Missing the point on ghost bikes, El Segundo’s new substandard bike lanes, and CA’s failed ebike voucher plan

July 26, 2024 / / One comment
Just 158 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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An Altamont NY writer kinda misses the point about ghost bikes.

He notes that it’s natural to grieve, and we don’t all do it in the same way. But wonders whether it’s healthy to be reminded of these tragedies every time you pass by, and questions who wants to see something like that, anyway?

But that’s the point.

None of us want to see that. But we all need to be reminded what happened there.

Because a ghost bike is more than just a memorial. It’s a reminder to everyone who sees it about the fragility of human life, and the need to drive in a way that respects that.

A ghost bike is a searing reminder to respect the safety of people on bicycles, and to take your damn foot off the gas, for once.

Personally, I hate the damn things. I hope we never have to install another one.

But I will support ghost bikes until they’re not needed any more. And the last person killed riding a bike on our streets really is the last one.

Photo of ghost bike for fallen South LA bicyclist Frederick “Woon” Frazier by Matt Tinoco.

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Evidently, substandard is the new standard. At least in El Segundo.

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It’s now 218 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, Streetsblog’s Melanie Curry has taken an in-depth look at the program. Or at least as in-depth as possible, given the closed-door decision making process, obtuse public pronouncements and obvious obfuscation.

Her piece was posted under the headline What the Heck is Going on with the State E-bike Incentive Program? Which is about as politely stated as possible given the subject matter.

I would have used another word starting with H instead of heck. And even that would be an effort to censure my own thoughts on the subject.

Curry writes that the California Air Resources Board, aka CARB, has continually promised that the the program, which is currently funded at $30 million after the state legislature sweetened the pot, will launch “soon.”

Sometimes that’s sometime in the next quarter, or the one after that. But every time, their self-imposed deadline has come and gone, with barely a dime laid out.

The soft launch that we’ve heard virtually nothing about has funded just 77 vouchers, mostly in the San Diego area, according to Curry. But no dollar amounts have been announced.

And if San Diego rings a bell, it’s because that’s where program administrator Pedal Ahead is located. And where Pedal Ahead and its CEO are reportedly being investigated amid accusations of mixing public and private funds.

As Curry explains,

And now, two recent articles in the San Diego Union Tribune say that the program’s administrator is “under investigation” by multiple agencies for various improprieties, and is being sued by one of its employees who says he wasn’t paid for work he did, and that the nonprofit mixed public money and private business.

When CARB announced that they had chosen Pedal Ahead as administrator for the program in 2022, advocates were quietly but frantically worried that a big mistake had been made. Rumors swirled about Pedal Ahead’s founder, Ed Clancy, and questions were raised about his personal connections to former CARB board member Nathan Fletcher, who helped Clancy launch his organization, Rider Safety Visibility (RSV), of which Pedal Ahead is a part.

But no one would go on record with their concerns, and CARB staff insisted that (former CARB board member, California Assembly Member and current San Diego County Supervisor Nathan) Fletcher had zero influence over the decision. They chose Pedal Ahead, they said, because of the organization’s experience with e-bikes.

Nope. Nothing to see there.

Never mind the apparent conflict of interest that led to Pedal Ahead’s selection, despite an application that wasn’t exactly on point, to be kind.

Rider Safety Visibility turned in an application that implied it would recreate the program it was running in San Diego. But that program was not at all like the state’s plan. That is, the Pedal Ahead program run by RSV is a “loan-to-own” program wherein income-qualified people are given e-bikes, which they could keep after a certain period of time as long as they fulfilled certain requirements, like riding at least 35 miles a week and bringing them in regularly to be checked (and to have their mileage checked on Strava units included on the bike).

The statewide plan, in contrast, would give money to people to buy their own e-bikes.

Nothing to see there, either.

So let’s be honest.

At this point, it’s obvious that the California ebike voucher program is just one massive clusterfuck, with no public openness or accountability.

And it’s long past time for the California Attorney General’s office to audit the program, and open a criminal investigation if it’s warranted.

Because I highly suspect it is.

So if anyone wants to pass this on to them, I’m fine with that.

Thanks to Ellectrek for the heads-up. And to Melanie Curry for her reporting. 

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

A road raging, hit-and-run driver was arrested in Ventura County after plowing into a bicyclist riding at the back of a group on LA’s Mandeville Canyon Road; he’s then seen honking and yelling at the bike riders filming him as he plows through a gate, before engaging in a brief police chase and crashing once again in Malibu.

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

A Florida man has been busted on hit-and-run charges after crashing his speeding ebike into a man playing soccer on the beach, then fleeing the scene. Yet another reminder that you have as much responsibility to stop after a crash as a driver does. Even though they too often don’t.

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Local 

Police are looking for a man suspected of stabbing a man in his mid-40s at the the North Hollywood Metro station, before fleeing on a black bicycle.

Once again, a bicyclist is a hero, as a Venice rider rode his pedicab between boardwalk brawlers to break up a fight.

Beverly Hills plans to restripe the existing bike lanes on Burton Drive, after completing the current repaving project.

Claremont approved spending $41,000 to continue funding the GoSGV bikeshare.

Agoura Hills is rolling out a new bike plan, after receiving a $1.6 million federal transportation grant.

 

State

San Diego intends to use eminent domain to seize two pieces of private property in La Jolla considered essential for completing the Coastal Rail Trail bikeway.

The Ventura County coastline is now officially part of US Bike Route 95.

 

National

National Geographic — yes, it’s still around — recommends the best road cycling gear for beginners.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, aka CPSC is warning bike riders to immediately stop using Camzimo bicycle helmets, which may not provide adequate protection in a fall.

Oh, hell no. Bicycling wants to know if you’d buy a $100 water bottle. For a change, read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you. 

For what seems like the first time in recorded history, a cop in North Platte, Nebraska offers safety advice for bicyclists that doesn’t once mention wearing a helmet. Although I’m not sure about the requirement to have a front bike light “that protrudes up to 500 feet,” which seems just a tad excessive. And dangerous.

Bill Belichick is one of us, as the 72-year old former NFL coaching great went for a Nantucket bike ride with his much younger girlfriend, after apparently confusing himself with the star of a Woody Allen film.

The New York Times offers a very belated obituary for 1930’s Belgian trans cyclist Willy de Bruyn, who broke gender barriers by announcing he wanted to live as a man, after winning a number of women’s cycling competitions.

No surprise here. The Philadelphia DA announced that the driver who killed a pediatric oncologist as she was riding her bike in the city last week was traveling at twice the posted 25 mph speed limit, with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit; the 68-year old driver has been charged with vehicular manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, DUI, reckless driving and other assorted offenses.

Kindhearted Brevard County, Florida sheriff’s deputies bought a new bike for a nine-year old girl after hers was stolen.

In the saddest story of the day, a three-year old Florida boy was killed when he was hit-by a driver while he was riding his bike with family members.

 

International

Toronto suffered its fifth bicycling fatality of the year — more than the previous four years combined — when a woman was struck by the driver of a dump truck, who was apparently unable to stop the large truck when parked cars blocking a bike lane forced the woman into the traffic lane.

Forget cycling. British bike hero Chris Boardman, who won the men’s individual pursuit at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, wants to own a Sussex football club. That’s soccer to those of us on this side of the pond.

Rouleur recommend five unique Parisian bicycling spots to visit during the 2024 Olympics, which start today.

Even in the midst of war, Ukrainian bicyclists call for the preservation of Kyiv’s “American Girl” bike park, one of the oldest in the city. And apparently one of the few sites the Russians haven’t managed to bomb. Yet.

 

Finally…

That feeling when your helmet and goggles-clad terrier is a biketouring RAGBRAI ruff rider. Or when you hold a memorial ride for bike-riding fallen feline.

And when a stray pup joins in on an indefinite bike ride around the world.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Study shows road diets don’t affect EMS response times, and LAPD belatedly asks for help solving Lincoln Heights hit-and-run

July 25, 2024 / / No comments
Just 159 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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A new study shows exactly what we’ve been saying all along — that road diets don’t affect emergency response times.

The study involved Iowa road diets that converted formerly four lane roadways to two lanes in each direction and a center turn lane. It confirmed there was no difference in emergency response times from before the installation to after they were installed.

And despite what we’re usually told, most EMS responders didn’t think they did, either.

On the other hand, what did affect response times was drivers who didn’t know how the hell to yield to emergency vehicles, especially after a lane had been removed.

And from what we’ve seen here in Los Angeles, that’s most of them.

Photo by F. Muhammad for Artistic Operations from Pixabay.

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This is who we share the road with.

The LAPD is looking for a hit-and-run pickup driver who caused a fatal crash involving a motorcyclist in Lincoln Heights this past May.

The driver reportedly ran a red light, causing the 49-year old motorcyclist to lay down his bike to avoid a collision. The victim then slid under a box truck and was run over, and died after being taken to a hospital.

The pickup driver continued without stopping.

And yes, it’s considered hit-and-run if you cause a crash, even if you don’t come into actual contact with the victim or their vehicle.

Never mind that, as usual, the LA cops waited until the trail got cold and people’s memory of the event faded before bothering to ask for the public’s help.

Even though both the city and state have passed hit-and-run alert programs intended to notify the public immediately after a crash, when people are most likely to recall key details that could lead to an arrest.

As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of this driver, or any other driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.

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It’s now 217 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

Meanwhile, Baltimore becomes just the latest city to launch an ebike voucher program before California’s moribund incentive plan gets off the ground, offering up to $2,000 off an electric bicycle.

Even though California’s program would have been the first in the nation if it had actually launched when it was originally approved by the legislature.

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

Four people have been arrested on murder and conspiracy charges following a West London collision that killed two men in their 20s riding bicycles. Unfortunately, given British press restrictions, there’s no information on how the crash occurred, why so many people were arrested or why police consider it a double murder.

No bias here. After yet another mass casualty crash, the BBC employs it’s most passive voice to say a “car and seven cyclists collided,” resulting in at least four serious injuries, and doesn’t even mention that the car had a driver until the next-to-last paragraph. Never mind that it’s highly unlikely the bicyclist collided with the car, rather than the driver plowing them down. 

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Local 

Bicycle owners were told to claim their bikes after a popular Marina del Rey bike locker program operated by LA County Beaches and Harbors was shut down following the theft of a dozen bicycles; the county promises to reopen it if and when they figure out how to make it theft proof.

 

State

Police in San Diego are asking for the public’s help in finding the hit-and-run driver who left a 60-year old bike rider in grave condition. The victim suffered numerous injuries, including a fractured neck and bleeding in the brain; unfortunately, there’s no description of the driver or suspect vehicle. The cops actually managed to alert the public within days of the crash, rather than waiting weeks or months after a serious hit-and-run, if they even get around to it, like the LAPD. 

A 67-year old man was shot and killed following an altercation on a Simi Valley bike path Tuesday night, although there’s no indication it had anything to do with bicycling.

Oakland bike advocates rightfully object to a call from port officials for the city to move planned bike lanes just “a few blocks over.” So the bike lanes don’t, you know, interfere with their plans, bike riders be damned.

 

National

The tiny little two-seat ELF ebike car rises zombie-like from the dead.

NACTO reports micromobility use — including standard bicycles, ebikes and scooters — climbed 16% in the US last year.

An Alaska news site questions whether anyone is actually using a new Anchorage bike path as it nears the halfway point of the pilot project — even though it’s used by up to 150 bike riders a day, and the downtown bike corral it connects to is often full, with as many as 100 bicycles.

A Minnesota writer says St. Paul needs to connect its breweries to its bike trails. I second that. And vote that we do that here, too. 

The post-pandemic bike bust claims another victim, as a 141-year old Cleveland bike shop that’s been run by the same family for three generations prepares to shutter its doors at the end of next month, a victim of supply chain problems and the difficulty finding trained workers.

New York Uber drivers complain about the city’s ever-worsening traffic congestion, while failing to recognize they’re  big part of athe problem.

A writer for an art website takes an educational 60-mile ride to Edward Hopper’s home in Nyack, New York for his 142nd birthday. And yes, Hopper was one of us.

 

International

The sister of assassinated British Member of Parliament Jo Cox celebrated the “inspirational” bike ride in her honor, with 83 people ranging from 16 to 78 completing the 288-mile ride from her hometown to London, where Cox was killed by a terrorist eight years ago.

Officials promise to “review” the narrow gate gap on a new Irish bicycle and pedestrian path  that only allows standard bicycles to pass, while blocking cargo bikes, adult tricycles and other large bikes. And the “cyclists dismount” sign doesn’t exactly help.

An Irish man credits his bike helmet with saving his life when he was struck by a driver this past weekend, and thinks because they helped him, they should be required for everyone. Even though bike helmets are designed for relatively low speed falls, not violent collisions with bigass motor vehicles.

Slovenia invites you to explore the country for your next bicycling vacation, which is home to some of the world’s best bicyclists — like the newly crowned three-time Tour de France champ, for instance.

 

Competitive Cycling

Velo examines who did and didn’t rake in the big bucks for the recently completed Tour de France, with three-time champ Tadej Pogačar hauling in nearly $875,000, while Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay brought a relatively paltry $58,000, despite winning three stages and the green jersey.

The Cofidis cycling team was forced to defend their Look racing bikes and Corima wheels used in the Tour de France, after team member Guillaume Martin blamed heavy bikes for their poor showing. Or, it could just be the team sucked they got beat by better teams. 

Bloomberg says Paris could be the bicycle Olympics, with virtually every venue reachable by bike.

Cyclist remembers the best cycling moments from the 2021 pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics.

Outside profiles Olympic mountain biker Riley Amos, and the small southwest Colorado mountain town I can’t talk my wife into moving to that’s produced more top cyclists than almost any other American city.

The Daily Pilot looks at the semiannual Costa Mesa Grand Prix, saying the race has found a home in the bike-friendly city.

 

Finally…

Nothing like NFL team security blocking your son from riding his bike to training camp — even though you’re the head coach. Why let a little thing like no front wheel stop you from riding?

And that feeling when you have to backtrack 170 miles in a transcontinental race to retrieve the passport and wallet you left at a gas station.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

15-year old Monterey Park girl found safe, context-free rise in ebike injuries, and elderly man gravely injured in Mira Mesa

July 24, 2024 / / No comments
Just 160 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

Photo from Monterey Park Police Dept. 

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She’s safe.

KABC-7 reports that Alison Jillian Chao, the 15-year old Monterey Park girl who disappeared on a bike ride last week, was found safe outside their studio in Glendale yesterday morning.

Chao was reportedly recognized by someone who followed her in their car and notified police.

Her aunt says she believes the girl ran away because she didn’t want to live with her mother, who was granted full custody of her on a temporary basis.

One more example of why the courts need to give more consideration to the desires of kids in custody cases.

But the important thing is she’s safe. The rest is details.

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Researchers are reporting a “remarkable” rise in ebike and e-scooter injuries.

A new study from UC San Francisco shows ebike injuries in the US have doubled each year for the last six years, rising from 750 in 2017 to 23,500 in 2022, while e-scooter owies have climbed an average of 45%, from 8,500 to 56,800 over the same period.

Although ebike injuries still represent less than 2% of the roughly 2.5 million injuries suffered by riders of more traditional bicycles.

And we have to look at that nine-fold rise in electric micromobility injuries in the context of the 50-fold jump in micromobility usage over the past ten years.

It’s also worth noting that the risk of death in comparison to injuries is just one-fifth of one per cent or less for any form of micromobility, ranging from <0.1% for ebikes and traditional scooters to 0.1% for regular bicycles and 0.2% for e-scooters.

Which appears to be a hell of a lot less than we’re usually led to believe.

The researchers also note a lack of helmets among injured riders, as well as drinking and drug use.

“Our findings stress a concerning trend: helmet usage is noticeably lower among electric vehicle users, and risky behaviors, such as riding under the influence, are more prevalent,” said study co-first author Kevin Li.

Never mind that they conflate rental ebikes and e-scooters with devices that are owned by their riders.

Which matters because renting a bicycle or scooter is often a spur of the moment decision. People who have been drinking or using drugs may choose to ride one instead of risking a DUI, and someone with lowered inhibitions may be more likely to ride one on impulse.

It’s also worth noting that less than 10% of e-scooter users were under the influence, dropping to 7% for ebike riders, and just 4% for riders of more traditional bicycles.

Which means that well over 90% of all users were sober a judge. Depending on the judge, of course.

And few people are likely to carry a helmet with them wherever they go, especially if they aren’t planning in advance to ride a bike or scooter, electric or otherwise.

It also appear the researchers conflated relatively low-speed ped-assist bikes with higher-speed throttle-controlled bicycles, which are better classified as lower-powered electric motorcycles.

As for the rapid jump in electric bike and scooter injuries, such stats are absolutely meaningless when not considered in context with the rapid rise in ebike and e-scooter usage.

Without that comparison, we have no way of knowing if the rate and severity of injuries are climbing relative to electric bike and scooter use, or if one is increasing faster than the other.

What’s needed is a side-by-side comparison of annual bicycle, ebike and e-scooter injuries relative to usage for each. Unless and until we have that, studies like this are interesting, but relatively meaningless.

Meanwhile, if you want to read a really badly reported synopsis of a synopsis of the study, you could do a lot worse than this story in the New York Post.

Like maybe this story in The Hill, which somehow blames the increase in ebike injuries on risky behavior and urban design — which may have been inferred, but neither of which were directly implicated in the study.

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More bad news from San Diego, where a 74-year old man was gravely injured in a solo bike crash.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, lost control of his bike and hit a curb while riding in the 10700 block of Camino Santa Fe in Mira Mesa, suffering life-threatening injuries including a brain bleed, broken collarbone and several fractured ribs.

Let’s all hope and pray he pulls through.

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It’s now 216 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

A Florida jogger faces a battery charge for hitting a woman in the face with a bottle and knocking her off her bicycle, yelling that she had to share the road, even though she was on a bike path where pedestrians aren’t allowed. Or joggers.

No bias here. Writing for the London Telegraph, the TV editor for the Independent newspaper says she’s a regular bike commuter, but she’s “sick of reckless cyclists ruining it for everyone,” while somehow assuming all those Lycra-clad louts are blowing through red lights at a remarkable 40 mph — double the speed limit, and far beyond the capacity of just about everyone without a motor. But still lower than the 52 mph cited in the headline.

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

Police dashcam and bodycam images captures video of a man on a bicycle evading cops on a chase through the city back in May, after attacking someone with a machete.

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Local 

To paraphrase Sunset Boulevard, the new Hollywood Blvd bike lanes are ready for their closeup, Mr. DeMille. And from what I’ve seen going by on the bus, they look marvelous.

 

State

Calbike accuses Caltrans of contributing to incomplete streets for bicyclists and pedestrians in Orange County by ignoring their own rules on Beach Blvd.

Yes, please. Dozens of Orange County drivers were ticketed for various offenses in a traffic crackdown over the weekend, including having overly loud exhaust systems. Now do Hollywood, where illegal decibel-shattering cars and motorcycles roar through the streets all day and night.

San Diego’s sparkling new fully separated Pershing Bikeway will have a partial opening this weekend, with connecting bike lanes coming online in the next few weeks.

San Diego bicyclists can use the Bike Lane Uprising app to document drivers parking in them.

SFGate says a quiet movement is growing in San Francisco, as more people trade the family car for e-cargo bikes, although residents are divided over the city’s Slow Streets program.

 

National

Americans set a new record for bikeshare and e-scooter rentals last year, topping the previous high of 147 million trips set in 2019 by a full ten million.

Bicycling may cause genital numbness, but doesn’t result in a statistically significant rate of erectile dysfunction in men, while women bicyclists are no more likely to report urinary or sexual dysfunction symptoms than swimmers or runners.

The parents of fallen Boulder, Colorado junior cycling champ Magnus White hope a memorial ride marking his death next month will be the largest advocacy ride in history.

There’s a special place in hell for the 41-year old Pueblo, Colorado man who shot a child in the back over an allegedly stolen bicycle; he faces three counts of attempted 2nd degree murder, despite causing the kid only minor injuries.

Thousands of riders participating in the annual RAGBRAI ride across Iowa visited tiny Greenfield, Iowa — population 2057 — just two months after a devastating tornado killed four people and injured dozens more.

The Boston Globe says bikes are booming in Beantown as new separated and protected bikeways roll out, but barriers to biking remain. Kinda like just about everywhere else, but without the spiffy new infrastructure in a lot of places.

J-Lo continues to impress fashionistas with her casual bike chic, going for a casual ride in the Hamptons in a floral skirt and matching bandeau top.

 

International

British Columbia bike riders complain that bicycles are just an afterthought on the local ferries.

More proof bikes mean business. Hotels and bicycle touring companies in a pair of Scottish cities have seen an increase in business since a new coast-to-coast bike route opened a year ago.

A writer for Cycling Weekly considers whether getting on your bike is really the best medicine, as more and more physicians in the UK prescribe bicycling to cure what ails you.

A British bike shop owner says “it’s a bit of a Wild West out there” when it comes to the safety of ebike batteries, as King Charles calls for better regulation of high risk products such as the lithium-ion batteries found in many ebikes.

You won’t find any “cyclists” in The Hague in the Netherlands, which PeopleForBikes calls the world’s best bicycling city. Although the country does use “the” a lot, and has some weird rules on its capitalization.

Michelin offers a handy guide to biking to newly bike-friendly Barcelona’s hotels and restaurants. Bearing in mind that tourists aren’t exactly welcomed by everyone in the Catalan city.

Good on them. Japan decided to cut the speed limit on narrow roadways from 60 kph to just 30 kph — aka 36 mph to 18 mph — which will affect roughly 70% of the nation’s streets, while improving safety for everyone.

 

Competitive Cycling

Bike World News introduces the US Olympic Cycling Team.

Newly re-crowned Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar pulled out of the Paris Games after winning the race on Sunday, aiming for a triple crown by winning the world championship, after taking the Giro title earlier this year.

British time trialist George Fox set an unofficial new road bike record over a 10 mile course, knocking two seconds off the current mark, while using a controversial triathlon bike.

 

Finally…

That feeling when you interrupt your ride across Iowa for a cold beer in The Middle of Nowhere. Or when your favorite bike path is closed for a boat race, even though boats hardly ever ride bikes.

And how to catch Olympic motor doping.

Let’s just hope they do a better job with that than they do with regular doping.

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Monterey Park teen missing after riding bike, and attempted assassin’s “suspicious” bicycle ride to Trump rally

July 22, 2024 / / One comment
Just 162 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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A 15-year old girl from Monterey Park is missing, nearly a week after she disappeared while riding her bike to visit family members.

Alison Chao left her father’s home a little after 5:30 pm this past Tuesday, but never made it to her an aunt’s home in San Gabriel.

She is described as Asian, 5 feet, two inches and weighs 96 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Chao was last seen wearing a purple t-shirt, a pair of black shorts and a pair of dark shoes, while riding a blue mountain bike and carrying a black backpack.

Anyone with information on Chao is urged to call the Monterey Park Police Department at 626/573-1311.

Photo from Monterey Park Police Dept. 

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Apparently, riding a bicycle to a political rally and leaving it propped up under a tree, is just the kind of strange behavior that should alert the cops to a potential assassin.

At least the seems to be the take at Fox News, which breathlessly reports that would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was seen riding his bicycle through the recent Pennsylvania political rally where he later took a shot at the former president.

Someone spotted Crooks’ bike parked under a tree, propped up with his backpack, a full 42 minutes before the shooting — where it still stood hours later.

And that, as much as the range finder he carried, should have tipped off the police and/or Secret Service that something was amiss, according to Fox, and triggered an emergency response team.

But evidently, driving a car to the rally would have been perfectly normal.

Which is not to say that there weren’t other warning signs they should have picked up on. But simply riding a bicycle to the rally isn’t one of them.

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It’s now 214 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

No bias here. An Ottawa, Canada letter writer somehow feels qualified to distinguish between good bicyclists and “Bozos,” as if bad drivers don’t exist, while another blames the people on bicycles for all their near misses while driving. Because it couldn’t possibly be their fault.

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

A 25-year old British man has been convicted of murder for fatally stabbing the 29-year old driver who crashed into his mountain bike and dragged it along the roadway; he claimed the driver and his passenger were both armed and he only killed the man in self defense, but the jury didn’t buy it.

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Local 

Federal officials approved a nearly $10 million grant to help build a pedestrian and bicycle crossing over the 710 Freeway, aka Long Beach Freeway.

 

State

Sad news from Maricopa, where a 53-year old man was killed by a driver while riding his bicycle — even if the story doesn’t mention that the car even had one. A driver, that is.

The rich get richer, as San Francisco gets another protected bike lane as part of the city’s Vision Zero program, this one a quick-build project on 17th Street. Which is what happens when a city actually give a damn about living up to its commitments to people on two wheels. Unlike a certain SoCal megalopolis we could name. 

The online San Francisco Standard says “disrespect” to drivers is fueling an angry political movement aimed at reclaiming space for motor vehicles, including reversing the potential permanent closure of the city’s Great Highway.

This is who we share the road with. A 23-year old Folsom driver has been charged with attempted murder for — allegedly — intentionally ramming his SUV into a motorcyclist and running over the victim, who was lucky to escape with a broken ankle and minor injuries.

 

National

Kawai, Hawaii became the latest jurisdiction to institute a Vision Zero program, promising to end traffic fatalities by 2040. Which is probably still years before Los Angeles will manage it, if it ever does. 

A new University of Washington study shows that Seattle’s Vision Zero projects have not had a negative impact on local businesses.

In a gut-wrenching story, three people have been arrested for the crash that killed a 67-year old Texas bike rider, including the driver — just 14 years old — as well as a 40-year old man charged with child endangerment and criminally negligent homicide, and a 22-year old woman charged with giving alcohol to a minor; a ten-year old child was also a passenger in the car.

A Tennessee man with a long record of DUI and driver’s license violations faces charges for the hit-and-run that killed a 41-year old man riding a bicycle, after a pair of women initially returned to the crash scene and falsely claimed one was the driver; no decision yet on whether they will be charged for the deception.

Skip the traffic and ride a bike to Rhode Island’s famed Newport Folk Festival.

Someone is putting up fake filming notices on New York lamp poles claiming that fictional Carrie Bradshaw of And Just Like That and Sex And The City fame gets hit with a Citi Bike bikeshare; then again, they also claim she accidentally sends the equally fictional Mr. Bean a nude selfie — and confesses to being Garfield the cat.

 

International

A writer for Forbes talks with ultra-distance “living legend” Lael Wilcox as she reaches the halfway point on her ride around the world, while explaining what goes into an attempt to set a new world record for circumnavigating the globe by bicycle.

A Glasgow, Scotland writer samples the city’s new $8.4 million segregated — aka protected — bike lane, and declares it better for both bicyclists and motorists.

An eight-year old boy from Cheshire, England has been named the UK’s Cyclist of the Year for his 80-mile bike ride to all four north west Premiere League stadiums, while raising the equivalent of nearly ten grand for a new bike shelter at his school.

An estimated 1,200 people took to their bicycles in the UK to call for a Gaza ceasefire and more humanitarian aid.

The Irish Senate takes up the the case of a family’s custom made bike shed, which they threatened to replace with a low-end trailer after the local government ordered them to remove it.

LeMonde examines the boom in French bike tourism, fueled by family-focused agencies, bike-specific accommodations and the explosion in ebike use.

Condé Nast Traveler says Paris is becoming a bicycling city, for better or worse — better being the willingness of the people to take to their bikes, and worse being the city’s still deficient infrastructure.

Even bicyclists in the Netherlands have to obey the law, but face fines if they don’t.

The number of people killed riding bicycles in Germany’s Thuringia state more than doubled last year, despite investments in bike infrastructure — although the victims were “not infrequently” blamed for their own crashes.

 

Competitive Cycling

Tadej Pogačar put an exclamation point behind his third yellow jersey with his third consecutive Tour de France stage win — and sixth overall in this year’s Tour — after previously winning the race in 2020 and 2021.

London’s Independent explains why Nice — the city, not the personality type — was the perfect stand-in for Paris for the finish of the Tour de France.

A Welsh website celebrates the Manx Missile being caught on camera speaking the local tongue, after Mark Cavendish set the record for Tour stage wins in what was likely his final grand tour.

CNN celebrates Eritrean Tour de France points champ Biniam Girmay, who became the first Black African to win a stage in the Tour de France, then added two more; Girmay says he wants to inspire others as the only Black rider in this year’s peloton.

Not surprisingly, cycling teams competing in the Tour consider broadcasting their team tactics on live TV a big non-non, with two — Visma-Lease a Bike and Ineos Grenadiers — pulling out of the broadcast agreement, and others threatening to.

 

Finally..

Your next ebike could come from the Mercedes F1 team. You know traffic sucks when even race car drivers would rather ride a bike.

And when you skate on biking under the influence because the cops can’t prove you were actually riding your bike, maybe don’t let them catch you riding a unicycle right afterwards.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Ramos faces up to 20 years for killing five-year old in drunken hit-and-run, and wannabe Trump assassin was one of us

July 19, 2024 / / No comments
Just 165 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

A few people have volunteered to write guest posts to help keep this site from going dark when I’m out next month for surgery on my torn rotator cuff. 

So if you’re interested in filling in here for a few days, or joining them in submitting a guest post or two, just email me at the address on the About page above.

………

Twenty years.

Charges have been refiled against Ceferino Ascencion Ramos for the alleged drunken hit-and-run that killed five-year old Jacob Ramirez, and injured his entire family, as they were enjoying an evening bike ride in Garden Grove nearly two weeks ago.

Ramos, who had a blood alcohol content of .22% at the time of his arrest, now faces a charge of vehicular manslaughter, as well as felony counts of driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury, driving with blood alcohol of .08% or more causing bodily injury, and hit and run with injury, with sentencing enhancements for leaving a victim comatose or paralyzed and inflicting great bodily injury.

If he is convicted on all counts, Ramos could spend the next two decades behind bars. But the most likely result is that the DA will allow him to plead to a reduced sentence in order to guarantee a conviction.

The lack of a murder charge indicates this is probably Ramos’ first DUI arrest, or he at least hasn’t been convicted before.

The good news, if there is any in this mess, is that Jacob’s six-year-old sister has been released from the hospital after undergoing surgery for her injuries. However, the children’s father is still in a coma due to a fractured skull and bleeding in the brain.

Meanwhile, Streets Are For Everyone, aka SAFE, will install a ghost bike for Jacob Ramirez later today.

The ceremony will take place at 7:30 pm on the 12300 block of Haster Street at Twin Tree Lane in Garden Grove.

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Wannabe Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks was one of us, as reports suggest he used his bicycle to scout the rally where the shooting took place last Saturday.

He then ditched his bike in full view of cops and crowds of people before climbing onto to warehouse roof and opening fire on the former president.

Which kinda raises the question of why no one noticed a man riding a bicycle while carrying a rifle at a political rally, whether it was in or out of a case.

Meanwhile, a writer for a conservative website writes, with tongue firmly planted in cheek, forget guns, it’s time to ban bicycles.

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A Seal Beach police captain answers a reader’s question to say yes, bicycles are considered vehicles under California law, subject to the same rules and regulations as drivers.

But he doesn’t get it quite right, insisting bike riders can’t use a handheld phone, even though that law specifically applies to motorists only.

And he bizarrely says bicyclists should slow and come to a complete stop at any intersection without a green light, which would mean pissing off drivers by stopping at every uncontrolled intersection.

Then again, we seem to piss off drivers if we stop for stop signs, as well as when we roll through them.

And God help you if you find yourself blocking a driver’s turn because you stopped for a red light.

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Gravel Bike California marks their 5th Anniversary by revisiting their favorite LA Area route.

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It’s now 211 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

The solemnity of a poignant Birmingham, England slow ride in memory of a fallen bicyclist was interrupted by angry drivers blaring on their horns over the momentary inconvenience of having to slow down to go around them. Which kinda made the bicyclist’ point for them.

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

Once again, cops and the news media conflate electric motorcycles and ebikes as if they’re the same thing, with sheriff’s deputies complaining about kids on illegal off-road electric motorcycles — not electric bicycles — terrorizing customers at an Orange County mall with air-soft guns.

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Local 

LAist reports on the health effects of chronic noise, as the US Department of Transportation says Los Angeles is one of the country’s loudest counties, thanks largely to our incessant traffic.

 

State

A writer for Forbes explains how to love living carless in California. It’s long past time stories like this lost any shock value, when up to a fifth of Angelenos don’t own cars, and seem to manage okay without one. 

A San Francisco writer asks if the city’s most harrowing bikeway is about to become a thing of the past, as a new water taxi promises to replace the narrow chasm of the Posey Tube’s bike/pedestrian sidewalk, which he describes as the “ninth circle of cycling hell.”

 

National

Strong Towns looks at ways to build a biking culture to make your city stronger.

Writing for Streetsblog, former Southland resident Melissa Balmer says it’s time to revive the 1990’s Bikes Belong campaign to help deliver needed funds for active transportation infrastructure, and stop killing people.

Planetizen says specially equipped data bikes can help government agencies better understand conditions on bike paths by collecting information on trail accessibility and pavement conditions to prioritize maintenance projects. That’s if anyone actually cares about conditions on bike paths once they’re built, let alone budget for it.

PeopleForBikes says a simple bike bus helped transform a south Tempe, Arizona neighborhood, while reconnecting students and their parents with joy.

Emergency responders were caught off guard when they found themselves in the middle of a Colorado gravel race as they responded to a bicyclist injured in a multi-rider crash, with competitors reportedly swerving in front of the ambulance. Seriously guys, give emergency vehicles a wide berth, regardless of whether you’re competing in a race or just riding to the corner market. Someone’s life could depend on it. 

Boston officials refute claims that new bike lanes and road diets are slowing ambulance response times, saying roadways are engineered to provide room for emergency vehicles, and ambulances can drive through bike lanes when necessary to get around stalled traffic.

This is the cost of traffic violence. The woman killed in a Philadelphia collision while riding her bike Wednesday night has been identified as a 30-year old medical resident specializing in pediatric cancer patients at a Philly children’s hospital.

 

International

Momentum says the health benefits of bike commuting mean it could be one of the best decisions you ever make, cutting your risk of dying from any cause nearly in half.

There’s a special place in hell for whoever tethered an 18-month old horse to an old bicycle wrapped in barbed wire in an English field, without food or water, leaving the horse emaciated and covered in lice; fortunately, it has made an “astonishing” recovery since after it was rescued five months ago.

Heavyweight boxer Derek Chisora is accused of headbutting a food delivery rider outside a London restaurant, after the victim refused Chisora’s demands that he dismount instead of riding near the fighter’s kids.

Business is booming for a British man who launched a cargo bike sandwich delivery service last month, saying he just used his bike to deliver a few ham sandwiches, and things took off from there.

 

Competitive Cycling

Thursday’s stage of the Tour de France went to former hour record holder Victor Campenaerts, who came out in front of a three man sprint to the finish, while the race leaders held back for the day.

Road.cc says Tadej Pogačar could have ridden a heavier mid-tier bicycle and still matched the time of second-place finisher Remco Evenepoel over the Galibier.

 

Finally..

That feeling when they won’t let you use the drive-thru, so you ride your bike up to the counter inside, instead. Why settle for single wheel propulsion when you can ride a two-wheel drive ebike?

And why steal one bike, when you can use a fork lift to make off with four at once?

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

OC’s San Juan Creek bike-ped path closed for construction work, and Burbank marks 20 years of Chandler Bike Path

July 18, 2024 / / No comments
Just 166 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

A few people have already volunteered to write guest posts to help keep this site from going dark when I’m out next month following my shoulder surgery.

So if you’re interested in filling in here for a few days, or joining them in submitting a guest post or two, just email me at the address on the About page above.

………

The Orange County Transportation Authority, aka OCTA, announced the closure of the San Juan Creek multi-use path starting today for construction work on a new Metrolink railroad bridge.

Here’s a press release they sent out yesterday announcing the closure. Although a little advance notice would have been nice.

San Juan Creek Bike/Pedestrian Trail to Temporarily Close as Part of Railroad Bridge Construction

The San Juan Creek Trail is scheduled to close Thursday, July 18 to Friday, Aug. 2, with intermittent closures through August; detour maps will be posted

ORANGE – The Orange County Transportation Authority, in coordination with Metrolink, continues progress in constructing a new railroad bridge over San Juan Creek in San Juan Capistrano. As part of the ongoing construction, the adjacent San Juan Creek Trail is expected to close for approximately two weeks beginning on Thursday, July 18.

Cyclists and pedestrians who use the trail are being asked to plan for the closure, follow the designated detour route or avoid the area during the closure, if possible.

During the closure, trail users will be detoured to Camino Capistrano, Del Obispo Street and the Trabuco Creek Trail. Detour signs will be in place. (See the map below for more details.)

The detour is necessary so that construction crews can remove pavement and conduct pile driving to construct the new bridge that will go over the trail. The trail is expected to reopen on Friday, Aug. 2.

However, after the scheduled closure, contractors are expected to continue working in the area, prompting intermittent trail closures through August. During that time, workers will be present to hold back trail traffic for their safety as construction equipment  is moved through the area.

OCTA appreciates the patience of trail users during this construction.

The work is being completed in partnership with Metrolink as part of a $65.6 million project to replace the existing San Juan Creek bridge, which was constructed in 1917, enhancing safety and reducing maintenance costs.

The project is being funded by Measure M, the county’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, and a mix of state and federal funds.

For more information, visit octa.net/SJCBridge.

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Burbank will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the popular Chandler Bike Path next month with a free, drop-in event near the intersection of Pass and Chandler from 6 to 8 pm on August 14th.

But what do you mean they didn’t name it after Chandler Bing from Friends, which was filmed at nearby Warner Brothers Studios?

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Caltrans is hosting a pair of virtual meetings today to discuss how to improve safety on the killer highway that passes for Malibu’s main street. So if you ride, walk or drive on PCH, you owe it to yourself to join in to protect your own safety.

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People for Mobility Justice is leading a ride on Saturday to check out the coming the Slauson Ave bike/ped path.

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Police in the UK have forwarded a case for prosecution after a driver’s “ridiculously close pass” of a bicyclist that was caught on video; unlike most, if not all, of the US, video recordings are acceptable evidence for traffic violations and misdemeanors there.

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Maybe it was just a brief PR stunt, but nice to see Deadpool & Wolverine stars Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and Emma Corrin arrive on bikes for a Berlin media event.

Thanks to Megan Lynch for the heads-up.

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It’s now 210 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

Someone sabotaged a Spokane, Washington mountain bike trail by spreading grease on a rock feature, causing at least one rider to slip and fall, while posting a sign alluding to buried spikes hidden along the trail and threatening to return to pour concrete over it — all because the city is expanding trails located inside a local bike park.

An Irish representative to the European Parliament says she is “totally empathic to cyclists,” while insisting that “authoritarian” bike lanes have turned Dublin “into a spaghetti junction of cycle lanes that have divided the city like East and West Berlin.” Um, sure. 

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Local 

If you need a little good news — and who doesn’t these days — Streetblog’s Joe Linton reports the new bike lanes on the east end of Hollywood Blvd are now open and rideable through the Thai Town neighborhood.

Streetsblog also says the three-mile long Vincent Community Bikeway is coming together after over a year of construction work in the unincorporated Vincent area adjacent to Covina and Irwindale.

 

State

San Diego city officials show they have a keen grasp on the issues that really matter, voting unanimously to ban loud music on pedicabs.

A Santa Barbara driver was busted for DUI Wednesday after a collision that left a bike rider with minor lacerations.

Sad news from San Joaquin County, where a man was killed riding his bike north of Riverbank when he was run down from behind by a pickup driver Wednesday morning.

Family members are asking for safety improvements to a Sacramento intersection where an 84-year old grandfather was killed riding in an unprotected bike lane last month.

Trail users are raising concerns over allowing ebikes on a new 22-mile singletrack section of multi-use trail in the Tahoe National Forest after the Forest Service concluded they would have no significant impact; the new unpaved path is part of an eventual 72-mile trail system.

 

National

Forbes says the latest active travel trend is bicycling escapes at top luxury resorts — including the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows right here in Santa Monica.

Helmet use appears to be declining in Utah, despite an increase in bike riders getting hit by drivers; only 1.45% of bicyclists involved in crashes in the state last year were wearing helmets, down from 11.31% just five years ago.

Police in Boulder, Colorado are investigating a suspicious death after a homeless woman was found wrapped in several layers inside an “unusual” bike trailer, although they’re not saying what she was wrapped in or what was unusual about the trailer.

A lowrider bike club in Olathe, Kansas now has nine chapters across the US, including the first located inside a juvenile detention center.

Bicyclists and hikers can finally cross Vermont on a new 93-mile rail trail across the northern part of the state, after the official opening was delayed by epic flooding last year.

A woman was arrested for a killing a Florida man riding a bicycle in a hit-and-run last year, when surveillance cameras caught her driving on a Western Kentucky highway on Tuesday.

Makes sense. A Florida man plans to incorporate the 51-year old Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, aka RAGBRAI, as part of his fundraising ride on a Penny Farthing across the US to combat autism.

Port St. Lucie, Florida is just the latest East Coast city cracking down on juvenile rideouts, taking a zero-tolerance approach to the kids weaving through — and sometimes against — traffic

 

International

Road.cc says yes, bike commuting can lower your risk of early death by 47% — but only if you don’t get hit by a driver, since it also doubles your risk of serious injury.

They get it. Tijuana is repairing a pedestrian bridge used by over 10,000 people a month in the Zona Río, while adapting it for use by bicycles, as well.

“A team of four passionate cyclists” is banding together to save iconic, 80-year old British bespoke bikemaker Mercian Cycles, saying they didn’t want to see it disappear despit entering voluntary liquidation proceedings earlier this year.

A man in the UK was sentenced to life behind bars for murdering a woman by pushing her down a flight of stairs in a fight over a kid’s bike. Yet another reminder that no bicycle is worth a human life. Or life behind bars.

The European Commission may take a look at the importation of America’s massive pickups after a number of advocacy organizations raised concerns that they may be exploiting loopholes to skirt safety and environmental protection regulations.

 

Competitive Cycling

Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar is closing in on his third Tour de France title, as he maintained a more than three-minute lead over fellow two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard.

Maybe we need a new jersey color, after Road.cc staffers announced Belgian Remco Evenepoel is the best at doing “keepie uppies.”

 

Finally..

Never led a sad separation from your husband prevent a celebrity bicycling photo opp. And that feeling when a new law banning devices to boost ebike speeds is already having a positive effect before anyone even knows about it.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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

Man on bike killed by pickup driver on SR-56 in San Diego’s Carmel Valley Ranch; 9th San Diego County bike death this year

July 17, 2024 / / One comment

A man was killed riding a bicycle in San Diego’s Carmel Mountain Ranch Wednesday morning.

Which is almost all we know right now.

Multiple sources are reporting the victim was struck by the driver of Dodge Ram pickup while crossing Interstate 15 on westbound State Route 56 around 9:25 am.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, died after being taken to a local hospital with major injuries.

The 33-year old driver remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators; there’s no word on whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.

There’s also no word on how the crash occurred, though given the location, it’s likely the victim was struck with the massive truck at highway speed.

This is at least the 30th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of already this year in San Diego County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.

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

Elderly killer of masters champ Ethan Boyes walks without jail time, and bike commuting cuts risk of early death

July 17, 2024 / / No comments
Just 167 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Always fun getting knocked offline by a server problem, like I was yesterday. As if I don’t have enough problems already these days. 

Speaking of which, if you’re interested in filling in here for a day or two, or submitting a guest post, when I’m out next month following my shoulder surgery, just email me at the address on the About page, above.

Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.

………

No surprise here.

As had been feared, the elderly driver who killed masters cycling champ Ethan Boyes walked without a day behind bars when he was sentenced on Monday.

Judge James Donato sentenced 82-year old Arnold Low to one year of home vacation confinement, followed by a year of supervised release, and a lousy $25,000 fine.

None of which represent any kind of justice for killing Boyes, while allegedly under the influence, as he rode his bike in San Francisco’s Presidio last year.

But at least his killer has pinky promised not to drive anymore. Let’s hope the DMV at least makes that official.

………

In health news,

A new Scottish study shows bike commuting cut your risk of early death nearly in half, while lowering your risk of hospitalization from any cause by nearly 10%.

European Parkinson’s patients say riding a bicycle makes them feel closest to normal, almost forgetting they even have the disease.

And Bicycling somehow feels the need to lock up news of a new study showing walking can relieve back pain, as part of their members only content, even though you can find it all over the internet.

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Amazon’s annual Prime Day seems to have become the new summertime Black Friday, with everyone scrambling to find the best deals.

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Caltrans is hosting a pair of virtual meetings tomorrow to discuss how to improve safety on the killer highway that passes for Malibu’s main street.

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Streets For All is hosting a backyard fundraiser for Los Angeles CD2 City Council candidate Jillian Burgos on Saturday.

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Now this is the kind of bikeway we need on every major street.

https://twitter.com/BikeSD/status/1812249805126803656

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Join Active SGV for a ride this Saturday.

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It’s now 209 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

Police in Bellevue, Washington are looking for the driver of a car full of teens who deliberately swerved to the right to slam into a 13-year old boy riding a bicycle, leaving the innocent victim lying bleeding on the side of the road.

No bias here. When a British journalist asks if drivers even care that bicyclists are dying at an alarming rate, readers respond by unloading on scofflaw riders “who think they own the road and then suffer the consequences,” while calling for licensing and registration, insurance and mandatory bike helmets.

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

A Belgian bicyclist learns the hard way why you don’t go around railroad crossing barriers.

After an Aussie BMX rider was struck by a driver while running a red light, he leapt up and pounded on the car’s windows, as his BMX-riding girlfriend tried to pull open the doors.

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Local 

Friends and loved ones held an emotional memorial for Raul Castañeda, after the father of two was killed by a driver fleeing police in a stolen car in Irwindale last week while training for an upcoming event.

Velo recommends the top eight bicycling destinations by the beach, from Santa Barbara to Kyoto — and for once, Los Angeles makes the cut. Even if they mostly mean Malibu and Santa Monica. 

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is teaming with Canyon Bicycles to launch a new venture intended to inspire a new generation of bike riders and change lives through bicycling; James also owns a small piece of the bikemaker.

Streetsblog reminds us that CicLAvia comes to the Hollywoods next month, along with the remaining CicLAvia open streets events through the end of the year.

 

State

A writer for the libertarian Cato Institute examines whether California drivers are really subsidized by the state — and concludes they are, to the tune of over $3 billion a year.

Calbike considers how Caltrans shortchanges pedestrians through its woefully incomplete Complete Streets program.

There’s an unconfirmed report on Reddit of a 70-year old woman killed while riding her adult tricycle to the grocery store in Huntington Beach on Sunday. Bearing in mind that Reddit isn’t exactly the most reliable source. Thanks to Mobility For Who for the heads-up.

Members of Santa Barbara’s State Street Advisory Committee complain about the long, drawn-out process of redesigning the city’s main street, which they say has involved three years “wasting time ‘sitting around talking about lanes and stuff.'” As if “lanes and stuff” somehow aren’t important.

Sad news from Taft, where a man riding a bicycle was killed by a passing driver.

The owner of San Francisco’s Market Street Bicycles says he’s struggling to keep from giving up, after a driver lost control doing donuts during a sideshow street takeover and slammed into the store, causing significant damage.

Community leaders in San Francisco’s Chinatown claim they were blindsided by plans for the neighborhood’s first bike lane.

 

National

Gear Patrol discusses the need for more protective helmets for ebike riders.

A Portland writer says if you really want to clean up the problems on I-84 through the city, just get rid of all the cars beleaguering it, since it’s already cleaner than any bikeway they’ve ridden.

The attorney representing one of the two teens accused of deliberating killing former Bell, California police chief Andreas Probst as he rode his bike in Las Vegas failed to get a charge of elder abuse thrown out, after unsuccessfully arguing that the law was intended to stop violence and exploitation of elderly people by caretakers, not targeting an older person with a car.

The family of murdered gravel cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson has filed a second lawsuit against convicted killer Kaitlin Armstrong, alleging that she drained her bank account and transferred properties to mother or sister to avoid paying $15 million in damages from the previous suit; Armstrong was convicted of fatally shooting Wilson in Austin, Texas two years ago over a perceived love triangle with professional cyclist Colin Strickland.

 

International

Pop icon Self Esteem is one of us, posting photos of the aftermath of a bloody British bikeshare crash. And no, I never heard of her, either.

The European Cyclists Federation considers the transformative power of community bike rides.

A stuntman riding a bicycle in a high wire act plunged 23 feet to his death during a Russian circus, horrifying the children in the audience.

Hats off to Bapi Debnath (Neel), who became the first Bengali bicyclist to reach the base camp on Mount Everest by bike — and just the 8th person ever.

Vietnam’s Hue City is painting a section of sidewalks green to create the county’s first sidewalk-level bike lanes. Pedestrians be damned, evidently.

 

Competitive Cycling

Mountain biker Valentin Anouilh jumped over the peloton on stage 11 of the Tour de France. But he was far than the first to do it.

L39ION of Los Angeles founder Justin Wilson says he’s riding through extreme pain after breaking his wrist in the Tulsa Tough’s Blue Dome Criterium in early June.

 

Finally..

When you’re a felon riding a bicycle while carrying illegal drugs and brass knuckles with built-in knives, maybe don’t ride salmon or tell the cop to pick up your bike, especially if it isn’t actually yours. That feeling when your 6-meter high Havana tall bike is significantly shorter than the world’s tallest rideable bike.

And I really, really hope this story about a new scenic bike route going through an “elf refuge” isn’t a typo.

………

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

Category: Morning Links / Tags: ,

Five-year old Jacob Ramirez dead following Garden Grove DUI hit-and-run; his father and sister remain in comas

July 16, 2024 / / 2 comments

I really didn’t want to write this one.

For over a week now, we’ve followed the story of the Garden Grove family who  were run down by an allegedly drunken hit-and-run driver as the parents rode their bikes, towing their children behind in child trailers.

The crash left the father and two of the kids critically injured, while the mother and their eight-month old baby were hospitalized in stable condition, and released a few days later.

However, the news about their five-year old son, Jacob Ramirez, continued to get worse; by Friday, we learned he had been declared brain dead.

Now KABC-7 is reporting that Jacob has been discontinued from life support.

The crash occurred shortly after 7:30 pm on Sunday, July 7th, on the 12300 block of Haster Street near Twin Tree Lane, when they were apparently run down from behind by Santa Ana resident Ceferino Ascencion Ramos.

Ramos fled the scene, but was arrested shortly later after he was followed by a witness to the crash.

He reportedly had a .22 blood alcohol level at the time of his arrest — nearly three times the .08 legal limit. The station reports he was on his way to buy more beer at an Anaheim liquor store when he slammed into the family.

He has been charged with felony counts of hit-and-run with permanent and serious injury, failing to stop at a hit-and-run accident with injury, and driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, with sentencing enhancements for leaving a victim comatose or paralyzed and inflicting great bodily injury.

More charges will be pending now, including a likely murder charge if Ramos has a previous DUI on his record.

It’s also possible that the news could get worse.

The story reports that Jacob’s father, 27-year old Angel Hernandez Mejia and his seven-year old sister remain in comas over a week after the crash.

A crowdfunding campaign for the family has raised over $64,000 of the $100,000 goal, though it’s likely they’ll need a lot more than that before this is over.

This is at least the 29th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the seventh that I’m aware of in Orange County.

It’s also worth noting that reports have indicated none of the family members were wearing bike helmets, which are legally required for children under 18.

However, there’s no way to know whether that would have been enough to prevent their injuries in this collision.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jacob Ramirez and all his family and loved ones. 

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

Woman critical after hit-and-run in San Diego’s Rancho Peñasquitos, and guilty plea in Tracey Gross hit-and-run death

July 15, 2024 / / One comment
Just 169 days left until Los Angeles fails to meet its Vision Zero pledge to eliminate traffic deaths by 2025. 

………

I’m still looking for anyone interested in filling in here after my shoulder surgery next month, whether you’re willing to take over for a day or two a week, or simply submitting a guest post or two. 

Just email me at the address on the About page, above. 

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay.

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A hit-and-run driver left a 60-year old woman with life-threatening injuries in in San Diego’s Rancho Peñasquitos neighborhood Sunday morning.

The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was riding her mountain bike eastbound in the 13100 block of Rancho Peñasquitos Blvd around 8:40 am, when a driver traveling in the same direction swerved into her.

Police are looking for a mid-sized, silver or charcoal gray SUV of an undetermined make. There’s no description of the driver, who was reportedly driving erratically prior to the crash.

The victim suffered injuries including bleeding in the brain, as well as a broken neck.

Anyone with information is urged to call the traffic division of the San Diego Police Department 858/495-7823; or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 888/580-8477.

Hopefully, the victim will recover from her injuries, and they’ll find — and prosecute — the heartless coward who did it to her.

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A 26-year old Riverside man faces sentencing in September after pleading guilty to killing an Oceanside woman.

According to the San Diego County DA’s office, Christian Joshua Howard pled guilty on Thursday to a single felony count of hit-and-run causing death, along with a misdemeanor count of destroying or concealing evidence for the March 17th collision that killed 51-year old Oceanside postal carrier Tracey Gross.

Howard reportedly dragged Gross’ bike two miles underneath his car as he fled the scene, running her down as she rode her bike home after going into work at the post office on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, a crowdfunding campaign for Gross’ family stands just $55 short of the $20,000 goal.

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It’s now 207 days since the California ebike incentive program’s latest failure to launch, which was promised no later than fall 2023. And 37 full months since it was approved by the legislature and signed into law — and counting.

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

A Chicago letter writer pushes back on a bicyclist’s assertion that people drive aggressively and angrily and are actively hostile to people on bicycles, arguing that from a driver’s and pedestrian’s perspective, bike riders are no different.

Yet another Conservative British city councilmember called for license plates for bicycles to put them on a level playing field with trucks, vans and cars, as if bicyclists somehow pose the same risk to others as motor vehicles; meanwhile, another Conservative councilmember complains that no one will ride a hilly bike route — yet at the same time, warns of anti-social behavior by bike riders on their way down.

A Singapore car columnist argues for bicyclists to have to pay the same road taxes as motorists, insisting that “bicycles are not ‘bigger’ than cars, but some cyclists ride like big idiots.”

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

Authorities in Montreal have installed new speed bumps — not for drivers, but to slow down people on bicycles.

Police were called when teenagers were observed riding bikes and smoking week in the aisles of a UK supermarket, searching them and obtaining “their details.”

Police in Dubai confiscated nearly 650 bicycles and e-escooters from lawbreaking bicyclists. Which sounds like a lot, until you consider it’s a country of 3.5 million people. 

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Local 

Writing for a Santa Clarita paper, a retired LAPD motorcycle cop somehow feels the need to remind bike riders that the law applies to them, too. Funny how no one ever seems to feel the need to remind drivers about that, even though they break the law just as often, with far deadlier consequences.

Long Beach leads the way when it comes to SoCal traffic circles.

 

State

Simi Valley will get a new bike plan, after the city awarded a nearly quarter-million-dollar contract to develop a new plan, including an outreach program featuring at least three community workshops, 10 local events, and web and social media engagement. Although as we’ve learned the hard way here in Los Angeles, even the best plan is only as good as the commitment of city leaders to actually build the damn thing.

 

National

A travel website recommends ten beautiful rail trails across the US that they say you need to ride at least once. None of which are in Los Angeles. Or California, for that matter. 

The author of Seattle Bike Blog rode his ebike 30 miles to Everett, Washington to play night hockey, then rode another 30 miles back home.

A Utah man explains what he’s learned from riding the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail nearly 4,000 miles across the US to raise funds for college scholarships in the state.

A 22-year old Florida woman was killed by a Sarasota County sheriff’s deputy as she was just walking her bicycle across the street, raising the question of why the hell the cop couldn’t manage to avoid her.

 

International

Momentum offers ten ways bicycles “deliver the freedom that cars can only promise.”

A petition urging Toronto food delivery riders to obey the law has drawn less than 300 signatures in two weeks, despite being featured in the city’s main newspaper.

Lila Moss is one of us, as the model daughter of former supermodel Kate Moss went for a bikeshare ebike ride through London.

The head of English foldie-maker Brompton warns that contraction in the bike industry isn’t over, predicting that more bicycle businesses will go belly up this winter.

Velo says famed British designer Paul Smilth has the biggest, best and most extensive collection of bicycle memorabilia you’ll ever see.

Bicyclists in the UK are less satisfied with bike lane design and maintenance, feel less safe, and face more barriers to riding than bicyclists in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Germany.

A 26-year old British woman will spend a well-deserved eight years and eight months behind bars for the drunken and stoned hit-and-run that killed a 40-year old bike rider

The best bike routes for your next trip to Andalucía, Spain.

Kim Kardashian is one of us, going for a nearly naked, lightless bikini-clad ride after a nighttime swim in Puglia, Italy.

A writer for The Guardian describes how he found his bliss bicycling along the coast of Estonia. Raise your hand if you didn’t even know Estonia had a coast. 

An Aussie bicycle advocacy group looks to tax receipts from San Francisco’s Valencia Street to argue that bike lanes don’t have a negative effect on local businesses.

 

Competitive Cycling

Two-time Tour de France champ Tadej Pogačar won his second consecutive stage on Sunday over fellow two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard; Pogačar enters today’s rest day with a three minute, nine second lead over his chief rival.

The New York Times says forget the rest of the peloton, the Tour de France is down to a two-man race between Pogačar and Vingegaard, between them winners of the past four Tours.

Slovenia’s Primož Roglič is out of the Tour de France after crashing hard and losing time in stage 12.

Covid is taking a toll in the race, with several riders dropping out, while Geraint Thomas is continuing to race despite the illness, and members of the press face a mask mandate.

The pro cyclists union plans to take legal action against a “fan” who assaulted the race leaders — with potato chips.

An Egyptian cyclist was kicked off the country’s Olympic team following uproar over her selection, despite knocking a competitor off her bike in a sprint.

 

Finally…

Why just ride a bike when you can pedal a canoe across Scotland? Who needs tires when your bike can wear slippers?

And you can see a lot of things riding a bike — like a Patagonian rodent as big as a medium-sized dog, thousands of miles from its normal South American range.

https://www.tiktok.com/@accuweather/video/7388563615881661727?embed_source=121374463%2C121442748%2C121439635%2C121433650%2C121404359%2C121351166%2C121331973%2C120811592%2C120810756%3Bnull%3Bembed_blank&refer=embed&referer_url=www.msn.com%2Fen-us%2Flifestyle%2Fpets%2Fcolorado-resident-out-on-a-bike-ride-stumbles-across-a-rodent-native-to-south-america%2Far-BB1pXIhm&referer_video_id=7388563615881661727

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

Oh, and fuck Putin

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