Archive for Injuries and Fatalities

Lots of fresh 2013 links, surprising health studies, and more on the last SoCal cyclists killed in 2012

Looks like we all made it through the holiday’s in one piece.

At least, I’m still here. And if you’re reading this, I have to assume you’re still with us, as well.

So welcome to 2013; oddly, it doesn’t seem any different here in the future than it did way back in those fateful final days of 2012.

And speaking strictly for myself, I’m happy to have the holidays behind us and move on to whatever it is that passes for normal these days.

So settle in for a quick read. Then get up and get out on your bike if you can.

Because it looks like we’ve some great riding weather to start off the year.

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The L.A. Times reports that Johnathan Coontz, who was killed in a collision with a cyclist on the Santa Ana River Trail last week, was homeless at the time of his death and had multiple convictions for drinking in public. However, they contradict earlier reports that he was riding a bike.

It’s sad enough that Coontz lost his life in what appears to be a tragic accident. The real tragedy is how he ended up on the streets with an apparent drinking problem, after growing up as a skilled athlete and surfer.

And no, the problems he had in life do nothing to negate the tragedy of his death.

However, it does throw into question how many cyclists died on SoCal streets and trails last year. As it stands now, the count remains at 74 after the OC Coroner concludes lifeguard Brian Gray wasn’t riding his bike when he died, while Coontz appears to have been riding or may have been walking his; authorities plan an autopsy to determine exactly how he died.

Unless they conclude he wasn’t actually riding or walking his bike, he’ll end up as the region’s final cycling fatality of 2012, barring any late-breaking news.

And frankly, I’d say 74 fallen bike riders is about 74 too many.

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Not surprisingly, much of today’s news involves getting in shape. What’s surprising is some of the conclusions they reach.

For instance, fructose, which now permeates the typical American diet, may cause overeating; although as long as they keep it out of whiskey and craft beers, I should be safe. You may only need a hard ride around the block every day to get back in shape. Olympic athletes may not be healthier than your average golfer. And maybe being a little fat may not be so bad for you after all.

Then again, I’d tell you to take these studies with a grain of salt, but that’s supposed to be bad for you, too.

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Be on the lookout for a 74-year old Hispanic man suffering from Alzheimer’s disease who disappeared in West L.A. while riding a light blue bicycle. When you stop and think of it, the ding of a bike bell does sound a lot like a lot like the ring of a cash register. Will Campbell offers one of his typically great timelapse videos of his last off road ride of 2012. Biking to yesterday’s Rose Bowl game.

Calbike unveils their strategic plan for the next five years; then again, you know who else used to make five year plans, so maybe those Agenda 21 wackos are onto something after all. The Orange County Register names globe trotting paraplegic triathlete and marathoner Beth Sanden their Outdoor Sportsperson of the Year. Thanks to me, cdmCyclist’s Frank Peters is now paranoid about motor vehicle traffic; I guess my work here is done. Yerba Buena gets artistic new bike racks. If you’re carrying illegal drugs on your bike while on parole and probation, you’re probably better off not running from the police for a simple traffic stop.

The Atlantic Cites hopes pedestrians vs. bikers vs. drivers vs. bus riders vs. train commuters is a trend that dies a rapid death in 2013. Create your own bicycle light wheel animations. For every MIIR bike you buy, they’ll donate another to someone in need. A popular bike blogger vows not to preach about cycling, at least at home. Ranking the 10 worst Colorado bike collisions of 2012. An unusually honest Columbus woman tries to find the owner after realizing she may have purchased a stolen bike for her nephew. If bikes are really the biggest complaint in Boston’s North End, it must truly be a paradise. A hospital employee wants to require hi-viz reflective vests for all cyclists so drivers will see us; God forbid we should expect drivers to actually pay attention. If you’re wanted on various criminal warrants and illegally carrying a semi-automatic handgun on your bike, maybe you shouldn’t run stop signs. Memphis goes from worst to most improved in bicycling; then again, you pretty well have to suck to begin with to be the most improved in anything. A South Carolina man is killed when he tries to carry his bike between the cars of a stopped train; never go through or in front of a stopped train, and be damned careful about crossing behind one.

London’s bike boom appears to have switched direction; maybe the city’s cyclists are tired of ending up under its trucks. A London cycling organization tries to turn a notorious bike hater into a school cycling supporter. More bikes mysteriously trapped in trees. Scots are urged to get on their bikes, as the country invests the equivalent of $86.5 million in new bikeways in 2013. Ireland plans to expand a free bike share program to up to four new cities. Istanbul tries to get bike friendly with help from everyone’s favorite bicycling nation. Japanese police say 32% of cycling violations are for brakeless fixies, and recommend safety training for reckless cyclists.

Finally, maybe an Aussie highway isn’t the best place to take a nap. And Cyclelicious looks back at a booming year in bike music, which should keep you entertained for awhile.

Update: Homeless man dies in collision with bike on Santa Ana River Trail

The Orange County Register broke the news late last night that someone had been killed in a collision with a bicyclist on the popular Santa Ana River Trail yesterday evening.

The collision occurred on the trail around 6 pm just north of Atlanta Avenue; the victim was taken to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he died an hour later. Initial reports were unclear whether the victim was another cyclist or a pedestrian.

This morning, a reliable anonymous source in a position to know wrote to clear up the confusion.

58-year-old pedestrian Johnathan Charles Coontz was struck and killed by a cyclist on the Santa Ana river trail in Huntington Beach yesterday evening. He was a homeless guy, the type who collect recyclables, and he usually had a bike that he used for transportation and collecting cans, so my guess (just guessin’ here) is that at the time of the collision, maybe he was pushing a heavily laden bike, either while scavenging, or while returning to his encampment.

Homeless camp out in the clumps of thick shrubbery along this stretch of path. It’s not a place I ride, but not because of the homeless, who generally keep to themselves.  It’s just dark, you need really bright lights and you need to look out for drunks crossing the path.

Still hoping to find out anything about the cyclist.

There was some initial confusion about jurisdiction, but CHP will be the investigating agency.

It’s rare that a collision with a bike results in death, but as this incident shows, it can happen — and has happened before — usually involving a pedestrian, through fatal collisions with other cyclists have occurred, as well.

The statistic I’ve heard is that roughly six people are killed each year nationwide as a result of collisions with bicycles; however, I don’t know where that stat came from or how valid it may be.

But it’s a reminder to ride carefully in areas where other people may be present. I’ve seen cyclists plow through crosswalks crowded with pedestrians, forcing people to dodge them to avoid being knocked down.

And you don’t want to be the one who has to live with something like this for the rest of your life. Which is not to suggest the cyclist is at fault in this collision; we have no way of knowing yet what happened in this case.

As this recent helmet cam video from Michael Eisenberg clearly shows, it’s not always the cyclist’s fault — in fact, he reports he likely would have hit the man if he hadn’t he slowed down to 8 mph in anticipation of pedestrians in the area.

Update: The Register confirms the identity of the victim, though they list his age as 58 — or possibly 52, judging from the headline — rather than 62, and say he was a resident of Costa Mesa.

According to the paper, Coontz was riding north on an Electra Cruiser when he drifted onto the southbound side of the trail, where he collided with another rider. The other cyclist, a 52-year old man from Midway City, was hospitalized, as well.

And let’s not discount the tragedy because he was apparently homeless at the time of his death. Many people have fallen on hard times in this troubled economy, for any number of reasons. Whatever combination of factors may have brought Coontz onto the streets, there are undoubtedly those who loved him, and will miss him.

Update 2: Koontz’s family and friends remember him as one of the best surfers in Newport Beach in the 1970s.

Please accept my prayers and condolences for Jonathan Coontz, and all his loved ones.

Reading between the lines — did California Governor Jerry Brown kill a bike rider with his pen?

Sometimes the irony is as tragic as it is overwhelming.

It was just a few years ago that the New Jersey Star-Ledger published an editorial ridiculing efforts to pass a three-foot passing law in the state — one day after printing a story proving the need for it.

The paper said that while they supported “protecting bicycle enthusiasts,” they feared a society in which drivers could get a ticket for passing a cyclist at just 2’11”, and called the proposed law unenforceable.

Pity they don’t read their own newspaper.

Just 24 hours earlier, they’d run a story about a 78-year old man who died after being passed so closely by a school bus that witnesses thought the driver had hit him. Police initially investigated the death as a hit-and-run before concluding that the bus never came in contact with the rider.

It just passed so closely that the rider, an experienced cyclist who averaged 5,000 miles a year on his bike, lost control and fell, fatally, off his bike.

Something a three-foot law might have prevented. Or at the very least, could have provided a basis to charge the bus driver for his death.

Now we have a very similar situation right here in California.

Except instead of an editorial providing an ironic context, we have the veto pen of a misguided governor to blame.

And instead of a 78-year old victim, it was a visiting professor at UC Berkeley who died when he was passed by a dump truck last July.

Israeli professor Shlomo Bentin, a renowned expert in cognitive neuropsychology, was riding his bike next to a line of cars when he was buzzed by the dump truck — once again, so close that witnesses at the scene believed the truck had hit him.

Yet investigators, relying on video, interviews and forensic analysis, concluded that the truck never made contact with the rider.

And even though state law requires drivers to pass at a safe distance without interfering with the safe operation of the bicycle, authorities felt they didn’t have enough evidence to make their case.

Something that probably wouldn’t have been a problem if we had a three-foot passing law in place.

Anyone who has ever been in Bentin’s position knows the sheer terror that comes with having a massive, multi-ton vehicle mere inches from your elbow.

It takes near-superhuman self control not to overreact in that situation, where the slightest mistake could result in a serious, if not fatal, collision with the passing vehicle – or a crash into the parked cars on the right that could throw you under the truck’s wheels or into the path of following cars.*

Or cause you to simply fall on your own, as Bentin and the rider in the New Jersey case appear to have done with tragic results.

And make no mistake. While most falls from a bike are harmless, any fall can be dangerous.

Yet thanks to the veto pen of our misguided governor, California drivers still have no standard in place to tell them what is and isn’t a safe passing distance.

And as this case clearly shows, any pass that doesn’t actually come in contact with the rider is effectively legal under current law.

Even if the rider dies as a result.

Had the governor not vetoed two straight safe passing laws — including one he indicated he would sign after vetoing the first — Shlomo Bentin might be alive today, training the next generation of neuropsychologists.

Or at the very least, the driver could have been held accountable for fatally violating the three-foot rule, rather than walking thanks to the current nebulous and virtually unenforceable standard.

Instead, the governor traded our lives, not for the implausible reasons he gave for his vetoes, but as a political favor to groups he evidently felt were more important than mere bike riders. Or so I’m told by people in a position to know.

Bentin’s body should be laid at Governor Brown’s feet — figuratively, if not literally. Because he’s traded the safety of every bike rider on California streets for political expediency.

And he should be held accountable, morally and politically, for Bentin’s death, and any other cyclists who have been Jerry Browned following his vetoes, or will be.

Our governor has blood on his hands.

And nothing he can do will wash it away.

*If you find yourself in a similar situation, the best course of action is to bail to your right if there’s room — even if that means going over a curb or off the roadway; road rash or a broken arm is a lot better than getting run over. If there’s no room to your right, hold steady and try not to react in any way; it’s not easy, but this is one situation where doing absolutely nothing could save your life.

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A Canyon Country bicycle advocate was seriously injured in a collision on Saturday.

Kevin Korenthal was riding south on Little Tujunga Road when a 16-year old driver lost control rounding a curve, crossed the center line and hit him head-on. He was airlifted to the hospital, where he underwent 7 hours of surgery for injuries including three broken vertebrae in his neck and back, as well as a broken wrist, tibia, fibula, scapula and femur.

The founder of the Santa Clarita Valley Trail Users, Korenthal lost his lower left leg as a result of another cycling collision 21 years ago; the latest crash left a steel rod in the amputated leg bent at a 45-degree angle.

Thanks to Michele for the heads-up.

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Finally, the Times offers a great look at L.A.’s jet-beating Wolfpack Hustle.

Surprisingly — or maybe not so much, given the number of cyclists who work for the Times — it offers a fair, balanced and objective look at a leading segment of the city’s formerly underground bike culture.

Although as usual, some of the comments leave something to be desired.

Owner of PV Bicycle Center died while riding in Malibu Hills last weekend

Just getting word this morning that Steve Bowen, owner of the PV Bicycle Center, died of an apparent hear attack while riding above Malibu on Sunday.

Bowen was reportedly climbing up a hill with a friend when he collapsed, and a passing motorist flagged his companion down to tell her he’d fallen. A physician stopped and attempted to revive him, without success.

I won’t waste your time trying to tell you more about Bowen or what happened to him. To the best of my knowledge, I never had the privilege of meeting the man; Seth Davidson of Cycling in the South Bay did, and writes far more beautifully than I ever could about the loss of his friend.

Read it, and you’ll understand why I regret not knowing him. And why the local cycling community will be poorer for his loss.

Bowen was the 74th cyclist to die in Southern California this year, excluding gunshot victims, and the 24th in Los Angeles County, matching the total for last year as well as the average for the past six years. And he is at least the third rider to die of natural causes in SoCal this year; it’s likely that others have, as well, but have not been publicly reported.

I include deaths from natural causes in the fatality totals since in many, if not most, cases, it’s impossible to determine if riding or a fall from the bike contributed to the physical events leading up to the death, or if they were what cause could have triggered a heart attack or stroke; however, that does not appear to have happened in this case.

But to avoid splitting hairs to a near-infinite degree, I now include all deaths from any cause other than gunshots in these totals, which is why they are unlikely to match the figures from law enforcement or highway safety agencies.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Steve Bowen, and all his family and loved ones. Thanks to Jim Lyle for the heads-up.

Bad news on Christmas Eve — Hero Newport Beach lifeguard dies in apparent solo fall

This is not the news any of us want on Christmas Eve.

According to Corona del Mar Today, a hero lifeguard has died after an apparent solo fall.

Thirty-eight-year old Brian Gray was found laying face down near his bike at 2:02 am Friday at the intersection of 26th Street and Newport Blvd in Newport Beach. A police spokesman says he was simply fell while riding his bike; he died the following day in a local hospital.

The news site reports that Gray, a lifelong resident of Newport Beach, was one of the rescuers who saved the life of 13-year old Dylan Scott of Riverside when he was buried in the sand in 2006; he received the Bravo Award from the American Red Cross, along with other lifeguards involved in the rescue.

In addition to his work as a lifeguard for the past 21 years, Gray worked as a courier for the Newport Beach Fire Department; paramedics reportedly recognized him at the scene.

Of course, as in any solo fall, the question is why.

Given the hour, it’s possible that Gray may have been drinking and simply fell off his bike.

However, it’s also entirely possible that he fell as a result of being brushed or buzzed by a passing car, leaving little or no evidence behind to point to a dangerous pass that may have resulted in the rider’s death — which I suspect happens far more often than any of us realize.

Or he could have simply lost control of his bike for any number of reasons, something that happens to even the best riders, myself included.

This is the 73rd cycling fatality in Southern California this year, three above the total for last year, and the 14th bicycling death in Orange County this year. Remarkably, it’s the third bicycling fatality in tiny Newport Beach, with a population of just 86,000 — though it should be noted that the area is a popular biking destination, drawing in far more riders than its small size would suggest.

Gray is also the 14th SoCal rider to die in a solo fall in 2012, and third in Orange County.

So please, let’s be careful out there.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Brian Gray and all his family and loved ones. It’s hard enough to lose someone you love, but especially tough this time of year.

Thanks to David Huntsman for the heads-up.

The L.A. hit-and-run epidemic claims yet another victim

There’s been a lot of talk about L.A.’s hit-and-run epidemic lately, largely driven by a pair of L.A. Weekly articles.

Today it claimed yet another victim.

According to the L.A. Times, a bike rider, identified only as a Latino man in his 20s or 30s, was killed while riding on the 900 block of East 43rd Street in South L.A. around 8:50 Friday morning. The victim was riding west on 43rd when he was hit from behind by a pickup; the driver fled the scene, leaving an innocent man to die in the street.

Police are looking for a red, late-model pickup, possibly with gardening tools in the back. Anyone with information is urged to call the LAPD Central Traffic Division Detective Meneses at (213) 972-1850 between 7 am and 5 pm weekdays; call the division watch commander after hours or on weekends at (213) 972-1853. Or visit LAPDOnline.org, click on “webtips” and follow the prompts.

He joins a long line of local hit-and-run victims; in fact, 10 cyclists have been killed in L.A. County hit-and-runs in the last two years alone. Too many of the drivers have never been identified, let alone charged their crimes — including the killers of Erin Galligan and Benjamin Torres earlier this year.

And it’s not just bicyclists who are the victims.

This is the 72nd bicycling death in Southern California this year, and the 23rd in Los Angeles County, leaving the county one behind the total for last year.

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

Update: The identity of the victim has been confirmed as 31-year old Sergio Rodriguez; there will be a press conference on Thursday, February 7th to announce a person of interest in the case. 

Teenage cyclist fatally shot in Harbor Gateway; does it still count when it’s just one kid instead of 20?

Merry Christmas, indeed.

According to the Daily Breeze, a 16-year old boy was shot and killed while riding his bike in the Harbor Gateway neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Torrance resident Richard Aldana was riding in the 1500 block of West 208th Street around 8:20 pm Sunday when a blue vehicle pulled up near him and someone fired several shots from inside. Aldana was transported to a local hospital, where he died.

Despite the drive-by, police do not think the shooting was gang related.

When 20 children are gunned down, along with six adults, the entire nation is horrified and demands action. Yet when one boy on a bike loses his life on the wrong end of a gun, no one even notices. Instead of world-wide press coverage, it merits just four paragraphs in the local paper.

It’s just too common an occurrence.

Just one of the seven bike riders killed by gunfire in Southern California so far this year, compared to nine last year, and the second in Los Angeles County.

And just one of the 30,000 +/- people who will die by gunfire throughout the country before this year is over.

Twenty-six deaths is a tragedy. One isn’t even news.

Anyone with information is urged to call homicide detectives Sid Rodriguez at 310/726-7887 or Patty Batts at 310/726-7889.

My deepest sympathy and prayers for Richard Aldana and all his loved ones.

Update: Not knowing the area, I originally placed the shooting in Torrance, rather than Los Angeles. I’ve corrected it above to show the actual location. Thanks to Biker395 for the correction.

Miraculous ending to near-fatal collision, Spanish pro killed and Riverside takes burgers over bikes

This is the kind of story I love.

Last January, I mentioned a San Diego-area collision that looked about as bad as they get, as a confused 75-year old driver rear-ended a cyclist, running him over and leaving him pinned beneath the car.

While paramedics were able to get him out alive, the news was not good, as I wrote at the time:

According to the paper, doctors say he will be a paraplegic if he survives.

Eleven months later, Grant Fisher not only survived, he walked — yes, walked — into his office to go back to work.

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It wasn’t a good weekend for pro cyclists as Spanish Olympian and professional mountain biker Iñaki Lejarreta was killed in a collision with a car while training in Spain. And American pro rider Andy Jacques-Maynes suffers a fractured scapula and possible fractured collarbone when he becomes the victim of a hit-and-run.

On the other hand, Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins says getting knocked off his bike was a blessing in disguise.

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Evidently, bike shops are dropping like flies, despite the boom in biking.

A forty year old Riverside bike shop — one of just two in the city — is evicted to make way for a McDonald’s; so much for fighting the obesity epidemic. And the Newhall Bicycle Company is shutting its doors at the end of this month after 8-1/2 years.

But the news isn’t all bad, as Oceanside’s Pacific Coast Cycles wins the Adventure Cycling Association’s award for bike shop of the year.

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Maybe USC isn’t so bike-unfriendly after all, as they offer a free shower for bike commuters. Good piece from KCET on why L.A. suffers from city and soul destroying sprawl. The first phase of the Glendale Narrows Riverwalk opens. A Burbank councilman clearly doesn’t get it, saying you don’t want to put bike lanes in where they will conflict with traffic. The Pasadena Star-Tribune looks at Monrovia’s Stan’s Bike Shop and new owner Carlos Morales.

California had more traffic fatalities than any state other than Texas in 2011. Turns out that Newport Beach mall shooter was taken down by bike cops, who can usually beat motorized units to the scene if they’re nearby. A San Diego cyclist suffers a fractured spine and — thankfully — non-life-threatening head injuries after reportedly running a red light and getting hit by a car. A La Quinta cyclist is badly injured in a hit-and-run. One hundred Imperial Valley kids will be getting new bikes this Christmas; so will 250 Simi Valley children. New bike lanes aren’t really why traffic is backing up in San Jose. San Francisco plans to boost bike parking requirements. San Anselmo improves safety for cyclists and pedestrians at a key intersection.

What to do when you see another rider crash. The latest Bikeyface cartoon illustrates bike laws nationwide. Introducing a new combo bike light and horn; I had something like that decades ago on my brother’s hand-me-down Schwinn. Turns out an Idaho Congressman never attended USC — and he was never a pro cyclist, either. Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel dedicates a new protected bike lane, while a political writer says separating the city’s cyclists and drivers is an admirable goal, but he’s not sure it’s possible. A Massachusetts doctor makes house calls by bike; I know what you’re thinking — what’s a house call? Lance Armstrong’s co-writer says she’s not mad at him, despite the lies, while former world-beater Alexi Grewal says don’t just Lance too harshly because everybody doped in those days, he just did it better. South Carolina is getting the nation’s first bicycle city; no really, when can we move?

Turns out that cardboard bike helmet is actually stronger than standard bike helmets; thanks to George Wolfberg for the heads-up. No charges for a Canadian driver who right hooked a ninja cyclist. It doesn’t happen often, but yes, it does happen, as an 80-year old British man is killed in a collision with a bike rider; no word on how the collision occurred. More must be done to keep London cyclists safe. A UK rider says regardless of comments to the contrary, cyclists remain at great risk. The fatal dooring of a cyclist reveals a gap in British law. Bicycling tops government-funded sports in the UK. A Dubai driver faces charges after running down a South African triathlete; the victim is still just semi-conscious over two months later. A new Saudi movie says riding a bike can be an act of rebellion.

Finally, the nastiest car versus bike videos of the year. This dog rides better than some people I’ve seen — including me some days. And ex-framebuilder Dave Moulton wisely observes that giving the finger to a fellow traveler can cause a ripple effect, but so can a smile.

I think we all need to remember that one right now.

Traffic deaths are down, unless you’re on two wheels. Or two feet. Or driving a big ass truck.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released their latest figures for traffic fatalities in 2011.

And the news is not good for bicyclists.

While the overall traffic fatalities showed a nearly 2% decline, bicycle deaths shot up 8.7%, to 677 throughout the U.S. So much for the safety in numbers theory, as the increase is attributed to the higher number of riders on the road.

The news isn’t much better for pedestrians, as bipedalist deaths rose 3% to over 4,400. Then again, either one is better than drivers of large trucks, who saw an amazing 20% increase in fatalities in a single year.

Yet even with increases in virtually every category other than car and light truck drivers and passengers, the total number of traffic fatalities dipped to just over 32,000, the lowest level since 1949.

The Times quotes me as saying in response that bicycle fatalities are a largely urban phenomenon. What I meant by that is that there are more cyclists, and more traffic collisions, in cities, which explains the relatively high number of deaths here in Southern California, while more rural areas may only suffer a handful of deaths each year.

Which is not to say their experience is any less tragic or heartbreaking.

Or unnecessary.

It’s also unclear if the NHTSA figures includes bicycling deaths from various causes, or is limited to fatalities due to collisions.

My counts of 70 SoCal cycling fatalities last year, and 71 so far this year, include deaths due to all causes except for shootings — including solo falls, collisions with trains, and deaths due to natural causes while riding, which may not be included in the NHTSA figures.

We’ll have to wait until statistics for individual states are released to see if their totals are anywhere close to the numbers I’ve counted, which showed a significant increase over the NHTSA’s figures for 2010.

Or if it will be closer to the 49 deaths registered in 2010, before I started tracking them on my own.

Meanwhile, a Sacramento writer says to take those numbers with a grain of salt.

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Los Angeles’ newfound commitment to bicycling helps make us smarter than our neighbor to the south; sorry San Diego. Women on Bikes SoCal interviews new Bike Nation bike share head April Economides. Long Beach releases ten years of data on the causes of local bike crashes; cyclists are to blame for the top three, which makes me wonder who compiled the figures and how. More on the Long Beach cyclist being named the city’s person of the year. An Orange County man is under arrest for stealing a five year old’s bike; the victim drew his own wanted poster. Fontana cyclist fights off would-be robbers on his way to work. A Marin writer says when police crack down on cyclists, it makes the road a more dangerous place. Sonoma County votes to screw cyclists and pedestrians. A Vacaville woman is looking for the good Samaritan cyclist who helped save the life of her bike riding husband.

Even Goldfish crackers are riding bikes these days — with a helmet, no less. Sometimes, the real victory is just not quitting; I’ve learned many times over that it’s always too soon to quit, whether on a bike or in life. Portland reaches double digits when it comes to kids bicycling to school; kind of sad that such a low number is such a big achievement. My Colorado hometown celebrates a winter Bike to Work Day; if they can do that on a chilly December day, why can’t we do it here in sunny SoCal? A Rochester NY cyclist is hit by a police cruiser; needless to say, it took little time to find the rider at fault. Pedestrians call for bike-only traffic signals in New York’s Central Park to address red light-running bike riders. Making the public health case for bicycling.

A Toronto writer explains why we mourn fallen cyclists. Alex Moulton, developer of the iconic small-wheeled Moulton bicycle, passed away at 92. A British driver who fatally doored a cyclist may not have seen his victim, after recently having his windows tinted to allow only 17% transparency. If there’s a war on Britain’s roads, only a small minority of drivers and cyclists are taking part; personally, I’d call that one a must read. An Aussie writer says it’s time to declare war on cyclists, because we’re so much more dangerous than motor vehicles; nice to know irresponsible journalism isn’t just an American phenomenon. Meanwhile, a local bike organization offers a more rational response. And an Aussie planning institute says give up on bikeways and turn them into Segway and scooter lanes, because their lazy ass countrymen won’t ride them anyway.

Finally, the Alliance for Biking and Walking is looking for nominations for their 2013 bike and pedestrian advocacy awards, both individual advocates and organizations are eligible. When you fill out your nomination, it’s spelled B-i-k-i-n-g-i-n-L-A.

Okay, okay, I’m kidding.

Sort of.

Jurupa Valley rider killed in rear-end collision

It’s been a bad several days for Inland bike riders.

According to the Press-Enterprise, 47-year old Riverside resident Aristeo Vallardares was hit from behind while riding on the 5900 block of Limonite Avenue in Jurupa Valley at 7:31 pm. Witnesses performed CPR until paramedics arrived and transported Vallardares to Riverside Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after 8 pm.

The satellite view shows a wide, divided roadway with little or no shoulder — exactly the sort of road that forces riders to compete for space with high-speed traffic.

Yet once again, there’s no word on how the collision occurred, other than it was a rear-end collision — a pattern that seems to be common in Riverside and San Bernardino County bicycling deaths.

There’s no mention on whether he was using lights, or why the driver failed to see a bike rider who was apparently on the road directly in front of him.

And as usual, no mention of who the victim was beyond the most meagre description. No word on what he did for a living, whether he had a family or if there is anyone besides his fellow bicyclists to morn his death.

This is the 71st bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, one more than last year’s already too high total. It’s the 13th cycling death in Riverside County, two above the total for last year.

And Vallarades is the third rider to die in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties in just the last five days, and the 4th killed in Southern California in the past 10 days.

My deepest condolences for Vallarades and all his family and loved ones.