It’s taken almost a year.
But there may be justice for fallen bicyclist Anthony Duran after all.
My News LA is reporting that 29-year old Indio resident Mark Christian Bravo will stand trial for felony hit-and-run involving injury or death, with a sentencing-enhancement of committing the crime while on bail.
The convicted drug dealer was out on bail on an assault charge when he ran down Duran as he was walking his bicycle across an Indio street last February. Bravo kept going without stopping, leaving his victim to die alone in the street.
There’s no indication how long Duran’s body lay there before he was discovered.
Bravo is currently free on $75,000 bail, as well as $85,000 bail for the previous assault case.
If there was any real justice, Mark Bravo would face a 2nd degree murder charge for making a conscious decision to let his victim die, rather that a mere four years for the fatal hit-and-run.
Photo by Sora Shimazaki from Pexels.
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The new Taylor Yard bike and pedestrian bridge over the LA River is finally open.
Or not.
Like Schrödinger’s cat, it seems to depend on the observer.
LA bridge Twitter update: not sure if the Taylor Yard bridge is officially open, but you can now cross it fully pic.twitter.com/Or50aDSGkX
— dan faughnder (@danfaughnder) January 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/awalkerinLA/status/1485505272751689731
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Disappointing, but probably predictable, news, as Chinatown’s annual Firecracker 10k celebration has gone virtual once again.
A press release from the organization says the event, which also includes a 20 or 40 mile bike ride, was changed due to the recent surge in Covid cases due to the Omicron variant.
The 2022 L.A. Chinatown Firecracker events will now take place virtually only with extended participation from now through February 27, 2022. Participants will be able to complete their event(s) by downloading and activating the RaceJoy app on their mobile device. The app will track the participants’ events as they run/walk/ride and record their results. The RaceJoy app provides live GPS progress alerts, tracking, Send-a-Cheer (where participants may receive supportive audio cheers from remote friends and family) and virtual results. Participants may also submit their results manually on the L.A. Chinatown Firecracker registration site.
L.A. Chinatown Firecracker will continue to prioritize the health and safety of all participants and volunteers, including a focus on adherence to public health guidelines. Each registered participant receives a commemorative 2022 Firecracker race bib, exclusive-collectible finisher’s medal, limited edition t-shirt and goody bag.
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Clearly, you can carry anything on a bicycle.
No, really.
https://twitter.com/GardenerHolger/status/1484254862384799754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1484254862384799754%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Froad.cc%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2Fcycling-live-blog-21-january-2022-289711
Thanks to Megan Lynch for the link.
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Today’s mountain bike break takes us on hand built trails carved into the Welsh countryside.
Although you may have to click through to see it if the video below isn’t visible.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
No bias here. London’s Daily Mail predicts chaos and road rage as a new British traffic code takes effect requiring drivers to yield to more vulnerable road users, and allowing bike riders to use the full lane to increase visibility under some circumstances.
On a related subject, Road.cc accuses major newspapers of misrepresenting the new rules, including mistakenly telling drivers they can be fined if they don’t use the Dutch reach.
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Local
Metro wants you to make a commitment to ride more next month.
Today is the last day to offer your input on how Metro should spend their money. Or rather, our money.
Maybe Arnold should stick to riding his ebike, after a woman was nearly killed when his massive Yukon SUV rolled on top of her car after they collided.
Former BMX pro and current road and gravel rider Andrew Jackson offers a guide to the best rides in Los Angeles. And more importantly, where to get the best tacos.
The Arts District in DTLA now has an LGBTQ-centered bicycle cafe.
State
Truly appalling news from Coachella, where a pair of 13-year old boys were arrested for stealing a bicycle from another boy at gunpoint; one of the boys was also arrested for attempting to stab another boy walking home from school. The gun turned out to be a prop gun designed to fire blanks, although the victim had no way of knowing that.
National
Surprisingly, Popular Science wants to tell you how to turn your bike into a DIY ebike. No, the surprise is that the magazine is still a thing.
The best-selling electric vehicles aren’t cars, with bicycles outselling motor vehicles in the US by nearly 140,000 last year.
International
Off-Road.cc offers tips on how to make your mountain bike faster. Without, you know, buying a new one.
Cycling Weekly gives Cannondale a chance to respond after a review of the company’s SmartSense technology embedded in the new Synapse ebike drew an unusual amount of hostile comments.
A Montreal bike messenger considers the challenge of keeping warm on the job in the Canadian winter.
Riding cross-country is nothing new. Unless maybe the country is Iceland, in subfreezing weather with snow coming.
The Daily Mail profiles London bike cam vigilante Mike van Erp, who’s recorded over 2,000 distracted drivers and reported them to the police for prosecution, earning the undying enmity the driving public. We desperately need the law updated to allow prosecution of drivers based on photographic and video evidence on this side of the Atlantic.
British track cycling hero and bike advocate Chris Boardman has been appointed as the UK’s first bicycling and walking commissioner. And no, there is no comparable position here in the US, even though there should be.
A judge in the UK notes that some bicycles are more expensive than many cars, as he sentences a pair of high-end bike thieves to 40 and 66 months, respectively. Now the courts just need to accept that some people need their bikes just as much as others need their cars, if not more.
Tyler the Creator is sort of one us, writing the score for the final Louis Vuitton fashion show designed by the late Virgil Abloh in Paris, and finishing the show by walking a bicycle down the catwalk and riding across the stage.
Competitive Cycling
French pro Alexandre Geniez could be racing under a cloud this spring, with a possible six-month sentence for domestic violence against his ex-wife hanging over his head.
Sad to see that retired American pro Andrew Talansky has become a raving Covid denier.
Finally…
That feeling when fictional Peloton users keep dropping dead. When you’re already on probation and riding your bike with an outstanding arrest warrant, put a damn light on it, already.
And only Snoop D O Double G could pull off a lowrider bicycle with a microwave on the back.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
