Archive for bikinginla

San Diego killer hit-and-run drivers — plural — turn themselves in, and Perris hit-and-run driver out on bail

July 3, 2025 / / No comments
Day 184 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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I’m dealing with a sick migraine as I finish this, so please excuse any mistakes this time since I’m not up to proofing it. 

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Look, I don’t have to tell you that tomorrow is the 4th of July. Or that there’s no better way to get to or from the fireworks than riding your bike.

Unless you live in my neighborhood, where it already sounds like a war zone from all the illegal fireworks.

Just remember that drivers are more likely to be focused on their kids or finding a parking spot than they are to be looking for you on a bicycle.

And three-day weekends tend to bring out the worst in drivers, including making a beer or hot dog run after drinking all day. Or imbibing some other substance, legal or otherwise.

So whenever wherever you ride, do it defensively. Assume every driver you encounter is under the influence or otherwise distracted, and prepare in advance.

Because chances are, you won’t be far off.

Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels.

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Better late than never.

According to San Diego’s Fox 5, a pair of hit-and-run drivers were arrested after belatedly turning themselves in for killing a Claremont ebike rider all the way back on March 29th.

Twenty-seven-year old Kamille Agustin and 23-year old Anthony Phan turned themselves in to traffic investigators at the San Diego Police Department on Wednesday, accused of fleeing after they both struck the 31-year old victim in separate vehicles.

The victim still has not been publicly identified.

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Forty-one-year old Perris resident Kenneth Orlando Juarez Vega was already out on $75,000 bail yesterday, released Monday following his arrest the same day for fleeing the scene after seriously injuring a bike rider while driving under the influence.

Although maybe I was too hasty in criticizing the LAPD for the bizarrely cryptic story about a fatal South LA hit-and-run story posted by My News LA yesterday.

They may have replaced their human writers with AI, after their version of this said “Driver Accused of Pedro’s DUI Hit-and-Run Out on Bail,” rather than Perris.

Oops.

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Sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

A new survey shows half of London bike riders admit to running red lights — although they are ten times more likely than drivers to get fined for it. Funny how The Times seems to drop its paywall for stories bashing bicyclists, though.

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Local 

Streetsblog explores the new bike lanes on Avenues 64 and 63 in Highland Park.

 

State

The annual Huntington Beach Fourth of July Bicycle Cruise returns for a sixth year on Saturday.

Hats off to eight-year old third grader Will Benzer, who became the youngest rider to ever complete Folsom’s 40-mile Motherlode Epic mountain bike race.

 

National

She’s got a point. A Denver writer questions whether ebikes must be allowed everywhere more traditional bicycles are, arguing that anything that can do 20 mph uphill without pedal is an electric motorcycle, not a bicycle.

It was a bad day in Houston, where three bike riders were killed in just 24 hours.

A New Hampshire public radio station offers tips on how bike riders can stay say on the road. Which mostly make sense as far as they go, although it’s hard to make eye contact with a speeding distracted driver. 

A former DOT official under the previous administration warns New York Mayor Adams’s “counterproductive” ebike speed limit will reduce bicycling rates and safety.

Unlike most American cities — including Los Angeles — New York is making progress under Vision Zero, with traffic deaths for the first six months of this year at their lowest level in recorded history. Then again, it’s hard to make progress when you don’t fund the program, and fight it at every turn.

 

International

EV Magazine lists the world’s top ten electric bikemakers, from Britain’s Brompton to Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings.

That’s more like it. A 37-year old British man was sentenced to 13 years behind bars for the hit-and-run death that killed a 48-year old man riding a bicycle while driving nearly 100 mph, then setting his car on fire to destroy the evidence.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cycling Weekly explains everything you need to know about the third and final season of Netflix’ Tour de France: Unchained.

 

Finally…

That feeling when the family 116-year old bike shop is just this side of a museum — unless it becomes a dance studio. Your next racing bike could be an abstract expressionist canvas.

And that feeling when a young man’s effort to bike from Nigeria to the US breaks the internet.

Okay, not really.

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

30-year old man riding bicycle killed in South LA hit-and-run — or maybe not, it’s kind of hard to say

July 2, 2025 / / No comments

The news just keeps getting worse this week.

At least, I think it’s this week.

According to a cryptic report from My News LA, the LAPD is looking for a hit-and-run driver who killed a 30-year old man riding a bicycle in the Vermont-Slauson neighborhood of South Los Angeles.

Except there’s no time listed for when the crash occurred. Or a date, for that matter. Only that police asked for the public’s help on Wednesday, which doesn’t exactly narrow it down.

The crash also occurred in a manner that would seem to be physically impossible.

According to the story,

The crash occurred when the vehicle, which was speeding east on 67th Street toward Flower Street, hit the bicyclist as he rode east on Flower, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Except while 67th runs east and west, Flower runs north and south. Which means the victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, was apparently either rear-ended as he rode east on 67th, or struck as he rode on Flower.

He died after being taken to a hospital, which was also unidentified.

The driver was last seen fleeing east on 67th Street toward Grand Ave. No description of the driver or vehicle was given.

Anyone with information is urged to call Officer Lozada at the LAPD’s South Traffic Division. But apparently, you’re supposed to look it up yourself, since there’s no number given.

Okay, I’ll save you the trouble.

It’s 323/421-2577, unless it’s 323/421-2500, since one is listed on the LAPD’s website, while the other came from a previous South Traffic Division press release.

Although you’d think they might have told us if they really want our help.

As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles. Maybe they want you to tell them when and how the crash occurred to collect the reward.

This is at least the 22nd bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the sixth that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County; remarkably, it’s only the third we’ve learned about in the City of Los Angeles

This was also at least the sixth SoCal bike rider killed by hit-and-run drivers since the first of the year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

Crowdfund launched for fallen rider Virgo Datu, nominations for Burbank kids bike giveaway, and Metro meetings this month

July 2, 2025 / / No comments
Day 183 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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We’ve got a lot of ground to cover after yesterday’s unexcused absence.

But before we get started, a crowdfunding campaign has been launched to help pay funeral and memorial expenses for fallen bicyclist Virgo Datu.

Datu passed away unexpectedly after crashing when he caught a wheel on Saturday’s Montrose Ride.

The campaign has already raised over $10,000, more than double the initial $5,000 goal.

Photo of Virgo Datu from crowdfunding page.

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I’m always a sucker for a good cause, especially when it comes to giving kids bicycles.

Which brings us to the 4th Annual Bikes for Kids giveaway sponsored by Burbank native and personal injury attorney Adrianos Facchetti.

According to a press release for the event,

Facchetti, who helps families recover after car accidents and injuries, says the giveaway is one of the most meaningful things his team does all year. “After seeing the struggles many of our clients go through, we wanted to create something that spreads joy.”

The event has grown steadily since its launch in 2021. Past winners included kids who helped care for siblings, stayed strong through medical challenges, or simply showed up every day with kindness. The firm invites the ten selected children to its Burbank office, where they receive their new bikes, helmets, and a round of applause…

“This community raised me,” Facchetti added. “This is one small way we can give back.”

Nominations are open for any child aged 6 to 17 who lives within ten miles of The Law Offices of Adrianos Facchetti at 4444 W. Riverside Drive, Suite 308, in Burbank. Submissions should explain how the child has gone “above and beyond” to help someone else, or positively impacted their siblings, classmates or community.

Nominations are open from July 5th through July 26th; just click here to submit yours.

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Metro will hold a series of important public meetings this month to discuss the NoHo to Pasadena Bus Rapid Transit Project, and the Sepulveda Transit Corridor.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

Seriously? An English town defends fining people the equivalent of nearly $1,400 just for riding a bike through the town center, claiming residents have been “scarred for life” by “anti-social” bicyclists.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

If you’re trying to flee from San Bernardino Sheriff’s deputies while carrying several baggies of meth, try not to crash your ebike into one of their cars.

No bias here. A Santa Barbara grand jury examined complaints about bad behavior and near accidents involving young people on ebikes, concluding that better eduction and stricter enforcement were needed to rein them in — although the local paper doesn’t put it that nicely. And yes, some kids are out of control, with far too many e-motorbikes passed off as ebikes. But just wait until the jurors learn what drivers do out on the streets, as well the relative risk ebike riders pose compared to people in the big, dangerous machines.

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Local 

A 31-year old man was in stable condition after being shot while riding his bike in DTLA Sunday night, telling police he didn’t see the shooter. Or presumably, know why.

The LA Country Sheriff’s Department will conduct another bicycle and pedestrian safety operation in West Hollywood on Thursday, ticketing anyone who commits a traffic violation that could endanger either group, regardless of who commits it. So as usual, ride to the letter of the law until you cross the city limit line to make sure you’re not the one who gets written up. Thanks to David for the heads-up. 

Santa Clarita officially broke ground on the new Haskell Canyon Bike Park on Tuesday.

 

State

California cities are now using drones to catch people riding illegal ebikes, aka out-of-class, not street legal or illegally modified.

Oceanside will dedicate a segment of the San Luis Rey River Trail in the city to Jensen Taylor Hughes, a young woman who was killed while riding on the trail in September, 2023. I don’t seem to have a record of her death, and can’t find any news reports.

An Oceanside man is working to transform the community through a lowrider bicycle project.

Family and friends of a 12-year old girl killed this April in an Encinitas crosswalk call out a proposal to widen deadly Encinitas Blvd to add a third traffic lane in each direction, calling for bicycle and pedestrian improvements instead.

A 41-year old man was busted for an allegedly drunken hit-and-run after rear-ending a bike rider in Perris; the victim was hospitalized in stable condition despite suffering serious injuries.

Ventura nonprofit Bike 4 A Cause will launch a free program to teach kids to ride bicycles this Saturday.

Hats off to Oakland’s Bay Area Bicycle Rescue, which collects unloved bikes from community members and repairs them to redistribute to people who need them, saving over 1,200 bikes from the landfill last year alone.

Singletracks talks with the Calirado Kid, a Sacramento-based mountain bike content creator “known for posting hilarious bike-related videos on Instagram, TikTok and Youtube,” while working with a science group to encourage riders to help document biodiversity in California.

 

National

Good damn question. A movie site questions whatever happened to all those great cycling movies like we had in the ’80s.

Buyer beware. Electrek considers what you really get when you order that $500 ebike online.

He gets it. A writer for Cycling Weekly argues that bicycling is a political act, and the battle for public lands is a reminder that cyclists can’t afford to stay on the sidelines of politics.

No bias here, either. A writer for a sustainable journalism newsletter examines the slow progress American cities are making in becoming bike friendly — but positions it by misleadingly asking if that progress is a good thing. But at least they have the good taste to include a photo of a Boston corgi in a cargo bike. 

The Atlantic bemoans the decline of a classic childhood pastime, as fewer kids are riding bikes. But you’ll have to sign up for a free trial if you want to read more than the first few paragraphs.

He gets it, too. Alaska writer Craig Medred complains that the public is usually kept in the dark about traffic violence, at a time when even AAA says only 35% of American drivers can be classified as “good,” and “only luck and the capabilities of modern medicine” keep the carnage from being worse.

As of yesterday, bike riders in New Mexico now enjoy the full benefits of the Idaho Stop Law, which lets bicyclists treat stop signs as yields and red lights as stop signs, although in both cases they’re required to observe the right-of-way and proceed only when safe.

Livability says diverse terrain, beautiful views and a lack crowds make Idaho’s Palouse region a bicycling paradise.

A new Denver bike app helps bicyclists find “low-stress” bike routes, while rewarding them for stopping at local businesses along the way.

A New York judge calls time out, ruling that a restraining order protecting an endangered bike lane will stay in place for now, until he rules on a case trying to stop the city from ripping it out.

More proof that bikes are good for business, after the US Pro Road National Championships generated a $6.9 million impact on Charleston, West Virginia — a whopping 50% jump over last year.

A new report says bike-unfriendly Alabama has the nation’s strictest bicycle laws.

 

International

Momentum recommends Canada’s best bike cities, for anyone looking to flee for snowier pastures.

More on the Toronto bike lane that Ontario officials want to rip out “because no one uses it” — even though it carries more rush hour traffic than the traffic lanes next to it. Maybe they should rip out one of the lanes drivers use to make more room for bikes, instead. 

After selling his eponymous bikewear brand, former Canadian Olympian Louis Garneau has started a new company focused on making more affordable kids bikes.

Shimano wants to know why Europe has a “critical” shortage of bike mechanics, saying it risks creating barriers to bicycling.

Police in Wales will stop accepting video evidence of overly close passes — or doing anything about them, anyway — even though video is been accepted as proof of traffic violations throughout the UK.

They get it. An Irish bike advocacy group says we try to rationalize traffic violence as freak accidents, when the roads are “still engineered, policed and legislated for in ways that accept, and sometimes even enable, lethal outcomes.”

Here’s your chance to own a new limited edition Swiss watch honoring cycling great Fabian Cancellara, for the low, low price of nearly $6,400. Although the only nod to Cancellara is a few touches of yellow, so it could honor anyone of your choice who has ever worn yellow, if Sparticus doesn’t do it for you. 

Life is cheap in New Zealand, where a judge acquitted a semi driver for killing a longtime bike commuter in their equivalent of a right hook, blaming poor road markings for making it unclear who had the right-of-way, even though the driver admitted to never even seeing the victim.

 

Competitive Cycling

Cyclist calls out the favorites for this year’s Tour de France, which they swear goes beyond Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, and digs deep to examine who stands to get a cut of the race’s $2,714,901.48 in prize money (at Tuesday’s exchange rate).

Velo identifies “all the bikes, components and gear” used by the 23 teams rolling out for the Tour this Saturday.

 

Finally…

Now you, too, can own your very own established bike brand. Your next handlebars could be reminiscent of America’s military HQ, but with less brass.

And call it the next best thing to biking naked.

Thoughts on this skinsuit
byu/BaewuIf inCyclingFashion

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

75-year old Hemet man killed by hit-and-run driver while riding bike; suspected DUI driver arrested after brief chase

June 30, 2025 / / 2 comments

Once again, a SoCal bike rider has been killed by a hit-and-run driver.

But this time, they actually caught the heartless coward.

According to the Hemet Police Department, a man was struck by a driver around 5:36 pm Saturday, while riding east on Domenigoni Pwky near State Street.

The victim, identified as 75-year-old Hemet resident Kenneth Lauer, died at the scene before police arrived.

After witnesses provided a description of the vehicle, police searching the area spotted the vehicle. The driver refused to stop, and led officers on a brief chase before being taken into custody.

Police said the driver, who has not been publicly identified at this time, appeared to be under the influence, and believe that may have been a factor in the crash.

Anyone with information is urged to call Hemet Police Corporal Christian Coley at 951/765-2400.

This is at least the 21st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the fourth that I’m aware of in Riverside County.

Lauer was also at least the sixth SoCal bike rider killed by hit-and-run drivers since the first of the year.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Kenneth Lauer and his loved ones.

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , , ,

CTC approves $5 billion for transportation but pittance for bikes & peds, and we’re not even safe at open streets events

June 30, 2025 / / No comments
Day 181 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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When is $5 billion not $5 billion?

When it comes from the California Transportation Commission.

The CTC announced this past week that they are investing that amount to improve road safety, reduce traffic congestion and promote cleaner transportation.

Although that amount drops a lot before they get to the “cleaner transportation” part. And even more before they get to the active kind of clean.

Nearly half of that 5 billion bucks is allocated for crumbling roadways, with another $1.45 billion to improve low-emission freight networks, while nearly $810 million goes to streamline freight movement to reduce truck idling and cut pollution.

You have to get all the way down to the bottom before bikes and pedestrians get a mention. Even then, it’s in the context of $483 million for passenger rail extensions, bike lanes and rapid transit bus systems, along with another $202 million for local rail, transit and pedestrian upgrades.

Which includes things $63 million to add a bridge and wildlife crossing for Riverside County’s Ramona Expressway — along with some bike lanes to help greenwash the project — as well $49 million for EV charging, and $28 million for ultra-fast vehicle chargers.

Oh, and there’s also a relatively minuscule $18 million to improve traffic safety near five Los Angeles schools, most of which will undoubtedly be spent to undo the damage caused by cars, rather than proactively improving biking and walking.

Even though that’s what kids do.

At least the ones who don’t get dropped off in big honking SUVs, pun intended.

Meanwhile, California Streetsblog says the CTC didn’t do anything to dispel the charge it just rubber stamps highway widening, after unanimously approving every highway project before it.

They may have a point.

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We’re not even safe at open streets events.

Two Pittsburgh PA bike riders were lucky to escape with minor injuries when a woman blew through a barricade blocking streets for the event in her car, striking the first rider with her mirror.

She made a U-turn as bystanders yelled at her, before running down a second woman who heroically tried to use her bike to stop her.

Sheriff’s deputies working safety at the event finally brought the rampage to a halt, but had to bust out the car window to drag her out as she struggled and “became verbally abusive,” yelling racist statements at the cops.

No reason was given for the incident, and there’s no word on whether it was intentional.

But it sure as hell sounds like it.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

A brand new bike path in a Welsh city remains blocked by a gate, which may not swing open for at least another two months.

A British railway operator scrapped plans to scrap bike parking over fears it could be used for a car bomb. Or maybe a bike bomb, in this case.

But sometimes, it’s the people on two wheels behaving badly.

If you’re going to carry an illegal ghost gun with an extended magazine and laser attachment on your bike, try not to crash into a park car like this Connecticut teen.

Nothing like another mountain biker tossing your bike off a wet Whistler, Canada bridge just because you stopped to enjoy the view.

Speaking of videos, an Edinburgh bike rider posted video of a run-in with a pedestrian that begins with the bicyclist running a red light, and ends with him repeatedly telling the other man to fuck off — then is surprised when commenters criticize him instead of the other guy.

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Local 

Malibu is extending its local emergency declaration addressing traffic violence on PCH, where 23 people have died in 22 crashes between 2018 and 2022, and 170 deaths and serious injuries between 2011 and 2023.

 

State

A 73-year old California man is walking or bicycling 50 kilometers — aka 31 miles — in each of the 50 states in just 50 days to inspire seniors to be more active.

Sad news from Fresno, where a woman was killed when she was run down from behind by a hit-and-run pickup driver, who clearly had to know they hit someone after dragging the woman’s bicycle 120 feet down the roadway.

 

National

If you bought a Bell bike helmet from Target or Walmart, you may have to take it back after a number of models are recalled.

A Utah man is filled with gratitude after finding he could do an entire ride to a downtown meeting on bike paths and bike lanes, 30 years after giving up his regular bike commute due to the risk.

That’s more like it. It’s now illegal for Utah motorists to block or drive in a bike lane, and they must yield to bicyclists riding in one.

Authorities in Montana are on the hunt for a killer grizzly bear who fatally mauled a 38-year old mountain biker on a trail trail just outside Glacier National Park after startling the bear, while his riding companion went for help.

Chicago Streetsblog complains that the city is not one of the nation’s worst cities for bicycling, despite what People For Bikes says, while admitting there’s room for improvement. Meanwhile, Los Angeles has even more room to improve.

NY Streetsblog offers “affidavits” from people who use a threatened Queens bike lane safely and legally, before an expected Tuesday court ruling in a lawsuit to save it, while making it clear the judge is an active contributor to the politician who wants to rip it out.

Lyft magnanimously agreed to stop blaming New York’s Pride celebrations for capping bikeshare ebike speeds at 15 mph, when it actually came in response to a directive from the mayor’s office.

A pair of New York women were both sentenced to six years behind bars for killing a 22-year old man riding a bicycle in New Jersey, even though only one woman actually hit him; both were driving separate cars up to 90 mph in a 50 mph zone, while passing other drivers on the shoulder of the roadway leading up to the crash.

This is how Vision Zero should work. Philadelphia is implementing safety improvements at an intersection where a 50-year old man was killed while riding his bike last month, as local residents say the changes can’t come quickly enough. Wait until someone tells them changes like that take years here in Los Angeles, if ever.

I really want to be like him when I grow up. An 84-year old Pennsylvania man completed the New Wilmington area’s annual Tour de Donut for at least the sixth time, riding ten miles while eating a dozen donuts.

 

International

Nat Geo has advice on where to go for your first gravel-biking adventure in Scotland.

A British writer rides over 400 miles of gravel on a mountain bike, and says he wouldn’t change a thing, despite “going arse over tits.”

Almost as impressive as the 84-year old donut eating man, an 87-year old man completed the UK’s Land’s End to John o’ Groats challenge, riding the entire length of the country in 14 days, while finishing the ride with two broken ribs and six stitches after crashing two days from the finish.

A new survey shows half of Dutch bike riders have ridden after drinking, while half of those admit to riding drunk. Which may pose its own risks, but I still say it’s better than driving under the influence of anything. 

 

Competitive Cycling

American Sepp Kuss will ride this year’s Tour de France, after missing last year’s race with Covid. Let’s hope he got his shot this year.

Twenty-seven-year old French cyclist Eddy Finé was forced to give up the sport after the Cofidis team revealed he has an “abnormality in the iliac artery, a problem that is incompatible with top-level sport,” and had struggled to return despite three operations in six years with the team.

It was national championship weekend in Europe —

 

Finally…

That feeling when you ride your bike from England to Australia without getting wet. Or when Lance just refuses to go away.

And what self-respecting bird wouldn’t rather go by bike?

@randomspotofglitter

Bike rides are her favorite. #getacockatooitwillbefun #moluccancockatoo #cockatoosoftiktok #peachesthemoluccancockatoo #fleetwoodmac #fyp #parrotsoftiktok #birdsoftiktok #lectricebikes #leathersforfeathers #lectricxptrike

♬ Dreams – Fleetwood Mac

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Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Update: Popular LA area bicyclist died of internal injuries after falling on Montrose ride

June 29, 2025 / / 4 comments

It’s probably happened to most of us at one time of another.

You catch a wheel in a rut, and fight to stay upright. Or go down, and walk away with road rash or a broken bone or two.

But you don’t die.

Yet that’s what happened yesterday, when a well-loved member of the LA riding community lost his life after hitting a rut on the popular, pro-level Montrose ride.

From what I’ve been told, Virgo Datu was riding with the group when his wheel caught a rut, then hit a curb and a light post. He was hospitalized with internal injuries, including a collapsed lung, and broken ribs that apparently punctured the other, and died this morning.

A Facebook post, which I can’t seem to embed or link to, mentions Datu’s family and fiancé, as well as numerous friends. I’m also told he was a very skilled and experienced bicyclist.

He’s clearly someone who will be very missed.

This is at least the 20th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the 6th that I’m aware of in Los Angeles County.

This is a developing story, so please contact me with any additional information or corrections.

Update: A crowdfunding campaign has been set up to help cover the unexpected funeral and memorial arrangements. 

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Virgo Datu and all his family and loved ones.

Thanks to Zachary, Gary and Brett for their help putting this story together. 

 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , , ,

Happy 17th anniversary to us, a raft of local bicycle lawsuits, and a preteen with better bike skills than both of us

June 27, 2025 / / No comments
Day 178 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Happy anniversary to, um, us?

It’s been 17 years since I started this site, back when I had no idea what the hell it was going to become. 

And to be honest, I still don’t. 

But I look forward to sharing another 17 years with you, and see where that will take us.

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Today’s common theme is bicycling lawsuits and the people who love them.

Et tu, Brute? The family of a top staffer to San Diego’s mayor is filing suit against the city after a serious bike crash on one of the city’s semi-protected bike lanes.

A Reno, Nevada man is suing Caltrans and the city and county of San Luis Obispo after he was injured when his bicycle hit an unmarked crack in the roadway.

A Kansas man is suing a security guard and the company the guard works for, alleging he was injured when he was roughly thrown off his bicycle.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

As soon as someone says they’re a cyclist, you know you’re in trouble. A Halifax, Nova Scotia city councilor insists he’s one of us, before calling for a review of the city’s spending on a half-finished All Ages and Abilities bike network.

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Local 

Tomorrow is the annual Culver City Pride Ride.

The Easy Reader takes a very brief look at French ebike reseller Upway’s new refurbishment and sales center in Redondo Beach.

 

State

Calbike is pushing Caltrans to get more serious about the state’s Complete Streets requirement.

No surprise here, as a majority of Santa Cruz bike riders don’t feel safe on the county’s roads, and are growing impatient about the slow pace of construction on the Coastal Rail Trail.

A San Francisco TV station takes one last look at the last AIDS/LifeCycling fundraising rider from San Francisco to Los Angeles, after 31 years and over $349 million raised.

Good news for Angelenos for once, since Los Angeles doesn’t even show up on a list of the ten most dangerous California counties for bike riders, at least on a per capita basis; sparsely populated Plumas, Mono and Inyo counties lead the list, even though they have a combined total of just eight bike crashes.

 

National

Outside goes shopping at the big sale at Competitive Cyclist.

Bicycling celebrates the “surprising practical benefit” of having a rear-facing radar on your bike to warn you about oncoming drivers. But they don’t want you to know what it is without paying them first. 

Travel + Leisure, who have apparently become experts in all things bicycle, test out and review year’s best women’s padded bike shorts. In other words, bike shorts. 

A Boulder, Colorado website examines why it’s one of the country’s best cities for cyclists.

Speaking of Boulder, the city’s Stages Cycling joins the growing list of zombie bike brands brought back from the dead after being bought out of bankruptcy by giant bike brand Giant.

A Michigan columnist says riding what he calls “a poor man’s convertible” can offer an escape from these troubled times. Then again, an actual convertible can make you poor.

 

International

As if the city’s bike paths aren’t crowded enough, Bogota, Columbia is moving forward with a proposal to allow actual e-motorbikes to use them, too.

This is how Vision Zero is supposed to work. Winnipeg, Manitoba, is responding to the death of a bike rider last year with a proposal to install protected bike lanes and lower the speed limit to 25 mph.

That’s more like it. Flags were lowered to half staff in an Ontario, Canada city to honor a nine-year old boy who was killed by a school bus driver while riding his bike. Then again, if we did that for every victim of traffic violence in Los Angeles, the flags might never go back up.

The Mounties always get their man — for not wearing a bike helmet.

The new head of British spy agency MI6 is one of us, after Blaise Metreweli chose to ride her bike to a last-minute meeting at a London Park before she was named to be the firs woman to lead the agency. Rather than borrowing 007’s iconic Aston Martin, evidently; we’ll forget that misguided foray into German BMWs. 

The Isle of Man insists they’re not going to ban bikes from a popular roadway, despite a radio station’s tepid petition, which has garnered less than 350 signatures in two weeks.

Bicycle Retailer looks at the best new products at this year’s Eurobike show,  but Zag Daily is not impressed. .

 

Competitive Cycling

Twenty-three-year old Dutch cyclist Puck Pieterse isn’t willing to settle for being one of the top ‘cross and mountain bike pros, but wants to conquer road cycling by winning the Tour de France Femmes, as well.

 

Finally…

Why just pedal when you can row, too? When you’re riding with alleged illegal drugs on your bike, put a damn light on it, already.

And that feeling when an 11-year old — yes, 11 — has better bike skills than you and me.

Well, me, anyway.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , ,

Fontana bike rider killed by alleged DUI driver; no word on identity of the victim

June 26, 2025 / / No comments

Police in Fontana allege a man got behind the wheel when he was too wasted to drive.

Now someone else is dead because of it.

According to the Daily Bulletin, the victim was struck by the driver a little after 11 pm this past Saturday, while riding a bicycle in the area around Ivy and Palmetto avenues.

The victim, who hasn’t been publicly identified, died after being taken to the hospital.

The driver, identified as 31-year old Gilbert Perez, was booked on suspicion of DUI causing bodily injury. Which will likely now be upgraded to a vehicular manslaughter charge, at the very least.

Or murder, if he has a previous DUI conviction.

This is at least the 19th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the third that I’m aware of in San Bernardino County.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for the victim and his loved ones. 

You can read the story on MSN if you can’t access the Daily Bulletin story. 

Category: Injuries and Fatalities / Tags: , , ,

LAPD slowly doles out more details on fatal South LA hit-and-run, and California leads nation in bicycle thefts

June 26, 2025 / / No comments
Day 177 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Apparently, the LAPD wants our help.

But only a little at a time.

A week after the LAPD belatedly told us about the hit-and-run that killed 34-year old Los Angeles resident Jose Villalobos as he rode his bike in South LA earlier this month, the department has released a little more information about the crash.

Investigators now believe the driver may have been involved in one of several street takeovers that occurred in the area in the hours before the June 1st collision. One of which was broken up by police less than a mile from where Villalobos was killed at Century Blvd and San Pedro Street.

Surveillance video shows Villalobos being struck by a silver two-door Chevrolet Camaro with black racing stripes as he approached San Pedro on Century. The driver fled the scene, still dragging the bicycle beneath their vehicle as the car headed towards the 110 Freeway.

Police believe the driver was the same man who stopped at a nearby liquor store before the fatal crash.

So naturally, police used the press conference to deliver an important safety message, reminding drivers that street takeovers are illegal and that they are legally required to stop after a crash.

Right?

Guess again. According to LAPD Det. Ryan Moreno,

“Whether you’re a pedestrian, on a bicycle, on a scooter, skateboard, whatever it is, you have to also take your safety in your own hands. Don’t assume people see you. Don’t assume the public sees you. And if they do see you, don’t assume they’re going to stop,” he said.

Which may be good advice. But it’s the wrong message, delivered to the wrong people, when they should have been talking to the ones in the big, dangerous machines who have a bad habit of killing other people.

As always, there is a standing $50,000 reward for any fatal hit-and-run in the City of Los Angeles.

Anyone with information is urged to call 213/321-9681, or anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 800/222-8477 or lacrimestoppers.org.

………

Yay, us.

A new report shows that California leads the nation in bike thefts by a nearly two-to-one margin in the total number of bikes stolen, and more than that in terms of total value.

That leads Texas on the first count, and Colorado on the second.

In fact, Colorado had an average value of nearly $2,000 per purloined bike, nearly a third more than California, at just under $1,500. And roughly two-and-a-half times the average value of Texas bike thefts.

Not surprisingly, Alaska had the least number of bicycles stolen.

All of which is a good reminder to get free, lifetime bike registration through Bike Index if you haven’t already.

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Streetsblog examines the new roughly 750-foot pathway connecting two existing footbridges near the Griffith Park Recreation Center, improving access to the LA River bike path.

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Nothing like taking a little bike riding vacation in California.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

No bias here. A British town councilor complains about the “bullying and intimidation” from the “unelected” bike lobby over approval of a new pump track. Even though the only pressure a bike group can actually apply stems from their public support. And isn’t responding to the public what elected officials are supposed to do?

………

Local 

A California man is suing Amazon and Los Angeles-based ebike maker Actbest Technology Inc, alleging he suffered catastrophic injuries when he was thrown to the ground after the handlebars on his foldable ebike gave out. Then again, what would you expect from $369 electric foldie?

Santa Clarita will officially break ground Tuesday on the long-debated Haskell Canyon Bike Park.

Thirty-year old mountain bike pro and Santa Clarita Valley resident Spencer Rathkamp says he’s excited about the growing mountain bike scene in the area.

 

State

Secret Los Angeles explores the 70% complete California Coastal Trail, which will eventually stretch 1,230 through the state.

The Huntington Beach Police Department is now offering ebike training for local students. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Calbike is taking issue with the recent Kern County grand jury report blaming bike lanes for causing problems on Bakersfield streets, alleging the conclusions are troubling and lack sufficient evidence.

A former Antioch K-9 cop was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after he was convicted of siccing a police dog on a bike rider for the crime of riding without lights, then filing a false report about it. Oh, and he paid someone else to fraudulently earn a college degree for him, too.

Sad news from Marin, where Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member and co-director Don Cook died from a heart attack while riding his mountain bike on Tuesday; the 66-year old Cook was inducted into the hall in 1989, in just the second class, and co-directed the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame with his wife, Kay Peterson Cook, who was inducted into the hall six years after her husband.

 

National

Momentum ranks the best bicycling routes through American wine regions — not surprisingly topped by California’s Napa Valley.

An Anchorage, Alaska woman learns the hard way that it takes more than a thousand bucks to bribe a cop into letting you go home from the drunken crash that killed a bike rider as he was on the phone with his mom in Baja California. And yes, we mentioned this one earlier in the week. But still.

Utah follows Idaho’s lead, and bans narrowing or reducing travel lanes for the next three years without approval of each project by the Utah Department of Transportation, putting new Salt Lake City bike lanes at risk, as well as the city’s Vision Zero program.

I want to be like him when I grow up. A 90-year old man takes part in the Everybody Bike Day in the town next door to my bike-friendly Colorado hometown, which celebrated the more mundane Bike to Work Day, instead.

Rhode Island’s largest newspaper highlights the state’s whopping 60 miles of paved bike paths. And even that is more than enough to traverse the entire state. 

People For Bikes celebrates Brooklyn’s ascension to the top of the organization’s large city ratings — even though it’s a New York borough, rather than an actual city. Which is kinda like giving the award to the San Fernando Valley, not like that would ever happen.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that bikes have a right to the road and don’t have to automatically pull over to make room for motor vehicles; instead, road conditions should determine whether a bike rider needs to make way for faster vehicles in order not to impede traffic.

 

International

A British bicyclist says he was lucky to cheat death when he went over his handlebars after hitting a pothole, which wasn’t fixed despite causing another crash six weeks earlier; his injuries included a broken neck and collarbone, nine fractured ribs, a collapsed lung, and multiple pelvis fractures.

A man from the UK was sentenced to 12-years behind bars for hacking a 75-year old man to death with an axe after visiting Finland on a fundraising bike tour, telling police he had killed the man as he slept in his bed the morning after spending the night with him because the victim had drugged and raped him — even though police found “no evidence of illicit substances or materials that the elderly victim could use to restrain the young and physically fit aggressor.”

A Chilean man riding around the world with his three-year old dog was happy to escape Iran after getting caught in the country during the recent Israeli bombardment, especially after he was abducted by armed men who took his passport, before releasing it and him the next day.

After moving to Sydney, Australia, a new resident explores the 142-mile Greater Sydney Bike Trail, which loops around the city. The only thing that loops around Los Angeles is the city’s freeway system. 

 

Competitive Cycling

A new German documentary quotes an anonymous pro cyclist as saying it’s a joke to believe “nothing illegal has been taken at the Tour de France since 2015” — and not only is doping still going on, but as many as 14 people alleged to have been involved in a previous doping scandal are still involved in pro cycling.

Bicycling previews the key stages in this year’s Tour de France, calling it the most grueling race in decades. But you’ll have to pay them if you want to read it. 

 

Finally…

It’s been just a short 216 years since the first bicycle was patented. Apparently, “no” is not the correct response when a cop tries to pull you over on your bicycle to serve an active warrant.

And that feeling when you find a feline who loves biking as much as you do.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Stop Metro’s induced demand inducing 71 Freeway project, and reinventing upper body bicycle workouts for the first time

June 25, 2025 / / No comments
Day 176 of LA’s Vision Zero failure to end traffic deaths by 2025. 

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Streets For All wants your help to stop Metro’s proposal to flush even more millions down the induced-demand toilet by widening the 71 freeway through Pomona.

Even though freeway projects go against California’s ostensible commitment to Complete Streets, as well as the state’s pollution and climate goals.

But if it gives drivers a faster commute for a few months until the corresponding crushing increase in traffic makes it worse for the rest of eternity, it’s worth it.

Right?

Tell the CTC: No More Freeway Widening!

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) on Thursday is considering funding (tab 21) widening the 71 freeway in Pomona (State Route 71 Gap Closure Project – Phase 2), a project being proposed by Metro Los Angeles.

This is Destruction For Nada! The expensive trend of disastrous highway widening projects must stop.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Tell the CTC that you DO NOT support freeway widenings! Let’s use that funding on sustainable projects instead.

EMAIL THE CTC (CUSTOMIZE THE BOTTOM!)

Photo by MART PRODUCTION from Pexels. 

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Once again, someone has invented the “first” bicycle with moving handlebars to give you an upper body workout while you ride.

Something that seems to get “invented” for the first time every few years.

Never mind that they keep running into the recurring problem that handlebars already serve a purpose, which isn’t helped if the damn things keep moving on you.

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The war on cars may be a myth, but the war on bikes just keeps on going.

No bias here. A Eugene, Oregon TV station reports on a “vehicle versus bicycle crash,” which apparently had no humans involved in or on either vehicle. Although their primary concern is just warning drivers about the traffic inconvenience, rather than any potential risk to human life or anything.

Apparently, a new bike lane will destroy Gloucestershire, England’s historic city center, but all those “historic” streets and cars are just fine, even though bikes were there first.

No bias here, either. A radio station on the Isle of Man released a petition calling for banning bike riders from a 13-mile roadway, claiming it’s too dangerous for bikes and cars to share — which garnered a whopping 200 signatures, representing less than 0.25% of the island’s population. Something tells me they’d get more signatures if they called for banning cars, instead.

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Local 

Santa Clarita was set to consider approving a construction contract for the long-awaited Haskell Canyon Bike Park at last night city council meeting.

 

State

The good news, Apple Valley approved a new Complete Streets Action Plan, including a number of new bike paths throughout the city; the bad news, it’s funded by a federal grant, so the funds could be on the chopping block.

A Menifee teenager suffered severe, but non-life-threatening, injuries when he was t-boned by a driver while riding his ebike across the street.

 

National

Streetsblog digs into the recent City Ratings from People For Bikes to uncover the country’s fastest improving bike-friendly cities, led by a small town in Idaho — something else that could be threatened by cuts to federal funding.

Bicycling offers tips on how to survive riding in the heat now enveloping more than half the country. But it doesn’t appear to be available anywhere else, so you may have to bake of the magazine blocks you; my best advise is to ride early or late, drink plenty of water, and stick to shaded routes if you ride midday. 

To mark the upcoming 4th of July, a freedom loving Bend, Oregon man says his bicycle set him free.

Good says Seattle’s body-painted naked bike ride offers a lesson in colorful living.

Santa Fe, New Mexico will consider adopting a Vision Zero program this week. But it comes too late to save a 42-year old competitive cyclist, staple of the city’s pickleball scene, and veteran of the famed Little 500, who was killed by a driver while riding his bike last week.

Colorado will celebrate the summer Bike to Work Day today, offering the second part of their twice-yearly Bike Day schedule. Never mind that Los Angeles, with its ideal weather and mostly flat terrain, barely observes one Bike to Work Day anymore, let alone two. 

A Boulder, Colorado weekly suggests riding your bike to work, then enjoying a variety of local mountain bike and road bicycle tours later in the day.

Cheyenne, Wyoming is hosting a Bike to Work Day of their own today. Which is only surprising if you ever tried riding the extremely bike-unfriendly, cowboy-centric home of the Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo back in the day, which I was only brave enough to attempt once. 

A 54-year old Missouri man has ridden his bike every day since December 29, 2015, averaging 33 miles a day, while surviving two traffic collisions, a dog attack and crashing when he swerved to miss a squirrel. That works out to “just” 11,566 miles, assuming he went out again today. 

A New York grand jury indicted a 54-year old man for murder, manslaughter, unlawful fleeing a police officer, leaving the scene of an incident, and assorted other related crimes, for allegedly killing a 36-year-old woman riding a bicycle while he was fleeing from the cops.

He gets it. A New York man writes that NY Mayor Adams is playing a dangerous game by pitting community members against bicyclists in attempting to rip out a bike lane in predominately Jewish neighborhood, apparently forgetting bike riders are part of the community, too. And they vote.

A North Carolina bike columnist recommends riding a 22-mile rail-to-trail conversion from downtown Durham to the next county.

 

International

If you build it, they will come. Bicyclists now outnumber cars on a major Toronto street — with one of the bike lanes the provincial government wants to rip out.

It takes a real schmuck to steal an ebike from a Liverpool, England crash victim after he was struck by a stoned driver, and whisked away to the hospital.

While everyone else will be stuck in traffic trying to get to the UK’s famed Glastonbury Festival, a Spanish man will only have to lock up his bike after rocking the 1,000 miles from his Madrid home to the music fest.

A British driver complains about an “incredibly dangerous” bike rider, arguing that “you shouldn’t be cycling if you don’t know the rules of the road” — then admits without irony to driving 30 mph in a 20 mph zone.

Ireland’s Cycle to Work Scheme — “scheme” meaning program in this case — allows you to buy a new bike and safety gear tax-free, with the payments deducted from your salary over the next year.

Travel site Lonely Planet recommends some of France’s best bicycling routes that start in Paris. Or end there, depending on your perspective.

The last 12 months have been the deadliest on Australian roads in 15 years, largely because of a 15.7% increase in pedestrian deaths and a 36.7% jump in bicycling fatalities.

 

Competitive Cycling

Italian cyclist Diego Ulissi won the Giro dell’Appennino with a solo breakaway on the next-to-last climb, marking 16 straight years with at least one win for the 35-year old pro.

Proving it’s never too late, 35-year old former Moto Grand Prix racer Aleix Espargaró will swap his leathers for Lycra, and make his professional cycling debut for the Lidl-Trek developmental squad at the Tour of Austria. Okay, so it’s way too late for me. But still. 

USA Cycling is merging with US Paralympic Cycling, bringing all Olympic and Paralympic bike racing under a single roof to create a “more unified, inclusiv, and efficient support system” for American cyclists.

Apparently, bikewear takes on a whole new meaning at the tongue-in-cheek Brompton World Championships held in the UK.

 

Finally…

LA drivers may be hard to bear, but at least we don’t have to deal with actual bears most days. Apparently, sexy baggage handlers make better bike stewards.

And if you’re going to jump a roadway, at least try to stick the landing.

………

Be safe, and stay healthy. And get vaccinated, already.

Oh, and fuck Putin. 

Category: Morning Links / Tags: , , , , , ,
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