The father of Barbora Kabatova, the 26-year old woman killed riding her bike near the Jeffrey Road connection to the 405 Freeway is begging anyone with information to come forward to help find justice for her.
I am trying to find any witness of this tragic accident.
Any camera on the ground or on the car, anyone biking, driving, walking around when this has happen.
Are there any witnesses do you know someone who witnessed this?
This is big intersection there must have been many people around.
I am desperate. Please help.
Juraj Kabat
Barbora’s dad
Seriously, if you know anything, share it with the police.
Before they find a way to blame the victim for causing her own death.
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Biking While Black seems to be the ongoing theme of the week, as a familiar LA face took over Bicycling for a much-needed conversation about race.
And the magazine has lowered its new paywall on these important stories so everyone can read them.
I served as the guest editor of this month’s issue of @BicyclingMag. I was raised by Black women who always taught me that part of my joy, liberation, and success will always be tied to how I treat and share my blessings with others. https://t.co/xmyMEpGqMG
— tamika butler is @tamikabutler@mastodon.social (@TamikaButler) July 27, 2020
The founder of Atlanta’s Civil Bikes says there’s a tremendous untold story of Black people on bikes.
A product development quality engineer at SRAM describes growing up surrounded by bias, which didn’t change when he started winning races, saying the more he won, the bigger barriers he faced.
The cofounder of Pedal 2 the People describes what it’s like, and what it means, to never see Black people like her riding bicycles.
A pro cyclist for B&B Hotels–Vital Concept argues that racism in pro cycling should be treated like doping violations, saying no one ever faced consequences for the slurs he encountered from competitors in the peloton.
The founder of Black Girls Do Bike says if you love bicycling, you need to have uncomfortable conversations about race.
The Director of Mobility for the Oakland Mayor’s Office dreams of a day when he can just stick to bicycling without having to worry about anything else, noting there are challenges Black people face riding through any space that others don’t. Seriously, anyone who poses for a national bike magazine holding a corgi is more than okay in my book.
The owner of LA’s Ride On! Bike Shop/Co-op describes being stopped by Beverly Hills cops because he “fit a description;” in other words, he was Black and on a bike.
According to the co-director of PGM ONE Summit, claiming bicycling is colorblind doesn’t help anyone because bikes may not discriminate, but the people on them do.
LA’s own Nelson Vails, the first African American to medal in Olympic cycling, tells a somewhat different story, saying he never felt discrimination in his racing career, but Black Lives Matter opened his eyes to the need to rase the bar on equality.
Ayesha McGowan, America’s first Black women’s pro cyclist, says it’s exhausting making people in white spaces comfortable with her blackness.
The founder of the Level Up Cycling Movement questions how something as innocent as riding a bicycle can make another human being feel discarded, saying she was treated like she didn’t exist when she started riding.
Former LACBC Executive Director Tamika Butler offers advice on how to become anti-racist, on or off your bike. And explains on her own site how this extraordinary edition came together, and why it was necessary.
At this point, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to know that Black bike riders are stopped by police far more often than white riders, and face a much higher risk when they are.
Meanwhile, PeopleForBikes shares their commitment to rooting out racism in the bicycling industry. Maybe they can tackle the industry’s blatant sexism while they’re at it.
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Another reminder that the UC system isn’t accessible until it’s accessible to all.
https://twitter.com/AccessUc/status/1288904877628772353
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Regardless of politics, some things just aren’t right. In Portland, New York, or anywhere else.
and once again using bikes as weapons:( shameful. Who has NYPD bike account again? @bikinginla
— Vera Valentine (@vivaciousvera) July 29, 2020
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We missed this one earlier in the week, as we lost the last living link to old Hollywood. Along with a truly iconic bike rider.
Rest in peace, Olivia de Havilland, who died peacefully in her home in Paris at the age of 104. De Havilland was still cycling in her 100s! pic.twitter.com/iRq7skyP4D
— Adam Tranter (@adamtranter) July 26, 2020
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Evidently, motorized scooters are nothing new.
In 1916, Lady Florence Norman, a suffragette in London used a motorised scooter known as a Autoped #womensart pic.twitter.com/0IgS1OVn5W
— #WOMENSART (@womensart1) July 24, 2020
Thanks to Megan Lynch for forwarding the tweet.
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Thanks to Adam Ginsberg for sending what instantly became my favorite email of the week.
I’ll look forward to trying the same thing with our new four-footed intern.
After all, if she’s going to work for a bike site, she needs to know what it’s like, right?
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A Coachella man will face charges for jumping out of his car and shooting at a group of bike riders, for unknown reasons. Thankfully, his aim seems to suck. Thanks to Victor Bale and Phillip Young for the heads-up.
A Utah man faces a murder charge for allegedly running over his roommate as the other man was riding his bicycle. Maybe next time, don’t leave your license plate behind at the crash scene. Just a suggestion.
Anti-bike vigilantes are accused of ripping out the plastic ballards protecting a British bike lane. Although a thin, bendable plastic post doesn’t offer much protection anyway.
Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Riverside County deputies busted a cruiser bike-riding man for sexually assaulting a woman on a Temecula bike path.
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Local
LADOT General Manager Seleta Reynolds worries that LA traffic may be worse than ever post-pandemic. Or maybe not, because an economic collapse could mean fewer people can afford to drive. Although both of those problems could be helped with the sort of bikeways other cities are building, but LA isn’t.
Yelp maps out all things bicycle in the City of Angels. As long as your idea of Los Angeles doesn’t extend more than a few blocks south of I-10, or east of the LA River. Thanks to Brandi D’Amore for the tip.
The Glendale City Council will discuss plans for the Verdugo Wash in an online meeting starting at 6 pm this Tuesday; if you live or ride in the city, let them know what you think.
Pasadena police are planning yet another bike and pedestrian safety operation next Friday, ticketing any violations that endanger bike riders or pedestrians, regardless of who does it. As always, plan to ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limits, so you’re not the one who gets ticketed.
State
Seriously? San Diego business owners worry about plans for a socially distanced bicycle scavenger hunt that promises to bring more customers to their community, because they’re unsure about coronavirus protocols. But people coming in cars are perfectly fine, apparently.
The kindhearted members of an Oxnard hip hop organization raised $750 to replace a bike stolen from a 15-year old member of the group.
A pair of coastal bike paths north of Ventura will close for construction this weekend; one will close during the day, while the other will just see overnight closures.
San Francisco opens a new one-third mile, two-way protected cycle track across the Lefty O’Doul Bridge, improving connections with a nearby protected bikeway. Which is exactly what Los Angeles should be doing, but isn’t.
National
Essence explains why everyone on your timeline is riding a bike right now. Hint: It’s fun. And good for you.
Business is thriving for the owner of a Denver coffee bike, after he lost his other job to the pandemic.
A Colorado mountain biker recommends criding — crying while riding a bike — to maintain your sanity in these trying times. Which may just be my new favorite word. Although indignorant is still pretty hard to top.
A Pittsburgh writer says slowing traffic and improving safety on city streets will actually make them more dangerous for kids. No, really.
Former New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin is one of us. Although he may wish he wasn’t right now, after another rider clipped his wheel, leaving him with four fractured ribs, a punctured lung and a bleeding head wound.
New York’s Westchester County considers mandating bike helmets for all bike riders. Apparently attempting to drive down bicycling rates while doing little to actually improve safety. Or at least that’s been the experience in other places that have done it.
International
A British Columbia woman is looking for two Good Samaritans and a cop who helped save her life following a crash just days into a cross-country bike tour.
Now there’s a first. London police are asking bike riders to wear helmet cams to help them catch and prosecute dangerous drivers.
The UK’s new focus on bicycling gives local residents the power to close streets to through traffic, as well as prohibiting local governments from building substandard bike lanes. Thanks to Ralph Durham for the link.
Nearly a hundred bike riders died on the streets of Great Britain last year, which represents an improvement of exactly one, as the fatality rate dropped from 99 to 98.
Finally…
If you’re going to drive drunk through a drive through, at least secure your bike and fix your flat tire — and maybe leave the machete at home. It may not the best idea to take a shortcut by riding through a shooting range.
And always practice good social distancing when dining.
@bikinginla Good to see the open air dining idea expand pic.twitter.com/hfZNgj3DQ2
— keith johnson (@keith_johnson) July 28, 2020
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
