lack of progress on projects her constituents want pushed.
I dunno, I'm not a fan of bureaucracy, and people who are so mired in it they can't even do a job they're put there to do seems even more pointless.

Where's that sharrow stencil anyway...



FuzzBeast
12.18.08 - 11:02 pm

reply


Let's start a new campaign…
"Paint it! Or we will!"



FuzzBeast
12.18.08 - 11:05 pm

reply


In all the meetings that I've gone to in the past few years, I never heard Mowery suggest any bike solutions. She always tells the City Council, the public, the various departments, why things don't work.

"We can't do that because the streets are too wide...we have too much traffic...the street is too narrow...the paint is going to get wet...the city is already built out" etc. etc.

Oh, yeah, the last one is my favorite one: "We can't to things like they do anywhere else because LA's infrastructure can't be changed.

BullSh**, I say! In Europe the streets are narrow, the buildings are ancient and the government still found ways to rebuild the infrastructure.

Here in LA the streets are twice as wide then anywhere else. LA is one of the easiest cities to rebuild because it's still a baby.

Reyes asked Mowery last year if the DOT ever worked on legislative changes. She said no. Reyes asked why not and asked them to work on legislative changes.

When we brought the CBR to the Council meetings, she worked against all the legislative changes that are hinted in the document and she dismissed them all.

I don't care how fast she rides. I don't even care if she rides. If she doesn't do anything in her position to lobby for a bike-able LA, then she should get out of the way! She should put on her racing gear and ride back to Long Beach and stay there!




illuminateLA
12.18.08 - 11:48 pm

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Shit I hand delivered a set of easy to implement, politically feasible, cheap, legislative changes to her and the entire LABAC - and fuck all happened.

I've always been amazed at how hard she works to never say anything that would take away speed and volume of automobiles on a road. That is the bottom line at the LADOT, bikeways coordinator or none.

And re: Bike Licenses: Yes Alex, FUCK BIKE LICENSES. In order to destroy bike licenses, we should all get them. I have a stack of 300 on their way from the CA DMV. I'll give you one, on the house, when they get here.



ubrayj02
12.19.08 - 12:02 am

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Legitimate public-grade Sharrow pavement stickers are available for $80 a piece. LADOT seems pretty ineffectual to me. I'd like to see captain sharrow to the rescue.

Paint on the ground or nothin.

who's in charge anyway? Is Mowery elected? How do we boot LADOT people if they don't do their job??





Roadblock
12.19.08 - 12:27 am

reply






SoapBoxLA
12.19.08 - 12:48 am

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Mowery thinks that she's the highest-mileage rider in LA, and apparently she's trying to maintain this imagined status by making it inconvenient for any one else to ride on the streets. It's a clever strategy, but it's not working.

It's immature of Mowery (and irrelevant, besides) to use her personal cycling experience as a justification for inaction on bike lanes and sharrows. I guess I could sort of understand her indignation and have a bit of sympathy for her if she gave some indication that she'd listen to cyclists whose vision of the streets was not exactly like hers. But she's LADOT to the bone. Transportation is "about cars," and it shall be forever thus as long as such inflexible bureaucrats are in charge.

The excuse that the city is "built out" is such laughable nonsense, too. If NYC can add an extensive network of bike lanes (which it has been steadily expanding over the past 10 years or so), LADOT should be able to find at least a few places where it can give up a bit of the lane for bicycles. Well, I mean, of course they're "able." They should be willing.



nathansnider
12.19.08 - 1:06 am

reply


Roadblock,

Mowery is not elected, she works 4 days a week for the LADOT ($87,737.76) and picks up a bit of overtime for delivering those "Why you can't have what you want" presentations to the community ($3,423.38)

Her title is Sr. Project Coordinator and one can only guess as to the nature of her project. It appears to obstruction of progress, distraction of the cyclists and prolonged pontification and postponement of improvements to LA.

Her bosses would theoretically be Michael Uyeno, Haripal Vir, John Fisher and the GM, Rita Robinson - all of whom work for the Mayor.

That is where it all starts, with the Mayor. The City Council is the legislative body but when it comes to the General manager of Transportation, it's the Mayor.

I'd like to propose that we come out of the holidays, refreshed, well rested and ready to take on LA, starting with the Mayor. It seems reasonable to have a dialogue about the performance of the LADOT including any specific individuals, and to discuss the goals for 2009 as well as an evaluation of 2008.

Seriously, what has happened in the last couple of years that LADOT can point to and claim as an accomplishment?

Even the bike racks that were installed were only installed after we found 700 racks in a warehouse in Van Nuys. Mowery had claimed there was no $ and no racks and the program was dead and then a maintenance guy at Griffith Park reveals the location of the racks. Busted!

2009 is the Year for Change. Let's start here in LA!



SoapBoxLA
12.19.08 - 1:18 am

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Great points Nathan. Those reps got paid 3k to show up to that meeting?? Damn! I want a job like that. What up where do I submit a resume? All that money could have purchased 30+ sharrow stickers... Ok yeah lets make 2009 the year for change.







Roadblock
12.19.08 - 1:54 am

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I understand that Obama is supposed to focus funds towards Villaraigosa for environmental change stuff in the near future. Did anyone hear about that?

Shouldn't we be focusing on pulling his purse strings towards alternative transportation / Bicycle Infrastructure?

Forget that ho.



Joe Borfo
12.19.08 - 2:16 am

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PAINT IT! OR, WE WILL!!!!!



FuzzBeast
12.19.08 - 3:58 am

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fuzz lets paint the city



theshues
12.19.08 - 3:59 am

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I remember that comment I made awhile back in regards to there being no funds to paint the sharrows, but plenty of funds to eliminate the removal of non-sanctioned ones!!!

Priorities seem to be up their ass when it comes to these issues.

Can't say differently for myself though!!!!



bentstrider
12.19.08 - 4:06 am

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Sticking to specific examples of out-of-touchness, look at this picture. It has blue paint in the bike lane to warn the cars of cyclists. It was taken in Portland, where it rains a heck of a lot more than in LA. Yet somehow they find the moxie up there to put paint on the ground IN FAVOR OF CYCLISTS.



OverTheHill
12.19.08 - 6:52 am

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Picture of a sign cautioning drivers *NOT TO RIGHT-HOOK* cyclists. Ever seen one of these in LA? Not me. This real one of course is from Portland.



OverTheHill
12.19.08 - 6:57 am

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"sharrow paint is slippery and can be dangerous to cyclists"

maybe because in the city's lame attempt to be "green," it's using water-based paints that smear and wash away and have to be reapplied every month, rather than concentrating on the real environmental problem of way too many cars?



sciencefriction
12.19.08 - 9:59 am

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Usually its bein' shitfaced crunk in a pack of hundreds of bikers that causes most of the injuries i've seen in the bike lane, that paint excuse is just another smokescreen



tallcans4tallbikes
12.19.08 - 10:06 am

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or prick doctors that yell at your for not riding in a single file, then proceed to immediately stop in front of you, making you fly through their back windows.



sciencefriction
12.19.08 - 10:11 am

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Nah man.... The car thing is over and its time for change in the LADOT.

Its time for big change. We've got thousands in our fold.... maybe that's all we need.

One thing is that its true, all this bickering about what is right.... bike lanes sharrows bikeways.... they are all good. No matter what, the more signs the paint on the ground the more bikeways..... anything anything that puts bicycles on the mind and part of the norm is good. I'll take anything. just put some fucken paint on the ground already.... ill take the risk of slipping on it.



Roadblock
12.19.08 - 10:14 am

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No cars on the Polo Grounds... ever



tallcans4tallbikes
12.19.08 - 10:15 am

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excuse me???

did an official representative of the Dept. of Transportation just admit in writing that the paint used on city pavement is dangerously slippery and can cause accident and injury.

hmmm.






indigis
12.19.08 - 10:51 am

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Tacky when moist?



bentstrider
12.19.08 - 11:30 am

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I agree with Soap Box. The focus of all this anger directed at Michelle should be directed at the Mayor. Michelle is just a mid-level buerocrat at LADOT. She's not the one making policy. If we feel she's not fighting for bike projects and representing us, that's partially because she works for Mayor Villaraigosa, not the bike riders.

All of the crap we have to deal with as cyclists, all the issues, can be traced back to a Mayor's office that doesn't give a crap about us.

Bike Licenses. Festival of Lights. Sharrows. Unequal protection under the law. These issues are the symptoms of the problem that Fast Tony don't give a crap about us because we haven't made ourselves a political problem and there aren't enough of us to make waves just by voting, posting on message boards and attending group rides.

If Eric Garcetti were mayor these issues would vanish. But he's not. And he's not running. So unless Obama saves us and appoints Villaraigosa to a position where he can do less damage to us personally but do that less damage to more people we need to keep him and his administration in the city.

We're not a newswoman, so we're tired of getting screwed by this guy. Let's keep him in the crosshairs of our activism for the next year. That's been the Bus Rider's Union's strategy, and it ought to be our's also.



daymen
12.19.08 - 2:24 pm

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I think most of the vitriol aimed at Ms. Mowery in this thread, my own included, comes from the fact that not only does she do nothing, she has gone out of her way to insult us all in print because we had the gall to say we want her to do her job.



FuzzBeast
12.19.08 - 2:29 pm

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I get the anger people can have with her, but the reality is that the LADOT is happy with her and what she's doing. If we want her to change, or be changed, we need to aim higher than her.



daymen
12.19.08 - 2:54 pm

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They obviously hired this puppet because she was the most biker they could find that would reliably say whatever they told her to for 80K



tallcans4tallbikes
12.19.08 - 2:57 pm

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Shit I'll tell you guys all suck for alot less than 80 grand! Who's got a $1000?



User1
12.19.08 - 3:11 pm

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the bus riders union is a joke. please don't take their example.



sciencefriction
12.19.08 - 3:53 pm

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bus riders union is funded by car interests. they diss light rail and subway and push for more fucking stank ass busses on the crowded gritty streets. silly bus riders....



Roadblock
12.19.08 - 3:57 pm

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Really, in every fuckin major city in the world, the bus system is a part of the subway system. They work together. This silly idea of not supporting the subway or not having to support the subways, is asinine.

Also if you support the subways, you have to support the buses. That's how people are moved around for the most part. And when I say "the most part", I mean in major cities around the world.



User1
12.19.08 - 4:05 pm

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they call any proposal to increase rail "racist". i mean seriously, you know how much faster people of color can get around on rail instead of being gridlocked in traffic on a bus? that just pisses me off.

but if you think targeting antonio villar that a different story. by all means... eric garcetti should challenge him to a bike race.



sciencefriction
12.19.08 - 4:05 pm

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Wow, the LA magazine article turn me on to midnight ridezz’s….at first I thought you where a cool group. But after reading your blog….you people are a bunch of thugs on bikes. I don’t know Mowery is but I bet this person does more for society then just smoke, denigrate, drink and ride late at night. You people need prozaic badly.
Anger, sub culture freaks.





cycledogg
12.19.08 - 4:10 pm

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I think the BRU means well, but is very short sighted.
They have been very effective in the past in getting more busses, better passes and lower fairs for bus riders.

Their biggest problem is shortsightedness.

They have rightly complained about the total disregard of busses by the MTA in favor of trains.

~~~
This is pretty much the exact argument we make when we talk about the city spending millions on bike paths and neglecting bike infrastructure on the streets.

A fancy bike overpass with metal work looks a lot better on an annual report than a filled pothole or a sharrow.

But building a subway or a bike path without supporting infrastructure is like building a freeway in a town with only dirt and gravel roads. What use is a freeway if you can't get anywhere once you get off.
~~~

I dunno if any of you were riding the bus in the 90's but they were slow, infrequent and superfucking overcrowded.

The BRU organized and did a lot to change that.
They got a consent decree from a judge to force the MTA to do what they said they couldn't do.

The big, shortsighted mistake that the BRU made was kneecapping rail projects that, for transit dependant person



trickmilla
12.19.08 - 4:14 pm

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CycleDogg, perhaps you could point us at the accomplishments of the LADOT Bikeways Department and Mowery so we can correct our wicked ways. In the meantime, excuse me while I join those who think that a wee bit of accountability in our government is an appropriate endeavor. You aren't opposed to accountability, are you?




SoapBoxLA
12.19.08 - 4:19 pm

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+1



revolutionary
12.19.08 - 4:22 pm

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I BET YOU THIS !@#$? WEARS SPANDICKS!:

Wow, the LA magazine article turn me on to midnight ridezz’s….at first I thought you where a cool group. But after reading your blog….you people are a bunch of thugs on bikes. I don’t know Mowery is but I bet this person does more for society then just smoke, denigrate, drink and ride late at night. You people need prozaic badly.
Anger, sub culture freaks.

cycledogg
12.19.08 - 7:10 pm



eddieboyinla
12.19.08 - 4:23 pm

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(contd)

Subways for any transit dependent person are golden.
They cut travel time, sometimes in half.

The funds that fund subways and busses also fund the freeways.

I never heard the BRU complain about freeway construction.
Instead they attack the subways.

The other thing that really alienated people was trying to make it some kind of racial issue.

They did this primarily because you can't make a civil rights claim in this country based on classicism. So they used race as a shortcut to talk about class.

(saying that pouring money into trains was racist because 60% of the people hat use the train are people of color and 80%+ of the people that use the bus are people of color).

They never addressed the fundamental problems of transportation and the MTA.

They won a few battles and public transportation is better because of it ... but long term we are suffering now thanks to their kamakazi approach to public transportation funding.



trickmilla
12.19.08 - 4:25 pm

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goddam you fuckers are fast ... 3 ppl posted while i tried to finish my prematurely posted screed.



trickmilla
12.19.08 - 4:26 pm

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LOL



eddieboyinla
12.19.08 - 4:31 pm

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cycledogg may be right that we look like degenerates but that doesnt mean we dont have legitimate gripes about this city's lack of progress on bike infrastructure.



Roadblock
12.19.08 - 4:35 pm

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AS USUAL, RIGHT RIGHT, 100%



eddieboyinla
12.19.08 - 4:37 pm

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Maybe we can find an occasion where the Mayor is going to speak on green issues, and we can show up in mass and demand answers to the city of L.A.'s backwards polices on bicycle improvements. We can't let the concept for going green be co-opted by things like hybrid cars, we are green transportation, and even just a small growth in cycling use will be a big impact on our oil dependence and co2.



GarySe7en
12.19.08 - 4:41 pm

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I'm sure he was just put off by some of the salty language here.
C-Dawg!

People are just venting!
Come out and ride with us.
Its way more fun than reading the jackoff sessions of people who would rather be riding thier bikes.

We don't even care if you wear spandex.
Some of my favorite ridazz rock spandex.
And I got a surprise for eddie 1/2 us rock 'em under our pants and you'll never know who.



trickmilla
12.19.08 - 4:42 pm

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NOW I'M EXCITED!



eddieboyinla
12.19.08 - 4:45 pm

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I like the way this cycledogg character misspells things. The world is prosaic enough already, thankyouverymuch. Midnight Ridazz are quite proud to be making it a little less so.



nathansnider
12.19.08 - 5:24 pm

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Wow, I bet this C-Dogg is new to the intarwebz. Hint, C-Dogg, ust because people have fun on a relatively UNMODERATED web forum doesn't mean that they're not serious in what they do in real life.



toweliesbong
12.19.08 - 6:03 pm

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It boggles my mind that this person (Mowery) is a cyclist and yet is against the interests of cyclists. It just doesn't make sense.



la duderina
12.19.08 - 9:23 pm

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Cycledogg is probably just some stuck up roadie in Pottsvile, Tennessee who has to put down anything that doesn't suit his lifestyle.

We thugs will continue to blacken society with our evil ways of riding together and supporting each other in our cycling community whether he likes it or not.



Joe Borfo
12.19.08 - 10:19 pm

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I think it's not that Mowery is against the interests of cyclists, so much as out of touch and therefore ineffective at representing and lobbying for our interests.



GarySe7en
12.19.08 - 10:38 pm

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Hey webmaster, can you do an IP lookup and see if cycledogg registered from an ISP named lacity.org?

Mowery says, "We also added a device to warn motorists to the presence of bicyclists in the tunnel a few years ago."

Yeah, a shitty little blinking light--outside, not inside, the tunnel--that's covered by trees which prevent motorists from even seeing it.

It's activated by a crosswalk-style button that's buried in the bushes which cyclists must come to a complete stop on an uphill grade to activate.

Nothing says safety like going into a dark, narrow bike-lane-lacking tunnel with no speed nor momentum.




two wheels good
12.20.08 - 6:02 am

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rhode bloch you're awesome. and others who came to that meeting. also awesome.

good article. glad we're getting more press.



gohomedorothy
12.20.08 - 9:49 am

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oh and totally agree with soapboxLA. 2009 = year for change. we gotta do it.



gohomedorothy
12.20.08 - 9:50 am

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http://www.interstateproducts.com/nonslipproducts.htm

Maybe we just need to make the sharrows out of that stuff.

"Sharrow paint is slippery" perhaps the dumbest thing anyone in L.A. City Government has said all year, and that's saying a lot.



JB
12.20.08 - 12:15 pm

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Roadblock wrote:

bus riders union is funded by car interests.

Cite?



PC
12.20.08 - 5:03 pm

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Typical…pussy bullies. You can dish it out but you can’t take it.
The problem is you don’t know right from wrong because you think you are right all the time.
You all must be card carrying George W. Bush administration members: vindictive, self-rigorous, and never wrong.

A few friends and I rode down to San Diego this weekend. F….. cold but FUN! And what were they thinking when they wanted to build a toll rode next beach.
Anyway, I told my friends the LA Magazine article was a piece of lying crap.

Oh, and I checked Soapbox guys website too, that once again LA Magazine said to check out website.
Wow, what is your problem?
If you don’t like those pathways don’t use them.
I use the Orange bike path M-F to ride to work…and it’s great.
And if they ever build the Expo bike freeway, I might actually move my family to the Westside and work downtown again. Also, I use the LA River path to ride to my friend’s house in Burbank…and it good too. Your rant is weird! You need to get a life. These bike freeways are cool.
You have got to be one of those people that don’t have a paying job.
You must get up every afternoon and spend the day tootling around the city on your bike with no place to go or do. Get a paying job...YES, YOU CAN!
Oh, and that picture you have on your website when you were a kid...i see you did a lot of riding with that flat tire.

I have better thing planned with my life then join a group of cronies.
Good bye ….forever.




cycledogg
12.22.08 - 8:09 am

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if I get a bike licesence in another city that is not LA, will I still get a fine?



apineda
12.22.08 - 10:11 am

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TRY TO GO TO THE L.A. BIKE ADVISORY MEETINGS. THEY ARE EVERY TWO MONTHS. THE PUBLIC IS WELCOME. THERE HAS BEEN A VERY SMALL TURN OUT OF CIVILIAN CYCLIST. THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN VENT IN PUBLIC AS THE PUBLIC IS ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE. MICHELLE WILL BE THERE REPRESENTING THE CITY. THATS YOUR CHANCE TO TALK SHIT OR GIVE OUT IDEAS. THE MORE CYCLIST THAT SHOW THE MORE POWER YOU WILL HAVE. AT LEAST WE HAVE THE LABC AND PEOPLE LIKE MICHELLE. LIVE AND LET LIVE. IT COULD BE WORSE LIKE HAVING THE ANTI BIKE ADVISORY COMMITTEE. SOUNDS LIKE YOU ALL NEED TO UP YOUR TRAINING IF YOUR WORRIED ABOUT A VET WOMAN DROPPING YOU.



Dedicated818
12.22.08 - 10:23 am

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Wow cycledogg,
to think I stood up for you and encouraged you to come out with us.
haha oh well good riddance.
thats what i get for being a fatal optimist.
Its amazing that there is always 1 or 2 haters that think they have it all figured out and the 1000's of us who do this just don;t know what the fuck it up.

MR has done more to get people riding their bikes in the past 5 years than the MTA, DOT, and the BAC combined. and for no joke about 1/100,000th of the amount of money.



trickmilla
12.22.08 - 10:38 am

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Gary7/Dedicated - I think showing up to BAC meetings in force is an excellent idea. Seems like the only reason this chick was able to stay in power is because not enough cyclists attend these so called BAC meetings.

From http://www.bicyclela.org/:
"
The Los Angeles Bicycle Advisory Committee has found a new permanent meeting location at:

LAPD's Parker Center Auditorium
150 N. Los Angeles Street, LA CA 90012

BAC Meetings are held the first Tuesday of every even month (February, April, June, August, October, December). The BAC's subcommittees (Advocacy and Education, Bikeway Engineering, and Planning) meet in the odd months at various locations.
"



jericho1ne
12.22.08 - 10:41 am

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I'm trying to figure out who cycledogg is talking to? Baby picture?

Well anyways, I'm way more up for getting involved and going to these BAC meetings. And let me say this. I LOVE bikeways, sharrows, bike lanes.... ANY OF IT AND ALL OF IT IS GOOD! The more bikeways the more people out on bikes the more likely they will RIDE A STREET TO GET TO THE BIKEWAYS. the more people on bikes in the streets the better!

I'm tired of waiting for infrastructure and we showed that we are a political force to be reckoned with at that meeting. The place was packed with RIDAZZ. Lets keep the momentum going!



Roadblock
12.22.08 - 11:10 am

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By the way there is a job opening at the LADOT for a bicycle coordinator that reports direct to Mowery. I suggest everyone apply for it and we get someone in there to help who is passionate about our cause. I'm pretty much fucked for all my shit talking but I'm still going to apply, regardless I think its important to get SOMEONE in there who will help the cause for commuter cyclists. So anyone lookin for a job that could potentially help the cause go apply!



Roadblock
12.22.08 - 11:16 am

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"Get a job, hippies. Stay on the sidewalk!"



Joe Borfo
12.22.08 - 11:17 am

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Cycledogg

When I found these group of people I now call our bike community (lot of them are my friends now) there was many ideas brought to my attention that where new to me and didn't make much sense to me on there face.

Listening more and questioning, although I didn't understand at first I now understand and have first hand personally came to experience what they where saying.

To answer one of your inquiries

What is wrong with bike pathways?

Nothing on it surface. The problem comes with the limit budget that is spent a bicycle infrastructure. I found that the argument that is made is that money could be spent more wisely to create a atmosphere on all roadways that is conducive to those choosing to transport ones self by bicycle on all roads already constructed and maintained, then to create a few expensive bike paths that only serve that route. Sharrows if painted on all city streets would create a sign of letting other commuters know that bicycle may be on the same road they are traveling. That will create a consciousness in the minds of drivers who see that sign to be cautious of, look out for cyclist, and share the road with them. Bike paths are eye catching projects, that make it look as if something major is being done. Yes, something major and expense is being constructed, but it serve only a limited amount of cyclist. Usually a major donor with a construction company bids on the job and gets the contract. Money could be spent system wide more frugally and usefully.

The river path is a route that for people actually trying to transport themselves is not something that will be widely used. It is more used for recreation. Nothing wrong with bicycling for recreation. I for one am of the opinion that it can be used for recreation and transportation at the same. The people in this community bikes are used for so much more then just the above two mentioned reason above, as I’m sure you use them for more then just getting some exercise. The attitude that bicycles are just a sport or for kids is a false notions that we are trying to overcome.

If money spent on a bike path was used to repair the streets already traveled by bicycle it would create a safer and more pleasant trip for those already using those roads for cycling.
Dollars spent that way would go so much farther. We have the infrastructure already, we just have to better maintain it and educate the public on cyclist rights to be on the road with cars.


Another aspect that you may not take into consideration is safety. Bike paths may have beautiful shrubbery that may eventually produce seeds (thorns) that will puncture your tires . When riding on a street that has car traffic already. The force from the automobiles blow all the trash and flat causing projectiles out of the road way and into the curb area so you have less chance of getting flats.

Somebody told me years ago, the reason they wouldn’t use the riverpath is that it is a crime scene waiting to happen. The argument was that it has very little traffic compared to a street traveled by cars and other traffic. A mugger could be waiting in the bushes to jump you. That sounds paranoid, it did to me, but with the increase of mugging and bicycle thefts and robbery as of recent, I hope everybody heeds this as a suggestion of caution when using a bicycle path alone. There has been so many accounts of this on this website in the last month. Just a couple of weeks ago, a friend and me where riding the orange line path between van nuys blvd and kester or hazeltine. We got bombard with grapefruits. I got hit on the arm, it left a nice bruise. Imagine if that hit one of our heads (my friend wasn’t wearing a helmet). What if it would of hit my spokes and knocked them out just right.

Understand the people on this site our cyclist too. The motive of people who involve themselves with the budgeting and planning at city hall regarding bicycle funding and infrastructure is to benefit all cyclist. Theses people are not bullies, they are kind, helpful, loving people. Have you ever gotten had a mechanical problem on the road and everybody goes by and doesn’t check to
see if you need any help, tools, patch kit, tube or pump. These aren’t the people that will ignore you, they are the ones that will stop help you, give you a tube and befriend you.

If anybody wants to add or clarify on this topic feel free, everybody here knows I’m not the best writer.

In closing keep an open mind and try to get a understanding of where people are coming from. We all would rather not have to sit through city hall meetings, but we care enough about our city and it infrastructure to get involved to change our society for the better. Our experience with City Hall has shown Mowery to be an impediment to that goal.




sexy
12.22.08 - 12:26 pm

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We should waste less time acting like this "CycleDogg" exists, and more time organizing large rides from all sides of town to these BAC meetings.

The next full BC meeting should be Jan 6th, 2009, and the next "subcommittee" meeting should be on Feb 3rd, 2009.



jericho1ne
12.22.08 - 12:55 pm

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I love sharrows and think that is the number one best compromise for bicycles on the streets. But.... Anything. Anything...... paint on the ground, stripes on the street, big yellow signs..... bikeways..... its been 4 years since I can remember seeing anything significant in the city of LA go down in terms of bike infrastructure.

Bite your toungue sexy I use the orangline and la river bike path every week to visit my dear old mom in the valley.... those bikeways RULE. And as soon as I exit them? I'm in the streets riding in a bike lane.

I encourage anyone to ride the metherlands where sharrows, bike lanes and a national system of seperated bikeways all combine to make that country a joy to ride with barely an obese person in sight and tons less smog.



Roadblock
12.22.08 - 1:21 pm

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Jan 6th it is. I'm there. We have momentum now. That last meeting we made some noise..... we are now on the radar. All city to BAC meeting. Bike Ridazz Union.




Roadblock
12.22.08 - 1:26 pm

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not widely used. Meaning that it is not used as a primary transportation route. Do you use Sunset blvd more, or do you use the riverpath and Orange Line Route more.? What do most people use more.

Don't ingnore people like Cycledogg. We have obviously been misunderstood, it is important that (s)he understand a different point of view instead of viewing us as bullies. To see us as we really are, a diverse group of people with different personalities and different view with the common interest of cycling.



sexy
12.22.08 - 1:36 pm

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I'm a little late to the party but if sharrow paint is slippery, get different paint. Duh. It's a very easy problem to solve.

Appropriate paints exist for sharrows on pavement that aren't slippery-- I bike in Montreal in pouring rain reasonably often, and they have oodles of sharrows. They aren't slippery. The manhole covers are slippery, but the sharrows are not. If someone at LABAC needs a tour of sharrows in a place where it actually rains and snows, I can hook them up.

It's also possible to mix sand into paints to make them less slippery-- at work we have a sidewalk that's on a pretty steep slope (my car bumper scrapes the pavement when I start up it in a car) and the sidewalk it painted with a gray sand-filled paint so pedestrians don't go doing the slip 'n slide thing when it rains.



bitingduck
12.22.08 - 1:41 pm

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(and I doubt she's got more miles in her legs than I do...)



bitingduck
12.22.08 - 1:42 pm

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Spending millions on a bikeway with no supporting urban cycling infrastructure is like building a freeway in a town with dirt and gravel roads.

Freeways are great (when they aren't congested) but they are useless if they don't take you where you need to go and if you don't have any roads to drive in when its time to exit.






trickmilla
12.22.08 - 1:48 pm

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Guerilla Tactics..

Paint it or WE WILL.

Im down for the cause. And a Beer



pretti*ugli
12.22.08 - 1:57 pm

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the echo park sharrow lasted the longest.
it was there for months.

the one on fig got rolled within 48hers I think.



trickmilla
12.22.08 - 2:04 pm

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sharrows. sharrows. sharrows. apparently there are a bunch of restrictions about where these things can go depending on parking situtions and all. is there another form of bicycle icon that could be painted on the ground regardless of whether the street has parking or not?



Roadblock
12.22.08 - 2:08 pm

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"sharrows. apparently there are a bunch of restrictions about where these things can go depending on parking situtions and all"

Really? That seems kind of stupid-- I always had the impression that they were intended to be used on bike routes where things like narrow streets and parking precluded having a full bike lane, but where it would be useful to highlight that it's still a good bike route. They're a much stronger indicator to drivers that bicycles belong on the road than the little invisible "Bike Route" signs, and are also less ambiguous than "Share the Road" yellow diamond signs, which many drivers interpret as an order for cyclists to stay out of the way.

If sharrows end up with as many technical restrictions as bike lanes then they don't add much of value. And we really don't need yet another form of indicator that will take years to approve and still be ambiguous because it doesn't get taught to drivers.



bitingduck
12.22.08 - 2:19 pm

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"Spending millions on a bikeway with no supporting urban cycling infrastructure is like building a freeway in a town with dirt and gravel roads."


well I for one am glad they built the orangeline bike path regardless of whether there is any infrastructure connected to it. like I said I use it practically every week and only wish that the LA river bike path connected to it.



Roadblock
12.22.08 - 2:22 pm

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I just looked it up at Caltrans-- they're only allowed on streets with on-street parallel parking. Weird.

here's the Caltrans guidance:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/signtech/signdel/policy/05-10.pdf

And the City of Oakland local interpretation (popped up in google):
http://www.oaklandpw.com/AssetFactory.aspx?did=3324

And the SF MTA guidelines about driving around them:
http://www.sfmta.com/cms/bsafe/28372.html






bitingduck
12.22.08 - 2:28 pm

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I'm down for Jan 6. let's do this



la duderina
12.22.08 - 2:29 pm

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The orange line is the shit, i use it ALL the time.



Graham
12.22.08 - 2:32 pm

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I love it when everyone gets all militant and stuff.

:-)



User1
12.22.08 - 2:38 pm

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activism really turns me on



la duderina
12.22.08 - 2:45 pm

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City of SF even did a study on a bunch of common markings, including sharrows, it's linked at the bottom of the MTA page: http://www.sfmta.com/cms/uploadedfiles/dpt/bike/Bike_Plan/Shared%20Lane%20Marking%20Full%20Report-052404.pdf

Brisbane uses a big yellow bike icon to indicate "likely travel corridor for bicyclists". But I don't see why sharrows should be generallized to mean the same thing and used on streets without parallel parking and too narrow for a bike lane or shoulder, but are still likely bike routes (because they're connectors between other routes, or whatever), like maybe on Fletcher...



bitingduck
12.22.08 - 2:46 pm

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get a room you two....

then...

take action



Roadblock
12.22.08 - 2:46 pm

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Brisbane uses a big yellow bike icon to indicate "likely travel corridor for bicyclists".


thats what I'm talkin about. just put big old bike icon in the right most lane. seems so simple.



Roadblock
12.22.08 - 2:48 pm

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that was some hot action.



la duderina
12.22.08 - 2:58 pm

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doh s/should/shouldn't/

big yellow bike, sharrows, either one would be nice



bitingduck
12.22.08 - 3:01 pm

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I've got an idea on the bike license thing that might be an entertaining summer project for a law student...



bitingduck
12.22.08 - 3:06 pm

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uh oh now you're really turning me on.



la duderina
12.22.08 - 3:07 pm

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I think the reason they have problems with sharrows is the arrows.... the arrows indicate to the cyclist what position to ride in the lane. that's the reason for all the restrictions, you cant place the sharrow in any other position than the right side of a lane, and if there is intermittent parking it will cover the sharrow.



Roadblock
12.22.08 - 3:09 pm

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email me at my username at earthlink.net if you want to hear the idea. It probably shouldn't get posted without some research first...



bitingduck
12.22.08 - 3:10 pm

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...........hang on............... i gota clean up.......................



User1
12.22.08 - 3:10 pm

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email sent



la duderina
12.22.08 - 3:12 pm

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LOL User1 !!!!



la duderina
12.22.08 - 3:12 pm

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'you cant place the sharrow in any other position than the right side of a lane'

The oakland guidelines point out that in some cases it's appropriate to put it smack in the middle of the lane. If you check out the Caltrans 05-10.pdf there are remarkably few restrictions other than it has to be on a road *with* on-street parallel parking.



bitingduck
12.22.08 - 3:13 pm

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I hate pdf, but I will click it just to see...




Roadblock
12.22.08 - 3:16 pm

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unfortunately, attempts at guerrilla infrastructure didn't work.
our sharrows were covered with black paint!



spiraldemon
12.22.08 - 3:21 pm

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For the law students... What is the worst that could happen for painting on a "public" street. I am not sure if that qualifies as private property...

Lets discuss this ride peoples, sometime after the holidays just in case i might have to spend a night in jail.



pretti*ugli
12.22.08 - 3:29 pm

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I just read the Oakland guidance more carefully. Their traffic engineer thinks it's just fine to use sharrows on streets without parallel parking in some cases:
Paraphrasing:
- adjacent to traffic islands for continuity
- to connect segments of a bikeway
- to indicate proper position in complex intersections (corson and Lake in Pasadena...)
- proper travel path in variable width lanes.

So maybe there's hope for convincing someone in LA...



bitingduck
12.22.08 - 3:32 pm

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These guerrilla infrastructure improvements will probably last much longer if they have every appearance of being legit, using real road paint, retroreflective beads and spec stencils. It would be more expensive, but definitely worth trying.

I mean, the guerrilla freeway sign in DTLA has been there for 7 years. I doubt it would have lasted that long if it hadn't been such a convincing duplicate.



nathansnider
12.22.08 - 3:49 pm

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nathan's correct! We can't have guerrilla projects without notifying the proper media. I mean really, do we really think we have media people reading these boards?



User1
12.22.08 - 4:13 pm

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I've heard about sharrow stickers that are legitimate and permanent once installed on the pavement. they cost about $80 a piece. who wants to sponsor a sharrow program?



Roadblock
12.22.08 - 4:23 pm

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That's tempting...



bitingduck
12.22.08 - 4:32 pm

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fund raising with a beer keg trailer!



spiraldemon
12.22.08 - 4:34 pm

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If they're the real deal, I'd buy one of those sharrow stickers. Not that I'd ever condone sticking it on the road without approval from the proper authorities or anything. But I'd get one, just to add to my road sticker collection, y'know?

And User1, I don't particularly care whether the media hear about the sharrows or not. In fact, I imagine that many media outlets in LA would be a bit hostile to the idea. I'm just saying that the sharrows will last longer if they look exactly as they would had LADOT installed them (in whatever alternate universe that would happen).



nathansnider
12.22.08 - 4:42 pm

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indeed. if the shiat looks legit it will last longer. just picture santee ally knockoffs.



pretti*ugli
12.22.08 - 4:49 pm

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I like the orange line path. If my life took me to the valley I'd use it more. Its the kind of thing we need. Bike infrastructure thought into the planning process.

I'm just sayin' the LA River cost millions of dollars and think about what they could have done with those millions in terms of making the whole city more bikable.

but then again a question on the DMV test, or a road sign, or some paint on the ground, or a place to hang a bike in a train, or a sensible bike licensing law ... that stuff doesn't look sexy in an annual report.

But a fancy over pass with ironwork and "miles of roadway" and millions of dollars spent on construction. That stuff all sounds really good when some bureaucrat is trying to justify their salary.


I do believe in "all of the above" approach to infrastructure though.
As long as it helps me get where I am going, I like it. I just think it needs to be balanced.

The one thing I hate about bike paths is that they can never figure out how to keep the goat heads from growing next to the bike path.

those nasty little fuckers were designed to give bikes flat tires.



trickmilla
12.22.08 - 4:49 pm

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ONE TIME DURING THE SUMMER I GOT FLATS, FRONT AND BACK, AND I WAS PULLING THESE THINGS OUT FOR OVER 30 MINUTES, ONLY TO FIND OUT THERE WAS NO WAY TO PATCH BOTH TUBES.

IT WAS REALLY FUNNY WHEN I WAS SITTING THERE TRYING TO PATCH THEM ALL, LOL



eddieboyinla
12.22.08 - 4:55 pm

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"But a fancy over pass with ironwork and "miles of roadway" and millions of dollars spent on construction. That stuff all sounds really good when some bureaucrat is trying to justify their salary. "


It does seem kinda fancy and I am all about saving money on fancy one of a kind designs. it could have been more wasteful, but that LA river bike path does a lot to promote travel by bicycle. it just needs to connect up. imagine people could get to the cornfield from the valley and from long beach and eventually from the beach if they could ever connect ballona creek to the LA river. that's quite a bicycle highway connecting the valley to dtla to long beach to santa monica redondo beach. that would be a hell of a dream to see. are they making the expo line have a bike path? they better make sure to duplicate the success of the orangline bike path.






Roadblock
12.22.08 - 5:14 pm

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everyone needs to go and purchase ARMADILLOS or GATORSKINS. I have them and can not remember the last time I had a flat.

also I think that thorns on the bike path problem is no more? that was havok on one ride in particular a couple years ago.



Roadblock
12.22.08 - 5:16 pm

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The thorns are still there. and while I cannot seem to find it, I thought the expo line was supposed to get a bike path, not sure though.

Also, my perusal of the metro site brought me to here
( http://www.metro.net/projects_plans/bikeway_planning/default.htm )
whic is fun to note that the things they are [riding themselves about on their website are: bike racks on buses (which anyone who has put a bike on a metro bus can tell you, was acomplished with SO much finesse, and maintained to such an IMPECCABLE degree that no one fears for their bike while it is on the front of a bus) and some bike racks... wow, big accomplishments there, especially since they've been working on it since 1992...



FuzzBeast
12.22.08 - 10:41 pm

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Thorns are planted every year by the bike shops, Its a anuall event they all attend to drum up business. Inner tubes are the #1 money maker. Suport your local bike shop.



Dedicated818
12.23.08 - 10:57 am

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everyone needs to go and purchase ARMADILLOS or GATORSKINS. I have them and can not remember the last time I had a flat.


Everyone needs to go out and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal savior. I can not remember the last time I had such peace of mind. While your at it, go and buy some tires that you may not like or absolutely despise.



sexy
12.23.08 - 2:10 pm

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They do make non-slippy road paint. I saw some out at the Rose Bowl marking the right of way for peds, bikes, and cars. A sharrow can't be much more dangerous than any other road markings.



Velocipede
12.23.08 - 7:29 pm

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Wasn't there a meeting January 6? Are we doing this?



la duderina
01.3.09 - 3:35 pm

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bump



DJwheels
01.4.09 - 1:52 pm

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yeah ... I picked up one of those goatheads on the orange-line path on thanksgiving. I guess they are indiginous to the region and since bike-paths tend to have lots of greenery near by they tend to grow there.

...

As far as bike paths go. Don't get me wrong, I love a bike path. It's like a freeway for bikes. I'm just saying that bike infrastructure needs to be balanced.

the thing that 99% of people tell me about why they don't ride in LA is because they are intimidated by the traffic. And I am just saying.
If they (DOT) are spending millions on bike paths and 10s or 100s of thousands on intra-city bike infastructure ... that is dis-proportionate.

I do a fair amount of riding and do use bike paths from time to time to get places.
Bike paths are maybe 10% of my riding.

i would guess that most people that ride for practical reasons use a bike path about 5% or 10% of the time yet I am guessing that building those things comprises a huge portion (maybe 70 or 80%) of the bike infrastructure budget.

Going forward we do need more thoughtfully designed bike-paths
But they should be built as the orange line path was, at any time a new rail, busway, or freeway project is being built and it should come out of those funds.

They also need to focus on connecting all the bikeways so people who travel long distances can actually use them but do so in a way that balances the resources with getting stuff worked out in the city where 90% of us ride 90% of the time.

I'm not against bike paths.

I am against money being spent disproportionally on bike projects, based on necessity and the needs of cyclists, but on other factors like egos, appearances, and lack of thoughtful planning.




trickmilla
01.4.09 - 5:16 pm

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Crap. I wanted to go to this and things got away from me. Update anyone?




frumble
01.6.09 - 9:43 pm

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don't know anything about the meeting...

but regarding sharrows: I just noticed last night that Pasadena has them on South Lake, correctly placed just out of door range. They don't look slippery, but they do look a bit worn and like they could use another coat of paint.



bitingduck
01.7.09 - 9:56 am

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We're riding again, this time to bang away and watch the coffin close on the City's bike license program. Always a great opportunity to bring up the Sharrow and the City's speed limit increases.

http://tinyurl.com/76m4y8



SoapBoxLA
01.9.09 - 3:27 pm

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I'd like to see Roadblock and Ms Mowery race to settle the issue.



tortuga_veloce
01.9.09 - 3:49 pm

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hi can someone kindly pass this message on from Rhode Bloch Jr:

HEY LADOT! QUIT YOUR YAPPIN' and MAKE SHIT HAPPEN!




thx



Roadblock
01.9.09 - 3:54 pm

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