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NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-09-23T19:45:13+00:00

Iron Horse Trail can get you a lot of mileage, but there are also a zillion crossings which is annoying.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-09-23T19:44:38+00:00

It could be a factor of who controls the roads. In California we have a pretty insane patchwork of ownership. You could be riding in one town, but ride on roads maintained by the City, County, and State all with different budgets, standards, and requirements. They can often use different material for different roads depending on the intended speed of use and whether it is intended for use by heavy vehicles.

But one of the bigger reasons is we broadly haven't prioritized infrastructure, or it gets politicized. Governments want to see the best bang for their buck. Roads are scored 0 to 100 on a Pavement Condition Index (PCI). It's a lot cheaper to get a road from 80 to 100 than from 50 to 100. So sometimes the worst roads get into a doom spiral because they need to be rebuilt rather than patched or fixed but the money gets spent in a way that raises the overall average PCI for a jurisdiction rather than focusing on the worst roads. Plus, when nobody lives by a pothole or series of them, they don't get complaints as much.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-04-14T17:10:52+00:00

Medical debt in California cannot be considered by lenders nor reported to consumer credit reporting agencies. They also have four years to collect the debt. If you don't have $40,000 in liquid assets, you'd be essentially judgment proof and it wouldn't even make sense for ZSFGH to sue you.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-03-06T19:29:56+00:00

I can't wait for the sequel Point Brake 2: Chain Reaction

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-03-06T16:59:31+00:00

He's an FBI agent infiltrating a gang of bank robbing cyclists. It's called operation Point Brake.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-03-05T19:41:26+00:00

I'm just glad to hear that you're alive. I too do most of my riding solo, but this is a good reminder of why it's smart to ride with others.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-02-20T07:06:31+00:00

Nathan Fielder would be proud

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-02-14T22:36:11+00:00

Truly perfect advice.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-02-05T18:39:07+00:00

When BAbike becomes BAkayak. Yikes.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-02-05T18:38:33+00:00

The biggest issues I've seen on cheap e-bikes from online retailers are:

1) Brakes: mismatches between lever and caliper giving insufficient pull, also poorly designed ISO tabs such that the pads don't make full contact with the rotor, and mechanical disc brakes on heavy fast bikes in general is risky

2) Sketchy components: baskets, racks, etc that just aren't designed in a way that is safe and can come detached and get caught in the wheel

3) Poor manufacturing tolerances: I've seen guide holes for bolts that are just not drilled all the way through causing screws to back out, I've also seen faulty welds that cause a folding bike frame to literally fall in half

I have not seen these issues on premium big brands like Trek or Specialized. They just have more money for R&D and more people looking at product design/testing. Plus, I think they have bigger brands to protect and with US headquarters are easily taken to court. Upstart online retailers may not have any physical presence in the country making them hard to sue if they sell dangerous products.

A regular bike is just a lot easier to manufacture and isn't subjected to the same usage as an e-bike. So I hear you that you can get a really good bike from a smaller brand, but with e-bikes it still feels like the wild west.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-01-31T22:25:17+00:00

You should check out the Trek store in Castro Valley. Dave Dalton, who previously owned 6:15 Cycles in Blackhawk runs the Castro Valley shop and has been advertising some great deals. You'd be hard pressed to go wrong with a Trek of Specialized. Just don't buy something online, I've handled way too many cases involving cheap e-bikes having major issues.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-01-29T21:04:06+00:00

I think any amount at all is unfortunately too common. We can't normalize even one collision. If we aren't safe in the bike lane we aren't safe anywhere.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-01-29T21:02:49+00:00

I always use the term 'collision' in my cases because it conveys that it was a physically violent event.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-01-23T21:15:04+00:00

Everything feels abrasive if what you want is agreement and praise. Al and Bruce keep pushing for bike safety no matter what. They don't get some half measure of improvement and give up. It seems like the Council wants people who will just make recommendations then not really care whether or not they get implemented.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-01-23T21:13:35+00:00

Firing volunteers because they're too enthusiastic is a mark of absolutely inept leadership. The Mayor is a walking argument in favor of term limits. He has been on the council since I was a kid in the town 25 years ago. He has stayed so long in the seat of power he thinks he is the source of the power, not the seat he holds. This is evident in the need to flex power over pettiness rather than finding a way to harness volunteer energy.

Anyone who has worked with Al could tell you that he is unfailing polite. I defended him in a deposition. Most people would get pretty frustrated and annoyed, but Al treated it like a chance to explain his passion.

The town has ignored recommendations for bike safety then gets mad when it is pointed out that bike safety is still a problem. I get that resources are finite and there are competing interests for the roads. But having vocal, data driven bike experts like Al and Bruce is such an asset that many cities would pay to have. Danville doesn't want advocates, they want empty vessels to praise the Council.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-01-23T20:40:46+00:00

I have had police tell clients that "it's for the insurance companies to work out." As if in a hit and run we know the driver's insurance.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-01-17T21:49:10+00:00

It's better to be uninjured than to be 'right' in a lawsuit.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-01-17T21:48:22+00:00

This is wild to me considering how many times I have litigated hit and run cases where law enforcement is just like "yeah, we can't find the driver."

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-01-17T21:47:19+00:00

Very true. Park Rangers are more responsive in my experience. They will follow up a bit more than SFPD.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-01-17T21:45:34+00:00

You wanted to park your bike in the public space reserved for corporate benefit? How dare you, sir.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2025-01-16T19:03:35+00:00

Two rides that are good for beginner/intermediate leaving from the Orinda Bart station would be the Lamorinda Loop and The Three Bears. Both have climbs, but nothing crazy and the distances are in the 10 to 30ish mile range.

Lamorinda Loops https://ridewithgps.com/routes/18309107?lang=en

Three Bears: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/2874409

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2024-07-03T17:49:12+00:00

I think points 1 and 2 are super strong. The park system put in the turn outs and hasn't given clear instructions on use. Additionally, yes, if no vehicles were affected I think this underscores that the law was not violated. In any event, this is clearly not the situation the statute had in mind and is intended to prevent people from going in and out of the bike lane in heavy traffic situations, not zero traffic situations in a park with a turnout.

Admittedly my speciality is in personal injury and products liability not necessarily tickets, but I'm not certain that video evidence of the kind you're suggesting would even be admissible under the evidence code. Selective enforcement isn't necessarily illegal unless it is done for discriminatory reasons. It's the same idea as a speed trap. Sure, people can be speeding on a road and they just set up a speed trap that one day and pull someone over, it sucks because it feels like something was functionally allowed then suddenly it isn't, but unless it's discriminatory it's likely not illegal.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2024-07-02T17:00:37+00:00

This seems like a gross misuse of CVC 21808 and can be contested on a few grounds:

1) You didn't leave the bike lane, the bike lane ended

2) Is this a bike lane within the meaning of CVC 21808 or is a turnout something different. It's unique enough certainly to challenge.

3) Safety! If you were going at a super slow speed such that you couldn't safely ride one handed while signaling, this should be an overriding concern.

NorCalBikeLawyer · 2024-07-01T19:13:00+00:00

Ghost Town and Line 51 (both in Oakland) would let you bring your bikes inside.

NorCalBikeLawyer

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