Rahm Emanuel Plans To Take Chicago To The Top Of The Bicycle Food Chain

Last spring, Bicycling Magazine ranked Chicago the 10th best city in the U.S. for bicycling.  10th!  That stinks.  We can do better than that and apparently Chicago's mayor-to-be, Rahm Emanuel, thinks so as well.  Yesterday, he announced his vision for the future of the city's cycling infrastructure.  Noting that Chicago, "Continues to lag far behind may large cities," he plans to see to it that our bike lane network is the best in the U.S., including making Chicago "a pioneer in the creation and expansion of protected bike lanes."  Portland, Minneapolis, watch your backs, and don't be surprised if you find dead fish in your mailboxes.  Here is a link Rahm Emanuel's plan for expanding Chicago's bicycle network.

Photograph Released of Bicyclist Struck and Left For Dead On Chicago's South Side

There's been no word yet on whether Chicago police have successfully located a tank truck sought in connection with the hit-and-run death of a bicyclist on the city's South Side last week.  Presumably, the search for the driver that struck 65 year old Robert Felice then left him laying in the road next to his mangled bike continues.  Over the weekend a person who was close to Mr. Felice sent me a photograph of the man know locally as the "Florida Fisherman."

Chicago Police Searching For Tanker Truck Which May Have Been Involved In Hit and Run Death of Bicyclist

Chicago police are looking for a "semi truck with a tanker and red extended cab" that may have been involved in an incident on the South Side that left a bicyclist dead on Monday night, the apparent victim of a hit-and-run.  The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the truck was last seen speeding eastbound on Pershing Road at around the time the man was struck.  The victim, Robert Felice, 65, was found lying dead in the eastbound lanes "with a heavily damaged bicycle" in the 300 block of West Pershing Road by a city snowplow driver.

If you have any information regarding this matter please contact the Chicago Police Department or the city's 311 non-emergency line.

Update (1:55 p.m.):  Mr. Felice was know locally as "The Florida Fisherman," having resided in Florida with his mother before moving to the Bridgeport area.  He is survived by two sons, Robert, Jr. and Anthony, who are , I'm told, as yet unaware of their father's death.

Chicago Bicyclist Left For Dead In Street After Apparent Hit-And-Run, CPD Investigating

Found by a snowplow driver, a bicyclist lay dead in the street this morning on the city's South Side, the apparent victim of a hit-and-run.  The man, probably in his 40s, was found in the 300 block of West Pershing Road.  The Chicago Police Department's Major Accident Investigation Unit is investigating.

Read more here.

Car Company Promotes "Share The Road" Message In Commercial

Getting the "Share The Road" message out to both motorists and bicyclists is vitally important.  The State of Illinois has deemed it important enough to issue specialty license plates containing the message.  Apparently, the message is gaining some traction; enough that even a car company is promoting it.  Check out this recent ad from KIA:



The commercial states that KIA started out as a bicycle company.  According to Wikipedia's entry for the company, "Kia was founded on June "9, 1944 as a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts by hand."


Thanks to Urban Velo for posting this video.

Chicago Bike Program Produces New Video To Promote Road Sharing

Bicyclists and motorists alike can benefit from viewing this new video produced by the Chicago Bike Program.  It provides a nice overview of how best to share the road.

FSA Crank Sets Recalled

Yesterday, Health Canada announced the recall of certain FSA crank sets that came as original equipment on some models of Cannondale bicycles.  According to the Recall Notice, the FSA Gossamer BB30 crank sets have fixing bolts and crank arms on the non-drive side that can crack under certain conditions, "posing a fall or crash hazard to riders."  FSA "received 11 reports of incidents in the U.S., including 2 reports of injuries."

Click here to learn more and to contact FSA about obtaining a replacement.