Someone had to have seen something.
The wife of fallen Torrance cyclist John Bacon is asking for any possible witnesses to come forward who may have seen the events leading up to the fatal May 18th crash in Palos Verdes Estates.
A security camera shows 18 other vehicles pass by in the two minutes leading up to the crash, which may have been caused by the driver of a white van shown following within a few feet of Bacon seconds before he was killed.
The driver fled the scene, but was located by bicyclists on the hunt for the vehicle, with little or no help from the local police.
Palos Verdes Estates police say they’ve spoken with the man, who is considered a suspect, but no arrest has been made.
The driver of a truck matching the description of the suspect vehicle had reportedly harassed a number of bicyclists in the same area in the weeks leading up to the crash.
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Let’s make this a bike video Thursday.
Yes, wool makes a great bike jersey, but most people would just pull on a sweater.
Now that’s a close call. A Portland area rider gets right hooked by a utility truck that missed him by mere inches.
And congratulations. You are now superfluous.
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CICLE hosts their second annual ice cream ride and walk on the 24th.
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American Denise Mueller set a new women’s world’s record for the fastest speed on a paced bicycle, but failed to break the overall world record of 167 mph.
On the other hand, 147.75 is nothing to sneeze at.
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VeloNews says single day road bike races are an endangered species in the US, as focus shifts to multi-day stage races.
Former Formula 1 race car driver Alex Zarnardi didn’t give up racing after the horrific crash that took both his legs; he just shifted to hand-cycling, once again winning gold in the Rio Paralympic Games nearly 15 years to the day after his near fatal crash.
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Local
Los Angeles announces ambitious plans to remove 100,000 vehicles from the streets within five years through rideshare, bikeshare and improved transit. However, other than bikeshare, bicycling and bikeways don’t seem to be part of the plan.
Newly elected neighborhood councilmember Richard Risemberg reports that a motion to support a desperately needed road diet on LA’s 6th Street passed on Wednesday; now it’s up to LA Councilmember David Ryu to show his support for traffic safety.
A Metro committee approved $4 million in funding for 17 open streets events in LA County over the next two years.
CiclaValley takes issues with LA Curbed’s recent assertion that driving is the fastest way to get to Dodger stadium.
Marilyn Monroe was one of us, riding her bike to work at Fox Studios as she rose to stardom.
Practice your cyclocross skills at Glendale’s Verdugo Park this afternoon.
State
A San Diego woman suffered severe head injuries, despite wearing a helmet, when she lost control of her bike and flipped over the handlebars.
Writers for the Chico State paper say students should be allowed to ride their bikes on campus, at least during certain hours.
National
The Executive Chairman for Ford calls for an urgent discussion on the ethics of robotic cars, while Planetizen takes up the same issue. Wait, wasn’t that settled a long time ago?
A Portland man gets six years and three months — with no time off for good behavior — for fleeing the scene after killing a cyclist while high on medical marijuana.
Apparently, it’s not that big a deal to kill your motorcycle-riding husband by running him off the road in Texas, as long as he was cheating on you. Thanks to J. Patrick Lynch for the heads-up.
A writer for the Boston Globe offers his rules for bike path etiquette, including banning the use of “On your left.” Sorry, but I say “on your left” for my safety, as well as yours; I’ve had far too many close calls with careless bicyclists and pedestrians.
The Village Voice says New York’s mayor brags about bike lanes while the cyclist death toll on the city’s streets continues to rise.
New York plans to rely on bicycles to move people from Manhattan to Brooklyn when a subway tunnel closes for repairs in three years. Meanwhile, the city passed three new laws guaranteeing bicycle access to residential and commercial buildings.
A Pittsburgh paper discusses the success of the homegrown Black Girls Do Bike movement, which is spreading nationwide.
A Georgia woman was allegedly high on prescription meds and using her cellphone when she crossed the center line and plowed head-on into three bike riders, killing one and seriously injuring another.
The Wall Street Journal says Halloween is the best time to visit New Orleans, citing the city’s new bike lanes as part of the attraction. And not because they’re scary.
International
Montreal does more than just become the latest city to adopt Vision Zero, by outlining concrete steps to reduce fatalities, including redesigning intersections and lowering the speed limit.
London’s Mirror calls for stiffer penalties for distracted drivers; things don’t seem to be any better in Australia.
A 19-year old London cyclist faces a charge of causing bodily harm by willful misconduct after killing a pedestrian in a crash; no word on how it happened.
A London writer paints a pretty ugly picture of what it’s like for a woman to ride the city’s male-dominated streets.
Cycling Weekly talks with Brit designer Paul Smith about his lifelong love of bicycling.
A British mountain biker was the victim of a bizarre strong arm robbery when a thief pushed him down a steep trail as he stood planning his descent, and made off with his custom-made bike.
A new rear facing radar system for large trucks and buses is designed to alert drivers when a bike rider is coming up from behind or beside the vehicle. However, a supercomputer it’s not, despite what the story says.
Evidently they define a tie differently in Spain, as the Barcelona coach falls off his bicycle on his way to a 7-0 victory over Celtic.
Now that’s more like it. An Australian woman is sentenced to eleven years in prison for killing a cyclist and fleeing the scene; the judge called her actions morally reprehensible.
Finally…
Caught on video: If you’re going to steal a bicycle, remove the lock before you try to ride off on it. New York panthers are besmirched by bikeshare.
And you can thank a pair of bicycles for Curious George.
How about “Excuse me” as you approach and a “Thank you” as you pass?
Sometimes they’ll even get out of your way…
My experience is that in many cases calling out “On your left” makes people turn their heads and swerve in my direction. Not good! I usually don’t say anything until I’m slightly ahead of them. Then most people get a wave and a “thanks” or “have a good day”.
If I see someone who is wobbling around, I’ll slow down to their speed a few bike lengths behind them and call out “on your left”. After they stabilize and move over, I’ll pass them and give them a greeting.
I always slow and give as much space as practical when I pass, and never pass unless I can give at least an arms-length distance — and then only after giving a warning first.
The problem with saying excuse me is that people might move in either direction, or even just stop right where they are. I overcome that by saying, in a polite and friendly voice, “Passing on your left.” That way they know exactly what I am doing, and where, and I often get thanked for it.
And if they have to move over to let me get by, I never fail to thank them as I pass, just as I give a wave of thanks to any motorist that shows a little courtesy to me. A little politeness goes a long way.
I honestly think it’s the “passing” part at the front of that that makes it work. I used to do the standard “on your left” and had the same results that Mike had. Since then, I’ve switched to a projected but non-yelled “I’m coming up to pass you on your left”, and if I’m riding with my wife (or someone else) I’ll tack on “and there’s one more behind me.” I can usually get that whole sentence out in time, and it seems like it startles the person I’m passing a lot less than a quick “on your left”.
I don’t know if it’s the tone of voice or that the sentence being longer gives people more time to process what’s happening, but I have yet to have someone suddenly dart left when I say that, and get a lot more “thank you”s than “whoa!”s from it.