My apologies.
But after writing about two fallen bicyclists tonight — let alone the other 20 people killed riding bicycles already this year — I just don’t have it in me to even think about bicycling, let alone write about it.
As usual, we’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on anything we missed.
Dr. King was one of us, too.
So just for today, let’s challenge ourselves to be more like him, and remember that every person we meet today is our brother or sister.
And strive to show each and every one the kindness, courtesy and respect that is the birthright of every human being.
Because if we can do it today, we can do it tomorrow. And every day after that.
And yes, I said we, because I fail at that as much as anyone.
Stay safe and enjoy the ride today.
We’ll be back tomorrow to catch up on al the good, the bad and the ugly from the world of bikes.
Because maybe someone really needed to see this photo of my father riding a bike today.#MLK #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/ygeEfGJtGN
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 16, 2022
Thanks to Ted Faber for forwarding this tweet.
Donate now via PayPal, or with Zelle to ted @ bikinginla.com.
It’s that time of year again.
No, not the holiday season, which seems to start around Halloween these days.
It’s that wonderful time of year when, just like that guy with the red kettle front of the market, we shamelessly, beg, plead and/or cajole you for your hard-earned cash.
But without all the bells.
I could give you a sob story about how tough this past year has been with my wife and I both out of work. Or what a challenge it’s been to keep this site up on a daily basis as my own body seems determined to kill me.
But hey, we’ve all got problems.
Instead, I’ll ask you one simple question.
Do you enjoy getting all the best bike news on your favorite screen every morning? Or almost every morning, anyway.
And if so, how much?
Okay, so that’s two questions.
The simple fact is, it takes hours every day to scour the internet for news sites, from around the corner and around the world, to find all the latest news from the wild, wonderful and sometimes wacky world of bicycles.
And hours more to present it to you as clearly and succinctly as possible, to help keep you on top of everything you need to know in just a few minutes each day.
Well, almost everything.
Trust me, there are some things you just don’t want to know.
So what’s that worth to you?
I count on your donations to get through the usual dry spell before our sponsors start to renew each spring, assuming they do. Not to mention keep our spokesdog in kibble until things turn around.
But if you can’t afford to give, don’t worry about it. Everyone is welcome here, no questions asked.
Or if you can only afford to give a little, believe me, any amount is deeply appreciated, no matter how large or small. I know how hard it can be when you’re struggling to get by.
But please give what you can, if you can.
Or I may have to start ringing that damn bell on here.
And trust me, I have one.
………
Special thanks to Robert L, Eric L, David V, Mitchell G and Olivia K for their generous donations to the 7th Annual BikinginLA Holiday Fund Drive, even before we officially kicked things off this morning!
At least it’s not Covid.
I’ve been struggling with some sort of illness all week, which explains yesterday’s absence, as well as today’s.
And tomorrow’s.
The good news is my Covid test came back negative; the bad news, I still have no idea why I’m feeling so sick.
So I’m taking the rest of the week off, and hopefully get over this.
With a little luck, I’ll see you back here on Monday.
I’m literally trying to save my life here.
I’ve been struggling with my diabetes for over a year, ever since my wife lost her job during the first pandemic lockdown, forcing major changes to my working habits.
That was exacerbated by a switch to Kaiser this year, forcing a change in one of the key medications that I’ve been on almost since my diagnosis seven long years ago.
Let’s just say that has not gone well.
The last two weeks have been the worst, however. I’ve struggled to get my blood sugar below 200 mg/dL — twice the normal level — while dealing with spikes as high as 250.
Any higher, and I’d be writing this from the emergency room.
As it is, I’ve been passing out from blood sugar spikes after nearly every meal, as the normal spikes after eating are compounded by a much higher baseline.
Which is what happened Monday night, when I passed out after dinner, and couldn’t wake enough to clear my head for over 16 hours.
As a result, I’ve made the difficult decision to put this site on hold for a few days, and take the rest of the week off to try and do something about my health.
It was not an easy choice to make.
I’ve always felt an obligation to post something here every day. Especially during the pandemic, on the assumption that you needed a few minutes of distraction as much as I did. Even if the news wasn’t what we all wanted to read sometimes.
In all honesty, though, it hasn’t been easy.
I’ve often found myself struggling to write after — or during — a blood sugar spike or crash, both of which can knock me on my ass for hours.
That’s on top of a change in my working hours with my wife home, when the work I used to do on this site during the day, while she was at work, shifted to the late night hours after she went to bed.
Which also shifted to later, since she didn’t have to get up in the morning.
That meant putting these pages, and myself, to bed after 4 am most mornings.
Add a puppy to that mix, and the extra time needed to care for it, and I’ve found myself getting to bed while the sun is rising lately.
The result has been a steady drop in my sleeping hours, accompanied by a steady increase in my A1C — rising from a pre-pandemic 6.1, to this year’s 8.3.
Or to put it another way, from a healthy non-diabetic level, controlled with medication, to uncontrolled diabetes.
So my plan is to take the next few days off, and get as much sleep as I can — or my wife and dog will allow, anyway — in hopes of lowering my blood sugar levels.
If not, I’ll be forced to make some hard decisions I really don’t want to make. Including the possibility, if not likelihood, of going on daily insulin shots.
Never mind the damage I’m doing to my body.
Either way, I’ll be back on Monday to make a fresh start. I hope to see you back here then, although I understand completely if anyone has had enough of our semi-regular schedule over the past 17 months.
Lord knows I have.
And I’ll be here if there’s any breaking news in the meantime.
But if you really want to help, keep your fingers crossed that someone, somewhere, gives my wife a job so we can both get our lives back.
Finally, we have confirmation.
We’ve known since Thursday that a man was killed while riding his bike in Solana Beach last week.
But it’s taken this long for the San Diego County medical examiner to update their website, and for the story to make the news.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, 75-year old San Diego resident Allen Hunter was the victim of a hit-and-run last Tuesday — one week ago today.
He was riding on the South Coast Highway 101 near Lomas Santa Fe Drive around 10:35 am on June 22nd when he was run down from behind by vehicle allegedly driven by 21-year-old Lucas Beau Morgans of Solana Beach.
Hunter was taken to Scripps Memorial Hospital in nearby La Jolla, where he died of multiple blunt force trauma around 6:30 that evening.
A Reddit post from last Thursday adds a little more information.
Morgans was arrested later the same day, about six miles from the crash scene, on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter, felony hit and run resulting in death or injury and felony DUI causing great bodily injury.
He was released after posting bail, and isn’t due back in court until October.
This is at least the 30th bicycling fatality in Southern California this year, and the ninth that I’m aware of in San Diego County already this year.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Allen Hunter and all his loved ones.
Thanks to Phillip Young for the heads-up.
Note: This story has been rewritten to reflect details that have changed significantly since it was written Tuesday night.
More devastating news, as cyclocross legend Laurence Malone was killed in a collision near Lancaster on Monday
The tragic news was announced by the US Bicycling Hall of Fame, which said only that Lawrence was killed in a collision, leading to significant confusion and rumors.
Despite initial reports that he was riding his bike, Laurence, who was inducted into the hall four years ago, was killed in a head-on crash with a semi driver while driving his car on Highway 138 west of Lancaster.
Cyclocross Magazine had originally said Malone wasn’t carrying an ID or cellphone, and the only identification he had with him was his hall of fame badge.
However, in a detailed update to the quickly evolving story, the magazine explains that Malone’s wallet was actually hidden in the crumpled wreckage of his car.
Malone typically kept his wallet under the driver’s seat, according to Price, but kept a few meaningful momentos on his dashboard, including his letter from cycling legend George Mount welcoming him into the 2017 class for the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame.
This letter was the form of identification authorities could easily retrieve from the wreckage. They contacted the Hall of Fame, and George Mount set about trying to reach Malone’s next of kin.
Malone was the first person to win the US men’s national cyclocross title after it was revived in 1970, and just the fifth since the race began in 1963; the women’s race didn’t begin until 1975.
He went on to win the title a remarkable five consecutive times, still the record for the most wins.
Malone was reportedly on his way back from Ojai to his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
He is the second noted cyclist to die in two days, after master’s age group national road champ Gwen Inglis was killed by an alleged stoned driver in Lakewood, Colorado on Sunday.
Photo by Aidan Nguyen from Pexels.
My deepest sympathy and prayers for Laurence Malone and all his loved ones.
Thanks to David Huntsman for the heads-up.
Yes, I know. We just got back.
The good news is, the bandages from my surgery were cut off yesterday, and the stitches removed.
And yes, it’s every bit as tender and sore as that picture over there suggests.
And that’s the bad news. Because as much as I tried, I couldn’t find a keyboard position comfortable enough to write for more than just a few minutes.
So I’m throwing in the towel tonight, taking my pain meds and hoping things thing work better in the morning.
No, we’re not back yet, unfortunately.
I’m still typing with one hand after last week’s surgery. My right hand is still heavily bandaged, mostly immobile and relatively useless.
Which is a big improvement over last week, when it was totally useless.
The good news is the doctor says the surgery went well, and I should regain full use of my hand. Just not as fast as I had hoped.
So check back later in the week. Hopefully I can be back to two-handed typing, and back to work.
We’ll have a lot to catch up on.
When it comes to my health, some nights are better than others.
And this is definitely one of the others.
My neuropathy has me writhing from the knees down, while my thighs are spasming like I just finished a century ride without training.
Or water.
Meanwhile, bilateral carpal tunnel has me in pain from my finger tips up.
Normally, I’d just try to work through it. But the meds I have to take for both have turned my brain to mush tonight. And the ones I took because the others aren’t working will knock me out any minute now.
So I’m throwing in the towel, making my way to bed while I still can, and hoping that, as usual, it goes away by morning.
Please accept my apologies, and come back tomorrow to catch up on anything we may have missed today.
