Note: Due to this death in Perris last week, and Monday’s fatality in El Cajon, there won’t be any Morning Links today. We’ll catch up on everything tomorrow.
Somehow, we missed this one last weekend.
According to the Riverside County News Source, a bike rider was killed in a pre-dawn collision in Perris Friday morning.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died of his injuries.
A street view shows northbound Perris Blvd has two through lanes, with a right turn bay and double left turn lanes; the southbound side has three through lanes with both left and right turn lanes.
There’s no word on which direction Otiz was traveling, or which party had the right-of-way. Either Otiz or the unidentified driver had to have gone through the red light, although it’s possible the light could have changed while he was crossing the wide intersection before he could get to the other side.
Police do not suspect that drugs or alcohol played a role in the collision.
This is at least the 25th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Raul Sangerman Otiz and all his loved ones.
Note: Due to tonight’s breaking news, and the discovery of another fatal bike crash in Perris last week, there won’t be any Morning Links today. We’ll catch up on everything tomorrow.
An El Cajon bike rider died after being stuck by the driver of a pickup Monday night.
Yet somehow, the San Diego paper managed to wait until the second sentence before blaming the victim.
That means either the victim or the driver went through the red light; the way the Union-Tribune’s story is written, it implies that Wilcox was at fault. However, there is nothing in the coroner’s press release to suggest that.
The statement that the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed also suggests he was exceeding the 45 mph speed limit.
It should be noted that few homeless people have, let alone use, bike helmets. And even the best bike helmet won’t prevent injuries to other parts of the body; a high-speed collision with a truck is unlikely to be survivable, with or without one.
This is at least the 24th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in San Diego County. It’s also the second in El Cajon in the last three months.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Jason Wilcox and all his loved ones.
“We stopped to regroup and he came out of the woods to greet us. He was really thin, ribs showing and had a lot of road rash and a broken leg,” Little told CBS News. He says he and the other cyclists fed the dog and gave him water, but knew they couldn’t leave the dog in the woods. Little didn’t have a car to transport him, just a bike. So he hoisted the pup onto his back, and rode into town looking for help.
“Right when we returned to my local bike shop to get him some more water and food, we instantly ran into Mrs. Andrea who was in town from Maine,” Little said. “She decided to keep him and get him checked out medically.” Little says Shaw took the dog off his hands, and not only got him medical help, but a new home.
And if you look closely, you can see the dog’s feet inside his jersey pocket, answering the question of how he did it.
Speaking of LA’s failure to fix the streets, the city is hiring a $250,000 consultant to suggest fixes to gridlock and the embarrassment of seeing homeless people that could keep tourists away. I could do that for half the price, since we already know the solutions — house the homeless, and build out the bike plan and improve bus service to give people safe alternatives to driving.
Malibu Magazineexamines the coast’s killer highway, as PCH cuts a swath of destruction through the city that effects everyone, regardless of how they travel.
Yosemite struggles with how to manage the daily crush of cars choking the nation’s premier national park. The obvious solution is to ban private vehicles entirely, which don’t belong in a natural setting like that in the first place.
Let’s conclude our visit to Seattle with a letter from a Lycra-wearing menace who says don’t honk and yell if you’re angry at bicyclists, demand contiguous, protected bicycle lanes instead.
This is why people continue to die on our streets. An Idaho man was sentenced to up to 30 year behind bars for his sixth DUI offense, while he was still on probation for his fifth violation. Seriously, it shouldn’t take six strikes and you’re out before the courts finally decide to do something. A second offense should result in jail time and a lifetime driving ban.
The family of a Minnesota man killed in a Kansas collision while competing in this year’s cross-country Trans Am Bike Race asks drivers to pay attention to the road.
A Rochester, New York public safety campaign currently under production swathed a pedestrian in bubble wrap and wrapped a bicyclist in Christmas lights to show how far vulnerable road users have to go to be noticed.
Baltimore uses water-filled K-rails to create an instant road diet and barrier-protected bike lane across a dangerous bridge. Proving that it is possible to create an inexpensive temporary, removable pilot project without going through the endless public meetings required for a permanent installation. Then making it permanent once it proves successful.
A New Zealand website talks with The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan about his documentary retracing the route of the first English-speaking team to compete in the Tour de France, in 1924
Rouleurremembers Fabio Casartelli, the last cyclist to die in the Tour de France, killed by crashing head-first into a concrete barrier while descending the Col de Portet d’Aspet in 1995.
Thanks to John Hall for his continued support of this site. It’s the ongoing generosity of readers like him that allows me to bring you SoCal’s best bike news every morning.
According to researchers, part of the problem stems from the fact that many deaths never get reported by the news media. And those that do are often misrepresented by the police and press.
That’s a problem we’ve seen too many times with bicycling crashes, when the police are quick to blame the victim, only to reverse themselves later.
Or too often not, leaving it up to the victims’ families and their lawyers to correct their mistakes.
And the public usually never hears about it.
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Then there’s this video forwarded by Eric Lewis of a near sideswipe collision captured on his new bike cam.
Which is a perfect candidate for the new #NearMissLA hashtag.
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There may be action taken to stop cab drivers from parking in the new bike lanes on Figueroa, and elsewhere, after all.
As a result of a recent flurry of tweets and videos showing the blocked bike lane, the LA Taxi Commission has proposed a new order prohibiting taxis from blocking bike lanes.
Trek is forming a new women’s team headed by former world champion — and expecting mother — Lizzie Deignan. Another women’s team is great, as long as they pay them what the men make, which is highly unlikely. And get them some TV coverage so people might actually be able to watch for a change.
Decades of relatively easy bike access to Camp Pendleton is coming to a close.
According to an email from Major Chad David Walton, anyone wanting to ride the popular cycling route through the Camp Pendleton Marine base will now need to register with the new Department of Defense Biometric Identification System.
And it will have to be done on the base at Pendleton, not online as has been the case in the last few years.
The passes will be valid for one year, and good for one adult only; you can bring a minor with you to bike on the Marine base, but no adult guests will be allowed to enter Pendleton without their own pass.
If you have a current pass, it will be good through September.
After that, you may have to enlist if you want to ride through Camp Pendleton without one.
Thanks to Richard Masoner and David Drexler for the heads-up.
Photo of Retired U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Fernando Andrade by Lance Cpl. Dalton Swanbeck.
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This is why you should register your bike with Bike Index.
Full disclosure — I don’t get a dime from Bike Index for hosting or promoting their site. I just hate bike thieves, and want to see every bike find it’s way back home.
I don't know who this guest is, but watch what happens when he tries all his boring anti-cyclist garbage on the brilliant @BBCNaga of @BBCBreakfastpic.twitter.com/v3TkUPdoJn
OMG! Some people in San Diego are using bikeshare bikes and e-scooters to commit crimes. Sort of like they use personal bikes, skateboards, cars, feet, rental cars, horses, and any other form of human conveyance.
Sad news from Santa Cruz, as a long-time bike rider was killed in a collision while riding across a bridge. Naturally, police blame the victim, insisting he somehow veered into traffic, which usually means the driver didn’t see him until it was too late; something that happens so often it’s commonly called a SWSS, or Single Witness Suicide Swerve
A Denver man is using his bicycle to rebuild his life, commuting 20 miles a day to classes after becoming homeless following a car crash; now he’s preparing for a 120-mile ride over three high mountain passes.
Colorado’s new Idaho Stop law could lead to confusion — and tickets — since it leaves implementation to local communities; as a result, it could be legal to ride through a stop sign on one side of an intersection, and illegal on the other.
Kentucky becomes the latest state to adopt a three-foot passing law; 35 states now require at least a three-foot distance to pass someone on a bicycle.
Talk about not getting it. Newport RI officials want the state Department of Transportation to improve safety on a major street, while backing off from plans to install a bike lane and new turning lanes — and making it safer for pedestrians by removing a crosswalk. Sure, that will work.
A British writer raises a good point, asking if there’s a class divide in cycling, as rising equipment cost separate riders into those who can afford the best gear, and those who can’t. Or who just get turned off by the perception of high cost, and don’t bother trying.
Competitive Cycling
If you haven’t caught up on your Tour de France viewing, skip this next section. We could say the same about the Giro Rosa, except no one bothers to broadcast women’s bike racing.
Lawson “Crash” Craddock has now raised over $92,000 for a Houston Velodrome by riding in the Tour with a broken scapula; no word yet on whether he survived Sunday’s cobbles.
Curbedoffers a preview of the CicLAvia event, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, culminating in a free concert at the Hollywood Bowl.
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CiclaValley provides a 45-second update on the parking problems on the new MyFigueroa bike lane.
Apparently speaking from beyond the grave after being run over by bike riders three times, a New Jersey letter writer says his town shouldn’t encourage more bicycling because of the “mayhem” caused by “psycho” cyclists, even though he swears he rides one himself.
No windshield bias here. A DC writer complains about five types of “smug-ass” people who need to “cut the shit.” Needless to say, bike riders are number one on his list, for the apparently unforgivable crime of acting like bikes are cars, which is exactly what bike riders are supposed to do; number two are pedestrians in crosswalks who don’t get the hell out of his way fast enough.
Then again, he also seems to be okay with undertaking a semi while it’s making a right turn, which should tell you something.
I confess to slapping a few fenders when drivers drifted into my lane, or right hooked me without appearing to even know I was there.
But I stopped several years ago, after a driver got out of his car and beat a pianist to death in Hollywood when the victim slapped the hood of his car for encroaching on the crosswalk.
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Local
LAist gets it. A piece by KPCC’s Meghan McCarthy Carino says nothing can fix LA traffic, so deal with it. The simple fact is, traffic in Los Angeles right now is as good as it will ever be; the only option is to provide safe, efficient alternatives to convince people to leave their cars at home.
San Jose business owners become just the latest to fight a proposed bikeway, fearing it will be bad for business. Even though study after study shows just the opposite.
A British Columbia bike rider is using shadows on a straight, flat highway in Saskatchewan to prove the Earth isn’t flat. Because one more proof should be enough to convince all the flat Earthers, even though all the many others haven’t done the job yet.
A Welsh judge has ordered a new trial in the death of British Olympic hero Chris Boardman’s bike-riding mother; in addition to the crash, the driver and his wife are accused of deleting cellphone data to cover up their actions.
A Dublin teenager has been jailed for one year for terrorizing bike riders on a canal pathway; he was part of a group that chased riders and strung rope across the trail in an effort to knock people off their bikes.
I’ve spent this week caring for a very sick dog, who’s felt an urgent need to rush outside every few hours since Sunday night. And too often hasn’t made it in time.
As a result, neither of us has gotten much sleep.
The good news is, she’s doing better after getting an IV from the vet yesterday. And we’ve both been passed out ever since we got back home.
So I’m taking today off to get some desperately needed rest. As always, we’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on everything we missed.
She should be back to her usual rambunctious self in a few day.
Pretty much like every other major city, Los Angeles included.
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Here’s a good suggestion from someone who prefers to remain anonymous.
Now that LeBron James is officially a Laker, the Los Angeles bike community should welcome him by riding with him from his Brentwood home to Staples Center for his first home game.
That would give a lot of LA kids a chance to ride a bike with the man known universally as King James. Something he clearly cares deeply about.
It would also give us the chance to call attention to the lack of safe infrastructure and the dismal state of LA streets.
The East Side Riders Bike Club (ESR) is an all-volunteer, grassroots bicycle club working to prevent youth from joining gangs and/or taking drugs, but also engage youth to enrich the community through recreational activities, Our kids are introduced to bike safety, healthy eating and active living, the importance of giving back to the community, and are able to participate in community riding events hosted by ESR.
ESR seeks to positively impact the following community needs: Inadequate Organized Recreational Outlets for local youth in the Watts area, a community that is rife with high rates of child obesity, asthma and other respiratory challenges amongst youth; lack of Safe Passage and Travel Routes: while Watts is a very small community, there are clear gang-related boundaries and territories that limit the movement of local youth based on where they reside; Lack of Resources- families lack the resources to purchase bikes, safety gear, and/or other necessary equipment.
In turn, these kids feed the homeless, clean up neighborhood parks, and are learning to solve community problems by working together!
East Side Riders is raising money to help support our Organization, the BEAST Class and our overall continued support of ESRBC. Since 2008 ESR has provided sack lunches to the hungry, fixed kids bikes for free and provided meals for Thanksgiving, toys and food for Christmas including bikes and helmets for kids that really need them.
With your donation you would be helping our yearly budget that is partially paid for through grants. You can also donate you time to ESR by volunteering with our organization and spreading the word about our work.
If you’ve got a few extra bucks lying around, it would be hard to find a better cause to support.
Sad news from San Francisco, where a pedicab driver has died two weeks after he was run down by a hit-and-run driver; Bay Area bicyclists are angry over the crash on the Embarcadero, which was supposed to get a protected bike lane.
National
Bicycling offers more of their click-through clickbait, with six roads throughout the US you “gotta” ride. For once, a local road made the list, with Yerba Buena Road through LA and Ventura Counties.
He gets it. In a very tongue-in-cheek letter, a Colorado man calls on the local paper to stop covering up the thousands of motorist deaths caused by reckless pedestrians and cyclists, some of whom must be members of MS-13.
Police in Grand Rapids, Michigan are testing a new ultrasonic radar device that measures the distance between a bike rider and a passing car to look for violations of the three-foot passing law.
I like this guy already. A Massachusetts columnist complains about the roadway caste system that puts drivers above bike riders, and suggests that people should park and watch other drivers before they complain about people on bicycles.
In the wake of a Baton Rouge, Louisiana, city councilman’s death while riding in a nearby parish, local leaders form a victim-blaming committee that may try to restrict riders rather than improving safety.
It’s the battle of the Parisian bikeshares, as the city’s vaunted Vélib‘ bikeshare has fallen on hard times, and several dockless systems struggle to survive.
Burbank-based Pure Cycles is introducing a new, more affordable e-cargo bike called the CAPACITA.
Though why the name has to be in all caps is beyond me.
It features front and rear cargo racks, with disk brakes, full fenders and capable of 40-miles on a single charge. Not to mention it’s GPS enabled, and has built-in headlights and taillights.
I’ve been thinking about getting rid of my two-decade old car and replacing it with a ped-assist cargo bike, though the high price of most ebikes has given me pause.
But if I could get that much for my car, I’d give this one serious consideration.
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Local
A reporter for KPCC discusses LA’s problems implementing Vision Zero with a Chicago radio station. Definitely worth a listen, even if it’s not a pretty picture.
On the other hand, Pasadena is planning to pull out of the Metro Bike system in the face of low ridership and mounting losses. The question is why would Pasadena continue to pump funds into a money-losing docked system, when dockless bikeshare can serve the same purpose at no cost to the city — and actually raise revenue through taxes and fees.
A Des Moines IA couple gets their stolen bikes back thanks to social media and an observant pair of bike riders. Although someone should tell the local police that cable locks are just an invitation to steal.
Tennis star Raphael Nadal is one of us, even if the US Open can’t seem to grasp that some people would rather bike than drive.
British bike advocates complain about the missed opportunity when the country fails to offer subsidies to buy electric bikes as part of the country’s plan to eliminate vehicle emissions. Which is exactly the problem we have in California, since drivers can receive both federal and state subsidies for buying an electric car, but get nothing for trading a car for a bike, electric or otherwise.
Copenhagenize’sMikael Colville-Andersen is taking heavy fire on Twitter over his comment that ebikes are an example of “white privilege” for “the laziest demographic in history.” Never mind that they allow virtually anyone to ride a bike, regardless of physical condition.
Whatever problems we have, be grateful you don’t ride in Western Australia, where a new survey says bicyclists should be forced to ride single file and banned from narrow streets. And half of respondents say bike shouldn’t be allowed on the roads at all.
July 9, 2018 /
bikinginla / Comments Off on Morning Links: The online war on bikes goes on, fallen rider’s bike recovered, and spotting the good guys in the TdF
The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes goes on.
In most instances, though, “traffic” is not caused by bicycles. When I’m stuck in traffic, there’s nothing I want more than to be on a bicycle. That’s one of the reasons I find the hysterical rhetoric of the bike debate so strange. Cyclists, for the most part, are just trying to get around quickly, efficiently, cheaply and healthily. They aren’t the problem…
Sure, bikes can be infuriating but you just have to let it go if you’re in a car. The power difference is too great. Yes, bikers do stupid things, but so do drivers. And when it goes wrong between them, cyclists always lose.
And yes, your car is 4,000 pounds and my bike is 20 pounds. But because something is bigger, stronger and faster does not give a driver of a vehicle ownership or priority on a public road. Might does not make right. It makes a bully.
Not every driver is a jerk. Not every cyclist is an angel. But let’s not lose sight of our individual humanity, however we choose to get around this beautiful county we call home.
Biking may not be for everyone, but the health benefits to children, environmental benefits to leaving the car at home, and the economic benefit that gives those in poverty a way to get to work are reasons enough.
American Lawson Craddock went down with a bloodied eye and a broken scapula in Stage 1 of the Tour de France. And not only finished the stage, but challenged himself to finish the race.
A broken scapula and a few stitches is not how I wanted to start @LeTour, but this Texan will fight as much as I can to continue. I will donate $100 to the @AlkekVelodrome for Harvey relief for every stage that I can finish. Anyone care to match? @JJWatt@HoustonTexanspic.twitter.com/Hmd1qVNqHT
And Compton’s own Rahsaan Bahati offered to match the amount.
Hey buddy, you're a fighter & both our foundation's are aligned w/ helping kids. The @BahatiFDN will match your pledge @ $100 for every stage you finish. Looking fwd to signing a $2100 check to your foundation in a couple weeks time. @LeTour@bobkeroll@PhilLiggett@PaulSherwen
LA has posted information about proposals to close the absurd Northvale Gap in the Expo bike path. Which exists only because NIMBY homeowners in the area successfully fought construction of the bike path when the Expo Line was built, after failing to halt construction of the train line itself.
The LA Times‘ Robin Abcarian decides that e-scooters are fun, but too damn dangerous after falling off one when she collided with a bike rider on the Venice bike path, and patched up another woman who skinned her knees. Both of which could have happened if they were on roller skates instead of scooters.
A Los Angeles writer says the car still reigns supreme in Southern California, where “Much of the region’s built environment is designed to accommodate the presence of private vehicles and to punish their absence.”
Bicyclingoffers eleven great bike paths to add to your bike bucket list, two of which are in California. And one of which — Colorado’s Trail Ridge Road — my brother just rode last month on his bike tour of the state.
This is the cost of traffic violence. A five-year old Michigan boy was killed when he was struck by a food delivery driver while on his first ride without training wheels.
The FBI has gotten involved in the hit-and-run death of a Michigan woman as she rode her bike home from hearing her husband’s band perform in 2013; the bureau is offering a $25,000 reward, to go along with a $50,000 reward offered by a private group. It would be interesting to know the basis for the FBI’s involvement, since hit-and-run, fatal or otherwise, is a state crime.
The CBC offers advice on how to avoid a right hook. Moving left and taking the right lane just before an intersection greatly reduces the risk, but some idiots may still try to go around; I’ve been right-hooked by drivers turning from the left lane.
A new European study shows bicycling is great for reducing obesity — unless you ride an ebike. Of course, the question is whether the study was based on ped-assist bikes, which still require the rider to pedal, or throttle-controlled bikes, which don’t.
Viceinfiltrates a London ride out to see what it’s like to pop wheelies in traffic with hundreds of mostly teenage riders.
Caught on video: A pair of Irish bicyclists get left hooked — the equivalent of our right hook — by a cab driver while riding in a narrow bike lane; remarkably, both men were unhurt.
