My apologies for yesterday’s unexcused absence.
I suffered a bad blood sugar crash Wednesday night, dropping down to a dangerous level and unable to get it back up; I was minutes from waking my wife to take me to the ER when it finally started rising again.
Good times.
Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels.
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Police arrested a driver for the gruesome hit-and-run that killed a Willowbrook bike rider Tuesday morning.
Sixty-six-year old Compton resident Felipe Avalos was arrested later Tuesday after witnesses provided LAPD investigators with the license number of the van he was allegedly driving when he ran over 65-year old Francisco Gonzalez.
Avalos is accused of dragging Gonzalez’ body nearly a mile under the van as he twisted and turned to make his escape.
Witnesses reported that Avalos appeared to intentionally run down Gonzalez on his bike, but police investigators have been unable to corroborate that.
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Twenty-two-year old Fraser Michael Bohm, the driver who killed four Pepperdine sorority sisters in a collateral damage crash as they stood next to PCH last week, was allegedly traveling 104 mph in a 45 mph zone at the time of the crash.
Bohm is charged with four counts of each of felony malice murder and felony gross vehicular manslaughter, and remains behind bars on $4 million bond.
His attorney claims, apparently with a straight face, that Bohm was speeding in an attempt to get away from road-raging driver, and wasn’t doing more than 70 mph as he tried to escape.
Although you’d think he might have mentioned something like that to the cops after the crash.
Or maybe they just didn’t believe him.
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The 72-year old bike rider who survived the vehicular violence rampage that killed former Bell CA police chief Andreas “Andy” Probst labeled the two teenagers accused of intentionally running him down as “human garbage.”
Meanwhile, the two teens were disgustingly observed laughing, and flipping the bird at Probst’s family during Wednesday’s court hearing.
Two teens accused of intentionally running down a 64-year-old retired police chief while he was riding his bike in Las Vegas were seen in court flipping off the family and trying to intimidate them.https://t.co/DnaJCxNoWX pic.twitter.com/DtAy40GvNu
— The National Desk (@TND) October 25, 2023
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Gravel Bike California visits Maverick Cycles.
NEW GRAVEL GUIDE(4K): Definitely Los Angeles has a shortage of great, community bike shops which is why Maverick Cycles and has great riding in their back yard to boot!@bikinginla @TheRadavisthttps://t.co/QXJNBuZu7n
— Gravel Bike California (@GravelBikeCal) October 26, 2023
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Jimmy Fallon is one of us.
Although maybe he should invest in a good bike cam, instead of flipping his bike trying to ride one-handed to record his daughter’s bike riding.
Note: This is not Jimmy Fallon.
Born on this day, October 26, 1951:
Bootsy Collins, musician, shown here getting down with his low-rider.
Happy #bicyclebirthday, Bootsy!#BOTD pic.twitter.com/IbTn08FlIQ— Cool Bike Art (@CoolBikeArt1) October 26, 2022
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GCN suggests using your cellphone as your bike computer.
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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.
A 34-year old Madison, Wisconsin man pled guilty to two lousy charges of second-degree recklessly endangering safety for repeatedly stringing wires over a local bike path, catching at least one bike rider by the neck; police showed how seriously they weren’t taking the case when DNA pointed to the subject, and they waited five months to go back when no one answered the door at his home.
An anti-semetic DC driver used his SUV to block a Jewish mother taking her child to school in a cargo bike, calling them “the devil” and yelling “I don’t give a fuck about your safety. Your life is not my concern.” There’s no place for racism or anti-semitism in this world. Or any other form of hatred.
But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.
A Santa Rosa street vendor was busted for riding his tricycle around the city selling ice cream, chicharrónes, snacks and other items, including cocaine and meth.
A British woman suffered “potentially life-threatening” injuries when she was struck by someone riding a bicycle. But at least the bike rider stuck around and aided investigators this time.
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Local
TV station NBC Los Angeles and KCRW’s Greater LA offer more information on Sunday’s ArroyoFest, which will let you bike or walk on the 110 Freeway for the first time in 20 years.
A Culver City group has filed a crowdfunded lawsuit challenging the legality of the newly conservative city council’s decision to rip out the MOVE Culver City pilot project without conducting an environmental review.
Long Beach has approved over a half million dollars to begin work on the proposed Orange Avenue Backbone Bikeway from Signal Hill to East Ocean Blvd, although that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the total $13 million cost.
State
Autonomous vehicle provider Cruise had their California permit yanked by the DMV, which discovered the company had omitted video of one of its cars dragging a pedestrian after a crash.
Garden Grove is working on becoming bike-friendly, with work starting on five new bike lanes in the coming months.
Emeryville, home to bike-friendly mayor John Bauters, installed a short, quick-build curb-protected bikeway, part of the mayor’s plan to connect the Bay Trail across the city.
A new Oakland bike co-op will give young people a chance to build or repair bikes they can take home for free, while hiring formerly incarcerated people to give them a second chance at life, too.
They get it. Santa Rosa’s Press-Democrat says bring on the bike valet.
National
Bicycling says be quiet, trolls; we’re trying to start the body-positive bicycling revolution. As usual, read it on Yahoo if the magazine blocks you.
A writer for Bike Magazine offers a justification for procrastination, listing ten things she’d rather do than clean her bike.
Men’s Health offers advice on how to lose weight by bicycling. I had to add weight training before the extra pounds came off, but maybe that’s just me. You can read it on AOL if the magazine blocks you.
An Arizona man just completed a seven-month, 13,000-mile ride around the US.
Police in Las Vegas finally arrested the driver who killed BMX star Nathan “Nate” Miller as he rode a bike last month, a week after a local TV station aired video showing the 32-year old driver speeding and quickly changing lanes before crashing into Miller.
Normally tight-fisted Texas has approved nearly $345 million for bicycle and pedestrian projects across the state. Then again, it is a big state.
Some Amish communities in Pennsylvania and Ohio are abandoning their traditional horses and wagons in favor of ebikes.
Fatherly says the Erie Canal trail offers a 360-mile epic family bike ride through 200 years of American history.
Electrek describes the new Semi-Trike cargo bike from Brooklyn-based Civilized Cycles as a cross between a five-wheeled semi-truck and an ebike.
A New Jersey driver faces multiple charges for killing a 12-year old girl riding a bicycle last month, and critically injuring a 14-year old girl riding with her.
A DC bike rider wonders what the hell that thing in the bike lane is, apparently upon seeing their first bus island.
A couple dozen federal workers in DC turned out to call for more bike friendly routes for the more than 160,000 federal workers in the city, as government employees are being called back to the office.
Evidently, the hit-and-run epidemic involving bike riders has spread to Florida’s Tampa Bay.
International
Sales for bike helmet tech company MIPS are down a third, more evidence of a post-pandemic slump in bicycling.
Police in a pair of UK cities are recommending that bicyclists vary their routes home, because thieves could follow them, and come back later to steal things.
English bike brand Islabikes is the latest bikemaker to go belly-up, as it moves to cease production and sales once remaining stocks are sold.
An English man completed a 3,000-mile 41-day ride from Gloucester to Istanbul to raise funds to buy a pair of adaptive bikes for charity.
Iconic British bikemaker Pashley is starting a crowdfunding campaign to help it explore the ebike market. I’ll be the first to sign up for an e-Guv’nor, thank you.
Momentum examines how Utrecht’s Vredenburg become one of the busiest cycling routes in the world.
Life is cheap in Singapore, where a 70-year old man got a lousy 12-weeks behind bars for killing a man riding a bike after blowing through a crosswalk while driving without a license. But at least he got a nine-year ban on driving, although that didn’t seem to stop him this time.
Austrian company Tubolito is building a “nanogenerator” into its trademark orange bicycle inner tubes that acts like a mini-dynamo to power a wireless tire pressure sensor.
Competitive Cycling
Heartbreaking news from Hong Kong, where rising Dutch cycling star Mark Groeneveld died of a suspected heart attack, collapsing moments after finishing a track event; he was just 20 years old.
The route for next year’s Tour de France was released, with no Paris finish for the first time in more than a century due to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Gravel cyclist Anne-Marije Rook discovers that carbon frames can be repaired, after Unbound Gravel destroyed her bike, and a repair shop gave it a second life.
A Maryland high school student intends to be the first Black woman to represent the US cycling team, taking aim at the 2028 LA Olympics.
Finally…
If you’re going to flee from police on your bike, try to find a better hiding place. If you’re going to steal four bikes from a university campus, remember to take your backpack with you when you leave.
And Loki and Mobius are two of us, if you look hard enough.
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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.
Oh, and fuck Putin
