Double murder charge in alleged DUI Montclair Halloween ride hit-and-run, and San Diego fails to check if Streets For All is already in use

October 30, 2026 / / No comments

I honestly don’t get it. 

A couple of trains crashed in Spain, killing 68 people — a horrible tragedy that made headlines around the world. 

Yet every year in the United States, we lose the population of a small city to traffic violence, and almost no one even notices. And ever fewer care

Somebody make it make sense. 

Photo by Kindel Media for Pexels. 

……….

At least it’s murder now.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office filed multiple charges, including two counts of murder, for last Saturday’s fatal hit-and-run that killed two people taking part in a joyful Halloween ride last Saturday.

According to the DA’s office,

“Multiple lives lost in one tragic, senseless, but entirely avoidable DUI. An October celebration turned into carnage because of one person’s decision to drive while intoxicated. There were numerous alternatives available to get home safely, yet he chose to get behind the wheel. That decision has now cost two people their lives,” said District Attorney Jason Anderson.

Filed Charges:

  • Counts 1–2: PC 187(a) – Murder
  • Counts 3–4: PC 191.5(a) – Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated
  • Counts 5–6: VC 23153 – Driving Under the Influence Causing Injury
  • Additional Charge: VC 20001 – Felony Hit-and-Run

Additionally, our Office filed special allegations for Personal Infliction of Great Bodily Injury or Death and Fleeing after Committing Vehicular Manslaughter. Arraignment date and location is pending.

The murder charges likely indicate that this was not Montclair resident Valentin Alberto Rodriguez’s first DUI charge, and that he had received a Watson Advisement indicating that he could face a murder charge if he killed someone while driving under the influence going forward.

It also means that he could face multiple life sentences — which from what I’ve been told about the crash and the damage he inflicted, doesn’t began to seem harsh enough.

I struggle with cases like this, because I recognize that alcoholism is a disease which should be treated, not punished.

But as the DA indicated, no one forced Rodriguez to get behind the wheel after — allegedly — getting shitfaced. And no one forced him to keep driving after the crash, dragging one of the victims with him, or to foot bail after finally coming to a stop.

All he had to do was call an Uber, or take a fucking bus, and Robert Garcia Umanzor and single mother Rumor Ortiz could have finished their ride in peace, and gone home to their families instead of dying in the street.

So if there’s any justice left in this world, Rodriguez will sober up behind bars, and have decades to reflect on the cost of his actions.

………

San Diego has launched a new guide for safer streets. Although they might have picked a name that wasn’t already in use just over a hundred miles away.

The City of San Diego has launched Streets for All, a new resource designed to guide communities that are interested in transforming their neighborhood streets into safer, more welcoming spaces, finding solutions to calm traffic or creating more spaces for neighbors to gather.

Streets for All is community-driven, meaning residents and businesses work together to develop and fund near-term “quick build” projects in their neighborhoods to calm traffic or create more gathering spaces. Communities can use the manual to help identify potential solutions to fit their location and existing conditions.

Whether they can get away with using the same name as the Los Angeles and San Francisco street safety PAC depends on the generosity of, and lawyers for, the Los Angeles-based group.

But you’d think San Diego would have done a basic web search before choosing the name — unless their purpose was to cause confusion with the previously existing group, in which case, carry on.

………

Streets for All — the real one — calls for a no vote on prop 43.

Twitter post

Meanwhile, Calbike concurs on 43 and adds a no on 45.

No on Prop 43: Protect Local Funding for Safer Streets

CalBike urges Californians to vote NO on Proposition 43. The measure would make it harder for communities to approve citizen-led taxes for safer streets, reliable transit, and other essential local services. CalBike’s vision for California is a place where a bicycle can carry more of your daily life: the ride to school, the trip to the grocery store, the connection to a bus or train.

We have worked tirelessly to help California as a whole be knit together by Complete Streets, with signature legislation like SB 960. In this future, safe bikeways and reliable transit work together, putting more destinations within reach. Making a walking-friendly street into a biking-friendly neighborhood and less car-dependent regions or. Read more, or watch on our social media channels.

California voters will have a chance to push back against the Trump Administration’s rollbacks of the laws that protect our public health, air, land, and water this November by voting No on Proposition 45. Prop 45 is backed by PACs representing oil companies, for-profit utilities, and industrial developers, and would make it easier to build data centers, warehouses, and other polluting projects.

Prop 45 harms air, water quality, and public health by severely limiting critical public oversight of a long list of harmful projects. The independent and non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates implementing Prop 45 could cost taxpayers $100 million or more annually.

Every voter needs to know:

  • Prop 45 weakens protections in California for clean air, clean water, and public health.
  • Prop 45 doesn’t reduce costs – it shifts them to taxpayers and includes no guarantees to bring costs down for everyday Californians.
  • Big corporations are spending tens of millions of dollars so they can build polluting projects – including data centers – with less public oversight.

Check out the No on Prop 45 website to learn more.

………

Bike Long Beach is hosting a post-Halloween ride on Sunday, although the forecast is somewhat soggy for Sunday.

Bikes and Coffee 11/1/26: Post-Halloween ride

Join us on Sunday, November 1st for a post-halloween Bikes and Coffee ride! This is actually our October ride, which we had to push a week due to schedule conflicts. Starting at SteelCraft, we’ll loop up to Rancho Los Cerritos and other houses before heading down mainly through Wrigley via Daisy/Magnolia, checking out the Bembridge house before making our way down Broadway for a stop at Coffinated Coffee – they’re having their soft opening this weekend.

We’ll meet at SteelCraft at 9 a.m. and roll out at 9:30. This is a casual pace ride of about 14 miles on bike paths and quiet streets. Everyone is welcome, on any kind of bike. Come meet and hang out with fellow bike people. Bring a bike in good condition, helmet and a lock. See you there!

Please sign our ride waiver if you’re planning on attending.

Start and end location: SteelCraft, 3768 Long Beach Blvd
Meet time: 9 a.m.. We’ll roll around 9:30 a.m.
Distance: 14 miles
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/57708403

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going. 

Nope, no bias here. An English police force blames “dark clothing” for crashes involving bicyclists and pedestrians, but can’t seem to find the words blame drivers for speeding or looking at their phones.

A British cafe replaced its billboard with an ad on the side of a car, which was thoughtfully parked blocking a bike lane.

………

Local 

Streetsblog offers five amazing simple hacks to avoid getting a ticket from the new Los Angeles speed cams, including only driving 10 mph over the speed limit.

Los Angeles General Medical Center gave away pamphlets on ebike safety and 100 bike helmets in an effort to reduce ebike injuries.

 

State

Um, okay. The Cal State Fullerton Daily Titan says the Anaheim Police Department outlined a three-pronged approach to ebike safety focusing on enforcement, education and engineering, while categorizing ebikes into three classes — which coincidentally just happen to be the same three classes spelled out under state law.

San Diego will host the 13th Annual Jim Krause Memorial Charity Cycling Ride the Point on November 7th to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research, with rides ranging from five miles to a metric century.

Horrible story from Stockton, where a 23-year old Navy vet was found dead two months after his bicycle was found half a mile from the In-N-Out Burger where he was last seen on July 19th; investigators don’t seem to have any idea what happened to him, or why it took so long to find his body. A crowdfunding campaign to help pay his funeral expenses has raised just $340 so far.

 

National

Life is cheap in Utah, where an 81-year old truck driver was sentenced to just 75 days behind bars, with credit for time served, along with three years probation, for the hit-and-run death of a nine-year old boy riding his bike in a crosswalk, because the victim’s family asked for forgiveness and mercy; he said afterwards that he knew he hit a bicycle, but didn’t think anyone was on it. Because apparently, people in Utah just randomly leave bicycles standing in crosswalks. 

Nothing like learning just how cheap life is near your own hometown, where a distracted driver who killed a ten-year old boy three years ago while he was riding his bike in a crosswalk, just 10 miles from where I grew up — then deleted the incriminating text message to hide the evidence — got a whopping one year behind bars, with work release so she could continue teaching other little kids while doing her time. However, the story is hidden behind a paywall, so you’ll have to find a way around it if you want to see for yourself just how little a little kid’s life is worth. 

It’s been four years since an 18-year old Michigan man was shot and killed by a driver while riding his bike, and police have nothing more than a sketch of a long-haired, bearded man and a light-colored sedan to go on.

An Indianapolis, Indiana man faces a felony hit-and-run count for killing a 56-year old woman riding a bicycle and just driving off, leaving her on the side of road where she was found 15 minutes later. But at least that carries a penalty up to three times what a fatal hit-and run would carry in California.

A 41-year old New York State man faces five to ten behind bars after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter for the hit-and-run death of a 50-year old woman riding an ebike.

 

International

An Indian man has spent the past 20 years riding over 124,000 miles through 191 countries to spread awareness of HIV/AIDS.

 

Competitive Cycling

Twenty-year old rising French cycling star Paul Seixas, who just happens to share my birthday, calls for better safety standards following the death of 19-year old British cyclist Finlay Tarling at this year’s Volta a Portugal.

Cycling Up To Date says the late, great Tour of California could make a comeback, seven years after Tadej Pogačar won the final edition. Personally, I’d like to see a two-to-three week race that starts in Colorado and continues by stages to the West Coast.

A Dutch amateur cyclist was lucky to escape with relatively minor injuries when he was hit head-on by a driver while on a training ride, leaving him with bruised ribs and one majorly fucked up bike, below.

Instagram post

 

Finally…

Nothing like keeping humans out of the loop by having your AI chatbot answer calls from a customer’s AI chatbot. Or imitating the Wizard of Oz by being lifted up by a tornado while riding your bike.

And nothing like recording a motorist merrily following behind you on a separated bike path.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A new mayor may not fix what ails Los Angeles, a bike street can improve the whole neighborhood, and Caltrans schedules PCH workshop

October 29, 2026 / / 2 comments

Somehow, I managed to get through today’s post, after spending all day yesterday flat on my back with my eyes closed to keep the world from spinning around me. 

Good times. 

As for today’s photo, scroll down lower to see what I missed out on over the weekend, dammit. 

……….

It’s not just you.

Crosstown says Los Angeles is spending more and getting less, in a town that’s “not designed to work.” And getting a new mayor won’t fix things.

From street sweeping to tree trimming, Los Angeles residents are seeing less of the basic services they rely on.

With the mayoral race heating up, candidates are promising to fix the problem. But Los Angeles is spending more and getting less — and whoever wins will inherit a system that limits how much they can actually change.

In five years, Los Angeles’s budget grew 34%. The number of sidewalks it repaired fell 33%.

Residents are feeling the effects in their neighborhoods. In 2021, Los Angeles cut street sweeping from weekly to every other week. In Westlake, a group of volunteers responded by picking up trash the Bureau of Sanitation left behind, said Elaine Alaniz, president of the Westlake North Neighborhood Council.

Never mind that the city went eight full months without repaving a single stretch of roadway last year.

Then there’s this.

Rick Cole, an advisor to Nithya Raman’s mayoral campaign, has spent 40 years working in city governments across Southern California. For Cole, the decline in services is the symptom of a deeper problem. In June, during a farewell speech at City Hall as he stepped down from his role as deputy controller, he told the crowd, “LA is not designed to work.” Decades of ignoring “mind-numbing bureaucracy” have made the city ungovernable, he said. “Beneath the broken sidewalks is a broken system.”

On the other hand, Karen Bass has had nearly four years to fix things, and hasn’t shown up for anything but homelessness and rebuilding after the Palisades fire until she was faced with a fight for reelection. And hasn’t made a lot of progress on the former, and complaints from literally burned-out residents on the latter.

So if you like the job she’s done, and the city we have today, vote for her.

If not, don’t.

………

A new German study has found that transforming even a busy street into an “advanced bicycle street” can change the character of the entire neighborhood.

Momentum did a good job of translating the dense study results into something a little easier to understand.

Researchers examined Oeder Weg, a 1.4-kilometre (0.87 mile) street in central Frankfurt transformed into what they call an advanced bicycle street. The project went beyond adding signs. It combined traffic restrictions with physical changes intended to make the street safer, more comfortable and more useful to the surrounding neighbourhood.

Before the changes, Oeder Weg carried as many as 9,183 motor vehicles a day, well above the recommended volume for a bicycle street under German guidelines.

The city began by designating it a bicycle street in August 2021. The following April, it introduced bollards, planters and barriers to restrict car access at key entrances and discourage through-traffic. Other changes included red-painted intersections, marked dooring zones, additional bicycle parking and the removal of some on-street parking. Those spaces were repurposed for restaurant patios, greenery, street furniture and delivery zones.

While cars were still allowed on the street, diverters prevented drivers from using it as a shortcut, cutting daily traffic rates nearly in half while increasing bicycle traffic by 25%.

And contrary to common fears, traffic did not increase on the surrounding streets, but actually decreased throughout the entire neighborhood. In addition, traffic collisions fell by nearly half, while bicycling collisions dropped 27%, despite the increase in bicycling rates.

………

Caltrans is hosting a virtual public meeting next month to discuss safety improvements on LA’s killer highway.

Caltrans District 7 invites you to the second virtual public workshop for the PCH Segment A Safety Improvement Project – Project Initiation.

Whether you attended a previous workshop or are joining us for the first time, we welcome your participation. This second virtual workshop provides another opportunity to learn about the project, ask questions, and share your input.

Workshop Details

Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2026
Time: 6:00–7:00 p.m.
Platform: Microsoft Teams
Register here: PCH Segment A (meeting link will be sent upon registration)

The project is in the early Project Initiation Document (PID) phase. The workshop will cover the proposed safety improvements and alternatives being considered. Your feedback will help inform the evaluation and refinement of these concepts.

Please share this invitation with others who may be interested. For additional information, visit the PCH Segment A Safety Improvement Project webpage.

………

A new movie screening at Laemmle theaters next month is described as “not just a ‘bike film,’ but a film where the bike is the philosophy.

According to a publicity email I received yesterday, A Simple Machine was inspired by a novel from Evan P. Schneider.

Shot in luminous black and white in Portland, it follows Nick Allander (Richard Blackmon) as a recent grad drowning in debt who chooses radical frugality. His bicycle becomes his tool for economic independence: mobility without debt, technology that enhances human agency, instead of extracting from it. In a city where cycling is cultural currency, Hoffman reframes the simple machine as a deliberate choice toward simplicity, dignity, and embodied presence.

This moving film will be in LA on Nov 16 at Laemmle NoHo 7, and on Nov 17 at Laemmle Monica Film Center. Q&As with director Mark Alan Hoffman and star Richard Blackmon will follow both screenings, and Santa Monica Spoke is doing a “ride to show” event on the 17th.

Meanwhile, a new documentary tells the story of a 51-year old Army vet who rode her bike across the US and became a Paralympian after losing her eyesight while working as an EMT.

………

Last weekend I was invited to take part in something I would have jumped at under other circumstances — a ride to San Diego on the Pacific Surfliner, followed by a Brompton ride through the city.

Unfortunately, I had to turn it down, despite the combination of two of my favorites, Bromptons and trains.

I’m tempted to say that sometimes dealing with diabetes and the various associated medical conditions suck.

But it sucks all the time.

75 Riders, One Train, Two Cities: Brompton and Pacific Surfliner Celebrate Partnership With LA-to-San Diego Ride

California, October 27, 2026 – Brompton, the London-based folding bike brand, celebrated its new partnership with the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner by bringing 75 riders and their Bromptons aboard the Surfliner from Los Angeles to San Diego. The ride showed how rail and a folding bike together can replace the car for both the daily commute and the weekend adventure.

A bike turns a train trip into a door-to-door journey, and the Pacific Surfliner makes it easy to bring one, with free bike reservations on every train. A folded Brompton goes one step further, riding as carry-on luggage with no reservation necessary. That flexibility is what lets a group this big travel together on a single train.

On Saturday, October 24, riders boarded the Pacific Surfliner at Los Angeles Union Station, with more joining along the way. In San Diego they unfolded their bikes and explored Balboa Park, Little Italy, the Gaslamp Quarter and the Embarcadero, then took the ferry to Coronado Island to watch the sunset at the Hotel del Coronado. Train, bike, ferry and back: a full car-less day out.

The partnership brings together two leading names in urban mobility: the iconic folding bike brand and the busiest state-supported intercity rail route in the country. Together, Brompton and the Surfliner aim to show how multimodal travel can fit into daily life, and they’re doing it as more Californians choose the train. Preliminary July 2026 figures put the Pacific Surfliner on pace for the highest monthly ridership in its history, with more than 300,000 passengers.

“Southern California is our fastest-growing market in the US, and it’s easy to see why,” said Alex Balansay, Brand Manager at Brompton North America. “The climate, the coastline and a growing rail network make it one of the best places in the country to travel without a car. Saturday showed what that looks like: 75 people, one train, and a whole city to explore at the other end.”

“A great rail journey doesn’t begin or end at the train station,” said Jason Jewell, Managing Director of the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency, which manages the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner service. “Making it easier for passengers to connect to their final destinations is an important part of improving the overall travel experience. This event highlights how folding bikes and passenger rail can work together to give travelers more flexibility, convenience and freedom to explore Southern California without relying on a car. We’re excited to showcase how simple first- and last-mile connections can open up new possibilities for our riders.”

Riders can plan the same trip themselves. On the Pacific Surfliner, folding bikes under 34 x 15 x 48 inches ride free as carry-on luggage with no reservation. Full-size bikes need a free bike reservation when booking.

Schedules and tickets are at pacificsurfliner.com, and Brompton models and dealers are at brompton.com.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going. 

Boston is ripping out a newly installed protected bike lane in front of a senior home, after residents complained they weren’t consulted first, it prevents them from crossing the street, and kept an ambulance from pulling up right in front; meanwhile, the head of a local advocacy group offered a perfectly reasonable response promising to work with residents to come up with a solution that works for everyone.

………

Local 

That’s more like it. Long Beach has secured the funding for a $73 million project to move a spectrum of Shoreline Drive out of César Chávez Park, and convert it to a miles-long network of open space. Because cars don’t belong in parks, period. 

LA Times readers take the paper to task for a recent article that basically said “boys will be boys” while using illegal e-motorbikes, not unlike I did yesterday.

Congratulations, Los Angeles, your official slogan for the ’28 Olympics is “Stars Align.” Which could pretty much refer to anything, and therefore means absolutely nothing.

 

State

Calbike says California could soon have its best chance in years to pass the Bicycle Safety Stop, aka Idaho Stop, aka Stop as Yield, because Governor Gavin Newsom will soon be out of office, after vetoing two separate versions of the bill.

USA Today takes up the sentencing of 33-year old Samuel Matthew Rocha to 27 to life for intentionally killing 16-year old Pedro Valdez as he rode his bike in Port Hueneme, in a traffic crime rampage that began with a confrontation with another man in a case of mistaken identity.

A Bakersfield bike rider suffered major injuries when they were struck by the driver of a white vehicle. Because evidently, the color of the car has a big impact on how bad the crash is, pun intended.

Sad news from Visalia, where a 63-year old woman was killed when she tried to make a left turn on her bicycle, and was struck by an oncoming driver.

San Francisco Streetsblog says a new 0.2-mile quick-build protected bike lane wasn’t quick, it’s not really protected, and it’s not continuous, with gaps for handicapped parking and a bus stop.

 

National

A woman in an undetermined city posted video of a driver getting stuck in a protected bike lane, as she walked ahead of him — never mind that as a pedestrian, she didn’t belong in the bike lane, either.

The New York Daily News calls for rejecting a ballot measure that would speed approval of street safety projects, including bike lanes, because of “lawless” ebike riders, most of whom are riding e-motorbikes that aren’t legally allowed in bike lanes, anyway. But then they hide the editorial behind a paywall, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of voicing their opinion in the first place.

The NYPD called off a “hastily planned” raid on an ebike parking lot used by hundreds of delivery workers, because a) it’s not illegal for bikes to be parked in spaces which would otherwise be used by motor vehicles, and b) the workers politely moved to the other side of the street. Although a local radio station says the raid was called off after cops spotted reporters waiting for them.

Oddly, New York continues to function as a world-class city, as Mayor Mandami announced plans to redesign a 2.1-mile stretch of one of Brooklyn’s most dangerous streets. Something Los Angeles somehow seems unable to do.

A Florida police captain will ride his bicycle around a four-mile park route for 24 hours to raise funds for a Spanish-language religious mission.

 

International

Life is cheap in the UK, where a 39-year old road-raging driver walked without a day behind bars for grabbing a bike rider by the neck and throwing him to the ground and causing a serious brain injury, for the crime of being in his way.

 

Competitive Cycling

The chief of USA Cycling says the one thing missing after Brandon McNulty won the world road championship is an American WorldTour race.

Nineteen-year old ‘cross cyclist Tofik Beshir has a long way to go in his recovery after he was struck by a driver while on a training ride three weeks ago, as his teammates rally around him; a crowdfunding page has raised has raised over $142,000 of a $200,000 goal.

Instagram post

 

Finally…

You know you’re good when you set a new Strava KOM during a photoshoot. And apparently, bicyclists legally using the roadway are road hogs.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Port Hueneme man gets 27 years for intentionally killing bike-riding teen, and South LA has two of state’s deadliest intersections

October 28, 2026 / / No comments

A Port Hueneme man will spend at least the next 27 years behind bars after he was sentenced for intentionally plowing his car into a group of seven bike-riding teens, killing one and injuring four others, before speeding away.

Thirty-three-year old Samuel Rocha was sentenced to 15 years to life for the second-degree murder of 16-year old Pedro Valdez in April, 2021, and 12 years total for five counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of battery.

The incident began when Rocha spotted a man he mistakenly thought he knew from his past, punching the man in a laundromat parking lot, then intentionally driving into another man who tried to take a picture of his license plate.

Rocha’s public defenders had argued that he never saw the bicyclists, and even if he did, he wasn’t mentally stable and sober after a “long and documented history of mental illness, including delusions and hallucinations,” and wouldn’t have had time to stop, anyway.

Clearly, the judged didn’t buy it, imposing the maximum sentence on each count.

One bit of good news, as the Ventura County Star reports the Oxnard Fixie Crew, the bike club Valdez started before his murder, is still active.

………

Congratulations, South Los Angeles.

You’re home to not one, but two of the deadliest intersections in California, at Obama and La Cienega boulevards in Baldwin Hills and Central Aveand 89th Street, with both seeing three traffic deaths over a six-year period.

But before the rest of Southern California rests easy, the remainder of the top five are also in SoCal, with Hesperia, Costa Mesa and Compton showing two deaths each.

The study, compiled by a personal injury law firm, also showed that Los Angeles was by far the state’s deadliest county for pedestrians, with exactly four times as many people killed while using crosswalks as the number two county, with 80 deaths in Orange County, compared to 356 in LA Countyover the same period.

San Diego, Santa Clara and Alameda counties rounded out that top five.

Which means that Los Angeles, city and county, are number one in both categories. Which should make us all feel like number two.

………

Talk about missing the point.

In an article that appeared online over the weekend, a writer for the LA Times wonders if maybe we’re overreacting about young teens on high-powered ebikes.

According to staff writer Jack Dolan,

If you live in any California city, surely you’ve seen them: groups of boys at that painfully awkward and insecure stage of early adolescence riding around on e-bikes trying — and almost always failing — to look cool.

Especially memorable are the ones who cover their faces like Stormtroopers or ICE agents, hoping to seem more intimidating than their not-yet-filled-out frames would otherwise allow.

The whole thing would be just another cringeworthy display of teenage rebellion if the potential consequences weren’t so serious; many of those bikes are equipped with powerful electric motors and can go up to 60 mph.

After discussing the a) problem and b) reaction to the problem, including the Orange County DA’s recent ebike buyback program, as well as charging the parents of teen ebike riders, Dolan talks about how he felt safer on his motorcycle during his 20-mile commutes, despite the reactions of motorists.

For more than a decade, I made the 20-mile commute to work at the Los Angeles Times on a motorcycle. Given what sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic does to my blood pressure, the motorcycle seemed like the safer option. And, yes, I remember the startled, sometimes angry, expressions on drivers’ faces as I cruised by at twice their speed…

Maybe that’s why, when I look at those kids on their e-bikes, I don’t see Public Enemy No. 1. I know they’re trying to look tough — maybe even trying to scare me — but all I can see is how vulnerable they are. I hope we don’t start treating them all like criminals.

But here’s the problem. Or rather, problems.

Clearly, the kids aren’t Public Enemy No. 1. But they’re kids. They don’t have the training, skills or fully developed cerebellums to handle anything that fast or powerful. And yes, their parents — not the kids — should be held accountable for buying them in the first place.

Which brings up the second problem.

These aren’t ebikes. Ebikes are clearly defined by the state — and even more clearly, after the passage of recent legislation — as having a maximum speed of 28 mph. And even that requires that the riders be over 16 years old.

The kids Dolan talks about are actually riding e-motorcycles, aka e-motos, electric dirt bikes that can’t legally be ridden on the streets, with or without a license, or ebikes that have been — wink wink, nudge nudge — illegally hacked to increase their power and speed beyond what is legal under state law.

So while kids will be kids, parents should act like parents, and keep their children off illegal, overpowered e-motos, because that’s what they are — on both counts.

Children, and illegal. Not to mention dangerous.

It’s better to have your kid mad at you because you won’t buy them one, than to bury them because you did.

………

Sky News reports on two women who escaped occupied Ukraine by bicycle, riding over 1,200 miles through Russia and Belarus while “braving mines, Russian soldiers and a drone attack.”

Thanks to Megan for the heads-up. 

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going. 

No bias here. The press is attacking a new protected bike lane in Salt Lake City, while the Utah legislature passed a bill banning new bike lanes in the city without approval from the state department of transportation. Because no one understands the safety needs on local streets better than a bunch of state bureaucrats. 

No bias here, either. The conservative Times of London complains that “bad cycling has been decriminalized” as the number of tickets issued to bicyclists dropped to its lowest level in five years — even though more people in the UK are killed by cows every year than by bicyclists. Although the cops seldom ticket scofflaw cows, either.

Or here. The east London borough of Havering scrapped fully funded plans for a new bikeway, despite the recents deaths of two bike riders, prompting complaints that the Reform Party has “decided there’s not enough dead people.”

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

The New Haven, Connecticut academic community is morning a local professor who was killed in a hit-and-run collision with someone on an ebike.

The British tabloids are claiming that bicyclists are riding “willy-nilly” through the newly pedestrianized Oxford Street, without fear of penalty or retribution. 

………

Local 

Vanity Fair says LA mayoral candidate Nithya Raman is too moderate for the radicals, and too radical for the moderates. But at least she’s wearing a CicLAvia P-22 tee shirt in the accompanying photo. 

Los Angeles now finally has speed cams in 25 locations throughout the city, although it will be another three months before they actually begin issuing tickets. Meanwhile, San Jose has their network up and running, too.

As expected, the LA City Council voted unanimously to ask LADOT to report back on what resources would be required to replace the city’s infamous plastic car-tickler bollards with Toronto barriers. Which is the city’s usual method of appearing to take action without actually doing anything.

Redondo Beach now has bike lanes along the entire, albeit brief, length of Palos Verdes Blvd through the city, including nearly half a mile of “top-notch curb-protection.”

 

State

When you’re riding in Vista while carrying meth and brass knuckles, put a damn light on your bike and stop for the red lights.

San Diego’s annual Bike the Coast ride saw more than 1,300 participants raise over $10,000 for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

 

National

A writer on Substack argues that the bicycle industry is drowning in its own red ink as it fights over the same pot of customers, while ignoring an ocean of potential new bicyclists. Thanks to Ken for the link. 

An 18-year old New Jersey man is facing a murder charge for the hit-and-run death of two girls sharing an ebike, while he was allegedly doing 70 mph in a 25 mph zone.

Schmucks. A 71-year old New Jersey man was found lying dead in the street after he was struck by two separate drivers while riding his bicycle, both of whom fled the scene.

A 26-year old road-raging Virginia man faces up to 23 years behind bars after pleading guilty to shooting — yes, shooting — a 26-year old man riding a bicycle, after cutting the bike rider off with his car; he also agreed to a lifetime protective order prohibiting him from contact with the victim as part of the plea deal.

 

International

Momentum offers a mostly recycled list of bicycle-themed costume ideas.

Um, sure. The attorney for a hit-and-run driver accused of murder for dragging a 56-year old British bike rider over a mile to his death told the jury his client was selfish and thinking only of himself, but certainly wasn’t a murderer.

A district in Seoul, South Korea, recently wrapped up a bicycling festival designed to “ease social isolation among single-person households and encourage healthy leisure activities.”

Japan could consider revising a ban on child bicycle seats for kids after they enter elementary school.

The family of an Australian girl who disappeared while riding her bike to school in 1972, when she was just 14, are now offering a $1 million reward for the arrest and conviction on her killer, 52 years after a piece of her skull was found. Although the chances of finding a living person to convict get slimmer with every year. 

 

Finally…

That feeling when the morning TV news hosts somehow falsely claim — not once, not twice, not thrice, but four times (frice? fource?) — that Dutch bicyclists are required to have license plates and insurance. Just a suggestion, but maybe don’t hold a gravel race during hunting season.

And seriously, when there’s literally jellyfish floating in the street, don’t ride your bike there.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Today’s post called on account of migraine and vet visit

October 27, 2026 / / No comments

I’m dealing with another migraine tonight, and have an early vet appointment in the morning — no, not for me — so I’m going to give up once again, and I’ll see you bright and early on Wednesday.

One more thing — they’ve identified the victims in Saturday’s Montclair bike crash. And if my head wasn’t already turning my stomach, thinking about that needless effing tragedy would.

Category: General /

Change the law to allow DA’s to file 2nd degree murder for hit-and-runs, and drawn into WeHo politics by Fountain Ave bike lanes

October 26, 2026 / / 4 comments

For well over a decade, I’ve been calling for a crackdown on hit-and-run drivers, including immediate driver’s license revocation and impounding their car.

But now, in light of Saturday’s horrific Montclair hit-and-run that killed two innocent people, I’m willing to reduce that to one very simple and achievable ask — change the law to allow DA’s to file a 2nd degree murder charge in hit-and-run cases.

It’s based on a very simple premise. Vehicular manslaughter is defined as “the unlawful killing of a human being with a motor vehicle, without premeditation or malice aforethought.”

But in a hit-and-run, the driver makes a conscious decision to leave the victim injured or dying in street — in this case dragging one victim over a mile with his car.

The defense would undoubtedly argue that the driver was too drunk to consciously choose to let the victim die rather than stop of call for help. But that’s something that a jury should be able to decide, never mind that he never should have been behind the wheel in the first place.

So what do you think? Is a murder charge appropriate in a case like this?

………

He gets it.

I’m used to criticizing op-eds on WeHo Online written by opponents of bike lanes, like perennial city council candidate and store owner Larry Block. So I expected the worst when I saw yet another bike-related op-ed on the West Hollywood website.

But I was pleasantly surprised to read longtime WeHo resident, Jungian psychotherapist and avid cyclist Chris Kilbourne describe wading into local West Hollywood issues and reconsidering old political alliances to argue that the Nov. 3 election could “determine the future of safer streets, housing and the city’s broader vision for progress.”

Now I found myself researching as much as I could through online articles, documents and discussion boards when I’d hear the many terrible things Kyle Brazeal and his buddies, John Duran, and Larry Block the three front-runner anti bike-lane candidates were doing. For example, Kyle wrote a comment in response to an article in WeHo Times (https://wehotimes.com/fountain-avenue-streetscape-plans-up-for-discussion-on-tuesday-aug-19/) in which he appeared to brazenly brag that he would speed in his car along Fountain Ave., even having gotten ticketed several times, which he ignored, declaring that he would never slow down unless there were speed bumps and flashing lights, which violent car-centric attitude horrified me; as well as angry, intimidating outbursts she experienced from him in commission meetings. And regarding John Duran, his sexual harassment scandals certainly concerned me, which concern became heightened as I learned about his allyship with Kyle and Larry, whose unapologetically anti-rent control position is offensive, as are other apparent compromised ethics, especially evident in his supposed recusal from his blog, wehoonline (https://wehotimes.com/west-hollywood-council-candidate-larry-block-accused-of-abusing-ownership-of-news-site-to-attack-political-rivals/) which seems to have a terrible habit of attacking his enemies and promoting his allies.

Kilbourne describes biking to last Monday’s city council meeting, and speaking passionately in support of the city he loves, as well as the need for safe bikeways. But despite the win on Monday, it could all be for naught if the conservative NIMBY slate beats out more progressive YIMBY candidates.

Now comes the election on November 3rd. If Chelsea (Byers), Helen (Kreiger), and Stephen (Post) are not voted in, there is still a chance that the whole humanizing beautification of Fountain Ave. could end up with the same old annoying traffic, now with flashing red lights and speed bumps, after more incessant delays, relinquished state grants, and agonizing injuries and possible lawsuits. And the NIMBYs will have conserved their precious parking spots on the street, which as homeowners presumably with their own driveways, they personally probably don’t even need.

As you can see, itt’s not a quick read. But it’s worth the time it takes to read it, especially if you live and vote in West Hollywood. Or if you’re just looking for a roadmap to get more involved in your own community.

………

Good for him.

A San Diego City Councilmember called for a less defensive response from city workers to a recent grand jury report calling into question the city’s approach to building bike lanes, concluding that the city’s lack of a “connected, well‑maintained bike infrastructure discourages many people from bicycling as a viable commuting option.”

According to public radio station KBPS,

City officials said they partially disagreed, and that bike infrastructure in the city is getting better. They also said transportation decisions are influenced by more than just infrastructure.

But Councilmember Kent Lee said he thinks the grand jury got it right, and that unsafe streets clearly discourage people from biking.

“I don’t know about my colleagues, but I would just agree — that’s just factually true,” Lee said. “I understand contextualizing … but to me, it just came off as we’re being very defensive.”

It takes courage for a city leader to publicly defend bike lanes given the level of bikelash seen in San Diego lately, as drivers decry the loss of traffic lanes and parking required to build the kind of safe, connected bike network the grand jury called for.

………

The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going. 

Always happy to fan the flames of any New York bikelash, the conservative and contrarian New York Post highlights a coalition of Brooklyn groups opposing a ballot measure that would change the city charter to make it easier to build bike lanes, as the groups somewhat disingenuously say they’re “against decisions being made about our communities without meaningful participation from the people who live and work here,” since they literally get a vote on it.

No bias here. An English town councilor complained that new “nightmare” bike lanes are unwanted and an “utter disaster” for the town, arguing that safer pedestrian crossings would have been better because the local population isn’t exactly young. Maybe someone should tell him that older people bike, too.

………

Local 

The Los Angeles Times considers whether the ebike backlash is an overreaction. Yes and no — it’s an overreaction if you lump all ebikes, legal and otherwise, together.

Streetsblog discovers new bike lanes on Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood, and near Expo Park on Broadway Place and 39th Street in South LA.

A man riding an ebike suffered non-life threatening injuries when he was struck by a driver in Long Beach Friday night.

 

State

A 12-year old Orange County boy calls for “common sense ebike safety reform,” which would ban anyone under 16 from riding anything other than Class 1 ped-assist ebikes, while requiring testing and licensing for ebike riders. Never mind that New Jersey has already found a similar law unworkable, less than a year after it was implemented. 

Speaking of which, LAist talks with OC DA Todd Spitzer about charging parents and guardians for usage of illegal ebikes by children.

A 35-year old Ocean Beach man was arrested for DUI after hitting a 52-year old woman riding an ebike as she rode in a bike lane, as the driver was attempting to make a U-turn, leaving the victim with multiple facial fractures.

The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition teamed with local organizations to host an ebike safety class for more that 50 kids, after 14-year old Owen Harris was killed while riding an ebike in the city last month.

Kern County is on the verge of completing a new bikeway connecting Northwest Bakersfield to the Kern River trail, with the final railroad crossing expected to be finished next spring.

A Santa Cruz op-ed says it’s time to stop mourning bicyclists and start protecting them on local highways.

A Lodi bike rider was injured when he was struck by a community cop, after allegedly crossing against the red light.

 

National

A Utah man flew to the Netherlands to recreate a more than 100-mile bike ride his father took on a bicycle with no tires, after hitchhiking with Nazi soldiers to deliver food to his father during the famine of 1944-45.

You’ve got to be kidding. A Republican running for Congress told President Trump that Iowans don’t ride bicycles, apparently forgetting the iconic RAGBRAI ride across the state, supported annually by Iowa’s roughly 900,000 bicyclists; officials with RAGBRAI, aka the world’s largest bicycle tour, said au contraire, mon frère. Actually, that’s a little highfalutin for down-to-earth Iowans, but still. 

A Chicago bike route was renamed in honor of a three-year old little girl who was killed by a driver while riding on the back of his mother’s bicycle.

A quaint little Hudson River town wants to build out a bicycle network to connect with a new rail trail along the river. But, you know, parking.

Bighearted DC TV viewers dug into their own pockets to replace an ebike a single mother used to support her family, after she had been robbed by masked teens.

Good idea. A Baton Rouge, Louisiana bike parade raised funds for a local bike co-op.

 

International

A columnist for Road.cc digs into disturbing efforts to “martyr” Georgia hit-and-run driver Jerry Ross, who freely admits to driving into a group ride while blaming the bicyclists for the crash, and warns that the trend could be headed to the UK.

A reviewer for Bike Radar says forget wind tunnels and AI, the best bicycles are still designed by people.

He gets it, too. A Toronto writer says stop calling him a “biker,” as if bicyclists were one big tribe all with the same interests, because bike riders aren’t all the same, and we’re not the enemy. Not to mention that most people think of bikers as big hairy guys with matching leathers on Harley Davidsons.

British bike hero Chris Boardman, now the country’s active travel commissioner, says that police are right to focus on drivers rather than bicyclists, because bicycles don’t pose the same risk as two-ton motor vehicles.

 

Competitive Cycling

If you thought you saw pro cyclists Remco Evenepoel and Demi Vollering riding the streets of Los Angeles recently, you may have been right as they flew in to promote Specialized and scout out possible routes for the ’28 LA Olympics.

 

Finally…

Yes, ebike jousting is a thing now. Then again, so is an annual Cemetery Creep bike ride.

And the obvious key to celebrity bike dating is matching ebikes.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin.

 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Update: Montclair Halloween ride becomes true horror show when alleged drunk, hit-and-run driver kills two, dragging one victim over a mile

October 25, 2026 / / No comments

Nothing like waking up to the worst possible news.

Because once again, a motor vehicle became a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of a drunken, heartless and murderous coward.

According to a press release from the Montclair Police Department, around 30 people taking part in a “self-coordinated” Halloween ride were riding east on Kingsley Street and Tudor Ave around 10:39 last night when the group was struck head-on by a westbound driver.

The driver fled the scene, dragging one victim over a mile before dislodging their body in a residential neighborhood.

One person died at the scene, while a woman lost her life after at 1:19 am Sunday after being taken to a hospital. Two others were injured; at last report, one was in stable condition with major injuries, while a person suffered a gash to the head, but declined treatment against medical advice.

Video from the scene shows a field of mangled bicycles. Police stressed that the ride “was not sponsored, organized, or affiliated with the City of Montclair.”

The driver was identified by detectives, and 38-year old Valentin Alberto Rodriguez was arrested at his at his home around 2:40 am.

He was booked at the West Valley Detention Center on charges of:

  • Vehicle Code § 23153(a): Driving under the influence and causing injury or death
  • Vehicle Code § 23153(b): Driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher and causing injury or death
  • Vehicle Code § 20001(b)(2): Felony hit-and-run involving death or permanent, serious injury
  • Penal Code § 191.5(a): Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated

These charges could be upgraded to murder if Rodriguez has a previous DUI. Although it should be considered murder simply for leaving one victim to die, and dragging another to their apparent death.

This is at least the 59th and 60th bicycling fatalities that I’m aware of in Southern California this year, and the third and fourth we know about in San Bernardino County.

Update: The victims have been identified as 25-year old Robert Garcia Umanzor and 30-year old single mother Rumor Ortiz.

According to KTLA-5, Ortiz had quickly developed a love of bicycling after joining the Luna bike crew. 

“She was kindhearted. She was happy all the time. She brought extreme joy to the group,” Ani Fine, a friend of Ortiz, told KTLA…

Among those attending the vigil was Yoly Shively, Umanzor’s aunt, who remembered her nephew as an outgoing person who enjoyed being surrounded by loved ones.

“He just loved being around people. I know that, and he just loved our family,” Shively told KTLA. “He was so sociable, I know, with all his friends.”

A crowdfunding campaign to help pay for Umanzor’s funeral expenses has raised over $10,000 of the $16,000 goal. There doesn’t appear to be a fundraiser for Ortiz at this time. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Robert Garcia Umanzor and Rumor Ortiz, and all their loved ones.

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
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