Maybe the arc of the moral universe really does bend towards justice.
The case of the bike rider who was sued by the driver who rear-ended him finally concluded on Friday, after it was heard in America’s highest court.
And by that I mean The People’s Court, of course.
Rochester NY bicyclist Bryan Agnello was sued for $700 for damage to the schmuck’s driver’s car, despite suffering $2,500 in medical bills and damage to his bike.
In his court filing, (driver Jovonte) Cook stated that Agnello was riding his bike on I-490 at about 60 mph and that he “didn’t see him coming at me at all due to bad weather.” It was raining when the collision occurred.
During an interview with CITY, Cook estimated Agnello was traveling 80 mph and “came out of nowhere and splashed on my front windshield” while Cook was driving on I-490 while on his way to his job delivering pizzas.
Never mind that, according to the police, the crash occurred on a city street, not a divided freeway. And anyone who can ride 80 mph on level ground in a driving rain without an engine would easily be the greatest cyclist of all time.
Then again, anyone who could walk away from a crash at that speed should probably be wearing tights and a cape.
Needless to say, Judge Marilyn Milian dismissed the case. And reportedly was none too pleased with the man who brought it.
Photo from The People’s Court Facebook page.
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Once again, bike riders are heroes.
NPR reports on the efforts of a group of people using bicycles to bring much needed food and water to Oregon towns devastated by the ongoing fires.
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More proof you can literally carry anything on a bicycle.
Bikes and bananas, great combination.
In Uganda. pic.twitter.com/gNydVuDhuj— ⓑιcιcletⓞ (@Bicicleto_ZGZ) September 10, 2020
Unfortunately, I lost track of who sent this one to me, but thank you, anyway.
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How to get a good bike, more or less, for $50 bucks, more or less.
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You might want to take your dramamine before you watch this downhill run.
I wish I had.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A driver in Maui got out of his pickup and repeatedly attacked a bike rider with a golf club in an unprovoked attack.
Delivery riders say they are routinely attacked in large swaths of Dublin and other Irish cities, whether on motor scooters or bicycles.
A South African bicyclist was pulled off his bike by a passing pedestrian in an apparently random attack caught on security cam.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
Apparently, the biggest problem in Manteca CA is a bunch of finger-snapping kids on bikes.
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Local
The Los Angeles Times reports on the renewed vitality of LA’s Leimert Park, where Black-owned businesses are thriving in the post-George Floyd era, including the Ride On! Bike Shop/Co-Op run by Adé Neff.
Congratulations to former LACBC Executive Director Tamika Butler on being named Private Sector Professional of the Year by the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals.
Santa Clarita has officially unveiled its long-awaited new seven-acre bike park.
State
A San Diego missing person’s investigator passed away last month after years of battling liver failure — but even at her sickest, she attached an e-bike motor to her bicycle so she could ride along with marchers on a three-day breast cancer awareness event. And when the engine gave out, she got off and pushed it to keep up.
Ventura County opened the second phase of a nearly six-mile bike lane on Potrero Road bordering unincorporated Thousand Oaks.
San Jose-area residents say bike riders have no right to ride in fire zones where drivers have been ordered out.
No surprise here, as San Francisco is searching for new solutions to protect the city’s Slow Streets, as drivers plow through signs indicating the streets are closed to through traffic.
San Francisco allows one person to delay eco-friendly projects in the middle of a climate crisis. Unfortunately, the Chronicle’s paywall won’t let me read this one; maybe you’ll have better luck. Thanks to Robert Leone for the heads-up.
A Rohnert Park man faces charges after using a fake gun to steal a bike from Walmart. The joke’s on him, though, because he probably got a fake bike, anyway.
National
Somehow we missed this piece from Vogue UK on famous, mostly female bike riders of the past 60 or so years. Audrey Hepburn looks as good on a bike as anyone could, although Bogie is no small shakes himself. And Queen Latifah can ride with me anytime.
A Las Vegas letter writer is happy to see the bike boom hit Sin City.
A Denver op-ed calls for making it a denser, walkable and bikeable 15-minute city.
A Colorado man gained a new faith in humanity by biking 3,300 miles across the US, and talking and staying with all kinds of Americans, including sleeping with homeless people in Los Angeles.
When a Nebraska man found a kid’s bike the previous owners of his new home had left in the garage, he used it to spark a bicycle ministry through his church.
Streetsblog Chicago calls for installing cheap plastic-curb protected bike lanes throughout the city.
Kindhearted Tennessee sheriff’s deputies gave a new bike to a ten-year old boy after his was stolen.
Actress Minka Kelly is one of us, as she rides the streets of New York on her bigass ebike.
After a New York man was killed riding his bike in a supposedly carfree park, the police say he died in a tragic fall, while friends and family members insist he was hit by a driver — most likely in a police car.
In a moving gesture, hundreds of New York Black Lives Matter protestors dedicated Friday’s march to a supporter of the movement who was killed in a collision while riding her bike last week.
Family members were reunited with the injured dog who survived the South Carolina wreck that killed their son and brother, as the pair were riding from New York to Florida.
International
That new Lamborghini-inspired Cervelo can be yours for a mere eighteen grand.
Vancouver residents rally to demand the return of a traffic lane that was converted to a bike and walkway through a city park. Because evidently one lane of traffic in each direction through a park — keyword park — just isn’t enough for their motor-driven little hearts.
Montreal is expanding a pilot bicycle delivery program to year-round after it proves to be faster than the country’s postal service.
Here’s something to look forward to. The new album by Nova Scotia indie rocker Rich Aucoin, due out this Friday, was inspired by his 2018 journey by bike across the US from Los Angeles to New York.
Dublin’s Lord Mayor is one of us. And a city bus driver may be in trouble for honking at her after she fell off her bike, and continuing to honk until she got up and dragged herself off the road.
A UK paper explains to uncomprehending drivers why close passes are just a tad upsetting. And no, it’s not a victimless crime.
A Parisian fixie rider sparks the basis for an award-winning graphic memoir of an American student in Paris.
Famed Pakistani bicycle adventurer Samar Khan reports she was groped by a passing motor scooter rider while riding her bike in the capital city of Islamabad. But don’t be too judgmental; that happens far too often in this country, too.
A Ghanian-Belgian writer calls for making bicycling a safe means of transport in the African country.
Uganda will celebrate World Tourism Day with a 124-mile bike ride.
A Singapore letter writer says bike riders who use public roads should be licensed, while exempting those who only use bike paths. Apparently assuming the latter will never have to use roads to bridge a gap between bikeways, unlike pretty much everywhere else on earth.
Competitive Cycling
It was a big day for Slovenia in yesterday’s 15th stage of the Tour de France, while the yellow jersey continues to rest on a man who used to be a world class ski jumper.
The race doctor for the Tour passes the buck after Romain Bardet finished stage 13 with a concussion and small hemorrhage following a fall, insisting his life was never in danger and it was the team doctor’s responsibility, anyway.
The Tour’s only Black bike rider says he’s ready to make a statement in support of Black Lives Matter. Then again, the fact that he’s the only one in the entire peloton makes a pretty big statement of its own.
ESPN profiles Neilson Powless, the first Native American to compete in the Tour de France, and one of just three Americans to start the race; he’s currently 54th out of 156 riders still competing in the general classification after Sunday’s stage.
Thanks to this year’s Covid-compressed racing schedule, the Tour de France isn’t the only game in town this year. Or Europe, anyway.
Belgium’s Wout van Aert is making his mark in the pro WorldTour, just two years after making the jump from three-time world ‘cross champ.
American pro Tejay van Garderen is donating last year’s bike to benefit Peace Peloton, a bicycling nonprofit supporting Black empowerment; a $50 donation to the group before this Sunday will enter you in a drawing to win the bike.
A Belfast paper remembers Debbie Barclay, who blazed the way for women’s cyclists in Northern Ireland until she was paralyzed from the waist down after crashing on a descent in a 1988 English stage race; she died last week of an undisclosed cause.
Finally…
Royals may not be able to walk on water, but apparently, they can bike on it. Throwing your bike on the hood of a parked car is not a recommended use.
And seriously, who doesn’t need Winnie the Pooh bike shorts?
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And wear a mask, already.
