BikinginLA

A champion triathlete was seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver in near CSU Channel Islands in Camarillo Tuesday night.

According to CHP officials, the incident occurred as Jordan Rapp was riding north on Lewis Road near University Drive when an unknown vehicle made a left turn directly in front of him. The driver fled after Rapp collided with the left side of the vehicle, shattering a window.

When he failed to return home, his wife called the Ventura County Sherriff’s department to report him missing, where dispatchers made the connection with the hit-and-run.

Rapp is the reigning Subaru Ironman Canada and Ironman Arizona champion, as well as the winner of the Vancouver International Half-Ironman and Coronado’s Superseal triathlon, and was scheduled to compete in the 70.3 Oceanside triathlon this weekend. He also worked with World Bicycle Relief, raising $22,541 to provide bikes for school children in Zambia.

He remains sedated on a ventilator in the intensive care unit of a local hospital, with significant blood loss, contusions and lacerations about the head and neck, and numerous fractures including a broken clavicle and scapula. However, Slowtwitch.com reports that his brain function is normal, with no indication of nerve or spinal cord injury.

Authorities are looking for a vehicle with a shattered left window and possible damage to the left side; they suspect the driver could have been a worker leaving a nearby farm which closed minutes earlier. Anyone with information is asked to call CHP Lt. Casey Cronin at 805/477-4100

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Newly returned bike blogger Gary Kavanaugh of Gary Rides Bikes fame discusses the benefits of Cash Out Parking at StreetSummit. Damien Newton writes an open letter to an apparently bike-challenged Avatar star. The Times writes about Kristina Ripatti, the former LAPD officer paralyzed in an on-duty shooting, who’s planning to compete in the relay section of this year’s Race Across America. Dodger owner — at least until the divorce settlement — and L.A. Marathon meister Frank McCourt plans a world-class L.A. bike race this November. Channel 7 discovers Bicycle Kitchen. You can’t believe every sign you see, especially in bike-unfriendly Sausalito. The San Francisco Examiner says a green bike lane could improve safety. A 73-year old Modesto cyclist was killed in a hit-from-behind collision after signaling for a left turn on Monday. Bill Murray rides a bike, at least when he’s in Austin. Another term that needs to die a rapid death: freak accident. Tucson considers licensing bikes. More on springtime cycling in Yellowstone. Ski Town USA could soon be a bike town. Brooklyn worshipers park semi-legally in the bike lane during services. Yet another car manufacturer decides they understand bike design better than the bike designers. If you only go by government accident statistics, the roads no one would ride look like the best roads for cycling. Maybe painting wider lines on bike lanes would make them safer. In a classic case of windshield perspective, an Australian paper reports that a driver was shocked after sideswiping a bike rider; imagine how the cyclist felt.

Finally, an Oklahoma man is convicted of stealing medical equipment and posing as an off-duty fireman in the aftermath of a tragic collision, in which a drunk hit-and-run driver ran down three cyclists, killing two. And yes, he did attempt to render aid to at least one of the victims.